* If I take a lamp and shine it toward the wall, a bright spot will appear on the wall. The lamp is our search for truth… for understanding. Too often, we assume that the light on the wall is God, but the light is not the goal of the search, it is the result of the search. The more intense the search, the brighter the light on the wall. The brighter the light on the wall, the greater the sense of revelation upon seeing it. Similarly, someone who does not search – who does not bring a lantern – sees nothing. What we perceive as God is the by-product of our search for God. It may simply be an appreciation of the light… pure and unblemished… not understanding that it comes from us. Sometimes we stand in front of the light and assume that we are the center of the universe – God looks astonishingly like we do – or we turn to look at our shadow and assume that all is darkness. If we allow ourselves to get in the way, we defeat the purpose, which is to use the light of our search to illuminate the wall in all its beauty and in all its flaws; and in so doing, better understand the world around us.
* G’Quon wrote, “There is a greater darkness than the one we fight. It is the darkness of the soul that has lost its way. The war we fight is not against powers and principalities, it is against chaos and despair. Greater than the death of flesh is the death of hope, the death of dreams. Against this peril we can never surrender. The future is all around us, waiting, in moments of transition, to be born in moments of revelation. No one knows the shape of that future or where it will take us. We know only that it is always born in pain.”
* No dictator, no invader can hold an imprisoned population by force of arms forever. There is no greater power in the universe than the need for freedom. Against that power tyrants and dictators cannot stand. The Centauri learned that lesson once. We will teach it to them again. Although it take a thousand years, we will be free.
* Our thoughts form the universe. They are always important.
* Let me pass on to you the one thing I’ve learned about this place. No one here is exactly what he appears. Not Mollari, not Delenn, not Sinclair… and not me.
* The universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements. Energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest.
* It is said that the future is always born in pain. The history of war is the history of pain. If we are wise, what is born of that pain matures into the promise of a better world, because we learn that we can no longer afford the mistakes of the past.
* I believe that when we leave a place a part of it goes with us and part of us remains. Go anywhere in these halls, when it is quiet and just listen. After a while you will hear the echoes of all of our conversations, every thought and word we’ve exchanged. Long after we are gone, our voices will linger in these walls for as long as this place remains. But I will admit that the part of me that going will very much miss the part of you that is staying.

In Sheridan’s final days, old friends gather to celebrate. Takes place in 2281, approximately twenty years after the end of the rest of the series.

###Lurker’s Guide Page

* http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/guide/110.html

###Plot Points

* David, Sheridan and Delenn’s son, is in Ranger training in 2281. Sheridan and Delenn have given strict instructions to the teachers to not give any special treatment to their son.
* As predicted by Lorien ([[Falling Toward Apotheosis]]) Sheridan has died. His body was apparently carried away by Lorien.
* Ivanova has been promoted to the rank of General in 2281, and works in an office on Earth. Or rather, she did, but has been appointed head of the Rangers after Sheridan’s death.
Garibaldi has a daughter in 2281 and still lives with Lise on Mars.
* After the Alliance headquarters moved to Minbar, Babylon 5 saw less and less use; its original mission of uniting the galaxy in peace had succeeded. It was finally deemed not worth the cost of keeping around, and has been destroyed.
* Zack retired from the military and went back to Earth. Then, years later, he re-upped and returned to the station, where he stayed until its demise. Afterward, he joined Vir (now Emperor of the Centauri) on Centauri Prime.

###Unanswered Questions

* NOW what?
* What happened to Sheridan’s body?
* What happened to Lennier?
* Why was Zack limping?

###Analysis

Sheridan’s disappearance echoes the disappearance of Valen, who is presumed dead but whose body was never found ([[Atonement]]). Was Valen spirited away by Lorien as well?

Why did the station fall into disuse over time? It’s true that its political mission became irrelevant with the founding of the Interstellar Alliance, but that was only one of several purposes the station served: it was also a bustling trade hub located in a convenient area of space, an outpost of the Earth Alliance, a way station for people travelling elsewhere, and after the founding of the Alliance, a place of historical interest as well.
One possibility is that it became less and less convenient relative to other hubs as the Alliance equalized member races’ technologies, causing, for instance, artificial gravity to become the norm. Better hyperspace navigation technology might have made it irrelevant as a waypoint and less necessary as a trading center.

