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Babylon 5 – Some new (behind the scenes) material..

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Posts

  • JacobkoshJacobkosh Gamble a stamp. I can show you how to be a real man!Moderator mod
    For fuck's sake! This cast. I feel terrible for them.

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  • Gabriel_PittGabriel_Pitt (effective against Russian warships) Registered User regular
    Oof, she was only 65 too. I'm not aware of any longstanding health issues she had, she should've had at least a good decade or two ahead of her.

    Time is an old, bald cheater, and we're the suckers who keep on betting on his game.

  • MorganVMorganV Registered User regular
    Oof, she was only 65 too. I'm not aware of any longstanding health issues she had, she should've had at least a good decade or two ahead of her.

    Time is an old, bald cheater, and we're the suckers who keep on betting on his game.

    I mean, what choice do we have though? The alternative is bleak.

  • Kipling217Kipling217 Registered User regular
    Man, what fucking bad news to wake up to. I had decided to finally do my watch through of S5, but it was becoming hard with pretty much every scene containing people dead before their time. There are several scenes where every cast member is gone. Now there will be more.

    I think Bill Mumy and Peter Jurassik are the last cast members who stayed during the entire show, from S1 to S5. I mean there was turn over, but still. Then compare it to Trek, where half the cast of TOS is still kicking and the TNG era is fine, despite being 4 shows with fairly huge casts(and huge recurring in the case of DS9). Only Rene Auberjonois of the later treks has passed.

    65 is to young these days.

    The sky was full of stars, every star an exploding ship. One of ours.
  • daveNYCdaveNYC Why universe hate Waspinator? Registered User regular
    Aron Eisenberg (Nog) went two years ago, but the Trek casts have definitely survived time's ravages better than B5.

    Depressing news. Delenn was the absolute bomb on every level and Furlan was by all accounts a genuinely great person.

    Her delivery of "Why not?" in Severed Dreams was perfect.

    Shut up, Mr. Burton! You were not brought upon this world to get it!
  • MorganVMorganV Registered User regular
    edited January 2021
    daveNYC wrote: »
    Aron Eisenberg (Nog) went two years ago, but the Trek casts have definitely survived time's ravages better than B5.

    Depressing news. Delenn was the absolute bomb on every level and Furlan was by all accounts a genuinely great person.

    Her delivery of "Why not?" in Severed Dreams was perfect.

    Heck, you could say that about a lot of her lines. I'm mostly partial to...
    "Only one human captain has ever survived battle with a Minbari fleet. He is behind me. You are in front of me. If you value your lives, be somewhere else."

    For someone who's not that physically intimidating, I felt it carried a lot of weight.

    EDIT: This was the scene that daveNYC was referring to, I honestly just forgot that that "Why not?" is how the scene started.

    MorganV on
  • BlackDragon480BlackDragon480 Bluster Kerfuffle Master of Windy ImportRegistered User regular
    edited January 2021
    MorganV wrote: »
    daveNYC wrote: »
    Aron Eisenberg (Nog) went two years ago, but the Trek casts have definitely survived time's ravages better than B5.

    Depressing news. Delenn was the absolute bomb on every level and Furlan was by all accounts a genuinely great person.

    Her delivery of "Why not?" in Severed Dreams was perfect.

    Heck, you could say that about a lot of her lines. I'm mostly partial to...
    "Only one human captain has ever survived battle with a Minbari fleet. He is behind me. You are in front of me. If you value your lives, be somewhere else."

    For someone who's not that physically intimidating, I felt it carried a lot of weight.

    IMO its was her carriage and confidence. She always had an inherent dignity in her body language and was able to convey a shitload of nuance and context from the subtleist changes in inflection and cadence of her speech.

    BlackDragon480 on
    No matter where you go...there you are.
    ~ Buckaroo Banzai
  • BogartBogart Streetwise Hercules Registered User, Moderator mod
    She had a less enjoyably showy role than the other two alien ambassadors but turned in an equally fine performance that the show absolutely needed to make everything work.

