lurkers-guide/guide/110

<h2><a name="OV">Overview</a></h2>

<blockquote><cite>
In Sheridan's final days, old friends gather to celebrate.
Takes place in 2281, approximately
twenty years after the end of the rest of the series.
</cite>

</blockquote>

<pre><a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/110">9.34</a>

Production number: 523 (see <a href="#NO.prod">Notes</a>)
Original air date: November 25, 1998 (US)
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00019071C/thelurkersguidet">DVD release date</a>: April 13, 2004

Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by J. Michael Straczynski
</pre>

<p>
Nominated for 1999 Hugo Award for best dramatic presentation.

<p>
<hr size=3>

<h2><a name="BP">Plot Points</a></h2>
<ul>

   <li>@@@912068997 David, Sheridan and Delenn's son, is in Ranger training in
	2281.  Sheridan and Delenn have given strict instructions to the
	teachers to not give any special treatment to their son.

   <li>@@@912102269 As predicted by Lorien
	(<a href="070.html">"Falling Toward Apotheosis"</a>)
	Sheridan has died.  His body was apparently carried away by Lorien.

   <li>@@@912068997 Ivanova has been promoted to the rank of General in
	2281, and works in an office on Earth.  Or rather, she did, but has been
	appointed head of the Rangers after Sheridan's death.

   <li>@@@912068997 Garibaldi has a daughter in 2281 and still lives with
	Lise on Mars.

   <li>@@@912102269 After the Alliance headquarters moved to Minbar, Babylon 5
	saw less and less use; its original mission of uniting the galaxy in
	peace had succeeded.  It was finally deemed not worth the cost of
	keeping around, and has been destroyed.

   <li>@@@912102591 Zack retired from the military and went back to Earth.
	Then, years later, he re-upped and returned to the station, where
	he stayed until its demise.  Afterward, he joined Vir (now Emperor
	of the Centauri) on Centauri Prime.

</ul>

<h2><a name="UQ">Unanswered Questions</a></h2>
<ul>

   <li>@@@860876414 NOW what?

   <li>@@@912068997 What happened to Sheridan's body?

   <li>@@@912102269 What happened to Lennier?

   <li>@@@912102591 Why was Zack limping?

</ul>

<h2><a name="AN">Analysis</a></h2>
<ul>

   <li>@@@912068997 Sheridan's disappearance echoes the disappearance of
	Valen, who is presumed dead but whose body was never found
	(<a href="075.html">"Atonement"</a>).
	Was Valen spirited away by Lorien as well?

<p>
   <li>@@@912102269 Why did the station fall into disuse over time?  It's
	true that its political mission became irrelevant with the founding
	of the Interstellar Alliance, but that was only one of several
	purposes the station served: it was also a bustling trade hub located
	in a convenient area of space, an outpost of the Earth Alliance, a way
	station for people travelling elsewhere, and after the founding of the
	Alliance, a place of historical interest as well.  

	<p>
	One possibility is that it became less and less convenient relative to
	other hubs as the Alliance equalized member races' technologies,
	causing, for instance, artificial gravity to become the norm.  Better
	hyperspace navigation technology might have made it irrelevant as a
	waypoint and less necessary as a trading center.

	<p>
	Still, the argument about it being a hazard to navigation seems a bit
	odd; in the vastness of space, it's a tiny speck.  Granted, it's
	possible to emerge out of control from the jumpgate and be on a
	collision course with the station
	(<a href="002.html">"Soul Hunter"</a>)
	but a slight change of orbital position would almost certainly
	eliminate that possibility.

<p>
   <li>@@@912102591 Since Garibaldi is still alive and well in 2281, he
	wasn't killed by either Lyta or Bester during the Telepath
	War, which had already taken place by the time of Sheridan's death
	(Delenn mentioned it at the end of
	<a href="087.html">"Rising Star"</a>).
	Was his mental block removed?  Did he get his revenge on Bester, and
	did Lyta succeed in destroying the Corps?

<p>
   <li>@@@913017823 Why didn't any Soul Hunters
	(<a href="002.html">"Soul Hunter"</a>)
	arrive to capture Sheridan's
	soul at Coriana 6?  He almost certainly fits the profile of a soul
	worth preserving in their view.  A few possibilities: he was taken
	away by Lorien, but didn't die per se; the Soul Hunters changed their
	policies or disbanded after the events of
	<a href="114.html">"The River of Souls"</a>;
	or Lorien somehow prevented them from approaching.

