World Watch OnLine: The Unofficial Buckaroo Banzai Mailing List
# 95 (8 August 1999)
Submissions: WWatchOne@aol.com
Editor: WWatchOne@aol.com
Homepage: http://www.worldwatchonline.com
FAQ: http://www.figmentfly.com/bb/bbindex.shtml
Official BB site: http://www.banzai-institute.com

Number of subscribers: 552
(NOTE: anyone who doesn't have an "@something" behind their name is
from 'aol.com.')

Contents:
Greetings
Buckaroo Haiku Submission
The entire gun business
Buckaroo sighting
Re: World Watch OnLine 94 - 1 August 1999 
Thoughts on new Casting
Buckaroo Haiku Submission
BB being shown on the Sci-Fi channel  	
Dragon Tales
Lock and Key, Chapter 12, pt.2

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Greetings,

Well, well... Coupla more submissions for Dragons novel contest. An important
reminder from Lady Rhian. And, tho I kinda said otherwise last time, another
gun post. Again, probably the last one. At least if/until the FOX thing
flies and we see how they handle the issue. 

Later...
ArcLight

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Subj:	Buckaroo Haiku Submission
Date:	8/1/99 9:20:44 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From:	BanzaiSGI

When the waves caress the shore........
Night meets silence.......
Life glows eternal........

BanzaiSGI

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Subj:	The entire gun business
Date:	8/1/99 10:30:27 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From:	MorrisJeff

Thought I'd put my own two cents in here, as I really struggled with this
about ten-fifteen years ago when I started writing Banzai fanfic.

BTW, as an intro, my name is Jeff Morris. I'm 39, married with child in St.
Louis. My fanfic archive webpage has been mentioned in the past, and I was
one of the brave idiots/fools who published Banzai fanzines in the 80's. Some
of my stories are or will be up on my web page (check bottom of the note for
the URL). I was a big fan of the movie from day one, and have a pile of junk
stashed here and there that's accumulated over the years. 

Anywho, wayyy back around '86 I was connected with a Doctor Who
APA/newsletter, and I was getting the itch to write a series of stories about
a "Mary Sue" character of mine and his post-Doctor adventures. The Banzai
Institute seemed a perfect place for him to go, as I loved the novel and the
movie. Only one thing bugged me--the whole issue of guns.

I will stand on the record that I hate guns. I don't have 'em in the house, I
believe strongly in gun controls, and I believe that those who have 'em
should be licensed, forced to prove they can take care of 'em properly on a
regular basis, and trigger locks should be manditory. If you don't agree with
me, fine. But I hate guns.

So I found it a bit difficult to write this character in a situation where
sooner or later, he was probably going to end up using one. This whole
quandry gave me a nasty dose of writer's block for some time until I came up
with a solution. Actually, I stole a concept from a comic book, pure and
simple.

A long time ago DC put out a comic called "Thriller", which was unfortunately
way ahead of its time. It featured a group of characters brought together by
a woman who called them her "Seven Seconds" (the comic tag line was "She has
seven seconds to save the world", but I digress).  One of the Seconds was a
guy called Salvo, whose trick was that he was a marksman so good he never
missed. Ever. And moreover, he would never, ever shoot to kill. And he would
announce this rather loudly whenever confronted by the bad guys--a tactic
that would seem questionable up front, but he always managed to come out
intact at the end.

Anyway, I stole the idea. My character was the second-best marksman at Team
Banzai (Buckaroo being the best of course--this guy and Tommy alternated at
#2 with the occasional showdown). Being the best of the rest, it was his
responsibility to teach the "You and Your Gun" safety lecture to the new kids
coming in. It wasn't an ideal solution, but it satisfied me enough that I
could write the character honestly. And after all, this was
science-fiction/fantasy; I felt I could get away with it.

So that's my two cents worth. Maybe sometime I'll regale you with the story
behind another character of mine, the Institute's infirmary nurse, Little
Red...

JSM

**** Okay, alterior motive for including this one. I loved the Thriller series
and if you can find it in the back-issue bins of your local comics shop, I think
alot of you folks will, too. Salvo was really cool, and that battle cry of his:
Only flesh wounds! Only out-patients! I wont kill a fly so dont ask me!
Too cool.  - ArcLight ****

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Subj:	Buckaroo sighting
Date:	8/2/99 2:59:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From:	MLWOLFF

Hi ArcLight!

