Babylon 5 Movie through Studio JMS

[Delenn_of_Mir]

The Maybe is good news, to me. I don't really have words for the feelings I have, but I just don't think B5 works as a theatrical movie. It's too deep and needs far too much material to tell before it becomes amazing. i don't think JMS can take what made B5 so great and get even close to translating it to a 2, maybe 3 hour theatrical movie.

In the Beginning was pretty good, I admit, so maaaaaybe if he did something like that it could work. But the thought of Tom Cruise or any other big action stars in my B5 makes me ill.

But then my thing is that I looooooooove the tv series sooooo much that the idea of it being changed and characters recast is too emotional for me. I know it happens all the time. Usually I don't care because I never saw the original.

But B5 is personal to me, And I hate change anyway. I HATE change and automatically get super upset and defualt to hatred when anything changes. An aspie trait, I think. Then once I get used to the new I'm usually fine.

ETA: Unless the big star was Tom Hiddleston. He's actually really cool.

But yeah change is scary, and there are a million ways to ruin the show, and I'm not sure we'll get as lucky as we did the first time around with all the right people and the right circumstances there.

But still, I think there's a very small chance that a reboot theatrical movie could be anywhere as good as the tv series. I'd love to be proven wrong though.

[babylonlurker]

The Maybe is good news, to me. I don't really have words for the feelings I have, ...


ETA: Unless the big star was Tom Hiddleston. He's actually really cool.

Hmmmm ! Tom Hiddleston as Mr Morden .... ???

[Looney]

The Maybe is good news, to me. I don't really have words for the feelings I have, but I just don't think B5 works as a theatrical movie. It's too deep and needs far too much material to tell before it becomes amazing. i don't think JMS can take what made B5 so great and get even close to translating it to a 2, maybe 3 hour theatrical movie.

In the Beginning was pretty good, I admit, so maaaaaybe if he did something like that it could work. But the thought of Tom Cruise or any other big action stars in my B5 makes me ill.

But then my thing is that I looooooooove the tv series sooooo much that the idea of it being changed and characters recast is too emotional for me. I know it happens all the time. Usually I don't care because I never saw the original.

But B5 is personal to me, And I hate change anyway. I HATE change and automatically get super upset and defualt to hatred when anything changes. An aspie trait, I think. Then once I get used to the new I'm usually fine.

ETA: Unless the big star was Tom Hiddleston. He's actually really cool.

But yeah change is scary, and there are a million ways to ruin the show, and I'm not sure we'll get as lucky as we did the first time around with all the right people and the right circumstances there.

But still, I think there's a very small chance that a reboot theatrical movie could be anywhere as good as the tv series. I'd love to be proven wrong though.

I think you need to look at it like this, it doesn't change the original series or how much we all love it. We have no idea what JMS is going to do, but whatever he does doesn't change the original series, (unless he pulls a Ridley Scott and starts letting people know that things they love about the original series were never intended and all huge mistakes. ) But seriously, this is a whole different ballgame. If there is one thing I am pretty certain of it is this - the new Babylon 5 will be completely and totally different while being completely and totally the same. I think we all kind of know this. I mean it will likely have more edge to it and more than likely we won't see the same story, but we might see something close. If we can't have a continuation then I love that we could get a new Babylon 5 parallel universe. The only thing that makes me sad about it is that we can't see all the same actors telling us the new story, but that's life . . . and oh yeah I really wish we had a definite date for release and that date was today.

[Delenn_of_Mir]

Hmmmm ! Tom Hiddleston as Mr Morden .... ???

Tom would make a brilliant Morden!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But really the first Morden was already brilliant.

But if we had to have a second one I wouldn't mind him.

