Cool News
The BABYLON 5
Direct-To-DVD Movie
Started Production Today!!
I am – Hercules!!
This one is dedicated to my esteemed predecessor, the great Glen Oliver!!
Look! A press release!!
For Immediate Release
WARNER HOME VIDEO TO RELEASE
BRAND NEW “BABLYON 5”
MADE FOR VIDEO IN 2007
BABLYON 5: THE LOST TALES TO BEGIN PRODUCTION NOVEMBER 13, 2006
BURBANK , CA , November 13, 2006 – Warner Home Video (WHV) and Warner Bros. Television (WBTV) have announced the start of production of “Babylon 5: The Lost Tales,” a made-for-video movie that will be targeted towards the Babylon 5 loyal audience and science-fiction fans in general . The announcement was jointly made by Jeff Brown, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Non-theatrical Franchise, Warner Home Video and Gregg Maday, Senior Vice President, Movies and Miniseries, WBTV.
WHV will be the home entertainment distributor for this made-for-DVD release which will include two new Babylon 5 stories collectively entitled “Voices of the Dark” in one film plus exclusive behind the scenes content. The stories will be written and directed by executive producer and original “ Babylon 5” creator J. Michael Straczynski. Executive producer Doug Netter also returns in that role. Actors from the original series that have signed on to participate in the project include Bruce Boxleitner (“President John Sheridan”), Tracy Scoggins (“Captain Elizabeth Lochley”) and Peter Woodward (“Galen”).
Babylon 5 is a top selling franchise on DVD to date with over $44 million in consumer sales. Launched in February 1993, the award winning series was a top rated show on television with more than 13.7 million viewers in its debut season. After its original planned five-year run – introducing the concept of a five year arc before other TV series began to use multi-season arcs -- the show went on to enjoy 9 successful years in syndication and Cable on the Sci-Fi Channel and TNT. It also spurred the creation of five feature length movies based on the series including The Gathering, In the Beginning, Thirdspace, River of Souls and A Call to Arms, as well as the limited series Crusade. Babylon 5 has received numerous awards including two Emmys, two consecutive Hugo Awards, the Ray Bradbury Award for Dramatic Screenwriting from the Science Fiction Writers of America, five English Media ‘Cult TV’ Awards, the E Pluribus Unum Award from the American Cinema Foundation, the Sci-Fi Universe Reader Choice Award for Best TV Series and was the winner of the TV Guide Poll for Best Sci-Fi Show.
“We are very excited to be releasing this new made-for-video release filled with original content for ‘ Babylon 5’, one of the most successful science fiction series of all time,” said Jeff Brown. “This popular TV show which has been off the air for a few years continues to have a strong loyal fan base that is hungry for more content. This is the first time we’re utilizing one of our popular TV franchises as a made-for-video title, and we have a strong commitment to the growth of this sector.”
“It’s great to be reunited with Joe and Doug once again,” commented Maday. “I have always been very proud to be associated with their wonderful work on Babylon 5 and I’m confident the “Lost Tales” will add to the legacy of this very special franchise.”
On an immense space station built by the Earth Alliance in the 2250s, the crew of Babylon 5 are charged with maintaining the peace among the various alien races by providing a sanctuary where grievances and negotiations can be worked out among duly appointed ambassadors. Aside from its diplomatic function, Babylon 5 also serves as a military post for Earth and a port of call for travelers, traders, businessmen, criminals, and Rangers. The story of The Lost Tales picks up several years after the events of its original story, and follows several of its major characters in new adventures set against the backdrop of the Babylon 5 universe.
About Warner Home Video
With operations in 90 international territories Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video's film library is the largest of any studio,
offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment.
About Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television (WBTV) is one of the entertainment industry's most respected providers of original content, producing award-winning drama and comedy series, made-for-television movies and miniseries for both network and cable television. Having produced 28 series for the 2006-2007 season, WBTV is the industry's number one supplier of primetime television programming, with multiple shows on each of the five broadcast networks, as well as numerous cable networks.
