Claudia Christian fired from Babylon 5 -- or did she quit?

EvelynR

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Jul 24, 1997, 3:00:00 AM7/24/97

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On Thu, 24 Jul 1997 13:43:27 GMT, smith...@mindspring.com (Craig
Smith) wrote:
>
>>If you're a major Babylon 5 fan, you may have already read all about
this
>>in the B5 newsgroups, but if you're a just a regular viewer you may not
>>have heard that Claudia Christian, who plays Commander Susan Ivanova (a
>>l______) on the show, will not be back for the fifth and presumably
final
>>season of Babylon 5 when it moves from syndication to TNT this year.

actually, she's bi ~ she and Marcus kind of had a thing going. Too bad,
now that she's gone I guess he'll continue to be the world's oldest
virgin.

Evelyn, who'd be happy to help Marcus out of his predicament :)

Loralie Freeman

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Jul 24, 1997, 3:00:00 AM7/24/97

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On Thu, 24 Jul 1997 13:43:27 GMT, smith...@mindspring.com (Craig
Smith) wrote:

>If you're a major Babylon 5 fan, you may have already read all about this
>in the B5 newsgroups, but if you're a just a regular viewer you may not
>have heard that Claudia Christian, who plays Commander Susan Ivanova (a
>l______) on the show, will not be back for the fifth and presumably final
>season of Babylon 5 when it moves from syndication to TNT this year.

Too bad, Ivanova was my favourite character.

Loralie

Craig Smith

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Jul 24, 1997, 3:00:00 AM7/24/97

to

If you're a major Babylon 5 fan, you may have already read all about this
in the B5 newsgroups, but if you're a just a regular viewer you may not
have heard that Claudia Christian, who plays Commander Susan Ivanova (a
l______) on the show, will not be back for the fifth and presumably final
season of Babylon 5 when it moves from syndication to TNT this year.

There's a good deal of controversy as to what happened; she says she was
essentially fired; the producers say she quit, or "chose not to renew her
contract," or played renegotiate-the-salary game too long. I've appended a
long discussion on the subject by J. Michael Strazynski (sp?), the series'
creator and driving force, and her rebuttal. JMS says she's welcome to be
part of any movies which might appear after the series ends, but that the
ship has sailed on season 5.

Craig

________________

>JMS writes about the departure of Claudia Christian. A rebuttal from
>Claudia follows. Readers are reminded that the truth is a three-edged
>sword...

There have been some questions raised as to what has happened regarding
Claudia Christian and Season 4. In simplest possible terms, which can
be verified through every cast member, and in the press, what happened
was this:

In early June, WB asked for, and received, one-month exensions on their
contract options from all cast members except Claudia, for the purposes
of allowing WB time to work out the co-financing deal with TNT for year
5 of B5. There was a great deal of red tape left over from the PTEN
deal to finish unraveling, and other business aspects, to work out in
going from syndication to cable, and it was taking longer than expected.

Claudia said, repeatedly, that she was on board for the fifth season,
but that she didn't want to give the extension for business reasons of
her own. We took her at her word and allowed her to not give the
extension. Assurances were made to us, and to her fellow cast members.

While we were all together (cast, some crew, and I) in Blackpool for
Wolf 359, word reached us of the articles in Variety and Reuters
reporting that Claudia would not be returning to B5, and was looking for
other work. This was the very first indication we had that she would not
be in season 5. TNT was upset by this, WB was upset by this, and we
were called on the carpet asking why we had trusted her about the fifth
year. When spoken to in Blackpool, she was still, at that point, saying
that she was going to be in season 5...but did nothing to address the
situation with WB. She was told that WB had to know, for sure, if she
was in or out by last Friday. All she had to do to be in season 5 was
to pick up the phone, or have her agent do so, and call WB and say, "I'm
in."

This did not happen. Friday came, and went. It was clear that she had
no intention of being in season 5, and wanted instead to pursue movies.
She is more well known now after B5, after all.

Cast members prevailed upon her to change her mind over the weekend.
Bruce, Jeff Conaway, others took it upon themselves to try and talk her
back onto the show, tried to get her to call on Monday in case she might
be able to repair the bridges burned the prior week. On Monday, she
left the convention early, and never called WB, never called Doug, never
called anyone.

Bottom line is...she passed on season 5. She chose not to be there. I
know that she has now told some people that WB doesn't want her...but if
that is the case, why the articles planted in Variety and Reuters saying
that the B5 producers were "bummed" that she wasn't available, that she
had chosen not to return to the show? (Again, at the time the articles
appeared, this intent had not even been conveyed to us or to WB; we had
to learn about it by reading it in the trades, in articles no one had
even discussed with us.) Why did she not give the extension, as was
also reported? Why was it announced in the press (in articles reprinted
right here on the nets) that she wasn't coming back and was looking for
other work long before we even knew anything about it?

