Valen in Vancouver

On October 4th 2003, Brainbin posted this ETS post 2006 in the popular Eyes Turned Skyward timeline. In that post he said this:

Brainbin said:

J. Michael Straczynski, the one-time showrunner for the popular and well-received cartoon adaptation of the smash-hit Ghostbusters film (entitled The Real Ghostbusters), was left unfulfilled by his work on that program, seeing it as a mere stepping-stone toward his dream project, that which he was sure would become his magnum opus...Straczynski’s series (which he called Babylon 5) was set on a space station...a pilot movie, The Gathering, was aired on Monday, February 6, 1989, in over 150 markets throughout the United States (including all twenty of the largest) in order to test the waters. The lead character was Commander Jeffrey Sinclair, commanding officer of the Babylon 5 station. Lieutenant Commander Laurel Takashima served as Executive Officer. [10] The two leads were well-received by critics and audiences, as was the telefilm in general, leading Warners to greenlight production on a series proper, which had just enough time to begin preparation for a September premiere in the 1989-90 season...Many of the visual effects originally created for the miniseries were reused countless times for the series proper. Their design was overseen by Visual Effects Supervisor Steven Begg, including the station itself. Because computer-generated imagery was still in its infancy at the dawn of the 1990s (prior to its proliferation through the ensuing decade), practical effects were primarily used, including extensive model shots, matte paintings, and stop-motion photography...

Click to expand...

For numerous reasons (the writer's strike, the still relatively homogenous audience in 1989, their choice of using Brit Steven Begg as effects supervisor for the whole 5-year run) I thought this 1989 version of "Babylon 5" wouldn't work, and said so here , here , here , here , here and here . But the ETS creators did not agree that the problems were problems or the solutions were solutions. Since it was their timeline this impasse could not be negotiated. Hence this new thread.

The "Eyes Turned Skywards" version of a "Babylon 5" starting in 1989 is filmed in Los Angeles, has a mostly American cast, uses physical models throughout its 5-year run, and is a success. You can read more about it on the ETS timeline here or contact the ETS creators Brainbin, e of Pi, nixonhead et al

The version presented in this thread starts in 1989 but junks the models for CGI for seasons 4/5, has a mostly Canadian cast (with exceptions for the main cast), is filmed in Vancouver, and has a far more troubled run.

So for the avoidance of doubt, the following timeline "Valen in Vancouver" (aka VIV, aka VancouverB51989) will attempt to remain consistent with ETS up to post number 2006, but the authors of ETS have not authorised VIV and VIV is not a part of the ETS timeline. It is, if you will, a point of departure...

Index

The arc
The seasons
The cast
The crew
Other
Butterflies
PODs
I'll fill these out over the coming months. I am to get the timeline finished by Xmas 2014, and will hopefully not have more than two weeks between updates

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Edits to this post

• Change timeline finish date from Xmas 2013 to Xmas 2014
• Change update frequency from "every two weeks" to "not more than two weeks between updates"

Year 0: The Gathering (part 1)

THE FOLLOWING EXTRACT WAS TRANSCRIBED FROM A RECORDING OF THE NAMED PROGRAM. WHILST ALL EFFORTS HAVE BEEN MADE FOR ACCURACY, NO RESPONSIBILITY CAN BE TAKEN FOR ANY MISHEARED ELEMENTS.
DATE OF EXTRACT: 2013 NOVEMBER 16TH

INTRODUCTION

"Babylon 5: The Unfolding Text" was a documentary transmitted on Saturday, November 16 2013. It was in talking-heads format, interspersed with clips. It covered the evolution of the "Babylon 5" franchise from initial casting to the most recent spinoff. The following extract transcribes those parts of the documentary that covered the pilot episode ("The Gathering", transmitted on Monday, February 6, 1989).

EXTRACT BEGINS

Interviewer 1 (off-screen): The franchise has been characterised as one of the best-cast science-fiction series of all time...
Speaker 1: Well, that's debatable...
Speaker 2: Hah! Look at the other franchises, and tell me there weren't bad actors! How many bad ways are there of saying "He's dead!". Holy...cow!
Speaker 3: We were aware very early on that casting would be crucial, and we took great pains to get it right and give them what they wanted...
Speaker 4: I didn't meet them often, but the stories that it was a happy cast were true, at least eventually. For the pilot of course, it was a different matter..

[continuity announcement of the pilot's first transmission]

Interviewer 1 (off-screen): Yes, and I'd like to speak of the pilot, if I may. You lost quite a few...
Speaker 1: That's inevitable. People can commit to a single performance but not necessarily long term, people fall in love, move, they have committments
Interviewer 1: ...hence your famous "trapdoors"...
Speaker 1: Yes, that's right...
Speaker 2: Hah! Joe says that now, but at the time it was all panic and patching together holes...
Speaker 3: Some people were not able to give the committment or performance that matched our expectations, and they were helped into other roles, sometimes locally, sometimes not...
Speaker 4: He means MacNeill[11], doesn't he.

[clips of franchise character "G'Kar"]

Interviewer 1 (off-screen): G'Kar was played by Peter MacNeill in the pilot, but Colm Feore[12] in the series. What happened?
Speaker 3: Casting G'Kar was admittedly difficult. We saw many actors, and couldn't settle. Carmen Argenziano[13] was an early favourite but Joe wanted Peter MacNeill. He'd known him in his "Captain Power" days and ticked all the boxes: competent actor, could project thru the makeup. But he found difficulty acclimatising to the prosthetics
Speaker 2: Found difficulty acclimatising to the pies, more like
Speaker 4: Fluctuating weight makes prosthetic work difficult, and Peter couldn't keep his weight down. It's not unknown: Dan Ackroyd changes weight from scene to scene, and Colin Farrell had to be filmed from the shoulders down in "Miami Vice". But there were too many times when the latex didn't fit..
Speaker 3: Colm Feore expressed an interest and Mr MacNeill wanted to pursue other options, so we recast after the pilot.
Speaker 2: Like hell he did. Colm wanted to be a Shakespearian act-tor and you couldn't prise him out of Stratford[1] with a crowbar. Netter made him an offer he couldn't refuse...

[clips of actor Colm Feore in onstage rehearsals of "Hamlet"]

Interviewer 1 (off-screen): I'm interested. What was the offer?
Speaker 2: He got a CAF (sic) jet to commute him to Toronto!
Speaker 3: Thornton, characteristically, exaggerates here. Our...backers have access to bizjets that they loan to the Royal Canadian Air Force amongst others, thus saving the Canadian taxpayer the cost of full-time ownership and maintenance. The jets in question had spare capacity on each flight and, for a modest fee, both parties could be satisfied. Giving people what they want is one of the more...fulfilling parts of my job and it was an elegant solution. It enabled Mr Feore to pursue his Shakespearean ambitions and fulfil his franchise obligations, and he was more than capable of handling the workload. Everybody was happy.

