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B5:TLT - Show Discussion Thread (Spoilers)

darth_librarian said:
This on Firstones...

http://forums.firstones.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10941

I'm not sure how legit the guy they are quoting is. Seems bogus to me, and that he is merely retreading on what JMS has said.
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Member since 1999, and 4419 posts, I would think if the guy has a history of BS, someone would've called him on it, so, I would say he probably at least believes what he posted, and has a reasonable history of honesty. Anyone from here who knows these things able to back up this assertion by any chance?
 
Orycon is obviously some kind of convention, so I imagine this was certainly said otherwise someone presumably would have called him for making stuff up. The pertinent question really is ... who is Gareth Von Kallenbach? And is he actually in a position to know this stuff?
 
Not really. In a recent post, JMS mentioned that WB had initiated talks for more Lost Tales but the strike was looming and they wouldn't accellerate the process:
One side-effect of this...after the sales on B5:TLT came in, way
exceeding WB's projections, they initiated talks about what to do
next, including commissioning more DVDs. Looking at the calendar, I
suggested that they might want to hurry the bureaucratic process
because we were going to be in a strike situation soon, so if they
wanted to move, they'd better commision a script fast.

And they said in response, and I quote verbatim, "We don't want to be
pressured in the process because we know there's not going to be a
strike this year, we can handle the Guild."
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Now that there *is* a strike, nothing more can happen until it's settled.

Jan
 
Thanks Jan. I'm still curious about how well sales did.:D Has there ever been a public accounting figure on how much money:D or how many copies have been sold, preferably as individual "products" (ie , seasons, movies, and related/ individual projects), but also in its entirety.:beer: In the record industry you have "Gold" and "Platinum" "records", is there anything similiar in the Video industry?


Also...:D, I'm assuming that during the strike, one can still write, just not sell:angel:. Any insights on whether JMS is/has written a slew of "Lost Tales' that he can present as a package, ready to go as soon as the strike is over? The Mars/ Garibaldi story HAS to be written already as it was supposed to be on the first disc, right?:confused::D


Maybe I'm being a little over-optimistic:LOL:, but seems that JMS could be sitting pretty and have enough leverage to create a true win/win/win solution. Faith Manages.;)
 
fisheggs said:
Has there ever been a public accounting figure on how much money:D or how many copies have been sold, preferably as individual "products" (ie , seasons, movies, and related/ individual projects), but also in its entirety.:beer: In the record industry you have "Gold" and "Platinum" "records", is there anything similiar in the Video industry?
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Joe DeM would know more about that last than I would but I've never heard of anything. As for sales figures, the only thing I've ever heard was from JMS that WB mad half a billion dollars on DVD sales.

Also...:D, I'm assuming that during the strike, one can still write, just not sell:angel:. Any insights on whether JMS is/has written a slew of "Lost Tales' that he can present as a package, ready to go as soon as the strike is over? The Mars/ Garibaldi story HAS to be written already as it was supposed to be on the first disc, right?:confused::D
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Yes, he can write but no, he can't write any Lost Tales, only speculative scripts. JMS doesn't own B5, Warner's does and therefore JMS wouldn't (can't, really) write in that universe without a contract.

Yes, the Garibaldi segment is already written but there's nothing that says it has to be used. In fact, it's really very specific to the title of the first disk so JMS may want to revise it completely.

Jan
 
Well, nothing except that there is nothing else out there.:D Just wishing.:angel:



And I'm fascinated by the concept that the creator of a "Universe" is constrained from writing about that Universe in his "spare time".:devil: Sounds like Shadow Tech.:LOL: If he doesn't "own" the Universe, then how can he dictate "Canon"?:devil:


I AM learning a little bit from our conversations:cool: and think I understand about video rights as opposed to book(?) rights and different sorts of copywrite law, but can he really be stopped from writing a story, heavy on dialogue ( kinda like a script:devil:), putting it aside, and then writing another.Especially as the money guys seem to like what he's done. I'm a Union Man. I've been on strike and I've never crossed a picket line. I'm just hoping that circumstance might help the "Babylon Project" for a change.:beer:
 
fisheggs said:
And I'm fascinated by the concept that the creator of a "Universe" is constrained from writing about that Universe in his "spare time".:devil: Sounds like Shadow Tech.:LOL: If he doesn't "own" the Universe, then how can he dictate "Canon"?:devil:
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Technically...he can't, except by the grace/courtesy of WB. Thankfully to date WB has had the sense to realize that the fans wouldn't tolerate anything else.

