Babylon 5 Magazine Issue 21 Review

First Published: 04/02/00

Issue 21 of The Official Babylon 5 Magazine features a cover photograph of Ambassador Delenn along with the tacky headline, "Get intimate with the women of Babylon 5!"

Features

That headline refers to the first two feature articles. The first is an interview with actress Mira Furlan, who played Delenn. The second is an article on the female characters of Babylon 5. Several academics give their opinions of how women were handled on the show.

"The Making of Babylon 5" is an insightful look at the pilot and first two seasons. While much of this history is well know to many Babylon 5 fans, there are many new interview quotes that add new light to the early days of the show.

Larry DiTillio, the story editor during the first two seasons and writer of seven episodes, is interviewed. A surprising revelation is that DiTillio was commissioned to write a script for Crusade.

The in-depth look at the character of John Sheridan begun in Issue 17 and continued in Issue 19 concludes with an analysis of John Sheridan as President of the Interstellar Alliance.

Part four of the massive Babylon 5 Official Chronology spans the time period from 2245 to 2258. This brings the timeline up to the beginning of Season One. In addition to being well researched, the timeline has an attractive graphic design and lavish illustrations. The timeline began in Issue 18.

Episode Examination

As a companion to the interview with Larry DiTillio, this month's "Station Log" covers his episode "GROPOS". This feature provides a synopsis and background information on the episode. Sidebars include interviews with Richard Biggs, Marie Marshall (Dodger), and Larry DiTillio.

Regular Columns

The Babylon 5 Magazine includes several regular columns. "ISN News" contains short news articles about Babylon 5, Crusade, and their casts and crews. This month's articles include stories about Jerry Doyle's run for Congress, John Copeland's documentary on the Flying Tigers, and more.

Fiona Avery discusses upcoming Babylon 5 fiction in her "Illuminations" column.

"The Great Machine" is a forum in which Fiona Avery usually answers your questions about the Babylon 5 universe, but this month she prints excerpts from Dr. Franklin's journal about Minbari physiology. "Lines of Communication" prints letters from readers.

The issue is concluded by J. Michael Straczynski's "The Last Word". This month he reveals how he became a writer.

Conclusion

The Official Babylon 5 Magazine is published by Titan Magazines in the UK, and it is also available in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Sadly, Titan has announced that Issue 24 will be the final publication of this magazine.