K-Squared Ramblings

B5, Kean Coffee, Flu and Chess

• Went to Kean Coffee (new place by founder of Diedrich). Very good. The place was packed. Starbucks never knew what to do w/that location. #
• Single-shot flu vaccines (instead of yearly) may be coming if this discovery pans out. (via @BadAstronomer) #
• JMS’s original notes for what became Babylon 5. #
• Listening to Chess. Only 1 year before Les Miserables, but sounds so much more dated because it was done in a 1980s pop rock style. #

Changelings and Vampires and Smurfs. Oh, My!

• Wow… Kenneth Turan really liked Changeling. Yay JMS! #
• Trying out LoudTwitter to send daily digests to LJ. (Thanks, andrea_wot!) #
• Announcement over phone system: “There are cupcakes in the lunch room.” 2 seconds later, loud footsteps running down the hall. #
• Smurfs are 50 years old? WTF! I thought they were creations of the 80s! #
• Public Service Announcement: it’s “for all INTENTS AND purposes,” not “for all INTENSIVE purposes.” “intensive” doesn’t even make any sense. #
• Saw “Let the Right One In.” Less horror, more twisted revenge fantasy/coming of age movie. With vampires. #
• Also: the Diedrich Coffee across from UCI is now a Peet’s #

More B5 Books: Babylon 5 Chronology

Wow.  The Babylon 5 Scripts team keeps finding more ways to get my money.  The latest: The Chronologies of Babylon 5.  And it includes every single piece of B5 canon, down to the six short stories JMS wrote after the series ended and even the unproduced Crusade scripts.

The script books have mostly been interesting for the commentary and supplemental material. Though I was disappointed that they couldn’t get Neil Gaiman to write an intro for his Day of the Dead script in the latest volume. It just reprinted the contents of the solo script book you can get from the CBLDF, which has a brief intro by JMS and a handful of footnotes by Neil Gaiman.

So, here’s what we’ve got so far (including what’s been announced):

• 15 volumes of Babylon 5 scripts by J. Michael Straczynski.
• 3 volumes of “Other Voices,” the B5 scripts by other writers.
• 1 volume of the B5 TV movie scripts (announced).
• 1 volume of chronology (with a Q&A and presumably commentary).

In theory, that covers everything except Crusade, which is what I’m really looking forward to. Probably two or three volumes, and I’d hope they’d include the unproduced scripts. IIRC there are two by JMS and one by Fiona Avery, and the Chronology list mentions one that was assigned but not written. The two JMS scripts used to be available online through some PITA Java-based reader that theoretically prevented people from copying the text (though that can’t stop screenshots or manual transcription), but also made it really difficult to do things like scroll. The site folded years ago, probably in the dot-com crunch, and they haven’t seen the light of day since. I remember one of them contained the first indication of a link between Techno-Mages and the Shadows.

Back to the chronology: on one hand, it feels like they’re starting to milk the audience for all it’s worth now that they’ve seen the success of the script book series.  On the other hand, it’s only one additional volume.  And it looks really cool…

B5 Script Series Shutting Down

I just got an email with the reminder that J. Michael Straczynski’s Babylon 5 Script Book Series is going out of print at the end of the month. Monday, June 30 is the last day.

It’s hardly a surprise, since the series was always advertised as a limited edition.

The weird thing is that they’re also shutting down the related store, with all the quote merchandise, until August. Presumably that includes the Londo/G’Kar campaign signs as well.

Meanwhile, the companion series, Other Voices, with scripts and commentary by the other writers who worked on the show, just released the second book. (To give you an idea of just how much of B5 JMS wrote, his scripts take up 14 volumes. The others add up to just 3.) It’s been interesting to compare the different styles of commentary. Some wrote epics, some did Q&A or interview-style introductions, and David Gerrold simply wrote half a page about why he resisted writing “Believers,” and what he did when he realized exactly why they wanted him to write it.

I hate to admit it, but I’ve only just started reading the bonus volume of the original set last weekend (in between bouts of re-reading The Ringworld Throne and writing). After so many years wondering “what would have happened if Sinclair had stayed?” you’d think I’d be in a bigger hurry to find out. Okay, I was busy with the whole moving thing, and then unpacking, and then trying to catch up on a fan site, and then trying to launch a blog, and I keep getting sucked into comic forums…

I think I need to sleep more.

Babylon 5 Scripts: The Bonus Volume

Hard to believe, but J. Michael Straczynski’s Babylon 5 Script Books are almost done. Volume 13 of 14 just shipped (my copy arrived today by UPS), and it’s time to talk about the bonus volume 15, only available to people who’ve bought a complete set.

This is the book that has alternate versions of several episodes, the series writer’s bible…and a complete outline of the original arc with Sinclair all the way through. The site has a description of the contents, but how to get it is a bit out of date. Vol.13 shipped with a notice that they’ve changed the procedure.

