E-mail Item 4719070 98/01/13 01:38 From: D.KINNEY Don H. Kinney To: D.KINNEY Don H. Kinney Sub: #135-A The Zocalo (1 of 4 /*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/ THE ZOCALO #135 A Web Site: http://www.highfiber.com/~katana /*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/ 6769 Subscriptions Est. 10,000+ readers January 12, 1998 <*><*><*><*><*> TABLE OF CONTENTS <*><*><*><*><*> Part A Introduction Note from the Publisher Note from the Editor What's New J. Michael Straczynski Speaks News from TNT News from Around the Networks B5 Fans on the Net: Erez Zadok Part 2 Comments from "Gatherings" Part B Zocalo Cafe - Let's Talk Discussion Replies Topic for Next Week Letters to the Staff Part C Zocalo Newsstand Convention Reports Upcoming Cons Schedules/Programs Convention Attendance B5 Cast in Other Roles B5 Fan Clubs and Mailing lists New Babylon 5 Web Sites B5 Sightings B5 Menu Part D Odds and Ends Trading Post Convention Calendar Episode Review: Exercise in Vital Powers Important Addresses Newsletter Basics ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ INTRODUCTION ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> To say that it's been an exciting week, would be putting it mildly! We started off the week with "In The Beginning" and the re-edited "The Gathering" and had a full week of season one episodes to remember and enjoy. What could top that? Great ratings! That's what. Yes, the numbers were marvelous. The press releases are in the first section for you all to read and enjoy. Let's hope that the show continues to hold an audience and build as we get closer to the beginning of season five. We have a pretty big issue for you this week. Don continues his interview with Erez Zadok, there are comments and pictures on some web sites from Sunday's gatherings around the country, there are con reports and updates and a review of "Exercises in Vital Powers" by Daniel Brown. Thanks to everyone who submitted material for this issue. I know it's not always easy to sit down and write up something. Time is one of our most fleeting commodities. We appreciate your sharing your thoughts with us. Over the past couple of years, as the Zocalo has grown, the sense of community that we have tried to foster has deepened as well. Our little "family" can be somewhat dysfunctional at times, but the interaction we share here makes it unique and very special. Thank you and keep it coming. As the last line of each issue says, you are our eyes and ears. Let us know how you feel about the show, especially those of you who are just beginning to watch the season one episodes. No matter how many times I've watched them, I find something I hadn't noticed before. I also find that I appreciate them more this time around. They haven't changed but I have! Well, have a safe and happy week ahead. Take care. Sandy <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> NOTE FROM THE EDITOR <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> We want to extend a big welcome to all our new subscribers! Please join in our conversations and share your thoughts with us. We want to hear from all of you as opinions and views vary and that makes for great conversations. Do you have a specific topic you would like discussed? If so, please send it along to Sandy and me. Just remember that the discussion can't lead to story ideas. We want to hear what you want to discuss! Though I didn't attend a regular party for watching In The Beginning and the re-edited version of The Gathering, I was on my computer. With a TV in my computer room and a bunch of friends online to type with, it was very much like a party! It was fun trying to catch all the added scenes and lines in The Gathering. TNT is doing a great job of advertising the show and I'm hoping that the ratings continue to rise. I still run into the occasional person who is a Babylon 5 fan but who doesn't have Internet access and they are happy to find that Babylon 5 is now on TNT! One person knew that her sister and brother-in-law loved the show and that they were disappointed it wasn't continued. I informed her that season 5 was on TNT and she is passing that along to her family. I hope to see more print ads for the show as this might help provide information to point fans to the new location. Babylon 5 is a tightly woven story and, with the re-broadcast of the season 1 episodes, I am catching subtle bits of information that provide hints of what is to come in the series. No matter how many times I see the original episodes, the impact is still there . . . just as you would find in any well written book. It keeps your attention no matter how many times you read it. We are all looking forward to season 5 and more of the made-for-TV films. Jan ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ WHAT'S NEW ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI SPEAKS <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> Q: The speech made by the President