JMS at SD Comic-Con 2011

[KoshN]

I don't really get people here treating a reboot as idiocy and sacriledge, and yet yearning for a BR version with new CGI.

I don't get YOU, NOT getting it.

IF YOU GET THE OLD SHOW WITH NEW CGI, IT'S STILL THE SAME STORY YOU'VE SEEN BEFORE.

Yes a GOOD story, with PROPER 1.78:1 CGI, from a proper, 1st generation master, NOT the half-assed DVDs we have now, made from a 3rd or 4th generation PAL copy, with 4:3 CGI that was enlarged and therefore CROPPED to cover the left to right edges of the screen, complete with shimmering artifacts in the CGI.

(ps. - it's impossible!)

NOT impossible, just more expensive than if Warner Brothers hadn't been such <blue streak of swear words> IDIOTS losing or trashing all of the CGI computer files that THEY DEMANDED be turned in to them. THEY created this problem. It's THEIR FAULT. THEY should MAN-UP and FIX IT.

IF YOU GET A REBOOT, IT'S CLOSE TO THE SAME STORY BUT ALSO DIFFERENT, YET WITH NEW CGI.

I like the ORIGINAL story with the ORIGINAL actors (some of whom are no longer with us.) and we don't have a good DVD copy of IT.

If there is a reboot, you can watch the old DVD's in your own privacy until the cows come home and feel free to ignore the reboot.

Yes, we, the original fans who have supported B5 from on or near the beginning, can watch our 3rd rate Warner Home Video DVDs with scratches, hairs on the film, film defects (light leak or developing errors), ink splotches (Garibaldi scene in S2), cropped and shimmering CGI, that even looks worse on large HD TVs. Thanks for your support. <S>

The rest of us will be tuning in to see a new version of B5, and if it does well, the continuing adventures of it with new and unseen storylines beyond the 5 years, like maybe rebooting Crusade. And BTW, we'll still have our old DVD's to watch as well, no one is coming in to confiscate them.

CRUSADE DOES NOT NEED REBOOTED; IT NEEDS RESTARTED.

[OmahaStar]

If we accept the tag on Sleeping in Light, why wouldn't we accept a reboot? We all know B5 is a dramatization produced by ISN, based on events from the past. Maybe they've mounted another production based on the same source material?

[vakie]

I don't get YOU, NOT getting it.

And you don't get why I don't get it.

The complaint is that a reboot will be the same story (which it wouldn't really be). Yet those people complaining about getting the same story they've already seen with a reboot, are happy to fork out for the same old story they've already seen yet again, this time with flashier effects. Does the irony escape you?

Yes a GOOD story, with PROPER 1.78:1 CGI, from a proper, 1st generation master, NOT the half-assed DVDs we have now, made from a 3rd or 4th generation PAL copy, with 4:3 CGI that was enlarged and therefore CROPPED to cover the left to right edges of the screen, complete with shimmering artifacts in the CGI.

NOT impossible, just more expensive than if Warner Brothers hadn't been such <blue streak of swear words> IDIOTS losing or trashing all of the CGI computer files that THEY DEMANDED be turned in to them. THEY created this problem. It's THEIR FAULT. THEY should MAN-UP and FIX IT.

I like the ORIGINAL story with the ORIGINAL actors (some of whom are no longer with us.) and we don't have a good DVD copy of IT.

So here you are apparently implying again, as many seem to do here, that a reboot = bad story, whereas original = good story. I fail to see the logic or connection. All that matters is the quality of the writing of the project in question, and I would claim JMS is a much better writer now than he was back then when he made the original. So if anything I'd be expecting a better show with a reboot.

As comes to the DVD's, there is no question they could be better. But that is not the issue here. The issue is, why are people happy to watch the same DVD's over and over again, even happy to fork out for a remastered version, but the minute you mention REBOOT to them, they go: 'Wait a minute, you mean to tell me I have to watch the SAME SHOW again???? Are you innnssaaaannnneeee???? THE SAME SHOW??? MAAADNEEESSSSS... Kill meeee nooooowwww... Yaaaarggghhh...'

Yes, we, the original fans who have supported B5 from on or near the beginning, can watch our 3rd rate Warner Home Video DVDs with scratches, hairs on the film, film defects (light leak or developing errors), ink splotches (Garibaldi scene in S2), cropped and shimmering CGI, that even looks worse on large HD TVs. Thanks for your support. <S>

Erm, I would also be one of the original fans. I saw it from the first episode when it started here.

