Remake of Babylon 5 ?

[Professor Zoom]

The more I think about it, the less appealing a remake or a continuation is. Why not a BRAND NEW series? New ideas. New characters. Why go over the same ground? Why not a NEW thing to be a fan of?

Weird.

Why weird?

The thing is, B5 has the potential to open up a whole universe of stories. What we saw was a little 5-year snippet of history. There is so much left to explore.

Sure. I'm not saying there isn't. But, so what? Aren't there NEW story ideas? New fictional universes to explore? Why devote more time and money just filling in a picture?

Did Voyager and Enterprise really ADD to the Star Trek universe? For the most part it was just same old same old.

I would love to see something new. Like B5 was new when it first started. Or Farscape. A NEW space opera with new ideas.

 

[RoJoHen]

The more I think about it, the less appealing a remake or a continuation is. Why not a BRAND NEW series? New ideas. New characters. Why go over the same ground? Why not a NEW thing to be a fan of?

Weird.

Why weird?

I was kidding.

I would love to see something new. Like B5 was new when it first started. Or Farscape. A NEW space opera with new ideas.

I would love that, too, but I've generally given up on that happening for the time being. What was the last successful space opera show that lasted more than a couple seasons? The only network (in America, at least) where such a thing could work is SyFy, and I think we all know that they don't really do that kind of thing anymore.

 

[DWF]

Sure. I'm not saying there isn't. But, so what? Aren't there NEW story ideas? New fictional universes to explore? Why devote more time and money just filling in a picture?

Did Voyager and Enterprise really ADD to the Star Trek universe? For the most part it was just same old same old.

I would love to see something new. Like B5 was new when it first started. Or Farscape. A NEW space opera with new ideas.

There is a possible ne space opers coming from Robert Hewitt Wolfe. And really niether B5 nor Farscape were filled with new ideas just alot of old done in a different way.

 

[Professor Zoom]

Weird.

Why weird?

I was kidding.

Ah.

There is a possible ne space opers coming from Robert Hewitt Wolfe. And really niether B5 nor Farscape were filled with new ideas just alot of old done in a different way.

Some of the sci fi ideas, sure, could be sourced to other things. But B5 was certainly new in how it told stories. Long arcs, short arcs, each building to something. Farscape I think was new in the kinds of characters it had and really exploring character in sci fi.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I'd like to see it remade so it was a tight series like NuBSG rather than a series with multiple B story lines. A series that had distinct streams all meeting up, of the Psi-Corp story, Earth's story, the Minbari story, the Centauri story. I'm thinking the Game of Thrones books (haven't seen the series) where each story has it's voice and through their interactions with the other stories more is revealed. A planned series from pilot to finale.

It's not like a reboot erases what we already have. But it's a great universe and a reboot without the choppiness would be awesome.

 

[RoJoHen]

There is a possible ne space opers coming from Robert Hewitt Wolfe. And really niether B5 nor Farscape were filled with new ideas just alot of old done in a different way.

Some of the sci fi ideas, sure, could be sourced to other things. But B5 was certainly new in how it told stories. Long arcs, short arcs, each building to something. Farscape I think was new in the kinds of characters it had and really exploring character in sci fi.

Yeah, I'm getting tired of the whole "there are no new stories" argument. Who cares? Point me to any other show that was like Farscape. Yes, "guy gets lost far away from home" is a story that has been done before, but that premise is incredibly open-ended and can be told again and again with very different outcomes.

 

[DWF]

There is a possible ne space opers coming from Robert Hewitt Wolfe. And really niether B5 nor Farscape were filled with new ideas just alot of old done in a different way.

Some of the sci fi ideas, sure, could be sourced to other things. But B5 was certainly new in how it told stories. Long arcs, short arcs, each building to something. Farscape I think was new in the kinds of characters it had and really exploring character in sci fi.

Yeah, I'm getting tired of the whole "there are no new stories" argument. Who cares? Point me to any other show that was like Farscape. Yes, "guy gets lost far away from home" is a story that has been done before, but that premise is incredibly open-ended and can be told again and again with very different outcomes.

