I wish JMS had ignored the season 4 / season 5 thing.

[B5JMS Poster]

Subject: I wish JMS had ignored the season 4 / season 5 thing.
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 No. | DATE        |  FROM
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s  1: Mar  6, 1997: ck at zipcon.net ( )
+  2: Mar  7, 1997: mibenedetto at vassar.edu (Michael Benedetto)
*  3: Mar  7, 1997: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)

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From: ck at zipcon.net ( )
Lines: 54



I originally posted a huge rant about this, but the moderators either
didn't receive it or didn't see fit to post it. So perhaps a shorter
post is in order.

I wish JMS had written the story the way he had outlined it, for 5
seasons. I understand some give n take is necessary for some aspects of
production (the whole Sinclair/Sheridan thing, and Andrea Thompson
leaving, which I actually thought was a good thing). But if he had written
this season with the assumption that there was going to be a 5th season,
this armchair quarterback postulates that...

a) individual episodes wouldn't feel so rushed
b) the flashbacks/dialogue to accomodate new viewers wouldn't stick out so
much
c) the transition to the post-Shadow War plotlines would have been
smoother

and

d) fandom could focus all its energy where it belongs, at WB and
individual stations, rather than being told by the show's creator that an
entire season of the show isn't really necessary to the story he wanted to
tell.

Even though the pace and dialogue of "Atonement" was some of the best from
JMS that I've seen in a while, he's only been about 50% this season in
terms of well-thought-out scripts. Knowing that non-arc stuff has been cut
out means less likelihood of episodes like "Passing Through Gethsemane",
"Believers", etc. which gave the show such texture. Now it's a simple
checklist each week of which story elements will be resolved or referred
to and which ones weren't. 

Perhaps it's rerun depression sinking in, but I have a vague feeling that
B5 is going to go on the mental shelf with the theatrical release of The
Abyss, or Dune, or any number of things which got cut off at the knees due
to time constraints. I really don't want to be able to say "Yeah, B5 was
really good. But it could have been so much MORE...". 

I just wish JMS had stuck to his guns and told the full story in the
format he originally wanted, rather than packing things up quickly to rush
off to do TV-movies, sequel series and whatever else. I won't go so far as
to say he didn't trust fandom or the show to be able to make it to 5
years, but I do wish I could blame WB for cutting off the story rather
than JMS for rushing it. 

-- 
Chris Keroack  <*> "Farewell! May the forces of evil become confused 
ck at zipcon.net  <*> on the way to your house." - George Carlin





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From: mibenedetto at vassar.edu (Michael Benedetto)
Lines: 37

In article <5fl3cl$mgs at ran.zipcon.net>, ck at zipcon.net ( ) wrote:
<snip>
>I just wish JMS had stuck to his guns and told the full story in the
>format he originally wanted, rather than packing things up quickly to rush
>off to do TV-movies, sequel series and whatever else. I won't go so far as
>to say he didn't trust fandom or the show to be able to make it to 5
>years, but I do wish I could blame WB for cutting off the story rather
>than JMS for rushing it. 
<snip>

I understand how you feel, but I'd frankly rather have the series rush to a
conclusion than have no conclusion whatsoever. I want to be able to watch
and enjoy the whole thing again, and that would be completely impossible if
it just ended at Season 4. We'd get _no_ payoff for the attention we'd paid
it for four years. Is that preferable to getting one that isn't quite as
big as you'd hoped?

It's frustrating at times to see that economic realities are keeping the
series from living up to its full potential, but more of that potential can
certainly be realized if the show is wrapped up in 4 seasons. No doubt
we'll brood about it however it turns out. But we'd be beside ourselves
with grief if we never found out what happened to the station and its
residents.

BTW, JMS has to cover himself a little bit. If the storyline didn't get
finished one way or another, it would be much harder for it to find an
audience on TNT or in subsequent runs. From your original message, you'd
think he had completely compromised his artistic integrity by writing the
story flexibly. Cut him some slack.

-Mike

-- 
Me banana you banana Nim Nim Nim banana.
                                                                                
-Nim Chimpsky


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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Lines: 43

Understand that you over-estimate the power of fandom in the current TV
market.

For starters the studios have gotten used to letter writing campaigns by
SF fans, and no longer give it the same weight they used to.  

If WB decides to drop year 5, it will be an internal business decision,
and will not be subject to appeal.  About one-third of all new shows
presented at NATPE this year to the stations either aren't going or are in
serious trouble because WB, UPN and FOX are grabbing more nights of
committed programming at local stations...in simple terms: there is no
room at the inn.

That's the single biggest obstacle right now to WB renewing the show, I'm
told.  That the market has changed, and the stations either have other
commitments, or are tempted by new, highly-promoted shows, as opposed to a
fifth year of a show they know.  

I've had to make adjustments to cover my bets in either direction; if I
did what you describe, and there ended up not being a year 5, the story
would not have an ending, and the thing would be pointless.  It's not a
matter of "sticking to one's guns."  It's a matter of protecting the fans,
and the story, because I have no control whatsoever over what's going to
be decided shortly.  Neither do the fans.  It ain't the same world as when
ST was saved for one more season.  We've been told, point-blank, that WB
*wants* to do the show next year, because they're making a LOT of money on
it...but if there's no room for the show at enough stations to make it
viable, they won't be able to do it.  (And they can't take it to cable, we
found out this week, because the PTEN contract for the show expressly
forbids it).

I've isolated the threads that would go into a year 5; if we get year 5,
I'll pull the triggers on that, and we'll do those stories.  If not, those
threads will go into the sequel.  Either way, we're covered...because I
can't ask fans to stick around for 4 or 5 years of a show, and not achieve
resolution.  It would be thoughtless and cruel.


 jms




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