before the "Battle of the Line" in "In The Beginning" was very well done. A: It's a very moving scene, even for me. There's something in particular about a female president making that request, and giving those orders, that is especially strong. I don't know why that should be, but somehow it is. We as a people tend to forget our own strength, and as Londo says, our stubborn nobility. We only seem to remember it when we stand on the edge of the abyss, when it's almost too late to do anything about it. Q: What was the cost of "In The Beginning?" The special effects are great! A: And the thing is..."In the Beginning" cost us a tick under $3 million bucks, which is almost nil in terms of budgets for TV movies. It looks like it's a $12 million feature film. wives? Is this an error? A: No, it's been established that Londo's first wife was a dancer, who he was forced to divorce by his family. Q: How many episodes of Babylon 5 were written by freelancers? Are all of the Crusade scripts going to be written by yourself, or solely in house? A: Our first two seasons were roughly 40-50% freelance, which is a substantially higher average than most shows. Years 3 and 4 were mine, mainly because of the difficulty in farming out stories in that situation. Crusade will almost certainly go to back to the 40-50% freelance mode, which is frankly my preference, and it's been that way on all the previous shows I've done. Q: You mentioned a short while back that TNT was bringing you to New York for some meetings. Know when you'll be going? A: I'm having to buckle down and finish writing S5 and getting the third movie written, so I'm stuck out here. It's a curious thought...I just turned in 519, which means with just these last 3 scripts, I'm done writing the Babylon 5 series. (The third movie is outside the series in terms of one-hour episodes.) After ten years, I'm 3 scripts away from being done with this thing. Q: We notice that "zha" turns up in quite a few words in the show. Does it have a special meaning? A: Zha is the usual reference for the future, whose meaning changes depending on whether it's a suffix or a prefix, and what it's up against. Isil-zha usually means change, changing the future, coming of a new age; Entil-zha is the one who creates or guides the forces creating the future; and Z'ha'dum (with the broken zha) is the death of the future, or the dark future. Q: What was the relationship between Kosh 1 and Kosh 2? A: Kosh and Ulkesh were contemporaries, though Ulkesh was the more military of the two, very isolationist, while Kosh was the curious one, interested in the younger races, and more willing to extend himself (with sometimes unfortunate results). Kosh always worried what Ulkesh would do without his moderating presence...and ultimately had to be the one to take him down to allow the younger races to step forward. Q: The reworking of Sinclair's narration of the Battle of the Line, with Requiem for the Line and the battle transmissions was just gripping, it really showcased Michael O'Hare's strengths as an actor. A: Yeah, that was an experiment I wanted to try. When we did the audio spotting (me sitting with the sound folks, Chris, others), I explained what I wanted done with that scene, and they kinda got it but were a little dubious as to whether or not this could or would work. When we came to the day of the audio mix, it was kind of a jumble...so I worked with the music and the voices to basically fill in the gaps between Sinclair's words. Then I backed up and chose the ones that most related to what he had just said, or was about to just say. It took about half an hour to get that 30 second piece down pat. One of the least visible things I do is mess with the music and how the music lays out on the track. I'm often at the front of the mixing room, working with the mixers, bringing up one instrument (percussion, for instance), bringing down the horns for one piece, up in another. In "In the Beginning," for instance, there was percussion all through the Battle of the Line itself...and we had big EFX of guns and explosions going off, and the two muddied together. So I went with the explosions for the first of it, then replaced some of the gunfire/explosions with percussion, then ducked down the SFX altogether and just let the music take it. You kind of have to be a conductor in these instances. Q: Any reaction on the ratings yet? A: We got the ratings, and I can't release them yet, that has to come from TNT, but suffice to say they're dancing in the aisles over at TNT. Again, I can't give specifics yet, but they had a very specific rating in mind that they felt was the best we would probably get, which we beat handily, and they felt that the pilot, being a rerun, wouldn't do that well...and it ended up doing as well as the maximum they'd hoped the prequel would get. They're stunned. Turns out we virtually tripled our regular audience, and *built* each quarter hour, which means folks were jumping