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The Zocalo Today

Welcome! I am glad that you found The Zocalo Today and dropped by. Take your shoes off, get comfortable and stay a while. There is a LOT of information here and you won't want to miss any of it.

The Zocalo Today is an interactive newsletter, encouraging interaction with readers through a discussion topic each week. If you have suggestions as to how The Zocalo can be improved -- or be more responsive -- send them along. The Zocalo Today is as much YOUR newsletter as it is mine! I'm just pulling together things for you!

Join our weekly discussion topic. It is just one way you can interact with other Z readers. If you have other information you would like to share, send it along. If you see Babylon 5 cast and crew in other roles, let us know. We enjoy convention reports, photos, etc. Don't miss our back issues. I hope this will become more than just a newsletter. It's a community of people that enjoy sharing their experiences and interests. Don't be shy. Join us today!

If you have questions, drop me a line at sgbruckner@aol.com or thezocalo@aol.com. If you would like to join the mailing list for our bi-weekly newsletter, send me a note and I'll include you on the list. Or you can use the subscription block at the left.

Again, WELCOME!

What's New Today

Friday, October 11:

RATINGS: Top 10 SF Network Shows: Smallville 2.1; Smallville, 5 p.m. 2.0; Buffy 1.7; Enterprise 1.7; Buffy, 9 p.m. 1.6; Charmed 1.6; Angel 1.0; Twice in a Lifetime 0.6, and Mysterious Ways 0.4. Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report, 9/9/02 - 9/15/02.

SMALLVILLE: SMALLVILLE is off to a fantastic start this season. The rating numbers are fantastic and they are adding Patrick Cassidy, son of Shirley Jones and the late Jack Cassidy, to the cast in a recurring role of Henry Small. The story line surrounding his character is still a secret. All that has been said is that he is connected in some way to Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk).

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS: Most of us have grown up with Jules Verne stories like Journey to the Center of the Earth and Around the World in 80 Days. A new version of AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS is being made and Director Frank Coraci told SCI FI Wire that "instead of just making Phileas Fogg an Englishman that's very wealthy, in this version he's an inventor. That was inspired by the idea that Jules Verne was way ahead of his time, and so our Phileas Fogg is a man way ahead of his time, living in a Victorian era when people didn't want to accept big change." We will run into some familiar characters from other Verne novels -- like Captain Nemo and the Nautilus. Jackie Chan will play Passepartout; the role of Phileas has not yet been cast. Production is set to begin in January 2003, with an eye to a Christmas 2003 release.

BIRDS OF PREY: Considering the competition, BIRDS OF PREY did very well in it's debut on Wednesday night. THE WEST WING usually owns Wednesday night and NBC took control with a 10.7/17. THE BACHELOR on ABC came in with a strong second overall and actually won the hour among adults 18-49. The WB's BIRDS OF PREY scored a 6.4/9. FOX's baseball coverage beat "The Amazing Race" on CBS, 5.3/8. "The Twilight Zone" brought up the rear for UPN.

CANCELLATIONS: Yes, it's early in the season, but ABC is in big ratings trouble so they have already started to clean up their schedule. PUSH NEVADA and THAT WAS THEN are the first casualties. There are more to follow.

JURASSIC PARK 4: Yes, there seems to be another headed our way. Sam Neil told "The New Zealander" recently that another Jurassic Park is in development. "As for my involvement, it's a possibility. I certainly had a ripper of a time doing the previous two, so I have no objection in that respect. Steven (Spielberg) has spoken with me briefly about the new story they are working on, which is remarkably inventive and intriguing, by the way. Steven has indicated I may have some part in the film, but I'll leave it at that. From what I know, it's pretty early goings. As always, I'll wait for the finished script, and just see how my schedule shapes up."

INSIDE SCIFI THIS WEEK:

Thursday, October 10:
SCIFI CHAT TONIGHT: Don S. Davis, General Hammond from STARGATE SG-1, will be in for a chat at SCIFI.COM tonight at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT. Davis will be on hand to take your questions about his role on SG-1 and his many famous SF roles, including his portrayal of Agent Dana Scully's father on The X-Files. Connect your IRC software client to events.scifi.com and join channel #auditorium to participate. Chatters with a Java-capable browser may use our Java chat client. URL: www.scifi.com/chat.

LAST SAMURAI: Principal photography begins today on THE LAST SAMURAI. This period epid being shot by Edward Zwick, stars Tom Cruise. Cruise plays an American military adviser retained by the Emperor of Japan to modernize the country's military.

NINTENDO: Bidding on a 1987 Nintendo newsletter closed yesterday. The winning bid was $1025! Yes, the Winter 1987 "Nintendo Fun Club News" newsletter received the winning bid during the final 60 seconds of the auction. This was the first issue of the Nintendo newsletter and features a sidebar by Howard Philips, a tasteful illustration of SUPER MARIO in mid-frenzy, and a puce and black two-color look.

HALLOWEEN: Martha Stewart -- move over. The SCIFI Channel's latest contest is unique. The winner of "This Old Haunted House Sweepstakes" will have their home transformed by "Hellraiser" creator Clive Barker. The winner will be announced during the premiere of Barker's "Saint Sinner," an original Sci Fi movie. The film tells the story of Brother Tomas, a 19th century monk who accidentally releases two female demons upon an unsuspecting 21st century city. To enter, visit www.Sci Fi.com by midnight, Tuesday, October 22. The winner receives the one-of-a-kind Clive Barker inspired home makeover, and all the fixings for a Halloween 2003 bash for 50 of their closest friends.

BIRDS OF PREY: Shemar Moore, who plays Det. Jesse Reese in The WB's Birds of Prey, said there will be several new villains in the series. He talked to the folks at ComicsContinuum about the series and some of the things ahead.

JACKIE CHAN: Despite a lot of competition, THE TUXEDO was #3 in the box office last week. Catch up with star Jackie Chan over at Prevue Magazine.

MUTANT X: For those of you who can't wait for the next episode, Comics Continuum has a synopsis and pics from "Power Play," written by Septien and Meyer and directed by Milan Cheylov.

