lurkers-guide/ftp/b5log.txt

                     BABYLON 5 - GRID EPSILON LOG

                            REVISION ONE

A guide to the characters and to the history of the station itself, as
extracted from the GEnie posts of its creator, J. Michael Straczynski,
with his permission.  This file is copyright 1992 by J. Michael Straczynski,
Phil Posner, and compilation copyright by GEnie.

(Editor's note: I have made an effort to change as little as possible the
contents and context of JMS's messages.  The only changes made were 
organizational in nature, trying to find a logical place for each piece of
information. 

By no means do I consider this complete. As JMS's posts continue to
fascinate us here in 470/18/22 on GEnie, I fully expect that further
relevant information will be appended, if not by me, then by others.)

(Editor's note to Revision One - I have added to this file the
announcements of cast and creative staff from JMS' posts at 470/18/22. 
Also new is the explanation of `jump points', added to the first section.
At this time the filming of the pilot episode, "The Gathering", has just
been completed, on time and on budget.  We are all looking forward to its
premiere in February 1993.)

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If STAR TREK was "Wagon Train to the Stars," then BABYLON 5 is Casablanca
in space.

BABYLON 5 - THE STATION

BABYLON 5 is a space station in neutral space more or less central to all
five of the different alliances, human or alien. To get to one or the
other, you have to pass through this sector of space. Thus, Babylon 5 has
been created as a sort of port-of-call for travellers, statesmen,
emissaries, traders, refugees and other, less savory characters.

Ten kilometers long and four kilometers wide, Babylon 5 is divided into
separate, discreet sections that rotate at differing speeds to provide
different gravities to accommodate those who come to the station. 

The station boasts living quarters, customs areas, docking bays, meeting
areas, a casino, several bars/nightclubs, command and control domes fore
and aft, a bazaar and a decent defensive grid. In addition, each of the
various federations has one official representative aboard the station 
(with the station's commander representing the Earth Alliance), so that it
also functions as a sort of mini-U.N.

It is home to humans and aliens in various roles, some arriving or
departing every day, others working there full-time. They live on the very
edge of the frontier, in the sense that if they get into trouble, there's
no one who can arrive in time to help them. Because of the nature of the
travellers, they bring their stories with them to Babylon 5 rather than
having to seek them out. The stories are of people in flight, seeking
sanctuary; stories of smugglers, assassins, traders, mappers, dignitaries
and others, all on urgent missions of one sort or another.

It is humanity's last hope for peace, a single hope in the middle of an
uneasy, fragile peace.

And it *is* fragile, and dangerous. It is called BABYLON 5 because the
first three efforts to build the station were sabotaged and destroyed. The
fourth one disappeared without a trace 24 hours after becoming operational.
No one knows what happened to it. All of which makes those involved with #5
just a trifle uneasy.

And *that*...is only the beginning of our story.

As for locations inside B-5...we've designed a number of very different
looks and locations to give it a non-claustrophobic feel. By virtue of
being patterned physically after the work of such scientists as Gerard K.
O'Neil, the absolute center of the elongated station (which revolves to
provide gravity) is a sort of hollow-world look, with fields and hydroponic
gardens along the 360-degree circular section (which is about a half-mile,
or a mile across)...and as you get closer to the absolute center, where a
transport tube cuts from one end of the station to the other, naturally you
get less and less gravity until you can literally hang suspended.  This
area is known as the Garden.

And there are living areas designed to accommodate different environments
and atmospheres and conditions. The alien sectors are off-limits to humans
without protection (breathing gear and other measures). Similarly, a heavy
CO2 breather or methane breather would have to wear an encounter suit to
travel among the humans on the station. In addition, the B-5 station is
actually made up of several independent (though connected) sections, each
revolving at a different speed in order to create alternative areas of
gravity.

Finally, on sets and the "look" of the place...again, there will be a mix. 
Parts of the station are still under construction, and parts are finished.
Some sections are in daylight, some in night, alternating by level and
sector. On the very outer ring, the viewports are in panels ON THE FLOOR,
so you're looking down and out into space, revolving beneath your feet.
Some places will be beautifully finished and neat, and other areas will be
very rough and in-the-works.  (Remember, B5 only recently went operational,
and thus there are still some parts being constructed.) 
 
In talking with our production designer, John Iacovelli, the one term he 
kept using, over and over, was "travelogue."  We should get a real sense in
this show of a world turned inside out...with varying textures, lighting, 
angles, and a mix of looks.  There will *not* be a  homogeneous look to
this place, if I or Iacovelli have anything to say about it.  You can walk
from the carefully and neatly appointed Council Chamber room, to the high-
tech control room, to a section of the station under construction and
exposing beams and wires, to the dark and noire-looking nightclub, to  the
Garden, to.... 
 
You get the idea. 

Located quite some distance away from B5 (a safe distance in case something
goes wrong) is the jump point, which is a device which creates an "exit-
point" from hyperspace.  It's tremendously powerful, allowing smaller ships
to use the system without lugging around the massive amount of equipment
and power sources to burst back in.

The area itself is several miles across.  You go into one at point A, and
emerge at point B.  Big ships -- BIG ships -- can create their own
entrances and exits (which explains how the gates or jump points got
somewhere), and they construct the gates as exploration continues, leaving
gates the way you'd leave bread crumbs.

At least, that's the theory.

BTW...the Babylon 5 station isn't just floating there. It's at the L-5
point in a binary star system between a moon and a barren, lifeless planet.

Well, a *theoretically* barren and lifeless planet, anyway....

But that's Year Two.  The sun and planet have been named Tigris and
Euphrates.  The sector of space in which B5 is located is designated Grid
Epsilon, at coordinates 470/18/22.


THE BACKSTORY

The date: 2257 A.D.

We have gone to the stars, and found that we are not alone. We have moved
quickly out, establishing relations with other civilizations that have let
us leapfrog technologies via an information and cultural exchange with at
least one other culture. Many contacts have been friendly. Some have not
been quite so benign.

THE EARTH/MINBARI WAR

In 2245 or thereabouts, the Earth Alliance made First Contact with a race
known as the Minbari.  They were, at that time, only the second major
civilization we'd encountered, though we had certainly come across a number
of non-aligned worlds and smaller governments, one or two worlds each. The
Minbari represent a *major* force on every level, resources, technology,
sheer number of worlds involved, on and on.

The Minbari are the oldest of the different alien civilizations, and
largely kept to themselves. Their interests were (and are) in attaining
perfection: physical, mental, spiritual, emotional. They answer to a
Council of Elders, whose pronouncements are considered law in an almost
biblical sense. Though deeply religious in their way, they have also
pursued the ways of technology, and as such they are easily the most
advanced of the various alliances. But they view technology as transitory,
a means to an end rather than an end in itself. Like Tom Bombadil in LORD
OF THE RINGS, they can hold the Ring of Technology but it has no hold over
them. 

The Earth/Minbari war began as a misunderstanding. The first time a Terran
ship encountered a Minbari starship, they studied each other closely. The
Minbari ship made a move that they thought would be considered non-
threatening. It wasn't. Even in the present of our story, no one is quite
sure who fired first. The Minbari ship was greater in power, but taken by
surprise, was destroyed, and the Earth ship limped back to base with tales
of a terrible new enemy. Minbari ships, arriving to investigate, were
interpreted to be the first wing of an invasion force by the base
commander, and ships were launched in response before receiving formal
authorization from Earth Central.

