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From: John Dobbin <[e-mail]>
Newsgroups: alt.tv.vr5,alt.answers,news.answers
Subject: alt.tv.vr5 Survival Guide
Followup-To: poster
Organization: Virtual Storm
Approved: [e-mail]
Summary: Essential tips and hints for new alt.tv.vr5 readers.
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Last-updated: June 1, 2001

                   alt.tv.vr5  SURVIVAL GUIDE


Welcome to alt.tv.vr5, an unmoderated newsgroup devoted to the
discussion of Fox's science fiction/drama TV series "VR.5."
   Please read this Survival Guide before posting.


News For June
 - - - - -

FAQ News

1.) I have completely gutted and cleaned up the FAQ.
2.) All of the websites listed have been checked and the ones no longer
around are cancelled.
3.) Email addresses have been checked and/or updated. Corporate profiles
have been updated.

***Series News***

*John Sacret Young's new series Level 9 (2000) is cancelled by UPN.*

*Rhino Records has issued video/DVD releases of the VR.5 series. Go to their
web site at http://www.rhino.com for details. Some people who have ordered
the tapes say that they do not have the music in some scenes because they
have not acquired the rights. For people who love the music from Sarah
McLachlan or Dee Carstensen, the best bet for the full 13 episodes uncut
lies in seeing it on cable.*

*The Sci-Fi Network ran VR.5 in 1999. The details are available from
http://www.scifi.com/. Further repeats are planned but the series isn't
listed at present.*

*The Space Channel in Canada repeatedly runs VR.5 for the year 2000.*

*Lori Singer (Sydney) has nominally left the TV and film industry save
for an appearance in the Canadian film Bach Cello Suite #4: Sarabande
released in 1997 and directed by Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter).*

*Michael Easton (Duncan) appears in two mini series. The first was The 70s
(200) and other Diamond Hunters (2001). His second Canadian series after
"Two" of 1997 was cancelled. He was the star of the Alliance Atlantis series
Total Recall: 2070. The show was not picked up for a second season.*

*Anthony Stewart Head (Oliver) continues with the long running Buffy,
Vampire Slayer in 2001 on WB (moving to UPN fall of 2001) Network playing
Rupert Giles. He is also in the film Best Actress (2000) playing Colin
Tromans. He also appears in Rock Star (2001), Rocky Horror 25: Anniversary
Special (2000).*

*Tracey Needham (Sam) returns to series television with the show The
Division (2001) airing on the Lifetime Network. Her character's name:
Inspector Candace (C. D.) DeLorenzo. Needham also starred in Steven Bochco's
Total Security in 1997. It was cancelled after a few episodes. She also
starred in the 1997 TV movie Buried Alive 2. She had one movie in 1998
called Justice where she played Gina, a Federal Prosecutor on the run from
Columbian drug lords. Justice also stars James Belushi, Charles Durning and
JoBeth Williams. It airs on Cinemax in 2000.*

*Will Patton (Dr. Morgan) appears in The Mothman Prophecies (2001) and was
in Remember the Titans (2000) playing Coach Bill Yoast. He appeared in
Trixie (2000) and was in Armageddon playing Charles (Chick) Chapple in 1998.
Perhaps the working-est actor in Hollywood film of all the cast. He had a
few films out in 1999: Entrapment (1999) where he played Cruz,  Breakfast of
Champions (1999) where he played Moe and Jesus' Son (1999). He has two films
out for the year 2000. The first is: Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000) where he
plays  Atley Jackson. The second is: Remember the Titans (2000) where he
plays Coach Yoast.*

*Louise Fletcher (Mrs. Bloom) has various films in production. She is in
Finding Home (2001), Manna From Heaven (2001), After Image (2000),
Silver Man (2000), More Dogs Than Bones (2000), Very Mean Men (2000).
She played Kai Winn in Deep Space 9 and as Jack's mother in Profiler
in 1998.*

*David McCallum (Dr. Bloom) has various movies in production Cherry
(1999) playing Mammy. He also had a recurring role in Team Knightrider
(1997).*

