Echoes of All Our Conversations, Volume 4

The interviews with the cast and crew in this volume occurred during the period of time that included the filming of "Sleeping in Light," Thirdspace, In the Beginning and beyond. The only exceptions are the "lost" Michael O'Hare interviews. See the table of contents below.

• Proof that Echoes of All Our Conversations is uncensored: the COMPLETE interview with Claudia Christian two weeks after she left Babylon 5. (She wasn't happy.)
• Revealed: why Michael O'Hare played Sinclair "so contained."
• How Mira Furlan almost died while shooting "Atonement."
• Who Patricia Tallman was referring to when she said, "I hope I never have to work with him again. I think he's a prick, and you can quote me on that."
• The articulation exercise Jason Carter used to warm up his speaking voice...from The Picador Book of Erotic Verse.
• First-hand reactions to the gag script (featuring Londo and G'Kar's sexual liaison) from Peter Jurasik, Richard Biggs, Bruce Boxleitner and Patricia Tallman. Who called whom and said what, the voice messages the cast left each other, the star who was the most upset by the premise (not Peter or Andreas) and why Pat was the most disappointed of all that it was a joke.
• Teller speaks. A detailed interview with Penn's silent sidekick, where he talks about why he and Penn accepted the offer to appear on Babylon 5, why he doesn't like Harpo Marx (who "gives [him] the creeps") and the exchange between Teller and Neil Gaiman when the writer crashed the interview.
• Why a scene between G'Kar and Londo in "No Surrender, No Retreat" annoyed Bill Mumy...and he wasn't even in it.
• Why director Jesús Treviño approached directing Kosh the same as he would have a child or a dog.
• Which star of the show said that the key to their religious beliefs was based on the Romper Room song "do be a good bee; don't be a bad bee."
• How props intended for medlab might end up as a bomb detonator.
• The scene one actor described as "walking into a sauna with a fur coat on."
• The specific reason Penn wanted to be on Babylon 5, the confession that he knows nothing about SF and why he's been happy since June 12, 1973.
• Who said, "I'm dead today but I come back next Wednesday to finish up."
• What Peter Jurasik meant when he said, "I call it the crybaby scene just to drive them both crazy."
• JMS's belief that if an actor cries on camera, they steal the tears from the audience.
• Why Michael O'Hare had mixed feelings about traveling first class.
• How the TV movies delayed a feeling of closure for some of the actors.
• Which crew member Michael O'Hare believed was the "true commander of Babylon 5." (Hint: it wasn't JMS.)
• How the illusion of the extending pike was created.
• Why director David J. Eagle cut away from Daffy Duck in his edit of "Conflicts of Interest," and why he believes the producers stayed on the cartoon in the final cut.
• The scene between Marcus and Franklin in "Atonement" that director Tony Dow declared was "one of his favorite scenes."
• Which Babylon 5 star said, "I went to drama school knowing I could sing and dance and I left drama school with the full knowledge that I couldn't."
• Why director Jesús Treviño cast Shari Belafonte as Dr. Elizabeth Trent in Thirdspace, and who else was up for the role.
• Tracy Scoggins interviewed the day BEFORE she began playing Elizabeth Lochley.
• The thing that frightened Claudia Christian most about the ending of Babylon 5.
• Why "The Coming of Shadows" was Christopher Franke's favorite episode to score of the first 88.
• Why actor Wayne Alexander was given all six scripts featuring Lorien before the first one was filmed, and how it affected his performance.
• The thing Babylon 5 did that no other science fiction series in the history of television managed to achieve, according to producer John Copeland.
• Why old Londo in In the Beginning was filmed in one block of three days.
• Why Michael O'Hare compared director Richard Compton to French filmmaker Jean Renoir.
• Why Claudia Christian didn't have to memorize any lines for the "Voice of the Resistance" scenes.
• The prop maker's favorite prop: the Centauri Pizza box. Found out why.
• The actor who thought the pace of season four was "a little quick for me."
• How the look of the Narn homeworld was extrapolated from G'Kar's Babylon 5 quarters.
• Why JMS directed Bruce Boxleitner not to touch Mira Furlan in their final "Sleeping in Light" scene until the very end...and how that made the emotions stronger.
• The high-profile film Patricia Tallman considers "some of the hardest work she'd ever done"...and for which she didn't get a screen credit.
• What legendary actor would send Tracy Scoggins flowers on her opening nights in the theater, with a card signed "Daddy."
• Richard Biggs's first reaction to "Sleeping in Light," and how he approached playing Dr. Franklin twenty years in the future.
• Name the speaker: "If I never work again, I have a beautiful son and a beautiful wife and I got a lot of money, so I'll be alright."
