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The Zocalo Today

Welcome! I am glad that you found The Zocalo Today and dropped by. Take your shoes off, get comfortable and stay a while. There is a LOT of information here and you won't want to miss any of it.

The Zocalo Today is an interactive newsletter, encouraging readers to join a discussion topic each week. If you have suggestions as to how The Zocalo can be improved -- or be more responsive -- send them along. The Zocalo Today is as much YOUR newsletter as it is mine! I'm just pulling together things for you!

Join our weekly discussion topic. It is just one way you can interact with other Z readers. If you have other information you would like to share, send it along. If you see Babylon 5 cast and crew in other roles, let us know. We enjoy convention reports, photos, etc. Don't miss our back issues. I hope this will become more than just a newsletter. It's a community of people that enjoy sharing their experiences and interests. Don't be shy. Join us today!

If you have questions, drop me a line at sgbruckner@aol.com or thezocalo@aol.com. If you would like to join the mailing list for our bi-weekly newsletter, send me a note and I'll include you on the list. Or you can use the subscription block at the left.

Again, WELCOME!

What's New Today

Friday, June 20:

RATINGS: Top SF Network Shows: Smallville 4.5; Buffy 3.0; Enterprise 2.8; Alias 2.1; Twilight Zone 1.6; Sabrina 1.6, and Charmed 1.5. Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report, 5/19/03 - 5/25/03.

TRACKER: Fans of this SCIFI series will be glad to hear that it is returning to SCIFI's schedule on June 25. It will be seen starting at 8:00pm ET. For more information, go to http://www.scifi.com/tracker/.

THE HULK: THE LOWDOWN: For those who missed SCIFI's special on THE HULK, you'll have more opportunities to see it. Today it will air at 4:00pm ET and 7:00pm ET. Tomorrow it will be shown at 10:00am. On Sunday, it can be seen at 11:00pm. For a look at some video clips and storyboards, go to http://www.scifi.com/hulk/.

THE HULK: The movie opens this weekend in nearly 3,600 theaters. Everyone expects it to handly take the #1 spot at the box office. With a number of very positive reviews already out on the net, fans will be introduced to a new Bruce Banner. Australian-born newcomer Eric Bana has the title role, with Jennifer Connelly, Nick Nolte and Sam Elliott as strong supporting cast members. According to the Hollywood Reporter, although rated PG-13, the story of Banner's transformation by way of his inner demons into a huge mutant green monster may be too intense for the youngest moviegoers.

THE PUNISHER: Trailers for this 2004 movie are to begin showing with today's premiere of THE HULK. You can go to http://www.apple.com/trailers/artisan/the_punisher/teaser/ for a teaser of the movie. Filming begins in August with Thomas Jane in the title role.

MONK: MONK returns to the line-up at USA Networks tonight. Tony Shaloub graces the cover of the TV Guide this week as the quirky detective Adrian Monk. The second season opener, written by David Breckman, finds Monk is called upon to investigate the death of an English teacher who apparently leaped from the clock tower. This will give you something to watch at 10:00 tonight -- after Stargate SG-1!

X-FILES: David Duchovny is set to write and direct THE HOUSE OF D, a multilayered drama about a New Yorker coming to terms with his past and present. Robin Williams, Téa Leoni and Road to Perdition youngster Tyler Hoechlin star in the emotional fable told through a series of flashbacks.

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX: The new book isn't officially for sale until 12:01am tonight, but reviews are popping up around the net already. Curious? Go to http://www.entertainmentstudios.com/entertain_news/a/20030619/3ef291c6.a31.2/index_is.asp.

SMALLVILLE: Warner Home Video will release the first season of The WB's Smallville on DVD on Sept. 23. The six-disc collection will have a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $64.92. Among the features are: Audio Commentary : Pilot and First Episode; DVD ROM Features: Link to Smallville site featuring added bonus material; Deleted Scenes: Pilot; Interactive tour of Smallville; Storyboards; and TV Spot.

INSIDE SCI-FI THIS WEEK:
Wednesday, June 18:

Thursday, June 19:
TOP SF DVD SALES: 1. Adventures of Indiana Jones; 2. The Two Towers; 3. Buffy Season Four; 4. Stargate SG-1, Season Three; 5. The Animatrix; 6. Die Another Day; 7. Chamber of Secrets; 8. Angel Season Two; 9. Star Trek Nemesis, and 10. Fellowship of the Ring. Source: Amazon.com, top-selling genre DVDs, 6/16/03.

MUTANT X: MUTANT X fans are used to seeing Victor Webster as Brennan on the series. This weekend, you can catch him in a totally different role on 'Sex and the City'' (June 22, 9pm on HBO). After being named one of People magazine's "50 Most Eligible Bachelors" last year, Victor meets Samantha Jones (KIM CATTRALL) and "We meet each other at the front door. Then she comes to give me a gift basket -- I don't want to spoil too much of it -- but as you can imagine, I answer the door just out of the shower and a series of events happen."

HARRY POTTER: Rumors started floating around yesterday regarding Daniel Radcliffe's return for the next HARRY POTTER film. Word came that he wanted to return to school, etc. Today, Dark Horizons reports that Radcliffe's mother has dismissed rumors that her son is leaving the "Harry Potter" franchise - "It is all rubbish", whilst a source for the IMDb indicates "Daniel will be in the fourth film, there is not a grain of truth in reports that his schoolwork has been suffering. He has had the best results ever. His schoolwork has never been better - he is a very hardworking young man".

Meanwhile, J.K. Rowling and her publisher are suing the New York's Daily News. The tabloid published brief excerpts from the much-anticipated book, giving away the plot to fans. The suit was filed on Wednesday in the federal court for southern New York, accusing the newspaper of copyright infringement. The book is set to be released at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, with events planned for New York, London and Australia and many points in between. No advance copies were made available to the media as the publisher had hoped to keep the plot of the book under wraps until its release, stoking the curiosity of Potter fans everywhere.

CHAT TONIGHT: Christopher Judge is in for a chat tonight at SCIFI.COM.