[QUOTE=Looney] I think you need to look at it like this, it doesn't change the original series or how much we all love it. We have no idea what JMS is going to do, but whatever he does doesn't change the original series, (unless he pulls a Ridley Scott and starts letting people know that things they love about the original series were never intended and all huge mistakes. ) But seriously, this is a whole different ballgame. If there is one thing I am pretty certain of it is this - the new Babylon 5 will be completely and totally different while being completely and totally the same. I think we all kind of know this. I mean it will likely have more edge to it and more than likely we won't see the same story, but we might see something close. If we can't have a continuation then I love that we could get a new Babylon 5 parallel universe. The only thing that makes me sad about it is that we can't see all the same actors telling us the new story, but that's life . . . and oh yeah I really wish we had a definite date for release and that date was today. [Quote/]

Yeah, I know we'll still have all that came before, but anything new changes B5 as a whole and it won't be the same as it once was. And if the new sucks then the whole will be lessened and it just won't feel the same or be the same. And that'll be sad.

Now Serenity was pretty cool, but that was just a continuation. And new trek, well the first one was okay, but that's only because I'm not a huge trekkie. I'm sure if I was a trekkie I would have hated it muchly. I did think Zachary Quinto did a good job as nuSpock though. And JJ's a hack. But that's star trek, not B5. Trek is much much easier to do movies for since every eppy is pretty much a small screen movie.

Joe's one-off eppies were never as good as his arc stuff, and in my opinion, if B5 was only the one-off's it would have kinda sucked. it needed all the depth and connectedness to make it work. But with a movie you have to be able to create a full plot that's good for the entire movie, and not just for the final ten minutes.

[Jan]

Yeah, I know we'll still have all that came before, but anything new changes B5 as a whole and it won't be the same as it once was. And if the new sucks then the whole will be lessened and it just won't feel the same or be the same. And that'll be sad.

I honestly don't understand that statement. How can anything change what already exists? How could it not be the same as it was? We're not talking about a glass of milk with chocolate syrup added that can't be removed, we're talking about a physical, unchanging property.

I see people say things like this all the time and I really don't get it. Can you put it in other words, maybe?

Not being argumentative, I'd like to be able to understand even if I don't agree.

Jan

[Triple F]

First off I don’t share the view which Delenn of Mir is expressing, I’m more of the opinion that Looney and others have stated, and prefer a wait and see approach.

However I fully appreciate that we don’t all view things in the same way – and D of M will correct me on this if I’m misrepresenting what is being said. But Babylon 5 is a complete package made up of the television show, the tele movies, the comics and the novels along with the later spin offs, and even the explanations and additional material provided by jms through his various online replies and published script books are part of that. Over the years they’ve become little bits of the same unbroken continuity – not just in the story sense but in the way some view them. Separate glimpses into different periods of time, showing different events in the same familiar ‘verse help make it more real and immersive. So a new Babylon 5 reboot, simply by existing, starkly clashes with that. The comfortable and familiar idea of an established ‘verse where if it says Babylon 5 on the title you’ll know it fits in with everything else no longer exists. You now have old Babylon 5 and new Babylon 5 – and to some this will basically be viewed as a kind of betrayal on the part of jms. The informal covenant between him as the creator of a unified interconnected ‘verse and all the characters and events within in it, and the viewers which have become invested in it has been broken, and it’s if somehow all that has gone before is deficient in some way.

Like I said, I don’t view it in anything like those terms, but going by what I’ve read some fans have become really invested in the show, it’s important to them for one reason or another at a deeply personal level, and part of how that formed is how all the different parts fitted together.

Delenn of Mir will probably now totally slag me off for saying that and recommend I change my meds. But I can imagine that some really won’t like the idea of a reboot, even if old Babylon 5 obviously still exists. The other thing is that by creating new Babylon 5 it basically confirms that the old will have nothing new added to it… so that story – and everything contained within it - is now closed, not to be visited again.

[Dan Dassow]

I've probably stated this before, but I believe it deserves to be repeated.

