Last Best Hope For Congress
Jerry Doyle on politics, aliens and Babylon 5.
      by Rachel Hyland

"The character of Michael Garibaldi on Babylon 5 is not far removed from the real Jerry Doyle, as they both have high standards, audacity, are outspoken and have a vivid past. Like his character, Jerry is not one for proceeding in life on the normal track."

So sayeth the biography on Jerry Doyle's official website, DoyleForCongress.com. (And you thought it was a site run by disgruntled Glenn Quinn fans.) Doyle, the Republican nominee in Los Angeles' 24th District and former Security Chief of Babylon 5, has temporarily put away things sci fi and hit the campaign trail -- and the Convention circuit -- in the lead up to US elections this November. And a comparison to Garibaldi may or may not be the best way to get it done...

Does Democratic incumbent Brad Sherman have his own trading card? We don't think so!

Jerry Doyle: People say: "How much of the character is you and how much is just the character?" and I say: "Well, hopefully what you like about the character is me and what you didn't like about the character is the character." (laughs)

The 11th Hour: When I asked Garrett [Biggs, Campaign Manager] if the similarity extended to the alcoholism, he said that you actually drink a little bit more than Garibaldi. Or something like that. Pretty sure he was jokin', though.

Doyle: (laughs) No, he said I drink a little more than he does... 'Cause he doesn't drink at all.

11th: (laughs) Oh, more than he does. Sure...

Doyle: Y'know, when I think about the character... my Dad was a New York City cop, I grew up with cops, and there was a certain way about them, and certain mannerisms, and I tried to incorporate that into the character. Plus, the way the character was written, he had a lot of conflicting personality traits... y'know, he was his own worst enemy. He could be your best friend and he could be your nightmare, and there were so many different ways for that character to go. But the other thing about the character, for me, is that no one could hurt him more than he could hurt himself. He was always searching for a certain peace, and then when he found peace, he was uncomfortable with that so that he had to screw up the peace to get back to what was most familiar, which was constant turmoil. So there was always something situationally that was part of the character, and then you combine that with the character's own internal flaws and foibles, and that made him a very fun character to play. I was very happy in that role.

11th: Any news on more Babylon 5? What can you tell us?

Doyle: Well, the best thing I can tell you is that the show didn't get canceled when it originally ended its run. It ran its five-year story arc.

11th: Ah yes, the five-year plan.

Doyle: And a lot of people felt it should have continued on. I thought there were many characters, relationships and situations that needed to be done. So, everybody went on, did their own thing, had different shows, careers, took different paths -- but I was astounded at how together everybody still was after so many years, and how much of a following there still was for the show out there. There's a billion websites still up and running, and I think the audience is increasing. We're now going to the Sci Fi Channel -- in a better timeslot, where people can actually find it -- and I just thought that there was something that needed to be further explored with Babylon 5. So I made a few calls, and a few calls more have been made, and there's a lot of interest in what still may be out there for exploitation in Babylon 5 -- though not necessarily as Babylon 5.

Like Garibaldi, Doyle makes his position on second amendment rights clear.

11th: And is the series creator [the brilliant J. Michael Straczynski] involved in this exploitation?

Doyle: Oh, yeah.

11th: Oh, good.

Doyle: (laughs) Yeah, very involved.

11th: Which other members of the cast are interested?

Doyle: I have talked to Bruce [Boxleitner, Captain Sheridan] and other cast members, and they have all indicated that they would like to visit it again. I can't really tell you who would be involved, 'cause that would give away ideas... the stories... I'm gonna be a little Kosh-y, here.

11th: Ah, the ol' cryptic routine. I hate the cryptic routine.

Doyle: But, you know, I think the show has to be put back on familiar turf, it's gotta introduce a lot of new elements, but in a familiar setting. You have to go where you're appreciated. I think that the production value for the dollar that we put on the screen... the combination of a great production team, a great crew, a tremendously talented cast that just meshed... we had a lot of fun making the show. And I think for us to get it back on the screen -- in a first run show -- I think that would be wonderful.

11th: Do you think you can recapture the magic?

Doyle: I think it can be all that and more. We got a couple of good story premises.

Sure, Bush may have that nasty coke habit and Gore's got that fund-raiser scandal, but Jerry Doyle has Sliders lurking in his campaign closet.

11th: So, we're gonna be filling in the gaps between the seeming end of the season, and that twenty years later thing? There's so much we don't know, so many places to go... where are we going?

Doyle: (laughs) Well... I could give you the project title, I could give you what the premise of the story is, I could tell you there'll be more freestanding elements in a greater arc. More action, romance...

11th: I'm sensing a 'but.'

Doyle: Right. I could tell you, but that would be... premature. Except to say that it's something I truly believe still has great legs and should be up and running, and there are several proposals out there to put a Babylon 5-related project back on the air. And I think that there is enough interest in the show, from Warner Brothers and other entities, that if it goes forward, it will be up and running immediately.

11th: What happens if, in the interim, you get elected?

Doyle: And I'm in Congress? I'll be working for a year for what you make as a month as an actor.

11th: Can't you act and govern at the same time?

Doyle: No, no.

11th: Not even on the weekends?

Doyle: (laughs) No. It's a Monday through Friday show, but it's a Monday through Sunday job as a Congressman.

11th: So what are you hoping for then? If you get elected, do you want the show to go ahead?

Doyle: I want it to go ahead. I think it's very important.

11th: Even though you'd miss your window?

Doyle: I'm not sure that I'd miss it entirely. I wouldn't be in front of the camera, but I'd still be involved in making the show. Writing, executive producing, I don't know.

11th: Would you be interested in making, a la Richard Hatch and Battlestar Galactica, a short B5 film, at your own expense, to get the project rolling?

Doyle: No, no. I think that there is enough interest in the show, with Warner Brothers and other entities, that this is something that if it goes forward, it will be up and running immediately. It's not a question of coming up with some kind of demonstration or a short; they already know how they can sell it, they know how much money it made, they know the type of merchandising they can get from it.

11th:: Speaking of which, I understand from your campaign manager that autographed action figures of Garibaldi will soon be for sale on your campaign site. Is this true?

Doyle: Y'know, someone told me that, and I don't think that's true, because I don't have a copyright, a trademark, I don't have a licensee agreement... you know, that could be a whole lot of problems for me. That's what a lot of people have wanted to do, but I think... what I'm looking at doing is coming out with a Doyle for Congress hat, and T-shirts, and related stuff that goes with the campaign, and much like people would pay fifty bucks for a Babylon 5 hat or something like that... if you go to a lot of the different political websites, they're in the on-line store business these days, they're selling everything.

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