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The Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition!!
Readers Talkback
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Lets hope this is more like "The beginning" instead of "Thirdspace"
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As the BCOs say. Now let the exhumation of Richard Biggs and Andreas Katsulas, as well as the acting careers of everyone from this show who does not currently have a recurring role on Lost.
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Shall I just copypaste the comments from the other one then
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Get out!
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At least B5 understood the concept of planning out an arc in advance for it's storylines, instead of just making them up as they go along and introducing nonsensical twists at the last minute like 24 does....
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Do not argue with him spike, just accept it and make the necessary changes in your life to accomodate his opinion. B5 really does suck by the way. BSG eats it for breakfast.
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True, but don't forget LOST does that shit too.
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YEA!, caus B5 KICKED YOUR ASS and put it there! BSG KICKS ASS TOO, So say we all. LOST KICKS OUR COLLECTIVE ASSES!! HEROES KICKS A DIFFERENT KIND OF ASS, but kicks it, all the same. It's all good man, Cheeeeeeshhh I'm a kid in a candy store.
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The movies never impressed me much. The series was far better as seen through its entirety; well seasons 1-4 anyway. JMS had a well thought out plan for the series, but the movies seemed rushed, and thrown together. If the man has things mapped out he's a great story teller, but I also don't thing JMS works well on a small scale. So I do worry that this effort may be a disappointment. Now, a brand new B5 spin-off television series with JMS given the space he needs to create at his potential would be very cool. B5 would have a better chance of a quality comeback on that scale. My two cents anyway.
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A lot of posts ripping on this but you'll all watch the movie when it comes out.
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I was a big fan of the show. No other show even comes close to it in regards to the depth and tidiness of its arc. But I never cared for any of the movies that came after. I don't see how this DVD release will be any different. Crusade was starting to pick up towards the end and Jeremiah was decent in it's first season, but standalone movies? JMS has little talent in that area. I would have jumped at this if they had done like six 2-hour DVDs covering the telepath war. That's the one interesting thing that he never directly touched on. If he's not gonna do the telepath war, then I would have rather had something that took place pre-season 4. Once the Shadows and Vorlons were gone, the show started to lose its wonder (Earth civil war aside, that was excellent). I'm guessing that these movies will be about some sword wielding losers fighting dragons left behind by the shadows or some shit. Or it'll be about lame-ass techno-mages. The fantasy aspects always dragged down the sci-fi/poly sci aspects (fuck the rangers). It's a fucking shame. I know a lot of people like to slam B5 here, but the positives far outweighed any negatives and most of the other talkback shows really owe a lot to B5s focus on larger stories. Lost (and even BSG to some degree) could really use a JMS on board right now to help with the story. Not to write the scripts, just to help out with the arcs.
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I can't understand it. At the time, it was pretty much just Trek and B5. The Usenet boards had nothing but haters for Trek (much like the talkbacks here for various shows), but there was no one hating B5. The boards were a love fest. It really stood out and people followed the show religiously despite constant scheduling changes. I'm not sure where all the haters have come from unless they're all recent DVD watchers. Perhaps it's more a sign of the times. Americans seem to get less happy with each passing month (can't speak to the rest of the world).
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Bab-5 is my favorite show of all time. Without B5 pushing the envelope, we're still be mired in shit-TV without arcs. B5 was the first show in years to require detailed viewing, and was written incredibly intelligently. That said, the movies were a bit weak (save for In The Beginning), but I thought Crusade's episodes were far better than Bab 5's first 13, so... here's hoping the decade off hasn't ruined it. I'm glad to see Galen will be back!
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2 images forever burned into my mind, G'kar in chains being paraded in front of the royal court, and Londo watching his battleships bombard G'kars planet. Both chilling. With Katsulas' passing, we will never see the movie I most want:What happened to G'kar and the telepath after they left B5.
