Oh thank GOD JMS isn't getting Trek. Speaking as a recovering B5-aholic JMS is a *hack*. He created this cult of personality around himself but he's really a horrible writer of dialog and interpersonal relations. Keep Trek away from this man.
Sorry about that double post.
JMS said "The stories were, for the most part, safe, more about technology than what William Faulkner described as "the human heart in conflict with itself." Yes, there were always exceptions, but in general that trend became more and more apparent with the passage of years"
Ok. See... I just dunno about that. A lot of these comments about how the stories are about 'THE PEOPLE' seem to consider Trek (or sci-fi) just an interesting setting to execute the same tired cliche stories of human behavior.
I mean, I know all about Rodenberry's 'Wagon Train To The Stars' idea........ and the same formula was used time and time again for television programs for decades after (and continues today)....
How many times have you seen, for example, the story of the creative yet quirky young (boy/girl) forced to raise herself because her single (mom/dad) works too hard to make ends meet and doesn't spend time with the kid but suddenly an intervention by our traveling hero (Quantum Leap / Incredible Hulk / stranded Trek crew member / bionic man / Michael Knight and talking Trans-Am / etc) restores the parent-child relationship and all is well in the end..........
TNG was a good show, yes. But it had obvious moments of "Let's do Die Hard.... in space!" or "Let's have the entire crew hopelessly de-evolve to their primitive forms".... always to end with "Captains Log: After restoring the crew to normal........"
I thought DS9 was just stellar, yet I caught them doing "HEY! Let's do The Shining....... in space!"
TNG was good but does this ring a bell? "Eyes....... in the dark........."
I'm just saying that I am somewhat tired of sci-fi being a vehicle for 'futuristic' versions of the same tired old crap that TV churns out.
"People' can do 'people' stories in any setting you can cram 'people' into. Yes, Trek has given us a rich slate of characters. But the argument can also be made, especially with Rodenberry's efforts, that you have not characters but avatars for various cultures and stereotypes.
In TOS - we had the Scottish guy, the oriental, the black chick, the alien (who was half human, at least), the redneck southerner.......
I'm sorry that sci-fi has to be safe. I'm sorry that it can't delve into the rich tapestry that has been the advances of science over the decades that Trek has existed and instead opts out on empty 'techno babble'. JMS may be a hero to some - I wasn't a B5 fan myself. But his criticism of Trek, I think, is way off.
But, it's over for us for now anyway, and my opinion doesn't mean the tiniest turd.
JMS said "The stories were, for the most part, safe, more about technology than what William Faulkner described as "the human heart in conflict with itself." Yes, there were always exceptions, but in general that trend became more and more apparent with the passage of years"
Ok. See... I just dunno about that. A lot of these comments about how the stories are about 'THE PEOPLE' seem to consider Trek (or sci-fi) just an interesting setting to execute the same tired cliche stories of human behavior.
I mean, I know all about Rodenberry's 'Wagon Train To The Stars' idea........ and the same formula was used time and time again for television programs for decades after (and continues today)....
How many times have you seen, for example, the story of the creative yet quirky young (boy/girl) forced to raise herself because her single (mom/dad) works too hard to make ends meet and doesn't spend time with the kid but suddenly an intervention by our traveling hero (Quantum Leap / Incredible Hulk / stranded Trek crew member / bionic man / Michael Knight and talking Trans-Am / etc) restores the parent-child relationship and all is well in the end..........
TNG was a good show, yes. But it had obvious moments of "Let's do Die Hard.... in space!" or "Let's have the entire crew hopelessly de-evolve to their primitive forms".... always to end with "Captains Log: After restoring the crew to normal........"
I thought DS9 was just stellar, yet I caught them doing "HEY! Let's do The Shining....... in space!"
TNG was good but does this ring a bell? "Eyes....... in the dark........."
I'm just saying that I am somewhat tired of sci-fi being a vehicle for 'futuristic' versions of the same tired old crap that TV churns out.
"People' can do 'people' stories in any setting you can cram 'people' into. Yes, Trek has given us a rich slate of characters. But the argument can also be made, especially with Rodenberry's efforts, that you have not characters but avatars for various cultures and stereotypes.
In TOS - we had the Scottish guy, the oriental, the black chick, the alien (who was half human, at least), the redneck southerner.......
I'm sorry that sci-fi has to be safe. I'm sorry that it can't delve into the rich tapestry that has been the advances of science over the decades that Trek has existed and instead opts out on empty 'techno babble'. JMS may be a hero to some - I wasn't a B5 fan myself. But his criticism of Trek, I think, is way off.
But, it's over for us for now anyway, and my opinion doesn't mean the tiniest turd.
I don't even think that whis was real JMS...
just too goofy
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"That is the exploration that awaits you: Not mapping the stars and studying nebulae, but charting the unknown possiblities of existence." - Q, All Good Things...
He did "The Real Ghostbusters"? Dude, I loved that show! But did he create it?
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"Take a Romulan chill pill and have some faith!"
-Erik Jendresen, writer of Star Trek: The Beginning
"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."
-General George S. Patton Jr.
"I am NOT Scorned."
-Scorned as Gage/Gage_2
While I am a big believer in JMS, I do have to say I don't agree with his assesment that only TOS and TNG are Trek done right. If he'd snoop around Trek sites such as this, he'd see DS9 is considered by many to be at the top of the Trek ladder.
I'm always reluctant to suggest any new person to come in and do Trek. It will carry over that persons mindset, and since I dislike most television, there aren't many people I would trust with a Star Trek series. I think Manny & team got the season 4 working very well, also in terms of characters - they were more consistent than ever, on that show - and began to develop nicely. Everything developed nicely.
I'm not saying, I am against JMS since I can't possibly be against somone, whose shows I haven't seen and personally don't know. I'm just careful. His initiative is welcome, and his enthusiasm to expand on new ideas are welcome however they need to be balanced with other people, such as (better close your eyes for a sec) Rick Berman.
I can't think of anyone better in whom to trust the next Star Trek series, because, technically speaking, we've already seen it: Crusade. Sure, it's steeped within the Bablyon 5 universe and the overall arc bears more than a passing resemblance to Star Blazers, but think of it: a strong, dynamic captain who's a hit with the ladies (Gideon/Kirk); a reserved but highly competent XO who's telepathic (Matheson/Spock); a dedicated, emotional doctor (Chambers/some of McCoy); an irracible but undeniably brilliant archeologist (Eillerson/the rest of McCoy); and an alien hottie (Dureena/some of Spock). Dunno how Galen fits into the mix, but hey, it wouldn't be as fun if you could fit all the pieces in neatly! And though the mission is fairly clear-cut, what was Excalibur doing but exploring strange new world and seeking out new life and new civilizations? The mission was even set for five years!
