Posted by Jonathan Klotz | Published
The best part of the early days of the internet was logging in, and finding people like you with similar interests. America Online, Prodigy, Compuserve, all had incredibly active platforms dedicated to everything from Moogle simulations to Final Fantasy, to name a few. Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was on a fan message board that J. Michael Straczynski went there for help during production Babylon 5 the first season when he needed some words. In return, he slipped a subtle payment to the patron who helped him.
I am asking for help from fans
JMS was part of the Science Fiction Round Table on GEnie, an online service that preceded the release of the “www,” long before he delivered. Babylon 5 in life. Accessing the GEnie service required some modem configuration, dialing into the service, and entering some information once connected. We used to jump through hoops to talk to complete strangers about how annoying Wesley Crusher was.
After the legal team of Warner Bros. rejected some names during the production of the first season, JMS took them to GEnie for new names. One user, who would go on to tell the story on Reddit many times over the years, said he looked down at his desk and saw a Quantum Link disc sitting there, and he played around with Quantum as something to power the jumpgates. Season 1 Episode 6, “War of Minds,” is the first time the “Quantum-40” feature is mentioned by name.
JMS Said Thank You in the Best Way
In “Parliament of Dreams,” Sinclair (Michael O'Hare) takes his on-again, off-again love interest Catherine to Fresh Air, where the Maitre'd takes him to their table, and says “David will be your waiter tonight.” That's the real name of the user who named Quantum-40, and when he asked JMS if it was a coincidence, the coy answer he got from the creator of Babylon 5 was: “Freud says there is no real coincidence.”
Babylon 5 It's not the first fan tribute show, and it won't be the last. It was one of the first times where the creator spoke directly to the fans. Journey: The Next Generation, X filesagain Babylon 5 they were among the first shows to reach new levels of success due to their popularity on the Internet. The “virtual town square,” as most media referred to online forums at the time, was a new frontier that allowed sci-fi fans thousands of miles apart to connect over shared interests.
The Babylon 5 Fandom is over 30 years old and still going strong
Today it's easy to talk to actors on social media, Wil Wheaton is very active, as he is The star of the Stargate Universe David Blue, Battlestar Galactica's Katee Sackhoff and Tricia Helfer, and countless others. It's both a good thing, as it's nice to see what your favorite stars have to say, and they'll often post behind-the-scenes from their projects, but also a bad thing because what if, well, your favorite star is rude?
I Babylon 5 The fandom has had its ups and downs over the years. It has grown and evolved alongside the Internet, enduring disappointment (The Crusade) and return (Babylon 5: The Way Home), while keeping the flame burning in any revival stories or legacy series.
