This above all other reasons. That particular lightning is not going to strike twice, and attempts to call it down will only end with us singed, soaked to the skin, and holding the smoldering remnants of a lightning rod.
A reboot is not the way to go. Maybe a CGI touchup and remastering (the quality on the DVDs is pretty sad) of the series in conjunction with a new series that involves only a few members of the original cast, and that mostly as guest stars. The central arc could echo Crusade, searching for a countermeasure to the Drakh plague, with the complication that the Excalibur had vanished with all hands after providing a means of delaying the plague, buying time for a better coordinated effort. Earth is alive years later, but still quarantined and living under the threat of the plague evolving to bypass the countermeasure. The new effort–perhaps under the guidance of Ivanova–involves an explorer vessel, supported by scout ships (for bottle episodes) and diplomatic efforts. The eventual solution–inevitably found just as the plague becomes active, perhaps requiring a galaxy-spanning jump relay race–wipes out the plague…at the cost of also wiping out virtually all advanced technology on Earth, precipitating the plunge into the Dark Age seen in Deconstruction.
The secondary arc would be the redemption of the Centauri, involving a much older Vir who has found a way to manipulate his Keeper and, eventually, to use it to neutralize the others. (Current canon indicates that the Centauri had not advanced to First One-like status by the end-period of Deconstruction, but this would at least leave the feeling that there was some hope for them.)
I don’t think we know what the main arc of Crusade was to be; JMS said the plague cure would be found in the 2nd season, after the groundwork for the real arc was laid.
It’s possible another continuation from this point would work, but as not one single post-season 4 effort has truly measured up, I’d just as soon see it all stay in the box.
If someone came along with a lot of money to throw at a series extension, I’d vote for a completion of Carnivale first.
I could be sold on a reboot. I did a complete series rewatch with a friend of mine recently and…well, it didn’t hold up as well as I’d hoped. I’d like to see the concept redone generally, but not as a complete retread, maybe not even with all of the same characters.
I’m not that enthused about more on-going adventures the B5-verse, but I wouldn’t mind a new series set in the 3262 era of “Deconstruction of Falling Stars”, with humanity rediscovering its heritage (maybe with some help from the Rangers). Or possibly a prequel set during the Earth-Minbari war.
It isn’t, as far as I know–but if he had found a way to beat it, we wouldn’t know he had one until he was ready to act on it. I threw it in because it would give Vir opportunities to be awesome (in his Vir way). I’ll admit to being fuzzy enough on the timeline to be unsure whether there would have been an opportunity to plant one on him after he became Emperor, though, and there was no indication he had one before that. It’s conceivable, though.
It’s not canon at all. And JMS’s own description indicates he never had a Keeper.
16 or 17 years after the end of Season 5, Sheridan and Delenn’s son David is Keepered on his 16th birthday and manipulated to go to Centauri Prime. Sheridan and Delenn go after him and manage to save him but are captured in the process, which is why they are on Centauri Prime in the future shown in “War Without End”.
In the mean time, Vir has been working on the good side and against the Drakh. He manages to hit their primary base on Centauri Prime, forcing them to abandon the planet but not before they retaliate by setting off a bunch of thermonuclear devices, which is why the planet looks devastated in the future in “War Without End”. He himself never has a keeper and Sheridan backs him as the next emperor and offers support through the Interstellar Alliance.
ETA: Of course, if you’re rebooting or setting up a sequel series, there’s nothing stopping you from changing the future timeline somewhat to allow for a Centauri redemption arc after Londo dies.
As for the deep future, here’s what JMS said about if/how the other non-human races reach First One-like status:
[QUOTE=JMS]
The Minbari eventually make it; the Narn and Centauri do not. They don’t die out, they just don’t hit a state of First One-ishness, which is darn close to immortality (barring violence).
[/quote]
I love B5 but at this point I’d rather it was left as it is. The last set of stories JMS tried (The Lost Tales) were average at best. If they were going to revisit the Universe I’d rather see the early days of the Earth Allaince - say, the Dilgar War or even expand and see more of the first Centauri invasion/occupation of Narn.
Yes, but it’s still a good setting for a potential ongoing with a natural wrap point, and one that could be done either without bringing in any of the characters from the original series, or with the old roles recast given how young they’d need the actors to be.