[clips of franchise character "Jeffrey Sinclair"]

Interviewer 1 (off-screen): Henry Czerny[14] was in the series from the beginning, and was one of the few actors to make it all the way thru...
Speaker 2: God, he was dull...
Speaker 3: Mr Czerny was intially criticised by the networks, but his performance fitted our conception and our backers were content, so I had no problem with him and was entirely content that he remain in role. (Pause). Of course, final decision always remained with Mr Straczynski...
Speaker 1: We were very pleased with Henry: he projected a cerebral charisma that fitted the part.

[clips of franchise character "Laurel Takashima"]

Interviewer 1 (off-screen): You lost Sandra Bullock!
Speaker 1: we were lucky to have her at all! She was resident in New York at the time and couldn't commit to a long-term stay in Vancouver
Speaker 3: Ms. Bullock[15] made it clear from the beginning that she couldn't commit long-term, and I valued her clarity. We are more than happy to work with her again, although I doubt we can afford her these days.
Speaker 1: Recasting to Deborah Kara Unger[5] worked well
Speaker 3: Ms. Unger worked beautifully. A native of Vancouver, she helped the others acclimatise to West Coast Canada and the friendships she formed helped the cast considerably. I don't know where we'd be if her job in Australia had fallen thru[2]
Speaker 2: Losing her job in Australia[2] Coincidence? You may think that, I couldn't possibly comment...(grins)

[clips of franchise characters "Michael Garibaldi", "Stephen Franklin", "Londo Mollari"]

Interviewer 1 (off-screen): Your male supporting cast..
Speaker 1: "Leads", please. We call them "leads"
Speaker 2: Hah!
Interviewer 1 (off-screen): ...your male leads were stable throughout, but this wasn't obvious from the beginning.
Speaker 2: To put it mildly (grin). Barry[8] is from the American South with famous parents, Tony[9] is black, Canadian and politically motivated...
Speaker 1: I wouldn't put it like that...
Speaker 2: Put it how you like, Joe, but you wouldn't bet on them being friends...
Speaker 1: Neverthless, they did found a fast friendship...
Speaker 3: They were different characters but both people of reason with a childlike curiosity...
Speaker 2: It helped that Barry was good-looking and polite but not too bright. He's easy to like, and at heart Tony is not a bad man: any animosity quickly bled away.
Speaker 3: Having Mr Sommer[10] around helped: he was used to travelling and had a mature attitude. He still hoped for leading man status...
Interviewer 1: Didn't you help for that? Some of his later roles are a bit surprising...
Speaker 3: I couldn't possibly comment. Regardless, he valued the stability of employment and quality of Mollari's arc. We were grateful for his commitment. We always reward loyalty.

[clips of franchise characters "Catherine Sakai", "Lyta Alexander"]

Interviewer 1 (off-screen): Your female leads...
Speaker 2: They were women, goddammit! Be less tight-arsed!
Interviewer 1 (off-screen): ...worked well together, but there was a revolving-door feel...
Speaker 1: Trapdoors again...
Speaker 2: Trapdoors my arse, there was a money issue. It's always money...
Speaker 3: Not every actor wanted to work in Vancouver, and some eventually wanted to move away. We accommodated as best we could...
Speaker 2: Netter gave them everything - everything! We had the best childcare on the West Coast, nannies, chauffeurs, the whole nine yards. They wanted for nothing...
Speaker 3: ...but sometimes money is not enough, and we couldn't accommodate every demand...
Interviewer 1: Is that why Jessica Steen left? Why was Louise Vallance's part expanded?

[clips of franchise characters "Delenn", "Susan Ivanova"]

Speaker 1: Again, trapdoors. The Lyta Alexander arc had run its course, and the death of Catherine Sakai provided a natural lacuna...
Speaker 2: Bollocks. Jess had known Joe since her "Captain Power" days, but she never adapted to Vancouver and wanted to move to New York. Netter can cope with bicoastality but not a permanent move, and Jess had to go.
Speaker 1: ...expanding Susan Ivanova's role made sense within the arc plot and Laurel Takashima still had aspects I wanted to explore...
Speaker 2: By that point even Joe had given up. Why do you think Lyta Alexander was written out and Laurel Takashima kept in? Jess was a friend of Joe's but even Joe could see the writing on the wall...
Speaker 1: It was some regret, but when a character has to go, a character has to go...
Speaker 3: Given Ms Steen's later success, I am glad the situation resolved itself so neatly...
Speaker 2: You're damn right he was glad. Keeping an East Coast Canadian cast and US transplants welded to Vancouver was the job from hell. With Jess[3] and Debs[4] gone, you had Kat[5], Jen[6] and Louise[7] forming a tight little unit. Kat was a Vancouver native, Louise is a trouper who'll work anywhere for the right money, and Jen was still getting over her divorce and wasn't too difficult to persuade to stay on. By this point Netter had a cast he could handle...
Speaker 3: Again, Thornton misrepresents. The human factor is always the most difficult and people roam. We...I operate by consent: if somebody doesn't want to stay, we can hardly stop them. Everybody who left did so of their own volition, although sometimes they need, er, help realizing what they want. That is our..my function: finding out what people want and giving it to them. It isn't easy...

EXTRACT ENDS

NOTES

• [1] Stratford, Ontario. Not Stratford-upon-Avon, England
• [2] Bangkok Hilton
• [3] Jessica Steen/Lyta Alexander
• [4] Deborah Duchene/Catherine Sakai
• [5] Deborah Kara Unger/Laurel Takeshima (recast)
• [6] Jennifer Dale/Delenn
• [7] Louise Vallance/Susan Ivanova
• [8] Barry Van Dyke/Michael Garibaldi
• [9] Anthony Sherwood/Stephen Franklin
• [10] Josef Sommer/Londo Mollari
• [11] Peter MacNeill/G'Kar (original)
• [12] Colm Feore/G'Kar (recast)
• [13] Carmen Argenziano/G'Kar (considered for role, never cast)
• [14] Henry Czerny/Jeffrey Sinclair
• [15] Sandra Bullock/Laurel Takashima (original)

CAST MEMBERS NOT MENTIONED IN ABOVE TRANSCRIPT

• Bruce Harwood/Lennier
• Geraint Wyn Davies/Vir
• Michele Scarabelli/Na'Toth
• Dave Foley & Bruce McCulloch/Rebo & Zooty

=====================================================
Edits to this post

• Corrected RCAF
• Rounded out female cast
• Rounded out male cast

Discussion 2013-12-15

CASTING

OK, that's the cast rounded out. All cast ITTL are age appropriate and reasonably good facsimiles of the original cast IOTL. Some of them are spookily accurate: Louise Vallance and Claudia Christian (Susan Ivanova ITTL and IOTL) are both brunettes with second careers as jazz singers. Some not so much: Jessica Steen is too young for Lyta Alexander and will eventually leave, tho' not for money as some believe: she simply wants to live in New York.