The war put a great strain on the Minbari, who have always been strongly
divided between the religious caste, and the military caste, who were now
forced to work together. The religious caste were quietly opposed to the
war, but were generally vague about their reasons when asked.

The climax of the war was the Battle of the Line. Earth had all but lost
the war. In a last-ditch attempt to save Homeworld, every available ship
left in the armada was positioned around Earth itself. It was, everyone
knew, a suicide mission. And that's, indeed, how the Battle of the Line
started out to be.

In the course of that battle, a lone ship -- a one-man fighter with very
little in the way of armaments -- took several heavy hits.  His instruments
failing, other ships blowing up all around him, he aimed his ship at the
nearest Minbari cruiser, deciding to ram it in the hopes of destroying at
least that one ship. He kept his ship on course for as long as he could
hold out. Then, abruptly, he blacked out.
When he awoke, he was still in his ship. Drifting. He fired up the engines,
ready to continue, only to discover two things: first, that he had been out
of it for a full 24 hours.  When he lost consciousness, he had 16 hours of
oxygen left in his ship.  When he awoke 24 hours later...he had 12 hours of
oxygen left in his ship.

Second...the war was over. 

And, incredibly, the Minbari had surrendered. On the very verge of success
in the war, they had rolled over and sued for peace. No one in the Earth
Alliance quite knew why, but they weren't about to debate the issue, and
accepted minimal compensation for the war. The end of the war came with
rumors of a major split between the military and the religious castes.

Now, ten years later, the Earth Alliance is no closer to figuring out why
the Minbari surrendered. It is, in fact, one of the great puzzles of that
era, debated on a hundred different worlds. Only a few strange clues have
slipped out. One is that the military genius who led the Minbari into the
war committed suicide the day of the surrender, though it is unclear if his
death took place before or after the surrender. And the rift between the
military and religious castes apparently came to some sort of climax, with
the religious caste taking complete control.  There are rumors of some sort
of religious vision, of a prophecy of great things, and a prophecy of
complete doom. But since almost nothing is known of Minbari religion, what
this might be, no one knows. There are also rumors that the military caste
has created a secret group of warriors dedicated to destroying the peace
and reviving the war.

At the conclusion of the war, those Terrans who fought in the Battle of the
Line were proclaimed heroes. One of these men was Captain Jeffrey
Sinclair...the pilot who still cannot account for the 24 hours he was out
of contact with Earth Central.  It is this same Sinclair, now ranked as a
Commander, who is now in charge of Babylon 5.

As for the earth/minbari war, its repercussions will still be felt 
throughout the show, and in time will form a major plot point.  There are
also some deep resentments remaining on both sides that we'll have to deal
with. The secret behind the Minbari surrender will gradually become clear,
and will play a major role in our story.  It will affect each of our main
characters in a deeply profound way.

In the interim, as we begin our story, there is an uneasy peace between the
Earth Alliance and the four other alien governments. To help cement that
peace, the EA has constructed BABYLON 5.

THE EARTH ALLIANCE

The Earth Alliance is a fairly new force among the various powers that
populate our show.  It is structured more or less along the lines of the 
Commonwealth of Independent States: there is one monolithic voice that 
speaks in terms of foreign policy, warfare, star travel, but within the
framework of everything else -- domestic policy, economics and the like --
the independent state makes its own rules.

There are also a number of splinter groups in the world (or the universe, I
suppose) of B-5. There are individuals who claim residency in no particular
group or government, they're free-traders of the purest sort.

There are colonies and fringe areas that consider themselves by and
large to be independent. And, from time to time, there will be sparks of
secession and the like. I've never much liked the Gleaming Steel Of A
Perfect Federation approach; I like things a little more tentative, less
sure. And for that matter, even WITHIN the E.A., there are factions and
problems and power struggles and the like. Wheels within wheels.


THE CHARACTERS

COMMANDER JEFFREY SINCLAIR 

Commander Jeffrey Sinclair has come far in the 10 years since the war. He's
had some rough times, but overall he's progressed. And he has at last been
given a major assignment, perhaps the most important job of his life,
concomitant with his promotion to Commander.

Jeffrey Sinclair is the Commander in charge of the Babylon 5 space station.

Although all parties agreed that the station (and its predecessors,
Babylons 1 through 4) was always intended as a sort of mini-U.N. as well as
a free-port,  with an Ambassador from each different alien alliance
present, the Minbari refused to name an ambassador until the station
commander was named first.

Shortly after Sinclair was named Commander, the Minbari assigned their
first ambassador to the station.  Sinclair, a hero of the Line, carries
with him a lot of emotional and psychological baggage from that war.  He's
not happy with the term "war hero," since he saw what really happened on
the Line, and knows it wasn't their combined bravery that drove off the
Minbari. He feels deeply responsible for the deaths of his strike team on
the Line, and is bothered by his inability to recall what happened during
the 24 hours he was out of commission during the war.

He's in his late thirties, good looking, but curiously haunted.

The role of Commander Jeffrey Sinclair.  The actor cast in that role is
Michael O'Hare, who we discovered while casting out of New  York, and who
we have flown out to L.A. for this role.  He's a classically trained actor,
a graduate of Juliard, who just knocked us out when he came in to audition. 
He has a tremendous presence, and a voice vaguely reminiscent of Clint
Eastwood at times.  His face has a curiously haunted look, but at the same
time is (I'm told by the women who go "yum" whenever he enters the room)
quite appealing.  

Michael has appeared in such films as "By a Thread," "Short Term Bonds,"
"Into Thin Air," "Pursuit," "The Promise," and others, as well as on
television in "Blue Revolution," "Case of Deadly Force," "Rage of Angels,"
"The Adams Chronicles," and in such episodic television shows as "The
Equalizer," "L.A. Law," "Kate and Allie" and others.

He is also a VERY accomplished stage actor, having appeared on Broadway to
tremendous reviews in "A Few Good Men," "Players," "Man and Superman" and
"Galileo," among many, many others.

The one thing we did NOT want, which we knew from the start, was one more
pretty-boy TV actor...we wanted someone with character in his face, with a
broad dramatic range.  And we got all of it in Michael O'Hare.


DELENN - THE MINBARI AMBASSADOR

His name is Delenn. And he stays very close to Commander Sinclair.

Some say he is keeping a close eye on Sinclair.

Some say he is Sinclair's friend. And some say there may well be something
very lethal behind those unreadable Minbari eyes.

But then, there are many others, including a shadow-group in the Earth
Alliance, who would very much like to know what happened during the 24
hours that disappeared from Commander Sinclair's life.

Delenn is of a somewhat philosophical bent, but he takes great pleasure in
his emotions.  He is tall, slender, elegant, with obsidian-black eyes and
an amazing strength that belies his appearance.

A small joke in the script finds Delenn sitting quietly in the
Garden, and someone asks him about it.  He'd thought that Sinclair had
named it after the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which he's read about...but
it seems Sinclair named it after some other garden...a Square Garden of
Madison, or something like that...and he's trying to find the cultural
references and figure it out...probably thinks it's something to do with
mythology....he only finds it a curious reference since this garden is
*round*.

