Aborted Reboot

[Republibot 3.0]

Hey, everybody! Long time no me!

A couple years ago (Around the same time I drifted away from this site), JMS was dropping hints that something big was in the works. Then, typically, nothing.

In surfing around, I found that he spoke frequently of a "Reboot" with Warners, and that he had a good budget and a guranteed full-season deal up front, and he was quite excited about it before it all fell apart.

I've been wondering what he meant by "Reboot." I mean, there's no real reason to remake the B5 series itself, and he's frequently said that no one will ever play G'kar or Franklin again, out of respect to his friends. Those characters are retired. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd go back on his word with something like that. So obviously it couldn't have been a reboot in the sense of what it usually means. He's typically mum on the details.

My hunch is this: it was to be a reboot of everything AFTER B5 itself. Rangers, Lost Tales, Crusade, they're erased from continuity, they never happened, and he'd start with a fresh slate. That's the only thing I can think of that makes any sense.

Whadya' think? Anyone else got any other information?

 

[Psi Cop]

I would be very happy for Rangers (JMS seems to hold them in high regard though I saw them as a minor storyline), Lost Tales (cheaply made and not really related to B5 story) and Crusade (too much like Star Trek for my liking and not much interest in the so-called arc of the series) to be erased forever. There are only two scenarios I think that would work for a 'reboot': a story set during the telepath war (my preference) or during the previous shadow war. Anything that does not involve the Shadows or Psi Corps will not work.

 

[Republibot 3.0]

I would be very happy for Rangers (JMS seems to hold them in high regard though I saw them as a minor storyline), Lost Tales (cheaply made and not really related to B5 story) and Crusade (too much like Star Trek for my liking and not much interest in the so-called arc of the series) to be erased forever. There are only two scenarios I think that would work for a 'reboot': a story set during the telepath war (my preference) or during the previous shadow war. Anything that does not involve the Shadows or Psi Corps will not work.

I think you nailed one of the problems of Crusade. While I liked the show, and very much wanted it to continue, it did feel derivative of Trek. Honestly, the only ship-based shows that don't feel derivative of Trek are BSG and SGU, and SGU was highly derivative of BSG, so that really doesn't count.

It ALMOST felt like "Hey, guys, I completely revolutionized TV SF with my show B5, and now I'm gonna' show that I can do your show better than you can, too."

I don't think there's much left to do with the Shadows, and the Drakh, for all their buildup, were a great big nuthin'. Psicorps is a huge bleeding hole in the narrative, though, I agree. that's got to be handled.

Personally, I'd like a show about the Rangers picking up right after B5, and covering the next 5 years, including the Telepath war. I wouldn't want it to be ship-based. I'd imagine a structure kinda' like the Justice League Unlimited cartoon (If you ever saw it) where you've got 7 principle characters and dozens of secondaries, who go out in different combinations to do various missions. That show was heavily arc-based, too.

 

[KoshN]

I would be very happy for Rangers (JMS seems to hold them in high regard though I saw them as a minor storyline), Lost Tales (cheaply made and not really related to B5 story) and Crusade (too much like Star Trek for my liking and not much interest in the so-called arc of the series) to be erased forever.

I would be happy for all traces of Legend of the Rangers and the first half of Lost Tales to be erased forever, but not so with Crusade and the second half of Lost Tales (Sheridan, the Centauri and Galen). IMHO, Crusade was the last, really good thing done in the B5 universe. The second Lost Tales story continues that slightly with Sheridan and Galen's involvement, and connections to Vir.

It would be a shame for the rest of Crusade to never be told in any form. I am dead set against losing the groundwork that was laid in Crusade, PERIOD.

 

[KoshN]

I would be very happy for Rangers (JMS seems to hold them in high regard though I saw them as a minor storyline), Lost Tales (cheaply made and not really related to B5 story) and Crusade (too much like Star Trek for my liking and not much interest in the so-called arc of the series) to be erased forever. There are only two scenarios I think that would work for a 'reboot': a story set during the telepath war (my preference) or during the previous shadow war. Anything that does not involve the Shadows or Psi Corps will not work.