Yeah it can told again and again John Carter, Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers. Farscape also contained elements of Blake's 7 and Lexx both of which came out before Farscape, then there's Andromeda and even Red Dwarf from an even earlier era.

As soon as the first talk of Stargate Universe pop;e were comparing it to Lost In Space and Space:1999 and as soon as it came out there were comparisons online with the new Battlestar Galactica.

 

[Professor Zoom]

As soon as the first talk of Stargate Universe pop;e were comparing it to Lost In Space and Space:1999 and as soon as it came out there were comparisons online with the new Battlestar Galactica.

So? I think those were fair comparisons. Lost in Space and Space:1999 for plot, and nuBSG for tone.

The failure (in my opinion) of the show was its failure to rise above those and stake out new territory. A new point of view.

 

[DWF]

As soon as the first talk of Stargate Universe pop;e were comparing it to Lost In Space and Space:1999 and as soon as it came out there were comparisons online with the new Battlestar Galactica.

So? I think those were fair comparisons. Lost in Space and Space:1999 for plot, and nuBSG for tone.

The failure (in my opinion) of the show was its failure to rise above those and stake out new territory. A new point of view.

Well I thught they were headed for some territory especially in the Stargate universe, imagine what BS woud've been had it cancelled after only two seasons.

 

[Professor Zoom]

Well I thught they were headed for some territory especially in the Stargate universe, imagine what BS woud've been had it cancelled after only two seasons.

I have no idea where they were headed with Stargate Universe, I stopped watching after 13. If the characters and the story don't grab me by then...

But early cancellation are the waters all shows swim in. If they have some good/new ideas, put them up front I think...

 

[DWF]

Well I thught they were headed for some territory especially in the Stargate universe, imagine what BS woud've been had it cancelled after only two seasons.

I have no idea where they were headed with Stargate Universe, I stopped watching after 13. If the characters and the story don't grab me by then...

But early cancellation are the waters all shows swim in. If they have some good/new ideas, put them up front I think...

And we didn't see the Shadows on B5 til the 13th ep. and a large number of ideas on B5 took time to come out. The Dominion on DS9 was even mentioned until the second season, the Borg were first scene on TNG in the their second season as well. Some ideas take time to come to the forefront. The Master wasn't seen on Doctor Who til the 8th season and so forth.

 

[Professor Zoom]

And we didn't see the Shadows on B5 til the 13th ep. and a large number of ideas on B5 took time to come out. The Dominion on DS9 was even mentioned until the second season, the Borg were first scene on TNG in the their second season as well. Some ideas take time to come to the forefront. The Master wasn't seen on Doctor Who til the 8th season and so forth.

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make.

 

[DWF]

And we didn't see the Shadows on B5 til the 13th ep. and a large number of ideas on B5 took time to come out. The Dominion on DS9 was even mentioned until the second season, the Borg were first scene on TNG in the their second season as well. Some ideas take time to come to the forefront. The Master wasn't seen on Doctor Who til the 8th season and so forth.

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make.

IMO you gave up too early on Stargate Universe, there were some ideas in the second season alone.

 

[Kegg]

The thing about Farscape is not that it happened to share a lot of familiar science fiction (and specifically) space opera premises, character types, and plots..

The thing is it mashed them together and spun them around and twisted them on their head. Farscape revels in the genre and it screws with the genre. It'll take a familiar sci-fi plot and then ram it into an unrelated plot to see what'll happen, or take it an unusual direction, or just dick about with it.

Just because other shows had used the same material before doesn't mean Farscape wasn't doing fresh and really interesting stuff with it.

However, I do like the suggestion of remaking Crusade because there's some interesting stories to be told there and I'm not so connected to the actors for their particular characters with the exception of Galen.

A remake without Galen is something I'm on board for (hell, without Technomages altogether, because besides Michael Ansara's Elric they were all completely insufferable).

This is like asking the Battlestar Galactica fans do you want a remake a few years before Ron Moore got a hold of it... so ask me in a few years.

I was here when that happened. Trust me, there was a lot of anger. There were people who wanted to see Richard Hatch's pitch of a renewed Battlestar Galactica, or the Bryan Singer/DeSanto one - and people who hated the changes (President Roslin is just a stand-in for Bonnie Hammer and proof of how terrible the Sci-Fi Channel is one argument I remember reading).