Instead of waiting until you receive all 14 volumes, then filling out a proof of purchase form, you need to fill out a form before ordering #14, and they’ll ship #14 and #15 together. The form is at babylon5scripts.com/proof and collects your name, address, and the order numbers for the other 14 books. If you ordered them all through the same CafePress account, it’s easy: Log onto CafePress, look at your order history, and then copy and paste the numbers into the form.

Admittedly, “easy” depends entirely on how much other stuff you’ve made through CafePress. Unfortunately they only list order numbers on the history page, so you have to click through each number to see what was actually ordered. This makes it a perfect job for middle-clicking the links on Firefox (open in background tab): I just went down the list, clicking away, and then I had each order in a tab. Click, copy, click, paste. Repeat.

Londo/G’Kar in 2008!

This just showed up in my email from babylon5scripts.com:

From JMS’s Cafe Press store (the same site through which he’s selling his script books with commentary):

With the coming 2008 elections, there aren’t a lot of candidates we can agree upon. So as a public service, we are now providing a slate of candidates that will bring the country together in common cause and preserve many of this nations’ finest electoral traditions.

Slates available include Londo/G’Kar, G’Kar/Londo, and Zathras/Zathras (trained in crisis management!)

I remember having an unofficial Sheridan/Ivanova ’96 (or possibly Sheridan/Delenn) bumper sticker, but I’m fairly certain it was a homemade “Elect The Brain” (as in Pinky and the…) sticker that I actually put on my car that year.

Now if only they’d used the correct punctuation on the ’08 instead of trusting smart quotes. (That should be an apostrophe, not a left single quote.)

Review: Babylon 5: The Lost Tales (No Spoilers)

Last night we watched Babylon 5: The Lost Tales volume 1, Voices in the Dark. The direct-to-DVD movie is the first new Babylon 5 since the Legend of the Rangers TV movie/pilot 5 years ago, and the first to focus on characters from the original series since A Call to Arms set up Crusade back in 1999.

The movie has two distinct segments, the first focusing on Lochley, now a Colonel and still in charge of the space station, and the second focusing on Sheridan and the techno-mage Galen. Both segments take place during 2271, placing it 9 years after the main story, during what would have been the 5th season of Crusade if the series had lasted.

The result is mixed. Read the rest of this entry »

Return of Babylon 5

The Babylon 5 Scripts mailing list just announced a July 31 release date for Babylon 5: The Lost Tales. JMS announced the project at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con: to revisit the universe for a series of direct-to-DVD movies. The first, Voices in the Dark, focuses on Sheridan, Lochley, and Galen, set during the 10th anniversary of the Interstellar Alliance.

One part of the story follows Sheridan as he picks up an unexpected visitor on the edge of Centauri space, Prince Regent Dius Vintari, and a warning about what will come afterward delivered by the techno-mage, Galen. The other part of the story is set aboard Babylon 5, as Colonel Lochley summons a priest from Earth space to deal with a problem that may have dark supernatural overtones. The two parts of the greater story intersect at certain key plot and thematic points, so that they overlap and complement each other while telling separate, but simultaneous, stories.

JMS has been posting photos and notes from the set from time to time, and (via ***Dave), TV Shows On DVD has posted a press release with more background and information about the DVD.

Interestingly, the press release and cover art make no mention of it being the first in a projected series. This is hardly a surprise, though, as Warner Bros. has always been reluctant to commit fully to Babylon 5 without testing the waters. Then they see the dollar signs and go all-out. It happened when they decided to release the pilot as a TV movie, instead of committing immediately to a series. It happened when they licensed the VHS rights to Columbia House, until they realized how much money Columbia House was making and launched their own series. It happened when they released just the pilot and one prequel as a DVD, before they were willing to release full season sets.

Hmm, perhaps the pre-order on Amazon shooting up to #10 in DVD sales before the end of the first day might help convince them? Edit: On day two, it’s up to #5. His people are coming.

Here’s hoping it’ll be worth the wait.

Drazi Drinks

Last week, after going out to see Superman Returns, we wandered over to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. I ordered the new honeydew ice blended drink. Katie ordered the pomegranate-blueberry drink. When we picked them up from the counter, though, the combination struck us both as funny:

Yes, they were green and purple.

B5 Scripts

JMS’ new site, Babylon5Scripts.com is getting more interesting all the time. Or rather, what he’s selling through the site. It started out as a 15-volume set of all of JMS’ Babylon 5 scripts, but it’s turned into, in Straczynski’s words, the definitive “Making of B5,” complete with production notes, backstage photos, introductions to each episode, etc.

Unfortunately all the really cool stuff is going into volume 15, which is only going to be available to people who order all of the first 14 volumes. A treatment of the 5-year arc with Sinclair in it all the way, alternate episodes, etc.

