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Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Ben on September 28, 2021, 10:41:52 AM

Title: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: Ben on September 28, 2021, 10:41:52 AM
A reboot of Babylon 5 has been announced, for the CW network. I'm not sure I like the sound of this, even if JMS is leading it. Sounds a little too much like Uncle Rico and his time machine. I'd love to be wrong though.

https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/27/22696836/babylon-5-reboot-j-michael-straczynski-warner-bros-the-cw
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: Ron on September 28, 2021, 10:49:49 AM
I wonder if it will become a vehicle for promoting the current zeitgeist and narrative?
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: HankB on September 28, 2021, 11:04:29 AM
A couple of comments -

1. I was - and am - a fan of the original B5 show. The last two seasons weren't quite up to snuff since JMS had been informed that there would be no Season 5, so he tried to cram more of the story into Season 4 . . . after which, the network DID authorize Season 5. The required rewrites didn't help things.

I wonder if it will become a vehicle for promoting the current zeitgeist and narrative?

2. On the CW? Be afraid. Be VERY afraid. The CW is The Gay Network, and they go out of their way to ruin what what should be simply entertaining shows (Batwoman, Supergirl, etc.) by putting heavy handed gay/lesbian stuff in. I do NOT want to see a "woke" version of B5.

3. JMS was supposed to be working on a prequel or sequel to one of my all time favorite movies, Forbidden Planet. Sounds like this has been indefinitely postponed. Too bad - I know he personally liked FP, and there were scenes in B5 that were directly lifted from FP.
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: WLJ on September 28, 2021, 11:07:41 AM
1. I'll believe it when I see it
2. Feeling a but uneasy about the whole idea considering their current mindset when it comes to remakes/reboots where they seems to be more intent on destroying old shows/movies than retelling.
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: dogmush on September 28, 2021, 11:19:31 AM
I don't think I could watch a CW show if I wanted to.  A quick peruse of my streaming services don't show any of them.

I suppose I'll carry on somehow.....
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: lee n. field on September 28, 2021, 11:47:42 AM
A reboot of Babylon 5 has been announced, for the CW network. I'm not sure I like the sound of this, even if JMS is leading it. Sounds a little too much like Uncle Rico and his time machine. I'd love to be wrong though.

https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/27/22696836/babylon-5-reboot-j-michael-straczynski-warner-bros-the-cw

<sigh>.

Please, no.  Is there anything that wouldn't be ruined by a wokified remake?
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: MechAg94 on September 28, 2021, 12:51:59 PM
I like Babylon 5, but do they really want to do a remake or are they so out of ideas that they are digging up any series over the last 40 years that made more than a couple seasons? 
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: Perd Hapley on September 28, 2021, 01:39:10 PM
I like Babylon 5, but do they really want to do a remake or are they so out of ideas that they are digging up any series over the last 40 years that made more than a couple seasons?

In that case, where's my Sledge Hammer remake?  =D
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: bedlamite on September 28, 2021, 03:04:16 PM
In that case, where's my Sledge Hammer remake?  =D

It's coming right after the second starsky and hutch remake.
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: Ron on September 28, 2021, 04:31:12 PM
This is the Amazon description of a book about this subject, indirectly.

Quote
Everybody thinks Hollywood is political. Everybody’s wrong.


You know that the big movie studios, comic book companies, and video game publishers push an agenda. What you don’t know is that the corporations in control of your entertainment aren’t grifters or ideologues. They’re evangelists of a fanatical anti-religion.

Movie producers don’t ruin beloved film franchises for profit. Comic book writers don’t warp iconic superheroes into self-parodies to sway voters. They hate their audiences with zealous fervor. They want you demoralized, they want your kids propagandized, and they want you to pay for the privilege.

Nostalgia-fueled habit keeps many of these cultists’ victims coming back for more abuse. But you can escape the cycle. In this book you’ll see how the corrupt entertainment industry hooks its customers, and you’ll gain the tools to reclaim your dignity from the Pop Cult.

Learn to stop paying people who hate you, take back your life, and have fun while you’re at it! Read on!

It's only $5 on Kindle but I'm already there, it would just be him preaching to the choir.

Ruining the the DrWho franchise was just unforgivable. The SJW will not leave anything alone, it will all be memory holed or polluted.

