JMS: More B5 Coming?

[Razuur]

Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski told fans on a message board that he's working on a follow-up to the popular SF series, according to a report on the Dark Horizons Web site. Straczynski remained coy about the project, saying only that he'd have more news next month.

"On the B5 front, there has been something of rather substantial proportion that's finally gone from talk to money, such that I'm now working frantically to meet some deadlines," Straczynski posted. "But there's nothing I can say about this until after January 15th, probably closer to the end of that month."

Straczynski added, "The only thing I can say is that phase one of the new project is a go, hence the furious writing schedule at this end of things, which is why I've been silent until deciding to kick up some dust on the political discussion. I've been writing my little brains out. I wouldn't go on about something in this way if it wasn't a significant development."

[Guest]

..And there has also been an "EEP!" on the B5 Newsgroup

AFAIK we will know more about on 15th Jan or later that month...

[Lesandira]

Btw - The above post was done by me, but somehow I forgot to login...

As additional info on this matter - there will also be a Crusade DVD Box and further, also a Complete Movie Box (with commentaries of "In the Beginning" and "The Gathering" by JMS himself) sometime after B5 Season 5 is released...

[LoneStranger]

I'd love to see another series in the B5 universe. Hope it gets the support it needs from the network he goes with, I remember hearing a possible explanation for why Crusade got cancelled so quickly, it sucked cause I thought that series had potential.

[Babylon 5 Aide]

halalula!

[Chobbly]

JMS said on RASTB5 in September, and I quote....

To the many questions that have arisen here of late...yes, as I mentioned
before, there is the possibility of something Babylon 5 related on the horizon, but again I don't want anyone getting excited until we know if either one of these two projects is going to actually come to fruition. We should know wherethis lands in the next few weeks. The only thing I will say is that they're not print projects, so if you were to assume it's for TV or film you wouldn't be too far off...but that neither of them are series. And that's all I'm going to say about them for now.

This may have changed, but that is what was said. Crusade was mismanaged from the start, and is painfully obvious which episodes were the ones that TNT (edit: one of the TNT offices) started involving themselves in. They wanted a new show, rather than the original premise for Crusade.

Funny thing is, if Claudia Christian hadn't left in Season 4, and the character of Marcus Cole killed off to give her character a reason to leave, then Marcus would have been in Crusade. (See here). Oh well. Never mind...

[Eryx]

Its a shame that JMS can't go back and finish off Crusade.

I read somewhere (it may have been on his own message board, not sure) that the whole plague thing was not the dominant plot and would have probably been resolved by the end of Crusade season 1.

[LoneStranger]

The plague wasn't the key plot? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mayhaps an ISA vs. Drakh war was the key point?

[Morden]

Well, we can always hope that a new show would pick up where the plague left off and show us the same story he had originally intended from a different angle.

I just hope that the new how focuses less on the station and is set on a ship that goes places and does things.

Either way, this is the most welcome news I've heard in a while. Lets all keep our fingers crossed.

[Chobbly]

Well, we can always hope that a new show would pick up where the plague left off and show us the same story he had originally intended from a different angle.

I just hope that the new how focuses less on the station and is set on a ship that goes places and does things.

Either way, this is the most welcome news I've heard in a while. Lets all keep our fingers crossed.

True. Plus, it may mean an extra sourcebook from Mongoose

IIRC, the Crusade storyline would have been over after the second season, with the Excalibur crew going renegade when the level of ShadowTech inside EarthGov was discovered - the Shadow Omegas were apparently just the tip of the iceberg. Literally, just the tip of the iceberg. And JMS made comments that the cure for the plague may not actually have been a beneficial a cure generally. I think this was mentioned in an IGN FilmForce interview with JMS.

(EDIT - Found the quote)

"Suffice it to say that - through a series of incidents - the Excalibur crew would have been considered traitors and have to basically be on the run. Further, the cure that Earth would have believed to be the right one would not in fact work as they think it would have worked. Our guys would find out about this, and no one would have believed them. As things unravel, it's a larger conspiracy, so basically - after the second year - the show you think Crusade is would be a whole different show, with much more depth to it, more political, more controversial in some ways, and would deal with the impact of technology on society, would cast our characters as renegades and loners without port, and turn the whole series upside-down."

I'm not sure what the rights are with Crusade - JMS stated that if Legend of the Rangers went to a series, at some point it would cross into the Crusade story. That would possibly have been the best hope for Crusade, from another point of view.

I echo your comment Baraendur - fingers crossed we get good news next month...

[Lesandira]

The news from JMS are pretty fresh - he posted them some weeks ago on the newsgroup. Razuur's post from the Dark Horizons page is actually the same thing as posted in the newsgroup..

[Pascalahad]

I'd like to see more of the period of the Telepath War, since things have considerably changed between Babylon 5 and Crusade. I know what is the final fate of Bester with the novels, but I would like to know what happened to lovely (and deadly) Lyta, and to hear more about her journey with G'Kar after B5.

Well, whatever the project, just put Patricia Tallman in it and I would be more than happy !

[Garibaldi2257]

She passed on sometime between when she and G'kar left B5 and LotR.

[Pascalahad]

She passed on sometime between when she and G'kar left B5 and LotR.

I understood this when I saw the last episode of B5, "Sleeping in light", where she was not featured, alongside other characters we knew died before that time (G'Kar, Londo, Marcus and possibly Lennier, considering Delenn's reaction) I assume she died during the Telepath War, freeing her kind as Byron would have done if he were still there. I don't know about Lotr, I haven't seen it. I'm very curious to know more, since I like the character of Lyta and his portrayal by Patricia Tallman, I had less empathy for Talia Winters.

[Lesandira]

I personally, would like to see more about the timeframe in which "The Legions of Fire" (a.k.a. The Centauri Prime triology) plays...

Anyway, I want to see more of Sheridan

[purpleDraziLeader]

Legend of the Rangers is going to be on SciFi Channel on Dec 15 @ 11pm EST, if your in the US.

Don't know about overseas, if you even have it...

[cjudisch]

She passed on sometime between when she and G'kar left B5 and LotR.

I remember reading an interveiw with JMS where he said that Pat Tallman/Lyta was originally intended to be the telepath that the (Crusade First Officer who's name I can't remember), stopped giving the sleepers to in the "Flashback" episode of Crusade (the one where they found the telepathing alien that lived in the glass bubble.. all he said to any member of the crew was "I Forgive You").

The implication was that Lyta was to have been captured and that (First Officer)'s decision to stop giving her sleepers allowed her to contact the Telepathic resistance, who in turn bombed the Psi Corps holding facility/Black Ops Base.

Sorry that's so vague, but I'm sure that was what was said (I'm almost positive I read it on the Lurker's Guide, but I haven't been able to get that site to load on my computer in months).

[frobisher]

The implication was that Lyta was to have been captured and that (First Officer)'s decision to stop giving her sleepers allowed her to contact the Telepathic resistance, who in turn bombed the Psi Corps holding facility/Black Ops Base.

Though of course if it had been Lyta as intnded, she'd have been the bomb (as intimated in season 5) and it was only the sleepers that were keeping her from going off.

[Garet]

http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/442/4 ... ?fromint=1


here's a link for further reading on a new show from dec 3

[August]

For those of us writing the RPG, all we can say is.... "Yes! Thank you, Great Maker!"