Por exemplo, se a atriz Andrea Thompson (interpretando Talia Winters) não tivesse ido embora, Lyta Alexander teria retornado? Talia teria trabalhado para os Vorlons e desempenhado a mesma função na série que Lyta? E quanto a Jeffrey Sinclair? Eu pensei que seu personagem foi propositalmente escrito no final da Temporada 1, mas eu aprendi recentemente que Michael O'Hare deixou o programa devido a problemas de saúde. Se ele tivesse ficado, Sheridan teria sido trazido e, se sim, quando?
The trouble, of course, is that unlike writing a novel, where the characters exist only on a sheet of paper, actors and writers are some discussion on the best of days)[sic]. They can get sick, they can get into contract disputes, they can be hit by meteors, they can decide to buy a house in Cambridge and raise hedgehogs under an assumed name. There are, in short, *always* unpredictables in any such endeavor.
Consequently, in drafting the story for Babylon 5, I made sure to compensate for any possible changes. For lack of a better term, there is a "trap door" built into the storyline for every character. Obviously, you don't want to lose anyone, but in every case any such change momentarily shifts the story about ten degrees to one side for a little bit, and then you're back on track again. (GENIE 5/19/1994)
Ele elaborou isso mais tarde:
One of the first things I had to do, in plotting out the storyline, was to set aside trap doors for *every single character*, because you never know when or how the real world is going to impinge upon you. An actor can quit, or get hit by a car, or slammed by a meteor...there's no way to control the characters the way you do in a novel. That's a given. But you can't bring X-million viewers along to a certain point, then say, "Well, all the stuff we were going to do we can't because X isn't here."
So in a way, the structure of the story is kind of like a computer game tree...pull out a piece along the way, and it goes down a different path, but ends up at exactly the same point at the end. It's the difference between different *results* and different ways of *getting* there.
You can do a story about a platoon in WW II, for instance, and some of the platoon may live, die, be injured, whatever...but the story of WWII is the story of WWII. (Unknown source, quoted on Midwinter.com)
O piloto "The Gathering" foi filmado cerca de um ano antes da série principal. Ocorreram várias mudanças importantes no elenco entre as quais o JMS precisou escrever.
Esses dois personagens apareceram no piloto "The Gathering" e tinham um vínculo explícito com os Vorlons.
Case in point: Dr. Benjamin Kyle and Lyta Alexander. Here are the only two humans who have seen or scanned a Vorlon. This is Very Important to the storyline. Alas, as later events unfolded, things did not work out, and the characters were dropped...but their story remained important, in that it was established that they were soon afterward recalled to Earth under mysterious circumstances (as noted in "War Prayer"), which actually helps the storyline in many ways. (GENIE 5/19/1994)
Isso foi escrito antes de Lyta Alexander retornar ao programa devido à necessidade de escrever Talia Winters, mas é claro que isso ainda se encaixa em sua narrativa.
O Dr. Kyle se tornaria mais uma figura paterna para Sinclair e mais um cientista do que seu substituto, o Dr. Franklin seria:
If Dr. Kyle would have stayed around, he would have moved more into the position of advisor/paternal figure for Sinclair. He also would have continued to be more scientist than doctor. (Babylon 5 Moderated Usenet group 11/11/1994)
Talia Winters recebeu muito do arco planejado de Lyta:
Much of the Lyta arc will now go to Talia, but there's now a different way of getting her into that arc. (GENIE 12/19/1993)
Parece-me que a "maneira diferente" de colocá-la nesse arco era que, em vez de ter poderes de telepatia aprimorados devido a Kosh (como vimos eventualmente com Lyta Alexander), ela os conseguiu através de Jason Ironheart na "Guerra da Mente" da Temporada 1. .
Lyta originalmente se aproximaria de Kosh, uma subtrama que foi transferida para Sheridan:
If Lyta had stayed on B5, her arc would be pretty close to that of Talia, except that she would have begun to form a strong link to Kosh, first in the form of dreams, then something with implications that could be read as menacing or benign. (Babylon 5 Moderated Usenet group 11/11/1994)
O primeiro oficial a bordo do Babylon 5 deveria originalmente ser uma fábrica da PsiCorps que partiria depois de um ano ou dois. Esta trama foi transferida para Talia Winters.