  • jkylefultonjkylefulton Squid...or Kid? NNID - majpellRegistered User regular
  • Desktop HippieDesktop Hippie Registered User regular
    Dammit. Gutting. So sad to hear we’ve lost her. Her character was a real inspiration to me growing up.

  • MazzyxMazzyx Comedy Gold Registered User regular
    The cast is cursed. :(

    She was an amazing human being.

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  • Kipling217Kipling217 Registered User regular
    The cast isn't cursed per se, its just that a lot of the people cast had health issues that impacted their life span. Jerry Doyle died from long term effects of alcoholism in his youth, Conway straight up from alcohol/drugs. Katsulas from smoking, Biggs from an undiagnosed heart problem and Furst had Diabetes. O'Hare had schizophrenia. That is actually a lot of disease for such a small cast.

    As for Mira Furlan, we can't rule out that Covid-19 impacted her health directly or indirectly. Lot of people are skipping doctors visit so as not to "burden" them, letting health issues that could be treated grow into real problems.


    (Aron Eisenberg was recurring cast, not main cast, but the point is taken. The one from Trek that hit me was Anton Yelchin, way to young),

    The sky was full of stars, every star an exploding ship. One of ours.
  • enc0reenc0re Registered User regular
    One of the few shows that deserves a remake. Not a reboot, just a remake.

    I figure sooner or later a streaming service desperate for ideas will get on that.

  • DracomicronDracomicron Registered User regular
    Mazzyx wrote: »
    Saw this thread reappear and wondered who died this time.

    This is much better news.

    I mean, aren't the only main cast left Bill Mumy, Mira Furlan, Claudia Christian, Jason Carter, Patricia Tallman, and The Box? That's a 50% loss already. I don't know if my heart can handle anyone joining Peter Jurasik, Andreas Katsulas, Richard Biggs, Stephen Furst, Jeff Conway, and Jerry Doyle beyond the Rim.

    I had to open my fucking mouth.

  • daveNYCdaveNYC Why universe hate Waspinator? Registered User regular
    enc0re wrote: »
    One of the few shows that deserves a remake. Not a reboot, just a remake.

    I figure sooner or later a streaming service desperate for ideas will get on that.

    Oooooof. I hope not. Not that B5 was perfect, but a remake is just going to disappoint by telling a story we've already seen with actors that won't measure up to the originals.

    Shut up, Mr. Burton! You were not brought upon this world to get it!
  • see317see317 Registered User regular
    Mazzyx wrote: »
    Saw this thread reappear and wondered who died this time.

    This is much better news.

    I mean, aren't the only main cast left Bill Mumy, Mira Furlan, Claudia Christian, Jason Carter, Patricia Tallman, and The Box? That's a 50% loss already. I don't know if my heart can handle anyone joining Peter Jurasik, Andreas Katsulas, Richard Biggs, Stephen Furst, Jeff Conway, and Jerry Doyle beyond the Rim.

    I had to open my fucking mouth.

    We're all tempting fate just by opening this thread.

  • SnicketysnickSnicketysnick The Greatest Hype Man in WesterosRegistered User regular
    see317 wrote: »
    Mazzyx wrote: »
    Saw this thread reappear and wondered who died this time.

    This is much better news.

    I mean, aren't the only main cast left Bill Mumy, Mira Furlan, Claudia Christian, Jason Carter, Patricia Tallman, and The Box? That's a 50% loss already. I don't know if my heart can handle anyone joining Peter Jurasik, Andreas Katsulas, Richard Biggs, Stephen Furst, Jeff Conway, and Jerry Doyle beyond the Rim.

    I had to open my fucking mouth.

    We're all tempting fate just by opening this thread.

    I made the mistake of pulling down my DVDs last night and watching a couple of episodes, so I'll take some blame as well

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    D3 Steam #TeamTangent STO
  • daveNYCdaveNYC Why universe hate Waspinator? Registered User regular
    Shut up, Mr. Burton! You were not brought upon this world to get it!
  • PolarisPolaris I am powerless against the sky. Registered User regular
    I am really sad about this.