The performer who will play Ambassador Delenn is Mira Furlan, whose work is
extremely well known in Europe.  A native Yuglosavian who has appeared in
such highly regarded films as "When Father Was Away On Business" (which
received the Palme D'Or at Cannes, as well as an Oscar nomination), "Three
For Happiness" (which took the Grand Prix at the Valencia Film Festival),
"Dear Video", "Southbound," "The Condemned," "The Beauty of Sin," and
nearly a dozen others, ALL of them starring roles.  There have also been
starring roles in major European productions and half a dozen major film
awards.  BABYLON 5 will be Mira Furlan's entry into American television.

Ideally, what you want to do when you create an alien character is to go
for a look that's, well, *alien*, something that's not quite right about
it.  You can do this from the outside in, with really weird makeup, or from
the inside out.  We have some of the former, and Delenn is one of the
latter.

What we have, basically, is a female actor playing a male character. Women
simply *move* differently than men do; the gestures, the tilt of the head,
the smile, it's just a shade different.  So you now take that, and wrap it
inside a male character, aided by prosthetics to make the face and body
more masculine.  Now, when you look at the finished product, you are
looking at a male, but there's something wrong about it somewhere, and it
makes you a little uncertain.  The first time I saw Mira in full makeup, it
looked great.  And there was something very unusual about it, that sense
that your eyes and your brain are in conflict somewhere about what you're
seeing.

That was a decision made early on, and that's what's different about
Delenn.


VICE-COMMANDER LAUREL TAKASHIMA.

As stated, Commander Jeffrey Sinclair is the titular head of BABYLON 5. His
concerns, though, tend to be more broad in scope...acting as the informal
representative of the Earth Alliance, dealing with questions of policy and
procedure, and keeping an eye on the Ambassadors.

As a result, the day-to-day operations of the station are handled by Vice-
Commander Laurel Takashima. (In case Sinclair is incapacitated or off-
station Laurel is also empowered to take his place on the Council and speak
for the E.A.)

Laurel can usually be found in the B5 Command and Control Room (also
referred to as the Observation Dome), where ships are coming and going,
keeping an eye on who's going where. All departments report directly to
her, and she is answerable only to Sinclair and Earth Central. If, as
happens early on in "The Gathering," a ship's crew refuses to submit to a
weapons search (a requirement for coming aboard B5), she has the authority
to lock them out. (To one complaining ambassador, she stands firm on this,
though noting, "I'll be happy to send them a fruit basket if it'll make you
feel any better. But other than that, they can sit out there for the next
solar year for all I care.")

She has considerable interaction with the ambassadors and others coming
aboard the station. All day-to-day operations are very much her purview.
She initially met Sinclair when she was assigned to Mars Security during
the food riots of 2254.

Laurel is a rarity among the B5 crew, in that she is one of the few
actually born on Earth. (Sinclair was born on the Mars colony, for
instance.) Thus, she has strong roots on Homeworld, which gives her a
perspective that's quite important at times. She's tough, and smart, and
resourceful (conning one of the hydroponics guys into setting aside a
couple of planters on the QT to grow coffee beans...very much against
policy, but if you report her, you can't have any). She has a long-standing
relationship with an off-world mapper who works for the E.A., but is gone
quite a lot of the time. If a fight should ever break out, she can take 
care of herself physically QUITE nicely.

Laurel's job differs from Sinclair's in that his is more
diplomatic/political, and is involved with the Big Picture of running B5,
where Laurel is hands-on in terms of the day-to-day operations of actually
managing the station. If an ambassador has a problem with what the E.A. is
doing, he'll go through Sinclair first; if that same ambassador is annoyed
that his resupply ship isn't being allowed to dock because they won't
comply with the silly request for a weapons scan, that tends to be Laurel's
problem to deal with.
 
Naturally, there is some overlap and shifting of responsibility.  If the 
station is ever attacked, she is as qualified to sit in the command chair
and organize/dictate the defense as Sinclair.  Having run Mars Colony
Security for five years before coming to B5, she's quite capable of
handling the tough stuff. She's in her early thirties.

Some of you here may have seen a WONDERFUL film entitled "Come See The
Paradise," starring Dennis Quaid, along with a fantastic performance by
Tamlyn Tomita.  (The story concerned a young Japanese woman and her
husband, played by Quaid, and the internment camps of the second world
war.)  She received rave notices for that performance, and for her many
other projects, including major roles in "Orange Curtain," "Hawaiian
Dream," "The Karate Kid II," and such television projects as "Quantum
Leap," "The Trials of Rosie O'Neil," "Tour of Duty," "Santa Barbara" (where
she was a series regular), and such TV movies as "Hiroshima," and "To Heal
A Nation."

Tamlyn Tomita has come aboard BABYLON 5 as Lieutenant-Commander Laurel
Takashima, who in concert with Commander Sinclair has primary
responsibility for running B5.  She is a phenomenal performer, vastly
talented, with the strength of personality necessary for a job like the 
one Laurel handles...we're absolutely thrilled to have her aboard.

Those of you who have seen her work will know how fortunate we are to have
her, and what presence and intelligence she will bring to that role.  She's
just terrific.


AMBASSADOR LONDO MOLLARI

On the other end of the spectrum is Ambassador Londo Mollari, of the
Centauri Republic. Londo is the most human of all the various ambassadors,
and there's some speculation that we might be a long forgotten outpost of
the Republic.

Of course, the only ones MAKING that assertion are Londo's people, who have
much to gain in trying to convince others of that.

For a thousand years, the Centauri Republic was a force to be reckoned
with. Like the English empire once upon a time, it held hundreds of planets
in its control. It was a great military power. But slowly, as can happen,
they grew content, and lazy, and gradually their own empire began to slip
between their fingers. A world deciding to go rogue was troublesome, to be
sure, but it's SO far away, and it's SUCH a bother to go take care of it,
when we can easily get the same things from other places...let them go.
They'll come crawling back sooner or later.

As a result, they are now down to a Republic that consists of barely a
dozen systems and thirty worlds.

It was, interestingly enough, the Centauri Republic that was Earth's first
contact with another major government. The CR was well in advance of Earth
science, and we all considered them a terrible power...an illusion they
didn't exactly try to correct.  Trade agreements were set up, and we gained
an ASTONISHING amount of technical know-how in a very short time, letting
us leap-frog a hundred years of progress in a single year.   They were most
curious to get cultural stuff in return...music, art,
philosophy,literature..."native" trinkets that could be resold for more
money back on homeworld. In the thirty or forty years since then, however,
we've found out the truth, that the CR is really on its last legs.  And
we've taken the technology we've gotten and perfected it, and now the Earth
Alliance is fast becoming oneof the dominant forces of this time.  And the
Centauri Republic is trying to attach itself to us the way a ramora
attaches itself to a shark...for preservation, in this case.

They are governed by an emperor, and the government works mainly through
personal and family influence.  It's a very indulgent society, and Londo
reflects that.  Overweight, prone to gambling constantly (null-pool is his
favorite), and fond of women and drinks, he understands his role and
doesn't try to push it.  Like his Republic, he subsists on old stories and
tales of former glory, remarking -- one night, when drunk -- "my god, we've
become a tourist attraction.  See the Great Fallen Centauri Republic, open
nine to five...Earth Time."  He is, by turns, a comic figure, and a tragic
figure. By our standards, he would be in his late fifties.

Oh, one other thing about Londo.  He has a wife, his third, actually, on
Centauri Prime, and seven kids.

And he would sooner hurl himself into the sun than go anywhere near ANY of
them.

Peter Jurasik will be playing the Centauri ambassador, Londo Mollari, a
role that calls for some degree of humor, but beneath that a layer of
something potentially not-good.  He knocked us all out during auditions. 
We locked him down instantly.


