THE ZOCALO TODAY
Last Updated
March 24, 2000 05:34am EST





The navigational buttons above will take you to the various pages at The Zocalo Today! Please feel free to wander about. There's a lot to see.

What's New

UPDATES: I know it may be hard to find the things that have been added to the page each day, so I'm going to try a couple of different methods. Today, I'll use this color for all updates. Tomorrow the update's information will revert to the color of the rest of the page. Only updates will be in this color. Hopefully this will help you identify NEW items.

WELCOME NEW READERS

There has been a considerable jump in the number people coming to The Zocalo Today! WELCOME! We hope that you will feel comfortable here and come back often. New information is added as soon as it is received, so the page changes constantly. You are encouraged to interact with other Z readers by submitting your discussion topic responses, letters, sightings of B5 cast & crew in other projects, suggestions, convention reports, photos, etc. Be sure to look at the back issues. There is a LOT of information contained there and you'll not want to miss anything. If you have questions, drop me a line at sgbruckner@aol.com or bruckner@isnnews.net.

Again, WELCOME!

Twilight Twilight

OUTSTANDING WEB SITES

With SO many Babylon 5 and Crusade websites out on the internet -- and more growing each day, I usually take a few minutes, do a Yahoo or Google search and check out some interesting sites each week. I came across one this morning that I'd not visited before. It is a knockout. Babylon 5 Earthside has stupendous graphics -- perfectly suited for wallpaper. J.C. Richard has created some eye-popping graphics, like these two I pulled from the site.

There are other sites like this -- perhaps even YOUR site -- that I'd like to highlight. Send along information about a site you particularly enjoy -- or one you'd like to share with other Babylon 5 fans. Just drop me a note and we'll highlight it on the front page.

CALLING REVIEWERS

Have you read the Babylon 5 books? Do you want to share a review? Want to voice an opinion? Here's the place to do it! Send along your review or opinion about any of the Babylon 5 books. It will be posted on the Review Page for others to read -- and comment about!

NEXT NOVEL ON THE HORIZON

Peter David's next installation of the Centauri Trilogy: BABYLON 5: ARMIES OF LIGHT AND DARK is due in the bookstores in May!

Looks like April/May/June are going to be a banner months. Peter's next novel, the CINEFANTASTIQUE issue on Babylon 5, the last Official Babylon 5 magazine, and JMS' last story in "Amazing Stories"!

DOYLE FOR CONGRESS

As many of you know, Jerry Doyle is running for Congress -- the 24th District of California. Talked to Jerry last night and he mentioned a recent interview in which the person commented that "if you think you'll be elected to any public office because of those science fiction geeks, you're more naive than I gave you credit for."

Anyway, if you would like to support Jerry in his bid for Congress, send in a donation to his campaign before May 15.

a. No corporate checks are allowed
b. No donations greater than $1000 are allowed
c. You must be a US citizen to contribute
d. You must provide your name, address, occupation and employer for FEC reporting purposes.

Send your contributions to:

DOYLE FOR CONGRESS
22227 Mulholland Hwy.
Calabasas, CA 91302

Jerry's website www.doyleforcongress.com will be up on March 31.

WHAT'S JMS UP TO?

Here's a brief post I snatched from the newsgroup.

"In 1987 and 1988, I had two novels published consecutively, DEMON NIGHT and OTHERSYDE. Subsequent to that, I fell down the TV hole and never had time to even try to write another novel, though I did do the occasional article and short story, including one mystery novelette in the anthology Blowout in Little Man Flats.

Knowing that the TV season is going to start gearing up soon (June-October is prime hiring season for show runners), I decided I may not have another chance anytime soon...and have just completed my first new novel in 12 years.

It's now gone off to my NY agent (the LA agency loves it as a possible feature), and we will see what we will see. It's a contemporary mystery/noire thriller with supernatural overtones, set in LA, and weighs in at just under 100,000 words. With luck, we can get this thing out by the Fall, assuming the planned auction goes well."

"In an auction, the book goes out to X number of publishers, who have until Y date to respond with an offer. Best offer gets it."

