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"Today we lost Richard Biggs"

Re: \"Today we lost Richard Biggs\"

It's been almost two years since I last posted on this board. I've been following everything on the daily bases since then, but I guess I should express my deepest condolences to Mr. Biggs family. I'm very shocked.
Me and my son always talk about that journey that Dr. Franklin took to find his other self in the episode Walkbout. While he was fighting to stay alive, there was a big battle in space and all that...
I'm very, very sad. This is the kind of character that never must be replace by someone else.
43 years old...I'm 44 and know exactly how young we feel inside when we reach this age.
This is a very dark day to all of us.

Almir Fuschini
 
Re: \"Today we lost Richard Biggs\"

Very sad news.

He did such a fine job as Dr. Franklin. Richard always made him interesting to watch. I'll miss seeing him in future projects.

Really places things in perspective. I'm suddenly glad to be able to worry about things like job and money and such.
 
Re: \"Today we lost Richard Biggs\"

I haven't been online at all during the past couple of days until now. It's a mind-blowing shock to come on and read about Rick's passing. It's just so hard to process. Half of me wants to shed some tears, the other half makes everything around me feel hollow. I never met Rick (nor any of the rest of the cast), but the part of himself he put into Babylon 5 was enough to make Rick seem like an extraordinary person. To borrow a page from G'Kar, while Rick may have gone on, a part of him remains with us, and part of us goes on with him. I will be forever grateful for his contribution to the best show ever on television.
 
Re: \"Today we lost Richard Biggs\"

This is really too hard to believe... You look at his picture as Stephen Franklin, where he looks so alive, and can't comprehend the fact that the man behind him is simply gone.
Death is just so random.

It's a strange thing. I have never met with Richard Biggs, never talked to him, and I don't know a thing about him as a person other then his name and occupation.
A few minutes ago a friend of mine asked me to come some place with him, and I said I didn't feel like it. He asked why, and I didn't know what to say, I just mumbled something like "The guy who played Franklin on B5 passed away"...
Since he doesn't really know the show, he just kinda laughed and didn't understand why would it bother me, since "I didn't really know him".

I'm telling you this to make you understand what goes through my mind (And probably yours as well).
Cause in a way, the guy is right, I didn't actually know the guy.
But I guess that's the thing with music, or movies, or any other sort of art - once the people manage to touch you, you feel like you know them. Even if that's not really them.
Feelings are so impossible to explain sometimes, but all I know is that I feel terrible over this.

Only way for me to explain this to myself is by thinking of Biggs as family. He was a part of the Babylon 5 family, of which us, fans, are a huge part of.
You all know how heart-warming it is to sometimes take a look at the back-stage photos and see Bruce and Jerry and Rick having fun together and truely being friends. This means so much to us, because we want to believe that these people may have gone through different things through those 5 years than what their charachters went through - but the friendships they formed were equally strong.
I don't know why this is important to us, but it is.
Maybe because those actors (who are all truely the finest group of actors I have ever seen, and I'm not just saying that because I love the show) are all we have left from that old fantasy we remember back from when we were children, called "Babylon 5".
Seeing them close makes us feel close as well.
Seeing them grieve makes us grieve.

Truth be told, Franklin wasn't my favourite B5 charachtar - notice, Franklin/charachter, not Biggs/actor - just cause I was more into the Londo-Garibaldi-Anti-Hero kind of stuff.
But I always found him, just like the rest of the crew, an amazing actor, who really brought his charachter to life. To this day, I still find "Believers" to be the best non-arc episode ever written and played.

Richard Biggs was a part of the Babylon 5 family.
It's a sad and terrible loss for everyone who has wished to see the old Babylon 5 days back again.
Maybe this is also a sign, that those days are over.

But far beyond that, this must be terrible for Richard's wife and children, who must be truely going through hell right now.

All of the sudden I realize, all the wisdom in Babylon 5, all the debates about life and death, still cannot explain to us why a perfectly young and healthy person just wakes up one morning, and simply stops.

