Interesting Times

[Tim_Fleming]

Well, I'm quite excited about the possibilities of B5: TLT (although I temper my enthusiasm with the fact that we still have to wait some time before the go is given for further DVDs). One of the things that peeked my curiosity was that when announcing B5: TLT, JMS stated that some of these stories were stories he did not have time to tell during the Babylon 5 series. Because of this statement, I thought that these initial tales would focus on events from season 4 (after all, this is the season that JMS had to quicken the pace due to cancellation worries). I believe the surviving actors could still play their parts from that time period (thank you make up department). Thus I was a bit surprised that this initial set takes place 10 years after "Objects at Rest". Nonetheless, it got me thinking about time periods I'd love to see B5: TLT visit. So here is my top seven list of interesting times to tell a story in. Keep in mind that the anthology format of the show means that we don't always have to have main characters in the episode. Indeed, I'd love to see new characters in the B5 universe. Nothing against the old characters naturally, but I believe their story has largely been told and the B5 universe offers to many possibilities to be tied down to a single set of characters.

7. Perhaps an episode set on Babylon 3, 2, or 1. BOOM!!

6. The Dilgar War: Sadly Richard Biggs would have been great in a story that takes place during this error. Miss him.

5. Earth- Minbari War: I know we saw it in "In the Beginning", but certainly Earth facing annihilation at the hands of the Minbari offers more interesting stories. Perhaps the lead up to the Battle of the Line?

4. A Million years from now: Call me strange, but it would be a wild episode to have a cast of aliens as the main characters and the mysterious Humans as the ancient beings (I know, not a chance in hell).

3. 4th Season: Perhaps more on the search for the First Ones, Events leading to the battle at Corianna 6 and the Minbari Civil War. Especially the Minbari Civil War. This Civil War only got a few episodes. Not enough for a civilization that hadn't murdered one of its own in a thousand years.

2. The Great Burn: The one where fascism finally takes Earth down.

1. The Time of Valen: Of course, don't we all wanna see this?

[Joseph DeMartino]

Well, in my official role as officer in charge of parade percipitation...

7. Perhaps an episode set on Babylon 3, 2, or 1. BOOM!!

None of them got far enough along in the construction process to have anything set "on" them.

6. The Dilgar War: Sadly Richard Biggs would have been great in a story that takes place during this error. Miss him.

Franklin would have been a little kid. The Dilgar War took place about 30 years before the start of season 1.

5. Earth- Minbari War: I know we saw it in "In the Beginning", but certainly Earth facing annihilation at the hands of the Minbari offers more interesting stories. Perhaps the lead up to the Battle of the Line?

There could be a side story or vignette or two during this time that would bd worth doing.

4. A Million years from now: Call me strange, but it would be a wild episode to have a cast of aliens as the main characters and the mysterious Humans as the ancient beings (I know, not a chance in hell).

Doesn't do it for me. I want these stories to be about the people, places and things from the series that we care about. Unkown aliens and Vorlon-like aliens don't qualify.

3. 4th Season: Perhaps more on the search for the First Ones, Events leading to the battle at Corianna 6 and the Minbari Civil War. Especially the Minbari Civil War. This Civil War only got a few episodes. Not enough for a civilization that hadn't murdered one of its own in a thousand years.

I think there is a reason we never saw most of this, and it wasn't just because of lack of time.

2. The Great Burn: The one where fascism finally takes Earth down.

You want to see the bombs going off? Because otherwise I don't see how more on this subject adds anything to the story. The fact of the war is all we need realy needed to know for the story.

1. The Time of Valen: Of course, don't we all wanna see this?

I have to say, not especially. I don't want to see The Silmarillion dramatized, either. Sometimes ancient backstory to a drama is best left as ancient backstory. I'd like to see Michael O'Hare again (not that I think there's much chance of that) and it would be fun to see one or two short tales from that period, but it isn't something I'm pining for. Also with Tim Choate gone I suppose there's no chance of see Zathras, and that would be half the reason I'd want to see a Valen story in the first place.

Regards,

Joe

[Ranger1]

Actually, speaking of Zathras, Tim Choate had such a heavy makeup on it would be easy to make him as a digital actor (well not extreme close up face shots but digital none the less).

I would love to see more of Sinclair... i mean Valen with Zathras.

[moreorless]

4th Season: Perhaps more on the search for the First Ones, Events leading to the battle at Corianna 6 and the Minbari Civil War. Especially the Minbari Civil War. This Civil War only got a few episodes. Not enough for a civilization that hadn't murdered one of its own in a thousand years.

I'v always assumed that alot of the "lost time" in season 4 came from non arc stories being cut, isnt their an old JMS quote claiming only 70-80% of that season would be arc yet it was near 100% in the end.

