Compiled from 4 or so messages in the SFL Archives Volume 17b.
BABYLON 5 CAST INFO
------------------------------
Date: 17 Jul 92 06:23:26 GMT
From: Edward_Lee_Whiteside@cup.portal.com
Reply-to: sf-lovers-tv@Rutgers.Edu
Subject: Babylon 5 Cast info (first actor to be announced!)
The man cast for Babylon 5 has been picked and will be announced shortly,
once Warners is ready to release the info. One actor is known at this
point, since he will be announcing his role at a convention somewhere this
coming weekend.
The actor who will portray Ambassador G'Kar of the Narn Regime is Andreas
Katsulas (best known as the Romulan Tomolak on ST:TNG).
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, ALIEN NATION,
THE EQUALIZER, MAX HEADROOM, THE HUMAN FACTOR and many more.
Lee Whiteside
Edward_Lee_Whiteside@cup.portal.com
------------------------------
Date: 18 Jul 92 05:57:20 GMT
From: Edward_Lee_Whiteside@cup.portal.com
Reply-to: sf-lovers-tv@Rutgers.Edu
Subject: Re: Babylon 5 Cast info (Lead Actress)
From J. Michael Straczynski on the Babylon 5 Topic on the Genie SFRT:
Some of you here may have seen a WONDERFUL film entitled "Come See The
Paradise," starring Dennis Quaid, 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.
------------------------------
Date: 26 Jul 92 18:37:04 GMT
From: Edward_Lee_Whiteside@cup.portal.com
Reply-to: sf-lovers-tv@Rutgers.Edu
Subject: BABYLON 5: More Cast Details and other info
Here's the latest info on the Babylon 5 casting along with some other news
about the show. Text is most from J. Michael Straczynski, Babylon 5
creator/co-exec. producer from the GEnie Science Fiction Round Table,
Category 18, Topic 22.
More Casting Details:
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.
Peter has appeared in films like Problem Child, Enemy Mine, Tron, Straight
Time, Mr. Jones and others, and in TV shows such as Columbo, Hill Street
Blues and Beverly Hills Buntz (as Sidney the Snitch), Civil Wars, Remington
Steele, MacGyver and others.
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.
The Babylon 5 Manifest:
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.
San Diego Comic Con:
The Babylon 5 presentation at ComicCon will take place at 11:00 AM on
that Saturday, in the main room (where Shatner will be making a
presentation/appearance at 1:00). [That's August 15. Filming will begin
on August 10th and JMS promises to show some film clips from the show).
Starlog Article:
The September issue of Starlog has an article on Babylon 5 written by Larry
Conley (who wrote "Silicon Avatar" for ST:TNG). Due to some mixups between
Starlog and Newtek, the photos used with the article are either outdated by
several months or have nothing to do with Babylon 5. For a good picture of
the Babylon 5 space station, take a look at the NewTek ad for the Video
Toaster on the back of current Amiga and PC magazines.
Lee Whiteside
Edward_Lee_Whiteside@cup.portal.com
Date: 4 Aug 92 06:25:04 GMT
From: Edward_Lee_Whiteside@cup.portal.com
Reply-to: sf-lovers-tv@Rutgers.Edu
Subject: BABYLON 5: More Casting Info, Behind the Scenes
Here's the latest word on the casting for Babylon 5, as posted by J.
Michael Straczynski on the GEnie SFRT Babylon 5 topic.
Lyta Alexander:
Cast...hmm...well, here's a funny thing. See, 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 kind of 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.")
Dr. Benjamin Kyle:
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, Lawrence
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.)
Carolyn Sykes:
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. She's done a LOT more than that, but her credits are
at the office, and I'm at home.
Announced so far:
Laurel Takashima.............Tamlyn Tomita
Ambassador Londo Mollari.....Peter Jurasik
Michael Garibaldi............Jerry Doyle
Ambassador Kosh..............Himself
Lyta Alexander...............Patricia Tallman
Ambassador G'Kar.............Andreas Katsulas
Dr. Benjamin Kyle............Johnny Sekka
Carolyn Sykes................Blair Baron
[To add to the casting info, here's a couple of posts with behind-the-
scenes info from JMS]
Posted on Sunday, Aug 2:
Well, as of tomorrow, Monday, we are exactly one week from filming. Our
costume designer pointed out that making a project like this is a lot like
making Thanksgiving dinner...you set a dozen different things going at
different times, and hope they all come together at the right moment in the
right way. So far, I think we're on track.
