To view this newsletter in HTML, visit:
http://abyss.hubbe.net/echo/viewtopic.php?t=401

FROM THE VALHALLA SECTOR
Issue 24 - August 24, 2003
==========================

1. Webmaster's Corner
2. Season Three News
3. Season Two News
4. Season One News
5. Jeremiah Cast News
6. Showtime Speaks
7. New At The Abyss
8. Forum Promotion Winners
9. Mediawatch
10. JMS Speaks
11. Coming Attractions
12. Conclusion


WEBMASTER'S CORNER
==================

Hello out there!

I was checking our Newsletter subscriber stats the other day and was very
happily surprised that we now have over 400 members in our Yahoo!Groups
version of the newsletter. That is truly amazing since I don't think
either Channe or I had any idea it would be so popular. Many thanks to all
members new and old. Hope you are enjoying the ride!

I have two things to highlight today about Jeremiah and the first is the
revised airdate of season two which Showtime posted on their web site
early in August. It looks like the start date has been pushed out a few
more weeks and will now air on Friday, October 10th at 10pm ET/PT.
Showtime probably wanted to wait until Dead Like Me was over (season
finale airs Sept 26th) so someone over there must have miscalculated the
dates originally.

Also according to Showtime's web site -- at least for the moment as the
date and time has changed a number of times already -- the season one
pilot episode will air on Saturday, October 4th at 10:45pm ET/PT. We are
trying to keep up with the changes and will let you know what appears on
their schedule for October next month.

The second bit of Jeremiah news we have is that JMS said he would not be
involved with season three -- if indeed there is to be another season
made. We can only hope that the present administration either gets their
act in gear or get replaced if we ever hope to see JMS in season three. I
will keep watching if it does get renewed but I am highly disappointed
that JMS won't be running the show as that was my main attraction to the
series in the first place. We shall see. Go to the JMS SPEAKS section
below to hear it from the horse.s mouth.

Anyway, you might be wondering why Channe isn't here with her witty words
but she has been furiously working away so that leaves me holding down the
fort all alone -- in the night. (Sorry, had to slip a B5 reference in
there!) I will be leaving for vacation tomorrow so I wanted to get this
newsletter out before I left. I get to go to Mickey Mouse land for a whole
week and let me tell you ... I am -so- looking forward to the break. It
has been one incredibly emotional and stressful summer and I can't think
of a better place to go revive myself.

Hope everyone else had a great summer!

--Monica--


SEASON THREE NEWS
=================

In addition to the news that JMS would not take part in season three if
there was indeed another season to be had (see the full quote in the JMS
Speaks section below), there have been other people speaking up about what
might have prompted this response.

Lee Whiteside of SFTV.org reported back from the Comic-Con event where JMS
made this statement and from what he said, it appeared fairly obvious that
MGM was not fully supporting Jeremiah. It was especially apparent during
the Jeremiah panel which immediately followed the Stargate one. The former
had no goodies, one Associate Producer and nothing else while the latter
had MGM executives, main stars of the show, goodie bags, raffle, footage
and more.

****

There have been some rumors passed along to us from people who have worked
on the set of Jeremiah and other Vancouver based shows. Some have heard
that production of season three could start in November or January,
depending on Luke's schedule. Still others are saying Jeremiah is a done
deal and there is no chance of another season. It really is anyone's guess
what is going on until we hear the official word from MGM or Showtime.


SEASON TWO NEWS
===============

Showtime has pushed the start date for season two back a few weeks so now
they are advertising that it will air on Friday, October 10th at 10pm
ET/PT. In addition, the season one pilot episode will air on Saturday,
October 4th at 10:45pm ET/PT.

****

Our thanks to The Futon Critic, Brian Ford Sullivan, who informed us that
even the TV Guide has been getting enough confused fans inquiring about
the second season air date that they published this information:

Aug.4.2003
Question: Do you know if Jeremiah will be moving on to a second season? I
upgraded to get Showtime, but unbeknownst to me, Showtime has many
channels now. If Jeremiah is playing, which Showtime channel would it be
on? -- J.

Matt: Jeremiah is returning for a second season on Oct. 10, with Sean
Astin joining the cast. Original episodes will air on the primary Showtime
channel on Friday nights just like before, but it's always possible that
multiple plays will be available on its splinter channels.

