As much as I like B5 and JMS, DS9 was already in preproduction with the suspicious similarities already in place when he pitched the show. Paramount asking him during the pitch if he’d be interested in making it a Trek show was almost certainly an attempt to poach him for DS9, since they saw how similar the core concepts were. Paramount actually got very hands-off with DS9, and I suspect it was to ensure they didn’t let the pitch influence the show and open them up to a lawsuit.
Also, JMS didn’t go to TNT after Paramount, he went to PTEN. PTEN was terribly run and B5 was literally their only show by the time production started on season 4, with PTEN folding during production. TNT picked up the show for season 5, then ordered a sequel show that they immediately got buyer’s remorse on and fucked with so they could cancel it within the terms of the contract.
As much as I like B5 and JMS, DS9 was already in preproduction with the suspicious similarities already in place when he pitched the show. Paramount asking him during the pitch if he’d be interested in making it a Trek show was almost certainly an attempt to poach him for DS9, since they saw how similar the core concepts were. Paramount actually got very hands-off with DS9, and I suspect it was to ensure they didn’t let the pitch influence the show and open them up to a lawsuit.
Also, JMS didn’t go to TNT after Paramount, he went to PTEN. PTEN was terribly run and B5 was literally their only show by the time production started on season 4, with PTEN folding during production. TNT picked up the show for season 5, then ordered a sequel show that they immediately got buyer’s remorse on and fucked with so they could cancel it within the terms of the contract.