Joseph DeMartino
Moderator
KoshN:
Thanks for filling in the details on that. As I suspected, Galen is only briefly active outside the Sanctuary prior to ACtA, and is engaged in business related to events in the film. So he wouldn't be free to show up on Rangers until we're already in the Crusade timeframe.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>I would also have concerns about the quality of both shows given how much work JMS is said to have had to do when he was working on B5:TOS alone.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
The situation now is very different. On B5 JMS was establishing an entirely new fictional universe, societies, politics, technology, etc. He was also telling a very intricately-plotted story.
The main reason he wrote all but one episode of the last three seasons was that it would have been too hard to assign the scripts to outside writers - he didn't always know which of the events he knew had to happen should go into which script.
Often it was only the writing of a script, and finding its proper structure, that allowed him to see which scenes from other threads should be used as the "B" and sometimes "C" stories. If he had assigned scripts to freelance writers, he probably would have needed to devote substantial time to briefing them on the arc and then rewriting their material to remove continuity glitches and things that would adversely affect later episodes.
This was the main problem in S3. By S4 he knew that the series was likely to be cancelled because of the pending collapse of PTEN, but also knew that Warner Bros. was trying to sell the series elsewhere. So he had to simultaneously plan for both having and not having a fifth season. When S5 started he was planning Crusade, and certain story threads from S5 were moved into it. Meanwhile the departure of Claudia Christian require massive adjustments to the Teep Arc. Again, it was simply easier and more efficient to write almost everything himself than to try to explain all this to a freelance writer assigned a single script.
By the time B5 was over, JMS had learned a great deal about doing "arc" shows, and how the Real World could intrude to make them more difficult. So, beginning with Crusade, he decided on a "less intense" arc that would present a continuing story, but leave more room for stand-alone episodes and also more flexibility. Overlapping shorter arcs were another option considered, especially since this could allow him to wrap up the series in four of five seasons, but also allow him to extend it to six or seven if the ratings were there - which wasn't really an option with B5.
He made it very clear that he didn't plan on writing more than half the Crusade S1 scripts himself, and that the ratio might drop in subsequent years, once the show had "found its feet." Then he could step back into the executive producer role proper, assigning, overseeing and rewriting scripts where needed, and managing the overall production.
He seems to be following this pattern on Jeremiah as well, and his comments on Rangers suggest a similar approach. (Jeremiah, being a pay cable show, also has a slightly shorter season than the other series - 18 episodes vs. 22.)
It seems to me that as long as no two shows are actually being started in the same year, JMS should have no more trouble producing three or even four series than he did producing B5, because the actual workload won't be that much greater if he isn't also writing everything. Very possibly he'll put together a regular writing staff ala the Trek shows.
The fact that all three would be shot in Vancouver, and at least Rangers and Crusade shot in the same facility (as well as sharing costumes, props and production personnel) should make the whole thing manageable, provided it is all organized properly. If Dick Wolf can have multiple series running at the same time, all of high quality, I don't see why JMS wouldn't be able to do the same. (Not to mention someone like Norman Lear, who probably holds the world record for simultaneous critical and commercial TV successes.)
Regards,
Joe
------------------
Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net
Thanks for filling in the details on that. As I suspected, Galen is only briefly active outside the Sanctuary prior to ACtA, and is engaged in business related to events in the film. So he wouldn't be free to show up on Rangers until we're already in the Crusade timeframe.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>I would also have concerns about the quality of both shows given how much work JMS is said to have had to do when he was working on B5:TOS alone.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
The situation now is very different. On B5 JMS was establishing an entirely new fictional universe, societies, politics, technology, etc. He was also telling a very intricately-plotted story.
The main reason he wrote all but one episode of the last three seasons was that it would have been too hard to assign the scripts to outside writers - he didn't always know which of the events he knew had to happen should go into which script.
Often it was only the writing of a script, and finding its proper structure, that allowed him to see which scenes from other threads should be used as the "B" and sometimes "C" stories. If he had assigned scripts to freelance writers, he probably would have needed to devote substantial time to briefing them on the arc and then rewriting their material to remove continuity glitches and things that would adversely affect later episodes.
This was the main problem in S3. By S4 he knew that the series was likely to be cancelled because of the pending collapse of PTEN, but also knew that Warner Bros. was trying to sell the series elsewhere. So he had to simultaneously plan for both having and not having a fifth season. When S5 started he was planning Crusade, and certain story threads from S5 were moved into it. Meanwhile the departure of Claudia Christian require massive adjustments to the Teep Arc. Again, it was simply easier and more efficient to write almost everything himself than to try to explain all this to a freelance writer assigned a single script.
By the time B5 was over, JMS had learned a great deal about doing "arc" shows, and how the Real World could intrude to make them more difficult. So, beginning with Crusade, he decided on a "less intense" arc that would present a continuing story, but leave more room for stand-alone episodes and also more flexibility. Overlapping shorter arcs were another option considered, especially since this could allow him to wrap up the series in four of five seasons, but also allow him to extend it to six or seven if the ratings were there - which wasn't really an option with B5.
He made it very clear that he didn't plan on writing more than half the Crusade S1 scripts himself, and that the ratio might drop in subsequent years, once the show had "found its feet." Then he could step back into the executive producer role proper, assigning, overseeing and rewriting scripts where needed, and managing the overall production.
He seems to be following this pattern on Jeremiah as well, and his comments on Rangers suggest a similar approach. (Jeremiah, being a pay cable show, also has a slightly shorter season than the other series - 18 episodes vs. 22.)
It seems to me that as long as no two shows are actually being started in the same year, JMS should have no more trouble producing three or even four series than he did producing B5, because the actual workload won't be that much greater if he isn't also writing everything. Very possibly he'll put together a regular writing staff ala the Trek shows.
The fact that all three would be shot in Vancouver, and at least Rangers and Crusade shot in the same facility (as well as sharing costumes, props and production personnel) should make the whole thing manageable, provided it is all organized properly. If Dick Wolf can have multiple series running at the same time, all of high quality, I don't see why JMS wouldn't be able to do the same. (Not to mention someone like Norman Lear, who probably holds the world record for simultaneous critical and commercial TV successes.)
Regards,
Joe
------------------
Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net