Source:
http://www.tvguide.com/tv/roush/mattask/030804a.asp

****

One of our Canadian forum members has keeping an eye out on The Movie
Network's web site for information about season two. Fmewler reported that
TMN originally announced a September 22nd airdate about the same time
Showtime announced their September airdate. However, when the date got
moved to October on Showtime and TMN's date stayed the same, we were a bit
jealous that those Canadians would get the new season before us. Well, we
are jealous no more because TMN's online schedule has been updated so
season two will now premiere on October 13th at 8pm ET.

For more information, visit:
http://abyss.hubbe.net/echo/viewtopic.php?t=369


SEASON ONE NEWS
===============

Thanks to TM Operative CaptDS9E who reported that episodes #12-20 of
season one are available on Showtime Demand. Check to see if it is offered
in your area and hopefully they will make the rest of the season available
soon.

For more information, visit:
http://abyss.hubbe.net/echo/viewtopic.php?t=387

****

Don't forget that the Canadian's get to see Jeremiah this fall on the
Global network which is similar to the cable network in the States because
it relies on commercials to generate revenue. Canada does have less strict
policies on nudity and language as long as they are shown after 9pm. We
haven't been able to find an online schedule for Global so we hope someone
will be kind enough to provide schedule information that we can add to our
web site.


JEREMIAH CAST NEWS
==================

We read this on the TrekBBS from "Raoul the Red Shirt" who apparently had
a conversation with Sean Astin a few weeks ago.

Q: Does his character in Jeremiah appear through the whole season, or just
a few episodes at the beginning?

A: He said his character appears in 13 of the 15 episodes, and that he
also directs one of the episodes. He said he had fun hanging w/ J. Michael
Straczynski (sp?), Luke and Malcolm.

****

More information about Sean Astin's character, Mister Smith, was revealed
at Comic-Con 2003. This was what Comics2Film reported earlier this month:

"Our second season is everything we wanted the first season to be," said
executive producer/writer J. Michael Straczynski at the recent Comic-Con
International.

Sean Astin joins the returning Luke Perry and Malcolm Jamal Warner in the
Jeremiah cast as Mr. Smith.

"Mr. Smith is a guy who hears from God on a regular basis," Straczynski
said. "You're never he really sure if he really hears from God or he's
just nuts. We walk a very fine line. He's a really cool addition to our
show this season."

Tired of life and the horrible things that are happening to the world and
himself, Mr. Smith tries to commit suicide and is drowning, when he hears
a voice say, "Not yet. We have work to do." And he is washed ashore.

"Why would a wave washing him up on shore scare everybody?" Straczynski
said. "Well, it was a lake."

****

If you like Theo as much as we do and were wondering if she survived or
got caught by Valhalla Sector ... well, we don.t know the specifics but
she is back and apparently working with the folks at Thunder Mountain.
Check out our clip where Theo appears in the season two promo in the NEW
AT THE ABYSS section below.

****

Enid-Raye Adams, who will play a recurring character named Gina in season
two of Jeremiah, stopped by THE ABYSS and let us know what she has been up
to. She first caught our eye as Firell in the B5 movie, Legend of the
Rangers but we have caught her playing roles all over the place like
Stargate, Breaking News, Dead Like Me and more.

Go see what she wrote and drop her a note and say hello!
http://abyss.hubbe.net/echo/viewtopic.php?t=356

****

Finally, we heard from a cast member who appeared briefly in season one
last year and they told us that their character will be back in season
two. We cannot reveal who this character is until that episode airs but it
will be interesting to see why they came back and what kind of effect they
will have on the show. Stay tuned!


SHOWTIME SPEAKS
===============

TM Operative Emmett from our forums reported the following response from
Showtime's "help" section:

Response (Tony) 08/05/2003 11:50 AM
The second season premiere of the Showtime Original Series JEREMIAH -
scheduled to air on Friday, September 19 at 10pm - has been moved to
Friday, October 10 at 10pm. New episodes from this 2nd season will air
throughout October.


