Report, Internet site inspire 'Babylon 5' calls

By RAY RICHMOND

A newspaper item Friday that speculated on the potential demise of the Warner Bros. Domestic TV sci-fi series "Babylon 5" has reportedly inspired calls from more than 1,000 fans jamming the phone lines at the Atlanta offices of TNT, begging that the show continue in firstrun.

Why TNT? Because the Turner web has ordered a pair of two-hour "Babylon 5" movies (the first skedded to air in January), and industry sources indicate that if Warner Bros. --- as expected --- doesn't renew the series for a fifth season of originals (to air beginning in late fall), TNT very well might.

In the meantime, TNT execs have been besieged by callers after the network's main phone number at its Atlanta headquarters was put up onto the "Babylon 5" site on the Internet. No word yet on how many of the fans resided in Nielsen homes.