View Full Version : Babylon 5
Finally finished all 5 seasons of Babylon 5 the other day and I'm not ashamed to admit that I shed a tear during the final episode when
when the station was finally destroyed as it wasn't needed and Sheridan went off to die :'(
Just need to finish off watching Crusade, which is annoying as the episodes are all over the place, then 2 more films and I'm done.
Pretty much the best final episode of show. Great because they filmed it in S4 so Ivonova was still contracted to do it. There was some stupid issue with her contract and she wasn't in S5. No matter how many times I rewatch the entire show I always skip the final episode because I'm too much of a girl to watch it. I haven't seen it in years and I really want to watch it with the directors commentary because I've heard that it was all done on the fly by JMS. It was his first time rewatching it since it aired or something so it could be very interesting to listen to.
Del Lardo
23-07-2008, 12:01
Does anyone have a "copy" of B5 that they can share? Really enjoyed it when it was on TV but lost track towards the end of S3 and never finished watching it.
A few of us have 'legit' boxsets (some paid for, some not ;)).
Pete, I agree. Most leave their series open-ended in some vain hope of later fulfilment. B5 was different - when it was over, you knew it was over. Sure, some of the characters continued to other B5 spin-offs, films, etc., but not B5 itself. That was gone - no questions and no loose ends. Well done to JMS for having the courage to pull that off.
leowyatt
23-07-2008, 13:42
The thing is though, JMS always had the 5-year arc planned out. For me the big shame was having to film your series finale an entire season too soon.
Ah but due to B5's constant 11th hour renewal the 5 year arc was squished into 4. S5 was like "Oh, *now* you want a 5th season?" The finale works imho because that was the finale he had planned from the start. I would guess that even if he had filmed it at the end of S5 it would be exactly as it was. I've always wanted to buy the original B5 bible. Its got notes and everything written by JMS in. Theres a whole host of changes to how the show actually aired.
leowyatt
23-07-2008, 14:41
I know they suddenly found out that there was a 5th season which to me was very poor. Admittedly it made season 4 absolutely amazing but I thought the 5th suffered dreadfully because of it.
Totally. I think the idea was to stretch out the Shadow war over s4 and the Earth war over S5. First half of s5 was a bit boring really. The 2nd half was much better and classic B5. Nicely showing what happened with Londo, which was pretty heart breaking and what happened with Garabaldi too. I seem to recall that G'kar's storyline in s5 was inspired by what was happening to JMS.
Undeniably true. You have the TV execs to thank for that blunder - as ever.
leowyatt
23-07-2008, 14:51
heh well C4 buggered around with the schedule enough from what I remember. I never knew week to week what time it was being shown.
Oh C4 was a mess. They got more complaints about B5 than any other show at that time. People were furious over their stupid clock placement. I remember S3 used to be on at tea time Sunday evening. S5 was after / before Hollyoaks, which I know because I started watching Hollyoaks at that time. Fans HATED the clock on the show. They were looking for legal grounds based on that the clock was blocking peoples names in the credits. They also wrote in to get C4 to air the credits for the final episode without any stupid voice-overs or ads.
Del Lardo
23-07-2008, 15:02
A few of us have 'legit' boxsets (some paid for, some not ;)).
Would anyone mind me borrowing them for a short time in exchange for beer tokens/HDD full of HD content?
Just found this thread about to post as I know there are fans here, play has them for £14/season, that's £70 for the lot.
In other words, about £1.57/hour of TV.
I remember paying £14 per vhs.
Del Lardo
30-07-2008, 20:34
I have found a copy laying around the house. I have S1-5, Crusade 1-13 & B5 movies. What order should I watch them in?
leowyatt
30-07-2008, 20:37
start at the beginning with episode 1. Though you could watch the movie in the beginning if you like.
start at the beginning with episode 1. Though you could watch the movie in the beginning if you like.
Noooooooo! Watch the movie 'The Gathering' first. Then B5 seasons 1-4. Then if you want you can watch the movies 'In the Beginning' and 'Thirdspace'. Then watch S5 and you can then watch the other 2 movies. You have to watch 'A Call to Arms' before you watch Crusade too. If you watch it in any other order it will ruin things, especially if you watch 'In the beginning' first.
leowyatt
30-07-2008, 21:28
I think I've got the gathering and in the beginning mixed up :o
:D The Gathering is the one where they look different to the actual show because its the pilot. Originally it had different music because they didn't have Christopher Franke on board at the time, I think. Oh and The Gathering also has a slightly different crew.
leowyatt
30-07-2008, 21:43
yes I got them confused, glad no one listened to me ;D
I'm now about 2/3rds through Season 3, next DVD arrives tomorrow from LoveFilm and should be finished by end of the weekend ready for the next to be sent :)
A Place of Light
31-07-2008, 00:33
A superb show, even though it's typically compared to Star Trek when the truth is B5 was/is superior in every way.
I think I paid £70/season on VHS, then of course I needed them on DVD as well. I have a few pieces of memorabilia and some autographs as well.
S5 did feel a little "thin" due to the suits meddling as per usual, but then I still haven't forgiven them for axing Space: Above and Beyond either.
A superb show, even though it's typically compared to Star Trek when the truth is B5 was/is superior in every way.
I've regularly had this argument with Mic - he is a B5 fan and I am a trekie. He always says about how DS9 stole the story line from B5, and, well, yeah it seems they did. Doesn't stop me completely enjoying it though and just because I enjoy star trek doesn't mean I can't equally enjoy B5.
Oh and The Gathering also has a slightly different crew.
Yeah Laurel Takashima instead of Susan Ivanova and if you you're quick you'll see Morden working in C&C as a bit char :)
Plus other bits obviously :)
leowyatt
01-08-2008, 11:15
but then I still haven't forgiven them for axing Space: Above and Beyond either.
