[B5JMS] So, jms, does this mean that.....

[b5jms-admin at cs.columbia.edu]

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From: Lisa Coulter<lisa_coulter at my-deja.com>
Date: 20 Apr 2001 18:59:41 -0700
Lines: 124

In article <3AE05CEA.38FEF9C9 at bigfoot.com>, =?iso-8859-1?Q?P=E5l?= Are Nordal
says...
>
>James Bell wrote:
>>=20
>> I'd personally be happy with a wrap-up of Crusade through a series of 2=
>-hour
>> movies.  It would be nice to see the series go on but *any* sort of clo=
>sure
>> would be better than nothing.
>
>I strongly disagree. If you do a token "wrap-up" Crusade, that will be
>all there is. Without it, there is what could have been...
>
>--=20
>Donate free food with a simple click: http://www.thehungersite.com/
>
>P=E5l Are Nordal
>a_blip at bigfoot.com
>


Podkayne Fries posted a rumor on rasftv this afternoon claiming to be from 
inside sources.  I will quote part of it.  Note, I have NO IDEA how accurate
this is, or in general if Podkayne would have sources that might know this.

Perhaps some of the "net elders" around here can comment.





Podkayne says:







Note that this is a rumor, passed on to me by an insider.  Don't shoot
the messenger because I'm just posting gossip ...





A little background first:

As I'm sure you've all figured out by now, SciFi wants to own
*everything* marginally skiffy.  This explains why they've bought crap
like FIRST WAVE and BLACK SCORPION.  Whether or not the acquisition is
any good is irrelevant; the idea here is to become the only TV station
where a sci-fi fan can find sci-fi programming.  They're a niche market
and their goal is to corner the market.   AMC, for example, has the
rights to run the old Godzilla movies and a lot of 50s horror/sci-fi.
SciFi is counting the days until the contracts expire so that they can
buy the rights to run all the classic stuff we've grown to love.

Despite his reputation, SciFi wanted JMS to write something for them so
that they could monopolize most of his time.  Yes, he usually has
several projects going at once, but a weekly series will take most of
his attention.  Upper-level SciFi PHBs have purchased case lots of
Chapstick in JMS-Ass Flavor because a happy JMS won't wander off and
start a series somewhere else.

Although JMS doesn't see CRUSADE AND RANGERS as a fiscal repacking of
BABYLON 5, SciFi does.  They see this as a Good Thing because it means
that B5 3.0 has a built-in audience before it even starts production.
They also realize that True Believers will do a lot of the marketing and
promotion for them, thereby saving SciFi some much-needed cash.  SciFi
has some ambitious plans, and anything they save means more money for
another project.  You don't think Dennis Hopper's services come cheaply,
do you?

CRUSADE, in its previous incarnation, is not coming back.  RANGERS might
well cover some of CRUSADE's subject matter, but you really don't think
that Skiffy can afford to produce two versions of B5, do you?  If the
CRUSADE reruns continue to pull in decent numbers for a stripped show,
*and* if RANGERS does fairly well, there should be one, maybe two
CRUSADE movies.  These movies will tie in with the RANGERS TV show,
which has better than even odds of starting Real Soon Now.

Think about this for a minute: would it be fiscally sound to have three
programs on your network that are basically the same thing?  (Yes, I
know what you're thinking: think like a Suit for a minute.)  It would be
too much of a good thing.  Why dilute your overall numbers with three
versions of Babylon5 when you can pull in greater numbers with a single
series?

Expect to see a lot more merchandising.  SciFi realize that Truly
Devoted Fans will pony up their lunch money for any little gimcrack
featuring their idols.  (Look at some of the crap in their store.)  

Don't think for a moment that SciFi isn't keenly aware of the bottom
line.  Everything sound swell right now, but if JMS doesn't produce the
numbers they want, they'll toss him out like yesterday's newspaper.  He
can't afford to pitch fits as he's done in the past if he wants to
continue to produce stories in the B5 universe. Skiffy wnats to be the
Ultimate Master of the Skiffy Universe, and they'd sell their mothers
into white slavery to achieve their goals.

I haven't heard anything about the main cast members, but it sounds as
if most of them will be relative unknowns.


-- 
Regards, Podkayne Fries



Anyway, that's the whole post.  Didn't mean to do the whole thing, but since I
know some of us avoid other NGs (out of a great deal of common sense if you ask
me)  I thought it might be worth at least a look.

Anyone have any idea of its validity?

Thanks,

Lisa

"In the end, there is always the sunrise..."



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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: 20 Apr 2001 20:42:10 -0700
Lines: 19

>Podkayne Fries posted a rumor on rasftv this afternoon claiming to be from 
>inside sources. 

Except, of course, there is ZERO information in the post, and 100% personal
opinion.  It doesn't even qualify as a rumor, it's just one guy spouting off
(and some of the things said sound awfully familiar to me).

Basically: he's just one more loudmouth spouting off to try and ruin the party.

 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
(all message content (c) 2001 by synthetic worlds, ltd., 
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine 
and don't send me story ideas)