Amph For Justice, For Peace, For the Future- We Have Come Home: Babylon 5 (The Road Home animated film)

The delay to June was apparently due to requests by fans not to release another book until after the Crusade Echoes series was retired (a lot of people seemingly planning to use tax rebates to finish off the series before the May 15th deadline).

So, instead of retiring Echoes in mid-May after the B5-20th release in Apr, they're retiring Echoes in May and releasing B5-20 in June.

 

I have a feeling he's already aware of the similarities from when they first aired, heh.

 

I'll consider it .

 

One meme to rule them all:

 

Details on the B5 at 20 anniversary book that will come out on June 24th (or can be picked up at the reunion convention).

Basically, this thing is going to be a deluxe, specially bound and slipcased visual guide to the sets and props with various trivia details and BTS pics.

Start saving!!






-PROVENANCE: Foreword by J. Michael Straczynski written 20 years to the day after The Gathering aired.


-LIKE TOURING THE SET DURING THE RUN OF THE SHOW: B5-20 goes deep in detail but wide in scope. What you saw in each episode was what the directors wanted you to see, and how they wanted you to see it. When they used smoke, dim lighting and close-ups to set the mood and move the story forward, it didn’t allow for the full visual panorama of the series. Now you get to see it all: G’Kars quarters, Medlab, President Clark’s office, the Edgars Compound, Franklin’s quarters, the Observation Dome (and much, much more). We also included photos of the 3D-set models from the pilot.


-AS CLOSE AS YOU’LL GET TO BLU-RAYS: The 12 inch by 12 inch size of this book is the highest resolution in which you will ever see Babylon 5. The show cannot be remastered in high definition or released on Blu-Ray because of the CGI. Remember that Babylon 5 was one of the first shows to use CGI and it was created for the standard-definition televisions of the 1990s. At an average of 6,000 frames per episode, re-creating it from scratch is prohibitively expensive.


-EXAMINE DETAILS THAT COULD NEVER REALLY BE SEEN ON SCREEN: Study the nuances of the Starfury flight suits, the control consoles on the White Star, the faces of the Telepath embryos in the Vorlon genetic engineering tanks, the progress mural in the casino, the "flags" of the League races in the Council Chamber, the stanchions supporting the underground tunnels on Mars and the etchings on Galen’s staff...every page delivers a moment of wonder.



-ACTUAL SIZE...AND BIGGER: We chose the biggest book size possible but still practical. One foot by one foot (about 31cm by 31cm) opening to a full two feet wide. This footprint shows most of the concept art at actual size and let us enlarge smaller details like costume fabric swatches, character’s jewelry, and key props—like the Keeper and the Night Watch Pamphlet—to bigger than life size.


-LINGER IN SPACES SEEN FOR ONLY SECONDS ON SCREEN: Remember Earthdome Medical, the Planetside Bar and the Grey 8 Passageway? No? Nor did we...at first. Explore these sets, seen for less than a minute on screen. Step inside them and literally read the writing on the wall.


-FULL-CIRCLE DOCUMENTATION: B5-20 showcases the evolution of makeup and costumes and features comparisons of concept art, photos from the shoot and what was actually seen on screen.


-CAPTIONS THAT CONNECT THE DOTS: We made sure that the captions layer facts upon facts. For example:

"Two views of a bunk room aboard a White Star. The Minbari beds are propped at a forty-five-degree angle so as not to tempt death. The illuminated panels on the wall reflect a standard Minbari design element seen throughout the series while the mottled fixtures between beds—reminiscent of Kosh’s encounter suit—recall the White Star’s use of Vorlon technology."


-WHAT REALLY WENT ON BEHIND THE SCENES: From seeing aliens on a break to a look inside both the prop and costume closets, from lunchtime on the set to a backstage pass for the last day of shooting, and even intimate glimpses of J. Michael Straczynski directing "Sleeping in Light," this section turns the cameras around and shows the cast and crew in unguarded moments.


-IT’S A CELEBRATION OF WHAT YOU SAW AND WHAT YOU DIDN’T SEE: B5-20 is a gateway to the visual aesthetic of Babylon 5. When you see the sets they walked, the props they handled, the garments they wore—the detail of the show—your understanding of the craftsmanship harnessed to support JMS’s vision will be enhanced.

MIT declared Babylon 5 (along with Star Trek and The Twilight Zone) to be the greatest science fiction TV shows of all time for a reason...and B5-20 punctuates that point.


-FIRST EVER BABYLON 5 BOOK PRINTED EXCLUSIVELY IN COLOR: Not just full color, but the actual colors of the sets, costumes and props. Extensive care was taken to ensure that the final pages precisely matched the color qualities of the original photographs, which were taken on set during production. B5-20 covers everything from the pilot through The Lost Tales.


-DETAILS ABOUT THE PHYSICAL BOOK: 256 pages. 753 images. 150gsm heavy-weight paper designed for high-resolution, full-color printing. Matte finish. Extra durable WIBALIN® cloth cover. WIBALIN® slipcase. Title and B5-20 logo embossed with foil stamping. Ribbon bookmark.


-A NOTE ABOUT THE BINDING: We used the highest quality Smyth-sewn binding. This means the book lays flat for every page. More importantly, the pages will not pull away from the binding (nor will the spine crack) because the pages are NOT glued.

-HOW THIS OVERSIZED BOOK IS BEING SHIPPED: We had a custom shipping box made to the exact specs of the book. It is a padded, double-walled bumper box that will withstand the weight of this book during shipping. The book itself is shrink-wrapped for authenticity and additional protection. Your B5-20 is guaranteed to arrive in perfect condition and if not, we will pay all expenses to get you one in pristine condition (including return shipping, and this does include international orders.) There is zero risk to you.