The more I think about it, the less appealing a remake or a continuation is. Why not a BRAND NEW series? New ideas. New characters. Why go over the same ground? Why not a NEW thing to be a fan of?

Eh. If you mean 'a BRAND NEW' space opera series, then your distinction isn't as meaningful as one might think. On the other hand, a space opera series still has some familar conventions, without which it is simply no longer in that genre (you can't make a space opera series that's set in the 20th century, never leaves Earth, and has no futuristic technology of any kind).

On the other hand, a remake may be a thorough reworking of a series premise, retaining the genre and ideas and names but flipping them about as to be unrecognizable. Ron Moore's Battlestar Galactica was a good example of this.

Honestly? I'd like another good space opera show on TV that I like watching. A new show like RHW's Defenders would be good, but I'll really take whatever.

 

[DWF]

The thing about Farscape is not that it happened to share a lot of familiar science fiction (and specifically) space opera premises, character types, and plots..

The thing is it mashed them together and spun them around and twisted them on their head. Farscape revels in the genre and it screws with the genre. It'll take a familiar sci-fi plot and then ram it into an unrelated plot to see what'll happen, or take it an unusual direction, or just dick about with it.

Just because other shows had used the same material before doesn't mean Farscape wasn't doing fresh and really interesting stuff with it.

Yeah the same could said for Red Dwarf and Lexx for that matter. The fall of psace operas came becauise people got bored of them and their ratngs fell, os I really don't think remaking old shows is a good idea just now, let the creators of the '90s hit shows create something new put it out if they can sell them.

 

[Professor Zoom]

IMO you gave up too early on Stargate Universe, there were some ideas in the second season alone.

that maybe true regarding ideas, but I sorta disliked most of the characters and/or didn't care what happened to them.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

This is like asking the Battlestar Galactica fans do you want a remake a few years before Ron Moore got a hold of it... so ask me in a few years.

I disagree. The original Battlestar Galactica was a cheesy cult classic whereas Babylon 5 had a very strong following and showcased a lot of great characters and stories. More importantly, Babylon 5 told a definite and mostly finite overall story while the original Battlestar Galactica didn't completely tell its story.

Well I thught they were headed for some territory especially in the Stargate universe, imagine what BS woud've been had it cancelled after only two seasons.

I have no idea where they were headed with Stargate Universe, I stopped watching after 13. If the characters and the story don't grab me by then...

But early cancellation are the waters all shows swim in. If they have some good/new ideas, put them up front I think...

And we didn't see the Shadows on B5 til the 13th ep. and a large number of ideas on B5 took time to come out. The Dominion on DS9 was even mentioned until the second season, the Borg were first scene on TNG in the their second season as well. Some ideas take time to come to the forefront. The Master wasn't seen on Doctor Who til the 8th season and so forth.

So what? I don't watch Babylon 5 for the Shadows, The Next Generation for the Borg, Deep Space Nine for the Dominion, or Doctor Who for The Master. I watch those shows for the rich characters and stories that those shows provide. If a show fails to hold one's interest in a given amount of time with its characters and stories, then it's the show's fault, not the viewers.

That being said, The Next Generation probably wouldn't survive in this day and age of thrive or bust television environment.

 

[DWF]

There's still no proof that viewers would support a remake of B5, it barely survived the four yeras they spent on thge PTEN network and they needed TNT to allow them to finish the show. If you want original space operas why go back remake a 20 year one?

 

[Ian Keldon]

I wouldn't want to see the show remade...too much of the appeal was in the cast chemistry, and we've lost several key actors, such as Andreas Katsulas.

I WOULD, however, like to see the FX redone for a new release. Look at "Lost Tales" and compare the quality of the FX work to that of the series...

 

[MacLeod]

^I can just imagine a certain portion of the fan base saying you can't to that, just like we had when they updated the FX in TOS a few years back.

As for remakes in general how much time has to pass by before we accept a remake, it was what 25 years before a remake of BSG made it to air. Buck Rogers was 40 years?