Still, the argument about it being a hazard to navigation seems a bit odd; in the vastness of space, it’s a tiny speck. Granted, it’s possible to emerge out of control from the jumpgate and be on a collision course with the station ([[Soul Hunter]]) but a slight change of orbital position would almost certainly eliminate that possibility.

Since Garibaldi is still alive and well in 2281, he wasn’t killed by either Lyta or Bester during the Telepath War, which had already taken place by the time of Sheridan’s death (Delenn mentioned it at the end of [[Rising Star]]). Was his mental block removed? Did he get his revenge on Bester, and did Lyta succeed in destroying the Corps?

Why didn’t any Soul Hunters ([[Soul Hunter]]) arrive to capture Sheridan’s soul at Coriana 6? He almost certainly fits the profile of a soul worth preserving in their view. A few possibilities: he was taken away by Lorien, but didn’t die per se; the Soul Hunters changed their policies or disbanded after the events of “The River of Souls”; or Lorien somehow prevented them from approaching.
Notes

Shooting ended May 5, 1997.

Although this is the final episode of the series, and airs at the end of season five, it was actually shot during the fourth-season production run, and originally carried a production number of 422. At the time, it wasn’t clear whether the show would be renewed for a fifth season, and JMS wanted this episode to close the series whether it ended after four or five years. Since it’s set 20 years after the rest of the story, it works equally well as an epilogue to [[Rising Star]] or to the last regular season-five episode.

Several B5 staff members have cameos in this episode, including producer John Copeland and coproducer George Johnsen. JMS appears briefly as the maintenance worker shutting off the station’s lights.

The Hugo award that JMS won for [[The Coming of Shadows]] appears at the beginning of the scene in General Ivanova’s office.

As Sheridan dresses to leave Minbar, the reflection in the mirror includes the illusion of a cross. This was unintended, as noted by JMS below.

Text of the display on Marcus’ suspension chamber in the closing credits:
CRYOGENIC SUSPENSION CHAMBER
SUBJECT: Marcus Cole
Designation: Ranger
Status: Deceased
Comments: Indefinite Hold in the event of new resuscitation technology

REQUESTED BY: CMDR. S. IVANOVA

Why there’s a duck at the top of the page.
jms speaks

On GEnie, 11 April 1992:
A few days ago, I sat down with our line producer, John Copeland, and production designer John Iacovelli, and we were talking about the need to move quickly on some stuff, and how painful the process is to have the whole story in your head, already told, really, and then have to make it all over again so we can put it on film. “You think you’ve got it bad,” I noted, “I’ve already worked out the last scene in the last episode of the last season (#5)…and I’ve still got to make Movie #1.” They called me on it and asked what that scene was. Just to see their reaction, I told them. They looked at me as if I’d suddenly sprouted three heads and feathers. It was worth it. (Happily, they’re sworn to secrecy.) It was also good because I think that, even without filling in the beats in between, it gave them a good sense of where the series was going to go.

What will be revealed over the course of the series? All of it.
By the time the series has run its five-year course (Neilsen willing), there will only be ONE unanswered question left: “NOW what?”

My titles are often in a state of flux; [[Signs and Portents]] was originally titled “Raiding Party” in my notes, as the B5 FAQ notes somewhere. So it may change, but for the time being, in my notes for the series, the last episode of year five has this note: Title? — “Farewell” or “Sleeping in Light.”

The Babylon 5 story ends at the final episode of year five.

And there will never be a Babylon 6.

If I didn’t have a good, solid, consistent ending, I wouldn’t have started the story. I always have the ending before I begin writing the beginning.

“What this boils down to is… is the ending you envisioned at the start of Babylon 5 the same today as it was then?”
For the most part, yeah…it’s gotten a bit refined over time, the way it always does the closer you get to it…it’s like seeing a mountain from a great distance, then closing in until you can make out the details. But basically, yeah.

“Are you at all concerned that, when it’s all said and done, that some fans will scratch their heads and wonder: “You mean thats it?””
No, I don’t think so. The story for “Sleeping in Light,” the last B5 episode, is such that it is completely moveable, and self-contained, and buttons down the arc in what I think is a very moving fashin. I think that when it’s all said and done, the average reaction will be to sit back and say, “That was a good story.” Obviously you can’t please everyone, and you can’t expect to. But basically, yeah, I think it’s going to end well.

