lurkers-guide/ftp/Misc/vortex.txt

SCI FI VORTEX INTERVIEW.
Many thanks to Alison Weinstock

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Sci-Fi Vortex - Babylon 5 Interview segment

(There are chuckles around the table; seating order is John Copeland, Host,
Bruce Boxleitner, and Jerry Doyle.)

Host:	All right, all right, welcome back to the Vortex everybody. We're
in the War Room here to talk ALL about Babylon 5, just as you requested.
And look who is joining me today. Here is Bruce Boxleitner, he stars as
Capt. John Sheridan the current captain.

BB:	Oh boy. CURRENT!

H:	Also John Copeland, he's the producer of the darned show, and also
Jerry Doyle who plays the security chief Michael Garibaldi.

JD:	[looks into monitor, camera right, rubs his head] [H:	Thanks for
joining us, guys.] Wow, am I bald! Oh my God! [H: You've got a great look.]
What happened to my hair? [Points to Host] Look at this guy!  ...Don Juan
de Marco...

H:	My first topic is -- lets get right to it.

BB: 	Yes.

H:	"Coming of the Shadows" -- Hugo Award. [applauds] Congratulations.

BB:	[nodding] We're very very proud of that.

H:	The first non-Star Trek or Twilight Zone sci fi show to win the
award. Congratulations. Let's take a look, shall we?

JD:	[low, to BB]  I thought we had the restaurant Hugo...

 [Promo clip with Hugo Award winner notice]

JD (?)	Wow.

H:	There you have it. Bruce Boxleitner, I'm going to straight to you.

BB:	Please.

H:	In your opinion -- # 1 reason the show works for your viewers --
what does it? Other than, of course, Jerry Doyle's performance week after
week.

BB:	Well, I think unlike any of the Star Treks or Twilight Zones, like
you mentioned, we're an ongoing saga, a very engrossing continuing saga,
and I think people like that. you know, certainly soap opera fans have
shown that, you know, so they get in it, and they get excited by what
happens week after week. [H: You're kind of the Melrose Place of sci fi.]
And it continues ON, and they try to figure out  -- yeah, yeah.

JD:	NO, NO!

BB:	Melrose Place?

JD:	Not that there's anything wrong with Melrose Place, mind you, I
just wouldn't want to...  [ JC laughing]  [BB: "Whoo!"]

H:	All right Jerry Doyle, what would you say, why is this show so
darned attractive?

JD:	[mimes pushing button, makes buzzer noise]

BB:	The haircuts.

JD:	Haircuts. Yes. Ah, no, the flawed characters. We all have these
little -- well, HIS [BB's] character especially has tons of things that are
wrong with him [BB: "Very mixed up"] -- totally screwed up. [H: "Very
dysfunctional"] We have a dysfunctional crew. And people can relate to  the
fact that we aren't all perfect people in a perfect universe solving the
tragedy du jour or saving the universe as we know it. You know, like in a
lot of shows you watch, don't buy green bananas, because you know, chances
are, if it doesn't work out --

BB:	I just wanted to say, we do save the universe every OTHER episode
at least. But, ah, but we still do try to figure out how to cook good pasta
[looks at JD] and things like that.  [ JD: "Oh, no, don't bring THAT up!"]
No, you do, you do.  [ JD: "Please, I'm so tired of trying to make pasta
for the doctor..."]  Me, I'm trying to make flarn.

H:	John Copeland, you tell me your reason why the show is such a big hit.

JC:	Well, a part of it is because Joe has created a myth for our time,
and I think that a contemporary myth to a lot of our viewers resonates in
their daily life. I also think there are lots of surprises with these
characters. We have characters that are in transition in many respects --

H:	Okay.  [ JD  cackles]

BB:	I think John summed it up.

H:	[to BB, JD]  What are you guys -- [ JD takes H's notes, reads a
line] Those are my notes, we'll get to that a little later. You know, when
our fans heard you were coming on , everybody emailed us, everybody had
questions, like Shawn, here, Topeka Kansas, he wants  to know --

JD:	Nobody lives in Kansas with the name of Shawn...