BELOW: BELOW opens tomorrow in theaters and is being described as a supernatural thriller film. Director David Twohy told SCI FI Wire that he looked at a number of significant submarine films while trying to create a unique visual style for his upcoming film. Below takes place aboard a World War II submarine that happens to be haunted. Twohy had his actors watch a number of submarine films to get a feel for what life on a submarine would be like. "It would have been like Run Silent, Run Deep and Enemy Below and those great submarine films of the '50s," he said. "Because in the '50s they had not only the equipment, they had the real World War II boats there. They had the technical know-how. The filmmakers could actually take the real boats out in the ocean, dive them [and] get all these great shots, which we can't do anymore, because those submarines don't dive anymore. You can tow them around, but that's it. So if I wanted a shot of a Gato-class submarine diving, I had to go to Run Silent, Run Deep and see the real thing, the real deal." From early reviews, Bruce Greenwood is terrific in the film. It's about time. He's a fantastic actor and it will be good to see him in a picture that showcases his talent. He was interviewed recently at Moviehole.net.

Wednesday, October 9:
RATINGS: Top 10 SF Syndicated Shows: The X-Files 2.3; 3rd Rock 2.2; 3rd Rock 2.0; 3rd Rock 1.8; Andromeda 1.8; Buffy 1.8; Mutant X 1.8; 3rd Rock 1.7; John Edward 1.7, and John Edward 1.7. Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report, 9/09/02 - 9/15/02.

NETWORK RATINGS: It's all about ratings -- and things are starting to stir! While NBC still has a commanding lead in the key adults 18-49 demographic for the season's second week, ending Oct. 6, the network is actually down 4% compared with the first two weeks of the 2001-02 season. CBS and the WB Network on the other hand, have boosted viewership with double-digit gains. "CSI: Miami" helped CBS climb 17% in 18-49 compared with the same period a year ago. It also was the most- watched network, with 13.3 million viewers, up 21%. Second-place NBC shed 4%, to 12.6 million. In the meantime, the WB -- thanks to programs like SMALLVILLE, has opened up a significant lead over archrival UPN. The WB was up a whopping 50% in its key 18-34 demo (to a record high 2.7 rating/8 share) last week, while UPN sunk 32%.

SMALLVILLE: A familiar face will be turning up on SMALLVILLE shortly. William B. Davis, to many fans -- the Cigarette-Smoking Man from X-Files, will appear as the Mayor of Smallville in "Ryan" -- the sixth episode of season two.

Trading Cards: The new SMALLVILLE trading cards are out! Want to get a preview? Head over to http://www.smallvillenews.com/imagepages/miscgalleries/premiumcards/001.html. Included in the card set are six autograph cards.

24: Good news for 24 fans! FX has agreed to repeat each episode of "24" series twice within a week of its network primetime run. The original episode will air on Fox Tuesdays at 9. FX's first "24" run will take place Mondays at 11 p.m. with the second airing Tuesdays at 5 p.m. The Labor Day marathon of all 24 of last season's episodes delivered solid ratings for FX, including a 0.9 rating in primetime. FX is hoping to score better ratings when it kicks off the first "24" rerun on Nov. 4. At 11 p.m., it won't be going up against "CSI Miami" or the second hour of ABC's "Monday Night Football."

GODZILLA: Production on the 26th Godzilla epic is underway. The new feature reunites Mechagodzilla with Godzilla as his evil counterpart. Though the picture has a big budget, we'll have to see if they go for computer effects or those man-in-the-rubber-suit effects utilized in the past.

DEAD ZONE: Production on season two began on September 25. No word on when the show will premiere, but it will be interesting to see how things turned out -- given the cliffhanger season end.

NEIL GAIMAN: Neil Gaiman has won his federal court suit against Todd McFarlane and his companies. The case centered on Gaiman's creation of three characters that became central to the franchise and McFarlane's alleged failures to pay Gaiman for use of the characters, his reprintings of Gaiman's material without attribution, and McFarlane's falsely claiming Copyright of materials written solely by Gaiman. The District Court's final judgment awarded Gaiman a joint copyright interest in the three characters he created Medieval Spawn, Cogliostro, and Angela, and in the Spawn and Angela comic book issues he wrote.

Tuesday, October 8:
SCIFI CHAT TONIGHT:Tonight, SCIFI.COM will sponsor a chat on "The Writing Life" at 9:00 p.m. ET. Catherine Asaro, Kage Baker, and James Patrick Kelly discuss what it means to pursue the writing life. Chats are co-sponsored with the magazines Asimov's and Analog, and are moderated by Asimov's award-winning editor, the thoroughly bronze-fisted Gardner Dozois. Connect your IRC software client to events.scifi.com and join channel #auditorium to participate. Chatters with a Java-capable browser may use our Java chat client.

X-MEN 2: Ian McKellan has been wonderful, supplying information at his website to keep fans apprised of events concerning the movie. Besides having some wonderful casual photographs, his current note indicates he'll move over to the theatre for a bit, so that X-MEN 2 will be his last movie for a bit.

NEW SHOWS: It is that time of year -- when networks start looking at new series and try to determine which ones will stay and which ones will be replaced. In the old days, a series had 22 episodes to find an audience -- now shows have been cancelled after only 2 episodes (we'll not mention Crusade's particular problem). There are a number of shows in trouble -- but The WB has given EVERWOOD a full order for 22 episodes. We'll see the other shows that start to fall by the wayside.

ANGEL: Details of the season three DVD series are now available at http://www.r2-dvd.org/article.jsp?sectionId=3&articleId=4790. Looks as if there are a number of nice extras, including some outtakes!

BIRDS OF PREY: While everyone is awaiting tomorrow night's premiere, information about the music we'll hear is available at http://www.gothamclocktower.com/birdsmusic.htm. The theme music will be "Revolution" by Aimee Allen. The page also indicates that Mark Snow has been hired to do the music for the series. I have been a fan of Mark's music for years! Can't wait to see what he has to offer us this time.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: The Cartoon Network is getting some very well known voices to work on the JUSTICE LEAGUE: Savage Time animated movie. Set to air on Cartoon Network's Cartoon Theatre on Saturday, Nov. 9, will feature Phil Morris as the voice of Vandal Savage -- a ruthless, repressive dictator. Patrick Duffy, star of Dallas and Step by Step, is doing the voice of Steve Trevor, who meets and interacts quite a bit with Wonder Woman. Other guest-stars include Robert Picardo (Star Trek: Voyager) as Blackhawk and Fred Dryer (Hunter) as Sgt. Rock. The film -- which will be rebroadcast as three episodes of Justice League similarly to the Secret Origins movie that launched the show -- was written by Stan Berkowitz and directed by Butch Lukic and Dan Riba.

Monday, October 7:
RATINGS: Top 10 SCIFI Channel Shows: Stargate SG-1 1.5; Beyond Belief 1.3; 12 Monkeys 1.2; The Dead Zone 1.1; The Hidden 2 1.1; Prophecy 3 1.0; The Stand, Pt. 3 1.0; The Stand, Pt. 2 0.9l Living Dead 3 0.9, and The Stand, Pt. 4 0.9. Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report, 9/2/02 - 9/8/02.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: RED DRAGON took a chunk out of all competition this weekend, coming in #1 with an estimated $37.5 million in receipts. SWEET HOME ALABAMA dropped to #2 and Jackie Chan's TUXEDO fell to #3. MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING became the highest grossing indie flick of all time and held on to #4. Here are the numbers: 1. RED DRAGON, $37.5 million this weekend; 2. SWEET HOME ALABAMA, $21.6 million this weekend, $65.6 million since opening; 3. THE TUXEDO, $10.1 million this weekend, $28.1 million since opening; 4. MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING, $8.5 million this weekend, $148.0 million since opening; 5. BARBERSHOP, $6.8 million this weekend, $60.2 million since opening; 6. JONAH: A VEGGIETALES MOVIE, $6.5 million this weekend; 7. THE BANGER SISTERS, $3.6 million this weekend, $24.4 million since opening; 8. THE FOUR FEATHERS, $2.1 million this weekend, $15.5 million since opening; 9. MOONLIGHT MILE, $2.0 million this weekend, $2.4 million since opening, and 10. ONE HOUR PHOTO, $1.7 million this weekend, $28.8 million since opening.

WARNER BROS: The network has a lot to be thankful for this year. While CBS and NBC have held the spotlight during the first two weeks of the 2002-03 television season, the WB Network has posted double- and triple-digit ratings increases over the same period last year with help from "Smallville," "Gilmore Girls," "Everwood," "7th Heaven" and a resurgent "Dawson's Creek."

JOHN DOE: The debut numbers for Fox’s John Doe drew 9.6 million viewers, thrilling network exec.

Sunday, October 6:
FIREFLY: While the ratings for the first and second episodes of FIREFLY were poor, the TiVo report released on Friday showed that CSI: Miami, Joss Whedon's Firefly, John Doe, Push, Nevada and Without A Trace were the top NEW shows for the week.

UPDATES: There are two new convention listings on the calendar -- one for November; another for February. The November convention is in Montreal and has Jason & Rick doing their thing. Rick is going to participate in a sea cruise in February. Details for both are below.

Saturday, October 5:
X-MEN 2: Patrick Stewart is very excited about his new project, X-MEN 2. He feels the first movie was more of an introduction to the characters and this movie is more like their first adventure as a unit. Stewart says, "So, there's my continuing conflict with Magneto [Ian McKellen] and with a new enemy, a very, very dangerous individual [General Stryker] played by Brian Cox. And, of course, Xavier is attempting to hold the X-Men together and trying to change humankind's perception of what mutants are, which finally climaxes in the movie with a very strong scene in the Oval Office between Professor Xavier and the president of the United States [played by Cotter Smith]." X-Men 2 is slated for release on May 2, 2003.

WRITTEN IN STONE: According to The Hollywood Reporter, ABC has picked up the rights to Written in Stone, a family series about three cave-dwelling brothers in the prehistoric Pyrenees. Actress-producer Mimi Rogers and Chris Ciaffa developed the idea and will produce the series, with David Seltzer (Dragonfly) on board as writer.

BUFFY: While Buffy the Vampire Slayer has just begun another year on TV, it has reached another milestone in the comic book world as well -- Issue 50! Dark Horse tries to dovetail the story with what BUFFY TV series, but the print medium affords the creators with a certain level of freedom that even the TV producers can't enjoy.

STAR WARS: James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader, will be returning in the upcoming STAR WARS feature. Jones talked about coming full circle with the project -- and a lot of other things as he was recently honored by ORT Toronto (the local arm of a group that funds education and mentoring projects worldwide). A sharecropper's son and the first of his family to go to college, Jones has been a pioneer in many areas. He overcame a severe stuttering problem by doing stage work in high school -- and eventually gave up his pre-med studies at the University Of Michigan to follow a dramatic dream. What would STAR WARS be without his tremendous voice. Read more about Jones over at http://www.canoe.ca/JamStarWars/oct3_jones-sun.html.

LORD OF THE RINGS: The TORONTO STAR reports that last year's display of costumes, props and artwork from the movie THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING at the Royal Ontario Museum was so successful that they've decided to do it again. Fans can get a sneak preview of THE TWO TOWERS at the Toronto musem from October 31st to November 30. Props and costumes will be on display along with concept art. This time there will also be a chance to see some preview footage from the new movie. The movie's designers, Dan and Chris Hennah, have flown all the way from New Zealand to prepare the exhibit, which will feature sets that make visitors feel like they are really walking through Helm's Deep, the Golden Hall and Rivendell. Tickets are available from Ticket King (www.ticketking.com) now.

DIE ANOTHER DAY: A host of new photos are now up at http://outnow.ch/movies/2002/Bond20-DieAnotherDay/?b=img_movie for the upcoming James Bond flick.