In theory, the final episodes would air in the summer of 1998.

There’s always been a side-story that could spin off from B5, but the main core story is over at the five-year mark.

I’ve always said that there’s a side story that could follow the 5 year B5 storyline, which takes place in the B5 universe, and follows on the heels of the events in B5…but who knows if that would happen?
The one thing I would hate is for B5 to become any kind of so-called “franchise.” Because as soon as that happens, you’re prevented from making any changes, from doing anything that might startle people, cutting into the piggy-bank. Once that happens, you’re dead.

I’ve also made no secret of my sense that, should B5 run its full five year course (and assuming the side-story doesn’t go, which I would not exactly count on)…I plan to get out of TV. By that point, I would have said pretty much everything I want to say in TV, and it’s time to get out, buy a small house somewhere outside London, and spend the rest of my years writing novels, which is kinda where this all began. (I’ve had 2 novels, 1 anthology, and a bunch of short stories published, as well as 500 or so articles.)

I never got into this to make a ***””FRANCHISE””””’, and never really intended to become an executive producer. I just don’t like being rewritten…so I climbed higher, until finally there was nobody over me messing with my scripts. Outside of the B5 reality, if someone came to e and offered me ‘*staff writer** on a show — the lowest position in the TV totem pole — but with the guarantee that I wouldn’t be rewritten, they wouldn’t change the words…I’d take it in a hot second. I’m here, now, strictly out of self-defense.

Two valuable social skills are knowing when to enter a room, and when to leave a room. At some point, you have to get out or become something you don’t want to become. I’ve never really been part of the Hollywood SYSTEM, and have no desire to do so.

In “The Velvet Alley,” Rod Serling wrote of a young advertising writer who becomes a success at writing television. At one point, the character says (paraphrased from memory): “Here’s the trap…in TV they pay you lots of money for what you do…then, slowly, your standard of living rises until you *need* that constant flow to stay at that level. Then…they threaten to take it away from you if you don’t behave. And THAT’S when they’ve got you.”

What happens at the end of the five year arc? The [[Babylon 5]] series ends…if I have anything to say about it (and I do). If something else follows, we’ll see what that is, but it won’t be the same series, or the same title, or really the same characters.
Barring that very distant possibility, at the end of the five year arc, I take a very, very, VERY long nap….

I’ve mentioned before that there’s a side-story that could go off, within the B5 universe, with a few of our characters, once the Babylon 5 story itself comes to an end in its fifth year, but that’s a long ways off, and I don’t know if that’s realistic.
You have to understand…I never came in wanting to be a producer. I’m a **writer**, and I only got here because it was the only way to protect the words…create and run the damned show so nobody can mess with it. Once I’ve finished the Babylon story, assuming it runs its full length, (5 years alone, more if there is that doubtful spinoff), the story is over. Every story has a beginning, middle and end, and the story’s over when it’s over.

I’ve also made no bones about the fact that, should the Babylon story run its full term, I will have said just about everything I want to say in television, and plan to get out, go back to writing novels.

My philosophy: find what it is you want to say, walk in the room, say it, and get the hell out. (Second philosophy behind that one: when in doubt, roll in a grenade and come in firing.)

From the start, I’ve indicated that there’s a side-story that could go off in the B5 universe after the 5 year story is up, but it wouldn’t be B5. Frankly, however, given the current state of the syndication market, I’d suggest that the odds of that happening are slim and none.
So barring anything truly exceptional — like someone handing me an anthology series — my plan at the moment is to retire from TV at the end of the five years and go back to writing novels and plays. At that point, I think I’ll have said just about everything I want to say for TV.

If B5 goes its full five years, I think I’d probably prefer to get out of TV and go back to writing novels and plays.

Re: 422…this one is a stand-alone episode which I specifically designed in order to have the flexibility to air it either as 422 or as 522, depending on what happens. This way if year 4 is all there is, we get to where we need to get; if we get year 5, then we shoot 501 and air it in 422’s spot, and air 422 in place of 522.

501 isn’t written yet, won’t be until we get the final word. We could certainly get it finished in time for the US airing in 422’s spot, and as for getting it done in the UK, assuming a mid-July start for season 4, means you’d run episodes through late October/early November so again you’re okay.

