Welcome to Show #143!

Discussion: NY Comic Con announced that JMS definitely had to cancel his appearance, since there was no way that he’d be able to make both NYCC and the BAFTA Ceremony where Changeling has been nominated for Best Original Screenplay.

And Warner Bros is now considering making the steps necessary to find out what JMS’s definition of “big” is in the “big budget only” declaration he made about the only way he’d do another feature length film project. While we aren’t getting our hopes up too high yet, some of us can only wonder what took them so long.

We get bubbly for a bit about the amount of fresh B5 content out there, and that’s still coming along.

Deep Geeking: Tim and Summer discuss “Between The Darkness and The Light”, the episode which marks a significant turning point in the war to take back Earth from Clark’s forces.

The morale hit taken by Sheridan’s capture is turned around by them breaking him out and rescuing him, and by the White Star fleet’s destruction of Earth’s advanced, Shadow-tech cruisers.

Is this the first glimpse we see of Lyta’s steps towards her dark, angry side? Is the technique of telepaths suggesting “pain” a standard self-defense or protective disabling technique since all telepaths are capable of doing that?

And Tim has a huge gripe about Ivanova’s battle speech, wondering why the opposing destroyers just didn’t start shooting while she was ranting. How many other people despise that part of the scene for being too speechy or too long?

Visit Deep Geeking, and if you want to contribute a geeking essay, send a note to Summer.

Feedback: Doug lets us know that the way they were able to completely remove the Keeper from David Sheridan was explained at the end of the Centauri trilogy of novels; Gary calls in to offer his appreciation for the extra long clip show, and wanted to know if Jeffrey was silent during his scenes or if he had to learn the lines with the rest of the actors (yes, he had to learn the lines).

Second Life Info: FarPoint Media’s Second Life space is now the penthouse suite of Third Life Books. You can find the castle at http://slurl.com/secondlife/beraudes/203/151/49. Come see the castle roof pool, and more!

Babylon 5 Information Gathering: If you know of a dead or abandoned B5 related website that may be in need of a new home, let Summer know! Maybe we can mirror it here or house it on a sister site.

If you can, please Donate.

Promo: Star Wars: Codename: Starkeeper
Promo: The 9th: A Heroes Podcast

Welcome to Show #142!

Sorry this is so late… Summer came down with a bad case of “too many projects”-itis, and completely forgot that she’d started to post this episode, but didn’t finish posting it. Yeesh.

JMS’ scheduled appearance at NY Comicon (Feb 6-8) may have to be canceled since the movie The Changeling has been nominated for several BAFTA Awards (the British equivalent of the Oscars).

Jarsto joins us this episode… proof positive that he was NOT captured by Vorlons for experimentation. He tells us about the upcoming new episodes of “Three-Edged Sword”, the audio drama over at Voices of Babylon, and their planning for new B5-based audio dramas, and the call for scripts and story ideas from other people.

Tim relates an anecdote from work that directly relates to our most recent episodes of Babylon 5, especially the topic of tonight’s discussion.

Deep Geeking: Tim, Summer and special guest Jarsto delve into “Intersections in Real Time”, definitely one of the most difficult episodes to watch the first time around.

The psychological abuse we see Sheridan being subjected to is also felt by the viewer because of the structure of the episode… there is no cut away to a B story, no time jumps in scene, and the relentless manipulation in pursuit of a truth they want to use for their own purposes.

It’s also another wonderful example of the use of a stage play composition, both in set design and writing/acting, to intensify the the emotional impact of the interactions and the reasons for them.

How much JMS’ background in psychology played in crafting this episode would be a fun thing to find out, and Summer wonders if JMS ever read Psychological Warfare by Col. Paul M. A. Linebarger (aka Cordwainer Smith).

And Summer was mistaken about a few details: Linebarger didn’t write the book for the Army… he was in the Army at the time, and it was published by Infantry Journal Press while he was with the Institute for Advanced International Studies, but the book was an examination of the topic from WWI and WWII. It’s also long long out of print, and copies run $500 and higher these days, but she’d love to read it someday.

Visit Deep Geeking, and if you want to contribute a geeking essay, send a note to Summer.

Chat: Tim’s been geeking on the Apollo Moon Missions over at the Apollo Talks podcast, so check it out!

Second Life Info: FarPoint Media’s Second Life space is now the penthouse suite of Third Life Books. You can find the castle at http://slurl.com/secondlife/beraudes/203/151/49. Come see the castle roof pool, and more!