</ul>

<h2><a name="NO">Notes</a></h2>
<ul>

   <li>@@@860757087 Shooting ended May 5, 1997.

<p>
   <li>@@@867479749 <a name="NO.prod">Although this is the final episode</a>
	of the series, and airs
	at the end of season five, it was actually shot during the
	fourth-season production run, and originally carried a production
	number of 422.  At the time, it wasn't clear whether
	the show would be renewed for a fifth season, and JMS wanted this
	episode to close the series whether it ended after four or five years.
	Since it's set 20 years after the rest of the story, it works equally
	well as an epilogue to
	<a href="087.html">"Rising Star"</a>
	or to the last regular season-five episode.

<p>
   <li>@@@912068997 Several B5 staff members have cameos in this episode,
	including producer John Copeland and coproducer George Johnsen.  JMS
	appears briefly as the maintenance worker shutting off the station's
	lights.

<p>
   <li>@@@912068997 The Hugo award that JMS won for
	<a href="031.html">"The Coming of Shadows"</a>
	appears at the beginning of the scene in General Ivanova's office.

<p>
   <li>@@@912710200 As Sheridan dresses to leave Minbar, the reflection in
	the mirror includes the illusion of a cross.  This was unintended,
	as noted by JMS below.

<p>
   <li>@@@913017503 Text of the display on Marcus' suspension chamber in
	the closing credits:

	<p>
	CRYOGENIC SUSPENSION CHAMBER<br>
	SUBJECT: Marcus Cole<br>
	Designation: Ranger<br>
	Status: Deceased<br>
	Comments: Indefinite Hold in the event of new resuscitation
	technology

	<p>
	REQUESTED BY: CMDR. S. IVANOVA

<p>
   <li>@@@988363485 <a href="http://groups.google.com/groups?q=duck&ic=1&selm=3665D0AA.AF0FDFAF%40goodnet.com">Why
	there's a duck at the top of the page.</a>

</ul>

<h2><a name="JS">jms speaks</a></h2>
<ul>

   <li> <em>On GEnie, 11 April 1992:</em><br>
	A few days ago, I sat down with our line producer, John Copeland, and
	production designer John Iacovelli, and we were talking about the need 
	to move quickly on some stuff, and how painful the process is to have
	the whole story in your head, already told, really, and then have to
	make it all over again so we can put it on film.  "You think you've got
	it bad," I noted, "I've already worked out the last scene in the last
	episode of the last season (#5)...and I've still got to make Movie #1."
	They called me on it and asked what that scene was.  Just to see their
	reaction, I told them.  They looked at me as if I'd suddenly sprouted
	three heads and feathers.  It was worth it.  (Happily, they're sworn to
	secrecy.)  It was also good because I think that, even without filling
	in the beats in between, it gave them a good sense of where the series
	was going to go.

<p>
   <li>@@@848646937 What will be revealed over the course of the series?  All of it.

	<p>
	By the time the series has run its five-year course (Neilsen willing),
	there will only be ONE unanswered question left: "NOW what?"

<p>
   <li> My titles are often in a state of flux; "Signs and Portents" was
	originally titled "Raiding Party" in my notes, as the B5 FAQ notes
	somewhere.  So it may change, but for the time being, in my notes for
	the series, the last episode of year five has this note: Title? --
	"Farewell" or "Sleeping in Light."

<p>
   <li> The Babylon 5 story ends at the final episode of year five.

<p>
   <li> And there will never be a Babylon 6.

<p>
   <li> If I didn't have a good, solid, consistent ending, I wouldn't have
	started the story.  I always have the ending before I begin writing
	the beginning.

<p>
   <li>@@@851073979 "What this boils down to is... is the ending you
	envisioned at the start of Babylon 5 the same today as it was then?"

	<p>
	For the most part, yeah...it's gotten a bit refined over time, the way
	it always does the closer you get to it...it's like seeing a mountain
	from a great distance, then closing in until you can make out the
	details.  But basically, yeah.

<p>
   <li>@@@854608470 "Are you at all concerned that, when it's all said and
	done, that some fans will scratch their heads and wonder:  "You mean
	thats it?""

	<p>
	No, I don't think so.  The story for "Sleeping in Light," the last B5
	episode, is such that it is completely moveable, and self-contained, and
	buttons down the arc in what I think is a very moving fashin.  I think
	that when it's all said and done, the average reaction will be to sit
	back and say, "That was a good story."  Obviously you can't please
	everyone, and you can't expect to.  But basically, yeah, I think it's
	going to end well.