I think you nailed one of the problems of Crusade. While I liked the show, and very much wanted it to continue, it did feel derivative of Trek.

When I was watching Crusade, NEVER did it make me think of Trek. Babylon 5 never made me think of Deep Space Nine, because of how they diverged over time, and because the tone was so different. The writing was so different. Sure, the command structure on the Excalibur was similar to the command structure on Trek, but the same can be said for other ship based shows and movies (e.g. the cold war, submarine movie "Phantom"). Big deal! The writing and characters on Crusade were not copies of Trek characters.

Perhaps it's because I've cut all ties with the Trek universe, and no longer care even one tiny bit what happens with the Trek universe, but having watched all of B5 and Crusade and having read all of the B5 novels, when watching Crusade and B5, I'm 100% IN the B5/Crusade universe, not thinking of Trek anything. B5 and Crusade made me see the weaknesses in Trek and have absolutely no further use for Trek at this point. Sure, I may watch an episode of TOS or TNG if it comes on TV while I'm channel surfing, but I don't own any Trek on DVD, and wouldn't spend the money now for even TOS or TNG.

Honestly, the only ship-based shows that don't feel derivative of Trek are BSG and SGU,

Why? Because BSG and SGU were trashy soap operas that were set in space, and TOS and TNG weren't? BSG (2003+) started out well, but turned completely into crap by Season 3. The transition was gradual but by Season 3's end, I could no longer stand it. I'd been buying the BSG miniseries and Season sets since the beginning, but got so fed up with the backbiting and trashy daytime soap opera nature of it that I sold all of my BSG DVDs. I never liked SGU, SG-1 and SGA yes, but NOT SGU.

and SGU was highly derivative of BSG, so that really doesn't count.

SGU was awful. BSG turned awful gradually over time. I hold both BSG and SGU in the same LOW regard that I hold Trek DS9, VOY and ENT (Seasons 1, 2 and S4 finale).

It ALMOST felt like "Hey, guys, I completely revolutionized TV SF with my show B5, and now I'm gonna' show that I can do your show better than you can, too."

I NEVER felt like that, but again perhaps it's because I was so thoroughly immersed in the B5/Crusade story. Crusade never made me think of Trek.

I don't think there's much left to do with the Shadows, and the Drakh, for all their buildup, were a great big nuthin'

Haven't you read the Centauri or the Technomage trilogies? The only thing in the B5 universe that qualifies as a buildup, to a great big nuthin' was the non-canon B5 novel "Book #5 The Touch of Your Shadow, the Whisper of Your Name" and if I wasn't a completest, it wouldn't be in my house.

Psicorps is a huge bleeding hole in the narrative, though, I agree. that's got to be handled.

Other than The Telepath War, it WAS handled in the Psi Corps trilogy of novels. Only The Telepath War was skipped, left for a theatrical release or series of theatrical releases.

IPersonally, I'd like a show about the Rangers picking up right after B5, and covering the next 5 years, including the Telepath war. I wouldn't want it to be ship-based. I'd imagine a structure kinda' like the Justice League Unlimited cartoon (If you ever saw it) where you've got 7 principle characters and dozens of secondaries, who go out in different combinations to do various missions. That show was heavily arc-based, too.

Not me. I want to see the Rangers forgotten as a show, and Crusade continued in some form. I'll take anything in that respect, even comic books , but I'd vastly prefer non-graphic novels IF I can't have it as a TV series.

 

[Republibot 3.0]

IMHO, Crusade was the last, really good thing done in the B5 universe. The second Lost Tales story continues that slightly with Sheridan and Galen's involvement, and connections to Vir.

It would be a shame for the rest of Crusade to never be told in any form. I am dead set against losing the groundwork that was laid in Crusade, PERIOD.

