Is Babylon 5 worth my time? (major spoilers in replies)

[dzelika]

I have been resisting watching Babylon 5 for years. I am not completely sure why, but I suspect it has something to do with actors and costumes and stuff like that. Just a little too much of exaggerated affect and glitter for my taste.

Anyway, I would like to hear if people who like Farscape liked Babylon 5 and why (or the other way around - why you did not like it).


admin borrowing this post for a sec.....grinner has posted a comprehensive timeline for the series characters in this thread. if you have not watched the show and don't wish to be spoiled, skip the two timeline posts. cheers. we now return you to dzelika's topic.

[BlackThorn]

While I never got into it as it wasn't really my style, I didn't dislike it enough to vote "no." Take that for what you will.

[Bekka Horror]

Babalon 5 started my whole sifi obsesion, it rocks i dont think i can say anything more than that without spoiling the entire show

[MJS]

Who dares vote no? :) It is definitely worth your time, it gets better every season. As show continues you get so obsessed with it, the storyline is one of the best I´ve seen.

[Clarsax]

Babylon 5 is no Farscape but it is definitely one of the better science fiction shows out there. I say go for it. It's well worth the time.

[vhsiv]

It's definitely worth your time, but it could be a costly commitment to make - either you have to catch it on Skiffy (whenever they bother to air it), or take the Box Set plunge, which might be costly.

I caught it in syndication, but I'm not sure that I'd pay $$ for it. Those dollars might be better spent on Farscape DVDs, as no studio is going to be inspired to make more episodes of a show that's already had it's full run, based on DVD sales.

[Nicola]

I would recommend B5 quite readily.

Babylon 5, Buffy and Farscape are my top three favourite shows of all time.

The first two seasons are variable (some episodes rock - some not so much) but season 3 and season 4 are just sublime.

In fact, IIRC the Bablyon 5 episode "Severed Dreams" won a Hugo award.

Enjoy!

[Darth Buddha]

See if you can borrow or rent Seasons 1 & 2

If you have any friends who have the box sets for Seasons 1 and 2, I'd go that route.

If you aren't overwhelmed by Season 1, don't give up until you've seen at least half of Season 2. The story arc doesn't really make a whole lot of sense at first.. but the show becomes much more compelling once they start to pull together those apparently "random" elements into a gestalt.

Plus Seasons 2, 3, and 4 have much higher budgets than Seasons 1 and 5, and it shows!

If you aren't hooked by middle of season 2, I don't think you'll enjoy the rest of the series either.

[ipimen]

well i recommend it. I never watched it while it aired cause i thought it was a Star Trek wannabe, but last year i got the oportunity to download every single episode and i took it.

When i started watching it i was not entirely convinced, some of the fx and graphics looked weird, and some of the acting was also weird, but since i had downloaded them all and had nothing left to do, i decided to keep watching. OMG you have no idea how glad i am!!!! I was completely absorbed and fascinated.

You will definitely find some of the graphics and effects outdated, but if you can ignore them and focus on the amazing story, you'll enjoy it, i promise you. My recommendation: watch it in order, from the first movie (The Gathering), do not skip episodes and pay attention. It is better to watch the whole thing in a short time cause it's like watching one long movie :D

I have bought the first 3 seasons, and i am waiting to get the other 2 to watch it again.

[dzelika]

wow, it sounds like i have been missing on a lot.

i will rent it through netflix (i rent all of my dvd's through them) and it won't be that expensive. thanks guys!

[Kurt_eh]

B5 is 3 1/2 years of the best SF on TV, with the exception of Farscape!

[LadyCrais]

I own my satellite dish because of B5. I moved to the country after season 4 and the only possible way I could see S5 was by getting a dish. And I went into hock to make sure I did it before the new season started.

As for the S1 versus other seasons, you can't skip the first season and have the slightest hope in hell of understanding the arc in seasons 4 and 5. Season 5 suffered from the loss of a couple of key characters that were supposed to have been there, the really major one because of a contract dispute. And the person they brought in to cover it (Tracy Scoggins) was an extraordinarily poor casting choice, imho.

Most of the B5 movies add a lot to the story as well, but they aren't mandatory. Personally I think it was without question the best sci-fi story/series ever to air prior to Farscape. I still think it is, just a very different story and presentation from Farscape. Different pacing. Different problems to solve. But awesome, nonetheless.