The final 4 would get aired in October. If there’s no season 5, then the fourth one aired is 422, “Sleeping in Light.”
If there is a season 5, 422 is yanked out of the mix and moved down to occupy 522’s slot, and we shoot 501 and get it done in time to air in place of 422 in October.

To repeat what I’ve said here several times, we would move 501 into 422’s slot and make that the cliffhanger ending, then 502 becomes the first episode of season 5, and 422 is the last. So each season works out to 22 episodes.

Wouldn’t season five take place after the final scene you mentioned?
Negative; season 5 would take place in 2262, 19 years before the “final scene” you mention. And no, I wouldn’t want season 5 to be just a setup for the sequel; it was sketched out long before that became any kind of possibility, and I have no interest in doing that sort of thing. We’d do one or two small things, but no more than that.

There’s no need for confusion. Season 4, as you know, takes place in 2261. Season 5 would take place in 2262.
422, or 522, depending on the breaks, takes place in 2281. So it plays just fine either way.

Was the story always intended to end in 2281?
Yes, the final chapter in the series was always going to fall in 2281, 20 years after the events in 2261.

“What are the chances of major spoilers being leaked from [[Sleeping in Light]] over the next year?!?!?!?”
I’m sure some of that’s bound to happen…but the reality of it is that if you add up all the people who are online and might get this information, you’d actually end up with only about 4% of the viewing audience…so it’ll still have its desired impact.

“You have spent the last 4 years keeping your actors in the dark as to their final fates (for the most part). Will their knowledge of the ending have adverse effects on the acting from this point forward? I expect the answer is they are good at their jobs and will continue to be outstanding in their performances, but many of them have mentioned that the lack of knowledge of their future had played a part in their performances.”
Not really, no more so than seeing G’Kar and Londo strangling each other as early as year one…but we didn’t know what that **meant** until later. And there’s still a long, long way between that episode and where we leave off at 421. A lot happens there that nobody else knows, inclusive of the cast.

“Also, if you’ve neatly tied everything up, what does that really leave for season 5? Filler, non-arc stories? This has been my biggest fear. That season 5 will now be farmed out to other scriptwriters, who don’t have the intimacy with the story that you have, and that the quality of stories will take a nose dive with filler material.”

Without giving too much away, season 5 would be empire building. It wouldn’t be filler at all, but a logical extension of what has gone before.

Basically…I often get messages from people worrying about what might be…then they see what **is** and it’s, “Oh…okay, got it.” Generally speaking, I think it’s better to react to what is rather than what might never in fact be an issue. I ain’t let you down yet….

With great trepidation, and at the urging of Warner Bros., I’ve decided to direct one episode this season…not because I have any particular ambition to be a director, but because I think it will help me become a better writer by more fully understanding that side of the camera. Given how massively busy I am already, this decision will almost certainly be called as evidence in any sanity trial that might take place in future.

“Why were they [Warner Bros.] so interested in you directing?”
Well, they know the show is really my vision, and they’re curious what it would look like if it was also followed through behind the camera. And as our liaison with WB said, “We like it when our creative people spread their wings a little.” They like the show, and it does well for them, and they’re just generally supportive that way.

“I’m sincerely curious about how you found the experience of directing your baby — of being responsible for creating, writing, producing *and* directing it.”
My main goal was not to embarrass myself overmuch. I think I came out okay. I’ve now seen an editor’s assembly of the material, and it plays real nice. Now I get to go in and make the director’s cut, which will to all intents and purposes also stand as the producer’s cut.

The main thing is…this one is **exactly** the way I saw it in my head. It has a somewhat different feel than prior episodes, though hard to quantify. But I think it came out nicely.

“Having read through this months edition of Starburst (I think), Claudia Christian mentions that you enjoyed directing. My question is a very simple one: would you do it again, and what part of the directing the episode did you find the most enjoyable/rewarding?”
I really don’t know if I’d say that I **enjoyed** it…my main concern every day was somehow getting through it without embarrassing myself, or letting down the crew or the cast or, ultimately, the viewers. I wanted the direction to the the equal to the performances I knew were waiting to be unlocked. I haven’t commented on it much for the same reason you rarely see me saying that a given script of mine is good…I’m too close to it and too critical of everydamnthing I do. But so far everyone of the crew who’s seen it, and a few others, were very much moved and satisfied by it.

