Good Eating To You, Citizen G'Kar

By: Jason Davis
Date: Monday, February 20, 2006

As with so many things, you make plans and life, in this case death, gets in the way. This week, I was going to bring you all the news that's fit to print from the seventeenth Gallifrey convention in Los Angeles, but I'm afraid that will have to wait. At some point, I'll have to go back through all the columns I've done and make a list of the things I've promised to talk about next week that I never got around to--it'll probably keep me busy for a several weeks, but we'll deal with that later. This week, we deal with a life that mattered and a man that meant something to me and everyone who appreciated his work.

On February 13, 2006, Andreas Katsulas died after a year-long battle with lung cancer. My first recollections of Katsulas were as the Romulan Commander Tomalak in STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION. For the duration of that show's run, Tomalak provided a face for the mighty Romulan Star Empire--he was duplicitous, conniving, and quite fun. In short, Tomalak offered a preview of what was to come a short time later. In 1993, Katsulas returned to the silver screen and his distinctive features were seared into the memory of Harrison Ford's Dr. Richard Kimble. Katsulas was THE FUGITIVE's one-armed man and for that role, he will likely be best remembered by most viewers. Of course, neither of these performances, lovely though they were, hold a candle to the role that Andreas made his own.

G'Kar, the scheming Narn ambassador to the Babylon 5 space station, first appeared on television on February 22, 1993--almost thirteen years ago, as I write these words. Over the next five years, the combination of creator J. Michael Straczynski's writing and Katsulas's performance transformed an anger-ridden freedom fighter into a literary sage worshipped by his contemporaries despite his protestations of prophet-hood. On his own G'Kar was easily one of the most charismatic and engaging characters on television. In the company of Centauri Ambassador Londo Mollari, he was without equal. The two aliens were, perhaps, the most human souls to inhabit the series and their mutual hatred and the bizarre relationship that it eventually evolved into made for my favorite stretch of character development in the history of my love affair with the medium.

Though it's been eight years since BABYLON 5 left our screens (though only four since Andreas last reprised his role in the ill-fated LEGEND OF THE RANGERS), his poetic speeches still inspire me as I labor over pages of my own work. His voice still reminds me what it means to make a difference. His countenance still offers an enigmatic smile and a mischievous twinkle. His presence behind that latex mask through which his charisma shown like sunlight through glass will linger to remind me what a great character can accomplish.


Andreas Katsulas is gone. For that, the world has lost something special. Andreas Katsulas is loved. For that, we're all the better.

For words more potent than these, from someone who knew Andreas like few others, I recommend you visit www.jmsnews.com where Joe Straczynksi's eulogy remembers Katsulas with an eloquence I can never aspire to. I'd also like to take a moment to thank Tracy Scoggins for her appearance at the Gallifrey One convention this weekend despite her grief.

Next week, we'll talk about DOCTOR WHO. I'll tell you about the lovely convention and maybe a little about what I suspect will happen in series two. Alas, the Olympics continue to suck up the primetime schedule, but we'll have our shows back in March. For those who've inquired, there will be a BATTELSTAR GALACTICA review posted shortly, as soon as I've had a few minutes to calculate the expected lifespan of a Pegasus Commander. Be safe and play nice with one another.



MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20

HOUSE, M.D. (8 PM PST, Fox) "Skin Deep" Special night and time for Hugh Laurie's medical misanthrope. Wouldn't want to get in the way of quality like AMERICAN IDOL tomorrow night.

24 (8 PM PST, Fox) "Day 5: 3:00PM - 4:00PM" CTU clashes with the White House and, presumably, 60 minutes pass during the episode.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21

BOSTON LEGAL (10 PM PST, ABC) "Live Big" Does Shatner know any other way to live?

THE SHIELD (10 PM PST, FX) "Man Inside" There's a man inside...inside what? Couldn't tell you. Really must catch up.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22

LOST (9 PM PST, ABC) "Pilot" See where it all began. See an episode sans flashbacks. See the both hours back to back.

VERONICA MARS (9 PM PST, UPN) "Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner" Rather annoyingly, UPN has gone back to airing repeats when they'd originally scheduled new episodes. Strangely, one of the guest stars is called Alexandra Harris, which is the feminized version of BUFFY's Xander who was once romantically linked with MARS actress Charisma Carpenter...you see what I have to think about when there's downtime at the convention? It's really sad living in my head.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23

THE 4400 (1:30 AM PST, USA) "As Fate Would Have It" The lovely Natasha Gregson Wagner guest stars in this late-night rerun listed to make Thursday look vaguely appealing. As Arthur Dent once observed, "I never did get the hang of Thursdays."

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24

24 (8 PM PST, Fox) "Day 5: 2:00PM - 3:00PM" See what Jack was up to before you watched Monday's episode.

STARGATE: SG-1 (8 PM PST, Sci Fi Channel) "Arthur's Mantle" I've not been keeping up with this series, but this week would seem to be returning to the Arthurian roots that were explored at the top of the season.

24 (9 PM PST, Fox) "Day 5: 3:00PM - 4:00PM" See what Jack was up to while you watched Monday's episode.

STARGATE ATLANTIS (9 PM PST, Sci Fi Channel) "Michael" Strangely, it seems this episode was originally titled "Charlie." This begs the question--why was Charlie deemed an unsuitable title, and should my uncle be offended. Amusingly enough, my other uncle is called Michael, so imagine he'll be pleased. ENTERPRISE's Connor Trinneer guests.

NUMB3RS (10 PM PST, CBS) "Soft Target" Percolation theory is at the heart of tonight's encore presentation. Can you believe they actually call them "encore presentations?" I can't.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (10 PM PST, Sci Fi Channel) "Downloaded" The delayed tale of what happens when a Cylon goes to meet its maker (in this case, a human with a gun) and awakes in the next life signals the penultimate story of the season.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25

NUMB3RS (8 PM PST, CBS) "Bones of Contention" SOMEWHERE IN TIME's Jeannot Szwarc directs this special Saturday night repeat.

HU$TLE (10 PM PST, AMC) Series two of this magnificent BBC series continues in much the same way that I hope DOCTOR WHO's second year will come along behind its first on the Sci Fi Channel.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26

GREY'S ANATOMY (10 PM PST, ABC) "What Have I done to Deserve This?" The honor of being my favorite new series of 2005 to reach its second season goes to this medical masterpiece--watch it, you'll like it.