RATINGS: Top 10 Syndicated Shows: Stargate SG-1 2.2; 3rd Rock 2.1; The X-Files 2.1; Mutant X 2.0; Buffy 1.8; Andromeda 1.7; Adventure Inc. 1.6; Beastmaster 1.5; Sabrina 1.4, and John Edward 1.2. Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report, 5/19/03 - 5/25/03.

STARGATE PREMIERE: Last Friday's two-hour premiere episodes for season seven of STARGATE SG-1 handily beat its cable competition with a 1.9 household rating. The show delivered more viewers (2.43 million) than any season premiere of any series in SCI FI history. The premiere also brought in more viewers than any episode of STARGATE SG-1 in its entire cable run to date. The premiere was the most-watched June telecast in the history of SCI FI and outshone its basic-cable competition, coming in at number one for the day in both persons 18-49 (1.35) and persons 25-54 (1.55).

STARGATE CHATS: Speaking of STARGATE SG-1, don't forget about the chat with RICHARD DEAN ANDERSON tonight on SCIFI.COM. The chat begins at 9:00pm ET. The transcript from the chat with AMANDA TAPPING can be found at http://www.scifi.com/transcripts/2003/atapping6.16.html. CHRISTOPHER JUDGE chats tomorrow.

HARRY POTTER V: Everyone is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the fifth HARRY POTTER novel. Set to arrive on book shelves at 12:01am on June 21, amazon.com reports that advance orders have already doubled those of book four. An unprecedented 6.8 million copies of J.K. Rowling's book go on sale Saturday morning, with an additional 1.7 million ready to ship if early sales reports are strong. Reuters reports that thousands of copies of the nover were stolen from a warehouse in England over the weekend. The 7,680 copies of HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX were taken in a late-night robbery on Merseyside in northern England on June 15. Police cautioned would-be readers not to touch the books, or else face criminal charges themselves. Booksellers, distributors, printers, binders and the like have signed affidavits promising to keep PHOENIX secure until the exact on-sale moment. USA Today reports that U.S. publisher Scholastic has a field operations group mobilized to follow up on rumors of early sales.

HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY: The British commercial and video-directing and producing team of Hammer & Tongs will helm a feature film based on Douglas Adams' HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY for Spyglass partner Roger Birnbaum and Disney. Variety reported the team—writer-director Garth Jennings and producer Nick Goldsmith—will work with writer Karey Kirkpatrick (Chicken Run), who did a polish on a script written by Adams before he died nearly two years ago. Spyglass is budgeting the film and will soon set a start date. Adams will receive a posthumous executive producer credit. The much-loved book tells the story of Arthur Dent, who one day is whisked away by an alien to become an intergalactic traveler, while Earth is about to be flattened to make way for an intergalactic bypass. The book was previously adapted for the BBC in the early 1980s.

CSI: Congratulations to CSI star William Petersen. He married his longtime girlfriend, Gina Cirrone, over the weekend in Italy. According to AP, the couple is now spending their honeymoon in Europe.

I, ROBOT: Fox's sci-fi thriller, I, ROBOT, has two new cast additions -- James Cromwell and Bruce Greenwood. They Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan and Chi McBride in the futuristic feature based on an Isaac Asimov novel. Cromwell plays an eccentric doctor who creates an advanced robot, while Greenwood plays a corrupt businessman who tries to obstruct a murder investigation. Shooting is currently under way in Vancouver.

Tuesday, June 17:
SHORELEAVE: For those of us in the Washington-Baltimore area, Shore Leave & FarPoint are two of the best conventions around. The Shore Leave folks have had a change in their guest list for their coming convention, July 11-13. John Rhys-Davis was called to New Zealand for filming so Christopher Judge from STARGATE SG-1 is filling in for me. See details below.

SIR ROGER: Roger Moore, who has graced both the big and little screen as such favorites as James Bond and The Saint, Simon Templer, received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II over the weekend. The 75-year-old actor was cited for his work for children's charity UNICEF.

DAWN OF THE DEAD: Principal photography on Universal Pictures' DAWN OF THE DEAD has begun in and around the city of Toronto, Canada. With a scheduled release sometime in 2004, Universal describes the remake's storyline as follows: "In DAWN OF THE DEAD, an unexplained plague has decimated the world's population and yet...the dead aren't dying. They've become zombies, stalking endlessly in a constant quest to feed on the flesh and blood of the few remaining living. A ragtag group of desperate survivors in a Wisconsin town seek refuge in a large indoor shopping mall, where they must learn not only to protect themselves from the ever-increasing zombie horde, but also to co-exist with each other as one of the last bastions of humanity. Sealed off from the rest of what used to be the world, the group uses every available resource (both within and without) in their against-all-odds fight to remain alive and human." The cast includes Ving Rhames; Sarah Polley; Mekhi Phifer; Jake Weber; Kevin Zegers. Zack Snyder is directing; James Gunn wrote the screenplay.

LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN: Over at IGN Force you can find a wonderful assortment of posters for this uncoming film. There are also interviews and tidbits about the movie set for release on September 19.

THE HULK: With all the advertisements and pop-ups, I was waiting to read a review of THE HULK and The Hollywood Reporter has one at http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/reviews/review_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1911227. The movie, set to open this weekend, also got two thumbs up from Ebert and Roeper.

SLOW BURN: According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jolene Blalock from ENTERPRISE has been tapped as the female lead in GreeneStreet Films and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment's SLOW BURN for writer-helmer Wayne Beach. The thriller also stars Ray Liotta and James Todd Smith -- aka rapper LL Cool J -- in the story of a politically ambitious district attorney (Liotta) who enters a 24-hour showdown with a powerful gang leader only to find he is being manipulated by a beautiful assistant district attorney (Blalock) and an enigmatic stranger (Smith).

GREGORY PECK: Gregory Peck was laid to rest yesterday and with all the words spoken, these jumped off the page to me this morning as Brock Peters eulogized his fellow actor. "In art there is compassion, in compassion there is humanity, and in humanity there is generosity and love. Gregory Peck gave us these attributes in full measure."

Monday, June 16:

RATINGS: Top 10 SCIFI Channel Shows: The Faculty 1.3; Stargate SG-1 1.2; Child of Darkness, Light 1.1; Exorcist III 1.1; Future Sport 1.0; The Ninth Gate 1.0; Exorcist 2 1.0; Running Man 1.0; Leprechaun 0.8, and Amityville III 0.8. Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report, 5/19/03 - 5/25/03.

