Issue #18 - February 19, 2006

[hobsonphile.livejournal.com]

- banner by ruuger

Announcement on Sci-Fi Wire

Statement from JMS

John Hudgens’ Tribute

Statement from Peter David

Statement from Kathleen David



“G'Kar said it better than I could:

’I believe that when we leave a place a part of it goes with us and part of us remains. Go anywhere in these halls when it is quiet and just listen. After a while you will hear the echoes of all of our conversations, every thought and word we've exchanged. Long after we are gone, our voices will linger in these walls for as long as this place remains. But I will admit that the part of me that going will very much miss the part of you that is staying.’

Farewell Andreas, and thank you so much for your work and all that you gave to us. May you rest in peace.”

- Fred, France

“When I think about it, my favourite G’Kar moments are in later seasons, though. G’Kar’s exuberant ‘Welcome home, Mr. Garibaldi’, for example. And those two scenes in No Surrender, No Retreat which always make me forget that space battle thing which forms the main action. First the one where Londo makes his first pitch for reconciliation between the two of them (as well as their people) to G’Kar, and G’Kar listens, then refills the drink Londo poured in Londo’s flask. Small gesture, but the cold anger and also the wish to hurt is palpable. And then the later one, where G’Kar does show up at the bar against Londo’s expectations, tells him he’ll sign, just not on the same page, and then has that drink. With a tiny, tiny smile. It’s the one my icon shows. In my personal fanon, that is when G’Kar accepts he’s stuck with caring about Londo Mollari, as opposed to hating him, and it’s not in the dialogue, it’s just in the looks.”

- selenak, Germany, from a tribute posted here

“I love G'Kar.

I love his passion and his intensity. I love his hatred and his love. I love his rage and his wisdom. I love his vengefulness and his grief. I love his brokenness and his anguish. I love his strength and his courage and his sacrifice. I love his womanizing and his hedonism and his sense of humor and his sharp tongue. I love his relationship with Londo. I love his sarcasm and his wit. I love his reverence and his awe. I love his sense of wonder. I love his sense of mystery. I love his pragmatism and his idealism. I love his honor and his nobility. I love him when he says that he wants the bones of the Centauri to be ‘carved into little flutes for Narn children to play’ - and I love him when he tells Londo: ‘My people can never forgive your people. But I can forgive you.’

I love that throughout the story, even as he changes so much, he's always who he is. There is something so essentially G'Kar about him.
I love G'Kar so much.

Thank you, Andreas Katsulas.

Thank you so much.”

- merrymaia, New York, from a tribute posted here

“Andreas did amazing things with G'Kar and made him the true heart of the show. He covered every range of emotion with grace and dignity and throughout the show we saw G'Kar become more than ‘man’ and more than Narn all while remaining exactly those things.”

- romanticalgirl, in response to selenak’s tribute

“I don’t want us to think about the fact that the actor is no longer with us. Certainly he still lives, at least through his character, and I think he would be happy if we continued to think about him as a living person.”

- natoth, Russia, translated (hopefully accurately) from a post here





Throughout his career, Andreas Katsulas had a number of noteworthy roles. But I will always remember him as G’Kar, not because I wish to diminish him as a performer or as a man, but simply because that’s how I first came to know his talent.

G’Kar was one of JMS’s richest creations – and while the writer of course had a lot to do with that, Andreas was the other half of the equation. Andreas successfully performed a difficult balancing act, taking all of G’Kar’s crazy-quilt contradictions – the libertine and the prophet, the fierce nationalist and the lover of the universe (in philosophical and carnal ways *eg*), the Gilbert and Sullivan fanboy (because you know he was *g*) and the man with enough gravitas to command the respect of millions – and giving us an understandable whole. Along with Peter Jurasik, Andreas stole the show for me and for many of my friends. And for that, I must join with my fellow fans in offering Andreas my sincere and passionate gratitude.

I regret that I never got to meet Andreas in person. I regret that I never met the man who, if Peter Jurasik is to be believed, once signed his contract in the buff. I regret that I never met the man who made out with Peter in front of a crowd of fans in England. I regret that I never met the man in shades from the blooper reels, or the man who once carried a cooler onto a convention stage and claimed that Peter’s head was inside. From all accounts, he was a funny, interesting, and kind gentleman, and the fact that I never caught a personal glimpse of the man behind the makeup is my profound loss.



Andreas – you have left us far too early. But my Russian friend is correct – through G’Kar, you have snagged a piece of immortality. We will always remember you with fondness and thanks.

- hobsonphile, Virginia

Other News:

Volume 4 of JMS's script collection is now available.

Fan Fiction:

hobsonphile has posted the following fics for fanfic100:

Silk and White Lace (with a commentary track posted here)

Crisis Point

Pawn

Vices

Her BDT for Vir can be found here.

Fan Art:

babylon5contest:

The contest for Week 28 is Stephen Franklin.

notshoppedicons:

Those without Photoshop also have the opportunity to enter an Andreas Katsulas Memorial Challenge.

Ficathons:

You still have time to sign up for Babficathon 2006. Sign ups close February 28, 2006.

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If you know something - be it fic, fanart, meta or news - that you think deserves a mention in the newsletter, please contact the mods at either ruuger@gmail.com or hobsonphile@excite.com, or leave a comment here.

Comments

[kaydee23.livejournal.com]

I'm just so shocked that he's gone. I had no idea. His characterization of G'Kar was truly amazing. B5 will remain one of my all-time favorites, in part, thanks to Mr. Andreas Katsulas. My thanks to him. My condolences to Mr. Katsulas's family.