[vikingscaper]

B5 was probably my favorite sci-fi series before a certain show that we all know started to air. As a matter of fact, I liked Babylon 5 so much that I didn't watch Farscape at first because I didn't think that it would be as good as B5. However, things change and Farscape is now my favorite sci-fi series but I will still watch B5 occasionally.

[grinner]

Simple answer...

YES

[jayelsee]

dzelika, glad you asked this. I had been asking myself the same question. Am seriously considering buying box sets.

[Third EYe]

Babylon 5 rocks, Farscape is the only science fiction show I can honestly say is better.

[grinner]

*cough* Doctor Who *cough*

[Steel]

B5 is a another example of a series that was always struggling for the next seasons money and survived enough to a completion, with a lot left still for more.
It is what it is, a militaristic point of view with alien influence, driving the change of the human perspective, or was it the other way round?
It is worth watching at least twice, because the early refs, are easily missed of what's to come , the IRONY.
I find it compelling.
A lot of infill episodes, but the whole is, maybe a frightening lesson of the cost of evolving into a superior being/ race.
And that would be the best case scenario.
Edit for spell

[Third EYe]

Originally posted by grinner
*cough* Doctor Who *cough*

cover your mouth

[grinner]

*cough* Blake's 7 *cough*

[Egg]

bitchin. lol

[farscape1211]

Can't say enought about B5 except that it's DEFINATELY worth your time IMHO.

I wish I could adequately express my exact thoughts and feelings for the show, but I must appologize, I've been up for more than 24 hrs and am afraid I would start to babble incesantly after the first few sentences. (I've been shopping.)

Here's hoping you enjoy your B5 experience.

1211

[littulkittons]

Definitely worth your time. It's different. It starts slow but when it hits its stride, it's almost as good as Farscape. You'll meet some great characters along the way.

[grinner]

JMS is a VERY good writer... and he wrote 90% of the entire series. So the show follows the way HE wanted it to follow. CONTINUITY IS KING when talking about J. Micheal Strazinski(sp)

[waltersgirl]

i loved Bab5.

[Harveylives]

I voted no. I didn't like it at all, but that's just me.

[frellseeker]

Well, IMHO, The show utterly rocked. Watched it first time around, staticky UHF station that occasionally ran old sitcoms instead of the next ep...
And for parallelograms:
Aliens that are characters, not 'villan of the week'. Okay, several are villans.
The show pretty much wrapped up thinking last ep of 4th season was last ever. (5th season, well, everything that was left over plot-wise..)

Walter Koeng,as Bester, will make you forget lovable Chekov,
..Over the top, either bad acting or acting bad, take your pick.

Lots of top actors buryed under makeup and making one forget that no,
we don't have diplomatic relations with aliens yet, and glad it ain't some of these folks.

[waltersgirl]

Walter Koeng,as Bester, will make you forget lovable Chekov,

amen. i loved Bester. what a malicious little bastard, and yet, he had depth to him that was only revealed in pieces. what many label bad acting can in fact be attributed to lack of a developed character and weak directing. Koenig acquitted himself nicely. :smokin:

[Lord Loser]

I would watch it. Without B5 breaking the "ground" it did, another arcing series like FarScape would probably never have been given a chance.

[Third EYe]

Originally posted by waltersgirl
amen. i loved Bester. what a malicious little bastard, and yet, he had depth to him that was only revealed in pieces. what many label bad acting can in fact be attributed to lack of a developed character and weak directing. Koenig acquitted himself nicely. :smokin:

I always thought that Bester was the inspiration for Romano on ER. I never had a problem with Bester's character being poorly acted in any way. I thought the whole show was done very well.

I agree with Lord Loser, it is possible, and now way to prove it, that without Babylon 5, Farscape may not have been given the chance it was.

Bab 5 was a pioneer in many ways, great show. I can't wait to start purchasing the DVD set.

[dzelika]

ok, i am sold! thank you guys!

[Mickie]

The thing that sold me on Babylon 5 right out of the gate was that it paid very close attention to the laws of physics. The space station actually spun to generate gravity, the fighters were 'dropped' from the station and I don't remember ever seeing a ship 'bank' unless it was in atmosphere.

I'm actually a big fan of Season 1. I loved Sinclairs dry humor, and always thought that BB overplayed Sharidan a bit.

And yes, I though Bester was wonderful, I never once saw him on screen and thought 'Chekov'.

[LadyCrais]

I had a very tough time going from Sinclair to Sheridan myself. Originally I thought it was just an actor change, but Sinclair is so pivotal to the arc that I later assumed it was written and intended that way from the start. Does anyone know for sure?