*Markie Post (Alex) was in the series Odd Man Out (1999) TV Series as
Julia Whitney. She was also in the 1998 TV movie "I've Been Waiting for
You" as Rosemary Zoltanne. She was in "There's Something About Mary" (1998)
playing Mrs. Jensen.*

*Composer John Frizzell composed music for "Alien: Resurrection" in 1997 and
Mafia! in 1998. "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" (1998) and   "Office
Space" (1999).*

*Writer Jackie Blain was head writer on the CBS series "Martial Law". She
was a writer on "Diagnosis Murder" in 1998.*

*Producer John Sacret Young filmed the mini-series "Thanks of a Grateful
Nation" in 1998 in Canada. He is the executive for the TV movie Sirens (1999).*

*Jeannine Renshaw is a writer for the series "Angel" in 1999/2000.*

*Michael Easton (Duncan) has guest appearances on the runaway success series
Ally McBeal on FOX in 1998. The actor also sold his Montgomery Clift script
to a studio for production.*

*Doug Herzog, FOX president is fired from the the network in 2000. Gail
Berman became the new president in the same year.*

*Former FOX president John Matioan became WB TV president in 1999.

   KEEPING VR.5 ALIVE

  [Some definitions:  Samoset Productions created and produced VR.5;
   Rysher Entertainment distributed VR.5; Fox broadcast VR.5 on
   U.S. TV.]

    Fox Broadcasting Co. <www.fox.com> cancelled VR.5 on
      22 May 1995 because of low ratings, internal friction between
      members of the cast and crew, disagreements between VR.5's
      production companies and Fox, high production costs, and cost
      overruns.  Each episode had cost up to $1.5 million to produce,
      and the dismal ratings picture couldn't justify the expense.
    Nine days later, fans organized themselves into an Internet-based
      group called Virtual Storm, dedicated to keeping VR.5 alive.
    After six months of intense lobbying by phone and mail, Virtual
      Storm's members had succeeded in persuading VR.5 producers at
      Samoset Productions to begin working on a two-hour, made-for-TV
      VR.5 movie for Fox.  European backers supported the idea and
      had the money in place for Rysher Entertainment to go ahead
      with it, and Fox had approved the movie and given Samoset/Rysher
      the go-ahead.
    It looked as if the movie was all set to be produced.  VR.5 writer
      Jeannine Renshaw even confirmed it at an America Online conference.
      But for reasons that
      remain unclear, Fox reportedly pulled out at the request of Bob
      Greenblatt, Fox's vice president for programming.  This effectively
      put the movie in limbo.

***Rysher, VR.5 Executive Producer John Sacret Young, and a few
members of the cast/crew are still eager to do the movie.  But without Fox's
support, it's dead.***

    If you're from a big company in the TV distribution arena and you
      think VR.5 has potential, contact FOX <www.fox.com>.
    Writers at Samoset had completed at least two drafts of the movie's
      storyline by the time Fox withdrew its support.
    FOX president John Matoian was removed from office September 1996.
He was replaced by Peter Roth who was fired in 1998. He was replaced
by Doug Herzog in 1998 who was replaced by Gail Berman in 2000.

   VR.5 MERCHANDISE

  + Virtual Storm sent a formal proposal to Rysher to obtain the rights
      to produce VR.5-themed T-shirts, mugs, keychains, acoustic modems
      and other related items.  Rysher rejected the proposal.
      We can only speculate that they believe the rights to VR.5 could be
      valuable in the future.
  + In a letter related to the merchandising situation, Paul Eagleton,
      vice president of domestic television marketing at Rysher,
      expressed his support for Virtual Storm's efforts.


   E-MAIL ADDRESS CHANGES

  [The following people, who have offered services to the online VR.5
   community, have changed their e-mail contact addresses since the
   VR.5 FAQ's last update.]

