Saturday is always the busiest and most crowded day at Dragoncon. Two major B5 panels were featured on the main track of events for the con. The biggest con room was once again filled for the morning B5 panel which was with Mira, Claudia, Maggie, and Julie. Mira, Maggie, and Julie had bought copies to the con of their CDs. Mira's solo CD has been out for a while. Maggie's and Julie's are a bit newer releases. All three of them commented on the great deal of planning that goes into recording an album. . Mira complimented Bill Mumy on doing all the setup work for the B5 actors new CD. Bill had it all ready and all the actors had to do was show up and sing the songs. :-) She said Bill had done a terrific job on this new CD.

Julie and Mira both talked about how difficult it is to wear all the makeup. As I mentioned before, Mira said it has had a permanent effect on their eyes. Mira is now very sensitized to flash photography. Julie has to wear glasses now because of the contacts she wore as a Narn. Mira commented on how they had to cut little hole even for her ears and even with that it was still like hearing underwater with the full Minbari makeup on. Julie mentioned that she thinks there will soon formal guidelines that protect actors when they have to wear this kind of makeup on a regular basis so they are guarded against permanent long term adverse effects. Julie told how even after they remove all the makeup, your face still feels like it is one for hours after that.

Maggie was the only one on the panel who has appeared in both B5 and Crusade, She has reprised her ISN anchor role for a Crusade episode. She said her favorite moment in her role as the anchor during B5 was when the Clark forces came in and captured ISN and shut it down.

Claudia has been working on the new Disney animated feature, "Atlantis". She is the voice of one of the main characters and has been recording the lines for her character in a sound proof booth at the Disney Studios. She related that has been a real unique experience. She is secluded in the booth where she says the lines several ways. Then team of people outside the booth, where she can't hear them, have this big, animated discussion (while she sweats bullets) to evaluate the way she delivers the lines. There is also an animator there drawing sketches of her to give the character a bit of her physical attributes. Claudia also said that has finished a film where she plays and older slightly overweight Jewish housewife. It's due to be released soon.

Mira told how her Dad is finally having the chance to see her in Babylon 5. He sees it on a German Satellite station. Sadly though, he doesn't hear Mira's wonderful delivery and voice because another actress dubs Delenn's lines in German. Mira said the actress has a very high pitched voice.

Right after this panel was over we had to run next door to the other main events con room for Peter's talk. Peter looks great after his surgery. He commented his energy levels are a bit down but he was very animated during his talk. Someone asked had he re-evaluated his comments at last year's Dragoncon that he was withdrawing from the con circuit for a while and distancing himself from Londo who is a very overwhelming character at times. He said his surgery just reinforced his desire to start going to these type fan functions again as he realized how much appreciated all the wonderful B5 fans. One fan asked him how he liked Dragoncon as this was his second appearance there. Peter said he loves the South. He was raised in the North Eastern United Sates, but the South is his favorite region of the country. He has always noted how polite and warm the Southern fans are. He said his wife is from Georgia and strangely enough the donor for the heart valve that he received was from Georgia.

Peter said the hardback edition of his book is all sold out now and that a soft cover version is due out soon. He related that he had filmed five sliders episodes...two of which will be seen later in the season. They wanted him back for more, but he turned the them down as he felt the character was getting too mean. After working on B5 for five years he feels can afford to be selective about his roles now. He just finished a project for Stephen Furst. He laughingly said his good buddy didn't pay him too well. He also told the story of how he and the pilot makeup artists went to show jms Londo's hair do as a joke, and jms approved it for "The Gathering". :-)

After Peter Jurasick's talk, I went to hear Peter David talk about writing for B5. He has written the episode for Crusade that airs this week. The story is 99% his writing. When he wrote the two episodes he penned for B5 (one about Londo's three wives coming to B5 and the other about Sheridan being framed for killing a Minbari) jms used about 60% of the scripts he submitted. Peter has been asked by jms to write the Centauri Trilogy of books which will tell the story of what happens to David and the keeper in the urn from Londo. The books will also tell why Delenn was on Centauri Prime in WWE. Peter has already received an outline from jms. The books will be considered cannon in the B5 universe. (I can't wait for these three books and I am excited jms chose Peter to write them as he writes very well for J&D, IMHO.)

After Peter's David's talk, he was the MC for the Masquerade/Costume event at Dragoncon which is one of the highlights of the con. Peter Jurasick was a judge. Maggie and Julie sang while the judges selected the winners. They both have terrific voices! Julie played her own guitar and her songs were Country Western. Maggie's songs were more in the Broadway style. One of the Delenn costumes won Best B5 Costume. The wearer recited Delenn's speech when she broke the Grey Council. The Best In Show winner was a combination spoof of Star Wars and Austin Powers that was an absolute hoot..replete even with a great Fat Bastard.

A huge panel of all the B5 actors on Sunday morning completed the B5 festivities at Dragoncon. B5 was well represented and the premier track at Dragoncon this year. The crowds for B5 were larger than the other big events I attended, with the exception of Richard Hatch talking about doing a new Battlestar Galactica feature. That talk too had a very good turnout. Surprisingly enough, the SW panels I sat in on in the biggest Con room, while I waited for the B5 panels, drew pretty slim crowds - as did a TV in the 60s with Grace Whitney and Adam West. (David Hedison didn't show up for the panel.) The fencing and sword shows were bigger draws than Star Wars. I also want to compliment the B5 actors who were there. They showed up for every panel they were scheduled for right on time. I attended one Star Wars panel in the big con room, and *none* of the scheduled Star Wars guests/actors that were listed in my program listing showed up. David Prowse and Ray Parks were no shows for the Jedi Knights panel which turned into a solo presentation by the artist who designed Jar Jar. I was surprised that there wasn't a Star Gate Track at Dragoncon. There was a Star Trek track of events, but I wasn't able to squeeze in going to any of those panels. But to my knowledge, none of the ST panels were featured on the Main programming track as t all of B5's actors panels were. Dragon con was a fabulous show house for B5 this year. The panels and music videos and the Babylon Park spoofs were *great* fun. :-) I just hope with the show having ended and the possible demise of Crusade, that next year can be as great for the B5 fans at Dragoncon. This year was the best B5 con so far for me. :-)

Chrystie