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Why do Euorpe get all the cool B5 stuff?

Adam

Beyond the rim
They got the Cook book, Crusade Videos, and many other things. Wheres our USA Cook Book and Crusade Videos???
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Well, the B5 videos didn't sell very well over here (largely thanks to Warner Bros. premature hints about a DVD release), so there was never much chance of them releasing Crusade. And the cookbook would have depended on getting a U.S. publisher involved.

B5 generally did better in the U.K. and other countries during its original run because it was on a single network in a regular timeslot.

Here it was sold station-by-station and frequently moved. (I missed big chunks of the first two seasons because my local PTEN station kept playing three-card-monte with the show.) That meant that more people were aware of it and watching it, which in turn meant a bigger market for tie-ins. On this side of the Pond the novels weren't selling real well (OK, most of them were awful, but that's not what publishers see, they just look at the bottom line. After all, won't SF fans buy anything with a spaceship on the cover?
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So the merchandise has generally done better elsewhere. Awareness of the show went way up during the early days on TNT, and Warner Bros. was actually becoming interested in promoting it. Then the Crusade debacle happened, the show was effectively taken off the air (running at 6 or 7 AM on Saturdays) and licensees (like Dell books) stopped renewing their contracts. Nobody else was going to jump on the bandwagon when the official magazine and fan club were going out of business. Warner Bros. quietly shelved plans for a B5 feature film and everybody waited for the TNT exclusive on the reruns to expire.

Now the show is back on in the early evening, a new TV movie and possible series are in the works, the DVDs are coming and the new novels are out there. (I have no idea how they've done compared to the Dell books, but since they're on the third of three trilogies I'm guessing they've sold well enough that Del Rey didn't try to cancel the project.
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I'd say that we should start seeing lots more B5 stuff in the States in the next year or so, maybe even the cookbook. (Folks can always write to Del Rey and suggest it. I'm sure there's an affiliated imprint that would handle something like that.) Warner Bros. is letting the current merchandising agreements (negotiated when the original series was at a low ebb) lapse as they expire, precisely so that they can look for new opportunities to cash in on the B5 universe once the new series is in the works.

If you want to put a bug in Del Rey's ear, the address is below. (I've written requesting that they publish an anthology of B5 short fiction and republish the Dell novels To Dream in the City of Sorrows and The Shadow Within. Maybe I'll drop them a line about the cookbook once I look up all the particulars.)

Steve Saffel
Del Rey Books
1540 Broadway
NY, NY 10036

Regards,

Joe

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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division

joseph-demartino@att.net
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Joseph DeMartino:
After all, won't SF fans buy anything with a spaceship on the cover?
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<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Of course!
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2466614
"Gideon says we all have things to hide."
"Does he? How unfortunate, I was hoping he'd come further than that. Well not that it isn't true of course, it's just that one simply doesn't have to say it."
 
I'm sorry ahead of time.

does


Hopefully they will reprint the Shadow Within. It eludes me still.

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Bus
"Authorities say the phony pope can be recognized by his high-top sneakers and increadibly foul mouth." Kent Brockman
 
I don't see why you US people can't have the cook book. Can't you order it through an European online bookstore or something? Videos are different, because of the PAL/NTSC problem.

In Europe we're still wating for The Gathering Special Edition video release (if it will ever be released), but I'll get it on DVD when it's on the market.

Maybe, when all B5 DVDs have been released, (assuming they sell very good this time) they will release Crusade on DVD. Something to hope for, isn't it?
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"I don't watch TV. It’s a cultural wasteland filled with inappropriate metaphors and an unrealistic portrayal of life created by the liberal media-elite."
 
I just ordered two of the B5 graphic novels from WHSmith in the UK. Their URL is http://www.bookshop.co.uk

They have several of the original 9 books on their list of B5 books including To Dream in the City of Sorrows.

Sorry, I didn't see The Shadow Within

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I have To Dream coming from Amazon UK. I think they may still have copies.

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Bus
"The pink ones keep ya from screamin'." Grandpa

[This message has been edited by Doctor Gonzo (edited July 05, 2001).]
 
I have B5 stuff from the UK that I bought at AgamemCon over the last three years, but I was never able to get the cookbook.
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Tammy

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e-bay is worth checking every now and then for B5-related stuff. You can find some pretty interesting stuff on there sometimes.
For example, I found The Babylon 5 Official Collector's Magazine, published by Titan. The mag was published around 1 year before their monthly publication, to "test the waters". It has some great interviews in it and is pretty rare these days. If you're interested, click on the link: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1444457006

I'm looking for The Shadow Within, too. If anyone finds it for sale on the net somewhere, please post a link to it!!!!

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Be seeing you

[This message has been edited by Bester (edited July 06, 2001).]
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Anyone know when the DVD's are due out in the US?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Warner Home Video gave JMS a tentative date of August for the first two TV movies (In the Beginning and The Gathering - not sure if they'll be on one disc or two) but that hasn't been confirmed. According to what they told JMS at least some episodes will follow before the end of the year.

In fact, nothing has been officially confirmed by Warner Home Video, including the fact that the discs are in the works.
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(The last thing they had to say on the subject in any public venue was last November when they said the show was on the release schedule for 2001.)

However, we know they were doing something with them, because they had started prepping the original cut of The Gathering and when JMS found out he got them to stop and start over with his producer's cut. This reportedly cost WHV $100,000 so I'd say they are definitely working on something.
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I've seen reports out of the U.K. that their Sci-Fi Channel has been running commercials for In the Beginning and A Call to Arms (oddly enough) on DVD, but have been unable to get any details. Maybe someone on this site can help out.

Regards,

Joe

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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division

joseph-demartino@att.net
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>I've seen reports out of the U.K. that their Sci-Fi Channel has been running commercials for In the Beginning and A Call to Arms (oddly enough) on DVD, but have been unable to get any details. Maybe someone on this site can help out.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'd be very surprised if these reports are accurate. I've never seen these ads. Needless to say, I'll keep my eyes twice as peeled from now on, just incase!!!
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Be seeing you
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>I'd be very surprised if these reports are accurate.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The thing is, I've now heard this from two different, and usually level-headed people. Neither saw the entire commercial, and neither was able to tape it. But one is sure he saw a DVD box for A Call to Arms (he remembered it because it struck him as odd that this would be one of the first two released.) The other didn't see the part with the DVD covers, but is certain she saw footage from ACtA. (It is possible that the commercial is some kind of teaser for the release of the series, and that the editors weren't particular about where they got the footage for the commercial.)

Only one of them could remember what channel she saw it on, and she's certain it was Sci-Fi. I've sent a few e-mails asking for futher details and/or confirmation. I think I'll try e-mailing the UK Sci-Fi and see if they can shed any light on the situation.

Regards,

Joe

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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division

joseph-demartino@att.net
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Doctor Gonzo:
I'm sorry ahead of time.

does


Hopefully they will reprint the Shadow Within. It eludes me still.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I got a copy in brand-new condition by going to Amazon.com here in the USA. People can advertise their used books (and videos) there. I received it pretty quickly, too, I think in less than 2 weeks. I'm planning to move on to it after "To Dream in the City of Sorrows".

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"Why not? Only 1 Human captain has ever survived battle with the Minbari fleet. He is behind me, you are in front of me. If you value your lives, be somewhere else."
 
Anyone know when the DVD's are due out in the US?

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We are the stuff of the Universe, trying to figure itself out.
 

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