TV Zone #102 May 1998

As the fifth season hurtles towards the half-way point on TNT in the states, it's obvious that Babylon 5 is a vastly different show from the one it was a year ago. There has been some musical chairs - Sheridan is now President of the Interstellar Alliance, and has been replaced as Captain of the station by Elizabeth Lochley (Tracy Scoggins.) Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle) is now Head of Covert Operations, leaving Zack Allen (Jeff Conaway) to be the Security Chief - a role he filled 'temporarily' during Season Four - and Delenn (Mira Furlan,) while still the Minbari Ambassador, now also serves the Alliance as the President's wife.

When asked how he views the change in Sheridan's role, Bruce Boxleitner laughs. "I don't get to wear that nifty uniform any more," he says. "But I do have nice suits! It's just that he has more responsibility now, and that weighs heavier on his shoulders. But he also has his wife, who is the co-president or the First Lady of the Interstellar Alliance. So I think we have much more interaction now between the two of us, because we share this responsibility."

Domesticization

The marriage of two leading characters is always a dangerous prospect for any show. Indeed, the splicing of Clark Kent and Lois Lane has been cited as the principal reason for the failure of Lois and Clark during its fourth season. Likewise, the romance between David Addison and Madelyn Hayes brought the Fantasy detective series Moonlighting to an end. Perhaps because of this reason, Chris Carter has insisted on keeping the relationship between Mulder and Scully in The X-Files on a platonic footing.

However, Boxleitner firmly believes that the domesticizing of Sheridan and Delenn poses no threat to Babylon 5. "I don't think they're like those other tv couples," he insists. "I remember when I was on Scarecrow & Mrs. King with Kate Jackson, and we had to try and sustain sexual tension - that was the '80s buzzword. You know how long you do sexual tension before the fans go, 'When are they going to kiss? When are they going to DO something?'

"I don't think Delenn and Sheridan are like that. First of all, she's from an alien race and I'm a human, and we're coming together. It's much more intelligent than that; sex doesn't come into the equation. We have to deal with so many things as a couple."

With Sheridan confronting problems of galactic importance, the day to day running of the station is handed to Lochley. This role had originally been planned for Susan Ivanova - until Claudia Christian and Babylonian Productions failed to agree on contractual terms. Instead, Tracy Scoggins has been brought aboard as the new female lead, and within the space of a few episodes she has crossed swords with Garibaldi, and given Delenn a cause for concern.

"She's very strong," says Boxleitner of the new Captain. "I think just introducing a new character gives it a nice new spin, certainly for the working relationship among all the actors - this new energy came in. Hopefully it was the same way when I came on the show, because they were already an established ensemble. you come in and find your way around with everyone, but I think it's always a good thing - it's an infusion of energy."

Little Techno-Babble

When asked to cast his mind back four years to his first day on Babylon 5, Boxleitner recalls his relief that the show was not laden with complex scientific jargon. "One of the things I like about Babylon 5 is that we do have some of that, but I don't think it's so techno-babble jargon heavy," he beams. "We don't really have to do that much. I think that's a really nice conscious effort. We deal in other things. occasionally we'll have it, and you get used to saying the names of these alien races, and some of their language, and some of those terms involved. At first it was, 'What are they, the Narn?' Once I got through that it was pretty easy, but there wasn't much scientific jargon."

The casting of Boxleitner was a great boost for the series. Michael O'Hare, who had played Commander Jeffrey Sinclair throughout the first season, had moved on. The producers needed to find a leading actor with good looks, charisma and acting skills, and in Boxleitner they found all three. Furthermore, they also signed up one of the most relaxed and genuine individuals in Hollywood; as anyone who has worked on Babylon 5 will testify, Boxleitner is a true gentleman who makes the series an enjoyable place to be.

When asked about his reputation for being Science Fiction's Mr. Nice Guy, Boxleitner laughs bashfully. "I relate it to what kind of working atmosphere would most like to be in," he explains. "I don't like a lot of tension, and I know there's a type of personality in our business that thrives on tension. Everyone's on the edge, and they are people that feed off that. I don't like that; I like I when we get there we smile, we laugh, we tell some jokes.

"We're only doing television, we're only play-acting. There are people who just abuse that, and I've had to work with them over the years and I can't stand it. There's no reason to have all of that Angst going on, and it spreads throughout the whole crew. I've worked on sets where this one person would walk on and everyone would just tighten up - their guts all tightened up. Why? Have fun! This is fun, enjoy it, and that's what I like to put out to someone who comes to Babylon 5. I want them to feel relaxed, and that's where I think you get the best out of people."