BABYLON 5 DVD REVIEW: Melissa Perenson provides SCIFI with a review of the Season Two DVD from Babylon 5. Check it out at http://www.scifi.com/sfw/advance/13_screen.html and see if you agree with Melissa's assessment.

CHAT TONIGHT: AMANDA TAPPING, Major Samantha Carter from STARGATE SG-1 will be at SCIFI tonight, Monday, June 16, at 9PM ET, 6PM PT to chat with fans about her role in the series.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: FINDING NEMO from Disney/Pixar returned to the #1 spot this weekend, taking in an estimated $29.2 million over the weekend and a stellar $192.3 million in 17 days. The weekend's biggest disappointment had to be the debut of Sony's "Hollywood Homicide," a roughly $75 million production starring Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett. The film opened in the fifth spot with -- relative to its cost and high-wattage star power -- a grim estimate of $11.7 million. Universal's "2 Fast 2 Furious" took the second spot with an estimated $19.1 million, off 62% from its sterling $50.5 million debut a week earlier. Another Universal title held the next spot as "Bruce Almighty" reaped an estimated $14.2 million, slipping a modest 36% in its fourth session. Paramount's "Rugrats Go Wild" placed fourth in its opening weekend with a lackluster estimate of $12.5 million. The previous two "Rugrats" movies -- 1998's "The Rugrats Movie" and 2000's "Rugrats in Paris: The Movie" -- opened much better, with $27.3 million and $22.7 million, respectively. New Line's "Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd," the frame's only other wide release, arrived with an estimated $11.1 million to take the sixth slot.

Sunday, June 15:
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY: I hope that all you Dads out there have an enjoyable day.

BOOK SALE: If you like to read --and I hope you all do -- Ranger Dave sent along a great offer that could save you some money. Go to http://www.bookcloseouts.com/bc/Default.asp and see if they have titles you want/need. Their summer reading sale is terrific -- and covers all categories.

DAREDEVIL: Now here's a DVD that defines the meaning of "extras"! When the DAREDEVIL movie is released on DVD July 29, here is a list of the features to be included: The two-disc DVD, which will cost $29.98, is presented in Widescreen (Aspect Ratio 2:35:1) and Fullscreen with English 5.1 DTS, English 5.1 Dolby Digital, French Dolby Surround and Spanish Dolby Surround sound. There will be production commentary by Mark Steven Johnson and Gary Foster; two new documentaries, "Beyond Hell's Kitchen: Making Daredevil" with an optional enhanced viewing mode and "The Men Without Fear: The Art of Daredevil;" six multi-angle scene studies, enhanced viewing mode; the HBO First Look Special; :Shadow World" - an in depth look at how Daredevil views the world; a modeling sheet - bios on Daredevil villains and heroes; a Kingpin featurette; 3 music videos - "Bring Me To Life" by Evanescence, "Won't Back Down" by Fuel and "For You" by The Calling; Jennifer Garner's screen test; a still gallery; the original theatrical trailers -- and the full-length screenplay.

DISCUSSION TOPIC: With all the hype over the STARGATE SG-1 premeire on Friday, I thought I'd open up a discussion about what fans thought about the beginning of Season 7. Check out the topic below.

Saturday, June 14:
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: The third installment for MISSION IMPOSSIBLE has been moved off a bit. According to Variety, Paramount Pictures' Mission: Impossible 3 won't begin shooting until January; no new release date has been set.

THE HULK: SCIFI premieres it's THE HULK: THE LOWDOWN - a behind the scenes special on the upcoming movie Wednesday at 10:00pm.

Friday, June 13:
RATINGS: Top Network Shows: Smallville 4.2; Buffy 2.5; Enterprise 2.4; Enterprise encore 2.4, and Smallville encore 2.6. Source: Nielsen Galaxy Report, 5/12/03 - 5/18/03.

STARGATE SG-1: TONIGHT is the night! Starting at 8:00pm, Amanda Topping and Michael Shanks will host a sneak peek at season seven premiere and other upcoming episodes. There are some wonderful clips over at http://www.scifi.com/stargate/lowdown/ that you will NOT want to miss! Then at 9:00pm, season seven begins with a two-hour episode.

RAY HARRYHAUSEN: Harryhausen, who has created legions of movie monsters and aliens over the years, turns 83 on June 29. He appeared at a ceremony with SF author Ray Bradbury and Forrest J. Ackerman, founder of the Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine.

KING ARTHUR: Touchstone Pictures' KING ARTHUR has begun filming in Ireland. The Hollywood Reporter indicated that Stellan Skarsgard and Til Schweiger have joined the cast. Skarsgard will play the father of Cynric, a Saxon knight while Schweiger is cast as the son. Clive Owen is playing the role of the legendary British king while Keira Knightly will play Guinevere, his queen. The movie will be out in 2004.

FINAL CUT: Variety reports that Mira Sorvino (Solaris) has joined the cast of FINAL CUT, a sci-fi picture starring Robin Williams. Sorvino's character is the girlfriend of the cutter (Robin Williams) who removes the microchips from dead people. Part of the cutter's job is to edit the footage the chip records, removing all the depressing or black moments from one's life. That angers some who oppose the technology and it makes the cutter a target in their eyes. Filming begins next month.

THE HULK: Over at Comics Continuum you will find a ton of stills from THE HULK. MTV premiered THE HULK SPECIAL last night. It included comments from former Hulk writer PETER DAVID and Marvel editors Joe Quesada and Axel Alonso. The show will repeat Friday at 8:30 p.m. (ET), Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and Sunday at 4:30 p.m.

NOTED PASSINGS: GREGORY PECK passed on yesterday. He was one of the greatest actors of our time. Starring in more than 60 films, including “To Kill a Mockingbird”, “Cape Fear”, “The Omen” and “The Guns of Navarone”, he had a natural grace about him that is rare. His "12 O'Clock High" and "Moby Dick" rank among my most favorite movies of all time.

