[Rob Helmerichs]

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.

...although when I read that, I wasn't sure if that is an actual description of the new show from JMS, or just Hollywood Reporter summing up the old show...

 

[Craigbob]

I just want to know if Steve Grimm is going to reactivate the Lurker's guide. I can't imagine B5 without a weekly (frequently more) visit to the Lurker's guide.

 

[Saturn_V]

..although when I read that, I wasn't sure if that is an actual description of the new show from JMS, or just Hollywood Reporter summing up the old show...

It sounds like studio marketing or "series bible" verbiage to me. Used to explain to to the moneymen, or writers new to the franchise.

 

[gchance]

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.

There were always be hot-to-trot hottie actors, the trick will be to find ones that have the gravitas to carry it. And they do exist, the question is will they be findable. But also keep in mind too, the original series barely had a budget and at times would just take what they could take for actors. They really did well with the primary cast though.

 

[gchance]

I just want to know if Steve Grimm is going to reactivate the Lurker's guide. I can't imagine B5 without a weekly (frequently more) visit to the Lurker's guide.

That would be amazing, except so much has changed. He was pioneering online recaps and content that's commonplace today. You look at most of them and they all seem to have their roots in the Lurker's Guide.

But yeah, that thing. I would purposely not visit it until I had a chance to watch the episode, then dissect its content and most times rewatch the episode.

 

[Allanon]

That would be a great idea.

ON! TV!

In the early 80s my family had a subscription box that decoded a scrambled over the air channel called ON TV.

 

[gschrock]

I just want to know if Steve Grimm is going to reactivate the Lurker's guide. I can't imagine B5 without a weekly (frequently more) visit to the Lurker's guide.

These days it'd have to be a youtube channel. The current generation wouldn't have the attention span for a lurker's guide.

 

[TonyD79]

In the early 80s my family had a subscription box that decoded a scrambled over the air channel called ON TV.

A lot like Super TV in Washington and Baltimore. Movies and orioles baseball.

 

[wprager]

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.

His exact quote was "...still stubbornly on the other side of the Rim".

 

[kdmorse]

Read the whole thread of the tweet above…JMS has put some serious thought into this. I can't wait to see the results! IMHO B5 never got the resources or 'respect' it deserved as a Sci-Fi franchise.

(tweet thread didn't exist when I made that post)

Yup, I agree. In fact, it very much reminds me of Neil Gaiman's post to fans about his vision for Good Omens (a book we've all known and loved for 30 years, and were slightly concerned about the miniseries) - which worked out fine. He's clearly given a great deal of thought into all the same concerns we've addressed here.

 

[cheesesteak]

It'll be on the CW? At least there will be some pretty people on it if all else fails.

 

[Craigbob]

It'll be on the CW? At least there will be some pretty people on it if all else fails.

You can't say that Pat Tallman, Claudia Christian or Mira Furlan weren't attractive. It's TV, most actors and actresses are good looking.

 

[Saturn_V]

You can't say that Pat Tallman, Claudia Christian or Mira Furlan weren't attractive.

But CW is a special case. For the longest time CW's primary target demo was women 18-34. It's evened out since CBS started pushing its "middling" shows to less competitive network.

But it's still wall-to-wall hot-to-trot hotties.

 

[gchance]

You can't say that Pat Tallman, Claudia Christian or Mira Furlan weren't attractive. It's TV, most actors and actresses are good looking.

Ever hear the reason Caitlin Brown was replaced by Mary Kay Adams as Na'Toth?

"...she was concerned that the role and the necessity of hiding her face behind a mask would negatively impact her feature film career."

Na'Toth.

 

[kdmorse]

You can't say that Pat Tallman, Claudia Christian or Mira Furlan weren't attractive. It's TV, most actors and actresses are good looking.

True, but there's attractive, and then there's stereotypical CW cast attractive - which is a whole different ballpark. (I haven't checked recently, but last time I checked, Pat was still on the list )

 

[warrenn]

I doubt that the reboot will match up with the original. The original had some undefinable special quality that made it great even though the production values were low and the acting was spotty. It succeeded despite those typical show-killing aspects. I'm not sure that magic quality will be replicated. One thing that made the original great is that we didn't know where it was going. We had the anticipation and sense of discovery as the plot unfolded. That won't be the case in the reboot. We already know the ending and won't have the same sense of wonder as details are revealed. And the actors had great personal chemistry that made us really care about the characters. Even if the acting was lacking, the actors were able to portray that their characters really cared (or hated) the other characters. That's also something that's difficult to reproduce. Especially on a network channel, and the CW at that. I would guess the network will want the typical CW show tweaks to boost ratings with the younger demographics, but I'm not sure if that will make for a good B5 story. But JMS made a great show from the first B5 even with all the difficulties, so maybe he can do it again.

 

[gchance]

True, but there's attractive, and then there's stereotypical CW cast attractive - which is a whole different ballpark. (I haven't checked recently, but last time I checked, Pat was still on the list )

She's alright.

 

[gchance]

 

[robojerk]

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).

I was 14 in '94 when the show premiered and I remember my dad watching but I never gave it a look. Since I've started it a couple of times but I just cant get drawn in and never make it past a few episodes.

Hopefully it wont be required to have knowledge from the original series

 

[Rob Helmerichs]

You can't say that Pat Tallman, Claudia Christian or Mira Furlan weren't attractive. It's TV, most actors and actresses are good looking.

But CW is a special case. For the longest time CW's primary target demo was women 18-34. It's evened out since CBS started pushing its "middling" shows to less competitive network.

But it's still wall-to-wall hot-to-trot hotties.

Plus, all three of those women, even in their B5 days, were much too old to be main characters in a CW show.