Our last, best hope for television
I had no sooner got to the end of the rough first draft of my sixth novel (check out my book blog if you want to know more about that) than I thought I should blog more and maybe write a new commentary for this website. But what to write about? Haven’t I covered everything in the quarter-century(!) since I first starting spinning HTML into the web?
Then it began.
On Friday it was announced that Russell T. Davies would be returning as the showrunner for Doctor Who. That was huge news. This is the man who—and this is in no way an exaggeration—saved the venerable and beloved BBC sci-fi/fantasy series from the dustbin of time travel. The long-running show seemed to have met its expiry date when it vanished from the UK airwaves at the end of 1989, notwithstanding an attempt at a transatlantic revival with a movie in 1996. Then, miracle of miracles, in 2005 Davies’s new series landed on our screens, managing to delight dyed-in-the-wool fans and skeptics alike. It was like a reboot and reimagining that somehow still managed to keep continuity with the previous series going all the way back to 1963.
After five years, Davies left to do other things (Wizards vs. Aliens, A Very English Scandal, Years and Years, It’s a Sin), and other capable people took over the TARDIS run. Interest and viewership in the series, however, has waned in recent years, notwithstanding a spike in attention in 2017 when Jodie Whittaker was cast as the first female Doctor. Episode screenings were becoming fewer and farther between (Covid didn’t help), and there was a sense that maybe the old Gallifreyan had run her/his/their course.
Now with the announcement of Davies’s return the fanbase is buzzing again with anticipation and speculation. Will he resurrect the glory days of Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Billie Piper and Catherine Tate? Would he push social boundaries even further in this traditional “family” entertainment, given his track record with groundbreaking series like Queer as Folk, Cucumber, Banana and It’s a Sin? It’s all ahead of us.
That would have been enough excitement for me, but then yesterday (Monday) even bigger news dropped. All the entertainment press began reporting that—excuse me while I take a few breaths—a reboot of the seminal sci-fi series Babylon 5 is in development at the CW channel and that original showrunner/writer J. Michael Straczynski is back at the helm!
This was a complete bombshell because it was so unexpected. Interestingly, the reaction on social media has been strangely divided. Naturally, many fans are ecstatic at the prospect of the show, in whatever shape or form, returning to the airwaves—especially in the capable hands of its creator and guru. Others were wary. Was the CW, known for teen/YA soapy stuff, a good match for thoughtful science fiction? Warner Bros has always owned the rights to B5, and some speculated that the corporate suits had decreed the show would get made and JMS had no choice but to join up—if only to protect his baby as best he could. Some were disappointed that it would be reboot, i.e. a complete reimagining of the series from the beginning, instead of a continuation of the old series.
Fortunately, JMS has always been very communicative with the fanbase, going back to the GEnie online bulletin boards in the last century. Now he is on Facebook, Twitter and, if you want the fullest/earliest scoop (for a price), Patreon. So we don’t have to wonder what he’s thinking. He answers your questions—at least when not bound contractually to keep mum. He seems totally onboard with this new project. He’s thrilled to have a network’s backing with a network’s budget this time. The original series was a low-budget affair that struggled from year to year in syndication. He also says he’s jazzed to retell the story with today’s technical tools and with his maturer storytelling skills.
As for it being a reboot instead of a sequel, he says, “[I]t can’t be done because over half our cast are still stubbornly on the other side of the Rim. How do you telling continuing story of our original Londo without the original Vir? Or G’Kar? How do you tell Sheridan’s story without Delenn? Or the story of B5 without Franklin? Garibaldi? Zack?” His allusions to the passing of the actors Stephen Furst, Andreas Katsulas, Mira Furlan, Richard Biggs, Jerry Doyle and Jeff Conaway really bring home how hard the series’ cast has been hit by the Grim Reaper. So going forward, B5 won’t be like Star Trek where a new series with Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard exists in the same universe with William Shatner’s James T. Kirk. It will be like Battlestar Galactica where one version in 1978 had Commander Adama played by Lorne Greene and another one in 2004 had Admiral Adama played by Edward James Olmos.
A few worried that JMS would be under pressure to make the characters and stories more “politically correct.” Actually, the politics of Babylon 5 is an interesting topic for discussion. In some ways, B5 was ahead of the curve when it comes to social issues. JMS can be quite opinionated on social media, but he has always prioritized storytelling over propaganda in his fiction. One Facebook commenter said it best: “B5 is a great part of my life, thanks for that! And thanks for telling this story still! … I think as a fan I have to believe you, Great Maker! Faith manages.”
Could this week get any better? Well, speaking if the CW, whatever happened to Dark Shadows: Reincarnation, the Dark Shadows revival I wrote about two years ago? Here’s a belated update. It didn’t get picked up by the network, but I read an interview somewhere with Mark B. Perry, the man behind it, and he said he hadn’t given up. To recap, he was going for the Star Trek (as opposed to the Battlestar Galactica) approach to bringing back the series, which suits me just fine. Let’s wish him luck.
If he could just get it done in the next few days, this would definitely be the best week ever.
-S.L., 28 September 2021
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