Costumes are almost finished; we'll have all the command uniforms by
Tuesday or so, and the rest by week's end. Most of the on-screen displays
you'll see live on consoles in the observation dome and suchlike are
finished (and are really amazing in their detail)...there's one shot where
they do a navigational location on Kosh's ship that's really quite lovely.
One thing that I haven't mentioned to date is the lighting, because we
were looking at our options; everything else in the show is state of the
art, and we wanted to find something equally innovative. It took a while,
but we found a company that does very different sorts of lighting, and will
give the show a unique look and texture in most every shot.
Construction is finished on most of our primary sets, and now they're
being painted and dressed. We've spent a lot of this past week going over
props...guns and glasses, displays and dice, you name it. There are a
number of things that can actually transfer pretty well to the future
without modification, but a lot more that have to be redesigned or
modified.
Prosthetics are in place. The full cast assembles either tomorrow or
Tuesday and we begin rehearsals. The shots have already been blocked out
by the director, A.D. and cinematographer. We were getting a little
cramped for space on the sets, so we've co-opted another soundstage, and
now there's a real spacious feel to some of this stuff.
I'm going through the script tonight, and tomorrow, one last time to
adjust lines, make them stronger, scratch for every possible inch of
characterization. Then we'll lock it down Wednesday, so from that moment
on, there shouldn't be any further changes of substance. Which is great
for the cast, since they don't have to constantly be learning new lines.
Monday is our last major production meeting before filming starts.
After that, it's simply a matter of holding on and hoping for the best...
even under the best of conditions, something can screw up at the last
moment, and I live in dread of that. And as a writer, you can never be
100% sure that what works on the page will work on the stage until you get
there.
I try to get very zen about these things. It's like firing the arrow;
you do all you can to line it up, but once you let go of the arrow, you
have to also let go mentally. You've done all you can, now live with it.
Our director has indicated that he's going to spend most of the Sunday
before we begin filming sleeping...on a project of this size, that means a
lot of short night and long days, so that's important. Me, I'll probably
spend the whole night staring up at the ceiling, eyes like poached eyes,
looking like a still from the Ren and Stimpy show or a Tex Avery cartoon.
Posted Monday, Aug 3rd:
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.
It really is astonishing, the calibre of people we're attracting, and
have attracted. We've got academy and emmy award winners working right
alongside what are practially kids, pulling together to create something
special.
Funny stuff, btw...over the weekend, a bunch of the guys (Ron, our
director Richard Compton, the prosthetics team, and some guys from our
crew, including UPM Bob Brown, who came to us from Lucasfilm) shot some,
well, for lack of a better term...commercials. They'll run on monitors in
some of the corridors and business areas. If you have a VCR and tape this
show, you may want to run it back and pay closer attention to some of
what's going on in the background. It's *very* funny stuff, and only
occasionally sick and twisted.
The other two major characters, Commander Jeffrey Sinclair and Minbari
Ambassador Delenn, will not be announced by JMS until filming starts on
August 10th. They have been cast, Joe is just being secretive about it.
Ambassador Kosh will not be played by an actor, but by someone in a suit.
He won't have any lines in the opening movie, so no voice actor has been
cast as of yet.
A few other tidbits:
J. Michael Straczynski will be at the San Diego Comic Con on Saturday,
August 15th, at 11 a.m. He plans to show film from the first days of
filming in addition to the effects footage he has been showing.
Compiled by Lee Whiteside
Edward_Lee_Whiteside@cup.portal.com
P14942@email.mot.com
------------------------------
Date: 12 Aug 92 05:35:16 GMT
From: Edward_Lee_Whiteside@cup.portal.com
Reply-to: sf-lovers-tv@Rutgers.Edu
Subject: BABYLON 5: Rest of the Casting, First day of filming
Following is the last two actors to be announced for Babylon 5, along with
a report on the first day of filming by the show's creator and writer J.
