Babylon 5 - The Reboot Film

[Jimmy Higgins]

So anyway, a while ago Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski said he was going to work on scripting a Babylon 5 reboot film. He noted he would give Warner Bros. a first chance at it, and if they reject, he'd produce it himself through his own company ($80 to $100 million) which apparently is doing pretty well with a series or two on Netflix.

He has noted that it was going to be a reboot of the original series. There have been rumbles across the Internet about how hard that would actually be. Personally, I feel it'd be like Veronica Mars * 100 difficult because the original premise involved a long term arc and it is hard to fit so much into such a small period of time. Due to the price tag he has attached, the film actually has to sell.

So I was pondering what else would be possible for a Babylon 5 film.

Firstly, I like the idea of replaying the Earth Martial law angle, but switching it around, and it turns out, the aliens have infiltrated Earthdome and they are ready to take over and President Clark is doing everything he can to stop it. This would require a mirror approach on Earth, because the actions that had already taken place don't allow enough wiggle room to fit in neatly with the existing narrative.

The one other thing I'd really like to see is the Telepath War. I'd kill to see Koenig as Bester one more time. Bester was really one of the best bad guys on television and Koenig did such a great job with the character as well.

I suppose the other angle would be to replay the history of the series from some point, but from another perspective.

So any thoughts? Whether this is ever going to happen, other possible ideas. Can this film make $100 million?

 

[Terrell]

I'd loved that show. I was disappointed when Crusade wasn't able to stay around to it's conclusion. I do wonder what the story arc will be now that the shadows are gone. When they retired & destroyed the station wasn't Zach Allen still alive for that episode? The one where they had shown where all the ranking major characters had gone in the 20 years or so since they'd moved on.

My best guess would be the time in between those events and Sheridan's ultimate death. I hope he does reboot the series and is successful.

 

[Underseer]

Is there any actual need for a reboot?

Why not tell an entirely new story, or just keep re-selling box sets of the original series or both?

 

[Terrell]

Interesting thought, Underseer. An entirely new story, but of the same genre, means that it doesn't have to work around B5 lore. I'd sure love to see it. If they were to do another story in the same universe, it would be nice to see something in the timeline after the episode: "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars".

 

[marc]

I'd be interested in the details of the Telepath war.

Anyone read the books? I've got two trilogies. One is how Vir became emperor. The other is all on telepaths. First book covers from when humans first find that telepaths are actually real, up to the creation of Psi-Corps. Second covers Bester from childhood up to his first visit to B5. Third is many years later when Bester is in hiding, wanted for war crimes, but he decides to return to Earth.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

There are people that are saying that a reboot isn't a good idea. And I agree. It'd be impossible to pull off, unless he is looking to dive board into a reimagined Babylon 5 series on Netflix.

I wish they could do the blu-ray thing, but that doesn't seem physically possible, as they barely managed the DVD remaster.

I'd be interested in the details of the Telepath war.

Anyone read the books? I've got two trilogies. One is how Vir became emperor. The other is all on telepaths. First book covers from when humans first find that telepaths are actually real, up to the creation of Psi-Corps. Second covers Bester from childhood up to his first visit to B5. Third is many years later when Bester is in hiding, wanted for war crimes, but he decides to return to Earth.

Do you recommend them?

 

[marc]

There are people that are saying that a reboot isn't a good idea. And I agree. It'd be impossible to pull off, unless he is looking to dive board into a reimagined Babylon 5 series on Netflix.

I wish they could do the blu-ray thing, but that doesn't seem physically possible, as they barely managed the DVD remaster.

I'd be interested in the details of the Telepath war.

Anyone read the books? I've got two trilogies. One is how Vir became emperor. The other is all on telepaths. First book covers from when humans first find that telepaths are actually real, up to the creation of Psi-Corps. Second covers Bester from childhood up to his first visit to B5. Third is many years later when Bester is in hiding, wanted for war crimes, but he decides to return to Earth.

Do you recommend them?

I enjoyed them. Sometimes I think I'm easy to please though. The books are likely hard to find, having been out of print for a long time.

 

[bilby]

Well I for one think it is about time that Hollywood started making reboot movies of classic TV series.

I am frankly surprised that it has taken them so long to come up with the idea.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Well I for one think it is about time that Hollywood started making reboot movies of classic TV series.

I am frankly surprised that it has taken them so long to come up with the idea.

The one thing with Babylon 5 is that they created the sci-fi television show on a shoe string budget and time doesn't do the show well, though the premise and writing of it more than makes up for the lagging special effect sets. This would be about dressing it up and giving Babylon 5 either a rebirth or a fond farewell. It should be noted that Serenity was done for $30 million.

 

[Underseer]

Interesting thought, Underseer. An entirely new story, but of the same genre, means that it doesn't have to work around B5 lore. I'd sure love to see it. If they were to do another story in the same universe, it would be nice to see something in the timeline after the episode: "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars".

I was never a huge fan, but I watched enough to know that the lore goes so deep that there is no end of stories they could tell in the same storyspace, and it doesn't have to happen in the same timeframe as the original television series.

To the extent that the Star Trek reboot works for me (which is to say not much), it works only because I don't care very much about the original series. If they tried to do this with TNG or DS9, I would be livid right now. Star Wars seems to have the right idea. Leave the old stuff alone, even the bad stuff, and move on from there.