Fair enough. Well, at the very least you'd need to recast and reshoot the whole thing.

Or you could reconfigure the story. That would require more explanation, but it's not at all inconsistent with my "Rangers" idea.

 

[Republibot 3.0]

When I was watching Crusade, NEVER did it make me think of Trek. Babylon 5 never made me think of Deep Space Nine, because of how they diverged over time, and because the tone was so different. The writing was so different. Sure, the command structure on the Excalibur was similar to the command structure on Trek, but the same can be said for other ship based shows and movies (e.g. the cold war, submarine movie "Phantom"). Big deal! The writing and characters on Crusade were not copies of Trek characters.

I'll use a more neutral example: SeaQuest DSV was derivative of TNG. Same kinds of stories, equally badly told, the characters were ciphers, the conflicts were artificial. Yeah, it's set in a submarine on earth in the future, but it might as well have been a starship. Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda likewise felt derivative. Not *AS* derivative at first because it had an arc, something Roddenberry always strenuously avoided, but it definitely felt derivative of TNG. TNG was derivative of TOS.

Conversely, if you watch another ship-based SF show from the period of TOS - I'm going to pick Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea - it feels NOTHING like TOS. Partially because it's really stupid, but also because there's a fundamental structural difference in the way they tell the stories.

I didn't say JMS was ripping off Trek. I said it was DERIVATIVE of the wave of ship-based shows that appeared in the wake of Trek. And I said it ALMOST felt like he was maybe doing it to show Paramount and all those others how he could do it BETTER than them.

How better to make your enemies burn with shame? Out do them at their own game.

Perhaps it's because I've cut all ties with the Trek universe, and no longer care even one tiny bit what happens with the Trek universe, but having watched all of B5 and Crusade and having read all of the B5 novels, when watching Crusade and B5, I'm 100% IN the B5/Crusade universe, not thinking of Trek anything. B5 and Crusade made me see the weaknesses in Trek and have absolutely no further use for Trek at this point. Sure, I may watch an episode of TOS or TNG if it comes on TV while I'm channel surfing, but I don't own any Trek on DVD, and wouldn't spend the money now for even TOS or TNG.

I'm with ya' there, brother. I actually only started watching some episodes of Trek again this year. The last one I'd seen before that was the DS9 Tribble ep which was (looking it up) holy crap! 1996! SO 17 years with no Trek. And I only watched that because R2 was nagging me about it. It'd probably been a year since I watched the last thing prior to that (looking it up) Voyager. 1995.

I watched a few old faves, tried to watch some stuff that happened after I left the party, quickly grew bored, and that's that.

Why? Because BSG and SGU were trashy soap operas that were set in space, and TOS and TNG weren't? BSG (2003+) started out well, but turned completely into crap by Season 3. The transition was gradual but by Season 3's end, I could no longer stand it. I'd been buying the BSG miniseries and Season sets since the beginning, but got so fed up with the backbiting and trashy daytime soap opera nature of it that I sold all of my BSG DVDs. I never liked SGU, SG-1 and SGA yes, but NOT SGU.

Oh, I love Gate! Love it! SGU was admittedly the weakest of the series, but the strength of Gate has always been its ability to re-invent itself and course-correct (Which Trek was never any good at). Season 2 was, on the whole, WAY better than season 1. I totaly get why people didn't like it, though, and I'm not gonna' say they're wrong. It made a bunch of false assumptions about their audience.

As to why BSG (Actually both old and new BSG) were different from Trek, c'mon, do you really need to ask that? The reasons you liked the RDM BSG in the early days were probably because it was so un-treklike. It utterly fell apart in the last couple seasons, and I agree it's unwatchable in retrospect. For a season or so, though, it was the best show on TV. And for 3 seasons, it wasn't.

I NEVER felt like that, but again perhaps it's because I was so thoroughly immersed in the B5/Crusade story. Crusade never made me think of Trek.

