After several years of silence, Babylon 5 - the Lost Tales (2007) has just been released. It tells a 73 minute "short story" featuring members of the original cast (Bruce Boxleitner and Tracy Scoggins).
You can also buy the soundtrack!
Amazon.com has a mini-feature about the new release and a short interview with creator J. Michael Straczynski.
As part of the feature JMS picks his 4 "key episodes" from the original Babylon 5: the episodes that he thinks represent the story.
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But, of course, most Babylon 5 fans will want the DVD box set: The Complete Universe
"Old News" in archive...
The first season of Babylon 5 will finally be released on DVD on 28 October 2002. It's possible to pre-order it at a discount. This was the season where the viewers were first introduced to the main players that would shape the story, over the full 5 season arc. For those fortunate enough to ride the rollercoaster from the beginning, when it was first released, this is an opportunity to relive all the great moments. For those who missed the original showing, this DVD release gives you the chance to see it in pristine form, as its creator, J.Michael Straczynski, intended.
Pat Tallman wins charity award
Babylon 5 rises
again! A new TV movie...
JMS on Yahoo Chat
backing his audio anthology "City of Dreams"
Walter
Koenig at Kulture Shock
Walter
Koenig as Ebenezer Scrooge
Babylon 5: Into the Fire -
Cancelled before release
JMS comic Rising Stars -
great success
The Final B5 Episode - Comments
More Babylon 5
Movies... with star guests!
Tracy Scoggins
"replaces" Claudia Christian
It's a record! JMS
writes 50 episodes in a row...
How will this end?
JMS gives some clues about the final episode...
New Babylon 5
novel will be part of the Arc
Patricia Tallman
makes her first UK convention appearance.
See the News Archive
for other past news stories
Just when you thought Babylon 5 was to become a "rerun classic"... news of a
forthcoming TV movie... J. Michael Straczynski seems to have been steadily making
friends at the SciFi Channel and now they're backing a
Rangers spin-off movie
that everyone is hoping will spark a new series.
JMS himself commented:
To those who've heard the news already, and those just now finding out...the SciFi
Channel today announced that we have a new Babylon 5 TV movie going into production that
will also serve as a pilot for a likely new series.
The movie (and the series) is under the heading of BABYLON 5: THE LEGEND OF THE RANGERS.
The specific title for the 2-hour movie's story is "To Live and Die in
Starlight."
There isn't much I can tell you about the story because we're kinda keeping the details
under wraps as much as possible for the time being. What little I can say....
It's set in the B5 universe just under 3 years after the events of "Objects at
Rest." At this point there's one major character from the B5 universe in the script
(a fan favorite). Where B5 was a heavy drama with some adventure/action elements, this one
is a little more skewed toward adventure with underlying drama (which is about what you'd
expect from the Anla-Shok).
We've been sitting on this information for a while now...such that we're already well into
pre-production. We'll be shooting this movie around mid-May, well in advance of any
potential actors’ strike (the script is done and so far everybody likes it a LOT).
We've already got designs coming in on a new ship, and a new *kind* of ship...and we're
going to be getting more into Minbari aesthetics, technologies and philosophy.
It's got some great characters, and it's a lot of fun.
I have other news to announce on other fronts...have since the end of the year, in
fact...but I'm still sitting on the details awaiting another press release from another
studio. What I *can* say is that I have a firm GO order to executive produce a new series
(nominally SF) that will go into production after the potential SAG strike. When that's
finally over, if the strike indeed happens, we pull the trigger and go into principal
photography and it's an order for a full season's worth of episodes.
I can't give you any details right now on the subject, title, studio or network. That will
have to await the studio's release...so don't even ask.
As far as doing both projects at the same time is concerned...it's actually quite common,
as testified to by folks like John Wells and Aaron Sorkin and David Kelley and others. So
there won't be any conflict.
More later.
jms
The cryptic comment "there's one major character from the B5 universe in the
script (a fan favorite)" has prompted fans to start thinking
of which character that they would like to see return. Some groups are already getting
organised... for example, those who want Marcus Cole to return
have already started an online petition.
Sign up now if you agree!
There is also an online poll if you favour some other character.