I just thought I'd drop a quick note to let you know that I have had a
buckaroo sighting this week.  Actually, not a buckaroo sighting, but a John
Whorfin/John Bigboote sighting.  The August issue of GAMES magazine
prominently displays these evil-doers on their front cover as a part of the
cover game.  It might not mean anything, but GAMES is a cool magazine, and  I
figured it was quirky enough to be interesting!

Staying cool,
michelle

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Subj:	Re: World Watch OnLine 94 - 1 August 1999
Date:	8/2/99 11:12:49 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From:	Tonkatron

To Kurt McCoy (SheliakBob@yahoo.com), 
who writes, "I have three EX-fiances and since renounced all interest and/or
belief in such relationships."...

Don't give up on love, my man. What makes the world a prettier place is when
hope sprouts up through the cracks in cynical sidewalks. Buckaroo would back
me up on this. Relationships are perilous, but worth the bruises when you get
it right.

Johnny Fedora

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Subj:	Thoughts on new Casting
Date:	8/4/99 11:55:50 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From:	Lady Rhian

Lately, I've been thinking about how the New BB series is going to be cast. I
know that in all probability, it will be with unknowns, as it was at the time
of the original BB movie.

Now, I have preferences as to who I would like to see in the roles. And I've
based it on acting ability and looks. Let's face it, I can't get the original
cast out of my head. Unfortunately, they are all either too old or cost too
much now to do either another movie or a TV series. (Talk about the price of
being successful!)

I've come up with at least two of the cast, and I'd like to get the opinions
and choices of others on this list.

Buckaroo- Kevin Smith (currently Ares on Hercules, Xena and Young Hercules)
Perfect Tommy- James Marsters (Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

I await your replies. :)

LadyRhian

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Subj:	 Buckaroo Haiku Submission
Date:	8/4/99 3:00:17 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From:	N0YBC@prodigy.net (Michael  C. Fortner)

Ok, it's about time I take a stab at this.  This one came to me at work out
of the blue.

Buckaroo Banzai
A man of many talents
Time to Rock and Roll.

Please, be gentle with me....

Michael
BBI Theta-E

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Subj:	BB being shown on the Sci-Fi channel
Date:	8/8/99 3:47:34 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From:	Lady Rhian

"The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension" will be shown
on the SciFi channel this Saturday, 8/14 at 9 PM. So, if you get it and want
to tape it, or just to watch it again, here's your chance.

LadyR

**** And on Sunday at 3 PM (those times Eastern). And heres a thought;
why not try and get together in Raftermans chat room (assuming the
Wednesday night GABB goes okay - see Dragons post below) during the
showings? - ArcLight ****
 
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Subj:	 Dragon Tales
Date:	8/8/99 12:57:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From:	alandsmith@uswest.net (Alan (BBI Dragon) Smith)

Well, I'm sitting here with espresso in an Institute mug, life couldn't
be better!

Right off the bat I've got to report on the GABBs (aka chats). The one
last week on Wednesday evening set a new record of 8 Gabbers at once and
10 total that showed up! Banzai!!!

The next two GABBs will be moving to Rafterman's site to see how that
chat room  works.
We are inviting you all to join us at one of the regularly scheduled
Buckaroo Banzai chats.
They will be at: http://lavender.fortunecity.com/halloween/161/  (the
new site)
The BB chat room will be;

Wednesday August 11th, evening 6 PM PST/ 9 PM EST
(please note, this is 1 hour earlier so that it won't be too late to get
east coasters in)

The next GABB/BB chat room opportunity will be;
Saturday August 14th, morning 8 AM PST/11 AM EST

Once you get to the above site the instructions are:
At the front page choose "frames" or "no frames",
on the next page choose "chatroom" from either the left hand bar or in
the middle of the page 5th row from the top,
Then you are at the "Banzai Institute Chartroom" and be patient while it
loads up...
Then enter you name and any personal info you would like to share ( this
isn't necessary )
then click on "connect" on the right side of the page
FYI: The Chatroom requires a Java-capable browser

The GABBs will last around 2 hours

If there are any problems at either of these scheduled chats at
Rafterman's chat room, the GABB will go back to the old site,
http://home.talkcity.com/  with the usual instructions. So, if you don't
see anyone at the "new" site, check out the TalkCity site.

