Babylon 5 Rewatch Thread

[Overmind One]

Okay, its been years and its time for a complete rewatch. I see that this show is on Netflix (all seasons), it appears to be on Hulu and even on YouTube. They are available for download on Amazon for $1.99 per episode (all episodes available). On Netflix, it has a 5 star rating.

So, anybody want to go through 5 seasons of Babylon 5 from the beginning? For anyone who hasnt seen it, you owe yourself. Babylon 5 remains probably the best science fiction drama for television ever created. It had the perfect balance of science fiction, drama, interpersonal relationships, action, suspense, mystery, exploration. It was the complete package. Anyone who has seen all of Star Trek Deep Space Nine will see much of that show in Babylon 5, but B5 came FIRST and it has been argued with much success that DS9 stole many ideas from Babylon 5.

Whatever the comparisons and my comments are, you should form your own by watching this show...from the beginning. It is a smooth, complete arc because it was written as a complete 5 year story before one episode ever aired. The actors already knew the lifespans of their characters from the beginning. There was a switch in the actor playing Sheridan in season 1, but everything else was smooth and awesome.

Anybody interested?

 

[Savatage]

Oh OM1,

I'll never need an excuse to re-watch B5. I just finished my third run. I can't express in words the awesomeness of this show. J Michael Straczynski actually had alternative plot lines in case any of the actors quit the show (see Talia Winters). This was a novel for television. It won Hugo awards in back-to-back years. I forget the exact name of the catagory, but it was the equivalent of best sci-fi in movies and television and when they say television, they mean only a single ep of the show, not a season. They beat Apollo 13! JMS had a detailed outline for 50 years before the show and 50 years after - some of which exists in book form.

Speaking of the books, I highly recommend the "Legions of Fire" trilogy. It tells the story of what happened to Londo. It starts right where we left him in season 5 and goes from there. I don't want to say more because I hate spoilers, but ifyou liked the show, you'll be very satisfied with the series. The characters are written true to form and it can be considered canon because it's based on JMS's outline.

 

[YoshiKart64]

I've never seen it; I really should buy some of the boxsets or something I continually hear good things about it. Apart from Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory, he seems to hate it .

Still I'm out in Australia and America for the next couple of months so I probably won't be able to participate .

 

[Savatage]

I've never seen it; I really should buy some of the boxsets or something I continually hear good things about it. Apart from Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory, he seems to hate it .

Still I'm out in Australia and America for the next couple of months so I probably won't be able to participate .

Some people thought the first season was slow. I don't, but just in case you do, I encourage you to stick with it. It really kicks into gear about 9 eps into season 2. It really was a novel for TV and with a book, you don't want to look back and say the beginning was the best part. The first season was titled "Signs and Portents" (how many shows have titles for there seasons?) that sort of tells you what you're in for. Season 1 was as much about learning about the races and characters and a bit of history as it was about advancing the plot.

 

[Overmind One]

Babylon 5 is AWESOME.

Oh OM1,

I'll never need an excuse to re-watch B5. I just finished my third run. I can't express in words the awesomeness of this show. J Michael Straczynski actually had alternative plot lines in case any of the actors quit the show (see Talia Winters). This was a novel for television. It won Hugo awards in back-to-back years. I forget the exact name of the catagory, but it was the equivalent of best sci-fi in movies and television and when they say television, they mean only a single ep of the show, not a season. They beat Apollo 13! JMS had a detailed outline for 50 years before the show and 50 years after - some of which exists in book form.

Speaking of the books, I highly recommend the "Legions of Fire" trilogy. It tells the story of what happened to Londo. It starts right where we left him in season 5 and goes from there. I don't want to say more because I hate spoilers, but ifyou liked the show, you'll be very satisfied with the series. The characters are written true to form and it can be considered canon because it's based on JMS's outline.

I absolutely LOVE Babylon 5! I would love to read that book. I see that it is available as an eBook so I can get it for my Kindle.

 

[Overmind One]

I've never seen it; I really should buy some of the boxsets or something I continually hear good things about it. Apart from Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory, he seems to hate it .

Still I'm out in Australia and America for the next couple of months so I probably won't be able to participate .

WOW...you havent seen Babylon 5? You are in for a treat, Yoshi! Its not like Stargate, and its not like SGU, yet it has lots of action, drama, interpersonal relationships, a mission, and intrigue...you will love it. Unlike Battlestar Galactica which seems extremely ages today, The somewhat primitive CGI effects in Babylon 5 still look acceptably fresh today. They are just enough to make you believe that all of this takes place on a huge space station. There are no plotholes because the entire story was complete before the show was made and divided into episodes. You wont be sorry if you decide to get the boxset.

 

[shavedape]

I second this recommendation

WOW...you havent seen Babylon 5? You are in for a treat, Yoshi! Its not like Stargate, and its not like SGU, yet it has lots of action, drama, interpersonal relationships, a mission, and intrigue...you will love it. Unlike Battlestar Galactica which seems extremely ages today, The somewhat primitive CGI effects in Babylon 5 still look acceptably fresh today. They are just enough to make you believe that all of this takes place on a huge space station. There are no plotholes because the entire story was complete before the show was made and divided into episodes. You wont be sorry if you decide to get the boxset.

