The Babylon Podcast: Recent Episodes
Tim Callender, Summer Brooks, and Jeffrey Willerth
Since "The Gathering" is on all our minds again, it's only fair to talk with the musician who gave us the first sounds of Babylon 5: rock and roll legend Stewart Copeland.Source
It was something of a milestone when Babylon 5 returned to Amazon Prime in December, because the original edit of "The Gathering" was included.Source
Tim and Summer's enjoyment of "The Road Home" extends to the soundtrack, and we talk with the composers Kristopher Carter, Lolita Ritmanis, and Michael McCuistion about creating that sound.Source
Tim and Summer have watched "Babylon 5: The Road Home" to enjoy the story, and watched to make note of the hidden nods to die-hard fans, and the details shared in both the audio commentary track and the featurette. Source
The full trailer for "Babylon 5: The Road Home" has been released and well received by fans. Speculations on the story have run rampant, and now, we're going to add ours! Source
Discussion: JMS called. We answered. The hashtag that surpassed The Queen's Funeral on Twitter for a few hours on Sep 20. Of course we had to talk about it. So we answered the call, and hopped in a conference call to discuss things. Source
Speculation: Time changes us all, in many ways. So given how busy JMS is writing many things other than new stories for the new Babylon 5, it isn't likely he'll want to or be able to do all the writing himself. So naturally, Tim posits the questions about writers and writers rooms, and we run amok from there. Source
Discussion: Tim and Summer just can't help themselves. We indulge in some wildly unfounded speculation on the announcements about the new Babylon 5 series, plus ask a few questions out loud about what we could be watching on The CW someday. Source
Thank you, everyone, for allowing our love of Babylon 5 to help fuel your own love for the show, and we are grateful that our efforts to explore a show we love also provided entertainment and enjoyment for you. Your voices and support over the years have meant a lot to us, and that you still want to hear us keep talking about everything B5, and not just Day of the Dead, warms our hearts. Source
Interview: Tim and Summer chat with author Jane Killick, whose Babylon 5 Season Guides are a vital resource for any fan of the show. Source
Interview: Tim and Summer welcome Tracy Scoggins, whose command of the station in Season 5 and Crusade was a welcome addition to the field of leading lady military roles in science fiction television. Source
Interview: Tim and Summer swoon in the presence of Mira Furlan, whose regal stature on Babylon 5 made an impression to last beyond the end of time. Source
Discussion: Tim and Summer discuss most of the contents of J. Michael Straczynski's memoir, Becoming Superman. Source
Interview: Marie Marshall ("Dodger") stops by to talk about her brief but passionate and impactful appearances on Babylon 5, about how one short stint turned into such a long-term fan favorite, acting in New York, and so much more. Source
Interview: The Jason Davis stops by to talk his current project, "The Babylon 5 Preservation Project", to preserve the history of BABYLON 5 using archival paperwork and interviews with cast and crew to create a definitive making-of book. Source
Interview: Marshall R. Teague ("Ta'Lon") stops by to talk about the philosophy and wisdom of the warrior-sage Ta'Lon, the talks he had with JMS about expanding that character beyond the unnamed Narn who, along with Sheridan, survived being kidnapped by the Streib (S2E11 "All Alone in the Night"), how the creation of Ta'Lon's sword played a role in that development, the fun of being a cowboy, and so much more. Source
Interview: Josh Coxx ("Lt. David Corwin") stops by to talk about his time on C&C, the character growth over all 5 seasons and the movies, and so much more. He even chats about his time as a Frost Giant in Thor. Source
7 years ago, in December 2012, Tim and Summer closed the book on that particular journey, having spent nearly 300 episodes and quite likely well over 500 hours of discussion and more with the many cast, crew, creators and fans on all sorts of topics about and around Babylon 5.
Today, we're back from beyond the rim, for just a little while. Source
It's not goodbye, it's farewell... we'll meet again, and if we don't, we will see each other again in the place where no shadows fall.
We've always been here, and so have you all.
Jeffrey returns from his explorations along the Rim to join Tim, Summer and Jeremy for the final official episode of The Babylon Podcast. Source
Feedbackapalooza: Gary from Jacksonville, quite likely the most prolific feedback producer the Babylon Podcast has ever had, joins us to go through the messages for the last official feedbackapalooza. He may have to replace Babylon Podcast with Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas on his voicemail speed dial... Source
Tim relates an article from io9's Charlie Jane Anders article, Please explain Babylon 5 to us!, and the offer is still out to Charlie if she wants to join us some day for a roundtable Q&A, where we'd do our best to answer her questions, and to keep those responses to under 5 minutes each.
And then, the Feedbackapalooza! Source
As heard in the previous episode, this is the video Jeffrey Willerth made in honor of the passing of Michael O'Hare. Source
In quick succession, the Babylon 5 universe lost two of its stars at the end of September, Michael O'Hare and Turhan Bey.
We take a moment to remember them, and their all too brief moments here with us and on Babylon 5. Source
Discussion: Oh, the humanity! Even with Warner Bros being inconsistent with licensing terms, pulling licenses before items were completed or in some cases, had even gotten off the drawing boards, there's still a LOT of stuff out there for a dedicated Babylon 5 fan to search for and immerse themselves in. Source
Deep Geeking: This episode, Neil and Edmund join Tim, Summer and Jeremy to talk about the 3 short stories from the Amazing Stories magazines: "Shadow of His Thoughts", "Genius Loci", and "Space, Time and the Incurable Romantic", all three of which were written by J. Michael Straczynski. Source
Deep Geeking: This week, Tim, Jeremy and Agent 6 go in-depth discussing The Psi Corps trilogy, written by J. Gregory Keyes. The books in the series are "Dark Genesis: The Birth of the Psi Corps", "Deadly Relations: Bester Ascendant" and "Final Reckoning: The Fate of Bester". Source
Deep Geeking: The Technomage trilogy, written by Jeanne Cavelos, is subtitled The Passing of the Technomages. The books in the series are "Casting Shadows", "Summoning Light" and "Invoking Darkness". Source
Deep Geeking: Legions of Fire, The Centauri Prime trilogy written by Peter David, is the topic for this episode, and the crew on hand really digs in.
The books in order are "The Long Night of Centauri Prime", "Armies of Light and Dark", and "Out of the Darkness" (the third book is out of print, but not quite as hard to find as it had been in previous years). This was the second of the Babylon 5 trilogies that are considered canon. Source
We lament the passing of science fiction master Harry Harrison, recounting some of the classics that he'd written over the years.
Feedbackapalooza: Tim, Summer and Jeremy dive into the messages that you've sent us, and we appreciate your messages to us and for us! We have a lot to go through, so settle in, kids... Source
Deep Geeking: The Shadow Within is Book #7 in the original series of novels, and the other of the two from that series that have been acknowledged as canon.
Talk about this book delves deeply into Anna's story, and into the character and motivations of Morden, of the Psi Corps mission to eliminate a threat to the telepaths, and how these events mesh into the main Babylon 5 storyline as a whole. Source
Deep Geeking: To Dream in the City of Sorrows is Book #9 in the original series of novels, and one of the two from that series that have been acknowledged as canon.
Talk about the book ranges from the cover art, the story arcs for Sinclair, Marcus, Catherine and Neroon, the accuracy of the character "voices", the nagging feeling that this book's pacing was too fast, and very likely could have been a much better book if it had been allowed to be longer, and more. Source
Deep Geeking: Discussions begin with the Babylon 5 novels... the books, the books, the books! Where to begin with the commentary and the criticism?
Much of the dissatisfaction that we feel with these books likely comes from a combination of the main characters authentic voices being slightly off, plus the impression that the events of the books didn't matter, that they fell into the trap of hitting the "reset" button after the end of the "episode", which is one of the things that we loved about Babylon 5 that the various Star Trek series couldn't adhere to most of the time. Source
Deep Geeking: And so it begins... the last leg of the Babylon Podcast journey starts with us talking about one of the rarest books in the Babylon 5 realm, and a very interesting collection of thoughts, opinions and examinations about the the show we all love. Who knew that "Fasten, Zip" was really a metaphor for the paradox of time travel? Source
Feedback: Tim, Jeremy and special guest Michael Dymond (Stormknight) tackle the second batch of voicemails, and it's 100% Neil from Bowie, because that's how we have to handle it whenever he gets on a roll.
Are there official blueprints and cutaways for Babylon 5? Source
Feedback: Tim, Jeremy and special guest Michael Dymond (Stormknight) tackle the first batch of voicemails covering the recent Crusade unproduced scripts and more.
Stay tuned next week for the rest of the feedback from this batch, and the people joining us to review and discuss the novels with us (or for us) should be preparing to step into the on-deck circle! Source
We celebrate the news that Walter Koenig will finally be receiving his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the ceremony will be held September 10, 2012. While he's the last of the original Star Trek cast to get a star, he is the second Babylon 5 cast member to have a star... and curious fans want to know if his star will have a Federation emblem or a Psi Corps emblem on it?
Deep Geeking: Tim, Jeremy and guest Neil from Bowie discuss the DC Comics miniseries "In Valen's Name". Source
Deep Geeking: This week, both Gary from Jacksonville and Neil from Bowie join Summer and Jeremy to discuss the initial 11-issue run of Babylon 5 comics, published originally by DC Comics, and later collected into graphic novel collections by Titan Books and by DC. Source
Discussion: Tim, Summer, Jeremy and guest Gary from Jacksonville discuss the plan for talking about the Babylon 5 comics published by DC Comics and by Titan Books. Many issues surrounded the actual creation, writing and publication of the series, and Gary gives us a little bit of that wacky history. Source
There's nothing quite like playing Devil's Advocate in a Babylon 5 argument you're having with yourself.
Feedbackapalooza: The Feedbacking continues, as we hack our way through the backlog, clearing the way for future voicemails to come in about the comics, novels, and collectibles. Source
The new theme music for Season 7 makes it's official debut, and it's a snippet of the theme created by Stewart Copeland for the original version of "The Gathering" that aired in 1993.
Feedback: Tim, Summer and Jeremy respond to the backlog of voicemails that have come in over the past month or two, and as happens quite often, tangents rule. Source
Welcome to Show #260, and the start of Season 7 of the Babylon Podcast!
