Babylon 5 Reboot Appears to be ON!
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Me, too. I was late to the party with the original and, frankly, it didn't live up to expectations (B-list actors, innovative -- but rather primitive -- special effects). And I still think that S5 was bolted on after they wrapped things up in S4, thinking they were getting canceled. Hopefully they go with a 5 x 10 for some tighter story-telling.
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It wasn't that 5 was bolted on...it was operating under a five-year plan, but they learned they were going to be cancelled after Season 4, so JMS cut out some subplots from the last two years' worth of story and ended the show a year early. But then it was picked up by another...well, not network, exactly, but another group of syndicated stations,* so JMS took the "deleted scenes" from the old 4 and 5 and made a new Season 5 out of them.
So basically, everything that he always intended for the show was in it, but Season 4 has part of the original plan for Season 4 and 5, and Season 5 has the rest.
*Actually, it WAS a network...TNT, after initially being on a "network" of syndicated stations arranged by Warner.
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So many questions about this.... With Joe in charge I'm not too worried about the direction. CW tends to sign a show for multiple years/seasons so between that and Joe's credibility and clout I'm guessing a 5 year deal was inked for this. I can't see Joe wanting to do this again with the sword of Damocles hanging over his head every year.
I also don't expect him to write nearly every script this time. He's no spring chicken anymore. There were a lot of concepts and ideas that never saw the light of day in the original run. I expect them to come into play this time.
My expectation is a different jumping off point ("exploratory Earth company accidentally triggers a conflict with a civilization a million years ahead of us") instead of attempted assassination of an ambassador. A slightly different route to a similar destination. Of course Joe could go with his original concept and just use Sheridan rather than Sinclair and then we get Babylon Prime as well.
Who knows, this could lead to a revival of Crusade as well.
I also don't expect him to write nearly every script this time. He's no spring chicken anymore. There were a lot of concepts and ideas that never saw the light of day in the original run. I expect them to come into play this time.
My expectation is a different jumping off point ("exploratory Earth company accidentally triggers a conflict with a civilization a million years ahead of us") instead of attempted assassination of an ambassador. A slightly different route to a similar destination. Of course Joe could go with his original concept and just use Sheridan rather than Sinclair and then we get Babylon Prime as well.
Who knows, this could lead to a revival of Crusade as well.
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Of course, being the CW, the entire cast will be insanely good-looking young people... 
(The show's already listed on tvmaze.com. Dang, they're fast!)
(The show's already listed on tvmaze.com. Dang, they're fast!)
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I'm interested, I still think the original is the best TV series ever made, and S3 is the best single season of a TV show ever. (Half of S1 is a bit shaky, and S4-S5 got spoiled by the cancellation.)
I hope JMS gets to actually make the show he wants this time (all 5 seasons).
I just hope it can live up to the original.
I hope JMS gets to actually make the show he wants this time (all 5 seasons).
I just hope it can live up to the original.
I'll probably check it out, but I honestly don't really think this is something that needs to be (or should be) done. I'm content with the original, especially seasons 2-4.
Besides, all we're doing is cursing a new generation of actors to an early death.
Besides, all we're doing is cursing a new generation of actors to an early death.
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There's an underlying philosophical question there - would B5 have been seemed so good if it had been made today - in a world where long running intricate plots have become the norm.
For a remake to be successful, it would not only have to shine against everything we've come to expect as normal, it will have to outshine it's original run - because even if it's just as good, or a bit better, it'll seem like a pale imitation. They could easily swing for rebooted BSG, and instead make a rebooted Fantastic Four.
Which brings up problem #2, it's going to be really, *really* hard to accept new actors in some of the roles. Replacing any of the surviving cast isn't going to be nearly as hard as replacing the roles of those that are deceased. Trying to be the next G'Kar, or even the next Vir, is going to be rough.
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Not that there's anything wrong with that...Of course, being the CW, the entire cast will be insanely good-looking young people...
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Curious if they'll cast the Vorlon as a hottie...that shape-shifts in and out of the non-hottie state.Of course, being the CW, the entire cast will be insanely good-looking young people...
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I don't think this twitter thread was included in any of the articles, it may be more recent than them all.
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I'll be curious to see if JMS follows the original 5-year plan or if he just scraps it altogether and starts fresh. Fans already know the original story by heart so why rehash what's already been done? Why not just make a new Babylon 6 instead?
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According to the linked Twitter thread above, JMS is starting fresh. He wouldn't want to continue the original story because too many central characters are played by actors who have since died.
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Read JMS's post: nobody's being replaced, he doesn't want to use the original characters because nobody (least of all him) would accept different actors in the same roles. And if he changes the actors who died, nobody would accept Londo without Vir, or having no G'Kar.
No, the only choice is a complete reboot, with perhaps some of the same characters and events, but different to the point of Battlestar Galactica.
Because Babylon 5 was the last of the Babylon stations.
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And a story about the Interstellar Alliance would suck. And selling a show just to legacy B5 fans isn't sustainable.
Hollywood Reporter: 9/27/2021
The new take revolves around John Sheridan (originally played by Bruce Boxleitner), an Earthforce officer with a mysterious background, who is assigned to Babylon 5, a five-mile-long space station in neutral space, a port of call for travelers, smugglers, corporate explorers and alien diplomats at a time of uneasy peace and the constant threat of war. His arrival triggers a destiny beyond anything he could have imagined, as an exploratory Earth company accidentally triggers a conflict with a civilization a million years ahead of us, putting Sheridan and the rest of the B5 crew in the line of fire as the last, best hope for the survival of the human race.
Old for us, new for everyone else. Just hope the average quality is better than it was in the original run. Just not sure that's possible with hot-to-trot hottie actors.
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