Michael Straczynski.
Commander Jeffrey Sinclair:
One other casting piece now to announce...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.
Minbari Ambassador Delenn:
And then there's Ambassador Delenn. He, as you know, is the Minbari
ambassador assigned to B5. His makeup/prosthetics has taken the longest to
work out, but now we're happy with his look. And 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.
The first day of filming, August 10th, 1992:
I'm sure that at some time in the past, I have been more tired than I am
right now, but I'm darned if I can think of it.
Got zip sleep last night. Would wake up almost every ten minutes, my
brain chewing on something or other, wondering if everything's in place,
worrying over the hair on one of the characters (honest), if it was too
extreme...constant bedspins.
Dragged my butt out early this morning and down to the studio by an
ungodly hour of the morning. Makeup and prosthetics took their usual time,
and some time was taken up re-rigging some of the video in the set we were
using today, adjusting some other stuff along the way. (Richard Compton,
our director, picked one of the most visually difficult scenes to start
with, figuring that if we could get past this one, the rest would be a
piece of cake, except for the one big scene toward the end of the shoot.)
We pulled the trigger and got off the first shot on-camera at about 9:30
a.m. I tried, where possible, to stay out of the line of fire, since by
this time I was vibrating enough to slide into another dimension, and
didn't want to infect anybody else. Went off perfectly.
The main thing, for me, was that today the whole world came alive at the
same time (the world of B5). Up until now, it's been pieces...we see the
actors. We see the sets. We see the costumes. We see the actors in the
sets but not in costume. We see the actors in costume but not on the sets.
Finally, there it was at last...all of our characters, in full costume or
uniform (and the uniforms look DYNAMITE!), on the sets. It was finally,
fully, completely *real* at last.
Andreas Katsulas took a great approach to Ambassador G'Kar, which is a
VERY dynamic looking alien, very intimidating...giving him an educated,
mellifluous voice, a wonderful counterpoint to his appearance. Peter
Jurasik was terrific as Londo Mollari, playing even the Advisory Council
scenes as though half in the bag and trying not to show it. Delenn was
exotic and mysterious, Tamlyn Tomita was senSATIONAL as Laurel, great
strength of character and presence...and I cannot begin to tell you what
star material we've found in Michael O'Hare. He's got a voice and a
presence that could give Sean Connery or Clint Eastwood a run for their
money. Jerry Doyle was great as Garibaldi, as was Johnny Sekka as Dr.
Kyle. (We've cast two strong leading men in Doyle and O'Hare, and they are
dynamite together...and there's a *very* nice chemistry emerging between
Sekka and O'Hare as well.)
Our Warners liason came by today for the first time to the set, and he
couldn't believe the sets, how much we've done, the details, the elaborate
stuff we've pulled off. He was absolutely blown away.
Long story short...it went *great*, better than I'd hoped. Richard
Compton was magnificent behind the camera, coming up with some very
difficult and challenging shots, great angles...it's going to look
wonderful. Very cinematic, almost film-noir in its use of textures and
shadows.
Later in the day, I had some friends come over, whose opinion I trust,
and who are very well versed in SF for television and film. (These
included Marv Wolfman and Len Wein, known to the comics fans here, and
Craig (Mr. SF) Miller, who was involved with the first STAR WARS, and is
not generally easily impressed.) They knew of B5 only peripherally, and
were in NO way prepared for what they saw on the set. Add to that the new
EFX that I showed them today...their eyes melted right out of their
sockets.
Day One finished. On time, on schedule, on budget. And it looks
spiffy.
I am a happy man. Exhausted, right down to the marrow, but happy.
jms
A couple of reminders:
J. Michael Straczynski will be at the San Diego Comic Con on Saturday,
August 15th, at 11 a.m. He plans to show film from the first days of
filming in addition to the effects footage he has been showing.
The current issue of Starlog (Sept) has an article on Babylon 5, ignore the
pictures since most ore way out of date or have nothing to do with the
show.