in all through, and those who came, stayed. <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> NEWS FROM TNT by Sandra Bruckner (sgbruckner@aol.com) <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> Since I'm sure everyone is curious about how the show is doing on TNT, I thought I'd insert the press releases TNT issued this week. Enjoy! //////////////////////////// Wednesday January 7, 4:50 pm Eastern Time Company Press Release TNT's BABYLON 5 Blasts Off With Stellar Ratings Reaches Nearly 11 Million Viewers on Jan. 4 ATLANTA--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Jan. 7, 1998--The launch of the BABYLON 5 franchise on Turner Network Television (TNT) reached a total 10.7 million unduplicated viewers on Jan. 4, the network announced today. The world premiere of the TNT Original movie BABYLON 5: IN THE BEGINNING garnered a 4.1 rating/6.0 share, and delivered nearly 3 million households. TNT's re-edited version of the original series pilot, BABYLON 5: THE GATHERING, followed at 10 p.m. (ET), scoring an impressive 3.4/5.9 while delivering nearly 2.5 million HH. The two films were basic cable's top rated movies of the week. TNT's complete launch night of BABYLON 5 programming consisted of the premiere and one encore of BABYLON 5: IN THE BEGINNING, the TNT premiere of BABYLON 5: THE GATHERING and three airings of the TNT Original special THE GUIDE TO BABYLON 5. The successful launch reflects TNT's massive commitment to the BABYLON 5 franchise, which also includes a Monday through Friday airing of the series' award winning first four seasons. In addition, TNT will air the eagerly anticipated fifth season of 22 new episodes Wednesdays at 10 p.m. (ET) premiering January 21. A second TNT Original movie, BABYLON 5: THIRDSPACE, is currently in production. The TNT Original movie BABYLON 5: IN THE BEGINNING, starring Bruce Boxleitner, Mira Furlan and Peter Jurasik, portrayed the Earth/Minbari war that led up to the creation of the Babylon 5 space station. Set in the 23rd century, Babylon 5 is a massive, self-sufficient space station that serves to bring together representatives from various races, both human and alien, to resolve their differences peacefully. Turner Network Television (TNT), currently seen in more than 72 million homes, is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.'s 24-hour, advertiser-supported service offering original motion pictures and miniseries; contemporary films from the world's largest film library, the combined Turner and Warner Bros. film libraries; exciting NBA and NFL sports action; popular television series; and timeless cartoons. Source: TBS Research from Nielsen Media Research data. /////////////////////////////////// Cable Nielsen Rankings The Associated Press Rankings for the top 15 programs on basic cable networks are out for the week of Dec. 29-Jan 4. B5 did quite well. The two movies ranked as the two basic cable movies for the week. Each ratings point represents 980.000 households. 4. "Babylon 5: In the Beginning" (Sunday, 7:59 p.m.), TNT, 3.0, 2.95 million homes. 8. "Babylon 5: The Gathering" (Sunday, 10:02 p.m.), TNT, 2.5, 2.46 million homes <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> NEWS FROM AROUND THE NETWORKS by Sandra Bruckner (sgbruckner@aol.com) <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> CANADIAN VIEWERS REJOICE! Season 5 of B5 on CFMT in Toronto will start on Sun Feb 1st at 6 pm and continue in that time slot. Bruce Boxleitner will be appearing on "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" on January 13. In this week's TV Guide, there's a great article on Bruce Boxleitner and the show with a fantastic picture that would make a wonderful poster! For a look at both the picture and the article, visit the web site below: http://www.tvguide.com/tv/magazine/980105/ftr4a.htm BABYLON 5 HELP GUIDE -- UPDATED My good friend Mark Sloan has updated his Babylon 5 Help Guide. This new version, which includes synopses up to "Rising Star" (and no spoiler protection!), is now available at: ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/M_Sloan. Take a peek. Marks's put a great deal of work into this and it's a wonderful reference for the show. <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> B5 FANS ON THE NET: Erez Zadok - Keeping Lists, Keeping the Faith (Part 2) by Don Kinney (d.kinney@genie.com) <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> The talk with the maintainer of the B5-JMS list continues from THE ZOCALO #134. Don: What attracted you to BABYLON 5? When did you first see it? Initial reaction? Erez: Remember the writers' strike in the second season of ST:TNG (1987- 1988 I believe) that resulted in fewer episodes being produced that year? The broadcast schedules were unstable, and had lots of reruns. Also, the episodes that were produced that year were of low quality. During that time I lost track and interest in ST:TNG (it was also my first year in college and a