Why did Michael O'Hare leave Babylon 5?

[Jan]

Personally, I've always preferred Boxleitner/Sheridan.

Having said that, my appreciation of MOH/Sinclair has increased every time I've rewatched the show.

I like them both equally. And having read the outline of the series if Sinclair had stayed, I have to say that I much prefer the story we actually got.

Jan

 

[Angel4576]

I didn't really have any problem with O'Hare taking a backseat, and Boxleitner coming to the fore. Having said that though, I'd have preferred that O'Hare come back from time to time, moreso than just appearing in WWE. To my mind, the characters of Sheridan and Sinclair are as important as each other. Sinclair's experiences on Minbar and his journey with the Rangers, towards his ultimate destiny would have make for a very good strand of the B5 story that played out on screen.

Of course, having said this, I'm still happy with what we got. Certainly moreso than what we could have gotten had Joe gone with the original outline.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Then she told us that it was because Michael was sleazy and "inappropriate" with some of the women on the set, whatever that means to whatever degree.

That's not so. That said, none of the "approved" stories are accurate, according to other actors and witnesses.

I've met O'Hare a number of times, though only once while he was playing Sinclair. He was a thoroughly decent, sincere guy and good company. IMAO he deserves the best out of life.

 

[JoeD80]

Having said that though, I'd have preferred that O'Hare come back from time to time, moreso than just appearing in WWE.

He was also in "The Coming of Shadows" in season 2 via video-mail to Garibaldi.

 

[Angel4576]

^^ Semantics.

O'Hare recorded that at the end of Season 1

 

[FalTorPan]

I'm sort of surprised by how many conflicting accounts there seem to be about so many behind-the-scenes events concerning Babylon 5. Maybe it's not atypical. Don't know.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

I'm sort of surprised by how many conflicting accounts there seem to be about so many behind-the-scenes events concerning Babylon 5. Maybe it's not atypical. Don't know.

Well as I said up thread, Jerry Doyle and Claudia Christian have a tendency towards hyperbole when it comes to their recollections of Babylon 5. They've also been very vocal in various interviews and conventions about how they both didn't get along to well with Micheal O'Hare and preferred working with Bruce Boxleitner. Christian once called O'Hare "too serious" and said that she liked working with Bruce because the set became more easy going. IIRC, this was in a Starlog interview.*

Having met O'Hare and seen him speak, he seems like a decent, gentlemanly person. He is as thoughtful and introspective as the character of Sinclair.

*My Babylon 5 magazine collection is in San Diego, so I apologize as I can't look to check for exact quotes. It may have come from Starlog or the Mark Altman edited and defunct Sci-Fi Universe. It may be the latter since that magazine had a more "gossip" sci-fi style.

 

[JoeD80]

^^ Semantics.

O'Hare recorded that at the end of Season 1

So? What does it matter when he recorded it. I was just mentioning that he appeared in season 2 as well. That's not a matter of *semantics*, it's a matter of what's actually in the show. He could have recorded it in 1984 for all it matters, but it was still an appearance in season 2.

 

[Angel4576]

^^ Semantics.

O'Hare recorded that at the end of Season 1

So? What does it matter when he recorded it. I was just mentioning that he appeared in season 2 as well. That's not a matter of *semantics*, it's a matter of what's actually in the show. He could have recorded it in 1984 for all it matters, but it was still an appearance in season 2.

You seem to have misinterpreted the initial point. I wasn't talking about the character of Sinclair, I was talking about Michael O'Hare. Given O'Hare's contribution to getting the series off the ground it would have been nice had he not been relegated to a solitary return to the sets in Season 3.

 

[JoeD80]

You seem to have misinterpreted the initial point. I wasn't talking about the character of Sinclair, I was talking about Michael O'Hare. Given O'Hare's contribution to getting the series off the ground it would have been nice had he not been relegated to a solitary return to the sets in Season 3.

OK, then I'm not sure what your point at all is. I'm pretty sure you were referring to Sinclair in the earlier message ("To my mind, the characters of Sheridan and Sinclair are as important as each other. ") What if O'Hare came by the sets lots of times during season 2 but never showed up on camera? That would still fulfill this condition of returning to the sets, but it wouldn't mean much for the content of the show. Also, if we are talking of O'Hare himself -- he continued supporting Babylon 5 for the remainder of the show, making convention appearances and always talking positively of the show.