Babylon 5 Information Gathering: If you know of a dead or abandoned B5 related website that may be in need of a new home, let Summer know! Maybe we can mirror it here or house it on a sister site.

If you can, please Donate.

Promo: The British Invaders
Promo: What the Cast?
Link: Cordwainer Smith

Welcome to Show #141!

Yes, it’s been awhile since we’ve had a new show… didja miss us? We hope this show makes up for that long break.

Jeffrey regales us with a Majel Barrett convention tale as we honor her memory (she passed away on December 18 2008 of leukemia).

Tim tells us about a new TV project that JMS is working on, and we all hope that a SAG strike doesn’t happen to knock things awry.

Interview: It’s the interview almost everyone has been waiting for. Ed Wasser joins us this week, and he tells us how he thinks that the attraction to Morden comes from the undeniable allure of the mystery and the appeal of the bad guy. We also talk about how he came to Babylon 5, and how his asking for a more dangerous part led to him getting the role of Morden, his fan club and convention visits, and more.

The depth and reach of Morden’s plans definitely affects the entire series, even though he was only on screen for 13 episodes. It’s a testament to the writing and the performances that major characters that only appear from time to time can have such a large impact on the overall series story arc.

But, did you also remember him being on Sliders?

Feedback: Jeffrey pushes the buttons and plays some voicemail for us! Gary thanks Brad for the musical Holiday Gifts that were posted to the site; Gary comments on JMS’s remake of Forbidden Planet, and manages to bring in the Zima again.

We have no idea who the mystery caller is that is going to call us back, but she amused the hell outta Jeffrey. Really.

Mike G sent an email about Jeffery’s listing on the Who’s Dated Who? website. Why doesn’t Jeffrey Willerth have any WDW fans?

Kate in Chicagoland gives us some suggestions on topics to cover on The Babylon Podcast after we’ve gone through all the official and unofficial materials, and James in Tallahassee tells us that he’s made many Lego B5 ships, including EA ships, Narn, Centauri, Minbari and Brakiri ships. We wanna see pictures of them!

Visit Deep Geeking, and if you want to contribute a geeking essay, send a note to Summer.

Second Life Info: FarPoint Media’s Second Life space is now the penthouse suite of Third Life Books. You can find the castle at http://slurl.com/secondlife/beraudes/203/151/49. Come see the castle roof pool, and more!

Babylon 5 Information Gathering: If you know of a dead or abandoned B5 related website that may be in need of a new home, let Summer know! Maybe we can mirror it here or house it on a sister site.

If you can, please Donate.

Promo: Scott Sigler: CONTAGIOUS
Promo: I Should Be Writing

Welcome to the New Year!

Here’s a 2008 Year in Review special… yeah, after the year end. What’s life without a few funny mixups?

This is an EPIC episode… you can thank Tim for such glorious attention to detail.

Want more? Visit Deep Geeking, and if you want to contribute a geeking essay, send a note to Summer.

Second Life Info: FarPoint Media’s Second Life space is now the penthouse suite of Third Life Books. You can find the castle at http://slurl.com/secondlife/beraudes/203/151/49. Come see the castle roof pool, and more!

Babylon 5 Information Gathering: If you know of a dead or abandoned B5 related website that may be in need of a new home, let Summer know! Maybe we can mirror it here or house it on a sister site.

If you can, please Donate…

Welcome to show #140

Back from Vorlon space, Jeffrey returns for the last show of the year.

Deep Geeking: This week, Brad and Mike join Tim,  Jeffrey and Summer to discuss “The Face of the Enemy”.

Summer comments on the Clark’s propaganda against The Army of Light.  Tim talks about how the tension level is very high due to the compressing of the story arc for season four.  The gang go on to talk about cult of personality and how Clark assumes Sheridan is the center of the organization, even though he has always made it about the goal, not the man.  Jeffrey reminisces on the Harlan Ellison / Walter Koneig scene.

 

Summer, Tim, Jeffrey, Brad and Mike would like to wish all their listeners a great holiday season, and a Happy New Year

 

Want more? Visit Deep Geeking, and if you want to contribute a geeking essay, send a note to Summer.

Second Life Info: FarPoint Media’s Second Life space is now the penthouse suite of Third Life Books. You can find the castle at http://slurl.com/secondlife/beraudes/203/151/49. Come see the castle roof pool, and more!

