This volume is the most candid so far. In the midst of the fourth season, the actors and crew were secure in their positions and had been interviewed by Joe Nazzaro enough times that they were relaxed and trusting.


• Revealed: the truth behind the fondue steam in "A Distant Star." (It was Jerry Doyle's idea.)
• How costume designer Ann Bruice developed the Ranger pin.
• It's true: Peter Jurasik never thought Londo would make it the entire five years. Find out why.
• The development of Claudia Christian's "sex dance" in "Acts of Sacrifice."
• Andreas Katsulas's reaction to a possible prequel TV movie.
• Who director Jim Johnston was talking about: "She's not an actress...I stayed off of her as much as I could because I just didn't think she was very good."
• Which episode is considered by writer Peter David to be "the last gasp of funny Londo."
• The case in which the producers were (jokingly) told they'd have to pay $15,000 just to use someone's last name.
• What Mr. Toad's Wild Ride has to do with the Babylon 5 pilot, according to Peter Jurasik.
• Why Bill Mumy "never had to take a job that he didn't want."
• No-detail-spared description of actor Ed Wasser's first appearance at a Babylon 5 convention. Live the moments.
• Specifics about the things JMS did on Babylon 5 that Star Trek would rather go off the air than do, according to conceptual consultant Harlan Ellison.
• Why being confined to a viewscreen in "Knives" let actor William Forward be more angry.
• How the departure of Na'Toth affected G'Kar, according to Andreas Katsulas.
• Why "a good Centauri party always starts with a chained Narn."
• The reaction of the costume department when, in a letter from an outraged fan, they were accused of sinking to the standards of "Charlie's Angels, Baywatch and Buck Rogers in leather bikinis."
• The actor who loved doing commercials and considered it his "greatest success."
• How one of the actors was "busted" by one of the producers for asking for opinions on his character in a Babylon 5/AOL chat room.
• Where actor Wortham Krimmer had worked with Bruce Boxleitner, Richard Biggs and Peter Jurasik before Babylon 5.
• How the main characters' costumes evolved in seasons three and four...and the suggestions from the actors that costume designer Ann Bruice integrated into them.
• Chutzpah alert – how Jim Johnston would have directed "And Now for a Word."
• The one quality Jeff Conaway believes is essential for a director to be good.
• Who said, "I draw from myself–the need to be wanted and needed and to feel some self-worth."
• Jason Carter's opinion on the differences between the American and British press, and how it impacted him personally.
• Details, memories, reminisces, snapshots, anecdotes – okay, a lot of information – from Harlan Ellison about what he did specifically as Babylon 5's conceptual consultant.
• Find out what Jerry Doyle said he got more of than anyone else on Babylon 5.
• Details of Richard Biggs's research for "Believers" and the choices Dr. Franklin made.
• How Andrea Thompson's departure affected Jerry Doyle.
• Why Bruce Boxleitner was compared to Errol Flynn.
• Specifics of the problem Richard Biggs had with the episode "Gropos."
• What Jason Carter believed was the one thing you had to prove before you could work in America.
• The scene that Andreas Katsulas described as the "crowning jewel of difficulty."
• Why Peter Jurasik believed that viewers were upset by the choices that Londo made.
• How actor Turhan Bey – who played Centauri Emperor Turhan – used Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph as a basis of comparison for his part.
• The actor who bumped into an old college buddy who didn't know they were both on Babylon 5 until they saw each other in the same episode.
• The sets that caused the crew the most frustration.
• Why Bill Mumy rarely appeared at conventions.
• The episode Richard Biggs wished he "could have back."
• The episodes Claudia Christian was asked about most often.
• How the Vindrizi creatures were created without CGI.
• The differences between directing Bruce Boxleitner and Michael O'Hare.
• How JMS incorporated elements of Claudia Christian's personality into Susan Ivanova.
• Why Peter Jurasik wasn't sure that Londo was telling the truth when, after Kosh was revealed at the end of season two, the character said he hadn't seen anything.