Lee Whiteside
Edward_Lee_Whiteside@cup.portal.com
P14942@email.mot.com
------------------------------
BABYLON 5: THE GATHERING INFO FILE
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 26 Jul 92 20:49:26 GMT
From: Edward_Lee_Whiteside@cup.portal.com
Reply-to: sf-lovers-tv@Rutgers.Edu
Subject: BABYLON 5: Babylon 5 Info File
WHAT IS BABYLON 5?
Babylon 5 is a new science fiction television series that will be part of a
new Warner Bros. Television Consortium, much like the Fox network when it
started. It is set on a Space Station in the mid 23rd Century. It will
premiere on in February 1993 with a two hour movie, "The Gathering" with a
weekly series to follow, provided the response is good to the movie. Also
appearing on the Warners Consortium will be "Time Trax" and "Kung Fu: The
Legend Continues".
The show was created by J. Michael Straczynski (JMS), who will be co-
executive producer on the show along with Doug Netter. It has been in
development for over four years, the last few with Warner Bros.
J. Michael Straczynski of Babylon 5 has a long and healthy relationship
with SF and related genres. He has previously been the story editor and
primary writer for the syndicated Twilight Zone series, and his recent
adaptation of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for Showtime
earned him both Ace and Writers Guild Award nominations. He has story
edited such other series as Captain Power, the animated Real Ghostbusters,
and such mainstream network programs as Jake and the Fatman and, concurrent
with Babylon 5's development, producer on the highly rated Murder, She
Wrote. He has also written many published short stories, a published
anthology, and two published dark fantasy/horror novels.
Richard Compton, Director: Richard is an *extremely* well-regarded director
from both film and TV. For television, he's directed such TV movies as
"Desperado", ST:TNG ("Haven"), many episodes of "The Equalizer" and "Hill
Street Blues" and other shows and movies and TV movies.
Heading up the effects and production elements are Ron Thornton (computer
EFX) and John Iacovelli (production designer). Ron, one of the country's
foremost experts in computer-generated graphics, will be working with
NewTek - creators of the Video Toaster, a company on the cutting edge of
computer EFX technology, to create images never before seen on television.
John Iacovelli, from HONEY I SHRUNK THE KIDS, is bringing a range of
innovative new techniques to give the everyday scenes of Babylon 5 in
action a vastly different and futuristic look.
WHAT IS BABYLON 5 - The Concept
The year is 2257. Mankind has gone to the stars, and we have found that
we are not alone. There are other governments and empires that are far
older than ours, and some that are younger. Some we met in peace, and
began an exchange of technology and information that substantially
increased the pace of Terran space exploration and colonization. Some
contacts were hostile.
And some led to outright war. The Earth/Minbari war lasted for almost a
decade, and led to one of the great mysteries of the time in which our
story is set. On the very edge of victory over the Earth Alliance, when
everything Earth tried had failed and their destruction seemed
imminent...the Minbari surrendered. It is now five years later, and the
dark secret behind the Minbari surrender will finally begin slowly to
emerge.
And over the course of the series, that secret will have a direct and
substantial impact on Babylon 5.
As for Babylon 5 itself...it is a space station roughly three miles in
length, with docking bays fore and aft. It is made up of sections that
rotate at varying speeds to create alternate gravities to accommodate
various lifeforms. Different atmospheres are also used in different
sections. Babylon 5 is located at a key jump-point; to get from any one of
the five major confederations (four alien, one human), you almost always
have to pass through this sector of space. Thus, the area surrounding
Babylon 5 has been designated Neutral Territory.
Babylon 5 itself, therefore, functions as a sort of futuristic
free-port, a space-borne Casablanca open to travelers from anywhere, going
anywhere; people fleeing from something or escaping to something, on
missions of urgency...smugglers, diplomats, scientists, mappers, traders,
soldiers, refugees...sooner or later, they all come to Babylon 5.
The station boasts substantial facilities, including the docking bays,
customs areas, nightclubs, casinos, meeting rooms, a Rent-A-Telepath
service for use by businessmen, living quarters and other facilities.