Putting Crusade aside (which I'm loath to do, 'cause even today I'd like to see more of it!), this is one brilliant S.O.B., and in Babylon 5, he wrote almost single-handedly the best science fiction show since the Original Star Trek. No one's perfect, of course, but for my money, the man nailed everything any Star Trek fan would want to see in a new show: dense, cohesive plotting that reaches epic proportions; rich characterizations that can change radically over the course of the series; and, yes, sparkling dialogue! [YMMV] Compared to the vast majority of Next Gen and DS9, and all of Voyager and Enterprise, Joe outwrites the lot of them.
The only aspect of his letter that gives me pause, aside from the "let's go!/no, wait!" thing, is his professed respect for Next Gen. Not that it was wholly without merit, but by and large what Berman and Braga didn't screw up on that show, the Great Bird of the Galaxy did personally. Though I wasn't blown away by the premiere, I thought it started with a great deal of promise. That was all but completely destroyed by the very next episode! [Even to this day, the words "The Naked Now" give me the willies!] Thereafter for the first two seasons, we got stale, P.C. re-hashes of episodes that were done best on the Original Star Trek. The swift departures of Original Star Trek leading lights Robert Justman, D.C. Fontana and David Gerrold were by no means coincidental: Gene wanted his way with the series and there would be no other, which unfortunately meant a dumbed-down voyage meekly going where we'd all been before.
Thus I hope that any series that JMS would participate in would hew more to the Original Star Trek and less to Next Gen. But given his brilliant work on B5, Crusade, and even his great comic books like Midnight Nation and Supreme Power, I can't think of anyone in a position to do so that I'd sooner trust the future of the franchise that has meant so much to me in my life. I don't know if JMS is the last hope for good Star Trek in the future, but I think he's surely the best hope!
As much as I like JMS to do a Star Trek series, I personally don't think that doing an extended Babylon 5-like arc for Star Trek may not work a second time. I'd rather he'd write self-contained Trek episodes like TOS and TNG, if he wants Trek to be like Trek again. B5 was written the way it was because it was a fresh take on the sci-fi genre: a huge sci-fi novel for TV (even some written sci-fi novels have this kind of structure).
Besides, Straczynski wrote and produced episodes of "Murder, She Wrote", so he knows a thing or two about episodic television, and not just big, sprawling story arcs. ;)
basically he amounts to "oops, nevermind". Great post, genius.
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An elephant never forgets . . .TO KILL!
look for JMS to sue them based on claims they stole his ideas for star trek... that's all this really is, an attempt to get publicity and eventually money
he's got three cancelled scifi series under his belt and his main connection to star trek has been relentlessly bashing it non-stop...
how can we possible pass up this oppurtunity????
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Quote:
he's got three cancelled scifi series under his belt and his main connection to star trek has been relentlessly bashing it non-stop...
how can we possible pass up this oppurtunity????
I liked Babylon 5, Crusade, Legend of The Rangers, B5 Lost Tales
I also like many episodes from all Star Trek TV series, from the originals, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and even Enterprise
I see no reason to insult any previous work of a famous writer who I also like his comic book stories, like his first Spider-Man volumes, of his (Dr) Strange, and Specially is Silver Surfer death story
Knowing the talent of JMS, if I were Paramount, I would at least consider a TV pilot of a Star Trek miniseries
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Quote:
he's got three cancelled scifi series under his belt and his main connection to star trek has been relentlessly bashing it non-stop...
how can we possible pass up this oppurtunity????
I liked Babylon 5, Crusade, Legend of The Rangers, B5 Lost Tales
I also like many episodes from all Star Trek TV series, from the originals, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and even Enterprise
I see no reason to insult any previous work of a famous writer who I also like his comic book stories, like his first Spider-Man volumes, of his (Dr) Strange, and Specially is Silver Surfer death story
Knowing the talent of JMS, if I were Paramount, I would at least consider a TV pilot of a Star Trek miniseries
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Well, the only series that I know of that JMS are B5, Cursade, and Jeremiah.
Babylon 5 from what I can tell was the second most popular sci-fi franchise when it first aired (Star Trek being the first).
I've only seen one episode of Cursade, the short-lived B5 spin-off, and it was a very good episode. How good? Star Trek good.
As for Jeremiah, though I've never seen an episode I've always wanted to because it looked good.
So I think a Trek with JMS, Coto, Sussman, the Reeves-Stevens, etc.
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"Take a Romulan chill pill and have some faith!"
-Erik Jendresen, writer of Star Trek: The Beginning
"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."
-General George S. Patton Jr.
"I am NOT Scorned."
-Scorned as Gage/Gage_2
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He had B5 which was second popular only because there were no other contenders really, it finally died a dog's death on TNT.
Then he attempted to create two more B5 series, each of which was cancelled quicker than the last.
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He had B5 which was second popular only because there were no other contenders really, it finally died a dog's death on TNT.
If "dying a dog's death" means "coming to the pre-planned finish of the series," well, then, okay! ;) Any other interpretation ignores the truth of the matter.
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Then he attempted to create two more B5 series, each of which was cancelled quicker than the last.
To be fair, "Legend Of The Rangers" was a pilot movie. Yes, done with the hope of a series to follow, but it was as speculative as any pilot. Crusade got canned due to studio politics, period. The APTB at TNT Atlanta nuked it before it ever hit the air, 'cause JMS wouldn't pimp out his series to their sex-'n-violence demographic.
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lol yes the 'planned finish of the series' which actually played out in season 4, forcing jms to use season 5 for the telepath war that even most B5 fans hated followed by a series of B5 movies each scoring lower ratings than the rest
Crusade got cancelled because it was a bad series with weak ratings that cost too much... despite JMS's attempt to seize the high ground by claiming he wouldn't do sex and violence (puhlease... he had no trouble doing both on either B5 or Jeremiah)
Legend of the Rangers was a pilot for a series that was cancelled in the pilot stage and was mostly hated even by B5 fans who think JMS sneezed out the universe over breakfast
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lol yes the 'planned finish of the series' which actually played out in season 4, forcing jms to use season 5 for the telepath war that even most B5 fans hated followed by a series of B5 movies each scoring lower ratings than the rest
Again, close, but no proverbial cigar. The resolution of the Earth Alliance civil war arc was accelerated to finish within the fourth season instead of consituting the fourth season cliffhanger. Beyond that and the surprise departure of Claudia Christian, the fifth season was executed as planned. At no time was the actual Telepath War shown during that season, though the events that would eventually lead into that war were shown. All we've seen of the Telepath War so far was in a flashback sequence in an episode of Crusade.