• What actor Walter Koenig said he could do on Babylon 5 that he could never do on Star Trek.
• The evolution of Kosh's suit, as told by the man who wore it.
• Rangers with capes. Rangers with dusters. Who got which, and why?
• Actor William Forward's reaction to the Centauri hair.
• The violent scene that was edited for the original UK airing.
• The classic novel that conceptual consultant Harlan Ellison said most resembled Babylon 5.
• What happened when PTEN ran eight new episodes in a row.
• The guest star that forced Andreas Katsulas to raise his game.
• The thing director Tony Dow didn't understand about the Grey Council.
• The actor who was never seen onscreen, but who described Babylon 5 as "the occasional jewel from heaven that drops in my lap."
• The situation in which actor Jason Carter would barely move his head when shooting.
• The "recipe" producers would use to select which directors would be assigned which episodes.
• The two-sentence springboard writer Peter David was given by JMS to write "Soul Mates."
• What Mars and Z'ha'dum have in common, from a production-design perspective.
• Why Claudia Christian was convinced that she was going to die in a Starfury.
• Which scene was described by one of the actors as "they're all going off to the Super Bowl."
• Why it was believed that if the Babylon 5 crew were unionized, it would "be the economic death of the show," and how the producers got a landmark labor contract that had zero negative impact on the budget.
• Why, over the hiatus between seasons three and four, half the makeup crew left the series.
• The actor Jerry Doyle disliked so much he would barely speak to him.
• The actor who would only watch his episodes when he was building a new demo reel.
• How, when Morden was killed off, actor Ed Wasser thought he might return to the series.
• What Jerry Doyle would do at the studio to make the best out of the fact that he "spent more time with the cast and crew" than he did with his own family.
• How actor Walter Koenig's short stature helped his approach to playing Bester.
• How Bob Dylan's song "Like a Rolling Stone" helped Peter Jurasik approach certain scenes.
• Andreas Katsulas explains how his "evil twin" was responsible for the practical joke he played on JMS at a particular convention, and how he was afraid afterward that his character would suffer "seven more deaths."
• The secrets behind how the show's digital effects were designed.
• The two sets that production designer John Iacovelli said "will always stay there."
• The actor who "fell in love" with his character's face.
• The one word Richard Biggs said described what Franklin was looking for in season four.
• The person who said of Babylon 5, "This is why I became an actor."
• How director David J. Eagle intended to edit a pivotal scene with Refa, G'Kar and the Narn mob, and how it was re-cut by the producers.
• Why Jason Carter was pissed off at Jerry Doyle for being "so brittle."
• Why, in the episode "Revelations," director Jim Johnston cut out all traces of Sheridan's sister, only to have JMS put them all back in.
• How the Lennier dummy from "Convictions" became a long-standing joke between Peter Jurasik and Bill Mumy.
• How the elimination of the Earthforce uniforms and their leather trim created new problems just as frustrating to the costume department.
• The question asked of Andreas Katsulas that struck fear into him.
• Andreas Katsulas's favorite moments on Babylon 5.
• Why Claudia Christian believed that Ivanova was the character most like her of the roles she had played.
• Why actor Ed Wasser didn't like the episode "Falling Toward Apotheosis."
• The specific reason JMS felt he had to write every season four episode, and how he likened his quandary to Frankenstein's monster.
• The cinematic craft Babylon 5 producers would employ when they needed a huge set or location, but needed a really cheap alternative.
• Why the character of Lorien was fitted with finger extensions.
• Why director David J. Eagle would finish lunch ten minutes before anyone else.
• What Bruce Boxleitner would do on set to make guest stars feel at ease.
• Which guest actor gave hair and makeup signed copies of his autobiography.
• Why there were so many new directors in season four.
• The guest actor who played three different characters...and was married to one of the crew members.
• How Wortham Krimmer said he was able to play Cartagia as "completely out of his mind, but not crossing over into cartoon."
