Babylon 5: The Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski, Volume 5

Publication Date: March 10, 2006
Retire Date: June 30, 2008
Pages: 478
Format: Softcover

Forever out of print.  There will be no new edition of the script books in ebook or hardcover.

SCRIPTS

• The Fall of Night
• Matters of Honor (Original Draft)
• Matters of Honor (Production Draft)
• Convictions
• A Day in the Strife
• Passing Through Gethsemane
• Voices of Authority
• Dust to Dust

Psst...c'mere. Closer. I don't want anybody to hear. Closer.

Okay, maybe not THAT close. Back off just a bit.

Good, all right, here's the deal. This is just between us, right?

See, it turns out that at 482 pages Volume 5 is by far the biggest volume we've put out to date. Any bigger and the whole thing would explode. No, not really, metaphorically...it would come apart, and...never mind, just listen, I --

Did you hear something? No? Okay.

So the reason it's the biggest one to date is that JMS found something a little extra for this volume. Everybody knows that the bonus book (aka Volume 15) is available for everybody who buys all 14 volumes is going to have alternate scripts, lost material, all that good stuff...but it's also already crammed to the rafters with stuff, so when he found this, he --

What did he find? Boy, you are the impatient one, aren't you?

He found an alternate version of the season three debut, "Matters of Honor," and --

Shhhhh! Calm down, we don't want anybody to hear, okay? Because he decided not to hold it for the bonus volume and put it in here back to back with the produced version, so instead of getting SEVEN scripts, you get EIGHT scripts, inclusive of TWO COMPLETE VERSIONS of "Matters of Honor," which --

What's the difference, you ask? We were just GETTING to that. The Londo and Delenn B-stories are the same, but the A-story is all about the founder of the Babylon Project himself coming to visit Babylon 5. A man who is very unhappy with how the Babylon stations have been managed, and in particular with how Sheridan is running things. His presence puts the whole operation at risk...especially when something very strange happens to him while he's on the station, and --

Well, you'll just have to read it for yourself, won't you?

This is a story that JMS wanted to tell from the git-go, presented here complete from end to end, but which had to be set aside in order to keep the momentum going on season three.

And THAT'S why this edition is the biggest volume to date...so big in fact that we had to push the photos to volume 6 or risk the whole book exploding and --

No, no, metaphorically exploding, pay attention for goodness sake. We're not going to explain this again, this garage is way too cold for that, and we've got a turkey waiting at home. (His name is Albert, and he says hello.)

Volume 5 also has 20 pages worth of previously-unseen memos from the third season of Babylon 5.

So let's have the final run-down, shall we?

• The Fall of Night -- the Second Season cliffhanger/finale.
• Matters of Honor -- the Original Draft, containing the story of the Babylon Project Founder coming to B5 for the first time.
• Matters of Honor -- the Production Draft of the Third Season Debut Episode.
• Convictions -- containing what is arguably the funniest scene in all of Babylon 5, in which Londo and G'Kar find themselves trapped in an elevator that is about to kill both of them. (Why this is funny is anyone's guess.)
• A Day in the Strife -- One of the better regarded slice-of-life episodes from the series.
• Passing Through Gethsemane -- Which asks such metaphysical questions as, Where does justice end and revenge begin? Can someone mindwiped to forget his past really atone for his sins? And where on Babylon 5 can one get change for a hundred credit note after ten p.m.?
• Voices of Authority -- A visit by Draal and to Epsilon 3, an attempted seduction by Julie Musante of the Ministry of Peace, ancient races, first-contacts, discussions of the Vorlon god Boojie, and the question, "Zog? Zog what?" What more can anyone ask for in a Babylon 5 episode?
• Dust to Dust -- An intense Bester episode which, when produced, featured a bravura performance by Andreas Katsulas in the one episode that, more than anything else, set G'Kar on the path toward becoming a religious icon.

PLUS! -- 20 pages of JMS's memos

AND FINALLY...a 57 page introduction and episodic commentary by JMS describing in detail for the first time:

• How he went about constructing the B5 season finales;
• The untold tales of his teenage "life of crime" and why it gave the Hugo award win so much more meaning;
• The day he turned down the possibility of seeing a naked lady in deference to a set of really well cooked baby-back ribs;
• How and why Jason Carter was hired as Marcus Cole;
• Detailed recollections of the Lunch Table Political Wars that daily roared through the Babylon 5 main stage
• How the elevator scene with Londo and G'Kar was filmed;
• And for the first time ever...the never-before-told story of the day that Babylon 5 almost came to a complete and total stop in the middle of season three. "The day we almost lost the show," as JMS describes it.

All this...and by far the single biggest volume to date. And we didn't even raise the price.

Not that we didn't think about it. But we've got integrity. We've got class.

And JMS has a sniper on the roof.

Index