February 22, 1993 - Happy 20th Anniversary Babylon 5!

Sadly, I missed the airing of 'The Gathering' and only came on board for the series after reading an article in TV Guide where JMS described the show being set up like a novel. Watched every episode and in '96, I got my first computer and discovered JMS posting and answering questions online.

To say that Babylon 5 has had an impact on my life is an understatement. Happy 20th anniversary to all fans, old and new!

Jan

 

Happy Anniversary Babylon 5

 

I have no idea when exactly I started watching B5, but my earliest memories involve a little 'behind the scenes' bit of fluff on some breakfast show or other (GMTV? Big Breakfast?) I distinctly remember Claudia Christian giving a tour of the C'n'C set and warning the cameraman not to get too close to the window as it'd spoil the illusion (that the "stars" were really just X-mas lights on a black cloth.)

The thing was, I was in school at the time and the show was on very late night Channel 4. I think I managed to catch a bit of 'TKO' one time (though as I recall at the time I thought it was the tail end of a movie.) I think the first episodes I saw properly were the 'Voice in the Wilderness' two parters, 'Quality of Mercy' & 'Chrysalis'. Saw the first few episodes of the second season, though the rest was fairly patchy. By the end of the second season however I was hooked and made a concerted effort to see or record every episode...not an easy feat with three older brothers in the house and only one telly. I do remember renting a copy of 'The Gathering' when the show was in it's 3rd or 4th season and being thoroughly confused but it all. Mostly I remember it being boring and damn near unwatchable.

...And I think I'll stop right there as I suddenly feel very, very old...Bugger.

 

Lol! Join the club my friend, join the club.

 

My cable provider never carried PTEN, so I came onboard when Babylon 5 was picked up by TNT. Actually, I remember attending a con a few months before where Claudia Christian spoke about the show being renewed by TNT (I guess this was before her whole debacle), and the woman next to us in the audience was absolutely distraught because she didn't get the channel!

The first show I watched was Za'Ha'Dum, in the daily re-runs leading up to Season 5. An odd place to start, yet being thrown into the epic-ness of Season 4 without fully understanding everything really hooked me. I was glad to catch those daily re-runs because I don't think I could stand waiting a week or more between episodes!

Season 5 was a bit of a let-down on first airing, but I've come to appreciate it more in subsequent re-views. Overall B5 is easily my favorite tv show of all time. New BSG came close for awhile, but in the end felt a bit too improvised. Nothing compares to the satisfaction of B5's 5-year planned arc.

A flawed but true masterpiece of television.

 

John Hudgens, who did quite a few really great music videos for B5 back in the day (JMS commissioned most of them to take to conventions) just posted this link to one of my faves:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNshIwUnaXk

Jan

 

If my memory serves me and a website I visited confirmed it, WWOR in New York was supposed to show it Friday, February 26, 1993. Sadly, that was the day of the World Trade Center bombing, so I didn't get to see it. It was on too late on Sunday for me to watch the whole thing (my parents were strict about TV on school nights). I did catch it later on, though.

 

My first episode I saw was Born to the Purple, while in Australia in 1994, and once returned home rented the pilot on VHS.

New Zealand didn't start screening until 1995, and I began watching the series from The Gathering right through to Z'Ha'Dum non stop. I recorded Babylon Squared, and then about five episodes from season two, before recording the entire series from there on, only junking my VHS copies once they began releasing them on DVD (I was collecting Voyager on VHS and couldn't afford to do that with two shows).

One memory I vividly have is I had to travel on the day Endgame was to screen, and when I arrived at the airport I saw a group of people huddled around a TV. I thought something had happened on the news but they were all watching the final battle!

I ended up watching the episode that night on VHS. Was blown away.

 

I was just a kid back then, but I started watching it somewhere around the first season when it began to air around here. Maybe 1996 if my memory is not too off. By the end of the second season I was hooked and tried to catch every episode. The third season finale is still one of the major television cliffhanger experiences I've had - no question about it.

 

Is Babylon 5 still broadcast anywhere? If not, it seems a shame it will not get new fans.

 

It's available on DVD so there is still plenty of opportunity for it to get new fans. That was how I got into it, and there is one first time watch thread going on now, and I'm pretty sure I've seen others in the past.

 

Hey, Marjorie Monahan was hot!