The offer was on the table. We extended it to the very limit. All the
other actors signed on, and urged her to do the same. She chose not to.
It was never a matter of anyone not wanting her. I personally urged her
Thursday night to call her agent and talk this out and make her
intentions clear if she wanted to come back to the show. She declined.
Every cast member who was there in Blackpool saw what went down, and can
verify this.

And that, as they say, is the long and the short of it. While I will
not recast the role, on the theory that she may come around someday and
decide she wants to be in one of the TNT features or one of the movies,
we will be bringing in a new character to fill that position in the B5
command structure. Fortunately, 421, already filmed, is structured to
allow us to adjust for this without missing a beat, and the story will
continue as planned with only a minor variation in the first two
episodes to introduce the new character.
jms

>On Claudia's official web site, this rebuttal appeared:

Dear Folks,

Here's my side of the story and I should know because I was there.

On June 20th, I was called into the B-5 office to find out the fate of
the 5th season. With three other cast members present we were told that
we could make the fifth season (yeah!). We were then asked to give up
the residuals for that season (those are the things that pay the rent
since syndication isn't exactly lucrative). Well, nonetheless I said
okay - I even volunteered to talk the rest of the cast into it.

I had expressed my hesitation in extending my contract renewal because I
wanted to get their assurance that in the 5th season I could get at
least 4 episodes off to do a film. That was the only thing I was asking
for. No raise--accepting a paycut -- simply less episodes, period. Ask
yourself this: why would I have done the TNT promos for the 5th season
if I did not want to be involved?

While I was in Europe (I was there for almost a month), I heard about
the gossip column in Variety. It is a gossip column, nothing more. I
have no idea who planted the gossip and frankly, I didn't think much of
it since Hollywood is based on gossip.

Because the producers and Joe were in Europe, I assumed negotiations for
the 5th season would continue when we all returned. I was told quite
curtly that my request for time off had been denied and that Ken Parks
from Warner Bros. had told my agent to tell me to "Find another job,
we'll replace her."

After four years of working for a substantial paycut because I loved the
show and the people involved, and felt that I was portraying a character
that people really cared about, this hurt me immensely. At that point,
I was in shock but I still went to Blackpool thinking that they would
come around and give me the time I needed off.

I knew Ivanova was in the first episodes. I figured we could sit down
with my agent and come to a deal. In Blackpool, I was told by JMS that
he would give me the episodes off but I could not get anything in
writing. I trust him, however I know that he was not writing all of the
episodes for the fifth season so I really felt that I had to have
something in writing.

I turns out my fears were justified because when my agent spoke to John
Copeland (producer) and mentioned Joe's offer to write me out of a few
episodes, Mr. Copeland responded by saying "That's not possible. If TNT
wants her in every episode then she has to do all 22. That's the deal,
take it or leave it."

At this point, I was told that I had until Monday to call Warner Bros.
to tell them I was on board. Well Folks, an actor does not call a
studio. Our union has rules. The producers of B-5 never called my
manager or agent to tell them of this deadline. Instead, I was told by
Jeff Conaway. I called my agent and left word. We missed each other.
On Monday, I found out that on the previous Friday my agent had received
a fax stating that the offer for me to be in B-5 was withdrawn. In
essence, I was fired.

This fax was received on Friday, so what kind of game was being played
by giving me false hopes throughout the weekend in England? And by the
way, on Tuesday of that week, I was in London promoting the show and
doing magazine interviews and TV talk shows for them on my own time.
Why would I do that if I did not believe something could be worked out.

If they really wanted me back, they would have accepted my plea through
my agent to sit down and have a meeting. He was told by John Copeland
that he was "a dollar short and a day late." They simply did not even
want to sit down with me!

Once again, I would do season 5...if I had less episodes. I am hurt and
disappointed that I have not even received the opportunity to discuss my
needs. I was dismissed coldly and simply. I want you to know that I
have given my heart to the show and I love Ivanova as much as any of
you. I did not "leave" the show. I did not ask for more money. I did
not create this mess. Perhaps this is a great lack of communication. I
would like to think that. Thank you all for your love and support. I
would never abandon you.

