Keep Calm and Chill the Fuck Out
Jul. 27th, 2010 04:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tarod45Once upon a time, back when I was but a mere tweeny-bopper, I watched Babylon 5. I actually began watching at right about the time that Season 5 was getting started, but back then, B5 was to TNT as Law & Order currently is. I was able to get a pretty good idea of what was going on through the reruns as I watched the fifth season first run. And lo, I was confused. The show that I was watching in reruns was awesome and epic. The show I was watching in first-run bore almost no resemblance to that other one. Several years later, when I finally got online and become involved in the already-fading B5 fandom, I learned some of the details. The show's creator, JM Strat-however-the-fuck-you-spell-his-name, henceforth known as JMS, had had a five-year plan for his show. This plan was an epic story filled with fascinating characters. However, making this show was something of a rocky road. The obstacle that concerns us here is that, going into the fourth season, the network sort of let it be known that this was the last year for Babylon 5. JMS was determined to finish his story, though. So he squeezed all the rest of his epic story arc into the fourth season. And that was it. All the major plot arcs were resolved. Several major characters died or left. Those that were left were in places of resolution. It was a series finale, and a brilliant one at that.
Then, at the absolute last minute, the network decided to renew B5. Disaster. There was no more story left to tell. The epic was over.
What to do? They had to do something, so they just muddled through. I can only assume that they hoped that whatever they could come up with on the fly would match the brilliance that had come before. If that was indeed their hope, they failed. Season 5 was a trainwreck. Beloved characters were missing. They were replaced with new characters we didn't care about. Some of the remaining characters acted in such OOC ways as to be essentially destroyed. Most of the plots were boring. It was painful to watch.
That said, Season 5 wasn't an unmitigated disaster. I frankly though that the Londo/G'Kar/Centauri Prime storylines were excellent. "The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari" and "The Fall of Centauri Prime" are among my favorite episodes of the entire series.
So, this is how I saw it. The story ended in Season 4. That was it, that was the end. Nothing else counts. Season 5 was an addendum, and counted for no more than any of the various spin-off movies or tie-in books. Which is to say: cherry-pick. Any little bits of canon from those sources that you like? Keep. Anything that annoys you? Dump. As far as I'm concerned, the Londo character arc, the Londo/G'Kar friendship arc, and the Centauri Prime story arc all absolutely happened. The Lenier character arc and the telepath story arc absolutely did not. Everything else happened, but I just don't think about it.
And so, I'm happy. I get to pretty much jettison a miserably bad extra season while keeping any bits that turned out to be good.
This is essentially the attitude that I'm taking going into SPN S6. Is it inevitable that season 6 will be as much of an abject failure as B5 S5? No, not at all. I am, in fact, hopeful. But even if it does turn out to be terrible... who cares? The epic story line that'd been building since the Pilot is over. Everything that happens from here on out is extra. If it's good? Keep it. If it's bad? Dump it. Simple.
All that being said, I'm not sure why everyone's flipping out over the spoilers. Pretty much everything I've read so far sounds pretty good. There's one or two things that give me pause, but even those things might turn out not-so-bad. And there are a couple of things that were mentioned that have made me out-and-out excited.
I don't mind that Dean is happy (or working to be happy) with Lisa and Ben. I don't mind that Sam left him to have that life. I don't mind that they won't be reuniting in the premiere. I'm glad that Dean has found some measure of peace, and Sam letting him have that is the right thing for him to do for his brother. I'm intrigued over the reported changes to Sam's personality. I like that Hell changed him, and it sounds like he'll be a happy medium between freaky-machine-hunter from Mystery Spot and his pre-Hell self. I like that the hows and whys of his escape from Hell will be one of the big plot points of the season.
I'll admit that I'm a little wary of the surprise alive!family thing, but I loved Mitch Pelleggi as Sam Campbell, and I have fond memories of Corin Nemec from Stargate. So, you know, that could turn out alright. Based on the actors, at any rate.