NEW AT THE ABYSS
================

Two new promotional clips have been spotted on Showtime and they both make
us wish the new season would start right away. We have grabbed copies of
these clips and posted them on our web site. Let us know if you see any
new ones!
http://abyss.hubbe.net/jeremiah/gallery/clips_s2.html

****

FAQ Updated! Find out the answers to these frequently asked questions:

* When will Jeremiah air in my country?
* When will season two premiere?
* Now that season one is in the can, when can we expect the series to be
released on DVD?

http://abyss.hubbe.net/jeremiah/faq.html

****

Added a quote from JMS about the character of Mister Smith (played by Sean
Astin):
http://abyss.hubbe.net/jeremiah/cast/main.html

****

Updated the episode list for season two as the two episodes, "Crossing
Jordan" and "Running on Empty" were out of order:
http://abyss.hubbe.net/jeremiah/eps/

Also, we added some new quotes from JMS about season two:
http://abyss.hubbe.net/jeremiah/eps/s2.html

****

Forum promotional winners announced:
http://abyss.hubbe.net/jeremiah/excl/promos.html

****

Even though it is still a rumor, we are hopeful it will come true so we
added a page for the season one boxed set DVDs for Jeremiah:
http://abyss.hubbe.net/jeremiah/shop/boxed.html

****

Who is Your Favorite Character?

Vote for your favorite character in the poll we created on our forums. You
have to be a registered member to vote but it only takes a few minutes.
Currently Markus is leading by a hair over Kurdy so if you want to make
your voice heard, hop on over to our forums and let us know:
http://abyss.hubbe.net/echo/viewtopic.php?t=266

****

Celebrate the end of summer with a CafePress.com sale! Women's Tank Tops,
Jr. Spaghetti Tanks, Men's Tank Tops and Visors are $2 off. In addition to
the summer sale, spend $40 or more and receive $4 off your order. Coupon
code: GIZMO (Offers expire September 1, 2003)

"Big J" Jr. Spaghetti Tank
http://abyss.hubbe.net/gfx/covers/jtv/shop/5636938.jpg
http://www.cafeshops.com/cp/prod.aspx?p=abyss_logos.5636938

NEW! You will now be able to choose either yellow or gray for the
Messenger Bags.

"Vengeance" Yellow Messenger Bag
http://abyss.hubbe.net/gfx/covers/jtv/shop/4462909.jpg
http://www.cafeshops.com/cp/prod.aspx?p=abyss_jeremiah.4462909

For more information, visit:
http://abyss.hubbe.net/jeremiah/shop/cp.html


FORUM PROMOTION WINNERS
=======================

We ended up with 143 registered members on Jul.31.2003 so that means we
selected at least five winners and they got to choose from the first five
prizes listed below. Congratulations to our winners and because we had
duplicates of many of these prizes, we had enough to award gifts to three
runners up as well! Please stop by our forums and congratulate these
winners:

* Kaleb (Random Scottish Nutcase #3) won the Earth Alliance Uniform Pin
* Mertu (Sean O'Connell from Arizona, USA) won the Tribulations Novel
* fmewler (Michael R. Belanger from Toronto, Canada) won the Jeremiah
Survival Kit
* wolfhound (Shaun from Florida, USA) won the Tribulations Novel
* kurdy27 (Jordi Seco Oller from Barcelona, Spain) won the Jeremiah: Gun
in the Water Trade Paperback

Runners Up:

* Rubel (Allan Anderson from California, USA) won the Jeremiah Survival
Kit
* Siggy (International Woman of Mystery) won the Babylon 5 Station Pin
* janmschroeder (Jan Schroeder from Florida, USA) won the Tribulations
Novel


MEDIAWATCH
==========

We missed this notification in our last newsletter but Thunder Mountain
Operative Drea reported that there was a "3 page section on season two of
Jeremiah" in the most recent issue of Dreamwatch (#107) which is a
magazine published in the UK. I have a bugger of a time finding the
magazine in the States (or even ordering it online) so any help from the
UK fans on how to acquire this magazine would be appreciated! More from
Drea about the article:

"Was lovely to see a decent section dedicated to Peter too...and some nice
pics.

The majority of the article, The Long Road, is a pretty good summation of
the show so far and what S2 is gonna bring in, including Sean Astin. The
one to enjoy is the lovely little bit dedicated to Markus -- 'A Means To
An End. Peter Stebbings is rebuilding the world from Thunder Mountain'."