Fair enough. A problem of ship-based shows is that they eventually become ABOUT the ship. I don't like that. I mean, it's ok once, but EVERYONE does it now. One of the things I loved about B5 is that it WASN'T about a ship. Likewise one of the major failings of SGU was that it WAS about a ship.

Haven't you read the Centauri or the Technomage trilogies? The only thing in the B5 universe that qualifies as a buildup, to a great big nuthin' was the non-canon B5 novel "Book #5 The Touch of Your Shadow, the Whisper of Your Name" and if I wasn't a completest, it wouldn't be in my house.

Read 'em when they came out. They were ok. Admittedly my memory is fuzzy of them now. However no matter how assured I am that something is canon, I always take it with a grain of salt. If JMS decides to do a new show tomorrow, I gurantee he's not going to say, "Oh, wait, this contradicts something in that piece of shit John Vornhort novel, so we can't do it." He's just going to do what he wants to do, and screw all the books.

Other than The Telepath War, it WAS handled in the Psi Corps trilogy of novels. Only The Telepath War was skipped, left for a theatrical release or series of theatrical releases.

Which seemed a mistake then, and seems a bigger mistake now.

Not me. I want to see the Rangers forgotten as a show, and Crusade continued in some form. I'll take anything in that respect, even comic books , but I'd vastly prefer non-graphic novels IF I can't have it as a TV series.

You misunderstand. I don't want "Legend of the Rangers" to become a TV show. That was a turd. I want a TV show based around various teams of rangers, and several central characters, doing things in different parts of the galaxy, including (Among other things) fighting the telepath war.

 

[KoshN]

IMHO, Crusade was the last, really good thing done in the B5 universe. The second Lost Tales story continues that slightly with Sheridan and Galen's involvement, and connections to Vir.

It would be a shame for the rest of Crusade to never be told in any form. I am dead set against losing the groundwork that was laid in Crusade, PERIOD.

Fair enough. Well, at the very least you'd need to recast and reshoot the whole thing.

Get the old Crusade cast back, shoot Value Judgements, To the Ends of the Earth and End of the Line, and continue with the remaining (living) B5 and Crusade actors..

 

[Republibot 3.0]

Get the old Crusade cast back, shoot Value Judgements, To the Ends of the Earth and End of the Line, and continue with the remaining (living) B5 and Crusade actors..

Have you SEEN Gary Cole lately? He's an old man. Not to mention the fact that he hated being on the show and evidently everyone hated having him on the show (I'm hesitant to say that, given what I just learned about Michael O'Hare, but that's the impression I'm given, which is why they were gonna' kill him off) Daniel Dae Kim is a big bohonkin TV star with two successful TV series behind him, one of which is legendary. His weekly salary is probably equal to Crusade's entire budget for an episode. David Allen Brooks was looking quite long in the tooth last time I saw him (He's pushing 70). Peter Woodward could do it. Marjean Holden is pushing 50.

What are we supposed to do? Say "Oh, the Excalibur hit a time warp and everyone aged 14 years since the last episode"?

Nah, your best bet would be to recast, with the possible exception of Galen. Build sets that are more-or-less identical to the originals so you can use clever CGI editing to salvage the performances by Lochley and Biggs. The surviving B5 cast could show up on occasion, of course. Easier to hide the aging on the characters wearing a lot of prosthesis. Mira Furlan looks great for her age, and Bruce cleans up well.

For all we know, that's what JMS had in mind. Of course for all we know, what JMS had in mind was capturing the morning dew in a bottle and having it cary him to the moon...

 

[Psi Cop]

Psicorps is a huge bleeding hole in the narrative, though, I agree. that's got to be handled.

Other than The Telepath War, it WAS handled in the Psi Corps trilogy of novels. Only The Telepath War was skipped, left for a theatrical release or series of theatrical releases.

The books were more about Bester's fate than the Psi Corps. The war itself was not really covered and could sustain a series if blended with other elements.

