How would you bring back Babylon 5?

[JD]

I wouldn't -- B5 is done and a reboot would just be more of the same. Perhaps reboot Crusade. Preferably, I'd adapt a literary SF universe such as Banks' Culture, Reynold's Revelation Space, Niven's Known Space, Simmons' Hyperion Cantos, Hamilton's Commonwealth or Confederation, or Baxter's XeeLee, Manifold, or NASA series in descending order of preference. Lots more possibilities than these, of course...

I think this is my favorite idea I've seen in this thread so far. There are a ton of great sci-fi novel series that have never been adapted, and if we throw comics in there too then we have even more.
Honestly, they tried three times so far to continue the franchise and each one failed, and now they can't even drum up enough interest for a Blu-Ray release. I don't think there's really enough interest out there at this point for the franchise to continue in any form, so rather than wasting time on a guaranteed failure, it would be better to look for something new that might actually succeed.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

I'd hate to see what they'd do if she farted.

It's equivalent to the Janeway Protocol.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

If they can't get JMS to continue the work, then I'd rather it remain finished and no reboot coming.

 

[Gov Kodos]

The scouring of the shire.

Wow, a denouement really is a thing.

 

[Butters]

I would bring back B5 as an occasional location in another show with an unconnected name.

It's a rich Universe. The Dilgar War would make a good setting. The Psi Corps, portrayed as the good guys. IPX would be interesting, B5 gave us a cosmos full of fascinating joys and believable wonders, IPC could explore the dead ones. Could have an Earthbound series set around the day the Centauri turned up and started lying to us.

There are so many potentials, I don't understand why WB aren't milking this. People will watch what looks interesting. A well made, well scripted, well acted, well marketed series will pull the viewers, whether they've head of the original or not.

 

[maneth]

JMS is still holding out on the Telepath War. There was talk of a feature film about this at some point, but it never materialized. I would love more stories set in the same universe, though. For a long time, B5 was my favorite sci-fi show, even though I admit it has its issues, mostly to do with the lack of budget and with the network execs fooling around.

 

[RPOW0614]

It would be a dark re-telling set in a dystopian future with a younger cast.

Good thing no one has ever used that idea, it's soooo unique.

 

[JD]

There are so many potentials, I don't understand why WB aren't milking this. People will watch what looks interesting. A well made, well scripted, well acted, well marketed series will pull the viewers, whether they've head of the original or not.

Because, like I said in my last post, not enough people care. They've already tried to continue the franchise 3 times, and none of them succeeded. At this point, unless something causes a massive upswing in DVD sale or streaming views, the franchise is dead.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

As for a Blu-ray release of the original, I'd make do with AI upscaling.

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[DEWLine]

Finish Crusade, if possible. And then we're done.

 

[JD]

One thing I will admit, with JMS being such a big comic book writer, I'm a little shocked he's never done a comic book continuation for B5. While I don't think a TV or movie revival would be viable, comics do seem to be a better home for these kind of niche revivals.

 

[Butters]

Because, like I said in my last post, not enough people care. They've already tried to continue the franchise 3 times, and none of them succeeded. At this point, unless something causes a massive upswing in DVD sale or streaming views, the franchise is dead.

This is the thing. Take the B5 name off it and no one will know. It doesn't need the brand name to have jump gates, psicops, earthforce etc. It's easier to try a new series if its new, completely new, but a spinoff from a series you haven't seen is harder to sell.

They tried it with Enterprise, but were half arsed about it, and the show wasn't different enough. But I knew people who liked Torchwood but had no idea it was doctor who to begin with, and probably wouldn't have watched it at all if they'd known.

 

[JD]

Yeah, but those shows still made a big deal out of being a spin-off of the parent show. If you're not going to take advantage of the connection to the parent show, then you might as well just create something new.
Something like that might be easier to get away with when it's closer to the parent show, and people are anxious for more. But at this point it's been so long since the last time we visited the B5 universe, that if you're going to revive it, you're going to want to promote the hell out of the connection so you can bring the fans back.
Honestly, the more I'm thinking about the less I want something like this to happen, which is funny, because usually in situations like this, I have the opposite reaction.

 

[dupersuper]

One thing I will admit, with JMS being such a big comic book writer, I'm a little shocked he's never done a comic book continuation for B5. While I don't think a TV or movie revival would be viable, comics do seem to be a better home for these kind of niche revivals.

Yeah, I remember enjoying the B5 comics from Peter David years back well enough.

 

[think]

‘Babylon 5’ Series Reboot From J. Michael Straczynski In Works At the CW

A new version of the Emmy-winning space opera television series Babylon 5 is in the works. The CW has put in development Babylon 5, described as a “from-the-ground-up reboot” of the critically acclaimed 1990s series, from original series creator J. Michael Straczynski and Warner Bros. Television.

Written by Straczynski, the reboot revolves around John Sheridan (played by Bruce Boxleitner in the original series), an Earthforce officer with a mysterious background, who is assigned to Babylon 5, a five-mile-long space station in neutral space, a port of call for travelers, smugglers, corporate explorers and alien diplomats at a time of uneasy peace and the constant threat of war. His arrival triggers a destiny beyond anything he could have imagined, as an exploratory Earth company accidentally triggers a conflict with a civilization a million years ahead of us, putting Sheridan and the rest of the B5 crew in the line of fire as the last, best hope for the survival of the human race.

https://deadline.com/2021/09/babylo...ichael-straczynski-development-cw-1234845022/
there are 64 comments at this link about the reboot going to happen-- who knew??

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Apparently, JMS really doesn't want people to speculate in case they guess correctly and then sue WB, CW, him or whoever later for stealing their ideas. I think anyone speculating in the thread should agree to waive any IP rights to their musings.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Actually, it's not enough to disclaim all rights to the IP. We shouldn't speculate at all. Quoting from the other B5 thread:

It's not that easy. A formless disclaimer would not hold in a court of law. This might seem pedantic and petty, but JMS is extremely adamant about this, and with good reason: he was extremely online already during the creation of B5, which was highly unusual at the time, and on several occasions suffered the consequences of this. Most notably he was exposed to a story idea that lined up with one that he was already working on (it would eventually become "Passing through Gethsemane"), and it took a year before he could secure all the paperwork ensuring that he wouldn't get into trouble for actually developing it. The price of having a creator that is so extremely accessible to the fans of his creations is that we have to respect this one wish of his.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Might as well lock the thread, boys.

 

[think]

yeah IBTL - --- I thought this was the bab 5 thread when I searched babylon in the titles on the forum this thread was the first results ---

 

[think]

https://imgur.com/iDulvHZ