• The "fight" between Mira Furlan and JMS...over a bone.
• Why actor Walter Koenig believed that an actor should never scream.
• Andreas Katsulas's explanation of how his approach to acting differed from Peter Jurasik's.
• Who said, "It's really Joe's song and we're all there to sing it."
• What director Janet Greek did when Andreas Katsulas was struggling with a scene in the Zocalo.
• Why the crew had to dismantle the medlab at the end of season two, and how that affected the set in season three.
• Why actor Ed Wasser originally wanted a role like the part of Lt. Corwin, and why his logic was wrong.
• The technique director Jim Johnston would use to prevent his actors from "thinking" during a take.
• The thing that happened to Babylon 5 between seasons three and four that producers felt "raised the show to another level."
• Jason Carter's version of the story where Bill Mumy and JMS led Jason to believe that Marcus was going to be killed in "Grey 17 Is Missing"...and how Mira Furlan reacted to their gag.
• Why Jeff Conaway believed that "playing a hero is one of the most difficult things in the world."
• Which Babylon 5 star got a good review in The Hollywood Reporter...but the paper used his character's name instead of his real name.
• How did Jeff Conaway complete this sentence: "What an actor really needs, more than anything else, is _________."
• Jason Carter's "weird confession" about why he had never seen Michael O'Hare's acting work.
• Why, with Refa dead, Londo would need a new source for bagels. (Yes, bagels.)
• Why a situation on the show Taxi gave Jeff Conaway extra empathy for Michael O'Hare when he returned in season three.
• Which Babylon 5 star said he was developing a line of vitamins for the Home Shopping Network.
• How Richard Biggs altered his approach to playing Franklin in the wake of his near-death experience in season three.
• Why Ivanova's costume was consistently one of the toughest to fit.
• The element of Kosh's encounter suit that always looked black onscreen, even though at one point the fabric was metallic purple.
• Details about Peter Jurasik's videotape library of Babylon 5 episodes -- how he rated each of them with stars, why so few had more than three stars and the ones that earned his highest rating.
• Which department head said, "I feel they are lucky to have me." And why that same person also said, "I don't even think I was a fan of Babylon 5 in the first year other than it was my show."
• Take a guess: how many people does it take to fill up the central corridor set to prevent it from looking sparse? Find out in director Jim Johston's interview.
• The scenes in which Richard Biggs was the only actor on set, why he had to film the last scene first and how he kept all the out-of-sequence scenes straight in his head.
• Which costumed actor ran into JMS's office shouting, "Please, please, can I keep wearing it?"
• The situation in the writing of the show that JMS compared to "the three queens who took Arthur back to Avalon."
• The action producer John Copeland took that really "ruffled a lot of feathers" at Warner Bros., but which helped raised the profile of the show.
• Which scene Mira Furlan and Andreas Katsulas refer to as "the crybaby scene."
• The recurring character director Jim Johnston referred to as a one-beat thing.
• What made Londo so interesting in season three, according to Peter Jurasik.
• Why director Jim Johnston dreaded any scene set in Fresh Air or Earhart's.
• What Jason Carter meant when he said, "You get a stunt guy to blow your nose."
• How JMS turned PTEN's decision to air the season four premiere one week after the season three finale "to his advantage, rather than having it be a hindrance."
• The thing Michael O'Hare would do (or not do) that would slow down the production.
• According to Richard Biggs, the one skill Dr. Franklin didn't have that he really needed. (It's not medical.)
• The instance where JMS would instruct an actor to say a character's lines exactly as the writer heard them in his head.
• The movie Jeff Conaway wanted to be in so badly, he offered to pay the producers to be in the film.
• The scene the producers thought was too gory for the show and had re-edited.
• Which actor, when they did NOT get a part, would watch the show to see who did.
• Who complained that, "I looked like I had a nose the size of Brooklyn" in the episode "In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum."
• What quality an actor has to have so that there's little danger in stage fighting.
