Straczynski Wants To Reboot Trek!!!

[T'lara]

Ok I saw this on Sci Fi Channel's website. This looks interesting true or not this looks really neat to have fun speculating and such.

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire2005/i...ory=0&id=30385

Straczynski Wants To Reboot Trek

Inspired by a recent SCI FI Wire poll, Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski posted a message to a newsgroup urging fans to write to Paramount, owner of the rights to the Star Trek franchise, in support of a new Trek series that he and Bryce Zabel (Dark Skies) developed last year.

Although the studio originally passed on the treatment due to "political considerations," Straczynski feels that they might reconsider if they knew that fans were eager for such an idea. "I'm taking the unusual step of going right to the source ... right to you guys," Straczynski said in the message. "Fueled in part by a number of recent articles and polls, including one at www.scifi.com/scifiwire in which nearly 18,000 fans voted their preference for a new Trek series, and 48 percent of that figure called for a [J. Michael Straczynski] take on Trek."

Straczynski said that he and Zabel share an affection for the original Star Trek series, and a disappointment in the later iterations of the series. Together, they created a new treatment and a five-year story arc with the intention of returning to the roots of the world created by Gene Roddenberry. "If you want to see a new Trek series that's true to Gene's original creation, helmed by myself and Bryce, with challenging stories, contemporary themes, solid extrapolation, and the infusion of some of our best and brightest SF prose writers, then you need to let the folks at Paramount know that. If the 48 percent of the 18,000 folks who voted at SciFi.com sent those sentiments to Paramount, there'd be a new series in the works tomorrow," Straczynski said.

Straczynski added that he felt that the current stewards of the series have been too cautious in their stories, and the franchise has suffered as a result. "Over time, Trek was treated like a Porsche that's kept in the garage all the time, for fear of scratching the finish," Straczynski said. "The stories were, for the most part, safe, more about technology than what William Faulkner described as 'the human heart in conflict with itself.' Yes, there were always exceptions, but in general that trend became more and more apparent with the passage of years. Which was why so often I came down on the later stories, which I did openly, because I didn't feel they lined up with what Trek was created to be. I don't apologize for it, because that was what I felt as a fan of Trek. That's why I had [Roddenberry's widow Majel Barrett] appear on B5, to send a message that I believe in what Gene created."

As I said interesting. I am all for it, but hey I love Babylon 5 and all of his creations.

[JALU3]

I enjoyed B5 back in its hayday . . . but that doesn't mean that I don't take this proposal with a bit of concern.

Straczynski said that he and Zabel share an affection for the original Star Trek series, and a disappointment in the later iterations of the series.

This is what concerns me . . . will he honor the stories, and characters in the series other then TOS? If not, what'll that do to the Franchise? TNG & DS9 IMHO are two of the three strongest series created in the genra with superior stories and storie archs, and character development then any of the other series.

But that doesn't mean that he isn't a viable option. His series, for its time, was fresh, original, and full of life. Although it got kinda wierd there during the last seasons, IMHO, overall it provided rich scifi and stories from the get go.

I shall await patiently to see the outcome.

[PGoodman13]

Personally, avid a Babylon 5 fan that I am, I'd rather he not do this. It's not that I don't think he'd make a good show (though I have some concerns; he's not universally excellent, in spite of what a lot of his fans would have you believe), but I think that he's had enough of an influence on SF with B5, and I don't think he needs to try to mold all SF in his image.

This is not to say that someone shouldn't do a new Trek series...I just would rather it be someone other than JMS.

[T'lara]

Personally, avid a Babylon 5 fan that I am, I'd rather he not do this. It's not that I don't think he'd make a good show (though I have some concerns; he's not universally excellent, in spite of what a lot of his fans would have you believe), but I think that he's had enough of an influence on SF with B5, and I don't think he needs to try to mold all SF in his image.

This is not to say that someone shouldn't do a new Trek series...I just would rather it be someone other than JMS.

Yeah, you are right, JMS is not always great. Jerimiah was Ok on Showtime. He even wrote some Walker, Texas Ranger episodes and well I know those episodes were terrible. I saw some of them. My dad loved that show though.

His comic book work like Rising Stars and Spider-Man have been really good. But let's look at his strength big space sci fi. We need a proven winner and someone that can look at Trek in a Traditional and New way not complete rewrite. He does not say if it is all of the Trek shows just those done lately. (speculation)It could be every series from Star Trek: Deep Space 9, Star Trek: Voyager and Enterprise. Keep in mind he did toss Babylon 5 as a possible Trek show to Rick Berman and Paramount a few years before either Babylon 5 or Star Trek: Deep Space 9 were on the air. He has all but claimed Berman got the idea of Star Trek: Deep Space 9 from his Babylon 5 proposal. So JMS would be a little one sided on that. Still that can be either a good or a bad thing for JMS too.

You did bring up another good point then would JMS be creating sci fi in his own image?
If he did take over Star Trek he would be in charge of both Babylon 5 and Star Trek. Since not much of Babylon 5 or any other franchise he is behind has been really big for a long time. I am a Babylon 5 fan but we have not seen much for awhile on the show. Could he be molding all of Sci Fi? Well, he is not behind Stargate or Star Wars but having both Babylon 5 and Star Trek at his control would make him a sci fi powerhouse. Does he deserve it? I say yes, but you said you think there should be another series maybe not from him.

I ask who do you have in mind to create a new series. My interest is peaked. My call if not JMS why not bring in Ira Behr or Robert Hewitt Wolfe or both? Bring in some of the better more established Star Trek writers from the past like those two. Maybe Sci Fi writers that have a good background to so something like Trek or producers. Nicolas Meyer may not be a bad choice either or Leonard Nimoy with him.

