# Should JMS (of B5) make a new Star Trek Series? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 17, 2005, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-jms-of-b5-make-a-new-star-trek-series/290606 "2005-02-17T22:11:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jeffh3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/34f0e0/32.png) [@jeffh3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeffh3000)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-jms-of-b5-make-a-new-star-trek-series/290606/1 "2005-02-17T22:11:51Z")
There seem to be a lot of Babylon 5 fans on this board so I thought that this would be a good question. I feel that it is best suited in the Cafe Society Forum due to its TV/pop culture nature, even though it asks a question, as the audience it is intended for may not see it otherwise. Recently JMS (creator/writor/producer of B5)asked the public (via [jmsnews.com](http://jmsnews.com)) to support his interest in pursuing a new star trek series with Bryce Zabel (creator/producer of Dark Skies and head of the Television Academy). It appears to be getting a lot of web publicity. An article about this can be seen [here](http://www.moviehole.net/news/5077.html) as well as other places. This was in response in part to a poll on [scifi.com](http://scifi.com) in which 48% of 18000 polled would be interested in seeing a JMS spin on Trek. So having said this, my questions are 1. would JMS make a trek good series and should they let him do it 2. Will they let him do it? 3. what angle do you think he would take/what would you like to see I am curious to hear what people have to say. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-jms-of-b5-make-a-new-star-trek-series/290606/2 "2005-02-17T22:25:11Z")
Boy, there’s a thought… But I just hope he doesn’t start a Star Trek arc that ends like the Shadow War, with the main character yelling Get out of our galaxy! Geez, that moment just encapsulated everything I hate about Star Trek (well, most of what I hate about Star Trek). ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-jms-of-b5-make-a-new-star-trek-series/290606/3 "2005-02-17T22:35:05Z")
I’d definitely watch it. The powers that be will give him a chance if they think it’s profitable, so maybe it’ll actually happen. As to what direction…hey, there’s a reason he’s a writer and I’m not. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-jms-of-b5-make-a-new-star-trek-series/290606/4 "2005-02-17T22:45:47Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > Uh, no thank you. While I’m sure \*B5 \*was great, I have no interest in having someone from another established series messing with mine, especially when it was in direct competition with one of its spin-offs who he seems to have at least a little bit of contempt for since he says “…none of the spinoffs (with the exception of _The Next Generation_, “because Gene [Roddenberry] was still around to shepherd its creation and execution”) had lived up to the promise of the original” which is utter bullshit. \*DS9 \*was very much on the same level as _TNG_, if not higher, and was much more directly related to \*TOS \*in terms of theme, execution, and portrayal of honest human characters instead of the glurge \*TNG \*was too often fond of. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5848949&postcount=70](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5848949&postcount=70) Let Trek lay fallow for a however many years, maybe a decade or more, and then try it again but with someone that has as few preconceptions about the series as possible which is one of the reasons Trek has sucked so badly since the end of _Deep Space Nine_. Or, failing that, bring back people that really \*\*\*know \*\*\*Trek and have proven themselves. Ronald D. Moore, one of _DS9_’s key players, is also one of the developers for _Battlestar_, the current Sci-Fi crown jewel. Bring him back, along with Behr, Piller, Wolfe, and others. If Straczynski (or however it’s spelled) wants to be a part of that, sure, but this egotistical nonsense that he’s spouting off about he alone can take the franchise back to its roots makes me think very little of what he could do for the series. Or to sum up: fuck no. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-jms-of-b5-make-a-new-star-trek-series/290606/5 "2005-02-17T22:54:11Z")
You know, I’ve never watched _Babylon 5_, but I have a healthy respect for Straczynski’s other work, and (Mudd prepares for a drubbing from _Star Trek_ fans) I think he’s too creative to be yoked to an established canon. Maybe that doesn’t sound right. How’s this: There’s a surrealism and subtle mysticism that permeates everything of his that I’m familiar with. I can’t imagine that married with _Star Trek_, and it would break my heart to see him working to spec on a _Trek_ series-- and I’m sure that the existing fandom would resent the hell out of it if he brought his signature stuff into the _Trek_ universe. No. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-jms-of-b5-make-a-new-star-trek-series/290606/6 "2005-02-17T22:57:11Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5848949&postcount=70](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5848949&postcount=70) > > Let Trek lay fallow for a however many years, maybe a decade or more, and then try it again but with someone that has as few preconceptions about the series as possible which is one of the reasons Trek has sucked so badly since the end of _Deep Space Nine_. > > Or, failing that, bring back people that really \*\*\*know \*\*\*Trek and have proven themselves. Ronald D. Moore, one of _DS9_’s key players, is also one of the developers for _Battlestar_, the current Sci-Fi crown jewel. Bring him back, along with Behr, Piller, Wolfe, and others. If Straczynski (or however it’s spelled) wants to be a part of that, sure, but this egotistical nonsense that he’s spouting off about he alone can take the franchise back to its roots makes me think very little of what he could do for the series. > > Or to sum up: fuck no. I agree that _DS9_ was the last (heck, I’d argue the only) Trek show that didn’t suck. Considering how heavily that show cribbed from Bab 5, maybe JMS has a point about being the only one who can save the franchise. Cripes, he certainly couldn’t do any worse than the last two series, could he? ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-jms-of-b5-make-a-new-star-trek-series/290606/7 "2005-02-17T23:17:18Z")
