Babylon 5: Sinclair all the way

[Joe Washington]

How do you think the events of Babylon 5 would have unfold if Sinclair had remained in charge of the station past Season 2 without Sheridan entering the picture? That was the original plan before it had to changed because of Michael O'Hare's sudden departure from the show.

 

[RoJoHen]

I thought the original plan was to still introduce Sheridan, but in a separate role rather than a replacement?

 

[Professor Zoom]

Isn't there an outline out there that lays out JMS's original plan? With Sinclair in it from beginning to end?

 

[Hound of UIster]

A Summary of the original plan - http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=53739

It was actually a ten year plan and would have been mostly entirely about the Shadow War. Once Sinclair was gone the plan began changing organically with the Shadow Threat resolved by Season 4 and the rest of the seasons involving the establishment of the IA and the fall of the Centauri under Drakh influences. What we got was very different from, what actually happened, which just to prove the maxim that no plan ever survives intact.

 

[Silvercrest]

From the other thread:

I always thought the last episode was supposed to be what we saw in "War Without End", only 20 years later, with Sinclair revealing himself to be Valen in the very last scene. That would have been one hell of an ending. No rapid aging, just an older Sinclair.

I had thought the same thing. During the time of "SiL", the 20-years-older Sinclair wouldn't end up like Sheridan — he'd go back in time, pop in during "Babylon Squared", and go back to be Valen. And when Sheridan took over (and lived out those same 20 years), I figured JMS changed to using a real-time Sinclair but had to explain the older look (already filmed for "B2") by throwing in artificial aging.

It seemed logical enough, until I read that thread (or one like it) a few years ago.

 

[Reverend]

^To be fair, death by rapid ageing is what killed that starfury pilot in 'Babylon Squared', so it wasn't a *total* arse-pull. Granted that bloke looked fine on the outside and it was only his insides that aged, but still...

 

[Guy Gardener]

When you wrote arse-pull, I mistaken misread that word for just a couple seconds as "arse-pulse".

I'll buy new glasses after I sit on the ones I am wearing too many times thank you.

 

[Relayer1]

I think the show would have played out pretty much the same.

Substituting one rotten actor for another in a show full of rotten actors wouldn't make a whole lot of difference.

Exceptions to the above made for Andreas Katsulas, Peter Jurasik and Stephen Furst.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Where is Stephen Furst?

Oh look! He played a character called Doctor Franklyn on Scrubs!

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

I think I read somewhere that originally Catherine Sakai was supposed to fill the Anna Sheridan role. She would have died at some point in the second season, and returned to bring Sinclair to Z'ha'dum.

 

[Agent Richard07]

^ I read that somewhere that too.

 

[Hound of UIster]

I think I read somewhere that originally Catherine Sakai was supposed to fill the Anna Sheridan role. She would have died at some point in the second season, and returned to bring Sinclair to Z'ha'dum.

Very different apparently. From the other thread:

-Catherine Sakai is “mind-raped”, and all memory of her relationship with Sinclair is erased, and this crushes Sinclair.

 

[ClayinCA]

I think the show would have played out pretty much the same.

Substituting one rotten actor for another in a show full of rotten actors wouldn't make a whole lot of difference.

Exceptions to the above made for Andreas Katsulas, Peter Jurasik and Stephen Furst.

Wow! Rain on other people's parades much??

 

[Mr Light]

<<A Summary of the original plan >>

Thanks for posting that! I was actually looking for that last year and I couldn't find it. Now I got it copied and saved foreverrr!

 

[Forbin]

One of the things that makes me sad is that the Sakai character was dropped. Julia Nickson's eyes are awesome.

 

[Teelie]

I think the show would have played out pretty much the same.

Substituting one rotten actor for another in a show full of rotten actors wouldn't make a whole lot of difference.

Exceptions to the above made for Andreas Katsulas, Peter Jurasik and Stephen Furst.

Wow! Rain on other people's parades much??

Some people can't help pissing on something they have no reason to piss on.

 

[Relayer1]

I think the show would have played out pretty much the same.

Substituting one rotten actor for another in a show full of rotten actors wouldn't make a whole lot of difference.

Exceptions to the above made for Andreas Katsulas, Peter Jurasik and Stephen Furst.

Wow! Rain on other people's parades much??

Some people can't help pissing on something they have no reason to piss on.

Yeah, sorry for the snarky post. It's just that despite enjoying the show, my abiding memories of it are the staggering amount of work JMS did himself, how much of LOTR I read into it, how much the season 4 cancellation and renewal screwed with the plot arcs, and how bad Michael O'Hare, Bruce Boxleitner, Tracy Scroggins, Claudia Christian, Jeff Conaway, Jerry Doyle and co. were.

I would like to restate, I did like the show. I'd love something like it back on TV now...

 

[Sindatur]

I believe Michael O'Hare was Directed like that, and although it does come off as too stiff and unimpressive early on, (because you don't know the Character), I think he does a perfect job of portraying "A Man with a hole in his mind, with Survivor's Guilt, and a tiny bit of a deathwish/Challenging Death Fetish". The portrayal works perfectly for me on rewatch, after knowing the character, and examining the nuances of the performance.

Bruce Boxleitner? That really surprises me. Although, alot is owed to the Writing, the actor had to carry the weight of the Arc. I never would've thought it ahead of time, or when he first walked onscreen in B5, but, I think Boxleitner, too does a fantastic job. John comes in as a fresh faced jolly guy, and as the weight of the Arc weighs on Sheridan, he changes, becomes far more serious and more mature than 4 years would age you in everyday life. John Sheridan is a complete different person by the time of the Penultimate episode (Sleeping In Light, of course is after a 20 year gap)

Claudia Christian, yea, she's not Meryl Streep, but, I enjoy Ivanova's portrayal, and I think she knocked several of her Dramatic scenes out of the park (Hour of The Wolf, I shoulda Boffed him at least once, Sitting Shiva, Talia's betrayal. Many people think "Hand of God" speech is a failure for her, but, I'm OK with it, personally).

Pat Tallman, again, not a great actress, but, she portrayed Lyta perfectly for me, and JMS decided after he saw her In NotLD Remake that she had telepath Eyes, and created the character specifically for her. (Though, there were a few embarrassing moments for her, IMHO)

I personally think Mira Furlan is an awesome Dramatic Actress, and she has so many awesome performances and Deliveries throughout the Series. I'm always surprised more people don't mention her along with Peter Jurasik and Andreas Katsulas

 

[Relayer1]

I wonder if the budget was to blame for the standard of some of the acting. B5 stretched a dollar a lot further than shows like Trek had to. Were actors salaries a factor ? I'd think so...

 

[Forbin]

No, by all accounts they all loved their jobs, so I don't think salary was a factor. What may have been is that they had some sort of rule about not going into overtime - they always wrapped the same time every day - so there was probably no time for multiple retakes on a scene.

I think Pat and Claudia are better actors than people give them credit for. Yes there were some badly written or silly scenes that they couldn't quite pull off, but both of them have had their moments in the sun.