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description: JMS's Handwritten Notes for Season OneSee for yourself the ideas JMS originally planned to include...at the moment he thought of them. We include scans of his original notes along with a transcription of what he wrote. (If you've ever seen JMS's handwriting you'll understand what a bonus this is.) These season one notes include --* The two-part episode that was scrapped in favor of A Voice in the Wilderness which includes an Earth Alliance ambassador being stationed on B5* The plot for the unproduced episode Blockade* The original notes for Quality of Mercy which in his notes was called The ResurrectionistStory Editor Larry DiTillio's Character ProfilesWritten as a personal reference to aid him while developing scripts these dossiers contain fascinating bits of data such as --* Jeffrey Sinclairs favorite composer* What John Sheridans father was named before he became David* What Susan Ivanova liked to collect* The name of Michael Garibaldis brother* What celestial body was the birthplace of Dr. Stephen Franklin* Talia Winterss favorite movie* How Vir Cotto's mother's maiden name linked him to a powerful Centauri family* How Na'Toths religious beliefs differed from GKars* Which ancient Earth culture interested G'Kar * And a wealth of hitherto unknown facts about Delenn Lennier Keffer and Londo Mollari...and nothing at all about Kosh* Bonus: the dossier DiTillio wrote about the teenaged telepath Alisa Beldon who appeared in LegaciesSome Basic Thoughts on TelepathsAnother lost document from story editor Larry DiTillio. Again written for his personal reference this is a list of twenty-six telepathic abilities in the Babylon 5 universe. Included in the listing are abilities such as --* The Six Types of Mind Scan* Thermal Manipulation* The Chaos Maneuver* The Empathy ScanThe JMS Interview Conducted Two Months Before the Pilot AiredHighlights include --* The circumstances in which he'd want someone to hit him over the head with a baseball bat* How hed convince an SF fan to watch Babylon 5* What it means to give a Babylon 5 writer a blind assignment* How JMS wanted Babylon 5 to be like Hill Street Blues* Which actor had the most difficult time adapting to prosthetic makeup* JMS's rules for designing the aliens* The real reason he wanted diversity in the cast The Strange Exhibition of Sebastian D'ArqueThis was to be a season two episode featuring Sebastian the character who later appeared in Comes the Inquisitor. You will get to see not one but two outlines for the aborted episode. They explain how JMS planned to integrate an ISN reporter into the seriess regular cast as well as how Sebastian was originally envisioned -- a very different take from what he would eventually become. The JMS Interview From the Week The Coming of Shadows AiredIn this detailed interview JMS reveals --* Which season two episodes he liked* What went wrong with the episodes that fell short of his approval* Which guest characters he wanted to use again (and which he didn't)* His thoughts on sex and SF* The origins behind the infamous fasten-zip conversation from Babylon Squared* Why he didn't regret losing Catherine Sakai when he wrote out Sinclair* The amazing thing Michael O'Hare did while filming Parliament of Dreams* Why sacrifice is a recurring theme in season two* In which episode he thought he did too much preaching* Why he was glad Deathwalker was female* Why Believers did not violate JMS's no kids rule* Why Survivors required so much rewriting* The reason Grail went off the rails and why it was aired later in the season* The complete background on why Eyes was written* Which actor's performance he thought could have been better* The storyline that divided the fansNever-Before-Seen Concept Art by Peter LedgerSix pieces total --* Ledger's simplified English alphabet* A really alien alphabet* Four posters intended to decorate the walls of Babylon 5 including one promoting the Church of the BeatlesJ. Michael Straczynski's JournalHour-by-hour details of how the executive producer/creator/writer spent four days during the production of his TV series during late season two. You get to read his innermost thoughts on --* The Quality of Mercy and his definition of Don't Ask Don't Tell* What Warner Bros. noticed (and what they didn't)* Getting better time slots* What Doug Netter really does* The importance of lunch (especially on Fridays)* What a spotting session is* The crew member that is completely nuts* The necessary evil he agrees to that makes him think he's a six-foot five-inch duck* The conversation with cast members about Narn butt* The thing most people don't know about how television is made* Why JMS stays up most nights until 4 a.m.The Mysteries of Babylon 5 ProposalWritten between season two and season three this proposal outlined a catch-up special designed to familiarize new viewers with the first two seasons of the show. Though the special was not to be you get to read what could have been. Approaching BabylonThe complete unedited uncensored text of J. Michael Straczynskis eighteen-page article written for the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of York. In this candid piece JMS details his childhood love of science fiction what inspired him to create Babylon 5 and what his hopes and fears were for the series as it entered its third season. The Mind-Wipe Story NotesSee for yourself Passing Through Gethsemanes tortuous journey from script to screen. Yes this is the episode that nearly had be to aborted after a fan posted a similar storyline in an online forum. In addition to the notarized release from the fan allowing JMS to resume work on the episode we've also included two gems: the scratch paper featuring a very different plot and additional notes for a version of the story featuring Alfred Bester.The JMS Interview During Early Season ThreeThis brief one-on-one tells us --What he considers the most intense episode to dateThe real-life reason behind Vir becoming the Centauri envoy to MinbarThe