General / Off-Topic Bablyon 5 getting a remake/reboot
- Thread starter Agony_Aunt
- Start date
True, but it is the same guy who brought us the original, so there is some hope.
Its not like they are giving the franchise to JJ Abrahms or Michael Bay.
hopefully better than BSG, I loved BSG, but the second was awful in my opinion.
B5 is was awesome and as a dedicated Trek fanatic, I love B5 even more than trek.
Keep in mind even though B5 did not go as long as it could/should have, it was pretty much a full completed story that went into millions of years in the future to see the best man could become.
so flashbacks is likely all a second take could/would be and if they mess it up, well damaging an iconic brand is hard to forget
never forget what has happened to the oldest longest running sci-fi, The Doctor., Doctor WHO?..it turned into a waste of air time and may never recover.
I'd be impressed if it recovers
I'd be impressed if a new B5 is as good or better, but having seen so many great sci-fi's destroyed by remakes doesn't fill me with confidence.
many examples of crap now exist in Marvel and DC television, great ideas with garbage writing and garbage remakes of many super heroes.
never thought superman could be a loser, or supergirl could be such an idiot or Green Arrow could be such a whiner.
and re writes of origins is sickening.
these are not made for existing fans, but are made to appease new generation of children that believe in equality, which is the exact opposite of why many super heroes came to be in the first place, to give entertainment and hope and enlightenment.
For B5, almost the same with enlightenment being #1.
remember, Earth got dusted back to the stone age due to lack of enlightenment, some of mankinds best and enlightened went on into the future, the rest were left to re-evolve and who wants to see a repeat of that? It was deserved, is deserved. Greed is the epitomy of un-enlightened and IS the definition of MAN. 1 in a million is enlightened and in B5 I imagine Earth will take billions of years to get there.
But as we saw, SOL went boom, so just like EDO, too little too late, never going to happen.
Some writers know when to stop.
Most are just after more ratings, rep and more money. This usually ruins a franchise or damages an older original idea.
both Joss Whedon and Michael J. Straczynski are in a class of their own and many many try to reach that level but never will.
A B5 remake will only be insulting to the fans if Straczynski is not heavily involved.
My Opinion.
B5 is was awesome and as a dedicated Trek fanatic, I love B5 even more than trek.
Keep in mind even though B5 did not go as long as it could/should have, it was pretty much a full completed story that went into millions of years in the future to see the best man could become.
so flashbacks is likely all a second take could/would be and if they mess it up, well damaging an iconic brand is hard to forget
never forget what has happened to the oldest longest running sci-fi, The Doctor., Doctor WHO?..it turned into a waste of air time and may never recover.
I'd be impressed if it recovers
I'd be impressed if a new B5 is as good or better, but having seen so many great sci-fi's destroyed by remakes doesn't fill me with confidence.
many examples of crap now exist in Marvel and DC television, great ideas with garbage writing and garbage remakes of many super heroes.
never thought superman could be a loser, or supergirl could be such an idiot or Green Arrow could be such a whiner.
and re writes of origins is sickening.
these are not made for existing fans, but are made to appease new generation of children that believe in equality, which is the exact opposite of why many super heroes came to be in the first place, to give entertainment and hope and enlightenment.
For B5, almost the same with enlightenment being #1.
remember, Earth got dusted back to the stone age due to lack of enlightenment, some of mankinds best and enlightened went on into the future, the rest were left to re-evolve and who wants to see a repeat of that? It was deserved, is deserved. Greed is the epitomy of un-enlightened and IS the definition of MAN. 1 in a million is enlightened and in B5 I imagine Earth will take billions of years to get there.
But as we saw, SOL went boom, so just like EDO, too little too late, never going to happen.
Some writers know when to stop.
Most are just after more ratings, rep and more money. This usually ruins a franchise or damages an older original idea.
both Joss Whedon and Michael J. Straczynski are in a class of their own and many many try to reach that level but never will.
A B5 remake will only be insulting to the fans if Straczynski is not heavily involved.
My Opinion.
I'm excited for this - with a bit of caution thrown in there too because I'm nervous about it as well. Like many scifi fans who were around for it, Babylon 5 is special. Sacred even.
What sold it for me was that JMS is doing it - it's not someone else trying to redo what was done in the 90s by (let's face it) a genius. It was lightning in a bottle, with the cast particularly. G'kar can only be Andreas Katsulas - there's nothing anyone else could possibly add to his performances. That goes for a number of characters & actors tbh... and most of them are dead now.
However, the impression I'm getting is that there will be new characters rather than a recast, and a different (but similar) story. If that's true, and JMS is doing it, I'm so there for it.
B5 was an incredible show, but it was beset with problems from day 1, and what we ended up with was a version rather than the original intent in all cases. With unexpected cast changes, and never knowing from one minute to the next if they were going to be renewed (it was certain to be cancelled after season 4 which is why it was so rushed). He lost his notes (well, they were thrown out by an overzealous hotel cleaner in Blackpool) for season 5 so had to make something up on the fly last minute, and it showed. Claudia Christian left unexpectedly, and he'd already killed off Marcus. Michael O'Hare's illness meant he couldn't continue past season 1, so things changed again there.
Bottom line - whilst he's always said he was broadly happy with it, I'm not convinced that it was entirely the story he wanted to tell for reasons outside his control, so I'm delighted he's getting another shot at it. Especially since he has improved as a writer in those 25 years... Sense8 is proof of that fact alone.
Fingers and toes crossed, etc.
