THE ZOCALO TODAY
Last Updated
May 5, 2000 05:04am 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.

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!

What's New

NEW VIRUS ALERT

Don't know about you, but we've been having a LOT of fun here with the I LOVE YOU virus. Talk about a pain!!! Hope none of you have been affected. Just DO NOT OPEN anything attached to an e-mail message that says I LOVE YOU. Heard there's a new one this morning. It's a JOKE attachment. Delete immediately, unless you know the sender.

I'm not sure how many systems have been affected. I was just answering messages over on AOL and the font block started registering hieroglyphics! So I stopped sending messages. I'll check back later to see if it's working properly again.

Centauri Book #2

NEW CENTAURI NOVEL

Peter David's "Armies of Light and Dark" -- The second in the Centauri trilogy is being spotted at bookstores around the country. If you are going out the pick up a copy, be sure to have the cover facing OUT -- to make it easier for other B5 fans to find!

** If you don't have any luck finding a copy, drop me a note and I'll pick up a copy for you.

Convention Alert -- WARNING!!!

Northeast SuperCon - Here's an update on this convention.

Michael O'Hare, Stephen Austin and I have been removed from the guest list. Peter David has been alerted and he has contacted the organizers. Majel Roddenberry, Richard Arnold and Mojo's names have been taken off as well. I've gotten a couple of notes explaining what happened at the website -- too easy to point fingers! Bottom line is that no guest should be listed at a convention site unless there is clear negotiations underway or a contract is in hand!

Does anyone have an e-mail address or contact for Mary Kay Adams? I'd love to write her and mention this convention. She's too sweet a person -- and should be given the courtesy of knowing that she's being advertised at this convention. If you have an address or contact, please either drop me the information or contact her yourself so that she can check into the convention.

NEXT CHAT -- DAVID EAGLE

David Eagle will be in for a chat on Tuesday, May 9 at 9pmEDT; 6pm PT. David has directed some of your favorite episodes, like Hugo-winner "Severed Dreams"; "Between the Darkness and the Light"; "A Day in the Strife"; "In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum" and "Phoenix Rising". Ever wonder what it's like to direct a TV episode? Now you'll have your chance to ask one of the best what it's like. We will be chatting on Yahoo again. That seems to work out pretty sell. I'll have a link to the site from here and so will TNT. Just go to Yahoo, select chat from the top menu and select the chat from the event menu.

BABYLON 5/CRUSADE PHOTO
SHOP IS OPEN

Peter/Edward Crusade Cast


















Would you like to own cast photos, just like the ones sold at conventions? They are available here in the Photo Shop. Check out details! Ordering is easy! If you have cast members you would like to see added to the PhotoShop, drop me a note and I'll see what I can do. I'll be adding Claudia, Peter Jurasik and Mira Furlan soon.



THANK YOU NOTE TO SFC

The first Thank You note to SFC was put into the mail Tuesday. Thank you to everyone who sent along their name, city/state/country to be included in the letter. I hope it will show SFC that Babylon 5 has a strong fanbase -- all over the world!

Did you miss adding your name to the letter? Since people are still sending in their names, city/state/country, I've started a new listing -- tacked on to the first one. {Thank you Ranger Evan for sending in a list of names of supporters.} The original listing can be found at Thanks to SFC! A line break shows where the original listing stopped and the new one starts. Send your name, city/state/country to sgbruckner@aol.com. Another letter can go out June 1!

Farscape

OTHER SCIENCE FICTION NEWS

Farscape

Creation Entertainment is building a Farscape Fan Club! For more information, go to http://www.creationent.com/farscape/farscape.html. They promise pictures and merchandise!

Andromeda

Robert Wolfe, co-creator of the latest Roddenberry project Andromeda, talks about the series, where it currently stands at http://www.space.com/sciencefiction/tv/andromeda_verite_000428.html

Andromeda now has it's own website at www.andromedatv.com. Read about the series and see who has been cast so far.

Production on the show begins next week in Toronto. Tribune has ordered 22 episodes and the show will premiere in the fall. For more on the series, check out this week's SciFi Wire at SciFi Wire

ANDREAS' MOVIE - A PIECE OF EDEN

"A Piece of Eden", Andreas Katsulas' new movie, is playing at 7 Chicago-area theaters at this time.

Fine Arts Theatre
Chicago, IL

GCC Southlake Mall Cinema
Merrillville, IN

Pickwick Theatre
Park Ridge, IL

Wilmette Theatre
Wilmette, IL

There will be more openings in a couple of weeks. It did play at a couple of theaters for 2 weeks in Florida but closed there this week.

KEEPING UP WITH CAST AND CREW

JMS CONVENTION APPEARANCES

"Yes, I'm going to be at the Wizard Chicago Comic Convention (formerly Chicago Comic Con) to talk about Rising Stars, Joe's Comics, and any other projects that I can talk about at that time."

"I'll also be a Guest of Honor at the World Horror Convention 2000 in Denver the weekend of May 11th...and I'm slated to be a special guest at San Diego Comic Con in July.

JMS will also be at GenCom (information on the conventions can be found on the convention calendar.)