Babylon 5 Information Gathering: If you know of a dead or abandoned B5 related website that may be in need of a new home, let Summer know! Maybe we can mirror it here or house it on a sister site.

Promo: Buffy:Between the Lines

Promo: Slice of SciFi

If you can, please Donate…

Welcome to Show #139!

No Jeffrey again this week, and we are sad. We blame “The Amazing Race”.

Tim addresses some of the fan reaction to the news that JMS would be writing the screenplay for the planned remake of “Forbidden Planet”. It will not be retro, as rumored earlier, and hopefully such an honored icon for scifi fans will not be mistreated in his hands. Even so, a lot of JMS fans and “Forbidden Planet” fans are more than a little grumpy about the prospect of it being remade by anyone.

Deep Geeking: This week, Tim and Summer discuss “The Exercise of Vital Powers”, and Tim continues to exercise his right to vital puns.

Summer’s appreciation of this episode comes from the complete break from what had been the traditional storytelling style in the series, and diving into old school hard-boiled pulp detective thriller territory. From Garibaldi’s opening monologue, through his working for the power player who’s suspiciouly far beyond his usual clientele, to his having to resist the damsel in distress who almost always lures the private eye to his doom… this episode is all pulp, all the time.

And even though Summer’s seen this episode quite a number of times, she still discovered something new in this most recent viewing combined with a tidbit from Volume 10 of the scriptbooks… a new meaning in Garibaldi’s closing monologue.

Want more? Visit Deep Geeking, and if you want to contribute a geeking essay, send a note to Summer.

Discussion: Tim reads an email from Stu about the Revell models due to be released in 2009: a Starfury and a B5 station. Whee! Summer wonders why there was never a model for B4, and Tim breaks bad with the puns again.

We also dream of a Lego B5 environment, complete with zocalo and aliens. If you’re gonna dream, dream big, baby.

Edmund leaves us a voicemail with more news and reviews for Changeling.

Second Life Info: FarPoint Media’s Second Life space is now the penthouse suite of Third Life Books. You can find the castle at http://slurl.com/secondlife/beraudes/203/151/49. Come see the castle roof pool, and more!

Babylon 5 Information Gathering: If you know of a dead or abandoned B5 related website that may be in need of a new home, let Summer know! Maybe we can mirror it here or house it on a sister site.

If you can, please Donate… moving the studio took a big hit, and Mike needs to replenish the coffers.

Promo: The Weird Show
Promo: Future Traditions: A Jericho Podcast

Welcome to Show #138!

Feedback: This week, Tim and Summer run the gamut of the rest of the voicemail and email feedback left over from last week, all alone in the night.

Summer is really jonesing for access to the Titan Magazines stash of Babylon 5 pics that they used in creating the now-defunct Babylon 5 Magazine. Yeah, those would be nice to have.

Want more? Visit Deep Geeking, and if you want to contribute a geeking essay, send a note to Summer.

Second Life Info: FarPoint Media’s Second Life space is now the penthouse suite of Third Life Books. You can find the castle at http://slurl.com/secondlife/beraudes/203/151/49. Come see the castle roof pool, and more!

Babylon 5 Information Gathering: If you know of a dead or abandoned B5 related website that may be in need of a new home, let Summer know! Maybe we can mirror it here or house it on a sister site.

If you can, please Donate… moving the studio took a big hit, and Mike needs to replenish the coffers.

Link: Titan Books
Promo: Morevi Remastered

Welcome to Show #137!

No Jeffrey this week, but Brad Bowyer jumps in to help. We chat a bit about the announcement that JMS will be penning the script for the remake of Forbidden Planet, and the ramifications and ripple effects of that news.

Feedback: This week, Tim, Summer and Brad handle the Feedbackapalooza! There’s so much feedback, we may were not able to contain it all in one show.

Want more? Visit Deep Geeking, and if you want to contribute a geeking essay, send a note to Summer.

Second Life Info: FarPoint Media’s Second Life space is now the penthouse suite of Third Life Books. You can find the castle at http://slurl.com/secondlife/beraudes/203/151/49. Come see the castle roof pool, and more!

Babylon 5 Information Gathering: If you know of a dead or abandoned B5 related website that may be in need of a new home, let Summer know! Maybe we can mirror it here or house it on a sister site.

If you can, please Donate… moving the studio took a big hit, and Mike needs to replenish the coffers.

Promo: GeekCred: Get Your Geek On
Promo: The Zombie Channel

Welcome to Show #136!