Takashima would have been the one to be Control. A Psi Corps plant. (Her background on Mars would've been the perfect time for it to have happened.) When Laurel went away, I took that one thread and passed it along to Talia, setting it up as early as the very first episode, when Talia and Ivanova first meet, and later reluctantly have a drink. (CIS 4/16/1996)
A atriz ficou desconfortável com o papel, e ela foi substituída por Susan Ivanova. JMS deixou escapar que Takashima estava planejado para trair Garibaldi no final da Temporada 1, então ele decidiu não reutilizar a trama para Ivanova. Em vez disso, o segundo em comando de Garibaldi se tornou o traidor.
Takashima would have been revealed as having been in on the Vorlon assassination attempt by season's end, and would have betrayed Garibaldi in the events in "Chrysalis," either giving him over to those involved with the coup, or pulling the trigger herself. While we would know this, our characters would not, for as much as another full season. (Babylon 5 Moderated Usenet group 11/11/1994)
Após sua partida, foi decidido que Catherine Sakai seria asiática para combinar com a etnia de Takashima.
When [Takashima's actress Tamlyn Tomita] opted out, I went instantly after Julie Nickson, an asian actress to play Catherine Sakai, Sinclair's love interest, a recurring role in the show. (AOL 11/30/1995)
Mais tarde, o JMS descreveu como o personagem de Ivanova teria surgido se Takashima tivesse permanecido no programa:
If Laurel *had* stayed with the show, by the middle of year two the fact that she was Control would've been revealed via the password incident. At that point, one particular possibility was that her second in command under her -- a rather dour Russian lieutenant named Ivanova -- would've been promoted to take her place, while Laurel was moved off the chessboard. (This was planned because we knew going in that Tamlyn Tomita had a growing film career, and we probably could've only kept her for a couple of years in the best of circumstances. So why not turn that to your advantage?) (Unknown source, quoted on Midwinter.com)
O adido original de G'Kar foi interpretado por Mary Woronov, que se viu incapaz de usar os contatos e maquiagem para o papel.
So to repeat: we'd had to replace Mary Woronov with virtually no notice after we found that she really had a hard time with the narn prosthetics (wouldn't wear the contacts, and other stuff). (Babylon 5 Moderated Usenet group 7/27/1994)
Ela foi escrita e substituída por Na'Toth, que tem sua própria história interessante abaixo.
A namorada original de Sinclair foi removida quando a atriz Blaire Baron optou por não voltar ao show. Como capitã de um navio mercante, ela deveria originalmente desempenhar o mesmo papel de Catherine Sakai e mais tarde Anna Sheridan.
One of the major plotlines on Babylon 5 involves the discovery of Za'ha'dum, the homeworld of an ancient and malevolent race known as "the Shadows." Originally, this discovery was to be made by Sinclair's on-again-off-again romantic interest, planetary explorer Carolyn Sykes (Blaire Baron.) When Baron didn't return to the show, her character was retconned over with Catherine Sakai, also a planetary explorer, also Sinclair's love interest. When Sinclair was ultimately replaced with John Sheridan, the planetary explorer becomes Sheridan's wife, Anna. (Gizmodo)
Observe que a citação está incorreta: Sykes era capitão de uma nave mercante, não um explorador planetário. Ainda assim, parece que essa foi a direção pretendida.
Além disso, JMS sugeriu que ele tinha planos para ela que se desenvolveriam até o final da Temporada 1:
Carolyn Sykes would've gotten into major trouble with one of the major EarthCorps. (Babylon 5 Moderated Usenet group 11/11/1994)
Este enredo não parece ter sido transferido para qualquer outro personagem.
A pedido do ator, JMS não falou sobre os problemas de saúde mental de Michael O'Hare até depois que ele morreu, mas mencionou que isso influenciou a narrativa de uma maneira que ele considerava um desenvolvimento positivo.
[Michael's departure] will also allow us to pursue some new directions avenues for the show that will help to expedite the overall story. Sinclair disappearing for an indeterminate period after the events of "Chrysalis" will allow us to tighten the screws of the story, and heighten the tension of things going on in the storyline. (GENIE 5/19/1994)
Uma mudança mais pequena foi que a explicação de seu passado foi transferida da Temporada 2, Episódio 3 para o Episódio 1:
if Sinclair had stayed with B5 at this juncture, the events in "Points" (the reveal of the Minbari surrender) would've taken place in episode 3 instead of 1. Episode 1 would've consisted mainly of the events in "Revelations," which was mainly as a bystander to the events around him, since the sister aspect specific to Sheridan obviously wouldn't be there. (Babylon 5 Moderated Usenet group 11/11/1994)
Sheridan foi criado como um personagem substituto de Sinclair (em outras palavras, o Babylon 5 não teria recebido um novo líder se Sinclair não estivesse saindo), mas JMS observa que ele sentiu a necessidade de um personagem como Sheridan aparecer na época da Temporada 2:
Sheridan, or more specifically the need for someone like Sheridan began to get through clearly toward the latter part of last season, as I began planning out season two's progression, and kept looking at elements of the story and trying to find ways to get Sinclair into the heart of them. They felt contrived, for the most part; and the other characters, like Londo and G'Kar and Delenn, were really moving forward in a big way. The role of Sinclair was becoming primarily that of a "problem solver," and when that happens, a sort of glass bell falls down around the character, and you can't do much with him.
