Ready to Explode Over TNT
The Turner network is about to get an earful from Lower Mainland fans of Babylon 5
By Jonathan McDonald
Television Writer
Now that Babylon 5 is finally getting some respect, viewers in the Lower Mainland can't believe they're getting none at all.
  The syndicated American science-fiction series, which is about to enter its fifth season on the heels of sci-fi awards and TV Guide covers, won't be seen in this market any longer.
  Atlanta-based Turner Network Television (TNT) owns the U.S. rights to the series and won't allow Bellingham's KVOS - which serves Vancouver at least as much as it does north-western Washington - to air the upcoming season.
  Enter the Ad-hoc Committee to Save Babylon 5 in the Northwest.
  "I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think this would yield some fruit," said Dennis Kristos, a 46 year-old print shop employee, father of two and committee organizer. "Or, at least, a reconsideration of what is happening."
  What's happened is this: Babylon 5 fans have been bounced around so much for four seasons that they've got to be dizzy.
  It's a confusing rundown - a flow chart is necessary to keep Babylon 5's course straight. But the series has gone from CHEK-TV to KVOS., from Monday nights to Wednesday nights to Thursday nights to Sunday afternoons back		 to Thursday evenings and on to Saturdays at midnight and finally Wednesdays at 10 p.m., where season four ended in early November and left KVOS hanging out to dry.
  Got that straight? Well, that makes one of you.
  "I'd watch it if I could find it," said Kristos. "We were just resigned to the schedule."
  They're no longer resigned. The committee collected several hundred names in a recent petition, and plans to take the petition to KVOS general manager and ally David Reid.
  But Reid said yesterday, that Babylon 5 - which he calls "a modern classic" - won't be available at all on his station. TNT and its parent operation, Warner Bros., pulled the plug on Friday, leaving KVOS without even the anticipated reruns from the first four seasons.
  So, if Babylon 5 fans have satellite dishes, no problem. Otherwise, they're out of luck.
  "I hope KVOS can take the petition to Warner bros. and and TNT and say, 'Here's a Canadian audience. We basically serve a Canadian market,'" said Kristos. "We'll see. That's all we can do now."
  Or they can do what no network likes to see: Piracy.
  "Some of our (club's) members in Washington will get TNT, make copies and send them up here for our gatherings," said longtime fan John Gee. "If it's the only way we can watch it, that's what we'll have to do."		 Organizer Photo
Staff photo by Jon Murray

John Francis, left, Dennis Kristos and John Gee are circulating a petition to bring Babylon 5 back to local television.

What is Babylon 5?

A space station where thousands upon thousands of beings from different worlds live, work and play together. It's also an alliance among dozens of races to ward off the forces of darkness, and has battled periodic wars. "Nothing's ever been done like it before," said Dennis Kristos. "It has scope and vision, a beginning, middle, and end. Every season is like a chapter."

Who's Responsible?

The much-revered J. Michael Straczynski created the world. "Babylon 5 is his dance," said Kristos. "He's the executive producer, head writer - he's written 50 episodes in a row. Basically, JMS is the heart and soul of Babylon 5."

The Fans

Members of NW-B5, the regional Babylon 5 club, get together on occasion - often at a Simon Fraser University theatre, where they can pack in upwards of 300 viewers - to watch several episodes. "We're not like Trekkies," said fan John Gee. "We don't dress up with pointed ears."
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