On July 10, 2000 J. Michael Straczynski, author, producer and screenwriter,
released a new creation -- City of Dreams,
a dramatic 13-episode audio
anthology presented on SciFi.com's Seeing Ear Theatre. On Monday, July 10th,
Yahoo! Chat presented a chat with "one of the
most
prolific and highly regarded writers currently working in the television
industry." Straczynski's reputation nabbed Steve Buscemi and Andre Braugher
to star in episodes one and two, respectively, of City of Dreams. The series
aimed to be in the same tone as The Twilight Zone with it's anthology design
and stories ranging from the dark and ominous to the supernatural and
hopeful.
The series became a highlight of the Seeing Ear Theatre and was then continued
on the web to a total of 8 episodes. It is currently in hiatus, and given the news
that JMS is now involved with other projects (see above) is likely to stay in
hibernation for the forseeable future.
Crusade started its long-awaited run on Channel 4 on Sunday 9 July 2000.
It started with a double bill (The Needs of the Earth and The Memory of
War)
at 0215 hours (i.e. actually the early hours of Monday).
By now you will have all seen the 13 episodes that were produced. The general
conclusion
was that they were worth seeing, especially if you were an avid follower of Babylon 5...
Walter Koenig, everyone's favorite Psi Cop and now one of the veterans of TV science
fiction,
attended Kulture Shock on Monday 10th July 2000.
Kulture Shock is located at:
10 - 12 St Benedicts Street
Norwich NR2 4AG
For further details:
E-mail: b5@kulture.demon.co.uk
or call 01603 625557
fax: 01603 625558
They also have a web site:
www.kultureshock.co.uk
Bruce Boxleitner toured the UK, to promote his latest book, in January/February 2000.
There was a booking for a signing session at the Nottingham branch of Forbidden Planet on 26th January 2000.
Bruce also appeared at Kulture Shock on Tuesday 1st February 2000. Kulture Shock is
located at:
10 - 12 St Benedicts Street
Norwich NR2 4AG
For further details:
E-mail: b5@kulture.demon.co.uk
or call 01603 625557
fax: 01603 625558
They also have a web site:
www.kultureshock.co.uk
Walter Koenig, our favourite Psi Cop Bester, starred as another famous "bad
guy" in a pre-Christmas run of Charles Dickens' classic tale. He played Ebenezer
Scrooge in A CHRISTMAS CAROL at The Scherr Forum Theatre, Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza,
2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd, Thousand Oaks, California from 3-19 December 1999.
Many of us remember that other stalwart of television SF, Patrick Stewart, performing A
Christmas Carol as a one man show in the 1993/94 holiday season at London's Old Vic
Theatre. If he ever repeats that, it is highly recommended. And now Walter has also
performed in the same story (although in a full theatrical production, rather than a one
man show).
Sierra, the computer gaming company that was to release the new Babylon 5 game, announced that it is dropping the product. They were developing a game called Babylon 5: Into the Fire, but a major re-organisation of the company caused this and several other projects to be cancelled.
Babylon 5 was axed because the cost had gone up to produce it, Dave Grenewetzki (President of Sierra) said. "That was a tough one," he admitted. "A lot of people were waiting for a B5 product."
Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski posted a message on rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated, saying "There's rumors that another studio might be interested in picking it up and finishing it off ... it's a spectacular game -- but again that's only rumor, I don't know anything beyond that."
Grenewetzki said the game was far from completion, but he did acknowledge that Sierra is talking with other publishers interested in picking up the cancelled games. He added that Sierra will only make an announcement if a buyer is found.
There is a web page for fans who were eagerly anticipating the game and wish to join a campaign for its continuation.
"Sleeping in Light" was nominated for a Hugo Award in the Best Dramatic Presentation category, but this year didn't win. The awards were announced on Saturday 4 September at Aussiecon 3, the 1999 World Science Fiction Convention, held in Melbourne, Australia. For the rest of the results see the main SF page.
Image will produce a second printing of Rising Stars, the superhero
title written by Babylon 5 creator J. Michael
Straczynski.
"Rising Stars has exceeded all our expectations from both a creative and business
stand point," says Top Cow Editor-In-Chief David Wohl. "Readers have
enthusiastically responded to J. Michael Straczynski's incredible storyline and the top
notch artwork in the book."