RIP.
 
Re: \"Today we lost Richard Biggs\"

Infested Londo, your post was very touching, thank you for your thoughts. It is an unexplainable thing, but I believe it has something to do with B5 itself...we became so close to those characters, followed them through pain and fire, to emerge touched, moved, changed forever by them. Because they all struggled so hard to put B5 on the air, I think a lot of the actors own selfs ended up a part of the characters they played...so we feel even more so as if we know them.

No other show or film has moved me, touched me, affected me like B5 did. So when one of them passes, to me, a friend passes, a part of me passes. This is not fanboy sentiment, but a compliment to JMS and each of the cast (and crew). They were in no uncertain terms a part of history with B5 and they touched millions around the world, that is something to be proud of, and to be remembered with honor for.

Each soul matters...B5 taught us that.

But I also wanted to remind you, that while a part of B5 has sadly passed beyond the veil, the days of B5 are not over.

In fact, they will be born again, anew, even stronger than before...bolstered by the memory of Rick Biggs. They will pull together in their sorrow and remember the bond that forged their friendships once more...that universe, that creation of passion...a place called Babylon 5.

TMoS will be made...probably in memory of Rick. Those days are not over...the future of B5 remains strong and we must not let it be otherwise if we honor the joy and wonder it brought to into our lives.

Remember, "What is built...endures. What is loved...endures. And Babylon 5...Babylon 5...endures."

Peace,
CE
 
Re: \"Today we lost Richard Biggs\"

What you wrote is exactly how I feel...

I bet if someone unfamiliar with the world of B5 would read these posts, he'd probably not understand what all the fuss is about. I know It happens to me when I roam about some of those Star Trek / Stargate / etc. websites.

But this show, and the whole production behind it, truely was special.

All I can think of right now is how I wish we could have it all back again.
This all makes me feel like Londo, all of the sudden very old, and tired. Nothing to do but sit in my chair and sadly long for those old days, knowing "nothing's the same anymore". Of all the many meaningful, bright phrases said in B5 throughout the years, that short, so simple sentence by Ivanova in SiL, is still the one that moved me the most.

Nothing IS the same anymore, and I have nothing left right now but to look at Biggs' picture and choke on my own nostalgic rush.
 
Re: \"Today we lost Richard Biggs\"

The bboard with messages for Rick's family at galacticgateway.com is currently down, due to the overwhelming response! I think that says a lot about how we fans are feeling this loss. I only hope that in some small way we will help to ease his family's pain.
 
Re: \"Today we lost Richard Biggs\"

There is news story on CNN.com about it (altough no new information about his death.)
 
Re: \"Today we lost Richard Biggs\"

Infested London and Colonyearth,

Yes, Yes, Yes.... I am another "crazy" guy that felt very affected by Richard´s death. I have never met him. I am brazilian, a south american guy who, supposely we have a different culture. However I have a very close friend who felt very sad, and she is chilean. So this feeling of a "family member" lost it overcome the cultural barrier.

As you guys said JMS and the cast have made an amazing synergy to all of us. It is not just a great story, but it´s also how the actors and actress have this vibration on doing it. I watched many gag reels (from DVD and VHS), and I could see how they enjoyed. As Infested Londo said, I feel part of the family.

Actually, whenever I go to US to visit my relatives (I have people in Florida, New Jersey, California and Upstate New York), I would love to meet some of you guys. Participating in this web page, reading about JMS, the new project and so on, made me feel very attached to all the B5 universe.

You might say I am crazy, but it is something in B5 that make us feel so identified. It is the concept of travelling around the universe, dealing with different species.....So I ask to myself, do I belong to this planet? Does my soul´s memory suggest that B5 is very close to our "other lives" reality? Don´t get me wrong, but, B5 have something special......