I AM learning a little bit from our conversations:cool: and think I understand about video rights as opposed to book(?) rights and different sorts of copywrite law, but can he really be stopped from writing a story, heavy on dialogue ( kinda like a script:devil:), putting it aside, and then writing another.Especially as the money guys seem to like what he's done.
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I suppose in theory he could. Except that JMS is a professional and writing is how he makes his living. When it's your job, you don't write something that's not your property without a contract be it story, script or limerick.

And...chances are, he's got other stories he wants to tell, maybe even more universes to create. You have to remember that anything else he does in the B5 universe is gravy. The main course was the five year story and he was perfectly content with that.

Jan
 
He is also still writing Thor and other comics, so that work (and those deadlines) continues uninterrupted, and he also has a novel and play in the works that he has been beavering away on for years, and which seem pretty important to him as personal (i.e. non-commissioned) projects. I imagine those would take some priority during this time when he cannot write any TV or movie stuff.

Incidentally, TV is no different to other creative media when it comes to copyright. As a songwriter, I know that if a commercial publishing company picked up one of my songs and published it, I would most likely have to sign a contract granting the company rights over the use of that song, in return for which I would receive payment(s).

Likewise with recordings ... Duran Duran (for example) haven't been signed to EMI for a decade, but they still own all the recordings of their classic 80s tracks and have been happily re-releasing them in various forms over the last few years.

TV just follows that same pattern ... the studio pays the money to make the show and, in return, they own it.
 
So I guess pre-ordering didn't exactly help anything in the end. WB was pleased with sales, and still didn't/now can't move on it.

If more do eventually get commissioned, I won't exactly race to pre-order it this time. ;)

It is surprising how long the writers strike has gone on. I loved Bill Maher's comment on the strike during his HBO show. Something to the effect of: 'I know we in Hollywood tend to think the world revolves around us... but I miss my writers', basically is what he said.

How well put. And yet another reminder that Mr. Maher's comments are some of the most sensible you'll see on television (here in the USA, at least).
 
The last writer's strike lasted 6 months so this will will probably last as long. To bring the studios to heel possibly 9 months; until the already filmed stuff has been used up the strike is actually saving the studios money.

The suits are so used to everyone kowtowing to them they did not understand what a strike meant.
 
Does the writer's strike include premium channels, like HBO? Cable channels could do well making new productions now. But I'm almost sure the union covers all writing jobs for t.v., right? Not just network shows?

Please, fate, just let there be no huge influx of "reality" t.v. It's bad enough trying to find something well-written on television.
 
hypatia said:
Does the writer's strike include premium channels, like HBO? Cable channels could do well making new productions now. But I'm almost sure the union covers all writing jobs for t.v., right? Not just network shows?
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It's not a matter of network/cable, it's the companies who *make* the shows. Here's the list of 'struck companies' from the WGA site: http://www.wga.org/subpage_member.aspx?id=2537

Please, fate, just let there be no huge influx of "reality" t.v. It's bad enough trying to find something well-written on television.
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I think it's too late. Far as I can tell, it's reruns, game shows 'reality' and news shows.

I'm reading.

Jan
 
Unsticking thread till show discussion till there is a second installment (see! optimism!)
 
Well, I'm late. I finally watched it. I just haven't been able to afford to buy it (budgeting lately has been soooo tight.) Someone bought it as a gift, so I watched it right away.

1. The look is AWESOME. Holy cow. I YEARN to see this show on the big screen or again on television as a regular series. I know it's wishful thinking, but wow. Utterly breathtaking.

2. The stories were interesting. I loved seeing Sheridan again. I wasn't sure about the first story at first. It seemed heavily bathed in religion, but the way I "took" it was that demons existed on Earth but not necessarily as some kind of spiritual entity, but rather, almost as another race--one that relies on other races to infest, etc. It was just something "else" that lived alongside humans: things we didn't understand (or still don't understand) and called demons, etc. The guy who played the possessed man was utterly creepy. Krikey.

3. The young man who played the Centauri was great! He really owned that role, IMHO. Did I miss something, though. I kind of got the feeling he was Refa's son? Vir killed his father, and that's the only one I could think of that Vir killed.

4. Galen bringing up Sheridan as a Nexus again was a nice touch. I always liked that Sheridan was described that way (by Justin on Z'Ha'Dum, if I remember.)

Overall, I was very impressed. If anything, it was bittersweet. I wanted more. I haven't watched all the special features yet, but I did watch the memorial take about Andreas and the interview with Sheridan/JMS.

I'll read through some of these responses tomorrow. I'm a tired turtle.

Allu
 
^^ Vir didn't kill Refa, the Narns did. Vir killed Cartagia and that's who's Prince Vintari's father.

Jan
 
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