 

[Republibot 3.0]

Psicorps is a huge bleeding hole in the narrative, though, I agree. that's got to be handled.

Other than The Telepath War, it WAS handled in the Psi Corps trilogy of novels. Only The Telepath War was skipped, left for a theatrical release or series of theatrical releases.

The books were more about Bester's fate than the Psi Corps. The war itself was not really covered and could sustain a series if blended with other elements.

No argument. But books are only canon so long as no one's making a TV show. When someone starts filming again, all that stuff goes out the window.

 

[KoshN]

Psicorps is a huge bleeding hole in the narrative, though, I agree. that's got to be handled.

Other than The Telepath War, it WAS handled in the Psi Corps trilogy of novels. Only The Telepath War was skipped, left for a theatrical release or series of theatrical releases.

The books were more about Bester's fate than the Psi Corps. The war itself was not really covered and could sustain a series if blended with other elements.

No argument. But books are only canon so long as no one's making a TV show. When someone starts filming again, all that stuff goes out the window.

So, considering it's a Warner Brothers property, the books should be canon for the rest of time.

 

[KoshN]

[

[Q

UOTE=Republibot 3.0;438833]QUOTE=Republibot 3.0;438833]

Get the old Crusade cast back, shoot Value Judgements, To the Ends of the Earth and End of the Line, and continue with the remaining (living) B5 and Crusade actors..

Have you SEEN Gary Cole lately? He's an old man.

Hair dye. Otherwise, he looks great.

Not to mention the fact that he hated being on the show and evidently everyone hated having him on the show (I'm hesitant to say that, given what I just learned about Michael O'Hare, but that's the impression I'm given, which is why they were gonna' kill him off).

I wonder how much of that was true. Trouble is, he was VERY GOOD on the show. Re. killing him off in End of the Line, how many times does it look like a key actor is killed off in a season finale cliffhanger and he doesn't die and is back in Season 2? VERY often.

Daniel Dae Kim is a big bohonkin TV star with two successful TV series behind him, one of which is legendary. His weekly salary is probably equal to Crusade's entire budget for an episode.

Since he's tied up in that crummy H50v2, he'd unfortunately have to be re-cast.

David Allen Brooks was looking quite long in the tooth last time I saw him (He's pushing 70).

Makeup. His wasn't a really physical role. He could probably do it.

Peter Woodward could do it.

No doubt about it.

Marjean Holden is pushing 50.

Again, makeup. ...or recast.

What are we supposed to do? Say "Oh, the Excalibur hit a time warp and everyone aged 14 years since the last episode"?

Hair dye and makeup work wonders.

Nah, your best bet would be to recast, with the possible exception of Galen. Build sets that are more-or-less identical to the originals so you can use clever CGI editing to salvage the performances by Lochley and Biggs. The surviving B5 cast could show up on occasion, of course. Easier to hide the aging on the characters wearing a lot of prosthesis. Mira Furlan looks great for her age, and Bruce cleans up well.

For all we know, that's what JMS had in mind. Of course for all we know, what JMS had in mind was capturing the morning dew in a bottle and having it cary him to the moon...

Lacking the above, I'd rather have Crusade continued and wrapped up in non-graphic novels, but JMS would only do it as a TV series, TV miniseries or as theatrical movies. So, given Warner Brothers interest and backing of B5 universe projects since Crusade, Crusade is never going to be continued in ANY form.

 

[Republibot 3.0]

I wonder how much of that was true. Trouble is, he was VERY GOOD on the show. Re. killing him off in End of the Line, how many times does it look like a key actor is killed off in a season finale cliffhanger and he doesn't die and is back in Season 2? VERY often.

The Crusade-behind-the-scenes book I read made it pretty clear he wanted out, and they wanted him out. There's also a mention in there that he wouldn't have been back for a 2nd season, had there been one.