  + Jonathan Gan, who used to be <[e-mail]>, is now
      <[e-mail]> but maybe now unavailable.
  + John Dobbin, who is now [e-mail] or
      [e-mail]
  + Augie De Blieck Jr., who used to be <[e-mail]> and
      <[e-mail]>, is now <[e-mail]>. He still
      receives mail at his old address if the first one is down.
  + David Shaler, who used to be <[e-mail]> and
      <[e-mail]>, is now <[e-mail]>.
  + Lisa Cunningham, who used to be <[e-mail]>, was
      <[e-mail]> was Skatha Ceoltoir
      <[e-mail]> but now <[e-mail]>
  + Michele Santiago, who used to be <[e-mail]>, and used
      to be <[e-mail]> is now <[e-mail]>.

    VR.5 FAQ

  * Jonathan Gan began writing and organizing the FAQ in September 1995.
      No guesses yet as to when it'll be finished. Augie De Blieck Jr. has
now taken over the project. The FAQ is availbale at:
     <http://www.nic.com/~augie/vr5/index.htm>.

sources say...
 - - - - -
  No one has stepped forward, non-anonymously, to either confirm or deny
  any of the following.

  + John Dobbin says the VR.5 movie's storyline "was to feature stronger
      roles of Anthony Head and Michael Easton.  Word remains that
      Tracey Needham's availability was in question because of JAG on
      NBC (now CBS).  Lori Singer is between opportunities at the moment."

resources
 - - - - -
  [NOTE:  For clarity, the Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) of
   VR.5-related resources available on the Web and by ftp are enclosed
   in angle brackets within this Survival Guide.  For example:
   <http://www.ibm.com/> or <ftp://ftp.eskimo.com/u/r/raquele/>.
      Drop the angle brackets when you're typing URLs into Web browsers
   like Netscape, Mosaic, and Microsoft Internet Explorer.]

  VR.5 FAQ.
     The main FAQ is your definitive guide to VR.5, with character
     biographies, episode summaries, reviews, resources, trivia, and
     answers to your most niggling plot questions about the show.
        When it's finished, it'll be posted monthly to alt.tv.vr5,
     rec.arts.sf.tv, rec.arts.tv, alt.answers, rec.answers, and
     news.answers.  You can also get it:

        + By ftp at <ftp://archive.egr.msu.edu/pub/vr5/vr5fact.txt> and
            <ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/tv/vr5-faq/>.
        + On the Web at
           <http://www.nic.com/~augie/vr5/index.htm>
        + By e-mailing <[e-mail]> with a message
            containing the command "send usenet/news.answers/tv/vr5-faq/*"
            (without quotes).  Leave the subject blank.

 Web sites.
     <http://www.clubi.ie/lestat/vr5jpg.html>
     <http://www.cs.ruu.nl/wais/html/na-bng/alt.tv.vr5.html>
     <http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bill/e309m/final/drapes/tech.htm>
     <http://www.planetx.com/vr5/>

movie madness
 - - - - -
  Help us in our quest to convince Fox and Rysher that they should
  produce and broadcast a two-hour VR.5 movie.

    [1]  Sign the VR.5 Movie Petition, if you haven't already done so.
         E-mail <[e-mail]> with your name, e-mail address,
         and location, if you agree with the following:

           We the undersigned support FOX in creating a 2 hour VR.5 for
           their Tuesday Night Movie of the Week slot.  We would like to
           see the original cast and crew back in action and realize
           that this might be the only way to get our program back on
           the network. Thank you FOX for your consideration.

         For example, I might send this info:

           Jonathan Gan [e-mail] San Jose, California, USA

             If you have family members or friends who also like VR.5,
         please include their names, e-mail addresses (if any), and
         locations.
         You may also use Laura Smith's web site to register your petition
         <http://www.ilap.com/~ljsmith/vr5-petition1.html>.
             As of the date of this Guide, the Petition contains over 900
         names from Portugal, Canada, the United Kingdom (including
         Scotland), the United States, Germany, Norway, Ireland,
         South Africa, Estonia, Belgium, France and Australia.  Updates
         to the Petition are posted occasionally to the newsgroup.
            Our goal is to reach over 1000 names.  We're told that the
         petition's already had a substantial impact on the Powers That
         Be; when we're at 1000, we'll send copies of the petition to
         Fox, Rysher and Samoset, and make an even bigger splash.