Get ready, Babylon 5 fans... the coverage of the comics, novels, guidebooks, games and collectibles is about to commence. But first, we have to find a way to get copies of some of them into Tim's, Bret's and Jeremy's hands... after we digress into a discussion about physical vs digital books.
Deep Geeking: Tim, Summer, Bret and Jeremy discuss the last officially produced Babylon 5 video content, The Lost Tales. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim, Summer and Jeremy discuss the last Babylon 5 made-for-TV movie, Legend of the Rangers, which aired in January 2002. Yes, ten years ago, people. A treatment for this movie exists in Scriptbook Volume 10, and the full script is in the TV Movies scriptbook, so compare and contrast at your leisure.
Let the nitpicking begin: there aren't many real issues with the actual story, just some execution miscues. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer discuss the unproduced Crusade script, "Little Bugs Have Lesser Bugs", which was written by Peter Woodward and slated to be a Season 2 episode.
The larger implications from the plot of this script are intriguing, given that it revealed a previously unknown vulnerability in the Drakh, and also gives us a storytelling conundrum, trying to obsessively figure out where in Season 2 this episode would have aired. Source
It's been way too quiet on the Babylon 5 front AND the Crusasde Script Books front. What's going on?
Feedbackapalooza Time!
Also, folks preparing to review and discuss the comics and novels with us (or for us), get ready... your turn will be coming up soon! Source
Deep Geeking: Tim, Summer and Jeremy discuss the unproduced Crusade script, "The End of the Line", which was slated to be the Season 1 finale.
As always, Captain Gideon's dogged pursuit of the truth behind the destruction of his old ship leads him and his crew into knowledge that shakes their trust in their superiors, and Gideon himself to a personal crossroads... and a cliffhanger that could have been as intriguing as Z'ha'dum leading into Hour of the Wolf. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim, Summer and Bret talk about the unproduced Crusade scripts that would have made up the Dureena Trilogy (the stories to explain her absence after her initial contract expired): "War Story", "The Walls of Hell" and an untitled story by JMS.
Also discussed are three spec pitches by Richard Mueller, for "Fire in the Blood", "House Odds", and "Mixed Blessings".
All of these scripts and treatments are currently available in Crusade: Other Voices, Vol 2
Also, folks preparing to review and discuss the comics and novels with us (or for us), get ready... your turn will be coming up soon! Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer discuss the unproduced Crusade script for "Tried and True", which can be found in the "Crusade: Other Voices, Vol 2" scriptbook.
This would have been a remarkable Dureena performance, and comparisons can be drawn between this draft and what we saw in Season 4's "Intersections in Real Time", especially given the "one room play" stage-like setting in both stories.
Also, folks preparing to review and discuss the comics and novels with us (or for us), get ready... your turn will be coming up soon! Source
Deep Geeking: Tim throws out the challenge to Gary and Jeremy: compare and contrast your favorite Captains: Sheridan (Babylon 5), Gideon (Crusade), Reynolds (Firefly) and Kirk (Star Trek: TOS) Source
Lots and lots of feedback, speculation, and general random geeking... enjoy!
Also, folks preparing to review and discuss the comics and novels with us (or for us), get ready... your turn will be coming up soon! Source
FYI: Bret is not Shatner.
Deep Geeking: Tim, Summer and Bret discuss the unproduced Crusade episode "Value Judgments", written by Fiona Avery. This episode was very close to being shot, with contracts out to Walter Koenig to guest star, and Mike Vejar to direct. That it didn't get produced is our loss. Source
So, what happens when you have a milestone episode, and everyone forgets to notice? Well, you end up with Tim distracted by shiny toys, with Summer distracted by baseball, and Bret distracted by poking fun at Tim and Summer.
Deep Geeking: This week, Tim, Summer and Bret discuss the unproduced Crusade script "To the Ends of the Earth". Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer delve into discussion on "Appearances and Other Deceits", the final produced episode of Crusade. Source
Tim stumbled across the iFanboy website, and relays to us an article by Ron putting JMS at #10 on his list of "worst things in comics in 2010," and explains where he feels the JMS shortcomings fell.
Maybe Tim should be upset about him also dropping the ball on the Lensman movie. Source
Tim and Summer enjoy a chat with renowned character actor Tucker Smallwood, who played Mr David Endawi in the S3 episode "Matters of Honor", and Commodore Glen Van Ross in Space: Above and Beyond.
Tucker talks about war as used in science fiction and his being a fan of science fiction literature growing up, and how his experience as an infantry commander in Vietnam informed his work and contributions to Space: Above and Beyond. He also talks about studying acting after being severely wounded, about struggling with and working through PTSD years after the fact, and more. Source
We celebrate the new Babylon Park website, as well as the expanded materials available there, and you can follow them on Twitter, @babylonpark. Shiny.
Bret strongly recommends following @patriciatallman, merely for the hilarious entertainment value, Tim reads us a status update on various JMS writing projects. Source
Walter Koenig at last has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! It's about damned time.
Deep Geeking: Tim, Bret and Summer discuss "War Zone", demonstrating amazing feats of recall, considering that Summer watched the wrong damned episode this week. Source
For those who hadn't seen Jeffrey's heartfelt remembrance of Jeff Conaway, here's the full video. I don't think there are many others who could have said it any better. Source
Jeffrey shares with us a message about what it meant to him to have had Jeff Conaway in his life for a time.
Listener Feedback: Strangely, Tim adored Neil Gaiman's Doctor Who episode, "The Doctor's Wife"... to be expected? Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer get Marjean's thoughts on "Rules of the Game", particularly the development of the relationship between Dr Chambers and Max Eilerson, discovering what and who Max cares about, and of course, Dr Chambers' impeccable fashion sense and combat timing.
And yes, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
Once her new project, Three Moon Rising, is ready, we'll be talking with her again about it over at Slice of SciFi! Source
Tim, Summer and Bret chat with Peter David and Kathleen David, with Peter telling us about how he got into writing episodes for the show, how he needed to divert from "writing for Star Trek" in order to get the Babylon 5 feel correct in the episodes and the novels, finding character voices, and more.
Kathleen talks a little about logistics behind getting the Del Rey B5 novels published, from author selection to publishing schedule and more.
And there's stuff people STILL can't talk about, even after all this time. Source
Tim, Summer and Bret chat with Pat Tallman, mostly about the Lyta Alexander Favorites Poll, how the poll came about, and maybe even a hint about an upcoming book from our friends at B5Books.com.
Seriously, who doesn't like seeing chicks kicking butt? Source
Summer and Gary chat with Carrie Dobro (Dureena Nafeel)!
Carrie talks about how much fun she'd had on the show, the challenges of her costume and her contact lenses, about the possible character development paths that Dureena might have gone on with both Galen and Gideon, and much much more. Source
We get a minor "Thor" report from Bret, who totally forgot to keep an eye out for the JMS cameo, but he liked the movie.
Then came the flood of voicemail... Source
Tim, Summer and Bret discuss "Ruling From the Tomb", written by Peter David.
Tim has questions about the execution of this episode's premise. While he's good with the cropping up of doomsday cults, the abundance of coincidental meetings and convergent threads doesn't sit well with him.
There are pieces of this episode that were changed or removed between earlier drafts and the final shooting, and details about those are in Crusade: Other Voices, Vol 2, and we can't wait for Peter David to join us to talk about them. Source
Feedbackapalooza: Telepath smackdown? Either way, this episode seems to be chock full of questions from Adam from start to finish. Source
Tim and Summer chat with Marjean Holden, our honorary co-host for this episode!
Marjean talks about her ventures into writing for television and film, her love of the science fiction genre, the anticipation of experiencing Crusade's story shift after they'd found the cure but would be chased down to prevent them from distributing it, and the loss of not being able to follow and finish that story.
Let's start the rumor mill ourselves: Marjean Holden is on board for that secret Crusade miniseries project! Source
We have more voicemail from you guys to go through! Tim and Summer also lament the fact that they completely forgot to ask David Allen Brooks about the pak'ma'ra porn gag.
Kudos to Gary's April Fool's Joke that he posted here... but be wary of payback in kind, sweetheart! Source
Tim and Summer chat with David Allen Brooks, about how he got into acting, how he approached the character of Max Eilerson, the research into being a scientist and archaeologist, the differences he observed between working on a science fiction drama compared to "just another" police procedural, the fans of Max, where Max's story arc might have taken him, and much more. Source
The Babylon 5 Scripts Team sent Tim and Summer a surprise this week, and just around the same time that they are releasing this latest scriptbook into the wild, you can hear us give you a sneak peek into the book's contents. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer are joined by The Jason Davis and Edmund Boys to discuss "The Path of Sorrows".
Questions abound because of this episode, about the pasts of our crew, about how many more secrets may have been revealed to us over time, and much more.
Jason talks about how this episode was one of the points of contention between TNT and JMS because it was character building (just not how they asked for it?), and more. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer discuss "Patterns of the Soul", an episode that gives us our first glimpse of conspiracies and ulterior motives that may be exploiting opportunities brought about after the introduction of the plague to the human population.
They discuss what types of patterns the episode title might refer to, and how the various secrets being guarded by each party involved in this encounter are related, in how they color everyone's actions. Source
We have a report from Danny in Adelaide about Armageddon Expo! He talks about Pat Tallman's appearance and a Skype call from JMS. The big news is about the ~~Sherlock Holmes~~ Arthur Conan Doyle-Harry Houdini story that JMS sold to Dreamworks, and that there are whispers in the dark about a Babylon 5 project broached by WB to The Great Maker. Source
Summer has Stone Levitation, Bret has Jack Daniels and Diet Coke, and Tim is drinking red wine and eating M&Ms. That explains a lot about Tim, doesn't it?
It's Feedback Time Source
Deep Geeking: Tim, Summer and Bret chat about "Each Night I Dream of Home", an episode that ties into the importance of Excalibur's mission, and shows us just how complex the task of decoding the Drakh plague virus truly is.