New topic:
Attention all BBIs and fans!
Is there anyone out there in Banzai land that ever had something printed
in our old fanzine
"Out Of The Blue"? I've been wanting to publish some of the contents on
the web and want to give everyone a chance to say yes or no. So, if you
see your BBI name below please contact me asap privately at
alandsmith@uswest.net
Kitten (I think she goes by "cat" now), Solo, The Baron, Equally Empty,
Lady Jazz, The Bear, Pinto, Phoenix, Dakota, Miami, Telephone Girl,
Major Keys, Tango, Conte', Quill, Ratso Schitzo. Thanks!

Another  topic:
The Novel contest.
All entries must be submitted to this newsletter by the 99th issue.
Only one entry per BBI/fan please. That's one Banzai haiku or one BB
quote or saying.
I will choose one, either a haiku or a saying for receiving the novel.
I do ask however, if you already have the novel that you put your entry
in
as "noncompetitive" so that the novel is given to someone who doesn't
already have a copy.
The BB saying does not have to be original. It can be from another
source.
The Banzai haiku, is a short verse of three lines, first of 5 syllables,

second of 7 syllables and the third of 5 again. This is the basic guide
line and can be expanded upon by the adventurous.

Welcome BBI Spectre and Kurt M. Thanks for the introductions in the last
issue.

Well, my mug of espresso if finished and so is this installment of
"Dragon's Tales".

Always True Blue,
BBI Dragon

A random novel quote: Reno, "I have heard it said that fame is the sum
of misunderstandings that accumulate around a well-know name. If that is
so, then B. Banzai is surely the most famous man on earth."

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Subj:	 Lock and Key, Chapter 12, pt.2
Date:	7/17/99 8:36:08 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From:	jetlightfoot@juno.com

Disclaimer/Author Notes:

This story takes place in Spring 1987 (between the events of the movie
and Rafterman's proposed script for the sequel, from which it takes a few
plot cues). It's written from Reno Nevada's point of view much after the
fact, which seemed the best way to avoid getting flamed by folks who own
the book, and lets me pick up a few details from there more easily as
well. 

Characters and concepts related to Buckaroo Banzai belong to other
people. See disclaimer on Chapter One for full info. In any event, the
author has no intent to make any money hereby and is just having fun.
Don't complain if details here don't coincide with the TV pilot/series;
this was started before the pilot script.

Plot elements and other characters are copyright 1998-??? and
1990-infinity, respectively, and are the property of Replay, except
T-Bear (who belongs to Lynx, Trouble, himself, and several cats at last
check). People with permission to archive the text know who they are; all
others should e-mail me at BBI_Replay@yahoo.com first. Send comments and
questions to the same address.

Previous chapters may be found in an HTML format in Strike Team
Renegade's archives
(http://tatooine.fortunecity.com/gernsback/207/fiction.html) with new
chapters appearing approximately 2 weeks after they run here. If you need
a piece that isn't there, check out ArcLight's recent zipfiles of the
newsletter or e-mail me.

--------------------------------------------------

Previously--

After an explosion wreaks havoc on their hotel rooms, Team Banzai has
relocated rather hastily to a former school at the edge of the metro
area. Their only wounded from the incident is Replay, who regains
consciousness 3 days after her second exposure to talava. Only she and
Buckaroo are aware at first that she remembers none of them except
Rawhide, whom she'd once drawn and only vaguely recalls. 

Enter the plot complications: Wayback, a telepath who'd been testing
Replay's own psionic abilities to determine what effect, if any, her
prior exposure has had; a storm which borders on being epic in proportion
but which doesn't want to spawn the expected tornados; Hanoi Xan's spies
inside Team Banzai; Lindbergh, an intern and the Institute's senior
pilot, who Wayback can't easily read; a suspicious power failure and the
definitely hostile jamming of Team Banzai communications; a police
Captain who considers Team Banzai vigilantes and the Blue Blaze
Irregulars wannabe vigilantes, and who has unwittingly assigned 2 BBIs to
the case; Deng Fat, one of Xan's lieutenants with a particular interest
in Replay, and the World Crime League team working for him who try to
kidnap Reno and Wayback; a lightning bolt; a federal witness turned FBI
agent; and two bridges, one closed, the other with perhaps less clearance
than advertised. Further, Replay's cover is at least partially blown,
revealing her true identity -- gypsy resident Jet Lightfoot -- to
Lindbergh. 

As Chapter 12 continues, Team Banzai's luck appears to be changing for
the better...

--------------------------------------------

Lock and Key
Chapter Twelve, pt.2

After Deng Fat's little surprise, any thought of jurisdictional battles
the police might have been harboring went by the wayside. Things were
clearly too dangerous, and too wet, for that argument to take place at
the side of the road. There was an officer down as well, alive but
critically wounded; if he'd managed to maintain his grip on Deng in the
wake of the first explosion, he would have been dead. The county officer
who'd called for the ambulance before things got out of hand was now very
glad he'd made the request. Other officers agreed that the hospital was a
much safer locale in which to start getting to the bottom of things;
after all, who was likely to move the damaged vehicles in the meantime,
and there wasn't much a fire truck could do for the panel van that the
rain wasn't already attending to.

The injured officer had been whisked off to a treatment room with
commendable speed almost the second the ambulance pulled to a stop. Some
ten minutes had elapsed and Wayback and I  were sitting in the waiting
area outside the emergency room with officers from two different
jurisdictions asking us questions when I heard a sound I'd been hoping to
hear since before we'd crossed the I-70 bridge. "Excuse me a moment,
gentlemen," I said before answering my go-phone. Big Norse's happy face
filled the screen for a moment before she turned to pass along the news
that we had a viable connection.

"It's complicated, Reno," she told me while Buckaroo was making his way
over. "We'll have to get you up to speed later." Jet's comment to T-Bear
was faintly audible in the background, though at the time I didn't really
grasp the implications, but registered it more as a confirmation that
things had required her to become at least semi-functional, wise or not.

"How bad is it?" I asked Big Norse anyway, certain I wasn't going to like
the answer.

Buckaroo answered it, coming into view a moment after he started to
speak. I wasn't surprised to learn I had an audience; everyone on the bus
was legitimately interested after all. "We're headed your way," he said.
"Took a little while for your twenty to filter down, and the bridge is a
little tied up."

"No doubt," I said, thinking he referred to the three-lane span on I-70.
"It was hot for awhile, but we're fine now. I wish I could say the same
for all the cops." 

"That one too," said Buckaroo, confusing me a bit; it was only later
after I learned where the bus had been at that juncture that his comment
made sense. "We've picked up an escort, courtesy of the state patrol, but
someone's tampered with the bus. T-Bear just tore the jammer off the
roof."

I didn't bother to ask whether anyone was retrieving that bit of
equipment; if we weren't, it was because it was already in the Missouri
River. "With a thirty-foot pole, I hope."

He shook his head but didn't elaborate, instead calling toward the front
of the bus. "What's the ETA?"

"Fifteen, if the patrol cooperates," Rawhide answered. "Twice that at
worst; Mouse is helping with the pictures."

"I heard," I said. "We'll keep our eyes open." I didn't tell Buckaroo how
to find us in the building; if he knew we were at DePaul, he shouldn't
have any trouble with the rest of the details. Asking where the cops were
would have garnered sufficient directions, presuming he needed any.

***

Only the crowded conditions aboard the bus had prevented the Highway
Patrol officer from investigating the new voice immediately, and by the
time he managed to work his way halfway to the stairs, Jet stepped into
view. The patrolman recognized her immediately from the photo which had
run in the local media courtesy of Mrs. Johnson, and admitted to himself
just as quickly that she was not what he'd expected. The black and white
photo had been cropped from a larger candid shot taken shortly after the
incident at La Guardia; she looked older and wearier now, the sense of
humor apparent in the picture long gone. The clothes she wore obviously
belonged to someone else, and the trousers were probably Buckaroo's; she
was thinner at the waist but close enough to the doctor's height that the
hems fell at her bare ankles without alterations. Likewise, her borrowed
shirt was only a little wide in the shoulders, the sleeves turned up to
keep them out of her way. Her hair was only beginning to dry out and
needed to be combed; he wasn't certain whether it was dyed several colors
or merely picking up odd hues from the available light. For someone who'd
caught the brunt of a flechette bomb at close range, she looked
remarkably fit, her wounds scabbed over but no longer bandaged, her
half-hooded eyes mute testimony to the fact that she'd rather be
sleeping.