AMBASSADOR G'KARR

At one time, the Centauri Republic controlled most of what is now 
inhabited space.  As part of that, a race known as the Narns were
once very much under Centauri control, and they received in many
ways the most brutal treatment of any "protectorate" in Centauri 
jurisdiction.  A little under a hundred years ago, as the power of the 
Centauri Republic was fading, the Narns broke their chains in open
revolution and expelled the occupying army, achieving independence.  The
way they were able to achieve independence was through a strong  military
mindset and sense of pride and destiny, a perception that has with time
become something darker and more menacing.  Still smarting from two
centuries of occupation, they launched a major effort to build up their own
forces. They strip-mined their economy to get their hands on the  latest
weapons tech, most of it illegally obtained.   They began slowly to 
convince themselves that they had a Destiny among the stars...a destiny of
conquest.
 
And over the last few decades, they have been tentatively extending 
themselves, taking over unallied planets here and there on the fringe of
the  Narn system, small places that offered strategic and economic value,
but which were too far away to fight for, and of too little importance to
the Centauri republic, which was busy dealing with its own internal
problems.
 
The Narn Regime now is in many ways the X-factor, the new kid on the  block
with something to prove.  They're growing awfully strong, awfully fast.  
They're cunning, and determined, and quite deadly. 
 
Which brings us to Ambassador G'Kar (pronounced Juh-KARR), of the Narn 
Regime, married to a female war hero, whose fathers on both sides were also 
distinguished veterans of a hundred campaigns.  In the main, his task is to
use  the facilities of B5 wherever possible to Narn advantage -- from
arranging  tech-smuggling to military objectives and so on -- while doing
all possible to  interfere with the basic purpose of the station, to create
the peace.  Peace  is not in their best interests, though they give the
opposite impression.   They want to keep all sides divided and at each
others throats so that they're  occupied while the Narns grow and expand
quietly in the background.  The last  thing they want is an alliance aimed
against them before they're ready.    One last note about G'Kar...I
wanted to create someone specifically who folks would gradually come to
expect is behind anything that goes wrong or afoul.  "Oh, he's the bad
guy."  And to a large extent, for the first season, he  will be...then
something quite surprising will happen, and everything you  THINK you know
about Ambassador G'Kar will be turned completely upside down.  We've all
seen the SF standard of The Villain Who Chews Scenery...I wanted to  take
that and use it just long enough to get folks comfortable with the 
convention...then pull the rug out from under them.    

The actor who will portray Ambassador G'Kar of the Narn Regime is Andreas
Katsulas.

His film work includes the latest Woody Allen film, Blake Edwards'
"Sunset," as well as "Someone To Watch Over Me," "Communion," "Next of Kin"
and many others.  On television, he has appeared in ST:TNG as Romulan
Commander Tomolak, ALIEN NATION, THE EQUALIZER, MAX HEADROOM, THE HUMAN
FACTOR and many more.


THE VORLONS

Let's talk about the Vorlons...because there ain't much we can SAY about
the Vorlons...because nobody KNOWS anything about them.

In our opening movie, everyone's awaiting the arrival of the fifth and
final ambassador (four if you don't count Sinclair) from the primary alien
governments.  He is a Vorlon, a race we have tried, without much success,
to learn about ever since we first picked up their transmissions. Several
scout ships were sent on First Contact missions.  All of them met with
unfortunate "accidents" upon entering Vorlon space.  
The Vorlons tendered their most *sincere* apologies.

And suggested no further expeditions.

Now, at last, with B5 becoming functional, and all of the *other*
ambassadors in place, it no longer makes strategic sense to continue in
their isolation.  So the arrival of the Vorlon is a Big Deal.  No human has
ever even SEEN a Vorlon.  

And they play it right up to the hilt.  The ambassador -- Kosh Naranek --
maintains only audio contact with B5 as his ship makes the long voyage,
citing "problems" with audio.  He clearly doesn't want to broadcast the
Vorlon face all over the quadrant.  So no problem, after all, he has to
arrive eventually, and they'll see him then.

Not quite.

The ship arrives.  The Vorlon ambassador emerges from his ship...and well,
y'see, he comes from a very different environment.  Lots of methane and
CO2.  Our atmosphere is poisonous to Vorlons.  So he emerges wearing an
Encounter Suit...which covers every square inch of his body except for his
hands -- assuming those ARE his hands -- with a dark faceplate in the
front.  The only place he can remove all of that is in his quarters, and
there are no vids in his quarters, no way to observe him or see his true
face.

So...even now, no human has STILL ever seen a Vorlon.

Well, that's not *entirely* true.  
Legend has it that one human saw a Vorlon.  A pilot who crashed, off
course, on a Vorlon colony.

According to that legend, the human who saw a Vorlon...was turned to stone.
But, after all, it's only a legend.  At least, that's what our
resident xenobiologist sincerely *hopes* when he has to --

Oops.  Not now.  Later.

Early in the history of the B5 *series*, artwork was prepared that showed
what Kosh looked like under that encounter suit.  It was designed as
deliberate misinformation.  No one knows what a Vorlon looks like, not the
studio, not my associates...not even my Spousal Overunit.  I've kept THAT
one a close and very careful secret.  One that won't be revealed for about
a season, maybe a season and a half, depending.  With luck, the surprise
will be considerable...and will take the show into a completely unexpected
direction.  

By the way we've decided that Ambassador Kosh will be played by...himself.

Kosh *will* be a mechanical creation/operated by a (for lack of a better
term) puppeter inside, rather than an actor.  Remember, he wears an
encounter suit at all times, so we won't see his face...as for the voice
question...he doesn't speak for the entire 2 hours.  At the end, he makes
*one* gesture (no, not THAT gesture), and that's it.  He *will* speak for
the series, and for that we will get a voice actor to loop it, but not now.


LYTA ALEXANDER - THE TELEPATH

The name of the station's resident rent-a-telepath is Lyta Alexander. She
works for B5, but she is available for businessmen who need to make sure
that the person across the table can really deliver what's promised. 
(Note: she is not the only one, they're pretty common in business at this
time in the future.)  Not an empath, by the way, but a proper, licensed
(Psi-Corps, Level 5) TELEPATH.  Bound by all the regs of the P-C.  No
random scanning, no access to the gaming tables, no unauthorized dipping,
all deals must be on record.  And there's the privacy question that TNG has
never really dealt with.  A telepath peeping into someone's mind or
emotions without that person's permission (or that of the next of kin) can
likely have his or her license revoked.  It's a basic right of
privacy...whereas a Certain Other I can think of is constantly peeping into
people's emotions and feelings without so much as a by-your-leave.  And,
again, this will be the very exacting reading of thoughts, rather than a,
"I sense discomfort" sort of thing.  She's in her early thirties or late
twenties.

I'd created the role of Lyta Alexander (the rent-a-telepath) along with
every other character 'way back when.  Between then and now, I saw the
remake of "Night of the Living Dead," and was blown out of the room by one
of the actors: Patricia Tallman.  I'd always thought that Lyta should have
eyes somehow bigger than they should be (no makeup, just the perception),
should be a redhead, and should be physically capable of handling herself. 
So when time came to revise the script, update it and stuff, as I wrote
Lyta's part, I kept thinking of Tallman (and expanding the part
commensurately).