Tim recalls how he originally disliked this episode, because of what he thought was the "stunt casting" of characters from the original series to hook old fans; and Summer disagrees that it was "stunt casting" solely to garner ratings for TNT. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim, Summer and Bret chat about "The Well of Forever", and there's several points of disagreement on the content of the episode, and it could quite possibly be from either some lack of perception on our parts, or from looking to hard for a complex answer when it's really much more simple than we think. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim, Summer and Bret chat about "Visitors from Down the Street", an episode filled with snark and more than wink and nod towards The X-Files.
Time has changed Tim's perception of this episode, and now Bret wishes he'd done his homework and watched it!
And where do captains of deep space exploration vessels get their supply of Hawaiian shirts? Inquiring minds want to know... Source
Continuing the Feedback marathon, Tim, Summer and Bret discuss their alcoholic beverage selections for the evening. And Summer has kettle corn, so between salty, sweet, and hoppy, we're all ready to go.
Listener Voicemails: Despite what you hear, this episode is not the Neilapalooza, and no, we still don't know why Bret became fixated on Corwin having a mullet.
We really should have talked about the Booze of Babylon 5, shouldn't we have? Source
Tim and Summer are growing concerned, because we don't have any solid ideas for our 6th season opening yet.
Hopefully, Gary and Edmund have been plotting mischieviousness on our behalf.
Listener Voicemails: Time to catch up on the voicemails from the end of 2010!! And we are happy to hear the new voices chiming in after all this time!
So how much alcohol will it take to get Bret to sing for us? Do we really want to find out? Source
In this episode, Tim and Summer discuss "The Long Road", the games technomages play, whether or not dragons should still invoke a primal fear in space-faring races, and more.
Tim has a different appreciation for this episode when watched in the current order, and Summer likes how much better some of the character relationships have developed in this current viewing order. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim, Summer and Bret discuss "The Memory of War", and this one, in Tim's estimation, disappoints.
Talk ranges from the music matching the dramatic sequences and falling short on the action sequences, the quality of the CG scenes, and throwing the flag on gratuitous use of slow motion effects.
Discussion also touches upon the disappointment at the collapse of the show due to the complex situation surrounding Crusade on TNT and later on SciFi Channel. Source
A few weeks back on Twitter via @babylonpodcast, Summer expressed her disappointment at finding dead space where the b5crusade.com website used to be. This happened after 2am, and she happened to notice a tweet from Bear McCreary from earlier that evening expressing his excitement about his Human Target compositions... which led Summer to wonder aloud how cool it could be to have Bear score whatever new B5 project Warner Bros has been having secret talks with JMS about. Ah, to dream a little dream... Source
Speculation abounds surrounding JMS' announcement that he's stepping away from the Wonder Woman and Superman monthly comics in order to focus on writing Earth One sequel instead. The full extent of his work slate seems to still be under wraps.
Deep Geeking: Tonight, after a brief tangent into lamenting the short lifespan of most smart scifi shows, we geek on the Crusade episode "The Needs of Earth". Source
Tim and Summer are joined by The Jason Davis to talk about the adventure that was the records excavation that became the new volume "Artifacts from Beyond the Rim".
Deep Geeking: The year we really did finally make it to Crusade.
Going by the revised broadcast order, our first Crusade episode to geek on is "Racing the Night", and Jason joins us for the analysis. Source
The first minor quakes have begun: Warner Bros has called JMS regarding preliminary inquiries on another Babylon 5 project. We eagerly await more news!
Lensman Spotting: The over/under on Tim's first Lensman comment was 4 minutes. See your boohkie, or drink 4 shots Source
Discussion: Tim, Summer and Bret talk about the episodes they consider to be on their personal "best of" lists. It's so hard to stick to a "Top 5", and to make it fair we all intentionally didn't include the obvious episodes, like "Sleeping in Light", "War Without End", and a handful of others. Source
Tim, Summer and Bret give their opinions on hairstyles and hair care amongst humans and aliens in space in the 23rd century.
We go through the hair and hair stylings we can think of... Source
Tim and Summer talk about the technology and the everyday gadgets found on the station and in the hands of its command staff, crew and folks just passing through.
On the list this time around: ship behavior in space; handheld weapons and ship-based weapons; medical technologies; personal hygiene (showers and laundry)
Also, Mike sends his heartfelt gratitude to all who have donated to the show, because your generous contributions helped us get the studio back up and running in a moment of crisis. Source
We are Gary We stand between the Edmund and the Neil I am Gary I stand between the Voicemail and the Phone Source
Summer and Bret wonder if Tim truly saw a scene that he remembers with extra dialogue between Lochley and Garibaldi about the potential of Sheridan losing his grip on reality due to his "condition". Or, Tim could have been tripping, or lucid dreaming... we may never know.
Then, Summer's mind is blown from learning of a previously unknown connection between "Fist of the North Star" and B5, and how that ties into her fanfic vision of Crusade. Source
Tim and Summer delve into "A Call to Arms", and amongst other things, talk about how the movie functions as a standalone movie rather than direct pilot for the new series, argue back and forth about some of the character development and interactions, speculate broadly on newly interpreted happenings and how they might have influenced things during later Crusade episodes that we never got, and much more. Source
Tim, Bret and Gary dive into the first batch of voicemails discussing the "Babylon 5 Topics" series, addressing listener perspectives and opinions on those very topics, and theories we didn't fully discuss. Source
Last week, our heroes risked breaching the fabric of the space-time continuum by trying to follow alternate Babylon 5 storylines to parallel universes where they might have been fully played out...
Discussion: Tim, Summer and Bret continue the discussion about alternate story possibilities within the original 5-year arc. Source
This episode scratches the surface of the untapped, the unexplored, and the fanciful and highly speculative Babylon 5 storylines that either never came to be or were never considered, leaving us little option other than to argue about whether or not they should have been, and how things might have worked out differently for the series as a whole.
Fanfic aficionados got nothin' on us. Source
This episode is all about the justice, law, and the legal system as portrayed on Babylon 5, and how much it did or didn't influence the story as a whole. Source
Tim, Summer and Bret (and the entire B5 fandom) are glad to hear that Jerry Doyle is doing better and recovering well. We also discuss the lingering Hollywood accounting shenanigans, and how after all these years, Babylon 5 is still considered by Warner Bros to still be $80 million in the hole.
The topic this episode is all about the surprises we experienced while watching Babylon 5, both the very first time, and the subtle new things discovered on subsequent viewings. Source
In addition to discussing our varying shower singing talents, Tim, Summer and Bret ponder yet more reasons why that shower curtain was there. The Vorlon encounter suits might have been used as practice rooms for Top 40 pop bands.
We also settle the dispute on which of us right about when it was mentioned in the show when more than just Sinclair had been examined and interrogated by the Grey Council, but that only opens up a whole different can o' worms that bears further scrutiny and over-evaluation in only the way we can do! Source
Tim, Summer and Bret jump back in the saddle in the new-old studio! Tim also reads an announcement about the new Wonder Woman outfit and story that's the result of JMS taking over the reboot of the comic that he'll be writing.
Feedbackapalooza: Summer gets lost in a temporal loop of host love and fan love and fan feedback love. Everything else is dust in the solar winds... Source
Tim was inspired by our discussion on "River of Souls", which leads to tonight's topic. Tim, Summer and Gary discuss religion, faith and spirituality as portrayed in Babylon 5.
From the premise and purpose of the Soul Hunters, to the clashes between science and faith, to the waning old faiths contrasted with the rise of new ones, there are no simple answers, which is why we keep debating the questions. Source
Summer wishes that we'd had more of a heads-up about Amazon's $100 sale on all 5 seasons of Babylon 5, so that we could encourage a buying frenzy and start an entirely new round of Deep Geeking on the series. Anything we can do to keep the podcast going.
At a recent Orange County Screenwriters event, JMS stated that both he and WB are interested in doing a 20th anniversary story for 2013... so let the feeding frenzy begin. Source
Leslie Erganian, artist and prop designer for Season 1, joins us to talk about the scrounging and other creative solutions that went into creating many of the iconic props seen in Season 1.
Leslie talks about the craft behind making such items as the Grey Council staff, the translator, Adira's star laces, the statue of the Li, the Centauri Goddess of Passion, and many more items, including the phenomenon of bilateral symmetry in the alien races, and the utensil challenges that not having it can cause at Craft Services. Source
Laura from the League of Non-Aligned Knitters and Sandy Bruckner from ISNNews.net join Summer in chatting about the male eye candy (or lack thereof) on Babylon 5.
Tonight's definitely Ladies' Night, but we're still not sure if Bret was more interested in exploring his boundaries, or learning some new things about what women really want from a man. Source
Just about everyone was missing in action this episode, so it's lucky that we had Edmund from Greenville and Gary from Jacksonville to fill in, and yes, we are risking damage to the time-space continuum by having Gary both answer his own voicemails and call in a voicemail in response to his response to his own voicemail.
The fabric of our universe may never be the same.
And don't miss next week's special "Men of Babylon 5" episode! Source
Since we are an equal opportunity platform for B5 Geeking, we are planning an all-girls "Men of Babylon 5" (from here on out to be called the B5 Beefcake episode). Well, Bret may join in, too, because he's got an equal opportunity pleasure threshold.
Listener Feedback: Tim, Summer, Jeffrey and Bret lend their expertise and their podcast-juice filled opinions to the many voicemails that have been waiting for us. Source
Tim, Summer and Bret and special guest Gary from Jacksonville weigh in from their respective corners for the "Day of the Dead" smackdown you've all been waiting for!
We field questions from the voicemail bucket, and argue amongst ourselves so long that we made Mike squirm, yet in the end, we still didn't manage to do anything beyond continuing to agree to disagree.
But the fact that Tim still thinks that "Day of the Dead" is worse than "Thirdspace" is borderline criminal. Source
Tim, Jeffrey, Michael and Bret discuss just about anything and everything about the women of Babylon 5 and the portrayal of sex and sexuality on the show.
The only thing missing was a wall full of pinups for them to daydream over.
Fear not, there will soon be a girls night out where we'll discuss sex a little bit more, and also the Babylon 5 beefcake selection! Source
Tim, Summer and Bret weigh in on "Thirdspace", the good the bad and the ugly of the movie. One of the TNT projects, it was much anticipated, but contained a few more warts than the die-hard B5 fans had become accustomed to over the previous seasons. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim, Summer, Jeffrey and Bret discuss the story they love, in particular the moments or story arcs that they each would have liked to have seen more of (or seen much less of) during the course of the series.