DAVID BRINKLEY also passed away yesterday. He brought a sense of integrity and wit to TV broadcasting that can not be matched. I met him once, as we waited in a baggage claim area at Dulles Airport. We were all returning from an Economic Summit in Seattle and I was amazed that a man of his stature would be here, waiting for his luggage like anybody else. I am tempted to say, "Good night, David" as Chet Huntley did so many years ago. But that would seem like an ending. I think that Mr. Brinkley's influence of the news media will be with us for a very long time -- at least I hope it will be.

WHAT'S ON TONIGHT

"Frankenstein" (1931) on Turner Classic Movies, 8:00pm - 9:15pm ET
The film's name was derived from the mad, obsessed scientist, Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive), who experimentally creates an artificial life - an Unnamed Monster (Boris Karloff), that ultimately terrorizes the Bavarian countryside after being mistreated by his maker's assistant Fritz (Dwight Frye) and society as a whole. The film's most famous scene is the one in which Frankenstein befriends a young girl named Maria (Marilyn Harris) at a lake's edge, and mistakenly throws her into the water (and drowns her) along with her flowers.

"Dateline" on NBC, 9:00pm - 10:00pm ET
The segment to watch is the one featuring Katie Couric's interview with J.K. Rowling, the wealthy author of the Harry Potter tales. She promises to divulge a few details about the newest book,"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," which hits stores on June 21.

"Monk" ("Monk Goes Back To School") on USA Network, 10:00pm - 11:00pm ET
The second season of this quirky crime drama starring Golden Globe winner Tony Shalhoub begins with this episode. This time out the door, Monk heads back to a germ-loaded high school as a substitute teacher in an effort to find out if a teacher's fall from a clock tower was an accident, suicide or murder. If he makes the mistake of eating in the school cafeteria, his obsessive compulsive disorder will destroy him. Filmmaker John Hughes' favorite star, Andrew McCarthy, makes a guest appearance.

On SciFi Tonight:

7:00 PM
Hulk: The Lowdown
Cast members Josh Lucas and Sam Elliott host this look at how Marvel Comics' green behemoth was brought to the silver screen. Interviews: Stan Lee; Eric Bana; Ang Lee; Nick Nolte; Jennifer Connelly.

8:00 PM
Tremors
A Little Paranoia Among Friends
Cast: Michael Gross, Victor Browne, Lela Lee, Gladise Jimenez, Marcia Strassman, Dean Norris

9:00PM
Stargate SG-1
Fragile Balance
Overnight, Col. O'Neill apparently regresses decades to his teenage self ... with his adult memories and attitude intact.

JEREMIAH

Fans of this JMS show have been wondering when it will return to the Showtime line-up. JMS responded to a question in the B5 moderated newsgroup that gives a bit more information than previously available:

"The season finale aired July 19, 2002, so it's less than one year since the season ended. Last I heard the show was going to run starting the first week in September so that it could conclude with the last four shows in November sweeps."

There are a couple of places where you can find information on JEREMIAH. Monica has a very up-to-date site at http://abyss.hubbe.net/jeremiah/. She has a newsletter that you can sign up for as well so that information comes into your mailbox on a regular basis. The "official" website is located at http://sho.com/jeremiah/. It isn't terribly timely, but it does have background about the show if you need it.

BABYLON 5 SCRIPTS ON SALE AT E-BAY

B5 Merlin dropped me a note to say that he will be placing a number of Babylon 5 scripts, made available through the B5 Fan Club, on sale at eBay. He would love for a true fan to get them, rather than a dealer, so he asked me to post a note regarding the sale. A list of the scripts is below. Those already up for auction are noted. You can find the items by searching on seller name -- Humormage.

"In the Beginning"
"The Gathering" (signed:JMS) (already on eBay)
"Midnight on the Firing Line" 101
"Soul Hunter"102
"Mind War"106
"A Voice in the Wilderness" pt.1 and pt. 2 (both signed: JMS) 118 119 (both already on eBay)
"Babylon Squared" 120
"Chrysalis" 122
"Coming of Shadows" (Signed: JMS) 209 (already on eBay)
"The Long Twilight Struggle" 220
"Comes the Inquisitor" 221
"The Fall of Night" 222
"Severed Dreams" 310
"Interludes and Examinations"315
"Z'ha'dum" 322 (already on eBay)

CHATS AHEAD - THIS WEEK

SCIFI has arranged for a number of chats over the next few nights. Here's a schedule:

CHRISTOPHER JUDGE - TEAL'C from STARGATE SG-1
Thursday, June 19 at 9PM ET

For information on how to join a chat, go to http://www.scifi.com/chat/.

NEW BABYLON 5 RPG

Ranger Jason has filed the following report that will be some interest to you:

Mongoose Publishing recently received the B5 Licence to do a d20 style game in the B5 Universe. The main book and supplements will start rolling out very soon (next 3 weeks).

They published a sneak peak booklet at http://www.vita.clara.net/b5preview.pdf which has tons of useful B5 stuff including a diagram of the station, and a near comprehensive map of the B5 Universe.

We need B5 Fans to support this because unless JMS releases another series or book, this will be the only new B5-feel product for some time.

Mongoose's site can be reached here http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/.

BABYLON 5 SEASON THREE DVD

Warners is SO happy with sales of Babylon 5 DVDs they are pushing up the release of Season Three. The release projected date is August 12. You can put in orders now at Amazon.com.

Season 3 Details
5/08/2003

Warner Brothers has announced August 12th as the street date for Babylon 5: The Complete Third Season. Subtitled "Point of No Return", it will be another 6-disc extravaganza featuring all 22 episodes of the third season. In addition, Warner is again working with producer/creator J. Michael Straczynski to bring you the very best in the way of supplements:

Introduction from series creator J. Michael Straczynski
Commentaries on 3 key episodes by series creator and stars
Documentary: Behind the Mask: Creating the Aliens of Babylon 5
Documentary: Designing a Better Narn
Documentary: Designing Tomorrow: The Look of Babylon 5
Data and Personnel Files

Once again this will by brought to you in 16x9 Anamorphic Widescreen, and with sound remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1...all for a list price of $99.98.