I have always thought oh Peter David would be the ultimate choice, but his New Frontier has both been both a hit and a miss completely lost on this new book. Still get David with someone creative and does good sci fi. He has worked with JMS before.

So far we have not seen much of Babylon 5 franchise since Babylon Crusade. This would be a concern could he bring back the fan base or bring in a new and stronger one? People feel pretty disinfranchised by Trek because of Berman's comments blaiming the fans for he and Braga's failures. Anyone that takes control of Trek is going to have that stigma to beat. Can JMS bring the fans back? Can anyone bring the fanbase back? You have me wondering now. JMS may not be the man for the job.

[REG]

I'm still skeptical about JMS. I prefer Manny Coto and Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens.

[Ezri's Toy]

I agree with the sentiment here that not all of JMS writing is gold. Babylon 5 was fantastic. His Spider-Man comics are usually very good. However, Crusade was only OK. (And since Crusade was essentially Star Trek in the Babylon 5 universe, you can get a general idea how he might handle Trek. Then again, JMS didn't write as much of Crusade as he did B5.)

However, I also agree with JMS's assertion that Star Trek had become unwilling to take risks in fear of tarnishing Star Trek's pedigree. (Instead, Star Trek's pedigree was tarnished by frequently being mediocre in its writing.)

The original Star Trek was a very political show and tackled topics of human rights and social issues on a regular basis. This aspect diminished as the other sequel series progressed.

There's an eight-year gap between Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's January 1995 episodes "Past Tense Pts 1 & 2," commenting on the issue of the homeless population, and Enterprise's April 2003 episode "Judgement," commenting on the legitimacy of the imprisonment of the Guantanamo Bay detainees. This shows how little the producers care about Star Trek's tackling of serious socio-political issues. JMS, however, would tackle them, as he did so regularly on Babylon 5.

So, should Manny Coto and the Reeves-Stevenses not get the opportunity to continue in some capacity or other, I think JMS's track record is such that he at least merits being given a chance.

[BouncyCaitian]

JMS's tak on it could be interesting

[Squick]

I must admit I haven't seen a single episode of Babylon 5, but I'm an avid fan of JMS's comic work. Midnight Nation and Supreme Power (thus far) are absolutely brilliant. I like how his mind works and he truly understands the concept of unfolding a story. I would love to see his take on Trek. He claims to want to shake things up and be daring -- I think Trek needs this desperately. Conservative only goes so far -- one has to really push the envelope to make a mark and capture an audience.

[REG]

So, should Manny Coto and the Reeves-Stevenses not get the opportunity to continue in some capacity or other, I think JMS's track record is such that he at least merits being given a chance.

Or JMS should aside any ego and look at Manny, Judith, & Garfield's works on this season's Enterprise to consider hiring them as part of his writing/producing staff.

[BouncyCaitian]

hmm...not a bad idea

[Tobian]

reposting what I wrote at the FBR to this..

Hmm.. yes I've read about his possibly taking over of Trek, and then falling flat before.. It's an open admission, but then I have to look suspiciously as he implies we have to trust him on this.. there's no actual mention of what it's all about! (though I can understand why)

I just hope if he gets it they don't wear uniforms as tacky as they have on babylon 5 Very Happy

I fear that much like the save enterprise campaign, or the excelsior campaign, this won't get very far.. sadly.. but you never know?!

adding to that..

I'm just not sure about him. babylon 5 had it's very great moments, but then when I think back, I was just as guilty as everyone else at going 'Oooh look at the eye candy' babylon 5 to me was appealing because it looked so nice, but so many of the characters were so gut wrenchingly cheesy I am not sure i could enjoy it the same as I did back then. In many ways B5 was an hommage to TOS, but not neccessarily the best parts.

[BouncyCaitian]

"Take the Cheeze to sickbay. There's something wrong with it."

[T'lara]

Or JMS should aside any ego and look at Manny, Judith, & Garfield's works on this season's Enterprise to consider hiring them as part of his writing/producing staff.

JMS has used other writers even in Babylon 5 such people as Peter David, Harlan Ellison (City On Edge of Forever Fame), Neil Gaiman, etc. Even if he has an ego he does reckognize talent. He is called God for the same reason Gene Roddenberry was called the Fuher. Both were control freaks but like Gene, he surrounded himself with talent, but JMS will most likely take more control in the writting of the show than Gene ever would.

We are all talking about JMS we forgot that he has a co-writer/creator is Bryce Zabel of Dark Skies fame. Was not Dark Skies a failure? He also wrote Mortal Combat: Annihilation not a good track record, but he was involved with Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and M.A.N.T.I.S that can be either good or bad depending if you liked these series.

So let's look at both of them on IMDB there names and links below:

J. Michael Straczynski
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0833089/

Bryce Zabel
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0007233/

[Sho-sa Kurita]

I'm still skeptical about JMS. I prefer Manny Coto and Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens.

Gotta agree with REG on this one. B5 never really caught me, but Coto and Co. are just kicking butt. In a Trek reboot, I think Coto should be given a shot of his own. Although a pairing of Coto and Michael Piller would probably be good too.

[Doug Burke]

Both were control freaks but like Gene, he surrounded himself with talent, but JMS will most likely take more control in the writting of the show than Gene ever would.

Um, have you read any of the "behind the scenes" books about Trek? All of the ones I read (Both of Shatner's "Memories" books, "Beyond Uhura" and Justman & Solow's "Inside Star Trek") have been unanimous in pointing out just how controlling Roddenberry really was when it came to scripts for TOS. Somehow I doubt JMS could be more controlling without writing them all himself...