Yeah but he has it further down as 20/22 on that list. I noticed the IMDB rating was pretty low. LOL. Can't win 'em all I suppose.
Babylon 5 first time watching - specific viewing order?
- Thread starter Riverside2233
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Yeah but he has it further down as 20/22 on that list. I noticed the IMDB rating was pretty low. LOL. Can't win 'em all I suppose.
I don’t understand why TKO is hated as much as it is. I thought the Ivanava storyline was really nice. I will admit the Maui Tai was cliched but the episode is not an absolute stinker like Infection.
Good to know. I'll give it a fair shake when I watch it. Infection was a little iffy I'll agree.
Season 5 I find is mostly filler material. The main issue that JMS had with Season 5 was that originally it was suppose to be the season where we saw Sheridan and company go after President Clark on Earth---the original Season 4 ending was suppose to be, as I recall, Sheridan's interrogation episode. And then Season 5 would have the Earth war arc, with the telepath's and the beginnings of the Alliance. Unfortunately, due to a possible cancellation, JMS had to move the A-plot of what was to be Season 5, up into Season 4 and then when Season 5 was picked up, he kind of had to make due with the remaining B and C plots that were not that interesting on their own. On my run through's I usually go up to the end of Season 4 and DOFS and then jump to "Sleeping In The Light". Even Season 1 is more enjoyable than Season 5.
TKO is a fine episode. Maybe there are anti-Semitic B5 fans that don't like it, I don't know. It's not vital to the whole arc, but it's a part of life in this city in space. What city doesn't have sporting events, and why do all of them have to revolve around the humans?
And only the first half of season 5 has filler, the subplot through 5 culminating in the war is not filler but a major development to the whole story line. Disregard that and you lose much.
And only the first half of season 5 has filler, the subplot through 5 culminating in the war is not filler but a major development to the whole story line. Disregard that and you lose much.
I disagree. With the exception of "A View from the Gallery", I think Season 5 is a strong season that works very well is a denouement and epilogue. Plus, it brings back the Psi Cops and telepaths, and introduces Lochley, who is a freaking badass character.
If you were going to skip the season outright, though, then the best place to end the series is with "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars", period.
" Sleeping in Light" is really not a very good series finale regardless of when/where/if it's watched, especially in comparison to TDoFS.
I think the issues Ivanova faced and sitting Shiva(sp?) for father get overshadowed by the meh martial arts a-story.
Come to think of it, the BSG episode where they end up boxing was meh as well.
Add the Voyager one as well.
As a first-time viewer, I know that I won't skip any part of it. It's good to hear both sides of the argument to bring me back to the middle of it.
I can count on one hand the number of shows i've skipped around or just stopped watching altogether. Usually once I decide, I'm in it for the good, bad, and ugly. LOL.
The solid thing about the BSG boxing - if I remember - was the solid camera work of that sequence. That whole series was gifted by advancements in CGI and SFX. It was able to pull off a more vivid look that most could up to that point.
Because you're watching the series for the first time, you need to be aware that "Sleeping in Light" really does not work because it completely ignores a major character from the series due to when it was filmed and is therefore not a satisfactory conclusion to the show, so my recommendation would be to pretend that it doesn't exist and instead watch the final broadcast episode of Season 4, The Deconstruction of Falling Stars" as the concluding episode of Season 5 and the series itself, because doing so will provide you with a much more satisfactory ending.
Yeah that seems to be the consensus.
And after DoFS that leads into "A Call to Arms" and Crusade ?
http://www.b5tv.com/showthread.php?t=11675
Do you agree with the B5TV link that has me watching all of this stuff before I even watch DoFS ?
Do you agree with the B5TV link that has me watching all of this stuff before I even watch DoFS ?
Technically both Deconstruction and Sleeping in Light are chronologically after Crusade, but no, I would definitely not recommend putting them off till then.
I also strongly disagree that Sleeping in Light doesn't work, DoFS is sort of a fine bonus, but SiL is the true finale of the show.
For a first-time viewing/viewer, it is very jarring to spend 21 episodes with Captain Lochley and watch the platonic relationship between her and Sheridan develop, and then have the Season 5/Series Finale - which actually doesn't have anything to do with Season 5 narratively - just ignore her.
The Deconstruction of Falling Stars works far better as the Series Finale - especially for a first-time viewer - because it directly references events that happen in Season 5 and tells you the ultimate fate of more characters than just Sheridan.
You mentioned it like 5 times already in this thread, so I think your opinion is duly noted.
I'm offering a different one. DoFS is a summary of what the show is about and a preview of what it'll continue to be about in season 5. It's a nice concept episode, but that's all it is. SiL on the other hand is an emotional coda to the whole series, and since it takes place 20 years after it's not supposed to directly continue onto season 5, so I don't think the lack of a certain character is too jarring. It certainly wasn't for me.
Any time someone mentions Farscape I can't help but recommend they check out the post-PK Wars comics. I read the first miniseries last year and it was great. The stories were done by the show's creator Rockne S. O'Bannon, so they're pretty much as close to canon as you can get.
The first one takes us on our first visit to Hyneria, and ties things up the whole Rygel and Bishan story.
Which one, the where Seven fought Rock, or that weird Chakotay boxing one?
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Just watched "TKO". While it's nothing overly special, I enjoyed it just fine.
You gain more insight into Ivanova and Garibaldi's backgrounds and personal relationships. You get a little Mortal Kombat action. You learn a little more about the alien perspective on B5 toward human interference in their cultures.
A 5.7 / 10 on IMDB is pretty low for something that works for the most part. The acting and writing wasn't terrible. Probably merits mid 6 rating at worst. Not great, but not bad.
It's not my opinion. And I'm not in the SiL is the greatest crowd, either, but it's an excellent epilogue to the whole story. To miss it is like poking yourself in the eye. Watch it once and then decide if it's worth it.
Sleeping In The Light was never intended to follow up directly on the events of Season 5. Even when Straczynski plotted out the whole series, Sleeping In The Light was always meant to be an epilogue to the show to finish it, just like a novel will have an epilogue to show what happened after the main events of the novel.
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