BABYLON 5 SEASON TWO DVD

Over at SciFi Dimensions you can read a review of the Season Two DVD. I think you'll agree with this closing comment:

Babylon 5: The Complete Second Season firmly establishes this show as one of the great all-time franchises in science fiction. Every self-respecting fan owes it to himself or herself to own this DVD series.

The WB has promoted the new Season Two DVD in a number of ways. You will see ads on the WB network and they provided a number of B5 sites with promotional material. Rather than try to deal with all the material, I invite you to visit Monica over at The Abyss who has done a marvelous job of putting all the material out for everyone to enjoy! Thanks Monica. Go to http://abyss.hubbe.net/b5/dvds/boxed-s2promos.html

Don't forget about the Season One DVD! I spent a very enjoyable evening watching many of the season one episodes again -- and listening to JMS' commentary on disks 4 and 6. It is a wonderful way to keep Babylon 5 for future fans to see.

SYNOPSIS
The long-running Emmy Award-winning television series Babylon 5 takes place in the year 2257 A.D, on an immense space station floating in a stationary orbit in a neutral corner of a distant galaxy. Staffed by a crew of peaceful Earthmen and women, Babylon 5 serves as a non-political economic and social hub for the four alien races -- the Narn, Centauri, Vorlon and Minbari -- who fight to control the galaxy.

Babylon 5: The Complete Second Season
$99.98 SRP
STREET DATE: April 29
RATING: NR
RUN TIME: approx: 990 minutes

BARGAIN ALERT: Ranger Donita has a tip for those wanting to purchase DVDs here in the U.S.
The cheapest place to get B5 Season 1 and 2 is Playcentric. I paid $59 for season 1 and $60 for season 2. Also to get the cheapest price on all DVDs I recommend using Bargainflix.com, for those of us in the US. All you have to do is to type in the name of the DVD, or actor, or director, and they will show you the price comparison. Great for those of us who like to support our favorite sci-fi shows and movies by buying the DVD.

Ranger Dave sent along this report on purchasing the Season Two DVD in the UK: " I picked up the Season 2 DVD of B5 at MVC for £5 less than most other people are selling it - including Amazon.co.UK or Play.com. If you become a card member (it is free, hardly a hassle and takes a moment) you can get the set for £37.99 where as most others are selling it at £42.99 - just a handy saving tip."

Ranger Manuela has a bargain to match Dave's -- in Germany. Here is here report:

Got one like that for German readers: avides.com (despite the url, they're located in Lower-Saxony here) are selling season two for 39,95 Eur. It's got English and German on the dvds, so perfectly fine. :-)

DISCUSSION TOPIC

#1: Did you enjoy the return of STARGATE SG-1 on Friday night? Was the premiere episode all you had hoped for? Less? Why?

#2: For those of you without cable:
What are some of the features you would like to see on upcoming Babylon 5 DVDs? I think JMS has done a terrific job of commentaries and involving those who want to contribute. What else might be done?

Send in your comments to sgbruckner@aol.com. I'll post the responses on the Discussion Page for everyone to share.

BABYLON 5 CHRONOLOGY

I've put up another wonderful segment of the Babylon 5 Chronology. This segment begins with 2256 and runs through2258 . Go to 2256 .

This chronology continues to be a source of information for a great number of people -- including JMS. Terry Jones has done the B5 community a great service in pulling this chronology together. It is a tremendous resource. THANKS TERRY!

REVIEWS WANTED:

REVIEWS OF THE NEW DVD: A number of people have commented on the new DVD so I've begun adding them to the review page. Check it out. Send in your comments for others to see.

NEW REVIEWS! See if you agreed with the reviews received thus far! Go to Reviews to see. Want to express your opinion? Just drop me a line and you too can see your name in lights.

Read any good books lately? How about the movies. Did you like LORD OF THE RINGS, NEMESIS? Send along a review and share your thoughts with the readers here. Let's make one of our New Years Resolution one of staying in touch here at The Zocalo Today.

CONVENTION UPDATE

J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI: JMS will be at San Diego ComiCon this year -- July 17-20. From a post available in the B5 moderated newsgroup, JMS says he will be offering the last of the Sleeping in Light scripts with missing material that he had at Wondercon. This will be the last time they will be made available at a convention.

CARRIE DOBRO: Carrie will be attending the Origins Gaming Convention in Columbus, Ohio on June 26.

RICHARD BIGGS, JASON CARTER and ROBIN ATKIN DOWNES: You can catch up with these three at the GenCom Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana beginning July 24.

JASON CARTER: Jason has been added to the guest list for TORONTO TREK for July.

BILL MUMY: The folks at FarPoint are excited to announce that Bill Mumy will be joining them in February!

KEEPING UP WITH CAST AND CREW

MELISSA GILBERT: According to E!Online, Farrah Fawcett and Melissa Gilbert are set to star in the telepic HOLLYWOOD WIVES: THE NEW GENERATION based on Jackie Collins bestselling book. Thus made-for-TV movie follows the exploits of a successful Hollywood wife (Fawcett) who falls for the private eye she hires to spy on her husband.

ROBIN ATKIN DOWNES: Robin has been pretty active over the last few months. He will be turning up in conventions over the summer in Cleveland, Tampa, Indiana, England, France, Prague, Atlanta and Orange County. You will also see him in some advertisements on the tube as well. For example, beginning this summer, he will be the Irish announcer in the Sprint Yellow Pages on Golf Spot. He also plays a Russian Basketball player in love with a chicken for Dairy Queen. That spot is scheduled to run nationally beginning in September. He has done some CD ROM work as well for gamers, including BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. He plays the lead pilot, Adama. The game is coming to game cube. Visit http://www.xbox365.com/news/zcomment.cgi?article=EpVEVVFkAyPCtMysan&tmpl=xxt_zc_template&prof=dev for a preview.

J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI: For those of you who just can't get enough from JMS, there is a long, but interesting interview in Sketch Magazine at http://www.hypethis.com/interviews/interview_jmichaelstraczynski.html.