 

[Terrell]

Interesting thought, Underseer. An entirely new story, but of the same genre, means that it doesn't have to work around B5 lore. I'd sure love to see it. If they were to do another story in the same universe, it would be nice to see something in the timeline after the episode: "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars".

I was never a huge fan, but I watched enough to know that the lore goes so deep that there is no end of stories they could tell in the same storyspace, and it doesn't have to happen in the same timeframe as the original television series.

To the extent that the Star Trek reboot works for me (which is to say not much), it works only because I don't care very much about the original series. If they tried to do this with TNG or DS9, I would be livid right now. Star Wars seems to have the right idea. Leave the old stuff alone, even the bad stuff, and move on from there.

I do have to agree that there is a lot to work with within the B5 universe. If they want to use the station itself they have to use it within 20 years of Sheridan's departure since the station was destroyed after that. Now if they start the series in another timeframe they have nearly unlimited options.

One of the things I liked about Crusade was that they roamed around from planet to planet in search for a cure to the Drakh plague. The ship they had was more advanced than the other EarthCorps ship, but it had one major flaw. It couldn't use it's most powerful weapon, in a practical manner, because the ship didn't have enough power to use it without taking almost everything else offline for 1 minute after firing. I'd have loved to see the cure found, and the details of it doing so.

Of the original characters I think Delenn was the last to die. It's implied in The Deconstruction of Falling Stars when she shows up to interrupt a "debate" about the history of the Interstellar Alliance. This debate took place in 2362 so she lived at least 100 years after the start of the original series, in terms of timeline. I would suspect all the original characters had died before then. G'Kar, Londo, and Sheridan definitely, I think Lennier as well. The things that happened over those 100 years would be interesting.

I would have liked to know how the Centauri got rid of the Drakh from their planet after the Regent died and Londo took power. Both of them had "keepers" put on their bodies, something that one can never fully get rid of, to keep the Drakh informed on their doings. The Keeper did have one weakness; Londo could drink it to unconsciousness and still be able to function. IIRC being a teetotaler was considered a vice in Centauri society. I think Vir found Londo and G'Kar's dead bodies after they'd strangled each other to death. Londo's keeper woke up before G'Kar could kill him. My guess is that Vir would have played a major role in this, since would ultimately become emperor.

Would love to see the details of the Telepath war, and what ultimately happened to Lyta Alexander. IIRC in Crusade it was implied that the Psi Corps had been disbanded.

The period of time between Delenn's death and the war that led up to the great burn would be interesting. Humans rebuilding and returning to space with the help of the Rangers would be another interesting storyline.

What was done after the return to space until humans evolved into energy beings; including how that evolution occurred would be another venue.

Another thing would be what was done after humans moved to New Earth following Sol's death. Do humans become "guardians" like the Vorlons & Shadows? They do ultimately make their own version of the encounter suits that the Vorlons used. Do they ultimately leave the galaxy like them and the other 1st ones.

 

[marc]

One of the things I liked about Crusade was that they roamed around from planet to planet in search for a cure to the Drakh plague. The ship they had was more advanced than the other EarthCorps ship, but it had one major flaw. It couldn't use it's most powerful weapon, in a practical manner, because the ship didn't have enough power to use it without taking almost everything else offline for 1 minute after firing. I'd have loved to see the cure found, and the details of it doing so.

My understanding was they had planned to find the cure in the first two seasons. The series real focus was on what is being done with left over Shadow technology by various races. Oh, and the first 9 episodes were not originally planned, the network forced them to add them for exposition, rather than start the series where they wanted.

The way they started, with the earth doomed within a certain timeframe, to be saved by a badass ship with a super-weapon, kinda felt like Starblazers to me.

I would have liked to know how the Centauri got rid of the Drakh from their planet after the Regent died and Londo took power. Both of them had "keepers" put on their bodies, something that one can never fully get rid of, to keep the Drakh informed on their doings. The Keeper did have one weakness; Londo could drink it to unconsciousness and still be able to function. IIRC being a teetotaler was considered a vice in Centauri society. I think Vir found Londo and G'Kar's dead bodies after they'd strangled each other to death. Londo's keeper woke up before G'Kar could kill him. My guess is that Vir would have played a major role in this, since would ultimately become emperor.

Try to find the 'Babylon 5: Legions of Fire' book trilogy. That details Vir's getting involved with the Techno-Mages to fight the Drakh, and eventually becoming emperor.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Interesting thought, Underseer. An entirely new story, but of the same genre, means that it doesn't have to work around B5 lore. I'd sure love to see it. If they were to do another story in the same universe, it would be nice to see something in the timeline after the episode: "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars".

I was never a huge fan, but I watched enough to know that the lore goes so deep that there is no end of stories they could tell in the same storyspace, and it doesn't have to happen in the same timeframe as the original television series.

To the extent that the Star Trek reboot works for me (which is to say not much), it works only because I don't care very much about the original series. If they tried to do this with TNG or DS9, I would be livid right now. Star Wars seems to have the right idea. Leave the old stuff alone, even the bad stuff, and move on from there.

That would be the trouble with rebooting B5, because the story has been told and it is too long of a story to retell in a movie. DS9 while having a general arc, was nowhere near the same level of consistent story telling in B5. The good thing about B5 though is that the framework exists for more story telling within the existing universe, where you don't need to completely start from scratch, but can be far enough removed to be fresh.

Time will tell. I think the Telepath War would be the best thing, maybe a trilogy. Make it so!