B5 question for naraht

[DarkAngel]

Naraht,
The original commander of Babylon 5 was named Sinclair, right? Why was he replaced? Did he quit the show or was he fired? I saw part of a B5 episode when flipping channels and the original commander was in it. That's kind of had me wondering why he eventually left. Was it a good move for the series?

[Mr. Obsession]

Well I'm not naraht...

But my understanding is that the actor who played Sinclair was removed because the people in charge of the Syndicated block that B5 originally ran under, thought the actor and the character he played wasn't charismatic enough for the lead. Sad thing is, this is the direction JMS was moving the character towards. Anyway, the suits insisted so JMS replaced the actor and character with one that was closer to what the suits wanted, shuffled some things around plot wise, and the story went on.

But would the story have been better if Sinclair had stayed? Who knows, it would have at least been interesting. But I liked the way things turned out.

[DarkAngel]

Originally posted by Mr. Obsession
But my understanding is that the actor who played Sinclair was removed because the people in charge of the Syndicated block that B5 originally ran under, thought the actor and the character he played wasn't charismatic enough for the lead.

I see. And when did the mythology or "big picture" episodes begin? Did JMS start the threads right from the beginning?

[Mr. Obsession]

Basically from the beginning JMS had the main story, as well as a good number of the minor plots, worked out. It's just that over time he had to change things: the main character (which a lot of fans believe ultimately changed the end of the series), the comings and goings of actors, executive decisions, trying to keep a home for the series, and condensing the planned season 5 into the rest of season 4 because at that point it looked like B5 wouldn't get picked up for the fifth season and JMS wanted to finish the story.

[Naraht]

Actually, the entire 5 year block was planned out in advance, he was always scheduled to leave after the 1st season...

OK, now for spoiler time..

Sinclair left the station after the 1st year of the show, to goto Minbar to become an ambasador. There he became the leader of the Rangers. He eventually returned in the War Without End "MiniSaga" where we learn he's really Valen, the Minbari not of Minbar, who led the Minbari to victory over the shadows, and brought them a new way of life.

I recomend checking out the "Lurkers Guide To Babylon 5" which has awesome episode synopsis, plus for every episode, they have a JMS Speaks section, where JMS answers questions (I believe these are pulled from the alt.fan.babylon5.moderated newsgroup, (might be off on the name of the group...)

It's very interesting on JMS's take on things like fan reaction...

[Mr. Obsession]

Originally posted by naraht
Actually, the entire 5 year block was planned out in advance, he was always scheduled to leave after the 1st season...

OK, now for spoiler time..

Sinclair left the station after the 1st year of the show, to goto Minbar to become an ambasador. There he became the leader of the Rangers. He eventually returned in the War Without End "MiniSaga" where we learn he's really Valen, the Minbari not of Minbar, who led the Minbari to victory over the shadows, and brought them a new way of life.

I recomend checking out the "Lurkers Guide To Babylon 5" which has awesome episode synopsis, plus for every episode, they have a JMS Speaks section, where JMS answers questions (I believe these are pulled from the alt.fan.babylon5.moderated newsgroup, (might be off on the name of the group...)

It's very interesting on JMS's take on things like fan reaction... I don't know, my understanding is that what you posted was the "official" story and what I posted was the "unofficial" story.

And now we enter spoiler mode:
The way I've heard it Sinclare was to lead B5 through both the Shadow War and the Earth Civil War (which was suppose to end before the Shadow War. Then in the last episode(s) it was to be revealed that Sinclare was indeed Valen and he would then travel to the sector where B4 disappeared, stabilize it and take it back in time to fight the previous Shadow War utilizing the knowledge and tactics for fighting the Shadows that he had leaned over the last 5 years.

But like I said in a previous post, it doesn’t really matter which way B5 was originally intended to go. I like the way it ended just fine, despite the condensing of the originally planned fourth and fifth seasons (and I do know that happened). What can I say...

... that human from the far future in the encounter suit looked pretty damn cool. :D

[Naraht]

Well, going back over the guides for the season one finale (http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/022.html) and the season two opening (http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/023.html) and, I was wrong, it looks like JMS did @ 1st intend for Sinclair to stay on longer than he did....BUT, he lists that the story was suffering due to his staying, and lists that as to why he made the change. Either way, the lurker's guide is great, and has really made the show for me. You get the low down, and reading through you really get a feel for how epic this show was.

[Mr. Obsession]

So what's the reason that JMS gives for Sinclare leaving prematurely?

[Naraht]

Originally posted by Mr. Obsession
So what's the reason that JMS gives for Sinclare leaving prematurely?

That he got writen out because the plots were revolving around him, and JMS didn't like how it was going...as I pointed out in my last post. Read the JMS Speaks section of the 2nd link I posted...

[Mr. Obsession]

Originally posted by naraht
...as I pointed out in my last post. Read the JMS Speaks section of the 2nd link I posted... Ugh. So many words...




I'll do it later. :p

[Terminatah]

Hi, I don't watch this show, but I'd just like to say that Minbari is an anagram of minibar.

-Terminatah

[James]

As far as I recall, JMS never wanted him replaced. The suits wanted the change and then JMS declared convienently that this was what he planned all along - despite references in previous stories to ...an underlined Delenn theme with Sinclair as well as the clear reference to the end of B5 involving Sinclair
Sheriden was introduced and took over much of Sinclairs plot threads - espec. his delenn relationship.

the fact that Sinclair and Sheriden both have the same initials and the same middle implies to me a hint by the writer that this was a run on the same character - one he had not intended no matter what he now proclaims to the world....

[DarkAngel]

Reading these posts has got me interested in watching B5 and getting caught up. Does the sci-fi channel show the episodes in order?