I've tried not to mess up people's lives. To get Deborah Kara Unger I had to stop her moving to Australia for her role in "Bangkok Hilton", but she will still get to star in "Crash": ITTL, Denise Cronenberg (David's sister) is a costume designer on ITTL B5. Josef Sommer's brief stint as leading man is mostly butterflied away but he still settles into his sturdy character actor groove, just as he did IOTL. Sandra Bullock still goes on to have her Hollywood career, with B5 ITTL occupying the same space in her life as "Bionic Showdown" IOTL. I hope deviating Jennifer Dale's life so she moves to Vancouver after her 1986 divorce isn't too much: courtesy of Netter's deus ex machina RCAF contacts she still gets to film "The Adjuster" and her life continues as IOTL from 1995 onwards, moving back to Toronto.

G'Kar was a nightmare: I originally cast Peter MacNeill, who has presence and can project thru latex. But even as a younger man he was flabby and latex roles demand physical discipline. Colm Feore jumped out as a great replacement but I couldn't drag him away from Stratford and the Shakespearean stage career he wants. Again, Netter's contacts came in handy here.

I tried to avoid genre actors. Nevertheless, Bruce Harwood (X-Files IOTL) and Michele Scarabelli (Alien Nation IOTL) wete good fits for Lennier and Na'Toth purely on merit. Geraint Wyn Davies got his role because it is compulsory to have him in every Canadian televised science-fiction series of the period (I think there's a treaty involved). Weirdly, one logical actor for Zack Allen (or even Sinclair) is Marc Singer of "V" fame IOTL, who is Vancouver born, but I thought of him too late. Other Vancouver natives which I may or may not shoehorn in (just for the fun of it) include Meg/Jennifer Tilly, Kim Cattrall, Bruce Greenwood, Michael J Fox, and the cast of American Mary.

Yes, I do think Barry Van Dyke and Anthony Sherwood would be friends ITTL.

THE SPEAKERS

Unless I've confused myself, the speakers are:

• Speaker 1: J Michael Straczynski. Writer and showrunner ITTL and IOTL. American. A dreamer with an optimistic outlook who tries to shape things to fit a pattern
• Speaker 2: Ron Thornton. Computer imaging director ITTL and IOTL. British. Loud, brash, right-wing, iconoclastic, rude, immature, dreams of great things. Upsets people but capable of great loyalty and unlikely friendships.
• Speaker 3: Douglas Netter. Producer ITTL and IOTL. American. Outwardly calm, inwardly worried. The fixer and money man, he finds out what people want and gives it to them providing they reciprocate. Enormous self-control.
• Speaker 4: Steven Begg. Special effects director ITTL. British. Quiet, mature, collegiate, contemplative, philosophical, left wing. Good with people.

NEXT STEPS

Originally I thought the hardest part of this timeline would be bringing CGI forward five years, but that's not really a problem. Film CGI, television CGI and game CGI evolved in parallel, with different software and platforms. Appropriate software existed in 1989 (Softimage) but IOTL it was for film CGI on Silicon Graphics boxes, not for TV CGI on Commodore Amigas. All I need to do is ensure Softimage is released multiplatform and - yay - job done, albeit at a stretch

But that isn't the hard part. During this period, the Canadian film industry is all East Coast, with Toronto benefiting from its close (by Canadian standards) proximity to New York and Chicago. The US film industry is mostly West Coast US, around LA. The film industry in Vancouver (West Coast Canada) is expanding very quickly but is still small. So the hard part is getting the money and organisation to make people work in Vancouver in the late 80's. The reasons why Netter is so worried all the time will slowly unfold...

viewcode said:

OK, so I have to jumpstart the development of Vancouver as a media center, over 5 years before it happened IOTL. IOTL it happened fairly organically (at least that we know of): attracted by cheaper labor, companies like Fox (X-Files) and MGM (Stargate) started filming TV shows in Vancouver, we all grew up thinking alien planets are green, damp forest worlds, Vancouver Film School went from strength to strength. But in the mid 80's Vancouver still has a small town feel with local TV stations, Fox is making "Married...With Children" in the US, and VFS (founded 1987) does not yet exist. So how to plow millions of dollars into a sleepy city on a bay that nobody is particularly interested in?

To get that sort of money, you're talking big business or politics. Since its a television show, it's showbusiness, with emphasis on the business. So let's throw some characters into the air, see where they land...

• Brian Mulroney. Prime Minister of Canada (September 17, 1984 – June 25, 1993). Politician and member of the Progressive Conservative party of Canada. He has a problem. He needs to keep the opposing party (the Liberals) corraled into their Eastern strongholds and prevent them expanding to the West Coast.
• George HW Bush. Vice-President of the United States (January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989) and former DCI CIA (January 30, 1976 – January 20, 1977). Politician and member of the Republican Party of the United States. He has a problem. The Iran-Contra affair (August 20, 1985 – March 4, 1987) is going well, but he's uneasy about the role of the CIA in matters requiring safety-of-the-state secrecy, believing it to be leaky (see Aldrich Ames)
• William J Casey. DCI CIA (January 28, 1981 – January 29, 1987). Spy.
• William H. Webster. Director of the FBI (February 23, 1978 – May 25, 1987)
• Robert Simmonds. Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (September 1, 1977 – August 31, 1987)
• Arnon Milchan. Film producer (1977 - present) and civilian factotum for Lekem.

Questions

• Why would people start funnelling money into Vancouver?
• Why is Netter worried all the time?

Click to expand...

If you want extra money in Vancouver, I think it would be easier to get it provincially rather than federally. British Columbia never complains like Alberta , Ontario and Quebec and is chronically ignored federally.

The premier is the very last of the socreds, Bill Vander Zalm and he he seems pretty embroiled with scandal for most of his reign. His little alliance of social conservatives from rural BC and urban fiscal conservatives was constantly butting heads (he was more of the former than the latter). Maybe you could get him to approve some tax breaks for Vancouver (which ends up trickling down to the small film industry) as a peace feeler to the fiscal urbanites so the party isn't at each other's throats all the time.

The Gunslinger said:

If you want extra money in Vancouver, I think it would be easier to get it provincially rather than federally. British Columbia never complains like Alberta , Ontario and Quebec and is chronically ignored federally.

The premier is the very last of the socreds, Bill Vander Zalm and he he seems pretty embroiled with scandal for most of his reign. His little alliance of social conservatives from rural BC and urban fiscal conservatives was constantly butting heads (he was more of the former than the latter). Maybe you could get him to approve some tax breaks for Vancouver (which ends up trickling down to the small film industry) as a peace feeler to the fiscal urbanites so the party isn't at each other's throats all the time.

Click to expand...

