Fandom Manifesto

[kungfuwaynewho]

1. Story (Five Seasons, One Arc)

Creator (and writer of 92 of the show's 110 episodes) J. Michael Straczynski - hereafter referred to as JMS - decided he wanted to tell a story the likes of which had never been told on television before.  Babylon 5 is a show with a dense backstory - alien civilizations, distant wars, dozens of regular and recurring characters - that makes for a rich, epic world.  JMS planned out all five seasons of the show in advance, intending the story to unfold like a novel for television.  Each season functioned as a single act, each episode moving the story forward bit by bit.

2. Character Growth (Everyone Changes)

A lot of shows have what I call passive character development - a lot of things happen to the character, but the character himself remains the same.  The way he reacts to Event A in the first season is the same way he reacts in the last.  Not so on Babylon 5.  Characters change and evolve; some become better people, some do not; the idealistic become jaded; the weak become strong; the bitter become wise.

3. Speeches (Sci-Fi Requires Great Speeches)

Is there anyone whose heart doesn't beat a little faster when someone makes a grand, courageous, death-defying, truly awesome speech?  Most of us live ho-hum lives, and don't generally have the opportunities to really tell someone to fuck off in such wonderful, grandiose ways - watching TV characters do so is living vicariously, and few shows have as many or as great speeches as Babylon 5.

4. Bruce Boxleitner (I Mean Seriously Just Look At Him)

The dude is handsome.

Comments

[ufgator1977.livejournal.com]

Preachin' to the choir here sista.

Can't help a little fist pump every time I think about Delenn and "Be somewhere else." It's like,"Don't be messin' with my guy. I'll hurt you."

Now I HAVE to go watch that episode.

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

I sometimes wonder if Delenn would have gone to bat for the station if these events had unfolded a year earlier - do you think she was just defending the place that she knew would be vital in winning the war, or do you really think that her primary concern was about John? I think he was a part of it, but I wonder....

[jerusha]

LOVE this pic!spam, and all the reasons to watch B5. It's still one of my favorite shows of all time.

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[weaselett.livejournal.com]

This is awesome - and I love your reasons (Bruce, the reason I have watched so many thing *heh* - plus the EPIC speeches)


*hearts the gif*

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Thank you! This was the first thing I'd seen Bruce in (that I was aware of), and it changed me, LOL.

[ale-rambles.livejournal.com]

Amazing reasons and gorgeous picspams!
Lovely manifesto for an awesome show. <3

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[icequeen3101.livejournal.com]

I LOVE THIS SHOW SO MUCH, I THINK I NEED A REWATCH :D

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

A REWATCH IS ALWAYS GOOD.

I'M ALSO ALWAYS EXCITED TO SEE OTHER PEOPLE WHO KNOW THIS SHOW. SOMETIMES I WILL PICK B5 FOR LANDCOMM CHALLENGES AND I'M LIKE LOLOL EVERYONE WILL SKIP THIS BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.

[icequeen3101.livejournal.com]

*NODS*

Haha, I have season 3 - 5 on dvd. :D
I should probably get 1 and 2, too, BUT 3 - 5 ARE MY FAVORITES!!!

[dref22.livejournal.com]

Shame on me. I swear I will watch it...one day. D: Bruce Boxleitner's prettiness is undeniable...

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Haha, D: is my face almost all of the time when it comes to people wanting me to watch a new show. I'm like, don't you know how much TV I'm already watching?!

But yes, BB is very pretty. Very, very pretty.

[craterdweller.livejournal.com]

I just watched this recently on DVD. I think my favorite seasons were the middle one, they sort of took too long to wrap things up in the final episodes, IMO.

Great job on the manifesto! :D

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Yeah, S5 isn't...the best. But there's no point in being critical in a spam trying to convince people to watch, LOL.

Thanks!

[jamesie-boy.livejournal.com]

i should add this show to my 'to-watch' list i reckon. :D

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

YESYESYESYES.

[mac-beth13.livejournal.com]

THIS! This was made of all sorts of win! Love the speeches and the picspam! Love it all! :D I finally convinced my sister to watch the show and she's at the best parts of season three. I have someone else who needs some persuasion to watch, may send them here. Hehe! ;)

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Aw, thanks! I can't get my sister to sit down and watch - she caught part of an episode one day doing something else in the same room I was watching, didn't like it, and won't try again. (Of COURSE she caught part of some bad early first season episode. OF COURSE.)

[nhpw.livejournal.com]

SO. MUCH. PRETTY.

*hugs Reason #4*

(I mean. Don't get me wrong, the rest of them are great, too. But um. Yeah.)

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Hee! It's funny, when I was first watching, I knew the captain got replaced for season two. But by the end of season one, I had grown fond of Sinclair, and I was like, no, I don't want him to leave! The show has finally figured out all the character dynamics and he's settled into the role and it'll be all weird!

Like, four minutes into the S2 premiere, I was just sorta grinning dreamily at my TV and writing love letters to Sheridan.

[ghanimasun]

Awesome stuff. Especially like the photos you picked for the show arc and each individual character arc.

&hearts

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I could have kept doing the character arcs, but I ran out of time, LOL.

[lifeistoobrevis]

EPIC! ♥

Love the pics and speeches you've chosen (the Delenn one gets me every time).

And, yes, the dude is very handsome. *swoons*