WHAT'S ON TONIGHT

Not a lot of science fiction on the tube tonight. Over at SCIFI, SCI FI Friday returns. This week we'll see:

8:00pm The Dead Zone
9:00pm Stargate SG-1 - "Abyss"
10:00pm In Search Of with host Mitch Pileggi

CATCHING UP WITH JMS

Here is a post from the B5 moderated newsgroup from JMS. It covers a lot of subjects, including the RENEWAL OF JEREMIAH, the next issue of RISING STARS and a lot more.

Since Malcolm and others have already pretty much spilled the beans, and word has gone out to the crew and cast and others and we're beginning prep next week...yeah, we've been picked up on Jeremiah. Sam Egan has left and we're bringing on Grant Rosenberg to help out in his place, mainly by working on set so I can focus more on the writing instead of having to plow through snow to stand around with the director.

So I'm hip deep in prep on Jeremiah, still waiting news on Polaris, writing Spidey, writing a new and as yet classified book for Marvel (I think they'll break the news in the next issue of Wizard), I've got 3 more issues to write for Rising Stars....

And there are two tippy-top secret projects I'm doing for companies I can't name. On one, the contracts just came in for their last revision, and as soon as they're done, we can get to work, and on the other, it looks very promising (all I can say is that it's a series, but of a different configuration than anyone's done before), but I never count chickens sans hatching. We've been working on the last item there for about six months, and we're very close to getting this going. If that happens, and that's always a big if, it's going to be something kinda huge, to be honest, with the potential to have a massive effect on television storytelling and production. It would be a very literal paradigm shift. Which is why I can't say anything about it for now (that and the non-disclosure agreement I had to sign).

DISCUSSION TOPIC:

As a way of celebrating SCIFI showing starting this week, let's talk Crusade. What appealed the most to you about the series? Was it the overall mission they were undertaking? Was it the mix of characters on the Excalibur?

Send in your responses to thezocalo@aol.com. I am posting them on the Discussion Page as they come in.

SEASON ONE BABYLON 5 DVDs

"In the beginning" is already available in DVD format (19,99 euros). The entire series and TV movies (but Legend of Rangers) is available in VHS (single tapes, or boxes of 2 or 6 tapes).

Warner Home Video (R1) released a Flash presentation for the "B5" Season 1 DVDs. In addition to the extras that JMS has already mentioned (2 episode commentaries, new cast and crew interviews as part of a new documentary, an on-camera interview and on-camera introduction with JMS) the set will include the "Making of" documentary produced for the Season 1 kick-off and hosted by Walter Koenig. Go to http://www.whvdirect.com/babylon5/index.html to read more!

Here's an update from JMS on the DVD special items:
The disk has an on-camera introduction by me (despite my warnings that this would undoubtedly drive down sales), a letter of introduction each by me and Doug Netter, and the half-hour piece features new interviews with Rick Biggs, Stephen Furst, me, Doug, efx maven Mitch Suskin, makeup whiz John Vulich, and others.

They're tentatively targeting next April for season 2, and the following November for season 3.

GREAT PRICE: You can pre-order the Season 1 DVD over at www.amazon.com for $74.99. The release date for North America is November 5.

BABYLON 5 AROUND THE WORLD

Ranger Alex reports that The Slovak Television Network "Markiza" is repeating Crusade every Tuesday and Thursday at 11.30 a.m.

JEREMIAH ON SHOWTIME - FRIDAY AT 10:45PM

JEREMIAH HAS BEEN RENEWED. The word has come from JMS. If you missed it, read through the CATCHING UP WITH JMS column above.

This week's episode: MOTHER OF INVENTION
Written by: Sara Barnes, A. L. Kratz
Directed By: Neill Fearnley

Looking for Steve, the leader of a group Markus may want an alliance with, Jeremiah finds Michelle, who had been his lover, and her son. He and Kurdy must find out if Michelle is rebuilding a world or just piling up a private treasure.

JEREMIAH SCHEDULE AHEAD:
10/11/02
Jeremiah: Mother Of Invention

10/18/02
Jeremiah: Tripwire

10/25/02
Jeremiah: Ring Of Truth

11/01/02
Jeremiah: Moon In Gemini

For more information about this episode and the entire series, be sure to visit www.sho.com/jeremiah.

For those of you who want to keep up on what is going on with Jeremiah, Ranger Monica has started up a Jeremiah newsletter. Please go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeremiah-news/ and subscribe. Monica also has a very nice Jeremiah site so don't forget to bookmark that as well.

KEEPING UP WITH CAST AND CREW

PATRICIA TALLMAN: For years, Pat has been involved with Penny Lane, a home for abused children. Christmas time provides an opportunity to show each of the children how special they really are -- through the caring gift from someone who wants to help. Pat started the BE A SANTA project a few years ago, and it is time again to start thinking about how you'd like to help. Go to http://www.thegalacticgateway.com/pl/ and see what items are needed. Like all kids, they want music, clothes, books. You can help these children who have nothing but the center and each other! Share with someone this year -- BE A SANTA.

DANIEL DAE KIM: Have you caught Daniel on the new AT&T commercials lately.

CARRIE DOBRO: Over at B5TV.com you'll find a wonderful interview with Carrie Dobro. She talks about CRUSADE and what she has been doing since it's demise. She's been one busy lady!

JASON CARTER: Besides those wonder Chevy Avalanche commercials, JASON CARTER has been quite busy. THE MESMERIST opened in LA on September 20 and is currently showing in only that city (the schedule is being developed at this time). The film is based on the Edgar Allen Poe short story The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar. A review has been posted at Hollywood.com and the author, Stacie Hougland, had this to say about Jason: But the real star of this show is the wild-eyed, eccentric mesmerist. Carter hits just the right note as he takes himself far too seriously, tossing off lines like, "calling me good is like calling Einstein the guy with the frizzy hair." For more information, including images from the film, visit the film's website at www.themesmerist.com. BEHIND THE RED DOOR: Starring (besides Jason) Kiefer Sutherland, Kyra Sedgwick and Stockard Channing. Jason plays the part of Sonny, the potential relationship interest to Natalie played by Kyra Sedgwick. The film will air on Showtime. This film was shown at the Rhode Island Film Festival that took place August 7-12, 2002. It won First Prize for Best Screenplay (for Film Production), Grand Prize went to Wildflowers. Check out the news from their site (http://www.film-festival.org/pressroom/news2002_27.htm)

ENID-RAYE ADAMS: You remember ENID, the petite Minbari Firell on Legend of the Rangers? She's been one busy actress since B5: LOTR peetered out at SCIFI. She has been featured in "Prometheus" -- an episode of STARGATE SG-1, the USA hit show DEAD ZONE ("The Siege") and now JUST CAUSE on PAX. For an update on all Enid has been up to, pop over to http://www.b5tv.com/greatmaker/articles/221/.