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I got nuthin'.
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When it was good, B5 was the best thing on television. But it could often be bad. They've told the best parts of the B5 story with the Shadow War storyline. The show died when Kosh died. Let it rest.
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Firefly. Joss, if SOMEONE is gonna make this crap, you GOTTA find how how to get Firefly back. Please I dont know ANYONE who likes this crap, but EVERYONE I know loves Firefly. Sigh. Comon Joss, BRING ER BACK MAN! Fernwick
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Some of you people should be ashamed to be called Geeks if you can not quote chapter and verse from Spaced...
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PARAMOUNT VIDEO TO RELEASE BRAND NEW “DEEP SPACE 9” MADE FOR VIDEO IN 2007 DEEP SPACE 9: THE UNSEEN STORIES TO BEGIN PRODUCTION NOVEMBER 12, 2006 HOLLYWOOD, CA, November 12, 2006 – Paramount Home Video and Paramount Television have announced the start of production of “Deep Space 9: The Unseen Stories”, a made-for-video movie that will be targeted towards the Star Trek loyal audience and science-fiction fans in general . This made-for-DVD release will include two new Deep Space 9 stories collectively entitled “Listening in the Shadows” in one film plus exclusive behind the scenes content. “Deep Space 9” was the most unique and original contribution to the STAR TREK universe ever, and the producers plan to continue that tradition with this new release, which is in no way inspired by or connected to the creation or release of anything else, no matter how similar appearances may be, how suspicious the timing is, or how much physical or anecdotal evidence exists to the contrary. “We are very excited to be releasing this new made-for-video release filled with original content for ‘Deep Space 9’, one of the most successful science fiction series of all time,” said producer Rick Berman, re-hired by Paramount just for this project. “This popular TV show which has been off the air for a few years continues to have a strong loyal fan base that is hungry for more content. This is the first time we’re utilizing one of our popular TV franchises as a made-for-video title, and we have a strong commitment to the growth of this sector. I have always been very proud to be associated with “Deep Space 9” and I’m confident the “Unseen Stories” will add to the legacy of this very special franchise.” On an immense space station taken over by the Federation in the 24th Century, the crew of Deep Space 9 is charged with maintaining the peace among the various alien races by providing a sanctuary where grievances and negotiations can be worked out among duly appointed ambassadors. Aside from its diplomatic function, Deep Space 9 also serves as a military post for the Federation and a port of call for travelers, traders, businessmen, criminals, and those pesky anthropomorphized non-humans. The story of “The Unseen Stories” picks up several years after the events of its original story, and follows several of its major characters in new adventures set against the backdrop of the “Deep Space 9” universe. Release date is to be announced, but is promised to come before the release of any other similar release by another company.
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and any other similar releases of this nature are in fact complete ripoffs of the DS9 concept, which came first and is better.
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But what it did good it did REALLY GOOD. I still maintain it has the best overall story arc of any TV show ever made. Plus a time-travel sub-plot the execution of which has to be seen to be believed. And at least two season cliffhangers worthy of Season One Galactica. If you can get past the cheap sets and visual effects and somewhat strange acting, you will be amazed. And now with this DVD movie, it seems there won't be any cheap sets and weak VFX - which sounds great. I'll wait and see.
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I agree with the general notion that the SERIES was fine in its overall storyline, that was fun to watch...but, come on, let's not kid ourselves -- the stand-alone films routinely sucked ass big time. Worst of all (and hopefully this is not a really, really bad sign of things to come per this DVD announcement) the movies got successively WORSE each time out. LEGEND OF THE RANGERS is two hours of my life that JMS owes me back big time. Talk about turd city. So here's hoping that this time he actually has a story worth telling and one that won't be another major disappointment, otherwise it really is time to nail the B5 coffin shut and put it away for good because...frankly speaking...how many times should JMS be allowed to eat up valuable production money that would be better spent on ALL-NEW properties out there in Hollywood development hell? B5 reminds me of Jeff Goldblum's speech in JURASSIC PARK where he notes that dinosaurs HAD their chance and evolution and nature SELECTED THEM to become extinct. That's how I feel about B5. It not only HAD its chance -- truth be told, its had SEVERAL chances -- and the viewing public finally said "No thanks, don't want it anymore." So either come up with a good direct to DVD movie or recognize that it's done and put a fork in it already.
