Babylon 5

[David cgc]

As for “The Gathering”. are the live action scenes crops or was it framed for widescreen and the film master was preserved in anamorphic (also which cut is it, the original or SE) ? I know some will people will point out that TG apparently wasn’t made widescreen in 98, but Straczynskinski was also working on a limited budget and simply couldn’t afford to rescan every frame.

It's the SE, the preview starts at the end of the scene with the dust dealer in the customs area. Comparing the scene in the iTunes preview to the version from the DVDs, it seems to be the same source video, but cropped and upscaled. Unfortunately, to prevent clever pirates from painstakingly screenshotting all hundred and fifty-thousand-odd frames of the movie to make a bootleg copy, screenshots are prohibited on iTunes purchases and previews, so I can't post a comparison.

All indications have always been that "The Gathering" wasn't shot with safe sides for widescreen, unlike the mainline series, and that's why it wasn't remastered in widescreen with the rest of the series in 2000.

 

[Cap.T]

Not yet, apparently.

I just checked - individual remastered seasons are available, but not the entire series in one bunch.

(Also, all five remastered seasons, if bought together, add up to about $40.)

I bought the Complete Remastered Series-Set on iTunes US 10 hours ago for $30.

Link.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Then it must have been taken down soon after you bought it, because it's not there now.

 

[Cap.T]

^ Then it must have been taken down soon after you bought it, because it's not there now.

What happens if you klick on the Link I posted? That leads me to the set still.

BTW: It looks like some episodes throughout the series have not been replaced with the new 4:3 remastered versions yet:

Season 1:
The Gathering, Soul Hunter, Mind War, By Any Means, Babylon Squared
Season 3:
Messages From Earth, Ceremonies of Light and Dark, Interludes and Examinations, Walkabout, Z'ha'dum
Season 4:
Racing Mars
Season 5:
Secrets of the Soul

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

What happens if you klick on the Link I posted?

It takes me to an "iTunes Preview" page that mentions the complete series (but doesn't actually let you buy it).

There is a link on that page that says "Watch on Apple TV" (meaning, the "TV" app that has replaced iTunes). When I click on THAT link, it launches the TV app, but then it only shows the individual B5 seasons and the TV-movies.

 

[Cap.T]

It takes me to an "iTunes Preview" page that mentions the complete series (but doesn't actually let you buy it).

There is a link on that page that says "Watch on Apple TV" (meaning, the "TV" app that has replaced iTunes). When I click on THAT link, it launches the TV app, but then it only shows the individual B5 seasons and the TV-movies.

You are on iTunes US right? It hasn't been released in a lot of other countries yet. I just logged out of my iTunes-Account and searched for Babylon 5. And I still could buy the Complete Set if I wanted to. Very strange, that it doesn't show up for you.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

You are on iTunes US right? I

Yes.

I just logged out of my iTunes-Account and searched for Babylon 5. And I still could buy the Complete Set if I wanted to. Very strange, that it doesn't show up for you.

Are you on Windows or Mac?

I have a Mac. Whether I click on the link you gave, or launch the macOS "TV" app and search for B5 directly, I always end up in the same place: The TV store only offers the individual seasons and TV movies. The only place I ever see the complete series is the "preview page" you posted.

 

[Cap.T]

Very strange. I'm on Windows iTunes. But I can also see it on my AppleTV 4K.
I took a picture from my Windows iTunes. But apperently the software here doesn't allow to upload it directly...

 

[tomswift2002]

Overnight on iTunes Canada the price for the Complete Series Remastered dropped to $29.99 from $59.99.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I still don't get it. It's the same store, isn't it? So why would the complete series be accessible to Windows users but not Mac?

 

[David cgc]

I still don't get it. It's the same store, isn't it? So why would the complete series be accessible to Windows users but not Mac?

That's odd. Last night, the link to the complete series listing included a "Buy for $29.99" button, but this morning, it only has the link to "Watch on Apple TV," and when I click that, it shows me the store link in the TV app, which only lets me buy each episode and season individually. I'm also on a Mac.

 

[Reverend]

Sounds like someone at iTunes put a temp in charge of setting up the new listings.

 

[BlueStuff]

Always consider the perspective. The Minbari have essentially been...I don't want to use the word "stagnant" but let's say "a plateaued trinary homogony" for going on a thousand years. They have what they feel is a perfectly elegant system: three castes. You pick your lane, you stay in it, you continue to do so until you die and always do what your elders tell you.
A race that leaps from not being able to escape their own planet's gravity to being a galactic power in a quarter of that time, all while ceaselessly bickering with each other would blow the mind of any Minbari. By rights, according to their world view we should have murdered each other into extinction before we even split the atom.

Humanity's "importance" isn't some mystical touch of divinity, it simply has a catalysing factor (diversity) in the existing dynamic of mostly monolithic and insular galactic cultures. A wildcard. Such things are important during times of change, and Delenn knows a change is imminent. It just makes sense to her based on what she's seen that the humans are to play a role.

That was well-explained; thank you.

 

[tomswift2002]

I still don't get it. It's the same store, isn't it? So why would the complete series be accessible to Windows users but not Mac?

Well I just bought the complete series on iTunes on an iPhone. So it makes no sense if only portions of Mac systems can buy it but others can’t.