I try not to consume any video media these days. I tried podcasts and the best I can do is listen/watch a half hour of content. Any longer and I drift away or fall asleep :)

 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B087C4V1GM
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: lee n. field on September 28, 2021, 05:48:07 PM
I like Babylon 5, but do they really want to do a remake or are they so out of ideas that they are digging up any series over the last 40 years that made more than a couple seasons?

Hey, the sixties aren't completely mined out yet.  We haven't had a Mr. Ed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GAbc5uQXJo) reboot.
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: HankB on September 29, 2021, 09:10:27 AM
Hey, the sixties aren't completely mined out yet.  We haven't had a Mr. Ed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GAbc5uQXJo) reboot.
Don't forget My Mother The Car (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE9C1fQ--LQ&ab_channel=OLDSHOWS506070)
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: K Frame on September 29, 2021, 09:18:06 AM
Never cared for Babylon 5 when it was out in the day. Maybe the reboot will be better.
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: HankB on September 29, 2021, 12:03:07 PM
Never cared for Babylon 5 when it was out in the day. Maybe the reboot will be better.
Hey, at least they still had some interesting visitors on B5 . . .

(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-A7Sjb1akgA4%2FWYPQAgCXdPI%2FAAAAAAABNSo%2Fzhu6h6WhAKoQ3Cb04jXOVl9WBV05FDrXgCLcBGAs%2Fs1600%2FBabylon_5_4-07_18.jpg&f=1&nofb=1)
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: MillCreek on August 17, 2022, 09:23:18 PM
I have been a lifelong fan of science fiction of all types. For reasons I can't remember,  I never watched Babylon 5. Was that a mistake?  Is it worth my time to watch it?
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: lee n. field on August 17, 2022, 10:00:37 PM
I have been a lifelong fan of science fiction of all types. For reasons I can't remember,  I never watched Babylon 5. Was that a mistake?  Is it worth my time to watch it?

IMHO, in general, yes.  Ignore the made for TeeVee movies.
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: Jim147 on August 18, 2022, 12:26:34 AM
I have been a lifelong fan of science fiction of all types. For reasons I can't remember,  I never watched Babylon 5. Was that a mistake?  Is it worth my time to watch it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qYbVQu7YAQ
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: HeroHog on August 18, 2022, 12:41:11 AM
Myself, I liked B5.
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: Ben on August 18, 2022, 07:53:29 AM
IMHO, in general, yes.  Ignore the made for TeeVee movies.

On the movies, I thought In the Beginning was good.

As to watching the original B5, yes, watch it.
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: RocketMan on August 18, 2022, 09:23:50 AM
I have been a lifelong fan of science fiction of all types. For reasons I can't remember,  I never watched Babylon 5. Was that a mistake?  Is it worth my time to watch it?

I have the same question my own self.  Interesting replies so far.
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: K Frame on August 18, 2022, 09:33:50 AM
I've gotten a lot more fond of science fiction over the years, but when it comes to Babylon 5?

I don't really care for science suck.
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: MechAg94 on August 18, 2022, 09:47:58 AM
I've gotten a lot more fond of science fiction over the years, but when it comes to Babylon 5?

I don't really care for science suck.
Everyone can't have good taste.   =)
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: lee n. field on August 18, 2022, 09:51:00 AM
On the movies, I thought In the Beginning was good.

I'll grant that one.  The others seemed like trying to milk the franchise.

BTW, you know who those kids were he was recounting his story to?  From the family of the old friend, now out of favor at the court, who manipulated Londo into dueling and killing him in Season 2 (https://babylon5.fandom.com/wiki/Knives), so his family would be cared for.

Quote
As to watching the original B5, yes, watch it.
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: Ben on August 18, 2022, 10:19:18 AM
BTW, you know who those kids were he was recounting his story to?  From the family of the old friend, now out of favor at the court, who manipulated Londo into dueling and killing him in Season 2 (https://babylon5.fandom.com/wiki/Knives), so his family would be cared for.

Huh, I did not know that. Londo and G'Kar were sure interesting and complex characters.

Also, I still say that Babylon 5 was one of the most cursed series on television. I don't know of any other show that had so many cast and crew deaths, most of them at such early ages.
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: K Frame on August 18, 2022, 10:20:11 AM
Everyone can't have good taste.   =)

I fully agree with Sheldon Cooper on Babylon 5. It fails on multiple levels...
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: lee n. field on August 18, 2022, 11:13:06 AM
I fully agree with Sheldon Cooper on Babylon 5. It fails on multiple levels...

There's cringy moments, sure.  But where it works, the story arcs, it works.
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: MechAg94 on August 18, 2022, 11:45:52 AM
I fully agree with Sheldon Cooper on Babylon 5. It fails on multiple levels...
What did he say?  I don't watch that show.  Was he referring to "realistic physics" in the show?   

I rewatched B5 not long ago.  I think it is a good show and worth watching.  For 1990's TV SciFi, it did pretty well.  Takes some episodes for the character development to get off the ground.
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: K Frame on August 18, 2022, 12:06:41 PM
Sheldon Cooper on Babylon 5...

https://b5books.com/babylon-5-on-the-big-bang-theory/
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: WLJ on August 18, 2022, 12:11:42 PM
Why should I care what a irritating fictional character on a comedy show thinks?
I like B5 and  :P to anyone who doesn't.
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: MechAg94 on August 18, 2022, 12:15:58 PM
Sheldon Cooper on Babylon 5...

https://b5books.com/babylon-5-on-the-big-bang-theory/
Thanks.  Doesn't say much.  I would be curious what people think it is "derivative" of (if anyone does) since it first aired in 1993. 

Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: RoadKingLarry on August 18, 2022, 12:31:29 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8gHtX6d2wg
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: Ben on August 18, 2022, 12:40:20 PM
This is my favorite scene from In the Beginning:

https://youtu.be/ZIT9DlQoH48
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: K Frame on August 18, 2022, 01:19:31 PM
Why should I care what a irritating fictional character on a comedy show thinks?
I like B5 and  :P to anyone who doesn't.

You really don't know how the internet works, do you?
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: Battle Monkey of Zardoz on August 18, 2022, 01:41:57 PM
This is my favorite scene from In the Beginning:

https://youtu.be/ZIT9DlQoH48

Mine

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tF27OtzAslY
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: Battle Monkey of Zardoz on August 18, 2022, 01:48:41 PM
This

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LUSBzVKoJzU
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: MechAg94 on August 18, 2022, 01:57:41 PM
You really don't know how the internet works, do you?
You and I might be on a different internet.   =)
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: lee n. field on August 18, 2022, 02:01:12 PM
Everything falls apart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDzvp2dD-YA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDzvp2dD-YA)

Quote
Madness! (https://youtu.be/RDzvp2dD-YA?t=77)  Total and complete madness!  This never would have happened if the humans hadn't started fighting each other.
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: Ben on August 18, 2022, 02:03:38 PM
Everything falls apart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDzvp2dD-YA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDzvp2dD-YA)

And towards the end of that episode:

https://youtu.be/DtNtw2HTFtA
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: lee n. field on August 18, 2022, 02:11:33 PM
And towards the end of that episode:

https://youtu.be/DtNtw2HTFtA

The look of total weariness at second 45.  "Jump points opening all around us!"  "How many?"   "Four"
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: lee n. field on August 18, 2022, 02:21:29 PM
Season 3 closing monologue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iCPsR_KTL4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iCPsR_KTL4)

Then there's this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Alhlect33vQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Alhlect33vQ)
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: WLJ on August 18, 2022, 02:32:25 PM
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/x383/WLJohnson1/Babylon%205/.highres/garibaldi_by_tomcf-d5rnp9d_zps72dac903.jpg)
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: WLJ on August 18, 2022, 02:34:47 PM
Everything falls apart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDzvp2dD-YA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDzvp2dD-YA)

Quote
    Madness!  Total and complete madness!  This never would have happened if the humans hadn't started fighting each other.

(https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/x383/WLJohnson1/Babylon%205/Ambush-At-Orion-HD_zpsmboahebw.jpg)
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: WLJ on August 18, 2022, 02:35:28 PM
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/x383/WLJohnson1/Babylon%205/ambassador_kosh__s_real_identity_by_palesoles-d5h08mx_zpszythkqy1.jpg)
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: WLJ on August 18, 2022, 02:36:59 PM
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/x383/WLJohnson1/Babylon%205/.highres/Give_me_Ramming_Speed_by_starfleet_zps5cbc9bdc.jpg)
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: HankB on August 18, 2022, 02:38:49 PM
I like how this story arc closed . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47DfQcHMYLY
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: Angel Eyes on August 18, 2022, 03:00:24 PM
Why should I care what a irritating fictional character on a comedy show thinks?

That's no way to talk about K Frame.
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: K Frame on August 18, 2022, 04:45:07 PM
That's no way to talk about K Frame.


