Sad Babylon 5 News - Michael O'Hare RIP

I received some bad news on September 28 2012.

Michael O'Hare, known to Babylon 5 fans as Commander Jeffrey Sinclair, later Ambassador Sinclair and finally as Valen ... is no more, I'm afraid.

The news broke from a fan's page on Facebook, with an unconfirmed report on Wikipedia which has now become fully official courtesy of the official JMS page on Facebook. Needless to say, it was all over Twitter this evening, confirmation or no confirmation.

A sad day for all Babylon 5 fans. Sharing it here because of the connections between B5 and Mongoose Traveller.
 
Yeah, that is really too bad. The guy was a good actor.

When I first watched the first season of B5, I thought he was a bad actor... He was stiff and awkward.

BUT, then I saw him in something else and realized that SINCLAIR was stiff and awkward, not the actor.

Rewatching Season 1 with this new insight, I was able to pick out a lot more of the subtlety of his acting and just how good of a job he really did.
 
I have to agree - he did such a good portrayal of 'stiff and awkward', I thought that he just wasn't much good as an actor.

I really missed the point there with Sinclair. He was labouring under crippling survivor's guilt, he'd been viewed with varying levels of suspicion - even paranoia - by EarthForce, and out of nowhere, he'd been selected for this high-profile diplomatic post...

...All because his former mortal enemies requested him by name. No wonder Sinclair was so reserved!
 
I remember the first time I saw that show. I walked past a television, ignoring it, when I saw what looked like X-wings obeying Newton's Laws Of Motion! On television! Cartwheeling in computer-controlled-engine-burst ballet. One of them wasted an enemy fighter and then a cut to the victorious pilot: Sinclair. But instead of looking elated, I distinctly remember the look on his face: regretful. I was hooked.
 
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