 

[BlueStuff]

"The Quality of Mercy"

Not sure about the timing of this one right between the heavy Babylon Squared and the season finale, but this was a decent standalone hour that serviced some less-seen characters like Dr Franklin and Winters better than what they'd got earlier in the season. I found Franklin annoying and arrogant early on in season 1 but this allowed him to shine a little more. I liked his point that the "healer" was actively doing harm to her patients if her methods were discouraging them from seeking "proper" treatment. As for Winters - well, I've never been interested in telepathic stories (I'm still not particularly) - but this was a fairly entertaining plot for her, and I like the way the two stories ended up coalescing. The "death of personality" is an interesting topic, and I wonder if it'll be explored in more depth later. Why is capital punishment outlawed, yet this method of execution is considered more humane?

More valuable for entertainment, though, was Londo's outing with Lennier, exploring a previously untapped comic relationship. It was a very amusing sequence with the two forced to explain to Sinclair just what they'd gotten up to, black eyes and all. All of the ambassador aides remain well used in the show. There remain lots of other potential pairings that are sure to be fun.

Yet, the timing of the episode still seems a little odd to me, unless the alien healing device or Centauri penis reveal or both will end up proving tremendously important later on. Any fans want to weigh in on why this episode was placed where it is? Was it just intended to provide a little comic flavour before the surely dramatic finale?

Rating: ***

-Kosh and G'Kar must be chilling in their quarters because it feels like they haven't been seen in ages. That may just be due to how long it takes me between viewings of each episode, of course.
-Also no sign of that black market insect alien dude from earlier in the season. Hopefully he won't show up again.

 

[matthunter]

The alien healing machine is a gun that is fired twice. One quite soon from your perspective, one quite a way down the line.

 

[Kraig]

"The Quality of Mercy"

Not sure about the timing of this one right between the heavy Babylon Squared and the season finale, but this was a decent standalone hour that serviced some less-seen characters like Dr Franklin and Winters better than what they'd got earlier in the season. I found Franklin annoying and arrogant early on in season 1 but this allowed him to shine a little more. I liked his point that the "healer" was actively doing harm to her patients if her methods were discouraging them from seeking "proper" treatment. As for Winters - well, I've never been interested in telepathic stories (I'm still not particularly) - but this was a fairly entertaining plot for her, and I like the way the two stories ended up coalescing. The "death of personality" is an interesting topic, and I wonder if it'll be explored in more depth later. Why is capital punishment outlawed, yet this method of execution is considered more humane?

More valuable for entertainment, though, was Londo's outing with Lennier, exploring a previously untapped comic relationship. It was a very amusing sequence with the two forced to explain to Sinclair just what they'd gotten up to, black eyes and all. All of the ambassador aides remain well used in the show. There remain lots of other potential pairings that are sure to be fun.

Yet, the timing of the episode still seems a little odd to me, unless the alien healing device or Centauri penis reveal or both will end up proving tremendously important later on. Any fans want to weigh in on why this episode was placed where it is? Was it just intended to provide a little comic flavour before the surely dramatic finale?

Rating: ***

-Kosh and G'Kar must be chilling in their quarters because it feels like they haven't been seen in ages. That may just be due to how long it takes me between viewings of each episode, of course.
-Also no sign of that black market insect alien dude from earlier in the season. Hopefully he won't show up again.

JMS was heavily medicated with over the counter medicine when he wrote this episode. It started with a bad case of the flu that turned to bronchitis and pneumonia. He didn't even remember writing it. He was told that while he was in bed, he would write a few pages on his laptop, pass out, wake up, focus on his laptop, take some Dayquil, and keep writing.

 

[DonIago]

For those who remember the episode better than I, is there any reason QoM couldn't occur earlier in the series? It might have helped to avoid the convenience factor.

 

[BlueStuff]

"Chrysalis"

I now feel that I understand what people meant when they said that S1 is merely a prologue for the rest of the series - this was a fantastic episode, the best so far, and it succeeded in hooking me on the show going forward. What do I mean by this? While there were certainly good episodes before, none of them particularly compelled me to watch the next one as soon as possible. I almost want to stop writing this review and start with S2 already.

First, the assassination of the President, while not impactful on an emotional level (after all, we didn't know him) was huge from a narrative point of view. The "heroes" will not always succeed - indeed, sometimes they fail miserably. Actions have consequences, ramifications, and everything will not be okay in 40 minutes.

Morden, while a curiosity before, is now a sinister figure - in league with a shadowy race that'll annihilate thousands purely because of a vaguely-worded promise to Londo. I have to wonder if Mollari will be the same going forward? We get the feeling that there's no turning back for him now, he's up to his neck in debt to a greater power - a position he very much hadn't intended to be in.

Delenn is entrenched in the titular chrysalis, changing... into what? Whatever it is, the process encapsulates the seeming theme of the episode as a whole - nothing will ever be the same. What did she want to tell Sinclair? He was too late - he missed his chance. Now he'll never know; at least, that's the feeling I got.

But I sure hope I'll know - I surge forward as Kosh tells me, fittingly:

"And so it begins."

Rating: *****

-The sight of those spidery, spectral ships destroying the Narn outpost before evaporating into the night was terrifying. G'Kar swears vengeance, yet is he truly prepared for what he'll find after investigating?
-I didn't even mention Garibaldi hovering on the brink of death. Well, even though I just said that nothing will be the same and that things don't always end well, I have to think that he'll end up surviving.

 

[Farscape One]

This was an excellent season finale, and the best is yet to come.

Regarding the design of those ships... I always loved them. They do strike terror in your heart, and that was the intent, I believe. One of the best designed ships in scifi, in terms of creating an emotional response.