I was really excited a few years ago to finally get to watch B5 -- I could never find it on TV when it was first on. Everyone always said it was better than DS9, which I liked but was not so hard to find.
But what a disappointment -- some actors can act well without direction, some can't, and B5 really shows you with stunning clarity which side of the line the actors are on. On top of frequently stilted dialogue (a JMS soft spot -- his screenwriting book is great but his dialogue examples are terrible) and missed opportunities for humor -- and with those aliens and that dialogue, you'd better take those opportunities if you don't want the audience to take them for you.
The production values have also aged spectacularly poorly, but they probably looked decent on broadcast standard-def TV at the time and it's really not the primary issue.
Which is to say, they can't really do worse than the original with JMS himself showrunning it again. Maybe it'll be a lot better since they have more money/support this time.
But what a disappointment -- some actors can act well without direction, some can't, and B5 really shows you with stunning clarity which side of the line the actors are on. On top of frequently stilted dialogue (a JMS soft spot -- his screenwriting book is great but his dialogue examples are terrible) and missed opportunities for humor -- and with those aliens and that dialogue, you'd better take those opportunities if you don't want the audience to take them for you.
The production values have also aged spectacularly poorly, but they probably looked decent on broadcast standard-def TV at the time and it's really not the primary issue.
Which is to say, they can't really do worse than the original with JMS himself showrunning it again. Maybe it'll be a lot better since they have more money/support this time.