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New Series ???

J

jaxb5ranger

Beyond the rim
How soon do you think we could see an announcement from Sci Fi about a new series? They would likely wait to see the ratings from the movie, but that long of a delay might drag down momentum and intrest. OTOH, a commitment to the series in the next couple of months would energize the fan base even more and provide a chance for Sci Fi to have the first season ready to go while Legend is still fresh in the viewers' minds....

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-Devin Barber
 
If I remember correctly JMS had said that SciFi could wait for ratings for the movie, or commission a series based on a rough cut of the movie. His most recent post said he was about to give them the cut of the movie that day. Maybe, and this is wishful thinking here, they will announce a series within the next month.

Pray for it just in case.


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I'm not sure it much matters when they give the series OK, because I think other considerations will make it impossible for the series to actually start shooting before early next year anyway, and it probably can't be on the air for nearly a year.

1) Sci-Fi seems to "start" its season with new episodes in June, trying to attract viewers while the broadcast networks are showing reruns. If the show won't debut until then, there's no point in rushing things now. They can run the TVM in December to see what the ratings look like, start production early in 2002, re-run the movie in June and start airing the show.

2) JMS is committed to shooting a 2 hour pilot and 18 episodes of a non-B5 series for "a major network" starting in August. (SAG willing.) That will likely keep him too busy to oversee the critical first season of a second show at the same time, so odds are he won't start shooting Rangers (regardless of when it is approved) until around February 2002 in any case.

3) Now that some of his other work is out of the way, he is negotiating another series offer which he had put on hold earlier this year. That will likely take up whatever time he can spare from "TWCBN", The Amazing Spiderman, Rising Stars (comic book and movie}, Midnight Nation and the upcoming B5 graphic novel. The man has to sleep sometime.
smile.gif


Sure it would be nice if SFC announced that Rangers was a "go" this week, but I'm not sure it would get the show on the air any sooner.

Regards,

Joe


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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net
 
Joe D, I would just be happy knowing it was coming, even if I had to wait. I would have to wait anyway. There are two things to wait for, the series announcement, and the series airing. That would be one of them out of the way, and it would let me know to look forward to the other one.


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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>the most likely reason for an early announcement is if SciFi's decision makers like the movie so well that they decide to nail JMS feet to the floor so they don't have to worry about some Other network making him an offer for his time first.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I would imagine that any pilot deal gives them first call on his services for a reasonable period of time after principle photography is finished as a matter of course. I as understand it the actor's contracts also include a one-way option (the studio makes the call) on their services if the series is approved. (Rarely invoked in practice, since forcing an actor to leave another project to do yours is just going to get you a pissed-off actor on the set.)

The advantage to making a decision now is that they could book studio space and all the rest and let everyone know, "we start shooting February 10, 2002. You're free to accept any other jobs in the meantime as long as you're back by then." It would also give Legendary Films time to ramp up preproduction, get scripts in the pipeline and that sort of thing.

Even so, all of this could happen (may have happened) without Sci-Fi or Warner Bros. making any kind of official announcement - in which case no one involved would be able to talk about it and we'd all still be in the dark.
smile.gif


I just hate waiting.
laugh.gif


As I've said before though, I'm very confident that we are going to get a series out of this. Sci-Fi is interested in expanding its original programming, recently cancelled a couple of other shows, and has wanted a series from Straczynski and Netter since at least 1998. (They bid for the B5 reruns, season 5 and Crusade.) Unless the pilot is an absolute dog, I'd be surprised if they didn't approve it as a series. OTOH, TV execs have surprised me in the past, and I don't know what other shows they may have in development (beyond the new Battlestar Gallactica, which may or may not have an impact on Ranger's chances.)

Regards,

Joe

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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR> The man has to sleep sometime. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

No one has caught him sleeping YET.
wink.gif




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Yes, I like cats too.
Shall we exchange Recipes?
 
If Bonnie Hammer sticks with her current strategy, I'd say Joe is definitely correct. Considering what BH has done for the SciFi ratings, I'd say if it ain't broke, don't be fixin' it!

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"Why not? Only 1 Human captain has ever survived battle with the Minbari fleet. He is behind me, you are in front of me. If you value your lives, be somewhere else."
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR> If Bonnie Hammer sticks with her current strategy, I'd say Joe is definitely correct. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

the most likely reason for an early announcement is if SciFi's decision makers like the movie so well that they decide to nail JMS feet to the floor so they don't have to worry about some Other network making him an offer for his time first.




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Yes, I like cats too.
Shall we exchange Recipes?
 
Hello and Welcome jaxb5ranger

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR> written by Joseph DeMartino
3) Now that some of his other work is out of the way, he is negotiating another series offer which he had put on hold earlier this year. That will likely take up whatever time he can spare from "TWCBN", The Amazing Spiderman, Rising Stars (comic book and movie}, Midnight Nation and the upcoming B5 graphic novel. The man has to sleep sometime. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I beleive he has another comic in the works also anyone know more?

I am really enjoying his comics and other writtings.

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Deviot
Lincbot@yahoo.com.au

[This message has been edited by Deviot (edited July 04, 2001).]
 
Thanks for the warm welcome; I must say I'm impressed with the replies to this.... well thought out all the way around; and thanks to everyone for throwing your opinion into the ring.