<p>
   <li>@@@846714236 In theory, the final episodes would air in the summer of 1998.

<p>
   <li> There's always been a side-story that could spin off from B5, but the
	main core story is over at the five-year mark.

<p>
   <li> I've always said that there's a side story that could follow the 5
	year B5 storyline, which takes place in the B5 universe, and follows
	on the heels of the events in B5...but who knows if that would happen?
	<p>
	The one thing I would hate is for B5 to become any kind of so-called
	"franchise."  Because as soon as that happens, you're prevented from
	making any changes, from doing anything that might startle people,
	cutting into the piggy-bank.  Once that happens, you're dead.
	<p>
	I've also made no secret of my sense that, should B5 run its full
	five year course (and assuming the side-story doesn't go, which I 
	would not exactly count on)...I plan to get out of TV.  By that 
	point, I would have said pretty much everything I want to say in TV,
	and it's time to get out, buy a small house somewhere outside London,
	and spend the rest of my years writing novels, which is kinda where
	this all began.  (I've had 2 novels, 1 anthology, and a bunch of 
	short stories published, as well as 500 or so articles.)
	<p>
	I never got into this to make a ***FRANCHISE***, and never really
	intended to become an executive producer.  I just don't like being
	rewritten...so I climbed higher, until finally there was nobody over
	me messing with my scripts.  Outside of the B5 reality, if someone 
	came to e and offered me *staff writer* on a show -- the lowest
	position in the TV totem pole -- but with the guarantee that I
	wouldn't be rewritten, they wouldn't change the words...I'd take it
	in a hot second.  I'm here, now, strictly out of self-defense.
	<p>
	Two valuable social skills are knowing when to enter a room, and when
	to leave a room.  At some point, you have to get out or become 
	something you don't want to become.  I've never really been part of 
	the Hollywood SYSTEM, and have no desire to do so.
	<p>
	In "The Velvet Alley," Rod Serling wrote of a young advertising writer
	who becomes a success at writing television.  At one point, the 
	character says (paraphrased from memory): "Here's the trap...in TV 
	they pay you lots of money for what you do...then, slowly, your 
	standard of living rises until you *need* that constant flow to stay 
	at that level.  Then...they threaten to take it away from you if you
	don't behave.  And THAT'S when they've got you."

<p>
   <li> What happens at the end of the five year arc?  The "Babylon 5" series
	ends...if I have anything to say about it (and I do).  If something 
	else follows, we'll see what that is, but it won't be the same series,
	or the same title, or really the same characters.
	<p>
	Barring that very distant possibility, at the end of the five year 
	arc, I take a very, very, VERY long nap....

<p>
   <li> I've mentioned before that there's a side-story that could go off,
	within the B5 universe, with a few of our characters, once the
	Babylon 5 story itself comes to an end in its fifth year, but that's
	a long ways off, and I don't know if that's realistic.
	<p>
	You have to understand...I never came in wanting to be a producer.
	I'm a *writer*, and I only got here because it was the only way to
	protect the words...create and run the damned show so nobody can mess
	with it.  Once I've finished the Babylon story, assuming it runs its
	full length, (5 years alone, more if there is that doubtful spinoff),
	the story is over.  Every story has a beginning, middle and end, and
	the story's over when it's over.
	<p>
	I've also made no bones about the fact that, should the Babylon story
	run its full term, I will have said just about everything I want to 
	say in television, and plan to get out, go back to writing novels.
	<p>
	My philosophy: find what it is you want to say, walk in the room, say
	it, and get the hell out.  (Second philosophy behind that one: when 
	in doubt, roll in a grenade and come in firing.)

<p>
   <li>@@@846714236 From the start, I've indicated that there's a side-story
	that could go off in the B5 universe after the 5 year story is up, but
	it wouldn't be B5. Frankly, however, given the current state of the
	syndication market, I'd suggest that the odds of that happening are
	slim and none.

	<p>
	So barring anything truly exceptional -- like someone handing
	me an anthology series -- my plan at the moment is to retire from TV at
	the end of the five years and go back to writing novels and plays.  At
	that point, I think I'll have said just about everything I want to say
	for TV.

<p>
   <li>@@@846714236 If B5 goes its full five years, I think I'd probably
	prefer to get out of TV and go back to writing novels and plays.

<p>
   <li>@@@860875811 Re: 422...this one is a stand-alone episode which I
	specifically designed in order to have the flexibility to air it either
	as 422 or as 522, depending on what happens.  This way if year 4 is all
	there is, we get to where we need to get; if we get year 5, then we
	shoot 501 and air it in 422's spot, and air 422 in place of 522.