As far as the B5 movies, they were comissioned after TNT bought the rights to show the first four seasons of B5, but two of them ("In The Beginning" and "Thirdspace") were shot BEFORE TNT picked up the fifth and final year of B5. I don't know what the ratings were, but considering the last one, "A Call To Arms," was the prelude to Crusade, I would tend to doubt that the ratings went down, or were anything less sufficient to warrant doing more. Networks make some really weird decisions, of course, but you can trace most of them to the most important reason of all: money. You make back on the investment on a movie or series, you'd be crazy NOT to go to that well again. See the last two Trek series for proof of that, and what happens when the well runs dry.
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Crusade got cancelled because it was a bad series with weak ratings that cost too much... despite JMS's attempt to seize the high ground by claiming he wouldn't do sex and violence (puhlease... he had no trouble doing both on either B5 or Jeremiah)
Are you paying attention? Crusade was cancelled BEFORE it was ever shown on TNT. There was a faint hope at having SCI-FI pick it up, which didn't happen because their development money was spent by the time it was available, or that the ratings when the episodes WERE actually shown would move TNT to pick it back up. Sadly, the ratings weren't so hot, but that was in part because the best episodes, the five that were produced before TNT Atlanta meddled, were shown last, and they were FAR better than the eight that came afterwards, though even some of those began to show signs of life.
Yeah, there was plenty of sex AND violence in both B5 and Jeremiah (especially there!) and even in Crusade. The problem was it what the APTB wanted was ENTIRELY unmotivated by either the characters or the circumstances. Joe would have had to sacrifice the quality of the writing to give them what they wanted, and he did at the start. Compare the TNT-mandated premiere ep, "War Zone," to the intended premiere, "Racing The Night," and the jump in overall quality is like moving from night into day
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Legend of the Rangers was a pilot for a series that was cancelled in the pilot stage and was mostly hated even by B5 fans who think JMS sneezed out the universe over breakfast
Yeah, "Legend" was kinda lame, but sometimes even bad B5 is better than none at all! That said, I still don't know how you "cancel a series in the pilot stage." You are aware of what's meant by a "pilot," in this context, right? As in, the network isn't sure on spec that a series will work, so they comission a single episode and/or movie and see what the reaction to it is? As they say in the advertising game, run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes! Very few salutes for "Legend," so THAT is when they decided to not go forward with a series and not before, oddly the opposite of the Crusade situation.
And BTW, we ALL know that it was the Great Green Arkelseizure that sneezed out the universe over breakfast. Granted, it was having that breakfast with JMS, but that's beside the point.
We're all just living in fear of the Coming of the Great White Handkerchief.
;)
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Crusade got cancelled because it was a bad series with weak ratings that cost too much... despite JMS's attempt to seize the high ground by claiming he wouldn't do sex and violence (puhlease... he had no trouble doing both on either B5 or Jeremiah)
Low rantings does not equal quality. Just look at Firefly and Century City. Great sci-fi shows that got canned due to studio politics (especially when it comes to Firefly). I've seen Cursade and I thought it was a great series.
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Legend of the Rangers was a pilot for a series that was cancelled in the pilot stage and was mostly hated even by B5 fans who think JMS sneezed out the universe over breakfast
From what I remembered from the advertising, it was just a TV movie and not a new series. I actually thought it was a theatrical movie when I first heard about it.
Being Devil's Advocate:
And if you what to talk about TV pilots that got a series, how about the Great Bird, himself.
Genesis II
The Questor Tapes
Planet Earth
Spectre
And don't forget that Star Trek itself was cancelled due to low ratings.
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"Take a Romulan chill pill and have some faith!"
-Erik Jendresen, writer of Star Trek: The Beginning
"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."
-General George S. Patton Jr.
"I am NOT Scorned."
-Scorned as Gage/Gage_2
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I completely agree, I watched B5 off and on and was NEVER impressed with it. Boy, JMS is really a piece of....something. First to talk about planning it all out without getting paid, being a long-time trek fan, majel on B5, blah, blah, blah. Sounded good, but OOPS he just agreed to run a different show, so he's not interested in trek anymore. Where's his love for genuine trek now? In many ways, he could be possibly worse than B&B, because if this is how he acts now, imagine what a prick he'd be if paramount actually let him take over trek!
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well this is typical JMS, self-promotion, egotism and no content
he suddenly discovers a 'love' for star trek when a job oppurtunity opens up or he thinks one opens up
when he gets bored, bye bye love
That would finally be a Trek that's worth watching.
What do you think? When Archer enters the bridge, viewers think about what he will do next to solve the problem he has at the moment. Nothing more.
Whith JMS writing the same scene people will also think about what the character may feel or think at the same time! They will know about the characters past, his wishes, his fears.
And character-driven stories is what I miss the most in Trek since Voyager.
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living in darkness / sleeping in light
This guy's ego was totally drippiong off his posts. He really thinks that the fanboys are gonna knock themselves out on his behalf. I watched this show B5 when it was new, and it didn't grab me. It seemed like still another Trek wannabe. So why would I want the maker of the "no-name store brand" to be put in charge of the original article? What a jerk!
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GET A LIFE, will you people? I mean, for crying out loud, it's just a TV show!.... You've turned an enjoyable little job, that I did as a lark for a few years, into a COLOSSAL WASTE OF TIME! -- William Shatner on Saturday Night Live (1986)
Trek is in hibernation for 5-10 years atleast. I think JMS knows about this and hence just trying to get some fan support behind his so-called pitch. If enough fans ralies behind him maybe whenver Trek would come back it might be in the capable hand of JMS.
Its just a PR thing on part of JMS in my view..I am all for it since I think if JMS can do anything with Trek like he did B5 epic arcs Trek revival will be sure at hand.
Alas...its not gonna happen for a long time
What a dick! :)
Ok seriously I think TPTB should let JMS do a trek series in a few years. I say tone the costs down and develop it for SciFi, SpikeTv or some other non network channel and concentrate on characters and good stories. I am definately all for having the whole show planned out beforehand.
My God, that was TERRIBLE! ACK! Just ack! Keep him the hell away from the Trek franchise, just based on that!
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An elephant never forgets . . .TO KILL!
Now I have been to this website several times to look around, but I have never joined. Never really saw a reason to. That was until I read that article about JMS wanting to do a new fresh Star Trek. Now I am a huge, huge, HUGE B5 fan, I was obessioned w/ that show.
JMS did a excellent job of writing B5. He wrote B5 knowing how it was going to end before the first episode even aired. Granted the first season was a little weak, it did get better though. The first season is for character setup and stuff like that. With B5, every character played a important role, we cared about what happen to the characters. None of them were just "oh hey im here to just say this and thats it, see you guys later". They all had a role to play. A part that was vitual to the plot.
What made B5 such a great show was bec/ it was all arched. Everything fits together like a puzzle. It wasn't written as the show went along. It is one huge novel, every season a volume.