BILL MUMY: Bill will be releasing his 5th solo CD in April on Renaissance Records. GHOSTS will be a compilation of songs (the best of) taken from the first four CD's plus a few brand new ones. The brand new songs include "Always Open", "Take it Back", "The Recalcitrant Princess" and "Just A Drop of Rain in the Ocean." Angela Cartwright from Lost in Space will design the package. The album will be available through Amazon.com and other internet sites as well as a few of the bigger stores.

BABYLON 5 BIRTHDAYS

Jeffrey Willerth - June 5
Donovan Brown (Optic Nerve) - June 6
Ann Bruice Aling - June 8
Mark Walters - June 10
Susan Norkin (Post) - June 10
Adrienne Barbeau (Amanda Carter) - June 11
Mike Vejar - June 25

Have I missed anyone? If you know the birthday of someone connected with Babylon 5, pass the information along. We want to include everyone in our Happy Birthday Wishes.

READER BIRTHDAYS

Sometimes you just can't find the e-mail address for someone you know you have -- it's someone who responded to a discussion topic or you met in one of the chat rooms. You'd like to send a personal note, but .... No address!!!!

We've started a White Pages of Zocalo Readers! It's a handy way of keeping track of people -- and putting together a birthday/greeting card list as well. If you would like to be part of the listing, just send me your name, state, e-mail address and (if you'd like to have it listed) birthday (without year) to sgbruckner@aol.com. Check out the Directory of Readers.

Name: Sandra Bruckner
E-mail: sgbruckner@aol.com
State: Maryland/Washington, DC/Pennsylvania
Birthday: June 2

Name: Melody Pritchard
State: North Carolina
E-mail: mockinbird_21@yahoo.com
Birthday: June 9

Name: David Shepherdson
State/Country: West Yorkshire, Great Britain
E-mail address: dragonrider@clara.co.uk
Birthday: 14th June

Name: Marilyn Strauss
E-mail: marilyn@miraclebaby.com
Birthday: June 1

TRADING CARD HELP

Ranger Tia sent along this note to share with B5 card collectors:

Don't know if you've heard of my card program yet or not, but I thought the other B5 card collectors might like to try it out. With having almost all of the B5 trading cards and CCG cards available and no program to keep track of them withm, I started writing my own. Here's the website for it. Go half way down and click on the small screen shot for a full size screen shot. I have the pic of Pat Tallman's card from the Profiles card set feautured in the shot.

Oh, and I also have a lot of the card lists already saved as files so people won't need to type in all the card names. Being written by a B5 fan, ALL the card lists have already been made and are downloadable. :)

http://cardkeeper.usethis.com/keeper/index.html

Tia

COMIC BOOKS

AMAZING SPIDERMAN

Issues 46-50: Amazing Spider-Man - Life and Death of Spiders
Author: J. Michael Straczynski -- Published: Jun 2003 -- Format: TPB

DESCRIPTION:
In this collection of Marvel's most popular Spider-Man series, the relationship of Peter Parker and his estranged wife Mary Jane takes an important turn, and the two decide whether or not they fit into one another's lives. Plus, an introspective Spider-Man ponders the true nature of his powers and reflects on the moral responsibilities that accompany them ... and realizes there are natural enemies his powers bring him as well!

This edition reprints issues #46 through #50.
Amazon.com Price: $10.49 -- List Price: $14.99 -- Save: $4.50 (30%) -- Not yet published

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #56
Written by J. Michael Straczynski and Fiona Avery, pencils by John Romita Jr. and cover by Mike Deodato Jr.
The conclusion of the 2-part "Unintended Consequences" story arc co-written by JMS and Fiona Avery.
32 pages, $2.25.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #57
Written by J. Michael Straczynski, pencils by John Romita Jr. and cover by Tony Harris.
J. Michael Straczynski is back flying the Spider-Man ship solo in a 2-part story arc leading up to October's Amazing Spider-Man #500.
32 pages, $2.25, in stores on Aug. 13 and Aug. 27.

For a review of the current issue, go to http://cherokee.thmedia.net/~zenterta/comicreviews.php?op=showcontent&id=925.

Amazing Spider-Man #53 is on shelves now. The issue is written by J. Michael Straczynski, with art and cover John Romita Jr. and Scott Hanna.

Here's how Marvel describes the issue:
"Part 3 of a 3-part story."

Amazing Spider-Man #53 is 32 pages and costs 25 cents.

SUPREME POWER

Joe Quesada talks about SUPREME POWER at Wizard World East. See the excerpt over at http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0306/05/index.htm.

Here is an update from JMS on SUPREME POWER:

Just an FYI for those who've been keeping an eye on this one...on August 6, Supreme Power will hit the stands, with pre-orders being taken now at comics stores. Up until now, I'd always felt that Midnight Nation was the best thing I'd ever managed to pull off in comics. (I enjoy the heck out of writing Spidey, but there's just something about Midnight Nation that won't let me go.)
Supreme Power may, I finally think, supplant that one.
There's something going in in Supreme Power, a strong emotional core, that pulls me in every time I sit down to write it. It's got an edge, it's profoundly sad in places, and weirdly funny in other places. Some elements are bound to be a bit controversial, but that's part and parcel of telling this particular story. Emotions are, for me, the whole point of telling a story, and those who've read and reviewed Midnight Nation as it slowly revealed itself know what I'm talking about.
Not coincidentally, Gary Frank is doing the art, who also did the art on Midnight Nation. So that may also be a part of it. The art is just stunning, especially the way he captures the emotion of the characters in their eyes.
Given the reactions of some folks who've seen the black and whites proofs of the first issue, I think this is going to move out pretty fast, and Marvel for the most part doesn't reprint issues, so if it ain't ordered in advance, it might not be available until the gather it together for the trade.
Anyway...I don't want to belabor the point. I don't generally come on to promote something unless I feel strongly about it, and this one I *definitely* feel strongly about.
I'm inestimably proud of this book, and I hope you'll check it out.
From Previews magazine:
SUPREME POWER #1
by J. Michael Straczynski & Gary Frank

Presenting a brand-new vision of a world about to give birth to its first generation of superheroes! This new MAX ongoing series follows the origins of these new heroes - from their birth through adulthood, and examines how their lives and abilities change and shape the world around them. A hard edged, mature, and deeply personal saga that pushes the limits of the comics form into new, uncharted territory.