• The thing Andreas Katsulas said to production designer John Iacovelli that turned out to be a first in the latter's career.
• The reason Londo was constantly unpacking and receiving deliveries in the first season.
• Makeup effects creator John Vulich's approach to how people in the future might age differently than they do today.
• Bill Mumy's suggestion of what to watch closely in "Atonement," and why.
• Why the prop maker put so much work into the Dreaming chalice from "Atonement"...when it was seen only once, and fleetingly.
• The context in which Michael O'Hare said that looking into Mira Furlan's eyes "is one of the easiest things in the world to do."
• Why Lennier was rubbing his hands when he walked into the Dreaming.
• The suggestive wording on a memorial plaque in Admiral Ivanova's office.
• The new title for Babylon 5 that production designer John Iacovelli suggested better reflected what was going on in the storyline.
• Why working on In the Beginning made production designer John Iacovelli want to "reshoot the pilot entirely."
• What the actors did with their "Sleeping in Light" scripts.
• The director who watched the show every week, just like a fan, and who would be "blown away by episodes."
• The two people Michael O'Hare most wanted to live near so he could "bump into them a lot."
• What Patricia Tallman could have done that would have made her "four times the amount of money in one year" that she did on Babylon 5.
• The approach director Jesús Treviño took to Thirdspace to make sure it didn't play like "two Babylon 5 hours."
• Which parts of Sinclair's backstory were revealed to Michael O'Hare...and his reaction to them.
• The Babylon 5 star who said they didn't mind playing their character; they just didn't want to be their character.
• How the director of "Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?" misunderstood the intent of a pivotal scene, causing the company to do re-shoots.
• The thing actor Tim Choate got 40 or more of every time he did Babylon 5.
• The difficulties in shooting the Minbari temple in "Moments of Transition."
• The one-take scene with Zathras and Ivanova in "Conflicts of Interest" -- find out how many takes were filmed and which one appeared in the episode.
• Christopher Franke's approach to the theme music and sound of the Centauri, Narn and Psi Corps, and why one of them built on an experience he'd had in Barcelona.
• Actor William Forward's reaction to the 35 pages of chat-room transcripts that talked about his character, Refa.
• The actor who always cried off-camera for the actor on-camera.
• Which character provoked more snail mail from fans: Lorien or Sebastian?
• Precisely how Christopher Franke would record with the Berlin Orchestra, why it was difficult to work with German musicians at first and why he paid them by the year instead of by the session.
• Michael O'Hare's belief that "Jeffrey Sinclair is...a metaphor for our country."
• Patricia Tallman's biggest regret about Babylon 5. (It's personal.)
• Why there are outdoor images from Earth in Lochley's quarters.
• Which guest actor was given an unprecedented chance to re-shoot his early scenes, and why the unique nature of the episode allowed for the opportunity.
• Why director Jesús Treviño was "bowled over" when he read Thirdspace.
• Why director Jesús Treviño "didn't even get" the implied relationship between Ivanova and Talia while directing "Divided Loyalties."
• The person who was UNDER-credited for the show being renewed each year according to producer John Copeland, who describes him as "the irritation that won't go away."
• Why production designer John Iacovelli thought that the Centauri royal palace looked like the bottle interior from I Dream of Jeannie.
• The specific behavior in fellow actors that Bill Mumy said he had no patience for.
• Was Stephen Furst kidding or not when he said he prepared to play old Vir in "Sleeping in Light" by eating strained peas and letting them drip out of his mouth? You decide.
• The aspect of playing Lennier that Bill Mumy said was the hardest thing (and it's not the makeup).
• The actor JMS called at their home to say, "Whatever you ate for breakfast, whatever you did that day, do that some more; it was incredible!"
• Jesús Treviño on the difficulties of directing Kosh's death scene.
• Why Michael O'Hare was proud of his choking scene in "Soul Hunter."
• Why Claudia Christian was "shocked" when she read the script for Thirdspace.
• Why actor Wayne Alexander had to wear two sets of contact lenses...at the same time.
• The joke played on Patricia Tallman on the set while she was giving an interview to Joe Nazzaro that provoked her to say, "They mind-fuck me all the time, so I don't know what's real anymore."
• The quality Michael O'Hare said Mira Furlan would have even if she was a "scullery maid."
• Why Michael O'Hare shook hands with JMS During the shooting of the pilot and "exchanged words of honor."
• Why the prop maker needed a Barbie doll with a tennis racket.
• The revelation that Babylon 5 did "the beginning after starting the show and the end before the show was finished."
• Why Jason Carter never totally believed the practical joke suggesting that Marcus was going to die in "Grey 17 is Missing."
• The actor who said he's a better director than actor because he's "never going to get better as an actor."
• The role given to Dilbert creator Scott Adams's girlfriend the day he guest starred on Babylon 5.