You make a good point. The possibility of getting VIV funded at the province/territory level rather than federal was floated in the ETS timeline. As for Bill Vander Zalm (Premier of British Columbia August 6, 1986 – April 2, 1991), he may be a little bit too late: for the B5 pilot to be shown on Monday, February 6, 1989, it'd have to be filmed in early 89/late 88, so the studios would have to be in place Jan 1 88 at latest, so the putative tax breaks would have to be...yes, it's doable: BVZ could approve them in time. I'll look at him and his predecessor (Bill Bennett, December 22, 1975 – August 6, 1986), see what I can do.

Year 1: Signs and Portents (part 1)

THE THREE GATHER

The Sunday-evening doorbell rang in the nicer suburbs of Vancouver. The maid moved to open it but was neatly intercepted by the twenty-five year old Deborah Kara Unger, known as "Kat". "It's OK, I'll get it". The door opened and silhouetted in the setting sun was a willowy thirty-three year old woman with big hair and near perfect posture. "Who is it?" came the question from the lounge, tinged with a hint of raspiness. "It's Jen, Stevie", said Kat. Jennifer Dale, "Jen" to her two friends, stepped over the threshold and was greeted by Kat. "Come in, girl" yelled the thirty-one year owner of the lounge voice. whose stage name was "Louise Vallance" but went by her birth name of Stephanie, universally shortened to "Stevie".

"Go thru, I'll bring the food" said Kat, and Jen moved to the lounge. "Wine's there" nodded Stevie, who was entertaining a large whisky in a crystal glass for the remainder of its short lifespan. Jen moved to the comfy chair to the right of the infeasibly large television and, insofar as she was capable of relaxing, lounged. "How can she maintain in a chair like that?" thought Stevie: Jen had stage and other experience which, when combined with her natural discipline, gave her posture that dancers would admire and enabled her to sit upright and cross-legged in a chair that was more loved than built.

Kat came in, balancing three lap trays in two hands. Despite a screen presence monopolised by ice maidens, she was more sloppy in real life and her cardigan over Vancouver Canucks t-shirt wasn't helping her balancing act. Neverthless she somehow distributed the trays on the low lounge table in front of her friends. "You want?" she murmured to Stevie, waving a small box in front of her. "Oh, goodie" yelped Stevie who in defiance of human physiology leapt for the box from a sitting position and nearly got it. "Oh, OK, go on then" said Kat and handed it to her: Stevie grabbed it, fumbled, then pressed the right sequence of buttons. The multifunction remote control box cycled to Stevie's selection of TV channel and CD track, filling the room with a murmur of soft jazz.

THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS

The three sat and made their way thru the meal, accompanied by wine for Kat and Jen and whisky for Stevie. Stevie was a jobbing character actor - go anywhere, do any role, go on to the next one - but for her, acting was a job of work not an labour of love, and her interests lay more in jazz and family ambitions. Jazz usually occupied a more louche milieu and Stevie had had her share of cigarettes that weren't tobacco, but in truth she made the mumsiest jazz singer born, and it wasn't hard to tell that her future involved children in some way. Jen's two children, who had relocated to Vancouver with their mother following her 1986 divorce, were a constant source of joy to Stevie and when the meal was over, conversation turned to the children.

"So are they missing their Aunty Stevie?" "Yes, and stop fishing" smiled Jen in a way that stopped short of a grin. Jen and her husband had grown apart and despite an amicable divorce it had left her shocked and shaky. The new job had eliminated her money worries - which is why she took it - but Vancouver was still a whole continent's distance from Toronto and she remained tightly wound.

ROLES AND A CONVENIENT FART

The meal finished, they pushed the trays aside, Kat and Stevie lit cigarettes and all refilled their drinks. Kat looked warmly at Jen and steered the conversation onto her stage career. Unusually, their "Babylon 5" contracts guaranteed time off to pursue other interests, and Jen's route took her to Stratford and a Shakespeare role. Jen relaxed as she spoke of her role and preparation, despite being gently mocked by Stevie - "Oh, come on, Olivier". Kat was keenly interested in the approaches of the two actresses, Stevie's more relaxed naturalistic style contrasting with Jen's studied discipline. Still only twenty-five, Kat valued the advice she was indirectly getting from the older women and welcomed the way Jen became looser as she spoke of her career, although her friend would never lose her ramrod back.

Time passed and shadows deepened, and scripts were pulled out. The three rehearsed their parts for the week and were prompted by each other, Kat munching an apple and enunciating around it, which caused much hilarity when bits escaped. "Oh, gross" growled Stevie as a bit of pith escaped Kat's mouth and rebounded off the table, causing Jen to utter the most natural laugh she'd issued that night. "Oh, so it's apple jokes, is it?" teased Stevie and the gods of comedy promptly obliged as Jen issued a small but perfectly formed fart. Mortified, she blushed scarlet as Kat and Stevie collapsed in hysterics, but eventually joined in, her higher tone complimenting Kat's sultry and Stevie's raspy laughter.

DEPARTURES

The logical moment having arrived for departure, Stevie and Jen gathered up their bits and moved to their coats. Their drivers arrived when prompted and after having arranged the next venue - "Mine next week?", said Stevie - they left, leaving Kat alone in the large gently darkling house. Her "Babylon 5" role afforded the Vancouver native a beautiful house, maids and a driver, but these weekends with her friends were what she valued the most.

Year 1: Signs and Portents (part 2)

NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE

Steven Begg drove thru the eastern suburbs of Vancouver looking for the special effects yard. The address was on the paper in his right hand, which was a problem because - "oh, God" - Canadians drive on the right and, being British, he was used to left-hand drive. After some near misses he reached the yard, parked and got out. Only, "yard" wasn't the right term. He was used to working in the buildings that had been thrown up after WW2, and they were invariably out the back, to the side, in a barn, the stables, or - and this happened more often than he cared to remember - in the car park. They were all prefab or 50's construction, thirties art deco - "Streamline Moderne", he muttered - if you were lucky and could cope with curved cast-iron window frames and the draughts thereof.

But the buildings looming in front of him looked more like offices: cladding over a steel frame, sealed-unit windows - "I bet there's a receptionist" he muttered. He walked towards the reception entrance, changed his mind and smoothly deflected his path around the back. He wandered thru a double uproll door, bigger than a garage opening, and gave a slow whistle...

THINGS DIFFER ABROAD. WHO KNEW?

The workplace signage was different: the familiar Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 notices with their crest were missing, and the white-cross-in-green signifying the first aid boxes were similarly absent. The lights were still neon tubes, but their housings were reflective and shiny and - he realized with a rush of nostalgia - there was no damp anywhere. Goddammit, the place looked clean and unworked in. If it wasn't for the seemingly endless rows of tool drawers and small lifting cranes you'd think you were in a baked beans store.

Thankfully, the smells were still the same: oil, hot machinery, swarf and the acrid tang that never really left if you operated arc welders indoors for any length of time. Somewhere in the distance the familiar sound of a power saw screamed merrily. To his shock, he realized that it was a distance: this place was big.

