The Coming of Shadows (Babylon 5, No 2)
Through trial and error (and books I won't name) I learned a hard lesson:  don't do books unless the source material is good.  Books based on movies and television have to stand on their own, entertain without the benefit of a screen.  Exciting characters, action, mystery, political intrigue, technology, race relations, romance--excellent fiction incorporates all of the genres.  With Babylon 5, the series had been envisioned as a five-year epic, and that epic sports one helluva backstory.  That backstory has held the attention of millions of viewers for five seasons--these are dedicated and constant supporters.All well and good, but I'd been stung before.  Initially, I was skeptical.  It wasn't until I visited the Babylon 5 studios, met with series creator J.Michael Straczynski, watched the actors at work, that I saw the creative spirit that drove them.  The hours they put in are painful to watch.  I'm pretty sure Straczynski doesn't actually sleep--he wrote the lion's share of the episodes, including two that won Hugo Awards.So I was convinced.  Now we've got four million hard-core viewers to convert.  At least we know the target audience.--Steve Saffel, Senior Editor