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SF-LIT  October 1997

SF-LIT October 1997

Subject:

b5 TNT update

From:

Patricia Silva <[log in to unmask]>

Reply-To:

Science Fiction and Fantasy Listserv <[log in to unmask]>

Date:

Mon, 20 Oct 1997 15:37:40 -0400

Content-Type:

text/plain

Parts/Attachments:

Parts/Attachments

text/plain (291 lines)

From:   SMTP%"[log in to unmask]" 18-OCT-1997 19:45:52.55
To:     WATMAIL15
CC:
Subj:   Latest Information from TNT [usa]

From: Erez Zadok <[log in to unmask]>
Message-Id: <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.info,rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated,rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5
Subject: Latest Information from TNT [usa]
Date: 17 Oct 1997 21:04:47 GMT
Lines: 262
Sender: [log in to unmask]
Precedence: bulk
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
X-majordomo-list: b5jms from majordomo.cs.columbia.edu


Forwarded message to B5JMS list.
Originally From: [log in to unmask] (Dirk A. Loedding)

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

[I'm submitting this one normally, in case Steve already sent it to you.]

A note from Dean Treadway at TNT about B5 promos and schedules.
Of special note is that "The Gathering" will indeed be re-edited, and
that the Season 5 episodes will be airing on Wednesdays, rather than on
Mondays, as previously mentioned.

This letter is also available at:

http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/misc/tntletter.html

 ========================================================================

Hi!  Dean Treadway of TNT programming, here with an update on the
situation with B5 appearing on TNT.  A lot of this material that follows
may or may not be stuff you've read before, but a lot is quite
different, too.  Here we go:

As you probably know, BABYLON 5 is headed for Turner Network Television
(at least in the United States) in January 1998.  Already, the :15
promos are showing on TNT at least twice daily, and that will soon be
stepped up (yes, the promos will be available on the website eventually,
once our preliminary B5 website launches in November).  The other
promotional materials--posters, bus sides and so forth (not available to
fans, except through eventual website contests)--are currently in
production and should be hitting the streets some time in late
November/early December.  Anyway, here's a timeline of B5 events on TNT:

DECEMBER 28: At 8 pm ET, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, hosted by Bruce
    Boxleitner and Jerry Doyle (set to reair at 4:15 am ET on the
    morning of January 2). "What Is Babylon 5?" a 30-min special
    designed to initiate the uninitiated, will premiere here at 11 pm
    ET, and again at 2 am ET.

JANUARY 4: The premiere of the prequel movie "In The Beginning" at 8 pm
    ET, followed by the RE-EDITED, RE-SCORED pilot movie "The Gathering"
    at 10 pm ET; "What is Babylon 5?" at 12 mid ET; a replay of "In The
    Beginning" at 12:30 am ET, followed by a replay of "What is Babylon
    5?" at 2:30 am ET and at 5:30 am ET.

JANUARY 5:  "Babylon 5" strip begins; seasons 1-4 (and eventually 5)
    will be played in sequential order, in their original length, in
    stereo but not letterboxed, Monday through Friday, starting today at
    6 pm ET or, more than likely, 7 pm ET.

JANUARY 21: 5th season episodes begin appearing, starting on this
    WEDNESDAY at 10 pm ET, with a replay of the episode on the following
    Saturday at 6 (or 7) pm ET.

SPRING 1998: Premiere of "Third Space," the second of our B5 movies.

Of course, some fans are writing, lamenting the fact that their local
station has dropped the final four B5 eps of the fourth season.  We're a
little afraid that showing the final four before the bow of the fifth
season will be a tad confusing to any non-fan viewers, and it's not as
if the situation is not confusing enough, what with three separate
premiere dates for varying facets of the series.  We know the votes of
B5 fans worldwide would favor the airings, but we have to think of all
70 million of our subscribers when we program something. So it doesn't
look as the airing of the final four before the premiere of the 5th
season episodes is going to happen.

And that's the end of the B5 timeline, for right now. We're working on
collating all the series info and graphics we need for the TNT website,
but we don't want people to think it's a fall addition to TNT, so, as
I've said, we're waiting until November or so to launch, to avoid
confusion.  You'll hear about the site through here at Lurker's or on
The Zocalo, though, so don't worry--you'll know about it when it
happens.


Now, to some ancillary issues:

AIR TIMES: B5 fans from the West Coast have been calling and writing in,
asking for a second showing of the daily episode at a later time (like,
say 10 or 11 pm ET), so that they can see the series in prime time.
Unfortunately, though, we really have to concentrate on our movie
library and sporting events after the 8 pm ET hour, so I don't see
episodes of B5 being programmed after that time period (if we programmed
B5 at, say 8, 9 or 10 pm ET, it'd be pre-empted at least three times a
week, for basketball and wrestling, both to which we have an equally
strong committment).  Sorry--B5 will appear weekdays on the West coast
at either 3 or 4 pm PT...at least for a little while.  BUT HERE'S THE
GOOD NEWS: TNT is adding a West Coast feed to their operations sometime
in mid- to late 1998.  This means that, what airs at 7 pm Eastern will
also air at 7 pm Pacific. So, eventually, during the B5's time on TNT,
the show will be seen in a more accessible time slot on the West Coast.

