Text 350, 114 rader
Skriven 2006-05-24 23:07:00 av Robert E Starr JR (796.babylon5)
Ärende: An Open Plea to Mr Stracz
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* * * This message was from Matthew Sprange to rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.m * * *
         * * * and has been forwarded to you by Lord Time * * *         
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@MSGID: <lMWdnTqvNuQl7fHZRVny1Q@bt.com>
Hello to all.

I would like to start by saying that I am very, very sorry to have to 
conduct any sort of discussion in this manner.  I feel I have been forced to 
do so because Mr Straczynski has not answered any of our direct emails for 
some time.  If it turns out they have merely been lost in the ether, then I 
sincerely apologise.  From our perspective, there is nothing we would like 
better than to be on speaking terms with Mr Straczynski, whose work we have 
the deepest admiration for and, indeed, we have been immersed within for the 
past four years.

However, given his replies to this Newsgroup, there are some items I would 
like to address publically.

>>>Not having heard the podcast, I really can't say.  All that I can say
is that there has been zero coordination or approvals between Mongoose
and anyone else that I know of.  To date, again as far as I know, WB
hasn't been shown what they're doing, certainly I haven't seen it,

I fully understand that Mr Straczynski may be unaware of the processes 
involved in the approval process at Warner Brothers for publishers such as 
ourselves, particularly after the recent changes in their procedures. 
However, everything (and I mean _everything_) we publish or manufacture for 
Babylon 5 is approved by Warner Brothers, via their Burbank offices.

>>>decided, in essence, "screw you, we don't need you," which has been my
perception of their approach from early on, when they first approached
me to try and (in my view) reluctantly get me involved...an initial
approach that was absurd, and insulting.  When they came back, the

I am not 100% sure as to what you are referring to here.  Our first contact 
was for the first RPG book, during which we asked you to pen a foreword.  We 
offered to send you copies of the manuscript and were informed that Fiona 
Avery would be the first point of contact, which we accepted.  For the life 
of me, I cannot think what was absurd or insulting - our contact was 
intended to be neither.

>>>situation did not measurably improve and the attitude was one of, and
I'm admittedly characterizing it here, sod off, we don't need you, we
can go directly to the fans, who don't need you, we can do it better.

This was most certainly not our intent and, if you consider it just possible 
that we are not the most miserable human beings on the Earth, this has to be 
an unlikely position for anyone to seriously take.  From our perspective, we 
have been a voice in the wilderness for the past three years, trying to 
carry the Babylon 5 torch - and aside from the core fanbase that has arisen 
from our work, there have not been too many people who have seemed to give 
much of a damn.  Even the original creator seemed to ignore us - now, if 
that was because of some slight you feel you received from us at the 
beginning, then I cannot apologise enough.  Let;s bury the hatchet and begin 
to work together, as I have a feeling our goals are much the same.  The 
Babylon 5 fans are still out there.  Let us do something great together for 
them.

>>>Let me be clear: I have provided no outlines for novels to Mongoose.
Nor are there any outlines of episodes beyond what was shot plus the
two scripted but not shot episodes.  There ARE no outlines to which
they could have had access.  So this is false.

We have access to three scripts, which we were planning to use as the basis 
of the first Crusade novel, and a collection of notes collated mostly from 
things you have said yourself.  There has, to date, been _no_ direct 
planning for Crusade beyond this.  It is something we would very much like 
to do, but the first step was to round off the open end of the televised 
Crusade episodes.  There are larger implications for the B5 timeline with 
regards to Crusade, and it is something we would like to see rounded off as 
a whole because of the effect on continuity.  However, this is a longer term 
plan and is something we would very much like to involve yourself with.

>>>You cannot have less input than zero input.  I have had zero input into
these novels.  So to say there is less now means that there was some
before.  Soi this is also false.

I believe I am right in saying that the quote was made with regards to 
Babylon 5 projects as a whole, rather than the novels specifically.

So, I would like to make an open plea.  We would very much like to re-open 
lines of communication with you, Mr Straczynski.  We stand by everything we 
have done for Babylon 5 thus far, and would be more than happy to explain it 
to you, as we see it ourselves.  We would like to bring you on board for the 
novels and the other projects that are being planned and, if possible, would 
like to commission you for original work on them.

I believe we could have resolved all of this a long time ago if there had 
simply been better communication and understanding on both sides.  I can 
understand how the situation must seem to you, and I ask you to try to 
understand how things are for us.  I believe there is a common ground and, 
as I said, that our goals are likely similar.  At the end of the day, we are 
a company of nice people who are passionate about Babylon 5 and wish to 
provide fans of the series with a service we can all be proud of.

I am willing to email you this evening, or give you a call.  We would be 
happy to fly you to England, at our expense of course, to bring you to our 
offices and show you, face-to-face, just what it is we are doing, how we are 
doing it and where we hope to go.  If, after that, you believe we are on the 
wrong track, we would be happy to sit down and bring your ideas front and 
centre.

There are some great things still to be done with Babylon 5.  If we can sit 
down and begin communicating again, I think we can do it together.

Matthew Sprange

Mongoose Publishing
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com
                                                                               
                               
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