Western Fantasy

A keen fan of the Westerns, Boxleitner is able to live out his fantasy on the large ranch he shares with wife Melissa Gilbert in the north of Los Angeles. The actor owns two horses, and can often be seen riding them at shows held in California.

Given that he is a fan of the genre, does Boxleitner agree with the often-quoted theory that Science Fiction stories are usually updated Westerns?

"I'm sure there's that part of it, he concurs. "What they have in common is the morality tale. Buck Rogers and Buck Jones - same thing. When you see what George Lucas did during those Star Wars days, there were the elements of all those genres placed into the future: the Western, the swashbuckler, so on and so forth. Han Solo walking around with a holster on; I think they're very similar. Obviously Joe has created this story and, if I'm not mistaken, he was influenced by some of the great myths and the Western is one the great myths of our day."

While it's obvious that Boxleitner enjoys playing a television hero, even if he rides a Starfury instead of a horse, it seems that he has a preference for the type of stories that test him as an actor, as opposed to those based around spectacle. Indeed, out of recent seasons he states a liking for the unusual story Intersections in Real Time, which found Sheridan being interrogated by Earthgov representatives. Written and directed like a piece of theatre, the piece focused almost entirely n dialogue between Sheridan and his interrogator, played by Raye Birk.

Two-character Focus

"It's one of my favourite episodes because it was so focused on the two characters," he explains. "A lot of times there was no carrying the plot line, no exposition. It was just back and forth, which is always good for actors. I enjoyed it a great deal, and I also got to do something that I normally don't get to do as a character - I got to be all roughed up and sick and exhausted and tortured. I didn't have to worry if I spilled my lunch on my wardrobe - I was all greasy and dirty and bearded. Normally I'm a crisply, clean well-dressed guy, and I got to do something a little out of the ordinary, and that's always fun."

Boxleitner has only kind words for Raye Birk, who came into the show at very short notice after another actor backed out. "It was just a very intense time, and he brought a lot to the role," he opines. "Raye did a marvelous job."

When asked to choose his favourite moments from the fifth season, Boxleitner admits it's a tough choice. "I enjoyed becoming the President," he offers. "I have one highlight which is about the past with a certain character that's revealed. That's kind of a highlight for fans, they may gasp a little about that - a certain fact is revealed about his past..."

That secret is revealed in one of the early episodes of the season - but TV Zone won't spoil it for those who have yet to see the fifth season. What we will report is that the move to TNT, and the lower budget this has entailed, has little discernible effect on the look of the series. That's certainly an amazing feat - especially when one considers that the production schedule for the series has been reduced from a seven-day turnaround for each episode to six.

"I think maybe at first it was an adjustment," comments Boxleitner. "I don't know if it's harder. they had been used to doing it in seven days, and it's a very well-oiled organization. I think taking that one day out at first jarred that machinery a little bit, but I don't see it as a problem now at all. For us actors, I don't think it affected us in any way. It just makes everything move a little faster. But we're always there and ready and prepared - and delivering."

Completed

Production on the fifth season of Babylon 5 was completed on Friday 20th March 1998. The studio will remain working until May, as the cast film two new tv movies for TNT, the first of which is titled The River of Souls, and features the return of the Soul Hunters. As these movies will utilize only certain members of the B5 ensemble, there is as yet no word as to whether Boxleitner will appear in them. [He is in A Call to Arms.]

After that, the series is over - Joe Straczynski insists that he has no desire to produce additional seasons, as the five year story has been told. For the fans, it's a heavy blow indeed.

While many of the cast seem ready to move on to other projects, some have insisted that they will stay in contact with Babylon 5 fans - attending conventions across the world. it seems that Boxleitner too will remain close to his followers - an audience for which he has the greatest respect.

Having bombarded Boxleitner with our own questions it seems fitting to inquire what Babylon 5 fans most commonly ask the star of the series. "The women ask more about relationships with Delenn and with Lochley," he reveals. "The men go, 'What other battles are going to happen?' We always have this code of secrecy on this show. We don't want to reveal anything, and we always do - we end up revealing a lot! The fans like that. They also ask, 'Are we going to see any more of your wife [Anna Sheridan, played by Melissa Gilbert] on the show?'"

He pauses, before laughing: "I say, 'No, she's dead - I blew her up!'"