    [2]  Write short letters to Fox Broadcasting expressing your support
         for a two-hour VR.5 movie.  Also, please mention that you're a
         member of Virtual Storm, the Internet-based fan group dedicated
         to promoting VR.5.
            Send your letters to:

         Gail Berman
         President, Fox Entertainment Group
         Fox Broadcasting Company
         10201 West Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035
         Phone: [phone]
         Web: www.fox.com

other fox addresses:

Christina Kounelias, Senior Vice President
Publicity and Corporate Communications Corporate Communications
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-Mail: [e-mail]

Thomas Tyrer, Vice President
Publicity and Corporate Communications Corporate Communications
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-Mail: [e-mail]

President, FOX Television Entertainment Group: Sandy Grushow
President, Entertainment: Gail Berman

quick q&a
 - - - - -
  + What's with the "VR5 digest" messages?

       The VR5 mailing list, where lots of discussion happens, is piped
    into alt.tv.vr5 via the "VR5 digest" posts, so folks like you in the
    newsgroup can see what's happening.  In fact, some people at Samoset,
    Rysher, and Fox use the newsgroup solely as a way to monitor the
    happenings at Virtual Storm.

  + How do I join the VR5 mailing list?

       Go to palnetx.com and follow the links.

       Replace "My Name" with your first and last name, or with your
    e-mail address if you prefer to remain anonymous.
       If this isn't working, or if you'd like an easier way to
    subscribe, you can do so by filling out the form on the World-Wide
    Web at any one of these sites:

  + What episodes were broadcast, and in what order?
  + I forgot what happened in episode [something].
  + I missed some episodes.  Where can I get copies of them?
  + I live in the U.S., and didn't get to see the missing episodes.

    Here are all the episodes that were produced, in order:

          Title
          -----------------------------------
          1.   Pilot
          2.   Dr. Strangechild
          3.   Sisters (*)
          4.   Love and Death
          5.   5D
          6.   Escape
          7.   Facing the Fire
          8.   Simon's Choice
          9.   Send Me An Angel (*)
          10.  Control Freak
          11.  The Many Faces of Alex
          12.  Parallel Lives (*)
          13.  Reunion

        (*) = "Sisters," "Send Me An Angel," and "Parallel Lives" were
              not broadcast in the U.S.  They're called the "missing
              episodes," and were broadcast in countries like Canada,
              Norway, and the U.K.

    Descriptions of all 13 episodes are included in the main VR.5 FAQ.
       Rysher has not released plans for VR.5 videotapes.  If you want
    copies of any of these episodes, or if you live in the U.S. and
    didn't get to see the missing episodes, several members of Virtual
    Storm will be happy to copy them for you for the cost of tapes and
    shipping.
       Please send a request to John Dobbin at <[e-mail]>,
    and he'll forward it to the people who can help you.

       Sky TV in the U.K. broadcast VR.5 out of order:

          Title
          -----------------------------------
          1.   Pilot
          2.   Dr. Strangechild
          4.   Love and Death
          5.   5D
          6.   Escape
          7.   Facing the Fire
          8.   Simon's Choice
          10.  Control Freak
          11.  The Many Faces of Alex
          9.   Send Me An Angel (*)
          13.  Reunion
          12.  Parallel Lives (*)

       They left out "Sisters" to make room for an "X-Files" documentary.

  + I'm new to the Net.

    Welcome!
       Please go to news.announce.newusers and read all of the posts
    there.  If you have questions, post them in the newsgroup
    news.newusers.questions.
       The most important article in news.announce.newusers you should
    read is Chuq Von Rospach's "A Primer on How to Work With the
    Usenet Community."  Here's the "Summary of Things to Remember" he
    put at the end of it:


                       Summary of Things to Remember


       Never forget that the person on the other side is human.
       Don't blame system admins for their users' behavior.
       Never assume that a person is speaking for their organization.
       Be careful what you say about others.
       Be brief.
       Your postings reflect upon you; be proud of them.
       Use descriptive titles
       Think about your audience.
       Be careful with humor and sarcasm.
       Only post a message once.
       Please rotate material with questionable content.
       Summarize what you are following up.
       Use mail, don't post a follow-up.
       Read all follow-ups and don't repeat what has already been said.
       Double-check follow-up newsgroups and distributions.
       Be careful about copyrights and licenses.
       Cite appropriate references.
       When summarizing, summarize.
       Mark or rotate answers or spoilers.
       Spelling flames considered harmful.
       Don't overdo signatures.
       Limit line length and avoid control characters.
       Please do not use Usenet as a resource for homework assignments.
       Please do not use Usenet as an advertising medium.
       Avoid posting to multiple newsgroups.