STEPHEN FURST: THE JESTER is in pre-production. This is the latest project for Stephen Furst. You can catcn a glimpse of some artwork for the project at http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/jester.jpg.

CLAUDIA CHRISTIAN: Ranger Steve reports that Claudia Christian is to be a guest at Cult TV in Southport, UK, this year (25-28 October). More details at: http://festival.culttv.net.

PAT TALLMAN: As many of you know, Pat Tallman has been involved with Penny Lane (an organization that helps battered children) for years! On October 5, Penny Lane will host a very special event entitled, VOICES OF OUR CHILDREN in which Hollywood stars will perform works written by the children of Penny Lane. The stars are: Alan Rosenberg, Angela Watson, Bruce Weitz, Coltin Scott, Edd Hall, Marg Helgenberger, Natasha Allas, Patricia Tallman, Victoria Rowell and Yvette Freeman. For more information, please go to http://www.pennylane.org/contents/voices.htm or call 1-866-736-6956.

MIRA FURLAN: Mira Furlan is appearing in Eve Ensler's new play "Necessary Targets". This benefit performance is for one night only -- October 7th. Location: Wilshire Theatre in Beverly Hills. Tickets are $125.00 and available through Ticketmaster. Also appearing - Eve Ensler, Calista Flockhart, Cloris Leachman, Julianna Margulies & Julia Stiles. For more information about the play, go to http://www.necessarytargets.com.

BRUCE BOXLEITNER: Bruce has just finished a film entitled "Killer Flood: The Day the Dam Broke" by Edgewood Studios. Produced by Peter Beckwith, the movie is about a fictitious dam above Rutland with a dangerously high water level and structural defects. Also starring in the film are Michele Greene (“L.A. Law”) and Joe Lando (“Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.”)

TIM EARLS: Tim Earls is the artistic designer on the new FIREFLY series from Fox. Tim worked worked in the Art Department with John Iacovelli and created all the wonderful ship designs for Babylon 5 and Crusade. He then moved on to Voyager. I am looking forward to see what he will come up with on FIREFLY. The Serenity is a neat ship!

BABYLON 5 BIRTHDAYS

Dylan Neal - October 8
Jeff Conaway - October 5
John Vulich - October 10
Tim Choate - October 11
John Copeland - October 13
Linda Huse - October 16

Have I missed anyone? If you know the birthday of someone connected with Babylon 5, pass the information along. We want to include everyone in our Happy Birthday Wishes.

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

They may not be Babylon 5 cast and crew, but here are a few birthdays in October that you may want to take note of:

Oct. 9: Scott Bakula from ENTERPRISE is 48
Oct. 10: Peter Coyote from ET (the movie) is 60; Bradley Whitford ("The West Wing") is 43
Oct. 11: Sean Patrick Flanery (Young Indiana Jones & Dead Zone) is 37; Luke Perry (JEREMIAH) is 36; Michelle Trachtenberg ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") is 17.

READER DIRECTORY

Sometimes you just can't find the e-mail address for someone you know you have -- it's someone who responded to a discussion topic or you met in one of the chat rooms. You'd like to send a personal note, but .... No address!!!!

We've started a White Pages of Zocalo Readers! It's a handy way of keeping track of people -- and putting together a birthday/greeting card list as well. If you would like to be part of the listing, just send me your name, state, e-mail address and (if you'd like to have it listed) birthday (without year) to sgbruckner@aol.com. Check out the Directory of Readers.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY READERS

Here are some of our readers who are having birthdays this month:

Name: W. Andrew York
State: Texas
EMail: wandrew@compuserve.com
Birthday: October 28

Name: James Green
State: Massachusetts
E-mail address: jrgreenmd@yahoo.com
Birthday: October 29

Name: Oliver Iten
City: Baar
Country: Switzerland
E-Mail: oliveriten@itenuscars.com
Birthday: October 23

Name: Ella Smith
Birthday: October 13

Name: Mike Tuck
State: Tennessee
E-mail address: tuckbros@crunet.com
Birthday: October 24

Don't see YOUR birthday here? That's easy to remedy. Send your birthdate along to me and I'll post it with others in our directory.

UNIQUE CHARITY ITEM

Ten popular science fiction actors have donated their time, images and autographs for an exclusive photograph, the proceeds of which will go to charity. For sale through the actors themselves and at , the limited-edition photo is in color, edged in white and ready to place in an 11X14 frame, and handsigned. Each of the 1,000 limited edition photos comes embossed with a seal of authenticity and numbered. The photograph is now available for a pre-sale price of $100. After Sept 11, 2002, the price will go up to at least $125.00. Among the charities to benefit will be the Penny Lane home for abused children in Los Angeles, and various September 11 funds. The actors hope to raise more than $100,000 through the charity project. The Penny Lane Home is a residential facility for children who have been severely abused, physically, emotionally and sexually. Many have "fallen through the cracks" of the social service outreach programs, and Penny Lane is their last chance at escaping the abuse.