The missteps, the grand designs, the twists that worked and the ones that didn't, we open several cans of worms, and still manage to leave enough material untouched to continue this discussion at a later date. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim, Summer, Bret, Jeffrey, and Chuck discuss "In the Beginning", the first of the Babylon 5 TV movies, and how it functions as a vehicle to introduce the series to a brand new audience coming in via TNT, and to the existing fans who may not have been able to see all of the previous four seasons due to inconsistencies in syndicated broadcast times. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim, Summer, Jeffrey, and Bret embark on the emotional journey that is "Sleeping In Light".
Even after 12 years, the emotional impact of Sheridan realizing that his time is up, and that he has to say goodbye to Delenn still stings us. Source
Interview: The Jason Davis, Senior Editor at Synthetic Worlds Publishing, chats with Tim, Summer, and Bret about Crusade: Behind the Scenes, which is available for purchase right now at Babylon 5 Books. Source
At long last, Jeffrey has found his snow. And we're working on having a field reporter out at the next shuttle launch!!
And now, for the voicemails: Source
Interview: Jerry Doyle stops by to chat with Tim, Summer, and Bret about his time on Babylon 5 and his memories of working on the series, his new career as a talk show host, his observations on the political and financial state of the country, and his new book Have You Seen My Country Lately? Source
Deep Geeking: Tim, Summer, Bret and Arkle discuss the "Objects at Rest". Depending on how you choose to look at the "novel" structure of Babylon 5, this is the finale, with "Sleeping in Light" acting as the epilogue. Either way, doors are closing, lives are changing, and time is marching on. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer discuss "Wheel of Fire", somewhere in there amidst the many game show inspired puns.
While the public reveal and fallout over Garibaldi's drinking will have a farther reaching impact amongst the crew and even out to Mars than initally expected when this episode first aired, was it truly breaking ground in terms of the television portrayal of someone struggling with alcoholism beyond the stereotypes built in previous decades? Source
Tim and Summer discuss "The Fall of Centauri Prime".
Londo's journey into his solitary reign, presiding over a beaten and broken populace, is now complete. And did Delenn do the right thing in trying to ignore Lennier's "dying" declaration -- did her actions help, or make Lennier feel worse? Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer discuss "Movements of Fire and Shadow".
Tim believes the episode doesn't quite pull together in as good a cohesive satisfying whole as it could have been, saving graces of the ability of various bipedal races to fart on command notwithstanding. Source
Happy New Year from everyone at The Babylon Podcast!
Sit back and enjoy this walk through the interview highlights of 2009. Source
Happy Holidays from everyone at The Babylon Podcast!
Please enjoy the conclusion to this special JMS Interview replay while we take a break, and may your holiday season be joyous and safe. Source
Happy Holidays from everyone at The Babylon Podcast!
Please enjoy this special JMS Interview replay while we take a break, and may your holiday season be joyous and safe. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer discuss "And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder", including production questions that Jeffrey can lend insight to. I bet you didn't know that it took a technician to create that perfect "bed head" look, didja? Source
Deep Geeking: Tim, Summer and Jeffrey discuss many of the consquences and the subtexts in "Darkness Ascending".
We argue for quite a bit about the nature of Garibaldi's dream, how much was dream and how much was or wasn't influenced by Lyta's telepathic curiosity (and whether or not that itself was real or dream), and talk a bit more about Lennier and his mission, and of the telepath DNA deal between Lyta and G'Kar. Source
Feedbackapalooza: It's mondo feedback time again, with voicemails and emails a-plenty... complete with sake bombs and cartoon pajama pants.
But seriously, if anyone does know if any Book of G'Quan or Book of G'Kar prop replicas were made for the true die-hard collectors out there, or if anyone who has the original copies would be willing to take pictures for us, definitely let us know! Source
Interview: Tim, Summer and Jeffrey chat with Brad Dourif, his role as Brother Edward in "Passing Through Gethsemane", and scifi and horror in general.
Brad reminisces about his time on the show, and tells us how much of a fan he was of the show back then, and much more. Source
Interview: Tim and Summer chat with Troy Rutter, the original Babylon 5 website wrangler, and more!
Troy tells us about the history of the Official B5 website, and his involvement from "The Gathering" on forward, including some rare early promotional items and online goodies, and the birth of "A Very Drazi Christmas". Source
Deep Geeking: Tim, Summer and Jeffrey contemplate "Meditations on the Abyss".
Examinations range from speculations on why G'Kar may have initially wanted his book to only be published after his death and the possible nature of the responsibility for the spirituality and spiritual explorations of his potential students/followers; to the nature of rationalization when deciding between doing the "right" thing and the "true" thing in the cases of both Findell and Lennier; and even a little bit on unrequited love. Source
Feedbackapalooza: Tim, Summer and Jeffrey respond to lots of voicemail!
We really are going to have to have a special follow-up Geeking on "Day of the Dead", aren't we? I never knew this episode was so polarizing amongst the fans, apparently moreso than Purple-Green! Source
Deep Geeking: This week, we discuss "The Corps is Mother, The Corps is Father", and the special place that the Psi Corps holds in Edmund's heart.
We chat a little about seeing a different side of the inner workings of Psi Corps in general and Bester's methods of grooming potential proteges. Source
Dragon*Con Report: Gary goes into detail on the handful of B5 panels, and some of the scheduling challenges introduced by the powerhouse event featuring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy; and makes all fans jealous with anecdotes of his interactions with the series attendees Bruce Boxleitner, Tracy Scoggins, Claudia Christian, Peter Jurasik, Stephen Furst, and Julie Caitlin Brown. Source
Deep Geeking: This week, we discuss "The Ragged Edge", a pivotal episode in the growth of both the Interstellar Alliance and G'Kar; and in the fall of both Centauri Prime and Michael Garibaldi.
And remember...
When seeking instant enlightenment, You must put your face in the book. Source
Interview: Gary Hasson of Lightspeed Fine Art joins us to chat about how his involvement with scifi television and Babylon 5. He's done art for Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, Xena, Hercules, Farscape, BSG, and many more as well. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer discuss "Phoenix Rising", and the beginning of the fallout from Byron's death and the resulting uprising of rogue telepaths against the Psi Corps. The emotional impact of Byron's death on the free telepaths, and the emotional impact of the manner of the rogues' death on Bester are apparent, so Summer likes the payoff much better than some elements of the story leading up to the conclusion. Source
Feedbackapalooza: Voicemail highlights this episode: Arkle theorizes on the real reason for some of the fans' deep dislike of Byron; the three unproduced Crusade scripts are summarized in the Crusade supplement of the Babylon 5 Role Playing Game book... who knew? Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer talk about "A Tragedy of Telepaths", discussing the inevitable turn of events around the telepath situation towards the tragic ending that most around Sheridan feared would come to pass, especially once Bester released the hounds. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer discuss on "In the Kingdom of the Blind", and Summer has a few nits to pick about some of the rash, early actions to force the Alliance member worlds to give telepaths a home of their own. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer disagree on "Day of the Dead", and boy, do we chat about THAT difference of opinion! Written by Neil Gaiman, it's the first produced episode not written by JMS since Season 2 (since "Knives"?).
Tim thinks it's a weak effort, and Summer thinks it's one of the better episodes of Season 5 (and everyone knows how Summer feels about most of Season 5). Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Gary talk about the developments and character shifts from "Secrets of the Soul". The first secret revolves around Byron discovering the extent of the Vorlon's involvement in the creation of telepaths, and the guys chat about Byron's dramatic shift from peaceful resistance to enraged outcast because of that new knowledge. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim, Summer and Jeffrey discuss "Strange Relations", and how previously unrevealed interpersonal relationships begin to lead to shifting allegiances and alliances. Source
Summer also regales the audience with select readings from her copy of the Fan Club provided "Crusade Writers Bible", hopefully addressing some of the questions about Gideon's Apocalypse Box, and Dureena's proposed destiny.
Feedbackapalooza: Continuing the feedback from the previous show! Because of how much feedback we've been getting, we're going to start including a few voicemails in each show, and hopefully keep them closer to the related shows. Source
Who knew there was a Ducktona 500 and a Kenducky Derby?
Feedbackapalooza: Tim and Summer try to burn through the buildup of voicemails, and we haven't even gotten to the ones commenting on the JMS interview yet. Source
In this hour, JMS talks more with Tim and Summer about the development of Babylon 5 and the pros and cons of continuing or expanding the series, the real reason for putting his foot down on "big budget or nothing", the broader realities of the hammer lock of Warner Bros has on any future "expanded universe" properties, and more. Source
Interview: JMS, The Great Maker, graciously allows Tim and Summer to throw a seemingly endless stream of questions about the origins and creation of Babylon 5, the production and growing pains of the show, and dealing with the vagaries of the industry of Hollywood, the bizarre perfect storm surrounding Crusade on TNT, and more. Source
Deep Geeking: This week, Tim and Summer delve into "Learning Curve", and Tim admits that while he likes this episode, there are a few dramatic elements throughout the story where the cliches fell flat for him.
Was it pacing? Timing? Something else entirely? Source
Feedbackapalooza Jr: Because of rogue tachyons bombarding the area around Draco Vista Studios, we are experiencing a causality break that threw spatial-temporal ordering into disarray, giving us 3 Summers but no Tim, no Jeffrey and no Mike.
So in order to prevent any permanent damage to the space-time continuum, we bring you a special episode: Feedbackapalooza Jr! Source
Deep Geeking: This week, Tim and Summer discuss "A View From the Gallery", the story of a day in the life on the station as seen from two maintenance workers who still need to go about their usual duties in the middle of a dangerous battle situation.
Do you think this episode appropriately captures a view of life on the station for the regular people? Source
Voicemail: That's right folks, it's time for another Feedbackapalooza!
And really, if you hear any messages when you play any of the podcasts backwards, be sure to tell us... it means we didn't hide them well enough. Source
Interview: We have found the First Vorlon! Russ Johnson, who wore the glide suit during Season 1, before Jeffrey took over the electraglide harness, joins us to reminisce about the early days on set at Babylon 5, and trying to one up each other for... something smelly?
