Babylon 5

[Hound of UIster]

As for the 'Telepath War'; even the novels skipped right over it after having covered the century leading up to it in the first two books, only to have the third one be about Bester on the run as a wanted war criminal.

It was skipped because JMS had wanted since B5 ended to do a theatrical movie about the Telepath War back when stuff like this was still possible. The novels deliberately avoided the Telepath War other than to show how Bester finally got caught for his war crimes. It was never about not being "interesting", but saving it for the appropriate time and venue.

Ah, thank you for the correction, however pedantic. I'm not sure if I knew that detail but if I did, I forgotten it. Easy considering I still haven't read it or the other solo. Only the Centauri and Techno-Mage trilogies.

The PsiCorp Trilogy was probably the best of the lot. Greg Keyes is really an underrated writer and does a good job of fleshing out the history of the telepaths/psicorps and Bester's history and motivtions.

 

[David cgc]

It was skipped because JMS had wanted since B5 ended to do a theatrical movie about the Telepath War back when stuff like this was still possible. The novels deliberately avoided the Telepath War other than to show how Bester finally got caught for his war crimes. It was never about not being "interesting", but saving it for the appropriate time and venue.

There was a brief potential premise in the script books. IIRC, it was sort of back-to-basics in terms of setting up a situation on Babylon 5 where the war would come to a head in microcosm (like how the Narn/Centauri War was handled), but I don’t remember all of the specifics.

 

[cylkoth]

It might be in the can, but that won't stop WB from using it as a Tax Write off, like they did with at least two Scooby-Doo animated films.

The tax write off period (allowing 2 merged companies to ditch debt accrued pre mergering) expired at the end of December. That can't and won't happen with this project.
If it wasn't something they didn't want, they would have gotten rid of it along with the others.

 

[Commander Troi]

I'm kind of hoping we might see some images or footage when he appears at Phoenix Fan Fusion June 2-4. It would be kind of fitting since that was where the 20th anniversary reunion was ten years ago.

::does a little dance since I'm going to Con and was there 10 years ago too!::

 

[Reverend]

Maybe that's a good example. I don't really know because I personally haven't managed to get much of anything out of Clone Wars. It just didn't click with me, after a season or so, and I haven't watched any of the other animated shows. Star Wars is a galaxy-wide setting with millennia of history, but almost all of the filmed stuff takes place on a couple of planets in the space of a few years. I know the EU stuff expanded on that considerably, with the Old Republic and other things, but the filmed SW has been too darned conservative for me, just filling in gaps or, in the case of the third trilogy, doing new stories that are retreads of old stories. Even Andor, my favourite Star Wars in a long time, would be a footnote in a history of the Rebellion.

Again; 'The Clone Wars' wasn't about the war itself; that was just the backdrop for a somewhat anthological story featuring an extended cast of overlapping characters.
Which incidentally also generally sums up B5 as a setting (sans the anthological part). See how this works?

 

[The Nth Doctor]

The PsiCorp Trilogy was probably the best of the lot. Greg Keyes is really an underrated writer and does a good job of fleshing out the history of the telepaths/psicorps and Bester's history and motivtions.

Yeah, some day I'll probably read it. My interest in it was deflated years ago when I was spoiled on Bester's fate and how it effected Garibaldi. I know that's not fair to "dismiss" the whole trilogy based on that, but it's something that has lingered over the years.

That and I have soooo many books to read in general. Maybe I'll feel more compelled to give it a try whenever I do a full-blown rewatch of Babylon 5, which I haven't done in many years.

 

[DonIago]

^You could still give the first book a read at least to see whether it hooks you. As one might expect, it predates Bester and Garibaldi.

 

[David cgc]

^You could still give the first book a read at least to see whether it hooks you. As one might expect, it predates Bester and Garibaldi.

All three of them were very disconnected, compared to the other two Babylon 5 trilogies and the concept of trilogies in general, especially the last one.

On Reddit a few weeks ago, someone said they'd read the books because they were interested in telepathy as a sci-fi idea, and it was their first exposure to Babylon 5, and they were very confused that the first book was all wide-ranging societal changes from psychic powers being proven, then the second book narrowed down on this one character, Bester, but chronologically started where the first one left off, so that makes sense, and then the third book skips ahead fifteen years from the end of the last one, Bester is a war criminal somehow, and who the hell is this Garibaldi guy?

 

[DonIago]

Maybe? I've read a fair number of trilogies where there are significant time jumps between the books...and sometimes within the books.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

If this is on a channel I get, I'll watch it for sure.

 

[USS Firefly]

It was skipped because JMS had wanted since B5 ended to do a theatrical movie about the Telepath War back when stuff like this was still possible. The novels deliberately avoided the Telepath War other than to show how Bester finally got caught for his war crimes. It was never about not being "interesting", but saving it for the appropriate time and venue.


The PsiCorp Trilogy was probably the best of the lot. Greg Keyes is really an underrated writer and does a good job of fleshing out the history of the telepaths/psicorps and Bester's history and motivtions.

Is the Centauri Trilogy disappointing?

 

[Jan]

Is the Centauri Trilogy disappointing?

It's my favorite of the three. You really come to see how Vir could end up a good Emperor. Highly recommend it!

 

[Tosk]

Still kinda hoping those B5 remasters find their way to Blu-ray.

 

[Booji]

Is the Centauri Trilogy disappointing?

It good, but not nearly as good as the PsiCorp trilogy. The PsiCorp trilogy is frickin amazing.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

^You could still give the first book a read at least to see whether it hooks you. As one might expect, it predates Bester and Garibaldi.

Yeah, I knew how the three books are divided so perhaps you're right on that idea. But like I said, too many books to read, so little time!

It's my favorite of the three. You really come to see how Vir could end up a good Emperor. Highly recommend it!

It's my favorite, too. I also really loved the Techno-Mage trilogy, but I think I'm in the minority on that one.

 

[DonIago]

The Techno-mage trilogy's a bit of a hard one for me...the story is interesting and well-told, but it's also fairly depressing. It predictably gives a lot more insight into the mages themselves, but it's not necessarily the kinds of insights that people are going to want to have. It also somewhat refactors events that fans are already familiar with, in ways that they won't necessarily be pleased with, though I also feel it fills in certain plot holes reasonably well.

The author's writing style (especially their use of repetition) is also something that I could see people finding grating; I found it a bit distracting myself (enough to note it here, ha).

 

[Tuskin38]

I was criticizing Warner Bros, not JMS. I'm familiar with his work in comics and animation. But he had initially pushed for a series for the "Babylon 5" reboot. And the only thing he can produced is an animated movie?

Considering he says the movie is done, it would have been in production before the Reboot talks started.

 

[Jan]

I was criticizing Warner Bros, not JMS. I'm familiar with his work in comics and animation. But he had initially pushed for a series for the "Babylon 5" reboot. And the only thing he can produced is an animated movie?

I'm afraid you're completely misunderstanding the timeline. The animated movie predates mention of the reimagining by months. And by that I mean, when the reimagining was mentioned to JMS, not when it was mentioned to fans. So that 'only thing' would need re-thinking.

 

[Steve Roby]

Again; 'The Clone Wars' wasn't about the war itself; that was just the backdrop for a somewhat anthological story featuring an extended cast of overlapping characters.
Which incidentally also generally sums up B5 as a setting (sans the anthological part). See how this works?

I get it. I just disagree with you about how interesting an approach that is.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Still kinda hoping those B5 remasters find their way to Blu-ray.

I want to see those as well, as long as they fix the audio timing sync issue that appears in some of the eps.