J . Michael Straczynski Joseph Michael Straczynski , known to many fans as " JMS " , is a writer known for work in both print and on the screen . As a comic creator , he scripted a single " Star Trek " issue , " Worldsinger " , from DC Comics ' volume 2 " Star Trek : TOS " series . Straczynski has written for numerous genre franchises , such as " The Real Ghostbusters " and " The New Twilight Zone " , however he is best known for the creation of " Babylon 5 " , a science fiction series written for television . " B5 " , as it is sometimes known , began in 1993 , and was considered by some to be a competition for , as both series were space station - based . " B5 " attracted a great deal of attention to the craft of television production , as Straczynski claimed to have mapped the series out from beginning to end at its inception . Numerous changes to his plots were introduced to " B5 " over the years , as necessitated by changes in actors and threats of cancellation , however the series still stands as an example of successful long - term serial storytelling , on a somewhat epic scale when compared to other episodic series of similar scope and production value . The series was also notable for being the first sci - fi series to have the space scenes being completely done with computer generated imagery while others at the time , such as Star Trek , were still using models . In a news notice in the German " Star Trek " magazine " Trekworld " in it was mentioned that Paramount Pictures offered Straczynski a chance to work on the " Star Trek " franchise but he refused because he didn ' t want to work on someone else ' s series and he thought that the " Star Trek " fans didn ' t like him . In 2004 , Straczynski worked on a the " Star Trek " franchise with Bryce Zabel , one that was ultimately turned down . Studio JMS and Patricia Tallman . In 2011 , Straczynski wrote the foreword titled " 1 , 800 Non - Libelous Words About Patricia Tallman " for Patricia Tallman ' s autobiography " Pleasure Thresholds – Patricia Tallman ' s " Babylon 5 " Memoir " . Straczynski described himself as fan of scary movies and zombie films and saw Tallman for the first time in the 1990 horror remake " Night of the Living Dead " . He became fascinated by her performance and specifically wrote the part of Leonora Holt in the " Murder , She Wrote " 1992 episode " Incident in Lot 7 " for her but was told by the casting department that Tallman was unavailable and the role was cast with actress . One year later , in 1993 , Straczynski again wrote a part specifically for Tallman , the role of the telepath in " The Gathering " , the pilot episode of " Babylon 5 " . At the day of the audition for " The Gathering " he stepped into the waiting area and told Tallman that he wrote the part specifically for her . After Tallman was cast , Straczynski was crushed by the studio ' s decision to replace the part when the series went into production but was ecstatic when he found the chance to bring Tallman back aboard " Babylon 5 " one year later . The two worked together until the end of the " Babylon 5 " franchise in 1998 . Throughout the following years the two only met occasionally at the funerals of fellow " B5 " cast members Andreas Katsulas , , and . In 2010 they reconnected and became friends again . That also led into working together . In 2012 , Straczynski launched his own production company Studio JMS and Tallman became CEO and Executive Producer of the company . Studio JMS is currently working on Phase Two of the MTV . com series " The Adventures of Apocalypse Al " as follow up of the online comic strip web series , with a 2014 release . In pre - production is the science fiction series " Sense8 " , distributed by Netflix as well as the drama " The Flickering Light " , set for a 2016 release .