B5 Lost Tales

[Phily B]

I don't think Starfury pilots do need suits, just for when they go into combat they do. Qunatum space was a bit silly though considering that the Vorlons and future humans still used hyperspace.

 

[Reverend]

The pressure suit is a precaution in the event that the cockpit is breached. We saw Garibaldi do the same in the first episode of Season 5 and I believe he said at the time "...if this cockpit breaches I'm screwed...".

 

[Arrqh]

The pressure suit is a precaution in the event that the cockpit is breached. We saw Garibaldi do the same in the first episode of Season 5 and I believe he said at the time "...if this cockpit breaches I'm screwed...".

It probably doesn't really matter much if you're in a non-combat situation. Which was the case in TLT and not so much so for Garibaldi in the Season 5 ep.

Later on we learned that the buget for the entire disk was only two million dollars although they had to start from scratch with all of the ships and other effects since WB had lost the original files. No wonder there were only two segments instead of the planned three.

I thought that those files had been lost earlier which is why, as I recall, Legend of the Rangers used a lot of assets from the canceled game (sigh) for their VFX. In any case, the original B5 CG assets would not hold up particularly well these days without a lot of work anyway.

Actually, I have to say for all of TLT's faults (though overall I still enjoyed it) the VFX were really solid, especially considering the budget they had to work with. The VFX in B5 are what started me on the path of my current career, so it was nice to see even though the cool segments were pretty short!

 

[mandragora]

Name me one situation in the original series where we've seen someone inside a Starfury without spacesuit. Even Sheridan when he was checking out the new Fury in "Ship of Tears", or on his "What could go wrong" trip in "All alone in the night" was wearing a spacesuit. Let alone someone flying a long-range trip. Whether it was due to precaution in case of a breach, or due to Starfuries not being able to provide artifical atmosphere is a different question. Point is, we've never seen anyone without a spacesuit in a Starfury before, and there was no explanation other than "it's not necessary", and the suit "doesn't fit". Not that it matters much. It's only one example of careless treatment of the original out of the non-exclusive list I've posted above.

 

[Angel4576]

Wasn't much for the first story featuring Lochley, but the second story, with Sheridan and the Prince Regent, was superb.

Personally, I'm disappointed that we won't get more, especially after we'd heard about the likely content of future volumes.

 

[Lindley]

Name me one situation in the original series where we've seen someone inside a Starfury without spacesuit.

As has been said, Garibaldi in "No Compromises".

 

[Neroon]

Name me one situation in the original series where we've seen someone inside a Starfury without spacesuit. Even Sheridan when he was checking out the new Fury in "Ship of Tears", or on his "What could go wrong" trip in "All alone in the night" was wearing a spacesuit. Let alone someone flying a long-range trip. Whether it was due to precaution in case of a breach, or due to Starfuries not being able to provide artifical atmosphere is a different question. Point is, we've never seen anyone without a spacesuit in a Starfury before, and there was no explanation other than "it's not necessary", and the suit "doesn't fit". Not that it matters much. It's only one example of careless treatment of the original out of the non-exclusive list I've posted above.

A couple of people have now pointed out Garibaldi in "No Compromises". It was a situation in which Garibaldi having figured out what was about to happen had no time to get into a suit, a process which I'm sure would take several minutes. He couldn't risk the loss of time and so instead decided to risk his own safety to stop the assassin.

In the case of "TLT", Sheridan and Vintari were on a short run in close proximity to the station, not on a long range maneuver or battle condition. These cockpits are most likely of such quality that one can safely fly one sans suit, in non-battle conditions etc because htere is no danger of a hull breech, and so forth.

 

[Harvey]

Name me one situation in the original series where we've seen someone inside a Starfury without spacesuit.

As has been said, Garibaldi in "No Compromises".

Yeah, but in that scene Garibaldi worries aloud about the fact that he didn't have time to put on the suit.

This scene didn't annoy me the first time I saw the Lost Tales, but, thinking about it now, it doesn't make much sense for Sheridan to be so unprotected. He is the President of the Alliance, after all!

 

[Neroon]

^ See my reply as to why it didn't bother me.

 

[mandragora]

This scene didn't annoy me the first time I saw the Lost Tales, but, thinking about it now, it doesn't make much sense for Sheridan to be so unprotected. He is the President of the Alliance, after all!

Not only is Sheridan the President of the Alliance, the Prince is the designated successor to the Centauri throne. Sheridan didn't even go on a training flight without space suit when he was a captain, and now he AND the prince don't bother with that little problem, because the suit "doesn't fit"?