I can't say I can find any advantage to Sci FI waiting on an announcement once they've decided to do a series, especially the way they've pushed to movie so far. Unless the movie really stinks, it does so much more good for them at so little risk. The question to me then becomes : Does Sci Fi need to see ratings for the movie to make that decision, or will they trust JMS and what they've seen of the movie so far and give the ok?

Here's a series announcement comes sooner rahter than later (afterall, no matter what it ends up looking like, it can't possibly be as bad as Black Scorpion)

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-Devin Barber
 
I suspect that just When SciFi makes the announcement is more a Strategy question than anything else. The majority of their advertising/PR money is going to be spent on short term stuff: What's going to be on the air Next Week. Then, Next Month, etc.

Remember that TV operates on the notion that audiences have Short attention spans and short memories.

Even 30 years after Star Trek demonstrated otherwise, they still haven't gotten their minds wrapped around the idea that Fans Need To Know even if it's not going to happen for 6 months.



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Yes, I like cats too.
Shall we exchange Recipes?
 
Unfortunately, I think you are right; there are lots of fan based reasons to make an early decision and announcement, but simple corporate intertia alone is enough for them to decide not to. That's before we even get to paranoia, negotiation, scheduling, distractions, etc etc etc etc

I suspect any annoncement of any new series would not be made until just before or just after the movie. I hope I'm proved wrong, but that seems to be the way of things....
Trekkies get an endless stream of shows, movies and products, and here we are rewarded for our devotion with waiting and hoping for a simple press release.

"That's very comforting - but I'm afraid you'll just have to wait."
"I hate waiting"

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-Devin Barber
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>...they still haven't gotten their minds wrapped around the idea that Fans Need To Know even if it's not going to happen for 6 months.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Why do "Fans Need To Know"?

I agree fans want to know, I certainly do, but do we really need to know? What are we going to do with the information, exactly? What difference is it really going to make to us and - more importantly (from their point of view
smile.gif
) what difference is it going to make to Sci-Fi? Presumably we've all already told our friends that the new movie is in the works, and that a series is possible. What benefit does Sci-Fi get from announcing their decision at the earliest possible moment?

(BTW, they did announce production of the TV movie the better part of a year before the likely airdate, so it isn't as though they're being unduly reticent.)

Regards,

Joe

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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR> I agree fans want to know, I certainly do, but do we really need to know? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes. Becaues Not Knowing drives us Nucking Futz.
shocked.gif


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Yes, I like cats too.
Shall we exchange Recipes?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Deviot:
Hello and Welcome jaxb5ranger

I beleive he has another comic in the works also anyone know more?

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I don't know if this is about the same comic, but I met a comic artist today who said that there were plans for Rangers story.
I hope the rumour is true.

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Ranger Elenopa

"You can get more with a kind word and a two by four, than you can with just a kind word"

[This message has been edited by Elenopa (edited July 08, 2001).]
 
Expect a positive news item about this, hopefully today. Nothing official yet, but it's looking good.


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Dreg: "Most beauteous and supremely magnificent one, this dark spell I hold in my worthless and scabby hand is our gift to you, most tingly and wonderful Glorificus..."
Glory: "Please, call me Glory. And get up, looking at you is hurting my neck."
Dreg: "Forgive me, shiny special one. I beg of you to rip out my inadequate tongue."
Glory: "Gimme."
 
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? (Jumping around the room!) I, too, kind of figured that it would indeed be awhile before we heard anything. I figured it would be like Crusade. I still wonder why the Crusade reruns on ran once, and then were pulled. I thought I'd heard something about seeing them again in July.
crazy.gif


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"Why not? Only 1 Human captain has ever survived battle with the Minbari fleet. He is behind me, you are in front of me. If you value your lives, be somewhere else."
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>
Expect a positive news item about this, hopefully today. Nothing official yet, but it's looking good.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
How do you live with yourself Antony, dropping bombshells like that without any explanation?
wink.gif


Your post followed one about a Rangers comic. Does that mean that the "positive news item" deals with the Rangers comic, or with the prospects of Rangers becoming a weekly TV series (the topic of this thread)?

Hearing that Rangers has the green light as a series would mean a lot more to me than seeing a picture of the freaking Enterprise (although I'm looking forward to that too
laugh.gif
).


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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>I still wonder why the Crusade reruns on ran once, and then were pulled.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The main reason for running them was to see how Crusade did "on their air" and to see how any B5 project did in prime time as opposed to early evenings. 13 nights was plenty of time to get the answers they wanted to both questions.


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>I thought I'd heard something about seeing them again in July.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That was a misunderstanding. A proposed SFC schedule grid that showed Crusade running at 10 PM (ET/PT) on Sunday nights ran as part of an Advertising Age article on cable programming, but the grid was out of date before the article even ran.

None of which means that Crusade won't run again. When the deal was first announced someone asked Bonnie Hammer if the widescreen version would be aired. She said they didn't plan to do that for the first run, but that they might consider it for a subsequent airing. So presumably their deal with Warner Bros. allows them to show the series at least twice.

If they did want to go with the widescreen version they'd have to either cough up the money for new transfers or talk Warner Bros. into doing it. The new transfers themselves would take time to create, and I would imagine that Warner Bros. would want to take as much time as was necessary checking them over for mistakes before passing them along to Sci-Fi.
smile.gif


The August Sci-Fi schedule has "limited series, TBA" in the M-Th 9 PM slot for the entire month, so maybe Crusade will be repeated for 13 days as part of that block.

Regards,

Joe

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