About
"If I leave behind some good tales and inspire other writers to pick up where I left off and go to the next generation of what their stories are then it's all worthwhile. Norman Corwin spun my life around. If I can do that for somebody else, that's all I need."
In his three-and-a-half-hour interview, J. Michael Straczynski talks about his early life and writing career. He discusses working as an assistant to Norman Corwin and having a chance meeting with Rod Serling at an early age. He recalls his journalism career and his book on screenwriting, and discusses his time writing for the animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and for Ghostbusters. Straczynski recalls making the transition to live-action writing on the revival of The Twilight Zone, which led to a job on the writing staff of Jake and the Fatman and later on Murder, She Wrote. He outlines creating, writing, and producing the cult-classic television show Babylon 5 and shares his "five-year plan" for the series. He speaks of lead actor Michael O'Hare's mental illness in season one, which led to O'Hare leaving the show and being replaced by Bruce Boxleitner. He talks about the CGI, special effects, and storylines of Babylon 5 and discusses working with the cast and directors. He recounts his post-Babylon 5 career, which has included the follow-up series Crusade as well as comic books and several successful feature films. Karen Herman conducted the interview on May 15, 2013 in Encino, CA.
Highlights
J. Michael Straczynski on being a teaching assistant to Norman Corwin
J. Michael Straczynski on the "rules" for writing He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
J. Michael Straczynski on Michael O'Hare as "Jeffrey Sinclair" on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on being a big believer in failure
J. Michael Straczynski on his legacy
J. Michael Straczynski on the secret of his writing
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On his early life and influences; on television he watched growing up; on his early writing career
On working with Norman Corwin; on his journalism career; on his screenwriting book and his failed pilot
On writing for He-Man and the Masters of the Universe; on being story editor for the animated version of Ghostbusters; on making the transition to writing for live-action TV
On being story editor for the revival of The Twilight Zone; on meeting with Rod Serling; on writing for Jake and the Fatman
Chapter 2
On writing for Murder, She Wrote; on creating Babylon 5
On getting Babylon 5 on the air and his 5-year plan for the show; on the universe of Babylon 5; on the writing process for the show
On dealing with the actors on Babylon 5; on the technical aspects of producing Babylon 5; on working with the directors of Babylon 5
On the cast of Babylon 5; on actor Michael O'Hare's mental illness
Chapter 3
On the cast of Babylon 5; on the look of the characters on Babylon 5
On the cast and the title of Babylon 5; on the fans of the show
On season four of Babylon 5; on season five and the end of Babylon 5; on his favorite moments from the show
On creating the series Crusade; on the series Jeremiah; on his feature film career
Chapter 4
On the Netflix series Sense8; on then-current projects; on his self reliance and the secret of his writing
On writing for comic books; on his fans; on the then-future of television and his legacy
Shows
Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on creating Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on the pilot of Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on his "5-year plan" for Babylon 5 and his struggle to get the show on the air
J. Michael Straczynski on the technology and look of Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on the universe of Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on the most difficult part of making Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on the process of writing Babylon 5 episodes
J. Michael Straczynski on communicating what he wanted visually on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on dealing with the actors on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on working with CGI on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on thepost-production and editing of Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on working with the directors of Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on Michael O'Hare as "Jeffrey Sinclair" on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on Susan Ivanova as "Claudia Christian" on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on his initial vision of the character of "Jeffrey Sinclair" on Babylon 5 and on Michael O'Hare's mental illness