As we began auditions, I kept an open mind...but always kinda hoped that
Patricia would be the one that we all liked.  And, sonuvagun, that's how
it's worked out.  So she's Lyta.  (In addition to NOTLD, she's also
appeared in "Knightriders," "Roadhouse," "Monsignore," in the upcoming
"Army of Darkness," and in television on "Generations," "Tales from the
Darkside," "Texas" and "Guiding Light.")

Basically, about half our cast members have backgrounds in the genre, like
Katsulas and Tallman and, nominally, Tomita and Jurasik.  The rest do not. 
I think that makes for a good mix.


CAROLYN SYKES

Carolyn Sykes is Commander Sinclair's...darn, what's the right word these
days?  Significant other?  Lady-friend?  Lover?  Main squeeze?  (I keep
having this recurrent flash from "Young Frankenstein," as Frau  Blucher
calls out, "He vas....my BOYFRIEND!")

Carolyn has been romantically involved with Sinclair for a couple of years
when we meet her.  She knows quite a bit about him, but there are some
things he still hasn't told her.  They have a very adult, sexual
relationship, and they are both independent and equal.  She is the owner,
and pilot, of the trading vessel ULYSSES...a self-made woman who's an
established and respected trader in a variety of goods.  She works mainly
within the Earth Alliance colony worlds, though in the last few years she's
added routes in the Centauri sector.  

She's sophisticated, sharp, and no-nonsense...screw around with her too
much, change the terms of your agreement in hopes of taking unfair
advantage of her, and she'll jettison the cargo right into the sun.  She
has a reputation to protect, and would rather lose the deal than be dealt
with unfairly.  It sets a bad precedent...and on some of the worlds she has
to deal with, the perception of strength is vital.

Her feelings about Sinclair's position are mixed.  On the one hand, she
feels that he's the right man for the job, and he's doing a terrific job. 
On the other hand, she knows that part of him longs to be back in the
pilot's seat of a starship, and when things start to get bad, she offers
him that chance...to tell them all to piss off, and the two of them will
pool their resources, buy a bigger ship, and go off on their own.
Because of their schedule, she must find time together when they can,
stolen hours before the next run to another world, another system.  They
are both supportive of each other, though that doesn't remove the
occasional conflict common to any relationship.  She isn't dark and driven,
she's a strong female character who's *happy* in her work, she enjoys it --
the freedom, being responsible -- and wouldn't change it for the world.

They are very much involved with each other, but because of their different
lives, both know that there's every chance that this might all end between
them.  So they don't often deal with that question, though it's a thought
that is sometimes expressed in the bedroom, at night, in soft tones.  They
might drift apart, find someone else, or something could happen to one or
both of them; their jobs are not exactly conducive to longevity.  So they
seize every moment and enjoy it as best they can.  She's in her early or
middle thirties.

For Commander Sinclair's lady-friend, trader Carolyn Sykes, we have Blair
Baron.  If you've seen "League Of Their Own," she's in the opening sequence
as the daughter who encourages her mother to go out and attend the Hall of
Fame opening.


DR. BENJAMIN KYLE

Dr. Benjamin Kyle is Babylon 5's resident xenobiologist.  He's in his late
forties or early fifties, black, very thoughtful, very dignified...with a
sly sense of humor (not sarcasm) that tends to catch one off guard.  He
began as a physician on Earth, and was a leading researcher into
xenobiology there, gaining a quick grasp of the ins and outs of the few
alien cultures that we (then) were in contact with.  Naturally inquisitive,
early on as a much younger man he began to "hitch-hike" onto deep-space
ships, always hungry for new information that could be used by humans and
outworlders alike.  (His deal was that he would act as ship's physician
without charge, in exchange for a bit of freedom whenever they made
planetfall somewhere.)

He has seen, catalogued and operated on more alien lifeforms than just
about any other Earther in this time.  And had his share of close scrapes,
as well.  Some races consider is sacrilege for any other race to "enter"
their bodies through surgery...Ben will take the risk if it means saving a
life.

He's detailed, methodical, single-minded...and if one route is closed,
he'll go another, even if it means getting into a fair amount of trouble. 
(Which happens in the pilot.)

One scene omitted from the script for purposes of time is kind of
illustrative of Ben's humor.  During a crisis -- there's someone in the
medical area (I'm being deliberately vague) who's in trouble, and Ben's on
stims, staying awake to see the patient through -- he at one point has to
talk to Sinclair.

Sinclair is asleep, Carolyn beside him, when the call comes in via the
bedside monitor.  Noting Carolyn's state of undress, Sinclair tells the
monitor to receive the call, "audio only."  Ben starts in on his
report...then stops.  He can't see Sinclair.  Sinclair, noting Carolyn who
stirs beside him, says, of the monitor, "Slight malfunction."  

"Ah," Ben's voice comes..."Hello, Carolyn."  He knows she's there, and
tells Sinclair c'mon, let me see you while I'm talking to you...I'm a
doctor, I'm not going to see anything I haven't seen before.

With a shrug from Carolyn, Sinclair switches on the video.
Ben's face appears on the monitor.  He looks over to Carolyn.  Smiles. 
"Nice tan."

Carolyn's response...is best left unstated.

Ben volunteered to come to Babylon 5 for several reasons: as the best in
his field, he's most capable of dealing with any emergencies, and this is
the sort of place where that is most needed.  In addition, he's getting a
little old to be hitch-hiking on starships...why not settle down
somewhere where the aliens come to *you* instead of the other way around?

He's single, his wife having passed away some five years ago, one more
reason he's come to B5.  There's nothing left at home for him now that
she's gone.  He has two grown children, one of whom is successful, the
other...well, less so.

He's been offered research grants from some of Earth's biggest
corporations, universities have offered him important posts, the government
would LOVE to have him come work for them (where, he suspects darkly, they
would have him work on alien biological warfare)...but he's said no to all
of them.  His place is as a working physician and xenobiologist, at a place
where he will have ample time to study the new species they encounter, and
do his part for peace.

For the part of Dr. Benjamin Kyle we have Johnny Sekka, who has been
featured in such films as THE FEVER, HANKY PANKY, ASHANTI, A WARM DECEMBER,
THE SOUTHERN STAR, KHATROUM,  WOMAN OF STRAW and others (working, along the
way, with such folks as  Ryan O'Neal, Sidney Poitier, Orson Welles,
Laurence Olivier and Sean Connery, to name but a few), and in such
television projects as MASTER OF  THE GAME, ROOTS: THE SECOND GENERATION,
KINGSTON CONFIDENTIAL and PASSION IN PARADISSE...Johnny Sekka comes out of
the Old Vic in London, the Royal Court theater, and the Strattford Theater,
classically trained.  

He's a wonderful actor, with a great sense of elegance and style and 
power.  Like so many others, when he came in the door, we knew instantly 
that this was the one for us.  (And the kind of accent you wish every 
doctor had...you'd trust him immediately.)


SECURITY CHIEF MICHAEL GARIBALDI

Michael has a long and not terribly salutory history.  He's been bounced
from one job to another for years, always getting into trouble with
someone or other, usually because he won't back down from a fight, and
won't obey orders that involve hidden criminalities. He's also been
framed on occasion...all of which drove him into serious problems with
alcohol.  He's largely overcome those problems...at least, so he now
believes.