He saw his colleague in the distance and moved to say hi. "Ron", said Steven, and extended his hand. "Er no", said the surprisingly bashful tall man with the beard and full hair "I'm Paul". Steven realized his mistake, smiled and said "Sorry Paul, I'm jet-lagged". Paul Beigle-Bryant, Ron Thornton's right-hand man smiled and said "No, it's OK: I'm the sane Klingon. The insane Klingon is upstairs". Paul led Steven to the stairs and up to the standalone office on the mezzanine.

RON MEETS STEVE. COMEDY ENSUES

It is not true that the phone broke thru the window, despite Ron's frequent retelling. Instead it bounced off and clattered to the inside of the office. The yell was, however, accurately reported. "HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO GET FREON IN THIS FUCKING COUNTRY?", yelled Ron Thornton. In capitals.

"Ron, here's Steve" said Paul. Ron instantly calmed down, moved to Steve and shook his hand, pumping it like a recalcitrant jack. "Great to meet you, just arrived?" he enthusiasmed. Ron had brushed black receding hair, light eyes, a trim beard, and a black t-shirt, nerd chic twenty years avant la lettre. Startled, Steven got the joke - he did look a bit like a Klingon without the forehead ridges.

In a way, this was a nerdgasm encounter: Ron had built the "Scorpio" from "Blake's 7" in his living room out of bits of model kits, Steven had built Tim Burton's Gotham City on the soundstage. But both their reputations had preceded them and there was no need to boast. Although that wouldn't stop Ron in the least.

PUB HAPPENS

"Just let me unload my stuff and - " "Oh, that can wait. The Freon isn't arriving anyhow" interrupted Ron, his Lahn-dahn accent overlaid with the many years he'd spent in the States. However some things had not changed, and the proprieties had to be observed.

"Pub?" said Ron Thornton. "Pub" agreed Steven Begg.

The two Brits went to the pub. Paul Beigle-Bryant sighed, shook his leonine head, and trotted off after them.

LAGER, NOT ALE. IT'S IMPORTANT

The pub, when they got there, was - by British standards - light and airy, with more polished wood and cut glass than Steven was used to. Pubs in the English South-East in the 80's were only just being redeveloped and still retained their rustic charm, a phrase that covered a multitude of sins from a warm, welcoming open fire to sick-encrusted carpet. But this one reinforced the impression Steven had had since he arrived: money was flowing into Vancouver and things were being redeveloped. He was still nervous: he'd turned down the chance to do effects on Richard Stanley's "Hardware" for the "Babylon 5" post and he needed to make sure Ron understood the demarcation between their roles.

"Cockney?" said Paul. Steven looked askance: not everybody from the UK was from London. "Cockney!" Paul repeated, pointing to a sign. "Oh, Kokanee!", said Steven, as the light-bulb over his head lit: "Kokanee" was the local Vancouver brew. It turned out to be surprisingly OK, tho' Steven groaned as he realized it was a lager, not an ale - "Oh, God, more fizz". Lager had begun to displace ale as the drink of first choice among the English, but Steven retained his preference for the heavier beer. Surprisingly, Ron drank vodka - "no hangovers" - but would alternate with other drinks as the day wore on.

HERE COMES THE SCIENCE STUFF

The conversation initially revolved around sport and the politics of the day, but soon narrowed down to their shared passions: the effects industry in general and their jobs in particular. Steven was special effects director and in charge of everything preproduction, in or on camera, and physical models. Ron was computer imaging director, in charge of everything in postproduction: compositing, end titles, and the mysterious "computer models". In practice this devolved to Steven doing planetary surfaces and the big "Babylon 5" model - things that didn't move - and Ron would do the things that moved - the smaller fighters and battleships. Steven was not unaware of the advances that computer-generated imagery - still called "computer graphics" at this point - had made in recent years: he remembered "Futureworld" and "Tron" and like everybody in the effects industry had been blown away by "The Last Starfighter" in 1984, but it still struck him as an expensive time-consuming option. The British tradition of sticking together two hairdryer casings and calling it a spaceship still ran deep in him.

"Can you actually pull this off?" "Yup, piece of piss", grinned Ron, glassily. Paul weighed in with the more considered option: the fighters would be physical models at first, with the computer models phased in as they worked out how to do it. Compositing would be a nightmare, matching the movements of the camera in scene to the movements of the models in the computer, but Steven had ideas on how to handle this. The Vancouver Film School had recently opened up and would be producing graduates, and Ron saw the opportunity: "we stripmine the best talent, hoover up their expertise, and dump them like shithouse rats".

Paul and Steven gaped, open-mouthed. Paul gently opined "You may want to reword that when you meet them, Ron". "Yup", agreed Ron amicably, burped, and ordered another vodka. It was going to be a long night...

Year 1: Signs and Portents (part 3)


TRANSCRIPT OF A TELEPHONE CONVERSATION

"Douglas, I appreciate your predicament but this cannot continue"
"You have to admit she has a point. We fly them to Toronto and Los Angeles, why not New York?"
"The aircraft is on loan and the lenders are not infinitely patient..."
"But..."
"Douglas...neither are we. She has to go."
"Joe won't like it: he's known her for years"
"You underestimate the flexibility of the artistic mind. He'll sacrifice his friend to the drama. The muse always wins"

Netter was forced to admit the point. He replaced the receiver and thought...

A FAREWELL...

"Ms. Duchene, we've arrived at a crux in the plot", said Douglas Netter. The room was sparsely furnished and inhabited solely by himself and an unsurprised Deborah Duchene, called "Debs" to differentiate her from Kat. Deb's character was "Catherine Sakai", the lover of the lead. Normally this would have ensured a long and fruitful stint but the arcs of Delenn and Sinclair were obvious and Deb had a shorter-term contract than the others: you didn't need to be Joe to join the dots. "Have you given any thought to your future post-Babylon 5?" asked Netter

Oddly, Debs relaxed. Like every actress she'd had her share of rejection and this wasn't an abrupt termination, it was a negotiation: if they didn't want her to go quietly, they'd be justifying themselves to her. Netter wanted a deal and provided she left as required, he would be flexible: all she had to do was ask a price he could easily give. She grinned: it was obvious...

"As you know, I've always wanted to act theatrically. Stratford appeals..."
Netter looked briefly worried "Which one?"
"Stratford, Ontario. Not Stratford-upon-Avon, England."
Netter grinned "Ms. Duchene, we have so many actors seconded to the Festival I am in danger of being Canada's biggest Shakespearean backer. I..believe we can smooth the way for you"

They talked briefly: she would be needed for her death scene and occasional screen shots but her involvement would be rudimentary from here on: she could fit it around her no-doubt buoyant new stage career. They stood, shook hands, and Deborah Duchene exited, stage right.