My point is, Sinclair appeared on the show in season 2 and season 3 so we got Sinclair twice after season one. O'Hare helped promote the show for all five seasons. Zathras was very happy in the end.

 

[CorporalClegg]

^
No offense, but you seriously come-off as one has a bad case of the nitpicker's itch.

 

[ClayinCA]

I'd have preferred that O'Hare come back from time to time, moreso than just appearing in WWE. To my mind, the characters of Sheridan and Sinclair are as important as each other. Sinclair's experiences on Minbar and his journey with the Rangers, towards his ultimate destiny would have make for a very good strand of the B5 story that played out on screen.

I agree with this 100%. Straczynski used to use the analogy of Gandalf in Lord of the Rings to describe what he was doing with the character of Sinclair, "moving him off to the side" of the story for a bit so that other characters could be brought in and explored. The analogy didn't work because unlike Gandalf, Sinclair never really comes back to the story in any significant manner, and his appearance in "War Without End" seems more along the lines of tying up loose ends than the dramatic reappearance in the storyline of a major character.

Dunno if spoilers are necessary, but just in case:

Spoiler: the finale of BABYLON 5

I always thought Sinclair/Valen should have been there in "Sleeping in Light," waiting for Sheridan along with Lorien when he passes "beyond the veil." It would have given Sinclair's part in the story some more closure, letting him be there at the end as well as at the beginning.

But that's just me.

 

[JoeD80]

^
No offense, but you seriously come-off as one has a bad case of the nitpicker's itch.

"No offense, -- but I would like to offend you." Thank you. This is why I post messages. People can nitpick me and claim that I am nitpicking. Good good. Zathras used to being beast of burden.

 

[Angel4576]

OK, then I'm not sure what your point at all is. I'm pretty sure you were referring to Sinclair in the earlier message ("To my mind, the characters of Sheridan and Sinclair are as important as each other. ") What if O'Hare came by the sets lots of times during season 2 but never showed up on camera? That would still fulfill this condition of returning to the sets, but it wouldn't mean much for the content of the show. Also, if we are talking of O'Hare himself -- he continued supporting Babylon 5 for the remainder of the show, making convention appearances and always talking positively of the show.

My point is, Sinclair appeared on the show in season 2 and season 3 so we got Sinclair twice after season one. O'Hare helped promote the show for all five seasons. Zathras was very happy in the end.

Sinclair and Sheridan are as important as each other in terms of contribution to the Babylon 5 universe. That's an aside however. Given this however, the gravity of Sinclair's role in the grand scheme of things certainly wouldn't preclude O'Hare from returning on a semi-regular basis, especially considering the importance of Minbar and the Rangers in the coming seasons.

Coupled with this, we have O'Hare's continued efforts in helping promote the show, which again, ordinarily, wouldn't disenfranchise him from appearing on the show.

Despite the above however, O'Hare returned to the show only once after wrapping filming at the backend of the first season.

The point is simple, given Joe's comments around the 'change in direction', and the desire to move certain strands of the story from Sinclair to Sheridan, the impression given is that there's no animosity between Joe and O'Hare, which is reflected in his continued support for the show. This, together with MOH's sterling efforts on behalf of promoting the show, and the continued gravity of the Sinclair character to the central narrative, left me, as a viewer, slightly disappointed that O'Hare only returned to the show once. Hardly a great reward for his efforts. Now, admittedly, part of this may have been that MOH didn't particularly want to return, but given his support of the show, I find that unlikely.

 

[JoeD80]

OK, then I'm not sure what your point at all is. I'm pretty sure you were referring to Sinclair in the earlier message ("To my mind, the characters of Sheridan and Sinclair are as important as each other. ") What if O'Hare came by the sets lots of times during season 2 but never showed up on camera? That would still fulfill this condition of returning to the sets, but it wouldn't mean much for the content of the show. Also, if we are talking of O'Hare himself -- he continued supporting Babylon 5 for the remainder of the show, making convention appearances and always talking positively of the show.

My point is, Sinclair appeared on the show in season 2 and season 3 so we got Sinclair twice after season one. O'Hare helped promote the show for all five seasons. Zathras was very happy in the end.

Sinclair and Sheridan are as important as each other in terms of contribution to the Babylon 5 universe. That's an aside however. Given this however, the gravity of Sinclair's role in the grand scheme of things certainly wouldn't preclude O'Hare from returning on a semi-regular basis, especially considering the importance of Minbar and the Rangers in the coming seasons.

Coupled with this, we have O'Hare's continued efforts in helping promote the show, which again, ordinarily, wouldn't disenfranchise him from appearing on the show.

Despite the above however, O'Hare returned to the show only once after wrapping filming at the backend of the first season.

The point is simple, given Joe's comments around the 'change in direction', and the desire to move certain strands of the story from Sinclair to Sheridan, the impression given is that there's no animosity between Joe and O'Hare, which is reflected in his continued support for the show. This, together with MOH's sterling efforts on behalf of promoting the show, and the continued gravity of the Sinclair character to the central narrative, left me, as a viewer, slightly disappointed that O'Hare only returned to the show once. Hardly a great reward for his efforts. Now, admittedly, part of this may have been that MOH didn't particularly want to return, but given his support of the show, I find that unlikely.

Ah, ok, it makes more sense to me now. Thanks for clarifying. Part of the reason was airfare for O'Hare from NYC to LA, I think; I remember reading that in a post somewhere. Plus O'Hare was very active in the NYC theater scene during the show. Same reason John Schuck didn't return as Draal as often as he should have.

 

[Angel4576]

[Dunno if spoilers are necessary, but just in case:

Spoiler: the finale of BABYLON 5

I always thought Sinclair/Valen should have been there in "Sleeping in Light," waiting for Sheridan along with Lorien when he passes "beyond the veil." It would have given Sinclair's part in the story some more closure, letting him be there at the end as well as at the beginning.

But that's just me.

Had MOH stayed, I always thought that.....

Spoiler: WWE/SiL

I always assumed WWE and SiL were pretty much one and the same episode originally. 20 years in the future (as indicated by Sinclair's age at the end of Babylon Squared), they go back in time to steal B4, to take back in time to fight the war against the Shadows a 1000 years ago, and fulfil his destiny of becoming Valen. Obviously, the release of the original synopsis blew that theory out of the water though!

 

[JoeD80]

I agree with this 100%. Straczynski used to use the analogy of Gandalf in Lord of the Rings to describe what he was doing with the character of Sinclair, "moving him off to the side" of the story for a bit so that other characters could be brought in and explored. The analogy didn't work because unlike Gandalf, Sinclair never really comes back to the story in any significant manner, and his appearance in "War Without End" seems more along the lines of tying up loose ends than the dramatic reappearance in the storyline of a major character.

What he said was:

We will go our separate ways for now, with the possibility of meeting Sinclair again down the road a piece, as Gandalf disappeared for a time into Mordor, only to return when needed most

And Sinclair did just that. He was needed most in the past as Valen to help reduce the shadow threat by helping in the past war, and he returned at that time.

 

[Brolan]

Then she told us that it was because Michael was sleazy and "inappropriate" with some of the women on the set, whatever that means to whatever degree.

Now outside of the fact that he sexually harrassed an 18 year old makeup artist and hair gal because he's talking about how its lonely to be on the road and well he did certain things at night with her in mind I thought thats a very nice thing to address to an 18 year old that was interning on a show, not making any money trying to work her way up in the union.

Never heard either of these stories before... Its odd to me that Doyle and Claudia are essentially saying the same thing. Either there's some truth to it or they both got together and decided to "hatch" a common lie? The former seems more likely though I'll bet it was probably just a set incident that they both thought was distasteful and has nothing to do with his "firing".

If this is true the rest of the cast and crew would know of it too. I've been on this board long enough to know there are many here with connections to Hollywood. Work your sources people! I want the truth!!!!

 

[JoeD80]

I want the truth!!!!

The truth is, both O'Hare and jms were happy. When O'Hare was asked if he regretted leaving the show he said:

No. I regret not seeing my old friends, particularly Mira Furlan and Billy Mumy, but that's the nature of our line of work. You come together, you work close and hard, and the time comes when it's time for you to leave.

 

[Neroon]

I strongly suggest that unless you have some pretty conclusive proof - such as URLs or references to printed materials - that people refrain from posting the more sensational types of stories.