Babylon 5 reboot coming from JMS

[LordMortis]

I think there's a caveat: overarching storylines work great on non-network shows. For the simple reason that Disney+ or CBS All Access or HBO won't keep bumping new episodes of the show for a football game, or "mid-season break" or decide that they want to show it on a different night because ratings. When people wait for several weeks to see a new episode, then two weeks later the network shows another re-run, and a month later they take a 3-month break, many viewers don't return because they get tired of waiting for this epic storyline to resolve and just say "screw it, I'll wait for the whole season to be out", which hurts ratings and causes the show to get canceled.

That was totally me with DS9. Sometimes they didn't even air the scheduled episode at all. It was just... gone. I didn't come back to DS9 until years later in syndication. Nowadays, I tend to binge stream most serials long after they initially air. (I used to rent until DVD became so legacy that the last of the rental stores shut down)


Also, for what my 2 scents are worth, I don't mind re-imaginings though I tend to look for something new before going to a re-imagining. Some do it very well. Heck, if you go back to the golden age of Hollywood you can see the same movie released with different names and different actors released like one or two years apart. Seeing some thing classic broadcast can get confusing this way.

[Grifman]

The universe and the station itself had such a unique, special personality that it really made the show shine.

I don't know how that will fit in to a modern, Post-GoT, must-have-gritty-realism world. A character like Londo simply wouldn't work in a universe flavored like The Expanse.

Londo was IMO probably the most memorable character on television. His character arc was amazing. I thought he was just the running joke character on the show when I first saw him, sort of the B5 court jester. Oh, Lando, you wer so much more . . .

[pr0ner]

G'Kar was definitely something else early on, too. From having gills to desperately wanting to bang Lyta in the pilot to create Narn telepaths to the almost religious leader/prophet he became is quite a journey.

[Blackhawk]

But G'Kar and Londo were nothing without Londo and G'Kar!

[Defiant]

[Max Peck]

Additionally...

And just to be clear, this brand new original animated movie is already finished and in the can. So it's 100% real, happening, and coming out very soon.

[Sudy]

When do we begin to question whether this whole reboot and animated film thing is a JMS delusion?

[Max Peck]

Delusion is a strong word, but I'm not holding my breath for the reboot at this point. I guess we'll see more about the animated movie next week.

[Montag]

But G'Kar and Londo were nothing without Londo and G'Kar!

I have to go with the "moon faced assassin of joy".

Spoiler:

Vir - did you need to read the spoiler?

I will root for anything B5. I would love to see more from the IP.

[pr0ner]

Delusion is a strong word, but I'm not holding my breath for the reboot at this point. I guess we'll see more about the animated movie next week.

JMS says the reboot is still on, just on pause during the writers' strike.

[Max Peck]

I was under the impression that it has been "on pause" for a lot longer than that. The last I heard, which was quite some time ago now, it sounded like it hadn't been picked up for production but also hadn't been definitively rejected.

[Jeff V]

The last I heard, which was quite some time ago now, it sounded like it hadn't been picked up for production but also hadn't been definitively rejected.

He just needs to get production costs under 10K per episode so Freevee can pick it up. Expect it to be populated with unlisted actors.

[Daehawk]

Babylon 5 Animated Movie Story and Cast Revealed, Including One Surprising Return

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the project will bring back many cast members from the original show's first five seasons, including Bruce Boxleitner as John Sheridan, Claudia Christian as Susan Ivanova, Peter Jurasik as Londo Mollari, Bill Mumy as Lennier, Tracy Scoggins as Elizabeth Lochley, and Patricia Tallman as Lyta Alexander.Christian's appearance is especially notable given that she left the show due to a contract dispute following its fourth season. Both Christian and Straczynski have shared different sides of the story, but the upshot is that she was written out of the show in Season 5, though the character wasn't recast.

[Sudy]

Is that surprising? Three decades is a long time for liquid to flow under the overpass.

Edit: Commenting on the quote that is.

[hepcat]

[Daehawk]

LOL

[Max Peck]

Still no news on the reboot that I've seen, but...