"Just a note in response to those who've asked about what's coming up next for me that's non-B5 in nature...along with the just completed novel, there are a number of things that I've signed to do that I haven't been able to talk about, but will be able to start releasing some of that information here over the next few weeks, so stay tuned...." Maggie Egan

CHAT NEXT WEDNESDAY NIGHT

Maggie Egan, the ISN Anchor from Babylon 5, will be chatting with fans on March 29 at 6pm PST (9pm EST or 1400 GMT). Drop over and ask Maggie about her roles on both Babylon 5 and Crusade. The chat will be conducted at the Yahoo chat site. Just select Live Events from the menu! For more information about Maggie, visit her website at www.isnanchor.com.

CALLING ALL CLUBS

There are a number of fabulous Babylon 5/Crusade Clubs around the world. I'd like to begin listing them here on The Zocalo Today. Eric dropped me a note the other day providing information about a Club in France. I know there are other clubs in Brazil, Germany, Russia -- and who knows how many here in the US. Let's get a listing together. Perhaps we can share resources, even get together as we travel around. 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.


Zathras Tim Choate



BABYLON 5/CRUSADE PHOTO SHOP -- OPENING SOON

I am gathering photos now. Should have enough to begin putting them up next week. Here are a couple from Tim Choate that will be available here. I've talked to Carrie Dobro, Marjean Holden, David Allen Brooks, Peter Woodward, Stephen Austin, Maggie Egan and all have agreed to participate.

SPECIAL APPEARANCES

There are some special autograph sessions coming up in Europe. Here are the details:

Andreas Katsulas will be at the following:

Andreas, Peter Jurasik and Richard Biggs will be at the following:

UFA-Palast Stuttgart
Rosensteinstraße 20
70191 Stuttgart
Tel.: 0711 - 255260
Oscar's Bar at the UFA Palast
Friday, 24 March, at 5:00 pm
Saturday, 25 March, at 3:00 pm
Advance booking through the UFA Palast Stuttgart and the Movie Shop Reinheimer.
For information e-mail - b5-crossroads@gmx.de

Video 1.02

CRUSADE VIDEO SCHEDULE

Ranger Dave says the first two videos did appear yesterday. The titles on Volume 1.01 are: War Zone/The Long Road. On Volume 1.02: The Well of Forever/Ruling from the Tomb.

The remaining schedule for the remaining videos is:

Vol 1.3 10th April
Vol 1.4 8th May
Vol 1.5 5th June
Vol 1.6 10th July
Vol 1.7 7th August

Volumes 1-6 will contain loyalty vouchers in them that will enable people to 'mail away' to receive volume 7 free (offer expires 31st Aug 2000)

A ranger sent in a report that you can pick up Crusade tapes at http://www.blackstar.co.uk. They offer free world wide shipping and a 20% discount on advance orders.

SCRIPTS FOR MARCH

This month, the B5 Fan Club has two scripts available -- "Babylon Squared" and "Chyrsalis". These are two of the best overall episodes of the series, and as Sinclair says at the end of "Chrysalis" -- Nothing is the same anymore! After the end of the first season, things did start to crank up quite a bit.

Chrysalis!

Babylon Squared

Don't miss your chance to own copies of these two favorites. Use the links above to order today!

The Gang

ORDER BEFORE APRIL 15!

The B5 Fan Club has just made available a Season 3 jacket, just like the one worn by Bruce Boxleitner and John Copeland in this photo. This black, brushed twill jacket has a blue satin lining and is pleated in the back. There is an embroidered B5 on the front, a starburst on the back, a ranger patch on the right sleeve and a B5 shield on the left sleeve. With each purchase you also get a free B5 Fan Club button and Agamemnon hat.Visit The Station for details.

RISING STARS ISSUE SIX DUE SOON

JMS says, "Things start moving awfully fast now."

