This is a question I've been mulling over with regard to the likelihood of B5 ever being revived in any form. It's been several years now since any new B5 was produced, so it's becoming increasingly clear that what could be termed 'phase 1' or 'the original series' is pretty much over. From now on, any new B5 movie or spin-off will form a 'second wave'.
So what is the original B5s place in popular culture? Is it destined to be reduced to a forgettable footnote, to be stowed away in the same dark drawer as Space: Above and Beyond, or Dark Skies? Will it be remembered as no more a pale imitation of Trek?
Or will the story of the big blue space station and the evil black spiders, with its ever-changing cast and complex story arc, one day be regarded as the zenith of nineties televisual art? Will it be rediscovered by some hypothetical future generation, for whom B5 serves as the ambassador for all the other shows that were around at the time? Will it be taught in school?
On a slightly different note, is it, or any aspect of it, in any sense, a design classic? (It's visually very distinctive).
My take on this is that B5 does fall into this category. It blazed a trail for the enormous wave of sci-fi and fantasy shows that have come after, where next to none existed before. I think the terms 'spoiler' and 'story arc' were pretty much invented for B5 (though someone will correct me). JMS is proud of the fact that B5 was once named as a 'seminal' show. But how will it look in the long view?
(incidentally, it may be obvious that this post was written late at night, and is the product of some late-night insomniac ramblings and post-TMoS-stress-disorder)
So what is the original B5s place in popular culture? Is it destined to be reduced to a forgettable footnote, to be stowed away in the same dark drawer as Space: Above and Beyond, or Dark Skies? Will it be remembered as no more a pale imitation of Trek?
Or will the story of the big blue space station and the evil black spiders, with its ever-changing cast and complex story arc, one day be regarded as the zenith of nineties televisual art? Will it be rediscovered by some hypothetical future generation, for whom B5 serves as the ambassador for all the other shows that were around at the time? Will it be taught in school?
On a slightly different note, is it, or any aspect of it, in any sense, a design classic? (It's visually very distinctive).
My take on this is that B5 does fall into this category. It blazed a trail for the enormous wave of sci-fi and fantasy shows that have come after, where next to none existed before. I think the terms 'spoiler' and 'story arc' were pretty much invented for B5 (though someone will correct me). JMS is proud of the fact that B5 was once named as a 'seminal' show. But how will it look in the long view?
(incidentally, it may be obvious that this post was written late at night, and is the product of some late-night insomniac ramblings and post-TMoS-stress-disorder
)
