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Babylon 5

beckmen

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Any other fans on here? Recently bought and watched the complete series. First fell in love with it when the SciFi Channel picked it up years ago. Such an amazingly awesome show.
 

Heinrich

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never got into it. i?ve seen one or two episodes but i didn?t like the cgi at all and bruce boxleitner. meanwhile the years have passed and sometimes i think that i was wrong going for the star trek stuff because babylon 5 seemed to have the stuff i would have liked to see in star trek like continueing storylines and deep characterization.

do you say it?s worth watching it nowadays? maybe it?s not too late for me after all...

i am seeking a really nice science fiction tv show after star trek ever since...
 

Ktar

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Heinrich said:
never got into it. i?ve seen one or two episodes but i didn?t like the cgi at all and bruce boxleitner. meanwhile the years have passed and sometimes i think that i was wrong going for the star trek stuff because babylon 5 seemed to have the stuff i would have liked to see in star trek like continueing storylines and deep characterization.

do you say it?s worth watching it nowadays? maybe it?s not too late for me after all...

i am seeking a really nice science fiction tv show after star trek ever since...

Babylon 5 is awesome. I am currently watching the series through for maybe the 5th time. Always enjoy it.

The CGI progressively got better as time went on. Season 3 was the best overall. I have the complete series, the movies, Legend of the Rangers, and the latest offering which lacked the richness of the series.

Great character development, especially the journey of G'Kar as he went for self centered to a noble warrior in the war of the Shadows. If you give it a chance, I think you will come to like the overall story. It has a beginning, a middle, and a end.

K'tar
 

beckmen

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Heinrich, you should give it another shot...but be warned that the first season isn't as good as the others. The show kind of had it's own little growing pains there. Too many 'create of the week' episodes, etc. Season 2 starts to ramp up the story, and by season 3 you'll be hooked. If not, there's something wrong with you. :p
 

bionicbob

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Definitely one of my favorite sci-fi series of all time!

But you have to be willing to stick with it. As JMS stated, it is esentially a novel for television. Each season representing a different chapter. Season one is a slow introduction to the characters, history and rules of the universe. Season two the conflict becomes revealed. Season 3 and 4 (which are the best imo) the enemy is engaged. And then Season 5, deals with the aftermath and consquences. In many ways, it is pulp space opera of Lord of the Rings. I highly recommend it. :grin:
 

elbarto1

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I just started watching the first season and it varies from laughable to intriguing.

I have always loved sci-fi but never watched B5 other than a few glimpses back when it was originally aired and thinking it was a star trek rip-off.

anyway, I felt the same way about Battlestar Galactica and Firefly untill I started watching them last year and I fell in love w/ them - so I am finally giving B5 a fair chance and its not too bad, I am greatly anticipating it to "get better" though as it can be difficult to watch some of these early episodes.
 

bionicbob

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Came across this interview over on the Trek BBS and thought it was worth sharing....

 

blueyoda

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bionicbob said:
Definitely one of my favorite sci-fi series of all time!

But you have to be willing to stick with it. As JMS stated, it is esentially a novel for television. Each season representing a different chapter. Season one is a slow introduction to the characters, history and rules of the universe. Season two the conflict becomes revealed. Season 3 and 4 (which are the best imo) the enemy is engaged. And then Season 5, deals with the aftermath and consquences. In many ways, it is pulp space opera of Lord of the Rings. I highly recommend it. :grin:

Echoing bionicbob's comments, Babylon 5 is basically a novel.

Season 1 is the introduction and episodic. A bit annoying to get through.

Season 2 is the rising conflict. A few great episodes in there. Very intriguing.

Seasons 3 and 4 is the Shadow War. Simply riveting. The best SciFi I ever saw on television.

Season 5 is the repercussions and consequences and how everybody will deal with a changed universe.

Sure, the CGI hasn't aged very well and some of the acting (Boxleitner in particular) is cringeworthy but the storyline is engaging and smart and G'kar's character arc made me cry more than once (and for more than one reason) and Londo Mollari is one of the more tragic characters I've ever seen in a TV show.

I've watched Babylon 5 at least 3 times (including the brilliant "In the Begining" movie) and if I wasn't so lazy, would transform it into a series of movies.
 

Lord_Elrond_St.Hubbins

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The thing is, people always complain about season 1 and 2, but 3 and 4 wouldn't be nearly as good and riveting without the setup from those seasons.

I actually really like season 1. Sinclair was a more nuanced commander than Sheridan, I was sad to hear the real reason for his departure.
 

bionicbob

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Funny, I always thought Boxleitner was a better fit for JMS style of writing, as his dialogue can be very pulpy and old skool.... and yet, there are moments, especially with G'Kar and Londo, where the words of JMS are sheer poetry.

It was certainly the best role of Boxlietner's career and I thought he brought the perfect energy for the role of galactic hero.

But you really got to give kudos to JMS, as the odds were against him almost the entire 5 season run -- a very limited budget, unexpected departure of key actors, the collapse of the syndicated market -- and yet, he still managed to tell his story from beginning to end, albeit with some alterations along the way.

It is truly a hallmark of great epic sic-fi storytelling.
 

Vultural

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bionicbob said:
. . . the collapse of the syndicated market . . .

I had been watching Babylon on the old UPN. Finished S03 or S04.
Then it disappeared and went to cable or wherever oblivion.
Think there was some sort of gamesmanship with Trek's Deep Six Dull.
Typically, the wrong show was chased off.
 

bionicbob

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Deep Space Nine is my favourite Trek series after TOS.

B5 was part of a syndication package that aired on UPN stations, but it fell apart. This forced JMS to accelerate his storyline in season four and bringing the Shadow War to a close sooner than planned. But then TNT stepped in and picked up B5 for a fifth season, along with several tv movies and a spin off series.
 

bionicbob

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B5 probably had one of the best series finales in tv history. I still get choked up every time I watch it.

 

Vultural

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No doubt because of this thread, last night I watched the movie, Babylon 5: In the Beginning.
Really enjoyable, puts me in mind to watch the whole series again, though I don't know if I want to invest about two years to do so.
 

bionicbob

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In The Beginning is by far the best of the various B5 movies imo, though Call To Arms is a close second. The remaining movies vary depending on your interest.

I have been thinking about JMS announced reboot... at first I was appalled by the idea... thinking not another remake... uhg!

But upon more thought, it could be an interesting opportunity for JMS to maybe explore something closer to his original planned storyline, since many changes/deviations occurred over the course of the series. And at the very least, the reboot is being done by the original creator and not by some studio exec just trying to do a cash-in. Though it is hard to imagine who could be recast as G'kar or Londo?
 

TM2YC

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I'm all for a reboot, as it can only increase demand/awareness for studio investment into converting the original show back into HD.
 

Lord_Elrond_St.Hubbins

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re-releasing the show in hd 16:9 would be just fantastic. They actually filmed everything in very high quality formats. The problem I guess is that most of everything cgi would have to be redone from scratch, and since there is just so much cgi in the show it would be incredibly expensive. they did it with trek though!
 

Captain Khajiit

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TM2YC said:
I'm all for a reboot, as it can only increase demand/awareness for studio investment into converting the original show back into HD.

I agree, though an SD release in 4:3 would please me.
 
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