  • DanHibikiDanHibiki Registered User regular
    edited January 2021
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    This thread in a nut shell ...

    and for fuck sakes, someone change the thread title.

    DanHibiki on
  • shrykeshryke Member of the Beast Registered User regular
    Dammit this thread only hits the front page for 1 reason....

  • jkylefultonjkylefulton Squid...or Kid? NNID - majpellRegistered User regular
    enc0re wrote: »
    One of the few shows that deserves a remake. Not a reboot, just a remake.

    I figure sooner or later a streaming service desperate for ideas will get on that.

    Based on comments that JMS has made on twitter, it sounds like Warner Bros is waiting for him to die before they do anything whatsoever with the property.

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  • DanHibikiDanHibiki Registered User regular
    edited January 2021
    enc0re wrote: »
    One of the few shows that deserves a remake. Not a reboot, just a remake.

    I figure sooner or later a streaming service desperate for ideas will get on that.

    Based on comments that JMS has made on twitter, it sounds like Warner Bros is waiting for him to die before they do anything whatsoever with the property.

    After Disco, i'd rather the franchise just be left alone.

    DanHibiki on
  • ZibblsnrtZibblsnrt Registered User regular
    Oof, she was only 65 too. I'm not aware of any longstanding health issues she had, she should've had at least a good decade or two ahead of her.

    It was West Nile of all the stupid things.

    Someone seriously has it in for that show's cast.
    daveNYC wrote: »
    enc0re wrote: »
    One of the few shows that deserves a remake. Not a reboot, just a remake.

    I figure sooner or later a streaming service desperate for ideas will get on that.

    Oooooof. I hope not. Not that B5 was perfect, but a remake is just going to disappoint by telling a story we've already seen with actors that won't measure up to the originals.

    Yeah, agreed. The show had its story and told it; any kind of remake these days would either be redundant or overdose on the grimdark like all remakes seem required to do.

    If people really want to throw a tribute at it they should create a story instead. The whole reason that show had the impact it did was because it was trying new things in new ways, and we need more of that.

  • fightinfilipinofightinfilipino Angry as Hell #BLMRegistered User regular
    Zibblsnrt wrote: »
    Oof, she was only 65 too. I'm not aware of any longstanding health issues she had, she should've had at least a good decade or two ahead of her.

    It was West Nile of all the stupid things.

    Someone seriously has it in for that show's cast.
    daveNYC wrote: »
    enc0re wrote: »
    One of the few shows that deserves a remake. Not a reboot, just a remake.

    I figure sooner or later a streaming service desperate for ideas will get on that.

    Oooooof. I hope not. Not that B5 was perfect, but a remake is just going to disappoint by telling a story we've already seen with actors that won't measure up to the originals.

    Yeah, agreed. The show had its story and told it; any kind of remake these days would either be redundant or overdose on the grimdark like all remakes seem required to do.

    If people really want to throw a tribute at it they should create a story instead. The whole reason that show had the impact it did was because it was trying new things in new ways, and we need more of that.

    B5 was also very much a product of the specific folks who made that show. i cannot imagine anyone else playing Lennier. or Ivanova. or freaking Marcus. B5 was really unique and would really want it to stand alone as it is.

    Mira Furlan was a HUGE part of that uniqueness.

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    steam | Dokkan: 868846562
  • PolarisPolaris I am powerless against the sky. Registered User regular
    I agree with the "no reboot" comments. It's such a shame that WB buried the series, with the planning jms made up and down the timeline it would be been easy to make prequels and sequel series - still is actually!

    I always describe B5 as a flawed masterpiece, but a masterpiece nonetheless. Mira, Andreas, and the rest of the cast were the people who turned the words of jms into something us fans will always remember and, speaking for myself, shaped my life and thinking.

