So, this 'Babylon 5' thing better be good...

[Pingfah]

I've said some bad things about JMS in the past, based on a limited viewing in its original run, and on the fact that I really didn't like Jeremiah or Crusade. But I was completely and utterly wrong about B5.

I've watched S1-3 now and it's just a brilliant show.

I DLed S1 when I had a serious lack of spacey type stuff to watch and having wrapped that and got a few eps into S2 I promptly bought the whole lot on DVD.

 

[Technobuilder]

Yeah, it's a show that's initially very misleading to most viewers, even if they're fans of the genre. It builds.

 

[Angel4576]

Jeremiah's the only thing since B5 that's come close to recapturing its epic scope IMO. Well, that and nuBSG.

 

[Reverend]

I very recently watched Jeremiah for the first time...I very nearly gave up on it about half way through season 1, it got really dire in places. Parts of it even made 'TKO' and 'Grey 17 is Missing' look like television gold.

 

[Lindley]

Like B5, Jeremiah spends the first season establishing a bunch of facets of its world. The story begins in earnest in season 2. I do wish it had lasted a bit longer, because there was some good stuff while it did.....

 

[Ethros]

Well it arrived yesterday, but due to work I haven't had a chance to look at it till today. Actually the box is slightly different to the one on the site

Nice. Keep me busy for a while...

 

[Lindley]

Slight duplication of material, sending you *both* the The Gathering/In The Beginning box, *and* the Movie box set. And I'm not even sure what that one in the lower-left is.

Watch whichever you prefer, they should be identical. Menus are more interesting on the box set.

 

[Harvey]

It looks like the region two release is different--does it even have In The Beginning and The Gathering (that's what the DVD you can't identify looks like) in the movie box set?

 

[Ethros]

The movie boxset only has "Thirdspace", "River of Souls" and "A Call to Arms"
"The Gathering" and "In The Beginning" are on individual DVDs (two on the lower left)

 

[Pingfah]

^ Lindley probably has the US version of the movie boxset which has all 5 films.

 

[Jim Steele]

B5 remains to my eye the greatest TV series ever made.

Absolutely agreed.

OP, I got the same set as you a year and a half ago (well, before it came with Lost Tales) and if you enjoy well written, brilliantly acted television with multi-season, meticulously planned story arcs and characters who go through meaningful growth - well, B5 is for you.

Every time one of these "I'm about to watch B5 for the first time" threads start, I feel enormously envious for the thread starter. You are about to go on a journey, that's for sure.

 

[Mistral]

..., but what order should I watch in it?
I'd prefer to go by the airdates please

Watch The Gathering first, it's the pilot, then seasons 1 to 5. Ignore the other movies until you're finished with the series, some of them take place during the show but add nothing to the story and most of them are crap.
The only movie worth watching is "In the Beginning", do NOT watch it first, it spoils a lot, but for some reason a few fans think it's a good idea to give the advice to watch it first, just because most of it takes place before the pilot.

I didn't even read all of the posts - I just grabbed this one because it's dead on correct. When watching, remember The Gathering aired over a year before the show did. The tweaks show. As others no doubt said-S1 is a slow build up. They were still "finding their feet" at times, but then the show breaks out at full speed the last couple of episodes of S1 and doesn't slow down. The key to S1 is to PAY ATTENTION to the comments some of the main characters make-many of them come back later in the series as crucial points. That's part of the magic of the show-a stray comment in S1 becomes a major plot point down the road. Apparently, JMS likes pina coladas, getting caught in the rain-and foreshadowing! Have fun!

 

[RandyS]

^ Lindley probably has the US version of the movie boxset which has all 5 films.

That's what I have, and was about to comment on that til I saw that Lindley beat me to it.

What is the item in the lower left of the second picture with G'Kar on it? I don't have that, but do have everything else.

 

[RandyS]

B5 remains to my eye the greatest TV series ever made.

Every time one of these "I'm about to watch B5 for the first time" threads start, I feel enormously envious for the thread starter. You are about to go on a journey, that's for sure.

Why not just do what I do? I usually pull out my DVD's, and watch one episode a night from start to finish once a year, or every two years.

 

[Neroon]

The envy comes from watching the series for the first time .... and I think I know exactly how he feels. It's fun to vicariously experience a memorable show through the eyes of a newcomer. Their reactions often - not always - evoke some of what I felt on my first time through. The trouble is that no matter how many times a person may watch the entire series run, it's impossible to get that same n00bness all over again.

 

[Lindley]

What is the item in the lower left of the second picture with G'Kar on it? I don't have that, but do have everything else.

Upon further research, I suspect that The Gathering and In The Beginning are on separate discs in R2, rather than the flip-side single disc that R1 got with the ITB cover.

 

[Jan]

The key to S1 is to PAY ATTENTION to the comments some of the main characters make-many of them come back later in the series as crucial points. That's part of the magic of the show-a stray comment in S1 becomes a major plot point down the road.

Don't forget they should also pay attention to Universe Today headlines and background ISN newscasts.

The envy comes from watching the series for the first time .... and I think I know exactly how he feels. It's fun to vicariously experience a memorable show through the eyes of a newcomer. Their reactions often - not always - evoke some of what I felt on my first time through. The trouble is that no matter how many times a person may watch the entire series run, it's impossible to get that same n00bness all over again.

Exactly. Nothing can equal the first time...unless it's the second time. My first time was the original broadcasts and it was great, no mistake about it. The second time, though, when TNT stripped the show daily...that was when I caught a whole lot of the foreshadowing that I'd missed before. I'll never forget my reaction when I saw a certain scene in season one that was an early version of a scene at the end (she says vaguely to avoid spoilers). THAT's when I really learned to appreciate Babylon 5.

Jan

 

[Neroon]

What is the item in the lower left of the second picture with G'Kar on it? I don't have that, but do have everything else.

Upon further research, I suspect that The Gathering and In The Beginning are on separate discs in R2, rather than the flip-side single disc that R1 got with the ITB cover.

I do have that dual-sided disk, which never gets used, as I despise dual-sided DVDs. Also don't forget that in the US the movies were available as a separate boxed set, marketed as "Babylon 5 - The Movie Collection", which included those two films along with Thirdspace, River of Souls and A Call to Arms.

 

[mandragora]

The Gathering (original cut) and In the Beginning are both available on individual disks in R2 (as are all B5 TV movies). There's no double-sided disk with both movies AFAIK. The Gathering Special Edition isn't available either.

Additionally, there's a six disk box set containing all four B5 movies, plus A Call to Arms and Legend of the Rangers.

 

[RandyS]

What is the item in the lower left of the second picture with G'Kar on it? I don't have that, but do have everything else.

Upon further research, I suspect that The Gathering and In The Beginning are on separate discs in R2, rather than the flip-side single disc that R1 got with the ITB cover.

Ah, thanks. I originally had the double sided disk of the pilot and beginning movies, but gave it to a friend when The Movie Collection came out. Sadly, he watched them and told me a week later that he couldn't see what I saw in B5. Too bad. Since we both like Star Trek, Star Wars, Buck Rogers, BSG 1978, etc, I was hoping to have made a convert out of him. Of course, he loves New Galactica, and I don't, so it's a trade off.