Babylon 5 Magazine Issue 24 Review

First Published: 07/23/00

Issue 24 of The Official Babylon 5 Magazine is the final issue. In an effort to complete all of the ongoing projects, this issue sports a generous 96 pages. The highlight of this issue is a new Babylon 5 short story by J. Gregory Keyes.

Features

Peter Jurasik and Andreas Katsulas are interviewed together. Their shared responses are entertaining to read, with a give and take style befitting the actors who played Londo and G'Kar. They discuss their work together, their characters, and their behind-the-scenes antics.

Next, David Bassom interviews producer John Copeland about getting Babylon 5 started, running it on a budget, and the problems faced by Crusade.

The analysis of mythology's influence on Babylon 5 in Issue 22 is followed up this month with a look at Babylon 5's internal mythology. Part of what made the Babylon 5 universe seems so complete was the feeling of history and grandeur that was contributed to by the Vorlons, Shadows, prophecies, Lorien, the techno-mages and other sources of the story's myths.

"The Making of Babylon 5", which began in Issue 21, concludes with a double shot. Part Four looks at Babylon 5's fifth season. Beginning with the last-minute replacement of Claudia Christian, this article follows the production through the telepath and Centauri arcs along with a couple off-format episodes. It's a nice summary of what went on in the show's final year. This issue also contains the fifth part of this ongoing feature. This article recaps Crusade and the four TV movies. The sidebar that goes along with these two articles include final words from the cast about Babylon 5.

Part seven of the massive Babylon 5 Official Chronology concludes the work of Terry Jones with a massive 30-page entry. The final installment spans the time period from January 2261 through the next million years. This encompasses all of Season Four, Season Five, the last three TV movies, Crusade, and the events of "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars". In addition to being well researched, the timeline has an attractive graphic design and lavish illustrations. Demonstrating the author's and publisher's commitment to this resource, two pages are devoted to corrections and new additions to the Chronology from previous issues. The timeline began in Issue 18.

Episode Examination

This month's "Station Log" covers "The Fall of Centauri Prime". This feature provides a synopsis and background information on the conclusion of Londo's rise to the Emperor's throne and his corresponding decline into the clutches of the Drakh. Sidebars include interviews with director Doug Wise and actors Peter Jurasik and Damian London.

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 this section includes articles about the making of the Official Chronology and the history of the Official Babylon 5 Magazine itself..

Fiona Avery uses her "Illuminations" column to tell readers where they can read or hear more of her work in the coming months.

"The Great Machine" is usually a forum in which Fiona Avery compiles Draal's answers questions about the Babylon 5 universe. However, this month Draal advises readers how to cope with life after his column is discontinued. "Lines of Communication" prints letters from readers.

The issue is concluded by J. Michael Straczynski's "The Last Word". Once again he discusses why the closing of The Official Babylon 5 Magazine isn't important. The show is important, and the show is complete. Straczynski shares an emotional story of the impact Babylon 5 had on one life. He concludes with a dialog between Londo and G'Kar about what makes humans different.

Read the review of J. Gregory Keyes' short story, "The Nautilus Coil".