NEW Babylon 5 Series in Development!

[Jan]

Asked about a timeline for the reboot, JMS replied:

[Truth66]

I came here quickly after I stumbled across this video on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6PaqzKjHzU

As excited as I am about this, I'm cautious. The reason being is that I remember a few years ago that there was an announcement about a B5 reboot and JMS wanted the studio or network to commit to at least a full season's worth of episodes. Then it fell apart.

If this one pans out, I'm really glad that JMS will be at the helm. Hopefully he'll have the creative freedom to create the type of series that he wants and not have the execs interfering like what happened with Crusdae and Jeremiah.

[Jan]

I came here quickly after I stumbled across this video on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6PaqzKjHzU

As excited as I am about this, I'm cautious. The reason being is that I remember a few years ago that there was an announcement about a B5 reboot and JMS wanted the studio or network to commit to at least a full season's worth of episodes. Then it fell apart.

If this one pans out, I'm really glad that JMS will be at the helm. Hopefully he'll have the creative freedom to create the type of series that he wants and not have the execs interfering like what happened with Crusdae and Jeremiah.

We're all right to be cautiously enthusiastic since this really is in early days and any number of things could go wrong. I'm pretty sure that the one you're remembering was a situation where the new show would have been for a new venue (network? streamer? Unknown) but when that venue collapsed before happening, that ended that. But yes, JMS said that he would have had creative control, a decent budget and a full season commitment. We never even heard about it until after it was no longer happening.

It was interesting, I thought, that the announcement seemed to come from a press release of some sort, given the sameness of the reporting I've seen in the major trades. Don't know that it means anything, of course.

I'm not worried about interference. Or rather, I hope it doesn't happen but I'm good with knowing that JMS will walk if the interference gets too bad. Sure I want the whole series but if it would mean compromising too much, I'll take what comes.

[Looney]

We're all right to be cautiously enthusiastic since this really is in early days and any number of things could go wrong.

Looney chooses to throw caution to the wind. I'm going ALL OUT enthusiastic. SIX SEASONS AND A MOVIE (To all my Community friends out there I salute you. - And by Community I mean the U.S. Television show that ran from 2009 - 2015. There were two brothers who did a lot with it, but then they got distracted by Disney and its Marvel Cinematic Universe.)

So great that JMS spelled it out, but in typical Looney fashion when I heard the news Monday I started telling people we could have a new Babylon 5 series as early as a year from now. They didn't really care because I was at work and they had no idea who I was, but I told them anyway.

How long does everyone think it will take for the theatrical film announcement? I am guessing after achieving world-wide success the Feature Film announcement will come mid to late Season Two. First there will be the phenom status four episodes into Season One. Then the renewal for Seasons Two through Five. Then the awards. Then all the Season Two hype and manufactured scandals. Then the Season Two premier date announcement and trailers. Then the Season Two premier and even BIGGER phenom status. Then the toy line announcement. Then the video game announcement. Then the Seasons Six through Eight renewal. And then we should get the Feature Film news mid to late Season Two. Beyond that I don't feel comfortable putting much speculation out there at this time. (I will add that by mid-Season Four I predict the new Babylon 5 will have ended all conflict, strife, hunger, and general bad feelings on the planet, but who can tell where we're headed AFTER that.) ?

OMG I have to start saving money. I have a strong feeling B5 cast members just got a boost in Convention appearance request. SIDE NOTE: Boxleitner canceled appearance I was thinking of going to in two weeks. OMG I have to start saving my money. There will be merchandise to buy. OMG how am I going to watch it? I don't have cable TV. I assume it will be on HBOMax.



I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT IT!!!!!

(I think this sufficiently shows a lack of caution on my part.)

[Morden]

@Looney: You mean, like all that, what happened after "Legend of the Rangers" and "Lost Tales"...? Oh...

[LateArrival]

I have a strong feeling B5 cast members just got a boost in Convention appearance request. SIDE NOTE: Boxleitner canceled appearance I was thinking of going to in two weeks. OMG I have to start saving my money. There will be merchandise to buy. OMG how am I going to watch it? I don't have cable TV. I assume it will be on HBOMax.

Questions for The Emoji Emperor (Or so have heard it said): Was BB's cancellation Virus-Related or something else, and as I am trying to learn as much as possible about Attending Cons post-2020, did you learn from the event site or somewhere else? Am also hoping for renewed Con activity should a rebooted B5 spark interest in the original series... ...with fingers crossed that they visit the mid-atlantic states rather than the deep south.

And if... ok... When (have to think positively) B5 appears on the CW, there will have to be streaming options as they wouldn't miss out on a revenue source, but if all else fails, the CW is not a "cable channel" like TNT and can be viewed with a conventional antenna.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ork_affiliates .

[Elric]

And so it begins...........again ?

[Jan]

And so it begins...........again ?

"As it should be.".