****

Nothing really new to report from MGM's SciFi Newsletter. It is still
showcasing July's content, which was filled to the brim with Stargate
articles. Where the heck is the information about Jeremiah? Well, the
reason we brought it up here is that it does appear to have a new look ...
magenta?!
http://www.mgm.com/scifi/index2.html

****

London's Alternate Universe convention is taking place November 14-16 of
this year and they have been announcing many interesting guests including
some great Jeremiah folks:

PETER STEBBINGS (Jeremiah, Stargate SG-1)
JR BOURNE (Stargate SG-1, Jeremiah)
SARAH DOUGLAS (Babylon 5, Superman)
KENT McCORD (Farscape, JAG)
BRIAN W ALDISS (British SF Author)
MARC CASS (2nd Unit Action Director & Stunt Coordinator)

For more information, visit:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/L3conventions/
http://www.L3conventions.co.uk/

****

Dragon*Con 2003 is America's largest annual convention for fans of science
fiction, fantasy and horror, comics and art, games and computers,
animation, science, music, television and films, will be held Friday
through Monday, August 29th - Sept. 1st, 2003 in downtown Atlanta,
Georgia, USA.

If any of you lucky dogs are able to attend this convention, please pop by
our forums and give us the lowdown on what happened:
http://abyss.hubbe.net/echo/

****

TV Zone Issue #164
Summer 2003
http://www.visimag.com/tvzone/t164_display.htm

Babylon 5: Creator J Michael Straczynski concludes his look at Season Two.


JMS SPEAKS
==========

Aug.23.2003
-----------
Because the first issue [of Supreme Power], even at a 100,000+ print run,
has sold out pretty much everywhere, the book has been made available free
online at:
http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazines/wizard/WZ20030815-sp_1.cfm

Aug.16.2003
-----------
I have this kind of antiquated notion that if someone gives you x-million
bucks to make a show, it behooves you to act *responsibly*. So really it's
just a matter of being responsible in how you run a show.

As a result, in every season of every show I've run, we always came in
under budget, anywhere from $100K to $500K. When I said I'd do that on
Jeremiah, they kind of laughed at me, 'cause it was a big show, big names,
big production values...we came in about $300K under in year 1, and about
$200K under in year 2.

On B5, Crusade and Jeremiah, we never had a forced call on an actor, never
had actors waiting around for pages to arrive on stage. We stay 5-6
scripts ahead at all times, so directors can prep efficiently. And in 5
years of B5 plus Crusade, we had maybe 20 days of any serious overtime. On
Jeremiah I think we had a total of 18 over two seasons.

Just a matter of being responsible with other people's money.

Aug.12.2003
-----------
Can a series change producers? Could Jeremiah be picked up from MGM by
someone else, and continued? Has this level of shuttling occurred before?

In sequence...yes, yes, and it happens all the time.

Jul.30.2003
-----------

Jeremiah had lain moribund at Showtime and Lion's Gate for *five years*.
They couldn't get it off the ground. Finally, they said, "Well, there's
always Joe." After the usual lie-down, they called...and it went from a
nearly-dead project to on the air for two years.

And as I write this, I have two new series in development, at least in the
formal pitching and development stage with studios attached, and I've
barely left Jeremiah. I've had to turn down other requests for TV series
development because you can really only do two max at a time, one in first
position, the other in second. No network or studio will take you in third
position.


COMING ATTRACTIONS
==================

USA: Showtime
-------------
We don't see any episodes airing on Showtime's main channel or SHOWTIME
BEYOND for July through September. Check to see if you get Showtime on
Demand in your area as that might be the only way to see any season one
episodes before season two starts.

For more information, visit:
http://abyss.hubbe.net/jeremiah/eps/sch_us.html

CANADA: Adrenaline Drive
------------------------
Wow, they blew through the entire season one episodes this month by
showing them twice each weekday so we hope you had a chance to catch them.
I wonder if this means Movie Central will also be showing season two soon?

For more information, visit:
http://abyss.hubbe.net/jeremiah/eps/sch_ca.html#ad

CANADA: The Movie Network
-------------------------
They skipped over a number of episodes in season one so they could wrap up
the season by the end of August. Also, season two will premiere in
October!