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While JMS is probably holding onto the main arc of the Telepath War for a feature movie (which Warners wanted him to do but he couldn't see doing it without Rick and Andreas at this point so he countered with the Direct to DVD idea instead) I believe that he has hinted that he might use this DVD series (and there will be more than one if the first sells well) to do some sidestories set during that time, like the one Mattheson flashback in CRUSADE...
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I have to remember that one.
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Galen is a boring fringe character whose story was coveredin three books. JMS nearly had a cow when they were going to do the movie and wanted to recast the character. Focus in on the BB5 people. If Galen appears I hope it is to wrap up the Drakh plague and the box from Crusade. And Lockley- please, a last moinute replaceent for Claudia Christian Focus on Garibaldi- he's the mostinteresting character
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<p>I think that JMS is not sure whether he wants to tell a fantasy or a sci-fi story. I didn't despise Galen, but for me he embodied all that I didn't like in B5. The show was best when it focused on wars and the philosophies behind them (shadow, civil, and telepath). When it focused on Rangers and Technomages, it sucked.</p> <p>If RenoNevada2000 is correct, then I'm very angry that he passed up the offer to do a telepath war feature. It sucks that Katsulas and Biggs are dead, but G'Kar doesn't need to be in that story anyway. Yeah, it'd be useful to have him if they were to bring Lyta back for it, but it'd still likely be a more interesting movie than the ones we've seen so far. Plus, I don't even remember the last time I had an urge to go see a movie in a theater. That would give me an excuse. I also agree on Garibaldi. My favorite was always Londo, but his story is played out. Garibaldi's story still has legs (especially in light of the TP war). I may get this DVD only if the story doesn't deal with Rangers or legacy shadow technology (or their allies).</p> <p>My sci-fi wet dream would be for JMS to write a story, Whedon to write the dialog/script, RDM to direct and Lucas to work set design and effects (along with Henson on muppet detail). These people would never all work together, but that movie would likely top Star Wars and Lord of the Rings in the box office.</p>
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Wow. JMS sure made the right choice there. Bald, flaming, younger version of Gandalf instead of making a film of the Telepath War. Good decision! There's a reason why the studio wanted to recast Galen for the film. It's because Woodward can't act.
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...nice to see the haters jump on this asap. I'm looking forward to what JMS does with this. I'm with the others, Galen is not a strong character. As to Garibaldi, there will be another DVD release focusing on him according to JMS postings. <br> But I gotta say, BSG and Firefly really pushed the bar WAY higher. I think JMS will need to knock this one out of the park. I loved B5 but at times the writing and the performances were laughable. JMS was always strognest writing Londo and G'Kar,and this first release has two of my least favorite B5 characters. Gak.<br> As to the person whining about Joss doing more Firefly. he got his chance with Serenity. I loved Serentity but it was a flop at the box office. So we're all screwed.
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And it only had about a dozen episodes. I love it, but I don't see how that pushes the bar higher. BSG is more comparable but I don't think it pushes the bar higher either. The bar that B5 set was in it's long drawn out story arcs that had you going "wow" when you suddenly realized the relevance of a season 1 line in season 4. BSG doesn't have that sense of continuity to me and it deals with a far smaller universe that, while interesting, doesn't leave me filled with wonder. The surprises are on the human level, like with Tigh killing his wife. It doesn't quite compare with Kosh revealing himself. I'm not knocking BSG, it's the best show on TV right now, I just have this feeling that any great surprises that come in season 4, haven't even been thought of yet. B5 is probably most comparable to Lost, but then B5 season 3 was kicking in full gear by now whereas Lost can barely keep the interest of it's viewers anymore. Acting (not all, some was great), dialog and older effects aside, I don't expect the B5 bar to be surpassed anytime soon. It'll always be in my top five shows list of all time. Possibly even the best once the current crop of shows are far enough in the past to seem as dated.