• Bill Mumy discusses the changes in Lennier's makeup over the first four seasons, and how the application time went from 3 hours 20 minutes down to 1 hour 45 minutes.
• Christopher Franke's technique for coming up with themes for the various alien cultures.
• Details on the "guy on the floor operating the gills."
• Director David J. Eagle's surprising response when congratulated for the Hugo award nomination for "Severed Dreams."
• The two reasons JMS decided to appear on-screen in the finale, after emphatically stating that he would never do so.
• The actor who didn't read the scripts unless their character had dialogue in the episode.
• The interesting difference between German and American directors, according to guest actor Reiner Schöne, who played Dukhat.
• What happened to Rick Biggs that caused him to declare that he would never ask to do something that wasn't in the script again.
• What Refa was thinking while he was listening to Londo's hologram in "And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place."
• Why Patricia Tallman thought "Moments of Transition" was her best episode of the fourth season.
• Why Christopher Franke re-recorded the music for the first two Babylon 5 soundtracks, and how well they sold.
• Was "Into the Fire" intended to be a two-part episode, and would it have worked at twice the length?
• The situation where the decision "reverts back to Joe's vision."
• What Bill Mumy thought of the Minbari Civil War's end in the "Moments of Transition" temple scenes.
• Why JMS told actor William Forward that it was a compliment for Lord Refa to be killed off.
• How Michael O'Hare believed the structure of Babylon 5 was similar to Hill Street Blues.
• What Michael O'Hare meant when he said he was just trying to "get the widgets out."
• Why director Jesús Treviño looked over Tony Dow's shoulder while the latter was directing "Atonement."
• The actors who would make "little kid noises" when they shot their guns, and the director who encouraged it.
• Why director Tony Dow was disappointed in the scene where Franklin installed G'Kar's prosthetic eye...and how the use of the artificial organ in "Rising Star" added to his disappointment.
• Why Christopher Franke believed that "there are still architects who can build you a house if you give them a melody."
• Why Richard Biggs found that SF fans would say "Good work," while another genre of fans only want an autograph.
• What Jason Carter said that ended with, "You have to include that phrase if you print any of this: I don't have any messianic tendencies but my initials are 'J.C.'"
• Why JMS was NOT concerned that "Sleeping in Light" would be spoiled before it aired.
• How the matte paintings of Narn buildings were based on an abandoned factory in San Diego.
• The unusual action taken by a director that actor Tim Choate (Zathras) thanked him for.
• Michael O'Hare's thoughts on what makes an interesting scene.
• How the cast teased Tracy Scoggins when she joined the show, and how it made her feel welcome.
• Why Claudia Christian believed that being on Babylon 5, a science fiction show, wouldn't be harmful to her career.
• Patricia Tallman's complaints about season four.
• Mira Furlan's favorite moments from season four.
• How Christopher Franke provided Kosh's voice.
• What Richard Biggs thought Dr. Franklin's drug addiction did for the character.
• The "psychological game" director Tony Dow played with the actors to make them think he was paying more attention to them.
• The circumstance in which Patricia Tallman was able to "pick up pieces of Kosh."
• What JMS was referring to when he said, "To make it more attractive you show it to people and then yank it away. If you see it for too long, you start to get bored by it."
• Why producer John Copeland chose to direct the ambitious "Endgame," and how "Captain Action" influenced JMS during the writing of the episode.
• The episodes Michael O'Hare considered his favorites.
• Why director Mike Vejar was singled out as "The Director" for In the Beginning.
• Which successful movie credited Patricia Tallman as "Patrick Tallman."
• Patricia Tallman's nickname for "the bad Kosh."
• The importance of Zathras's teeth to the portrayal for actor Tim Choate. (It's more than just the look.)
• The reason producer John Copeland was only pleased with 75% of his work directing "Endgame."
• How the production of the TV movies in 1997 differed from the creation of the pilot in 1992.
• The first scene shot for "Sleeping in Light."
• The production similarities between "Sleeping in Light" and "Chrysalis."
• Why Patricia Tallman didn't watch dallies.
• The scene that literally terrified Patricia Tallman.
• Andreas's suggestion that Londo be a ventriloquist and have a little G'kar doll on his knee.
• The cute thing actor Tim Choate did at age twelve that he started doing again on the Babylon 5 set.
• Why director Tony Dow let the cameras roll and had Jason Carter continue to sing at the end of "Atonement."
• Why JMS used Jerry Doyle during Tracy Scoggins's audition.
• Why JMS wanted to direct "Sleeping in Light," and how he used a tornado metaphor to explain his reasoning.
• The director who believed his job was to "safeguard and protect the performance and the drama in the story."