Claudia Christian

______________________________

Leslie Tingle

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Jul 25, 1997, 3:00:00 AM7/25/97

to

On Thu, 24 Jul 1997 13:43:27 GMT, smith...@mindspring.com (Craig
Smith) wrote:
>

>>If you're a major Babylon 5 fan, you may have already read all about
this
>>in the B5 newsgroups, but if you're a just a regular viewer you may not
>>have heard that Claudia Christian, who plays Commander Susan Ivanova (a
>>l______) on the show, will not be back for the fifth and presumably
final
>>season of Babylon 5 when it moves from syndication to TNT this year.

To which Evelyn R. replied:

>actually, she's bi ~ she and Marcus kind of had a thing going. Too bad,
>now that she's gone I guess he'll continue to be the world's oldest
>virgin.

>Evelyn, who'd be happy to help Marcus out of his predicament :)

I'm wondering if this isn't a publicity stunt to mark the move of B5
from Warner's to TNT. For five years Claudia Christian and Strazynski
have been on excellent terms with one another from every indication. And
by all
*appearances* not just showbiz-public-smooze-control. Anyway, an
upcoming plotline makes me wonder if the whole thing isn't staged.

For those of you who DON"T want to know how Season 5 of B5 ends, DON'T
READ FURTHER!

SPOILERS! WARNING! SPOILERS!

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

O.K. I readily admit being a spoiler junkie, and from Becky Murphy's B5
spoiler page, I garnered the following:

One of the storylines has Ivanova (CC) suffering from a deadly disease
back on B5 at the end of the season. The show was taped far in advance
of CC's reputed contract difficulties.

The spoiler pages say that Marcus jumps in his White Star and zips back
to B5, straps himself into a mysterious alien healing machine, and gives
his life to save Ivanova's.

Doesn't this storyline fit all-too-nicely into CC's reputed leaving?

I know. I know. Wishful thinking. Sigh. Grasping at straws.

Leslie

Sibyl

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Jul 25, 1997, 3:00:00 AM7/25/97

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In <33da55fb...@news.mindspring.com> smith...@mindspring.com

(Craig Smith) writes:
>
>If you're a major Babylon 5 fan, you may have already read all about
>this in the B5 newsgroups, but if you're a just a regular viewer you
>may not have heard that Claudia Christian, who plays Commander Susan
>Ivanova (a l______) on the show, will not be back for the fifth and
>presumably final season of Babylon 5 when it moves from syndication to
TNT this year.
>

I am trying to figure out whether this is the same Claudia Christian I
went to high school with. Does anyone know how old she is or where she
grew up?
I guess I could try to watch the show, but since I have no idea when it
is on or what channel...
--Sibyl

Gregg P.

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Jul 26, 1997, 3:00:00 AM7/26/97

to

Craig Smith (smith...@mindspring.com) wrote:
: On Fri, 25 Jul 1997 23:18:24 GMT, rmso...@netaxs.com (Ronald Mansolino)
: wrote:
:
: >In alt.showbiz.gossip, si...@ix.netcom.com(Sibyl) posted
: ><5rb7a7$2...@dfw-ixnews3.ix.netcom.com>:
: >
: >[Babylon 5]
: >> I guess I could try to watch the show, but since I have no idea when it

: >> is on or what channel...
: >> --Sibyl

: >
: >Don't feel bad. I would have liked to watch the whole series, but it jumps
: >around from station to station (and I don't have cable) so I never know
: >when it's on. It's one of those shows that you have to pay attention to
: >week after week, and everytime they reschedule it, I miss episodes.
:
: It moves to TNT in January. They're planning to start showing all the
: episodes from the first four seasons, in order (probably daily?) while they
: run the new weekly episodes. They also have plans for some made-for-TV
: movies, and perhaps a big screen version too.

They'll be starting the TNT launch with a new movie named Babylon 5: In
the Beginning, a prequel of sorts about the Earth/Minbari war which will
be shown on Sunday, January 4th. It's a 2 hour thing, which will
immediately be followed by the 2 hour original pilot "The Gathering." I'm
pretty sure they're showing them both twice on 1/4/98 -- in an 8 hour
block (4/6/8/10PM EST). Then, the first four seasons will be shown at 6PM
EST Mon-Fri starting on 1/5/98.

The new Season 5 eps. will begin being shown on TNT beginning 1/19/98.
Broadcast tiems will be at 10PM Mondays, with an encore presentation at
6PM the following Saturday. There's also a second movie (called
Thirdspace) that will be shown sometime in the 8/98-10/98 timeframe.

For tons of good info on Babylon 5, check out the Lurker's Guide to
Babylon 5 page at ...

http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/lurker.html

Included on this page are the "official" (and conflicting) statements and
comments issued by J. Michael Stracynski and Claudia Christian regarding
her departure. Plus, *tons* of information about the show, the cast, and
lots more. A terrific page for what is easily the finest and most
consistently well written science-fiction show on television (though if
you want consistently good acting you'll probably need to look elsewhere!)