I don’t know if I’ll do it again or not…my gut says probably not. If I **were** to even try it again, it couldn’t be anything other than a final episode of a season, given how much is involved in prep if you’re going to have a chance to get it right.

Did you do anything special on the last day of shooting?
Around lunchtime, I began to notice people filtering out — crew and others — wearing white t-shirts with blue lettering that read, on front, “Shhh…the Great Maker is Directing.” And on the back, “…and on the seventh day we wrapped.” JMS 4:22 May 5, 1997. It was a nice thing, and we’re considering making the shirts available via the fan club.
Since it’s customary for directors to bring in food on the last day of an episode shoot, I brought in food at the end of the day, and folks stayed around until late in the evening, just hanging around, chatting, eating, and the like. (I headed home around 7 mainly because I was just bushed.) We also took a big family picture that will go into the end credits of the episode, whenever it will finally air. A lot of our past directors, crew, actors and others showed up for the thing, and stayed for the party, knowing that either way, this was going to be the last episode of the series, whether it’s 4 or 5 years.

Then everybody went away for a few days, and now we’re back shooting movie #1, “Thirdspace.”

“But seriously, what kind of responses do you expect to see in this newsgroup the week following the last episode?”
In a way you’re kind of asking the wrong person, as I’m inside the fishbowl and can’t see the show the way anyone outside can see it. The only gauge I have is the reaction the script got around the stage when people on the crew and cast read it. (With a note attached explaining the possibility of airing it as 522 or 422, but that either way this would end up the story.)

Pretty much everybody cried. I came home to a message on my machine from Mira, who was almost unable to speak, and another from Claudia who said she was honored and proud to be a part of this, and the script had made her cry. Bruce, Richard, big beefy guys on the crew…all said the same thing. And there I have to concur; I lost is several times as I was writing it, due to the content; there’s one scene in particular…you’ll know it when you see it…that put me away for an hour when I finished writing it.

But here’s the thing…**every single person*’ who cried at the script, ended it feeling that it was not a sad script in the end, or a down ending…that it left them feeling proud, and tall, and ”’positive”’…that life goes on…that it was a reaffirmation of life itself, on its most primal level. They felt good about the ending. And that was a great relief for me, because I was trying something ”’very”’ difficult from a writing perspective, and at first blush it looks as if I’ve pulled it off. (Now I get to go in as director and ‘*totally** screw it up.)

Only one fan has read the script…someone whose opinion I trust. Because I was curious about the reaction from that side of the screen. And the reaction was **exactly** the same.

So how do I think people will react?

I think a lot of people will cry.

But by the end of it, I think it will come around, and be all right…and mainly, that people will then look back at the whole story, through all these long years, and say, “It was a good story.” And close the cover, and put it on the shelf with the other books that will be reread again down the years, and turn off the lights, and go to bed feeling that the time was well spent.

Which is the most any writer can ever ask for. To tell a tale worth telling To make people cry. To make people laugh. And even, once in a while, make them think about things, and see the world just a little differently than when they began.

And then they can centerpunch me on the freeway, or throw a plane at me, and I won’t even mind. Because everything I set out to prove, I proved. Everything I set out to say, I said.

I’ve carried this story like a hermit crab carries its shell for five long years, counting the pilot. It’s been an **awfully*’ long and difficult road, and no one will ever really know just how hard this show was to make. Nor should they, because it isn’t the difficulty that makes the story, the ‘*story** makes the story. But one way or another, aired as 522 or 422, when it airs the burden is off at last. Then it no longer belongs to me. It belongs to you. As should be.

And, in the end, I think you’ll be pleased.

Last night I pulled out the tapes for the last two episodes, “Objects at Rest” and “Sleeping in Light,” and watched them back to back, and I was an absolute wreck afterward. There are a couple of scenes in both of them that just put me away. That’s **good**, they should, they have to, but man…I was just gone.
But strangest of all, the final credits sequence and what we did with them for SiL is also very deeply affecting…and I’m not entirely sure why, I think it’s something operating at an almost subconscious level, about seeing certain images juxtaposed. Darndest thing….

[[Between the Darkness and the Light]]
“…as I am a visual artist, I tend to notice lighting and structure,etc., especially on the second (or 3rd) viewing, and the thorny crown was striking to my eyes, as was the sad, dark-circles-under-the-eyes, immensely tired look on his face, which lent to the illusion.”
It’s interesting when that happens. There’s a halo around Sheridan’s head at one point when he’s yelling at Delenn in the big room in “Z’ha’dum,” and, just as a pointer to something you won’t see for another year….