I liked \*Enterprise \*despite its failings but fully admit it’s because I’m a fan of the series and its mythology. I’m more a Trekkie than a sci-fi fan but I’ve been trying to make it more equal in the recent past and hope to gain equilibrium one of these days. So far as \*B5 \*vs \*DS9 \*goes, I’ve not seen the former so I can’t comment and am withholding judgement until I see a truly non-partisan comparison between the two shows. Every time this discussion comes up, it’s just like the political threads in GD with people taking sides and flinging feces around like rabid chimpanzees. There might be some truth to the idea and I admit that some of the similarities are entirely too coincidental but I don’t believe it’s as bad as what it has been made out to be and have yet to see conclusive evidence to prove it. ---
**Author:** ![jeffh3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/34f0e0/32.png) [@jeffh3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeffh3000)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-jms-of-b5-make-a-new-star-trek-series/290606/8 "2005-02-17T23:21:10Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > Or, failing that, bring back people that really \*\*\*know \*\*\*Trek and have proven themselves. Ronald D. Moore, one of _DS9_’s key players, is also one of the developers for _Battlestar_, the current Sci-Fi crown jewel. Bring him back, along with Behr, Piller, Wolfe, and others. If Straczynski (or however it’s spelled) wants to be a part of that, sure, but this egotistical nonsense that he’s spouting off about he alone can take the franchise back to its roots makes me think very little of what he could do for the series. > > Or to sum up: fuck no. Well apparently one of the claims is that they need to get back to the core of trek, which is why paramount would not want to bring in some of these producers. The solution of waiting 10 years may be the best solution. Although actually one of the things that JMS offers is writers from the classic trek like ellison and fontina participating in writing of the show. Many believe that Harlan Ellison wrote some of the all time best (and certainly most famous)star trek episodes. It isn’t so much that JMS simply thinks that he is better than everybody else, it is just that he does have access to the perspective of the orginal writers that others simply don’t have, plus he shares similar beliefs and understanding in the importance of character plots instead of just effects and technobabble that many current fans have issue with. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-jms-of-b5-make-a-new-star-trek-series/290606/9 "2005-02-17T23:29:44Z")
I love B5, but I don’t think the JMS approach would work well with the trek universe. Furthermore, I think it might even be time to let the Star Trek francise die. Hmm. I think I’ll start a CS thread on that. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-jms-of-b5-make-a-new-star-trek-series/290606/10 "2005-02-17T23:32:03Z")
Ellison wrote only one episode for TOS – _City on the Edge of Forever_ – and it was heavily edited by Roddenberry and his writers and DC Fontana was a part of modern Trek… she had a huge hand in the absolutely abysmal first season. Bringing them back is no guarantee of anything and would just be a further retread, which is what most people are wanting to avoid. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-jms-of-b5-make-a-new-star-trek-series/290606/11 "2005-02-17T23:33:12Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I agree that _DS9_ was the last (heck, I’d argue the only) Trek show that didn’t suck. Considering how heavily that show cribbed from Bab 5, maybe JMS has a point about being the only one who can save the franchise. I’ve heard this claim before. I’ve never seen Babylon 5, so I can’t say if it’s true or not, but if DS9 really did rip off B5, then I say give ol’ Straczynski a shot. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, after all. The best thing about DS9 was that they were willing to toss aside Roddenberry’s ideas about the Federation being a perfect utopia, and give us things like the Maquis and the Changeling witch hunt. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-jms-of-b5-make-a-new-star-trek-series/290606/12 "2005-02-17T23:36:26Z")
I loved Babylon 5, but I wonder if JMS may be a one-hit wonder. B5’s sequel, “Crusade,” was godawful, and “Jeremiah” wasn’t so hot, IMHO. Nevertheless, the prospect of a world without Star Trek saddens me, so I’d like to see Straczynski get a shot at this. ---
