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                         THE BABYLON 5 PHENOMENON

    *  Babylon 5 ranks #6 in the delivery of Men 18-49 and Men 25-54 out of       19 action hour programs*, and #1 in the delivery of Men 18-49 and       Men 25-54 VPVHs among all action hour dramas**.  (Sources: *NSS       SEASON-TO-DATE 9/4/95-3/17/96; **NSS. 9/25/95-2/11/96)

    *  In Viewers for Quality Television's (VQT) monthly surveys, Babylon 5       has regularly ranked high -- indeed, finishing #8 recently in a       four-way tie, well ahead of every other science fiction show except       "The X-Files."

    *  The 1995 3rd Annual Sci-Fi Fantasy TV's Internet survey of nine       newsgroups ranked Babylon 5 #1 among favorite shows -- followed by       "The X-Files" at #2 and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" at #3.

    *  A zealous fan recently spent considerable time on the Net tracking       the number of times that Babylon 5 references could be found on the       Web's some 21 million pages.  The result?  20,000 pages that       included Babylon 5, compared to 90,000 pages for the entire "Star       Trek" legacy, 10,000 pages for "Star Trek: Deep Space 9," and 10,000       pages for "Hercules."  Pretty good for a show that had to create its       own tradition!

                      Fans Of All Stripes:

    *  A representative of Army Broadcasting told Babylon 5's producers that       the episode, "Eyes," was reviewed in the Army Ops. Center at the       Pentagon for insight into military procedure and internal affairs.       She also said that the Secret Service ran abstract psychological       profiles on the characters in this episode, just as they do for       criminals and terrorists, to serve as a research model.

    *  Producer John Copeland says he's been informed that the Defense       Department refers to Babylon 5 as "Force Multiplier" for its       morale-boosting effect on the troops -- particularly those units       stationed in remote areas like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

    *  Also according to information conveyed to the producers, the Naval       Intelligence Department constructed a test model for how computer       networks are susceptible to compromise, and named each computer in       the study after a Babylon 5 character.  "And guess which one got       compromised first," Copeland reports with amusement. "Londo."

    *  The crew of the remote McMurdo military outpost in Antarctica have       friends tape the show back in the States and ship it up in their       twice-yearly supplies drop. Babylon 5 has also been adopted by Army       Apache and Cobra units stationed at Fort Bragg and the crews of       several aircraft carriers, including the U.S.S. Independence. As       well, the producers have heard from a convent of nuns, college       students, senior citizens, House Sciences Committee members,       religious leaders, and "lots of ordinary folk.  It's an incredibly       diverse audience," says creator and executive producer J. Michael       Straczynski.  "They all seem to respond to the same thing, which is       to see an honest-to-God saga on television."

                       A Global Following

    *  Babylon 5 is carried by networks in over 20 countries, including the       U.K., Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Greece, Italy, Israel, Jordan,       Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Phillipines, Portugal, Puerto Rico, and       such unlikely places as Trinidad, Tobago, and Malaysia.       "Internationally, we are a big success story," says executive       producer Douglas Netter, noting that the show is in the Top Ten       programs in England, where it is aired by Channel 4.

                      Fans Who Really Care

    *  When a television station in Greece declared bankruptcy last year and       shut down literally in the middle of airing a Babylon 5 episode,       hundreds of protestors with placards marched in front of the station       the next day -- demanding that it return to the airwaves just long       enough to finish showing the aborted episode.  While they were not       successful, the publicity did result in their getting another       station to pick up the series.

    *  In Canada's British Columbia, "a small, but vocal core of fans banded       together on the Internet (the Vancouver Babylon 5 UseNet group is       one of the most active TV groups on the local net) and lobbied CHEK       to pick the show up for the third season," reported Vancouver Sun       television writer Alex Strachan in December 1995, adding that "the       Victoria station saw the opportunity to kill two birds with one       stone: Resurrect Babylon 5, mollify the show's UseNet junkies, and       fill a hole on Thursday nights."

    *  San Jose Mercury News television writer Mike Antonucci also reported       in 1995 that the viewers in his area were not happy about the final       episodes of season two airing in the U.K. months before the U.S.       "Not only did information about the episodes start to percolate on       the Internet, but U.S. addicts wanted tapes (and right away, thank       you).  One Bay Area die-hard tells me that fans have gathered for       home showings of said tapes, creating little festivals at which       cultists grumbled about their second-nation status."

    *  Among the scores of fan clubs around the world that have sprouted up       during the last four years has been the UK Fan Club, which has shown       its appreciation for the series by mounting the first-ever Babylon 5       convention in September 1995, with another even-larger event (Babcom       '96) planned for June 1996, to be attended by most of the show's       stars.