When I was directing “Sleeping in Light,” there’s a scene with Sheridan and a mirror. (That’s all I’ll say about it, so there’s no spoiler info there.) As John Flinn lit the shot, and angled the mirror…I froze at what I was seeing on the monitor. I called John over, and pointed to it. “Do you see what I see?” It took him a moment, but then his eyes went wide, and by his own reckoning, “the skin on my arms crawled.” He turned to the guys dressing the set and said, in a very loud, clear voice, “NOBODY TOUCHES THAT MIRROR! YOU HEAR ME!? NOBODY!”

It’s not a big…but it’s a pretty cool unintended illusion (though once we saw it, we kept it).

It airs the day before Thanksgiving. Won’t most viewers be travelling home to their families?
On the other hand, not everybody has family to travel to, or the means to travel. So perhaps a family gathering of another type, particularly among folks new to each other in local fan areas, might be even more appropros.

Any big promotional plans for this episode?
Personally, I think that a build-up to the end of the show would be great, although [[Sleeping in Light]] isn’t exactly a big-bang lots of explosions kind of episode, so it might not be as promotable in that sense.

I was watching [[Sleeping in Light]] again today (I have a tendency to run the last ten minutes plus the credits over and over…to see if it’ll stop getting to me, and so far it hasn’t), and had some thoughts on it for folks out there.
People often ask if there’s anything they can do in return for B5, something I’d like and I do have some ideas, here at the end, regarding SiL.

I think it would be a wonderful thing if more folks than usual got together for viewing parties on this one. Not newcomers, not folks who haven’t seen the show, just the “family,” if you will. If B5 has helped to create communities, then I think this last episode should be for that community.

I also think you’ll find some interesting tie-offs in this show…something about Minbari beliefs about souls born in the hearts of suns, and a pay-off to why the narrations of this series have always been in the past tense, and a gift to the crew of this show…to which end I **strongly*’ suggest that even if you don’t normally tape this series, that you do tape ‘*this** episode so you can go back and check some stuff at the end.

[[Sleeping in Light]] airs in just a little over two months, and every time I look at it, it has the sense of something very special coming to its conclusion. It’s so damned hard watching it…and yet there’s something about it that is massively uplifting at the same time.

Anyway, I was just thinking that often viewing parties are used to bring in new folks to B5, but this one, I think, should be for the family. Maybe local fan groups want to get together, find someone with a good-sized TV, and watch. It’s one of those Moments, I think, that will be remembered a long time thereafter.

And I’ve got TNT’s promise not to run a voice-over or squish the credits at the end.

Why weren’t Lochley or Sinclair included in the credits?
We are bound by contract to use the credits as they were applied in S4, when SiL was shot. You can’t just put people’s credits in a show for sentimental reasons…they trigger residuals, royalties, fees, and other contractual areas.

I agree about the end credits; as we see their faces the first time, and the last time, they appear in the series, you can see the years and the story in their faces.

We chose the shots that showed them the first time and the last time we saw the characters.

Was anything changed as a result of the episode airing at the end of season 5 rather than season 4?
I had the option to change stuff if I’d been so inclined…but felt it was right as it was.

What about all the plot threads left dangling?
The Drak and Centari Prime?

Vir is Emperor now. Londo asked Sheridan to free his people; we can assume he did this…but we will also be showing this in the Centauri Prime trilogy of books in more detail.

Londo?

We saw Londo’s fate in War Without End Part 2.

Lyta?

The telepath crisis and events surrounding it will provide a lot of the background to Crusade.

Bester and the Psi Corps?

Ditto.

G’Kar?

We saw his fate in WWE2 also.

Garibaldi and Bester?

This will be covered in the Psi Corps trilogy, of which volume 1 is out now, and volume 2 is in my hands for editing.

B5’s seemingly needless and useless destruction?

Neither needless nor useless. It was built cheapest of all the stations, and it takes a lot of money to maintain it. With trade routes now going around it, there isn’t enough income to support it. So do you leave it intact, for others to occupy or raid for weapons systems and other systems too difficult to yank out? Or take it out, the same way we implode buildings now?

