The last of the Babylon stations

Interesting post from jms about the future of Babylon 5 – or lack of it. Interesting because I think he’s now at a point that other people reached some time ago, the point where:

“B5 as a five year story stands beautifully on its own. If anything else is to be continued from that story, it should be something that adds to the legacy of B5, rather than subtracts from it.

As well intentioned as Rangers and TLT were, as enticing as it was to return to those familiar waters, in the end I think they did more to subtract from the legacy than add to it. I don’t regret having made them, because I needed to go through that to get to the point where I am now psychologically, but from where I sit now, I wouldn’t make them again.”

This is unusually honest and self-critical stuff from a tireless self-promoter like jms, and he’s clearly in a strong period in his film career right now so he’s only going to go back to the show if it’s genuinely warranted. My own review of The Lost Tales was somewhat mixed to say the least, and I tend to agree that this kind of half-hearted continuation detracts from the show’s reputation. Every attempt to continue the show past its final episode, from River of Souls onwards, has done just that. Even A Call to Arms and those parts of Crusade which are okay feel ultimately unnecessary.

I certainly won’t be upset if this is the last we ever see from the series, and from the sound of it neither will its creator. He goes on to say:

“The only thing I would be interested in doing regarding Babylon 5 from this point on is a full-featured, big-budget feature film.

It’s that or nothing.

And if it’s nothing, I’m totally cool with that because the original story stands on its own just fine.”