Much as I continue to be a fan of Babylon 5, I was happy that Joe has expanded his writing beyond Babylon 5 and look forward to other television programs and films based on his screenplays. My avatar, an image of the ticket from my seeing Changeling the first night, is a subtle token of my continued support of Joe as a screenwriter.

I also trust Joe to remain faithful to Babylon 5 in a new Babylon 5 film. The Babylon 5 Universe allows for many interesting departures based on the original series. Some of these departures can easily be encapsulated in one or more two to three hour films. I am being intentionally vague so I do not run the risk of compromising potential Babylon 5 films.

[Delenn_of_Mir]

I tried quoting Triple F, but the forum spasmed.

I wanted to quote this part:[Babylon 5 is a complete package made up of the television show, the tele movies, the comics and the novels along with the later spin offs, and even the explanations and additional material provided by jms through his various online replies and published script books are part of that. Over the years they’ve become little bits of the same unbroken continuity – not just in the story sense but in the way some view them. Separate glimpses into different periods of time, showing different events in the same familiar ‘verse help make it more real and immersive. So a new Babylon 5 reboot, simply by existing, starkly clashes with that. The comfortable and familiar idea of an established ‘verse where if it says Babylon 5 on the title you’ll know it fits in with everything else no longer exists. You now have old Babylon 5 and new Babylon 5 – and to some this will basically be viewed as a kind of betrayal on the part of jms. The informal covenant between him as the creator of a unified interconnected ‘verse and all the characters and events within in it, and the viewers which have become invested in it has been broken, and it’s if somehow all that has gone before is deficient in some way.]

Yes, this is exactly how I feel!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't put into the right words, thank you for finding the right words for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cornholio1980]

My personal main reason why I share Delenn_of_Mir's reluctance about the reboot idea goes into a similar direction. Yes, a reboot doesn't change anything about what we've got before. However, it will also almost certainly kill the old B5. Granted, as it stands now, the chance for new adventures in the "old" universe are extremely thin, but a slim chance is still better than none. Also, given the fact that there are still a couple of lose story threads (the Telepath War, the Drakh Crisis, the Leftover Shadow-Tech, the specifics of Lenniers ultimate fate, The Hand, the possible Centauri attack on earth as seen in TLT,...), I don't think that the B5-story is completed. A reboot will kill even the faintest hope that we will ever get an official continuation, in whatever form (novels, comics, radio dramas, a new show, TV-Specials, more "Lost Tales", a movie, whatever). That's why the announcement of the reboot is such a bittersweet affair for me.

That plus the fact that I'm sceptical about casting the old actors in new roles (it will be hard enough to accept, say, a new Sheridan, without seeing Bruce Boxleitner next to him as the Earth president, for example), and that what made B5 so great was the pay-off after a seasons-long buildup, which will be next-to-impossible to achieve in a single movie. With a movie set in the established B5-continuity, they might at least partially be able to build on what happened before (even though they'd have to walk a fine line, since you don't want it to be confusing for any newbies). But not when you push the reset-button and start anew.

Of course I still remain hopeful about the reboot, and would watch it in a heartbeat. However, I for one would really prefer a continuation of what came before, than a complete restart.

[Looney]

My personal main reason why I share Delenn_of_Mir's reluctance about the reboot idea goes into a similar direction. Yes, a reboot doesn't change anything about what we've got before. However, it will also almost certainly kill the old B5. Granted, as it stands now, the chance for new adventures in the "old" universe are extremely thin, but a slim chance is still better than none. Also, given the fact that there are still a couple of lose story threads (the Telepath War, the Drakh Crisis, the Leftover Shadow-Tech, the specifics of Lenniers ultimate fate, The Hand, the possible Centauri attack on earth as seen in TLT,...), I don't think that the B5-story is completed. A reboot will kill even the faintest hope that we will ever get an official continuation, in whatever form (novels, comics, radio dramas, a new show, TV-Specials, more "Lost Tales", a movie, whatever). That's why the announcement of the reboot is such a bittersweet affair for me.