I’ve ordered Volume 1. Apparently they underestimated demand—people always underestimate demand for B5—because CafePress sent out a notice that “due to overwhelming popularity, your order for the Babylon 5 Script has been delayed. Our production team is working diligently to ensure that the books are printed as quickly as possible.”

His people are coming

You know that new site selling JMS’ Babylon 5 scripts?

Within 48 hours, fans subscribing to the announcement list filled up the database. The remark in that message is a variation on a line JMS would use when he told stories about trying to get a big enough room for B5 events at conventions: “My people are coming.” (He eventually managed to get that line into an episode of the show.) Con staff would constantly underestimate the draw for B5 panels.

I’m also reminded of a joke David Kemper made at a Farscape panel last year: “You guys probably don’t know this, but we have obsessive fans.”

Babylon 5 scripts going on sale!

A few days ago, JMS announced that he was preparing to sell a 14-volume collection of all his Babylon 5 scripts, complete with new introductions and commentary. For never-before-seen stuff, the first volume includes a vastly different early draft of the script for the pilot episode, “The Gathering.” Even better, there’s a bonus fifteenth volume with alternate versions of several episodes, the series’ writers bible…and a 7-page write-up of the entire 5-year arc, as originally envisioned with Sinclair sticking around. (Oh, and the version of “The Gathering” that they finally filmed.)

Unfortunately, you can only get the bonus book by ordering the entire set, and the only ones I’d probably want would be #1 and #15.

Babylon5Scripts.com is online, and collecting sign-ups for an email announcement list. The store is set to launch in October. More info in JMS’ post.

(These are only J. Michael Stracsynski’s scripts, but he wrote 93 of the 110 episodes, plus the pilot and all the TV movies. As far as I know, only one other B5 script has been published: Neil Gaiman’s script for “Day of the Dead” is available from the CBLDF online store.)

Cancellations

Fallen Angel is ending with #20, and Babylon 5: The Memory of Shadows has fallen through.

However, JMS has always said, “If they can do a Brady Bunch movie, you
can be sure that sooner or later, somebody’s going to do a B5 movie.” Even better, it turns out that while Warner Bros. owns the B5 TV show lock, stock and barrel, JMS owns the movie rights…so he’s in a position to make sure that whoever does do a B5 movie will get it right. “To that end,” he says… “I can wait.”

As for Fallen Angel, I suspect the timing of the decision means DC either wasn’t waiting for sales after all, or was going on pre-orders from stores. Peter David cryptically remarks, “We are not, however, quite dead yet.” It’s not clear what he means, but the characters are creator-owned, and the series isn’t tied to the DC Universe, so it’s entirely possible for them to pop up again at another publisher. Only time will tell.

Comics YOU Should Be Reading!

Yes, you!

Girl Genius, by Phil and Kaja Foglio: “A gaslamp fantasy with adventure, romance, and mad science.” It’s a continuing steampunk adventure/comedy set in an alternate 19th century where warring mad scientists (or “sparks” as they’re called to their faces) have devastated Europe. Graduate student Agatha Clay belatedly discovers her own “spark” as she is whisked into the world of Klaus von Wulfenbach, the “spark” who has conquered most of Europe. A fun read every time – it’s a real pity that it only comes out four times a year. (Published quarterly by Studio Foglio/Airship Comics.) Edit: The comic is now available online at girlgeniusonline.com!

Fables, by Bill Willingham and various artists. Imagine if all the fairy tales really did happen. But Snow White, the big bad wolf, and the rest have been forced out of their world and into ours, where they live in an expatriate community in modern New York City. Here, they face everything from murder mysteries and personal intrigue to political infighting and all-out revolution. It is R-rated, so you probably wouldn’t want to hand it to an 8-year old, but if you liked Sandman you should check this out. It’s a mix of multi-part story-lines and single-issue stories. DC has been collecting each storyline in graphic novel form. (Published monthly by DC Comics/Vertigo.)

Halo and Sprocket, by Kerry Callen. In the words of the comic’s own website, “Halo is an angel assigned to assist Sprocket in learning about the human condition from Katie. [Ed. note: no, not that Katie!] But Sprocket’s logic, Halo’s metaphysics, and Katie’s real-life antics don’t always mesh.” Each issue features several stand-alone short stories that find the comedy in even the most ordinary situations, as well as the contradictions and foibles of humanity. Wayne brought the first three issues over one time, and everyone was laughing hysterically! A collection of the first four issues should be out by December. (Published several times a year by Amaze Ink/SLG Publishing)

And while you’re at it, check out the graphic novel Midnight Nation, by J. Michael Straczynski and Gary Frank. The collected edition is a bit pricey, but it’s worth it!