Do you think Babylon 5 could function as a three-season story arc instead of a five-season one?
Babylon 5: three seasons instead of five
- Thread starter Joe Washington
- Start date
Season One ("Signs and Portents")
Air Date Ep# Prod# Title
03/03/31 The Gathering part 1
03/04/01 The Gathering part 2
03/04/02 1 103 Midnight on the Firing Line
03/04/09 6 110 Mind War
03/04/11 8 106 And The Sky Full Of Stars
03/04/18 13 116 Signs and Portents
03/04/25 18 120 A Voice in the Wilderness part 1
03/04/28 19 121 A Voice in the Wilderness part 2
03/04/29 20 118 Babylon Squared
03/05/01 22 112 Chrysalis
Season Two ("The Coming Of Shadows")
03/05/02 23 201 Points of Departure
03/05/05 24 202 Revelations
03/05/06 25 203 The Geometry of Shadows
03/05/14 31 209 The Coming of Shadows
03/05/16 33 211 All Alone in the Night
03/05/22 37 214 And Now For a Word
03/05/27 38 217 In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum
03/05/30 41 220 Divided Loyalties
03/06/02 42 219 The Long, Twilight Struggle
03/06/04 44 222 The Fall of Night
Season Three ("Point of No Return")
03/06/05 45 301 Matters of Honor
03/06/11 49 304 Voices of Authority
03/06/12 50 306 Dust to Dust
03/06/16 52 308 Messages from Earth
03/06/17 53 309 Point of No Return
03/06/18 54 310 Severed Dreams
03/06/19 55 311 Ceremonies of Light and Dark
03/06/24 58 314 Ship of Tears
03/06/25 59 315 Interludes and Examinations
03/06/26 60 316 War Without End, Part One
03/06/27 61 317 War Without End, Part Two
03/06/30 62 318 Walkabout
03/07/02 64 320 And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place
03/07/07 65 321 Shadow Dancing
03/07/08 66 322 Z'ha'dum
Season Four ("No Surrender, No Retreat")
03/07/09 67 401 The Hour of the Wolf
03/07/10 68 402 Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?
03/07/11 69 403 The Summoning
03/07/14 70 404 Falling Toward Apotheosis
03/07/15 71 405 The Long Night
03/07/16 72 406 Into the Fire
03/07/17 73 407 Epiphanies
03/07/21 75 409 Atonement
03/07/23 77 411 Lines of Communication
03/07/28 80 414 Moments of Transition
03/07/29 81 415 No Surrender, No Retreat
03/07/30 82 416 The Exercise of Vital Powers
03/07/31 83 417 The Face of the Enemy
03/08/01 84 418 Intersections in Real Time
03/08/04 85 419 Between the Darkness and the Light
03/08/05 86 420 Endgame
03/08/06 87 421 Rising Star
03/08/07 88 422 The Deconstruction of Falling Stars
Season Five ("Wheel of Fire")
03/08/08 89 502 No Compromises
03/08/11 90 503 The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari
03/08/19 97 509 In the Kingdom of the Blind
03/08/21 99 512 Phoenix Rising
03/08/25 100 513 The Ragged Edge
03/08/27 102 515 Meditations on the Abyss
03/08/28 103 516 Darkness Ascending
03/08/29 104 517 And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder
03/09/01 105 518 Movements of Fire and Shadow
03/09/02 106 519 The Fall of Centauri Prime
03/09/04 108 521 Objects in Motion
03/09/05 109 522 Objects at Rest
03/09/08 110 523 Sleeping in Light
Air Date Ep# Prod# Title
03/03/31 The Gathering part 1
03/04/01 The Gathering part 2
03/04/02 1 103 Midnight on the Firing Line
03/04/09 6 110 Mind War
03/04/11 8 106 And The Sky Full Of Stars
03/04/18 13 116 Signs and Portents
03/04/25 18 120 A Voice in the Wilderness part 1
03/04/28 19 121 A Voice in the Wilderness part 2
03/04/29 20 118 Babylon Squared
03/05/01 22 112 Chrysalis
Season Two ("The Coming Of Shadows")
03/05/02 23 201 Points of Departure
03/05/05 24 202 Revelations
03/05/06 25 203 The Geometry of Shadows
03/05/14 31 209 The Coming of Shadows
03/05/16 33 211 All Alone in the Night
03/05/22 37 214 And Now For a Word
03/05/27 38 217 In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum
03/05/30 41 220 Divided Loyalties
03/06/02 42 219 The Long, Twilight Struggle
03/06/04 44 222 The Fall of Night
Season Three ("Point of No Return")
03/06/05 45 301 Matters of Honor
03/06/11 49 304 Voices of Authority
03/06/12 50 306 Dust to Dust
03/06/16 52 308 Messages from Earth
03/06/17 53 309 Point of No Return
03/06/18 54 310 Severed Dreams
03/06/19 55 311 Ceremonies of Light and Dark
03/06/24 58 314 Ship of Tears
03/06/25 59 315 Interludes and Examinations
03/06/26 60 316 War Without End, Part One
03/06/27 61 317 War Without End, Part Two
03/06/30 62 318 Walkabout
03/07/02 64 320 And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place
03/07/07 65 321 Shadow Dancing
03/07/08 66 322 Z'ha'dum
Season Four ("No Surrender, No Retreat")
03/07/09 67 401 The Hour of the Wolf
03/07/10 68 402 Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?