ZOMG!!! that was an amazing show, I was sooooo gutted when that finished. I was miserable for days afterwards ;D
A Place of Light
06-08-2008, 18:53
I've regularly had this argument with Mic - he is a B5 fan and I am a trekie. He always says about how DS9 stole the story line from B5, and, well, yeah it seems they did. Doesn't stop me completely enjoying it though and just because I enjoy star trek doesn't mean I can't equally enjoy B5.
IMHO, Treks biggest flaw is it's rigidly constrained by a 40 year old format.
Episode starts, something bad happens almost immediately, the crew spend the next 33 minutes trying to undo said bad thing, episode ends all happy and smiley faced.
The other issue I have is that it's typically simplistic and wishy-washy. With a few noteable exceptions, you could watch a bunch of Trek episodes in any order you like and it wouldn't make a great deal of difference to your understanding of what's going on. Try missing an episode of B5 in any of the five series and you're screwed.
A Place of Light
06-08-2008, 18:54
ZOMG!!! that was an amazing show, I was sooooo gutted when that finished. I was miserable for days afterwards ;D
I have them on DVD, but I think it's still R1 only.
Don't forget that Star Trek operated on a 2D plane in a 3D universe. B5 came along and showed us all that space is actually 3D, and it had physics too.
A Place of Light
06-08-2008, 23:25
Don't forget that Star Trek operated on a 2D plane in a 3D universe. B5 came along and showed us all that space is actually 3D, and it had physics too.
Indeed. I believe that JPL had a massive input into all of the combat/flying CGI scenes to add an element of realism.
Don't forget that Star Trek operated on a 2D plane in a 3D universe. B5 came along and showed us all that space is actually 3D, and it had physics too.
It's great to see ships that don't just constantly have their engines firing and whatnot, that actually seem to move properly :)
Still you get sounds in space though :(
I once read that you hear the sound the Shadow vessels used because its telepathically projected. Not sure if thats 100% true or not but a great way of getting around a small issue. Of course it doesn't explain their beam weapons or all the other ships.
A Place of Light
26-09-2008, 19:24
I once read that you hear the sound the Shadow vessels used because its telepathically projected. Not sure if thats 100% true or not but a great way of getting around a small issue. Of course it doesn't explain their beam weapons or all the other ships.
Doesn't one of the characters say at one point something along the lines of "you hear it in your mind"?
*wipes a tear or two from his eye*
Just finished the final episode of Season 5.
This last season didn't really grab me, I think possibly more because of the huge spoiler show at the end of Season 4. I know why it was there, I just wish I hadn't watched it. Also it kinda felt like every interesting (to me) story line was wrapped up in S4, S5 just didn't really seem to have much going on, just lots of bitty ones.
Still, I have to say that overall it has been a real treat, and a rare pleasure :)
Miss_Lainey
16-10-2008, 20:04
This last season didn't really grab me, I think possibly more because of the huge spoiler show at the end of Season 4. I know why it was there, I just wish I hadn't watched it. Also it kinda felt like every interesting (to me) story line was wrapped up in S4, S5 just didn't really seem to have much going on, just lots of bitty ones.
I agree, i didn't see the point of the spoiler.
I usually like things like that. I am one of few people I know who enjoyed the 'Lost' cliffhanger that showed us the future, i like to fill int he blanks.
This has resulted in several consistent flaws throughout the Babylon 5 widescreen release. In particular, quality drops significantly whenever a scene cuts from purely live-action to a shot combining live-action and CGI. This is particularly noticeable on the PAL DVDs, since CGI shots had to be converted from NTSC, as well as being blown up to fit a widescreen television. In addition, while the live-action film was originally widescreen, shots were composed for 4:3, resulting in a conspicuous tendency for actors to clump up in the middle of the screen.
That explains a lot! Wondered why the live / cgi mix was so awful.
Oh, and one final observation: Bester really is a nasty piece of work, but somehow I found myself beginning to emphasise a little with him. Still, Evil man. Evil, evil, evil.
Bester was a brilliant character. So so far removed from Chekov that its really hard to believe its the same guy. I can understand his cause. His need to protect his people, his way of life from those who would use teeps as weapons. I can understand how he'd want to protect his people from a virus and essentially being enslaved to a drug to keep them inline. But what a **** for using Garabaldi as he did.
S4 was meant to be split in 2. S5 was written on the fly and totally unplanned because they had no idea whether they would get a s5. Ivonova never came back because, if I remember rightly, she didn't sign on in time or something. For that reason it was good that they filmed the final episode at the end of s4 so she was there. Call me a wuss but whenever I rewatch the series I always stop before that episode.
leowyatt
16-10-2008, 20:37
I must watching 2-4 again :)
Thats usually what I do. Sometimes I'll throw 1 in. Then theres the movies. I've never ever rewatched 'River of souls' That was simply awful. Call to Arms is good but I really hate the music. Its like a cat dying on a piano. Crusade is something I haven't watched properly in years. It had potential until TNT got their way. They wanted a scene where the dude from Lost, who played a teep, raped someone or something. They did so much screwing around. Rearranged the episodes so the show never made sense. The uniforms changed randomly even though they couldn't get back to Earth. Eugh. Annoying.
leowyatt
16-10-2008, 20:52
I keep meaning to get Kitten to watch B5 :p
Get lots and lots of tape. Don't make her get up till she's seen it. Pee breaks at the end of each season.
leowyatt
16-10-2008, 21:02
hahhah
I'm sure she'll enjoy it ;)
Dymetrie
16-10-2008, 21:21
Pee breaks at the end of each season.
Just get a commode and some creams for the bedsores :p
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