Babylon 5 Movie through Studio JMS

[Looney]

Of course Walter Koenig would have to come back as an older version Bester, even in the reboot. I don't mean a continuation. I mean a reboot Bester that is exactly the same only he starts out a little older; he's the new/same Bester.

[Ubik]

I can definitely see Bruce Boxleitner being used, primarily due to the fact that he's a ‘known actor’, and has recent credentials like Tron Legacy. He’d be a good draw and would definitely help get investors on board. I’d also really love to see Mira Furlan cast in a different role, or as a higher up in the Minbari government.

The rest of the original cast, I’m not so sure.

[Looney]

I don't know. It is just a feeling I have. But I will say that Richard Hatch was one of my favorite characters on the BSG reboot, so that establishes that it can be done.

Here is another thing I thought of, why use them at all? If the reboot is a success, we'll know in 2016. Depending on how fast things happen he could start telling Lost Tales with the original cast if he generates enough from the reboot. You know structure the feature to revolve around something like the Dilgar War. Then create a timeline that takes place with the subsequent activity in between that time period and the founding of B5. Then do stories that are taking place opposite what happens in the original timeline, alternate stories that are supposed to be happening on other parts of the station or where ever while the original arc is happening elsewhere. Then in a few years, with success, he could start doing Lost Tales type stories that give us the conclusions we want with the original arc. You know, tell the original arc through different characters experiences that aren't related to the original cast, other than taking place at the same time. Then when he catches them up to where we were all left off everything can be joined together to give us the closure we NEED!

I know, wild pipe dream that was eliminated the moment JMS mentioned trying to find some roles for original cast members.

[Jan]

This being said I am certain JMS will not find big roles for these actors even if he really wants to, but we'll see what he can come up with.

Why not? You must have a reason for saying that?

Jan

[Looney]

I feel the BSG reboot started off amazing, but then got lost in the wilderness. This is likely due to the fact that it was done by someone trying to do their own version with a good premise and no endgame. What we are going to get is the same person trying relaunch his own franchise with a new vision that is still his vision. And don't forget what I already said, the more successful this is, the more likely we might see things we want from the original arc.

One item I am worried about with a reboot is that we all know JMS has come up with some pretty dark characters. I really hope this reboot doesn't create a Universe full of morally ambiguous characters, as is the trend with popular shows today. A few amoral characters are fine, but if most of the main characters are both good and bad I think I'll lose interest.

Anyway, back to JMS mentioning finding small roles for original cast members. I can't remember if I mentioned this here yet, but these are some villains I'd like to see.

Mira Furlan
Bruce Boxleitner
Jason Carter
Stephen Furst (If he can be convinced to act again.)
Claudia Christian
Bill Mumy
Julie Caitlyn Brown
Tracy Scoggins

This being said I am certain JMS will not find big roles for these actors even if he really wants to, but we'll see what he can come up with.

[Sinclair's Fan]

Where does BSG have an NC17 rating?

In the UK, which is where I was when the show was on. I watched the DVDs to catch up on episodes I'd missed, (I didn't know why it'd been given an 18-Cert [comparable to an NC-17 in the US]), but when I saw the content of some of those episodes, my heart sank and I just lost all interest. I realise people love the show, but for me personally, there was stuff going on that should never have been called Battlestar Galactica. They should've called it something else. As I said, it's just my opinion though.

[Delenn_of_Mir]

Where does BSG have an NC17 rating?

[Sinclair's Fan]

Hellooooooo!

I haven't said anything yet because I wanted to get my thoughts in order....

Hmmm, a reboot.... Well, I would go and see it simply because it's JMS and I trust him, and it's B5, which I trust too.

But personally, I'd prefer either a continuation of the original, or a reboot that somehow incorporated the original into the plot in some clever JMS way, (perhaps as a sequel or prequel..., maybe 'pre' by 1000 years or something). No, I don't want to alienate any newcomers who haven't seen the series, I just feel that there was so much storytelling that was hinted at in the original, (and Crusade and Lost Tales for that matter), but that we never got to see brought to life. There are still so many stories to be told in the original B5 Universe, I'd prefer to see some of them told before we start all over again from scratch.