When turned loose on a case, anyone and everyone is fair game, and no one
is presumed innocent until he has all the facts.  He has little
respect for policy or diplomatic niceties.  He's outwardly confident in his
abilities, but wracked internally by doubt.  
He's in his late thirties or early forties, with a face lined by
the troubles he's survived.  He was brought to B5 by Commander
Sinclair, over EA objections, because Sinclair wanted someone who would do
what was required, even if it involved him.  Someone with allegiance only
to the truth.  He got it.  Now he has to figure out if that's
really such a good idea or not....

For Security Chief Michael Garibaldi, a series regular, we've tapped Jerry
Doyle.  Probably a number of you may not be familiar with that name, but
he's been around a lot.  He only got into the acting business about 2-3
years ago, but  hit almost immediately, with major roles in such films as
"Kidnapped" and "Being in Time," and on television in "Reasonable Doubts,"
"Homefront," appearing 27 times in "Bold and the Beautiful," and in
"Moonlighting."

He's not only a fine actor, but a *very* strong personality, well suited to
work with the actor playing Commander Sinclair...about whom more later. 
We'd gone through a number of actors for the role of Garibaldi -- something
like 25 or 30 -- many of whom were good, but he knocked us out.  When
someone comes into audition, you usually do a "slate," meaning you stick
'em against a wall and ask them their name, their height, and which part
they're auditioning for.  In this case, when asked "And which role are you
auditioning for?" he answered, "The role I'm going to get...Michael
Garibaldi."  And he did.


MORE ABOUT THE CREW

Insofar as crew relations are concerned...bear in mind that on any show,  a
*lot* of that comes about as you introduce the characters, and the actors
get to know each other.  Chemistry can't be predicted.  What we do have,
for now, is that Laurel Takashima met Cmdr. Sinclair when she was working
Mars  Colony security, and because she refused to go along with kickbacks
to some corrupt E.A. officials, was being held back.  He was transferred
there in an advisory capacity, saw her potential, and pulled her back from
some  potentially dangerous (and self-destructive) stuff she was getting
into out of frustration at being passed over repeatedly for promotion.   
He's also known Garibaldi, the B5 security chief, for some time, but has 
never actually worked with him for any prolonged period of time.  He has 
elected, over the objections of Earth Central, to give Garibaldi this 
position, and it's his last chance to make good.  But from time to time,
the requirements of a security chief don't reconcile with the needs of the 
commander.  

He's only recently begun working with the resident xenobiologist and the
newly-arrived station telepath. 
 
Is there conflict between them?  Yes, at times severe.  They all deeply 
respect one another, but conflict arises as it must given the situation,
and the close proximity, and the problems they encounter.  The basic
requirement of ANY good drama is interpersonal conflict. 


THE PRODUCTION STAFF

Doug Netter is Exec Producer on BABYLON 5.  I am Co-Executive Producer. I
worked with Doug on several projects in the past, including CAPTAIN POWER,
where he was, again, producer.  He's irascible, and every bit as much of a
pain in the butt as I am.  He grouses, carries on... one day I expect to
wander into the offices and find him wearing a patch over one eye, a knife
between his teeth, talking to a parrot and preparing to board the building
next door.

And I trust him implicitly.  Doug is a straight-shooter.  I have three
rules I live by when I work on a project: I never lie, I never BS, and I
never, EVER bluff.  Doug's the same way.  When he tells you he will do X,
it happens.  Period.  He's a pro, and was previously the head of production
at MGM.

When we were working together on CP, Doug made me a promise.  He said,
"Look, Joe, you know me, I'm not a writer, that's not what I'm good at.  So
I will never give you a creative note.  Production notes, hell yes. 
Creative scripts notes...no."

And he kept that promise.

Which is why, when it came time to show someone what I'd come up with on
BABYLON 5, instead of going righ off the bat to a big studio or a
network...I went to Doug.  He liked it, and we formed a partnership to
pruce the movie and the series.  He's invested a lot of time and effort
over the last 4 years, when it seemed it would never happen, but he never
lost faith in the project.

We have a great relationship: we insult each other shamelessly.  I've even
learned to somewhat mimic his voice, so I can return fire with his own
words, in his own voice.  When our casting director met with us for the
first time and started going over how much she *loved* the script, he broke
in, "No, no, no, jeez, what're you saying, you can't say that, we NEVER say
that, I'm telling you you can't work with the man if you say that kind of
thing.  You gotta tell him it's *sufficient*, but just barely, and with
luck we can save it in post.  Jeez, no, don't ever do that again."

He's a very funny man.

I'm having him roughed up on Friday.

THAT'S who Doug Netter is.

Director: Richard Compton.  One of the prime directors for The Equalizer
and Hill Street Blues and Miami Vice.

Director of Cinematography: Billy Dickson.  Billy has an amazing eye for
color and shadow and composition that many of you may have seen on the
Desperado programs.  First-class.

EFX Director: Ron Thornton.  Main EFX fellow behind The Addams Family,
Highlander II, Plymouth, Dr. Who The Movie and others.

Production Designer: John Iacovelli.  Award winning production designer
direct from Honey, I Shrunk The Kids and other projects.

Production Manager/Line Producer: Bob Brown.  Previously producer or
production manager on War of the Roses, Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom,
Return of the Jedi, Iceman and the three Childs Play movies.

Casting Director: Mary Jo Slater.  Mary Jo has cast untold numbers of
movies and TV programs, from the revived Dark Shadows to the recent
Intruders mini-series to Star Trek VI.

Plus others we've nabbed from James Cameron's company, Steven Spielberg's
company, George Lucas' company, Jim Henson's company, and others.  Names as
I can release them.

Those of you into films may know the work of John Stiers, who's done most
of the physical SFX for the James Bond films, for Outland and other films. 
He's an academy award winner who *never* works in television, out of
choice.  Turns out, he heard of what we were doing with B5, and asked to
see a copy of the script, not believing what he'd heard, that anyone would
even TRY something like this for television.  Read the script...and he's
aboard B5 in that capacity.  Turned down a film job that would have paid 3
times as much.  At the production meeting today, he commented that he
hasn't seen a group of people, or an operation, or an attitude like this in
television EVER...and that the last time he ran into something like this in
film was on the first James Bond movie, where everyone knew they were
creating something special.


HARLAN ELLISON

For the first time today, another writer was hired to write some material
for B5.  This for the series down the road.  Long before we can begin
hiring writers on the series, we need...well, not a bible, because that's
already written...and not a sample script, because that's already written
as well...but for lack of a better term, and since we're sticking with such
Biblical references as Babylon to start with, call it an Epistle. 
Something which will spell out, for writers, what you should and should not
do in a science fiction television series...the dumbnesses to avoid, the
overused plots, the goals to aspire toward.  Call it a manifesto of our
intentions.  For something like this, I went to someone with the toughest
standards around. So yes, Harlan Ellison has been commissioned to write it. 
And has accepted.  And is starting posthaste.

If *that* doesn't tell writers we mean business, and set the standard of
what we intend to shoot for, I don't know what will.



THE PHILOSOPHY

Given that the first 3 Babylon stations were destroyed, and the fourth
vanished...why rebuild it?  Why make B5?  It was an idea that was right, 
and those responsible refused to knuckle under to what was, in effect,
terrorism.  During WW II, someone asked Winston Churchill what he would do
if a V-2 took out Big Ben.  "We shall rebuild it," he said.  And what if
they knock THAT down?  "We shall rebuild it again, and again, as many times
as is required.  Because it is not theirs to destroy, it is OURS."

