44 ms·

One of my favorite things about Babylon 5 was how it was planned out for exactly five seasons, with a beginning, middle, and end. Granted, the last season was

by a_e_k 4y ago

One of my favorite things about Babylon 5 was how it was planned out for exactly five seasons, with a beginning, middle, and end. Granted, the last season was a bit muffed since they'd had to bring the story to a closure at the end of season 4 when they thought it would be renewed. But still... I have a lot of respect for creatives who can plan out a work, and then actually carry through and walk away from it when it is complete.

jandrese 4y ago
Having a the story mapped out before you start and being willing to say "no matter how well this does it's stopping here" makes for incredible content, but poor business. If you have only modest success you may be cut off in the middle and leave an unsatisfying conclusion. If you do really well you have to stop at the height of your success and the execs will be putting huge pressure on you to figure out how to continue somehow. Maybe HBO got it right with Game of Thrones? Have some incredible early seasons and then totally shit the bed later so nobody is clamoring for new content and the showrunners can move on to different projects. This kinda fails the audience test however. The media landscape is also a concern. I would never ever plan a 5 season story on Netflix for example. And to be fair, some of their best content is one and done. Russian Doll for example has a second season, but it's only barely connected with the first. It's basically an entirely new show that just happens to have the same actors.
- nitwit005 4y ago
  You just create spin offs when you hit the end of your initial material. Game of Thrones is airing one right now, but it sounds like they had 3 or 4 planned. Star Wars is effectively all spin offs now.
  - a_e_k 4y ago
    Babylon 5 itself had a short-lived spin off in Crusade [0]. Personally, I don't think things even need to be spinoffs in the same story universe. Just knowing that a particular production group that I like is putting out a new work is enough for me. Like the Christopher Guest cabal, or the Simon Pegg/Edgar Wright collaborations. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusade_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusade_(TV_series)

by a_e_k 4y ago

jandrese 4y ago

Having a the story mapped out before you start and being willing to say "no matter how well this does it's stopping here" makes for incredible content, but poor business. If you have only modest success you may be cut off in the middle and leave an unsatisfying conclusion. If you do really well you have to stop at the height of your success and the execs will be putting huge pressure on you to figure out how to continue somehow. Maybe HBO got it right with Game of Thrones? Have some incredible early seasons and then totally shit the bed later so nobody is clamoring for new content and the showrunners can move on to different projects. This kinda fails the audience test however. The media landscape is also a concern. I would never ever plan a 5 season story on Netflix for example. And to be fair, some of their best content is one and done. Russian Doll for example has a second season, but it's only barely connected with the first. It's basically an entirely new show that just happens to have the same actors.

nitwit005 4y ago
You just create spin offs when you hit the end of your initial material. Game of Thrones is airing one right now, but it sounds like they had 3 or 4 planned. Star Wars is effectively all spin offs now.
- a_e_k 4y ago
  Babylon 5 itself had a short-lived spin off in Crusade [0]. Personally, I don't think things even need to be spinoffs in the same story universe. Just knowing that a particular production group that I like is putting out a new work is enough for me. Like the Christopher Guest cabal, or the Simon Pegg/Edgar Wright collaborations. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusade_(TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusade_(TV_series)