[B5JMS] Jerry Doyle hopeful of B5 revival

[b5jms at cs.columbia.edu]

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From: Aisling Willow Grey <aisling at fjordstone.com>
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 22:21:32 +0000 (UTC)
Lines: 93

 >>Jms at B5 wrote:
> A couple of points on this.
> 
> There have been no discussions concerning a return of the Babylon 5 series
> between myself and WB or any other studio or network.  Nor do I think anything
> is likely in that area.
> 
> Jerry took umbrage when, a few years ago, I commented on his statements that he
> would be able to put togeether a new B5 series deal.  From the interview, he
> still seems to be in high dudgeon over this.  But the fact remains: I was
> correct in my statement, he didn't have the pieces in place to make it happen. 
> If he'd had the wherewithal to make it happen, it would've; it didn't, so he
> didn't.  My statement was correct.  
> 
> Once again, the pieces simply aren't there.  He has lined up a radio guy who
> feels the show should return.  Which is great, it's a terrific compliment.  But
> that is not in any way, manner, shape or form anywhere near anything of a
> serious nature in terms of getting a show on the air.  
> 
> I've always been happy to listen to anyone -- Jerry, his pals, anybody -- who
> would come to me with a serious proposal and have the moxie, the money, and the
> resources to make it happen.  It hasn't.  That's the simple fact of it.
> 
> Jerry's a terrific operator, he always has an angle going, he's always working
> it...but that ain't the same thing as always having the real deal in hand.  If
> WB were involved in this -- and they'd have to be -- both Doug and I would be
> in the loop by contract.  But that is not the case.  I spoke with Doug five
> minutes ago as I type this, and he confirmed: there is nothing happening on
> this front other than Jerry talkling with the radio guy.
> 
> As for his notion that the characters in Crusade were just B5 characters with
> the names changed...as the person who created those characters, nothing could
> be further from the truth.  Nor was Bruce ever set to be the star of Crusade.  
> 
> There's a natural tendency for people to hear or think what they expect, what
> they want to hear.  I told all the B5 cast members as a group that there would
> certainly be opportunities for guest appearances throughout Crusade, but at no
> point did I promise Bruce that he would be the lead of the series, or that we'd
> simply transplant the characters.  It wouldn't be a new series if we did that.
> 
> Finally, in his interview, both Jerry and Bruce seem to blame me for B5 not
> being in its 10th year right now.  Which is true and not true.   B5 was always
> meant to be a 5 year story; every actor knew that going in.  It wasn't like
> this was a surprise at the last minute.  We all knew the deal.
> 
> WB had told us to shut down after year 4 because even though the show was doing
> well, our network, PTEN, was going out of business.  At the last minute, TNT
> took on the task of financing a fifth year *in order to get the end of the
> five-year story*.  They never talked about anything beyond that, nor did anyone
> else.  So anything else is a moot point.  I don't think that TNT would ever
> have committed to anything more than one season in any event.  They wanted the
> end of the story to make the package complete.  If that had been a six-year
> arc, they would not have picked it up because two years would've been too
> costly.
> 
> So them's is the facts.  
> 
> Yes, there's one or two things percolating n the B5 universe that may be of
> interest, but neither of them are series deals.  
> 
> I hate to throw water on this, but I don't want fans to get all excited about
> something that's simply not happening anywhere except in Jerry's interview.
> 
> He probably won't like that I said this any more than he did the last time, but
> then as now, I have to put out the facts and let the passage of time validate
> them.<<

<snipping nothing, as it's all important>

Joe, I'm so relieved to hear your comments about the stuff raised about 
"Crusade" in that interview.  This was the first thing I was going to 
sign on here and ask you about upon returning from Dragon Con! I was in 
a couple of panels this weekend with the guy who interviewed Jerry for 
IGN Filmforce, and when the subject came up, I tried to make some of 
those points to him -- to no avail.  He was convinced that Bruce was 
supposed to captain the Excalibur (never mind that Sheridan was no 
longer an Earthforce captain by this point, but president of the 
Interstellar Alliance), but that you and he had had a "falling out" over 
his "being fired suddenly after five years," and so you quickly rewrote 
the role as Gideon instead.  I tried to point out to him that no one was 
fired -- the show _ended_ -- and that the show was only ever _supposed_ 
to run for five years, and that all of the actors knew that going in. 
He was sure he had the scoop on some conspiracy that I was just too much 
of a slavishly devoted fangirl to see.  :-p

Do you have any idea where anyone would have gotten the idea that 
Crusade was supposedly going to be merely a continuation of the stories 
of the B5 characters?  Or is this something that's "just growed," like 
Topsy, from the irresponsible dropping of vague and unfounded comments 
by certain actors in interviews?