J. Michael Straczynski on Bruce Boxleitner as "John Sheridan" on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on Jerry Doyle as "Michael Garibaldi" on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on Richard Briggs as "Dr. Stephen Franklin" on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on Mira Furlan as "Ambassador Delenn" on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on Peter Jurasik as "Londo Mollari" on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on Andreas Katsulas as "G'Kar" on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on creating the Narn people and the look of the characters on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on Walter Koenig as "Alfred Bester" on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on Jeff Conaway as "Zack Allan" on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on Pat Tallman as "Lyta Alexander" on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on "Ambassador Kosh" and "Lorien" on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on the title Babylon 5 and the concept of the Rim
J. Michael Straczynski on the audience of Babylon 5 and interacting with fans on the internet
J. Michael Straczynski on dealing with the network while producing Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on his favorite episodes of Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on season four of Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on Tracy Scoggins as "Elizabeth Lochley" on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on ending Babylon 5 in season five
J. Michael Straczynski on the merchandising of Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on the greatest thing about having created and produced Babylon 5 and how it would be different creating it in 2013
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
J. Michael Straczynski on writing for He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
J. Michael Straczynski on the "rules" for writing He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
Jake and the Fatman
J. Michael Straczynski on writing for Jake and the Fatman
Murder, She Wrote
J. Michael Straczynski on writing for Murder, She Wrote
J. Michael Straczynski on his favorite Murder, She Wrote episode
J. Michael Straczynski on being made a producer on Murder, She Wrote
Twilight Zone, The
J. Michael Straczynski on becoming story editor for The Twilight Zone
J. Michael Straczynski on the differences between the original Twilight Zone and the revival, and meeting Rod Serling
J. Michael Straczynski on his favorite episodes of The Twilight Zone that he wrote
Topics
9/11
J. Michael Straczynski on addressing 9/11 in the "Spiderman" comics
Characters & Catchphrases
J. Michael Straczynski on Michael O'Hare as "Jeffrey Sinclair" on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on Susan Ivanova as "Claudia Christian" on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on Bruce Boxleitner as "John Sheridan" on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on Jerry Doyle as "Michael Garibaldi" on Babylon 5
Creative Influences and Inspiration
J. Michael Straczynski on being a teaching assistant to Norman Corwin
J. Michael Straczynski on the differences between the original Twilight Zone and the revival, and meeting Rod Serling
J. Michael Straczynski on Harlan Ellison
Historic Events and Social Change
J. Michael Straczynski on addressing 9/11 in the "Spiderman" comics
New Media
J. Michael Straczynski on the audience of Babylon 5 and interacting with fans on the internet
J. Michael Straczynski on the series Sense8 for Netflix
Overcoming Adversity
J. Michael Straczynski on being a big believer in failure
Pivotal Career Moments
J. Michael Straczynski on being a teaching assistant to Norman Corwin
J. Michael Straczynski on the differences between the original Twilight Zone and the revival, and meeting Rod Serling
J. Michael Straczynski on Harlan Ellison
J. Michael Straczynski on being a big believer in failure
Pop Culture
J. Michael Straczynski on Michael O'Hare as "Jeffrey Sinclair" on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on Susan Ivanova as "Claudia Christian" on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on Bruce Boxleitner as "John Sheridan" on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on Jerry Doyle as "Michael Garibaldi" on Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on the title Babylon 5 and the concept of the Rim
Television Industry
J. Michael Straczynski on the pilot of Babylon 5
J. Michael Straczynski on the audience of Babylon 5 and interacting with fans on the internet
J. Michael Straczynski on the series Sense8 for Netflix
Professions
Show Creators
J. Michael Straczynski on the process of writing Babylon 5 episodes
J. Michael Straczynski on dealing with the network while producing Babylon 5
Writers
J. Michael Straczynski on the secret of his writing
Genres
Sci-Fi/Supernatural Series
J. Michael Straczynski on Babylon 5 (Part One)
J. Michael Straczynski on Babylon 5 (Part Two)
People
Majel Barrett-Roddenberry
J. Michael Straczynski on his "5-year plan" for Babylon 5 and his struggle to get it on the air
Bruce Boxleitner
J. Michael Straczynski on Bruce Boxleitner as "John Sheridan" on Babylon 5
Norman Corwin
J. Michael Straczynski on being a teaching assistant to Norman Corwin
Harlan Ellison
J. Michael Straczynski on Harlan Ellison
Walter Koenig
J. Michael Straczynski on Walter Koenig as "Alfred Bester" on Babylon 5
Rod Serling
J. Michael Straczynski on the differences between the original Twilight Zone and the revival, and meeting Rod Serling