  + What are the asterisks?

       If asterisks surround a word, like *this*, read the word as if
    it's emphasized.

  + What is a flame?

       An emotional, often personal attack on another person's article.
    "I disagree with your statement because of X" is not a flame,
    whereas "I disagree with your moronic statement and the fact that
    you would say such a thing proves you're a moronic idiot" is.
       Flames are strongly discouraged (and rarely appear) in
    alt.tv.vr5.

  + What is a lurker?

       Someone who reads a group, but doesn't post.  Doing so is called
    "lurking."

  + What is VR.5?

       Fox says it's "a science fiction/drama series that follows an
    ordinary telephone lineswoman who tinkers with the technology of
    virtual reality and is enlisted by a secret organization to aid in
    assignments that require more than conventional methods of solution."

  + What is Virtual Storm?

       A group of fans who like and promote VR.5.  For information on
    what they do, and how to join, please see the VR.5 Mini FAQ.

  + What is:
       Syd?             Sydney Bloom
       Sam?             Samantha Bloom
       Dunc?            Duncan
       VR?              virtual reality
       TC?              The Committee
       The Other?       the person who is brought into VR
       PTB?             the Powers That Be (like: "Oh, if only the PTB
                          renew VR.5...")
       OS?              Oliver Sampson (usually: "OS/ASH")
       ASH?             Anthony Stewart Head
       VS, VStorm?      Virtual Storm
       JSY?             John Sacret Young, VR.5 executive producer/creator
       TSJ?             Thania St. John, VR.5 co-executive producer
       Stormers,
        Virtual
        Stormers?       members of Virtual Storm
       SaRF?            Samoset/Rysher/FOX
       LS?              Lori Singer
       MOW?             Movie of the Week.  The abbreviation is used
                          here to refer to the two-hour VR.5 movie
                          that's now in limbo.

  + Tell me about alt.tv.vr5.

       alt.tv.vr5 used to receive over 500 posts a week.  Now we're down
    to around 10 posts on a good week.  :-)
       The newsgroup seems to hit periods of peak traffic -- 120 posts a
    day in July 1995, for example -- and slowness (6 posts a week in mid
    -May) from time to time.  alt.tv.vr5 has now been accepted at thousands
    of Usenet sites worldwide.
       It's received thousands posts since it was created on 26 March
    1995 and re-created on 7 May 1995 (following accepted procedure).
    There have been participants from the United States, Canada, the
    United Kingdom (including Scotland), Norway, Australia, Germany,
    Switzerland, Portugal, Ireland, Argentina, South Africa and
    Mexico, Singapore, Israel.

  + Tell me about the alt.tv.vr5 Survival Guide.

       This Survival Guide is compiled and updated by John Dobbin and
    posted weekly to alt.tv.vr5, alt.answers, and news.answers.  You can
    also find it:

       + By e-mail:
           Send a message to <[e-mail]> containing the
           command "send usenet/news.answers/tv/vr5-faq/survival-guide"
           (without quotes).  Leave the subject blank.



Thanks for visiting, and welcome to the Game!

--

John Dobbin
[e-mail]

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

(With the invaluable assistance of Jonathan Gan.)

           "With all this talk before Congress about
            installing "V" chips in future TVs so parents
            can block out violence for their children, it
            gave me an idea.
              The VR.5 Chip.  No matter what channel you
            tune to, you get nothing but VR.5.
              I could live with this, as long as the TV
            had a Babylon 5 chip installed too."
                                                --Stanley,
                             "Spokesman for the Committee,"
                                        28th August, 1995