Babylon 5

Ryano · **Tue Aug 17, 2004 6:31 am Babylon 5**

Hey guys , does anyone here watch Babylon 5? If so is it any good and how many seasons? Has it even finished yet?

Sonic74205 · **Tue Aug 17, 2004 7:17 am**

Yeah it's finished, even the mini series they made after it has finished...i think.

Yeah it's quite good, it's full of action!

The Delta Flyer · **Thu Aug 19, 2004 7:00 am**

Babylon 5 is a great show though you have to be willing to watching the entire series to get the full benefit (aka "24")...its similar to DS9 in the fact that its set on a space station but the plot (imo) is much deeper with one episode carrying on from the next rather than having stand-alone episodes as DS9 does. Sure DS9 had arcs but B5s were much longer - some spread over the entire 5 years of the series with hints as to what would happen next are dropped continually.

the spin-off, "Crusade" was cancelled after only a few episodes...though in all honesty it never really appealed to me. Nor did "Legend of the Rangers" which was the pilot to a cancelled-spin off. It was ok but seemed to reuse a similar plot to the original series.

Apparently though there is "something" in the works - a new series or something called "The Memory of Shadows" though I don't think it's been confirmed as to what it actually is...

Ryano · **Thu Aug 19, 2004 6:55 pm**

Dang! Thanks for the info! What an awesome summary! hhehe

IntrepidIsMe · **Thu Aug 19, 2004 10:53 pm**

Woohoo, the Babylon 5 movies came out on DVD today,

Lindley · **Fri Aug 20, 2004 12:16 am**

Babylon 5's first season is a bit on the slow side. It can seem a bit dry and uninteresting at first.

However, all throughout that, they're laying down clues----hints of things to come. And once you reach mid season 2, things really start moving, and it just draws you right in to the story.

There are 5 seasons; generally, people consider seasons 2-4 to be the series' best. However, you can't just watch the good seasons; in order to get the full story, you have to watch it from the start, in order. B5 was designed as a "novel for television", so to speak.

There are also 6 telemovies. "The Gathering" is the original pilot, set a year before season 1. It isn't great, and there are a number of cast and makeup changes between that and the series, but it should still ideally be watched before anything else.

"In the Beginning" is a prequel set 10 years before season 1. However, ideally, it shouldn't be watched until after season 4 at least----it contains some spoilers for the series.

"Thirdspace" is set in the middle of season 4. Probably between "The Illusion of Truth" and "Atonement". However, it is mostly unrelated to the story arcs in that time period, and so can be watched any time from "The Illusion of Truth" onwards.

"The River of Souls" is set a few months after "Objects at Rest", the penultimate episode of the series.

"Legend of the Rangers" is mostly unrelated to the series, and is set 2 years after "Objects at Rest". It was meant as a back-door pilot for a new series, but it wasn't picked up.

"A Call To Arms" is set 5 years after "Objects At Rest", and is the lead-up to Crusade. Crusade was a spinoff of Babylon 5, but it only lasted 13 episodes.

Sonic74205 · **Fri Aug 20, 2004 11:51 am**

I have seen legend of the Rangers and i thought it was GREAT! i loved the gunnary! that was a brilliant idea!

i have seen about 4 Crusade episodes (On every wednesday on sci-fi)

and i am watchin Babylon 5 - 3x06 - Dust To Dust at the moment and chekov is in it!!!

thats the only one thats fully downloaded so far. im alo downloading

Babylon 5 - 3x08 - Message From Earth
&
Babylon 5 - 5x18 - The Fall of Centauri Prime.

Lindley · **Fri Aug 20, 2004 7:16 pm**

^That's a mistake. Trying to watch random B5 episodes is a bad idea----trust me.

To not get hopelessly confused, you really need to watch the series in order.

And yes, Walter Koenig does play a recurring role as Bester the PsiCop.

Sonic74205 · **Fri Aug 20, 2004 7:56 pm**

I know it's a bad idea but there the only ones i could download. Plus i thought i should watch a few and then buy em all to find out whats going on

Ryano · **Sat Aug 21, 2004 3:50 am**

I just bought the season 1 box set today. I havent watched the pilot episode though! I'm gonna start on Season 1 tonight and I'll have to catch up on the pilot , hopefully I don't get lost coz of it.

Lindley · **Sat Aug 21, 2004 1:41 pm**

The Delta Flyer · **Sat Aug 21, 2004 4:26 pm**

When I first started watching Babylon 5 it was half-way through Season 4 and I was watching it only for the space battles- I was a kid at the time (OK so I'm only 18 now) and having just seen Star Wars I was eager for more of the same...I didn't really get what was going on and I wasn't that bothered.