H:	-- he wants to know, is the doctor coming back or are the coward
Shadows going to do away with him. John Copeland?

JC:	Well, where our viewers are right now, there are still 5 episodes
left of the 3rd season, and you will see Dr. Franklin come back, and he's
-- ah --

JD	[whispering]  ahhh, he just blew it...  [H and BB laugh]

JC:	Hey!

H:	Don't have to watch now!

JD:	A lot better idea, move to England, you'll know.

H:	Now, how about this -- ah -- lets get to this clip, but think about
this question while we go to this clip. Are there going to be some new
characters this season, let's check this out.

JD:	Nude characters?

 [clip from "Walkabout"  "...we are all Kosh."]

BB:	Yep. [repeating Ivanova's "yep" at the end of the clip]

H:	All right, pretty interesting there.  John Copeland, what does this
mean for the new show?

JC:	Well, we have a new Vorlon coming on board the station, and this
one is a little darker and more mysterious than Kosh was.

H:	Ahhhh

JC:	And you'll see some new aliens in the coming season.

H:	Give us a little hint about the new aliens. Can you tell...

JC:	They don't look like us.

H:	They don't look like us.

JC:	Yeah.

H:	[sarcastically] Thanks for that terrific clue!  [ BB laughs] That
really narrows it down.

JD:	Way to pin it down, John.

BB:	He's specific.

H:	About the characters, how far in advance do you know what's going
on with Capt. Sheridan?

BB:	Oh probably, oh, one story ahead. [H: "That's it?"] I try -- that's
all I want to know. In all seriousness. I mean, I get a general view. John
may tell me where we're generally kind of heading with him or Joe does, but
specifically -- I think just about a script ahead. But you know, I want to
walk into it, like we do every day --

JD:	Fresh -- like you don't know where you're gone end up --

BB:	-- you don't know where you're going to go every day in your life.

JD:	Or don't you end up playing the results, instead of the route you
want to take? Like what is he up to now, script 7 or something like that?

JC:	Yeah, we've got 7 finished and he's working well into, almost done
with 8.

JD:	And we're starting to shoot #4 today, so, you know...

H:	Jerry, let me ask you about Capt. Garibaldi. If you could change
one thing about him -- [BB: "Whoa!"]

JD:	CAPTAIN Garibaldi?  [BB (?): "Did you hear that?] Ahhhh, suddenly
feeling LARGER than life...  [H: "What did I say?"]  [H: "... something
happens I'VE GOT JOE!"]  Oh!  [BB: "Captain --"]  I like the sound of that,
don't you?

H:	What would you like to see change this season, and that was a hint.

BB:	Other than his rank?

JD:	No, no, my character's cool. I like the way he is, I like the way
he's a cynical, irreverent, jaded, pain in the -- can I say --

H:	It's cable! Go ahead, let it go!

JD:	-- butt.

All:	OHHHH! [murmurs include "Captain" and "but-but-but"]

JD:	But I just like the way the character's going, because he's got
kind of like this dark thing going on. It's really kind of cool.

 [commercial break]

H:	Let's continue our discussion, all right. Now Babylon 5 obviously
not a show centered around romantic relationships -- [ JD: "Not my
character..."] -- but we happen to have a little video that sprinkles in a
little hint that love may be in the air. So why don't we all take a look.

 [clip from "Shadow Dancing" from "... show his true face..." to
"Later -- history awaits!"]

BB:	Yep. [smiling the same smile as at the end of the clip]

JD:	ohhhhh

H:	Cut off his WHAT?

BB:	Whew! I don't know, but looks like I got scared there.

H:	You sure did. That was great. Lemme ask -- [points to JD]

BB:	Maybe you don't want to ask him!

H:	Jerry Doyle, let me ask you about your character. Are you going to
get a girl this season?

JD:	NOPE! [ H: "Not even --"]  Last season -- NO!  One before -- NO!
Pilot -- NO!