<p>
   <li>@@@864500234 501 isn't written yet, won't be until we get the final
	word.  We could certainly get it finished in time for the US airing in
	422's spot, and as for getting it done in the UK, assuming a mid-July
	start for season 4, means you'd run episodes through late October/early
	November so again you're okay.

<p>
   <li>@@@864580843 The final 4 would get aired in October.  If there's no
	season 5, then the fourth one aired is 422, "Sleeping in Light."

	<p>
	If there is a season 5, 422 is yanked out of the mix and moved
	down to occupy 522's slot, and we shoot 501 and get it done in time to
	air in place of 422 in October.

<p>
   <li>@@@864500289 To repeat what I've said here several times, we would move
	501 into 422's slot and make that the cliffhanger ending, then 502
	becomes the first episode of season 5, and 422 is the last.  So each
	season works out to 22 episodes.

<p>
   <li>@@@863715725 <em>Wouldn't season five take place after the final scene
	you mentioned?</em><br>
	Negative; season 5 would take place in 2262, 19 years before
	the "final scene" you mention.  And no, I wouldn't want season 5 to be
	just a setup for the sequel; it was sketched out long before that
	became any kind of possibility, and I have no interest in doing that
	sort of thing.  We'd do one or two small things, but no more than that.

<p>
   <li>@@@864580923 There's no need for confusion.  Season 4, as you know,
	takes place in 2261.  Season 5 would take place in 2262.

	<p>
	422, or 522, depending on the breaks, takes place in 2281.  So
	it plays just fine either way.

<p>
   <li>@@@864668075 <em>Was the story always intended to end in 2281?</em><br>
	Yes, the final chapter in the series was always going to fall in 2281,
	20 years after the events in 2261.

<p>
   <li>@@@860888700 "What are the chances of major spoilers being leaked from
	"Sleeping in Light" over the next year?!?!?!?"

	<p>
	I'm sure some of that's bound to happen...but the reality of it is that
	if you add up all the people who are online and might get this
	information, you'd actually end up with only about 4% of the viewing
	audience...so it'll still have its desired impact.

<p>
   <li>@@@863715925 "You have spent the last 4 years keeping your actors in
	the dark as to their final fates (for the most part).  Will their
	knowledge of the ending have adverse effects on the acting from this
	point forward?  I expect the answer is they are good at their jobs and
	will continue to be outstanding in their performances, but many of them
	have mentioned that the lack of knowledge of their future had  played a
	part in their performances."

	<p>
	Not really, no more so than seeing G'Kar and Londo strangling
	each other as early as year one...but we didn't know what that *meant*
	until later.  And there's still a long, long way between that episode
	and where we leave off at 421.  A lot happens there that nobody else
	knows, inclusive of the cast.

	<p>
	"Also, if you've neatly tied everything up, what does that really
	leave for season 5?  Filler, non-arc stories?  This has been my biggest
	fear.  That season 5 will now be farmed out to other scriptwriters, who
	don't have the intimacy with the story that you have, and that the
	quality of stories will take a nose dive with filler material."

	<p>
	Without giving too much away, season 5 would be empire building.
	It wouldn't be filler at all, but a logical extension of what has gone
	before.

	<p>
	Basically...I often get messages from people worrying about what
	might be...then they see what *is* and it's, "Oh...okay, got it." 
	Generally speaking, I think it's better to react to what is rather than
	what might never in fact be an issue.  I ain't let you down yet....

<p>
   <li>@@@864692770 With great trepidation, and at the urging of Warner
	Bros., I've decided to direct one episode this season...not because I
	have any particular ambition to be a director, but because I think it
	will help me become a better writer by more fully understanding that
	side of the camera.  Given how massively busy I am already, this
	decision will almost certainly be called as evidence in any sanity trial
	that might take place in future.

<p>
   <li>@@@860888700 "Why were they [Warner Bros.] so interested in you
	directing?"

	<p>
	Well, they know the show is really my vision, and they're
	curious what it would look like if it was also followed through behind
	the camera.  And as our liaison with WB said, "We like it when our
	creative people spread their wings a little."  They like the show, and
	it does well for them, and they're just generally supportive that way.

<p>
   <li>@@@863715925 "I'm sincerely curious about how you found the experience
	of directing your baby -- of being responsible for creating, writing,
	producing *and* directing it."

