The One Who Was
Regular
Thanks Joe!
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"Faith Manages"
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"Faith Manages"
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JMS update
- Thread starter The One Who Was
- Start date
hypatia
Regular
I can't help but get the impression that JMS would rather see "Crusade" die than live. I had hoped this "third project" would BE Crusade, but after this post, it does not sound like it. If JMS is not interested in pursuing "Crusade", should we the fans be? I find myself wondering.
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D
**DONOTDELETE**
Guest
Well,the thing is it's out of his hands. And like he said in another post he can't just sit around waiting for it to come back.
Even though it would mean a little more work for him...I think there's part of him that would want to see one of his projects get completed(Crusade wasn't just something he came up with at the last minute...he had in it his head ever since B5 came on the air.)
So it's kind of like:If it comes back great..if it doesn't then that's fine too.
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"I'd like to live just long enough to be there when they cut off your head and stick it on a pike as a warning to the next ten generations that some favors come with too high a price. I'd look up at your lifeless eyes and wave like this. Can you and your associates arrange it for me, Mr. Morden?"
Vir - In The Shadow of Z' HA Dum
Even though it would mean a little more work for him...I think there's part of him that would want to see one of his projects get completed(Crusade wasn't just something he came up with at the last minute...he had in it his head ever since B5 came on the air.)
So it's kind of like:If it comes back great..if it doesn't then that's fine too.
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"I'd like to live just long enough to be there when they cut off your head and stick it on a pike as a warning to the next ten generations that some favors come with too high a price. I'd look up at your lifeless eyes and wave like this. Can you and your associates arrange it for me, Mr. Morden?"
Vir - In The Shadow of Z' HA Dum
I have the Jeremiah script coming my way, so will be able to report on that sometime soon.
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<font size="-2" color="silver">"The Babylon Project was our last, best, hope for peace.
A self-contained world five miles long, located in neutral
territory. A place of commerce and diplomacy for a quarter
of a million humans and aliens. A shining beacon in space,
all alone in the night. It was the dawn of the third age of
mankind, the year the great war came upon us all. This is
the story of the last of the Babylon stations. The year is
2259: the name of the place is Babylon 5."
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A self-contained world five miles long, located in neutral
territory. A place of commerce and diplomacy for a quarter
of a million humans and aliens. A shining beacon in space,
all alone in the night. It was the dawn of the third age of
mankind, the year the great war came upon us all. This is
the story of the last of the Babylon stations. The year is
2259: the name of the place is Babylon 5."
Joseph DeMartino
Moderator
I don't understand how people get these "impressions" that JMS has written off Crusade from posts in which he explicitly says the opposite.
This is not a criticism, and is not limited to this thread or any particular post. It is a genuine point of confusion. I've seen the same type of response in numerous other instances where someone has asked about Crusade and JMS's answer has discussed to the practical issues that would have to be resolved to make it happen. In none of these answers has he ever said, "No, forget about it. It isn't going to happen."
Here's what he said in the last reply (emphasis added):
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>A: It would be possible, but we'd have to lay things out and schedule them in such a way as to allow me to do the work properly.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
How does one get from "it would be possible" to "he wants it dead"? If he wanted it dead, here's the perfect opportunity to say so, explicitly, and never have to answer the question again. Does he do so? No. Instead he explains why such a thing won't be happening any time soon. But he goes out of his way to say that it is still possible.
As for the degree of control he has over all of this: He certainly cannot bring back Crusade just because he wants to. A network has to order the show and has to make a deal with Warner Bros. to produce it. In theory Warner Bros. (which owns B5 and Crusade) could bring the show back without him if it really wanted to. As a practical matter, they won't. His contract requires that at least consult him on any sequels or spin-offs, and the shows are really his babies and his stories, and WB has no reason to tick him off.
So he could, in effect, prevent Crusade from ever returning. He does have that power. And yet he has never exercised it, and never thrown cold-water on the idea (except during 1999-2000 when TNT's lock on B5 made any movement on either series impossible.) He's never asked Tim & Co. to discontinue the "Crusade for Crusade", which he would certainly do if he had decided in his own mind that it was a wasted effort. He wouldn't let fans waste their time and energy that way, and he's certainly aware of Tim's efforts.