difficult one, being that English was not my native tongue). When I got back to TNG at the beginning of season 3, I was pleased to find better schedules and improved stories. But I also beat myself on the head for not having taped those S2 episodes that I missed; some of them could have been good, but I didn't know until much later. So I vowed from that point on not to pre-judge any show I may like, and tape it all for later viewing or discarding. Back in late 1992, there was only TNG to quench my thirst for good SF. So when the ads starting hitting the airwaves about a new ST show (DS9) and this "other" SF show, which on the face of it, appeared very similar (space station, multi-species, etc.) I was intrigued. Heck, anything to give me more of a SF fix was welcome. I figured I'd start recording both of them, and wait a while before I deciding if the shows were worth watching or recording any further. So I started recording DS9 regularly, and also had one measly tape titled "Babylon 5 Pilot" sitting on my shelf collecting dust for almost a year. I didn't know that single B5 tape would be worth it, and not having heard any more about Babylon 5, I kinda forgot about it. But I'm glad to say I didn't recycle that tape. I left it untouched for over a year. Only after a few episodes of B5's first season (which I also recorded), did I realize I made the right decision way back then to record and keep the pilot. I cannot tell you how many people have asked me for my B5 pilot and Season 1 tapes so they can catch up on things. Many B5 fans have only discovered the show after 1-2 years. So as Londo says in the pilot, "I was there in the beginning..." My initial reactions after seeing the pilot were that B5 was different from what I'd already seen, but with some curious similarities to yet another new show (Star Trek: Deep Space 9). It's very difficult, growing up with the "Star Trek Universe", to unseat one's mind and open it to new possibilities. The pilot was an interesting story that mostly stood on its own, but with some obvious intriguing aspects, especially involving the majestic Vorlons. Those elements made me think about the pilot for days after, and most importantly, it made me crave more. D: Favorite element on BABYLON 5? Favorite Episode? Character? Overall scene? Special FX scene? E: My favorite elements of the show are the surprising yet perfectly logical ways JMS has resolved many many threads. Having watched many TV shows and movies, I find it very annoying if the end reveals itself all too obviously to me. If I can easily guess the end to a movie/episode 1/3 to 1/2 through watching it, then it was not sufficiently stimulating for me, and I just wasted an hour or two that I could have worked on my Ph.D. thesis instead... Unfortunately, most TV these days falls into the predictable category. But with JMS, it is really hard to predict many aspects to the show. I'll give you one example: the Shadows vs. Vorlons. We all grew up on shows that clearly established the good guys and the bad guys early on. Whether it's SF, or yet another medical emergency show, or another "cops-n-robbers", or a sitcom, etc. --- it's easy to tell who's on your side and who is not. There was a huge amount of discussion about both Shadows and Vorlons: what are they exactly, what do they really want, who is "bad" and who is "good. In the end, their real nature and motivations were unlike what anyone had thought. It was a good solution that MADE SENSE, and at the same time teased us for months. I used to live for the great SFX of any show. B5 among very few other shows had managed to intrigue me with its stories alone. My favorite episode is "Comes the Inquisitor". Wayne Alexander acted amazingly in that episode, making me crave more (and gladly, JMS did give him more work.) The best scene for me is the one from this episode, when he tortures Delenn some more, and tells her "let's see if the universe responds". He then moves back, standing under a bright light, raises his hands up, and takes a deep breath. When no answer is forthcoming, he says "Silence. A silence as profound as when the whales swallowed Jonah." His voice is piercing. His eyes penetrating. Beautifully acted. The words and images of this episode continue to resonate in my mind to this day. The other reason I liked CtI is that it holds true at any time. The lessons The Inquisitor is teaching Delenn and Sheridan, and the lessons they teach him in return, are very much valid in many other scenarios. Many people at one time or another in their lives can identify with Delenn or Sheridan. I don't really have a favorite character. I like one character or another in each episode, and it changes from episode to episode. There are other shows where the fans are sharply divided as to which characters they like or dislike. I think it is actually a testament to JMS' writing abilities that I don't find one particular character significantly more favored over another; he