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Wellington, New Zealand - Babylon 5 fans have long felt they've
been neglected and sometimes even persecuted. As a group they have
a history of being very vocal whenever they think something is ripping
off their beloved television show. From almost the second it
premiered there was an ongoing flame war between Babylon 5 fans and Deep
Space 9 fans as to which show ripped off which. Since Babylon 5 has
been off the air, and it's spinoff canceled, the rancor of the fans has died
down. Until now.
 "This
is a complete and total rip off," screams out Babylon 5 fan
James Gretous. "How can Peter Jackson expect to get away with
something so blatant?!"
It's been half a year since the Lord of the Rings: The Two
Towers was released, but now the complaints are beginning to
reach a crescendo pitch. They believe that Lord of the Rings has
ripped off Babylon 5 in several instances. The one that
is repeated on various message boards and chat sessions constantly
is how Gandalf fell, died and came back at Khazad-dûm.
"That's when I first noticed how much these movies are ripping
off Babylon 5," says Richard Thompson. "Back at
the end of Season 3, Sheridan fell and died at Z'ha'dum. Z'ha'dum,
Khazad-dûm, it's completely obvious. Jackson didn't even try
to hide it. And look at the elves. Could they be any more Minbari
like? They even have Arwen choosing to go mortal, as Delenn used
the chrysalis to become part human. What next...Gandalf is revealed
to be the great Elvish philosopher-warrior Velan from a thousand
years back?"
Several message boards about Babylon 5 have been in an uproar over
this. According to one moderator that wishes to be nameless there
has been a huge boost in posts since Fellowship of the Ring came
out. He also claims he has led several flame attacks on various Lord
of the Rings message boards and chat rooms. The flame attacks
consisted of multiple topics that viciously attack Jackson over the
alleged plagiarism.
Babylon 5's usually outspoken creator, Joe Michael Straczynski,
has remained oddly silent on this issue. Fans have clogged the Babylon
5 usenet forum, where Mr. Straczynski resides, with questions
about this issue. The questions have recently turned into demands
for a statement, but all Mr. Straczynski answered the demands with
was this comment: "I personally have not seen the movies and
cannot comment on if they plagiarized my work."
Peter Jackson was unavailable for comment.
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