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No JMS in third season?

The_Hobbit

Beyond the rim
IF there is a third season, JMS won't be attached. Seems he's having a bit o' problems with MGM

Saw this posted in the B5.realated forum. :eek::mad:

I've seen (and enjoyed) the first season (via downloading from the internet, who knows if they'll ever show it on Austrian or German TV :rolleyes:)
So what's the deal with MGM? :confused: :mad: Have there been previous problems?

Maybe someone can fill me in...
 
I don't know if anyone really knows since this was the first many of us had heard of any problems. JMS tends to be very tight lipped when he is having issues with people/companies in the industry so when he starts to mention problems, it is a very bad sign indeed.

That said, I don't really know what the problem is other than perhaps a huge lack of support from the studio. MGM is all over Stargate but doesn't seem to care too much about Jeremiah. :(

Plus, there is the Rising Stars movie deal that went kind of sour so perhaps his frustration with MGM has just reached it's breaking point.
 
I have one thought and one thought only on this: if JMS is out so am I. Simple as that. As far as I'm concerned, a "Jeremiah" without The Great Maker is a cancelled "Jeremiah".
 
I know, me too probably but now that I am in it so far I might have to keep tabs on it.

This whole thing makes me want to let MGM know what idiots they are but I know it probably won't make one bit of difference. :(
 
The show can continue without JMS. It won't be anywhere near the quality of it with him, and it won't have the same kind of story arc, but at least the arc already set up. The other writers would know how to continue the story in the same fasion as it already is. (somewhat)

That is if there's a third season. :(

I can't keep folowing TV, its too depressing. :(
 
Sure, the show can continue with JMS -- I just won't be watching.

The Futon Critic has the article.

In a post to the "rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated" newsgroup, the prolific writer told posters:

I have zero desire to return to a third season of "Jeremiah." Showtime was great, no mistake, but MGM has overall been the most heinous, difficult and intrusive studio I've ever worked for. I've worked for, and had great relations with, Viacom, Universal, Warner Bros., and a bunch more. But I will never, ever, work for the present administration at MGM. I didn't know why so many other writers had a problem there and never wanted to go back. Now I do.

Woa is I :( That second season had better be fucking great.
 
The show can continue without JMS. It won't be anywhere near the quality of it with him, and it won't have the same kind of story arc, but at least the arc already set up.

Indeed and here is what the Great Maker had to say about it too:

Jul.25.2003
Joe, could there even *be* a third season of "Jeremiah" without you? I don't know how this works--i.e., whether MGM owns the show and could conceivably bring in someone else to keep it going.

Sure, they could definitely do so. At the end of their day, it's their show, and if there should be a season three, they would have no choice but to bring someone else in.

As an aside...none of this should be taken as a diss of the coming season. I honestly think that the second season is miles better than our first season. It's more consistent, takes more chances, it's really a very strong season.

Thing of it is, you look at the quality of the work, and the amount of blood on the floor in getting to that point, and have to decide if the one is worth the other. The process is hard enough without others making it even harder than it has to be.

And there we are.
 
The thing that really struck me was this comment:

I didn't know why so many other writers had a problem there and never wanted to go back.

Looks like MGM are gathering themselves a reputation as a nightmare home for writers.
 
Or depending on how you look at it, JMS is developing a reputation for being a pain in the ass to work with.

Don't always be so quick to blame the company and don't let the fact that we all like JMS's work cloud judgement. Look at his track record. He had a tough time working B5 and getting that done. Crusade was a disaster with TNT, and in just over a season, he has had a fallout with MGM. He has had 2 potential shows and burned his bridges with 2 Television studios. Not good.

Now mind you, I am not saying its not justified, but still, its not a good thing to develop the reputation that some may perceive he has. Sometimes creative geniouses can be the WORST people to work with. He may be a great writer, but if he cant deal with internal politics or criticism, his creations will never see the airwaves...

