Babylon 5

[zigackly]

I downloaded some of this the other day and the first series isn't a bad watch, but then in the second series the main character is gone and Delenn has freaky hair. Should I bother with the rest? The GF decides ...

[Section_31]

The first series is fucking awful mate but in series two Bruce Boxleitner (Tron) becomes captain and it takes off. Season two, three and four area self-contained story and some of the best sci-fi around. There's two major plot arcs, a 'shadow war' against an alien enemy which is based a lot on Lord of the Rings, and the emergence of a fascist state on Earth. It's hard to know which ideas came first but there's a lot of people that think Deep Space Nine ripped off a lot of its best ideas, specifically the development of long plot arcs rather than individual episode storytelling, the addition of a small warship to the station and an all consuming galactic war.

 

Seasons 2, 3, and 4 are top, top class viewing and trailblazing stuff, believe. It's a criminally underrated series. Wouldn't bother with any of the spin-offs (Crusade with a captain who was the bloke from Midnight Caller) and the TV movies, they're mostly shit, seasons 1 and 5 are gash too.

[zigackly]

I wouldn't have said awful mate, I thought it was quite watchable and was surprised it hasn't dated very much considering. I know Sinclair is a bit wooden and shallow, but I was expecting more of a story from the Gray Council stuff and the bit where he is the guy from the future on B4, so it was a shock when they seemed to get rid of him without finishing those story arcs properly.

 

If anything, the first series disappointed slightly because a lot of the episodes seemed a bit self contained, but I like a lot of the characters and I know the story hots up later.

 

I just found myself a little shocked in the first couple of episodes of series two, because I thought the Delenn thing was unnecessary too, and it's made me put it down again for a couple of days so I was looking for advice from people who have seen the whole thing.

 

Not sure why I never watched it the first time around, but I have always intended to "some day" and I have some time on my hands at the moment, so I thought why not. It's a lot of time to waste though if it's not satisfying, if you know what I mean.

 

Also, WTF should I do about the films? Is there any sequence I have to watch them in, or can they be left out until after I have seen the series? It all seems a bit complicated.

[Stu Monty]

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[silverlining]

I always hear good things from nerds about Babylon 5 and I think it was from Series 2 onwards that it gets good.

 

Never watched it myself.

 

This wasn't very helpful was it?

[Section_31]

I wouldn't have said awful mate, I thought it was quite watchable and was surprised it hasn't dated very much considering. I know Sinclair is a bit wooden and shallow, but I was expecting more of a story from the Gray Council stuff and the bit where he is the guy from the future on B4, so it was a shock when they seemed to get rid of him without finishing those story arcs properly.

 

If anything, the first series disappointed slightly because a lot of the episodes seemed a bit self contained, but I like a lot of the characters and I know the story hots up later.

 

I just found myself a little shocked in the first couple of episodes of series two, because I thought the Delenn thing was unnecessary too, and it's made me put it down again for a couple of days so I was looking for advice from people who have seen the whole thing.

 

Not sure why I never watched it the first time around, but I have always intended to "some day" and I have some time on my hands at the moment, so I thought why not. It's a lot of time to waste though if it's not satisfying, if you know what I mean.

 

Also, WTF should I do about the films? Is there any sequence I have to watch them in, or can they be left out until after I have seen the series? It all seems a bit complicated.

 

Nah don't worry about the films, they just fill in some backstory stuff, they're pretty gash though. You could just watch seasons 2,3, and 4 as one self-contained long story. They're the only ones I own.

[mattyq]

Secsh has it right. Series 2 -4 knocked seven shades of shite out of DS9. Great stuff

[zigackly]

Disappointing turnout, but the poll is clearly in favour of me carrying on. Cheers chaps.

[Jarvinja Ilnow]

The first series is fucking awful mate but in series two Bruce Boxleitner (Tron) becomes captain and it takes off. Season two, three and four area self-contained story and some of the best sci-fi around. There's two major plot arcs, a 'shadow war' against an alien enemy which is based a lot on Lord of the Rings, and the emergence of a fascist state on Earth. It's hard to know which ideas came first but there's a lot of people that think Deep Space Nine ripped off a lot of its best ideas, specifically the development of long plot arcs rather than individual episode storytelling, the addition of a small warship to the station and an all consuming galactic war.

 

Seasons 2, 3, and 4 are top, top class viewing and trailblazing stuff, believe. It's a criminally underrated series. Wouldn't bother with any of the spin-offs (Crusade with a captain who was the bloke from Midnight Caller) and the TV movies, they're mostly shit, seasons 1 and 5 are gash too.

 

As they say: "this"

[Section_31]

Disappointing turnout, but the poll is clearly in favour of me carrying on. Cheers chaps.

 

Most people probably haven't seen it, I personally don't know anyone else who has except me. It's like burried treasure. Once you've finished you should check out Space Above and Beyond too, that's another gem.

[Section_31]

Yes please!

