They planned for actors to come and go…mostly. One interview with the crew I heard, they said they built “trap doors” into the show so that characters could come and go, being replaced with suspiciously similar substitutes. There was supposed to be a way to get Talia back after Bester Psy Corpsed her, remember the weir dude with the transparent head, the “vicker?”
As for the network drama, for once it wasn’t that stupid. The network B5 was airing on was shutting down, so their Season 4 would be the last possible to make. So they ripped out all the B plots to get the story wrapped up, which made it feel rushed and stressful, they were getting ready to wrap the show, a couple of the stars got jobs elsewhere, and then another network picked them up for the 5th season. So the B-plot arc, Byron and his telepath cult, get stretched to the main plot of the season, along with some hastily written filler.
Combine that with the shaky first season which consists of a lot of adventure of the day episodes, cheesier production etc. that on first watch feels like dollar store Star Trek, but it’s all background for when the plot gets going, and you’ve got three very strong seasons of sci-fi television.
They planned for actors to come and go…mostly. One interview with the crew I heard, they said they built “trap doors” into the show so that characters could come and go, being replaced with suspiciously similar substitutes. There was supposed to be a way to get Talia back after Bester Psy Corpsed her, remember the weir dude with the transparent head, the “vicker?”
As for the network drama, for once it wasn’t that stupid. The network B5 was airing on was shutting down, so their Season 4 would be the last possible to make. So they ripped out all the B plots to get the story wrapped up, which made it feel rushed and stressful, they were getting ready to wrap the show, a couple of the stars got jobs elsewhere, and then another network picked them up for the 5th season. So the B-plot arc, Byron and his telepath cult, get stretched to the main plot of the season, along with some hastily written filler.
Combine that with the shaky first season which consists of a lot of adventure of the day episodes, cheesier production etc. that on first watch feels like dollar store Star Trek, but it’s all background for when the plot gets going, and you’ve got three very strong seasons of sci-fi television.