William Morgan Clark

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William Morgan Clark (played by Gary McGurk) was President of the Earth Alliance from 2259-2262, succeeding President Luis Santiago who died in office aboard Earth Force One (Chrysalis). Clark previously served as Vice-President under Santiago, probably prior to their re-election in sometime at the start of 2258.

During his time as President, Clark created several new branches of EarthGov to control the Alliance. These included the Ministry of Peace, Nightwatch, and Office of Public Morale.

Spoiler warning: Plot, character development, or ending details follow.

Clark was allied with the Shadows, who assisted in his assassination of Santiago (Voices of Authority). He feigned illness to disembark from Earthforce One before it exploded in orbit around Io (Hunter, Prey) and was exposed for his schemes when Ivanova discovered a transmission between him and Morden (Voices of Authority).

Following this discovery he initiated martial law in all of Earth's provinces (Messages from Earth), issuing illegal orders to mobilize Nightwatch (In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum) to maintain order and arrest possible traitors (Point of No Return). Some Earthforce officers, including General Hague who spearheaded an underground organization to expose him (All Alone in the Night), and Babylon 5 Captain Sheridan, opposed these policies and fought back (Severed Dreams). Clark resorted to taking ISN off the air when it reported against him (Severed Dreams) but re-established it as his own propaganda machine (Ship of Tears) that he used as a weapon of war to discredit Sheridan (The Illusion of Truth, The Face of the Enemy).

Clark committed suicide in late 2261 when Sheridan's White Star fleet arrived at Earth to end the Earth Civil War. Clark's final act was to turn the G.O.D. platforms against the Earth's civilian population centres (Endgame).

1 Trivia
- 1.1 Name Changes
- 1.2 LBJ parallels
2 Quotes
3 See Also
4 References

[edit] Trivia

[edit] Name Changes

Although he is almost always referred to on-screen as "Clark", this character seems to have had some mixed feelings about the order and usage of his first and middle names:

In his oath of office in 2258, he says "I, Morgan William Clark... (Chrysalis)
He is credited as simply Morgan Clark in this episode (Chrysalis), and referred to as such by JMS online throughout 1994.
In 2259 the ISN program 36 Hours did refer to William Clark when they ran a story on Babylon 5. (S2E14, And Now For a Word)
Clark's full name, William Morgan Clark is only revealed in his suicide note. -- (S4E20 Endgame) although he's referred to as such by JMS online from 1996 onwards.

[edit] LBJ parallels

Clark was sworn in aboard Earth Force Two, the scene staged in a deliberate homage to LBJ's own ceremony aboard a plane, televised to the nation, immediately after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on 1963-11-22.

According to JMS:

Re: the staging of Morgan Clark taking the oath of office; I gave very particular instructions to re-create the staging of the photograph in which Lyndon Johnson takes over from JFK after the assassination. The same layout, posture, background, and so on. We even had a photo on set for reference. The creepy thing is that the day we shot the scene was the anniversary of the day it actually took place; very weird atmosphere on set that day. -- JMS on rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated Date: 10/7/1994 5:08:00 PM [1]

[edit] Quotes

I think I'll vote for Marie Crane. I do not like Santiago. I always thought that a leader should have a strong chin. He has no chin and his Vice-President has several. This, to me, is not a good combination. -- (Ivanova, S1E01 Midnight on the Firing Line)

"Psi-Corps in Election Tangle. Did Psi-Corps violate its charter by endorsing Vice President?"

-- Universe Today front page headline (S1E08 And the Sky Full of Stars)