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I hate long arcs, and that was essentially what destroyed my interest in B5, as well as not having a way to watch the last season on TNT.
I used to run conventions, and had the chance to meet some of the B5 actors and others. Over the course of our three conventions, got to see Michael O'Hare, Richard Biggs, Pat Tallman, Stephen Furst, Robin Atkin Downes and John Flinn III (cinematographer). Oh, and "Mojo" from Foundation Imaging, who even now, eleven years later, still is lusting after my niece. (True story, no kidding!) Except for a minor psychological break on Michael O'Hare's part and Robin being a bit of a twat, the others were simply fantastic. John and Stephen were my favorites.
But I think another problem I had with the show was Joe himself. I heard a lot of stories when I was at Universal about his arrogance (matched only by that of Don Bellisario) when he was working on MSW. And he stood me up twice for our conventions, which in part helped ruin me personally, since I had invested a great deal of my own money on my cons, and without his attending (both at the very last minute) our attendance fell significantly. So pardon me if I get a little bitchy, but it's not without cause on my part! One of my favorite stories was from the 1996 WorldCon in L.A. One of oldest and dearest friends is a professional artist, and that year, he won yet another Hugo for his work, and was on the stage with all the other winners, including JMS, at the end of the presentation. My friend Bob, who is truly an eccentric, but richly talented, wore his hair really, really long, and he was standing next to JMS. Joe looked at Bob, and Bob said Joe was almost horrified to be standing next to him, and actually backed off a feet to get away from him. Bob, who wouldn't even harm a flea (well maybe a flea!), laughed because it looked like Straczynski was afraid of him. We will probably never know. :rofl:
On the other hand, DS9 had some positively beautiful storylines. I didn't care too much once they got the Defiant and started using the show in a higher "action" mode, because I think one of the strengths of DS9 was its characterizations, and the actual growth they all showed. When it ended, we actually cared a great deal about every single one of them, and to this day, we remember them as potential human beings, because they meant something to us.
There were story arcs, but they were long term arcs--they had an excellent continuity on races, planets, and history. They examined the Bajorans, the Cardassians, the "Founders," the Humans, and of course, the Ferengi. The Ferengi storylines were always fun--the show had enough faith in itself to give us some humor. And when they based episodes right on DS9, they managed to keep them from being ridiculous.
They explored a lot of lofty ideas, and at the same time, could cover a simple one just as eloquently. One of my favorites was when Sisko and Jake embarked on a trip aboard a solar starship from Bajor to Cardassia, to prove that once Bajor had been technologically superior at one point long before to Cardassia. I also liked the fun when Julian and Miles would have their little hologram adventures, and the storylines with Garek the "tailor" (Andrew Robinson).
Anyhow, just my two cents. :hi:
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