03/07/11 69 403 The Summoning
03/07/14 70 404 Falling Toward Apotheosis
03/07/15 71 405 The Long Night
03/07/16 72 406 Into the Fire
03/07/17 73 407 Epiphanies
03/07/21 75 409 Atonement
03/07/23 77 411 Lines of Communication
03/07/28 80 414 Moments of Transition
03/07/29 81 415 No Surrender, No Retreat
03/07/30 82 416 The Exercise of Vital Powers
03/07/31 83 417 The Face of the Enemy
03/08/01 84 418 Intersections in Real Time
03/08/04 85 419 Between the Darkness and the Light
03/08/05 86 420 Endgame
03/08/06 87 421 Rising Star
03/08/07 88 422 The Deconstruction of Falling Stars
Season Five ("Wheel of Fire")
03/08/08 89 502 No Compromises
03/08/11 90 503 The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari
03/08/19 97 509 In the Kingdom of the Blind
03/08/21 99 512 Phoenix Rising
03/08/25 100 513 The Ragged Edge
03/08/27 102 515 Meditations on the Abyss
03/08/28 103 516 Darkness Ascending
03/08/29 104 517 And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder
03/09/01 105 518 Movements of Fire and Shadow
03/09/02 106 519 The Fall of Centauri Prime
03/09/04 108 521 Objects in Motion
03/09/05 109 522 Objects at Rest
03/09/08 110 523 Sleeping in Light
Well no because then it wouldn't be 'Babylon 5' anymore, it'd be 'Babylon 3'. The idea of a five act/one act per season structure to the show as a whole is fairly well engrained.
As it is we already saw how truncated things got when they thought season 4 might be the last and they barely managed to cram everything in. Now imagine cramming a whole other season down into the other three on top of that. It's possible, but I don't know if I'd exactly call it functional excactly.
At best you'd get an abrupt end where Sheridan's attack on Z'ha'dum blows up the whole planet and they "win" and that would be a terrible ending.
As it is we already saw how truncated things got when they thought season 4 might be the last and they barely managed to cram everything in. Now imagine cramming a whole other season down into the other three on top of that. It's possible, but I don't know if I'd exactly call it functional excactly.
At best you'd get an abrupt end where Sheridan's attack on Z'ha'dum blows up the whole planet and they "win" and that would be a terrible ending.
I think a 3-season show would've been terrible (unless each season was a 1950's run of 39 episodes). As we saw in Season 4, everything was being wrapped up very quickly, except the telepath storyline. Originally the Earth civil war arc was to have been in Season 5 and stretched over the 5th season (with the telepath arc taking a prominent role), with more time added to the Shadow war in Season 4.
If you want to get an idea of just how bad Babylon 5 would've been with 3 seasons, check out it's spin-off series Crusade --- sure there were story issues involving the network---but the way Crusade ended after 13 episodes you were only starting to get an inkling as to where the series was going or what was going on. Just like in a regular book and Babylon 5, some plots from the first episodes would not have been picked up til the end of the series where you would see the plot point blooming into it's full meaning.
