How 'bout Babylon5? by PlainJayne

OTHER SCIENCE FICTION SERIES

How 'bout Babylon5?

POSTED BY: PLAINJAYNE
UPDATED: Wednesday, August 5, 2009 08:38
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VIEWED: 5423
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Thursday, July 30, 2009 9:55 AM

If you guys are all into Babylon5 as well, I have found a home. It's number 3 of my "Big Three". Started out a little slow, but once it found it's feet there was no stopping it.

Day late an'a dollar short...Story of my ruttin' life!

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Thursday, July 30, 2009 11:08 AM

CYBERSNARK

Yes.

[/Kosh]

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We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

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Thursday, July 30, 2009 12:12 PM

LWAVES

I have all the B5 DVDs, except Lost Tales coz I heard that was really really bad. No need to bring up Crusade either.

You've got to admire a show in those days that set out right from the start to take 5 years to tell a story. And whilst they got mucked around a bit with whether there was going to be a season 5, I think they pulled it off very well.
Yeah, the first season was a little slow but it pays off later when some of the stories are brought back into play. But once the second season started things got going.
Some of the acting could be poor and not very convincing but to counter that you get the brilliant Londo/G'Kar relationship. Funny, tragic and perfectly played. Two enemies that could never admit they were actually friends.

Plus it was so far ahead of it's time by using CGI to the extent that they did. State of the art at the time.

"I don't believe in suicide, but if you'd like to try it it might cheer me up to watch."

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Thursday, July 30, 2009 1:22 PM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

Until Firefly came along, I considered B5 the best SF television show ever, and I am still a big fan. I have all the dvds including Crusade and The Lost Tales, but not Legend of the Rangers.

The Lost Tales only suffered because other than Sheridan there weren't any of the other characters I wanted to see, and sadly Biggs and Katsulas are no longer with us.

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Thursday, July 30, 2009 1:41 PM

MANGOLO

Lost Tales fell very much short of the others for a number of reasons especially for what ecgordon mentioned, but also it was very much a show that told you rather than showed you.

Watched everything. Own almost all ('cept Crusade)

Then watched it again with my eldest and then again with my middle kid. Got a few years, but look forward to watching it again with my youngest!

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Friday, July 31, 2009 2:09 AM

JONGSSTRAW

I love Babylon 5. I only have Seasons 3 & 4 on DVD, but I think those were the two best years. Interesting tidbit I only recently learned.....Peter Jurasik, who played Londo, was one of the "games" warriors in 1982's Tron. He played Crum, the overweight one.

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Friday, July 31, 2009 10:50 AM

IMNOTHERE

Quote:
Originally posted by Jongsstraw:
Peter Jurasik, who played Londo, was one of the "games" warriors in 1982's Tron.

So who's the SF equivalent of Kevin Bacon? Babylon 5 might be a good place to start, with refugees from Lost In Space, Trek, two from Tron, and, er... Grease... (no, wait...)

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Friday, July 31, 2009 10:58 AM

IMNOTHERE

Quote:
Originally posted by lwaves:
I have all the B5 DVDs, except Lost Tales coz I heard that was really really bad.

I think it was a mistake to try and continue it: the show's unique selling point was that it told a coherent story with a satisfying beginning, middle and end. Leave it at that.

The only thing I could have stood to see more of was the full story of the fall and rise of Centauri Prime after the end of the main series. Even then, though, we know the story. Sadly, I don't think it would work without G'kar.

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Friday, July 31, 2009 2:48 PM

BLUEMOONSTUFF

Quote:
Sadly, I don't think it would work without G'kar.

I agree. G'kar was probably the best actor on the show and by far had the best lines.

BMS

An Original Browncoat - Member since September 20, 2002

Wearables • Writeables • Stickables
Fancible shiny goods made by a Browncoat for Browncoats
http://www.bluemoonstuff.com/Firefly_Serenity/fireflyserenity.html

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Friday, July 31, 2009 4:13 PM

CAMPHILLPAWHEDONITE1956

I also love bab5 have all dvds crusade and lost tales. i have had the very good luck to meet all the stars of the show. and am sad about Biggs and Katsulas being gone because andre was a very funny speaker in person.