Russ tells us all about the fun he had as part of Optic Nerve, escapades in both the encounter suit and as the drug-dealing cricket in Down Below, having to repeatedly tell TV fans that he was not the actor who played the Professor on Gilligan's Island, and more. Source
Deep Geeking: This week, the Deep Geeking covers "The Paragon of Animals". Examination of B5's new telepath colony, and the start of Lyta's journey of independence, begins here. We also see the development of the Declaration of Principles, and how much it means to have the Alliance start off on the higher path that Sheridan and Delenn hopes they can all take. Source
Deep Geeking: This week, the Deep Geeking covers "The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari". The introspective journey that Londo takes, and the one that Lennier is about to take, all start here.
Discussion: Welcome to the Dead Tech segment of The Babylon Podcast! Source
Deep Geeking: This week, we take the first step into the final arc in the overall 5-year journey, embarking on Deep Geeking for Season 5.
"No Compromises" falls under the bright light of examination, and Jeffrey recounts an impressive Tracy Scoggins audition story. Source
Deep Geeking: There is much discussion (and much lack of Vorlon recall) when the gang Deep Geeks on "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars". Tim and Summer mildly disagree on the 500 years after and the 1000 years after sequences. Source
Feedbackapalooza: After much rearranging of messages, we had voicemail, and there was much rejoicing!! Source
Interview: Stephen Furst joins us to reminisce about directing "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars"... at least, that was the initial plan.
And as we all know, the most entertaining shows always veer off their intended courses... "Babylon 5: The Musical"... 'nuff said!
Stay tuned next week for a super-sized Feedbackapalooza! Source
Deep Geeking: The team gets involved in geeking on "Rising Star", and musing on when the cast knew whether there'd be a 5th season, and on if that notice came before or after the initial airing of this episode.
Discussion: Summer and Tim succumb to the temptation and try out their best Irish brogues. Tim reads an email from Captain Jaclyn, correcting the info on the release date of the "Asked and Answered" scriptbooks (April 7th, not April 1st). Source
Interview: Captain Jaclyn, Jason Davis and Amy Guskin from the Babylon 5 Scripts Team join us to discuss the new scriptbooks project that's been kept secret and tightly under wraps until now.
Asked and Answered: JMS answers Thousands of Fan Questions about Babylon 5 is the title of the new series, and it's an exhaustive compendium of questions ever asked about B5. Source
Interview: We talk with journalist Frank Garcia about his history as a freelance writer for many scifi magazines over the years, and the research that he and Mark Phillips undertook to compile the books Science Fiction Television Series, 1959-1989 and Science Fiction Television Series, 1990-2004.
We talk with Frank about his experience with Babylon 5 and Crusade over the years the show was in production, and the information pulled together for the second volume. Source
Tim reads some news from JMS on his screenplays in progress, including World War Z, Lensman, and Ninja Assassin, and some teaser news that he's been offered some directing gigs.
Discussion: Tim and Summer discuss "Endgame", the climax of the struggles gone through during the battle phases of the Earth Civil War. We compare more speeches again, too. Source
Discussion: Tim and Summer revisit the discussion about Ivanova's "I am Death Incarnate" declaration before leading the White Star fleet up against the advanced EA Destroyer fleet. We compare it to President Laura Roslin's speech from the recent BSG Season 4 episode "Blood on the Scales", and Summer amends her previous assessment of Ivanova's speech. She doesn't hate it, like Tim and Mike do, but it definitely doesn't rank as high in her estimation as before. Source
Interview: Jan Schroeder and Jason Davis of the Babylon 5 Scripts Team join us to talk about the TV Movie Scripts book, and to tease us about a series of mystery books that will be coming our way starting in March.
Jason tells us how he came to the project, and his history of doing JMS interviews; both Jan and Jason talk about the finished movies vs the original scripts and extra materials that paint a different about of the movies, especially "Legend of the Rangers". Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer discuss "Between The Darkness and The Light", the episode which marks a significant turning point in the war to take back Earth from Clark's forces.
The morale hit taken by Sheridan's capture is turned around by them breaking him out and rescuing him, and by the White Star fleet's destruction of Earth's advanced, Shadow-tech cruisers.
Is this the first glimpse we see of Lyta's steps towards her dark, angry side? Source
Deep Geeking: Tim, Summer and special guest Jarsto delve into "Intersections in Real Time", definitely one of the most difficult episodes to watch the first time around.
The psychological abuse we see Sheridan being subjected to is also felt by the viewer because of the structure of the episode... there is no cut away to a B story, no time jumps in scene, and the relentless manipulation in pursuit of a truth they want to use for their own purposes.
It's also another wonderful example of the use of a stage play composition, both in set design and writing/acting, to intensify the the emotional impact of the interactions and the reasons for them. Source
Interview: It's the interview almost everyone has been waiting for. Ed Wasser joins us this week, and he tells us how he thinks that the attraction to Morden comes from the undeniable allure of the mystery and the appeal of the bad guy. We also talk about how he came to Babylon 5, and how his asking for a more dangerous part led to him getting the role of Morden, his fan club and convention visits, and more.
The depth and reach of Morden's plans definitely affects the entire series, even though he was only on screen for 13 episodes. It's a testament to the writing and the performances that major characters that only appear from time to time can have such a large impact on the overall series story arc. Source
Here's a 2008 Year in Review special... yeah, after the year end. What's life without a few funny mixups?
This is an EPIC episode... you can thank Tim for such glorious attention to detail. Source
The fourth and final gift: The Curlers of Delenn (Live Feed edition) by the great Luke Ski Source
It was the dawn of third post of holiday gifts, 140 episodes after the Babylon Podcast started........
The third of four gifts: No Sleep Till Babylon by the great Luke Ski Source
Hungry for some more good stuff after that first gift?
The second of four gifts: Just Mister Londo by the great Luke Ski Source
What can the discriminating Babylon 5 fan do to get more out of the holiday season?
The first of the four gifts: Five Years by Tom Smith Source
Deep Geeking: This week, Brad and Mike join Tim, Jeffrey and Summer to discuss “The Face of the Enemy”.
Summer comments on the Clark's propaganda against The Army of Light. Tim talks about how the tension level is very high due to the compressing of the story arc for season four. The gang go on to talk about cult of personality and how Clark assumes Sheridan is the center of the organization, even though he has always made it about the goal, not the man. Jeffrey reminisces on the Harlan Ellison / Walter Koneig scene. Source
Deep Geeking: This week, Tim and Summer discuss "The Exercise of Vital Powers", and Tim continues to exercise his right to vital puns.
Summer's appreciation of this episode comes from the complete break from what had been the traditional storytelling style in the series, and diving into old school hard-boiled pulp detective thriller territory. From Garibaldi's opening monologue, through his working for the power player who's suspiciouly far beyond his usual clientele, to his having to resist the damsel in distress who almost always lures the private eye to his doom... this episode is all pulp, all the time. Source
Feedback: This week, Tim and Summer run the gamut of the rest of the voicemail and email feedback left over from last week, all alone in the night.
Summer is really jonesing for access to the Titan Magazines stash of Babylon 5 pics that they used in creating the now-defunct Babylon 5 Magazine. Yeah, those would be nice to have. Source
Feedback: This week, Tim, Summer and Brad handle the Feedbackapalooza! There's so much feedback, we may were not able to contain it all in one show. Source
Interview: This week, Tim and Summer talk with Jaclyn and Jan from the Babylon 5 Scripts Project, and by a twist of fate, the date of this interview, October 29th, was the 3rd anniversary of the release of the first scriptbook!
Jaclyn and Jan give us as many details as they can about how this project came about, and the scope of putting something on this scale together, possible future volumes, and much much more! Source
Deep Geeking: This week, Tim and Summer delve into discussion about "No Surrender, No Retreat". We talk about the decision to ask the League to stay on the sidelines until the fighting's done; the timing of some of the events in the course of the episode; the difference between Sheridan choosing a philosophical solution to end the Shadow War versus resorting to a shooting fight to free the colonies that were under siege; and more. Source
Deep Geeking: This week, Tim, Summer and special guest Gary discuss "Moments of Transition". There's some disagreement on the perceived speed of Neroon's change of heart, some great appreciation of Ivanova's performance in the final scene, and more. Source
Interview: B5 fans have always been creative. This week, we are happy to introduce you to the "League of Non-Aligned Knitters"... B5 Fans Who Knit.
Tim, Summer, and Jeffrey chat with Catherine, Heather, Laura, Amanda, and Elizabeth about the convergence of Babylon 5 viewing and knitting (and other scifi shows). There are practical applications for scifi fans to know how to knit... you're going to have to make your own clothing after the zombie apocalyse, ya know. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer chat about "Rumors, Bargains and Lies". Everyone on B5's playing an angle, but who's really running the game and who's being played? Source
Zombielon 5?
Feedbackapalooza: Or would this week better be called Garypalooza? Either way, the Vorlon is easily amused when listening to phone spam with audio effects applied to the clip. Source
Deep Geeking: This week, Tim and Summer chat about "Conflicts of Interest". Tim points out how much more CGI was in this episode than usual, and appreciates how the heightened tensions were played out between characters.
We discuss how much of Garibaldi's alienation of his friends is likely the result of the programming "enhancing" some of his natural tendencies, and of the machinations that both Sheridan and Delenn must start putting in motion to save their resepective homeworlds. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim, Summer and Brad chat about "Lines of Communication". The funny thing is, Tim has no recollection of seeing this episode ever before. There must be a rogue PsiCop around doing mind wipes, because it's very very hard to forget the dancing Drakh scene.
We discuss the influence the bombardment of anti-B5 propaganda on Sheridan's state of mind, the repurposing of the War Room, and the urgent need of Delenn's intercession on Minbari affairs, which have deteriorated since her dissolution of the Grey Council, and the connections Franklin and Marcus are making on Mars. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer talk about "Racing Mars", delving into the abundant humor playing around the relationship between Franklin and Marcus and their cover story for going to Mars, in Ivanova relieving Sheridan of duty and in trying to make deals with smugglers in the hopes of opening up new supply lines for the station. Source
Deep Geeking: This week, Tim and Summer talk about "Atonement", and we pick nits about the pacing and some aspects of the execution in this episode... notably on why Delenn's clan waited so long before taking issue with her relationship with John Sheridan, and what exactly is the purpose of the assistant in The Dreaming, anyway? Was Lennier's guidance colored by his feelings for her, and his subconscious hopes of separating Sheridan and Delenn? Source
Deep Geeking: This week, Tim and Summer talk about "The Illusion of Truth", and the impact of propaganda, and how Sheridan's hopes for getting their side of the story out to the people of Earth and the Earth Alliance by manipulating the ISN crew that comes on board backfire, creating the exact opposite impression that they wanted to make.
