I tried to warn them. But it all happened, just the way I remember.

So the big news for Babylon 5 is, for the first time in a long time, not the death of a cast member, but a full reboot! And I'm... cautious?

I mean, on the one hand, a new Babylon 5 with modern production values and less behind-the-scenes drama could be interesting - on the other hand, Babylon 5 told a complete story, and I'm not sure it needs to be retold. This isn't a situation like Battlestar Galactica, where the reboot can take advantage of the unfilfilled potential of the original series – I think we already got the best version of the Babylon 5 story we could have had.

(Certainly better than JMS's original “Babylon Prime” story outline.)

And, of course, there's point two – JMS himself. Huge amount of respect for the work he put into the original show, but let's be honest – his writing since then has been hit or miss at best, and his attempts to expand the B5 universe beyond the original series were forgettable at best, dire at worst.

I don't know. I'm torn. I want this to succeed, but I guess I'm not really expecting miracles. Essentially, I'm not sure this is a story that needs a reboot.

 

But enough of that, let's ask the important question: To maintain symmetry, which minor 90s Trek actor should play reboot Bester?! Ensign Kim would be the obvious answer to “Who was the Chekov of the 90s", and you'd get the same playing against type effect if they cast Garret Wang. I think Alexander Siddig could be delightful sinister if given the chance. Finally, Armin Shimmerman has the right height. So, so many options.