    *  Numerous Babylon 5 fan clubs have mounted their own Internet Web       pages and created e-mail newsletters to keep local members informed       of show developments -- and to mount crusades for better time       periods an/or renewals when necessary.

                A Major Presence on the Internet

    *  Babylon 5 is one of the most celebrated television shows on the       Internet today -- with 265 fan-mounted Web sites, its own official       home page, and daily online discussions on CompuServe, GEnie, Bix,       Fidonet, and USENET.  The show has become so popular on BBSes, in       fact, USENET's rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5 area recorded over 100,000       messages in 1995 alone.  "We went from 0 to becoming the 18th       biggest group on the entire Internet within a period of a couple of       months," says Straczynski.

    *  A dedicated Internet navigator since 1984 (when he became the first       television writer on CompuServe), Straczynski is in fact the only       television executive who interacts regularly with fans, consistently       putting in three to four hours a day -- seven days a week -- reading       the some 500 Babylon 5-related daily postings put up by fans.  Why?       "Because on the nets, you get questions you never dreamed of, which       helps me strengthen my characters and the world of the show," says       Straczynski -- who has written a phenomenal 49 of the show's 66       total episodes to date (including the entire third season).  "It's       been an interesting experiment in truly interactive TV. A viewer can       watch our show and 10 minutes later be online with the person who       wrote it, created it, and produced it.  And do the same thing next       week, and the week thereafter.  I think it's helped to demystify TV,       which was one of my goals."

    *  "J. Michael Straczynski is changing not only the way people look at       television, but far, far, far more importantly, the way TV looks at       people.  In fact, he seems to be boldly going where no producer has       gone before -- to the fans, via the Internet," reported Brad Bailey       in Dallas' Arts & Entertainment Weekly in March 1995. Bailey also       related how he had "sent up a public post to the Netheads at large,       timidly offering the fact that I was a writer friendly to the show       who was looking into the Babylon 5 phenom as a topic for a possible       article. "In fact, the sheer volume of viewer response from Netheads       who are also Bab5heads was nothing less than amazing, in and of       itself: some 250,000 bytes, roughly 50,000 words...of intelligent,       articulate, well-thought-out praise for the show and its creator. "I       had also told those folks that I would be willing to do them the       hugely condescending favor of asking any questions that they might       want to forward along to Big Writer Me, just on the off chance that,       waving my press card and touting my Representative of the People       status, I would be able to rat-terrier Straczynski's people into       maybe getting to do at least a short interview.  As regards this       Once-in-a-Lifetime Offer, I got numerous responses, but none like I       expected. "As David Bilek put it:  'First off, in regards to getting       'some sort of access' to the executive producer, Joe Straczynski,       you don't need to go to all that trouble.  He reads and responds       regularly to the Babylon 5 newsgroup, and the Babylon 5 category on       GEnie, home of the Grid Epsilon Irregulars.  So, if you have       questions for the guy, just send them to him.'" Bailey did, and got       back 15,000 bytes (or 3,000 words) from JMS in response to his       questions.

                An Expanding Universe of B5 Merchandise

       Following are only a few of the exciting collectibles currently       available.  Internet users:  The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5:       Resources: Products maintains an updated list of current and upcoming       items (http://www.hyperion.com/lurker.html).

    *  The Babylon 5 Original Soundtrack

        Composer Christopher Franke, one of the pioneers of electronic music        and a former member of Tangerine Dream, has reorchestrated his        original, powerful scores and primary themes for B5 into four        uninterrupted suites, merging the worlds of classical and electronic        music.  Audio clips available for downloading from Sonic Images        Internet site: http://sonicimages.com.

        Available in compact disc from major retail outlets, Internet virtual        stores, or directly from Sonic Images (213-650-4400).

    *  The Babylon 5 Limited Edition CD-ROM Entertainment Utility

        Contains a hi-tech screen saver -- featuring actual video clips from        the series -- and over 100 colorful images, 50 AudioClipsTM, 30        Wallpaper Images, Q SoundTM enhanced.  (For Windows 3.1 or later; a        Macintosh version soon to be released.)

        Available from SoundSource Interactive (800-877-4778).

    *  Babylon 5 Character Costumes and Masks

        Four costumes and two masks currently available from Uncomyn Gifts        (800-875-6926 or 360-866-6674).

    *  Babylon 5 Micro Machines

        Two new 3-pack collections -- featuring 6 new space vehicles -- coming        April 1996, in addition to the four continuing collections.

        Available at all major toy retailers.

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