J. Michael Straczynski

Joseph Michael Straczynski (born July 17, 1954) is an award-winning American writer/producer of television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is also a playwright, journalist and author of a well-regarded tome on scriptwriting. He is most famous as the creator, executive producer and head writer for the science fiction TV series Babylon 5 and Crusade. Straczynski wrote most of the Babylon 5 episodes, notably an unbroken 59-episode run including all of the third and fourth seasons. He is also a noted participant in Usenet and other early computer networks, interacting with fans through various online forums (including GEnie, CompuServe, and America Online) since 1985. He is a friend and collaborator with speculative fiction author Harlan Ellison, a student and friend of Norman Corwin and an outspoken admirer of the work of Rod Serling.

Television

Straczynski started in television in 1983, working on various animated shows, and he quickly worked his way from staff writer to executive producer, culminating in his most famous television work: Babylon 5 (for which he won back-to-back Hugo Awards). He wrote a staggering 91 out of Babylon 5's 110 episodes, as well as the pilot and five television movies. The character-driven space opera is also notable for its five year story arc, gritty realism, and its pioneering, extensive use of CGI for its special effects. Straczynski was also creator and executive producer of B5's aborted sequel series, Crusade, for which he wrote 10 of the 13 episodes.

Related Topics:
1983 - Babylon 5 - Hugo Awards - Television movie - Space opera - Story arc - CGI - Special effect

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Straczynski created Jeremiah, loosely based on the French post-apocalyptic comic of the same name. He wrote 19 of the 39 episodes.

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A partial list of Straczynski's other television credits:

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• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe - Staff Writer; specifically writing 8 episodes
• Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors - Staff Writer, specifically writing 11-14 episodes
• The New Twilight Zone - Story Editor; writer of 11 episodes
• The Real Ghostbusters - Story Editor; writer of 21 episodes and one Special
• Jake and the Fatman - Executive Story Editor; writer of 5 episodes
• Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future - Executive Story Editor; writer of 13 episodes
• Murder, She Wrote - Co-Producer; writer of 7 episodes

Additionally, Straczynski was involved in , and Spiral Zone, from which he removed his name and used the pseudonym Fettes Grey (derived from the names of the grave robbers in The Bodysnatcher). He also wrote an episode of CBS Story Break (an adaptation of Evelyn Sibley Lampman's The Shy Stegosaurus of Cricket Creek), as well as an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger, where he was supervising producer at its inception.

Related Topics:
Spiral Zone - The Bodysnatcher - CBS Story Break - Evelyn Sibley Lampman - Walker, Texas Ranger

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Straczynski has also worked on television movies. Outside of the five Babylon 5 films, he wrote the award-winning adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, an attempted Captain Power spin-off pilot, Captain Power: The Beginning, and a Murder, She Wrote movie, Murder, She Wrote: A Story to Die For, which he also produced.

Related Topics:
Robert Louis Stevenson - The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

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