Like waves of protest from the League of Nonaligned Worlds over the extradition of Deathwalker, the emails have been pouring in about this news: Babylon 5: The Lost Tales is available for preorder on Amazon!… it’s already in the Top Ten selling DVD’s on Amazon.

So stop spending your allowances on Dust, and place your order today.

Welcome to Show #62!

Tim and Jeffrey are joined by Jarsto this week. That’s right… Jarsto has muscled his way onto the main show. Actually, he’s graciously accepted our offer to fill in for a very ill Summer, and having his B5 knowledge and insight available live on-the-fly is a wonderful treat.

This is what happens when Summer isn’t around, and the boys begin to play. Play with what, you really don’t want to know.

Deep Geeking: Tim and Jarsto talk about the entertaining and revealing episode “And Now For A Word”, where an ISN news crew is sent to the station to do a routine “36 Hours” report, and end up being caught in the crossfire as Babylon 5 gets caught in the middle of the shooting war between the Narn and the Centauri.

Interpreting the differences in how the characters act under pressure with cameras around than in the situations we’ve seen them in previously can be an interesting contrast.

“And Now For A Word” is available for download from iTunes.

Listener Feedback: Jarsto responds to… his own voicemail… weird; Edmund comments on the Jeanne Cavelos chat, an interview that hasn’t officially aired yet, and muses on Harlan Ellison and Neil Gaiman playing in JMS’ universe.

Your feedback does matter, and is welcome! You can call us at 206-338-2259, or email us and tell us what you think… and likely hear it played or read on the show. Please try to keep the voicemail comments as brief as possible.

Shameless related begging: Summer’s working to convince any publisher to do an essay collection on Babylon 5. If you’d be interested in buying one if they did do a B5 collection, let Summer know, either here in comments, or over in the Babylon Podcast forums.

There’s a box of Babylon 5 novels sitting here, books that were rescued from unknown fates at used bookstores in his area by Brad from the PodCulture podcast. What are your thoughts on having a section where folks can find B5 novels for those who are looking for them?

Promo: Podcasting: Now and Beyond: The Podcasting Track at Dragon*Con

Okay, I’ve added a list of the existing B5 books and their respective Amazon.com links to the Merchandise page.

To my amazement, fewer of them are out of print than I’d thought, but it still boggles me that 3rd Centauri Prime book and the 2nd Technomage book are both out of print, while the others books in those respective series aren’t. How that happens, I’ll never know.

Anyway, here are the books in the batch that Brad Bowyer “rescued” from some of his local used bookstores:

Voices by John Vornholt (OOP)
Accusations by Lois Tilton (OOP)
Blood Oath by John Vornholt (OOP)
Clark’s Law by Jim Mortimore (OOP) (2 copies)
The Touch of Your Shadow, The Whisper of Your Name by Neil Barrett, Jr (OOP)
Betrayals by S.M. Stirling (OOP)
The Shadow Within by Jeanne Cavelos
Personal Agendas by Al Sarrantonio (OOP)
To Dream in the City of Sorrows by Kathryn Drennan (1 original copy, 1 reprint copy)

In The Beginning by Peter David
Thirdspace by Peter David (OOP)
A Call to Arms by Robert Sheckley (OOP)

Psi Corps trilogy
Dark Genesis: The Birth of the Psi Corps by J. Gregory Keyes
Deadly Relations: Bester Ascendant by J. Gregory Keyes
Final Reckoning: The Fate of Bester by J. Gregory Keyes

Legions of Fire: Centauri Prime trilogy
The Long Night of Centauri Prime by Peter David
Armies of Light and Dark by Peter David
Out of Darkness by Peter David (OOP)

The Passing of the Technomages trilogy
Casting Shadows by Jeanne Cavelos
Summoning Light by Jeanne Cavelos (OOP)
Invoking Darkness by Jeanne Cavelos

And, once I’m able, I plan on dropping by a couple of huge used bookstores here in the Valley, and seeing what stashes of B5 novels I can find to add to our rescue inventory.

So, what’s a good price for the books? $5 plus shipping? I’m really open to suggestions, here.

Welcome to Show #61!

There’s a box of Babylon 5 novels sitting here, books that were rescued from unknown fates at used bookstores in his area by Brad from the PodCulture podcast. What are your thoughts on having a section where folks can find B5 novels for those who are looking for them?

Tim Callender, Summer and Tim Adamec chat about their thoughts on the upcoming “Lost Tales”, because we don’t have any official new news to talk about. More polygons!

Deep Geeking: Tim C. and Summer talk about the entertaining and revealing episode “There All The Honor Lies”, wherein Sheridan is lured into being suspected of murdering a Minbari, and many secrets and half-truths are shaken out during the course of investigating what happened.

We get a glimpse of the divide between the Minbari, in terms of Delenn’s change and their opinion of Sheridan now running the station, a taste of the complications of merchandising and how that impacts diplomatic relations, and a deeper look into the relationship between Londo and Vir.

Idealistcally, the truth will out, despite the many nuances surrounding Minbari honor and holding to the truth of things. And remember, there is always beauty in the dark.

“There All The Honor Lies” is available for download from iTunes.