Actors in the photo include: Patricia Tallman, known best for her roles as Lyta Alexander in Babylon 5 and Barbara in Night of the Living Dead (1990) Vaughn Armstrong, who has portrayed more guest star aliens on Star Trek:TNG, DS9 and Voyager than any other actor in Star Trek history. Currently, he holds the recurring role of Admiral Maxwell Forrest on Enterprise, as well as at least eight other Guest Starring roles on board the new Trek series to date. Stephen Austin portrayed many bizarre alien creatures on Babylon 5. His most notable was the lovable Pak'ma'ra Ambassador. David Brooks is an accomplished artist as well as actor. He is best known to the sci fi community as Max Eilerson on the Babylon 5 spin off, Crusade. Jeffrey Willerth portrayed Ambassador Kosh and was Associate Producer of Babylon 5 Robin Atkin Downes, best known for his role of Byron in Babylon 5 Carrie Dobro, Dureena Nafeel in Crusade. Tim Choate was extremely popular on B5 as Zathras (and his brothers, all named Zathras). He also portrayed Pollack on Crusade. Beata Pozniak appeared as Babylon 5's Earth Alliance President Luchenko. Ed Wasser, the evil Mr. Morden on Babylon 5.

As a special promotion, the first 100 orders will receive a special gift: former Star Trek stunt coordinator, Dennis Madalone, has donated 100 copies of his single, "America, We Stand As One," to say thank you to the science fiction fans who purchase the charity photograph. To order the photo online, go to http://www.thegalacticgateway.com, click on shop, and search on the word charity.

COMIC BOOK WORLD

AMAZING SPIDERMAN: Issue #45 is on news stands now.

RISING STARS: #20 The latest issue is on stands now.

Speaking of RISING STARS, Volume #1 of the series has been out for a while. Volume #2 is now available. If you missed any of the single issues of the series, you'll want to pick up the graphic novels that include 8 issues in a single bound copy.

ALIAS

Based on the ABC TV series, Alias creator/director/producer JJ Abrams makes his comic book debut. Agent Sydney Bristow finds her way into new covert missions, high adventure, and deep conspiracies in two tales with art by Andy Park (Tomb Raider) and Rob Liefeld (Youngblood). As a special bonus, a host of comics creators provide an all-star pin-up gallery. Available with a standard art cover, photo cover, deluxe foil photo cover, chromium cover, and a remarked and signed art cover edition.

Alias Cards Alias Season One Premium Cards & Collector Album. A new card set for this intense television smash hit!

Xena Cards Xena: Beauty & Brawn Cards & Collectors Album. Xena may have fought her last battle, but her legend lives on with these high-powered cards!

SCI FI PUBLICATIONS

Cult Times #85: Commandant Grayza, played by Rebecca Riggs, talks to Cult Times about joining Farscape. Angel's Charisma Carpenter discussed her role as Cordelia Chase and her off-set interests. Now that X-Files has ended, Chris Carter has had a chance to look back over the final days and he reveals what he believes he accompished through the adventures of Mulder and Scully.

Expose Special #21: Joss Whedon looks at all three of his shows this season -- Buffy, Angel and Firefly. Birds of Prey's team talk about how they brought the world of New Gotham to the small screen. John Doe is a new -- and intriguing show. Dominic Purcell and producers Brandon Camp and Mike Thompson drop a few hints about what's ahead.

TV Zone #155: Wayne Pygram has been chief baddie on Farscape for several seasons now. Wayne talks about life behind the mask of Scorpius. In this issue, get a complete episode guide for SMALLVILLEs along with a chat with Clare Kramer who brings Glory back to life on BUFFY.

Starburst #291: ENTERPRISE begins it's second season and the cast and crew talk about their adventure. The crew of FIREFLY talk about heading into the future -- some 400 years. DEAD ZONE's Anthony Michael Hall gives us some insight into the strengths and weaknesses of his popular show.

BABYLON 5 BOOK OF QUOTES

For all those who submitted quotes and experiences to the Babylon 5 Book of Quotes, word from JMS is that the book, plus emails and suggestions, is being compiled now, and they're targeting February, the 10th anniversary of B5, for the publication date.

SCI-FI SCHEDULE

CRUSADE

11-OCT-02 5:00 PM CRUSADE PATTERNS OF THE SOUL

15-OCT-02 5:00 PM CRUSADE THE PATH OF SORROWS
16-OCT-02 5:00 PM CRUSADE RULING FROM THE TOMB
17-OCT-02 5:00 PM CRUSADE THE RULES OF THE GAME
18-OCT-02 5:00 PM CRUSADE WAR ZONE

21-OCT-02 5:00 PM CRUSADE APPEARANCES AND OTHER DECEITS

BABYLON 5:

22-OCT-02 5:00 PM THE GATHERING - PART 1
23-OCT-02 5:00 PM THE GATHERING - PART 2
24-OCT-02 5:00 PM MIDNIGHT ON THE FIRING LINE
28-OCT-02 5:00 PM SOUL HUNTER
29-OCT-02 5:00 PM BORN TO THE PURPLE

STARGATE SG-1

11-OCT-02 9:00 PM STARGATE: SG-1 (LBX) ABYSS
11-OCT-02 11:00 PM STARGATE: SG-1 (LBX) ABYSS

14-OCT-02 7:00 PM STARGATE: SG-1 BRIEF CANDLE
14-OCT-02 8:00 PM STARGATE: SG-1 THOR'S HAMMER
14-OCT-02 9:00 PM STARGATE: SG-1 THE TORMENT OF TANTALUS
14-OCT-02 10:00 PM STARGATE: SG-1 BLOODLINES
14-OCT-02 1:00 AM STARGATE: SG-1 BRIEF CANDLE

15-OCT-02 1:00 AM STARGATE: SG-1 THOR'S HAMMER
16-OCT-02 1:00 AM STARGATE: SG-1 THE TORMENT OF TANTALUS
17-OCT-02 1:00 AM STARGATE: SG-1 BLOODLINES

18-OCT-02 9:00 PM STARGATE: SG-1 (LBX) THE OTHER GUYS
18-OCT-02 11:00 PM STARGATE: SG-1 (LBX) THE OTHER GUYS

21-OCT-02 7:00 PM STARGATE: SG-1 FIRE AND WATER
21-OCT-02 8:00 PM STARGATE: SG-1 HATHOR
21-OCT-02 9:00 PM STARGATE: SG-1 SINGULARITY
21-OCT-02 10:00 PM STARGATE: SG-1 COR-AI
21-OCT-02 1:00 AM STARGATE: SG-1 FIRE AND WATER