-ABOUT THE PRICE: The retail price—the final price the book will be sold for—is $134.

HOWEVER, during the debut discount period (the first 7 days the book is released) the price will be $88. This $46 savings will only be available once, when we release the book on June 24. Exception: Books being picked up at the Phoenix Comicon will also be $88.

We are still negotiating the shipping prices and will have that information closer to the June 24 on-sale date

-RELEASE SCHEDULE: The official release date is Monday, June 24. Pre-orders will be available closer to the ship date.

 

Phoenix Comicon Official program cover artwork by Joe Corroney:



JMS reposted it on his fan page: "Apparently a hideous mistake was made while composing the Phoenix Comic Con program cover, but with luck my image can still be photoshopped out to avoid inflicting further trauma."

 

Yeah, the real story behind O'Hare's departure from the show was a touching story, from what I've read. Kudos that they were able to stick to their story all these years until now.

The In Memory video from the con was also posted online:



I really wish I could have gone to this con. I know I'm going to regret it years from now.

 

So my copy of B5 at 20 arrived last week (or thereabouts). It's a gorgeous book with some neat info spread throughout, and, as one would expect, tons of photos.

I've only read the first 50 pages so far, but, skimming ahead, I see they include concept art for the Earth/Shadow hybrid fighters and human/Shadow hybrids (with a range of different qualities from people with spider legs to what are effectively bipedal collections of Shadow eyes) that would have appeared in Crusade.

Also, I never realized how small the snub-nosed White Star ("Blue Star") ship was until now, even knowing it was a one-man ship, it always seemed bigger.

 

Been following their posts on FB- I do need to get around to digging through the actual site, however. They also post some clever fan designs on occasion as well- they recently highlighted this design for a Whitestar Gunship (kind of a stepping stone between the Whitestar and the Victory-class) that got some praise from guys that worked on the FX for the show:




Also I finally finished up reading the B5 at 20 book. Very pleasant celebration of the series- there's so much detail you don't notice that I have a feeling will make my next rewatch of the series a very different experience. Besides the Shadow Hybrids I mentioned earlier, it also has a concept sketch for one of Garabaldi's Stealth Fighters that would have appeared in the Bester Crusade episode.

There's also a picture of one of the Elvii in a Starfury cockpit.

I also cracked open B5 Scripts Volume 2.5. There isn't any real additional JMS insights as he didn't do an intro for this one, but the volume as a whole does a nice job of breaking down the differences between the Director's Cut, Producer's Cut and Final Cut of the Season 2 premiere (the former two have different scenes either dropped or added from one another, while the latter includes the reshoots and additional scenes shot later that replaces some content from the first two). It does also give a good look into how the opening plot threads of Season 2 were juggled a bit (Sheridan wasn't going to be brought in until a couple episodes into the season, then they brought him into the first episode and focused the plot around him requiring other plots get shifted out to later episodes, then they added his Agamemnon intro as well).

Haven't had a chance to listen to the audioplay it came with to accompany the photo play of the episode yet.

It also contains the outlines JMS provided for the Legions of Fire and Passing of the Techno-Mages trilogies, which helps show what portions of the story were from JMS and which were elaborated or added upon by the authors. The latter also has a minor additional note from JMS about future Crusade storylines that I recall being new, but at the moment the specifics escape me.

Likewise I also opened the special edition of Brain Movies Vol 1 (by Harlan) that includes the B5 content, which has Harlan's "These are the type of stories you shouldn't pitch us" guide to freelancers working on the show, as well as a back and forth discussion of messages between JMS and Harlan showing the evolution of the opening titles narration (which, surprisingly, was a studio suggestion JMS didn't want to do initially and had planned to drop after the first 6 episodes or so once viewers got acclimated to the "Not Star Trek" setting).

Finally, unrelated to the above:

 

The B5 Books site is also now offering 4 LT framed prints of photos from the B5@20 book- 1 of the Starfury pilot suit ref photos, 1 of Sheridan & Delenn's farewell, 1 of Sheridan's Last Supper and one of the War Room.

Kinda tempted but I think I might have to pass on them- just dont have the cash.

 

Woah, go Studio JMS. Hopefully they'll be able to avoid a Memory of Shadows situation (then again, if it's a straight reboot, recasting characters won't be an issue like it was 10 years ago).

The relevant quotes:

""So it's been a really big year for Studio JMS. And due to that, he can now look to doing a feature film ffor B5. JMS recapped that WB owns everything about B5 except the movie rights and even though he holds the film rights, to take a B5 movie to another studio without holding the TV rights wouldn't work. There's one studio in LA that doesn't care about that - Studio JMS - and in 2015 JMS will write the script. He'll give WB the opportunity to step up, but if they don't, Studio JMS will make it in 2016 on thier own with a $1-200,000,000.00 budget.""

""It would have to be a reboot because it's been twenty-plus years since we started that show and some of the age ranges wouldn't work with some of these characters so we'd need to move a few people around. But what I want to do is use the original cast one way or another but we'd have to move some things around. I'd love to see Bruce as the President of the Earth Alliance; it would be the perfect role for him.""

Be an interesting twist if Bruce ended up playing the new version of Clark, heh.

 

On the upside, this time he knows: No Byron.

 

http://deadline.com/2016/07/babylon-5-actor-jerry-doyle-dies-at-60-1201794378/

Jerry Doyle has passed away, cause of death unknown.

He was just promoting a B5 documentary commentary being offered through the B5 Books site too. How unexpected.