Re: Babylon 5 pilot in original edit on thewb.com

Adam H. Kerman wrote:
Ian J. Ball <ijball-NO_SPAM@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Micky DuPree <MDuPree@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Maybe I'm the only one, but I'm very understanding of the fact
that TV producers face enormous challenges just getting something
on the air. Saying, "I meant to do it this way all along," seems
less about protecting an actor (or even the studio, who I'd be
more likely to blame), and more about protecting the meta-myth of
the singular five- year arc that was completely planned out from
the beginning. I thought the idea of building "trap doors" under
each character as a contingency plan was one of his more brilliant
strategies for coping with the vagaries of producing series
television, and I'd have preferred that he just admit that he had
to resort to a trap door a little earlier than he had expected.
Despite preferring Sinclair to Sheridan, I would have been more
sympathetic to JMS's desire to retcon the pilot if he had been
honest about the fact that he had done so.

He's not allowed to be honest. Anyway, it sounded like he was
taking the heat to protect his studio masters.

If you can't be honest, you should just say nothing. You shouldn't
lie.

What part of being a television producer don't the two of you get?

Lead actor gets fired. He cannot just say nothing. They come up with
a lie that doesn't, on its face, implicate any of the parties
involved but is obviously a lie. That's as close to the truth in
Hollywood as you can get.

It's his idea but it's not his studio. He doesn't have the final say.


Best he can do is resist interference as much as possible, then write
characters that send up his studio bosses, who won't notice.

Like he did in "Crusade" ("War Zone" and "Appearances and Other
Deceits").

--
Mac Breck (KoshN)
-------------------------------
"Babylon 5: Crusade" (1999) - "War Zone"
Galen (to Gideon): "I've been penalized before for helping other
people. I've been trying to decide whether or not I should risk it
again."


.

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