He got his second surprise when she proved that she still had a sense of
humor by joining the conversation T-Bear and Perfect Tommy had going,
claiming she deserved a larger salary than either of them. She was much
more aware of her surroundings than he'd expected given the way she
looked, or perhaps she was doing her best to keep up appearances lest
Buckaroo break away from his go-phone conversation to express concern
about her. The scant information in the dossier the Patrol had on this
intern hinted strongly that Replay was very much the self-reliant type,
usually able to look out for herself if the reports from La Guardia were
accurate.

When she followed up her financial concerns by commenting on the weather,
the patrolman initially thought she was still teasing T-Bear. Rawhide
took her much more seriously than that. "You're sure?" he asked.

"High probability. Lightning doesn't track like that, last I knew. Even
if it did, why else would it stop so suddenly?"

Rawhide considered it for a moment. "EMP could've been the source of the
jamming," he said, aware she was probably debating the same thing but
keeping it to herself. "You up to checking for wires?"

She wasn't completely certain whether he was out of his league or just
trying a plausible story out on the officer; if the lightning's
electromagnetic pulses had been strong enough to jam anything, the bus
engine would never have started to begin with. "Shouldn't need to," she
answered, sticking to the immediate question. Buckaroo chose that moment
to ask for an update, which Rawhide gave him; she didn't let the
interruption disturb her train of thought. "Something like that would've
needed its own power source, or it wouldn't've stayed hidden. No bigger
than it sounded, I'd guess there wouldn't be a lot of room for airflow,
much less enough explosives to suit Xan. My best is that if it's
booby-trapped, it'll be acid; anything else unstable and we'd know it by
now." 

"Acid?" the patrolman asked, barely managing to keep his tone
professional. "I don't like the sound of that." Considering the age of
the bridge, his concern was well justified.

"It wouldn't need to be that strong, just water-resistant or
liquid-activated," 'Replay' speculated. "By the time we get it somewhere
we can neutralize it, even battery acid'd do plenty of damage, and keep
people's fingers out while it did it. There may not be much left to find
of the critical bits."

"I doubt we'll find fingerprints," Buckaroo said. His tone indicated he
didn't expect to get anything useful at all but as long as there was even
the slightest chance we could learn something from the device, it would
have to be checked out thoroughly. "Can we presume this falls under
Highway Patrol jurisdiction?"

"It all might," said the patrolman; "I can't make promises, but it all
looks related to me. If it was all St. Louis county, it might stop with
the Major Crimes Unit; with St. Charles county involved, the Attorney
General might give all of it to us. Unless the governor calls up the
FBI."

***

Even though she'd planned it herself, taken every variable she could
think of into account, Allie was a little surprised that they got out of
the building and to her car without incident. Maybe her partner was
better at sweet-talking local cops than she'd thought, or maybe he was
just taking as much of the captain's time as possible; speculating about
it while they were still on the premises was counterproductive and could
be kept on hold until she'd put at least a dozen blocks behind them. She
glanced down at her keyring itself for a moment before putting the key in
the lock, checking the center of the 'o' in 'Ford' out of habit; if it
had been any color but its routine white, she'd have known that someone
had been tampering with the vehicle. Out here, that would have meant
there were definitely at least two cops she needed to watch.

The lock opened smoothly, and she tripped the power switch for the other
side to let Murphy in. "I know a great place down on the Landing," she
said; "you've got to see the waiters."

If they hadn't done the same routine the first day they'd met, Murphy
might have been pulled in by the line. Instead, she just played along,
knowing that Laclede's Landing was the last place they'd be going today.
"Mm; sounds tasty."  Allie was firing up the engine as she shut her door,
and the car pulled out of the lot only a few seconds later. When they
were several blocks away, she got serious. "Why you?"

"I stumbled onto something I thought you'd want to know," Allie said.
"One of your bomb squad guys turned up at a seminar I did in KC awhile
back, so he called up to ask my advice on this one. That's when I heard
your captain has an attitude."

"Yeah; he doesn't like some of us. He just isn't sure who."

"He will be, about as soon as he figures out you're the one who tipped
St. Charles. I can't prove anything in court yet, but the man's connected
to the World Crime League. I figure he's in up to his eyebrows."

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