    Mira's delivery in those big moments was always flawless. Many people quote the "why not" speech and it is amazing, but for me it was the proceeding one in the grey council "this council must be broken!", a single take, such emotion and the physical acting. Brilliant.

    But you could highlight almost any of Delenns speeches and I couldn't disagree.

  • Drunken BastardDrunken Bastard Registered User regular
    What I would be kinda ok with would be a remake/remaster of the CGI scenes. They did not age well. If they keep the aesthetic ofc.

  • SmrtnikSmrtnik job boli zub Registered User regular
    Krathoon wrote: »
    You can get the whole thing pretty cheap on dvd.

    About $100 on Amazon looks like

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  • evilbobevilbob RADELAIDERegistered User regular
    If there was a hypothetical reboot/remake, I wonder if the fascist takeover of earthgov stuff would be done better or worse because of recent events.

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  • enc0reenc0re Registered User regular
    evilbob wrote: »
    If there was a hypothetical reboot/remake, I wonder if the fascist takeover of earthgov stuff would be done better or worse because of recent events.

    And they’d be able to space out S4 and S5 properly. So yeah, I’d say two factors that should lead to an improvement.

  • VishNubVishNub Registered User regular
    They could honestly tighten/skip a lot of the monster of the week episodes. I know some people like that stuff, but it doesn’t really fit in what would presumably be a prestige/high budget modern sci-fi series.

  • Ninja Snarl PNinja Snarl P My helmet is my burden. Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered User regular
    evilbob wrote: »
    If there was a hypothetical reboot/remake, I wonder if the fascist takeover of earthgov stuff would be done better or worse because of recent events.

    I watched the series when it was originally on TV and it was something I did with my father. He's far-right and, in a brief discussion with him last year, he tried to trot out Kosh's line about "understanding is a three-edged sword" as an argument that my information on Trump was too one-sided, in the same conversation where he admitted to listening to no news sources except Limbaugh and Fox News. Which means that years ago, we were watching the same show that heavily featured an anti-fascism storyline, discussed it all many times, and somehow I have no fucking clue what he actually took from that story. He really thinks Trump and all his corrupt or ignorant shitheads were the Good Guys.

    So to me, that storyline would be even more chilling now because my own father watched the fucking show with me and came away thinking that Trump's side is the heroic rebels and everything else is misinformation, along with blindly accepting all news and lies from two extremely biased sources. The truth is such the total opposite of that that I can't even begin to come up with a logical framework to support my father's ideas, and I habitually always try to do that so that I can try to understand a POV enough to communicate with somebody about it.

    And I just have nothing other than some people get poisoned by the ideas of fascism and they simply choose not to come back from it. They can't be reasoned out of it because any rational analysis would kill the notion, but it's so tied into their ego that it must be right and anything they choose to think supports it must also be right.

    So I think it would be a far more pointed storyline now than it was in the 90s, as we right now have two big divisions of the population based on one side wishing they could have taken power and the other side being glad the rule of law won out.

  • PolarisPolaris I am powerless against the sky. Registered User regular
    Sorry about your Father, don't forget the full quote is "Understanding is a three-edged sword. Your side, their side, and the truth", and accept "your side" also. Not trying to "fine people on both sides" this, just offering a potential way of planting a seed. This entire thing is so difficult to break through.

    JMS equates Clark to Trump, so the writer of the story has a clear position, another seed to drop if appropriate.

  • jkylefultonjkylefulton Squid...or Kid? NNID - majpellRegistered User regular
    I'd settle for getting the rest of Crusade. Those were fun characters! Tell us what's in the Apocalypse Box!

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  • Ninja Snarl PNinja Snarl P My helmet is my burden. Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered User regular
    Polaris wrote: »
    Sorry about your Father, don't forget the full quote is "Understanding is a three-edged sword. Your side, their side, and the truth", and accept "your side" also. Not trying to "fine people on both sides" this, just offering a potential way of planting a seed. This entire thing is so difficult to break through.

    JMS equates Clark to Trump, so the writer of the story has a clear position, another seed to drop if appropriate.

