J. Michael Straczynski’s ‘Babylon 5′ Ruined Sci-Fi
J. Michael Straczynski’s Babylon 5 has led the modern sci-fi series into the realms of being too complicated, confusing for newcomers and an inconvenience to watch, if you are to believe Jonathon Wright of The Guardian.
Whilst seemingly whining about the fact that the upcoming Torchwood: Children of Earth is a five-part story arc, Wright managed to weave in a reference to Babylon 5, laying blame at the feet of B5 creator J. Michael Straczynski for, believe it or not, leading the charge that has made any sci-fi series with a story arc potentially worth boycotting.
From The Guardian:
Personally, I blame J Michael Straczynski. Back in the early 1990s, Straczynski, or JMS as fans know him, created Babylon 5. When it was first shown on Channel 4, it looked like a science-fiction series about a space station. The CGI was a bit shonky, but it passed the time.
Inexorably, though, it became clear that JMS, a control freak who wrote 92 of the show’s 110 episodes himself, had an overarching vision. It involved a portentous brew of big themes – politics, destiny, war, peace, love. If you tried to start watching Babylon 5 with series three, you were left hopelessly confused.
It’s not just that story arcs are confusing for newcomers. Following the Babylon 5 template, they inevitably become sluggish and slow, weighed down by the baggage of past events.
To be honest, I’m not sure if Wright sincerely dislikes story arcs or if his article is actually a form of tongue in cheek sarcasm. I imagine, from some of his other comments, that his view is a mixture of both.
I’d love to say I’ll be boycotting the [Torchwood: Children of Earth], but as you’ve probably guessed by now, I’d be fibbing. Still, I want to put down a marker: the next time a new science-fiction series comes along, I’m bailing out at the first hint of a story arc. Except (and you’d guess producers know this too) it’ll be too late by then – I’ll be hooked.
Whether his article is meant to be serious or not, I have only one comment of my own:
Three cheers for J. Michael Straczynski.
Source: The Guardian via io9
June 16th, 2009 at 7:05 am
God forbid we should have a show that tells an over-arching story, engages us, makes us think, and pulls us into the ongoing storyline. Let’s just have shows that have a bunch of one-off, throwaway episodes! While I agree that some shows go to far with story arcs (mostly the ones with nothing to say), I still think it is a valid story-telling device in the right hands (i.e., Lost, Supernatural). Stand alone episodes can work as well, that’s how the original Star Trek succeeded. Ultimately it just comes down to the vision of the creative team behind the series.
June 16th, 2009 at 7:17 am
I actually wish more shows had story arcs that lasted… I’m tired of all of the shows with stand alone filler episodes that end up being useless to the overall story and in some cases do more damage to the characters than good. By this I mean the more comical episodes that make everyone look stupid and obnoxious. Writers really need to pay more attention to where they want their story lines to lead or where they want their characters to end up at the end of the shows run. If they’re contently changing their minds about what the story should be or who their characters are than they’ve failed.
June 16th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Thank you JMS for setting the bar and showing it’s possible to have good series instead of all reality all the time.
For another good, intelligent, long arc show give a look to Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles, it never failed to surprise me.
June 16th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
There’s two schools of thought here.
One, people with low attention spans and even lower intellects who are looking for easy to watch brain fart material that they don’t have to try and understand.
Two, people looking to invest themselves in a depth of creativity and who appreciate intelligent, thoughtfully communicated concepts.
There are already plenty of shows for the first group, like American Idol, Big Brother, Monthly Moron Makeover, Retarded Sister and so on.
There are only a handful of shows for the second group.
The first group should leave the second group alone, since the second group gladly leaves the first group alone.
July 12th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
“Babylon 5 Ruined Sci-Fi”? Hmm. Guess it is much harder to pass off Edward Wood wannabes such as Irwin Allen or Glen Larson as Speculative Fiction since Mr. Straczynski brought B5 into the fray.
A drama with emotional depth & thematic drive, which is attractively thought-provoking AND respectful of the given genre. Guess it’s not Lorenzo Semple, is it?
“Ruined Sci-Fi”? Hope so. On the other hand, BABYLON 5 has proven to be among the best things to happen to televised SF ever.
Three cheers for J. Michael Straczynski? Not nearly enough.