**Author:** ![jeffh3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/34f0e0/32.png) [@jeffh3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeffh3000)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2005, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-jms-of-b5-make-a-new-star-trek-series/290606/13 "2005-02-17T23:58:53Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > Ellison wrote only one episode for TOS – _City on the Edge of Forever_ – and it was heavily edited by Roddenberry and his writers and DC Fontana was a part of modern Trek… she had a huge hand in the absolutely abysmal first season. Bringing them back is no guarantee of anything and would just be a further retread, which is what most people are wanting to avoid. Well actually it should be noted that the editing roddenberry did is generally considered to be a bad thing and somewhat of a butcher job. Actually the orginal version won a writers guild award. The only reason that anyone even knows about the editing is because Ellison has been bitching about it for 30 years. That whole issue has been debated for like 30 years and certainly isn’t going to be resolved here. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-jms-of-b5-make-a-new-star-trek-series/290606/14 "2005-02-18T00:03:01Z")
Well, I didn’t like the aired version and from what I’ve read about the orginal, it didn’t sound any better and completely fucked up some of the characterization of the characters so I doubt I would have liked it either so the distinction’s minimal to me. ---
**Author:** ![jeffh3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/34f0e0/32.png) [@jeffh3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeffh3000)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-jms-of-b5-make-a-new-star-trek-series/290606/15 "2005-02-18T00:18:45Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > I liked \*Enterprise \*despite its failings but fully admit it’s because I’m a fan of the series and its mythology. I’m more a Trekkie than a sci-fi fan but I’ve been trying to make it more equal in the recent past and hope to gain equilibrium one of these days. > > So far as \*B5 \*vs \*DS9 \*goes, I’ve not seen the former so I can’t comment and am withholding judgement until I see a truly non-partisan comparison between the two shows. Every time this discussion comes up, it’s just like the political threads in GD with people taking sides and flinging feces around like rabid chimpanzees. There might be some truth to the idea and I admit that some of the similarities are entirely too coincidental but I don’t believe it’s as bad as what it has been made out to be and have yet to see conclusive evidence to prove it. Yeah you are right. I am a true fan of both series and I hate it when people try to compare these 2 shows. They are very different shows and I think that the similarities of DS9 are nothing more than coincidence. I believe that even JMS has stated this. As you say this is one of those things people love to debate about, but will never be answered. ---
**Author:** ![jeffh3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/34f0e0/32.png) [@jeffh3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeffh3000)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-jms-of-b5-make-a-new-star-trek-series/290606/16 "2005-02-18T00:21:26Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > Well, I didn’t like the aired version and from what I’ve read about the orginal, it didn’t sound any better and completely fucked up some of the characterization of the characters so I doubt I would have liked it either so the distinction’s minimal to me. lol, Fair enough. For you I guess it would be between bad or worse if you don’t like it. To you what is the best orginal episode? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-jms-of-b5-make-a-new-star-trek-series/290606/17 "2005-02-18T00:23:17Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#): > > I loved Babylon 5, but I wonder if JMS may be a one-hit wonder. B5’s sequel, “Crusade,” was godawful, and “Jeremiah” wasn’t so hot, IMHO. > > Nevertheless, the prospect of a world without Star Trek saddens me, so I’d like to see Straczynski get a shot at this. Have you checked out any of the work he’s been doing in comic books? _Rising Stars_ was pretty good, and his run on _Spiderman_ was, IMO, superb, although I suspect Spidey purists feel the same way about it that **Aesion** feels about JMS doing Trek. ---
**Author:** ![jeffh3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/34f0e0/32.png) [@jeffh3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeffh3000)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-jms-of-b5-make-a-new-star-trek-series/290606/18 "2005-02-18T00:32:31Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#): > > I loved Babylon 5, but I wonder if JMS may be a one-hit wonder. B5’s sequel, “Crusade,” was godawful, and “Jeremiah” wasn’t so hot, IMHO. > > Nevertheless, the prospect of a world without Star Trek saddens me, so I’d like to see Straczynski get a shot at this. Well crusade was good but never had a chance of succeding trying to live off b5. Jeremiah on the other hand was a brillant show in my opinion. Frankly we probably would be better off letting Trek die for a while and picking it up in ten years as someone suggested. JMS is a good writer , but trek has been screwed up badly and frankly I think that the writers are not the problem, but rather too much feedback from paramount. Let it settle for a while, then try it again ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-jms-of-b5-make-a-new-star-trek-series/290606/19 "2005-02-18T00:35:17Z")
> [@jeffh3000](#): > > lol, Fair enough. For you I guess it would be between bad or worse if you don’t like it. > > To you what is the best orginal episode? I’m not really a fan of the Original Series and am more of a modern Trekkie. If movies count, my favorites are _The Undiscovered Country_, _The Wrath of Khan_, and _The Voyage Home,_ in that order. The tension in the first two makes for compelling drama and they weren’t quite as hamfisted in execution as the original episodes. If I had to pick an episode though, it would be _The Corbomite Maneuver_. In case you’re curious, my preferences run DS9 \> TNG \> ENT and TOS Movies \> TNG Movies \> VGR and TOS.