I have vicariously enjoyed the complete runs of Buffy and Angel via transcrips from www.buffyworld.com. I’ve seen no indication that these are illegal. If they are, please tell me and ax this thread, mods. If not, can someone please direct me to a good archive of transcripts of as much of Babylon 5 as possible?
This has got to be one of the most comprehensive sites on B5 on the web. They do not have word-for-word transcripts, for each episode there is a synopsis, as well as a whole -slew- of other information. I hope this helps you!
If you think the series sounds interesting, DO NOT read synopses or look for transcripts. Seriously. You’ll lose ALL of the dramatic impact, and it’s worth waiting for because it’s a GREAT series. Look for the DVDs or borrow tapes from a fan in your area. You could also wait to see if the Sci-Fi Channel runs the series again. If so, that will be in about 3-4 weeks.
Hmm. I read the Buffy transcripts, and then saw some episodes through an illegal method that shall not be named. Or mentioned further. Once I learned what a character looked and sounded like, I could reconstruct episodes well enough to know exactly what to expect.
You’d be better off not knowing what’s going on beforehand. It really is that good.
Under U.S. law, it’s illegal – the scripts are copyrighted material, as are the shows themselves; these transcripts are therefore either copies of copyrighted material or derivative works based on copyrighted material; both of these are illegal without permission from the copyright holder. Some of those who create transcripts say they’re doing it only for people outside the viewing area who cannot otherwise see the shows – this doesn’t matter. The copyright holder has the choice of whether and where to exhibit his material; the fact that he is not exhibiting it anywhere you can see it does not lessen his protections. Furthermore, at least in the U.S., by loading a transcript webpage, you are violating copyright yourself.
–Cliffy
Cliffy, how does that work? I mean, is there a law against telling my friend what happened in the show? What does fair use say about this? More to the point, if fair use allows me to write up a line or two, can I just write a line, get my friend to write the next line, and produce a complete transcript out of bits, each within ‘fair use?’