• How a bottle of glue would have made life so much easier for the prop department in season one, if only someone had thought of it.
• What Michael O'Hare meant when he said, "It's an abuse of the mail and the Internet, and I certainly don't approve of it."
• Inside the head of Christopher Franke: why he wanted to do "the sound of space," the relationship between the music and the storyline, how he approached big, dramatic setpieces and why using musical counter-point to what is happening makes it much more interesting.
• How the non-musical JMS would communicate what he wanted in a Babylon 5 score to Christopher Franke, and why a scene in "The Face of the Enemy" is one they "worked on very hard together."
• What Jason Carter really thought of Dr. Franklin and Marcus's Martian adventure.
• How Bill Mumy felt when he read the "Sleeping in Light" script and discovered Lennier wasn't in it, why he immediately spoke to JMS and what Bill Mumy had in mind instead.
• The mistake made during the chase sequence in "Conflicts of Interest" that was left in because it made the scene better.
• Why JMS had his characters spend so much time searching for the First Ones, only to have them appear briefly in "Into the Fire" and then leave.
• The scene and take in "Sleeping in Light" where director JMS shouted, "Print that one and forget about the other ones."

• Introduction by Joe Nazzaro - The "Lost" O'Hare Interviews (June 2012)
• Michael O'Hare - Jeffrey Sinclair (21 Jan 1993)
• Michael O'Hare - Jeffrey Sinclair (30 June & 12 July 1994)
• Michael O'Hare - Jeffrey Sinclair (7 July 1995)
• Patricia Tallman - Lyta Alexander (22 & 30 Apr 1997)
• Richard Biggs - Stephen Franklin (30 Apr 1997)
• Bear Burge - Prop Maker (30 Apr 1997)
• Wayne Alexander - Lorien, et al (30 Apr 1997)
• Jason Carter - Marcus Cole (30 Apr 1997)
• Peter Jurasik - Londo Mollari (30 Apr 1997)
• Claudia Christian - Susan Ivanova (1 May 1997)
• Jerry Doyle - Michael Garibaldi (1 May 1997)
• Ann Bruice Aling - Costume Designer (2 May 1997)
• John C.Flinn III - Director of Photography (2 May 1997)
• Christopher Franke - Composer (3 May 1997)
• John Vulich - Makeup Effects Creator (12 May 1997)
• Jesús Salvador Treviño - Director (13 May 1997)
• Jeffrey Willerth - Producer's Associate (13 May 1997)
• John Copeland - Producer (20 & 28 May 1997)
• Wayne Barlowe - Concept Artist (5 June 1997)
• J.Michael Straczynski - Creator/Executive Producer (28 May 1997)
• Mira Furlan - Delenn (28 May 1997)
• Jeff Conaway - Zack Allan (28 May 1997)
• Stephen Furst - Vir Cotto (28 May 1997)
• Claudia Christian - Susan Ivanova (29 May 1997) -- 2 weeks after leaving B5
• Shari Belafonte - Elizabeth Trent (29 May 1997)
• John Iacovelli - Production Designer (29 May & 4 June 1997)
• Clyde Kusatsu - Bill Morishi (29 May 1997)
• Douglas Netter - Executive Producer (29 May 1997)
• Jesús Salvador Treviño - Director (29 May 1997)
• "The Exercise of Vital Powers"
• David J. Eagle - Director (3 June 1997)
• Tony Dow - Director (5 June 1997)
• Claudia Christian - Susan Ivanova (29 July 1997)
• Bill Mumy - Lennier (5 Aug 1997)
• Reiner Schöne - Dukhat (6 Aug 1997)
• Tim Choate - Zathras (23 Aug 1997)
• Tracy Scoggins - Elizabeth Lochley (25 Aug 1997)
• David J. Eagle - Director (29 Aug 1997)
• Scott Adams - Mr.Adams (29 Aug 1997)
• Peter Jurasik - Londo Mollari (29 Aug 1997)
• John Lafia - Director (29 Aug 1997)
• Wayne Alexander - Lorien, et al (30 Aug 1997)
• Raye Birk - William (8 Sept 1997)
• William Forward - Antono Refa (2 Sept 1997)
• Damian London - Virini (3 Sept 1997)
• Doug Lefler - Director (12 Nov 1997)
• Bridget Flanery - Zoe (17 Nov 1997)
• David J. Eagle - Director (17 Nov 1997)
• Marie Marshall - Elizabeth "Dodger" Durman (17 Nov 1997)
• Fabiana Udenio - Adira Tyree (17 Nov 1997)
• Tracy Scoggins - Elizabeth Lochley (17 Nov 1997)
• Teller - Zooty (17 Nov 1997)
• Penn Gillette - Rebo (17 Nov 1997)

Index