‘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: 2) by tangomargarine on Tuesday September 28 2021, @06:10PM (1 child)
I mean, professional critics, sure. Here I'm talking about RedLetterMedia, a bunch of rough Wisconsinite guys who were already Star Trek fans, so I trust their reviews of Discovery and Picard.
Putting a bit of a new spin on stuff is fine, but when it goes as far as "they're shitting all over the core things that make the original what it was", at some point you have to draw the line.
I think they liked season 2 better than 1, although the plot still sounded like a huge mess.
Ah yes, the Star Trek where former captains are living in a trailer (they have currency now...?) and addicted to drugs, the Federation has a race of slave robots and wouldn't lift a finger to help the Romulans evacuate their homeworld (why couldn't they do it themselves either?), and there's a torture porn scene where a Borg gets its eyeball ripped out onscreen while screaming. But at least they found a way to crowbar in inept social commentary about refugees in between the fight scenes, which is why we watch Star Trek after all /s
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by cmdrklarg on Tuesday September 28 2021, @09:32PM
I don't know anything about RedLetterMedia, but they possibly sound like "not the old shows" types. Still, better than the "pros".
If the shows are breaking new ground, then "shitting on what came before" is entirely subjective. I didn't see much of that in the new shows. If anything they took quite a bit of effort to fit them into existing canon.
Discovery season 2 was an improvement over 1. ST:D season 1 was WAY better than TNG season 1 IMHO. I had no trouble following the plot for Discovery.
If you expected ST:Picard to be TNG Season 8 I can see why you didn't like it. The story went into why those things happened, and they seemed plausible to me. I did NOT care for the giant standoff between cookie-cutter fleets, but whatever, nothing's perfect.
The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams.