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‘Babylon 5’ Reboot in the Works at The CW
Original series creator J. Michael Straczynski will pen the script for the update.
The CW is heading to space.
The younger-skewing broadcaster is teaming with original series creator J. Michael Straczynski for a reboot of Babylon 5.
Described as a “from-the-ground-up reboot” of the original, Straczynski will pen the script for a new potential version of the former syndicated drama from Warner Bros. TV. 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.
From Gizmodo:
Babylon 5 Is Getting Rebooted, With J. Michael Straczynski at the Helm
Variety reports that Warner Bros. has ordered a reboot of Babylon 5, produced and written by Straczynski as part of a deal between Warner Bros. TV and Straczynski’s Studio JMS. The series is not a continuation of the show, but a “from the ground up” reboot of the cult classic 1993 series, which ran across five seasons and seven made-for-TV movies until 1998.
[....] The series was beloved for its dark sci-fi plots and its approach to a massive, intertwined narrative over the course of its seasons and movies [...]
If only we could see the original vision of B5 as it would have been if no actors would have had to leave the show.
The past tempts us, the present confuses us, and the future frightens us. -- Emperor Turhan
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 28 2021, @06:49AM (13 children)
How much I like reboots is closely associated with how much I liked the original.
I loved Star Trek and hate the reboots, including the new shows which are reboot in all but name.
I didn't like original Battlestar Galactica but I loved the reboot, at least the first few seasons when it was good.
I didn't really see Babylon 5, but I knew someone who really loved it. I watched a couple of episodes but didn't like them. So I guess I expect to like this.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Opportunist on Tuesday September 28 2021, @06:55AM
B5 isn't a show where you can watch a few episodes and enjoy it, because the episodes by themselves only really start to make sense when you saw it all. That parallel will draw a lot of ire from the fans, but it's like watching 3 episodes of some long running telenovela. You couldn't even possibly fathom why anyone would want to sit through this boring drivel, while the person who has been watching for 10 years next to you goes bonkers over some throwaway line by a character that barely had 3 seconds of screen time.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Dale on Tuesday September 28 2021, @01:26PM (6 children)
Bab5 is hard for people that didn't already watch it. It had rubber suit monsters (budget issues) and the special effects have not aged as well as one might have hoped. The characters (and their growth over time) is amazing though. If you want to give it a good go you have to be able to get past the rubber suits and special effects. There was a list online as well that cut out the non-relevant storyline episodes (of which season 1/2 has a bunch) that will also help with the pacing a lot. My personal favorite bit in the whole series is the character changes of G'Kar from early series to where he ends. The dynamic of Londo and G'Kar specifically is amazing to watch over the whole course of the series. I have rarely found a more satisfying dynamic in TV.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday September 28 2021, @01:54PM (1 child)
If you have HBO Max you can watch all of B5, including the pilot. It is in 3:4 format, but is beautifully remastered. Looks much better than the DVDs. Much better. I noticed a lot of color comes out that is missing in the DVDs. I've watched the DVDs a number of times.
Also the special effects work better in the 3:4 format they were created in. No stretching or cropping.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 29 2021, @06:03AM
This post reads like you've been listening to a bunch of Trump speeches lately.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday September 28 2021, @05:11PM
Yes: when G'Kar is told by one of his people that he hasn't suffered and all G'Kar can do is laugh/cry and walk away, his one eye taken from him..... very big changes from when we first see him.
Londo has always been one of my favourites just for the way he talks: the way he enunciates his words, savouring every word, speaking it as if it is a morsel to enjoy. Sort of like a better speaking Captain Kirk.
B5 can be hard to get into but no, you cant just watch a few episodes or it kind of sucks: watch the whole thing and it's like meeting God... (i guess... i don't believe but i want to..... wait, are we talking about X-Files???)
:)
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Tuesday September 28 2021, @08:44PM (2 children)
I just watched through DS9 for the first time, in its original run I moved someplace where it wasn't available and lost track. I've been searching for a new series to watch, maybe I'll finally give Babylon 5 a chance. As for the budgets and special effects, it may be just me but I am perfectly fine with the older efforts. Indeed, it is the more modern efforts that often seem far more contrived.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday September 28 2021, @10:52PM (1 child)
Just remember: they foreshadow throughout the show and each episode builds on something, be it story arc or character development or whatever. A couple episodes missed or not watched carefully will mean you miss something, generally.
Each episode may not be good on its own, but as a whole-- wow.
The Shadow war builds slowly. G'Kar and Londo's relationship changes dramatically over a long time. Even little Vir goes from comedic effect to hero and finds his 'man-hood'. Everything builds over time and so is only enjoyed over time.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 30 2021, @04:27AM
Sounds a lot like Anime in Japan. They end a season and tie up story lines, then come back the next season with do overs, relationship changes and general plot reorg.. and you have to read the manga, play the video games, watch the OAV and pick up on the clues to understand why.
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Tuesday September 28 2021, @03:39PM
I grew up watching Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and all sort of other sci-fi on the BBC in the '90s. There was a good mix of new (TNG, DS9, VOY, Farscape, Sliders) as well as old (Space 1999, Quantum Leap). I don't see a simple correlation between my enjoyment of originals and reboots; most of it seems to be down to my changing tastes as I've grown older.
Having said that, I can't use the original as a guide to my expectations, because I've never seen the original Babylon 5. I first heard of it when a college friend had the DVD collection, but for whatever reason I didn't bite at the time. (I probably would have liked it too, given how I liked the slower, more-involved page of DS9. Though the CGI bits I did glance at looked a bit dated by then.)
Today, with the news of this reboot, I've gone snooping around to find out why I never saw it the first time round. It turns out that it was never broadcast in my area (apart from subscription television). Go figure.
On that basis, I'll wait for this adaptation to grace my television before eventually making a judgement.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 28 2021, @04:54PM (3 children)
I liked the original Battlestar Galactica. I won't say I liked it more than the remake, but the original was just right for me at the time. Of course, I was 12 years old then. I still like their uniforms better.
The remake had Number Six and Number Eight, so it was alright, even with the shitty ending.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday September 28 2021, @05:20PM (2 children)
When i was a kid, Land of the Giants was the show we all watched rabidly.
I watch it now and it's...uh.............meh. But when you look at it, it had, i think, the first black guy in a leadership role.
It's like an Ed Wood movie: you can't look away but you can't not look away, lol.
Surprised there wasn't a reboot of it.....3....2...1..
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Wednesday September 29 2021, @02:57AM (1 child)
LOL, reminds me of the usual horrified review of "Hawk the Slayer" -- best awful movie ever. It's dreadful but you can't look away.
And... Land of the Giants? Pfft. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and The Time Tunnel, that's where it was at. (Quick, which actor was in three different time travel productions?)
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 30 2021, @04:22AM
Dig up a copy of Zipang
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zipang_(film)#Reception [wikipedia.org]
Great when four shots in. Vodka for preference.