That said the Minbari civil war was the one area that did seem a little rushed, not sure how they'd come up with a one off episode with the main cast though. Maybe focus on Neroon before Deleen arrives showing his dissatisfaction with events and his cast?

Personally I suspect that what JMS ment when he said he'd be covering stories he couldnt within the series is that he'd be relocating stand alone scripts/ideas to during/after season 5. I'm probabley asking for a flaming but I think it would be pushing it for some of the actors to play versions of themselves much before that even with makeup. Not so much the female cast(at least I'm going to die less painfully) but the change between someone in their 40's and someone in their 50's is IMHO generally the most obvious in peoples adult life.

[Joseph DeMartino]

I'v always assumed that alot of the "lost time" in season 4 came from non arc stories being cut, isnt their an old JMS quote claiming only 70-80% of that season would be arc yet it was near 100% in the end.

You're right. JMS looked at what he'd originally laid out for S4 and S5, dropped some stand-alone stories (there would have been more of a gathering of forces before the end of the Shadow War and more of a breather before the crisis of the Earth Civil War) and he moved the entire teep arc (which would have started in S4) into S5.

From both what JMS has said about The Lost Tales and what he's written in the script books, and especially the additional material he's included, I think most of the "stories he didn't get to do" are ideas for possible "B" and "C" stories that he never quite found a home for, or which would have been part of stand-alone episodes that never got made. He reproduces several pages of such ideas that run from a single line to a couple of paragraphs in script book 9, and specifically talked about how going through this material in prepping it for publication was one of the things that made him revive his old idea of a B5 anthology when Warner Bros. approached him about doing a new project. So I think it is those "stories in between the other stories" that he's mostly likely to consider.

Regards,

Joe

[prometheous]

Just an idea... Highlight to read story idea:

what about a story set right after the end of the E-M war, maybe set on the maiden voyage of the first omega class destroyer or just after Sheridan takes on the Aggie, the EA is still on its knees, other races or raiders would be bound to be attacking earth outposts who's defences were wrecked by the minbari. Certainly there'd be scope for a story there...possibly with some kinfd of post war first contact with the minbari?

Edit: This is detailed enough to qualify as a story idea. It's been agreed that we don't post story ideas here. Thanks --Jan

[vacantlook]

...I thought that these initial tales would focus on events from season 4 (after all, this is the season that JMS had to quicken the pace due to cancellation worries)....

I really do think that the alterations to the pace of the storyline in season four only affects a bit of the plot progression balance and not in any great manner the actual events of the plot themselves. Had season four ended with "Intersections In Real Time," the end of the Earth Civil War would have happened sometime in the first like five or six episodes of season five. There's really not that many episodes displaced as one might at first think.

As Joe mentioned, the telepath colony on B5 would have begun in season four, so that's half of "No Compromises". Other season five episodes that I figure would have been in season four if jms hadn't felt cancellation pressure would be stuff like "A View From The Gallery" and "Learning Curve". They would have had slight modifications that made them more connected to the season four environment (the battle in "A View From The Gallery" being against some of Clark's forces instead of a miscellaneous alien group, for example), but they would have been more or less the same stories.

It's stuff like that that jms pulled out of season four in order to make sure he could end the story with season four if he had to, but with the season five pick-up, he could then insert noncrucial stories he had planned on doing back in. As I see it, the problem comes with the entirety of the telepath colony arc being shoved into season five making it feel a bit off-balance, but that's just something that couldn't be avoided given the circumstances.

[moreorless]

As Joe mentioned, the telepath colony on B5 would have begun in season four, so that's half of "No Compromises". Other season five episodes that I figure would have been in season four if jms hadn't felt cancellation pressure would be stuff like "A View From The Gallery" and "Learning Curve". They would have had slight modifications that made them more connected to the season four environment (the battle in "A View From The Gallery" being against some of Clark's forces instead of a miscellaneous alien group, for example), but they would have been more or less the same stories.

That was probabley the most obvious switch IMHO, having to invent a new race of aliens on the spot was a bit of a give away.

As you said I'd guess the main difference the uncertainy of season 5 created wasnt so much in the events we saw as in how they were delt with, the telepaths would have come in earlier, Londo and G'Kar's relations probabley would have thawed more slowly, the aftermath of the civil war/formation of the Allience probabley wouldnt have been delt with quite as quickly etc.

The big issue with TLT is IMHO going to be the direction JMS wants to take it, does he want to make it subserviant to the original series or use it to explore new terratory. If its the former then I would like to see characters who were to some extent "unresolved" like Garibaldi, Lyta, Lennier, Ivanova and Bester who would I'd guess be more dramatically interesting. If its the latter he might be better off with someone like Lochey or Galen who still have alot of room to devolp into something new.