[Third EYe]

LadyCrais, I beleive that the story line was intended. I'm not sure if it played out exactly as intended, meaning, I wonder if Sinclair's character was supposed to make more appearences.

I'd have to watch the series again, since I've only seen each episode once, but I beleive that in the first season, the fate of each Babylon Station was detailed, and that later on in Season whatever (i'm crap when it comes to timelines) one of the Babylon Stations returns. Also, in the first season, it is implied that Sinclair has a special connection with the Minbari.

I didn't catch on right away, so I was a bit miffed at the change in Commanders. It wasn't until sometime in the middle of season 2 that I understood what was going on. It was my fault for not paying better attention. I was so used to "independant" episodes in other shows, that I missed that an arc was being developed.

I beleive that the Rangers were supposed to play a more visible role in the series, and due to budget contraints this was shelved and they relied on the usual cast of characters.

There is a movement to get the rest of the story done, I'm not sure what's going on with that at the moment, I should go find out, and maybe do whatever I can to help.

This site as so far accomplished an incredible task, and I'm sure the results can be duplicated. I'd love to see Crusade, and/or the Rangers done, and done right.

Babylon 5 is a great show, well done, and should be repeated.

[Johnsgirl727]

This site as so far accomplished an incredible task, and I'm sure the results can be duplicated. I'd love to see Crusade, and/or the Rangers done, and done right.
I was really, really disappointed when Crusade was not continued. But not surprised. There is so much potential with Crusade and the Rangers.

[grinner]

I don't support it's veracity... but...

http://raptor.slc.edu/~finder/babylon5/timeline.html



*edited to remove spoilers... go to website for timeline...*

Sorry.

[grinner]

http://www.io.com/~tenzil/b5tl.html

Babylon 5 Timeline


*edit to remove spoilers... go to website for the timeline...*

Sorry...

[Third EYe]

Alright, I have all that commited to memory, anything else?

[Quaisior]

I also resisted watching Babylon 5 for years. Then I got a TiVo and got really bored with everything else on TV (except Farscape, of course), so I started watching B5 in the spring of this year. I was completely hooked by the end of season one. I plan to buy all of the DVDs eventually, but for now, I'm taping the show as it slowly repeats on SciFi. Babylon 5 comes in second only to Farscape as my favorite show.

[Lord Loser]

WHOA GRIN!!!! MAJOR SPOILER WARNING!!! You neglected this in your posts!

[waltersgirl]

I agree with Lord Loser, it is possible, and now way to prove it, that without Babylon 5, Farscape may not have been given the chance it was.

can't agree with that. but i still think Bab5 rocks.

and i'll add a spoiler warning to the thread title.

[grinner]

I am so sorry... I didn't even think about that... my bad. I will edit them.

[ipimen]

I don't know if the change from Sinclair to Sheridan was intentional, but here's a website with a very interesting article that says otherwise:

WARNING!!!! DO NOT READ THE ARTICLE if you haven't watched B5, it will ruin it for you if you don't like spoilers....

http://www.webcs.com/b5/neverwas.html

Whether it was intentional or not, i think JMS did a great job under the circumstances and the story played out quite well :D

[grinner]

that is an interesting read. It makes alot of sense.

[waltersgirl]

i put in spoiler warnings on the thread title and in dzelika's opening post grinner. maybe just some spoiler space and you'll be okay?

[grinner]

I just left the links to the lists... I didn't even think about the fact that some people haven't seen B5... even though the thread starter stated that they hadn't seen it. Whoops... my bad.

[Scarran Raptor]

speaking from experience, the best way to watch B5 is as follows

Movie: in the beginning
Movie: the gathering
Season one
Season 2
Movie: thirdspace
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5 (up to right before "sleeping in light"
Movie: River of Souls
Movie: A call to arms
(Optional: Books Centauri war trilogy)
Series Finale

the ill-fated spinoff "Crusade" takes place in the 40 year span between the last two episodes, unfortunately it was killed by the suits

[fandom]

Originally posted by Scarran Raptor
speaking from experience, the best way to watch B5 is as follows
[snip]


I don't think it is a good idea to watch 'In the beginning' first, it contains a few major spoilers for the series.

So I would only watch at the end of the third or fourth seasons. It is better though, if you want to convince someone to watch the series as it is a lot better than the pilot.