Discussion: Mike plays a B5/Gnome mashup that appeared in the Slice of SciFi Voicemail Show... Garden Gnome 5! Source
Deep Geeking: This week, Tim and Summer talk about "Epiphanies", a pivotal episode where alliances, plans and perspectives shift for a number of people. Garibaldi leaves his post as security chief, pushing Zack into an unexpected new role; Bester comes to B5 looking for Sheridan's help in exploring what the Shadows might have left behind on Z'ha'dum; Lyta begins to test the extent of her Vorlon-enhanced powers at Sheridan's request. Source
Kosh. Rastaman. I got nothin'.
Feedbackapalooza Part Deux!! Chris Lester and C.A. Sizemore are still in on the Feedback Fun. Source
When the ground shakes, save the big screen TV.
Feedbackapalooza!! Chris Lester and C.A. Sizemore join the voicemail fun fest. Source
We talked more about JMS' announcement, and fielded some more commentary about it.
Beware when the Shadows approach with chicken scissors. Source
Discussion: We've already reposted JMS' comments on moving forward with more Babylon 5, and the fan reactions are still flying all over the Internet. So Summer, Jeffrey, Gary, Michael and Brad discuss, in great detail and depth, with occassional comment from the chat room. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer delve into Deep Geeking on "Into the Fire" the pivotal episode in the confrontation between the younger races and the Shadows and Vorlons. Tim thinks it's a flawed episode, and so the discussion begins... Source
Interview: Amy Guskin joins us to talk about her efforts to organize a group of B5 fans to acquire an original G'Kar mask and donate it to the Museum of the Moving Image in New York.
And you thought the Browncoats were good at organizing rescue efforts... Source
Interview: We are pleased this week to talk with The great Luke Ski, creator of the new FuMP hit, "No Sleep 'til Babylon".
Luke tells us about his being a B5 fan, of creating this song and many many others. Luke also tells us about the fundraising drive to help out Tom Smith. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer jump into Deep Geeking on "The Long Night". Tim does not like the title of this episode because for him, it doesn't reflect or evoke anything significant from the episode for him. What do you think? Source
We have extra feedback to get through, so you know what that means? Feedbackapalooza, part 2!! Source
Tim, Summer, Jeffrey and Michael are joined by Anna, live in studio (she's in town for a conference), and she's just in time to experience Feedbackapalooza!
But first, Summer gets to ask Jeffrey about the production side of detonating Kosh's helmet in "Falling Towards Apotheosis", and we learn about the dangers of using too much primacord on a television set. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer, with James, discuss the pivotal events in Falling Towards Apotheosis. Taking on the Vorlons is a bold move, even for someone who's returned from the dead. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer discuss "The Summoning". There are many levels summoning going on in this episode, so the title is more apropos than initially apparent. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer contemplate the mysteries and metaphors in "Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?" For a long time... this is a good one. Source
Listener Feedback: Feedbackapalooza! It's a word that's sticking now.
Mick comments on the baseball talk in both Babylon 5 and Star Trek: in B5, baseball is still alive, and in Star Trek the sport is long dead, but in DS9 baseball is back and strong. How'd that happen? Source
Deep Geeking: Summer welcomes SciFi Ranter Girl , graphics designer and huge B5 fan Cat Hulberg, and Susie the Southern Geek How to Grow Your Geek to come onboard and Deep Geek on "The Hour of the Wolf", the Season 4 premiere episode.
Here you have the women in John Sheridan's life going through various stages of denial, grief and bargaining, in an attempt to find out for sure what happened to him at Z'ha'dum, and by the end of the episode, there's still no closure in dealing with what happened, nor any new insight into knowing what did happen. Source
Deep Geeking: Call it uber geeking. Mike McCafferty rejoins Tim and Summer to discuss "Z'ha'dum", the season 3 finale, containing one of the most delicious and exasperating cliffhangers ever visited upon scifi tv fans. Source
Interview: This week, George Johnsen, Babylon 5 co-producer (and apparently one of Jeffrey's cohorts in mischief), at last joins us! We talk to George about the show, including some of the questions sent in by listeners, and the anecdotes and production details are both fascinating and fall-down funny.
Did you know George was also an original Cylon? Summer didn't, and that just warms her heart. Source
Deep Geeking: "Z minus 7 Days". After the silliness dies down, Tim and Summer discuss "Shadow Dancing", the episode that culminates in Sheridan's and Delenn's goal to get all of the League Worlds to work together in mutual self-defense against the Shadows. The B-story deals with Franklin dealing with the consequences of his actions and his choices, by literally talking things over with himself. And Jeffrey adds his own perceptions on why the cast (and crew?) were starting to look shaggy and scruffy towards the end of Season 3. Source
Tim, Jeffrey and Michael geek over some of the latest space flight news, and lament over the lack of space flight and space news coverage on the mainstream news.
Tim also lets us know that March 26 is the both Jesus Treviño's and Ed Wasser's birthdays.
Feedbackapalooza: Lots of voicemail and email. We answer and discuss. Source
Deep Geeking: This week, Tim and Summer discuss "And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place", and the intrigues undertaken by Londo regarding G'Kar and Lord Refa, a boost in morale from messages from the Resistance on Earth relayed by several visiting religious dignitaries, and Sheridan and Delenn discovered the method behind the madness that the Shadow attacks that have been plaguing the sector for the past few weeks.
Jeffrey adds some background on William Forward's portrayal of Lord Refa, and the good-natured banter between Mel Winkler and Louis Turenne. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer geek on "Grey 17 is Missing", and the consensus is that half the episode is amazing, in terms of story, future implications, and charged emotional situations, and the other half is... well, I think even after 10 years we're still trying to figure that out. Source
Deep Geeking: Edmund joins Tim and Summer for episode geeking this week, covering "Walkabout", a bridge episode that packs a lot of punch in some areas and that seems to fall off pace in others (in Summer's opinion, anyway).
We see Dr Franklin, hanging around in Down-Below, searching for something, but not quite sure yet. What he finds for a time could be a reflection of his own situation, or something else entirely. Source
Interview: John Warner, Best Boy and Key Grip on Babylon 5, joins us to talk about his time on set, and making sure everyone's lit correctly and all the cameras move where they need to, and manipulation of the sets.
So head on down to your nearest production, and if it's safe to get into the studio, go hug a key grip for all that they do. Source
Deep Geeking: We have a Deep Geeking treat for you... a guest geeker!
Mike McCafferty, actor and geek, joins us to share his long pent-up Babylon 5 theories. He believes that "War Without End" is the Grand Retcon of the series, and we all discuss a lot of points from casting to plot adjustments and future Retcon necessities in the series. Source
Deep Geeking: This week, the geeking goes for "Interludes and Examinations", and Jeffrey sticks around to give us some behind the scenes info on The Day the Vorlon Died.
Oh, and remember when Jeffrey said he was ill the day they filmed the smackdown in the hall with Bruce Boxleitner? He found the pictures! Source
Deep Geeking: This week, we talk about "Ship of Tears", an episode with a tour de force performance by Walter Koenig. We get to see Bester as his usual menacing self, and we're surprised with a suprisingly human and vulnerable aspect to the character we'd come to despise.
Alliances are shaken and shifted. Lines are being more clearly drawn in the upcoming battle between the forces of Order and Chaos. Source
Voicemail: Monty Vorlon's Flying Circus... nothing more need be said.
We go through voicemails and emails this time around, and truly, no one can stop the puns. Source
Deep Geeking: This episode, the geeking revolves around "A Late Delivery from Avalon". We look at cause and effect of choices with devastating consequences, and parallel mythologies, and Monty Python jokes.
We need more instances of agreeable thumps. Source
Deep Geeking: Tonight's geeking focuses on "Sic Transit Vir", and discussion on how the characters start adjusting to their new roles as leaders of a breakaway station all alone in the night.
It takes a few viewings to appreciate just how much humor is running just below the surface. Source
Tim, Summer and Jeffrey ring in the first Babylon Podcast of 2008 with puns. And some New Year's resolutions broken mere seconds after they're made. But we're playing on the new mixer, so it's all good.
And many props to Brad from PodCulture for editing together the Holiday Specials. Source
Enjoy Part 2 of our look back at 2007's Babylon Podcast highlights.
Happy New Year to all of our listeners and all Babylon 5 fans everywhere. Source
Enjoy Part 1 of our look back at this year's Babylon Podcast.
Happy Holidays to all of our listeners and all Babylon 5 fans everywhere. Source
Deep Geeking: Tonight's geeking focuses on "Ceremonies of Light and Dark", and some of the undercurrents simmering below the surface story. Source
Tim, Summer and Jeffrey discuss space travel, future plans for the new kosh.org, and of course, the voicemails and emails that have been piling up behind the scenes. Source
Kurt from The ScapeCast recorded Claudia Christian's panel at this year's Dragon*Con, and was kind enough to make it available to share with Babylon Podcast listeners. Source
Deep Geeking: "Severed Dreams". All Geeking, All the Time.
Jeffrey sticks around for the geeking on this episode, and adds some anecdotes from his time on the set during the filming. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer talk about "Point of No Return". Following up right where the previous episode left off, the action and intrigue doesn't stop. Prophetic visions, political and military manuevering, and a rollicking brawl. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer talk about "Messages from Earth". This is the first episode of the emotional roller-coaster that doesn't really come to a close until the end of Season 4. THIS is what we love the most. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim, Summer and Jeffrey talk about "Exogenesis". Don't forget, this is the episode where Steve "Snackman" Thorpe, Carrie Dobro and Jeffrey all appear as med techs (we didn't, and we have a little fun with Jeff about that).
