According to J. Michael Straczynski, Warner Bros. has no intention of doing anything with the Bablyon 5 franchise in the near future, including releasing the series on Blu-ray or in HD format. That comes from a series of tweets by Straczynski after he was asked the question: “are there any plans to remaster Babylon 5 like they did with the original series Star Trek episodes?” Here is his initial response:
No, Warner Bros. won’t spend an additional penny on Babylon 5 in any way, not for blu-rays, not for HD versions, or allow any other B5 series to be produced, same as for the other PTEN shows that the usual execs weren’t involved with, and thus still hold a grudge against. https://t.co/3wrS0eflUr
— J. Michael Straczynski (@straczynski) April 20, 2018
PTEN was an attempt in the 90’s to create a new network for the syndication market and it aired shows such as B5, Time Trax, and Kung Fu: The Legend Continues. PTEN was eventually dropped and morphed into The WB, but apparently their is some bad blood toward the shows that aired on the short-lived network:
It’s all about personalities and power. They don’t make that money personally, so it doesn’t matter. The PTEN shows simply don’t exist to them, and they’ve made no bones about saying so. That’s why *none* of them are currently in syndication or cable in the US. https://t.co/EP7j9keWGD
— J. Michael Straczynski (@straczynski) April 20, 2018
One Twitter follower asked whether a Kickstarter campaign could bring the show back, and Straczynski had the following response.
Won’t work. They literally told my agent “We have no plans, and no intentions, of letting anything else be done in terms of television with Babylon 5.” And a kickstarter wouldn’t pay for even a fraction of a season. That won’t change for years, when those execs are dead/gone. https://t.co/NZ80WiIIcR
— J. Michael Straczynski (@straczynski) April 20, 2018
JMS was working on a Babylon 5 movie a while back and apparently he holds those rights, but he had the following to say about a the possibility of the show making the leap to the big screen:
Warners controls the TV and all the other rights but not the movie rights, I have those, but without access to the TV rights it’s been very difficult to get anyone at another studio to want to commit anything; they want all of the rights under one roof. https://t.co/oxavktXrOr
— J. Michael Straczynski (@straczynski) April 20, 2018
The fact that the show will not be getting the Blu-ray or HD treatment anytime soon is definitely disappointing. And with all the revivals and reboots out there right now, it would be nice to revisit the Babylon 5 universe as long as it is a continuation and not a reboot and as long as JMS is closely involved. For now, though, it looks like that will not happen anytime soon.
Babylon 5 was available on Verizon’s Go90 streaming service and then Prime Video, but not anymore. The entire series plus the movies and the spin-off Crusade remain available on DVD at reasonable prices, so fans can still seek it out there. But that makes is harder and harder for new viewers to discover the show because the DVD format is dying out and it is currently not available in any other venue.
Babylon 5 was a five-season long series that focused on the titular space station that acted as a neutral meeting place for the races in the known galaxy and that found itself in the midst of a cosmic war between two of the oldest known races (you can read more about the show at this link). It is highly acclaimed among sci fi TV shows and also produced several movies as well as the short-lived spin-off Crusade.
Available from Amazon.com:
