There was actually a lawsuit over the copying which was settled out of court.


Trivia: Pat was also the stunt double for Gates McFadden, Terry Farrrel, Michelle Forbes and other women on both DS9 and TNG... and at the same time she was on B5.

I'm currently watching the first episode on Amazon Prime. It's definitely not held up well. I still have to give them props for the amazing space scenes, though. I think this was the first show to truly use three dimensions in space battles.

I struggled through the first three seasons a couple of years back. I just could not get into it at all. There were some great characters and ideas, but overall it was just too much of a chore and I gave up.

When the show came out I put together a couple sets of the trading cards and saved several of the comic books in new condition. They’re around here somewhere. Hard to believe it was 25 years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by Orguss:
I'm currently watching the first episode on Amazon Prime. It's definitely not held up well. I still have to give them props for the amazing space scenes, though. I think this was the first show to truly use three dimensions in space battles.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE B5, but the first season is kind of slow going, IMO. They really hit their stride from Seasons 2-4. 5 is a garbage heap, with only a couple good episodes.

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog:

quote:

Originally posted by Orguss:
I'm currently watching the first episode on Amazon Prime. It's definitely not held up well. I still have to give them props for the amazing space scenes, though. I think this was the first show to truly use three dimensions in space battles.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE B5, but the first season is kind of slow going, IMO. They really hit their stride from Seasons 2-4. 5 is a garbage heap, with only a couple good episodes.

Yeah, I remember when it first came out watching a couple of S1 episodes and being not real impressed. So I quit watching. Then a year later I was surfing and stumbled across an S2 episode, and was surprised to find that it made reference to something that had happened in one of the S1 episodes I'd seen the year before. So I started watching S2 and was immediately hooked.

Now I've skimmed the half-dozen or so S1 episodes that are really relevant and started in on all the rest of S2-S5. Some of the CGI stuff, particularly ships blowing up, is pretty lame by today's standards, but it's still a great story.

Re-Watching them on prime now.

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:

Yeah, I remember when it first came out watching a couple of S1 episodes and being not real impressed. So I quit watching. Then a year later I was surfing and stumbled across an S2 episode, and was surprised to find that it made reference to something that had happened in one of the S1 episodes I'd seen the year before. So I started watching S2 and was immediately hooked.

Now I've skimmed the half-dozen or so S1 episodes that are really relevant and started in on all the rest of S2-S5. Some of the CGI stuff, particularly ships blowing up, is pretty lame by today's standards, but it's still a great story.

Season one had some really weird stuff, like the 'gangster boss' who was a giant sentient Praying Mantis. And, they seemed to not know where they were taking the story.

However, there are flash-forwards and flash-backs throughout the series. This is because JSM wrote out a draft of the 5-year story arc, and could therefore write great storylines involving prophecy (many scenes in early eps prophesied stuff that happened in later eps). One of the great story arcs involved Babylon 4. They showed B4 showing up in the middle of a giant space wedgie, and it then disappeared. Later in Season 3 or 4, they go back and show that the main cast was ON B4 the whole time, and stole it and carried it through time.

I don't care the the SFX don't 'age' well. I don't like sci-fi for the SFX - I like it for the story. IMO, B5 had the best stories of any sci-fi show I've ever seen.

Now, from what I hear, S5 sucked because they told JSM he had to finish the story in 4 seasons, hence the rushed feel to S4. Then, they said "Oh, you can have S5 now," meaning he had to scramble to come up with stories to fit another season. I don't know if it's really true or not, but it would explain a lot.

B5 had a great story, but the original actually called for the main cast to go back in time to fight the shadows when B4 was taken. Michael O'Hare (Command Sinclair) was suffering from health problems and had to leave the show, so the general story line was re-written to have the shadow war in the present rather than the past.

JSM really busted his butt to keep the story continuity which was critical to keeping B5's overall story solid. I love Star Trek but their writers never seemed to care much about what happened in other episodes.

I am watch B5 on Prime now that it is out. I am a Sci-Fi geek.

Mike

Please guys, the Great Maker's name is J. Michael Straczynski, or jms for short. Now that that's over with:

With Season 1 so crunchy, if anyone wants to skip around, here's my suggested "must" episodes:

Midnight On The Firing Line
The Parliament of Dreams
Mind War
And The Sky Full of Stars
Signs and Portents
A Voice In The Wilderness Pt I and II
Babylon Squared
Chrysalis

If you want to add more, Born To The Purple, The War Prayer, Legacies, and The Quality of Mercy are good ones to add. Believers WILL piss you off, but remember, this was written for 1993 television standards and the only time Warner Bros. told jms "Never Again."

quote:

Now, from what I hear, S5 sucked because they told JSM he had to finish the story in 4 seasons, hence the rushed feel to S4. Then, they said "Oh, you can have S5 now," meaning he had to scramble to come up with stories to fit another season. I don't know if it's really true or not, but it would explain a lot.