Remembrances: Jeffrey and John Radulovich pay tribute to producer / director Richard Compton, who passed away on August 11. Source
Deep Geeking: The Deep Geeking this week features Tim, Summer and in-studio guest Philip from Australia talking about "Dust to Dust". Yes, Summer got to the studio, and yes, the geeking runs really long. Enjoy! Source
Deep Geeking: The Deep Geeking commences again with Tim, Summer and Keith talking about "Voices of Authority", from Season 3.
Listener Feedback: Voicemails, and emails, and riddles... oh my! Summer misses the Haikus. Source
Listener Feedback: Lots of it! Emails first, then voicemails. Anyone out there interested in buying any of the last remaining VHS copies of "Babylon Park"? Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer commence the geeking for the second Lost Tales episode, "Over There", chronologically picking up right after the Keegan MacIntosh interview.
We talk about how smoothly Bruce has slipped back into the character of Sheridan, with a little more age and a lot more leadership experience added to season. This story truly showcases some of the best elements that die-hard Babylon 5 fans truly love. Source
Interview: Keegan Macintosh (Prince Vintari) joins the Babylon Podcast crew for an interview, "confesses" to listening to the show, and moves straight on to mastering the accent, how he got cast as Vintari, and what David Bowie had to do with it. Source
Interview: Peter Woodward joins an excited B5 crew to talk about his Babylon 5 experience, which all began with his being late for an audition for "A Call to Arms", and how Galen's enigmatic nature just is. Source
Listener Feedback: Mike discusses new B5 swag and props he saw at Dragon*Con; Tim is a recent B5 fan, and has managed to lure his mom into watching the series too; Tim reads an email from Australian contest winner Mark; Steve in MD enjoyed Lost Tales and wants more, but argues about the use of "Colonel" in a ranking system that's obviously naval based; Mark H comments on Lochley's comments about leaving the demons behind, thinking that maybe that's one of the reasons for causing Sol to go nova and destroy Earth in "Deconstruction of Falling Stars"; Neil comments on the argument between Tim and Summer about "Liquid Sky" being a far worse movie than "Armageddon". Source
Listener Feedback: "The Lost Tales" seems to have brought out many comments from the listeners, and we address a bunch of them here... and in case it wasn't apparent: Spoilers are contained herein! Source
Interview 1: Adam Francis, production assistant during Season 2, joins us to tell us about how far back his fan interest in Babylon 5 extends, some of the running around he did during his tenure on the show, and more.
Interview 2: Acclaimed conceptual artist Tim Earls rejoins us to give us some of the work he did for "The Lost Tales", mostly storyboarding for all the scenes and visual effects. Source
This is a video treat for you all... Jeffrey attended the West Hollywood Best Buy "The Lost Tales" release event, which featured Bruce Boxleitner, Tracy Scoggins and Peter Woodward promoting the release of the DVD on July 31, and signing DVDs and other keepsakes for fans. Source
Fan Geeking: Jarsto gives us a little insight into what's gone into the making of "Three-Edged Sword", and working with both Edmund and John on crafting the episodes and the overall arcs of the story.
What you're hearing here on The Babylon Podcast is just a small part of the story... the full audio drama can be heard at Voices of Babylon, so what are you waiting for? Go over and check them out! Source
Best Buy Hollywood Event: Jeffrey plays a segment of the interviews he did with the Babylon 5 stars attending the Los Angeles Best Buy release party event: Tracy Scoggins, Bruce Boxleitner, Peter Woodward and Doug Netter.
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer waste no time in Geeking on the first Lost Tale, "Over Here". Geeking on this story will continue next week. Source
Interview: Bruce Boxleitner joins us to talk about his experiences filming The Lost Tales, and doing promotions for it at the adventure now known as Comic-Con. Source
Deep Geeking: This week, Summer, Tim the First One and Tim the Younger dive into Deep Geeking™ for the episode "Passing Through Gethsemane". Jeffrey said he'd participate, he may again have been stunned by the geeking details. Source
Deep Geeking: This week, Tim the First One and Tim the Younger dive into DeepGeeking™ for the episode "A Day in the Strife". Source
Deep Geeking: This week, Tim the First One, Edmund, and Tim the Younger engage in DeepGeeking™ on the episode "Convictions". Source
Welcome to Special Edition #2, where the voicemail lunatics have taken over the asylum from the lunatics who normally run it. Source
Deep Geeking: This week, Tim and Summer talk about the Season 3 opener, "Matters of Honor", beginning with the stunning spoiler in the opening that showed one Starfury opening fire on another, along with Ivanova's voiceover "Our last, best hope for peace... it failed," the new theme and incidental music, the arrival of the White Star, and more. Source
Deep Geeking: This week, Tim and Summer talk about "The Fall of Night". Once again, the geeking runs long. There really is too much here to contain in one tiny podcast, but we do try to cover all bases Source
Always a fun discussion between Star Wars and Babylon 5 geeks, and this discussion has an extra added bonus for Babylon Podcast fans: Jarsto's in the debate on behalf of the Starfuries! Source
Deep Geeking: This week, Tim and Summer talk about "Comes the Inquisitor". The geeking runs long, because there are many theories about the methods and motives of the Vorlons for sending in a self-professed killer to test the motivations of others who aspire to greatness in the Vorlons' quest again the Shadows. Source
This is an episode where being in the chatroom listening to the live feed pays off. The universe can do funny things from time to time, and this is one of those times. Instead of having a regular show, tonight will be all talk with chatroom regulars. Source
Deep Geeking: This week's episode is "The Long, Twilight Struggle", and Tim and Summer talk about the reeling shifts in plot arcs and characterization that we all came to know and love in the series. Source
Deep Geeking: This week's episode is "Divided Loyalties", and even though Tim has been vocal in the past about his displeasure with this episode, he really has a good reason for not being present to voice his reasons live. Source
Deep Geeking: This week's episode is "Confessions and Lamentations", and Summer fesses up that this was the episode that permanently hooked her focus into the Babylon 5 universe. Source
Deep Geeking: This episode revolves around geeking on "In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum", a pivotal second season episode that remains a powerful episode to watch even after all these years. Source
Interview: Tim and Summer chat with SF author Jeanne Cavelos about her contributions to the Babylon 5 universe: the novels "The Shadow Within", and the Passing of the Technomages trilogy. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Jarsto talk about the entertaining and revealing episode "And Now For A Word", where an ISN news crew is sent to the station to do a routine "36 Hours" report, and end up being caught in the crossfire as Babylon 5 gets caught in the middle of the shooting war between the Narn and the Centauri. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim C. and Summer talk about the entertaining and revealing episode "There All The Honor Lies", wherein Sheridan is lured into being suspected of murdering a Minbari, and many secrets and half-truths are shaken out during the course of investigating what happened. Source
Interview: Tim, Summer and Jeff talk with conceptual artist Tim Earls and the work he did on Babylon 5 for several seasons. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer delve into discussion about "Hunter, Prey". In this episode, Sheridan begins to deal directly with Kosh, and the staff begins to wonder more closely about the hints dropped about Vorlon ship technology. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer delve into discussion about "All Alone in the Night", which by Tim's definition is the second season's equivalent of "Infection". Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer delve into discussion about "GROPOS", an episode that at first blush seems to be a filler episode, but instead is one that sets up a few threads of unresolved emotional connections to be dealt with later. Source
Interview: Tim, Summer and Jeffrey engage in a delightful chat with Maggie Egan, who was the familiar and comforting face of ISN before and after the Clark Administration ran riot over Earth Gov. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer move ahead with episode analysis of "The Coming of Shadows", winner of the 1996 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, beating out Apollo 13 and Twelve Monkeys Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer (along with studio guests Brian and the other Tim) move ahead with episode analysis from Season 2 with "A Race Through Dark Places", another Season 2 episode with layers and subexts that aren't fully revealed until later. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer (along with studio guests Brian and the other Tim) move ahead with episode analysis from Season 2 with "Soul Mates", one of the better episodes of Season 2, rife with intrigue, hidden agendas and sly humor. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer move ahead with episode analysis from Season 2 with "Spider in the Web", another in the line of setup episodes, where some of the threads reach deep into future seasons, and some threads tap dance away, exiting stage left never to be heard from again. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer continue episode analysis with "The Long Dark", a slightly uneven show that features a wonderful performance by longtime character actor Dwight Schultz (The A-Team, ST:TNG) Source
This week, Tim, Summer and Jeff continue to present some of the "Best Of" moments from 2006, and boy did we have a lot of highlights (and alcohol) to go through.
Yes, we were still drinking. A lot. You have no idea. Source
This week and next week, Tim, Summer and Jeff present some of the "Best Of" moments from 2006, and boy did we have a lot of highlights (and alcohol) to go through. Yes, we were drinking. Source
We present for your entertainment and edification a rather interesting and amusing chat with Robin Atkin Downes, during his and Pat Tallman's meandering search for an Italian restaurant.
It's an interactive slice of life in Los Angeles, and words truly cannot describe the experience. Don't worry... we'll get Robin back, later, when he's less distracted. Source
Interview: Tim, Summer and Jeffrey welcome Kim Holly, costume supervisor for the entire series save "The Gathering". Kim's work was pivotal in making the look of the uniforms and costumes match up with the creative visions of JMS and Anne Bruice, as well as making them fit all the cast comfortably and colorfully. Source
Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer continue episode analysis with "A Distant Star", and given that Russ Tamblyn was featured, Tim and Summer ask Jeff what it was like to work with some high profile guest stars over the years in the show. Source
Deep Geeking: It's been a while, but we're getting back into episode discussion! Tim and Summer delve into "The Geometry of Shadows", the first of many WHAM episodes to hit us in Season 2. Source
First up, we have Stephen Furst, who's stopped by to promote his latest directorial project, the new SciFi Channel original movie, "Basilisk".
Next, Pat Tallman talks a little about her Be A Santa charity, a holiday fundraiser supporting Penny Lane, a Southern California charity providing services and support for children's social services. Source
Tim, Jeffrey, and Michael talk some guy stuff in Babylon 5, which pretty much covers motorized and mechanized toys, sexually suggestive scenes, and the fifth season tendency to get Tracy Scoggins in her underwear as often as possible. Source
Interview: Claudia Christian is only in the US for a short time, and we are giddy that she joins us for a time!