Evan Chen has his own MP3 site at http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/113/alien_ear.html.

Bruce Boxleitner, Jerry Doyle, Stephen Austin and Maggie Egan all have photos available at the Creation Entertainment site.

Bruce Boxleitner's episode of "Outer Limits" will air on June 30.

The TV movie of "Murder She Wrote" -- written by J. Michael Straczynski, will air this month -- I believe the date is May 20 or 21.

Jerry Doyle is running for Congress. He has added a good deal of information about his political positions to his website. Check it out www.doyleforcongress.com .

Here's a website for Bill Mumy's latest project, Overload . It has interviews, trailers, etc.

FAN CLUB MERCHANDISE

The Gang

BABYLON 5 JACKETS!

Jacket sales for the first order were stupendous! The jackets are in the process of being mailed out and everyone loves them. We are working on a second order right now. As soon as we get 100 people signed up, we can place another order for these lovely jackets. So if you have been thinking about getting a B5 Jacket, put your pre-order in now at The Emporium. Your credit card will not be charged until the order is actually placed. So far there are 31 jackets on the pre-order listing!

Here's a description of the jacket: 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.

Coming Struggle

SCRIPTS FOR MAY

The Babylon 5 Fan Club has Hugo-winner "The Coming of the Shadows" and "The Long Twilight Struggle" available this month. "The Coming of the Shadows" comes in both an autographed and non-autographed version. The scripts are listed in The Emporium at www.thestation.com.

OFFICIAL BABYLON 5 MAGAZINES

With the publication coming to an end with issue #24, you'll want to make sure that you have the issues you most care about -- or the entire set. The Fan Club has most of the issues in quantity, so check out The Emporium and pick out the issues you need. Don't know which ones you are missing, let the reference page here at The Zocalo help you out. It has a full index of the magazine so that you can see who was featured and what stories were covered. If you have any other questions about the magazine, just drop me a line.

If you are having a problem finding the magazine, let me know. I can usually come up with copies of current issues.

The Fan Club has a lot of the back issues of the magazine over at www.thestation.com in The Emporium. A listing will go up today with some of the more recent magazines, along with the much sought after Issue #1, Volume #1. So be sure to check out ISN later today and see what magazines you still need to complete your set.

Cine-Mag

CINEFANTASTIQUE -- JUNE ISSUE

The magazine is MARVELOUS!!! If you get any magazine this year, it should be this one! It is one of the most complete treatments of the series I've ever seen. It not only has some great interviews with cast and crew, but it takes every episode of the series, has a brief synopsis and memorable quote. This combination of narrative about the show and comments from the individuals directly involved with it provides you with nice background of the series. While it can be considered a bit pricey at $11.95, I think it's worth every cent -- and then some!

I picked up a few copies -- so if you would like to have one of your very own, drop me a note at sgbruckner@aol.com.

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.

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.

On the first Sunday of the month, there will be a chat at Groucho's Babylon 5 Calvalcade beginning at 5:30pm ET. Groucho's is a good place to drop over and chat anytime.

MORE CHATS -- TODAY Pat Tallman & Jeffrey Willerth

Fandom has put together a series of chats.

Fandom`s Chat Schedule
http://www.fandom.com/Master_Site/chat.asp

Monday May 8rd 2000
Main Page Chat
Peter David from Babylon 5
8pm EDT, 5pm PT

NEW CHAT SITE

E-Groups, the system that maintains our mailing list, underwent a substantial upgrade this weekend. There has always been a chat feature at the site, but the new one looks very much improved. If you'd like to try it out, the URL is http://www.egroups.com/chat/thezocalo .

NEW CRUSADE PETITION

The campaign to resurrect "Crusade" has taken many forms, and now it blasts off full steam with the new petition campaign. Television producers respond to demand...and there is no better way to express demand for a show than sheer weight of numbers. If you are committed to seeing this show survive and enter production again, just follow the link below and follow the instructions given. This is a very easy task. In a nutshell, get anyone and everyone who is either a B5 / Crusade fan, or just enjoys quality television to sign it, and then send them all in to the Crusade Campaign. The more signatures, equals more weight that Warner Brothers will not be able to ignore. Everything you need to know is right here:

http://www.astro.umd.edu/~fleming/PetitionCampaign.html

Good hunting. Now go forth and multiply! --Armen Kurdian

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 #22 Jason Carter talks about his character Marcus Cole and some upcoming projects. The B5 Chronology continues; as does "The Making of Babylon 5". The long-awaited new B5 short story by JMS entitled "Hidden Agendas".


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!


** NEED COPIES OF ISSUE #21 or 22? Drop me a line and I'll see what I can do!

THIS WEEK'S DISCUSSION TOPIC

Do you think it is important to have an accurate reflection of science in science fiction? Babylon 5 went to great lengths - getting JPL involved, etc. How do you feel about this? Necessary?

Send in your opinions to either The Zocalo or b5web@aol.com.. You can also post your comments on the message board at www.isnnews.net/board. Follow this link to Current Discussion Topic page.