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The good: 1. Well planned story arc 2. Decent FX for its day 3. Not afraid to show some serious combat (TNG and DS9 had not done so yet, and Space:Above and Beyond didn't exist yet) The not so good: 1. More bad actors than good 2. Bad dialogue And as far as the stand-alone movies go, they all sucked, except for In the Beginning, which covered the Earth-Minbari War as told by Londo during his final day.
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"If I'm going to die, I'd rather do so in a room with a view." I'm far more excited about his inclusion than the other two (I mean, always good to see Sheridan, but his story has been told- Galen's has just started). And for those of you wanting more Garibaldi, you'll get it in the next Lost Tales volume, so it's a win-win. And for the user who wanted to see more of G'Kar and Lyta after they left B5, JMS did write a short story called "Genius Loci" which showed at least one event that occured during their trip.
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AICN simply printed the ENTIRE news release verbatim?
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Because I posted about how purple was the primary color(and next to silver, the most abused color in the sci-fi pallete) for most of the sets...and now my post is gone. Hmmm.
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Even though this isn't the series of short films we heard about a while back but a direct-to-video release. . .I'm amazed. You have to understand. . .there isn't a doubt in my mind that JMS is always 100% sincere in his announcement of a new B5 project; WRT the studio, on the other hand...my experiences have shown me that some of the suits there seem to view B5 with REAL contempt; I fully expected this latest attempt to go the way of the Wildstorm graphic novel and "The Memory of Shadows". . .good news. :-)
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That would require some innovative thinking from Paramount. So... it's not going to happen.
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Despite myself, I'm looking forward to this movie. I caught maybe 1 out of 6 episodes when B5 played on tv, so my experience watching it happened about two years ago. Mostly, I enjoyed the story itself, it's focused narrative carrying a damn large-scale plot. The battle scene between B5's gathered forces and the Shadows was gigantic: I loved seeing hundreds of mile-long alien warships dishing out rediculous amounts of firepower. The CG stuff was a bit primitive, I agree, but for the early to mid-90's, it was well-used.<p> The other thing B5 fans like about the show is the fact it's a complete story. I guess that counts for something, even if JMS keeps expanding the universe with made-for-DVD movies.<p> I don't know if this film will be good idea or not. The story, for me, has been told as completely as it needs to be told. We saw five years of it. But, I guess JMS could give us something worth watching. I'm guardedly hopeful.
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Nov. 16, 2006, 10:25 p.m. CST
I loved the original B5 shows (despite a few stinkers)
by Bob Cryptonight
...but it seems to me that EVERYTHING pertaining to that universe has been done. It's hard to top an epic battle between Good & Evil that eventually turns out to be a battle over SPOILER merely differing opinions on WHAT it takes to make humanity grow up a bit.
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killing his wife! Still yet to start on Season two. This site (Herc) put me off the show just like Buffy and Firefly. Oh and remember only about 2.5 million even watch BSG.
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Why not just do an English version of "star wreck in the pirkinning" it was better(and funnier) than all the B5 and most Star Trek films put together
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Man that was absolutely horrible. Especially coming after Crusade (with its awful music). Its been a real downward spiral since B5 went off the air. Lets hope things improve with this effort. (BTW - tensticks deserves some kind of award for his post!)
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Galen is to B5 as Jar Jar is to Star Wars. I'd much rather see JMS drill deeper into Psy Corps. I have a bad feeling about this..
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