	<p>
	My main goal was not to embarrass myself overmuch.  I think I
	came out okay.  I've now seen an editor's assembly of the material, and
	it plays real nice.  Now I get to go in and make the director's cut,
	which will to all intents and purposes also stand as the producer's
	cut.

	<p>
	The main thing is...this one is *exactly* the way I saw it in my
	head. It has a somewhat different feel than prior episodes, though hard
	to quantify. But I think it came out nicely.

<p>
   <li>@@@867088736 "Having read through this months edition of Starburst (I
	think), Claudia Christian mentions that you enjoyed directing.  My
	question is a very simple one:  would you do it again, and what part of
	the directing the episode did you find the most enjoyable/rewarding?"

	<p>
	I really don't know if I'd say that I *enjoyed* it...my main concern
	every day was somehow getting through it without embarrassing myself,
	or letting down the crew or the cast or, ultimately, the viewers.  I
	wanted the direction to the the equal to the performances I knew were
	waiting to be unlocked.  I haven't commented on it much for the same
	reason you rarely see me saying that a given script of mine is
	good...I'm too close to it and too critical of everydamnthing I do.
	But so far everyone of the crew who's seen it, and a few others, were
	very much moved and satisfied by it.

	<p>
	I don't know if I'll do it again or not...my gut says probably not.
	If I *were* to even try it again, it couldn't be anything other than a
	final episode of a season, given how much is involved in prep if
	you're going to have a chance to get it right.

<p>
   <li>@@@864580539 <em>Did you do anything special on the last day of
	shooting?</em><br>
	Around lunchtime, I began to notice people filtering out --
	crew and others -- wearing white t-shirts with blue lettering
	that read, on front, "Shhh...the Great Maker is Directing."
	And on the back, "...and on the seventh day we wrapped." JMS
	4:22 May 5, 1997.  It was a nice thing, and we're considering
	making the shirts available via the fan club.

	<p>
	Since it's customary for directors to bring in food on the last
	day of an episode shoot, I brought in food at the end of the
	day, and folks stayed around until late in the evening, just
	hanging around, chatting, eating, and the like.  (I headed home
	around 7 mainly because I was just bushed.) We also took a big
	family picture that will go into the end credits of the
	episode, whenever it will finally air.  A lot of our past
	directors, crew, actors and others showed up for the thing, and
	stayed for the party, knowing that either way, this was going
	to be the last episode of the series, whether it's 4 or 5
	years.

	<p>
	Then everybody went away for a few days, and now we're back
	shooting movie #1, "Thirdspace."

<p>
   <li>@@@861835387 "But seriously, what kind of responses do you expect to
	see in this newsgroup the week following the last episode?"

	<p>
	In a way you're kind of asking the wrong person, as I'm inside the
	fishbowl and can't see the show the way anyone outside can see it.  The
	only gauge I have is the reaction the script got around the stage when
	people on the crew and cast read it.  (With a note attached explaining
	the possibility of airing it as 522 or 422, but that either way this
	would end up the story.)

	<p>
	Pretty much everybody cried.  I came home to a message on my
	machine from Mira, who was almost unable to speak, and another
	from Claudia who said she was honored and proud to be a part of
	this, and the script had made her cry.  Bruce, Richard, big
	beefy guys on the crew...all said the same thing.  And there I
	have to concur; I lost is several times as I was writing it,
	due to the content; there's one scene in particular...you'll
	know it when you see it...that put me away for an hour when I
	finished writing it.

	<p>
	But here's the thing...*every single person* who cried at the
	script, ended it feeling that it was not a sad script in the
	end, or a down ending...that it left them feeling proud, and
	tall, and *positive*...that life goes on...that it was a
	reaffirmation of life itself, on its most primal level.  They
	felt good about the ending.  And that was a great relief for
	me, because I was trying something *very* difficult from a
	writing perspective, and at first blush it looks as if I've
	pulled it off.  (Now I get to go in as director and *totally*
	screw it up.)

	<p>
	Only one fan has read the script...someone whose opinion I
	trust.  Because I was curious about the reaction from that side
	of the screen.  And the reaction was *exactly* the same.

	<p>
	So how do I think people will react?

	<p>
	I think a lot of people will cry.

	<p>
	But by the end of it, I think it will come around, and be all
	right...and mainly, that people will then look back at the
	whole story, through all these long years, and say, "It was a
	good story."  And close the cover, and put it on the shelf with
	the other books that will be reread again down the years, and
	turn off the lights, and go to bed feeling that the time was
	well spent.

