Interview mit JMS
Interview mit Joseph Michael Straczynski von Ende 2001 über die B5-DVDs
Interview erschienen bei IGN
| IGN: | How much involvement did you have with this DVD release? |
| JMS: | None, really. I did work with Warner Brothers, recreating our two-hour, original pilot. Oddly enough, we had to work very closely trying to find parts of the two hours for the DVD, because apparently what had happened was that the original masters got lost and we had to reassemble it. Parts of the negatives, that were held in storage, had been eaten by rats. So we had people go in there and put it back together. |
| But as far as the actual making of the DVD, beyond approving the artwork for the cover, I wasn't particularly involved. | |
| IGN: | This was 'The Gathering' that was partially eaten by rats? Wow, that's not too good. When is the rest of the series coming out on DVD? That's pretty much the main question that's on everyone's mind. |
| JMS: | My indication is that the decision has to be made on the Warner Brothers side. But I've heard sub rosa from Warner that (depending on) the sales (of this disc), they're probably at least considering releasing the first season on DVD. But obviously I can't speak for Warner. |
| IGN: | Would you be available to do commentaries and so on, if they were released? |
| JMS: | I will do commentaries, I will do handstands, I will do parties. Babylon 5 for me was not just a show but (it was as if) we were on a mission from God. I still believe -- profoundly -- in the quality of that show, and I'm trying to stay (at that level). There's a lot of cool stuff that I wasn't thinking of at the time that (could be mentioned) in the commentary. So yeah, I'd try to be available, I'd try to get cast members and other members of the production crew on it as well. |
| IGN: | Have you talked to any of the cast members about their availability? |
| JMS: | No, but in general conversations with them I know they'd be happy to do it. |
| IGN: | What do you think fans of the show can do or the online community can do to help get the DVDs made? |
| JMS: | Every studio is more inclined to look at where the actual dollars are. Really, how the two-hour movies do is probably emblematic of how the series will do. The odd thing is that science fiction fans are very loyal to their programs, and studios have gotten used to the notion that a certain percentage of fans will always write in and support any show. So in some ways that coin has been devalued over time. What really I think matters to any studio is, are enough people willing to pony up at retail to make this worth the investment. |
| IGN: | So the most important thing is strong sales for The Gathering/The Beginning disc? |
| JMS: | I would say so, yes. |
| IGN: | How's the Rangers project going? |
| JMS: | It's going very well. It's going on the air January 19th on the Sci-Fi Channel. It's a lot of fun, good characters, good actors. |
| IGN: | Is there a chance of this becoming a regular TV series? |
| JMS: | Well certainly Sci-Fi Channel has always looked at it as the pilot for a series. If the numbers are there, I think that they'll pick that up. |
| IGN: | Would you say that you have more creative freedom over there then you did over at TNT with Crusade? |
| JMS: | Oh it's much better. It's nice to work with people that understand what science fiction is, and are carbon-based lifeforms. There are some studio executives who (think) that Auschwitz is a health spa. The great thing is that Sci-Fi Channel really understands the form, and give us a great deal of latitude in how we deal with it. |
| IGN: | Do you think the rebroadcast of Babylon 5 in widescreen format on their network this year has helped revive interest in the program? |
| JMS: | Well certainly it's had a great impact. The reality is, though, that we've been on the air constantly since 1993, about eight years now, and the show is still in the top ten, or thereabouts, on the Sci-Fi Channel. It just runs and runs and runs. So I think that show has legs. |
| IGN: | Do you think you'll ever get around to telling the story of The Telepath War? |
| JMS: | All things in due time. That story is a big part of the Babylon 5 universe and eventually it will get told ... (maybe) as a novel (or) a television movie. Eventually that will get told. |
| IGN: | How's the comic thing going? |
| JMS: | It's going very well. I'm doing Spider-Man for Marvel right now and it's moved from a top ten to a top three or four book, and I think Marvel's very happy with that. I also have the Top Cow titles, a new issue comes out tomorrow, so it's been a great deal of fun. I get to play with my own pocket universe (in the Top Cow titles, Midnight Nation and Rising Stars) on the one hand, and I get to play with something as seminal and iconic as Spider-Man on the other, so it's a great deal of range and room (for me) to have unmitigated fun. |
| IGN: | Do you have any new comic projects in the works, with Marvel or with Top Cow? |
| JMS: | Nothing I can talk about at this time. There's a project in design and development with the Sci-Fi Channel called Polaris, which I can't talk about the content of yet. |
| IGN: | What would you say is easier for you to write, comics or television? |
| JMS: | It's all equally hard and it's all equally easy. It's all hard because whatever I write, it has to be better than the last piece I've written. So it's never easy in that regard. |