I always made sure that I wasn't going to miss one show. If I had to do something during the commerical break, then I ran to do that as fast as I could so I wouldn't miss a thing.
B5 was brillant to me, it ended in a way that made me happy. When X-Files ended I remember I was mad, cuz to me it ended crappy. It didn't solve anything, but not B5. The ending to that was perfect to me. It ended and we knew what happen to every character. We knew what happen in the story universe. It ended and I was like "now that was a ending."
I believe w/ JMS writing a new Star Trek series, it would be great again. That it will be what it is suppose to be. When JMS says a "re-boot" he doesn't mean re-writiing the star trek universe, just give it a fresh look. Every star trek series is always new w/ characters and stories, so it's not like it's gonna kill people to learn about new characters. We do that every time a new star trek series comes out. With Enterprise right now, it seems to only focus to Archer, Trip, and T'Pul. It seems like everyone else is there to just fill a seat. We hardly see anything done w/ Mayweather or Hoshi half the time or Reed. It's like every once in awhile they break free and do something. Other than that, it's like "oh hey, im here to just fill up this seat."
With DS9, every character had a breakground. Stories were devoted to them. If one of them died, I would be like "NOOOOO!!!!". If Hoshi died, I would be like "ohhh ok". You are suppose to care about every character and what happens to them, not just the main ones. These characters are suppose to have depth to them, hidden things that come out in the open. None of them have to have a happy past. Some could have painful pasts. That is what makes the character interesting. That is what keeps them real. That is what draws you in, keeps you on your seat.
I usually go to Wizard World during the summer time and one year JMS was the guest of honor. I got his autograph and I sat in and listened to him speak about B5. Not one time while he was speaking did I get the impression that he has a huge ego. I don't think he does. JMS is a good writer. He writes other stuff such as other tv shows and comics. He knows what he is doing and the fact that he and Bryce Zabel sat down and wrote out and planned a 5 year arch on their own time, shows that he is a star trek fan. I mean what non-star trek fan sits down and decided to write out a 5 year arch of star trek if they don't like it?
Maybe having Star Trek off the air for some time will do the star trek fans some good. It will give star trek fans time to heal from Enterprise being cancelled. I like Enterprise but it could been a lot better. There could had been more depth there.
So I give mad props to JMS for wanting to write a new star trek. I belive w/ JMS writing star trek he will hold true to what Gene created. He doesn't want to change it, he wants to make it to what Gene wanted it to be. I hope he does it bec/ I'm guessing it will breath new life into the series and will be better. I'm excited and if I have to wait a year or two then thats fine w/ me, bec/ if JMS is writing then the wait is worth it.
I would put my confidence in someone with both vision -and- an ear for dialogue. 'Babylon 5' episodes still sound as stiff as Trek.
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Not only that, but also in '93 when both DS9 and B5 premiered, B5 got really slammed for being a DS9 ripoff, that there were quite a number of similarites between the two series.
Mind you, that's only what I heard about it back then, and since I never really watched B5 (I do think it does have some great CGI FX in it), I can't judge it as a whole since I've never seen it.
If I had to pick some people who could really re-energize ST, Manny Coto and Ira Steven Behr come to mind. Bring Robert Hewitt Wolfe, Rene Echevarria, and Ronald D. Moore on board, and let them develop the next ST series. But to quote the immortal bard Dennis Miller, "That's just my opinion, I could be wrong." :)
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However, the things that were pointed to as "ripoffs" -- if any happened -- were not "from DS9 to B5" but the other way around, since JMS pitched B5 around to several places before getting it on the air -- including, even, a pitch to Paramount before DS9 even was in production.
IF you want to begin making such claims in the first place, that is. And I must say the similarities were highly superficial and, frankly, nothing inherently original -- sometimes people do have similar ideas independently.
I think JMS first wondered if *he'd* been ripped off -- nothing conclusive, just "Hey, ya know...".
This helped kick off perhaps the first of many "Oh yeah, well we're 10 times better than you are" flame wars between Trekkies and B5 fans.
And IIRC, after studying more evidence that came out, he later had to decide there was really no evidence to support that theory.
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"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."
-James Madison
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As I said, that's what I'd heard back in '93, and there was even a magazine article that was written pointing out the many similarities between DS9 and B5. From what I recall in the article, it clearly took a stance toward DS9 being the earlier product and not B5. No "IF"s about it.
As to B5 being superior to DS9, that debate still continues to this day.
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Umm no, Babylon 5 was out way before DS9 was. And if you want to get down to it, DS9 even borrowed the war arcs and some story elements from B5. So B5 was first then DS9. That's clear cut end of story.
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He is the Sisko, yes he is the Sisko
Straczinski sound sincere and passsionate about Trek, and most of all, holds it in reverance.
I have never watched BABYLON 5 but I have heard great things about it.
This man I would support 100% to take over the franchise.The fact that he voluntarily applied to spearhead and re-energize what was once a respected cash cow for Paramount and a wonderful passion for fans, should be commended.
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Straczinski sound sincere and passsionate about Trek, and most of all, holds it in reverance.
Isn't that what did in Nemesis?
Hey, I'm sincere and passsionate about Trek, too. But you wouldn't want me to pen the next Trek "thing"... trust me on that!
From what he wrote, JMS could've started a new trek letter campaign ten times larger than any ENT revival campaign. Now it's, "Oh nevermind. Sorry."
Just because Paramount said no new series for a couple of years doesn't mean it's set in stone. I got pretty excited reading his diatribe, thinking "hmmm, maybe he (with Manny) can save Trek and get us a fascinating new series by '06." I believed like many others that old Trek needs a rest, but a reboot might be really cool, maybe even necessary.
He got everybody's hands down their pants then walked out the door. Thanks a bunch.
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"Outer Space: The Last Frontier.
These are the trips of the Star Trek Enterprise. Its five year plan calls for us to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly fly where no man has gone in space. Live long, and be happy."
Patrick Stewart--SNL, Stardate 9402.05
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Ah well, mazbe his new show get's cancelled after a season ;-).
Didn't like his inderect dissing of DS9 though.
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"Ich habe es satt allein aufzustehn // als Erster zu sehn // Dass ich noch leb"
"I'm fed up with getting up alone // To be the first to see // That I'm still alive"
- Rosenstolz, "Ich will mich verlieben"
Here's how I would describe Babylon 5:
Imagine 5 science fiction novels. Each novel is a volume in a larger story which is told when all the novels are read together. But, each novel can be read individually because they have a beginning, middle, and end to them. Later on, as the story is more developed, some novels end on a cliffhanger, making you anxious to read the next one. By the end of the 5th novel, the story has been told, and you can put it down and go, "that was a great story."