What sold it for me was that JMS is doing it - it's not someone else trying to redo what was done in the 90s by (let's face it) a genius. It was lightning in a bottle, with the cast particularly. G'kar can only be Andreas Katsulas - there's nothing anyone else could possibly add to his performances. That goes for a number of characters & actors tbh... and most of them are dead now.
However, the impression I'm getting is that there will be new characters rather than a recast, and a different (but similar) story. If that's true, and JMS is doing it, I'm so there for it.
B5 was an incredible show, but it was beset with problems from day 1, and what we ended up with was a version rather than the original intent in all cases. With unexpected cast changes, and never knowing from one minute to the next if they were going to be renewed (it was certain to be cancelled after season 4 which is why it was so rushed). He lost his notes (well, they were thrown out by an overzealous hotel cleaner in Blackpool) for season 5 so had to make something up on the fly last minute, and it showed. Claudia Christian left unexpectedly, and he'd already killed off Marcus. Michael O'Hare's illness meant he couldn't continue past season 1, so things changed again there.
Bottom line - whilst he's always said he was broadly happy with it, I'm not convinced that it was entirely the story he wanted to tell for reasons outside his control, so I'm delighted he's getting another shot at it. Especially since he has improved as a writer in those 25 years... Sense8 is proof of that fact alone.
Fingers and toes crossed, etc.
Yep, with all the cast hassles it's a miracle that it went for 5 seasons and was good.
The miracle of B5 was that it was made at all IMO.
He had 'trapdoors' for all the characters to cover these kinds of things, but all that really does is ensure that the train keeps moving - it doesn't always mean that its going in the right direction.
O'Hare leaving and Boxleitner coming in actually helped the show & the story, despite the circumstances of it, but it happened early enough that JMS had time to deal with it & make it work.
Losing Ivanova and Marcus for the 5th season... much less so. It meant he had to suddenly create another character (with a hokey backstory) to carry the show. I'm not knocking Tracy Scoggins who did a fine job with what she was given, but you could never quite shake the feeling that she just wasn't meant to be there.
There's lots of other examples too. I love B5 to bits, but I take issue with anyone who says it was a "perfect" show and should never be revisited - because it just wasn't. There were too many behind-the-scenes shenanigans going on in the 5 years that it left Joe chasing his tail more often than he should have been. By his own admission, it nearly killed him.
Hopefully, with the new show, and the new cast & story and whatever else, the actors are nailed down to contracts for as long as their characters need for their arc to play out.
Prometheus.
I quite enjoyed Prometheus - it was the sequel to that (Alien: Covenant) that was dire, a complete load of smelly jobbie if ever there was one.
The problem with that film was that they chickened out of telling the story they really wanted, that of god and creation being alien inventions. Covenant was the same, with interesting ideas cut away when it really needed them.
B5 was best when realpolotik crushed the characters, even when they were 'winning'. I always remember Londos reflected face in the window when Narn was bombarded, and him seeing where his lust for power got him. BSG was the same early on, where humans were pushed to the limit.
Been reading JMS's recent Resistance series. I think we may find clues to the issues he wants to explore in a reboot there.
Thanks, I'll check it out.
I've found it hard to read anything more of JMS' writings since I read his autobiography 'Becoming Superman'.
Man, that guy had a hard upbringing. I mean seriously off the charts. I respected the guy enormously before, but after reading it I'm in awe that he's even remotely sane or well-adjusted.
But I have a copy of his latest novel 'Together We Will Go', and I imagine I'll start it soon.
I have hopes, but most likely I will be disappointed, as with all reboots/remakes these days.
This was one of the greatest shows ever for me. I remember back in 2005 I think, I had just lost my job, and I binge watched this already dated series on DVD collection I had just purchased.
I was completely hooked. And at the end I cried like a baby when Sheridan died, and then seeing Delenn left alone
Funny thing I really really didn't like his character when he took over for Sinclair, but damn did he grew on me.
This was one of the greatest shows ever for me. I remember back in 2005 I think, I had just lost my job, and I binge watched this already dated series on DVD collection I had just purchased.
I was completely hooked. And at the end I cried like a baby when Sheridan died, and then seeing Delenn left alone
Funny thing I really really didn't like his character when he took over for Sinclair, but damn did he grew on me.
I have hopes, but most likely I will be disappointed, as with all reboots/remakes these days.
This was one of the greatest shows ever for me. I remember back in 2005 I think, I had just lost my job, and I binge watched this already dated series on DVD collection I had just purchased.
I was completely hooked. And at the end I cried like a baby when Sheridan died, and then seeing Delenn left alone
Funny thing I really really didn't like his character when he took over for Sinclair, but damn did he grew on me.
LOL, i don't think there was any need to spoiler that. It has been over 20 years.
Yea but the channel that commissioned it is the CW and that's a major negative right away.
True, CW doesn't seem like the right place for it. Then again, maybe they decided to scrap all the scifi turkeys they have and put all the money in a good place. Hello Pandora! 
I heard they were working on a 2nd project. And here it is:
August 15 2023 release date.
August 15 2023 release date.
Last edited:
I don't have high hopes for this. There's been talk of a reboot etc since forever and none of them ever worked out. Being on CW makes me even less optimistic. Considering the trend on that network there's going to be so many changes to the story and setting to fit current day politics it'll ruin the story. I can't see how they do the BSG treatment on CW, they're not known for gritty.
Imagine GoT on CW, not the same.
Imagine GoT on CW, not the same.
It's still being run by Strasczinski so I'm optimistic. And this one seems to have legs, it's still on afaik.