Richard Biggs death recall the feeling many brazilians felt when in May 1st, 1994, our formula one idol AYRTON SENNA, died. Everybody were devastated. The memorial service had more people than princess Diana´s. I and millions of people have never talked to AYRTON, but we cried for him, without any shame, as I do know for Richard Biggs. :(
 
Re: \"Today we lost Richard Biggs\"

I think TMoS will probably still be made, too. I think Biggs would have wanted it to happen. They all wanted to work together again. I think there will probably be a delay in the announcement (& I think there should be. It would be in poor taste to start so soon after Biggs' death), but it will eventually happen. The DVD sales proved that people still love B5. And I think they should definitely dedicate TMoS to Biggs.

Tammy
 
Re: \"Today we lost Richard Biggs\"

I was in shock for two days after Biggs died, but as soon as I started reading the posts at Galactic Gateway, I started crying. And then it got worse when I started listening to Yoko Kanno CDs. For those of you who don't know, she is a Japanese composer who does music for anime series, & her music can be very beautiful & emotional. Since Biggs' funeral is tomorrow, I will probably play two Kanno compositions, Space Lion & Blue, in his honor.

Tammy
 
Re: \"Today we lost Richard Biggs\"

Richard Biggs death recall the feeling many brazilians felt when in May 1st, 1994, our formula one idol AYRTON SENNA, died. Everybody were devastated. The memorial service had more people than princess Diana´s. I and millions of people have never talked to AYRTON, but we cried for him, without any shame, as I do know for Richard Biggs. :(
Click to expand...

Yes, I remember that. And I feel the same. Like a loss in the family.
 
Re: \"Today we lost Richard Biggs\"

I have been "off the 'net" for the better part of the past week, and just found out about Rick's death on JMSNews moments ago.

There isn't much to be said at this point that hasn't already been mentioned, for fear of sounding cliched or akin to the proverbial broken record.

All I can think of right now is how this is just another reminder that nobody... nobody is guaranteed a tomorrow. :(
 
Re: \"Today we lost Richard Biggs\"

There's another star in the heavens today.

I've been off-line for a few days and I'm deeply saddened by this news. I love the show so much that the b5 cast feel like another family to me.
 
Re: \"Today we lost Richard Biggs\"

I never thought I would open my mail and read about this...who would have thought,this is totally unexpected :(
 
Re: \"Today we lost Richard Biggs\"

Has anyone been able to find an obituary? I've been looking at Variety, Hollywood Reporter, and L.A. Times online, and still have not seen anything. There's still nothing about it at Yahoo entertainment news, but the news finally appeared on CNN.com yesterday and TVGuide.com today.

This continues to be very sad. Since Saturday, I've watched a few episodes on DVD that focused on Franklin, and it's very strange to watch the episodes knowing that that person is no longer there. I guess I always took it for granted before--partially because the whole cast are excellent actors--but Biggs' performances are really superb.

The season 1 episode Believers ties with Soul Hunter as my least favorite episode. I'd been putting off watching Believers, but after the news on Saturday, I decided to watch it. Sure enough, Richard Biggs' performance was the one bright spot in the episode. Believers was the 10th episode ever aired but only the 5th ever produced, and even that early, he already had the character of Franklin nailed. I've noticed little tiny nuiances of Ivanova, Londo, G'Kar, Vir, and a few others that are different in early season 1 compared to later seasons. They were still fleshing out their characters. But, Franklin has been Franklin since day one.

I also watched The Quality of Mercy, my third favorite episode of season one and another episode that focused on Franklin. He handled it so well. There aren't a lot of episodes that focus heavily on Franklin, but when they do, Biggs' had no problem carrying it.

I read somewhere that he did some teaching in acting, and if I remember correcly, he even came up with an acting curriculum to be used in schools. Now, I understand why.

He will be missed, and I continue to pray for his family.
 
Re: \"Today we lost Richard Biggs\"

I haven't been on the site for a few days, so it was a shock to hear this terrible news :(

I recently lost someone close to me so my heart goes out to his family and friends.

It is always difficult to know what to say, but I will say this - he is now at peace in the place where no Shadows fall...
 
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