That's Babylon 5. Each novel is a season. You can't judge the series on one episode, because that's like reading one chapter of a novel and condemning the whole thing. And you lose a lot of the story if you start watching it in the middle of season 3 or something like that. If you have the opportunity, grab the DVDs, start at episode 1 of season 1 and watch the entire first season. Don't stop after 3 or 4 episodes (because honestly, some of the first season is pretty weak). Watch the whole thing. Keep in the back of your mind that this season is just the beginning, and the story gets really amped up later on. If you enjoy the first season, even a little, you'll love what comes later. If you can't bear to watch another episode, Babylon 5 isn't for you. But you can't make that judgement after one or two episodes because that series isn't set up that way.
Straczynski is probably a bit of a fanboy. But Straczynski has proven himself with what he can do. By almost sheer force of will sometimes he made sure Babylon 5 was told in it's entire 5 year story. Straczynski also puts the characters before the story. It's hard to explain if you've never seen Babylon 5, but the characters came first. Then the story. At the same time, he wasn't above killing off or transferring a character if that's what needed to happen to move the story forward.
From what he said, it sounds like he has a 5 year story all planned for Star Trek. Imagine a Star Trek story where the ending is planned before the first episode airs. The writers have a clear direction they are going in and taking the characters. Imagine a Star Trek series where it's not a guarantee that the crew is coming out of the latest adventure all alive and well. The captain could be killed or transferred (he's done it before) and the actors don't have 5 or 7 year contracts signed. Imagine a Star Trek episode and series that would have a message, would be about something, like TOS and many TNG and DS9 episodes were. Not just space battles and alien of the week stuff. It would be closer to the idea Roddenberry envisioned with TOS and TNG than anything Berman and Braga have done since.
If Paramount wants to wait two years or so, that's fine. When Star Trek does come back, I really hope Straczynski is in charge of it, because it would be something special to watch.
As for this constant Moore bashing, I don't get it. What people don't understand is in his comments about the current Trek, he's not bashing Star Trek, he's bashing the people running it. His comments about aliens of the week and so on are comments aimed at Berman and Braga, not at Star Trek. Don't forget (I seem to be reminding people of this a lot) he was on Deep Space Nine, the one Star Trek series done after TNG that didn't have Berman and Braga's influence on. They were allowed to be creative, look at things out of the box, and experiement. They held true to Roddenberry's ideals for the most part, but experimented with stories and characters in an effort to tell a really good story. I'd put almost any episode of DS9 against any episode of Berman & Braga's Voyager or Enterprise. DS9 would outshine Berman & Braga's Trek any day of the week. When that series ended, Moore even tried to go over to Voyager and write for them. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but I think his ideas were too radical for Berman & Braga. I'm talking ideas like maybe having some friction among the Maquis and Starfleet people, fleshing out some of the second level characters (like Kim, Neelix, Paris, etc.), and so on. He was spoiled by not having to deal with B&B for 7 years of DS9, and there was a bit of bad blood between them when they wouldn't listen to his ideas. So now, he's got a hit sci-fi series that is doing everything Star Trek should've done, and he's proud of where he is. You know what? If I'd worked somewhere, done great work, and then been told by my bosses that it wasn't good enough, and then went somewhere else and did my own thing and became successful, I'd rub it in Berman and Braga's face too. That's all he's doing in his comments. He's not rubbing it in Star Trek or the Star Trek fans' faces, it's a stab at Berman and Braga. Moore could maybe run Star Trek, but I'm sure BSG will be around for a few years at least, so he's going to be busy. And honestly, Straczynski would be a better pick than Moore. Either would be better than Berman and Braga, but JMS would be the best pick.
don't know if JMS is the right person for this. I enjoyed B5 as much as the next guy, but this man has an ego of epic proportions and it is always "all about JMS". I'd rather someone come in and focus on Star Trek and not "JMS's Star Trek (tm)". (Heck, a lot of the principals from Season 4 of ENT - Coto, Reeves-Stevens, etc. would do a great job at this without having to "re-make" the entire universe, provided Paramount jettisons the two B's up at the top.)
It's not that I dislike JMS, its just that with his whole "cult of personality" thing and delusions of Gene-hood (insisting everone call him the "Great Maker" in a vain attempt to be Roddenberrian aka "the Great Bird), I think he is more about self promotion than anything else.
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"Commander, laws change, depending on who's making them. But justice, is justice" - Odo, "A Man Alone"
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It's not that I dislike JMS, its just that with his whole "cult of personality" thing and delusions of Gene-hood (insisting everone call him the "Great Maker" in a vain attempt to be Roddenberrian aka "the Great Bird), I think he is more about self promotion than anything else.
Uh, the "Great Maker" thing is something the cast, crew and fans of B5 tagged him with, after the name of the big muckety-muck god of the Centauri. Yeah, it's a lot like the Roddenberry nickname, but to my knowledge he's not even asked anyone to call him that, much less insisted. And I should think that his collaboration on the story treatment/bible with Bryce Zabel points to his ego being in the right place.
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Yes, JMS has an ego. A fairly large one. But he would put out a great Star Trek product. One that would make Voyager and Enterprise pale in comparison. You can forgive the man's faults if he brings some respectability and intelligence back to Star Trek. Berman & Braga have massive egos. They constantly told the fans that they didn't really matter, and tried to get us to enjoy any drivel they put on the screen. JMS wouldn't do that.
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I agree with you (and Cooper, below) that B&B certainly have healthy sized egos as well.
I'm just worried that Trek would become more about "JMS" than it would about Trek. It should be abouit what is on the screen, not what goes on behind the scenes or how visionary the "Great Maker" is. (IMHO)
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"Commander, laws change, depending on who's making them. But justice, is justice" - Odo, "A Man Alone"
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Well, I do not think that would be a danger here. Because he would not "own" Trek like he owned B5 for instance. I don't think he would turn into a maniac, ignoring all input, ignoring all history, just to make his Star Trek.
B5, for instance, I think he wrote something better than 80% of the episodes. He invented the idea for the whole series. Now, he consulted others and did have some other writers, but ultimately the bulk of the stories were mainly his.
I think he's too much of a Star Trek fan to get delusions of godhood that it's "his" show.
And he's said before he's well beyond ever having to put in that herculean effort (creating and writing an entire series) again. I'd expect him to be a central figure, but I would easily imagine him sharing the creative reins with others, such as Coto and the Reeves-Stevens.
There's a lot of anti-JMS/B5 propaganda out there resulting from years of internecine warfare between the fanbases.
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"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."
-James Madison
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There's a lot of anti-JMS/B5 propaganda out there resulting from years of internecine warfare between the fanbases.
Ah, the good old days!
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"Commander, laws change, depending on who's making them. But justice, is justice" - Odo, "A Man Alone"
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He has an ego? What about B and B? They have been saying, since Voyager premiered, that they are putting out the best product they can. Not so!
