THE ZOCALO TODAY – September 30, 2006

WHAT'S NEW

BABYLON 5 – THE LOST TALES

For those of you who missed the announcement, here is a recap of what
B5 The Lost Tales:

It will be a direct to DVD collection of 20 minutes stories set in the
B5 universe that will feature the prominent characters.

These stories will expand on the characters that were previously
established. (No more information on who those characters might be –
but Peter Jurasik said Londo will be featured in one of them.)

Warner Bros has greenlit the project and he says production starts
this FALL, hoping for a DVD release in the second quarter of next year.

Here is an update from JMS:
"We had to push shooting to mid-November in order to accommodate
availabilities of different people, because this had all come up in
kind of short notice...but we'll be in the new stages by the end of
October, and a few key members of the crew have already been hired. So
we're good to go.

This doesn't affect the release date at all. We should have post done
by mid-January, so there's a lot of time between that and second quarter.

BABYLON 5 SCRIPT BOOKS - VOLUME 9 AVAILABLE

One war ends, another begins! Volume 9 of the Babylon 5 Scripts of J.
Michael Straczynski brings you the end of the Shadow War, and the
commencement, up-close and personal, of the Earth Civil War. Included
in this volume you will get the following seven scripts -- coun't em,
seven, not just one, like some others might do, we shouldn't name
names, live in peace, we say, live long and prosper even...but still,
we've got SEVEN -- scripts for these pivotal fourth season episodes.

• Into the Fire
• Epiphanies
• The Illusion of Truth
• Atonement
• Racing Mars
• Lines of Communication
• Conflicts of Interest

And as if that weren't enough -- and for some people it is, no names,
just saying -- there's another original 51 page introduction with
episodic commentaries that gives readers an inside-out view of the
production of Babylon 5: a word-picture tour of the studio, a glimpse
into the behind-the-scenes wrangling over DVDs and video releases,
concerns over the end of B5 in its fourth year coming to a head, and
an extensive look into the makings of these pivotal episodes. PLUS...a
collection of behind-the-scenes photos, JMS's own original outline for
one of the Babylon 5 novels, never previously released, AND his
outline for an arc of the Babylon 5 comic that shows the story of
Valen, along with a partial B5 comics script by JMS!

All of this for considerably less than you would spend on an aircraft
carrier, a cloned velociraptor, or a juicer. What more can you ask for?

NEW FROM CAFÉ PRESS

Yes, in just a few weeks we will debut the complete renovation of the
Babylon 5 quote store. We're talking extreme make-over folks, with
snappy, fresh graphics and products we've never offered before like
license plate frames, posters and coasters.

Even holiday ornaments.

All this and 12 -- count'em 12 -- fresh quotes, all fan favorites
available on mugs, t-shirts, magnets and all the other gear we
currently carry.

Why 12 new quotes? Because 12 is the perfect number for the 2007
Babylon 5 Quote Calendar.

And this year we nailed the whole calendar thing. They are now printed
on heavy stock with a coil binding (read "no staples") so they flip
efflortlessly and look great. We even have an extra large size,
perfect for the office.

We will announce the B5 quote gear relaunch in the second half of
October.

PAT TALLMAN AND PENNY LANE

Pat is gearing up for another Christmas season – and one in which she
hopes to bring even more joy and happiness to the abused children at
Penny Lane. She will be gathering up Christmas decorations so that
she can help decorate the eight (8) locations now supported by Penny
Lane.

If you want to help, drop me a line at sgbruckner@... and I'll
tell you more.

Babylon Podcast: Show #34
by Summer —
Wednesday, September 27, 2006

There's no Jeffrey this week, so Tim and Summer jump full force into
discussion about Season 2, and all the changes heralded by the arrival
of Captain John Sheridan in "Points of Departure".

We talk about Sheridan, his charisma, his tactical sense, and the
effects of his arrival on all the station staff. We also begin to get
a sense of Sheridan's character by scratching the surface of his
conspiracy theorist heart, his integrity and quick wits under pressure.

We also touch a bit on Minbari with human DNA, the plots within plots
of the crew of the Trigati, a renengade Minbari warship, and the
appearance of Lt. Warren Keffer as a semi-regular character, along
with a little bit of Robert Rusler trivia (his birthday was the day we
recorded this episode, 20 September).

We also argue a bit about who knows what when, and if new incoming
Grey Council members learn all the council secrets when they join or not.

Go to http://www.babylonpodcast.com and listen to all of the editions
up and available so far. Podcasts are scheduled for every Wednesday,
so be sure to listen when you have a chance -- and send a comment or two.

NEW SCIENCE FICTION MAGAZINES

Cult Times #133: TORCHWOOD: Everything you ever needed to know about
TORCHWOOD, from its earliest incarnation to its modern day equivalent
led by Captain Jack Harkness, in the guide to the fact and fiction of
DOCTOR WHOs much-anticipated spin-off. SPOOKS - Rupert Penry-Jones
chats about how his character is coping in the new season after his
near-fatal shooting last year. ATLANTIS - Rachel Luttrell, aka Teyla
Emmagan, looks over the latest season of the SG-1 spin-off and talks
fame, cast dynamics, having a laugh and working with Richard Dean
Anderson. EUREKA - Erica Cerra talks about her character on the show,
no-nonsense cop Jo Lupo, and her other role as Maia, surrogate mother
to a Cylon baby in BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. THE 4400 - Marco Pacella got
NTAC agent Diana Skouris to see past his geeky exterior and date him
this season; the actor who plays him, Richard Kahan, shares his
thoughts on filming Season Three.

Dreamwatch – the latest issue of DREAMWATCH has an article on BABYLON
5: THE LOST TALES. You can check it out at
http://www.titanmagazines.com/titanmag/app;jsessionid=59DB7F1E936AABE3B75C7EA350\
E27BFA?service=external/Product&sp=S11.
Love to see this on the cover – BABYLON 5 IS BACK!

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

October 21-23, 2006
Armageddon Pulp Culture Expo
City: Auckland, New Zealand
B5 Guest: Mira Furlan
For more information, go to their website at http://www.pulpexpo.com

October 27~29, 2006
SuperNova Pop Culture Expo
City: Sydney, Australia
B5 Guest: Mira Furlan
For more information, go to http://www.supanova.com.au/

October 27~29, 2006
Vulkon Convention
City: Orlando, Florida
Guests: Avery Brooks, Jonathan Frakes, Denise Crosby, Walter Koenig,
Armin Shimerman, Rene Aberjonois Tim Russ, Andrew G. Probert, Suzie
Plakson
For more information, go to http://www.vulkon.com/upcoming.htm/

November 10-12, 2006
United Fan Con
Place: Springfield Marriott
City: Springfield, Massachusetts
B5 Guests: Claudia Christian
Other Guests: William Shatner (Saturday only), Grace Park (Sharon
"Boomer" Valerii), Linda Blair, David Nykl (Atlantis), Gary Jones
(Stargate), Jewel Staite (Firefly), Dean Haglund (X-Files), Peter
David, comic book writer
For more information, go to http://www.unitedfancon.com

That's it for now. I've tried to keep this one short for a change.
Have a terrific weekend.
Be safe!
Sandy

Sandra Bruckner
Editor/Publisher
ISN News: The Zocalo Today
http://www.isnnews.net