To jms: Babylon 5 and other science fiction shows

[B5JMS Poster]

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From: Oliver Kosut <oliver at neglekt.lick.pvt.k12.ca.us>
Date: 17 Feb 1998 13:34:43 -0700
Lines: 27


Hello, jms, my name is Oliver Kosut, I am a Sophomore in high school, and
I've been a fan of Babylon 5 since the beginning. I think it is the
greatest television show ever, and I love your idea of an arc in a science
fiction show. I am ecstatic that the show has been renewed for a fifth
season, and I can't wait to see all the previous episodes rerun on TNT.

That said, here comes my question: You have mentioned on many occasions
that one of the things you wanted to do with this show was deviate from
more "traditional" American science fiction, such as Star Trek. Do you 
actually not like these shows, or did you just want to make
something different? Personally, I like Star Trek a lot, not as much as I
like Babylon 5, but I do think it is one of the better things on
television, at least for the most part (I think Voyager is terrible, but
Deep Space Nine and The Next Generation are very well done in my opinion).
I'm using Star Trek as an example because it is a very good one, but also
because you often mention it when discussing what you wanted to do with
Babylon 5. I'm sure you wouldn't mind Star Trek's popularity, but it is
clear that you wanted to create something very different. So, what is
your opinion of such shows? I could definitely imagine that you could
have wanted to go for something different than them but at the same time
consider them not bad shows, but I don't remember ever reading anything
about that specifically before. So, that's my question. I would greatly
appreciate it if you would take the time to answer it.

Thanks,
Oliver Kosut

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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: 17 Feb 1998 22:16:59 -0700
Lines: 16

>You have mentioned on many occasions
>that one of the things you wanted to do with this show was deviate from
>more "traditional" American science fiction, such as Star Trek. Do you 
>actually not like these shows, or did you just want to make
>something different? 

It's the latter.  To do something differently isn't to say that it wasn't done
right before.  It's not a good/bad issue.  I wanted to do something that
nobody'd done before, in part BECAUSE nobody'd ever done it before...where's
the challenge otherwise?

 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com
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