B5, at this crucial time, is the last, best hope for peace, and there are
people dedicated to pursuing that peace, whatever the cost, however many
times others may try to destroy it.  Those aboard B5 know the risk, but
come because they believe in what it stands for, just as U.N. observers go
into a country knowing fully that they may be killed. Why more Babylons?
Why make more space shuttles after one blows up, even though you KNOW that
the odds indicate that at least one more will go, sooner or later?
Why continue with the Gemini space program even after those astronauts died
in that terrible fire?

Because the universe doesn't reward you for doing what's safe, and easy. 
Because courage and persistence is what pulled us out of the seas and onto
land and dragged us through millions of years of evolution.   What sets the
human race apart from everything else is our persistence, the stubborn,
noble dignity that propelled Washington's men, when offered the chance to
stand down during the revolutionary war, when they were tired and bleeding
and frostbitten, to refuse to knuckle under, and to go on.

During WW II, again, there were cases of planes sent in to bomb strategic
sites...and when one batch was shot down, another wing went off.  And
another. And another.  Until finally SOMEONE got through.   Because it had
to be done.  The consequences were too terrible otherwise.

We have come into an age when it seems passion is passe, when the very
common coin of our shared humanity, the willingness to put our lives on the
line for a cause or a belief, seems somehow suspect.  Why do people rebuild
BABYLON 5 even though it's not safe?  Why do they go there when it's not
safe?

Because the Earth/Minbari war ALONE almost wiped out humanity.  We can't
afford NOT to be there.
And these people are willing to put their lives on the line to see that
never happens again.  Because they damn near won the first time, and the
next bunch might well finish the job.

One of my favorite pieces of verse is from Tennyson's ULYSSES.  And it is
at the core of what BABYLON 5 is about.  It concerns the final voyage of
Ulysses...older, tired, who has lost his family and most of his kingdom and
most of his men, betrayed and saddened...and he gathers up those few
surviving members from his earlier journey, and as they prepare to push
off, he concludes with a final benediction: "Though we are not now that
strength that in old days moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we
are: one equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate but
strong in will, to strive, to seek, to find and not to yield."
 
Ethnic Diversity: yes, most definitely.  Leaving the aliens aside for the 
time being where sexuality may not necessarily be as we know it, and ethnic 
background is a bit different, and since the question concerned itself with 
humans...our *main characters* consist of the following: a male caucasian 
commander; a female Japanese vice-commander; a male Italian security chief;
a black Xenobiologist male; a female telepath whose ethnic background we
haven't yet determined; a female caucasian trader (Sinclair's S.O.); and
(for the series, later) a female environmental specialist (probably
Hispanic).  My  feeling here is that we have *all* gone to the stars, and I
want there to be a  good ethnic mix in both the main characters, and the
guest-starring and cameo  actors.  And I *especially* want to see a nearly
50/50 mix of men and women in  equally significant jobs and
responsibilities.  

Relationships: My sense of the story is that things are a lot more relaxed
in that respect.  Some folks get married.  Others don't.  There are open-
ended relationships.  It's not a big deal one way or another; there are 
always going to be those who prefer monogamy, and those who tend to roam.  

And bear in mind one *crucial* aspect to B5...there is a constant mix of 
not only ethnic groups, but alien races, religions, thought, standards,
mores,  and sexual practices.  This will present a constant opportunity to
explore  alternate ideas, and to mix-and-match.  By our exposure, humans
may adopt some alien notions, and vice versa.  B5 is the ultimate melting
pot, just as the  early Ports of Call were a hodge-podge of dialects,
backgrounds, beliefs and other elements, whose only real commonality was
that their business or  personal lives brought them to the same place at
the same time.  Same with B5. 
 
Re: action...a lot of the action will take place aboard B5, just as a lot 
of the action in a cop show or mainstream drama takes place in a city...and
B5 is exactly that, a self-contained city or world of its own.  There's
*plenty* of opportunity for drama in that, when you stop to consider the
staggering conflicts possible between people, races, and technologies.   
But there will also be some action outside...there's a good amount of that
in the pilot movie, and there will be potential for more as we go along.  
The one thing I want to *avoid* is the New Threat Of The Week story, in
terms of somebody attacking B5.  I think that would get old REAL fast.  The
best terrain for conflict is, as Fitzgerald said, the human (or alien)
heart in conflict with itself. 
 
Will there be zealots?  Oh, yes.  To be sure.  Keep an eye on the
Minbari.... 
 
Re: Fandom (ed):  It's fun to see this sort of thing bouncing back from 
the other side of the screen...though the comment about a fandom for a show
that doesn't exist yet is well taken.  I don't *want* people signing on to 
something they haven't seen yet, at least not to excess, because up until
the *minute* that we hit the airwaves, this is all just balloon juice.  You 
shouldn't give this project too much support, just as you shouldn't start 
handing around blank checks that you've signed. 
 
Let us *prove* what we can do.  SF fans are *constantly* being hustled by 
one person or company or another.  They/you are shilled at conventions,
hyped on nonexistent projects, and get your hopes up only to have them
dashed.    If what I write here is interesting, if it gives a sense of how
a show like this comes together...terrific.  But the only thing that
fundamentally matters is what's on the screen.  Until then, take everything
here with a pound of salt. 
 
Force us to prove the point.  If we are fortunate enough, once we hit the 
air, to find fans and others who appreciate the show, we want those who
will challenge us and force us to put up or shut up.  Because talk is
cheap.  Mine included. 

End of sermon. 

Re: what I learned on my trips to conventions and appearing on WHY CAN'T
THEY GET IT RIGHT? panels...what I came away with was a general sense of
frustration from people who felt that in most cases, a show ends up being
either good SF and bad television, or good TV but bad SF, and why can't you
mix the two?  They pointed to the lack of character conflict in TNG, noting
(correctly) that conflict is the core of ANY drama.  They wondered --
repeatedly -- why it is that every time a decent concept comes along,
someone has to hobble it with kids or cute robots.

It was just a general sense of frustration that while SF in print (and to
SOME extent films) has grown up into adulthood, TV SF was still perceived
AND EXECUTED as though for kids, or without the grittiness or maturity of
the work you'd associate with Gibson or Sterling or Clarke.   ST was, by
and large, an anomaly in that it treated SF with a modicum of respect. 
There's not been much of that, the audience tended to feel.

Which made me all the more determined to try and bring SF into the
mainstream not by compromising the SF, but by -- as it were -- bringing the
mountain to Mohammed by incorporating elements that mainstream viewers 
have come to expect from non-SF series: adult characters with adult
relationships, sexual and otherwise; interpersonal conflict; marriages and
divorces and pregnancies and all the other elements that are the common
coin of our shared humanity.  People who live in a world that, unlike the
antiseptic Enterprise, requires courage and struggle and hope and joy and
effort, exactly as those elements are required in our own lives.

My models, in a way, are DRAGNET and HILL STREET BLUES.  There was a time 
when cop shows were viewed the same way SF shows are viewed now: of
interest only to people into police procedurals and mysteries, which  was
considered a very small proportion of the audience.  The along came
DRAGNET, which for the first time showed cops going on dates, having
divorces, barbeques, fights...and that show went through the roof because
it fleshed out the characters (for that time...yes, they're stiff and
cardboard now, but at that time they were revolutionary, and if you check
your TV history, you will find that DRAGNET is still considered the most
successful cop show ever produced for TV).  HILL STREET BLUES was the final
culmination of that process, a model from which came shows like LA LAW and
ST. ELSEWHERE and others.
There is absolutely NO reason on earth why that same process cannot apply
to SF.  And that is what we are pledged to do on this show.  I expect
either to succeed -- astonishingly -- or fail, just as astonishingly. But
there won't be a middle ground.