Lacking the above, I'd rather have Crusade continued and wrapped up in non-graphic novels, but JMS would only do it as a TV series, TV miniseries or as theatrical movies. So, given Warner Brothers interest and backing of B5 universe projects since Crusade, Crusade is never going to be continued in ANY form.

Well, JMS could have done a graphic novel or a novel novel by now if he wanted to. He's been asked if he'll ever resolve Crusade, and he generally says 'no.' He wants to do more in the B5 universe, but he doesn't seem to want to do Crusade again. Honestly, I don't think he thought it was his best work, and I think he found it a rather unpleasant experience. I base that on very little.

He does seem to have made a half-hearting pitch to Warners for a Trek TV Series rebook that COULD be taken as an attempt to re-purpose the Crusade storyline, but it's JMS, so we'll never know.

 

[Jan]

He does seem to have made a half-hearting pitch to Warners for a Trek TV Series rebook that COULD be taken as an attempt to re-purpose the Crusade storyline, but it's JMS, so we'll never know.

Warner's doesn't own Trek so JMS could never have pitched a Trek series to them. JMS and Bryce Zabel did write a treatment for a Trek reboot but Paramount wouldn't accept it.

Jan

 

[KoshN]

He does seem to have made a half-hearting pitch to Warners for a Trek TV Series rebook that COULD be taken as an attempt to re-purpose the Crusade storyline, but it's JMS, so we'll never know.

Warner's doesn't own Trek so JMS could never have pitched a Trek series to them. JMS and Bryce Zabel did write a treatment for a Trek reboot but Paramount wouldn't accept it.

Jan

If Warner's owned Trek, we probably wouldn't have heard of it post 1969!

 

[Raw Shark]

While watching Crusade, I was also never reminded of Star Trek. Beyond the basic format of a crew on a spaceship, the series was very different in tone, style, storytelling and characterization. The dense backstory, while not usually necessary to follow the storylines, really sets it apart. There is so much else happening around the galaxy, which we learn about in bits and pieces. The Earth Alliance is thrown into chaos by the Drakh attack. EarthGov is probably relying heavily on the Interstellar Alliance to find the Drakh and strike back as best they can, in addition to helping defeat the plague. The Centauri Republic has become a pawn of the Drakh, being cultivated for use in whatever they have planned. EarthForce, or some faction of it, has a sinister program to develop its own Shadow tech warships, and does not seem to have a good system for controlling them. As Dr. Kirkish said in Messages from Earth, “They don’t want it so they can fight these things. They want us to become more like them.”

The particulars of the Telepath War are generally unknown, but I think it was meant to be much bigger and uglier than people suspect. Parliament of Dreams humorously brought up the story of two races fighting for supremacy on Centauri Prime, with the Xon losing and being exterminated (I loved the scene of Londo’s feast). The Telepath War would be Earth’s version of this type of war, pitting Homo Sapiens against Homo Superior, but not so funny. Its end result is one that doesn’t satisfy anybody. The new Bureau of Telepath Integration looks pretty similar to the Psi Corps it replaces, and there is still no homeworld for telepaths. The tensions remain, and another Telepath War is not out of the question. The remnants of Psi Corps are lurking in space, and JMS suggested they could return to their place of authority over human telepaths if the BTI doesn’t work out. The rest of the galaxy was turned upside down during the Shadow War, while Earth stood quietly on the sidelines. Now in the aftermath, it’s Earth’s turn, and the consequences of its alliance with the Shadows are becoming clear.

During the ‘Spotlight on JMS’ at Phoenix Comic Con in May, I asked him about the ‘Crusade: What the Hell Happened?’ books, and if his plans for audio versions of ‘To the Ends of the Earth’ and ‘End of the Line’ meant that Crusade was bubbling up in his thoughts again. His response was that he does intend to finish the ‘What the Hell Happened?’ series, intends to produce the two Crusade audio plays, and that Crusade never stopped being in his thoughts. He didn’t explain this further, but maybe he has an interest in writing more for Crusade, beyond penning its extended epitaph. He has said in the past that it’s a story he would like to finish in some way.