Listener Feedback: Bill in Chicago on outtakes; Bill again, with appreciation for the podcast and a Kosh joke; Kosh likes Spam? Edmund in Greenville muses the possibilities; Super Scotty on Zima; Tim reads an email from Pavel on the Top 5 and Bottom 5 episodes of the series, and that leads into an argument about why “Day of the Dead” should not be classified amongst the worst of the series.

Your feedback does matter, and is welcome! You can call us at 206-338-2259, or email us and tell us what you think… and likely hear it played or read on the show. Please try to keep the voicemail comments as brief as possible.

Shameless related begging: Summer’s working to convince any publisher to do an essay collection on Babylon 5. If you’d be interested in buying one if they did do a B5 collection, let Summer know, either here in comments, or over in the Babylon Podcast forums.

Promo: The Signal

All 5 seasons of Babylon 5 are now available through iTunes!

It looks like they may have just added seasons 4 and 5 at the same time, according to the ad in my email… and that is a good thing.

Okay, first of all, let me apologize for not checking one certain email account on a regular basis. Because this is the spam-infested account that also receives notices from CafePress regarding the Babylon 5 script books.

Why am I apologizing for this? Well, apparently those good folks are running a lottery to win one of 50 prints of the Declaration of Principles, signed by the Great Maker himself. The kicker is that you must register online no later than April 16 – this coming Monday. Here are a few details:

To be in the running for the chance to get a print, just go to www.DeclarationOfPrinciples.com and provide your contact information. The form will be available through Monday, April 16.

On Tuesday, April 17 we are going to RANDOMLY draw 50 names using special randomizing software so that everyone has an equal chance. We will then contact the “winners” by email and they will have 48 hours to place their order. Prints will be fulfilled in the exact order that people RSVP and will begin with number 451 through 500.

There are only 2 conditions.

(1) You put your name in only once;
(2) You do not already own a Declaration of Principles print.

Sorry for the late notice, folks.

Alert listener David sent this link in to the Babcast. It’s the Uncyclopedia entry for Babylon 5.

The responsible parent in me feels compelled to warn you that there are the occasional expletives… but the irresponsible friend in me urges you to visit anyway. It’s fall down funny as well as informative. Now we really know who was in the encounter suit.

Welcome to Show #60!

There’s a box of Babylon 5 novels sitting in the Draco Vista Studios, books that were rescued from unknown fates at used bookstores in his area by Brad from the PodCulture podcast. Once I get them unboxed and sorted, we’ll figure out a way to get them to new homes.

Tim Adamec gives us his thoughts and impressions on Babylon 5, since he’s a new convert to the series, and newly introduced by immersion to the show. We also throw out the idea of creating “Babylon 5 New Viewer’s Guide”, and how best to introduce a new fan to the show without running the potential risk of losing them by starting with Season 1.

Interview: Tim, Summer and Jeff talk with conceptual artist Tim Earls and his work on Babylon 5 for several seasons.

Tim tells us how he came to be part of Babylon 5, and some of the things he’s designed and redesigned for the show. His background in architecture led to being an art director for short-lived software company, but his love has always been for space ships, and scribbling in the margins.

Tim tells us all about his experiences and designs on the series, and compares it to the work he did on “Crusade” and more recently, storyboarding for “The Lost Tales”. He’s also done work on the pilot for “Firefly”, the movie Serenity, “Star Trek: Voyager”, and more. His work can also be seen in the upcoming 4th “Die Hard” movie later this summer.

Tim’s favorite ship design for B5 is the Warlock battle cruiser, which we may see some goodies about in the future, but for now, fans are going to have to settle for the lovely set of “Serenity” blueprints, soon to be available from Quantum Mechanix Replicas.

How I wish we’d had this photo before the interview, because there’s no way Browncoats would have treated him in such a fashion.

Listener Feedback: Tim reads an email from Pavel, who’s ecstatic about finally seeing Jeffrey Willerth’s name in the credits in “Hour of the Wolf”, and wants to know why his name hadn’t appeared before the 4th season; Trampas Whiteman from Dragonlance Canticle and SciFi Smackdown treats us to some B5-themed poetry.

Your feedback does matter, and is welcome! You can call us at 206-338-2259, or email us and tell us what you think… and likely hear it played or read on the show. Please try to keep the voicemail comments as brief as possible.

Shameless related begging: Summer’s working to convince any publisher to do an essay collection on Babylon 5. If you’d be interested in buying one if they did do a B5 collection, let Summer know, either here in comments, or over in the Babylon Podcast forums.

Link: Quantum Mechanix Replicas
Promo: Adult Space Child Free Podcast

Joe Murphy, contributor to FarPoint Media shows “Wingin’ It”, “Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas”, “Slice of SciFi” and “Cover to Cover”, passed away on Sunday, April 1st from a virulent form of cancer, leiomyosarcoma.

There will not be any live feeds or recording this week as preparations and arrangements are made, but Show #60 will go out as usual tomorrow.

A charity has been created in his name; The Joe Murphy Memorial Fund will be raising awareness of and raising funding to help reseach ways to fight leiomyosarcoma, which is resistant to both radiation and chemo treatments.

Artist Cheyenne Wright paid tribute in his own fashion to Joe, and it’s both touching and funny.

A tribute show to Joe can be heard at a number of FarPoint Media sites, shows that Joe frequently contributed to, especially Wingin’ It, and a memorial page can be found over at The Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas, a podcast he co-hosted from the beginning.