From the Top Cow website, is a short description of the coming issue:

Patriot and Matthew Bright star in the next incredible chapter of the acclaimed Rising Stars story line. Also, Poet begins to confront the man responsible for the murders, and a dark alliance starts to form between the killer and other specials interested in self-preservation. Don't miss a minute of this highly revered and fan favorite comic as J. Michael Straczynski continues to please fans with his award winning writing!

JMS gives us a snapshot of how he writes "Rising Stars" in the JMS Speaks section. It's an interesting read, so don't miss it.

JMS SPEAKS

Last updated: March 16, 2000

This section has a lot of information, directly from JMS. Read about working with WB in the early days of the show; his upcoming "Amazing Stories" short story and production of "Rising Stars". What does he think of Jerry's upcoming campaign? Check out the latest in the JMS Speaks section.

KEEPING UP WITH CAST AND CREW

Stephen Furst will provide one of the voices for one of the Space Rangers in the upcoming "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command'' coming to ABC and UPN in October. Walt Disney Television Animation is producing 65 episodes of ``Buzz'' -- 52 for UPN's ``Disney's One Too'' and 13 for ABC's Saturday morning lineup. Read all about it at http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000303/en/television-lightyear_1.html.

A Piece of Eden, Andreas Katsulas' newest movie, will be playing the next couple of weekends:

The Vickers Theatre
March 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26
6 North Elm Street
Three Oaks, MI 49128
(616) 756-3522

Next month it will start playing in Naples, FL and Chicago, IL.

Peter Woodward has won a part in an upcoming pilot entitled "MK3", a contempory version of "The Three Musketeers". Peter will play the 'Richelieu' role. It is being produced by Warner Brothers for Fox, hopefully for the fall season. Marjean Holden will become a regular on "Beastmaster". She will be going back to Austrlia soon to begin filming.

BABYLON 5 CHATS

Pat Tallman and Jeffrey Willerth have a chat room at their site Starglaziers. You can also get there through Pat Tallman's site.

Jeffrey is setting up some chats (5pm PST; 8pm EST) you might be interested in:
Sunday, March 26, the guests are Chris, Neely and Brian from BABYLON PARK
Sunday, April 9, Claudia Christian, Patricia Tallman and Larry Weiner talk about their new audio movie "Lives of the Cat"
Sunday, April 23, Tim Earls (designer for Star Trek Voyager -- and artist for Babylon 5) and Mojo (Star Trek/ Foundation Imaging).

There are a couple of regular chats that you might want to take advantage. One is over at About.com. Mike Helba has organized a weekly chat on Wednesdays at 10pm EST. http://babylon5.about.com/entertainment/babylon5/mpchat.htm.

Another chat at Groucho's Yahoo Club site. The chat is scheduled for the first Sunday of each month beginning at 5:30pm ET on Sunday. Groucho's is a good place to drop over and chat anytime. I've found a pretty good group of people there at lunchtime (12pm EST).

REFERENCE PAGES

I've updated the B5 index . This page covers magazines like DreamWatch, TV Zone, StarBurst and others that have covered Babylon 5 and Crusade over the last several years. This index will expand as I add more issues and new magazines.

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.

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.

SEND A B5 POSTCARD

Warner Bros. has a Babylon 5 postcard delivery service on their site at Babylon 5 Cards. Send a note to a friend to say Happy St. Patrick's Day or just to say HI.

BABYLON 5/CRUSADE IN PRINT

OFFICIAL BABYLON 5 MAGAZINE - Issue #21 . Mira Furlan looks back on her five years as Delenn on Babylon 5 and talks a little about upcoming projects. Joe Nazzaro begins a series on "The Making of Babylon 5". In part one, he reviews the pilot, season one and two. Gropos is the Station Log for this issue. Also included is a wonderful interview with Larry DiTillio, story editor for the series in the early days. Don't miss the next installment of the B5 Chronology!


OFFICIAL BABYLON 5 MAGAZINE - Issue #20 . The theme of this issue is "Time Travel". Stephen C. Smith examines the nature of time travel and looks at the science behinnd the time travel events in Babylon 5. The special Babylon 5 timeline continues in this issue. War Without End - Part 2 is featured in the Station Log and Zathras takes center stage in a number of features. I have to admit, the feature on The Zocalo Today is really, really nice!


