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Babylon 5: The Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski
Babylon 5: The Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski, TV Movies
Featuring these Scripts
Thirdspace
The River of Souls
The Legend of the Rangers
The Lost Tales
These TV Movie scripts are twice the length of a single episode of Babylon 5 and are the page count equivalent of EIGHT episodic scripts making it the second biggest book ever with more than 450 pages!
ALL THAT PLUS THESE SPECIAL BONUSES
* The included version of The Legend of the Rangers is an early draft that is 20 pages longer than the script that was filmed, which means you get to read scenes and exchanges of dialogue that never made it to the screen.
* Exhumed from Joe's vault, a 3-page fragment of an outline detailing the premise for a Psi Corps feature film. Focusing on The Telepath War, and appropriately titled "Wars of the Mind," JMS' notes reveal the background of the conflict -- teeps vs. teeps, the cast of characters -- including the identity of the Interstellar Alliance's Vice President, and the explosive deaths of two B5 regulars -- something hinted at, but never stated in an official series document.
* The lost tale from The Lost Tales. Did you know that there were originally three lost tales, not two? The middle segment, never produced due to production considerations, featured Michael Garibaldi making a startling discovery on Mars. Only a handful of people involved in the production have ever read this script, but now you can enjoy this "lost" installment.
* The original short story on which The Lost Tales segment "Over Here" was based. It's called "The Darkness Between the Stars" and was originally published in the now out-of-print seventh issue of The Book of Dark Wisdom (Fall 2005). See how JMS adapts a story from one medium to another and witness a different ending than the one that concludes the B5 version.
* J. Michael Straczynski's personal, behind-the-scenes photos taken on the set of The Lost Tales and The Legend of the Rangers -- included in these 36 images are the last pictures taken of Andreas Katsulas as G'Kar.
YES, WE'VE ALSO INCLUDED "JOE CUTS"
Because there are many differences between the scripts and what you see on the DVDs, you also get the Script/DVD Variations inventory, which catalogs all the changes, deletions, and additions that were made as the stories traveled from script to screen. It's all in this handy, easy-to-reference grid, just like the ones in JMS' Volume 15 and the Other Voices series.
The TV Movie book includes 12 pages of "Joe Cuts" chronicling 78 of these variations exposing B5 data you never knew.
BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE
Instead of episode analysis, J. Michael Straczynski answers frequently asked questions about each of the TV movies. Here's just a sample of what you'll
* How JMS had to "spread the cast" over the movies and how that affected the stories.
* What one theme JMS finds most intriguing about the Babylon 5 universe.
* How much Lyta knew about Vorlon history.
* Why Thirdspace is set after the Shadow war.
* Learn about H.P. Lovecraft's influences on JMS in general and Thirdspace specifically.
* A detailed description of JMS's headspace when writing The River of Souls after he had just said goodbye to B5 with the final episodes of season five.
* What drew JMS back to the Soul Hunter idea after five years and 90 teleplays.
* How Joe crafted The River of Souls to explore the archaeological science fiction ideas that would later be found in Crusade.
* Why Lieutenant Corwin gets a bigger spotlight in The River of Souls.
* How the Love Bat came to be.
* How The River of Souls relates to the essential B5 question of "Who are you?"
* What it was like to work with Martin Sheen and what he felt everyone he met should involve themselves in.
* Why the Rangers of LotR were supposed to learn about "dying for the One."
* How The Hand was differed from the the Shadows in the grand scheme of things.
* Reflection from JMS about his days on the Ranger set with Andreas Katsulas, the very last time he would be Citizen G'Kar.
* Londo's intention in sending Vintari to Sheridan in The Lost Tales.
* What it was like being in the Babylon 5 universe during The Lost Tales after so many years had passed.
* How the alliance got the quantum space technology from the Vorlons.
* Who was first in line to succeed Londo (remember that Vir was second in line and Vintari was third).
* Why JMS decided to base one of The Lost Tales on his short story "The Darkness Between the Stars" (note that the original short story is also included as a bonus).
Thirdspace
The River of Souls
The Legend of the Rangers
The Lost Tales
These TV Movie scripts are twice the length of a single episode of Babylon 5 and are the page count equivalent of EIGHT episodic scripts making it the second biggest book ever with more than 450 pages!
ALL THAT PLUS THESE SPECIAL BONUSES
* The included version of The Legend of the Rangers is an early draft that is 20 pages longer than the script that was filmed, which means you get to read scenes and exchanges of dialogue that never made it to the screen.
* Exhumed from Joe's vault, a 3-page fragment of an outline detailing the premise for a Psi Corps feature film. Focusing on The Telepath War, and appropriately titled "Wars of the Mind," JMS' notes reveal the background of the conflict -- teeps vs. teeps, the cast of characters -- including the identity of the Interstellar Alliance's Vice President, and the explosive deaths of two B5 regulars -- something hinted at, but never stated in an official series document.
* The lost tale from The Lost Tales. Did you know that there were originally three lost tales, not two? The middle segment, never produced due to production considerations, featured Michael Garibaldi making a startling discovery on Mars. Only a handful of people involved in the production have ever read this script, but now you can enjoy this "lost" installment.
* The original short story on which The Lost Tales segment "Over Here" was based. It's called "The Darkness Between the Stars" and was originally published in the now out-of-print seventh issue of The Book of Dark Wisdom (Fall 2005). See how JMS adapts a story from one medium to another and witness a different ending than the one that concludes the B5 version.
* J. Michael Straczynski's personal, behind-the-scenes photos taken on the set of The Lost Tales and The Legend of the Rangers -- included in these 36 images are the last pictures taken of Andreas Katsulas as G'Kar.