Netter wondered briefly how Joe was doing...and then stopped. The words came unbidden to mind again: "the muse always wins". Netter grinned.

...FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER

J. Michael Straczynski, "JMS" to the fans, "Joe" to the cast and crew, gazed aghast at the sobbing Jessica Steen and wondered how he'd gotten into this. "WHY ME?" sobbed Jess. She'd known Joe since his "Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future" days and he'd specifically wanted her to play "Lyta Alexander", the station's telepath. But it'd dawned on him that he'd pushed too hard to get her here: she didn't really want to live in Vancouver and was taking every chance she had (and some she hadn't) to get to New York. Even considering she was in her early twenties she was young for her age and hadn't developed the maturity of her later years, so she was taking this badly.

"IT'S FUCKING NETTER, ISN'T IT!" yelled Jess. The obscenity fitted her poorly: she didn't have the personality for true offensiveness and her hesitancy around the word briefly ameliorated her anger. But she rallied and continued "WHY NOW, JOE? HE CAN'T DO THIS!"

Problem was, Joe wasn't listening. When Netter had suggested bringing Catherine Sakai's fate forward, the pieces were displaced into the air and, when they fell down...there wasn't a place for Jess any more: her character arc could be distributed to others, she wasn't a piece of the puzzle, and her departure would settle things down. His mind whirled, plotting plots, what if...

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?" yelled Jess. Joe snapped out of it, blinked and responded. "But it's for the best. We can take the show in a more focused direction. It's better in the long run, can't you see that?" he said, justifying himself.

Jess - the now-former Lyta Alexander - screamed and ran out of the room.

Year 1: Signs and Portents (part 4)

IN A CORNER STOOD AN AIRCRAFT

In a hangar inside Los Angeles International Airport stood a plane. The hangar was between LAX's southeastern corner and Hangar 1 (the old LAX main hangar before the new ones in '84) and was similarly dilapidated. The plane was a Learjet 35A - its range of 2700 nautical miles enabled it to transport passengers from Toronto to Vancouver and thence to to LAX without falling out of the sky. Although given the hangover one of its occupants was nursing, falling out of the sky would have come as a relief.

"My head hurts" muttered Ron Thornton, pythonically.
His interlocutor only drank when required and had little sympathy, although he had made a career out of mimicking the emotion. "You must feel terrible", said Douglas Netter.
"Eeeurgh", Thornton subvocalised.

Thornton had arrived in a limo. The limo had come in via West 11th Street and North Douglas Street, bypassing the commercial terminals entirely. His wearily proferred passport had been checked by an aide, and groundside to airside to plane had taken under 30 minutes. This feat of bureaucratic bypass had taken time and great effort by Netter, a fact entirely ignored by Thornton. Netter had stopped feeling slighted years ago over his clientele’s dismissal of his efforts to keep them comfortable, but even so a slight twinge briefly passed his face.

LET'S HAVE A HEATED DEBATE

Netter needed to talk to Thornton. But Thornton looked woozy and the well-soundproofed plane might not keep him awake in flight. Netter decided to broach the subject now, before the plane taxied and took off. He cleared his throat.

"What do you want, Ron?"
"Aspirin?" proffered Thornton, hopefully
Netter had anticipated the need and immediately placed three headache pills and sparkling water on the small desk. "Et voila", he flourished, placing a yellow brick and a spoon thereon.
Thornton looked, gaped and asked quizzically: "Ice-cream?"
"Good for what ails ya" quoted Netter, with an accent and deadpan.
Thornton swallowed the pills and tucked into the ice-cream. The sugar and analgesics eased his pain and made him sleepy, in good stead for Netter's question.

CHRYSALIS

"No really, what do you want?"
"A quiet flight?"
"That's what you want now. What do you want generally? Why do all this work, what are you aiming for? What do you want to achieve? What do you want?"
"Go away, pester someone else."
"We'e in a plane. I can hardly leave here until you've answered my question. What do you want?"
"This is a silly conversation."
"Yes it is. What do you want?"
"To be left alone."
"Is that it? Is that really all? What do you want?"
"All right, fine. You really want to know what I want? You really want to know the truth?"

Thornton paused, tried to focus, and continued.

"We used to be great. We built cars, ships, planes, spacecraft, starships and made them fly and spin. We lit them, painted them and filmed them, on rolling roads and shining wires. We built objects of great beauty and persuaded the world they were real. We created images that looked like nothing before or since, and they were utterly, utterly wonderful. We gave the world beauty...and now we don't. I want us to be what we used to be. I want, I want it all back the way that it was. Does that answer your question?"

Netter gaped, lost for words. Was this what Thornton wanted? A renaissance of...what? The British special effects industry? Modelmaking? His own reputation? Whatever it was, it was clear that Thornton was gripped by his own muse, and...

Netter grinned. The muse always wins.

"Yes, Mr Thornton. That answers my question."

NOTES

Some scenes from the golden age of the British special effects industry are given below. For further info, google Reg Hill, Mike Trim, Brian Johnson, Martin Bower, Derek Meddings...or even Steven Begg and Ron Thornton