** NEED COPIES! Drop me a line and I'll see what I can do!

TV Zone #123 - Are you interested in visual effects or fantasy art? Then here's an issue for you. Wayne Barlowe, the artist who brought the creepy creatures in "Thirdspace" to life is interviewed in this issue. The sketches showing his early perception of what was needed in this TV movie are awesome.



TV Zone Special #36 - Bruce Boxleitner talks about his new book, "Frontier Earth", his work on the B5 CD-ROM "Into the Fire", shooting the final episode of Babylon 5, "Sleeping in Light" and a lot of other topics.



Dreamwatch - Issue #65 takes a look at the Babylon 5 movies, "In the Beginning", "Thirdspace", "River of Souls" and "A Call to Arms". I'll agree with the assessment of Wayne Barlowe's graphic effects in "Thirdspace". Awesome! There is also a review "Crusade" along with some nice photos.





THIS WEEK'S DISCUSSION TOPIC

This week's discussion topics:
What was your least favorite episode or movie for Babylon 5? Why?

There have been some very good responses submitted so far. Follow this link to Current Discussion Topic page. Send an e-mail message response to either The Zocalo or bruckner@isnnews.net.. Or you can post your comments on the message board at www.isnnews.net/board.

IMPORTANT DATES

Birthdays

March Birthdays

Rick Biggs - March 18
Brad Dourif - March 18
Jesus Trevino - March 26
Ed Wasser - March 26
Michael York - March 27

Babylon 5 History

March 2, 2258 - Dr. Stephen Franklin assumes control of MedLab on Babylon 5
March 3, 2262 - EarthGov formally declares Mars independent
March 4, 2260 - Dr. Mary Kirkish is called to Ganymede to excavate a buried Shadow vessel
March 11, 2260 - David Corwin is promoted to full Lieutenant
March 18, 2260 - Dr. Mary Kirkish arrives on Babylon 5
March 20, 2260 - John Sheridan takes the White Star to Ganymede and witnesses the activation of a Shadow ship
March 23, 1994 - Filming is completed on the first season of Babylon 5

** History dates are taken from the SlowDazzle calendar!

FAN CLUB MERCHANDISE

Just in time for conventions -- the perfect take-along items! I'm always looking for something to take to conventions for people to autograph. The Fan Club has some PERFECT items for you – and they are reasonably priced as well!

The Antioch Calendar for 1999 is awesome. Yes, we know that it’s a 1999 calendar, but it carries a serial number – making it a collectible! The pictures are perfect for framing once you have the autograph in place! You can use this link for the Antioch Calendar or go the 'collectibles' portion of the Emporium.

Order any of the four sets of Autoghraphed Magazines and receive the calendar FREE!




Second – Season 5 Cast Poster. The Club made available to members a wonderful poster for season 5. The poster , signed by the cast members, would make a wonderful remembrance of the show – not to mention a fantastic collector’s item. It is located in the 'merchandise' portion of the Emporium.



Third – Season 5 Fan Club Photo & "Season 4 Fan Club Photo – These marvelous photos created for members of the Club are available for your enjoyment. They are $4.99 each with the purchase of $10.00 or more. Available in the 'merchandise' portion on the Emporium.




The Fan Club has opened up Gold Channel for all Babylon 5 and Crusade fans. Be sure to drop in to see the exclusive photos and background material on the show. It was updated on March 7.

Babylon 5 Bible -- The original Season One Babylon 5 Writer's Bible. This massive tome weighs in at over 60 pages with comprehensive backgrounds on all characters and story arc; as well as guidelines for writing SF for TV. This document is peppered with original (color and B&W) illustrations by Peter Ledger. Use this link to place an order Babylon 5 Writer's Bible.

Babylon 5 Series Treatment -- This beautifully bound original Babylon 5 Series Treatment written in September 1988, was used to sell the series. It contains different characters than were ever seen in the show. This treatment was ONLY given to Network/Studio heads. This document is peppered with original color illustrations by Peter Ledger. Use this link to order your copy from the Emporium Babylon 5 Series Treatment.