FC, 32 pg ..........$2.99

CSI: BAD RAP

IDW Publishing will launch its next series of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation comic books, entitled Bad Rap, in August. IDW will return the creative team of writer Max Allan Collins and artists Gabriel Rodriguez and Ashley Wood. The publisher describes the series:

"Bad Rap injects the CSI team into the world of gangsta rap and murder. Murder is something they know well; rap is one they will soon learn. When famous and volatile rapper Busta Kapp is found dead in his limo, the suspects are many. It seems that Busta had as many enemies as he had gold chains, and when things go from Bling Bling to bang bang, the CSI team will have to separate the blood from the gold."

Also in August, IDW Publishing will collect their original 5-issue CSI mini-series, CSI: Crime Investigation--Serial. In addition to the story, the trade paperback features an exclusive introduction by CSI TV series creator Anthony E. Zuiker, never before seen story pages, and a new three-page story by Collins and Woods.

BOOKS

BABYLON 5 NOVEL

DelRey is reprinting the original Babylon 5 novels. They started with #7 - Jeanne Cavelos' THE SHADOW WITHIN. Here's one I've been waiting for -- Kathryn Drennan's TO DREAM IN THE CITY OF SORROWS. The release date is scheduled for July 29, 2003. I love the new cover art! It can be pre-ordered from www.amazon.com. For those of you who love Babylon 5, this one reads just like an episode from the series. You just can't put it down.

SCI FI PUBLICATIONS

Cult Times Special #26: Immortals are the subject of this issue. There have been a number in science fiction history and whether they are people who just won't die -- or images that live on and on, it is an interesting premise to explore. Also in this issue, Richard Dean Anderson joins fellow producers Robert C. Cooper, Michael Greenburg and Brad Wright in discussing STARGATE SG-1; Ben Browder looks at the last days of FARSCAPE and JJ Abrams discusses the changes ahead for ALIAS.

TV Zone #164: The big attraction for this issue will be JMS's look at Season Two of Babylon 5. Also included are interviews with James Marsters (Spike), Carlos Bernard from 24, and a look at what TV Zone readers feel is The Best Cult Television Program Ever.

Expose Special#77 Expose Special #77: This special issue is a review of 2002. With Harry Potter #2, Lord of the Rings and Terminator 3, they also look at Star Trek: Nemesis, FIREFLY, Buffy and Dinotopia.

Starburst #298: ANGEL's new season is the focus of the issue. David Boreanaz talks about what makes the show so special to him. Also in this issue, a behind the scenes look at MATRIX RELOADED. Another show with changes ahead is SMALLVILLE. Alfred Gough and Miles Millar talk about what is in store for the next season.

SCI-FI SCHEDULE

BABYLON 5

20-JUN-03 9:00 AM BABYLON 5 (LBX) SIR TRANSIT VIR

23-JUN-03 9:00 AM BABYLON 5 (LBX) A LATE DELIVERY FROM AVALON
24-JUN-03 9:00 AM BABYLON 5 (LBX) SHIP OF TEARS
25-JUN-03 9:00 AM BABYLON 5 (LBX) INTERLUDES AND EXAMINATIONS

26-JUN-03 9:00 AM BABYLON 5 (LBX) WAR WITHOUT END -PT 1
27-JUN-03 9:00 AM BABYLON 5 (LBX) WAR WITHOUT END -PT 2
30-JUN-03 9:00 AM BABYLON 5 (LBX) WALKABOUT

STARGATE SCHEDULE:

20-JUN-03 9:00 PM STARGATE SG-1 (LBX)
20-JUN-03 11:00 PM STARGATE SG-1 (LBX)

23-JUN-03 7:00 PM STARGATE SG-1 DEAD MAN SWITCH
23-JUN-03 8:00 PM STARGATE SG-1 DEMONS
23-JUN-03 9:00 PM STARGATE SG-1 RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
23-JUN-03 10:00 PM STARGATE SG-1 FOREVER IN A DAY
23-JUN-03 1:00 AM STARGATE SG-1 DEAD MAN SWITCH
24-JUN-03 1:00 AM STARGATE SG-1 DEMONS
25-JUN-03 1:00 AM STARGATE SG-1 RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
26-JUN-03 1:00 AM STARGATE SG-1 FOREVER IN A DAY
27-JUN-03 9:00 PM STARGATE SG-1 (LBX)
27-JUN-03 11:00 PM STARGATE SG-1 (LBX)

30-JUN-03 7:00 PM STARGATE SG-1 PAST AND PRESENT
30-JUN-03 8:00 PM STARGATE SG-1 JOLINAR'S MEMORIES -PT 1
30-JUN-03 9:00 PM STARGATE SG-1 THE DEVIL YOU KNOW -PT 2
30-JUN-03 10:00 PM STARGATE SG-1 FOOTHOLD

FARSCAPE SCHEDULE:

22-JUN-03 12:00 AM FARSCAPE INFINITE POSSIBILITIES-PT 2: ICARUS ABIDES
23-JUN-03 12:00 AM FARSCAPE REVENGE ANGEL
24-JUN-03 12:00 AM FARSCAPE THE CHOICE
25-JUN-03 12:00 AM FARSCAPE FRACTURES
26-JUN-03 12:00 AM FARSCAPE I YENSCH, YOU YENSCH

29-JUN-03 12:00 AM FARSCAPE INTO THE LION'S DEN -PT 1:LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER

BABYLON 5/CRUSADE PHOTOSHOP PHOTOS

You do NOT have to pay the prices asked for over at e-bay! Here are photos of B5 and Crusade cast members at fantastic prices. Check out Photo Shop. Ordering is easy -- and you can't beat the prices! Just let me know which photos you want and I'll check to make sure they are still in stock.

BABYLON 5 TOONS

John Cook has a wonderful collection of cartoons -- many are take-offs from Babylon 5. Here's just one of them. Velourlon suit

He has a cartoon caption contest going on as well. Try your hand at a punch line.

Go to http://contests.sev.com.au/index.php?contestid=1

Punchline
Name
Email

SCI-FI CARTOONS

I love science fiction related cartoons and Tye Bourdony is one of the most talented artists out there. He has done dozens of toons for Babylon 5. Here is his latest -- for FARSCAPE fans.

