The Plague of TNT

[B5_Obsessed]

I could've put this under the "1000 Year in Detail" thread but I figured I'd start a fresh one.

On the commentary near the end of "A Call to Arms", JMS suddenly blurted out that the Drakh plague was not his idea and he was never particularly fond of the idea. TNT executives, however, insisted that the show needed a "hook" to keep viewers turning in. After all, THEY KNOW DRAMA. So JMS, who wanted the show to be strictly about exploration of the unknown, grudgingly added the plague to the B5 canon.
And as we all know, he planned to get rid of it by mid-season 2.

 

[Elenopa]

Interesting.

I wonder if TNT got the idea from the 'Dalek Invasion of Earth', as the invasion started by a strange plauge wiping out most of the Earth's population.

This is from the William Hartnell original, not the Peter Cushing remake.

 

[B5_Obsessed]

Interesting.

I wonder if TNT got the idea from the 'Dalek Invasion of Earth', as the invasion started by a strange plauge wiping out most of the Earth's population.

This is from the William Hartnell original, not the Peter Cushing remake.

I doubt it. You're overestimating their knowledge of science fiction.

 

[Recoil]

I found this interesting...but un-nerving. I actually LIKED the idea of the Drakh plague. To me it added something to get the story started right from the get-go. Delenn at the end of "Rising Stars" made mention of the Drakh War, so having it start with them giving Earth a plague didn't seem out of the ordinary.

I also think we all knew that it wasn't what the story was ever going to be "about" but a starting point, just like B5 wasn't about the hole in Sinclair's mind. I really have a tough time imagining Crusade starting without such a plague, and being mainly about the Rangers creating the Alliance. To me that sounds more like Legend of the Rangers than about Crusade.

I actually think this is one idea that TNT had that was a damn good one, and I am glad its in there. I can't imagine A Call to Arms without it, or Crusade drawing me in without it either.

 

[colonyearth]

Ah...perhaps, but then we don't know how JMS was going to originally launch it without a plague. Knowing JMS, it would've been just as intriguing and wonderful.

CE

 

[A_M_Swallow]

The Drahk plague is obviously a disguised version of the Aids virus. There are enough people walking around Hollywood with ribbons that thinking of it will not have been difficult.

Unknown disease that takes several years to kill, outside the knowledge of the world's best scientists and crafty – it survives our drugs by hiding.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

I think you misunderstood what JMS said. The specific idea of the Drakh plague was not the idea of some TNT or WB exec. (Because you'll note that he said both the studio and the network wanted the show to start with a "hook" instead of just being about a ship out exploring and helping to set up the new Alliance.) I'm sure that actual hook was JMS's idea, inspired by his existing plans for an eventual showdown with the Drakh and the whole issue of left over Shadow technology. And since JMS doesn't do "obvious" I think we safely dispense with the notion that the plague was intended to be some thinly-disguised version of AIDS. The plague idea may well have been one of several ideas that JMS presented to TNT and WB to choose from, or it may be that he simply said, "OK, here's your hook. Satisified?" But I seriously doubt that WB or TNT would simply attempt to dictate the shape of the show especially at that stage. Let's remember that until production had already started and the ratings pattern from the B5 reruns and S5 episodes was becoming really clear, TNT was mostly in "benign neglect" mode. The production people in Los Angeles were skipping the dailies as often as not when the first five shows were being shot, because they trusted Babylonian and frankly had balkier projects to deal with. There were some early goofy notes from Atlanta, but for the most part things were OK and they weren't yet about handing down creative diktats. It just doesn't sound plausible to me, and JMS's wording of the story didn't even make me think that WB or TNT had come to him and said, "plague!"

Regards,

Joe

 

[B5_Obsessed]

I never actually wrote that TNT suggested the plague. I wrote that TNT suggested the hook, which was not originally part of JMS's plan for the series.

I think only minor changes come from the plague anyway.
Say "A Call to Arms" ended without the plague. Perhaps Earthforce or the IA would have said, "Look what almost happened to Earth because of leftover Shadow tech. Let's dispatch a ship to search and collect whatever is left out there." Galen accompanies, and his mission is completely unchanged, leaving us with the events as revealed in "End of the Line".

 

[A_M_Swallow]

{snip} And since JMS doesn't do "obvious" I think we safely dispense with the notion that the plague was intended to be some thinly-disguised version of AIDS.

It may however be what JMS told the studio. Half way through Season 2 the plague would turn into something different. JMS likes playing that game.

 

[phoenixrising]

And as we all know, he planned to get rid of it by mid-season 2.

Which is the main reason Crusade is about the only "quest" show I like. (Quest Show = the characters must spend the entire run of ths how searching for something [e.g. searching for the cure to turning into a big green monster in "The Incredible Hulk" or searching for the way home in "ST:Voyager"], which they must never find because that would be the end of the show, thus depriving the audience of any feeling the the characters are accomplishing anything.)

Knowing JMS, he would have raised the bar for this type of show.

 

[Ranger_Alex]

I don't quite know whose idea it was, but he decided to pick a race that was known, but wasn't critical to the overall arc. I think that you're right about TNT, though. They may have... suggested it to him.

 

[Mindwalker]

All I want is to know what was in that damn box!!!

 

[grumbler]

Agreed. In fact, my impression of JMS's remarks was that the "hook" referred to was "showing the viewers" what was happening on Earth (and hence the whole "War Zone" episode) instead of "telling the viewers."

YMMV, of course.

 

[grumbler]

All I want is to know what was in that damn box!!!

That... would be telling.