However, later I saw Season 3 and it was so...deep for lack of a better word. Unlike Star Trek, the minor events of one episode mightn't receive any conclusion by the end of that episode - with Star Trek you knew that somehow the B-plot would (for the most part) tie-in somehow with the A-plot and by the end, everything would be fine...although this did change during the Dominion War arc admittedly. With Babylon 5 though a thread might be started in one episode and not touched again for a couple of years...

One example is Londo's dream where he see's Shadow vessels flying overhead...2-3 years later that very same dream comes to pass...you wouldn't know it, nor know the significance unless you had seen that initial episode. It's probably not the best example but its the first one I could think of lol.

I remember from hearing Delenn going on about Shadows how the atmosphere got tenser and tenser...it didn't have much immediate effect but once the Shadows presented themselves, it made a dramatic impact. For me in any case. Fleeting sights of Shadow vessels slowly building up until that episode in Season 3..."Walkabout" perhaps (I can't be sure) where the Shadows finally reveal themselves...and Ivanova's words "They're openly attacking Brakiri space" sent shivers down my spine....those words on their own probably have very little effect but combined with the constant build-up of tension made it all the better. For me, it was this sense of increasing tension, impending doom, etc that made B5 better than DS9...

Again, for me, the Dominion War was not a question of if the Federation would win the war but when...obviously it has to be that way but its the sense in Babylon 5 that nothing is guaranteed - no character is safe...

I hope this made sense lol...

Ryano · **Sat Aug 21, 2004 8:17 pm**

I watched the first 2 episodes last night and I have to say I was quite pleased! I thought the SFX were great for the time as well. I did notice one minor fault which had nothing to do with the show itself. The first 1 episode doesn't look like it was touched up at all for the DVD release. There were film scratches and visual noise all the way through it. Although the 2nd episode was fine!
Well I guess I had better settle in for the long haul , it looks like I have 5 seasons to catch up on.... oh yeah and the movies!

The Delta Flyer · **Sun Aug 22, 2004 8:50 am**

Yeah unfortunately I've heard alot of complaints from people saying that some episodes on the DVDs are a bit scratchy though I've never noticed anything myself.

Ryano · **Mon Aug 23, 2004 3:43 am**

Still its a pretty cool series. I'm more than happy with my purchase.

I bought season 2 yesterday too .... so I'd better be happy!!!

The Delta Flyer · **Mon Aug 23, 2004 4:46 pm**

By the time you get mid-way through Season 3 you'll be thinking "wow"...and by the time you get to 4, it'll be "woah" and by 5 you'll be thinking..."erm...what happened to the goodness"...OK i exagerate Season 5 is nowhere near that bad...it's just not on the same level as the previous 3 seasons lol.

Oh and the first time I saw Sleeping in Light it brought a tear to my eye...should I admit that? Probably not. Sadly, it's true

Sonic74205 · **Mon Aug 23, 2004 5:51 pm**

I'm downloading that one now

along with "The Gathering" & "Mesages from Earth"

i watched "Dust to Dust" & "Fall of Centauri Prime" They were alright.

The Delta Flyer · **Tue Aug 24, 2004 3:46 am**

Messages from Earth is a good one.

Ryano · **Sun Sep 05, 2004 8:08 am**

I just finished watching season one and started season 2 today. Can anyone tell me (without any spoilers) do we see Sinclair again? Or was it a case of him getting the sack and they had to write that story about him being a representative to the Minbari?

Captain Skyline · Vice Admiral Joined: 09 Aug 2001 Posts: 6646 Location: UK

you will have to wait and see

Ryano · **Sun Sep 05, 2004 6:21 pm**

Oh man!

Actually I'm really glad you said that! hehe Thanks.

Captain Skyline · Vice Admiral Joined: 09 Aug 2001 Posts: 6646 Location: UK

Babylon 5 is a master piece! you will love it all, and it only gets better.

Sonic74205 · **Fri Jan 07, 2005 7:10 am**

I got season 1 & 2 DVD Boxsets for christmas and im buying Season 3 & 4 today. I am just SO addicted to it! Whenever i have some spare time now, im watching it. I mean it is just excellent. Ashame about Talia Winters leaving though

but the who Ivonova being a telepath thing was Such a shock to me! I could believe it when she said that. lol.
and this is all before the war so it's kinda obviouse that it will be just WOW in the later seasons

The Delta Flyer · **Fri Jan 07, 2005 2:41 pm**

I can't wait for the film to come out!

Lindley · **Sun Jan 09, 2005 12:14 am**