Ordering Information: There are a number of ways to order merchandise from the Club:

Credit card purchases can be made on-line, by mail, or by fax. The Fax number is 1-818-771-1677.

FOR PHONE ORDERS: Here are the numbers to use: 1-888-777-8517 or 1-818-623-1198 . Phone lines are open Monday thru Friday, 10-6pm PST. If no one answers the phone, please leave your credit card information on the voicemail. Val and Tony do process orders based on the time-stamped voicemail messages. Be sure to leave your phone number as well, just in case they have any questions.

You can send a check or money order for merchandise -- made payable to Babylon 5 Fan Club -- to Official Babylon 5 Fan Club, P.O. Box 856, North Hollywood, CA 91603.

** For all orders done by mail, it's best to send in an order form with your check or money order. Use this link to get a copy of the Order Form. There is a new reference list as well, so that you can check to see what merchandise is still available. Ref List.

BABYLON 5 CARTOONS

cartoon Another toon from Todd.

I'm moving some cartoons from Todd and Tye over to a new page so that you can enjoy them longer than just a week. Check out the new Toons Page!

There's an interesting competition going on right now over at ToonZone. It's asking people to submit a "punch line" for a B5 cartoon. Pop over and try your hand at filling in the bubble!












Got toons? Want to share them? Drop me a line at sgbruckner@aol.com and let's chat!

BABYLON 5/CRUSADE CONVENTIONS

CONVENTION UPDATES

Walter Koenig and Brad Dourif have been added to the DragonCon roster of guests.

Stephen Austin has been added to the Trek Expo 2000 roster in Tulsa, OK.

Bruce Boxleitner, Mira Furlan, Jerry Doyle, Jeff Conaway, and Stephen Austin will be attending the Star Trek Grand Slam Convention in Pasadena at the end of the month. Details are on the calendar.

Richard Biggs has been added to the convention list of guests at FedCon in Bonn, Germany this year.

Wayne Alexander will be the media guest at Crescent City Con XV in New Orleans, LA in July.

Slanted Fedora Productions has added Mary Kay Adams (Washington, DC, Valley Forge, PA and Chicago, IL) and Richard Biggs (Chicago, IL) to some upcoming conventions. See the calendar for details.

CONVENTION INFORMATION

There are a number of conventions going on that, unfortunately, DO NOT have Babylon 5 guests. But I'm sure there are Babylon 5 Fans in attendance. If you are going to a convention or just want to pass along information about a convention in your area that might be of interest to B5 fans, be sure to send in your name, an e-mail address and information about the convention. It will be posted at the Z somewhere. Here's an example:

Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 5:08:11 PM EST
From: "starstuff(Renee)"

Hi Ms. Bruckner,
I have a question about conventions. I may have a chance to go to Marcon (Columbus, Oh) this year. They don't have anything about B5 that I can see. But I thought some people might be interested to know that Eugene Roddenberry, Jr. will be there, as well as Da'an and Auger (Earth: Final Conflict).

Keep up the great work!

http://www.marcon.org/

Renee

CONVENTION REPORTS

Sonny Whitelaw has sent in a detailed report of the BEST OF BOTH WORLDS convention from Sydney, Australia. Sounds like everyone had a wonderful time! Drop over to the Reports Page for all the details.

Ranger Kailin has sent in the first part of her report on JMS' panel discussion at Gallifrey last weekend. Drop over to the Reports Page and have a look!

I've added a couple of photos from VisionCon - including a look at Jamie Murray (Myhr)! Good artist! Francesca has sent in a convention report to add to my photos of Visioncon. Along with the photos are a couple of works by Jamie Murray, a fantastic artist who also attended the convention. Jamie is not only a super individual -- he's a great talent as well. Love his pictures of Michael, Claudia, Mira and the others. Have a peek. Here is a site that display's more of Jamie's fantastic artwork http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/suehaley/myhr.htm . I think he is AWESOME!