BB:	Wait a sec. When I first came on board --

JD:	I almost got the girl.

H:	What about the Marine?

JD:	I said no!

BB:	That's true. That's true.

JC:	He begged us not to --

JD:	No no no wait a minute, let's go back, see, now, I'm a married man,
and in our profession [gestures to BB, who nods] we are PAID to roll around
with another woman. [BB: "God, it's a rough job..."]  And when you go home
somebody says "Hi honey how was your day?" And you say it was great!

H:	Capt. Sheridan - a little romance, can you give us a hint?

BB:	[serious] We-e-ell, I think if people have been following the show
they can see that Capt. Sheridan and Ambassador Delenn are becoming very
close certainly -- [JD snorts, JC chuckles, H: "I would say a safe
assumption - "]

BB:	[smiles, gives JD a LOOK] -- that's certainly a very safe
assumption. But certainly circumstances have sort of forced them together,
you know.

H:	Okay.

BB:	So -- ah -- and -- [ JD: "They're real horny," cackles]  And yes,
in a word we are getting very much closer together. [Grins]

JD (?):	"circumstances have brought us together..."

H:	Not to change the subject but lets move on to another one --

BB:	Not to change the subject!

H:	When can I get this darned show -- I went to the video store with
my kid yesterday in fact, and I couldn't find Babylon 5. I see Star Trek, I
see Outer Limits --  [BB, JD do groaning uh-huhs]  -- when is Babylon 5
going to be available in the video store?

JC:	Ooh! Well --

JD:	I think we struck a producer nerve.

JC:	Yes! Everyone should write Warner Brothers and say that they --

H:	Is that the deal? Is it coming out soon?

JC:	I really don't think they've got any plans to exploit Babylon 5.

BB:	Roger, were we in London tonight --

H:	We're gonna change that!

BB:	Were we in London tonight, we could go down to the Forbidden Planet --

JC:	And buy it! Yes!

BB:	-- on -- ah -- on New Oxford St., fantastic store, and with lots of
Babylon 5 merchandise, PLUS tapes with 2 episodes per cassette.

H:	Which leads me to my next question, about -- it's like a whole
Jerry Lewis thing in France -- you guys are HUGE in the UK --

BB, JD:	Yes, UK

H:	What's going on with that? Why? I mean obviously I know why, but --

JD:	Consistent time slot.

JC:	There's consist -- we're on one channel, we're on the same time,
the same day.  [ BB: "Channel 4."]  But I think also viewers in England are
a little more accustomed to the type of storytelling that Joe has adopted
for Babylon 5. A novel for television. It's got a beginning, a middle, and
an end, each year has an arc to it, and the more episodes you watch the
more you see the grander scale of the saga.

BB:	Yes.

H:	Okay. Before we go, let's do another letter, shall we?

JD:	Let's!

H:	In fact, Jerry, go ahead! Bruce, go ahead! Take care of -- who
wants to read one?

BB:	Can I pick one?

JD:	You pick one.

BB:	Michael Kerrigan in Portland Oregon was wondering if Straczynski --
[looks at JC]  the Great Maker -- will be doing all the writing for the
episodes again this season? John, maybe you --

H:	Great question, Michael Kerrigan! Mr. Copeland, go ahead with that.

JC:	Well, it certainly looks that way. This year, with the way the saga
is unfolding, I think that Joe is the best one to write all of the episodes.

H:	Okay, all right. Terrific. Ah -- Jerry, go ahead for one more time
for one more question.

JD:	[in Bronx accent] Shoshana from da Bronx -- will Ivanova's latent
telepathic abilities play a part in the development of her character dis
season?

H:	Who wants to answer this one? John Copeland?

JC:	Yes. [silence] [looks smug]

H:	There you have it, Shoshana.

JD:	Like a producer.

BB:	[grinning] What can you do...

H:	I need to get out of here but I want to thank Bruce Boxleitner,
Jerry Doyle, and John Copeland for taking time out of our extremely busy
schedules. thanks for coming out and making us look so darned good!