If you want to get an idea of just how bad Babylon 5 would've been with 3 seasons, check out it's spin-off series Crusade --- sure there were story issues involving the network---but the way Crusade ended after 13 episodes you were only starting to get an inkling as to where the series was going or what was going on. Just like in a regular book and Babylon 5, some plots from the first episodes would not have been picked up til the end of the series where you would see the plot point blooming into it's full meaning.
The way I see it, Season 1 would be no different from the first season of Babylon 5. Season 2 would be a combination of what happened in the second and third seasons with Z’Ha’Dum being the season-ending cliffhanger. Season 3 would cover what happened in Season 4 and Season 5 or Season 4 for those who didn’t favor the fifth season.
If you cut all the fat out of B5, including jettisoning the casting-changes (including the Sinclair/Sheridan split) and ONLY film arc episodes, then I see no reason why it couldn't be crammed down into 3 seasons. It would have been a very different show, more like a modern cable drama, but it would have worked.
With ideas, all things "could" work.
It's always in the execution of the idea.
But, why would you want to cram 5 seasons of stories into 3? What's the point of that?
The only thing I would change is telling JMS that he's getting a 5th season so he doesn't have to rush season 4.
It's always in the execution of the idea.
But, why would you want to cram 5 seasons of stories into 3? What's the point of that?
The only thing I would change is telling JMS that he's getting a 5th season so he doesn't have to rush season 4.
So what you want is an action packed series of events with all the character moments, world building, depth and introspection ripped out? Yeah that could "work", but it wouldn't be B5, just a pale imitation for people with ADHD.
There's a reason why abridged versions of good novels are always inferior.
A lot of the little stuff we liked so much as fans, little moments between characters, would have to be cut out to save time.
So, if you want Babylon 5 the way it was, then no, obviously. If you want a show with a similair plotline but an ending that will feel different, then sure.
I mean, a lot of the stuff I loved about Lennier for example, were little things. His little moment at the bar with Vir, his bike-building for Garabaldi. A lot of stuff like that needs to be cut out. Who would want to miss that?
So, if you want Babylon 5 the way it was, then no, obviously. If you want a show with a similair plotline but an ending that will feel different, then sure.
I mean, a lot of the stuff I loved about Lennier for example, were little things. His little moment at the bar with Vir, his bike-building for Garabaldi. A lot of stuff like that needs to be cut out. Who would want to miss that?
Moments like those wouldn't be cut out. It's just a matter of balancing them with the action and arc-driven moments.
When you're watching a show, week to week, it's very easy to become impatient, and want the "Arc" to move forward in a major way, but, that's half the fun, is the anticipation.
What many people like to call filler episodes are needed for character and world building. Stripping them out, strips the charm out of a Series and turns it into an ADHD Transformers movie. Also, if every episode was A+ top of the charts, none of it would feel that way. Just like people who want to happy 24/7 could never have their wish, because if you were happy 24/7, you wouldn't appreciate it, because you can't know happiness without sadness.
What many people like to call filler episodes are needed for character and world building. Stripping them out, strips the charm out of a Series and turns it into an ADHD Transformers movie. Also, if every episode was A+ top of the charts, none of it would feel that way. Just like people who want to happy 24/7 could never have their wish, because if you were happy 24/7, you wouldn't appreciate it, because you can't know happiness without sadness.
It would be awesome if we didn't use medical disorders as a cheap punchline. Thanks!
You could do B5 in three seasons if JMS only had three seasons to work with from the getgo.
You could do B5 in three seasons if JMS only had three seasons to work with from the getgo.
One thing people are forgetting is that with Babylon 5 the writer's and actor's never knew from Season to Season whether they would have a next season. I just rewatched the entire series on DVD recently and in many of the special features the crew was saying how they were always having to wait to find out if the next season was being picked up, and in the case of Season 5 it got picked up by a completely different network, after PTEN had cancelled the series (if you'll recall, Sleeping In Light was actually shot at the end of Season 4, hence why Ivanova was in it, but Lockley wasn't even mentioned or seen in it.
(Plus, when you look at the airdates for the different episodes, aside from Season 5, the first four Seasons each ran from January to December, so the actors and crew probably had a lot of time to wonder between each season if the show was coming back, or that was it.)
Similar threads
