Granted you said this was a "wish list", but the only way to really respond to it is in terms of actually doing it. (If it is just a wish list, all I can say is, "Yeah. Good idea. As long as we're dreaming, I'd like my copy hand-delivered by Pat Tallman, Fabiana Udenio, Andrea Thompson, Mira Furlan, that Nightwatch babe and the woman who played Dr. Kirkish." /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif)
1. JMS (and director) commentary for every episode
Impractical. You're talking about over 90 hours of material, plus the TV movies. And commentary tracks are like any other voice recording work - they're rarely done in one continuous take. People sneeze, cough, get tongue-tied, change their minds about what they're saying. The film gets rewound and they start again. In some cases a film or episode will be aired twice, with a running commentary recorded each time, and then the best moments from each are edited into a final track for the disc. All of this could easily double the recording time needed for the tracks. JMS would have to make recording these things his full time job if he were to complete all five seasons plus the TV movies by the time the last of it is locked, probably mid-2004. As it is, he barely found time to record two of the four commentary tracks he wanted to do for S1.
2. Additional cast commentary for every episode, with rotation between cast members.
Again, a track on every episode is impractical. The actors are all over the map doing other things, and commentary tracks cost money to produce. Studio and screening room time are not free. Projectionists and recording engineers also cost money. I do agree that having cast/crew commentaries on selected episodes is a very good idea. From what JMS has said, I believe some attempt was made to set these up for S1, but those didn't work out. I hope we'll have better luck in subsequent seasons. I'm especially hoping that they have Michael O'Hare do a commentary track for "WWE" in S3, since that would give him a chance to discuss his entire experience with the character of Sinclair. I suggested commentary tracks by actors, writers and crew on selected episodes (and even suggested appropriate episodes /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif in a letter to Warner Home Video in 1998.)
Some commentaries should be done by two actors at once, as far as I'm concerned. I'd love to hear Peter Jurassik and Andreas Katsulas do a joint-commentary on a key Londo/G'Kar episode, and Richard Biggs and Jason Carter on one of the Mars Mission episodes - both pairs of actors play off one another wonderfully, and are very funny in joint convention appearances by all accounts, and I think having them do joint commentaries would be great. (Of course, I'd also want Andreas and Peter to do solo commentaries on episodes that focus more specifically on their characters.) And I wouldn't consider the set complete without a Harlan Ellison commentary on at least one episode, just to hear him rant about TV and SF generally for about 40 minutes.
I'd also push for commentaries from some of the freelance writers - especially the original Trek alumni, David Gerrold and Dorothy Fontana.
3. Screen and make-up tests for the actors.
Interesting idea, assuming the material was preserved. We may see a bit of this in the behind-the-scenes documentaries.
4. The bloopers reels for each of the seasons... I was very disappointed that Season 1 didn't get the blooper reel added as an extra. I assume there was a reason for this - clearance problems and the like? (Joe, do you know?)
Massive clearance problems. The blooper reels as finished and edited (which is what gives them most of their entertainment value) are not covered by the actors' contracts. That means dozens of individual contracts would have to be signed, and the actors paid, in order for the reels to be used. Pretty much any actor could veto the whole thing by refusing to sign - and several have indicated that they would, because they don't want millions of people to see them screwing up and swearing. Also the studio would have to pay for the rights to the music used for each reel - original recordings of popular songs, which are intermixed with the dialogue. It may not be possible to separate those songs from the words and sound FX on the finished reels, since it is likely that only the finished tracks on the actual reels survive. Music rights can be hideously expensive. Shows like WKRP in Cincinnati are being kept off DVD because the old contracts don't permit use of the music included in the broadcast version on home video, and getting the DVD rights now would cost a fortune.
Regards,
Joe