"When Image's sales director Bob Matson called and said we need another 20,000+
copies of Rising Stars #1, I was a little stunned," says Top Cow's VP of Publishing
Matt Hawkins. "The book ranked at #3 in the industry sales charts with initial orders
alone. To have this much demand above and beyond the original orders is a testament to the
quality of the book and the longevity of the project."
Back in July, JMS said:
A quick update on the latest RISING STARS news:
I've now seen the inked and colored final pages on issue 1, and I have to say that I'm
very, very pleased by the final result. It took a bit of doing to get there, but the
result is quite nice. It has the *feel* of a very different sort of book than everything
else out there, something a bit special.
That first issue of RISING STARS, "Nova Placenta," will debut at the Chicago
Comic Con... where I'll be attending and signing stuff and talking and the like...
Advance orders have already topped 100,000 (before re-orders) and it looks like that may
not be enough.
This is a comic that I feel very strongly about, it's something I've wanted to do for a
long, long time. I think it's something that will appeal to most B5 folks, because it has
many of the same elements in the sense that it treats the genre seriously, tries new and
different approaches to characterization, has an overall story arc with a beginning,
middle and end (24 issues from now), and so on. I think it'll appeal equally to non-comics
fans and those familiar with the form. It's also something that I think can be read by a
variety of age ranges, all of whom will get something different out of it.
In any event...I'm very happy with the thing, and wanted to put the word out there about
it.
I'm especially pleased that the first issue will have a forward by Neil Gaiman, a name
that should be familiar to both B5 folks ("Day of the Dead") and comics readers
around the planet.
The book is being published by TOP COW (a division of Image Comics, publisher of SPAWN),
also the publishers of FATHOM and DARKNESS. It should be available at any goodly-sized
comics store, and there are several places on-line where one can find comics.
It's gonna be a fun book.
jms
You can buy Rising Stars from Another Universe
According to some reports, J. Michael Straczynski is working on a new TV series with
"a well-known science fiction producer", who currently remains anonymous. In an
article in the magazine Cinescape, JMS confirmed that the planned new series definitely won't
be set in the B5 universe and that "once word gets out who this person is [the
anonymous producer], it's going to be pretty cool."
JMS also said that he is developing "a science fiction action movie". When asked
about a Babylon 5 feature film, he said that Warners will probably develop one sometime,
although he "is in no hurry to work on the project".
Astronomers at the Kitt Peak Observatory in Tuscon, Arizona have named an asteroid after JMS. The stone was discovered in 1992 and now bears the official name "8379 STRACZYNSKI."
On hearing the news, JMS commented:
The info from Kitt Peak Observatory also mentioned that the asteroid has "a
moderately eccentric orbit." Suffice to say this has been cause for some
considerable humor around the office...
jms
The Final episode of Babylon 5 was Sleeping In Light. Asked about reactions to it, JMS comments:
I've now heard from about a dozen people who've seen "Sleeping in Light"... And with at most one or two exceptions, every single one of them has been doing the same thing: running the last 8 minutes or so (from the start of act 4 through to the very end credits) over and over and over, 5-6 times or more. I find that interesting because that's exactly what I've been doing with it since getting the final tape in my hands. I'm not sure exactly what motivates it, but there's something going on there that hits home across the board. I was astonished to hear that others were doing the same thing I was in this respect.
The Babylon Project: Crusade was shown first in the USA starting 6 January 1999 and is currently airing on Sky One in the UK. The focus of the story is the Excalibur, a prototype destroyer combining human, Minbari and Vorlon tech.
With the threat of the Shadows gone, all is quiet on Earth... too quiet.
An alien race vows revenge for the loss of the Shadows and aims its wrath at humans, unleashing a deadly biogenetic plague. Only five years remain for the inhabitants of Earth unless an Alliance ship, The Excalibur, succeeds in its quest to find a cure for the mutating plague. CRUSADE launched with the spectacular two-hour TNT Original film A CALL TO ARMS.
It is unknown whether Channel 4 will eventually re-show Crusade on terrestrial broadcast. TNT eventually stopped financing the series... and so it seems unlikely that it will ever be completed. The possibility remains open, however, that it could be picked up and continued by another network, such as the Sci-Fi Channel...
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