I've never seen any actual proof of your vitality either, Botboy...
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: RoadKingLarry on August 18, 2022, 05:14:56 PM
I like how this story arc closed . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47DfQcHMYLY

One of my favorites
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: AZRedhawk44 on August 18, 2022, 06:40:37 PM
Thanks.  Doesn't say much.  I would be curious what people think it is "derivative" of (if anyone does) since it first aired in 1993.

It's just painful to watch.  The story isn't engaging, the space scenes rely too heavily upon CGI while the scenes involving aliens rely too heavily on cheap practical effects that go too far while not accomplishing enough.  Less is more when it comes to representing convergent evolution of sentient bipedal life forms.  The sets are also too small.  It's a 5 mile long space station but all the scenes are shot in tiny little rooms.  The deck of Kirk's original Enterprise is larger than most B5 sets.

The space CGI scenes in B5 are nearly as bad as those from The Last Starfighter.  Except The Last Starfighter was made 12 years earlier and was novel in how they chose to emulate the graphics from the in-movie arcade game when rendering space combat.  B5 doesn't have any sort of meta-reference to itself, it just has bad effects.  It's bad in the same way that the Ray Harryhausen clay stop motion animation is bad in Jason and the Argonauts or Clash of the Titans.

Beyond all that though, it's cursed with the same problem as DS9.  Space Stations suck as settings for a long-running show.  Space craft are great settings.  Space Stations are stagnant.  Think about it in a parallel context:  would you rather watch a film based on Lewis & Clark's journey across the US?  Or would you rather watch a film based on a few years of history of a particular frontier fort... say Fort Snelling in Minnesota?
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: HankB on August 18, 2022, 09:29:47 PM
. . .  Think about it in a parallel context:  would you rather watch a film based on Lewis & Clark's journey across the US?  Or would you rather watch a film based on a few years of history of a particular frontier fort... say Fort Snelling in Minnesota?
They got 2 full seasons (65 episodes back then) of a TV show based at Ft. Courage.
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: JTHunter on August 19, 2022, 12:09:02 AM
2. On the CW? Be afraid. Be VERY afraid. The CW is The Gay Network, and they go out of their way to ruin what what should be simply entertaining shows (Batwoman, Supergirl, etc.) by putting heavy handed gay/lesbian stuff in. I do NOT want to see a "woke" version of B5.

3. JMS was supposed to be working on a prequel or sequel to one of my all time favorite movies, Forbidden Planet. Sounds like this has been indefinitely postponed. Too bad - I know he personally liked FP, and there were scenes in B5 that were directly lifted from FP.

Regarding #2 - just look at the new "Tom Swift" show.  I watched about 1/2 hour of the first episode and wanted to puke.

#3 - What scenes from FP did they lift?  I like that movie a lot too (esp. a young Anne Francis !!).
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: JTHunter on August 19, 2022, 01:19:51 AM
I have .wav files of Ivanova's "Death Incarnate" as well as her "Mantra" but they are too large to post (Death is ~310 kb).

B5 can't be rebooted as too many of the principals are gone.
Sinclair, G'Kar, Garibaldi, Vir, and Deleen, all since ~2010.
   =(  =(
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: HankB on August 19, 2022, 09:13:24 AM
Regarding #2 - just look at the new "Tom Swift" show.  I watched about 1/2 hour of the first episode and wanted to puke.

#3 - What scenes from FP did they lift?  I like that movie a lot too (esp. a young Anne Francis !!).

As a  kid, I read books about the adventures and inventions of Tom Swift, Jr., . . . a crew cut kid with blond hair, blue eyes, and a girlfriend. In the TV show TS became a gay black guy. Phooey - I refused to even tune in to this Woke Gay Network offering.

As far as scenes in B5 lifted from FP, they involve the Great Machine on Epsilon 3, which look very much like they were inspired by the Krell machine in FP. They added more glitz for B5 since it was made several decades after FP, but the basic layout is there - people walking across a bridge over a technology-filled shaft inside the machine.

B5 machine picture - interior view at about 4:52 (VERY poor quality image!)   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnRUFyRos5g
FP machine picture - interior view begins about 0:41    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHXfMjp2zqI
Title: Re: Babylon 5 Reboot
Post by: RoadKingLarry on August 19, 2022, 09:26:59 AM
They got 2 full seasons (65 episodes back then) of a TV show based at Ft. Courage.

And a damned fine show it was, and still is.