	<p>
	Which is the most any writer can ever ask for.  To tell a tale
	worth telling  To make people cry.  To make people laugh.  And
	even, once in a while, make them think about things, and see
	the world just a little differently than when they began.

	<p>
	And then they can centerpunch me on the freeway, or throw a
	plane at me, and I won't even mind.  Because everything I set
	out to prove, I proved.  Everything I set out to say, I said.

	<p>
	I've carried this story like a hermit crab carries its shell
	for five long years, counting the pilot.  It's been an
	*awfully* long and difficult road, and no one will ever really
	know just how hard this show was to make.  Nor should they,
	because it isn't the difficulty that makes the story, the
	*story* makes the story.  But one way or another, aired as 522
	or 422, when it airs the burden is off at last.  Then it no
	longer belongs to me.  It belongs to you.  As should be.

	<p>
	And, in the end, I think you'll be pleased.

<p>
   <li>@@@898329026 Last night I pulled out the tapes for the last two
	episodes, "Objects at Rest" and "Sleeping in Light," and watched them
	back to back, and I was an absolute wreck afterward.  There are a couple
	of scenes in both of them that just put me away.  That's *good*, they
	should, they have to, but man...I was just gone.  

	<p>
	But strangest of all, the final credits sequence and what we did with
	them for SiL is also very deeply affecting...and I'm not entirely sure
	why, I think it's something operating at an almost subconscious level,
	about seeing certain images juxtaposed.  Darndest thing....

<p>
   <li>@@@877368251 <em><a href="085.html">"Between the Darkness and the
	Light"</a></em><br>
	"...as I am a visual artist, I tend to notice lighting and
	structure,etc., especially on the second (or 3rd) viewing, and the
	thorny crown was striking to  my eyes, as was the sad,
	dark-circles-under-the-eyes, immensely tired look on his face, which
	lent to the illusion."

	<p>
	It's interesting when that happens.  There's a halo around
	Sheridan's head at one point when he's yelling at Delenn in the big
	room in "Z'ha'dum," and, just as a pointer to something you won't see
	for another year....

	<p>
	When I was directing "Sleeping in Light," there's a scene with
	Sheridan and a mirror.  (That's all I'll say about it, so there's no
	spoiler info there.)  As John Flinn lit the shot, and angled the
	mirror...I froze at what I was seeing on the monitor.  I called John
	over, and pointed to it.  "Do you see what I see?"  It took him a
	moment, but then his eyes went wide, and by his own reckoning, "the
	skin on my arms crawled."  He turned to the guys dressing the set and
	said, in a very loud, clear voice, "NOBODY TOUCHES THAT MIRROR!  YOU
	HEAR ME!?  NOBODY!"

	<p>
	It's not a big...but it's a pretty cool unintended illusion
	(though once we saw it, we kept it).

<p>
   <li>@@@906657212 <em>It airs the day before Thanksgiving.  Won't most
	viewers be travelling home to their families?</em><br>
	On the other hand, not everybody has family to travel to, or the means
	to travel.  So perhaps a family gathering of another type, particularly
	among folks new to each other in local fan areas, might be even more
	appropros.

<p>
   <li>@@@895442799 <em>Any big promotional plans for this episode?</em><br>
	Personally, I think that a build-up to the end of the show would be
	great, although "Sleeping in Light" isn't exactly a big-bang lots of
	explosions kind of episode, so it might not be as promotable in that
	sense.

<p>
   <li>@@@906450875 I was watching "Sleeping in Light" again today (I have a
	tendency to run the last ten minutes plus the credits over and
	over...to see if it'll stop getting to me, and so far it hasn't),
	and had some thoughts on it for folks out there. 

	<p>
	People often ask if there's anything they can do in return for B5,
	something I'd like and I do have some ideas, here at the end,
	regarding SiL.

	<p>
	I think it would be a wonderful thing if more folks than usual got
	together for viewing parties on this one.  Not newcomers, not folks
	who haven't seen the show, just the "family," if you will.  If B5 has
	helped to create communities, then I think this last episode should be
	for that community.

	<p>
	I also think you'll find some interesting tie-offs in this
	show...something about Minbari beliefs about souls born in the hearts
	of suns, and a pay-off to why the narrations of this series have
	always been in the past tense, and a gift to the crew of this
	show...to which end I *strongly* suggest that even if you don't
	normally tape this series, that you do tape *this* episode so you can
	go back and check some stuff at the end.