Sheridan’s son – we guess he survived the Drak and their intended keeper?

This will also be covered in the Centauri Prime trilogy…but if you sit back you can do some of the work to figure out a large part of this. As Londo states, his situation in WWE2 (Sheridan and Delenn captured on Centauri Prime) takes place 18 years after the events in 2260, which would put it at 2278. The urn, given to Sheridan in 2262, is supposed to be given to the heir at the occasion of his/her 16th birthday, by Centauri tradition.

That would put the urn presentation at…ding!…2278.

In 2278, Sheridan and Delenn have been drawn to Centauri Prime. We know their son is involved, because Delenn says “David is safe.” So they were somehow able to save him, because we know that in 2281, David is alive and well and serving in the Rangers (SiL).

You can see the shape of the events there…once again the clues are more or less in plain sight…but again, this will be drawn out in the books in more detail.

I think it’s safe to say that we’ll be hearing more about the telepath crisis and its consequences in Crusade….

Dear Mr. Tolkien:
I just wanted to say that I think the way you ended THE LORD OF THE RINGS was crap. You didn’t provide any closure. Instead of spending time with the hobbits clearing out the shire (come on, urban renwal in LoTR? give me a break) and lots of goodbyes, you SHOULD have shown me what happened to Tom Bombadil, he was an important part of the story, and you just left his story thread there unresolved.

You made a big deal out of the elves going to the west, but we never SAW it! We never found out what was there, or what Bilbo found when he got there, or what happened to the dwarves, or what happened to Merry and Pippin….

You betrayed your audience by not resolving every single plot thread you introduced in your book, and as a result, it is never going to be of value to anyone, ever, and will never go past its first printing.

You have to really decide **Who is the story about?** You can really only track a couple of characters to the end…here we tracked a number there or nearly there. This story is a history — told from a future perspective — about the events of the Babylon station, and those who passed through it, during a specific period in its history.

Re: Lyta in SiL…okay, if they mentioned Lyta, I’d get nailed for not mentioning Na’Toth…or Sinclair…or Keffer…or somebody else. You can’t do five minutes of roll call in a TV show. That would be deadly. They each picked one character to name, because they had a close relationship in some way with that character. Who among them really had a close relationship with Lyta? Name me that person.
Had Zack been there, then yeah, maybe he would’ve named Lyta (or not, given what happens with her later). THAT would have been appropriate. But it would NOT have been appropriate to have her named just because somebody wants to hear her name called.

The persons named were ones to whom they had an emotional attachment… Vir to Londo, Garibaldi to G’Kar, Ivanova to Marcus, Sheridan to Londo, Delenn to Lennier. Lyta did not have that connection to anyone at that table that would be on an equal footing.

Was that a Hugo on Ivanova’s desk?
Yeah, that was our first Hugo…just sorta slipped it in with Ivanova’s other awards. It was kind of a nod back to our fans…and I think the first time that a Hugo has been shown on-screen in a series that has **won** a Hugo.

Everybody figured the pak’ma’ra were just a waste…which is why this seemed so right.

John and Delenn’s goodbye seemed a bit formal.
Yes, there was some element of ritual in their goodbyes; it’s a Minbari farewell, hence the “good night,” not goodbye.

What was the ship Sheridan flew?
It’s a smaller, personal version of a White Star.

Why scuttle the station?
There are weapons systems on board that station, computer systems, other stuff that would be too much of a hassle to dig out, and you don’t want squatters setting up residence there, or raiding the place for what they can get, and maintaining a military presence there to prevent it would be expensive. With trade no longer coming through, the money to keep the station operating was gone.
Why not send it into Epsilon 3’s atmosphere?
I don’t see how sending a 5 mile long station plummeting into the atmosphere of Epsilon 3 is any more or less real than blowing it up in space, where salvage crews can come in and take the metal. We already **saw** bits of the debris burning up in the atmospher in the second shot… and as for sending the whole thing hurtling down, well, I think Draal might have a thing or two to say about that….

Why not tow it somewhere else?
You couldn’t tow something as massive as a 5 mile long station like this through hyperspace; it’d tear apart.

It can be moved, sure, but can it **survive** the move? Also, you’d have to bring B5 through a jump point in order to bring it anywhere, and the stresses involved in that would be hideous.