BABYLON 5/CRUSADE CONVENTIONS

CONVENTION CALENDAR

Origins
June 26, 2003
Place: Columbus, Ohio
B5 Guest: Carrie Dobro

For more information, visit their website at http://www.originsgames.com/.

Trek Expo 2003
June 27-29, 2003
Place: Exposition Center, Tulsa, OK
B5 Guest: Walter Koenig
Other Guests: William Shatner, Leonard Nemoy, George Takei, Dominic Keating
For more information, visit their website at http://www.starbase21ok.com/trek__expo__2003.htm.

Toronto Trek 2003
July 11-13, 2003
Place: Regal Constellation Hotel, Toronto, CA
B5 Guest: Julie Caitlin Brown, Jason Carter
Other guests: James Marsters-CANCELLED (Anthony Stewart Head replacing him), Gil Gerard, Erin Gray
For more information, visit their website at http://tcon.icomm.ca.

Shore Leave 25
July 11-13, 2003
Place: Marriott's Hunt Valley Inn
245 Shawan Rd., Hunt Valley, MD 21031
Tel. 410-785-7000
B5 Guest: Andrea Thompson (Talia)
Other Guests: Christopher Judge, Marina Sirtis, Marc Singer, Vaughn Amstrong, Carolyn Seymour, Alan Ruck, Phil Morris, BarBara Luna, Robert O'Reilly, J.G. Hertzler, Judson Scott, Denise Crosby
For more information, visit their website at http://www.shore-leave.com.

Vulkon
July 18-19, 2003
Place: Tampa, Florida
Tampa Airport Hilton
B5 Guest: Robin Atkin Downes
Other Guests: James Marsters, Mercedes Mcnab, Jeams C. Leary, Andy Hallett, Iyari Limon
For more information, visit their website at http://www.vulkon.com.

San Diego ComiCon
July 17-20, 2003
Place: San Diego Convention Center
B5 Guest: J. Michael Straczynski

For more information, visit their website at http://www.comic-con.org/.

GenCon Gaming Convention
July 24-26, 2003
Place: Indianapolis, Indiana
B5 Guest: Richard Biggs, Robin Atkin Downes, Jason Carter

For more information, visit their website at http://www.gencon.com/display.aspx?file=indy.

Official Star Trek Las Vegas Convention
August 1-3, 2003
Place: Las Vegas Hilton, 3000 Paradise Rd.
B5 Guest: Richard Biggs
Other Guests: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, James Doohan, Michael Dorn (a ton of ST stars)
For more information, visit their website at http://www.creationent.com/.

Bill Blair Birthday Celebrity Cruise
August 18-22, 2003
Ports of Call: Key West, Cozumel
Guest: Bill Blair, Peter "Chewbacca' Mayhew
For more information, visit Bill's website at http://www.BillBlairFanClub.com.

DragonCon
August 29-Sept. 1, 2003
Place: Atlanta, GA
B5 Guests: Stephen Furst, Peter David, Bruce Boxleitner, Mira Furlan, Walter Koenig, Peter Woodward, Brad Dourif, Julie Caitlin Brown, Bill Mumy
Other Guests: Luke Perry, Ray Bradbury, Christopher Judge, John Rhys-Davies, George Takei, Virginia Hey, Tony Amendola

For more information, visit their website at http://www.dragoncon.org.

Be sure to visit our Convention Calendar for a full listing of upcoming conventions featuring Babylon 5, Crusade and Legend of the Rangers cast members as guests.

If you would like to share your convention experience with your other Zocalo readers, send along a convention report. I will gladly post it for all to read. Got pictures? I'll post those as well.

ZOCALO TRADING POST

Do you have extra copies of B5, Amazing Spiderman, Midnight Nation or Rising Stars comics you'd like to trade? How about those extra trading cards or B5 magazines? There are a lot of fans looking for these items -- and the Trading Post can help you buy or sell them. To see what's available, just use this link to the Trading Post. To have items included in The Trading Post, send a note to The Zocalo. Please put Trading Post in the subject line.

PEN PALS

If you are looking for someone to talk about Babylon 5 and Crusade with, the Pen Pal section is for you! Check it out! Drop a note to someone who is feeling B5 withdrawal -- BIG TIME!

People thought a Pen Pal page was a good idea. If you would like to meet people who you could chat with or share your opinions of the show with, send along your e-mail or snail-mail address The Zocalo. It will be incorporated on the new Pen Page Page.

MAIL FOR CAST AND CREW

Here's a recent note from JMS on the subject:

Just an FYI to those who've been using the Ventura Blvd. mail drop for fan mail to actors....

As mentioned before, we're phasing out the forwarding of fan mail because we a) don't have the resources, complicated by b) the actors have scattered to the four winds, and it makes it very difficult to get everything to everybody in a timely fashion.

So, having provided prior notice...fan mail to actors coming to the Ventura Blvd. mail drop will be sent back. Mail to actors should be sent via their official fan clubs. I will still be taking mail there, since it's my mailbox, but that's it.

Just so's y'all know and save a few bucks on postage and returns.

JMS' mail can be sent to:

14431 Ventura Boulevard, PMB 260
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423

WARNER BROS:

Warner Bros. Address:

Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution
4000 Warner Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91522

Warner Home Video:

Mr. Douglas Wadleigh
VP for Marketing and Special Features
Warner Bros.
4000 Warner Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91522

SCIFI:
Bonnie Hammer, President
Sci-Fi Channel
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY. 10020-1513

Mr. Thomas Vitale
Senior VP of Acquisitions, Scheduling & Program-Planning

BACK ISSUES OF THE ZOCALO TODAY

The front page of the The Zocalo Today changes daily, so be sure to check the back issues to make sure that you haven't missed anything IMPORTANT! I don't want the front page getting too long so I shift information periodically into the archives. So if you aren't a regular visitor to The Zocalo Today, be sure to check out the back issues. Just use the button above!

Take care and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sandra Bruckner (sgbruckner@aol.com)
Editor/Publisher
The Zocalo Today
http://www.isnnews.net
Copyright - SBruckner, 2003

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