Re: Synopsis of JMS's synopsis of the "original arc for B5" **SPOILERS
I'm not doubting that the cliffhanger was in the original draft. I'm just saying that it's quite odd imo to preplan a five year series and then have it end on a cliffhanger. One must have a pretty good reason for that.
Well, let's keep in mind that JMS himself is fond of the saying "No plan ever survives an encounter with the enemy." A plan developed for a series before it goes on the air shouldn't be taken as a definitive model for how the creator expects it to go from beginning to end, but as one or both of two things: 1) a starting point to build on, with the understanding that it will be adjusted as new contingencies and innovations arise, and 2) a sales document intended to convince a network or syndicator that your show is worth investing in. Since this was apparently a private document, I guess 2) doesn't apply so much in this case. But I'm sure JMS was aware that his outline for the series would evolve, that this was just a first approximation.
Besides, since it was a private set of notes, some of it may have been just wishful thinking -- more an indicator of what he hoped for in an ideal world. That is, if the show were a big enough hit to warrant a spinoff/sequel, he knew what it would be about. Failing that, he probably intended to rework things to resolve within one series.
He assumed (according to this speculation) that what he really wanted to do was unachievable at the time the series was starting, so his outline had to reflect that. It may not have occurred to him back then that he would be able to rewrite the series storyline so drastically midstream if it looked like his most ambitious vision for the story was achievable on a TV budget after all.
I'm sure it occurred to him. He'd certainly been in the TV business long enough to know that any number of factors can require a drastic revision of one's plans at any time. Any long-term document outlining a TV series represents a hope rather than a promise. Heck, even the stories for individual episodes or movies often get radically transformed between the initial proposal and the final script. So there's no question he knew that he might have to radically rework his plan at any time for any number of reasons. Indeed, the fact that he was able to rework his plans so smoothly so many times, in response to cast changes, cancellation threats, and the like, is evidence of that awareness.
He also might have thought that, if he wrote an outline in which those ambitious story elements were included, even as a possibility, in the main arc of the series, and he showed that to Warner Bros., they would be scared off. That they either wouldn't like the idea of the show changing so drastically, or that holding out the idea of adding extra seasons to the show or saying "I don't know if I'm going to go in this direction or not; depends on how much $ we have" would make them think that he was just blowing smoke when he claimed that he had a solidly mapped out storyline for 5 years.
Actually I suspect WB or any studio would've been more comfortable
without a fixed 5-year plan. Executives like to meddle. They like to be able to tell their producers, "We want you to do it this way instead of that." Heck, many executives don't even like shows to have inter-episode continuity, because they want to be able to show the episodes in arbitrary order in response to production logistics, advertising factors, etc. I don't think they would've liked a producer telling them "This show can only work if it unfolds exactly the way I have plotted out." What they like is a producer who says "Yes, boss, I'm happy to take your advice and make whatever changes in direction you ask for." They want concepts that have enough depth and potential to last for five years or more, but they also want them to be malleable, adaptable. A loose plan is more appealing than a "solidly mapped" one.