I say give him a chance but after a couple of years. I think most people need to get the bad taste out of their mouth.
If you go to the link, you'll see "jmsatb5@aol.com" as the arthor of the post. I'm curious if that is actually JMS's sn or the sn of the guy who just posted the letter online. does anybody know?
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"Take a Romulan chill pill and have some faith!"
-Erik Jendresen, writer of Star Trek: The Beginning
"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."
-General George S. Patton Jr.
"I am NOT Scorned."
-Scorned as Gage/Gage_2
I think some folks are going a little too far there... When JMS says reboot the franchise, he doesnt mean re-invisioning the original series. He would NEVER do that because he is a fan of Genes work and TOS. Again, thats why he asked Majel Barrett to come do an episode of B5.
To answer other questions. B5 was great, and if JMS wants to do a Trek show, I would get behind him all the way. He could breath life into what is now just the smoking enders of the Trek story.
And its not so much ego as it is gumption. You have to understand what he did and how he did it, and then you can understand how he is. I got the pleasure of meeting him quite a while ago, and he talked about trying to get B5 on the air. He went to every studio imaginalbe and was basically laughed off the lot saying the only scifi that could last on TV as Star Trek. This was TNG's heyday remember. Of all the people that laughed at him and told him his little story was worthless and would never be told, he pulled it off, and told one of the greatest Science fictions stories to ever unfold on television. Thats where the gumption comes in.
You also have to understand, that JMS doesnt do single episodes. When JMS writes for a show, the show has a PREDEFINED ARC. Meaning, he knows how it will end before you see how it begins. Thats part of the allure and disgust of B5. Fans saw it for what it was, a Novel spread out on Television where ever episode is a chapter in the novel. These little mini-arcs that Enterprise is Just starting to have, are nothing compared to how he writes. Bashers saw B5 as a mess of episodes so intertwined that if you missed one you couldnt follow the story. Ill admit, they are kind of right, if you missed stuff, you missed out.
Anyways, thats just the perspective of a Babylon 5 fan.
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Today is a fabulous day to dye - The Metrosexual Klingon.
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It would have to respect the continuity as it exists now.
Set it after the 24th Century, thats all I ask.
If it goes back and changes the continuity (not messes with it, but out and out says, "it didnt happen",) then my favorite thing about Star Trek is gone. I love the timeline, the future history, and I would love to see something that is to the TNG era trek whatthe TNG era trek was to TOS. Keep in mind.. its been 18 years since TNG started.. the exact amount of time between the end of TOS and TNG. Respect the 24th century and start trek in the 25th century.
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Jo L'an Tru, dude
__________________________________
Check out my film:
NINJAS VS ZOMBIES
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It would have to respect the continuity as it exists now.
Set it after the 24th Century, thats all I ask.
If it goes back and changes the continuity (not messes with it, but out and out says, "it didnt happen",) then my favorite thing about Star Trek is gone. I love the timeline, the future history, and I would love to see something that is to the TNG era trek whatthe TNG era trek was to TOS. Keep in mind.. its been 18 years since TNG started.. the exact amount of time between the end of TOS and TNG. Respect the 24th century and start trek in the 25th century.
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Jo L'an Tru, dude
__________________________________
Check out my film:
NINJAS VS ZOMBIES
www.nvzmovie.com
...As far as the ego issue is concerned, any producer worth his salt has a healthy ego (myself included, and I only do corporate stuff). That's not a bad thing. A producer has to believe in himself and his product in order to be able to sell it.
But as to the question of whether JMS could do Star Trek...for me, that's a tough call. Let's face it: Unless somebody resurrects Gene Roddenberry (or "Rod" Jr. channels his father's spirit), somebody sometime will wind up re-doing the show. It may be sooner than later. But whatever happens, the show will be different than the original series. Is that a good thing? A bad thing? I think those questions are moot.
Any new Star Trek show will be a different animal than the original. That's a given. Now, let's decide just how "different" we want it to be. The original series purists will scream bloody murder if anyone other than William Shatner plays Capt. James T. Kirk. There will be those who believe a reboot is a good thing (a la the RDM Battlestar Galactica fans). And there will be many who fall somewhere in the middle.
Regardless of who does it, if stories can be told that give us characters we can care about, in dramatic situations that are believable (even in a sci-fi universe), then Star Trek can live long and prosper (sorry). If, however, we get more "aliens of the week" and space battles that have no purpose except to show off somebody's CGI prowess, then forget it.
Having said all that, I don't think JMS can sell Paramount on a new Star Trek series this soon after Enterprise's cancellation. Give it some time for the wounds to heal, then let's see what happens.
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A generation which ignores history has no past and no future. -- Robert Heinlein
PCLinuxOS
falcon
JMS posted another update:
> The rest I leave to the quiet turning of your considered conscience.
> J. Michael Straczynski
Actually...belay everything I just said.
In the 24 hours between the time I composed the prior note, and sent
it, and it made its way through the moderation software, two things
happened:
1) I heard from a trusted source that Paramount is giving the Trek TV
world a rest for maybe one to two years, depending on circumstances, no
matter who would come along to run it. So it's not right to have folks
putting in time doing something that ultimately would be pointless, I
don't think that's a proper use of anybody's time.
2) At the same time as the above, an offer came in to run a new TV
series for fall of '06, and since there's no way anything Trek can
happen in the interim, I've said yes (now we have to negotiate the
deal, but that should be fairly straightforward).
So on two counts, the whole thing is kind of moot.
I've seen all things Trek and consider myself a big fan of TOS, TNG, and DS9. However, I've not seen one minute of Babylon 5. Honestly, how good was this show? Does this guy deserve to have the bloated ego he appears to have? If anyone can shed any light, I'd appreciate it.
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I've seen all things Trek and consider myself a big fan of TOS, TNG, and DS9. However, I've not seen one minute of Babylon 5. Honestly, how good was this show? Does this guy deserve to have the bloated ego he appears to have? If anyone can shed any light, I'd appreciate it.
Quite simply, it's the best science fiction since the Original Star Trek.
It is very arc-oriented, as others have noted, but it doesn't sacrifice character development in the process. There are two characters in the first season, Ambassadors Londo Molari and G'Kar, that in any other effort would stay one-note for all five years. But the transformations those two go through, and how their relationship changes as well, is nothing short of jaw-dropping. And those are just two of about ten different characters that get the same or almost as much attention and transformation.
There are moments of breathless awe and as many of breathless laughter. There are moments of petty interpersonal squabbling and then there are the times when the giants enter the playground and change EVERYTHING. You'll never look at a Shadow the same way again, and you'll know that all you need to do is to look upon the face of a Vorlon to be sure of your course. It is epic in EXACTLY the same way the Lord of the Rings movies are epic, albeit without the same budget. But the plot, the characters and the presentation are all there. It is an effing wonder that this show ever got to air, much less finished its intended run. But it did. And we are all the richer for it.