EPISODE ORDERING: We will be getting an episode ordering from JMS that
will reflect the PROPER order for the series' episodes, which we will
slavishly follow.

CLOSE CAPTIONING: I've been assured that all B5 episodes and movies will
be close-captioned.  Everything will go smoothly in this regard...

LETTERBOXING: No chance of B5 being aired on a regular basis in
letterbox, but we have discussed the possibilities of having a
letterboxed week or a letterbox marathon of shows, and they were open to
that.  No dates or anything for that, though.  It probably won't happen
for a while...

STEREO: I know B5 is mixed for Surround Sound stereo, and is greatly
enhanced by such.  FYI, TNT does broadcast in stereo, when it's
available on the materials we're broadcasting.  For instance, while some
of our older movies and TV shows were originally recorded in mono, our
sports, TNT Originals, specials, and some newer movies and TV series
(including B5, of course) are all broadcast and will be broadcast in
stereo.  I cannot, however, say if your cable company RECEIVES us in
stereo, but the bottom line is: we DO broadcast in stereo, when we can.
If you are not currently recieveing stereo on your TNT reception, call
your cable company back and make sure they don't recieve us as such;
there is nothing we can personally do to MAKE them broadcast us in
stereo, though, as we have no control over cable affiliates' operations.
And I can't suggest anything towards your efforts to make them recieve
us in stereo; my only suggestion: badger, badger, badger (or get a
satellite dish).

BUGS (LOGOS): The strong leaning in programming (and we know this won't
be a popular decision with fans) is to leave the SMALL, TRANSPARANT TNT
logo on the corner of the screen throughout a portion of the episodes.
This is something that we HAVE TO start doing to foster recognizability
of TNT, not just during B5, but during movies and LOIS AND CLARK and
everything on TNT.  Why?  Well, there are 70 channels out there for the
average cable subscriber to choose from (let's don't even get INTO
satellite).  In the age of remote controls, people don't pay attention
to channels or numbers or anything like that.  The days of "ABC's on 2,
NBC's on 11 and CBS is on 5" are over.  Networks must do something to
make themselves and their locations on your "dial" much more noticable
(Sci- Fi Channel keeps their bug up 24-7...).  Therefore, the logos
(bugs) will be a regular fixture on B5.  But, again, it will be
transparant logo, and very small. And, really, it probably won't be up
the WHOLE time...

VOICE-OVERS/SQUEEZE CREDITS DURING CLOSING CREDIT: In order to let them
know what's coming up next on our network (or any network) voice-overs
and, sometimes, squeeze credits are necessary to keep people with
shorter attention spans/low tolerance for credits tuned into the
network.  Squeeze credits will probably rarely be used.  But voice-overs
are guaranteed to be a daily staple on the B5 credits.   However, we
will relax our policy for the following episodes: "Chrysalis," "And Now
For A Word," "The Fall of Night," "Walkabout," "And The Rock Cried Out,
No Hiding Place," "Z'Ha'Dum," and "Atonement."  These episodes have been
flagged with a NO V.O. notice, in order to provide fans/viewers with one
episode a season where they can hear the theme music running over the
credits, as well as to avoid stepping on special audio material played
during the closing credits of various episodes.

VIDEO RELEASE OF B5:  I've been getting a few requests for the release
of B5 on video, and I just wanted to make clear to fans that TNT has
nothing to do with the manufacture, release, or sale of videotapes.  We
merely program the network. We leave the video/laserdisc end of the
business up to the Babylonian production team and Warner Brothers Home
Video (818-954-6429), whom I'm sure will seriously consider releasing B5
to video, if they feel they can make back their investment (which, one
would think, they can).

