Moving beyond ratings

[Dave Thomer]

Call to Arms was a lead-in, but not a pilot per se. If I recall the timeline correctly, TNT was already sold on Crusade, and then they decided to do a B5 movie to lead into it. It wasn't like Gathering or To Live and Die in Starlight, where a network was looking to make a decision on whether or not to buy a series based on what they thought of the movie.

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Dave Thomer
This Is Not News

 

[KoshN]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Recoil:
WTF is Polaris?

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Another JMS show.

On the Plus Side: If Jeremiah and Polaris are hits, it could elevate JMS in the eyes of Hollywood and increase the chance that Crusade could be resurrected, and that B5:LotR could go to series.

On the Minus Side: Yet another annoying distraction to take JMS's time and attention away from Crusade and B5:LotR. If Jeremiah and Polaris are hits, it could force the resurrection of Crusade and B5:LotR going to series even further off into the future.

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KoshN
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Vorlon Empire

Crusade (reruns) starting 03/26/2002 at 1PM EST on the Sci-Fi Channel
http://www.scifi.com/b5rangers/

[This message has been edited by KoshN (edited February 16, 2002).]

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>(A) Call to Arms was a lead-in, but not a pilot per se.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Dave is correct. A pilot is, by definition, a way of introducing the regular characters, actors and situation of a series. A typical pilot is a literal sample episode - one hour for drama, half-hour for comedy. A TV movie "backdoor" pilot will still introduce the characters intended to carry the series.

ACtA featured only two of the Crusade regulars (three if you count Lochley as a semi-regular, but she was an established character in B5) - Galen and Dureena. None of the other major characters was so much as mentioned. It also introduced the ship, and - at the very end - set out its mission, but you can't watch ACtA and get any real sense of what a series about Excalibur and its crew would be like. And that's the whole point of a pilot. ACtA was a transitional piece, more the last B5 adventure than the first glimpse of Crusade.

Regards,

Joe

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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net

 

[bakana]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR> On the Minus Side: Yet another annoying distraction to take JMS's time and attention <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Not that big a deal if JMS keeps the Executive Producer slot for all of them.
There are producers in Hollywierd who have juggled as many as a Dozen shows simultaneously.

It's the Writing that is a full time job and JMS has said that he's willing to cut back on the episode writing part so long as he can provide the overall guidance.



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Do not ascribe your own motivations to others:
At best, it will break your heart.
At worst, it will get you dead."