No Jeffrey this week, he’s working hard on “The Amazing Race”, but not to worry… for some reason, the Vorlon puns still filter their way into the show.

Interview: This week, Tim and Summer talk with Jaclyn (pictured, L) and Jan from the Babylon 5 Scripts Project, and by a twist of fate, the date of this interview, October 29th, was the 3rd anniversary of the release of the first scriptbook!

Jaclyn and Jan give us as many details as they can about how this project came about, and the scope of putting something on this scale together, possible future volumes, and much much more!

Want more? Visit Deep Geeking, and if you want to contribute a geeking essay, send a note to Summer.

Call to Action: While we haven’t set a travel date yet, it’s time to start requesting donations to help fund Summer’s road trip into Vorlon Space, to catalog the items in Jeffrey’s storage locker, so we can help him consolidate his storage needs. Please donate, and make a notation that it’s earmarked for the Excursion into Vorlon Space, and those who donate will get first crack at items, before they’re made available to auction to the live feed listeners, and then to the general public.

Second Life Info: FarPoint Media’s Second Life space is now the penthouse suite of Third Life Books. You can find the castle at http://slurl.com/secondlife/beraudes/203/151/49. Come see the castle roof pool, and more!

Babylon 5 Information Gathering: If you know of a dead or abandoned B5 related website that may be in need of a new home, let Summer know! Maybe we can mirror it here or house it on a sister site.

If you can, please Donate… moving the studio took a big hit, and Mike needs to replenish the coffers.

Promo: PodCulture: Equal Opportunity Geekness

Welcome to Show #135!

Put me in coach, we’re ready to play, today! Of course, since it’s the first day of the World Series, we have to put in our predictions for who we’ll think will win, or who we hope will win. Summer is rooting for Philly, but Jeffrey’s hating on the Fightin’ Phils! Summer just wants Philadelphia’s championship curse to end, and thinks this is a great chance for them to do so.

And, we have a moment of silence to mourn the decision to by Coors to discontinue Zima production. Could it be a Shadow plot? Let the silly speculation run rampant… that’s what we’re here for!

Call to Action: While we haven’t set a definite travel date yet, it’s time to start requesting donations to help fund Summer’s road trip into Vorlon Space, currently around mid-November, to catalog the items in Jeffrey’s storage locker, so we can help him consolidate his storage needs. Please donate, and make a notation that it’s earmarked for the Excursion into Vorlon Space, and those who donate will get first crack at items, before they’re made available to auction to the live feed listeners, and then to the general public.

Deep Geeking: This week, Tim and Summer delve into discussion about “No Surrender, No Retreat”. We talk about the decision to ask the League to stay on the sidelines until the fighting’s done; the timing of some of the events in the course of the episode; the difference between Sheridan choosing a philosophical solution to end the Shadow War versus resorting to a shooting fight to free the colonies that were under siege; and more.

Want more? Visit Deep Geeking, and if you want to contribute a geeking essay, send a note to Summer.

Discussion: Jeffrey’s spent his time digging up Zima ads on YouTube. Because he could. Why is Zima now linked with zombies in Summer’s mind? Is Zima an undiscovered zombie repellent? Do we want to find someone from Zima to talk about the “good old days” when B5 was on the air?

Chris from England wonders if the relationship between Lise and Edgars might have been influenced by Psi Corps ahead of time, in support of the plot involving Garibaldi’s programming; and he surmises that the Med Bay might be near the fighter bays, to get wounded pilots to treatment quicker.

World Series Predictions (made on 10/22): Tim says Tampa in 7, Mike says Tampa in 5, Summer says Philadelphia in 5, and Jeffrey says Philadelphia in 5.

Go to Podcast Awards and vote for Brad’s show The Geek Spin… help Brad collect another award!

Second Life Info: FarPoint Media’s Second Life space is now the penthouse suite of Third Life Books. You can find the castle at http://slurl.com/secondlife/beraudes/203/151/49. Come see the castle roof pool, and more!

Babylon 5 Information Gathering: If you know of a dead or abandoned B5 related website that may be in need of a new home, let Summer know! Maybe we can mirror it here or house it on a sister site.

If you can, please Donate… moving the studio took a big hit, and Mike needs to replenish the coffers.

Promo: Strangely Literal: Original Fan Fiction from the Firefly, Buffy and Angel universes
Promo: Steampunk Spectacular