@MLClark Okay, the B5 cookbook saga ...
As you know, WB used me as the writer-for-hire with B5 licensees.
WB put together a list of products to pitch to potential licensees. Paramount had just done a "Friends" cookbook so, as a gag, they listed a B5 cookbook.
To their horror, U.K publisher Boxtree licensed it.
WB called in panic asking if it were possible ... (1/x)
https://www.amazon.com/Dining-Babylon-Ultimate-Station-Cuisine/dp/0752211439/
@MLClark I said, "The only way this will work is if we go over the top."
So I created a faux character, Emerson Briggs-Wallace, the snooty owner of the established Fresh Air restaurant on B5. Think Basil Fawlty; I binge-watched "Fawlty Towers" to get the attitude ...
It was set in late Season 3 when there was a lull in the war. The idea was that Emerson went to Sheridan, asking him to contribute to his cookbook ... (2/x)
@MLClark As a practical joke, Sheridan said he was too busy, but assigned Ivanova, Garibaldi, etc. to contribute. He pointed Emerson towards Londo, G'Kar, and Lennier as well.
I wrote it with introductions to each chapters by those characters. I had to channel them as where they were in late Season 3, e.g. G'Kar was a bit loopy at the time so I wrote that way ... (3/x)
@MLClark WB found a food consultant to develop the recipes. I made a clip tape for her showing all the scenes with food, either shown or mentioned.
Working together, we came up with all sorts of recipes. Garibandi's bagna cauda, for example, based on how he described it in the episode.
We also did Narn and Centauri spoo; JMS added a bit here because he had an upcoming line in a Season 5 episode about spoo ... (4/x)
@MLClark The book sold out in the U.K. WB could never find a U.S. publisher to print it; any copies in the U.S. were imported. These days, typically they go for $150-$200 if not more.
A mockup of the cookbook shows up in "A View from the Gallery." JMS didn't tell me; I saw it when I aired. I jumped off the couch and yelled, "Holy sh*t!" (6/x)
@MLClark My in-head canon is that the book had been published on the station in early Season 4, been popular for its tabloidy nature, then quickly discarded. Mack and Bo were hiding in an attack shelter; it was lying on the floor, suggesting to me someone snuck in there to read it, then tossed it.
To answer your question about favorite recipe ... Like your children, you love them all equally. 😘 (7/7)
Thanks for the smile of a tale, Stephen. I had just put on shoes to go out for a walk, but I didn't want to miss the saga, and I'm glad I didn't. :)
What a terrific era, and what a great deal of fun had all around. Glad you got to be part of the fray!
(NOW heading out. Stay safe amid any further sieges!)
@MLClark I'd go for a walk but, well, y'know ... Thanks as always for listening.
@WordsmithFL @MLClark I didn’t know this. Thank you for the story!
@Flibitz @MLClark I'll never forget that "Oh crap, what do we do?!" phone call from the WB Licensing manager who handled B5 product.
My first thought was, "That's what you get for adding a joke product to the list," then realizing it would be my opportunity to write a B5 novel (without calling it a novel).
The cookbooks for other TV shows were just recipes. We told a story and made it canon. That's why I'm proud of it.
@MLClark With Ivanova, I was able to trot out my old Russian cookbooks for ideas.
This was the "Human Edition," implying there were other versions on the station for the other races. We listed human substitutions for alien ingredients, e.g. spoo (sea scallops).
The B5 production team got into the spirit of it. They dressed a set with actual props to be photographed for the cookbook ... (5/x)