Aug.25.2003 @ 9:00 PM (ET)
S1 #20: Things Left Unsaid (Part 2)

Oct.13.2003 @ 8:00 PM (ET)
S2 #1: Letters from the Other Side (Part 1)

Oct.20.2003 @ 8:00 PM (ET)
S2 #2: Letters from the Other Side (Part 2)

Oct.27.2003 @ 9:00 PM (ET)
S2 #3: Strange Attractors

For more information, visit:
http://abyss.hubbe.net/jeremiah/eps/sch_ca.html#tmn2

FRANCE: CineFaz
---------------
Tom Hobbes from B5TV told us that there are no repeats on CineFaz'
schedule after the season one finale.

For more information, visit:
http://abyss.hubbe.net/jeremiah/eps/sch_fr.html

NEW ZEALAND: Sky Network
------------------------
It does not look like Sky Network will be repeating Jeremiah after the
season one finale on Mar.23.2003.

For more information, visit:
http://abyss.hubbe.net/jeremiah/eps/sch_nz.html

UNITED KINGDOM: Sky One
-----------------------
It does not look like Sky One will be repeating Jeremiah after the season
one finale on May.10.2003. We highly encourage you to contact SkyOne to
let them know that enjoy watching this series and please inform them that
season two is going to air in the States on October 10th, 2003.

There is still no word on when season two will air in the UK but let us
know if you hear anything!

For more information, visit:
http://abyss.hubbe.net/jeremiah/eps/sch_uk.html

SOUTH AFRICA: SABC3
-------------------
We don't have this schedule confirmed after June 20th so if you can
confirm it for us, do drop us a line. The season one finale should have
aired recently so let us know what you think! There is no sign of any
repeats for season one or when season two will air either.

For more information, visit:
http://abyss.hubbe.net/jeremiah/eps/sch_za.html

ISRAEL: ICP Channel 3
---------------------
The season one finale is almost upon you!

Aug.30.2003 @ 11:30 PM (IDT)
#19: Things Left Unsaid (Part 1)

Sep.6.2003 @ 11:30 PM (IDT)
#20: Things Left Unsaid (Part 2)

For more information, visit:
http://abyss.hubbe.net/jeremiah/eps/sch_il.html


CONCLUSION
==========

This is going to be a bit long today because I just can't help but share
this story with you. It makes me proud to be a fan of JMS' work because
his fans are some of the greatest people I have ever met.

I am happy to report that because of our forum promotion and the decision
to keep giving away more items, it lead to something quite wonderful and
magical for many more people than I could have imagined.

Jan Schroeder had won a copy of Tribulations in our promotion but I knew
that she most likely already had a copy. Her collection of JMS things is
quite impressive and if you haven't seen her eBay auctions, you are really
missing out. I was determined to work out another deal with her because it
just seemed silly to give her something she already had. It turns out that
she was thinking of auctioning off her extra copies of the same novel on
eBay and considered tossing the one she won from me in with them.

Well, we had both been touched by the story JMS shared with everyone on
the moderated newsgroup about the extraordinary efforts he went through in
order to save a tiny, helpless kitten. When asked what the fans could do
to help, JMS simply suggested making a donation to a Kitten Rescue group
who had helped him out in the past. With that in mind, Jan decided to
auction off the extra books and donate the proceeds to the kitten
organization. I thought I would help make the auction a little more
interesting so I offered to donate my signed copy of Tribulations to her
auction. Jan got very excited about it and ended up chipping in a few more
items. Soon enough, we had some really fantastic B5/JMS items in our
charity auctions.

It turned out more successful than we had hoped for since we raised over
$200! The great thing about the company I work for is that they match 100%
of my donation so the Kitten Rescue should get about $500 total. When I
emailed them to let them know about our efforts, they were so thrilled and
said my email made their day.

I just wanted to thank everyone who participated or even just looked at
the auctions. It really is remarkable what just two people can do!

Well, it is time for me to go back to packing for my holiday. Tata!


Monica & Channe
---------------

To reach Monica, ABYSS guru and all-around fantastic gal, write to
abyss@...

Newsletter editor Channe is working hard doing stuff that pays the bills
but you can contact her at channethewriter@...