And make no mistake, this is not a question of COMPETING projects. That either we get BR's of the old show, or a reboot. That is not the case. As the case is now, BR's of the old show seem highly unlikely. The budget required is unprecedented for such a project.

But as unlikely it is NOW, I would wager it is MUCH MORE likely to happen, if say a reboot were to happen and it became a massive hit. Think about that.

You'd get to sit at home and turn off the TV the minute you see a second of the dreaded B5 reboot on the tube, and then just wait for the BR's of the old show to come out.

[Jan]

Everybody stay calm...as the song says, it's just a TV show.

Jan

[KoshN]

Sometimes, I think the whole world has gone 1/0 "TILT."

[DGTWoodward]

Yet those people...are happy to fork out for the same old story they've already seen yet again, this time with flashier effects. Does the irony escape you?

You'd get to sit at home and turn off the TV the minute you see a second of the dreaded B5 reboot on the tube, and then just wait for the BR's of the old show to come out.

Are we really so mad and deluded, that...heaven forbid...we should actually want BABYLON 5 (the original and best) to be presented in the best possible way, on the highest domestic resolution available at the moment?

Well grease my nippples and call me Lola! Someone ring the Witchfinder General!

Anyone that frequents any of the DVD forums will be more than achingly familiar with the term 'double...' or even 'triple-dip'.

If you want a fair representation of alot (not all mind, but alot) of film/TV series buyers...take...ME! Just ask me how many different versions of BATMAN (1966) I have or BATMAN (1989) + the same question about the sequels - even the stinker...or of BATMAN BEGINS and DARK KNIGHT.

Ask me about STAR WARS (but make sure you have a chair nearby) or SUPERMAN, 007. No...ask me about STAR TREK and the various version I have on VHS, the various Laserdisc editions, the DVD, the Burays...

Am I alone in this desire for the highest PQ possible for my favourite SF TV show? NO!

However, I find my self in agreement with on your point about new CGI for classic B5 coming only after a successful 'New' B5 Project'.

I do think that you are bang on the money there.

[KoshN]

If we accept the tag on Sleeping in Light, why wouldn't we accept a reboot? We all know B5 is a dramatization produced by ISN, based on events from the past. Maybe they've mounted another production based on the same source material?

To me, it seems like a waste of money, retelling and tinkering with a story that was told very well, and not very long ago. It's not like redoing something that was told 50 years ago. Instead, I'd rather see a story that was cut off and left hanging for TWELVE YEARS continued now that money is FINALLY available.


Never in a million years would I have guessed that JMS would have gone for this reboot of B5. I think JMS has been replaced with a doppleganger.

[Biffy Clyro]

Keeping in mind the reboot treatment JMS & Bryce Zabel wrote for Star Trek i feel confident a B5 reboot wouldn't just be a simple retelling. I would fully expect some fundamental changes in the new B5 universe.

[AmyG]

To me, it seems like a waste of money, retelling and tinkering with a story that was told very well, and not very long ago. It's not like redoing something that was told 50 years ago.

Here's me agreeing with Mac again.

I don't want to say too much more before listening to that podcast myself. (I've been busy with houseguests for most of a week, but they're leaving tomorrow and I will DEFINITELY be listening to it as soon as they do!)

But I will say, I really, really don't like what I'm hearing reported second-hand here. The way I see it, if you're going to retell *any* part of the original B5 story, you're going to have to replace Andreas as G'Kar. And you all know in painful and repetitive detail how I feel about that. And, I *thought* we knew how JMS felt about that. :-(

[Jan]

For a new post from JMS check out the 'Great Debate' thread in the Babylon 5 forum. Amy, I think you'll be reassured.

Let's continue the conversation in that thread, too, shall we?

Jan

[AmyG]

Let's hope; I listened to the pertinent bits of the interview today. Oof.

[KoshN]

Let's hope; I listened to the pertinent bits of the interview today. Oof.

Oof is right!

[grumbler]

If there is a reboot, you can watch the old DVD's in your own privacy until the cows come home and feel free to ignore the reboot. The rest of us will be tuning in to see a new version of B5, and if it does well, the continuing adventures of it with new and unseen storylines beyond the 5 years, like maybe rebooting Crusade. And BTW, we'll still have our old DVD's to watch as well, no one is coming in to confiscate them.

This is what I'd have said if I'd come back a coupla days earlier.

I'd watch a B5 "reboot" if done by JMS, and I'd have encouraged those who didn't like the idea to stick their fingers in their ears and hum loudly to drown it out. It's a win-win: those who like the series as-is have the series as-is.

Not that I wouldn't pay for a remastered version of the old show with the intended CGI, but that's a different story.