B5 - Final Word on the Claudia / ivanova question (I hope)

Claudia Christian (ivanova), like all the other Babylon 5 actors, was
offered a contract extension so she could appear in Season 5. All the
actors signed except Claudia, who instead asked for a contract
renegotiation so she could work only 18 episodes. (But still get paid
the same amount of money as a full 22-episode appearance... in effect,
a per-episode PAY RAISE.)

That would be fine except.....

Have you heard of "favored nation" status? It's a clause inside a
contract that basically says, if one actor gets to renegotiate the
contract (claudia), then they ALL get to renegotiate their contracts
(boxleitner, katsulas, et cetera). And get per-episode payraises to
match.

WB was not willing to renegotiate ALL the actors' contracts, simply
because of one person's desire to renegotiate. Instead of $800,000 an
episode, WB would be paying almost $1,000,000 to produce each episode.
It would have broken their budget to give everyone a raise. (And
season 5 would have never happened.)

bllbickel...

You're contending that DVD sales for Season 5 would have been
significantly higher if Ivanava had been in it? The whole, you know,
"Season 5 sucking" wouldn't have been a factor?

I don't think I'm alone is feeling that the first four DVD collections
cover the "novel" in its entirety.

Paul Harper...

Far from alone.

pv+usenet...

Yep. Deconstruction was a fantastic series ender, and there wasn't anything
at all that happened in season 5 that you didn't a) already know to your
satisfaction, or b) care about enough to consider a loose end. Season 5
was entirely unnecessary, and the series was damaged by it. *

Alison Hopkins...

I'm here on that one.

Captain Infinity...

I, too, have only purchased the first 4 seasons. There's no way I'll
ever buy season 5, but, in some alternate universe, that situation may
differ if Claudia was in it. But there's no way to tell because my
Spoiler Spaceship is in the shop so my dimension-jumping ability is
currently on hold.

**
Captain Infinity

no-spam...

They need to do a CG edit to the end of season 4 to show the giant
"Mission Accomplished" banner Sheridan had strung up on the station.

Never would have thought it would take GWB to appreciate what JMS showed
in the 5th season--the world does not stop just because the war is over.

Bill Bickel
http://www.crimepundit.com

But Claudia refused to sign unless she got her renegotiation/raise.
Thus there was an unresolvable impasse between CC and WB.
Thus all the other actors appeared in season 5.
But not Claudia.

It's as simple as that. There's no need for emotional recriminations,
backstabbing, or hatred. The facts speak for themselves. A raise for
Claudia would have incurred the "favored nation" clause, and ALL the
contracts would have been open to renegotiation. WB was not willing to
do that. Simple.

.

ASIDE - As for "time off"..... both Katsulas (gkar) and Furst (vir)
were able to take time-off to do various tv/movie projects (and still
get paid). NOT through renegotiation of the contract, but simply by
walking to Producer J. Michael Straczynski's office, and asking him to
write-them-out of the story. A verbal promise, not a contractual
promise.

JMS agreed. Likewise, Claudia was offered to be "written-out" to go do
her movie; same offer Katsulas, Furst received verbally. She could
have appeared in both Season 5 and her movie, just as Katsula/Furst had
done in previous seasons.

Michael Johnson...

There is no doubt in my mind the actress and her agent used the switch
to TNT as a way of being able to get her off the show and to another.
Everything else was just spin on both sides. If Claudia Christian
wanted to do season 5.. she would have.