JMS on his approach to storytelling, after his comment that he knows the
first scene of the first season, and the last scene of the very last (year
five) season of the show, and the question "is every single episode  mapped
out?":
 
I know where each season will end, and where the next season will begin.  
Those episodes are locks.  Within each season, I have set aside 
benchmarks...certain events that much happen at some point in that given 
season.  Assuming a 22 episode season, about half, or 11 out of each 22,
will be benchmark episodes.  The other 11 will be up for grabs in terms of
the  general arc of the show.  I think you *have* to be open to what some 
freelancer hits you with unexpectedly, be open to surprises and things you 
never considered. 
 
It's a very fine line.  The goal is that if you didn't know about the 
show, had no sense of history or any of the characters, you could tune in
to Episode 18, Season 3, and be able to enjoy the show *immediately*.  The 
problem with a show like, say, TWIN PEAKS (which I enjoyed enormously, by
the way), was that if you missed an episode or two, you were pretty much
lost. 

Each and every episode of B5 ***must*** be able to stand completely on its 
own. 
 
What happens is that you start laying down threads that, over time, as you
watch more and more episodes, tells a much larger story.  The more you 
watch, the more you'll get out of it.  If you watch one, you'll be able to 
enjoy that one strictly on its own terms. 
 
It's a trick I learned while writing/story editing, of all things, The Real
Ghostbusters.  Those were written on two levels; one for younger viewers,
one for older.  If you didn't get the older stuff, it didn't get in the way
of enjoying the show.  If you *did* get the more sophisticated stuff, it
added another *layer* to the experience. 
 
Another comparison, out of my league as it might be, would be the 
Hieronymous Bosch painting, Garden of Earthly Delights.  You can go in to
any  panel or section of that triptych, and that could almost be a painting
on its  own terms, it's so detailed.  When you pull back, though, you begin
to see a much larger story, a wider and more varied tapestry. 
 
It's a challenge, from a writing point of view, but it's eminently do-able. 
We started to do some of that in Power; that show changed dramatically at
the end of season one, and we were starting to develop threads that, in 
toto, would tell a much different story.  There were clues all over the
place. (Soaron saying, of his programming, "There is something in my
program I do not understand...there is something in the dark," referring,
as we would later  discover, to a program that would force him to kill
Dredd; the fate of Power's mother; the *real* agenda behind what was going
on; wheels inside wheels  inside wheels....)

Maybe it's my Eastern European heritage, but I *love* sagas, and B5 will 
present a chance to tell that kind of saga.  When I was assigned the V 
miniseries job, I took a similar approach, trying to create a whole and 
consistent world. 
 
But this is hardly revelation; the world of SF print has been doing this 
now ever since the Lensman books.  The job now is translating that approach
to television, and bring it up to, oh, at least where SF was 20 years 
ago.... 


"What about sin?"

Personally, I'm for it.

There's nothing more boring than someone who's overcome all his or
her vices...so all of our characters will be prey to one problem or
another.  Ambassador Londo Mollari has a BIG gambling problem (and a
secondary problem with women), Garibaldi has a history with alcohol and
other substances that almost got him kicked out of his prior jobs...I find
the most interesting people those who are always fighting to be better, to
be more, to avoid falling into vice despite terrible temptation.

And some will not survive that temptation.

At the central core of our humanity is the fact that we are flawed, and
it's overcoming those flaws that makes for real drama.  Or, in some cases,
being overcome BY those flaws.

You have to understand the key issue that has always been, and will always
be, at the *heart* of Babylon 5.  In 99.9% of all SF-TV in the last twenty
years or so, there have always been the Noble Good Guys and the Awful Bad
Guys.  I don't buy that.  Whether it's 20 years from now or 200, we will
still be humans.  Some will be better or more noble than others, and some
will be constantly on the lookout for the next scam, the next vice, the
next thrill or danger or target.  

In Babylon 5, I want to hew as closely as possible to how REAL people would
react in this situation.  I haven't labored at this for four years to do
one more Good Guy In Shoot-Em-Ups With The Bad Guys Show.

Garibaldi will lapse in his rehabilitation.  Londo will get in very serious
trouble because of his vices.  Laurel will have a run-in with certain
chemicals.  Even Sinclair will fall prey to a weakness of his own.  The
question is...what do each of them now DO about it?  THAT is what makes it
interesting.

There's a short story entitled "The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg," by Mark
Twain.  In that story, we meet a town of people who have put up a sign
outside their town, "Lead Us Not Into Temptation."  And they have
scrupulously avoided temptation for years.  One day, into this town of
self-proclaimed and self-satisfied virtue comes temptation, in the form of
a bag of gold which someone, offering the right phrase, is supposed to
collect.  The man who really left it (and we find later it's lead), gives
the town's most virtuous people fake phrases, to see if they will try and
collect that which is not theirs.

Every one of them fall for it...and the town is embarrassed and
ashamed...and many are wonderfully vindicated by this.  And now the sign in
front of the town reads, "Lead us INTO Temptation."  Because it's only when
we are truly tested that our virtue means a damn thing.

"The human heart in conflict with itself," William Faulkner said, is the
only thing worth writing about.  Mainstream shows explore that question in
hospitals, in police stations, in lawyers offices, on the frontier.  Now B5
will explore it on the frontier of space, in a self-contained world of its
own.  If that wasn't the whole point, I'd have given up on this a long long
time ago.

There's one final thing to consider: many of the SF shows of the past have
been produced by people who knew nothing of the genre, or who held outright
contempt for the genre. I'm a fan. I came up through the ranks of SF shows
hating some and loving those few that treated its audience as though they
were reasonably intelligent.  THE PRISONER is, to my mind, one of the
finest examples of television storytelling.

As a fan, I want it done *right*.  Virtually every member of our production
team is a fan.  This is almost unheard-of in television.  And they all have
a point to prove...that you *can* do good SF on television and have it be
successful, WITHOUT talking down, WITHOUT filling the show with cute kids
or robots, WITHOUT turning every episode into a shoot-em-up, and WITHOUT
getting pompous or self-impressed.  

For four years, this has been our dream, our child, awaiting birth.

We hope that it will be well received, given a good home, and nourished so
that it can grow strong.

ADDITIONAL READING

STARLOG #182 - September 1992. Pg.34, "Where Empires Touch", by Lawrence
V. Conley.

WRITER'S DIGEST - October 1992.  Pg.64, "Selling a Space Station" by J.
Michael Straczynski.

CINEFANTASTIQUE - December 1992.  Pg.16 "Babylon 5" by Mark Altman.

STARLOG SPECTACULAR - January 1993. Pg. 52 etc. "Foundation and Empire"
by Adam Lebowitz.

THE BABYLON 5 NEWSLETTER - Subscriptions: $5 USA, $6 Canada, check or m.o.
payable to C. Marx to BABYLON 5 NEWSLETTER, c/o Christy Marx, Box 2325,
Oakhurst, CA  93644.
==========================================================================
This file comes from the Science Fiction and Fantasy RoundTable (SFRT, page
470) on GEnie, and is Copyright (c) 1992 by GEnie.

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