Just my point of view.

As for Battlestar Galactica; if they'd called the new version anything other than Battlestar Galactica, I'd have been happy with it. But naming a show which has an 18-Certificate / NC-17 Rating after a show which was a fairytale part of my childhood is a BIG no-no.

My old pal DaveNarn and I agree on most things, but when it comes to BSG, I'm afraid not! (chuckles)

Just my point of view. Again!

[Delenn_of_Mir]

(Did a little housekeeping and moved this thread down here and merged the 'Untitled' thread with it)

With all of the discussion about reboots, I was trying to find a post I thought I'd remembered from back when the reboot series was being discussed for the didn't-happen new venue. So I posted to JMS' FB page:



And he wrote:



So like I've been saying - don't expect JMS do do what others before him have done.

Jan

That is a very good point. JMS is like no one else and there is no one else like him!

Has there ever been any other tv show/franchise that was created by one person who wrote almost all of it himself and then went on to reboot it decades later and do the whole thing all over again?

Aren't most all reboots done by somebody other than the original creator? That's why they usually suck. The new person wants to cash in on the name but wants to do everything their own way, which usually means that they have no idea what the original show was even about and he/she usually changes everything that people loved about the first show.

This is JMS's show, no one gets it more than he does, so I don't think this reboot can fairly be compared to any other reboot out there.

[Jan]

(Did a little housekeeping and moved this thread down here and merged the 'Untitled' thread with it)

With all of the discussion about reboots, I was trying to find a post I thought I'd remembered from back when the reboot series was being discussed for the didn't-happen new venue. So I posted to JMS' FB page:

JMS, a while back when the proposed B5 series almost happened for the new distribution venue, you posted some thoughts about what a 'reboot' can mean. Not asking for details of what you've got planned, just wondering if there might be something you could say to calm some of the worries of fans who've disliked reboots by other creators. Thanks!

And he wrote:

I'm not them.

So like I've been saying - don't expect JMS do do what others before him have done.

Jan

[Delenn_of_Mir]

I am sooooooooooo excited for this!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I missed out on the original B5 usenet thing, so it's super exciting for me to get to be here for this. I never ever ever thought a reboot would happen in JMS time. I felt for sure it wouldn't happen until after he was gone and then it would be horrible drek because they'd get someone like JJ to showrun it and a bunch of writers who didn't care or have a clue, who had never even heard of the original.

Super Excited. *with a trillion exclamation points*

[DaveNarn]

Two extreme examples of reboots, Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica.

The Battlestar reboot was amazing, even with major changes to Starbuck and Boomer.
The series could have been even better if it had a definite arc

Star Trek is the other extreme because it's being exploited. All the worst traits of Hollywood have been applied to the original series, younger sexy crew, hopped up modified starship, shallow pointless scripts.

I look forward to the B5 movie to see what an even more experienced JMS will come up with and predict it will outsell the third Trek movie in 2016.
I wonder if they will both be summer movies?

[Ubik]

That's a good question. I'm not happy about this at all.

I finally figured out why I hate reboots so much. It's not that they've univerally sucked as a rule. It's not even that they are short-hand cribbing and robbing from something I usually like. It's that it's the final and true death knell for a series/show/movie that there will be no more of those in the original story universe because the IP has moved on and there is not going to be more. Studios do not compete against themselves, so why would they put a throwback to the original to compete with their rebooted monstrosity? Answer, they won't.

I too remain a little sceptical of reboots, but I think if we want any new B5, this really is the best option. There has been a downward trend in the quality of anything B5 related since the series proper finished up. None of the spin offs grabbed me, and it got to the point where it was just getting embarrassing. I truly believe this is our best hope for something good again in the B5 universe, with a proper budget, and a considered (not rushed) script that hasn't been tooled with by studio execs.