IMPORTANT DATES

May Birthdays:

Theodore Bikel - May 2
Michael O'Hare - May 6
Stephen Furst - May 8
Melissa Gilbert-Boxleitner - May 8
Bruce Boxleitner - May 12
Paul Winfield (Gen. Franklin) - May 22
Roy Dotrice (Frederick Lantze) - May 26
Harlan Ellison - May 27

For significant dates in Babylon 5/Crusade history, visit the new History Page to get all the information on what happened during May!

MORE 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 29.

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.

NEW SCRIPT SITE

Scripts From The Lot is a new site on the internet that is making a select number of scripts available to fans. JMS, Fiona Avery and Neil Gaiman have works available right now. The works of David Gerrold, Harlan Ellison and Larry Brody will be available soon. Fiona Avery's Crusade script that was to feature Bester is available here!

BABYLON 5 CARTOONS

cartoon Another toon from Todd Brugman.

Todd is soon off to England to be with his lovely wife Sarah. We wish them all the happiness in the world!

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!

CONGRATULATIONS TYE

Don't know how many of you have picked up the latest issue of StarLog, but check out page 22. Tye Bourdony has a published toon there! That's fantastic Tye. Can't want to see more of your talent at work!






Toon Zone Toon Zone ToonZone has some interesting toons, many for Babylon 5. Pop over and have a look!





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

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.

So far, we have clubs listed from France, Germany and Italy! That's fantastic. Let's hear from others -- even those in the U.S.!!!


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!

ASSISTANCE FOR B5 NOVELS

There has been a fascinating discussion going on in the B5 newsgroup about what fans can do to help make the Babylon 5 novels more noticeable on bookshelves. One reader suggests:

Maybe putting a call out to Babylon 5 fans to ask that they "front" Babylon 5 books in their local bookstores, and ask that they be featured more prominently. By "fronting", I mean to turn them from spine-on view to face-on view, to increase their visibility. Spine-on, all paperbacks look the same. This only works for books that they have a few of, since four paperbacks makes a cube shape, and therefore takes up the same amount of space spine-on vs. face-on.

It would certainly help if Del Rey would send along some book displays to bookstores -- especially the larger ones. Doing a little advertising certainly wouldn't hurt the cause!

BABYLON 5/CRUSADE CONVENTIONS

CONVENTION UPDATES

Marjean Holden has been added to the Shore Leave roster of guests. She will join Claudia Christian at this year's convention near Baltimore in early July!

Jason Carter has been added to the roster of guests for the Gateway Convention coming up in July in St. Louis, MO.

Robin Atkin Downes has been added to the guest list at Anglicon.

CONVENTION REPORTS

Ranger Teri has sent along some photos of Claudia at the Vulkon convention in Florida last week. Pop over to the Photo Gallery and have a look-see.

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

World Horror Convention 2000
May 11-14, 2000; Denver, CO
Place: Adams Mark Hotel
Guest: Harlan Ellison, J. Michael Straczynski

For more information, visit their website at http://www.whc2000.org .



Slanted Fedora
May 13-14, 2000; Chantilly, VA
Place: The Capitol Expo Center
Guest: Mary Kay Adams

For more information, visit their website at http://www.sfedora.com or send an e-mail note to sfedora1@aol.com.


Motor City Comic Con
May 19-21, 2000, Novi, Michigan
Place: Novi Expo Center
Guest: Jason Carter

For more information, visit their website at www.motorcityconventions.com.


Hollywood Memorabilia & Celebrities Show
May 20-21, 2000, Chicago, IL
Place: Ramada Plaza Hotel O'Hare
Guest: Maggie Egan

For more information, visit their website at www.hollywoodcollectorshow.com/Rose.htm.


FedCon 8
May 19-21, 2000, Bonn, Germany
Guests: Jerry Doyle, Richard Biggs, Robin Atkin Downes

For more information, visit their website at FedCon.


Tachycon 11
May 26-28, 2000, Orlando, FL
Guest: Tracy Scoggins, Wortham (Bob) Krimmer

For more information, visit their website at www.tachycon.com.


Anglicon
May 26-28, 2000, Seattle, Washington
Guest: Stephen Austin

For more information, visit their website at Anglicon.


Miscon
May 26-28, 2000, Missoula, MT
Guest: Julie Caitlin Brown

For more information, visit their website at www.miscon.org.


Marcon 2000
May 26-28, 2000, Columbus, Ohio
Guest: Jason Carter

For more information, visit their website at Marcon 2000.


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

May 6
7 am ET/PT "Objects at Rest"


May 13
7 am ET/PT "Sleeping in Light"


Saturday, May 20, 2000
6 am ET/PT "Midnight on the Firing Line"
7 am ET/PT "Soul Hunter"
8 am ET/PT "Born to the Purple"

Beginning Monday, May 22, Babylon 5 will be broadcast five days a week, Monday through Friday at 6 am ET/PT. The new lineup will begin with a special showing of the first three episodes from season one and continue in chronological order through the end of the series. Check out http://tnt.turner.com/babylon5 site for the rest of the summer for weekly contests and fantastic prize giveaways.

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.

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