[Daehawk]

Thats ..um..hmmmm...interesting. Im a little tired of time plots. And the animation is a little too anime like. But otherwise good to go. Sad we've lost so many but glad to have originals back too at the same time. Id watch it.

[Sudy]

"Unstuck in time"? Lol. I have an extremely open mind but "who exactly is this for" is kind of in the back of my mind. Animatrix seemed cool and I always told myself I'd watch it... but I never have.

Still, any JMS B5 is better than no B5.

[Max Peck]

My pet theory is that by establishing that there are multiple parallel timelines in the B5 universe, it lays a foundation for both the original series and the reboot (if/when it happens) to be canon, albeit in different timelines.

[El Guapo]

I don't think that character looks anything like Sheridan.

[Kraken]

I might watch this if it's streaming on a service I already have.

Wife and I have been revisiting classic TV shows over the past few years (most recently, Farscape) and Babylon 5's turn is almost here. The remastered episodes were streaming on HBO Max, but they're gone from Max. One can "buy" them on Prime for the low-low price of $30-35 per season. I'm not going to pay $150 to re-watch an old show and "owning" it doesn't appeal; it's not like I'll ever watch it again after this upcoming revisit -- at least not for another 15-20 years, by which time I hope to be safely dead and Prime probably will be, too.

Fortunately the original episodes are streaming for free in all their blurry glory on Tubi, so that's where I'll be. Pretty soon. I'm chewing through some backlogged movies first.

[Blackhawk]

I don't think that character looks anything like Sheridan.

None of them look much like their characters. I'm not a fan of the current anime-adjacent animation style that's so popular.

[Sudy]

I watched The Road Home (the new animated movie released in August, mentioned several posts above). The premise is kind of silly, but it's thoroughly enjoyable for fans of the series, even if I rolled my eyes at the conclusion/message. But my question from earlier persists: Why? Who was this created for? If it's just a bonus, I'm delighted to have it. But I can't imagine it made money, and I sure hope the reboot doesn't hinge on it in some way. If it sees the light of day, here's hoping JMS is capable of making it fresh/relevant.

Spoiler:

Minus one star for no Kosh.

Max Peck:
My pet theory is that by establishing that there are multiple parallel timelines in the B5 universe, it lays a foundation for both the original series and the reboot (if/when it happens) to be canon, albeit in different timelines.

I think this is a good guess given the ending, but I find it a little disappointing. I know B5 and JMS are a different beast, but why have a new TOS when you can have TNG?

Blackhawk:
None of them look much like their characters. I'm not a fan of the current anime-adjacent animation style that's so popular.

It took some getting used to, but the animation/art style is really pretty. I don't like how young everyone looks though, especially unshaven Sheridan at the end. He looks like he's twelve.

[Max Peck]

While this is slightly off topic, given that it relates to OG B5 rather than the mythical reboot, I thought that any fellow die-hard B5 fans might be interested in this digital offering from B5 Books:

CNN Documents Babylon 5

The original CNN Documents Babylon 5 three-DVD package has been out of print for 10 years. It contained:

Disc 1: On-set interviews with cast and crew (with optional on-screen footnotes).
Disc 2: On-set footage while scenes were actually being filmed. (Plus optional audio tour with Jason Davis.)
Disc 3: Picture-in-picture commentary with Jerry Doyle and Claudia Christian while watching discs 1 and 2.

This new 2024 Edition includes all of the above but at a resolution of 4K (instead of 720p) which brings out the detail in the sets, the costumes, the makeup and more with its sharpness and vivid color. There’s also the 17 Bonus Bundles that add more than 2 hours of additional content.

They have two options via Vimeo:

• streaming only, for $49
• streaming+download+sharing, for $69

There is a $20 discount that expires tomorrow.

I splurged on the streaming+download+sharing version. While they do accept Paypal, apparently Vimeo does not, so they handled that by sending me a 100% discount code by email that I used to "purchase" it on the Vimeo-hosted site.