Claudia Christian out of Babylon 5
laudia Christian, who has played the popular character Lt. Cmdr. Susan Ivanova on Babylon 5 for the last four seasons, won't be returning for the SF series' fifth and, presumably, last season on TNT.
That much is clear. Less clear is exactly why, and both Christian and series creator J. Michael Straczynski have posted lengthy and conflicting letters on the reasons.
At the bottom of the dispute is Christian's apparent desire to keep her options open to pursue other projects. Straczynski says that Christian alone among the show's cast members declined in June to extend her contract for a month, and was subsequently reported in the show biz trade papers to be considering leaving the show -- news that apparently incensed the show's producers. "All she had to do to be in season five was to pick up the phone, or have her agent do so, and call [Warner Brothers] and say, 'I'm in.' This did not happen," Straczynski wrote.
For her part, Christian says she's wanted to be a part of season five all along, but was told after returning from a European vacation and after the news broke in the trades -- to "find another job." She wrote: "I had expressed my hesitation in extending my contract renewal because I wanted to get their assurance that in the fifth season I could get at least four episodes off to do a film. That was the only thing I was asking for." She said her requests for time off were denied.
Christian added: "I am hurt and disappointed that I have not even received the opportunity to discuss my needs. I was dismissed coldly and simply. I want you to know that I have given my heart to the show and I love Ivanova as much as any of you. I did not 'leave' the show."
It's unclear how Ivanova's disappearance will be handled, but Straczynski says he won't recast the role, leaving the door open for Christian's return in some form. "There's the third TNT movie, and a possible feature film, and if she wants to approach us about those projects, we'll be more than happy to have the discussion," he said in an Internet forum for fans. Stay tuned.
-- Patrick Lee, U.S. Correspondent
The X-Files favored once again by Emmy nominators
he usual suspects garnered the bulk of nominations for the 1997 primetime Emmy awards this month, with the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences all but ignoring SF series that weren't called The X-Files. That show received 12 nominations, ranking third behind ER (with 22) and The Larry Sanders Show (16).
In addition to receiving a bid for best drama, The X-Files got a first nomination for David Duchovny ("Special Agent Fox Mulder") for outstanding lead actor in a drama series. Duchovny joins cast member Gillian Anderson ("Special Agent Dana Scully"), who earned her second nomination for outstanding lead actress in a drama series.
Other popular SF TV, including Babylon 5, got away with only single nominations, usually in technical areas such as makeup.
The SF-fantasy-horror shows that got multiple nominations included 3rd Rock from the Sun (7), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (4), Star Trek: Voyager (3), Stephen King's The Shining (3) and the low-rated Dark Skies (2).
Shows with single nominations included Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Burning Zone, Alien Nation: The Enemy Within and Profiler.
-- P.L.
MST3K to orbit for a ninth season on Sci-Fi
ystery Science Theater 3000 begins a ninth season early next year and its second on the Sci-Fi Channel, the cable network announced.
The network renewed the series -- featuring marooned astronaut "Mike Nelson" and his robot pals making fun of bad SF movies -- with an order for 13 more episodes, according to Barry Schulman, Vice President, Programming, Sci-Fi Channel.
The show's first seven seasons were on Comedy Central, but the show has doubled its ratings since joining Sci-Fi Channel.
-- P.L.
Kress wins 1997 Sturgeon award
he Flowers of Aulit Prison," by Nancy Kress, was awarded the 1997 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for Best Short Science Fiction or Fantasy, presented July 11 at an awards ceremony in Lawrence, Kansas.
Paul J. McCauley's novel Fairyland, which was first published in the United Kingdom in 1995 and received its first U.S. publication 1996, won the year's John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Novel at the same ceremony.
Runners up for the Sturgeon award were: "The Age of Aquarius," by William Barton, and "The Weighing of Ayre," by Gregory Feeley.
Runners up for the Campbell award were: Blue Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson, and The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell.
-- P.L.
Pocket plans anniversary tribute to Star Trek: The Next Generation
t's almost time for the 10-year anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Star Trek chroniclers Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens are ready for the occasion with another book. Scheduled to hit shelves Oct. 15, Pocket Books' somewhat cumbersomely titled Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Continuing Mission, A Tenth Anniversary Tribute will be a 288-page illustrated retrospective of the popular series, which debuted in 1988.
The Continuing Mission will retail for $35.00 ($45.00 Canada) and contains an introduction by Rick Berman, an afterword by Robert Justman and more than 750 photos and illustrations.
-- Craig E. Engler, Editor
White House upset over lack of contact for
Contact
awyers for President Clinton, who appears courtesy of computer magic in the hit Jodie Foster SF film Contact, charged that filmmaker Robert Zemeckis lifted the President's words and images without authorization.
"You have manipulated images of the President's public statements, taken them out of the context in which they were uttered and adapted them to fit the plot of your film," presidential counsel Charles F.C. Ruff wrote to Zemeckis.
A spokeswoman for Warner Bros., which distributed the film, told The Hollywood Reporter that a print of the film was sent to Clinton's office earlier this month. "We're just really waiting for him to see the movie," she said. "It's a very positive film and his message is very, very positive in it."
-- P.L.
MiB soundtrack tops the charts
he soundtrack to the hit SF parody Men in Black -- featuring a title rap by the former Fresh Prince of Bel Air himself, MiB co-star Will Smith -- rocketed to the top of the charts in its second week and has remained there, according to SoundScan.
With sales of 177,000 units in its second week of release, the soundtrack -- which also features numbers by Snoop Doggy Dogg, the Roots featuring D'Angelo, Nas and A Tribe Called Quest -- outsold its nearest competition by more than 45,000 units, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
-- P.L.
Hannah and Hurley journey to Martian
arryl Hannah and Elizabeth Hurley join Christopher Lloyd and Jeff Daniels in the big-screen remake of the 1960s sitcom My Favorite Martian, Variety reported.
Hurley -- best known for her Estee Lauder commercials, plays TV newswoman Brace Channing opposite Lloyd's "Uncle Martin" and Daniels' "Tim O'Hara." The movie is currently filming on location in Santa Barbara.
-- P.L.
Maximilian Schell goes Deep
scar-winner Maximilian Schell has joined Robert Duvall, Vanessa Redgrave, Morgan Freeman, Tea Leoni and Elijah Wood in the cast of the space disaster thriller Deep Impact, about a rogue comet on a collision course with Earth, Variety reported.
The film is currently on location in Washington, D.C. The picture is set for release next summer.
-- P.L.
Dragonlance creators rejoin TSR
riters and game makers Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman -- best known for their Dragonlance novels -- have rejoined the staff at TSR Inc., best known for producing Dungeons & Dragons.
Weis and Hickman will manage the overall story line for future Dragonlance novels, determining how the ongoing Dragonlance story will unfold, the company announced. TSR was recently acquired by Wizards of the Coast.
-- P.L.
The "Thrillogy" is gone -- at least until November
he fall debut of NBC's SF-tinged Saturday night "Thrillogy" is being delayed until after the the completion of post-season baseball, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That means the two returning thrillogy shows, The Pretender and Profiler, and new addition Sleepwalkers won't hit the screen until Nov. 1.
The network feared premiering the shows in September, only to put them on hiatus for a full month.
-- P.L.
Briefly Noted
- Virgin Interactive has gained the rights to produce a series of computer games based on Paramount's Star Trek: Voyager show on UPN. The games will use 3D effects and will be released in 1999 and 2000.
- The popular SF anime title Ghost in the Shell will be released on DVD in September by Manga Entertainment. The DVD edition will feature 30 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage.
- The Hollywood Reporter, citing unnamed sources, said NBC paid more than $50 million for the broadcast rights to this summer's breakout hit Men in Black for five years. And that's only after the movie makes a run on HBO.
- Oscar-winning visual effects master John Dykstra will deliver this year's George Pal Lecture on Fantasy in Film for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The lecture, set for Aug. 7 at 8 p.m. at the Academy's Beverly Hills headquarters, will include clips from several Dykstra films, which include Star Wars.
