A new JMS message and hint 4/29

[Tarondor]

No it wasn't, best was A Call to Arms, ItB came seconf, then Thirdspace, after that Rangers and last was River of souls.

Exactly right, in my (expert and irrefutable) opinion.

 

[GaribaldisHair]

DeMartino's post was the first I've heard of Rangers' quality not being what JMS intended.

Likewise - personally I always put it down to trying out some stuff that just didn't work. Hey we have all done that.

I enjoy watching it, occasionally. It is still better than most of the c**p that passes for TV SF these days, but it is more of a "disposable" than I have come to expect of B5.

However, I have to side with Joe (DM that is) on one issue - the weapons console.

I am sure I read on more than one occasion that the final (kick-boxing) form of that was a last minute compromise because his original idea, which was to have Sarah's entire seat/console drop through the floor into a 360-degree VR "tactical display", just couldn't be done for either technical or budgetary reasons (I forget which).

This is not to defend the final weapons console (which is just a bad idea in many ways), but if true (as implied by the extract of script earlier in either this thread or the similar one running at the moment) it would surely have been much better than what we ended up with.

 

[colonyearth]

I still go with my original opinion of James Cameron on the directors issue.
I can't quite figure out why - something in my blood just tells me that he is the one.

What exactly is your original opinion on Cameron?

 

[Kosomot]

My reference to Panavision was indeed a reference to the aspect ratio itself but not the actual equipment used to film the LOTR movies as I had no idea what type of equipment was used prior to reading it in this thread.

As to this subject I agree that it should not be the focus of this thread. Although I still do not agree with Jade Jaguar and colonyearth on this subject it is best reserved for a future thread of its own if we wish to pursue this discussion any further. In the meantime I will engage in more research about this.

 

[grumbler]

I am sure I read on more than one occasion that the final (kick-boxing) form of that was a last minute compromise because his original idea, which was to have Sarah's entire seat/console drop through the floor into a 360-degree VR "tactical display", just couldn't be done for either technical or budgetary reasons (I forget which).

This is not to defend the final weapons console (which is just a bad idea in many ways), but if true (as implied by the extract of script earlier in either this thread or the similar one running at the moment) it would surely have been much better than what we ended up with.

But the final product was more complex than just having the seat drop into the 3D VR display! All they did different in the film from what was described in the script was have her move her legs and not just her arms (if, indeed, the script was a complete description of the action intended).

And remember the discussion between JMS and some UofM grad on how the very sequences used in the flick could work out very well with little more than today's technology? JMS certainly didn't imply that the series would lack the kicking action.

I remain convinced that what we saw was what JMS intended - though I am willing to be proven wrong with some citations.

As you say, it was just something that was unique and didn't work... but it was far from the worst thing about the movie. IMO, the worst things about the movie were the dialogue, the pacing, and the resolution of the crisis. The next project can survive a poorly-conceived (or perhaps poorly-executed) gimmick, but it cannot survive what I think were the major flaws of TLotR.

 

[KoshN]

3. Rangers and A call to Arms (tied)

GAH!!! <shudder> Rangers was dead last, and ACtA 2nd best.

4. River of Souls (The only good part was Lochley... well you know)

The scene with the reprogrammed "love bat" ???

{I know which scene you mean. I'd take Claudia over Tracy in that scene, any day, both because of the Ivanova character and because of CC. Yes I know Tracy has attributes of greater magnitude, but CC fits better, storywise, comedy-wise.}.

 

[KoshN]

As you say, it (the weapons-kickboxing thing) was just something that was unique and didn't work... but it was far from the worst thing about the movie.

It was, however, the most visually obvious, embarrassing part of the movie, ...the part where, during the minefield scene, my eyes roll back in my head to avoid seeing it, and the mute button gets pressed. <It's as if Lyta had said, "PAIN!" to me.>

 

[hypatia]

On that point I have to agree. Also on the point that a certain phrase was really used far too much.

The writing did seem a bit off to me, too, but I saw hope for Rangers. I saw a lot of stuff that I did like: mainly the characters and their interactions with each other.

Let's see, when were people guessing we might hear something about this officially? In about a week and a couple of days, right?

Poor Antony's board (as well as the moderated group) will explode!

 

[Elric]

Apart from the kickboxing weapons and some of the dialogue in the earlier parts of the film, I enjoyed watching Rangers. I especially liked the idea of a haunted ship - a lot of scope here which could have been used if a series was made. The Hand also intrigued me - I would have liked to see how that developed too

 

[colonyearth]

My reference to Panavision was indeed a reference to the aspect ratio itself but not the actual equipment used to film the LOTR movies as I had no idea what type of equipment was used prior to reading it in this thread.

As to this subject I agree that it should not be the focus of this thread. Although I still do not agree with Jade Jaguar and colonyearth on this subject it is best reserved for a future thread of its own if we wish to pursue this discussion any further. In the meantime I will engage in more research about this.

I just want to say...I do happen to be a filmmaker and have a pretty good working knowledge about such things. The term "Panavision" was the trademark name given to the cameras and process when it was first put into use. It has since become the name of that company and any cameras and lenses they produce. There are a multitude of other film camera companies and lense makers. The two top ones other than Panavision are Arriflex (cameras) and Angenieux (lenses).

Here is a site that explains it all very well. If you will note the Panavision section and the Super 35 section. They conclude it all nicely and comfirm what I've said.

http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Bay/2933/favaspectratio.html

Enjoy!

CE

PS: rangerPhil, again, what did you mean by the Cameron comment..I must have missed it.

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I am sure I read on more than one occasion that the final (kick-boxing) form of that was a last minute compromise because his original idea, which was to have Sarah's entire seat/console drop through the floor into a 360-degree VR "tactical display", just couldn't be done for either technical or budgetary reasons (I forget which).

This is not to defend the final weapons console (which is just a bad idea in many ways), but if true (as implied by the extract of script earlier in either this thread or the similar one running at the moment) it would surely have been much better than what we ended up with.

But the final product was more complex than just having the seat drop into the 3D VR display! All they did different in the film from what was described in the script was have her move her legs and not just her arms (if, indeed, the script was a complete description of the action intended).

And remember the discussion between JMS and some UofM grad on how the very sequences used in the flick could work out very well with little more than today's technology? JMS certainly didn't imply that the series would lack the kicking action.

I remain convinced that what we saw was what JMS intended - though I am willing to be proven wrong with some citations.

As you say, it was just something that was unique and didn't work... but it was far from the worst thing about the movie. IMO, the worst things about the movie were the dialogue, the pacing, and the resolution of the crisis. The next project can survive a poorly-conceived (or perhaps poorly-executed) gimmick, but it cannot survive what I think were the major flaws of TLotR.

Actually, I remember that JMS mentioning in TV Guide's article on the Rangers movie that they had planned something more elaborate, but went with the harnass compromise instead because of budget.