Local Review & Yo, JMS!!

[B5JMS Poster]

Subject: Local Review & Yo, JMS!!
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 No. | DATE        |  FROM
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+  1: May 15, 1996: Zedd <zedd at teleport.com>
*  2: May 19, 1996: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)

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From: Zedd <zedd at teleport.com>
Lines: 65

Dear Gentle B5 Fans:

Here in the Portland, Oregon area we have a local TV Guide called TV Host.
in the 18-24 May 1996 edition, page 5, is the following review by Mr. Pete
Heery (comments in parens are mine):

"Babylon5 Solo creator shapes visual sci-fi drama.

                         ***1/2 (out of 4 stars)
             Staring Bruce Boxleitner and Andreas Katsulas
                   Thursdays, 8pm., KPTV (Channel 12)

Star Wars and Star trek are tough acts to follow. That's probably why
after airing three years, Babylon5 hasn't received the credit it deserves.
(Ain't that the truth!)

Its time slot doesn't help. Locally Babylon5 airs at the same time as
Friends and The Single Guy (never heard of them), two of the top-rated
shows on TV. Now those shows are in repeats, this slick series is worth a
look.

Creator J. Michael Straczynski is the only individual ever to write an
entire 22-episode season for a one-hour dramatic series. That's amazing
considering the complex storylines and large number of characters. Even
more incredible is that the strategy works. It streamlines the stories and
gives Babylon5 a definite direction. Each episode feels like a chapter of
a book that has a beginning, middle and ending. As a bonus, you get
spetacular special effects and solid acting to back up a unique story.

Straczynski is able to develop each character into his liking. Bruce
Boxleitner stars as the tight-lipped (tight-lipped?) Captain John Sheridan
who is carfully forming an alien alliance. Boxleitner sinks his teeth into
this role. He takes an already complex character and offers a very human
side. Here's a leader who questions his capabilities, makes mistakes and
learns from them. What a refreshing change!

The show's most gut-wrenching character is G'Kar (Andreas Katsulas). His
homeland and people were destroyed in order to advance an eventual peace
throughout the galaxy. "Some must be sacificed if all are to be saved...I
think that one sentence is as great a burden as I have known," he says.

Although it shares similarities with other sci-fi series, Babylon5 is
special (Amen!). It's a work of art in progress, and it's not too late to
take a peek."

There is also another complement by Mr. Erik H. Bergman in the Commentary
section of the same magazine.

It is nice to see some visability for the program! It should have happened
a long time ago.

Now, Yo, jms! Last week I caught the program titled something like: "More
Secrets of the X-Files". I'm not really an X-Files fan, however, have you
considered the possibility of putting together something like this to
bring new viewers up to speed for the 4th season (assuming it's renewed).

Just a thought.

Zedd

--
         Never appeal to a man's "better nature." He may not have one.
              Invoking his self-interest gives you more leverage.
                                                      - L. Long


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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Lines: 12

That's a great article, could you possibly send along a copy? Thanks.

As for the one-hour special...it's something we broached to WB. 
Unfortunately, unlike Fox, which can program whatever it likes, we're a
syndicated show, and the only way to get a 1-hour special is to sell the
hour to every station individually, and apparently that's a huge pain in
the ass.


 jms


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