If you have experiences you'd like to share -- or photos -- send them along. We'd love to see/read them.

CONVENTION ATTENDANCE

Are you attending one of the conventions on the calendar? Or another one perhaps? Do you want to see who else might be there? Drop your e-mail address to The Zocalo. We've begun an attendance page so that perhaps we can get together while enjoying the activities of the convention. Convention Attendance .

UPCOMING EVENTS

AggieCon 31
March 23-26, 2000
Guest: Harlan Ellison
Place: Campus of Texas A&M University

For more information, visit their website at http://cepheid.tamu.edu/aggiecon or send an e-mail note to aggiecon@msc.tamu.edu.



Vulkon
March 24-26, 2000, Orlando, FL
Guest: Claudia Christian
Place: Orlando North Hilton & Towers

For more information, visit their website at http://www.vulkon.com or send an e-mail note to joemotes@aol.com.


CoastCon XXIII
March 24-26, 2000, Biloxi, Mississippi
Guest: Jason Carter, Wortham "Bob" Krimmer, Peter Woodward
Place: Coast Coliseum & Convention Center

For more information, visit their website at http://www.coastcon.org


Star Trek & Sci-Fi Media Convention
March 25-26, 2000, Long Island, NY
Place: Hoftsra University
Guest: Peter Woodward

For more information, visit their website at Creation Entertainment.


PHOTO GALLERY ADDITIONS

I've received some new photos from John Upton, Paul and Marti Baltrunas and Nancy & Grieg Pederson of conventions to share. They are now in the Photo Gallery Thanks for sending them along. They are wonderful!

If you have photos to add to the convention gallery, let me know. If you'd like to start a reader's gallery, that's possible as well. Just send along your photo and I'll begin a rogue's gallery for everyone to enjoy!

If you have photos you would like to include here, send them on to me at sgbruckner@aol.com or thezocalo@aol.com.

CONVENTION CALENDAR

Want to know what conventions are ahead for the Babylon 5 and/or Crusade cast and crew? Use this link Convention Calendar.

ZOCALO TRADING POST

There are some new and interesting items in the Trading Post. Take a look. If you have items you'd like to trade, post a note here. If you need a particular item, the Trading Post or Message Board could help you find it. Use this link to see what is listed. 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

Some new letters have been added. 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.


The Zocalo - Today, Issue #3

I just put out a copy of The Zocalo Today - Issue #3 in PDF format, for those of you who like to have a hard-copy version of the newsletter. The Zocalo, Issue #3. You will need a copy of Adobe Acrobat to open the file. If you don't have that, please go to Adobe and download a copy of the software.

ZOCALO LINK PAGE

We haven't forgotten all the wonderful pages created in support of Babylon 5 or Crusade. They now have their own page! I've added a few new ones, so be sure to use the button at the top of the page or Links Page.

BABYLON 5 SCHEDULE -- TNT ON SATURDAY MORNING

March 25
7 am ET/PT "Darkness Ascending"


April 1
7 am ET/PT "And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder"


April 8
7 am ET/PT "Movements of Fire and Shadow"


April 15
7 am ET/PT "The Fall of Centauri Prime"


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!

HELP!!!

If you would like to take some flyers to a convention to help spread the word that The Zocalo is Back! drop me a line. I'll be glad to send you some in the mail. I've created a PDF file that can be downloaded and printed. Flyer Thanks for helping to spread the word about The Z!

Take care and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sandra Bruckner (sgbruckner@aol.com)
Editor/Publisher
The Zocalo Today

http://zocalo.isnnews.net

Awards

BABYLON 5 Awards Your web site, "The Zocalo Today", has been chosen to receive the BABYLON 5 UK TOP FLIGHT award ! Your coverage of the J. Michael Straczynski universe of Babylon 5 and Crusade is top flight ! Late breaking news, books, merchandise, cast & crew tid bits and humor, The Zocalo Today seems to be a one stop fan resource.

How To Subscribe to the E-Group Mailing List:

Subscribe to The Zocalo
thezocalo archive Hosted by eGroups.com