She talks to us about her fond memories of the show, of the mutual on-set fondling, of working with Bill Mumy for various music projects, and much more. Source
Interview: Tim, Summer and Jeffrey enjoy a lively chat with Peter Jurasik. Peter regales us with tales of auditioning for the role, of the evolution of the Centauri hair styling, the costuming and more. He also shares his memories of Andreas' performances as G'Kar, and the in-costume smoke breaks, and the fun he had in seeing Londo's prosthetic genitalia paraded around the set for comment and feedback. Source
Tim and Summer continue the Season 2 episode discussion with "Revelations", a busy yet important episode, in that many secrets from the first season are brought to light, and the seeds for more secrets are sown. Source
Tim, Summer and Jeffrey discuss the bit of news that's been trickling out about the pre-production status of "Babylon 5: The Lost Tales", but we may have to wait until November for filming to begin before getting solid info to speculate on and dream about. Also for today, we have another Listener Feedback Extravaganza on tap this week... sit back and enjoy the geeking. Source
Interview: We talk with Carrie Dobro, best known for her role of Dureena Nafeel on Crusade, but she also portrayed a medic in the third season episode "Exogenesis" alongside Jeffrey and The Snackman. Source
Jeffrey, Tim and Summer talk with Patricia Tallman and John Radulovic about their memories of acclaimed actor Johnny Sekka, who portrayed Dr Benjamin Kyle in "The Gathering", and who passed away on September 14th. Source
Tim and Summer jump full force into discussion about Season 2, and all the changes heralded by the arrival of Captain John Sheridan in "Points of Departure". Source
Continuing with our talk with John Copeland, we get his impressions on production costs then and now, we find out about his fascination and appreciation of The Flying Tigers and aviator history, and much more. Source
Interview: John Copeland, producer for Babylon 5
After a little bit of Dragon*Con recap discussion, Tim, Summer and Jeffrey have an engaging and entertaining talk with B5 producer John Copeland. Source
Tim and Summer focus this entire show on the Season 1 finale, "Chrysalis". Given the many depths in this episode, that much time and more is needed. Source
Jeff's amusement at how we warm up pre-taping leads to the throwing open of the live feed doors. So the question now goes out to the fans: do you want to listen to us live, as we record the shows? Source
Tim and Summer dive deep into episode discussion again with "A Voice in the Wilderness" parts 1 and 2. Source
Tim, Summer and Jeff explore the wheels behind the wheels, the true secret success that really kept Babylon 5 running: the food.
Steve "Snackman" Thorpe drops by to tell us all about the food that kept production going.
When you're hungry, you're hungry. Source
Tim and Summer dive deep into episode discussion again with "Eyes" and "Legacies". Source
Jeffrey introduces Tim and Summer to Louise Kleeba, NASA Payload Engineer and super B5 fan. While the show was still on the air, Louise was not only one of the big fans inside NASA, but she also occassionally consulted on the accuracy and physics of movements in space used in the show. Source
Tim, Summer and Jeffrey chat with John Vulich, owner of the special effects house that created all of the B5 aliens we've all come to love.
John tells us about creating the show's new aliens and refining the ones established in the pilot, about working with the prosthetics to make them less invasive for actors, on designing and creating robotic creatures, and much more. Source
First up, episode discussion about "TKO". Tim and Summer struggle to come up with admirable moments and high points in this episode.
Next, Tim and Summer dive into "Grail", and scratch the surface on some of the subtexts found here. Source
First up, episode discussion about "By Any Means Necessary". Tim and Summer revel in how well the A and B stories tie in together, and delve into whether or not the B story could have been the better choice for the A story.
Next, Tim, Summer dive into "Signs and Portents", technically the first of the WHAM episodes. Source
Tim and Summer find themselves flying without Jeffrey, and Sandra Bruckner joins them for a chat.
Sandra runs the indepth and informative online resource ISN News: The Zocalo Today, currently keeping Babylon 5 fans updated on where their favorite B5 cast and crew members can be found in current projects. Source
Interview: First up, Tim, Summer and Jeffrey chat with David J. Eagle, director of 13 episodes from Seasons 2-5, including the Hugo Award winning "Severed Dreams".
Next, Tim and Summer discuss "Survivors", one of the first set-up episodes that has major repercussions throughout the rest of the series. Source
Interview: Tim and Summer continue the extended edition of the chat with Jason Carter.
Here in part two, Jason talks about being a convention whore, his time at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, the acting workshops he runs in various parts of the country, and The Pirates of Penzance. Source
Interview: Tim, Summer, and Jeffrey jump into an energetic and entertaining chat with Jason Carter, who brought an extra measure of heart and soul to Babylon 5 with his portrayal of Marcus Cole, the determined but haunted Ranger.
Jason reminisces about how he got to the show, and recounts memories of his good friend, the late Richard Biggs. Source
Interview: Tim, Summer, and Jeffrey talk with Skip Robinson, editor extraordinaire. Skip tells us about his time on Babylon 5, and details his work in putting together the pieces that brought us the cinematic gems we viewed during the series, Crusade and the movies. Source
Interview: Walter Koenig ("Alfred Bester") First, Tim, Summer, and Jeffrey talk with Walter Koenig about his time on Babylon 5 and his experiences interacting with the various cast members.
Next, Tim and Summer discuss "Deathwalker". Source
Interview: Tim, Summer, and Jeffrey talk with Scott Devine of New Wave Entertainment, the driving force behind producing the Babylon 5 family of DVDs.
Next, Mur Lafferty returns to join Tim and Summer in chatting about "And the Sky Full of Stars". Source
Interview: Tim, Summer, Jeffrey and special guest Mur Lafferty join forces to talk to Matthew Sprange, director of Mongoose Publishing. Source
Jeffrey fills in some details on his and Pat Tallman's trip to Italy to attend DeepCon, and hanging out with Anthony Simcoe ("FarScape") and Alexander Siddig ("Deep Space 9").
Next, Tim and Summer chat about "Mind War", the episode that introduces us to the Psi Cops, and gives us our first long hard look at Earth's telepaths and the organization designed to control them. Source
Interview: John Iacovelli (Production Designer)
Tim, Summer and Jeffrey chat with the man mostly responsible for the look we all came to know and love about Babylon 5, production designer John Iacovelli.
John tells us in detail what a production designer does, and shares his experiences on Babylon 5 from the pilot through the spinoffs, including memories of last-minute bootstrapping to get things done. Source
Interview: Julie Caitlin Brown ("Na'Toth", "Guinevere Corey")
First, Tim and Summer chat with the energetic Julie Caitlin Brown, who shares her Babylon 5 experience, including memories of working with Andreas Katsulas, and the emotional strain of having to leave the show because of a bad reaction to the makeup glue. Next, Tim and Summer chat about "Parliament of Dreams", picking up off a wonderful lead-in from Julie's first appearance as Na'Toth. Source
Interview: Ken Yakkel, B5 Crew Dolly Grip (3 seasons)
First, Ken Yakkel joins us, and shares his memories of being on set and framing many of the shots that made Babylon 5 so memorable for fans and viewers.
Next, Tim and Summer chat briefly about "Infection", wondering how a substandard Star Trek: Next Generation episode made it into the mix. Source
Interview: Wayne Alexander ("Sebastian, Lorien, Drakh")
First, Wayne Alexander kicks back, sharing some wine with Jeffrey, and recounts the differences of the five different roles he played on Babylon 5 and Crusade.
Next, Tim and Summer and Jeff talk about "Born to the Purple", musing on the plight of Londo in a compromised Centauri intelligence situation. Source
Babylon Podcast Special Edition #1 is an exclusive update on Babylon 5 and it's debut on AOL's In2TV
Jeffrey discusses the launch of In2TV with Fred McIntyre, Vice President of AOL Video, during the festivities for AOL's busy In2TV launch day. Source
Interview: Bruce Boxleitner ("Captain John Sheridan")
Bruce Boxleitner joins us this week to talk about how it was for him to step into a major role in an already established series, plus his recollections of the series, and of dear friends now passed on.
Next, after a tangent into formulaic Vorlon spinoff possibilities, Tim, Summer and Jeffrey talk about "Soul Hunter". Jeffrey raises concerns as to why there was no Vorlon in this episode. Source
Chat: Jeffrey Willerth ("Kosh", Associate Producer)
Jeffrey joins Summer, Lorrie and Michael in studio to talk about Babylon 5, being a producer, beer, tequila, and more. Source
Interview: Kurt DeFilipps, Assistant Prop Master
Kurt talks with us about his time as a prop wrangler, and the secret recipe behind the Zocalo's spare drink collector.
Then, Tim and Summer finish up their discussion and the picking of nits of "The Gathering" (Pilot), including playing the opening sequence from the original version of the pilot, with music by Stewart Copeland. Source
Interview: Patricia Tallman ("Lyta Alexander")
Pat talks with us about a vast array of topics, including adapting to Walter Koenig's pranks, and her fond memories of the late great Andreas Katsulas.
Then, Tim and Summer begin a long discussion about "The Gathering" (Pilot). One long enough that it has "to be continued", and we end up with another heartfelt honoring of Andreas' impact on the show and our hearts. Source
This week, we talk with Bear Burge, master prop fabricator.
Bear tells us all about creating the small details that that go far in creating the illusions that are essential for a good scifi show, and relates some tales about making some of his favorite props.
Tim and Summer also discuss "Midnight on the Firing Line" (Season 1, Episode 1). Source
Interview: Stephen Furst ("Vir Cotto")
Stephen talks to us about his days acting on and directing for Babylon 5, and discusses some of his other projects for television.
Tim, Summer and Jeffrey talk about their favorite B5 seasons, and touch on the themes and how they impacted the way we viewed them. Source
Call this a slightly longer intro show, where the three of us tell you a little bit about ourselves. Tim and I get into some of the reasons why Babylon 5 drew us in and kept us hooked, while Jeffrey tells us about some of the guests you can expect to hear us chatting with in future shows. Source
Welcome to The Babylon Podcast Intro Show!
Tim Callender, Jeffrey Willerth and Summer Brooks are pleased and proud to jump into this project, and we can't wait to bring you more discussion, delving deep into the heart and soul of a show that touched us all. Source