I agree with KoshN, I’m not really interested in the storylines of ‘Lost Tales’ or ‘Legend of the Rangers,’ which seemed kind of thrown together. But Crusade and the Telepath War are huge, compelling stories which are begging to be told. I would love to see a revival of Crusade on television, but the chances of that happening are, let me see, do a little math, carry the two, and… they’re zero. A Crusade movie would have to jettison almost all of the content planned for the series, and cram the rest into two hours. Can anyone imagine a film where all the carefully planned mysteries are resolved in quick succession, because time is a factor? It would not work well that way, it would lose the intelligence, the sense of wonder. They might as well throw in a pod race for the rubes. JMS now has Studio JMS, publishes his own comics, and could probably get permission from WB to do B5 comics on his own, with total creative control. Unless there’s a spite factor between them. If anyone thinks the comic book format wouldn’t work, it could at least be experimented with. JMS has done a lot of great comics since the so-so B5 comics of the 1990s, for which he did not have creative control. ‘To the Ends of the Earth’ would make a good one-shot issue, to at least give it a try. Crusade and the Telepath War are two stories which JMS put a ton of thought and preparation into, and it would be a real shame if they were never told.

Raw Shark

“Please, we just want closure!”
Uter’s parents, The Simpsons

 

[Republibot 3.0]

He does seem to have made a half-hearting pitch to Warners for a Trek TV Series rebook that COULD be taken as an attempt to re-purpose the Crusade storyline, but it's JMS, so we'll never know.

Warner's doesn't own Trek so JMS could never have pitched a Trek series to them. JMS and Bryce Zabel did write a treatment for a Trek reboot but Paramount wouldn't accept it.

Jan

Ptch, treatment, you know what I mean. Also, I don't believe JMS has an exclusive conract with Warners (Few writers do), so he can pitch to whomever he wants.

 

[Republibot 3.0]

He does seem to have made a half-hearting pitch to Warners for a Trek TV Series rebook that COULD be taken as an attempt to re-purpose the Crusade storyline, but it's JMS, so we'll never know.

Warner's doesn't own Trek so JMS could never have pitched a Trek series to them. JMS and Bryce Zabel did write a treatment for a Trek reboot but Paramount wouldn't accept it.

Jan

If Warner's owned Trek, we probably wouldn't have heard of it post 1969!

Honestly, you almost didn't anyway. Trek was considered a dead, property and a complete waste. It was a UHF station manager in PA who contacted the studio and asked if he could run repeats around 1970. In those days, it was unheard of to syndicate a show with fewer than 5 seasons, they just weren't considered viable. Paramount agreed and leased him copies of the 16mm prints on 1-inch video, which he ran at the two stations he owned in 2 different towns. And then everybody wanted it. It also opened up the syndication market to orphan shows that never made it to the magic number of eps.

But had that guy not shown the initiative, it's doubtful Trek would be any more popular now than Commando Cody, Space Ranger.

 

[Jan]

He does seem to have made a half-hearting pitch to Warners for a Trek TV Series rebook that COULD be taken as an attempt to re-purpose the Crusade storyline, but it's JMS, so we'll never know.

Warner's doesn't own Trek so JMS could never have pitched a Trek series to them. JMS and Bryce Zabel did write a treatment for a Trek reboot but Paramount wouldn't accept it.

Jan

Ptch, treatment, you know what I mean. Also, I don't believe JMS has an exclusive conract with Warners (Few writers do), so he can pitch to whomever he wants.

No, definitely not any kind of exclusive with Warner's. Sorry, I wasn't clear - I meant that he couldn't pitch to Warner's because it's Paramount that owns Star Trek.

Interesting story about the syndication. It seemed to me like it went into reruns immediately in Chicago, where I lived at the time (yes, I saw Trek in its original run).

Jan