The old "DS9 stole from B5" thing

[Forbin]

J. Michael Straczynski posted this on Facebook:

Well, isn't this interesting: in the comments section of an article located on io9 at http://io9.com/5985727/the-strange-s...n-of-babylon-5 , a guy named Steven Hopstaken, who can be confirmed as having worked for WB TV, wrote the following:

"I was working at Warner Bros. in the publicity department when Warner Bros. and Paramount were preparing to launch a joint network. Warner Bros. already decided to buy Babylon 5 for their adhoc PTEN network (a group of independent stations that agreed to show Warner Bros. shows in prime time.)

Paramount and Warner Bros. both agreed that Deepspace 9 would be the show that would launch the new network and there wouldn't be room for two "space" shows on the network. I was told they purposely took what they liked from the B5 script and put it in the DS9 script. In fact, there was talk of leaving the B5 script in tact and just setting it the Star Trek universe. I had to keep rewriting press release drafts while they were trying to make the final decision.

But then, suddenly, Paramount decided to launch a new network on their own and screwed Warner Bros. over. That sent Warner Bros. scrambling to create their own network; grabbing up any station not already committed to Paramount and getting WGN to show the WB network on cable."

Ah-HA!!

[Robert Maxwell]

JMS pitched B5 to Paramount. Paramount declined. Shortly after, DS9 was announced.

People who think DS9 is a ripoff simply because it used a space station setting like B5 need to get over it. Other than being space station based, they have little in common.

So what if Paramount was pitched B5, liked the space station setting, and decided to use it for their next Trek show? No one owns such broad concepts, and it makes B5 fans look petulant to still be on about this almost 20 years later.

[Sindatur]

Forbin wrote:

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J. Michael Straczynski posted this on Facebook:

Ah-HA!!

Old Song and Dance. B5 and DS9 are my two absolute favorite shows ever, so, I'm at peace with DS9 taking on aspects of The Gathering and the two shows feeding off each other while in Production, I believe it made them both better shows. Wednesday Nights, I got to watch DS9 at 8pm and B5 at 9pm back to back on the same channel, and that was the best night in Television history.

[Jan]

It's been 20 years. Who *cares*?!?!? I'm happy that here on this site, the hatchet's mostly buried and folks appreciate that they got two great shows, however they happened to start.

Jan

[Saul]

I'm not pissed that we have two great shows instead of one.

[Forbin]

Saul wrote:

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I'm not pissed that we have two great shows instead of one.

I agree!
It's just nice to see somebody who was there admit "they purposely took what they liked from the B5 script and put it in the DS9 script," and were even considering stealing it outright.

Indeed, though, what came later was two of the best space shows ever.

[flavaflav]

Forbin wrote:

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It's just nice to see somebody who was there admit "they purposely took what they liked from the B5 script and put it in the DS9 script," and were even considering stealing it outright.

Indeed, though, what came later was two of the best space shows ever.

I guess the peeps at Paramount really liked the name Dukat.

[Takeru]

Forbin wrote:

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It's just nice to see somebody who was there admit "they purposely took what they liked from the B5 script and put it in the DS9 script," and were even considering stealing it outright.

What makes you think that this somebody isn't full of shit? I'm sorry, but just because someone worked for WB TV doesn't mean they can be considered a believable source. Many people worked there in the early 90s

What he says doesn't even make sense, they took what they liked and put it into the DS9 script? Like what exactly? The Gathering and The Emissary have barely anything in common and how were they planning to set possibly set B5 in the Star Trek universe? That's not possible without heavy rewrites.

That sounds more like a whiny B5 fan who can't let this stupid old story go, nobody except some annoying superfans on both sides and apparently JMS cares.

[Robert Maxwell]

Takeru wrote:

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What makes you think that this somebody isn't full of shit? I'm sorry, but just because someone worked for WB TV doesn't mean they can be considered a believable source. Many people worked there in the early 90s

What he says doesn't even make sense, they took what they liked and put it into the DS9 script? Like what exactly? The Gathering and The Emissary have barely anything in common and how were they planning to set possibly set B5 in the Star Trek universe? That's not possible without heavy rewrites.

That sounds more like a whiny B5 fan who can't let this stupid old story go, nobody except some annoying superfans on both sides and apparently JMS cares.

There's also no reason to believe he is who he says he is. It's a comment on a tech blog. It could be literally anyone. Frankly, it reads like the kind of conspiratorial nonsense you'd expect a troll to make up. I mean, Paramount was considering just using the B5 scripts as-is for their show? Come on. No studio is that stupid.

[Forbin]

Ah, the internet. "The evidence isn't what I want to hear, therefore the poster is full of shit and not who he says he is!"

Whatever, I just thought it was interesting enough to post.

[Robert Maxwell]

Forbin wrote:

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Ah, the internet. "The evidence isn't what I want to hear, therefore the poster is full of shit and not who he says he is!"

Whatever, I just thought it was interesting enough to post.

Number one, it's not "evidence." It's hearsay posted in a comment section by someone who may or may not be who they say they are.

Secondly, I don't have a dog in this fight. I just think it's naive to consider the comment credible without any further corroboration.

Finally, the idea that Paramount would seriously consider ripping off B5 scripts wholesale is absurd. If they were to do so, it would be very, very easy to prove, and JMS would be entitled to both a writing credit and financial compensation.

Yes, Paramount most likely was moved by the B5 pitch to make the next Trek show set on a space station. But that's inspiration, not "stealing."

[Pingfah]

Personally I think all shows should be set on Space Stations.

[Tosk]

JMS posts a quote from a guy on the internet who says he was told by an unnamed person that DS9 ripped off B5. Sounds watertight!

Apart from that, it's been 20 years. Do you think people will ever just let it go?

[Takeru]

Forbin wrote:

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Ah, the internet. "The evidence isn't what I want to hear, therefore the poster is full of shit and not who he says he is!"

1. Some random claims are not evidence.

2. It's the original posters responsibility to present evidence, not ours to disprove his claims.

3. Because you brought the story here and seem to defend the guy, the burden of proof shifted to you.

At least explain to me what parts of The Gathering were reused for The Emissary, if you can't do that this thread is done, there's nothing to talk about, it's the same old story I've heard for years and there's still zero evidence that any of it is true.

[The Mirrorball Man]

I'm pissed that the guy can't spell "intact".