Pretty much. If things would have worked out right, Season 4 would have ended with Intersections in Real Time and the first part of Season 5 would have been that conclusion. However, I'm going to go out on a limb and tell people Season 5 wasn't as bad as they remember, and it's all because of how TNT broadcasted the season.

Instead of broadcasting a lot, they aired about 4 new episodes and then nothing but reruns for months at a time until the end when they chucked them at us non stop towards the end. The entire Telepath Arc was SIX episodes of a 22 episode season. With TNT, we were stuck with it for what felt like 7-8 months. It's still better than most of Season 1, but it was the season that broke the momentum of the next season being better than the last, but it's not as wretched as a lot of fans remember and I think that was the main reason it's been burned into our brain like that.

quote:

Michael O'Hare (Command Sinclair) was suffering from health problems and had to leave the show, so the general story line was re-written to have the shadow war in the present rather than the past.

Yep.


Also, if anyone looks a little bit, The Gathering is also on Amazon Prime but it's the original cut and not the special edition cut jms got to do with TNT. It was pretty much Richard Compton's director's cut with horrible pacing, alternate cuts, and pretty much jms being a giant pussy instead of sticking to his instincts since it was his first show he'd cut. The TNT version is miles better, only has a few stock CGI shots from later in the series cut into it to smooth out some rough edges, and has a new score from Christopher Franke so it matches the tone of the series.

The original has the bones of what could make a great show, but if you can't find the Special Edition, it's only for the hardcore fan.

If you have a Comet TV station in your area (broadcast), they've just announced that Babylon 5 will be running starting some time in the fall.

They also announced that Space:1999 will air.

Londo is still one of my all time favorite characters. He just kept doing all the worst things for all the best reasons. Yes, he was a power hungry narcissist, but when it became clear that the Vorlons were going to blow up his planet to kill him his immediate response was to turn to his aide and demand that he kill him immediately so that everyone else would be spared.

Of all the crap that is being re-launched, B5 could be spectacular. Even with the same general story arcs with some new polish. If JMS was interested, anyway.

quote:

Originally posted by SigJacket:
Of all the crap that is being re-launched, B5 could be spectacular. Even with the same general story arcs with some new polish. If JMS was interested, anyway.

I vote "No" to any relaunch attempt. The original was so good that I just don't see the point.

B5's greatest strengths were their characters and their plots/stories.

There will NEVER be another Londo.
Or Vir
Or Delenn
Or Lennir
Or G'Kar
Or Susan (wistful sigh) Ivonova
Or Markus
Or Mr Morden
Or Zathras

Any attempt to "JJtrek" this show can only end in disappointment.

quote:

Originally posted by SigJacket:
Of all the crap that is being re-launched, B5 could be spectacular. Even with the same general story arcs with some new polish. If JMS was interested, anyway.

It's not B5-related but The Expanse certainly reminds me of B5 with its complex characters and intriguing overarching storyline.

Almost done rewatching season 1. I actually got the wife to watch with me since she’s a Star Trek TNG fan.

I told her that, just like TNG, season 1 is a bit “meh”.

I never watched it when it was on. Friends and I viewed it as discount Star Trek on a discount network. Joked about "Mr. Goingbaldy" and dudes with stupid looking hair. (I wasn't a new Star Trek fan either)

I've been watching it over the last couple weeks and really enjoying it. yes the special effects are dated now, but there's nothing "discount" about it. Interesting doing some reading about it, Michael O'Hare leaving due to phycological problems, JMS cramming the season 5 story line into season 4 because they didn't think there'd be a season 5 due to the network troubles. (and Jerry Doyle's character dealing with a drinking problem just as he did in real life)
I really enjoyed the characters, there was some great work. Andreas Katsulas was outstanding.

I've watched all the Star Trek shows online, never having watched them on TV (that's not true, I've only seem some of TNG and can't stand it, I've watched all the others through) and I think I may like this better than any of them.

(Seems contrary to popular opinion, but I like Deep Space 9 better than any of the other Treks. The stories weren't great and they were repetitive, but there were some great characters and acting.)

Found out on Syfy Wire that Babylon 5 is coming to HBOMax January 26th.

love Babylon 5 and my favorite episode (out of a bunch of favorites ) is "Geometry of Shadows" with Michael Ansara as a Technomage:

"The true secrets, the important things. Fourteen words to make someone fall in love with you forever. Seven words to make them go without pain. How to say good-bye to a friend who is dying. How to be poor. How to be rich. How to rediscover dreams when the world has stolen them. That is why we are going away—to preserve that knowledge."



And the Londo Prophecy....which frightening and disturbing aren't words enough to describe it:

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jsbcody,

when this thread was first posted,
I found them on Amazon and watched most,

some were a bit, well, unbearable, and others were fantastic,


overall, a good series, but some acting was poor,