The one bright spot, and it is really a true bright spot in this particular case, is JMS is still JMS. I believe what he will make will very likely be very good, after a time I may even come to enjoy it, but it means that B5 as I know it is done. No more new stories. I appreciate what we have, but the hope, false hope, but hope that we'd get something from Crusade, more Rangers, The Telepath Crisis, The Dilgar War, G'Quan and the mindwalkers vs. the Shadows, Valen and B4 vs. the Shadows, (those last two would make a really good movie trilogy), and that's just off the top, are now officially gone.

Jan, you can delete this or move it to the angry thread or something, everyone else has been so happy and upbeat, I hate to rain on it, but this is my post.

As Looney says, the feature film doesn’t preclude things like audio dramas for the original series, etc. It may even give the old material enough of a boost to get those HD remasters!

[Ubik]

Anyway, my point is that there may be more reasons to feel positive than we're thinking of because we're dealing with the original creator. We're not talking about some guys who can generate buzz around an idea for a reboot who tell everyone they have a plan when they clearly don't and then try to use the reasoning that everything they laid out was God's plan as an explanation when the series ends.

Hahaha. Bang on the money my friend!

[Looney]

That's a good question. I'm not happy about this at all.

I finally figured out why I hate reboots so much. It's not that they've univerally sucked as a rule. It's not even that they are short-hand cribbing and robbing from something I usually like. It's that it's the final and true death knell for a series/show/movie that there will be no more of those in the original story universe because the IP has moved on and there is not going to be more. Studios do not compete against themselves, so why would they put a throwback to the original to compete with their rebooted monstrosity? Answer, they won't.

The one bright spot, and it is really a true bright spot in this particular case, is JMS is still JMS. I believe what he will make will very likely be very good, after a time I may even come to enjoy it, but it means that B5 as I know it is done. No more new stories. I appreciate what we have, but the hope, false hope, but hope that we'd get something from Crusade, more Rangers, The Telepath Crisis, The Dilgar War, G'Quan and the mindwalkers vs. the Shadows, Valen and B4 vs. the Shadows, (those last two would make a really good movie trilogy), and that's just off the top, are now officially gone.

Jan, you can delete this or move it to the angry thread or something, everyone else has been so happy and upbeat, I hate to rain on it, but this is my post.

I know it seems like the old universe is closed, but I am not so sure that is entirely true yet. I can't help but feel JMS has something up his sleeve. For instance, if he really is going to wipe the slate clean and start over then there is no reason to hold on to any old ideas he had for wrapping some of those plot lines up through other means like another B5 or Crusade comic series or audio dramas.

The way I look at it is he is clearly planning to go all in with this movie. If you've read his most recent Facebook post about the budget for this film then you know he is going to max out on it. If he is successful and we are successful at helping put butts in the seats for a theatrical release then there is no limit on what can come out of it. If a reboot movie is a huge success then he'll have leverage to get things done, like a proper HD release of the original series as well as a chance to tell stories from the old universe through other means like comics or books or audio dramas. (I really love the idea of a good series of audio dramas.)

Yes I too am having a really tough time dealing with the concept that the door seems closed on the old Universe, but I just keep telling myself it is JMS. If he has success with this then there is a possibility he'll have the tools to give us a lot of things we've wanted for years.

So here is another plug for what I would like to see with a reboot.

Basic premise should be the same, new space station in neutral territory. I think names of races and so on should be the same, so we can maybe have things we didn't see the first time around like parts of the Dilgar war. I always felt it was brilliant to have the Dilgar War as a reference point to something we never actually saw, a terrible war that started the foundation for why there needed to be a place like Babylon 5. In a new Universe a reboot movie could start with the Dilgar War.

Anyway, my point is that there may be more reasons to feel positive than we're thinking of because we're dealing with the original creator. We're not talking about some guys who can generate buzz around an idea for a reboot who tell everyone they have a plan when they clearly don't and then try to use the reasoning that everything they laid out was God's plan as an explanation when the series ends.