Babylon 5
You may be looking for Babylon 5, a Babylon 5 zine.
| Fandom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name: | Babylon 5 | |
| Abbreviation(s): | B5, Bab5, | |
| Creator: | J. Michael Straczynski | |
| Date(s): | 1993 - 1999 | |
| Medium: | television series, 6 movies | |
| Country of Origin: | United States | |
| External Links: | ||
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | ||
| ||
Show Synopsis
Babylon 5 is a science fiction television show that first aired on 26 January 1994.[1]
It is the story of the Babylon 5 space station, a neutral site meant to be a place where different planets and cultures can mingle and engage in non-violent diplomacy.
It was designed to be a five-year show, with one overarching story arc. Unfortunately, the show was threatened with cancellation, so the story had to be awkwardly wrapped up by the end of year 4. As it turned out, the show was NOT cancelled so the fifth year of the show was also rather awkwardly tacked on.
Many fans mourn the possibilites that an uninterrupted arc would have brought.
Babylon 5 Fandom
Babylon 5 had a thriving internet-based fandom from its inception, thanks to the growing use of the web as the show started and the efforts of the show's creator. Babylon 5 has also been a popular show at general science-fiction conventions, for panel discussions, interviews, and episode screenings. It is an inspiration for cosplay at many conventions, though since it has gone off the air it is usually one of the less prevalent fandoms. Some fans also fondly remember or still play Babylon 5's official roleplaying game, wargame, and collectible card game.
Fandom and the Powers That Be
By some accounts, Babylon 5 fandom has had an accessible relationship with series creator, J. Michael Straczynski, as he was a regular contributor to the newsgroups alt.tv.babylon-5, rec.arts.tv.sf.babylon5 and rec.arts.tv.sf.babylon5.moderated.[2] JMS(as he is commonly known) would frequently answer fan questions about the show, not only about production or technical issues but about the backgrounds of the characters and the worlds he created. His posts, which are archived at jmsnews.com, are an early example of internet creator/fan based interactions, such as those currently ongoing between John Rogers, co-creator of Leverage, and fans on his blog.
Fan interaction with JMS also helped to shape details in several episodes of the show. In the late first-season episode The Quality of Mercy, for example, there is a discussion of the rights of due process in a society where there are functional telepaths. JMS acknowledged on the newsgroup and in discussions that he fleshed out the on-screen discussion rather than glossing it over because there had been a high level of interest on the newsgroup.
Straczynski's interactions with fans online covered so much territory that in 2009, he and a team of fans released a five-part compilation of every question JMS had ever answered on Usenet, AOL bulletin boards, GEnie, and in online chats, sorted by category. The books total approximately 2,000 pages and cover 5,296 questions.[3]
Straczynski continues to post to rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated, and also answers fan emails.
Other members of the production team do not have as visible an internet presence, but have been seen at conventions or contributing to fan-run projects such as the Babylon Podcast.
But by other fan accounts, this interaction was not as welcome.
Regarding fanfiction:At least one zine, Third Age, was dead in the water before it even began.I've been informed that J.M.S., as the creator of Babylon Five prefers to be called, requests that no one write B-5 stories until the series is officially and irrevocably cancelled, some five years hence. This doesn't exclude artwork or filk..." [4]
Several months ago I wrote to J. Michael Straczynski to inform him of my plans to publish a fan publication based on Babylon 5. I finally received a reply a couple of weeks ago from Joanne Higgins (assistant to Straczynski) of Babylonian Productions. Even though my letter emphasized the fact that this fanzine was not for profit, Ms. Higgins has expressly forbidden me to publish Third Age, stating that "all publications using the Babylon 5 name must be licensed through Warner Brothers as they own the rights." Apparently Warner Bros does not share Paramount's view that fan publications increase fan awareness and commercial success of a series (Paramount has no problem with Star Trek fanzines as long as they are non-profit). Warner must also be unaware of the other B5 fan publications that are out there. As a result, I will not be publishing Third Age as planned. I've written back expressing my disappointment in this apparent "ban" on B5 fandom. [5]
International Fandom
On its first run in syndication, Babylon 5 aired internationally anywhere from several months to a year behind its US schedule. This led to much disgruntlement among international fans who wanted to participate in online activities, which were often overwhelmed with American fans wanting to discuss the latest episode.
