• The new B5TV.COM is here. We've replaced our 16 year old software with flashy new XenForo install. Registration is open again. Password resets will work again. More info here.

NEW Babylon 5 Series

Jan

Regular
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/babylon-5-reboot-cw-1235021237/

Described as a “from-the-ground-up reboot” of the original, Straczynski will pen the script for a new potential version of the former syndicated drama from Warner Bros. TV. The new take revolves around John Sheridan (originally played by Bruce Boxleitner), an Earthforce officer with a mysterious background, who is assigned to Babylon 5, a five-mile-long space station in neutral space, a port of call for travelers, smugglers, corporate explorers and alien diplomats at a time of uneasy peace and the constant threat of war.*His arrival triggers a destiny beyond anything he could have imagined, as an exploratory Earth company accidentally triggers a conflict with a civilization a million years ahead of us, putting Sheridan and the rest of the B5 crew in the line of fire as the last, best hope for the survival of the human race.
 
My brain is currently malfunctioning, I think. The first part of me is all, how real is this, this can't be real this time, can it? The second part of me is all, as long as jms is in charge, I'm on board. The third part of me is, how will this differ from the original, what will change, what will be the same, what will embrace the original, what will deviate, can I handle/accept the change?
 
A friend just mentioned this to me. I feel the same way as Vacantlook. We have been waiting for this for A LONG TIME!
 
Didn't JMS recently contact the BBC to enquire about the Dr Who showrunner position? So, his plan was to do that AND write and produce a new B5 show?

No-one can accuse him of being lazy, I guess.
 
Didn't JMS recently contact the BBC to enquire about the Dr Who showrunner position? So, his plan was to do that AND write and produce a new B5 show?

No-one can accuse him of being lazy, I guess.

He knew it was a long shot. Plus we don't have any actual news on when this might actually go into production.
 
I will watch this without question, brilliant news! Part of me wishes this was a series that told a new story in a different time / location in the Babylon 5 universe, the fact it is a reboot means it will most likely overwrite what came before. I'll reserve judgement until I see the series.


Also, B5 without somewhat clunky 90s CGI? That will take some getting used to!
 
I'm as intrigued as the rest of you, but it being on the CW puts the fear into me. Most of their shows are pretty awful with low production values. Part of me wishes it had been the rumored animated series, or at least made for HBO MAX.

I guess we'll be waiting a few years to see what this turns out to be. Rest assured I'll be watching with the rest of you!
 
Last edited:
Well, to be honest, B5 didn't have the best production values the first time 'round, either. I've only watched one CW show, the production was ok, just not movie-quality. It's the writing, the direction and the action that will make or sink it.


I thought something was up when JMS put a request online to talk to people who had the original B5 model files, "for reference purposes."
 
Here's the big question no one seems to be asking.

"Does he already know how it will end?"

What I'm hoping for is a completely different story as different as Battlestar Galactica was from the original but with the whole series known from beginning to end so that "The Plan" doesn't feel tacked on at the end like it did in BSG, Lost, DS9 or any of the other shows that followed B5 but didn't think ahead the way B5 did.

If the ending has already been planned, and given that this is JMS, he probably has as it was the greatest strength of B5, I'm 100% onboard.


EDIT: My only other wish - Use new character names! It gets tedious having to write "Sheridan in the Original B5" all the time!
 
Last edited:
Here's the big question no one seems to be asking.

"Does he already know how it will end?"

According to the twitter posting, apparently he does know how it'll end.

Most of all, for the first time, Babylon 5 introduced viewers accustomed to episodic television to the concept of a five-year arc with a pre-planned beginning, middle and end…creating a brand new paradigm for television storytelling that has subsequently become the norm. That tradition for innovation will continue in this new iteration, and I hope to create additional new forms of storytelling that will further push the television medium to the edge of what’s possible.
 
It does show that he knows it was the most important innovation, but it doesn't prove that he won't try to be innovative by doing something else this time.


That tradition for innovation will continue in this new iteration


It's exactly innovative to do the same thing again. I hope he will, but I'm not taking that statement as proof, I'd want something a little more definite.
 
I will of course watch it.

But - I have a lot of trepidation going into this, maybe even a little sadness. It's hard to put into words and maybe I need to cogitate on it for longer, but the original B5 is very dear to me. Maybe my fear is that the reboot will eclipse the original in people's minds, just by being newer and flashier, and my instinct is to be protective of the original.

I also find reboots to be, generally, a creatively bankrupt concept. Of course there are exceptions and some reboots do work out, like BSG, but I would rather see JMS produce a completely new space-based show.

I will keep my fingers crossed that this is good. It might be hard for me to warm to it at first, and I think the new show will have to work to justify its existence. If it can do that, then I will be in all the way.

And, it might open the door for merchandise related to the original show. At least get the blu-ray out...

PS. There were two rumoured projects, this but also the animated show. Hopefully this hasn't nixed the possibility of the animated show.
 
Last edited:
We've seen how reboots have revitalized franchises. BSG, Star Trek, and even non-sci-fi series such as Hawaii Five-0, MacGuyver, etc. It brought in both new and old fans for the new material, and it also put an eye on the original versions. My friend and I just recently watched B5, and it was his first time watching it. He just never had the opportunity back in the 90's to watch it the first time.

So really this is good for B5, because it will draw attention to the original material, and a newfound appreciation for it and the actors that are no longer with us.
 
It seems I was spot on with my timing of making a Season 1 recap now :D

I'm sooo excited! ...

...

...

My poor girlfriend ^^
 
Can anyone explain to me what a CW is?

As in
"To answer all the questions, yes, it’s true, Babylon 5 is in active development as a series for the CW."
- JMS
 

Latest posts

Members online

No members online now.
Back
Top