season three episodes he considers self-contained that don't move the arc story forwardWhy he planned to write all the scripts for the seasonThe contingency plan if he ever got sick while writing every episodeThe four words he uses to describe season threeThe Patches of Babylon 5For the first time ever detailed scans of an array of uniform patches -- thirty-one to be exact -- that were seen on the costumes in Babylon 5. Each one is identified along with where they were shown on each uniform. The inventory includes most Earthforce insignia (Command Security Medical Engineering Mars Command etc.) as well as patches from the Earth/Minbari War Earthforce vessels Starfury squadrons stationed on Babylon 5 and the EAS Excalibur. TNT's Babylon 5 Lives ProposalThis proposal structured as a memo outlines three concepts --A Babylon 5 prequel set during the Earth/Minbari WarA re-edited version of the pilot movie that would form the basis for Babylon 5's TNT premiereA way to reinvigorate each cycle of re-runs on the network. Includes several intriguing Straczynskian hypotheses.Ancillary B5 MaterialThis is a page of notes that details the plot of yet another unmade Babylon 5 TV movie titled The Trial of John Sheridan. You'll also learn the medium in which JMS originally planned to tell the story of Sheridans death. (Hint: it wasnt an episode of the TV series.)The JMS Interview During Early Season FourA concise interview in which J. Michael Straczynski discusses --How Stephen Furst became a director on the showJMS's strategy to compensate for PTENs peculiar predilection for airing the season finale immediately before the following seasons premiereWhy JMS wrote all twenty-two season four episodes after nearly killing himself by writing all of season threeThe TNT Promo SpeechesRemember those fifteen- to sixty-second spots that aired on TNT around the clock leading up to Babylon 5's January 1998 premiere? You know the ones that had Ivanova and G'Kar speaking directly to the audience and which ended with And that's why I am on Babylon 5. Guess what? There were actually four total. The ones featuring Sheridan and Londo were never used. For the first time you'll get to read the ones that didn't air and the two that did.The Psi Corps Manual ProposalThe premise of this proposal written for Del Rey books was that this would resemble an actual manual (thin bound in a soft cover similar to those used for accountant's journals) and that it had been smuggled out of the Psi Corps. We don't want to spoil the contents but we will tell you that this proposal is written so vividly you'll probably be able to picture the unwritten final product. And that is what makes it so much fun.The JMS Interview After Directing Sleeping in LightLots of insights in this one such as --Which season four episode might have been a two-part storyHow he kept Kosh and the other First Ones mysteriousHis thoughts on how he got around people thinking they knew what the ending wasWhy he wanted to direct this episode his directing debutWhy none of the actors were moving when they started shooting the first sceneWhy he appeared in the finale though he said previously he would never do soThe reason he wasn't surprised how the Sleeping in Light scenes turned outThe scenes he was most pleased withWhy he instructed Bruce not to touch Mira until the very end of their farewell scene Revised Season Five Storylines &amp; Index CardsAs many fans will recall from previously released books J. Michael Straczynski's notes for B5's fifth season were discarded by a hotel housekeeping staff despite the fact that they were sitting on a table not in a trash bin. After the loss of these vital notes along with the departure of Claudia Christian from the series JMS began revising the season five storylines. Copies of these handwritten notes are reprinted here. You'll see --How JMS structured the fifth season starting with five pages of character-specific notesHow he developed those notes into individual episodesThe plots that were abandoned:The three-part story in which an amnesiac stirred up trouble for President SheridanThe two-part plot in which a central character was kidnappedAn episode featuring Londo Mollaris replacement as the Centauri ambassador to Babylon 5 (it wasnt originally Vir)Andreas Katsulas's Last Interview During Babylon 5's ProductionConducted on 22 Jan 1998 by journalist Joe Nazarro Katsulas shares --What he believes JMS was really trying communicate by GKar becoming a religious iconWhat he enjoyed about season five and why he calls it the G'Kar cropWhy he wasn't bothered by the fact that we was featured less in season fourHow long it took for Tracy Scoggins to settle into the castHis favorite aspect of G'Kar and what type of scripts are his favoriteThe difficulties of adding a spiritual element to G'KarHis thoughts on GKar becoming Londos bodyguardWhy he would have been open to starring in a cowboy-based seriesWhat he thinks when he sees fans wearing G'Kar t-shirtsThe River of Souls TreatmentWhile most -- but not all -- of what was written made it to the screen the footnote may haunt you for the rest of your lives.Babylon 5: The Motion PictureThis is one of our favorite finds. In 1998 JMS attempted to bring Babylon 5 to the big screen with the original characters. (Note: this is neither the one about the Telepath War that JMS started to develop in 1996 nor The Memory of Shadows from 2004.) What makes this premise extra special is how true it remains to the series by presenting a story in keeping with the show's philosophical and dramatic underpinnings though writ on an epic canvas.BUT WAIT...THERE'S MOREYes there are more goodies that aren't even listed including another last interview several more with JMS conducted in real-time while the show was in production and a few more goodies. We decided to save a few surprises so that you can have the same wow response that we got when we uncovered these artifacts.
language: English
title: Babylon 5: Artifacts from Beyond the Rim
publisher: Synthetic Worlds Publishing