Yes, I agree. I think Yoshi would really like Babylon 5. It has a good balance of action and drama, intrigue and adventure.

And you're right about the CGI. I was impressed when I first saw the show years ago and I find the effects still hold up quite well today. They definitely got that show right from the start.

 

[Savatage]

I absolutely LOVE Babylon 5! I would love to read that book. I see that it is available as an eBook so I can get it for my Kindle.

When you're done, let me know what you think. Other books of interest include:

To Dream in the City of Sorrows - What happened to Sinclair when he went to Mimbar

The Psi Corp Trilogy:
book 1: Dark Genisis - a history of the Psi Corp up to the birth of Beater
Book 2: Deadly Relations - Besters life up to when we first see him on B5
Book 3: Final Reckoning - Besters last years
Unfortunately the trilogy doesn't cover the Telepath wars that were being set up in Season 5. That was supposed to be shown in Crusade.

The Shadow Within - A detailed account of what happened to Anna Sheridan and the Icarus on Z'Ha'Dum. this book is also a preqel to the final trilogy "The Passing of the Techno Mages" which I'm currently reading.

All of these books are based on the outlines of JMS or have an introduction blessing them and thus can be considered canon.

 

[mzzz]

I've never seen it; I really should buy some of the boxsets or something I continually hear good things about it. Apart from Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory, he seems to hate it .

Still I'm out in Australia and America for the next couple of months so I probably won't be able to participate .

There are some movies that complement the series, you should find a viewing order to get the full effect but I think I posted one from someone else somewhere else in this thread. lol, said someone else somewhere else together, that's a first.

 

[Graybrew1]

I really want to watch this show, but I just found out it is not streaming on Netflix and will cost me 32.00 a season to get from amazon. Oh, well... I hope it is worth it.

 

[YJ02]

I really want to watch this show, but I just found out it is not streaming on Netflix and will cost me 32.00 a season to get from amazon. Oh, well... I hope it is worth it.

don't know what's up with that. it was on-thats where i re-watched everything about a yr ago. now can't even find the discs on there, only the movies. Again, for a service that wants to go completely streaming, strange how they keep dropping content.
but then again...
there has been a long standing fued between j.michael Strac. (the writer/creator) and the production companies/networks (goes way back to that "p-ten network" disaster thing and tnt taking over)--and then there is the B5 vs STS9 fight..wonder if any of these issues got it yanked from NETFLIX? Would make sense that the movies are still avail. for disc viewing at home.
oh the beestards

oh yeah,it should be worth it..but then again, you may find it not to u'r liking

 

[Graybrew1]

don't know what's up with that. it was on-thats where i re-watched everything about a yr ago. now can't even find the discs on there, only the movies. Again, for a service that wants to go completely streaming, strange how they keep dropping content.
but then again...
there has been a long standing fued between j.michael Strac. (the writer/creator) and the production companies/networks (goes way back to that "p-ten network" disaster thing and tnt taking over)--and then there is the B5 vs STS9 fight..wonder if any of these issues got it yanked from NETFLIX? Would make sense that the movies are still avail. for disc viewing at home.
oh the beestards

oh yeah,it should be worth it..but then again, you may find it not to u'r liking

Starz just announced that they are pulling all of their content from Netflix too.
I will buy B5, little by little, one ep at a time. Until I decide if I like it. I should know by ep 3, I would assume.

 

[YJ02]

don't know what's up with that. it was on-thats where i re-watched everything about a yr ago. now can't even find the discs on there, only the movies. Again, for a service that wants to go completely streaming, strange how they keep dropping content.
but then again...
there has been a long standing fued between j.michael Strac. (the writer/creator) and the production companies/networks (goes way back to that "p-ten network" disaster thing and tnt taking over)--and then there is the B5 vs STS9 fight..wonder if any of these issues got it yanked from NETFLIX? Would make sense that the movies are still avail. for disc viewing at home.
oh the beestards

oh yeah,it should be worth it..but then again, you may find it not to u'r liking

oh, wait..nevermind! found the discs, they are listed just under "babylon 5 choose discs"--used to be "babylon 5 the complete series".

i was looking around on some other forums. i guess netflix "licensing time" to stream b5 ran out in July. it was up for like 2-3 yrs at least.
its funny, i came on here to look around because i was thinking of re-watching everything again!!

 

[Graybrew1]

oh, wait..nevermind! found the discs, they are listed just under "babylon 5 choose discs"--used to be "babylon 5 the complete series".

i was looking around on some other forums. i guess netflix "licensing time" to stream b5 ran out in July. it was up for like 2-3 yrs at least.
its funny, i came on here to look around because i was thinking of re-watching everything again!!

It is planned to be rewatched.

We started the TV rewatches this week. We had a poll and the top two winners were Firefly and SGA.
We will vote again when Firefly ends and B5 will be up for vote again.