-- Gregg "A Huge B5 Fan" P.
-- ASGTPR#71
-- La Maison de Burlesque
-- Offical ASG Media Whore

Melody Clark

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Jul 29, 1997, 3:00:00 AM7/29/97

to

In article <33D8C1...@utpress.ppb.utexas.edu>,

Leslie Tingle <les...@utpress.ppb.utexas.edu> wrote:
>I'm wondering if this isn't a publicity stunt to mark the move of B5
>from Warner's to TNT. For five years Claudia Christian and Strazynski
>have been on excellent terms with one another from every indication.
And
>by all
>*appearances* not just showbiz-public-smooze-control. Anyway, an
>upcoming plotline makes me wonder if the whole thing isn't staged.

According to Bill Mumy (whom my brother...collectibles dealer and
computer webmaster to the sorta-stars...spoke with on Sunday), TNT told
them all they would have to take a 50% pay cut, due to the movie.
Claudia Christian had two film offers, both of which paid much more than
the last season of B5. If she had taken the cut in pay, her price for
the films would have been affected. So she had little choice.

Bill also said she's an extremely nice woman, and that the "situation"
is "in no way Claudia's fault" though he really didn't fault anyone.

IMHO, Joe S is acting like a jerk on the newsgroups. I can understand
the pressure he's under, but jeez, eight years ago he was hosting local
radio and writing for cartoons. He's a very nice man, but he's blowing
his top these days. He in SF who doth not live by the fan, dies by the
fan.

Anyway, since he copped a *lot* of B5 from B7, I imagine the end will
come in fire. This time they *won't* be stunned.

Leslie Tingle

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Jul 29, 1997, 3:00:00 AM7/29/97

to

Melody Clark was kind enough to offer:

>According to Bill Mumy <SNIP> TNT told them all they would have to take a >50% pay cut, due to the movie.

Well, that bites.

>Claudia Christian had two film offers, both of which paid much more than
>the last season of B5. If she had taken the cut in pay, her price for
>the films would have been affected.

I don't understand this, but . . . I ain't in le biz de show.

>IMHO, Joe S is acting like a jerk on the newsgroups. I can understand

>the pressure he's under . . . He's a very nice man, but he's blowing
>his top these days.

Well, he apparently assured TNT that CC would be a part of the show,
without having the paper to back it up. I know it took a driving passion
to get the thing on the air in the first place--it has that incredible
storyline arc that covers five years (something I don't think another TV
show has even attempted)--and finally, when TPTB give him the
opportunity to squeak out that last season of eps, the victory is
tainted by the loss of a core cast member.

I understand both sides, I guess. JMS does a lot of things I think are
great, like actually carrying on digital dialogues with the fans of his
show. Allowing the proliferation of fan web pages that use many of the
"official" logos, etc. I don't see him as representative of the "evil
empire" side of the biz. Very unfortunate.

>Anyway, since he copped a *lot* of B5 from B7, I imagine the end will
>come in fire. This time they *won't* be stunned.

Ah, cryptic last remarks. What's B7?

Confused, Leslie

xitaclan

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Jul 29, 1997, 3:00:00 AM7/29/97

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On Tue, 29 Jul 97 04:32:27 GMT, mel...@qnet.com (Melody Clark) wrote:

>In article <33D8C1...@utpress.ppb.utexas.edu>,
> Leslie Tingle <les...@utpress.ppb.utexas.edu> wrote:

<SNIP>

>
>IMHO, Joe S is acting like a jerk on the newsgroups. I can understand

>the pressure he's under, but jeez, eight years ago he was hosting local
>radio and writing for cartoons. He's a very nice man, but he's blowing
>his top these days. He in SF who doth not live by the fan, dies by the
>fan.
>

>Anyway, since he copped a *lot* of B5 from B7, I imagine the end will
>come in fire. This time they *won't* be stunned.

I completely agree. And I have to tell you that I don't
blame Claudia for wanting out.. if that is what she wanted.. which I
don't believe. I think she wanted what the actress who played Talia
wanted back in the second season. She was given so little to do..
like Claudia who has been limited to doing The voice of the
resistance. WHen Talia asked JMS that she wanted to know which
episodes she would be on he told her fine. But then he would tell her
she would be in an eppisode and then she wouldn't be. She left the
show and I am confident that Claudia will find a better gig. I agree
the end will come in fire. Why woul Joe want to keep the actors for
more than 5 years. Perhaps he would have to pay them more.