managed to make all of them roughly equally interesting. Favorite SFX?! Ouch, do you know how hard that is to pick? B5 had managed to produce the best SFX I've ever seen before on TV. A few special scenes stand out: (1) With CGI, you can show the difference in sizes much more realistically. I love the opening scenes from S1/S2 where the camera zooms out of a person in a space suit standing outside the station; it gives you such a wonderful feeling of the sheer size of that hunk of metal. The same thing happened when the Vorlon planet killer was first seen. You cannot help but think "it keeps going and going and going..." (2) The battle scene from Severed Dreams. It was INTENSE and even hard to follow the first time. Not only was the story powerful, but the battles were fast and furious. My sister, myself, and our respective SOs (significant others) sat together to watch SD. We were so mesmerized during the whole episode and esp. the battle scene that no one said a word. I think we were barely breathing, too ... on the edge of our seats. When Delenn came in to save the day, you could hear four very loud exhales in my living room! D: What do you do when you're not maintaining the JMS lists? E: I've been in school for 9 years now. I've done my BS, then MS, and I'm now 3/4 into a Ph.D. program in Computer Science at Columbia University. Most of that time I've been working as a computer consultant to support myself at school. So it's not an easy life, but necessary if I want to achieve certain goals in life. Babylon 5 and maintaining this list actually give me a medium for relief. I often do not read all of JMS' posts I get -- "I'm not just the president, I'm also a client..." -- rather, I'll keep them until I need a break from studying/working or other things. When I feel I need a break, I read a few posts for enjoyment and relaxation. The interview concludes in the next issue of THE ZOCALO. For anyone that wishes to subscribe to the JMS digest, here are the instructions: The B5JMS List: An echo of JMS's messages on the rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5 newsgroup, filtered through an automated script that also sends the messages he's replying to, if any. To subscribe, send mail to majordomo@majordomo.cs.columbia.edu with a single line in the message body: subscribe b5jms <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> COMMENTS FROM SUNDAY'S "GATHERINGS" by Sandra Bruckner (sgbruckner@aol.com) <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> Last week we had a listing of both TNT sponsored and local parties centered around the premiere of "In The Beginning" and "The Gathering". Here are some comments from folks who attended a few of them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ INDIANA From: "Mark C. Dooley" Dear B5 folks: What a great night for our sci-fi club, THE WHOOSIER NETWORK, last night! We held our first video party at the Comic Cave/Mr. Video store in Columbus, Indiana, with a couple of visitors from our Indianapolis branch and some folks who began their B5 experiences last night. Prior to the show, we ran the "I Accuse My Parents" episode of MST3K to get everyone warmed up, the original "Making of Babylon 5" special with Walter Koenig, and we also raffled off some really cool goodies, including autographed pictures of B5 and Trek cast members. We even ran the worst case scenario just to get the anxiety out.... I announced, "Babylon 5 will not be seen tonight due to the following presentation. Stay tuned for Jaleel White and Bob Saget in "Those Darn Narns". To say the least, everyone really enjoyed both features, including the virgins, who seemed to have no problem getting into some of the more isoteric plot points, such as the Emperor Londo scenes. Congratulations, guys! Here's to giving Trek a much-deserved run for their lives.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE From: bahiamar@juno.com (John M Harper) Joe; Well, bubba, you were right. It did turn out well. In fact, it turned out awesome. I was hoping for twenty; I got closer to fifty. All of them had a blast. And they did something I've seldom seen before; when the show came on, EVERYBODY got dead silent. Not a word until the commercial. Show cranks up again, dead silence. Everyone staring raptly at the screen, drinking deep of the epic. You've said before that, given a few years, you might be fit to carry Serling or Corwin's pencil case. I think you're there already. Bravo. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND (by Sandra Bruckner) About 15 people gathered at Laura Applebaum's home on Sunday night. Laura regularly hosts a group of B5-faithful and quite a few of the regulars showed up for the premiere. I finally got my rear in gear and made it to this "gathering" as well. While everyone laughed through the blooper reel and munched away during some of the other videos I brought, there was dead silence during "In The Beginning". During commercial breaks, everyone would dash for a potty break or beverages but be firmly in place when the show began for the next segment! To see some of the motley group that showed up at Laura's, check out the web site at: http://nova.umuc.edu/~friedman/b5md/activities/itb.