    Oh, I'm acutely aware of both what the saying means and what my father meant, and conclusions are mutually exclusive. It was painfully apparent that because he had chosen the Trump side that it was the only side that could be right, and everything to the contrary was misinformation. The fact that my father could think Clark was anything but an analog to the likes of Trump is just something I can't logically find a path to, as there is no rational route where Trump's fascist efforts and the MAGA crowd would be the determined good-hearted rebels.

    Which is much of why that same storyline would still work so well now, as even in the original they did a pretty good job of checking off the major bulletpoints of fascism. Control by a determined minority fixated on misinformation, attempting to smear any dissenting opinion as unpatriotic or seditious, crippling and manipulating the government to try and hold power, and so on and so on. It's just so damn obvious that Clark and his crew are the bad guys and their methodology and beliefs are evil stuff, yet people who seem otherwise intelligent still can so badly miss the point.

  • ZibblsnrtZibblsnrt Registered User regular
    Polaris wrote: »
    Sorry about your Father, don't forget the full quote is "Understanding is a three-edged sword. Your side, their side, and the truth", and accept "your side" also. Not trying to "fine people on both sides" this, just offering a potential way of planting a seed. This entire thing is so difficult to break through.

    JMS equates Clark to Trump, so the writer of the story has a clear position, another seed to drop if appropriate.

    Oh, I'm acutely aware of both what the saying means and what my father meant, and conclusions are mutually exclusive. It was painfully apparent that because he had chosen the Trump side that it was the only side that could be right, and everything to the contrary was misinformation. The fact that my father could think Clark was anything but an analog to the likes of Trump is just something I can't logically find a path to, as there is no rational route where Trump's fascist efforts and the MAGA crowd would be the determined good-hearted rebels.

    "The evil emperor is actually the hero because he Gets Shit Done Despite The Rules (and also crushes the xeno)" has gotten weirdly popular in the last decade or two as people got more on board with authoritarianism in general. Given we've got the whole "the Empire did nothing wrong" fandom over in Star Wars land, I can absolutely believe there'd be people in B5 fandom who were unironic Clark fanboys. Or Cartagia fanboys, for that matter.

  • monikermoniker Registered User regular
    The last little while has pretty clearly shown that people aren't very good at critical media literacy about things that are blatantly obvious; let alone anything even a smidge subtle.

  • PolarisPolaris I am powerless against the sky. Registered User regular
    I'd settle for getting the rest of Crusade. Those were fun characters! Tell us what's in the Apocalypse Box!
    I'm glad someone else enjoyed Crusade, everyone I know seems to hate it. Another great ensemble cast.

    Going to spoiler Crusade's story, for no real reason.
    The loose story of overcoming the plague by s2-3, and the show being about them being labelled as renegades for uncovering what Earth was upto with Shadow tech would have been a fun ride. Turned out they were the mysterious ship that blew up Gideons old command. The _very next episode_ was the Signs and Portents-esk episode where they encountered this mysterious ship and hijinks ensue. There's a bunch more information on the b5 fandom wiki if your are interested.
    I recommend the Technomage books (they explain Galans flashbacks and the Technomages), and iirc there were two finished scripts released. The Centauri arc of books was also excellent.

  • BlackDragon480BlackDragon480 Bluster Kerfuffle Master of Windy ImportRegistered User regular
    Got started on a rewatch now that it's hit HBO Max. Like the Apple TV/VUDU version its all 4:3 aspect ratio but a richer color gamut and a lot more detail and sharpness compared to the DVD version I'm used to.

    Also good channel separation on the surround mix for a streaming format.

    No matter where you go...there you are.
    ~ Buckaroo Banzai
  • jkylefultonjkylefulton Squid...or Kid? NNID - majpellRegistered User regular
    Yeah, it looks great.

    Also, the thumbnail for "The Gathering" is a shot from "In the Beginning" (which doesn't appear to be on hbomax as of yet).

    tOkYVT2.jpg
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