Babylon 5- The Lost Tales *SPOILERS*

[David Panzer]

Whilst eating my lunch, I was thinking about this series. Essentially, it's an anthology series set in the B5 universe, and anthology series don't go straight into the story. There's an intro segment that sets up the story (Rod Serling setting the tale in motion, Alfred Hitchcock introducing the story, The Crypt Keeper making a pun and turning to the cover page of tonight's story in his big book), so my question is...

What will the intro segment be?

[AaronB]

Whilst eating my lunch, I was thinking about this series. Essentially, it's an anthology series set in the B5 universe, and anthology series don't go straight into the story. There's an intro segment that sets up the story (Rod Serling setting the tale in motion, Alfred Hitchcock introducing the story, The Crypt Keeper making a pun and turning to the cover page of tonight's story in his big book), so my question is...

What will the intro segment be?

I would suggest that it's hosted by the Zarg

Seriously though, I think it would be cool if Londo does the honors.

[frulad]

I think that since we've already seen the Londo-telling-stories-to-kids/narrator structure, I'd like to see smoething else. Perhaps, a future Ranger giving a history lesson or something...

[frulad]

Just had a flash thought- I suppose this will mean new, updated CGI models of the station and a few other ships!

[David Panzer]

Yup. Just don't fundamentally change the design of the station and those vessels whose look has already been established is all I ask

[vacantlook]

I think that since we've already seen the Londo-telling-stories-to-kids/narrator structure....

We also get that structure with the beginning of The Gathering: "I was there...."

[David Panzer]

And the Legions of Fire trilogy had Vir writing his memoirs...

Just avoid having JMS in a chair from "Masterpiece Theatre" with a massive book on his lap introducing each story

[vacantlook]

Also, jms used Delenn and G'Kar sitting and talking to the camera to open at the start of "In The Beginning" before we got to Londo telling the story to the two kids that Senna was looking after.

[Joseph DeMartino]

...anthology series don't go straight into the story. There's an intro segment that sets up the story (Rod Serling setting the tale in motion, Alfred Hitchcock introducing the story, The Crypt Keeper making a pun and turning to the cover page of tonight's story in his big book)...

Well, it isn't exactly shaping up to be an anthology series per se, in which each episode is an unrelated story. It feels more like the old Karen Black TV movie Trilogy of Terror. That had three unrelated stories all featuring the same actress, but otherwise completely different. And it didn't have a narrator or host. Night Gallery did, but that was partly the schtick of the actual gallery and because the show was designed to use Rod Serling as its main draw. The Outer Limits had The Control Voice, but no on-screen host.

From JMS's description it sounds like they're going to do the show in batches of three 30 minute segments, with another half hour or so of extra material planned for the DVDs. 90 minutes of story would fill a 2 hour timeslot if a network comes on board. Whether for video or for air, that production model sounds more suited to a new release every few months, something like the way Peter Falk produced his Columbo moview when he took control of the franchise.

The main reason for having a narrator or host on the old anthology shows of the 1950s and 60s was to establish some sort of continuity from week to week. People were used to tuning in to see a familiar face, and since most anthology shows had a different cast in a different story each week, the on-screen host served as an anchor for the viewer. It helped overcome the problem of no regular cast for the audience to get comfortable with in the habit of watching. (Another approach was the "star" anthology, where the same actor or small rep company would perform in different stories each week.)

B5: The Lost Tale wouldn't suffer from as many of these problems. The stories would be set in an established universe, and most of the stories would involve least some of the familiar actors and characters. And as a series of movies - if that's how it will be broadcast - TLT would be less dependent on building a loyal audience and repeat viewers.

So the new project wouldn't necessarily have to have someone on-screen introducing the stories. But if it is going to - and assuming JMS hasn't lost his aversion to appearing on screen - I nominate Ed (Mr. Morden) Wasser. Whether just as himself or in character he'd bring a slightly sinister Rod Serling vibe to the show, and since JMS is an unabashed admirer of Serling, I think it would be a fitting nod to the master, as well as heck of an in joke.

Re: Direct-to-DVD. I'm still mildly suprised that JMS suggested this and that WB went along with it. (But note they're hedging their bets by talking to a network.) Apparently the money coming in from DVD and the generally different DVD market (like you can sell TV shows on DVD, which you never could on VHS in the U.S.) has lifted some of the stigma that has always attached to "direct to video" Most full-length films released that way, certainly in the VHS days, were failed theatrical films judged unworthy of theatrical release. They were dumped on video and sold to rental stores to try to recoup some of the cost. The other major source of "direct to video" material (not counting porn) was low budget independent films, mostly slasher and horror films, made by folks with little or no money tryinig to break into the business. The entire market segment was looked down upon. "Direct to video" equalled "failure" and "crap" in the eyes of Hollywood. And JMS has reported this and in the past he has dismissed the idea out of hand.

So if people were shooting down your suggestion of doing something direct to DVD they were reflecting the prevailing thinking in the industry, and JMS's own perspective. That the thinking in the industry has now changed is nice, but it doesn't alter the situation the prevailed up until now. I don't recall the posts you're referring to, and therefore don't know if I'm one of the people who argued that direct-to-DVD was almost certainly a no-go, but if I was I stand by my analysis of the best information that was available at the time. Given the same facts I'd reach the same conclusion today. Attitudes in Hollywood are very slow to change, which is one reason you've seen hardly any other direct-to-dvd projects that don't fall into the categories I mentioned for direct-to-VHS releases above. The industry may start moving in this direction, but it hasn't yet. B5:TLT will be a pioneer in this regard - assuming no network picks the show up, in which case it won't, strictly speaking, be a direct-to-video release. (Fox scrapped plans for a direct-to-dvd spin-off of 24 a couple of years ago, for instance, because actors didn't want to work in a direct-to-video "ghetto" among other reasons. And that would have been based on a hugely successful broadcast network show that was still in production and which did very well on DVD.)