In short: It may not be just the networks fault and we will never know the real story. But so far he is 1/3 in dealing with TV studios, not good odds...
 
He may be a great writer, but if he cant deal with internal politics or criticism, his creations will never see the airwaves...

But if, as JMS said, MGM was so insultingly intrusive in his work, at the end of the day those are not his creations. I think JMS can do what he wants really, if he doesn´t get work on tv he can write comics or novels. So he takes advantage of the fact that he does get work for now, and will use it to tell the stories he wants to tell. Thats what writers do.

In any case, as i understand it, the studio was after JMS for two years, and in exchange they accepted to let him run the show completely. It is unhonorable behaviour to break that agreement.
 
Unhonorable?

We are talking about television here.

Not saying how they do things is right or wrong, but it is what it is. And I am also saying that MGM may not be 100% at fault here. JMS causes his share of fires I would imagine, and it might just keep him off of television, who knows...
 
The impression I have always got from JMS' responses to these issues is that his goal is to write the stories he wants to write, the way his characters dictate.

If someone comes in and wants to change all that and insist that certain things are done in certain ways, or the story takes a certain direction, he will defend his position "to the death", as it were.

And I can relate to that.

I am a singer and songwriter, and being unpublished and without a record deal I have enormous freedom to write the songs that I want to write and have the band play them the way I want them played (subject to their musical input of course).

I (and the band) have total creative control of the CD we are recording at the moment, so it will stand or fall by the quality of our input.

If some record dompany wanted to step in and release the CD to a wider market, that would be great.

But if same record company was to step in, change the way it sounded or alter some of the lyrics to remove the heart and soul of my original songs, frankly I would rather walk away and not see it released at all.

And I am nothing like the pain-in-the-ass that JMS acknowledges himself to be.

The point is, if he is such a pain in the ass, why do studios hire him? Presumably because he is good at what he does, and they want him to bring that to their show.

From my limited magagerial experience, I know that if you have someone on your staff who is good at what they do, the best thing is to let them get on with it and not interfere all the time. (If only I could convince the MD of that!) As soon as you start looking over their shoulder and making suggestions as to how they should do things, they will start looking for another job.

Why should JMS (or televsion for that matter) be any different.

I'll shut up now. Thanks for listening.

:D
 
Excellent points and thanks for sharing. :)

I understand a bit where JMS comes from as I once had an area on a MUD (online, text adventure, multiplayer game) that I created which was rich and detailed. Many people visited and loved it which made me a very popular wizard. :)

However, the admin of the MUD were assholes and kept editing my files without telling me. Nothing they did was critical (like fixing bugs or whatnot) but because they felt that it wasn't "right". All they needed to do was tell me what needed to be changed and it would have been done.

I finally had enough of their meddling (plus, I didn't agree with their new policies) so I closed my area and never looked back. Many people emailed me, begging me to reopen the area or have someone else maintain it and I said no. It was the principle of the matter and I wouldn't leave my area there for the admins to take credit for it. :p
 
I know it's off topic, but what was the name of the MUD Lyta? :) Just curious, I've played several in the past and written areas before, so I relate to what you said about meddling.

-Haze
 
Excellent points and thanks for sharing. :)

I understand a bit where JMS comes from as I once had an area on a MUD (online, text adventure, multiplayer game) that I created which was rich and detailed. Many people visited and loved it which made me a very popular wizard. :)

However, the admin of the MUD were assholes and kept editing my files without telling me. Nothing they did was critical (like fixing bugs or whatnot) but because they felt that it wasn't "right". All they needed to do was tell me what needed to be changed and it would have been done.

I finally had enough of their meddling (plus, I didn't agree with their new policies) so I closed my area and never looked back. Many people emailed me, begging me to reopen the area or have someone else maintain it and I said no. It was the principle of the matter and I wouldn't leave my area there for the admins to take credit for it. :p



Yea that's EXACTLY the same thing.
:rolleyes:





:D
 

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