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Babylon 5 officially being rebooted


The Dragon Demands
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1 minute ago, Corvinus85 said:

Agreed that it should be on HBO Max. Right now Max only has Raised by Wolves as a niche space SF show, and that one is kinda strange. Personally not even sure I'll bother with season 2. 

Same, HBO Max would be a much safer place for Babylon 5, when compared to the CW, in it's current state. They'd also be able to get away with a lot more, in terms of stuff like swearing and violence.

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The news could be worse, but it's probably not great. JMS's personal relationship with the president of CW, who appears to have been a real fan and supporter of B5, seems to have played a part in this... but last month it was announced the CW was up for sale, so in all likelihood he will not be around come next year.

 

 

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3 hours ago, Ran said:

The news could be worse, but it's probably not great. JMS's personal relationship with the president of CW, who appears to have been a real fan and supporter of B5, seems to have played a part in this... but last month it was announced the CW was up for sale, so in all likelihood he will not be around come next year.

If The CW misses out on the project and someone else, like HBO Max, picks it up, that won't be a bad outcome.

However, it does eat up more time and JMS turns 68 this year, so I assume his preference would be to get the project underway ASAP.

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5 minutes ago, Werthead said:

If The CW misses out on the project and someone else, like HBO Max, picks it up, that won't be a bad outcome.

The pessimist in me suggests that CW was not JMS's first choice for Warner-related channels to pitch this to, and that HBO/HBO Max probably passed on it first time around. Hard to see why they'll go for it as a lame duck pitch developed at the newly-sold CW, but who knows...

 

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13 minutes ago, Zorral said:

Why doesn't he pitch something new instead of regurgitating what he's already done? Which was done already better than anything like it before, during, and, it could even be argued, since.

I'm sure he has done so. He started a production company and all, and has been involved in a number of TV and film projects since B5 ended. A B5 reboot/reimagining was what landed at this point in time. Per his remarks when it was revealed that it was in development, he's actively engaging with the idea that, 30 years on, the world is a different place, and he is a different person, and he's making a B5 that is built on the differences and not just attempting to recreate what they did decades earlier. 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
Quote
From JMS' Patreon page, with permission:
----
J. Michael Straczynski
Feel free to quote this anyplace the “oh, the show is dead” nonsense sprouts up.
Whenever there’s news in the TV/film business – good, bad or indifferent – there are always those who, for their own pleasure, throw dust in the faces of fans in the hope of eliciting tears. The history of B5 is rife with them. Every season they would cite sources who said the show was definitely not going to be renewed, only to be proven wrong, which never stopped them from doing the same exact thing the next season, and the next, to try and upset people.
These stories are then repeated through ignorance, arrogance, spitefulness, foolishness, clickbaitery, or the desire to appear tuned-in to an industry which they were never a part of in the first place, or to which they are no longer relevant. (Or any combination thereof.) So let me put the lie to this latest one in terms that are clear, verifiable, and unambiguous.
1) Every year, dozens and dozens of network pilots are picked up for production, or turned down. Telling those on either side of that equation where they’ve landed is not considered a big deal, it’s part of the everyday process of making TV. If the B5 pilot were dead, the network would not hesitate to say so because they’d have no reason to do so. They gain nothing by obscuring the truth. But the president of the CW network called personally (followed by a second call from his top executives) to say that they loved the script, that it was most emphatically not dead, and that they were going to roll the script into their development slate for 2023. And in the days since those calls there have been more discussions with the network and studio about how best to ensure B5’s future.
2) In the nearly 35 years that I’ve been online, and the nearly 30 years of B5 history, I have never once prevaricated or soft-pedaled the facts related to any aspect of Babylon 5. The one and only time I withheld information was in regard to Michael O’Hare’s struggle with mental illness because it wasn’t my story to tell at that time, and while he was still with us it was none of anybody else’s goddamn business. In every other instance, I have been blunt and honest and straightforward with the fans through good times and bad. Don’t take my word for it, ask those who’ve been around for those 30 years. There is nothing to be gained by saying the show’s still in development if it isn’t, and much to lose, since doing so would agitate both the network and the studio and I would hear from legal affairs within an hour of making such a statement.
3) When in doubt, always go with enlightened self-interest. In the event the pilot were not to be picked up, my contract gives me the legal right to immediately turn around and shop the pilot script elsewhere. If the CW had simply said we’re not doing it, end of conversation, I would be shouting from the metaphorical rooftops and knocking on every literal door to take it elsewhere, and the fans would know about it because their help in making that effort visible would be essential to the process. (And there are several networks who are very much aware of B5 and the fan base and how well it’s done on HBO Max who would be extremely interested in that prospect.) Saying that I and the pilot are sticking with the CW precludes the script from being taken elsewhere, so you can be damned sure I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.
It’s unfortunate that after all these years I still have to come online to do this sort of thing, but I suppose that, too, is just a part of the process.
Onward.
---
 
 

 

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  • 3 months later...

Just an update, a direct quote from (current) CW CEO Mark Pedowitz confirming the B5 reimagining/reboot is still in active development for the 2023 slate, and he cites his love of B5 and his friendship with JMS. My concerns from February remain, that it's unclear how long Pedowitz will be in charge of CW and right now it seems he's the person keeping it alive.

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6 minutes ago, Toth said:

Wasn't Superman and Lois really decent? Haven't been paying attention to the second season though.

Better than the rest, including its second season which is still ongoing. But it still has some of the typical CW silliness.

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1 hour ago, Corvinus85 said:

Better than the rest, including its second season which is still ongoing. But it still has some of the typical CW silliness.

Wasn't that show originally made for a streaming service and put on the CW at the last minute. Same with Star Girl, which is probably the only show on the CW, I honestly enjoy watching.

Edited by sifth
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1 hour ago, sifth said:

Wasn't that show originally made for a streaming service and put on the CW at the last minute. Same with Star Girl, which is probably the only show on the CW, I honestly enjoy watching.

Yes, you can also watch it on HBO Max, but only sometime after air, I think.

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  • 1 month later...

JMS tweeting today about B5, answering some questions (but otherwise no pick-up news).

 

It's still likely February 2023 before we hear any news on a green light for Fall 2023 debut.

Edited by SpaceChampion
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