So go ahead and rent the pilot movie, "The Gathering," and give it a shot. I hope you'll like it, and if so, then I'll envy you for being able to experience the magnficence that is Babylon 5 for the first time!
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It's really good. The first season is a bit stiff but once it gets the arc going, it kicks into full speed. Great stories, characters that evolve and you dont get a reset button at the end like Trek. His stuff can be very epic and it does have a beginning, middle and end. Try it, you'll like it.
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The first season had some real stinkers in it just like TNG first season, but the writing was generally always excellent. My main problem with the first couple of seasons and the premiere is that most all of the main actors seemed to have attended the "Densie Crosby School for Finer Acting." They just sucked. Somtimes it was kind of a unintentionally (Bad spell?) funny sucked, but still. Second season really got things rolling. Sheridan came in to take the place of Commander (can't remember his name at the moment, but it also begins with S) and now the only bad actor that was left was Garibaldi. But! even he got better as things rolled along. I've never experienced a show like B5 and hope to see more in the future. It is unashamidly a novel in a season and thats how it should be. Rent them, buy them, Sam I Am. You will like them if you try them. Just make sure you watch the Premiere movie first or you may have moments of "huh? When was this?"
Oh yeah! And ignore Delens serious cosmetic change bewteen the premiere and the season one. The actress didn't want to where all that stuff. Don't ask.
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"It is with our passions, as it is with fire and water, they are good servants but bad masters."
Aesop (620 BC - 560 BC)
"Really Doctor McCoy, you must learn to govern your passions... They will be your undoing."
- Captain Spock (Much later)
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Moore's the one with the bloated ego, not JMS. I think B5 speaks for itself IMHO.
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"I think the show talked to people through the characters. They're stories that speak to the heart. They talk about love, they talk about friendship, they talk about loyalty, they talk about patriotism, exploration, curiosity, reaching out... And I think all those things still touch people. Even when you look at a 30-year old show, it still has something to say." - D.C. Fontana, Sci Fi Channel Special Edition TOS 1998
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"If the season finale involves the re-built USS Reliant coming back in time to the 21st Century crewed by Moogie, Dr. Selar, Morn, Transporter Chief Kyle, and the Salt Vampire, then we'll know that Coto has gone too far." - tomba1701
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He asked several questions and you didn't respond to one of them of them as to what made B5 so great.
Jadzia-Dax passes up a chance to expound?
The apocalypse is nigh. : )
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"We've been attacked by the intelligent, educated segment of our culture." ---Pastor Ray Mummert speaking of those who favor Darwinian Evolution over Intelligent Design.
"If this is your God, he's not very impressive. He has so many psychological problems; he's so insecure. He demands worship every seven days. He goes out and creates faulty Humans and then blames them for his own mistakes. He's a pretty poor excuse for a Supreme Being." ---Gene Roddenberry
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I have never watched Babylon 5 except for one episode when it first came out, and remember being very unimpressed (which is probably why I never watched it again). But it seems like quite a few people here have a favourable opinion of it, so that's a good sign. But to me, this Straczynski comes across as a fanboy who simply wants to live out his dream (not to mention join a more high-profile franchise).
Also, Straczynski expressed some of the same criticisms of Star Trek that Moore has been making. Why does that make Moore the one with the bloated ego and not Straczynski?
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Well... let me put it in this perspective. I am "easy" (no smartass jokes guys... 
) when it comes to whether a show is "episodic" or "arc-based". It really doesn't matter to me.
However... for those who prefer the arc, there are specific things that they feel need to be taken into account in order to satisfy their expectations of those who choose to write in the arc style. Ie., IMHO, it requires quite a bit of research and development, and essentially, what others have indicated here - the writing of what would be a giant novel with a beginning, a middle, and an end, and then the "episodes" essentially follow along like chapters in that novel.
To me, that is fascinating to think about and apparently this is the style that JMS has done. Of course the downside is that like DS9's latter seasons, it sortof forces you to try make an effort to watch it because sometimes a missed episode will mean you miss a key piece that will become important later on and when it makes its appearance, it may not make sense if you missed the clues earlier.
Still, when it comes to Trek, there needs to be someone with a specific "vision" to make the show work and IMHO, the Bs have been "visionless" - essentially writers who have for over a decade an a half, merely wrote to conform to someone else's "vision". In this case, supposedly Roddenberry's, but without any theoretical further "update" of Roddenberry's supposed "vision". Or perhaps more accurately, they have not updated the writing style for the execution of that "vision".
Ie., Roddenberry has been quoted in interviews regarding his changes of worldview between TOS and TNG and it was evident (whether people liked or not) that some change occurred and the writing styles changed between the two shows. Similarly, some further "update" should have occurred during the almost 14 years since he died, but it didn't.
It's interesting but in that thread on 602 about DS9 "Far Beyond the Stars", I quoted the final scene between Ben and Joe and it was almost spot on how one might have seen Kirk, Spock, and/or McCoy "reflect" on what they just went through in a conversational manner, full of asides. And in DS9's case, it was an "update" of an old TOS style of summary, which is fsscinating to see.
Anyway - based on the most recent response by JMS that Gustavo updated in the report, JMS will be involved in a different project and he made note of the Parmount comments about Trek taking a "rest" for a bit.
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"I think the show talked to people through the characters. They're stories that speak to the heart. They talk about love, they talk about friendship, they talk about loyalty, they talk about patriotism, exploration, curiosity, reaching out... And I think all those things still touch people. Even when you look at a 30-year old show, it still has something to say." - D.C. Fontana, Sci Fi Channel Special Edition TOS 1998
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"If the season finale involves the re-built USS Reliant coming back in time to the 21st Century crewed by Moogie, Dr. Selar, Morn, Transporter Chief Kyle, and the Salt Vampire, then we'll know that Coto has gone too far." - tomba1701
I know there has been a mini parade of folks cycling through Paramount of late - JMS, then Behr, and now JMS again.
In a way, it's good to know there is still some interest in the franchise by those in the genre community.
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"I think the show talked to people through the characters. They're stories that speak to the heart. They talk about love, they talk about friendship, they talk about loyalty, they talk about patriotism, exploration, curiosity, reaching out... And I think all those things still touch people. Even when you look at a 30-year old show, it still has something to say." - D.C. Fontana, Sci Fi Channel Special Edition TOS 1998
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"If the season finale involves the re-built USS Reliant coming back in time to the 21st Century crewed by Moogie, Dr. Selar, Morn, Transporter Chief Kyle, and the Salt Vampire, then we'll know that Coto has gone too far." - tomba1701
...but I'm considering dashing off an email to TPTB in support of this idea, even though it probably won't do much good.