 

 

[zigackly]

Nice find! I'm more than halfway through series three now. So much to recommend it; plot, character study, subtle humour. I'm really enjoying it and it isn't dated which I was worried about. I'm interested to see where they take it next, as it seems to have hit a plot lull (don't want to put any spoilers in) but I'm glad my questions from above have been dealt with so well.

[zigackly]

My mistake, it's actually season four I am more than halfway through.

[J-V]

Great show.

[RoboRiise]

Haha I just read your original post, my first thought was "fuck yeah, that's the bit where it gets really heavy".

 

Quality show.

[RoboRiise]

Most people probably haven't seen it, I personally don't know anyone else who has except me. It's like burried treasure. Once you've finished you should check out Space Above and Beyond too, that's another gem.

 

 

Missed this post before. That is truly great advice.

[Section_31]

How boss are the Leonov-style Earth Alliance destroyers? Fucking beasts they are.

 

[Anubis]

Is Babylon 5 Set To Return In Some Form? | SFX

 

 

 

Is Babylon 5 Set To Return In Some Form?

 

Dave Golder at 08:56am August 18 2011

 

 

Could Babylon 5, J Michael Straczynski’s epic five-season “sci-fi novel for television” be making a return? Perhaps, hinted Walter Koenig, who played the villainous telepath Bester on the show.

 

According to TrekMovie.com, Koenig let slip this tantalising piece of information while speaking at a Star Trek convention in Las Vegas last week:

 

“[J Michael Straczynski] told me that he is in negotiations to re-acquire the rights to Babylon 5 and it looks pretty good. Now what that portends I am not entirely sure. It could be a new series or it could be a feature film, but he was quite animated about it. He seemed very excited and Warner Brothers is dealing with him in good faith. So you might see another Babylon 5 in the not too distant future.”

[Section_31]

I wouldn't be overly excited if it came back, it really did lose something towards the end there. I bought the TV film boxset and they're fucking dire. I've never known a franchise vary so wildly in quality, it goes from one of the top 10 shows I've ever seen to being virtually unwatchable.

[ngogswilly]

I wouldn't be overly excited if it came back, it really did lose something towards the end there. I bought the TV film boxset and they're fucking dire. I've never known a franchise vary so wildly in quality, it goes from one of the top 10 shows I've ever seen to being virtually unwatchable.

 

Bingo, parts of the story told throughout the 5 odd seasons was amazing stuff. I'd go so far as to say if the same caliber of story telling had been done in a non sci-fi show it would have been critically acclaimed beyond belief. Alot of it was planned out in a huge story arc and things tied together beautifully(at times) in terms of the mythology and history of the shows universe.

 

But it also had some seriously shite stories and characters intermingled in there. Like you say it varied wildly in quality.

 

If they could bring it back, maybe shorten the seasons and focus on a core storyline as opposed to having long seasons with half of it made up of pure shite filler material. It would do well.

[Section_31]

Bingo, parts of the story told throughout the 5 odd seasons was amazing stuff. I'd go so far as to say if the same caliber of story telling had been done in a non sci-fi show it would have been critically acclaimed beyond belief. Alot of it was planned out in a huge story arc and things tied together beautifully(at times) in terms of the mythology and history of the shows universe.

 

But it also had some seriously shite stories and characters intermingled in there. Like you say it varied wildly in quality.

 

If they could bring it back, maybe shorten the seasons and focus on a core storyline as opposed to having long seasons with half of it made up of pure shite filler material. It would do well.

 

The weird thing is that it's hard to pinpoint exactly what changed. It was pretty much always JMS writing all the shows, he wrote three year's worth of groundbreaking, character driven stuff, sandwiched by absolute dross. It's baffling. The only time I've ever seen quality fall off a cliff like that was in stuff like V The Final Battle when it became the 'mini series', or various later Star Trek incarnations like Voyager and Enterprise, but they were whole different series with different writers or writing teams. Very strange. Mayne sometimes you just run out of creative steam, and the more you try and recreate what you had, the more it gets away from you. As a creative person, that must be the worst feeling in the world.

[ngogswilly]

The weird thing is that it's hard to pinpoint exactly what changed. It was pretty much always JMS writing all the shows, he wrote three year's worth of groundbreaking, character driven stuff, sandwiched by absolute dross. It's baffling. The only time I've ever seen quality fall off a cliff like that was in stuff like V The Final Battle when it became the 'mini series', or various later Star Trek incarnations like Voyager and Enterprise, but they were whole different series with different writers or writing teams. Very strange. Mayne sometimes you just run out of creative steam, and the more you try and recreate what you had, the more it gets away from you. As a creative person, that must be the worst feeling in the world.

 

I'd think thats a fairly good guess.

 

I'd imagine its also often got a bit to do with the higher ups running these things. The creative guys who craft these stories are probably under a lot of restrictions and have to put up with some pain in the arse executive telling them to change this and that.

 

I'd imagine it eventually distorts the original vision of the creator a lot.

[Kevin D]

Watched the first episode yesterday and thought it was really good.