So I ask again, why is every JMS post that isn't an announcement that Crusade is going back into prodution tomorrow greeted by some people as the final kiss of death, even when all of them have talked about the possibility of the show's eventual return?
Regards,
Joe
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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net
This is not a criticism, and is not limited to this thread or any particular post. It is a genuine point of confusion. I've seen the same type of response in numerous other instances where someone has asked about Crusade and JMS's answer has discussed to the practical issues that would have to be resolved to make it happen. In none of these answers has he ever said, "No, forget about it. It isn't going to happen."
Here's what he said in the last reply (emphasis added):
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>A: It would be possible, but we'd have to lay things out and schedule them in such a way as to allow me to do the work properly.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
How does one get from "it would be possible" to "he wants it dead"? If he wanted it dead, here's the perfect opportunity to say so, explicitly, and never have to answer the question again. Does he do so? No. Instead he explains why such a thing won't be happening any time soon. But he goes out of his way to say that it is still possible.
As for the degree of control he has over all of this: He certainly cannot bring back Crusade just because he wants to. A network has to order the show and has to make a deal with Warner Bros. to produce it. In theory Warner Bros. (which owns B5 and Crusade) could bring the show back without him if it really wanted to. As a practical matter, they won't. His contract requires that at least consult him on any sequels or spin-offs, and the shows are really his babies and his stories, and WB has no reason to tick him off.
So he could, in effect, prevent Crusade from ever returning. He does have that power. And yet he has never exercised it, and never thrown cold-water on the idea (except during 1999-2000 when TNT's lock on B5 made any movement on either series impossible.) He's never asked Tim & Co. to discontinue the "Crusade for Crusade", which he would certainly do if he had decided in his own mind that it was a wasted effort. He wouldn't let fans waste their time and energy that way, and he's certainly aware of Tim's efforts.
So I ask again, why is every JMS post that isn't an announcement that Crusade is going back into prodution tomorrow greeted by some people as the final kiss of death, even when all of them have talked about the possibility of the show's eventual return?
Regards,
Joe
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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net
What he said.
DeMartino, well o' facts.
Sometimes it seems like people are looking for a reason to say it's permanantly dead and assume anything that does not say 'we start filming tomorrow' means it can never happen.
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Bus
"Welcom futurists, cyberphiles, and the rest of you dateless wonders..."-Mayor Quimby
DeMartino, well o' facts.
Sometimes it seems like people are looking for a reason to say it's permanantly dead and assume anything that does not say 'we start filming tomorrow' means it can never happen.
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Bus
"Welcom futurists, cyberphiles, and the rest of you dateless wonders..."-Mayor Quimby
Joseph DeMartino
Moderator
Here are a few exchanges from the newsgroup that I thought would interest folks:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Q: "With the Rangers filming set to begin in only a few more days, what does your schedule look like? What's done, scheduled soon, driving you nuts etc?
And is it fun?"
A: It's a little bit nuts, but we have things well in hand for the start of filming.
The best part? Walking through the production office on any of my visits and hearing the staff answer the phone, "Babylon 5."
Back with a vengeance.
jms
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
In February JMS posted a message talking about a project that was a "done deal since January", about which he couldn't talk until the studio issued a press release (which I suspect is Jeremiah for Showtime), a "B5-related project" (which we now know to be Rangers) and a "surprise third project which is moving up fast." Recently a fan asked him about the status of the "third project."
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Q: "Can you let us know what the status of the third project is? Is it still in negotiation, signed, or did it pass quietly?"
A: Neither. I looked at my workload, and said, "Not now, let's pursue this down the road where I have room to do it right." I don't want to over-extend.
jms<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
This led to another question:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Q: "What with TWCNBN, and the Rangers movie (which will almost certainly lead to a series); if Sci-Fi came to you tomorrow and said 'We were really impressed by Crusade's ratings, we want to renew it.'
Considering what you said about The Third Project, would you have any time or stamina LEFT for Crusade? You said before that you would take a diminished role, but wouldn't all those other people who would be pinch-hitting for you be working on the other B5 series?"