So what the writer has to do is break that bell in one way or another; do something totally unexpected to him, and bring in someone who has a direct, personal connection with the storyline emerging in season two, so it's not contrived or forced. (Babylon 5 Moderated Usenet group 11/11/1994 1:38:00 PM)
Como a única conexão de Sakai com o programa era através de Sinclair, o personagem foi removido do programa. Não é por acaso que Anna Sheridan tinha o mesmo trabalho que Sakai (um explorador planetário) e uma conexão com o homem encarregado da estação, como Catherine Sykes antes dela.
Veja também: O que aconteceu com Catherine Sakai depois que Sinclair deixou o B5? pelo seu destino final no material de spinoff Canon 100%.
A primeira atriz a interpretar Na'Toth foi Susan Kellerman, que teve uma claustrofobia severa durante o teste de maquiagem e saiu do show. O cronograma de filmagens foi reorganizado e ela esteve ausente nos primeiros episódios por causa disso. (JMS vagamente recordou isso no Grupo moderado de Usenet Babylon 5 9 / 1 / 2009)
Caitlin Brown foi escolhida para o papel, mas depois de uma temporada decidiu que não queria continuar devido ao desconforto com as próteses e à preocupação de que usar uma máscara impactaria negativamente sua carreira no cinema. Foi decidido reformular o Na'Toth em vez de criar um novo adido, porque o JMS tinha mais planos para o personagem:
We didn't recast Sinclair because that character is going somewhere from whence he may (and will) return, and because that serves the story; in this case, we are recasting Na'Toth. By the end of season one, Na'Toth knows stuff that I need that character, G'Kar's aide, to know. (Though I was briefly tempted to do the Murphy Brown Secretary line, with G'Kar getting a new aide every so often due to terrible airlock accidents...but I went to lay down for a while and the notion passed.) (Babylon 5 Moderated Usenet group 7/27/1994)
A informação, a propósito, era sobre as Sombras:
Specifically, when G'Kar came back, I needed someone there who he could talk to about the shadows, and get us into that part. Someone who knew he'd been gone, and why. Otherwise, he'd be spilling his guts to a total stranger, and he wouldn't do that. Hence, you need Na'Toth. (Babylon 5 Moderated Usenet group 6/26/1995)
O papel foi reformulado com Mary Kay Adams interpretando Na'Toth, que se saiu bem nas audições, mas teve um desempenho muito mais fraco no filme. Isso foi considerado insatisfatório, então Na'Toth desapareceu silenciosamente.
We cast the person who was right for the role. If the person's not right, we don't cast them. The only time it hasn't worked out as well as I'd've liked was when we cast Mary Kay Adams, who was very strong in the auditions, and then made an actor's choice to play the character very quiet, to not push against Andreas...but you fade into the woodwork if you do that. (CIS 9/5/1997)
Seu destino foi revelado na Temporada 5, onde ela foi interpretada novamente por Caitlin Brown.
A JMS planejou que Talia Winters tivesse uma "personalidade adormecida", uma trama transferida de Laurel Takashima, e plantou pistas para isso desde o primeiro episódio.
Takashima would have been the one to be Control. A Psi Corps plant. (Her background on Mars would've been the perfect time for it to have happened.) When Laurel went away, I took that one thread and passed it along to Talia, setting it up as early as the very first episode, when Talia and Ivanova first meet, and later reluctantly have a drink. (CIS 4/16/1996)
Dado o surgimento repentino de Control no episódio final de Talia Winters (e que sua partida foi devido à atriz querer deixar o show, em vez de uma partida planejada por JMS), acho razoável supor que esse era um alçapão planejado que foi aberto cedo.
De acordo com Claudia Christian (Susan Ivanova), o relacionamento dos dois personagens teria sido mais explorado se a atriz permanecesse no programa.
"I think that if Andrea Thompson had not left, we would have definitely explored the relationship further. That was the intention, but because she wanted to get out, we had to wrap it up quickly." (SFX, July 1997)
É claro que a partida de Talia Winters levou ao retorno de Lyta Alexander, que era o telepata original de The Gathering.