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DayAfterTomorrowAltares.jpg
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_One
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Transporter
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alien_model_filming.jpg
• http://borg.com/2012/10/14/original-moonraker-model-fetches-nearly-89000-at-christies-auction/
• http://images.tvrage.com/people/29/85955.jpg
• http://galeon.com/mattepainters/dmeddinsg.jpg
• http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fau-MO4Ix0k/UNvX4OY91CI/AAAAAAAACNo/0j_J7mpAahA/s400/And.jpg
• http://www.capedwonder.com/images/p...rs/Meddings/CW-SII-Meddings-city-model-06.jpg
• http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jv-vx0HDjF0/SItlQ3LvO0I/AAAAAAAACe0/UHxQN3_52CM/s1600-h/sestswlm.jpg
• http://www.zen171398.zen.co.uk/Pinewood/Charlie Staffel/British Special Effects Oscar winners.jpg
• http://homepage.ntlworld.com/sfx_films/beggbuggersbatwing.jpg
• http://www.007magazine.co.uk/biography/derek_meddings1.jpg
• http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1ddJzgRjShY/UcM45VUVNKI/AAAAAAAAFy8/oNsS13stxG0/s1600/Ken+and+Derek+3.jpg
• http://www.capedwonder.com/images/picture-folder/images/Donner-years/Meddings/CW-Hoover-03.jpg
• http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42336000/jpg/_42336496_thunderbirds8_416.jpg
• http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42336000/jpg/_42336366_thunderbirds4_416.jpg
• http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42336000/jpg/_42336358_thunderbirds5_416.jpg
• http://ufoseries.com/preProduction/skydiver.jpg
• http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p07TSKebKig/TxnpQXdrq0I/AAAAAAAADRI/qpAuN7616X4/s1600/sfx+2.JPG
• http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fB_BwVSne...AAVrI/j9d7HBFu-9Q/s320/UFO+spraying_wires.jpg
• http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2375/2284184365_19dc40c761.jpg
• http://ufoseries.com/preProduction/interceptor.jpg
• http://www.shadowlocked.com/images/stories/news/002_Jan_2010/Trim_UFO_SHADO_original_Interceptor.jpg
• http://lester.demon.nl/superm/pix/technology/bts/xl5/xl5-ramp.jpg
• http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tw5hXrbf1kg/TEZ56VSRL7I/AAAAAAAAAtk/c3j50TwT3v4/s1600/derek3.jpg
• http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/236x/ef/6c/7e/ef6c7e1282a95e6aab299565d9cacd5a.jpg
• http://www.zen171398.zen.co.uk/Alien/Ridley on set.jpg
• http://www.zen171398.zen.co.uk/Alien/Martin Bower with Yellow Nostromo.jpg
• http://www.zen171398.zen.co.uk/Alien/148.jpg
• http://www.thescifiworld.net/img/interviews/martin_bower_03.jpg
• http://www.thescifiworld.net/img/interviews/martin_bower_02.jpg
• http://catacombs.space1999.net/main/merc/blueprint/iialtaresmodel.jpg
• http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qm1b6KweQcU/TgOu5LZa3BI/AAAAAAAADrA/YgfiM5n-sy0/s1600/sptmxgravesfx.jpg
• http://www.oocities.org/es/mattepainting/Logan2.JPG
• http://johneaves.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/narcissus-in-dock-modelshop.jpg?w=655&h=424
• http://www.tvstudiohistory.co.uk/images/gerry a tbird 2 launch 400p.jpg
• http://img2.blogs.yahoo.co.jp/ybi/1...der/1502782/img_1502782_56923572_2?1232373925
• http://lester.demon.nl/superm/pix/technology/bts/tbirds/anderbad.jpg
• http://www.isoshado.org/9/centrale_0212_files/mike_trim_shadomobile.jpg
• http://catacombs.space1999.net/main/models/sfx/acb.jpg
• http://www.davidsissonmodels.co.uk/Interviews/JohnSteven3.jpg

Discussion 2014-02-09

So here we are at the end of year 1. I'm not sure of the timeframe: roughly mid-1989 to mid-1990. Our set up is as follows:

OUR CHORUS

As well as giving me practice on passing the Bechdel Test,[7] the trumvirate of Unger/Vallance/Dale were set up to provide third-person commentary on the main plot: our Greek Chorus[1] and/or Lower Deck Episode.[2] As the atmosphere around (the production of) Babylon 5 curdles and thickens, they will be occasionally revisited to recognise the change of tone. If things work out as I think they will, one of them will also play a big part of the plot and become part of the main cast, or at least apppear in the title sequence. Although this alt-B5 cast is not entirely Canadian, the Chorus Three all are.

OUR ORGANIZERS

The powers behind the scenes are Netter's backers and another group yet to be introduced. They are well-funded, competent and have goals which they wish to advance. They will help our main cast, although that help is to advance their own ends. They are essentially neutral but conflict arises when their goals are in opposition. Although they may not all be American, most of them will be. The most obvious example is Netter.

• Douglas Netter is our Shadow, our Mr. Morden, our Magnificent Bastard.[3] He is calm, cool, inwardly scared, utterly determined, and clever.

OUR MAIN CAST

Although not all of them will be British, most will be. So far we have two: Thornton and Begg.

• Ron Thornton is our Londo Mollari, our Well-Intentioned Extremist[6] or Tragic Hero[5]: artistic, driven, frustrated, wanting to achieve and driven to do so, a first adopter, charismatic, innovative.
• Steven Begg is our Sinclair, Sheridan, our Leader[4]: lawful, competent, content, domestic, professional. Distrusts innovation. Desperately wants to get things done by deadline.

Begg and Thornton will battle for the heart and soul of Babylon 5: not the O'Neill space station in orbit round Epsilon III, but the model in the Vancouver studio. Their battle will encompass passion vs order, art versus craft and...

PRACTICAL EFFECTS VS CGI

Before Babylon 5 IOTL and ITTL, effects were mostly practical and real-world, in front of or in camera. After B5 IOTL and ITTL, effects are in postproduction and CG. IOTL the transition sidelined the British special effects industry. Our Begg/Thornton conflict will illustrate what was gained and lost by this transition.

CONSPIRACY THEORY

When I started this timeline I needed a way to jumpstart the Vancouver TV industry. My back-of-an-envelope calculations led me to believe that I needed to introduce a billion dollars into the Vancouver economy. So I invented a conspiracy theory to make this happen. It's a nice conspiracy theory and I'll plow ahead with it, but reading up makes me think it's not really necessary. The book "Dreaming in the Rain: How Vancouver Became Hollywood North by Northwest" details Vancouver's development: by 1989, $200million dollars of film were being made in Vancouver per year, John Travolta and George Segal were living locally, and Stephen J Cannell had founded North Shore Studios there. So the conspiracy theory is (strictly speaking) unnecessary.

However I'll carry on with the conspiracy theory, because it enables Netter's ability to produce deus ex machinas seemingly at will. The conspiracy theory revelation is due to take place in the series finale Wham Line[8] at the end of year 5, although if it's too corny I'll end it two words short and leave you hanging...

OTHER

• I feel the need for an Almighty Janitor[9], so i'll try to produce a stage carpenter, probably called "Whittles". Through him I'll demonstrate the processes involved in practical effects.
• To try and get you through how CGI three years earlier than IOTL is plausible, I'll have to introduce a Mary Sue.[10] She'll be at the Vancouver Film School and I'm trying to stop her having pigtails. Regardless of hairstyle, she will be our Velma, our Smart Guy[11]: indeed, our Smart Girl.[12]
• This continues to be compatible with the "Eyes Turned Skywards" and "That Wacky Redhead" timelines. For this reason I won't mention "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" nor the 1980-88 Reagan administration nor the 1988-1992 Bush administration (which did not necessarily occur in those timelines) but both ETS and TWR are content-rich, so no complaints if discontinuities arise. BUT I need to remind you again, this is NOT a spinoff from those two timelines, and it is NOT authorised as a spinoff from those two timelines: it is independent and standalone and so cannot refer to the events of those timelines.
• This is one of the lowest-rated continuing timelines on www.alternatehistory.com, a fact I take perverse pride in. Ricky Gervais's Extras posed a choice to its main character: do you want to be rich and famous and compromise your art, or retain your pure unsullied vision and remain, at best, a cult success. Since I'm not being paid for this I'll cheerfully plump for the latter...
• I don't have much free time, so don't expect frequent updates. However I do seem to be keeping to the one-update-a-fortnight schedule and the timeline will be finished by Xmas 2014 as promised.

