B5 and the mainstream

[Spirit]

Re: Lost in Sci-Fi-Space

Originally posted by SpooRancher

Plus, a lot of people don't want to think when watching TV. That is obvious by the kind of television that DOES well in the ratings (I'm sorry folks, but I NEVER liked Roseanne, Friends or Seinfeld). IMNSHO, the only shows ranking in the top of the ratings that are worth much are the CSI shows (at least they have good story lines, and drama produced right out of real life).

So, why doesn't B5 appeal to more in the mainstream? Frankly, I believe it was near a miracle that it did appeal to as many as it did, with the average attention span of the American consumer.

American consumer - B5 went worldwide long time ago.
I'm from Israel, and originaly I saw B5 in Russia!

Friends and Seinfeld have nothing to do with B5 - all of us do like to have a good laught, and it also have drama (Friends for instance)

Mainstream? Heh... What mainstream? Can you determine one?
Nowdays it's impossible! What I can say is that B5 is not a part of it...

Why? It's another question... Not everyone has time in his life to stop and ask himself questions that we find in B5 - people are more pragmatic - they like something that speaks to them - like Ricky Lake (god, help her show die!).

In someway I see that it is our fault - fault of B5 fans.

Let's take star wars for example and put it in the place of B5 - imagine the Star Wars is "only for geeks" show.
Now how does it go mainstream from here?

I say - we have to have a part in this. We can change the way B5 is treated by other. And we have a new movie comming. Let's make the best of it and draw some attention to B5!
This saga hasn't come to it's finish!

[Andrew_Swallow]

Babylon 5 viewers need to remember more than the last 2 episodes. In most soap operas you can normally work out who has just had sex with whom. Even the writers have forgotten what happened a year ago.

[SpooRancher]

Misunderstood?

OK, let's go back to what I said.

I did not say Star Trek was BAD, I said it never lived up to it's promises. I also said that B5 did deliver on Star Trek's promises. I agree that for it's time, Trek was the best we had ever been given, and, I understand that without it, a lot of good Sci-Fi would never have seen the light of day. Kind of like the way I feel about Dungeons and Dragons. A kind of a "love-hate" relationship. D&D has never been the "best" of the RPG's (although it is a lot better in the 3rd edition), but, it was able to keep the interest there until the better ones came along (like the current Star Trek RPG and Shadowrun, sorry, but the current B5 RPG is based on D&D's system, so it does have, IMNSHO, some problems).

I was not comparing B5 to Friends and Seinfeld in quality, I was saying that those shows are considered "mainstream", that I did not care for them, and that the reason B5 did not do so well in the ratings was that it was different. I theorized that the reason for B5's lack of reaching beyond it's "niche" was that it was SO different from what standard television formula programming was. It was not sitcom, it is not reality (like Survivor), so, it doesn't get press, and it doesn't get a lot of the viewers who are channel surfing, find something interesting, and leave it there. In fact, I have known some people who thought B5 was interesting until they saw an alien or a space shot, and then turned it away because "I hate Science Fiction, it's all stupid."

Can we expand the B5 audience? Should we? These are loaded questions. We certainly can campaign our friends with our Season set DVD's in hand, and they will likely look at us the way they do the Jehovah's Witness missionaries that they chase away from their homes. And DO we really want people who don't get "good" television watching it and criticizing it? We really don't need a letter writing campaign to Time Warner asking for more romance in the next project, do we? By keeping it small, and the fan base loyal and secure, we actually need LESS tampering with the project (the tampering that was done in Crusade was, if you remember, at TNT's behest in order to secure MORE VIEWERS). Does that mean that I have to travel nearly 100 miles in order to get the latest B5 DVD's on their first sale day? Yup. Does it mean that I believe that a lot of people are missing out on great television? Yup. Does it mean I would change a thing? Not really.

[Dr Maturin]

<<Does that mean that I have to travel nearly 100 miles in order to get the latest B5 DVD's on their first sale day?>>

This is probably a discussion for another place and time, but why do you drive at all to buy the latest DVD's?

[Capt.Montoya]

From the book of J'Caart:

And thou shall know the day Babylon 5 became part of the mainstream consciousness by this sign: thine eyes will behold the DVD sets in Target and Wal-Mart and thou hast not the need to travel leagues for them.


Who knows... maybe after the movie it could happen.