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Friday, July 31, 2009 4:18 PM

CAMPHILLPAWHEDONITE1956

OH YEAH a remake would be a very bad thing without GKAR and the origial cast. has anybody read the novels. they fill in alot of backstory, esp. the bester ones.

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Saturday, August 1, 2009 5:34 AM

VILE

Like many shows, (Blakes 7, Macross, etc.) I think B5 would benefit from re-doing the special effects, but leaving everything else alone. No adding stupid comedy sketches in the background, and definitely no cartoonish song-and-dance routines. But some state-of-the-art CGI would go down a treat.

Not that it would ever, ever happen.

I've seen all of B5 except crusade, but I'm about to buy season 1-4 on DVD. I don't consider the rest worth re-watching (and, in some cases, they were not even worth watching). Nevertheless, the B5 universe is one of my favourites, possibly a close second to B7.

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Saturday, August 1, 2009 5:42 AM

PIRATECAT

I watch it with eggs.

"Battle of Serenity, Mal. Besides Zoe here, how many-" "I'm talkin at you! How many men in your platoon came out of their alive".

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Saturday, August 1, 2009 1:06 PM

CLJOHNSTON108

Yeah, G'Kar & Londo were the center of the show, AFAIC.
Before DVD, I taped every episode when it ran on TNT... and then my VCR gave up the ghost!

Oh, and if anybody's interested, there's an amazing freeware simulator available from some folks in Russia...

Babylon 5: I've Found Her — Space Dream Factory
http://ifh.babylonfive.ru/

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Saturday, August 1, 2009 2:13 PM

IMNOTHERE

Quote:
Originally posted by Vile:
Like many shows, (Blakes 7, Macross, etc.) I think B5 would benefit from re-doing the special effects, but leaving everything else alone.

The effects in B5 were pretty cutting edge when it was shown - one of the first shows to go CGI - and it used far more effects shots per episode than any SF show before it.

Unfortunately, in the DVD version, most of the live action was remastered as nice, sharp widescreen from the 16mm film, but all the effects sequences and composite shots had to be zoomed and cropped from video.

Its a real shame they couldn't re-render the effects from the original data. OTOH, they could have just done a grotty transfer of the 4:3 version, so we shouldn't grumble.

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Sunday, August 2, 2009 10:00 AM

MOVIEFREAK73

A new Babylon 5 movie will be appretiated:)

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Sunday, August 2, 2009 11:00 AM

KWICKO

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)

I've just been watching some DVD copies that a friend gave me - Season 3; I have to say that playing them on an upconverting HDMI DVD player in 16:9 format on a 1080p TV, the external shots (the CGI parts) look MUCH better than the live-action shots.

Maybe it's just me, but the live-action stuff just really isn't holding up well to the ravages of time. The hair, the costumes, the color palette... it all looks VERY late-80s, early-90s.

I'm just sayin'.

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Sunday, August 2, 2009 11:20 AM

IMNOTHERE

Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:
the external shots (the CGI parts) look MUCH better than the live-action shots.

Well, the CGI was improving all the time while they were making it - the live action, not so much. The season 1 DVDs in particular were not kind to the CGI, even worse to the live action/CGI composite shots.

They were working on a fairly low budget c.f, say, Star Trek TNG and DS9, but doing far more effects shots, more regular cast with full-face prosthetics (at a time when trek was at the height of its "slap some nose putty on their foreheads" phase) and a full musical score for each episode.

Maybe they cut costs on sets and costumes...

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Wednesday, August 5, 2009 8:38 AM

MOVIEFREAK73

B5 was wonderful series. Few days ago, I have seen In the Beginning movie, again and after X-time (X=∞-1).

I must tell Peter Jurasik was the best actor in the entire show including movies.

Is here a chance they will create another movie?

Peter Jurasik (right):

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