OK. The next update will be the start of year two. More background will have to be given on how the show is financed, how to build practical effects, how to build CGI, and how to integrate the two. I might not be able to squeeze it all into one year, but whatever happens the last episode of year two will involve an argument.

So our next episode will be Year 2: The Coming of Shadows (part 1)... Don't forget to tune in...

[1] http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GreekChorus
[2] http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LowerDeckEpisode
[3] http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MagnificentBastard
[4] http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheLeader
[5] http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TragicHero
[6] http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WellIntentionedExtremist
[7] http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/TheBechdelTest
[8] http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WhamLine
[9] http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AlmightyJanitor
[10] http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue
[11] http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheSmartGuy
[12] http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheSmartGirl

Year 2: The Coming of Shadows (part 1)

POINTS OF DEPARTURE

In a small lecture theatre in the Getty Museum in 1986, a man with a Canadian accent stood at a podium and spoke into a camera. He spoke of his pride in the upcoming project, on how it reflected the faith and values of his party, how it would bring jobs and security to thousands in his area, and commended it to the upcoming election. He smiled with confidence and gestured to his companion, who finished the speech.

The two then left the room and the insignia were changed.

Then another man with a Canadian accent stood at the same podium and spoke into the same camera. He also spoke of his pride in the upcoming project, on how it reflected the faith and values of his party, how it would bring jobs and security to thousands in his area, and commended it to the upcoming election. He too smiled with confidence, finished the speech, and left the room.

The audience, unused to the shifting ground of Western Canadian politics, looked bemused.

Then a dry functionary ascended the podium and started placing transparent plastic sheets on the overhead projector, reeling off a series of numbers. The numbers were big numbers, the kind that the audience liked. The audience stopped looking bemused, sloughed off their boredom and became more and more attentive, frantically scribbling numbers as the spiel unwound. After a while the functionary left, replaced by a woman who explained, carefully and precisely, the number of Canadian actors, directors, and staff that would be required for each project for the outlined vision to occur. These percentages, if adhered to, would ensure the employment of many people and (entirely coincidentally) make the people in the room very rich indeed.

The presentation over, three of the audience eschewed the canapes and Californian wine and left the room to walk in the museum courtyard. They were all veterans of Los Angeles and valued the chance to walk alongside fountains in the hot work day.

"Fuuuuuccckk...." breathed one
"$200 million dollars!" said the second
"Per year" emphasised the third, with exactitude.

Even for people used to million-dollar investments, the numbers stood out. From 1989, via various subsidies and tax breaks, $200 million dollars per year would be injected into the Vancouver economy, for five years. Somebody was injecting over a billion dollars into the economy of West Coast Canada.

"Why would this be happening?" said the third. "Does it matter?" said the second, busily building studios in his head. The first was quiet as his mind fitted together those who could, those who would, and who would gain.

Silence fell as the three thought, counterpointed only by the babbling water...

Year 2: The Coming of Shadows (part 2)

REVELATIONS

"Poker?" proposed Fred Dalton Thompson.
"Poker" agreed the other.

They sat at the table, produced a deck and gestured to their compaions to join them. The table was in the cabin of a Learjet 35A and their companions were members of the "Babylon 5" cast en route to Toronto. The aircraft was officially on loan to the Canadian government for transporting high-value civilians, but unofficially to help the cast commute to Canada's Eastern seaboard. Or vice versa: the terms were fuzzy and difficult to pin down. The pilots were CAF but not attached to a unit, the fuel was military, the plane civilian, the occupants tired. Flying towards the sun would lose them the night, and take-off had been timed to reduce jetlag: nevertheless they needed something to focus on, and poker fitted the bill.

Kat and Stevie slid beheind the table, Fred and the other on the opposing side. Colm Feore sat at the end and gestured to the other end of the cabin - "Hey you two, hurry up"

A DISTANT STAR

The two at the other end were Jennifer Dale and Henry Czerny, the actors playing Delenn and Sinclair. Jen's role dictated she develop a passion for Sinclair, and it bled through into her relationship with Czerny, a man she was having increasingly warm feelings for. They were not reciprocated: Czerny was self-contained and introverted, resolutely focused on his developing career. It manifested as shyness and would not have been attractive in a less handsome man, but Czerny's chiseled jaw and thick hair provided a counterpoint and Jen could quite easily have fallen for him were he capable of returning the favor.

He turned away silently and returned to his script: Jen briefly stretched a hand to his back, thought better of it, and moved to the table with the others. The six - three men, three women - sat and were delt cards. The smokers lit cigarettes and cigars, and Jen looked momentarily panicked: her destination at the other end of the flight was a stageplay and she needed a clear speaking voice. Colm noticed this and yelled to the pilots "Air conditioning, please!"

The pilots glanced at each other and bit their lips at taking orders from a civilian. "Drop tanks" they said in unison as one turned up the air conditioning. The increased air conditioning would stress their APU: they could divert power from the engines but the Vancouver-Toronto flight was at the edge of the plane's envelope as it was. In future they would have to fit drop tanks to carry more fuel.

SOUL MATES

Meanwhile the six card players gossiped as they played. Colm and Kat competed to direct the conversation: both had similar personalities, observant and intelligent, energetic, but not demonstrative, quietly watchful, fitting their characters of G'Kar and Laurel Takashima well. Fred and Jen had both been recently divorced by their partners and were walking wounded, although they had coped by reacting differently: Fred had become more expansive, Jen more brittle, and both laughed nervously. Once Jen had established Fred had not provoked his divorce (which would have killed him in her eyes), the two recognised kindred spirits and spoke warmly with each other, although it would be some time before it could be described as flirtatious. Stevie spoke well with the other, but for both it was a game: the other was perfectly capable of a relationship with a woman and bringing up a family, but he didn't have a domestic bone in his body; Stevie, the sentimentalist disguised as a jazz singer, needed a more sentimental man and would not settle for less.

"Why do they call you Trigger?" said Colm, beating Kat to the punch. "They gave Fred a code name for anonymity, but he's too famous, so they passed it on to me" said the other. His accent was mid-Atlantic and carefully modulated, though underpinned by a deeper, more guttural tone that sounded not unattractive to Canadian ears. "Why anonymity?" said Jen. "Why, darlin'" drawled Fred, his Tenessee accent becoming more pronounced, unknowingly driving Jen wild in the process, "when you're dealing with the military, everything has a code name." Stevie smiled at the other and proferred a glass: Trigger didn't need her to speak, smiled and refilled her glass with Scotch, both their eyes glittering.

THE GEOMETRY OF SHADOWS

The game ended as the plane landed at Canadian Forces Base Downsview, where Fred and Trigger would deplane for further transport as the cast flew to a civilian airport. As the plane took off again, Fred and Trigger, illuminated from behind by the rising sun and casting long shadows, looked at each other.

"Nice folks"
"Yup"
"If only they knew what was really going on..."