[Selena]

Babylon 5 was a great story with an excellent cast. It was filmed in the early 90s and on a very constrained budget so when one loooks at it now some of the sfx are not as glitzy as what we have come to expect. But on the other hand one does not watch and like Babylon 5 because of the sfx. One likes it and is urged to watch and enjoy because of a compelling storyline, good acting and intriguing characters.

I loved Babylon 5 and all the movies as well. If I had one single thing I could point to as a disappointment it was the way TNT jerked the cast and crew around from one season to the next so that at the end of season 4 there was no guarantee that the show would get its 5th season. IMO this made season 4 very intense and season 5 a bit of a letdown but it was still must see viewing.

If you're going to watch the entire saga then I suggest you start with the 2 hour pilot called The Gathering which sets up the series that followed. I would not recommend watching the movie In the Beginning until after season 4 as it contains spoilers for season 3 and 4 and was actually made after the series ended.

In a nutshell, go ahead watch and enjoy Babylon 5 you won't be disappointed ... it's an excellent saga and really deserved a bigger budget than was allocated to its production.

[Selena]

Spoiler warning if you watch in this order

Originally posted by Scarran Raptor
speaking from experience, the best way to watch B5 is as follows

Movie: in the beginning
Movie: the gathering
Season one
Season 2
Movie: thirdspace
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5 (up to right before "sleeping in light"
Movie: River of Souls
Movie: A call to arms
(Optional: Books Centauri war trilogy)
Series Finale

the ill-fated spinoff "Crusade" takes place in the 40 year span between the last two episodes, unfortunately it was killed by the suits

Sorry Scarran Raptor ... but I cannot agree with your viewing order because one cannot watch Bablyon 5 as you suggest without creating major spoilers due to the fact that the movies you have placed before and in between episodes contain references to various events in season 2, 3 and 4 episodes ... the correct order would be ...

Pilot Movie: The Gathering

Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4

Movie: In The Beginning ... do not watch earlier than the end of season 4

Season 5
... you could watch the other 2 movies and the series Crusade before the final episode of season 5 ... "Sleeping in Light" as this episode is 19 years into the future.

Movie: River of Souls

Movie: A Call To Arms

Series: Crusade

[stellar]

I agree with Selena on the timing.

If it weren't for B5 I probably wouldn't have started watching Farscape during the first run on Skiffy. I rate it as my 2nd favorite series run. I was conflicted for a long time when I realized that I liked FS better than B5. Sorry Joe.

I do own all available R1 DVD releases for both series except FS4.1 (which will be remedied today), and The Gathering/Begining DVD simply out of principle, b/c I believe that The Gathering should have been included on the Season 1 set.

[dzelika]

unfortunately netflix does not have B5 season 1, so i'll have to wait for them. in the meantime, i have ordered the movies (both come on 1 disc)

[Selena]

amazon.com - DVD Babylon 5

Check out the above site - you can buy a preloved copy of season 1 for as little as $51.00 or a new season 1 set for $75 with free shipping.

[stellar]

Preloved... you had better trademark that term before Blockbuster sweeps ya.

[dzelika]

thanks!

[NYPinTA]

Originally posted by grinner
I don't support it's veracity... but...

http://raptor.slc.edu/~finder/babylon5/timeline.html



*edited to remove spoilers... go to website for timeline...*

Sorry.

Is this one supposed to be an alternate timeline or something? :eh: It makes sense until 2248.

[grinner]

Originally posted by NYPinTA
Is this one supposed to be an alternate timeline or something? :eh: It makes sense until 2248. That is why I don't support the veracity of it. It seemed wrong. The other one works better.

[Scarran Raptor]

I only gave that viewing order because that's how I watched it, or at least how my friend introduced me into the series

[BillFrugge]

I have watched the series a few times, and I believe it should be watched in original broadcast order. That means that 'In the Beginning' should not be watched first -- it leads to confusion and spoils. Selena's list looks right to me.

As to the show, I am fascinated by the scenes with Londo and G'Kar. Even when they just stare at each other for a few minutes, you can just feel the tension and can't tear yourself away from the TV. Great television! People who didn't like science fiction got hooked on Babylon 5.

[grinner]

Those actors are AMAZING in those roles. Very believable.

[Third EYe]

I know two women who hated science fiction, but thier husbands love it. So they got hooked on Babylon 5 by osmosis, but they are Farscape fans now.

My wife got hooked on Farscape not so much because I watched it for a week when we were sick, but because of Rygel.

The characters in Babylon 5 are beleiveable, they did and awesome job.