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Variety; Babylon 5 is returning with J. Michael Straczynski at the helm.

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While I enjoyed the series, I can only ask "why?". I'm sure it will have more budget and better effects thanks to cash and computer advances, but IMO unless its a new story, why tell it again? I'd rather see more stories told within the universe if we're going to get anything.
 
gadget73 said:
While I enjoyed the series, I can only ask "why?". I'm sure it will have more budget and better effects thanks to cash and computer advances, but IMO unless its a new story, why tell it again? I'd rather see more stories told within the universe if we're going to get anything.
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Given what had happened over the last few years. I am not hopeful that we will see something that will be anything fans of the B5 universe will find palatable. I was hopeful for Foundation but it is an absolute disaster this is coming from someone who has read just about everything thing Asimov has written and have the entire Foundation series sitting on one of my book shelfs.
 
I haven't seen Foundation. Don't have AppleTV and really didn't want to sign up just to possibly watch one show. I've been purposely avoiding reviews of it so I can form my own opinion when I do eventually see it.

but yes you may be right about potential "corrections" that might get made to the original story. Which is another reason to not re-do it IMO. There just seems to be more that can be told in that universe, even if its set many years later and not a single character from the original show appears other than as maybe a mention in historical context.
 
B5 wàs probably my favorite sf series of all time; that being said, I smell disaster. Never try to catch lightning twice in the same bottle... :eek:
 
B5 was always on the verge of failure - since the network would not approve more than a season a a time, and often at the very last minute.
JMS had planned an amazing 5 season Arc for the stories, but the network kepts hanging on the renewal/funding question each time.
The reason the final season seems weak is because JMS (J. Michael Straczynski) wasn't sure he'd get funding for the 5th season,
so he rushed to wrap up all the major storylines in the 4th season and not leave things hanging - then when funding DID arrive,
he had to stretch a few remaining stories to make the 5th season. Thats why Ivanova wasn't there - she'd taken other work when it didn't seem there'd be a 5th.
Thats also the reason the follow-up series "Crusade" never quite worked.
Turner didn't fund it properly, AND wanted ongoing changes as the stories were being filmed and aired.
 
Well, we will still have the original if this attempt fails.

Good thing I have the whole series on DVD.

"You can't take the discs from me" (sorry....wrong series....:confused::p)
 
B5 was envisioned in it's entirety, beginning to end, to be five seasons. IOW, the end was planned before it even started filming, much as five books with a certain number of chapters in each book.

They succeeded in that and wen the tried to wring another season or two out of it it fell flat on it's face. Leave it alone.

FWIW. it's on HBO max now.
 
the skipper said:
B5 was envisioned in it's entirety, beginning to end, to be five seasons. IOW, the end was planned before it even started filming, much as five books with a certain number of chapters in each book.

They succeeded in that and when they tried to wring another season or two out of it it fell flat on it's face. Leave it alone.

FWIW. it's on HBO max now.
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Please read post #6 - on the original planned story Arc from JMS -
But - direct from Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon_5
During production of the fourth season, the Prime Time Entertainment Network, which Warner Bros. opted to use for Babylon 5, was shut down, leaving the planned fifth season in doubt. Unwilling to short-change fans of the show, Straczynski began preparing modifications to the fourth season that would allow him to conclude his overall arc should a fifth season not be greenlit, which ultimately became the direction the fourth season took. Straczynski identified three primary narrative threads which would require resolution: the Shadow war, Earth's slide into a dictatorship, and a series of sub-threads which branched off from those. Estimating they would still take around 27 episodes to resolve without having the season feel rushed, the solution came when the TNT network commissioned two Babylon 5 television films. Several hours of material was thus able to be moved into the films, including a three-episode arc which would deal with the background to the Earth–Minbari War, and a sub-thread which would have set up the sequel series, Crusade. Further standalone episodes and plot-threads were dropped from season four, which could be inserted into Crusade, or the fifth season, were it to be given the greenlight.[29] The intended series finale, "Sleeping in Light", was filmed during season four as a precaution against cancellation. When word came that TNT had picked up Babylon 5, this was moved to the end of season five and replaced with a newly filmed season four finale, "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars".

So - the actual planned Season 5 that aired on TNT was a bit weak with the main story arc already concluded. And the actress who played Ivanova had already accepted other work before the 5 season funds turned up, so sadly, she was not in the final season.
 
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they tried but did the best they could looking at doom staring them in the face. Now, if they wanted to redo season 5 as it was i tended, well, that might interest me.

then redo GOT season 8
 
I hope this is an excuse to redo all the SPFX shots so they can incorporate new SPFX and splice it into the original B5. Nobody can replace Andreas Katsulas, or the many others who passed early. MJS is a very clever and smart writer and has probably been stewing over this for decades. Who can be cast? Who will be Lyta, Londo, G'Car, Zack, Sheridan, etc????? I HATE that they are moving to pay for stream for such entertainment. It IS my favorite Sci-fi TV show. For the other 5 year show would be Breaking Bad. Next best. I do have all of both shows on DVD and when the TV sucks during the summer, I watch both. Now seeing them for the 10+ time all the way through.
 
The original Bab5 visuals were pretty amazing - a lot of the effects were done on the Amiga based Video-Toaster, a pretty powerful tool in its day, but a day that has been long surpassed!
I'm also interested to see who JMS will get for the various parts - so much of the original cast has passed away - with Mira Furlan (Delenn) being the most recent loss.
So - what exactly does it mean to reboot Babylon 5?
We know the original story - will it follow the battles of light and shadow, and the First Ones, or are other adventures planned?
 
FONSguy said:
CRAP!! I didn't know Ms.Furlan had passed. She wasn't even that old.
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Mira Furlan - 7 September 1955 – 20 January 2021 ...
Furlan died on 20 January 2021, at her home in Los Angeles. She was 65, and suffered from complications of West Nile virus in the time leading up to her death.
Upon her death, theater director Ivica Buljan of the Croatian National Theater issued an apology on behalf of the theater for their treatment of Furlan in the early '90s.
A week later, Croatian weekly Globus issued another apology for publishing three feuilletons attacking the actress in 1992 that had an essential role in the public smear campaign.
 
hjames said:
The original Bab5 visuals were pretty amazing - a lot of the effects were done on the Amiga based Video-Toaster, a pretty powerful tool in its day, but a day that has been long surpassed!
I'm also interested to see who JMS will get for the various parts - so much of the original cast has passed away - with Mira Furlan (Delenn) being the most recent loss.
So - what exactly does it mean to reboot Babylon 5?
We know the original story - will it follow the battles of light and shadow, and the First Ones, or are other adventures planned?
Click to expand...
The Amiga was a WAY underrated machine especially at its price point; I owned one for a while… Commodore bought them and that totally tanked Amiga.

I was unaware of the passing of Mira Furlan as well… we lost a lot of talent this year (RIP).

B5 was my favorite non-anthology sci fi series on TV.
 
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