Aisling


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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 23:07:58 +0000 (UTC)
Lines: 108

>Do you have any idea where anyone would have gotten the idea that 
>Crusade was supposedly going to be merely a continuation of the stories 
>of the B5 characters?  Or is this something that's "just growed," like 
>Topsy, from the irresponsible dropping of vague and unfounded comments 
>by certain actors in interviews?

It's unfathomable to me.  I think people just had a tendency to assume this
would be the case.  Or they saw a certain character and resented it, wondering
"why can't that be me?" to the point where it becomes "that was SUPPOSED to be
me."

> He was convinced that Bruce was 
>supposed to captain the Excalibur (never mind that Sheridan was no 
>longer an Earthforce captain by this point, but president of the 
>Interstellar Alliance), but that you and he had had a "falling out" over 
>his "being fired suddenly after five years," and so you quickly rewrote 
>the role as Gideon instead.  I tried to point out to him that no one was 
>fired -- the show _ended_ -- and that the show was only ever _supposed_ 
>to run for five years, and that all of the actors knew that going in. 
>He was sure he had the scoop on some conspiracy that I was just too much 
>of a slavishly devoted fangirl to see.  :-p

Okay, let me put the absolute and total lie to this right now.

I've just gone back into my files and dragged out the ORIGINAL TREATMENT for
Crusade, the one written while B5 was still in production, BEFORE "A Call to
Arms" was ever filmed.  The treatment, which was available to WB, Doug, John,
and department keys and I know some cast members got their hands on it, was
dated 6/16/98 (that date is still on the file datestamp).

I quote from a latter part of the treatment, where the characters are
introduced.  There are some little variances here and there -- one in
particular that I think will surprise some people -- but this was what was
written at that time...the very first time I put ANYthing down on paper about
Cruade for WB.

One small caveat: I used the terms "infrequently or not at all" primarily
because WB was desperate to make sure that this show was different from B5, so
the "not at all" part was a nod to that, but the "infrequently" was my planned
opening to use the characters from time to time, which was already in the works
when the show was pulled.

Quote follows:

--------------------------------------------------

Whether it begins within BABYLON 5 or outside, the CRUSADE pilot movie will
start with the Drakh attack, and end with the revelation about the plague. 
It's important to see this happen in current time, rather than hear about it
after the fact.  We need to see first-hand what's at stake, and how we got
here.
 
As a result, the pilot will introduce not only our characters, but the full
situation and setup for the series to come.  Because of the attack and
counter-attacks, it will be primarily action-oriented.  The focus is not on
diplomacy, or  negotiations...the focus is nothing less than the very survival
of our species, and the acts of heroism that result when our characters stand
against terrible and overwhelming odds.
         
As head of the Rangers, Delenn and Captain John Sheridan give the fleet its
mission, and take part in the pilot movie.  
        
After that, once the battle is over and the fleet is on its way,  they will
appear either infrequently or not at all.  CRUSADE will stand on its own,
except for possible TNT movie cross-overs.
        
Let's meet our characters.
        
CAPTAIN MATTHEW DRAKE, Captain of the Excalibur, the high-tech flagship of the
White Star fleet of ships.  (The fleet divides into teams to help increase the
odds of finding a cure; when they find a possible lead, they call in the
Excalibur, wait until it arrives, then they move on to the next destination
while the Excalibur does its work.)  In his 30s, dark, brooding, attractive,
he's a fighter whose own Earthforce ship was destroyed during the initial war
with the Drakh.  (It wasn't his fault, as we will learn; he was up against
impossible odds and barely managed to save his crew at great risk to himself.) 

  
Personally assigned to the Excalibur by Sheridan, this mission represents his
chance to redeem himself.  Hard-headed and practical, a man of action who
doesn't believe in the mysticism practiced by the Minbari and the Rangers; if
he can't feel it or taste it, it doesn't exist.  A loner whose harsh exterior
covers a heart that has been wounded too many times, and now refuses to let
anyone near him.
        
MARCUS COLE, a Ranger established on Babylon 5 during its third and fourth
seasons.  Energetic, bright, literary, with a poetic quote always at hand when
it's needed, and a pike or a PPG rifle when force is needed.  Trained equally
in martial arts and philosophy.  A dashing, romantic figure noted for a
cheerfulness 
that belies something much deeper beneath.  

-------------------------------------------------

We had to change Drake to Gideon because of a clearance problem, and obviously
the Claudia situation threw a monkey wrench into using the character of Markus,
as originally planned.

 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
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