22-OCT-02 1:00 AM STARGATE: SG-1 HATHOR
23-OCT-02 1:00 AM STARGATE: SG-1 SINGULARITY
24-OCT-02 1:00 AM STARGATE: SG-1 COR-AI

25-OCT-02 9:00 PM STARGATE: SG-1 (LBX) ALLEGIANCE
25-OCT-02 11:00 PM STARGATE: SG-1 (LBX) ALLEGIANCE

28-OCT-02 7:00 PM STARGATE: SG-1 ENIGMA
28-OCT-02 8:00 PM STARGATE: SG-1 SOLITUDES
28-OCT-02 9:00 PM STARGATE: SG-1 TIN MAN
28-OCT-02 10:00 PM STARGATE: SG-1 THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD
28-OCT-02 1:00 AM STARGATE: SG-1 ENIGMA

29-OCT-02 1:00 AM STARGATE: SG-1 SOLITUDES
30-OCT-02 1:00 AM STARGATE: SG-1 TIN MAN

BABYLON 5/CRUSADE PHOTOSHOP
NEW PHOTOS

You do NOT have to pay the prices asked for over at e-bay! Here are photos of B5 and Crusade cast members at fantastic prices. Check out Photo Shop. Ordering is easy -- and you can't beat the prices! Just let me know which photos you want and I'll check to make sure they are still in stock.

BABYLON 5 TOONS

John Cook has a new cartoon contest going. Try your hand at a punch line.

NEW B5 TOON

Ranger Bill created this toon for his website www.wondertemp.com, but wanted to share it with readers here at the Zocalo. Thanks Bill.

BABYLON 5 REFERENCE PAGES

The Official Babylon 5 Magazine is indexed here as well. With the closure of the magazine in May, you'll want to see which magazines you have -- and which ones you will want to collect. The index may help you make a decision on which ones to choose. The Fan Club has many of the issues at thestation.com , making it very easy to complete your collection.

Universe Today -- the Babylon 5 Fan Club quarterly can also be found here. The index gives you a rundown of what articles were presented, what interviews published.

If you have magazines that have featured Babylon 5 or Crusade that are not listed, send along their issue number and a note to indicate what the article was about. It would be nice to have a fairly comprehensive listing of Babylon 5 publications here.

I have added a listing of all the Babylon 5 novels and now the B5 comic books to the reference page. If there are other items that you feel should be included, let me know.

BABYLON 5 COMMUNITIES

CHAT GROUP:

Ranger Renee reports that she has a Babylon 5 chat group (for those of you over 30) at http://groups.msn.com/Babtrek30. It covers Babylon 5 and all of Star Trek. Drop on over and give it a peek.

MAILING LISTS

REDEMPTION: Ranger Steve reports that a new discussion group has been created for the upcoming REDEMPTION convention. Redemption 03, 21-23 February 2003, Ashford, Kent, Celebrating 25 years of Blake's 7 and 10 years of Babylon 5. www.smof.com/redemption.

NW-B5

NW-B5 is a mailing list devoted to bringing critical information to the Vancouver Island, Lower Mainland, and Northern Washington areas. More specifically, anyone north of Seattle. B5 is broadcast on SPACE:TIS in Canada, and Sci-Fi channel in the US. By subscribing to nw-b5, you'll be able to know info bringing you up to date on the current scheduling and events happening in the community related to B5. You'll also be subscribed to the list itself, which means that you'll receive email when there is a scheduling change or critical information needs to go out to you (for example, if we need to start another mailing campaign).

For further information, see http://www.nw-b5.com
John Francis
Webmaster, Listowner, and Co-Moderator
mailto:nw-b5@iname.com

Reports of "The Gathering" are beginning to turn up on the list. John posted a mini-report, with photos, over at http://www.geocities.com/jnf.geo/nw-b5/gathered.htm#0501. You may want to check it out. It was a terrific event in which JMS showed clips from "Legend of the Rangers". Most of the cast was in attendance -- a great group of individuals.

BABYLON 5 DISCUSSION LIST

The Babylon 5 discussion mailing list is for any and all discussions and/or news pertaining to or related to Babylon 5 and/or Crusade. The list has been in existence for the past three years now, and has recently moved. The new location is http://lists.apparition.org/cgi-bin/lyris.pl, and you can subscribe by sending a blank e-mail message to join-babylon_5-l@lists.apparition.org.

THE GALACTIC GATEWAY

Here's a unique site for you! Jeffrey Willerth, Patricia Tallman, Mira Furlan, Claudia Christian, Robin Atkin Downes, Rick Biggs, Jerry Doyle, Bruce Boxleitner, Melissa Gilbert, Peter Jurasik, Bill Mumy and Carrie Dobro are under it's umbrella. Actors from other shows have joined the Gateway. Ted Raimi and Robert Trebor from Xena and Hercules are now at GG. To subscribe to a mailing list for GG, send a blank note to thegalacticgateway-subscribe@egroups.com.

GATEWAY CHATTERS

There is never enough time to keep in touch with friends! To help out, a mailing list has been started for chatters over at the Galactic Gateway. If you are interested in joining, send a blank note to gateway-chatter-subscribe@egroups.com.

GATEWAY TRADER

Are you looking for a particular Babylon 5 collectible? Do you have some items you'd like to trade? Then this is the list for you. To join, send a blank note to gateway-trader-subscribe@egroups.com.

CALLING ALL ARTISTS

The Art Gallery at The Zocalo Today is open. There are SO MANY talented people in our Babylon 5 community. We have enjoyed works by Todd Brugman and Tye Bourdony on our toons page, but there are a host of others who enjoy drawing, painting, sketching their favorite characters. Here are a few works that have been received. I have some others that will be added soon.

If you would like to share your work with us at The Zocalo Today, please send along a digital photo of your work and I'll begin putting the gallery together. If you do not have your work in digital format, drop me a note and we'll see what we can work out.

