St. Colin's Shrine to Joe

St. Colin Stobbe
St. Colin Stobbe during an inspriational moment

     Back in the days before the series, back even before the pilot, there was an Amiga magazine. Looking in it so many years ago, I discovered that a science fiction series was to start, featuring animation made on the Amiga. The creator of this show was on one of the online services, and so it was to pass that I gave GEnie my credit card number, and started talking to Joe. Having just missed out on the free t-shirts Joe was handing out, I quickly decided to become a regular participant, so that I wouldn't miss anything else that might happen. Through the months, I came to learn about Babylon 5, and when the time was right, visited my friend with the satellite dish, and recorded the sacred "Behind the Scenes" (which had Delenn's original, computerized, voice), the sacred TV commercials, and finally the Pilot (which I watched more than 40 times before it aired locally, and disturbing the people around me by quoting all the dialogue). Throughout all this, there was Joe. Tantalizing us with bits of HIS vision. We knew HIM as the creator of Babylon 5, and in time, just started calling HIM "The Creator". Well, since HE was the creator, obviously we should worship him. Stating that HE was an atheist, and that should a church be formed, HE'd have to nail twelve (I think it was twelve, my mind is fuzzy on this point), scripts to the door, like Martin Luther had done to the Church in the 1500s. Quickly responding to this, I declared my bedroom to be the Church, and encouraged Joe to visit any time! It was thus that the First Amalgamated Church of Joe was founded. In time, I printed some crappy t-shirts, and sold them for lots of money (though I never covered my supplies), and buying nicer t-shirts (and even a baseball cap), when someone had the bright idea to get them done professionally.

     Perhaps my greatest accomplishment (begin brag mode), was an idea for the series that Joe said he was embarassed that they hadn't thought of themselves. Though the actual text of my message is lost in the pages of time (unless someone has it archived, which I'd really appreciate), I suggested that they use the news in the background of the scenes, to show events from previous episodes, thus further entrenching the concept of a chronological storyline.


     Please visit my site with the computer animation I've been working on.

St. Colin Stobbe