YES, WE'VE ALSO INCLUDED "JOE CUTS"
Because there are many differences between the scripts and what you see on the DVDs, you also get the Script/DVD Variations inventory, which catalogs all the changes, deletions, and additions that were made as the stories traveled from script to screen. It's all in this handy, easy-to-reference grid, just like the ones in JMS' Volume 15 and the Other Voices series.
The TV Movie book includes 12 pages of "Joe Cuts" chronicling 78 of these variations exposing B5 data you never knew.
BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE
Instead of episode analysis, J. Michael Straczynski answers frequently asked questions about each of the TV movies. Here's just a sample of what you'll
* How JMS had to "spread the cast" over the movies and how that affected the stories.
* What one theme JMS finds most intriguing about the Babylon 5 universe.
* How much Lyta knew about Vorlon history.
* Why Thirdspace is set after the Shadow war.
* Learn about H.P. Lovecraft's influences on JMS in general and Thirdspace specifically.
* A detailed description of JMS's headspace when writing The River of Souls after he had just said goodbye to B5 with the final episodes of season five.
* What drew JMS back to the Soul Hunter idea after five years and 90 teleplays.
* How Joe crafted The River of Souls to explore the archaeological science fiction ideas that would later be found in Crusade.
* Why Lieutenant Corwin gets a bigger spotlight in The River of Souls.
* How the Love Bat came to be.
* How The River of Souls relates to the essential B5 question of "Who are you?"
* What it was like to work with Martin Sheen and what he felt everyone he met should involve themselves in.
* Why the Rangers of LotR were supposed to learn about "dying for the One."
* How The Hand was differed from the the Shadows in the grand scheme of things.
* Reflection from JMS about his days on the Ranger set with Andreas Katsulas, the very last time he would be Citizen G'Kar.
* Londo's intention in sending Vintari to Sheridan in The Lost Tales.
* What it was like being in the Babylon 5 universe during The Lost Tales after so many years had passed.
* How the alliance got the quantum space technology from the Vorlons.
* Who was first in line to succeed Londo (remember that Vir was second in line and Vintari was third).
* Why JMS decided to base one of The Lost Tales on his short story "The Darkness Between the Stars" (note that the original short story is also included as a bonus).
453 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2009
3 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
J. Michael Straczynski
1,375 books1,283 followersJoseph Michael Straczynski is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 (1993–1998) and its spinoff Crusade (1999), as well as the series Jeremiah (2002–2004) and Sense8 (2015–2018). He is the executor of the estate of Harlan Ellison.
Straczynski wrote the psychological drama film Changeling (2008) and was co-writer on the martial arts thriller Ninja Assassin (2009), was one of the key writers for (and had a cameo in) Marvel's Thor (2011), as well as the horror film Underworld: Awakening (2012), and the apocalyptic horror film World War Z (2013). From 2001 to 2007, Straczynski wrote Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, followed by runs on Thor and Fantastic Four. He is the author of the Superman: Earth One trilogy of graphic novels, and he has written Superman, Wonder Woman, and Before Watchmen for DC Comics. Straczynski is the creator and writer of several original comic book series such as Rising Stars, Midnight Nation, Dream Police, and Ten Grand through Joe's Comics.
A prolific writer across a variety of media and former journalist, Straczynski is the author of the autobiography Becoming Superman (2019) for HarperVoyager, the novel Together We Will Go (2021) for Simon & Schuster, and Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer (2021) for Benbella Books. In 2020 he was named Head of the Creative Council for the comics publishing company Artists, Writers and Artisans.
Straczynski is a long-time participant in Usenet and other early computer networks, interacting with fans through various online forums (including GEnie, CompuServe, and America Online) since 1984. He is credited as being the first TV producer to directly engage with fans on the Internet and to allow viewer viewpoints to influence the look and feel of his show. Two prominent areas where he had a presence were GEnie and the newsgroup rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated.
Straczynski wrote the psychological drama film Changeling (2008) and was co-writer on the martial arts thriller Ninja Assassin (2009), was one of the key writers for (and had a cameo in) Marvel's Thor (2011), as well as the horror film Underworld: Awakening (2012), and the apocalyptic horror film World War Z (2013). From 2001 to 2007, Straczynski wrote Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, followed by runs on Thor and Fantastic Four. He is the author of the Superman: Earth One trilogy of graphic novels, and he has written Superman, Wonder Woman, and Before Watchmen for DC Comics. Straczynski is the creator and writer of several original comic book series such as Rising Stars, Midnight Nation, Dream Police, and Ten Grand through Joe's Comics.
A prolific writer across a variety of media and former journalist, Straczynski is the author of the autobiography Becoming Superman (2019) for HarperVoyager, the novel Together We Will Go (2021) for Simon & Schuster, and Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer (2021) for Benbella Books. In 2020 he was named Head of the Creative Council for the comics publishing company Artists, Writers and Artisans.
Straczynski is a long-time participant in Usenet and other early computer networks, interacting with fans through various online forums (including GEnie, CompuServe, and America Online) since 1984. He is credited as being the first TV producer to directly engage with fans on the Internet and to allow viewer viewpoints to influence the look and feel of his show. Two prominent areas where he had a presence were GEnie and the newsgroup rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 12, 2010
Scripts from the Babylon 5 TV movies that were not covered in previous volumes (i.e., everything but the pilot and "In the Beginning"). Rather than writer commentary like that found in the early volumes, this has a brief question-answer list about each film, which on the whole are much less interesting than the commentary tended to be. The scripts are fine but some of the stories seem a bit stretched as if they don't fit into the general B5 universe as well as the original episodes.
Displaying 1 of 1 review