That plus the fact that I'm sceptical about casting the old actors in new roles (it will be hard enough to accept, say, a new Sheridan, without seeing Bruce Boxleitner next to him as the Earth president, for example), and that what made B5 so great was the pay-off after a seasons-long buildup, which will be next-to-impossible to achieve in a single movie. With a movie set in the established B5-continuity, they might at least partially be able to build on what happened before (even though they'd have to walk a fine line, since you don't want it to be confusing for any newbies). But not when you push the reset-button and start anew.

Of course I still remain hopeful about the reboot, and would watch it in a heartbeat. However, I for one would really prefer a continuation of what came before, than a complete restart.

See this is where I think there is a real opportunity. I think that if the new B5 is a success it will open up all kinds of possibilities for the original arc. In this day and age there are all kinds of ways the original arc could be continued with the original characters, if there are powers that are willing to finance it. We are witnessing a time when new rules are being applied to mass media. Maybe the new B5 is a huge hit and suddenly there is interest in telling the continuation of the original arc through books, or comics, or a series of audio dramas, or a serious animated series with the original cast through a venue like Netflix, or even a real series with the original cast that is creatively done taking into account their ages. (We all know that it isn't their ages alone keeping the original cast from their original roles in a theatrical reboot. There is also money and "politics" at play.) A successful reboot can open up sooo many doors.

Yes conversely speaking a failed reboot can slam them shut, but isn't that kind of where we are anyway?! I mean we can hope #FREEBABYLON5 has more success in getting the show back on the air around the world and then maybe there is enough international outcry for new material that something changes, but honestly I think we're beyond that. Once JMS made the announcement the reboot became a done deal. I think it would only hurt the franchise to pull away from that now.

I do agree that recasting the original actors in different roles will be very, very tricky. I do have hope though. When Richard Hatch showed up in the new Battlestar Galactica I thought he was absolutely awesome and the character was a perfect choice. As the series progressed I lost my appreciation. That was the fault of the writers and producers, not Hatch. As I see it Boxleitner as the Earth President ala Santiago would not work. Boxleitner as Clark I think would work very well. Something like Mira as a Morden like villain would be awesome. Peter as anything would be incredible. Claudia as a Catherine Sakai type might work really well. My point is that they would have to be the right roles. I think if they are too close to the original it would seem awkward.

And just as a random thought that popped in my head, Mira as G'Kar. I know we will never see G'Kar again and I am glad for it, but isn't that an interesting choice - that I am certain someone has brought up before despite the fact that we are all semi-terrified, myself included, of ever mentioning any name in association with trying to recreate that character?! I mean Delenn actually had some G'Kar like qualities and issues while at the same time being so different that I don't think it would be strange for Mira to play that role. Just a thought.

[Delenn_of_Mir]

There shouldn't be a G'Kar. Changling B5 should have all new characters. Keep the station name, change everything else.

[Jan]

Well, I wouldn't hold him to it, but JMS has said that there won't be another G'Kar, ever. But that may have been in the depths of grief, too.

Jan

[Looney]

I completely agree that there should never be another G'Kar. I just want opinions on Mira Furlan as a choice if we could magically see G'Kar in an alternate universe that is not this reboot. I feel like she is one of the few people who could acceptably pull it off, and that is a pretty short list that may just include her IMO.

[Triple F]

I completely agree that there should never be another G'Kar. I just want opinions on Mira Furlan as a choice if we could magically see G'Kar in an alternate universe that is not this reboot. I feel like she is one of the few people who could acceptably pull it off, and that is a pretty short list that may just include her IMO.

Well, considering the makeup requirements I think it’s pretty safe to say you’d get a vote of go $^%$%%% &&&^%$ XXXX yourself from Mira on that idea.

[Looney]

LOL LOL LOL SO TRUE. Please don't tell her I said anything.