Niners Unite...around Babylon 5! - The Lost Threads

[Harvey]

^^
The season "introductions" are better seen after watching the entire seasons they pertain to, since they spoil everything of note in them.

[chrisspringob]

Hirogen Alpha said:
I really enjoyed the JMS commentaries, but the cast commentaries were hit or miss. Far too often, they're joking around to such a degree that I can't help but feel that they forgot they were recording a commentary track all together. I did like the cast commentary from the back end of season five, though.

I agree. I think Jerry Doyle was the worst in that regard, which is why the S5 commentary, the only one without him, is the best. (Though it's been a long time since I listened to them, so my memory of each one isn't that good.)

[Neroon]

This little sidebar has inspired me to make a "marathon" of the commentary episodes this weekend.

[od0_ital]

Neroon said:
This little sidebar has inspired me to make a "marathon" of the commentary episodes this weekend.

Have fun.

[Garrett]

Sorry if this is a bit off from the current topic here. I've been watching the show again, but pretty slowly this time. I also picked up the Gathering recently, which I had never seen before. I might end up getting the movie box set later on when I get the money.

The Gathering wasn't great, but nowhere near as bad as I have heard. The murder plot isn't particularly interesting, but it was nice to see some of the story threads touched on here.

Michael O'Hare seemed a lot more at ease in the Gathering than he did in the series. Not nearly as wooden. He doesn't really seem that way in the series again until he appears later on when he was with the rangers. He also seemed to have better chemistry with the women playing his girlfriend here than the one from the series. Though, Julia Nickson is much easier on the eyes.

When going back to season one, and now seeing him in the Gathering, I've always wanted to see what an alternate series with O'Hare remaining the lead would have been like.

[Angel4576]

Couple of points I'd make re The Gathering.

First, The Gathering is always better in hindsight as it makes more sense. The Gathering kicks off a number of the arcs that run throughout the series, and certain things which just appear random in the pilot, have greater significance if you know what to look for.

Second, O'Hare fares better in The Gathering than he does in season one, IMO because the actors playing Kyle and Takashima are really poor themselves. In season one, you have Claudia Christian as Ivanova and Rick Biggs as Frankling. All of a sudden, the bar's raised, and O'Hare doesn't seem quite as good. It's his lack of charisma that always deterred me from liking the character too much. Boxleitner is completely the oppositve, coming across as extremely charismatic/enigmatic. It's hard to imagine O'Hare carrying the story as successfully as Boxleitner did in later seasons.

[Mal]

Angel4576 said:
Second, O'Hare fares better in The Gathering than he does in season one, IMO because the actors playing Kyle and Takashima are really poor themselves.

see, i always thought it was his hair. watch them again and tell me i'm not onto something...

[Neroon]

My daughter & I were watching "Severed Dreams" the other night. Hey, it's nice to have something else to focus on while you're folding laundry. Anyhow, she felt that the call home which Sheridan makes to his father, right before all Hell breaks loose, is one of the most moving in the series ...... but people don't seem to mention it very often.

Are there others that you feel the same way about, particularly effective and moving, but not often brought up in conversation with other fans of the show?

[Jan]

I'm fond of the scene where Sheridan is reunited with his Dad in 'Rising Star'. When Mr. Sheridan is introduced to Delenn he's so warm and welcoming it's just a great moment that had to have meant a lot to Delenn.

Jan

[Angel4576]

Neroon said:
the call home which Sheridan makes to his father, right before all Hell breaks loose, is one of the most moving in the series ...... but people don't seem to mention it very often.

Spot on, absolutely love that scene, the contrast between taht scene and what follows is technically brilliant.

I don't know how others perceive them, but the other couple of non-obvious scenes (to my mind) that tend to stick in my mind are;

Sheridan's salute before he disembarks for Minbar in Objects at Rest, always brings a lump to the throat, and the other one is from the end of Confessions & Lamentations when they open up the seal and discover that everyone's dead bar Delenn and Lennier.

[Neroon]

Jan said:
I'm fond of the scene where Sheridan is reunited with his Dad in 'Rising Star'. When Mr. Sheridan is introduced to Delenn he's so warm and welcoming it's just a great moment that had to have meant a lot to Delenn.

Jan

Yeah, Rance Howard comes across nicely in that scene for just that very reason.

I think what creates the impact, the "oompf" in the scene I mentioned is the very idea that Sheridan has but one call to make, and he makes it to home. Here's a character who is shown talking to his father in a loving and respectful manner - even with the history they have had. You don't see that portrayed very often.... and I can understand why. Drama tends to be more interesting.

But the scene is powerful to me because it is underplayed, with just a hint of emotion in John's voice. His father, one more time, plays the strong role for his son. One more time, he knows he is still needed to be strong for his son who is facing the most terrible decision of his life.

Good, good, GOOD stuff!!

[AJBryant]

Neroon said:
But the scene is powerful to me because it is underplayed, with just a hint of emotion in John's voice. His father, one more time, plays the strong role for his son. One more time, he knows he is still needed to be strong for his son who is facing the most terrible decision of his life.

Good, good, GOOD stuff!!

I really like your take on that scene.

Tony

[Neroon]

Very often the scenes that hold the most significance for me, are those to which I can strongly identify through personal experience. Then again, I suppose that's true for a great many fans.

[Stanley]

I watched the episode "Eyes" again, and discovered to my pleasure that one of the actors was Jeffrey Combs. I recognized his voice; I remember him from the roles he played on Enterprise and Deep Space Nine.

[Neroon]

Combs seems to be right up there with Vaughn Armstrong in the "hardest working actor" category! And of crruse both had roles in B5.