clarkblog

DEFIANTLY ONWARD

So. Network staffing season came and went and left me standing at the altar like a jilted groom.

It's very tough out there, especially for newer writers. Network TV writing staffs are shrinking at precisely the same time the networks are making tons of money. I know, it doesn't make sense. I've worked extensively in the corporate world and I never understood it when a company would cut back on the core reason they were making money.

I had meetings on lots of network shows over the past few months, but when it came time for staffing, they all ran out of money before getting to the lower-level positions.

A number of amazing, talented and very affordable writers I know are in the same sad position. Truth be told, it's not uncommon for newer writers to warm the benches for a season or two between gigs. That's when you hunker down and crank out original pilots and new specs and keep the creative gears greased. Which I was prepared to do. But thank goodness for the world of cable TV, which has come to my rescue.

My new gig: I've joined the writing staff of a brand new SyFy TV show called Defiance. I've signed a brick-thick stack of non-disclosure forms so legally impenetrable that I can tell you absolutely nothing about it.

But I can point you to this sneak preview trailer, and to a brief interview with showrunner Rockne O'Bannon, whom I was lucky enough to work with on V.

And there's this from The Hollywood Reporter:

Set on a future Earth, Defiance introduces players and Syfy viewers to a world ravaged by decades of conflict, where humans and aliens live together in a world the likes of which no one has seen. The game combines the frenetic action of a top-tier console shooter with the persistence, scale, and customization of an MMO, while its TV counterpart exudes the scope, story, and drama of a classic sci-fi epic. The game's story will take place in the San Francisco bay area, while the TV series will be set just outside of St. Louis, MO. Because they exist in a single universe, the show and the game will influence and evolve each other over time, with actions in both mediums driving the overall story of Defiance.

I think I am allowed to say this much: it's gonna be a helluva lotta fun.

LOOKING BACK AT BABYLON 5

 
At Noise2Signal, writer Abi Sutherland is taking an episode-by-episode look back at Babylon 5, the 1990s space opera created and mostly written by J. Michael Straczynski.

This was a groundbreaking show in many ways. Its innovative five-year story arc set a standard for later shows like Lost. This storyline wasn't just bold in a narrative sense. As a low-budget syndicated show, it fought each year to survive another season. Fans always worried it would be cancelled before the space war saga was complete. (As it turned out, the lackluster final season suggests it could've ended a year earlier anyway.)

Babylon 5's dark new universe was a nice break from the beige-hued safety zone of shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation (and would influence the darkness and, yes, multi-year story arc of the best Trek spinoff, Deep Space Nine). It was chock full of interesting new aliens, exciting space battles and a giant story arc centered on the Shadows, giant insectile creatures whose violent motives were one of the show's great mysteries.

As Sutherland points out early on, Babylon 5 has not aged well in many ways. You have to tolerate some flimsy sets outfitted with Ikea furniture, more than a bit of wooden acting, and some blue-screen work that, for various technical reasons I don't understand, does not transfer well to DVD.

Straczynski cites the British TV sci-fi series Blake's 7 as an inspiration for Babylon 5. I didn't catch up on that show until recently, and it took great effort to look beyond its laughable shoestring budget and focus on the widescreen story and compelling characters. Like that show, Babylon 5 has a grandiose, inventive pulp space-opera plot straight out of E.E. "Doc" Smith's Lensman series (seasons 3 and 4 are the peak of the show for me), as well as some astoundingly good CGI and makeup, and a thrilling score by Christopher Franke of Tangerine Dream fame.

In short, it's the little show that could -- and did -- many great things on a miniscule budget. Its cult following remains strong to this day. Sadly, numerous attempts to spin off the franchise fizzled out because none were as creative as the original series.

Back in the 1990s, I welcomed each new installment of this adventure the way I used to eagerly await monthly comic books when I was a kid. While The Twilight Zone and the original Star Trek were huge influences on my early efforts at writing, Babylon 5 is the show that made me want to refocus my life, move to Hollywood and become a TV writer.

Last month at Comic-Con, I finally got to meet Straczynski and tell him just that. "You're doing it right," he replied.

And that meant the world to me.