	<p>
	"Sleeping in Light" airs in just a little over two months, and every
	time I look at it, it has the sense of something very special coming
	to its conclusion.  It's so damned hard watching it...and yet there's
	something about it that is massively uplifting at the same time.

	<p>
	Anyway, I was just thinking that often viewing parties are used to
	bring in new folks to B5, but this one, I think, should be for the
	family.  Maybe local fan groups want to get together, find someone
	with a good-sized TV, and watch.  It's one of those Moments, I think,
	that will be remembered a long time thereafter.

	<p>
	And I've got TNT's promise not to run a voice-over or squish the
	credits at the end.

<p>
   <li>@@@912623822 <em>Why weren't Lochley or Sinclair included in the
	credits?</em><br>
	We are bound by contract to use the credits as they were applied in S4,
	when SiL was shot.  You can't just put people's credits in a show for
	sentimental reasons...they trigger residuals, royalties, fees, and
	other contractual areas.

<p>
   <li>@@@912623822 I agree about the end credits; as we see their faces the
	first time, and the last time, they appear in the series, you can see
	the years and the story in their faces.

<p>
   <li>@@@912623822 We chose the shots that showed them the first time and
	the last time we saw the characters.

<p>
   <li>@@@912796002 <em>Was anything changed as a result of the episode
	airing at the end of season 5 rather than season 4?</em><br>
	I had the option to change stuff if I'd been so inclined...but
	felt it was right as it was.

<p>
   <li>@@@912623236 <em>What about all the plot threads left
	dangling?</em><br>

	<p>
	<em>The Drak and Centari Prime?</em>

	<p>
	Vir is Emperor now.  Londo asked Sheridan to free his people; we can
	assume he did this...but we will also be showing this in the Centauri
	Prime trilogy of books in more detail.

	<p>
	<em>Londo?</em>

	<p>
	We saw Londo's fate in War Without End Part 2.

	<p>
	<em>Lyta?</em>

	<p>
	The telepath crisis and events surrounding it will provide a lot of
	the background to Crusade.

	<p>
	<em>Bester and the Psi Corps?</em>

	<p>
	Ditto.

	<p>
	<em>G'Kar?</em>

	<p>
	We saw his fate in WWE2 also.

	<p>
	<em>Garibaldi and Bester?</em>

	<p>
	This will be covered in the Psi Corps trilogy, of which volume 1 is
	out now, and volume 2 is in my hands for editing.

	<p>
	<em>B5's seemingly needless and useless destruction?</em>

	<p>
	Neither needless nor useless.  It was built cheapest of all the
	stations, and it takes a lot of money to maintain it.  With trade
	routes now going around it, there isn't enough income to support it.
	So do you leave it  intact, for others to occupy or raid for weapons
	systems and other systems too difficult to yank out?  Or take it out,
	the same way we implode buildings now?

	<p>
	<em>Sheridan's son - we guess he survived the Drak and their intended
	keeper?</em>

	<p>
	This will also be covered in the Centauri Prime trilogy...but if you
	sit back you can do some of the work to figure out a large part of
	this.  As Londo states, his situation in WWE2 (Sheridan and Delenn
	captured on Centauri Prime) takes place 18 years after the events in
	2260, which would put it at 2278.  The urn, given to Sheridan in 2262,
	is supposed to be given to the heir at the occasion of his/her 16th
	birthday, by Centauri tradition.

	<p>
	That would put the urn presentation at...ding!...2278.

	<p>
	In 2278, Sheridan and Delenn have been drawn to Centauri Prime.  We
	know their son is involved, because Delenn says "David is safe."  So
	they  were somehow able to save him, because we know that in 2281,
	David is alive and well and serving in the Rangers (SiL).

	<p>
	You can see the shape of the events there...once again the clues are
	more or less in plain sight...but again, this will be drawn out in the
	books in more detail.

<p>
   <li>@@@912623822 I think it's safe to say that we'll be hearing more
	about the telepath crisis and its consequences in Crusade....

<p>
   <li>@@@912623822 Dear Mr. Tolkien:

	<p>
	I just wanted to say that I think the way you ended THE LORD OF THE
	RINGS was crap.  You didn't provide any closure.  Instead of spending
	time with the hobbits clearing out the shire (come on, urban renwal in
	LoTR? give me a break) and lots of goodbyes, you SHOULD have shown me
	what happened to Tom Bombadil, he was an important part of the story,
	and you just left his story thread there unresolved.

	<p>
	You made a big deal out of the elves going to the west, but we never
	SAW it!  We never found out what was there, or what Bilbo found when
	he got there, or what happened to the dwarves, or what happened to
	Merry and Pippin....