Was that you turning out the lights?
Yes, that was me…I couldn’t do it before the very last ep for the reasons I’d always stated, and because I was holding it out for this moment. Of course I couldn’t **say** that since it would give stuff away….

Jan 12, 2004: For S5 I did commentaries on The Fall of Centauri Prime and Sleeping in Light. The latter was the hardest, since it was the first time I’d seen the episode since it aired. (I just couldn’t, it was too hard.)
I should have done so, though, because when we got to B5’s destruction, I’m ashamed to admit that my voice broke, it just hit me so hard. After we were done, i wanted to go back and do it again, to fix that, which I thought was unprofessional, but the WB boys prevailed upon me to leave it alone. I just hope it doesn’t come across as dumb or something.

From J. Michael Straczynski:

Just over a year ago, Andreas Katsulas — who loved smoking with a
passion that cannot be described — was diagnosed with lung cancer,
which by then had already spread to other areas. He quit smoking at
once and went on a healthy diet and vitamin program, but there was
little hope of a good resolution even though the new regimen was very
good for him. When we spoke about it, he laughed, and said, “Now that
I’m dying I’ve never felt better!”

His spirits were always up and positive, putting everyone at ease about
his condition, because…well, that’s the kind of person he was.

A couple of months ago, he and his wife convened a dinner with me,
Doug, and Peter Jurasik, which was filled with laughter and stories and
good food. He wanted to know all the stories we never told him
because, as he said, “Who am I going to tell?” So we did. Because we
knew we were saying goodbye, and there would not be a second chance.

Last night, in the company of his wife and family, Andreas closed his
eyes and went away.

He lived an amazing life…full of travel and wonder and good
work…was part of the world renowned Peter Brook company…he saw the
planet, loved and was loved, ate at great restaurants, smoked too many
cigarettes…he lived a life some people would die for.

And, sadly, due to the last part of that equation…he did.

Memorial arrangements are still being worked out, but will doubtless be
private.

Andreas is gone…and G’Kar with him, because no one else can ever play
that role, or ever will.

I will miss him terribly.

The scene is eerily reminiscent of the dinner scene in the [[Babylon 5]] episode [[Sleeping in Light]]:

Overview

In Sheridan’s final days, old friends gather to celebrate. Takes place in 2281, approximately twenty years after the end of the rest of the series.

Andreas’s character G’Kar was my favorite in the series. If there ever is a [[Babylon 5]] theatrical movie, his presence will definitely be missed.

[Sci Fi Wire](http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/:) “Andreas Katsulas, the character actor known to SF fans as G’Kar on Babylon 5 and a familiar face from Star Trek and other SF&F TV shows, died Feb. 13 of lung cancer in Los Angeles, his agent, Donna Massetti, confirmed to SCI FI Wire. He was 59.”

[Dictionary.com Word of the Day](http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/:) “deus ex machina: an agent who appears unexpectedly to solve an apparently insoluble difficulty.”

[CNN.com](http://www.cnn.com/rssclick/?section=cnn_topstories:)

From Afghanistan to Indonesia, tens of thousands of Muslims around the world have launched a series of new protests — some violent — over cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammed. Provincial authorities in Lagman, Afghanistan, said one protester died in a protest there after clashes broke out between demonstrators and police.

Question: Don’t these guys get that they are validating the whole point of the cartoons?

Simply ignoring the cartoons would have gone a long way to debunking that whole point of view.

[Sci Fi Wire](http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/:) “SCI FI Channel announced that Lucy Lawless has joined the cast of its original series Battlestar Galactica in the upcoming third season.”

Yet another reason to watch next season (besides the obvious reason that the show just plain ROCKS!).

If you ever get the chance, you MUST play this course. It’ll be one of the best golfing experiences you’ll ever have. The course is the Highland Links in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

The picture below is the tee shot at the 7th hole, Killercrankie (which means “a long narrow pass”… and it is!).

The greatness of Highlands Links is directly attributable to a brilliant routing that takes full advantage of the inherent landscape’s natural potential for golf. Every hole simply runs an obvious course suggested by the native terrain, prompting some to assume little thought went into it, when in fact, the opposite has occurred. The result is a wildly diverse collection of holes, including two sets of back-to-back par 5s at six and seven, fifteen and sixteen that clearly suggest Thompson laid the course out without a single preconceived notion.