• Find out which Babylon 5 star said, "I'll flirt with women and men because...I think it's amusing to watch people's reactions."
• Which B5 star confessed, "I always look at the work and think that could have gone better."
• Learn about how the costumes were used to hide deficiencies in the makeup.
• The Marcus Cole backstory given to Jason Carter by JMS when he was cast -- everything from the character's work on Arisia to his arrival on Babylon 5.
• The situation in which Andreas Katsulas was told he looked like Paul Newman.
• How director Janet Greek handled the awkward process of filming the final episode of season one midway through the season and then following it up with the episode that set up the situation in the previous show.
• Why production designer John Iacovelli thought the war room was the series's best-looking set.
• Who would have said, "Without Sheridan's presence, we have become scattered like leaves," and why the line was cut from the edited episode.
• Why Richard Biggs thought the line, "The only thing we've got is that we're alive" was important.
• Which character's costume took three women two weeks just to manufacturer the fabric.
• Why the Llorts were repeatedly redesigned by Optic Nerve.
• The scene that caused conceptual consultant Harlan Ellison to exclaim, "I found that absolutely amazing. What other show would do that?"
• The only series regular that actor Ed Wasser did NOT read with when Babylon 5's pilot was being cast.
• What gym members would shout at Richard Biggs when he went for a workout.
• Why Lyta's wardrobe was always bought-from-the-store stuff that was later tweaked prior to season four, and why she was put in a black quilted vest when shooting on the White Star.
• What Jason Carter did when he was nervous during a scene.
• The reason Stephen Furst was the only cast member who got the chance to direct.
• The actor who considered himself primarily a writer.
• The actor who had once directed Bruce Boxleitner.
• Why JMS avoided back-to-back effects-heavy episodes.
• Why actor Paul Williams couldn't remember anything before 1989.
• Details about why many of actor Paul Winfield's lines were cut from "Gropos."
• The "retro" method in which Andreas kept up with Internet feedback about his work.
• Why Jeff Conaway chose Babylon 5 over the road tour of Grease, which would have paid "a lot of money."
• How an article about Biosphere II in Science News impacted how Babylon 5 would shoot scenes in a certain locale.
• What Jason Carter meant when he said, "It was like gong to a trainspotter's convention and you just happened to be the train, and they're busy writing your number down and photographing you."
• The specific effort actor Michael York made that impressed Richard Biggs.
• The problem with every story idea Andreas Katsulas suggested to JMS.
• Why Peter Jurasik had to stop drinking coffee the day he played "Old Londo" in "War Without End."
• Details of Andreas Katsulas's prank on his castmates about a pay-cut for the fourth season...as told by the one person who did NOT fall for it.
• The script that inspired Peter Jurasik to call JMS and ask what drugs he was on when he wrote it.
• What Claudia Christian meant when she said, "I'm still waiting for my big 'Mira scene.'"
• Why JMS loaned actor Walter Koenig money...without being asked.
• And last but not least, is it just us, or as you read this volume, can you not help but notice actor Ed Wasser's obsession with his hair?

WHY DO YOU INCLUDE AN AUDIO CD INSTEAD OF AN MP3?
To preserve audio quality. The masters of these recordings are mediocre. They have been remixed by a top-rate engineer to enhance the clarity of the voices. Transfering them to audio CD -- which is lossless -- means you get to hear all the nuances that would be lost in the MP3 format.

IS THIS A LIMITED-EDITION SERIES?
Yes. The six volumes are being released one per month for six months, from March through August 2012. For the first 7 days of each release they are discounted $20 off.

While the series was originally scheduled to go out of print in September, fans have asked that we keep them on sale through the holidays. This means they will now be available at least through December 31.

IMPORTANT NOTE: While the series will remain available beyond the initial date, the volumes will NEVER be discounted again after their 7-day debut discount of $20 off.

FOR THE ENTIRE FAQ CLICK HERE