Caddickisms

J. Michael Straczynksi, the creator of the 5-year TV series Babylon 5 in the 90’s, has been doing little side stories from the B5 universe on and off since the show ended. A few TV movies, a canceled series (Crusade), a backdoor pilot (Legend of the Rangers - LOTR), and a direct-to-DVD anthology (B5: The Lost Tales - TLT) were all made, and none of them really reached the same level of quality as the original show. There was also a theatrical release (B5: The Memory of Shadows - TMOS) in the works for a while, but that fell through before even pre-production. There was a proposal for one more D2D starring fan favorite Garibaldi, but after the announcement JMS just made, it looks like that won’t happen, unfortunately:

B5 as a five year story stands beautifully on its own. If anything
else is to be continued from that story, it should be something that
adds to the legacy of B5, rather than subtracts from it.

As well intentioned as Rangers and TLT were, as enticing as it was to
return to those familiar waters, in the end I think they did more to
subtract from the legacy than add to it. I don’t regret having made
them, because I needed to go through that to get to the point where I
am now psychologically, but from where I sit now, I wouldn’t make them
again.

So I’ve let everyone up here know that I’m not interested in doing any
more low-budget DVDs. I’m not interested in doing any low-budget
cable things or small computer games. The only thing I would be
interested in doing regarding Babylon 5 from this point on is a full-
featured, big-budget feature film.

It’s that or nothing.

And if it’s nothing, I’m totally cool with that because the original
story stands on its own just fine. I’m not lobbying for it, I’m not
asking fans to write in about it (nor should you) because such
campaigns never really have much impact…that’s simply the position
I’ve taken up here. Lord knows I don’t lack for other things to do
these days. I’m busier on more prestige projects with terrific people
and great film-makers than at any other time in my career.

At the end of the day, for me, it’s not just a matter of getting more
B5. It’s a matter of getting more *good* B5 that respects what came
before it and doesn’t have to compromise visually or in terms of
action. The original show deserves better than that, the surviving
cast members deserve better than that, and the fans who have supported
it over the years definitely deserve better than that. A lot better.

So, barring a big-budget movie, which is pretty unlikely, Babylon 5 will see no more stories. That’s a shame, because JMS had created a universe rich with story-telling potential, and there’s a lot left that could be done. But then again, aside from the vast potential snuffed out in Crusade, I’d have to agree that the other efforts suffered greatly when compared to the original series. He’s right in saying that the 5-year story stands on its own. And if it has to end, then I’m okay with that.

And as he says, he’s got plenty of other stuff to keep him busy.

Still… I wouldn’t mind a couple more book trilogies…

Related posts

• The best cancelled shows (6)
• Crusade: What would have happened (3)
• Star Trek, Babylon 5 style: Concept pitch revealed (1)
• New Babylon 5 finishes principle photography (2)
• JMS deluged with attention (0)

Top five shows that shouldn’t have been cancelled - Quit Your Day Job:

Lee came up with a good Friday Top Five this week. What are the 5 best shows that met an untimely end at the hands of the network suits?

1 & 2: This is a tie for me. Firefly and Crusade were both handled horribly by their respective networks (Fox and TNT), and both were aborted before they even had a chance—Crusade was even cancelled before it aired. They also both had overarching story arcs that would have been amazing. Crusade had a 5 year plan (as its parent show, Babylon 5, did) and would have taken an extreme turn in the very next episode after it was cancelled. Firefly didn’t have a set time that I know of, but it had an obviously evolving story with a defined end point. When the follow-up theatrical release, Serenity, came out, it was obvious that it was compressing multiple years worth of episodes into its running time. While the movie was great, it would have been so much more satisfying, and a more fully-realized story, to have it all play out over the course of a few seasons.

3: The 4400. It had a great run on USA Network, but it needed to resolve the story. Everything was heating up for the big reveal, and fans were left hanging. I still haven’t quite accepted that it’s not coming back.

4. Journeyman. The only reason this is #4 instead of a three-way tie for #1 is that they found out early enough that they were being cancelled that they wrote a suitable finale. While there was plenty left to sustain multiple future seasons, they managed to make the last show feel like an ending. Thanks for that, at least. Still, it was cut down way too early - and again, handled very poorly by the NBC suits, who didn’t seem to know what to do with it. In their defense, it had a bit of a slow start, but when it started firing a couple episodes in it was top-notch TV. Easily the best show to run last year.