Bottom line is, the only time we've seen a person in a Starfury without spacesuit was in an emergency situation that didn't allow for the time to put it on. In any other situations, Starfury pilots wore spacesuits even in training flights. In TLT suddenly two very important people are piloting Starfuries without spacesuits.

Of course it's always possible to explain away plot holes invoking enormeous leaps in logic. It's what fanboys do, no matter what fandom is concerned, after all. It's just that B5 doesn't usually requires it, as far as the original series is concerned.

 

[mandragora]

sry, double post.

 

[Jan]

FWIW, the script doesn't have the discussion about the pressure suits in it so it may have been due to an availability or budget issue once they started putting things together. While I agree that the suit isn't/wasn't necessary for a short hop, it really does seem to be a bit of a plot hole for Sheridan to say that there was no suit to fit him since the 'furies were sent over from B5. I'd've thought that they'd have had plenty of suits available. It just isn't enough to spoil anything for me.

Jan

 

[RandyS]

Not a very good test of the feasibility of more B5. The stories were tired, the acting was wooden, and the production values looked like they were worse than the original series

That's because they were. But, as others have said, this DVD was a test to see if there was still a market for the show. I personally think there is, if it's done right. The only thing is, that the original show was so well done (with the sole exception of not showing us Clark's POV) that there really is no way to top it, or even add to it as all the B5 productions since have shown us.

 

[Phily B]

There was no danger at all of the Starfurys cockpit just randomly breaching, or a very small one which was next to impossible. Its a really minor thing, Garibaldi did it in an emergency but he was fine - the cockpit doesn't randomly breach and therefore is perfectly safe to fly in from location to location. If there was a danger, then people in B5 C+C would walk around with those suits on just incase the class randomly cracked.

The cockpit of a Starfury doesn't just randomly breach.

 

[Captain Worf]

Not a very good test of the feasibility of more B5. The stories were tired, the acting was wooden, and the production values looked like they were worse than the original series

That's because they were. But, as others have said, this DVD was a test to see if there was still a market for the show. I personally think there is, if it's done right. The only thing is, that the original show was so well done (with the sole exception of not showing us Clark's POV) that there really is no way to top it, or even add to it as all the B5 productions since have shown us.

I think there are still a lot of great stories that could be told. Crusade certainly would've gone places if it hadn't been canceled, but now it's just been too long. I agree with the person who said that it's baffling that noone had enough faith in JMS to give him the budget to make a new series.

 

[Faldor]

Later on we learned that the buget for the entire disk was only two million dollars

which is about the same as an episode of Stargate or Doctor Who.

I enjoyed The Lost Tales for what it was. It was nice to see the visuals get an update and it kinda made sense for the station to be a quieter place given what we found out in Sleeping In Light.

 

[Harvey]

Later on we learned that the buget for the entire disk was only two million dollars

which is about the same as an episode of Stargate or Doctor Who.

I enjoyed The Lost Tales for what it was. It was nice to see the visuals get an update and it kinda made sense for the station to be a quieter place given what we found out in Sleeping In Light.

True, but those series have the infrastructure of standing stets, casting, and other costs. The Lost Tales had to build everything, outside of a few set pieces (that still had to be shipped from Southern California to Vancouver) and the three leads already cast on Babylon 5 and Crusade, from scratch.

And that doesn't even include the budget for all the extra features on the disc--assuming those were also incurred on the two million dollar budget.

 

[Phily B]

I think B5 Lost Tales budget being 2 million is pretty amazing - especially since it made quite a large profit. I honestly believe if they made a B5 series, it would do better ratings than BSG does right now and if JMS did it right then it would get as much critical acclaim.

 

[Harvey]

What kind of critical acclaim (or not) did Babylon 5 receive in its original run, anyway? Metacritic doesn't have reviews of older television series, so it's hard to get a handle on the response since I wasn't a viewer back then. My guess is that reviewers would have a real problem with some of the performances and the production values, leaving most of them unable to take the show seriously-- just like critics have had a hard time taking most other science fiction programs seriously.

Anyone have some sort of answer to this question?

 

[Jan]

For those interested, JMS had this to say about post-B5 offerings in a recent interview.

JMS: When I set out to write and create Babylon 5, it was with the intention of doing a five-year story and then you get out clean. We did that. Everything we set out to do, we did. My error was in falling so much in love with that universe, and the cast and crew, that I was tempted -- and succumbed to that temptation -- to keep it going. Some of the first TV movies were worth doing, such as In the Beginning. Others less so. Some of it added to the B5 legacy, some of did not, mainly because we were always fighting budgetary concerns that substantially limited where the story could go. But when you're in love, you don't see those things until later, in retrospect.

JMS will be reminiscing about B5 at New York Comic-Con next month.

Jan