Finally, I'm not worried about Sam and Dean. The show is about them and their relationship. Whatever Dean feels for Lisa and Ben, that's not going to change. I realize that what I want from the show is somewhat different from what a lot of people want out of it. As I kind of explored in my last post, and as I've mentioned in passing a few times, I'm not so much invested in Sam'n'Dean's fucked up codependence. I just want them to be happy and together. The together part have no doubts about whatsoever. Whatever else happens, once they're back together, that'll be that and whatever they end up doing, it'll be together in one way or another. The narrative won't stand for anything else. So, whether Dean decides to leave Lisa and Ben behind and go back to hunting full time with Sam, or whether Dean goes back to become a husband/father full time, I don't care. Just so long as the boys are happy. And for the record, even if Dean does go back to Lisa: she's going to have to put up with the most overly-involved brother-in-law in the history of the world. I have no doubt. And I'm fine with that.
Then, at the absolute last minute, the network decided to renew B5. Disaster. There was no more story left to tell. The epic was over.
What to do? They had to do something, so they just muddled through. I can only assume that they hoped that whatever they could come up with on the fly would match the brilliance that had come before. If that was indeed their hope, they failed. Season 5 was a trainwreck. Beloved characters were missing. They were replaced with new characters we didn't care about. Some of the remaining characters acted in such OOC ways as to be essentially destroyed. Most of the plots were boring. It was painful to watch.
That said, Season 5 wasn't an unmitigated disaster. I frankly though that the Londo/G'Kar/Centauri Prime storylines were excellent. "The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari" and "The Fall of Centauri Prime" are among my favorite episodes of the entire series.
So, this is how I saw it. The story ended in Season 4. That was it, that was the end. Nothing else counts. Season 5 was an addendum, and counted for no more than any of the various spin-off movies or tie-in books. Which is to say: cherry-pick. Any little bits of canon from those sources that you like? Keep. Anything that annoys you? Dump. As far as I'm concerned, the Londo character arc, the Londo/G'Kar friendship arc, and the Centauri Prime story arc all absolutely happened. The Lenier character arc and the telepath story arc absolutely did not. Everything else happened, but I just don't think about it.
And so, I'm happy. I get to pretty much jettison a miserably bad extra season while keeping any bits that turned out to be good.
This is essentially the attitude that I'm taking going into SPN S6. Is it inevitable that season 6 will be as much of an abject failure as B5 S5? No, not at all. I am, in fact, hopeful. But even if it does turn out to be terrible... who cares? The epic story line that'd been building since the Pilot is over. Everything that happens from here on out is extra. If it's good? Keep it. If it's bad? Dump it. Simple.
All that being said, I'm not sure why everyone's flipping out over the spoilers. Pretty much everything I've read so far sounds pretty good. There's one or two things that give me pause, but even those things might turn out not-so-bad. And there are a couple of things that were mentioned that have made me out-and-out excited.
I don't mind that Dean is happy (or working to be happy) with Lisa and Ben. I don't mind that Sam left him to have that life. I don't mind that they won't be reuniting in the premiere. I'm glad that Dean has found some measure of peace, and Sam letting him have that is the right thing for him to do for his brother. I'm intrigued over the reported changes to Sam's personality. I like that Hell changed him, and it sounds like he'll be a happy medium between freaky-machine-hunter from Mystery Spot and his pre-Hell self. I like that the hows and whys of his escape from Hell will be one of the big plot points of the season.
I'll admit that I'm a little wary of the surprise alive!family thing, but I loved Mitch Pelleggi as Sam Campbell, and I have fond memories of Corin Nemec from Stargate. So, you know, that could turn out alright. Based on the actors, at any rate.
Finally, I'm not worried about Sam and Dean. The show is about them and their relationship. Whatever Dean feels for Lisa and Ben, that's not going to change. I realize that what I want from the show is somewhat different from what a lot of people want out of it. As I kind of explored in my last post, and as I've mentioned in passing a few times, I'm not so much invested in Sam'n'Dean's fucked up codependence. I just want them to be happy and together. The together part have no doubts about whatsoever. Whatever else happens, once they're back together, that'll be that and whatever they end up doing, it'll be together in one way or another. The narrative won't stand for anything else. So, whether Dean decides to leave Lisa and Ben behind and go back to hunting full time with Sam, or whether Dean goes back to become a husband/father full time, I don't care. Just so long as the boys are happy. And for the record, even if Dean does go back to Lisa: she's going to have to put up with the most overly-involved brother-in-law in the history of the world. I have no doubt. And I'm fine with that.