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NEW YORK CITY Report posted by Scotsman at thestation.com: For some pictures of the party and the group, visit: http://pw1.netcom.com/~karenlee/tntparty.html Whoo-Hoo! A great time was had by all! While the locale itself was small, and the people fewer than I expected for New York, we all had a fantastic time. Truly we, the reverent fans of Babylon 5 were still as the Movie "In The Beginning" aired. Were it not for the sound of the TVs, a pin-drop could be heard. Applause and mass discussion met every commercial break, (not to mention the re-filling of our Babylon 5 cups at the bar) We got T-shirts, and Promo cards, and pamphlets, (oh my)! :-) At the conclusion of the evening I walked away with much-much handout stuff. The three gentlemen pictured with me in the site you pointed out, Sandy, are fellow members of a Star Trek club based in the Baltimore, MD area: U.S.S. Highlander. The two on the far left traveled up from Maryland to join me, the gent right next to me is from the Albany, NY area, and, of course, there's me on the right (in case there are folks who've never seen me pictured elsewhere) A fantastic time had by New York folkses, TNT should do things like this more often, and if they don't, who's to say we here at the official Fan Club can't throw together a party somewhere? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ATLANTA From: "jan horton" Premiere Party in Atlanta Sure I could have sat at home with my brother and his girlfriend to watch the premiere of our favorite show on our TV there but, for us, Babylon 5 is more than a TV show, it's an experience. And what better way to prove that than to share the experience with a room full of fans almost as nuts about B5 as we are? Besides, B5 premieres its first movie only once, right? It was the first, but I certainly hope it won't be the last. Once we found out about the TNT parties, we knew we had to go, but the nearest one was in the next state. So 5 hours, 350 miles, and 4 bathroom stops later I found myself standing with my fellow B5 pilgrims in front of the Jocks & Jill's Sports Bar in Atlanta, GA. We had finally arrived and we were early. The entrance was marked by a huge banner announcing the TNT big premiere party there that night. When we were seated in front of a wall of big screen TVs, immediately realized what a great place to watch this would be. We goofed around for the next hour and watched as the B5 fans trickled in. They were laughing and greeting each other like family, when in fact, most of us were total strangers. Strangers with one very important thing in common. As the time to start grew closer, an announcer welcomed us while the TVs were all being switched from football to TNT. Anticipation mounted as well as the noise level--it didn't take much to get us excited -- cheering at each B5 commercial that came on like sportsfans after a touchdown. And then the trivia contest began; the prizes for which were framed and autographed promo cards of either Sheridan or Delenn -- 4 in all to give away. I managed to win one of the Sheridans -- WOOHOO! The rest of the prizes were handed during commercials. By the end, we had quite a stash of B5 t-Shirts, promocards, and cups. The room hushed as "In The Beginning" started. It was spectacular! Definitely worth the long wait since we had a new B5 ep and worth all the miles we drove to celebrate it. I could tell everyone else enjoyed it too, laughing and cheering at subtle details as much as the big stuff. ITB answered a lot of unresolved issues but the coup de grace for me had to be the touching explanation to Ivanova's single earring question. That's something that had always driven me crazy. Before "The Gathering" began, the grand prize was given away--a trip for 2 to Space Camp. Sadly I wasn't the winner but congratulations to the lucky guy who was. We had to leave before the pilot had finished but, in the short time since I've been home, I've heard a lot of folks comment on how impressed they were by both movie and pilot. We got back home at 3:AM but I was too wound up to sleep, leaving me time to lay awake thinking about the experience. My brain was fixed on one thought -- I remembered how Delenn once said that humans were unique because they build communities wherever they go. Well, I think the same can be said for Babylon 5 itself. I had more than fun at that party, I had a real sense of community. B5 has created a family of loyal individuals, united in our love for this Story and I am proud to be a part of that. Thanks B5 and thanks TNT. AJ. Hort on a.k.a. DaizyOmega@aol.com a.k.a. Aggy @ The Station:Comlink <*><*><*> The newsletter continues in part B <*><*><*> =END=