JMS teases Babylon 5 feature film at Comic-Con

[Jan]

By the way, ever since this came up and all of the discussions about reboot vs continuation sprang up, I've been looking for a post JMS made back in 2011 when the TV series that WB wanted to do for the new (streaming?) venue that didn't materialize was still being discussed. This was in response to somebody who *really* hated the idea of a reboot. Sadly, I didn't keep a link to the FB post and it's nigh unto impossible to scroll back that far. But here's the text:

Despite what some folks say, the fact is that saying "reboot" is like saying "science fiction," it means what you're pointing at, and there are all kinds of permutations of what that means. It (and remember we're talking about something that is not currently on the boards) can't be a straight-ahead sequel because the market can't sustain it when the show hasn't been on the air in the US in over a decade. That's never, ever going to fly. It can't be called Babylon 5 if there isn't a place called Babylon 5, so the station has to be in existence, otherwise you can't use that name. You could do a show about the telepath war, but you couldn't call it Babylon 5 unless there's a Babylon 5 there, otherwise it'll confuse the hell out of new audiences (oh, that's named for a station that used to be there in another series you never saw).

The challenge I set for myself in this is very simple: knowing what I know now, having grown a lot as a writer since 1992 (or for that matter the late 80s when I started writing the pilot), having the experience of the original show in what worked and what didn't, and with all the technology available to us now that wasn't there in 1992, if I were to put the show together right now, what would it look like? That, for my money, is what a reboot is.

Seems like it's likely to still be applicable today.

Jan

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

I don't think there's anything bad about JMS doing a reboot, in whatever form that may take. Douglas Adams after all kept tinkering with "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" in all it's various incarnations —*radio, TV, book, movie, etc.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Contemporary audiences would likely find old-style B5 way too stodgy just like old-style Trek and perhaps now even JJ Trek. Guardians of the Galaxy and, to a lesser extent, other Marvel universe movies seems to be more zeitgeisty. A B5 reboot as a movie would likely need to subvert the narrative structure of the original to tell a story that would be a commercial success.

 

[Klaus]

If JMS gets the money, I'd nominate Terry Gilliam to direct.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Contemporary audiences would likely find old-style B5 way too stodgy just like old-style Trek and perhaps now even JJ Trek. Guardians of the Galaxy and, to a lesser extent, other Marvel universe movies seems to be more zeitgeisty. A B5 reboot as a movie would likely need to subvert the narrative structure of the original to tell a story that would be a commercial success.

This is why he shouldn't even be thinking of a theatrical movie. Movies may be catering to the ADHD crowd, but there's a mini Renaissance of good shows on cable where a B5 project could fit right in.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

I agree, but would Warner Brothers allow a B5-related series to be made, and even if they were agreeable, could they refrain from interfering?

 

[Jan]

Contemporary audiences would likely find old-style B5 way too stodgy just like old-style Trek and perhaps now even JJ Trek. Guardians of the Galaxy and, to a lesser extent, other Marvel universe movies seems to be more zeitgeisty. A B5 reboot as a movie would likely need to subvert the narrative structure of the original to tell a story that would be a commercial success.

This is why he shouldn't even be thinking of a theatrical movie. Movies may be catering to the ADHD crowd, but there's a mini Renaissance of good shows on cable where a B5 project could fit right in.

And given that he's in the middle of making one of those shows, he's very likely aware of that (in fact, if you listen to the recording of his spotlight, he says so). Just one problem - he can't make a TV show without WB and they insist on sitting on their thumbs.

So the coice would seem to be to do what one can - make a feature film - or do nothing at all.

Jan

 

[Noname Given]

If JMS gets the money, I'd nominate Terry Gilliam to direct.

Considering how much of the original B5 was effectively "Lord of the Rings in Space"; I could go for a reboot that's more "Monty Python and the Holy Grail in Space"

 

[Kelthaz]

Contemporary audiences would likely find old-style B5 way too stodgy just like old-style Trek and perhaps now even JJ Trek. Guardians of the Galaxy and, to a lesser extent, other Marvel universe movies seems to be more zeitgeisty. A B5 reboot as a movie would likely need to subvert the narrative structure of the original to tell a story that would be a commercial success.

This is why he shouldn't even be thinking of a theatrical movie. Movies may be catering to the ADHD crowd, but there's a mini Renaissance of good shows on cable where a B5 project could fit right in.

I'd also be happy with a book series.

