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JMS speaks at PhoenixCon, elaborates on BTS, and truth about writing O'Hare out

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    JMS speaks at PhoenixCon, elaborates on BTS, and truth about writing O'Hare out

    I've pasted the text in below, but there's an embedded audio clip at the end of the linked article that I encourage you all to listen to. Very revealing, and incredibly sad.


    'BABYLON 5' CREATOR FULFILLS PROMISE TO LATE STAR AT PHOENIX COMICON PANEL

    "My assassins are usually sneaker than that," Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski told a Phoenix ComiCon staffer standing next to the table. That set the tone for the Q&A that ranged from fun stories about the cast to insight into writing epic stories.

    Stracyznski seemed to be enjoying a panel dedicated to his genius in writing. He had no problem being extraordinarily sarcastic and biting to fans for badly phrased questions or awkward moments. The packed room loved the genuine nature of Stracynski and the light-hearted beginning to the panel gave a nice contrast to the very intense ending.

    Stracyznski revealed that the five year arc of Babylon 5 came to him all at once. “It scared the hell out of me,” he said. He wrote it in a few hours and “spent five years elaborating” on the initial plot.

    When talking about his approach to writing, Straczynski gave many tips and insights to the eager audience:

    - "Stories are as wide and as diverse as the human heart."
    - "Write what you’re passionate about."
    - "When I settle into the scenes, I focus on the small details."

    Writing was pretty much the focus of the Q&A portion of the panel. Stracyznski also announced that he just sold the rights to his latest work, Sense8, to Netflix. The project is partnered with the Wachowski brothers, who are famous for "The Matrix" triology.

    Stracynski then dismissed the moderator to take over the session to "fulfill a promise." The writer then took the last 30 minutes of the session to talk about the losses to the "B5 family."

    "In many ways the story of Babylon 5 is the story of Londo and G’Kar," Stracynski said. The alien character "G'Kar" was played by Andreas Katsulas who died from cancer in 2006. Stracynski revealed that other actors would show up on the set just to watch Katsulas and Peter Jurasik, who played "Londo Mollari." Stracynski claimed that he would also look at the filming schedule and make sure that he was on set for the scenes the two intense characters filmed together.

    Katsulas was described as one who was quiet and kept to himself. However, when he put on the G’Kar costume "he [suddenly] felt sexy," Stracynski said. "And it worked!" He laughed. Stracynski claimed that women would come on set and go straight to Katsulas when he was in costume. "He would just purr under the makeup."

    Stracynski revealed the details behind one of the iconic scenes in Babylon 5, where "Londo" and "G'Kar" are stuck in an elevator. In the scene, "G'Kar" hates "Londo" so much that he decides not to try to save them just so he can watch Londo die. Stracynski revealed that he intended the scene to be a very serious moment. When he walked on set at the beginning of filming, he heard the two actors laughing. Katsulas and Jurasik plead with Stracynski to allow them to try the scene with humor before doing it in a serious tone. Stracynski saw one take and told them to keep it the way they interpreted the moment. Speaking of Katsulas, Stracynski said, "He could always go one step further than you wanted it to go and make it extraordinary."

    Stracynski then talked about the last few months with Katsulas. "I'm dying, isn't that *****ed up," Katsulas laughed when he revealed his cancer to the Babylon 5 creator. Stracynski said that Katsulas faced cancer "with a grace and courage I’m still in awe of to this day." Katsulas, near the end of his life, called for a "last supper" with Stracynski and they talked and laughed through the night.

    "Tell me all the dirt. Tell me all the sh*t that went down behind the scenes that we never knew about. Who am I going to tell?" Katsulas asked. It was a sweet moment for fans to have a peek into such an iconic and inspiring actor’s final days.

    Stracynski also talked about Jeff Conway, who played "Zach Allen" in the series. According to Stracynski, Conway took responsibility for his failing career and difficult life situation that brought him to audition for a small "day" role for Babylon 5. "He came in knowing he was starting over again," Stracynski said. As Conway was leaving the audition he turned to Stracynski and, "Give me a chance to do this … I’ll make you proud." It took some lobbying before he became a regular, but Stracynski developed a deep respect for Conway, who died in 2011.

    Rick Biggs "loved you guys," Stracynski said. Biggs, who died from an unknown congenital heart defect in 2004, played the flawed "Doctor Franklin" in the series. Stracynski said that Biggs come down stairs at conferences, party with the fans and do acting workshops. "He embraced life."

    Stracynski revealed that Biggs was almost entirely deaf and that he had to learn not only his own lines, but the lines of everyone else in his scenes. He would read his colleagues' lips to know when it was his turn to speak.

    Biggs, an African-American, apparently asked Stracynski if his race was going to be something that was explored on the series. Stracynski said no, "You’re sitting across from someone who has three heads and feathers … Your race doesn't matter." Stracynski said that Biggs appreciated that, and was glad it was not going to be a part of the series or his character development. "Of all of us," Stracynski said, "He was the one we were sure was going to last forever."

    Stracynski then said he was going to get even more serious when remembering Michael O'Hare. O'Hare, who died in September of 2012, made a pact with Stracynski to never reveal the circumstances that caused the star character "Commander Sinclair" to leave the series after the first season (he later reappeared in a later season). “Keep it to my grave,” O’Hare said. Stracynski did and then "fulfilled" his "promise" to reveal to fans what life circumstances plagued the actor.