I think JMS could do OUTSTANDING Trek. Trek that I'd look forward to again. Trek that I'd hustle back in from the commercials for so I didn't miss a minute. Trek viewing that wasn't complete for me until I saw the previews for next week.
Trek with action, of course but with people I knew and cared about (which B5 did well) and not cardboard stand ups who act like schizophrenics and that do nothing but service hackneyed plots and come up with technobabble solutions.
I haven't had that in a long time. And it's worth a letter to maybe...just maybe...get back
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"We've been attacked by the intelligent, educated segment of our culture." ---Pastor Ray Mummert speaking of those who favor Darwinian Evolution over Intelligent Design.
"If this is your God, he's not very impressive. He has so many psychological problems; he's so insecure. He demands worship every seven days. He goes out and creates faulty Humans and then blames them for his own mistakes. He's a pretty poor excuse for a Supreme Being." ---Gene Roddenberry
I didn't realize JMS was such a Trekkie?! I always looked at him as more of a independent sci-fi guy who taps into the darker side of mankind, like RDM. But he sounds pretty excited about it, and I like that kind of excitement. If he brings in Coto and Sussman, than I'm all for it.
Quote:
We set out a full five-year arc.
...Yep, that sounds like the JMS I know!
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FREE Star Trek: Enterprise Video Game!
DS9 was twice the series Babylon 5 was, I loved his series Jeremiah and would love to see his Star Trek series, but less of his ego.
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Hoshi: I was hoping you'd put up a fight.
T'Pol: I'm surprised you're not exhausted from all the beds, you've jumped into, recently.
"In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II"
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Dude, DS9 was a piece of shit compared to B5. I'd say maybe 20-40% of DS9 eps are worth watching/rewatching. For B5 it's more like 80%.
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"Worlds may change, galaxies may disintegrate, but a woman always remains a woman."
--James Kirk, "The Conscience of the King"
"Vulcan children are never late with their sehlats' dinner."
--T'Pol, "The Forge"
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I respectfully disagree.
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Hoshi: I was hoping you'd put up a fight.
T'Pol: I'm surprised you're not exhausted from all the beds, you've jumped into, recently.
"In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II"
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Fair enough. Have you seen all of both?
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"Worlds may change, galaxies may disintegrate, but a woman always remains a woman."
--James Kirk, "The Conscience of the King"
"Vulcan children are never late with their sehlats' dinner."
--T'Pol, "The Forge"
With JMS at the helm a new series could be on the air by the fall of 2006.
The man has a lot of passion (and an ego to match) and I think he could pull it off -- with Coto as the showrunner.
I would personally like to see JMS replace Berman and join forces with Manny Coto for another season of Enterprise...
Just think of the possibilities...
The last thing needed right now is yet another cast and even more characters with zero history...
A lot of fans slag off Enterprise for lack of characterization but they were even more woodern in Babylon 5.
I don't see him offering a take-over bid for the current series. He would simply want to start all over again and that would be a bad move...
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The last thing needed right now is yet another cast and even more characters with zero history...
That's exactly what's needed. There's too much division about ENT and, quite honestly the show is too much raw sewage under the bridge (season 4 notwithstanding) If Trek is to be rebooted it can't be done with all that negative baggage.
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"We've been attacked by the intelligent, educated segment of our culture." ---Pastor Ray Mummert speaking of those who favor Darwinian Evolution over Intelligent Design.
"If this is your God, he's not very impressive. He has so many psychological problems; he's so insecure. He demands worship every seven days. He goes out and creates faulty Humans and then blames them for his own mistakes. He's a pretty poor excuse for a Supreme Being." ---Gene Roddenberry
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I wouldn't be surprised to see Berman listed as a creative consultant in a future project, working in pretty much the same capacity we see Glen Larson working in on the new Galactica. They send Larson scripts, he gets a credit but has virtually no input in the current series.
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I am just a bit suspicious that JMS has chosen this precise moment to start stating his intentions...
He will only make the rift between those who actually like Enterprise and those who don't even wider...
I thought that there a small glimper of hope for Enterprise... what with the fan rallies and talk of the SCI-FI channel or Spike TV stepping in...
Now JMS wants to sweep everything under the carpet and start again...
Most likely with a recasting of the Original Series, I should'nt wonder!
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Watch the Trailer--Sign the On-Line Petition!
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Most likely with a recasting of the Original Series, I should'nt wonder.
It's not JMS' style to retread.
Besides, it'd be the ultimate insult to the fanbase and would even likely turn casual viewers off as I know several people who's only exposure to Trek is TOS and only "If it's on while I'm surfing." who balk at the idea of a recast TOS
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"We've been attacked by the intelligent, educated segment of our culture." ---Pastor Ray Mummert speaking of those who favor Darwinian Evolution over Intelligent Design.
"If this is your God, he's not very impressive. He has so many psychological problems; he's so insecure. He demands worship every seven days. He goes out and creates faulty Humans and then blames them for his own mistakes. He's a pretty poor excuse for a Supreme Being." ---Gene Roddenberry
"To re-boot the Trek universe."
Yeah baby!
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The autumn days swung soft around me, like cotton on
my skin. But as the embers of the summer lost their
breath and disappeared, my heart went cold, and
only hollow rhythms resounded from within.
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There are clearly some coninuity errata in all the series (some of which totally contradict later series, and sometimes even conflict with other items within the same series). So I wouldn't have trouble with someone being honest about that fact and saying that they have to find their own way. Most of those things no one even remembers. I mean hell, I'm an ardent fan of TOS, but going back and watching the first season on DVD, I'm shocked by some of the stuff I've seen (some of which has been brought up here before). And TOS isn't alone in at times "feeling their way" along before they finally "got it".
So long as it's not a full-blown re-invention (i.e., make Klingons hippies, that sort of thing) I can live with it. Just keep things together in the "broad strokes" -- I think that's perfectly possible. On the finer points, though, some of them simply can't be made to match up, not after over 30 years of inconsistency.
But anyways, I'd really like to see JMS give Trek a go -- I really enjoyed most of B5 and there and elsewhere he's shown a real understanding of Trek and a capacity for the sort of stories he's talking about here. If this ever became an organized campaign, it might be the one internet crusade I could actually sign on to.
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"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."
-James Madison
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"So long as it's not a full-blown re-invention (i.e., make Klingons hippies, that sort of thing) I can live with it. Just keep things together in the "broad strokes" -- I think that's perfectly possible."
That's exactly how I feel about it.
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The autumn days swung soft around me, like cotton on
my skin. But as the embers of the summer lost their
breath and disappeared, my heart went cold, and
only hollow rhythms resounded from within.
(1)
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