[nottenst]

And if... ok... When (have to think positively) B5 appears on the CW, there will have to be streaming options as they wouldn't miss out on a revenue source, but if all else fails, the CW is not a "cable channel" like TNT and can be viewed with a conventional antenna.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ork_affiliates .

The CW usually streams the next day after network airing. Some shows also stream elsewhere (HBO max perhaps) after a season. Superman & Lois has extra scenes in the streaming version. I don't know if other CW shows do as well.

[Looney]

Questions for The Emoji Emperor (Or so have heard it said): Was BB's cancellation Virus-Related or something else, and as I am trying to learn as much as possible about Attending Cons post-2020, did you learn from the event site or somewhere else? Am also hoping for renewed Con activity should a rebooted B5 spark interest in the original series... ...with fingers crossed that they visit the mid-atlantic states rather than the deep south.
.

I do not know the reason for the cancellation. I was told he would be at Indiana Comic Con so I went to their website and it showed he was a cancellation. At the time they only had a handful of guests listed so I assumed they were having trouble booking guests for virus-related reasons. Two days later they had several new additions added to their guest list so who knows what happened. It is two weeks away and I am debating whether or not it is worth the 4+ hour road trip to spend money I don't really have to meet Shatner again. ?

I did attend a small Con a few weeks back. They said masks were required, but very few people were wearing them. Almost none of the celebrities were wearing them. Not really related to Cons, but my friend went to see Metallica this past weekend in Louisville at a music festival. He had to go through all sorts of hoops in the weeks and months leading up to the trip to prove he was vaccinated and setup and ID page that showed he was vaccinated plus all sorts of other criteria had to be met. He said once he got to the event there was little to no concern for those precautions from event staff members. If you really want to go I would just plan on playing it safe. The smaller the event the better, which is usually true anyway.

[Ta'Lon]

I fear that JMS can't do the job alone, there was a team: JMS, Harlan Ellison, John Copeland. The only production from these guys together was B5 and the TV movies In The Begining and Thirdspace. Not Call to Arms, not Crusade, not Legend of the Rangers, not Lost Tales. Remember which of them was a success and which was not. But Copeland has left the business 11 years ago and Ellison has passed away.

I think, B5 is one of these productions which was perfect in the first shot, like Ghostbusters, Back to the Future or E.T. They should never be presequelrebooted because it can only get worse.

Yes I know the bad of B5 was the budget and consequently the cheap look and setting. But this has also its own charme. The only thing I would agree that should refined is a remaster from the celluloid similar to ST:TNG and a reproduction of the CGI like ST:TOS. Not more.

Can I imagine myself any B5 reboot without Andreas Katsulas, Mira Furlan or Richard Biggs? I can't. These actors was the heart and the soul of the show. Can I imagine myself a B5 without Tracy Scoggins? Maybe, if it had ended after season 4 with Sleeping in Light instead of The Deconstruction of Falling Stars. Is there any what I had missed, whats not shown? Yes, the teep war. But now, after a quarter of a century with a hairless Walter Koenig? Uhmmmm...

OK, there is a good counter example: Battlestar Galactica. This is the only scifi series I know from the last millenium which was rebooted with a success. But this was a big budget production on BSkyB and NBC. Does anyone believe that TheCW will spend a new B5 series a big budget? Really? What could be done better now than back then? Who could follow in the footsteps of Boxleitner, Katsulas or Furlan without diminishing their work at the time?

I lack the imagination to picture it.

[Jan]

Lots of folks have been expecting JMS to base the new B5 on the outline he worte before the first season (published in the B5 Script Books). That doesn't appear to be the case:

[Ta'Lon]

Trepidation... Yea thats the word what best describes my feels. My simple question is: How much JMS and how much Ellison, Copeland and not to forget Mike Vejar and Salvador Trevino as the directors of some of the best episodes was in the original B5? All of them are no longer available. Yes there are some very good people in the present but then we must accept that any new B5 will be completely other than the original and this will be a lottery that it would be better than the original. It can be (like BSG) but it does not have to be (see ST: DIS, ST: PIC). I am therefore euphoric? No. I think it would have been better to do something similar without directly referring to it, like The Orville. No expectations, no pressure.

[Jan]

Love the word that JMS coined last night to describe some of the reactions from fans. I love it a lot and will use it often!



I kinda like 'trepelation', too.

[JoeD80]

How much JMS and how much Ellison, Copeland and not to forget Mike Vejar and Salvador Trevino as the directors of some of the best episodes was in the original B5? All of them are no longer available. Yes there are some very good people in the present but then we must accept that any new B5 will be completely other than the original and this will be a lottery that it would be better than the original

I think since Joe said very specifically in a few of his tweets that he was returning to Babylon 5 to do a different story that we will get something awesome. I loved Sense8 and expect a very different Babylon 5 and think that's a good thing.

The original is always there to watch!