5. The Dead Zone. This one, again, had a good run on USA Network. But just like The 4400, they were gearing up for the big stuff when they got axed. I appreciate that they were kept on as long as they were, but if the writers could have gotten some advance notice of the cancellation, they could have tied the show up properly - even if it had to be rushed into an episode or two.

Honorable mention: Nowhere Man. We’re re-watching this on DVD now. It’s showing its age a little, but I was hooked on this show during its short original run. Again, cut off way too early, but the writers saw it coming and had time to cram an ending into the last few episodes. It felt rushed, but it was good stuff.

Agree? Disagree? What are your picks? Lee has an almost completely different list, but I’d agree they all should have gone on a little longer (except Seaquest DSV… that one had to go. I cringed when it came on.)

Related posts

• Crusade: What would have happened (3)
• Babylon 5 - the final word (mostly) (0)
• Star Trek, Babylon 5 style: Concept pitch revealed (1)
• New Babylon 5 finishes principle photography (2)
• JMS deluged with attention (0)

I just watched Disc Three of the Crusade series, written by J. Michael Straczynski (JMS). Luckily, I was apparently watching one of the early discs produced since it had his commentary on the episode Racing the Night. (All of his commentaries were removed from later discs at his request since Warner Bros. broke their contract with him by not including his full commentary, including criticisms of TNT.)

I just listened to the commentary and wanted to share the things that JMS said about the direction the show and its characters would take, had it run its course.

• The cure for the plague would have been found in the middle of the second season. (I had heard that elsewhere, but it was in the commentary so here it is.)
• In the process of finding the cure, the crew would have discovered that Earth was running its own secret program, continuing to use Shadow technology (which they weren’t supposed to have in the first place) for its gain.
• Gideon and the crew would have been “blacklisted” from Earth as a result of this discovery. It sounds like they would have been in a similar position to that of Babylon 5 when they seceded from Earth in the mid-third season of Babylon 5.
• The first season cliffhanger, which was one of two scripted but unproduced episodes, would have ended with Gideon being shot. He would have died. (But of course this is sci-fi; read on.)
• Somehow, Gideon’s conciousness would have been transferred to the Apocolypse Box. The implication in the commentary is that Gideon would have been resurrected, in a sense, later - I assume early in Season Two.(Though I’m sure it would have been handled differently, that’s another obvious parallel to B5.)
• At some point, Dureena would have disappeared for two episodes. When she returned, she would have carried a special sword of some kind, and begun a transformation into a technomage of sorts, though with a much darker bent than Galen appears to have. Her path would be led by a need for revenge. Galen and Dureena would have been set up to have some rather interesting conflicts. (Again, another parallel to B5: that sounds reminiscent of Londo and G’Kar.)
• There is a reference to the Biblical book of Job in the episode. JMS said he thought that was probably the single best story in literature, and this early tip was a foreshadowing of the arc of the entire series. If you know that book, you know, in broad strokes, what Crusade was about.

So there you have it.

I was fortunate enough to read the two aforementioned unproduced scripts, and I can say that it was obvious that there would have been a quantum shift in the tone and direction of the show come the season finale. I remember reading it and then sitting in front of the final page saying, “Whoa.” Shocked. The more I learn, the more disappointed I am that the show was cancelled before it even aired! I am SO disappointed in TNT.

As I’m sitting here typing I think I might have figured out at least one level of the Job parallel (I’m sure it would have worked on multiple levels). My guess is that Galen, whom Gideon completely trusts to save him, would have been the God analog, while Dureena, after slowly progressing down her darker path, would have been the Satan analog. Gideon would have, in a sense, been caught between the two and forced to choose his allegience.

In all likelihood, Gideon would also have been put in a similar situation politically - with EarthGov as the Satan analog and … I don’t know … Earth rebels, Mars, or the Interstellar Alliance, maybe … as the God analog.

Anyway… that’s conjecture. Cool stuff though. I wish it could have been produced to the end.

There is some hope to find out the truth, however. I recently read a note from JMS that when the Crusade script books are published, he will probably report what the whole story arc would have been! Can’t wait to buy those!

Some B5/JMS/Crusade related links:

• B5 Script books (limited editions, won’t be available forever)
• JMS News
• Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5
• Free B5 episode downloads from AOL (IE-only)

Related posts

• The best cancelled shows (6)
• JMS deluged with attention (0)
• Five years in two minutes, 27 seconds (0)
• Babylon 5 - the final word (mostly) (0)
• Star Trek, Babylon 5 style: Concept pitch revealed (1)