[B5JMS] Attn. JMS - Cost of Sci-Fi TV

[b5jms-admin at cs.columbia.edu]

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From: "Mac Breck" <macbreck at access995.com>
Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 17:53:06 GMT
Lines: 23

I don't know if you've ever said, but just "approximately," how much did
each Crusade episode cost to produce?

IIRC, B5 was around $1 million per episode.  I guess the Crusade cost was
about the same as B5???   Farscape was supposedly around $1.4 million per
episode, and new Trek is around $2 million per episode.  In a time like now,
when money is tighter than ever, it would seem that if any sci-fi is made,
the networks/channels would go for the less expensive show, and a B5
universe show would seem to fit the bill.  I guess $1 million per episode is
too expensive for The Sci-Fi Channel, but it would seem to be relatively
inexpensive (and a lesser relative risk) for a more mainstream channel.  So,
I guess the thing that's most keeping a B5 universe show off the bigger
channels is the mitten-factor, and maybe that the bigger channels don't
think that a sci-fi show will pull the ratings to give them enough profit at
$1 million per episode?

--
Mac Breck
http://www.scifi.com/babylon5/
http://www.scifi.com/crusade/
http://www.scifi.com/brimstone/



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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: 13 Jan 2003 04:30:16 GMT
Lines: 21

>I don't know if you've ever said, but just "approximately," how much did
>each Crusade episode cost to produce?
>
>IIRC, B5 was around $1 million per episode.  I guess the Crusade cost was
>about the same as B5???   Farscape was supposedly around $1.4 million per
>episode, and new Trek is around $2 million per episode. 

Yes, Crusade was about the same as B5, a tick under $1M per episode.  We did it
by long-term planning and having scripts well ahead of time, the same thing
that has helped put Jeremiah under-budget in its first season.

 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
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