 

[Reverend]

Contemporary audiences would likely find old-style B5 way too stodgy just like old-style Trek and perhaps now even JJ Trek. Guardians of the Galaxy and, to a lesser extent, other Marvel universe movies seems to be more zeitgeisty. A B5 reboot as a movie would likely need to subvert the narrative structure of the original to tell a story that would be a commercial success.

This is why he shouldn't even be thinking of a theatrical movie. Movies may be catering to the ADHD crowd, but there's a mini Renaissance of good shows on cable where a B5 project could fit right in.

I'd also be happy with a book series.

WB owns the rights to those too. At this point, making a movie is the only thing JMS *can* do off his own back. Everything else is owned by Warner Bros and they've been unwilling to budge for years now.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

X-Files was indeed a massive cultural phenomenon...for about the first four to six years. It's later season were a slow stumble into obscurity and irrelevance. By comparison, B5 went out on a much higher note and actually told a cohesive story, as opposed to a contrived, rambling mess. It's no wonder nobody cared when the second movie came out a decade later.

What got me about The X-Files was how many mundanes would love that show to death, as if it was the only good sci-fi show on TV and there was nothing else on (like Babylon 5, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, or Space; Above And Beyond, Space Rangers, Space Precinct, Time Trax, plus a few others), putting down any of the other shows or not bothering to mention them if they had any alien characters like DS9 and B5-this was brought to the fore for me one day when a classmate in school saw the copy of Starlog that I had and commented on the X-Files card set advertised on the back, saying that she liked the show over DS9 and B5 because 'it didn't have any aliens in it' (of course, she'd probably love the recent version of BSG for just that same reason.) That hatred of other sci-fi shows by them has made me like The X-Files less than I used to-it's a perfect example of the show being 'the whistle that only dogs hear.'

Movies may be catering to the ADHD crowd,

And how do you know this to be a fact?

 

[DWF]

I don't understand the dislike for The X-Files. I saw B5 when it originally aired and loved it, but I really didn't didn't get into The X-Files til I saw it on DVD. And I found I loved The X-Files for many of the same reasons I liked B5, it was a creator controlled show, with an arc and plenty of recurring characters. And if the show created more sci-fi fans so much the better, it was a great show with a huge following.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

^The only thing The X-Files created was a class of mundanes who like/liked one sci-fi show and nothing else but that show. That's not building up an sci-fi fandom that I know of.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

^The only thing The X-Files created was a class of mundanes who like/liked one sci-fi show and nothing else but that show. That's not building up an sci-fi fandom that I know of.

People who liked/like The X-Files are mundanes?!? News flash: people who like one TV show aren't obligated to like any other.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ X-Files was essentially a very mainstream show, appealing to a similar audience that shows like Ancient Aliens appeals to.

I agree, but would Warner Brothers allow a B5-related series to be made, and even if they were agreeable, could they refrain from interfering?

Oh, yeah, forgot about that part.

And given that he's in the middle of making one of those shows, he's very likely aware of that (in fact, if you listen to the recording of his spotlight, he says so). Just one problem - he can't make a TV show without WB and they insist on sitting on their thumbs.

I suppose he's tried to buy back the rights with no luck?

So the coice would seem to be to do what one can - make a feature film - or do nothing at all.

Well, how about if he makes a few dozen one-hour theatrical movies that go straight to DVD and are picked up for rebroadcast by a cable channel?

 

[CorporalCaptain]

^^ X-Files was essentially a very mainstream show, appealing to a similar audience that shows like Ancient Aliens appeals to.

There's nothing mundane about Ancient Aliens. If anything, it's even more "out there" than science fiction, which at least recognizes that it's fiction!

 

[Jan]

I suppose he's tried to buy back the rights with no luck?

Yup. After the new venue didn't materialize he was negotiating for them for quite a while and reported that things started off looking promising but then petered out.

Well, how about if he makes a few dozen one-hour theatrical movies that go straight to DVD and are picked up for rebroadcast by a cable channel?

I'll leave the research into what the WGA defines as feature films as an exercise for the student.

Jan

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Several 2-hour films that have natural breakpoints at 40 and 80 minutes might do. The lawyers might well disagree, of course. That's what they're paid for.

 

[Mudd]

For the uninitiated, "mundanes" is a word used in skiffy fandom to describe people who aren't overly absorbed in their fantasy lives.

 

[Sindatur]

For the uninitiated, "mundanes" is a word used in skiffy fandom to describe people who aren't overly absorbed in their fantasy lives.

Or who have no Psi rating