	<p>
	You betrayed your audience by not resolving every single plot thread
	you introduced in your book, and as a result, it is never going to be
	of value to anyone, ever, and will never go past its first printing.

<p>
   <li>@@@913017000 You have
	to really decide *Who is the story about?*  You can really only track a
	couple of characters to the end...here we tracked a number there or
	nearly there. This story is a history -- told from a future perspective
	-- about the events of the Babylon station, and those who passed
	through it, during a specific period in its history.

<p>
   <li>@@@915700705 Re: Lyta in SiL...okay, if they mentioned Lyta, I'd get
	nailed for not mentioning Na'Toth...or Sinclair...or Keffer...or
	somebody else.  You can't do five minutes of roll call in a TV show. 
	That would be deadly.  They each picked one character to name, because
	they had a close relationship in some way with that character.  Who
	among them really had a close relationship with Lyta?  Name me that
	person.

	<p>
	Had Zack been there, then yeah, maybe he would've named Lyta (or
	not, given what happens with her later).  THAT would have been
	appropriate.  But it would NOT have been appropriate to have her named
	just because somebody wants to hear her name called.

	<p>
	The persons named were ones to whom they had an emotional
	attachment... Vir to Londo, Garibaldi to G'Kar, Ivanova to Marcus,
	Sheridan to Londo, Delenn to Lennier.  Lyta did not have that
	connection to anyone at that table that would be on an equal footing.

<p>
   <li>@@@912710201 <em>Was that a Hugo on Ivanova's desk?</em><br>
	Yeah, that was our first Hugo...just sorta slipped it in with
	Ivanova's other awards.  It was kind of a nod back to our fans...and I
	think the first time that a Hugo has been shown on-screen in a series
	that has *won* a Hugo.

<p>
   <li>@@@912796002 Everybody figured the pak'ma'ra were just a waste...which
	is why this seemed so right.

<p>
   <li>@@@912623822 <em>John and Delenn's goodbye seemed a bit formal.</em><br>
	Yes, there was some element of ritual in their goodbyes; it's a Minbari
	farewell, hence the "good night," not goodbye.

<p>
   <li>@@@912796002 <em>What was the ship Sheridan flew?</em><br>
	It's a smaller, personal version of a White Star.

<p>
   <li>@@@912623822 <em>Why scuttle the station?</em><br>
	There are weapons systems on board that station, computer systems,
	other stuff that would be too much of a hassle to dig out, and you don't
	want squatters setting up residence there, or raiding the place for what
	they can get, and maintaining a military presence there to prevent it
	would be expensive.  With trade no longer coming through, the money to
	keep the station operating was gone.

	<p>
	<em>Why not send it into Epsilon 3's atmosphere?</em><br>
	I don't see how sending a 5 mile long station plummeting into the
	atmosphere of Epsilon 3 is any more or less real than blowing it up in
	space, where salvage crews can come in and take the metal.  We already
	*saw* bits of the debris burning up in the atmospher in the second
	shot... and as for sending the whole thing hurtling down, well, I think
	Draal might have a thing or two to say about that....

<p>
   <li>@@@913016372 <em>Why not tow it somewhere else?</em><br>
	You couldn't tow something as massive as a 5 mile long station
	like this through hyperspace; it'd tear apart.

<p>
   <li>@@@913493962 It can be moved, sure, but can it *survive* the move?
	Also, you'd have to bring B5 through a jump point in order to bring it
	anywhere, and the stresses involved in that would be hideous.

<p>
   <li>@@@915610877 <em>Was that you turning out the lights?</em><br>
	Yes, that was me...I couldn't do it before the very last ep for
	the reasons I'd always stated, and because I was holding it out for
	this moment. Of course I couldn't *say* that since it would give stuff
	away....

<p>
   <li><b><a href="http://www.jmsnews.com/msg.aspx?ID=1-17067">Jan 12, 2004</a></b>:
	For S5 I did commentaries on The Fall of Centauri Prime and
	Sleeping in Light.  The latter was the hardest, since it was the
	first time I'd seen the episode since it aired. (I just couldn't,
	it was too hard.)

	<p>
	I should have done so, though, because when we got to B5's
	destruction, I'm ashamed to admit that my voice broke, it just
	hit me so hard. After we were done, i wanted to go back and do
	it again, to fix that, which I thought was unprofessional, but
	the WB boys prevailed upon me to leave it alone. I just hope it
	doesn't come across as dumb or something.

</ul>