Babylon 5

[lapis molari]

Update: I've improved this cover (see image in post #101 in this thread). The ship on the right now has a three-part overlay from the original screen-capture ship, one of the interior red glow from the middle ship, and another of the left starfield.

I made a poster for B5's episode A Distant Star (s2e04). I'm not making an edit of it, this is just for fun. I was all happy with the screenshot I used, until I enlarged the image and the coarse pixels disappoint.

Which version do you like better?
Left: a screenshot from the episode (PAL dvd) with an expanded starfield to fit the poster,
Center: a more aggressive looking Explorer Ship, and Jumpgate (two separate images from Deviant Art) plus a starfield,
Right: a nearly exact Explorer Ship but lit from the wrong direction for this poster (from Deviant Art) plus the same Jumpgate and starfield.

 

[Zarius]

I'm a fan of the middle one, although the back of the ship does blend a bit into the jumpgate wormhole

 

[bionicbob]

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOizNEV5WNw[/video]

 

[lapis molari]

@"bionicbob" , nice find. There is indeed plenty to enjoy hidden between the dumb and/or slow moments.

 

[TM2YC]

I've finished Season 3 and begun S4 now. I've skipped over the opening intros for S1 & S2 quite a few times but never for S3. I think the Ivanova "...our last best hope for victory" intro the best one, with that music:

It's shame they changed the intro format for S4 & S5. S4 should have been narrated by Delenn and S5 by Lockley. Then you'd have intros from all station commanders and all three of the "The One". The intro music is great for both though, S5 might be the best one... especially the Rock version :

The pitch by the Shadow agents in the last episode of S3 made me think about the Shadows and Vorlons in terms of current politics. The Vorlons are like extreme left wing economic theory nuts (make the world more ordered through controlling all markets and directing growth for the supposed benefit of all) and the Shadows are like extreme right wing economic theory nuts (make the world stronger by turning markets over to pure anarchy, let the powerful crush the weak). We could do with a Sheridan to tell them both to "get the hell out of our galaxy!" these days . (Just a joke, I've no interest in discussing politics here)

 

[lapis molari]

The intro music is great for both though, S5 might be the best one... especially the Rock version :

Yes, Heropoint's version rocks! I dubbed it over the end credits of River of Souls, replacing the Stacey Keach's Mike Hammer / soft porn music. This fits better in season 5 while still being a stand-alone adventure.

Tip: if you want this Rock version: youtube's audio is a low bitrate MP3, amazon (and other online stores) offer the 320kbps MP3. The difference is audible. And if you want to incorporate it into a B5 adventure, lower the mid-bass. I found that too boom-y.

 

[bionicbob]

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_gJXc_6c3g[/video]

 

[bionicbob]

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlAAGZAllIE[/video]

I have always been a fan of Scoggins but even I had difficulty adjusting to her B5 casting.  Mostly because I think JMS made some terrible mistakes with her character in the beginning... particularly making her Sheridan's ex-wife!!!  It was just stupid bad writing imo.  And while she was never going to replace Ivanova, I think she grew into the role and I was looking forward to it developing further on Crusade....

In this age of franchise expansions, I wonder why no one has picked the comic book or novel rights, and continued on with the series?

 

[lapis molari]

@"bionicbob" I love the comic book story JMS wrote to bridge Sinclair going from B5 to Minibar. Great addition to the TV episodes.

An animated series would be interesting too. Voice casting would be a challenge though, with all the actors who've gone beyond the rim. Here's an example image by a Russian artist:

 

[bionicbob]

@"bionicbob" I love the comic book story JMS wrote to bridge Sinclair going from B5 to Minibar. Great addition to the TV episodes.

I agree, a great read.  I had most of the DC B5 comic run at one point.... probably still do in a box somewhere.

Here is a list of all the novels, comics and short stories JMS considered canon:
https://b5books.com/babylon-5-canon-checklist/

I have read all the listed novels, though sadly none of the short stories (particularly curious about the one involving Ivanova resurrecting Marcus)  Again, it would be wonderful to have all these collected in one book.

 

[GelflingHand]

I made a poster for B5's episode A Distant Star (s2e04). I'm not making an edit of it, this is just for fun. I was all happy with the screenshot I used, until I enlarged the image and the coarse pixels disappoint.



Which version do you like better?

How about putting the middle ship over a screenshot jumpgate? Perhaps reduce the saturation of the ship just a little, and make the jumpgate smaller so the pixelation is less of an issue?

 

[bionicbob]

While listening to the Babylon Podcast, I learned some interesting tidbits I was unaware of...

As we know JMS built in many trapdoors into various characters in case actors left the show, with the best example being Sheridan assuming the story arc originally designed for Sinclair.  But if Sinclair had remained, how might have the show evolved differently?

Between filming the pilot The Gathering and season one premiere, JMS wrote a four page document outlining the broad strokes for the entire series arc and when you rewatch season one, it aligns very closely with this planned direction compared to what we got after the season two retooling.

---there is no mention of Valen in the original outline or reborn souls
---Sinclair and Delenn fall in love and get married... which is teased in the Minbari ceremony Sinclair took part in
---they have a son named David
---in season five, as teased in season one flashforwards B5 is attacked, over run and destroyed, with Sinclair, Delenn and their son escaping in a shuttle
--they go back in time, steal Babylon 4 and take it FORWARD IN TIME, it is renamed BABYLON PRIME and become the new beacon of hope in the Shadow War

There are of course other changes, but the B4 revelation cleared up some long time confusion for me.... everytime I watch Babylon Squared it seemed very obvious they were taking the station to the future, but then War Without End occurred and it seemed to contradict that.

 

[TM2YC]

I'm trying to think what Zathras says in Babylon Squared. He mentions needing B4 for a war "on the side of light" but I can't remember if he mentions the past, or future.

 

[lapis molari]

I just rewatched 'I, Zathras', and Zathras refuses, twice, to specify whether the station is needed in the past or in the future (Garibaldi and the B4 Captain ask him straight out). So no clarity there.

 

[TM2YC]

I just rewatched 'I, Zathras', and Zathras refuses, twice, to specify whether the station is needed in the past or in the future (Garibaldi and the B4 Captain ask him straight out). So no clarity there.

Ah. Thanks for taking the time to do the ifdb review by the way.

 

[lapis molari]

Ah. Thanks for taking the time to do the ifdb review by the way.

I was surprised to find I hadn't reviewed it back in the day. I'm happy to see it holds up well to rewatching.

 

[lapis molari]

To my surprise, @"TM2YC" 's "I, Zathras" doesn't have its own forum thread. So I'll post this update here.

English subtitles for this edit are done. PM me for the .srt file.

To give it visual art that fits more seamlessly with the recent B5 edits, I've also made an alternate cover. Enjoy!

 

[TM2YC]

^ Gee thanks. That's a purdy cover.

 

[lapis molari]

^ Gee thanks. That's a purdy cover.

LOL! My kids walked in while I was finishing the cover and blurted out "That's an ugly man!". It did peak their interest though (I haven't introduced them to B5 yet, we're still on Star Trek TOS.)

 

[Zarius]

Was browsing an old tape of Channel 4 Sunday Morning Cartoons and found an old B5 advert...nice surprise.