    In a beautiful memoriam, Stracynski detailed the severe mental illness that haunted O'Hare throughout the first season. Most of the Babylon 5 family did not know of his condition and Stracynski revealed that he almost "shut down" the season in order to get his friend help.

    Listen to the audio below in which Stracynski tells the full story of O’Hare and some fond memories.

    Embedded audio at link
    "A society grows great when old men plant trees, the shade of which they know they will never sit in. Good people do things for other people. That's it, the end." -- Penelope Wilton in Ricky Gervais's After Life

    #2
    Thanks for linking this, made my Sunday

    N.C

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      #3
      Thank you, DigiFluid ! One day, I will watch Babylon 5 as well but now is not the time...
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        #4
        Originally posted by Sp!der View Post
        Thank you, DigiFluid ! One day, I will watch Babylon 5 as well but now is not the time...
        Sp!der, when you do watch it, keep in mind what I call the "Michael Jordan Syndrome." Without Wilt Chamberlain, there would be no Dr. J; without little kids starting out at 7-8 yers old trying to do what Dr. J does; no MJ; without MJ; no ALan Iverson or whoever is considered great these days. By the time you watch B5, it may seem slow, plodding, etc. But, to my knowledge, it was the first show to have a lesbian relationship that did not shirk from it but acted as if it were an everyday thing; the first to have a black actor without feeling the need to address his race with a special episode; and what's most important to me as a sci-fi fan - the first with a large story arc. I remember as I was watching things connect troughout the later seasons thinking "they had to have conceived this from the very beginning! Like a book was written!"

        Before B5, every drama tv series was one self contained story with everything resolved in that hour. From Bonanza to the Incredible Hulk, Six Million Dollar Man, MacGyver - the hero came across someone that needed his help, the viewer may learn something about alcoholism, domestic abuse, disease of the week, etc., and it was all wrapped up in a neat little bow by episode's end. B5 started it all. Without B5's approach to storytelling there'd be no Stargate or BSG - at least, not as we know it. Imagine each episode of Stargate being like Seth, or One False Step - the stand alones that left plenty to be desired. Please give it that leeway as you watch it and try not to find it lacking/compare it to shows that, with the advantage of having had an example, were able to improve upon it.

        To DigiFluid - thanks so much for posting the article!
        Last edited by RamonaThePest; 27 May 2013, 03:39 PM. Reason: stupid ipad leaves out letters I KNOW I typed!
        sigpicRamonaThePest (you know, Henry Huggins' friend)

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          #5
          Thank you Ramona for explaining so eloquently what new viewers should consider about Babylon 5. And you are correct. The iPad keypad was deliberately created to mess up what we type.

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            #6
            Loved the article, although I wonder who should get the blame for consistently spelling JMS' name wrong. It's Straczynski.
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              #7
              Thanks for the article and for the audio link. Put a lot of bad feelings to bed about Michael O'Hare's treatment in the series and explained for once and for all why he was written out. Thank you.

              What a brave man he was.

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                #8
                B5 is best watched once through....then again from the beginning. Because things you don't notice in episode 2, let's say, are vitally important in episode 48.

                Chances are it's not still up, but there used to be the Lurker's Guide online, one of the first online communities I think, where they'd post plot points and fan observations, plot holes, etc.

                The show had a mythology, it had a plan. JMS wrote most of the episodes and even if others wrote they did what he told them to do. Actors weren't even allowed to improvise and adlib so they wouldn't mess up anything he had planned.
                Where in the World is George Hammond?


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                  #9
                  The Lurker's Guide is still there - I used it the first time I Netflixed B5.
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                    #10
                    Possibly not ad lib, but improv was okay, as proven by the elevator scene mentioned in the original article. As originally written, without the humor, it would have been a rather grim scene. The humor made it bearable, even if it showed just how much G'Kar hated the Centauri at the time.
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                      #11
                      Part Two of the B5 Reunion at Phoenix Comic Con. Better audio. http://t.co/TfBkAd4orw http://t.co/XlI4gf0WIw

                      tweeted by JMS, and there's also a part one
                      Part One of the B5 Reunion Panel. (Warning: sucky audio for some of this, but it goes in and out.)... http://t.co/SsdlXHglIt

                      As to improv....I know i read any adlibbing had to be approved by him. Whereas with shows like Stargate, rick was rather infamous for adlibbing lines and the writers never knew about it until they were in the edit suite.
                      Where in the World is George Hammond?


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                        #12
                        Point taken.
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                          #13
                          I was pretty bitter regarding O'Hare being ripped out of the story and being given only a small cameo in Season 2 before returning for his two-parter sendoff. I had assumed that the suits at WB or behind PTEN forced him to be written out and replaced with a more sellable star.

                          The truth is far sadder but makes me realize that we were lucky to get Sinclair to return at all.
                          Babylon 5 - Farscape - Lost - Deadwood - Rome - Carnivale - Dexter - Sopranos - The Wire

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                            #14
                            Woah...I had no idea about O'Hare having depression...JMS's usual line on Lurker's guide was that he felt the character of Sinclair was too limited for his long term story plans. Having said that...given his S3 sendoff, the character wouldn't have lasted the full five year run anyway!

                            Still, bummer he had to be written out this way! Makes you wonder what might have been!
                            I SURF FOR THE FREEDOM!

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