As has been reported elsewhere, the actor Andreas Katsulas died of cancer on February 13. I saw the first reports of the news last night.

I never met Katsulas, but I appreciated his performances as Tomalak on Star Trek: The Next Generation and of course as G'Kar on Babylon 5. I have always felt that Katsulas deserved an Emmy for his portrayal of G'Kar, and it was only because Babylon 5 was a syndicated genre show that he was never nominated.

Some nice tributes can be found on Peter David's blog: RIP Andreas Katsulas.

I'm thinking that I might watch an episode of Babylon 5 in his honor tonight. Suggestions would be welcome.

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"The Universe speaks in many languages, but only one voice. The language is not Narn or Human or Centauri or Gaim or Minbari. It speaks in the langauge of hope, it speaks in the langauge of trust, it speaks in the language of strength and the language of compassion. It is the language of the heart and the language of the soul. But, always, it is the same voice. It is the voice of our ancestors, speaking through us, and the voice of our inheritors, waiting to be born. It is the small, still voice that says: We are one. No matter the blood. No matter the skin. No matter the world.Not matter the star. We are one. No matter the pain. No matter the darkness. No matter the loss. No matter the fear. We are one. Here, gathered together in common cause, we agree to recognize this singular truth and this singular rule: That we must be kind to one another. Because, each voice enriches us and enobles us and each voice lost diminishes us. We are the voice of the Universe, the soul of creation, the fire that will light the way to a better future. We are one. We are one."

-- G'Kar, the Declaration of Principles

Tags: personal, science-fiction, television

J. Michael Straczynski, the creator of Babylon 5, posted his thoughts on Katsulas's passing. You can read them here.

Tags: science-fiction, television

After some thought, to honor Andreas Katsulas I chose to watch "Objects in Motion," the last episode of Babylon 5 in which G'Kar appears. I'd like to share two selections from the episode. First is G'Kar's goodbye to Sheridan:

G'KAR: 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 is going will very much miss the part of you that is staying.

And second, the final words G'Kar ever speaks in the show:

G'KAR: I find I'm actually looking forward to seeing the universe with you alongside, Lyta. Perhaps we'll find something extraordinary. Perhaps something extraordinary will find us. Either way it's going to be quite an adventure.

LYTA: I smell another book coming.

G"KAR: What a wonderful idea.

Goodbye, Mr. Katsulas.

Tags: personal, science-fiction, television