CALLING ALL CLUBS

There are a number of fabulous Babylon 5/Crusade Clubs around the world. Visit the B5 Fan Club page to see if there is a club near you. If you have a club that you would like to have listed, drop the information about your Club to me at sgbruckner@aol.com or bruckner@isnnews.net. That information will be added to the new B5 Fan Club Listing.

Massimo has sent an update for the B5 Fan Club in Italy. Founded in 1995, the club now has 230 members! In Italy, they have just seen the last two episodes from season five! Membership in the club includes: the club card, a poster, a personalized pen and four number of ISN Network the fanzine published by the club. The cost is Euro 20 for an year in Italy. Interested? Contact Massimo at mmartini@italway.it.

BABYLON 5 FAN CLUB

Netter Digital filed for bankruptcy in July of 2000 and all their worldly posessions were auctioned off on December 7. The B5 Fan Club site, Thestation.com and it's store, the Emporium, has been closed.

BABYLON 5 NEWSLETTERS

If you have a newsletter you'd like to have listed at The Zocalo Today, send the information along. It will be posted on the B5 Fan Club/Newsletter page.

Ranger Shane in North Carolina sent in the following note about their "Jumpgate" newsletter.

Hey Sandy! Just wanted to give you an update on the NC B5 group's newsletter, Jumpgate. There's now a dedicated EMail address for submissions - jumpgatemag@bellsouth.net - and any submissions, solicited or un-, can be sent to this address. Also, issues are available for free download at the URL at the bottom of this message.

Jumpgate - The Newsletter of the North Carolina Babylon 5 Fan Club
Shane Killian, Editor

HELP WANTED

A new HELP WANTED section has been added to the Z. If you need help finding a comic book, getting a special item, etc. here's the place to post a note. Just send whatever help you need to thezocalo@aol.com.

BABYLON 5/CRUSADE CONVENTIONS

CONVENTION CALENDAR

Slanted Fedora, Raleigh Area
October 11-13, 2002
Place: Durham Marriott
B5 Guest: Stephen Austin
For more information, visit their website at http://www.sfedora.com.

All-American Toy & Collectible Expo
October 12, 2002
Place: Wilmington, NC
B5 Guest: Peter Jurasik
For more information, visit their website at www.gannmemorials.com .

V-Con
October 11-13, 2002
Place: Plaza 500 Hotel
Vancouver, British Columbia
B5 Guest: J. Michael Straczynski
For more information, visit their website at http://www3.telus.net/dh2/vconsociety/.

JVL-CON 2002
October 24-27, 2002
Jainesville, Wisconsin
Place: Ramada Inn
B5 Guest: Stephen Austin
For more information, visit their website at www.si-fi-nut.com .

Creation Convention
October 25-27, 2002
Dearborn, Michigan
B5 Guest: Walter Koenig, Richard Biggs, Julia Nickson
Other Guests: WILLIAM SHATNER, CONNOR TRINNEER, NANA VISITOR, GEORGE TAKEI, ROBERT DUNCAN McNEILL, EUGENE RODDENBERRY, RICHARD ARONLD
For more information, visit their website at http://www.creationent.com .

Con*Cept 2002 Science Fiction & Fantasy Convention
November 2, 2002
Place: Days Inn, Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada
B5 Guests: Jason Carter, Richard Biggs
For more information, visit their website at http://www.monsffa.com/concept2002.html.

VULKON
November 15-17, 2002
Orlando, Florida
B5 Guests: Bruce Boxleitner, Jerry Doyle
For more information, visit their website at http://www.vulkon.com/orlandonov/.

Be sure to visit our Convention Calendar for a full listing of upcoming conventions featuring Babylon 5, Crusade and Legend of the Rangers cast members as guests.

ZOCALO TRADING POST

Do you have extra copies of B5, Amazing Spiderman, Midnight Nation or Rising Stars comics you'd like to trade? How about those extra trading cards or B5 magazines? There are a lot of fans looking for these items -- and the Trading Post can help you buy or sell them. To see what's available, just use this link to the Trading Post. To have items included in The Trading Post, send a note to The Zocalo. Please put Trading Post in the subject line.

Pen Pals

If you are looking for someone to talk about Babylon 5 and Crusade with, the Pen Pal section is for you! Check it out! Drop a note to someone who is feeling B5 withdrawal -- BIG TIME!

People thought a Pen Pal page was a good idea. If you would like to meet people who you could chat with or share your opinions of the show with, send along your e-mail or snail-mail address The Zocalo. It will be incorporated on the new Pen Page Page.

MAIL FOR CAST AND CREW

Here's a recent note from JMS on the subject:

Just an FYI to those who've been using the Ventura Blvd. mail drop for fan mail to actors....

As mentioned before, we're phasing out the forwarding of fan mail because we a) don't have the resources, complicated by b) the actors have scattered to the four winds, and it makes it very difficult to get everything to everybody in a timely fashion.

So, having provided prior notice...fan mail to actors coming to the Ventura Blvd. mail drop will be sent back. Mail to actors should be sent via their official fan clubs. I will still be taking mail there, since it's my mailbox, but that's it.

Just so's y'all know and save a few bucks on postage and returns.

JMS' mail can be sent to:

14431 Ventura Boulevard, PMB 260
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423

WARNER BROS:

Warner Bros. Address:

Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution
4000 Warner Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91522

Warner Home Video:

Mr. Douglas Wadleigh
VP for Marketing and Special Features
Warner Bros.
4000 Warner Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91522

SCIFI:
Bonnie Hammer, President
Sci-Fi Channel
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY. 10020-1513

Mr. Thomas Vitale
Senior VP of Acquisitions, Scheduling & Program-Planning

BACK ISSUES OF THE ZOCALO TODAY

The front page of the The Zocalo Today changes daily, so be sure to check the back issues to make sure that you haven't missed anything IMPORTANT! I don't want the front page getting too long so I shift information periodically into the archives. So if you aren't a regular visitor to The Zocalo Today, be sure to check out the back issues. Just use the button above!

Take care and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sandra Bruckner (sgbruckner@aol.com)
Editor/Publisher
The Zocalo Today
http://www.isnnews.net
Copyright - SBruckner, 2002