During the Gulf War, the Pentagon contacted JMS to tell him that the show improved morale among troops and to request advance synopses for episodes so that they could keep up with the airing schedule.[6]
Now that the show has completed its run, DVDs of all five seasons and TNT's original movies have been released in multiple regions, where someone is in the world is no longer seen as an entry barrier to fandom--only the availability of the DVD sets.
Fanfiction
Straczynski requested that fans not post fanfiction to the newsgroup as he didn't want his copyright compromised by the possibility of being seen to have stolen a fan's idea.[7] In one case he went so far as to delay an episode's production, pushing it off for a season, until he could get a release from the fan who had suggested a similar idea on the newsgroup.[8]. While JMS has always formally had a no fan fiction policy--or, more accurately, a policy of "I can never say that I am in favor of fan fiction"--fans of the show have taken this as a request to keep the fanfiction where he could not see it. For a few years there was little Babylon 5 fanfiction openly published on the internet, with only a few archives and no discussion on the major fan boards. Gen fans found themselves in the unusual position, formerly the place of slash fans, of needing to be introduced to invite only fiction mailing lists.
Several Babylon 5 writing communities have been active on LiveJournal, but as of 2009 most of them have fallen into disuse.
Popular topics for fanfiction include what-if alternate universe stories (What if the Minbari did not surrender at the Battle of the Line, what if Sinclair was never replaced by Sheridan), relationship-centric stories featuring both canon pairings (John Sheridan and Delenn, Susan Ivanova and Talia Winters, Susan Ivanova and Marcus Cole) and non-canon pairings (Delenn and Susan Ivanova, Marcus Cole and Neroon, Londo Mollari and G'Kar), and continuations of the original 5-year canon both gen and relationship-centric.
In 2009 Babylon 5 fanfiction was deemed to have become rare enough to make it eligible for Yuletide.
Fanzines:
- Babylon 5 - A Selection of Short Stories (het and femslash)
- Balance of Power (slash)
- Catalyst (slash)
- A Dark, Distorted Mirror - 5 vol AU retelling of the series, also available online
- Power of Persuasion (gen)
- The Gates of Enlil (slash)
- The Hammer and the Stone (slash)
- The House of Flesh (slash)
- Refractions (Babylon 5 zine)
Fanfic archives:
- Alternate Universe Today, one of the earliest fanfiction archives.
- And the Sky Full of Stars - also includes Alien Languages Lexicon
- JumpNow, a fan site with a fanfiction archive, forum, screencap archive, and a preservation of the John and Delenn Storybook, one of the earliest fanfiction archives which is now defunct.
- Rogue Sanctuary
Individual Fan Fic Sites
Other Fannish Online Sites/Forums
Message Boards
Fan communities for Babylon 5 often sprung up on message boards, such as the official Warner Brothers and TNT fan sites.
For several years the now-completely-defunct Pathfinder had a dedicated Babylon 5 message board which hosted a long-running real-time round-table fanfiction roleplay, called the Babylon 5 Never-Ending Story (Add Your Own Twists!) With several dozen participants, the narrative evolved from a free-for-all wish-fulfillment into a more structured story with planning, plot, and character development. The Never-Ending Story survived the merging of the dedicated Babylon 5 board into the general Sci-Fi Television board, a switch to a different hosting site entirely, and finally petered out on a mailing list.
Livejournal's Babylon 5 community is low-traffic but active, and the Universe Today newsletter collects interesting discussions as well as fan fiction and art.
Resources
- The Lurkers Guide to Babylon 5
- The Great Machine wiki
- The Babylon Project wiki at wikia
- Babylon 5 Tech-Manual
- Fandom overview on crack_van by sabine101
- Londo/G'Kar primer on ship_manifesto by hobsonphile
- Susan/Talia primer on ship_manifesto by gardendoor
References
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0517669/
- ↑ http://www.midwinter.com/b5/Usenet/
- ↑ http://www.cafepress.com/b5books
- ↑ from the editorial of Grip #48 in 1994
- ↑ from Trexperts #37
- ↑ As related in the Babylon 5 script books.
- ↑ http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/resources/story-ideas.html
- ↑ http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/048.html
