Babylon 5 - I'm finally going to do it
- Thread starter tomalak301
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Voices in the Dark (B5: The Lost Tales)
So I saw another B5 and I'm not sure if I feel like writing a long winded thing on something that was only 72 minutes. I'll just start by saying the Lochley Storyline?
This is the second time in a week where something B5 (Either set on B5 or Crusade) went a religious route and I just couldn't give a rats ass. So there's this guy who was taken by the Devil incarnate to be amongst the stars and Lochley (Who overacted the last part of it) takes him back to earth to Rot? Maybe I was just confused, but was Earth actually called Hell in this tale? Whatever it was, it had nothing to do with anything and if I was looking at this from an episodic point of view, it just wasn't interesting.
The Sheridan storyline though, was much better and you could tell the budget saving when the Lochley storyline has no effects other than surrounding B5 in a ring of fire, and the Sheridan storyline actually had some effects. Maybe that's why I was into it. I actually liked it, having Sheridan take in the Centauri kid to try and prevent something that will happen in 30 years (That and the comparisons to hitler made me go and actually reminded me of a new Twilight Zone, the one with Forrest Whitiker, episode dealing with that very thing). Still, it was nice to see the story be about something and in this case the 10th anniversary of the ISA. Also loved the touches with G'Kar and Franklin, which was quite nice (And I saw the memorial features on the DVD which made it more poignant).
I have to wonder though, would these have worked if there were more Lost Tales? I mean these being the only two, I find myself just really underwhelmed. I know it's only one character, but I miss Garibaldi. Oh well, at least one of the tales was nice.
So I saw another B5 and I'm not sure if I feel like writing a long winded thing on something that was only 72 minutes. I'll just start by saying the Lochley Storyline?
This is the second time in a week where something B5 (Either set on B5 or Crusade) went a religious route and I just couldn't give a rats ass. So there's this guy who was taken by the Devil incarnate to be amongst the stars and Lochley (Who overacted the last part of it) takes him back to earth to Rot? Maybe I was just confused, but was Earth actually called Hell in this tale? Whatever it was, it had nothing to do with anything and if I was looking at this from an episodic point of view, it just wasn't interesting. The Sheridan storyline though, was much better and you could tell the budget saving when the Lochley storyline has no effects other than surrounding B5 in a ring of fire, and the Sheridan storyline actually had some effects. Maybe that's why I was into it. I actually liked it, having Sheridan take in the Centauri kid to try and prevent something that will happen in 30 years (That and the comparisons to hitler made me go
and actually reminded me of a new Twilight Zone, the one with Forrest Whitiker, episode dealing with that very thing). Still, it was nice to see the story be about something and in this case the 10th anniversary of the ISA. Also loved the touches with G'Kar and Franklin, which was quite nice (And I saw the memorial features on the DVD which made it more poignant). I have to wonder though, would these have worked if there were more Lost Tales? I mean these being the only two, I find myself just really underwhelmed. I know it's only one character, but I miss Garibaldi. Oh well, at least one of the tales was nice.
Funny you should say that, Garibaldi was supposed to be in the third episode that was originally intended, but cut because the budget was just barely enough to get these two done.
I think if WB had been willing to meet JMS's budgetary requirements for further instalments to be made then it might have turned out to be a nice little anthology show. The DVD equivalent of the short stories published in the B5 & Amazing stories back in 2000.
As for Lochley's story, I rather thought that thing was part of a rogue Vorlon, but that's just me. Small niggle though, he didn't claim to be the devil incarnate, just Asmodeus.
I think if WB had been willing to meet JMS's budgetary requirements for further instalments to be made then it might have turned out to be a nice little anthology show. The DVD equivalent of the short stories published in the B5 & Amazing stories back in 2000.
As for Lochley's story, I rather thought that thing was part of a rogue Vorlon, but that's just me. Small niggle though, he didn't claim to be the devil incarnate, just Asmodeus.
I was looking at the wiki page for this and when I found out that Garibaldi was going to be in the third tale, I kinda groaned. I would love it if JMS got his wish though, having that big B5 movie and maybe you could even add elements of Crusade in there and make the premise finding the cure to the Drakh Plauge. Ok, maybe that might be too big, but given in the last week I've seen the end of Crusade, and now B5:The Lost Tales (And I still have yet to see Legend of the Rangers), there are things that opened up which I wish was focused on a lot more than just having some dude coming on board the station claiming he was Asmodeus or something like that.
A lot of folks weren't happy that the Lost Tales didn't really fill in any blanks in the B5 mythos. Thing of it is, though, it was never supposed to; they were only supposed to be small fairly enclosed mini-episodes in the first place. Then they got even smaller given the budget. The Garibaldi piece (published in the movie book) wasn't any larger. I think that JMS was aiming for a sense of wonder in that first disk because they all had somewhat mystical elements to them.
JMS said at one point that the ill-fated "The Memory of Shadows" feature would have touched on part of the 'Crusade' story but that script belongs to the person/company who commissioned it so that's off the table.
Jan
JMS said at one point that the ill-fated "The Memory of Shadows" feature would have touched on part of the 'Crusade' story but that script belongs to the person/company who commissioned it so that's off the table.
Jan
I've (finally) just started reading the first of the Psi Corps books and I'm wondering, is there any reason why this can't be adapted as a live action movie or mini-series? Already, the first book on it's own looks to have enough drama and scope to justify an adaption, with the added bonus that it's set 150-100 years prior to the show so they don't have to worry about the original cast getting too old to play their parts...with the possible exception of sticking a black haired wig on Pat Tallman and have her play her great-great-great-grandmother.
It would make for a great miniseries (especially if they expanded the missing period of the Telepath War between books two and three). The thing is, nobody is interested in producing more Babylon 5 right now. That could change, though, depending on how Straczynski's latest projects do at the box office.
Didn't JMS say he was through with B5, though? A pity, but understandable.
Through unless WB gives him a budget for a big movie.
JoeD80 is correct. To add a little detail, when talks began for more Lost Tales, rather than coming up with a proper budget, WB once again offered $2-$3 million bucks. JMS said 'no' to that and let them know that there would be no more B5 unless it was a full-fledged major feature film. With his new reputation as a feature film writer, they approached him at one point and asked how much he'd need.
More recently JMS has said that when he comes up with an idea that burns to be told, then he'll approach WB about making the movie and he believes that they'll go for it. And since he owns the movie rights to B5, if they won't go for it, he's free to approach other studios.
Jan
That's sort of the thing though, the first book isnt really B5 at all. Yes of course it's the "B5 Universe" and in continuity but most of the story takes place pre-Centauri contact and although it has plenty of science fiction elements, it's a mostly human/earthbound story. In that sense I can see it being done with a similar tone/style/approach as has been used for the Caprica pilot crossed with a bit the spirit of 'Roots'.
Perhaps that story might in some ways be an easier sell to the likes of WB or (why not, while I'm daydreaming
) Hallmark, HBO, sci-fi or whatever they call themselves now.As far as books 2 & 3 go, I can't comment as I'm only about 1/4 of the way through book one, but I can already see it's potential as a standalone, even if it ends with a few loose threads.
I just did something I typically never do. I get a big paycheck next week from my work and I was actually recommended to spend the first one and then save on the rest. Well, given this is my second one but really the first big one, I went onto Amazon.com and found that they were selling the Complete Babylon 5 series (the 5 seasons) for a reasonable price (I think $121 or something like that). Well, I didn't want to see it go back up again so I just bought it, and I get free shipping too. In a way, I can't believe I did that, but now I can watch the series on DVD. 
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