As many of us know, Joe had the original plan down prior to The Gathering being shot. There were however revisions made to the original plan. Here's a handy place for us to speculate/hypothsise how the original arc changed over the course of the series. Feel free to pitch in.

I think the first change that we've identified is the Sakai/Carolyn/Anna one. Originally it would have been Carolyn being captured by the Shadows. Joe then recast the part, bringing in Sakai, who would then have gone to Z'ha'dum. Finally, with the departure of MoH, the baton passed once more to Anna Sheridan, who ultimately, DID go to Z'ha'dum. All three planetary surveyors of some description. Coincidence ??

There are plenty more revisions along the way, we can add more as and when people realise them or they come up in the individual episodes.

Whats the background on Sinclair leaving James - was he meant to be there for 5 years and go back the 1000 years right at the end?

Sinclair's original end would have been in Sleeping in Light. Only SiL would have been different from the version that ultimately aired. Sinclair would have ended the episode going back through time with B4, just as he did in War Without End part 2. That's why Sinclair had grey hair in Babylon Squared, because Sinclair had actually come 20 years from the future. They had to rethink that one when MoH left, or was invited to leave, depending on whose version of the story you buy.

Sheridan was always going to turn up, only in the original arc, Sheridan would have taken on the role that eventually fell to General Hague. Whether Sheridan survived until the end, unlike Hague, I don't recall.

The final scene of the series would have been that scene that ended War Without End part 2. Valen greeting the Minbari aboard B4. Whether Sakai would have been involved is a good question. I'd tend to think so, as Joe provided certain information to the writing of the novel To Dream in the City of Sorrows. That novel ends with Sakai being stranded 1000 years in the past. It adds further motivation to Sinclair going through with the plan and taking B4 back 1000 years. It all kind of ties in.

Joe's version of the Sinclair departure story was that he figured that Sinclair had fulfilled his role to the overall arc at the end of season 1. To add the further weight of losing his girl to the Shadows would have seemed like too much to pile on one guy. Que Sheridan.

The more popular belief is that WBs simply didn't rate O'Hare and wanted someone in the lead with more charisma. Que Bruce Boxleitner.

The truth is probably somewhere between those two statements ;)

Personally I think Sinclair's mysterious departure was one of the best things for B5, for several reasons.

Firstly it ups the ante with the whole missing 24 hours/Valen story, with him disappearing just as he learns more about what happened. Also, it gets rid of the cliché that he would defeat the Shadows, liberate Earth, become a god and be back in time for tea!

Bit like Sisko then :lol:

After watching Survivors and remembering that both Claudia Christian's and BB's roles were originally intended for earlier characters you have to wonder whether officer Lou Welch's path would originally have been that which was originally taken by Zack.

Just a thought, but Lou pretty much disappeared after the first season. From what I remember they pretty much built him up to be Garibaldi's bud. Initially I'd have thought that this would possibly be used as a 'shock' if he betrayed Garibaldi at the end of the first season, but that particular snake in the grass was already embedded before Lou Welch ever appeared.

Having now gone through Babylon Squared, I'll reiterate once again the reasoning behind Sinclair's grey hair towards the end of the episode.

At this point in the series it was still unknown that Sinclair/O'Hare would be written out of the show. The original arc would have had Sinclair carrying the role that would eventually fall to John Sheridan. Namely, it would have been Sinclair who went to Z'ha'dum, it would have been Sinclair who died, only to be temporarily revived, and it would have been Sinclair who survived through to the finale, Sleeping in Light.

Sleeping in Light was originally to have incorporated elements from the eventual aired episode, together with the events of War Without End. The reason for Sinclair's grey hair in Babylon Squared is because at that point Joe had him coming from 20 years in the future (present day in SiL).

During those early years of the show, much was made of Joe already having the series mapped out to the point of him knowing the final scene of the series. That scene changed when Sinclair departed. Originally it would have been the final scene from War Without End, with Sinclair introducing himself to his 'new friends'.

The whole 'time displacement' excuse for Sinclair's grey hair was conceived after WWE had been bought forward and SiL changed.

Angel, after our brief conversation of people marrying in the Chrysalis thread, what was the original plan for Sakai?

Personally I don't see her marrying Sinclair as such as a permanent thing, as I assumed she would fulfil the role of Anna, so she wouldn't be lasting that long with him.

I presume she would have been carted off whilst on a survey mission which would have given more of an emotional impact for Sinclair, as they had just gotten married, and for the viewers, as it was someone we knew (since Anna was just another person).

Catherine's arc would originally have been that which eventually fell to Anna Sheridan. Sakai would have been lost on Z'ha'dum. They'd already started laying the groundwork for it during the first season. The marriage was there to make it that bit more significant to Sinclair, who would eventually go to Z'ha'dum to find her.