But do enjoy your moment of victory.

Regards,

Joe

[Jan]

Just had a flash thought- I suppose this will mean new, updated CGI models of the station and a few other ships!

Hi, folks, I'm home!

I listened to the recording again on the way home and this was actually touched on. Somebody asked what tools (props, CGI, sets, costumes) he'd have available from the old show for the new show and he mentioned that when they'd closed B5 they'd turned over huge racks of uniforms and now there's a tiny fraction of those available due to the studio using them for other shows etc. He also mentioned how when they did the re-editing of The Gathering that they'd found that rats had leterally eaten some of the negatives. He didn't mention the loss of the CGI files that was discovered when they did Legend of the Rangers but of course we're aware of it. So basically, they'd mainly be starting over.

The fan then asked if the look and feel would be the same or reimagined and JMS said was that there are so many new tools available to them now that weren't available back when they did the show for CGI and virtual sets. He wants to keep the feel of B5 but make it fresh and new. Imaginge that he were making B5 today with the same cast but with the new techniques available today. The example he used was seeing Simon & Garfunkle in concert and how they sang the old songs but had reworked how they were performed.

Jan

[nottenst]

From JMS's description it sounds like they're going to do the show in batches of three 30 minute segments, with another half hour or so of extra material planned for the DVDs. 90 minutes of story would fill a 2 hour timeslot if a network comes on board.

The question that immediately comes to mind is whether it is actually 30 minutes of show per segment or something that could fill up a 30-minute network time slot.

From Joe's follow-up statement, it does seem to be an actually 30 minutes of show, so this is more time than it feels. A regular B5 episode was just ~45 minutes of actual show, so if you pulled out some secondary threads of many episodes, you'd have 30 minutes. It is exciting to be in at the start again of new B5 excitement.

Neil

[Spoo Junky]

I was trying to guess at what the shows might be about. There were subjects not explored fully in the show that would fit in about 30 mins., topics like Vir on Minbar. Some of the main characters didn't spend much time together, like Ivanova and Londo, so there might be something there.

In any case, I'd watch it even if it were set in Grey 17 (but hopefully I won't have to )

[Leto II]

Well, Aint It Cool News has the story up. The bad news is that the usual trolls have come out to crap all over the place, though some fans are shooting down their rather stupid arguements. (Leto, are you posting over there as Leto III? I'm the one who posts as RenoNevada2000)

Yup, 'tis I, combatting the insegrevious grottulicity that seems to have sprung up over there, as the TrekkieFreaksÖ and WhedonFellatersÖ rally to their pet cause. (Used to go by "Leto II," but "RoboGeek" permabanned me back in the summer of '99 after calling a spade a spade, and him a dick.)

The good news is that the editor who put it up, Merrick, is a fan and has promised to keep on posting news when he gets it. The problem is that AICN's previous staff B5 fan was Glen, the coaxial editor who left years back. Merrick said that the "info pipeline" Glen had isn't there any more, but that he would welcome a new source of info if it were to present itself. (*hint, hint*)

Too true. "Hercules the Strong" utterly refuses to even cover any JMS-related projects at all, and not much else unless it's a Whedon-verse or Trek-related series. Way to be objective, dude. At least Glen Oliver *tried* to keep the Crusade coverage flowing, despite whatever problems he had with the show, and was right there on the front lines fighting the honorable fight trying to help us keep the damned thing on the air.

Merrick's a real breath of fresh air over there, and the guy's as impartial as they come...the anti-"Herc," if you will.

"Herc" just sits there in his wheelchair and slobbers over the latest Enterprise or Buffy promo as if it were the trailer for an Antonioni film.

And the Legions of Fire trilogy had Vir writing his memoirs...

Just avoid having JMS in a chair from "Masterpiece Theatre" with a massive book on his lap introducing each story

What about Jon Lovitz?

[frulad]

Yup, 'tis I, combatting the insegrevious grottulicity that seems to have sprung up over there, as the TrekkieFreaksÖ and WhedonFellatersÖ rally to their pet cause. (Used to go by "Leto II," but "RoboGeek" permabanned me back in the summer of '99 after calling a spade a spade, and him a dick.)

Actually you haven't seen dickery from their staff until you've seen the banning fromthe discussion boards I got for starting a thread called "AICN Greatest Fake Stories!" Not even an email from Harry saying that he thought it was a funny idea would reverse Doc Falken on that one. Then Mori goes and uses it as aprt of his AICN Anniversary piece earlier this summer...

What confuses me is the strict loyalty to just one franchise. Can't someone enjoy the two universes created by Joss Wheadon as well as the world created by JMS? Am I the only abberant person to be able to do so?

I'm no Farscape fan but when they announced that 4-hour miniseries thing last year I jumped to be able to say "Way to go" top the fans who worked hard to show support for the series. That kind of grassroots success can only embolden others trying to show support for their favorite shows.

It's thanks to DVD sales that we're seeing a change in how studios view thier product. Family Guy's strong DVD sales led to its resurrection. Would the folks who owned Futurerama be doing something similar if [i]Family Guy[/] hadn't led the way?

You can bet your bottom dollar that if/when the B5 Direct-to-DVD project is a success, other studios will seriously look at the model for their own franchises.

[Andrew_Swallow]

Standard path is porn, Sci-Fi, debugged by the geeks, Sci-Fi and then the general public.

So direct-to-DVD is onto the second stage.

I wonder what the equivalent of the DVD scratching holders will be?