CANADIAN DISTRIBUTION:  Apparantly, as you probably know, it's very
difficult to get Canadian cable systems to carry TNT.  Canada requires
any Cable TV station being seen within their borders to have at least
10% Canadian-oriented programming, which we do not and will not have,
most probably.  I'm positive, though, that TNT has applied to the right
commissions and so forth in order to be carried in Canada, but nothing
has pannned out yet.  A bunch of Canadian fans have asked if we'd be
willing to let TBS have some B5 action, since Canadians CAN get TBS
(cause it's a superstation that goes out over satellite, rather than
cable, and as such, falls under differing Canadian communication
guidelines). The answer is: nope, TBS did not pay for the rights to
carry "Babylon 5," so TBS will not be airing it.  It's a TNT exclusive.
So we're back to square one. Now, I'm providing a response sent by the
CRTC (Canadian Radio and Television Commission) to a viewer who was
asking about the availability of TNT to Canadian viewers.  Here it is:

    "Thank you for contacting the CRTC, expressing interest in receiving
    the non-Canadian satellite service, TNT. It is important to note
    that the Commission authorizes carriage of non-Canadian satellite
    services through its Lists of Eligible Satellite Services (Public
    Notice CRTC 1997-19, enclosed).  You will notice that there are two
    lists, one that applies to Class I and some Class II cable systems,
    which generally serve large communities, and the other to smaller
    Class II and Part III cable systems located in more remote,
    underserved areas.

    "All requests for amendments to the lists are assessed in light of
    certain criteria, including the Commission's policy of not allowing
    the carriage of non-Canadian satellite services which can offer
    programming similar to Canadian pay and specialty services.  Such
    requests must originate with an acceptable Canadian sponsor, which
    could be a cable, pay television, or specialty service licensee.

    "In September 1996, the Commission began a public process to
    consider requests from eligible sponsors for additions to the lists.
    As you will see from the public notice 1997-17, no eligible sponsor
    has requested the Commission to consider adding TNT to the lists.
    You may wish to directly contact your cable television company to
    ensure it is aware of your concerns.  In turn, the cable company
    may, at some future date, request the Commission to consider adding
    TNT to the lists.

    "Thank you for taking the time to write.

    Forrest Greene
    Public Affairs, CRTC"

I know the above response seems a little like gobbedygook (there was an
attatchment to the original message that I think might have clarified
some stuff), but what I gather is that, if you want TNT in Canada, then
you're going to have to make some noise about it, either to these
"eligible sponsors" mentioned above, or to the CRTC (their e-mail
address is SMTP:[log in to unmask]). Sorry the news can't be better or more
detailed...

DISTRIBUTION FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD:  TNT's job is not to
internationally distribute TV series, B5 or otherwise, but is instead to
program a DOMESTIC cable network available in the United States.  When
it comes to all of this other stuff--international distribution,
videotape possibilities, DVD--Warner Brothers is the answer-giver!  We
didn't BUY "Babylon 5" lock, stock and barrel from WB--we just "rented"
it; they retain ownership--it's just that no one else domestically can
show the series, at least, for as long as our contracts go.  So, since
TNT bought, from Warner Brothers, the rights ONLY to show "Babylon 5" in
the United States, there are no plans on our end to make it available
for Canada, Australia, TNT Europe, TNT Asia, or TNT Latin America (all
of which, despite having TNT as part of their names, are separte
channels with completely separate operations and budgets and programming
agendas).  I know this is easy for me to say, but don't worry too
much--Warner Brothers knows of the desire of fans worldwide to see any
new Babylon 5 episodes or movies, and I'm sure they'll make
accomodations for you to see them, either by selling the movies/episodes
to TNT Asia, TNT Europe, and/or TNT Latin America, or to foreign
syndication, or at the very least to a videotape distributor (I know
that, in BRITAIN, for instance, they'll still continue to put 5th season
episodes and the new movies on videotape).  I don't work for Warner
Brothers Distribution or Home Video, though, so I can't tell you what
their plans are; all I can tell you is what's going on in my sphere of
knowledge, and that sphere pretty much begins and ends with TNT Domestic
(or, at the very most, the Turner side of Time/ Warner).  I'm working on
finding an e-mail address or phone number of someone in WB who can
troubleshoot in this regard, though; as soon as I find out who/where to
call, I'll amend this FAQ list.  Sorry I can't help more...

Well, hopefully, all this info answers any questions you may have about
our plans for B5.  Again, as fans ourselves, we're thrilled to be
carrying the series.  It's intelligently written, beautifully performed,
inpeccably crafted, and always incredibly exciting and ambitious--what
more could we want from a show? You all have our deepest gratitude for
taking the time to send us your congratulations and thanks!   We're very
much looking forward to having you guys as regular viewers in 1998!
Take care.

Dean Treadway @ TNT Programming



--
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|   Dirk A. Loedding               <*>               [log in to unmask]   |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

--
rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.info     <*>    archive:  http://ivory.ora.com/rastb5i/
a voice of the resistance    submissions to:  [log in to unmask]
truth commando squad    comments to:  [log in to unmask]
-***
-*** B5JMS SUBSCRIBERS: Replies to messages go to the list maintainer,
-*** <[log in to unmask]>.  If you want to reply elsewhere, adjust
-*** the "To" field.  The best way to reach JMS is to post to rastb5m, which
-*** can be done by sending email to <[log in to unmask]>.

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