O personagem secundário recrutou Sheridan para resistir ao regime de Clark e deveria desempenhar um grande papel em "Severed Dreams", da Temporada 3. No entanto, o agente de Robert Foxworth fez uma reserva dupla com ele Espaço Profundo Nove e ele foi morto:
He bailed at the last minute, even though we had first dibs on him. Not much point to forcing an actor to stay if he wants to go; you just get an unhappy set and a less than stellar performance. That situation led to changing a grand total of 3 lines. Anything in Hague's situation is what's called a "moveable piece," meaning it can be easily assigned to others. (Babylon 5 Moderated Usenet group 4/23/1996)
Esta razão para a morte súbita do personagem foi referenciado em uma captura para o episódio.
Embora tenha sido apenas uma partida temporária e menor, Stephen Furst queria tempo para outras atuações, então ele foi escrito como o embaixador dos Centauri em Minbar para que ele pudesse estar ausente por uma parte maior da Temporada 3.
when Stephen Furst wanted to do fewer episodes so that he could appear as a regular in the sitcom "Misery Loves Company," he said, "Look, I really want to do this, so if you could cut me down to, say, 8 episodes, and just pay me for those 8 instead of the contracted 13, that'd be great." And that deal was made, and made quickly. (Unknown source, quoted on Mindwinter.com)
Originalmente, ela foi interpretada por Beth Toussaint através de uma mensagem de vídeo para John Sheridan em "Revelations". Quando chegou a hora de Anna reaparecer na tela no final de "Shadow Dancing" da temporada 3 e ao longo de "Z'ha'dum", a atriz não estava disponível, então elas reformularam o papel com a esposa de Bruce Boxleitner, Melissa Gilbert .
"Z'ha'dum" teve um flashback do vídeo em "Revelations", mas desta vez com Melissa Gilbert. A sequência inteira desse episódio foi refilmada, com a possibilidade de que essa versão fosse usada em exibições futuras de "Revelations".
Re: the Revelations scene...we actually shot that entire sequence, with the notion of possibly re-editing "Revelations" and inserting the Melissa piece instead...sort of TV by way of soviet revisionism...and of course it was always that way...what other version was there? (CIS 9/24/1996)
Ela estava originalmente planejada para estar presente na quinta temporada, mas devido a uma questão contratual (JMS e Claudia Christian têm relatos diferentes do que aconteceu), ela foi dispensada. Seu papel no comando foi substituído por Lochley:
Scoggins is on board for season 5 as Captain Elizabeth Lochley, who is going to full the void in the command structure left by Ivanova. (CIS 9/6/1997)
Originalmente, planejava-se que Ivanova tivesse surgido telepatia latente e estivesse fortemente envolvido no arco das colônias de telepatas da Temporada 5:
It's no secret that I would've had Ivanova becoming somewhat linked to Byron romantically (she would see him as a character like Marcus, which is why there are certain similarities, and she would take a chance only to find it wrong this time, underlining that she'd missed her one major opportunity thus far for a good relationship). This was expressed to Claudia toward the last part of S4, so she knew at that time that her latent ability would be coming out, and that she'd have a big part in S5.
In this scenario, Lyta would have become a devoted follower of Byron's, much as she has, but it would have been more love from afar: protective, somewhat unrequited but hoping for more...so that when he met his fate, Lyta would end up right where she is now, just by a different road. (CIS 8/5/1998)
Observe que Ivanova ainda está presente no episódio final da série, "Sleeping in Light" (número de produção 422), porque foi originalmente filmado como o episódio 22nd da Temporada 4. A JMS queria esse episódio por último, então foi transferido para o final da Temporada 5 e um novo final da Temporada 4, "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars" (número de produção 501), foi filmado quando a Temporada 5 começou a ser filmada, mas antes da Temporada 4 terminar a exibição. Por esse motivo, Claudia Christian é creditada na abertura do final da Temporada 5, mas não no final da Temporada 4.
Você já se perguntou por que cada um dos embaixadores tinha um adido? Era para que, caso tivessem que sair, houvesse um substituto pronto.
Additional trap doors in the form of assistants and attachés were added for each of the core ambassadors: Lennier of the Minbari was Delenn's trap door, Na'Toth of the Narn was G'Kar's, Vir of the Centauri was Londo's. Since each ambassador was on a diplomatic mission and subject to bureaucratic oversight, this scheme made it plausible to continue the storylines should any of the ambassadors leave the show. Thankfully, none did, and as a result the show had a rich stock of supporting characters to carry it forward. (Gizmodo)
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