Because the station creates its gravity by rotation, like an O'Neill
sphere, the very center of Babylon 5 is a null-gravity area. On the
fringes of that round section, where gravity returns, hydroponic and other
forms of gardens and crops have been planted. In that respect, Babylon 5
is a self-enclosed planet turned inside-out. It is self-sustaning in most
regards.
Though run under the nominal jurisdiction of the Earth Alliance, the
station also has an advisory council consisting of one ambassador from each
of the four major alien confederations, with the station commander forming
the fifth, tie-breaking vote. In that sense, the station serves as a sort
of min-U.N., the first time all five groups have ever gathered together
before under one roof. As such, Babylon 5 represents the best chance for
peace that's come along in a very long time.
But there are also those who profit by trying to sabotage that peace.
And they, too, come to Babylon 5.
The station is called Babylon 5 because it is not the first such
attempt. Babylons 1 through 3 were sabotaged and destroyed. Babylon 4
disappeared mysteriously, without a trace, 24 hours after becoming
operational. Which makes life aboard Babylon 5 tenuous at best. They are
very literally on the fringe, on their own. If something should happen, no
one could reach there in time to help.
Commander Jeffrey Sinclair:
Jeffrey Sinclair is the Commander in charge of the Babylon 5 space
station. 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.
Vice-Commander Laurel Takashima:
The day-to-day operations of the station are handled by Vice- Commander
Laurel Takashima. (In case Sinclair is incapicated 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. Laurel is
one of the few command crew actually born on Earth, she is consistently on
top of things and is Sinclair's buffer between his diplomatic
responsibilities and the physical running of the station. She has
considerable interaction with the ambassadors and others coming aboard the
station. She's tough, and smart, and resourceful and she can also take
care of herself physically QUITE well.
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.
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.
Narn Ambaddasor G'Kar:
The Narns once were 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.
Which brings us to Ambassador G'Kar (pronounced JAH-karr), of the Narn
Regime, married to a female war hero, whose fathers on both sides were also
distinguihed 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 other's 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.
Carolyn Sykes:
Carolyn Sykes has been romantically involved with Commander 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.
Dr. Benjamin Kyle:
Ben 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 hungery 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.
Security Chief Michael Garibaldi:
Michael Garibaldi 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.
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...
Minbari Ambassoder Delenn:
Although the station 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. 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.
Lyta Alexander:
The station's resident rent-a-telepath is Lyta Alexander. She works for
Babylon 5, 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. 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. She's in her early 30s or late 20s.
Vorlon Ambassador Kosh Naranek:
Last, but not least, are the Vorlons. There isn't much we can SAY about
the Vorlons...because nobody KNOWS anything about them.
In the 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 Babylon 5 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 Babylon 5 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,
you 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.
The primary goal behind Babylon 5 is to do a show that is both good
sicence fiction and good televison. An SF series without cute robots or
kids. An SF series that is thoughtful, but which has action. An SF series
for grownups, with the same level of characterization and storytelling
found in such shows as Hill Street Blues or St. Elsewhere or L.A. Law.
In preparing Babylon 5 for production, a comprensive five year arc has
been created. Though stories will stand on their own in each episode, the
series overall will gradually tell a story on a much grander scale, a
tapestry of falling and rising empires in which one or two individuals may
mean the difference between a new dark ages on one side and a future of
hope on the other. In that respect, Babylon 5 will be treated as a
five-year miniseries, with a definite beginning, middle, and end, with each
year equalling one "chapter" or book in the saga. In that respect, it has
been likened by some to going for the broad tapestry of a Lensman or
Foundation series of books.
For more info about Babylon 5:
a) On the GEnie Science Fiction Roundtable, there is a Babylon 5 topic
where JMS talks with the fans about the show, both production and story
info. Most of the information in this FAQ came from this topic. It is
located at Page 470, Category 18, Topic 22. Archives of past messages are
availabe in the GEnie SFRT files areas.
b) Available on GEnie and Compuserve, in their respective science fiction
file areas, are GIF files of the Babylon 5 logo, and two pictures from the
computer animation.
c) Starlog: The September 1992 issue of Starlog has an article on Babylon
5. Note that the pictures used in the article either are very outdated or
have nothing to do with the show.
------------------------------
