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06-16-2008, 04:48 PM
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#211 of 241 
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Re: Babylon 5: The Lost Tales
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Originally Posted by JediFonger
B5=very unique, but still under-watched. i think if u randomly ask anyone on the streets today, they will have heard of lost (at the very least) but won't have a clue about B5.
the prisoner (british i know) did that in the 60s didn't they? but it was pretty much a one-off like many of the things they did.
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Well, then that's their loss. As I said in this thread, I am currently rewatching B5 (in season 2 now) and I am continually impressed at - among other things - how well thought-out it all was. Sure, there is some teasing of what is to come but you don't wait years for the payoff (hello, X-Files) and then get disappointed. Watching the DVDs on a Blu-Ray player, I can see that the video transfers left a bit to be desired in places (not everywhere, some of it looks nice), but that's a quibble.
Saw a nice quote from JMS after his experience at Cannes, where his Changeling film was screened (starring Angelina Jolie, directed by Clint Eastwood; big time, JMS!). He said that for him, the fairy tale had come true and he was at peace. I was very gratified to read his comments. Too often, talent like his does not get rewarded. He deserves his success.
As for the Prisoner, I read that the AMC remake is underway and should be coming to TV next year.
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06-16-2008, 08:16 PM
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#212 of 241
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Re: Babylon 5: The Lost Tales
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Originally Posted by JediFonger
the prisoner (british i know) did that in the 60s didn't they? but it was pretty much a one-off like many of the things they did.
how about 24?
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The Brits tend to do short form series, anywhere from 6 to 18 episodes, often adapations of literature, that have clear story arcs and definite endings.
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The economics of British TV, the number of stations, even the size of the country all made it a very different kettle of fish from American TV, so it is hard to compare them.
While the events of each season are incorporated into the following season, there is no indication that 24 ever had a per-planned multi-season arc. Obviously each one-day, one-season arc is meticulously planned out, but again, doing a season (or part of a season) at a time is a lot easier than doing a five-year story with both an overall arc and several subsidiary stories that begin and end at different points along the way. 24 is more like a series of short stories with the same set of characters, each self-contained even while they refer back to events that happened in earlier stories. You don't have to have seen the previous seasons of 24 to watch the current one.
Regards,
Joe
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06-18-2008, 09:45 PM
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#213 of 241
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Re: Babylon 5: The Lost Tales
Variety has a nice write-up naming JMS one of its " 10 Screenwriters to Watch" - and confirming that he's doing Lensman for Ron Howard - presumably the "near legendary SF project" he alluded to earlier.
Regards,
Joe
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06-19-2008, 06:35 AM
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#214 of 241
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Re: Babylon 5: The Lost Tales
Is that the announcement JMS alluded to for June 19 in Variety? Once again, glad to hear he is so busy, but hoping for more B5.
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06-19-2008, 11:31 AM
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#215 of 241
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Re: Babylon 5: The Lost Tales
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Originally Posted by Sam Favate
Is that the announcement JMS alluded to for June 19 in Variety?
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Yup, that was it. I don't think he'll need to play coy about any future B5 news. I'm sure WB will greenlight another Lost Tale just as soon as he's ready to do one, and generally the only reason for not spilling the details about something is that there's an embargo of one kind or another that prevents JMS from making an announcement until the news is officially announced by another party - Variety in the case of the article, the studio or network in the case of a film or TV project.
Regards,
Joe
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06-20-2008, 03:40 AM
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#216 of 241
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Re: Babylon 5: The Lost Tales
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Originally Posted by Joseph DeMartino
Variety has a nice write-up naming JMS one of its " 10 Screenwriters to Watch" - and confirming that he's doing Lensman for Ron Howard - presumably the "near legendary SF project" he alluded to earlier.
Regards,
Joe
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Thanks for the link to that update.
It makes you wonder with all that he has achieved, that he is unable to make progress on B5.
Just noticed that he is writing Ninja Assassin for the Wachowskis and Joel Silver. Now that should be really interesting
Toastmasters International
Communication is Everything
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06-20-2008, 06:51 AM
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#217 of 241
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Re: Babylon 5: The Lost Tales
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Originally Posted by oscar_merkx
It makes you wonder with all that he has achieved, that he is unable to make progress on B5.
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Joe could probably say better than I could, but it seems to me the only thing stopping him from turning attention to B5 these days is a lack of time, and perhaps a wealth of other stories he wants to tell.
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06-20-2008, 09:31 AM
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#218 of 241
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Re: Babylon 5: The Lost Tales
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Originally Posted by Sam Favate
Joe could probably say better than I could, but it seems to me the only thing stopping him from turning attention to B5 these days is a lack of time, and perhaps a wealth of other stories he wants to tell.
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You're absolutely right. He's suddenly hugely in demand and one thing no freelance writer ever does is turn down an assignment if he can avoid it - because you never know when a hot streak will end. Plus he's now able to pitch ideas and get scripts and treatments directly to the Ron Howards and Clint Eastwoods of the world without having to work his way all the way up the studio food chain, which means that some projects that got passed over before might now get a second look.
Add in the fact that most of his current work pays a heck of a lot more than anything B5-related ever would and you can see why he'd be concentrating on that rather than B5, much as he still clearly loves the show. (Look at all the time he did devote to the script books over the past couple of years, including locking himself away long enough to hand-autograph every single copy of the bonus Volume 15 that went out.)
Regards,
Joe
Last edited by Joseph DeMartino : 06-21-2008 at 09:25 AM.
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06-21-2008, 12:05 AM
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#219 of 241
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Re: Babylon 5: The Lost Tales
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While the events of each season are incorporated into the following season, there is no indication that 24 ever had a per-planned multi-season arc. Obviously each one-day, one-season arc is meticulously planned out ...
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Bit off-topic, but regarding 24, I'm pretty sure even the writers now acknowledge that they just make each day up as they go along. (Something I suspected ever since the identity of the mole was revealed at the end of day 1 - go back and check, and you'll find that person is supposed to commit a murder in an earlier episode, but there was no time to do it.) I love 24, it's a great ride, but an example of a carefully-planned story it is not.
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