A: It would be possible, but we'd have to lay things out and schedule them in such a way as to allow me to do the work properly.
jms<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
On another pending project:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>"You recently mentioned doing a 100 page B5 graphic novel for Wildstorm. I was just wondering how that was coming and what you can tell us about it."
I'm in the process of nailing down the story, which may work out to be a pre-WWE Sinclair/Sheridan crossover, involving Mars, Minbar, B5 and a conspiracy.
jms<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
"Back with a vengence" indeed.
Regards,
Joe
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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Q: "With the Rangers filming set to begin in only a few more days, what does your schedule look like? What's done, scheduled soon, driving you nuts etc?
And is it fun?"
A: It's a little bit nuts, but we have things well in hand for the start of filming.
The best part? Walking through the production office on any of my visits and hearing the staff answer the phone, "Babylon 5."
Back with a vengeance.
jms
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
In February JMS posted a message talking about a project that was a "done deal since January", about which he couldn't talk until the studio issued a press release (which I suspect is Jeremiah for Showtime), a "B5-related project" (which we now know to be Rangers) and a "surprise third project which is moving up fast." Recently a fan asked him about the status of the "third project."
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Q: "Can you let us know what the status of the third project is? Is it still in negotiation, signed, or did it pass quietly?"
A: Neither. I looked at my workload, and said, "Not now, let's pursue this down the road where I have room to do it right." I don't want to over-extend.
jms<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
This led to another question:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Q: "What with TWCNBN, and the Rangers movie (which will almost certainly lead to a series); if Sci-Fi came to you tomorrow and said 'We were really impressed by Crusade's ratings, we want to renew it.'
Considering what you said about The Third Project, would you have any time or stamina LEFT for Crusade? You said before that you would take a diminished role, but wouldn't all those other people who would be pinch-hitting for you be working on the other B5 series?"
A: It would be possible, but we'd have to lay things out and schedule them in such a way as to allow me to do the work properly.
jms<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
On another pending project:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>"You recently mentioned doing a 100 page B5 graphic novel for Wildstorm. I was just wondering how that was coming and what you can tell us about it."
I'm in the process of nailing down the story, which may work out to be a pre-WWE Sinclair/Sheridan crossover, involving Mars, Minbar, B5 and a conspiracy.
jms<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
"Back with a vengence" indeed.
Regards,
Joe
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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net
Sinclair
Moderator
Nice. Thanks for the update, Joe. It's nice to read quotes from JMS, especially when they are in response to questions that many of us constantly wonder about. As always, you provide us with detailed info and prove to be an invaluble asset to this board. Keep up the good work!
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You name it, sooner or later, everyone comes to Babylon 5.
-Commander Jeffrey David Sinclair, The Gathering
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You name it, sooner or later, everyone comes to Babylon 5.
-Commander Jeffrey David Sinclair, The Gathering
UncleMikey
Member
It really is quite astounding how people chose to interpret JMS on this matter.
I think part of the problem is that, by and large, JMS doesn't seem to show the same sheer enthusiasm for the idea that he does for, say, B5LR or That Which Cannot Be Named. However, I can understand exactly why: he doesn't want to get his -- or anyone else's -- hopes up for something that might not happen. I'm sure if SciFi said, "OK. We want two series from you at the same time, both B5, and you get complete creative control. Just make us money, and we'll be happy", JMS would probably keel over dead with happiness. Which would, of course, leave us screwed, but that's beside the point :-D
Uncle Mikey
(Who, by the way, was Uncle Mikey before Peter David decided that David Sheridan calls Garibaldi that...)
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I think part of the problem is that, by and large, JMS doesn't seem to show the same sheer enthusiasm for the idea that he does for, say, B5LR or That Which Cannot Be Named. However, I can understand exactly why: he doesn't want to get his -- or anyone else's -- hopes up for something that might not happen. I'm sure if SciFi said, "OK. We want two series from you at the same time, both B5, and you get complete creative control. Just make us money, and we'll be happy", JMS would probably keel over dead with happiness. Which would, of course, leave us screwed, but that's beside the point :-D
Uncle Mikey
(Who, by the way, was Uncle Mikey before Peter David decided that David Sheridan calls Garibaldi that...)
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