I must say that sometimes watching TV that does not require you to think is a welcome respite from the daily grind... that's why I watch some sitcoms. However my current favorite sitcom, Arrested Development, is much more intelligent than usual... maybe that's why its ratings haven't been stellar.

On the other hand, for me B5 used to be a respite from the daily grind too. Submerging oneself in the story and drama can be a a way to forget about the daily problems and the rest of the world too...

In the end all TV and fiction is escapism, but some escapism can be smarter.

[FuryPilot]

Originally posted by Capt.Montoya
From the book of J'Caart:

And thou shall know the day Babylon 5 became part of the mainstream consciousness by this sign: thine eyes will behold the DVD sets in Target and Wal-Mart and thou hast not the need to travel leagues for them.


Who knows... maybe after the movie it could happen.

Actually, the WalMart near my house has 3 of the B5 Movie sets still on the shelf. Not bad for a small town in Northern Colorado.

FP

[Dr Maturin]

Are we sure Target was carrying B5?

[Spirit]

Ditto

All my intention was to make more people familliar with B5 - I don't want B5 to dry out - I want it the way it is - I want it alive.

[SpooRancher]

Originally posted by Z'ha'dumDweller
This is probably a discussion for another place and time, but why do you drive at all to buy the latest DVD's?

Because I live in a basackwards county that doesn't even have a bookstore, let alone a decent Borders or some such multi-media outlet. I have to either drive or live by the whims of Wal-Mart.

[SpooRancher]

Originally posted by Z'ha'dumDweller
Are we sure Target was carrying B5?

Actually, that's where I got seasons 4 and 5, as well as the movie set, because Wal Mart didn't have any in (and, according to their staff, wasn't even carrying them in the town I was shopping in).

[Capt.Montoya]

The problem with books of prophecies is that they should be more specific and have said "in each and every Target and Wal-Mart in every town all around the world"...

See, I live in a backwards city in the middle of the Texan plains, near the coast, and the Target I usually visit has never ever had B5... the city is Houston, BTW.

[Dr Maturin]

<<Because I live in a basackwards county that doesn't even have a bookstore, let alone a decent Borders or some such multi-media outlet. I have to either drive or live by the whims of Wal-Mart.>>

I was referring to the wonder known as internet shopping, more particularly amazon.com.

<<Actually, that's where I got seasons 4 and 5, as well as the movie set, because Wal Mart didn't have any in (and, according to their staff, wasn't even carrying them in the town I was shopping in).>>

I worked part time at Target last year to supplement my income and I was told that B5 was not on the lists and supposedly, all Targets have identical product inventories (unless something with a "shelf life" sells quicker at one store, but then the product in question is clearanced out everywhere else, which is why Target always has awesome clearance items). Curious.

<<See, I live in a backwards city in the middle of the Texan plains, near the coast, and the Target I usually visit has never ever had B5... the city is Houston, BTW.>>

Bizarre that SpooRancher did, then, seeing as the Target he likely shopped at is almost exactly at the midpoint between you and I, Montoya, and neither of our Targets carried it. I am not calling SpooRancher a liar, it's just that the electronics manager told me all Targets carry the same exact merchandise. Weird wild stuff.

[Andrew_Swallow]

I tried ordering the Babylon 5 DVDs from my local branch of Woolworths in the UK. I could not because it was not on their list. I ordered from W H Smiths. When they arrived I picked up the DVDs and Woolworths still did not have them. A week later Babylon 5 was in the top 30 and Woolworths started selling them. Something similar may have happened in the USA, particularly between seasons.

[AaronB]

Originally posted by Z'ha'dumDweller


I was referring to the wonder known as internet shopping, more particularly amazon.com.

What is this internet of which you speak?

[Dr Maturin]

<<Something similar may have happened in the USA, particularly between seasons.>>

It's strange because Wal-Mart had Seasons 3, 4, and 5 on release day, but not the movie set. I never noticed 1 and 2 but that doesn't mean they weren't there. I bought 1 & 2 at Best Buy, I believe. Season 2 I'm sure of because I had to exchange it due to excessive scratches right from the box. Wal-Mart didn't get the movie set until at least three weeks after the release. I purchased 3, 4 and 5 via amazon because I didn't know if Wal-Mart would have them right away. The price was about the same with free shipping and they all arrived on release day. Rush delivery is a waste of money. I ordered Crusade a few weeks ago.