Friday, 2 September 2016

1995: BABYLON FIVE: AN AUDIENCE WITH THE COMMANDER VHS SLEEVE SIGNED BY MICHAEL O'HARE

From 1995: The VHS cover for the fan-produced tape AN AUDIENCE WITH THE COMMANDER, signed by its late star MICHAEL O'HARE.

The Movie Palace was a coffee shop/ geek shop/ venue space located just off Tottenham Court Road in Central London. I attended several events there in the mid-nineties, including the launch event for this tape.

The interview tape was shot sometime earlier (I'm not sure if the original location was The Movie Palace or a convention) but the tape was launched with a signing by O'Hare and a screening in TMP's upstairs screening room.

The video itself is standard bloke-on-stage stuff and probably shot on VHS to begin with. By the time it had been edited and duplicated, the production standards weren't looking great. I've long since dumped the tape but I did dub it onto DVD first.

I found O'Hare himself to be polite and friendly but somehow detatched. Much like his performance on the show to be honest. It was no great surprise that Warner Brothers opted to replace him with a more established (and bankable) TV star like Bruce Boxleiter. Although it has subsequently transpired there was more to his replacement than just Hollywood business.

He died in September 2012 after suffering a heart attack at the age of sixty.


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10 comments:

  1. ed2 September 2016 at 12:50

    A very nice follow up to your previous post on O'Hare as seen here :

    http://starlogged.blogspot.ie/2015/05/1996-dark-star-issue-13.html

    Thanks for posting this.

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  2. SLOW ROBOT5 September 2016 at 14:39

    Vacation means no post today but just a heads-up that the new issue of CRIME SCENE magazine is now out.

    Also look out for the new Titan ART OF STAR TREK (or - actually - art inspired by Star Trek) book which - at first glance - looks amazing.

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    1. ed5 September 2016 at 19:13

      thanks for the heads up slow, would that be STAR TREK 50 ARTISTS 50 YEARS you were referring to ?

      Delete
    2. SLOW ROBOT6 September 2016 at 00:54

      That's the one!

      Delete
  3. Phillip Lozano5 September 2016 at 16:46

    He suffered gravely from mental illness during his time on the show, which was the actual reason for his departure.

    http://www.blastr.com/2013-5-28/straczynski-reveals-moving-story-why-michael-ohare-left-babylon-5

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    Replies
    1. SLOW ROBOT5 September 2016 at 17:46

      Indeed. As alarmist as it may sound, it really does feel that something of a curse hangs over this show... Even allowing for the passage of time.

      JMS himself has recently revealed he has suffered from ill health over the past few years, curtailing his creative output.

      Delete
    2. ed5 September 2016 at 19:14

      thanks for the link Philip, that was a fascinating and revelatory listen.

      Delete
  4. ed7 September 2016 at 19:10

    some nice items out this week including a collected volume of strips from MISTY, the latest BACK ISSUE and an updated edition of STAR WARS YEAR BY YEAR.

    2000 AD has been running a most unusual judge dredd yarn featuring a transvestite ( ! ) serial killer. And all of it building towards issue 2000 which apparently will have three different covers.

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  5. SLOW ROBOT7 September 2016 at 23:27

    Yes indeed. The new issue of BACK ISSUE included a particular surprise for me.

    You missed the excellent new book COMIC BOOK FEVER. It's well worth getting.

    Also out were the new issues of Titan's STAR TREK and STAR WARS magazines. And the BATMAN/ MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E hardback collection.

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  6. ed8 September 2016 at 11:36

    I've yet to read BACK ISSUE. Did someone mention your blog or did you have a letter published ?

    ReplyDelete