JMS on Seasons 1 & 2 Differences

[Jan]

Posting this here as well as the archive thread in General. Hoping that JMS might be willing to have a conversation.

[sense8ional]

Love reading JMS responses, thanks for that!

If he didn't see the final budgets, yeah, it makes sense he was more of a writer than showrunner in the second season, because in the past full-time showrunner JMS (Babylon 5, Jeremiah) always knew the budget (and delivered under it!).

Can we have a link of that conversation? I can't find it on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/officialjmspage/ (but I don't have a facebook account either, so maybe I don't see everything that you see).

[Jan]

Love reading JMS responses, thanks for that!

If he didn't see the final budgets, yeah, it makes sense he was more of a writer than showrunner in the second season, because in the past full-time showrunner JMS (Babylon 5, Jeremiah) always knew the budget (and delivered under it!).

Can we have a link of that conversation? I can't find it on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/officialjmspage/ (but I don't have a facebook account either, so maybe I don't see everything that you see).

Here you go. https://www.facebook.com/officialjms...77204308981093

Facebook, in its infinite wisdom <where's the sarcasm font?!?> has made it more difficult to find & post to pages like JMS'. There's a link on the left side of the page called 'Posts' where folks can post to his page. The way it's set up, they don't show up on the 'main' page.

ETA: I was sort of shocked that he hadn't seen the final budgets. Guess I always thought/assumed that the scripts were written keeping the budget in mind.

Something else hit me as kind of odd...JMS referred to Lana as the "film-maker". That's not a term I've ever heard in TV-making at all.

Jan

[Ubik]

Cheers for this Jan. Very cool to get more insight into the process. I'd love to see more of this kind of thing.

[sense8ional]

Something else hit me as kind of odd...JMS referred to Lana as the "film-maker". That's not a term I've ever heard in TV-making at all.

It's consistent with this: http://www.awardsdaily.com/tv/interv...8-straczynski/

In season one, I brought in the television background to help get that season off the ground, and, once Lana had her TV land-legs, she felt that she should run season two as the filmmaker. So my direct involvement on season two was primarily during the writing stage. It's now all down to Lana.

Yeah, in traditional TV the term doesn't exist probably, but Netflix and such might change that!

[Jan]

Thanks, that is very similar.

Jan

[sense8ional]

I wonder if JMS even knew about the cancellation (the cast certainly did), because well.. would he have answered this particular question if he knew that later today we would have these news? I don't know.

[Jan]

I wonder if JMS even knew about the cancellation (the cast certainly did), because well.. would he have answered this particular question if he knew that later today we would have these news? I don't know.

I'm sure he must have known about the cancellation but, just as if it had been a renewal, he couldn't say anything. And he may not have known *when* the press release would go out.

[sense8ional]

Ah, yes, that makes sense! I still don't understand why they announced the cancellation so early - even if the decision was made some time ago, it's very disappointing to the fans like that... It reeks of "we just want this to be over".

But that's for the other topic.

[Jan]

Every keep coming back to something for no reason you can really name? See...JMS is *very* precise in how he phrases things. And in the Awards Daily interview he wrote;

...once Lana had her TV land-legs, she felt that she should run season two as the filmmaker.

and

...season two is really Lana’s show as she takes the bit in her teeth and runs with it.

and

Lana guided the process back to territory that was more familiar coming from a big-budget feature-film background.

There's something about that middle one in particular that makes me wonder some. Because when a horse takes a bit in its teeth, it's generally a runaway out of control situation.

Just...dunno...looking for (as Nancy Drew might) clues to what might have happened.

[sense8ional]

I don't see anything there.

[Jan]

I don't see anything there.

Maybe it's me. But as I said, JMS is very precise. And instead of "we decided that...", it's all "Lana felt", "Lana guided". No intimation of teamwork or shared vision.

[sense8ional]

For me JMS has explained it well enough. For season 1 they sought him after for his TV background. Once Lana got the necessary experience, for the more-film like approach of season 2, JMS lacks such a background, so Lana could do it.

JMS explained it like this: "Since I don't come from that [big-budget feature film] world". He didn't just say "Lana decided" with no explanation. So, like I said, I understand the decision and see no reason to read anything more into it.

edit But maybe it's just me as well!

[sense8ional]

I wonder if JMS even knew about the cancellation (the cast certainly did), because well.. would he have answered this particular question if he knew that later today we would have these news? I don't know.

https://twitter.com/straczynski/status/871164337460658176

Some of us, myself included included, didn't even know the plug had been finally pulled until we read it in the trades.

I guess with "finally" he means he knew they were thinking of canceling it but Netflix never notified him in advance that the decision had been made? And is that true about Lana as well?

Does that mean the show's creators never had the opportunity to negotiate about a lower-costing London-focused season?!

Madness.