What would have made the first season of Babylon 5 better?

[Joe Washington]

I've been hearing from people that the first season of Babylon 5 is mostly mediocre except for episodes like Mind War, Babylon Squared, and Chrysalis. What made the season mostly mediocre? And what would you change to make the first season better as the beginning of the series' five-year arc?

 

[Admiral Rem]

I'll give my opinion on this... Although I did enjoy the first season and saw the potential that this series had, some people that I spoke to couldn't get past:
1. The CGI used at the time (although I consider their work revolutionary - and like any technology in its infancy it wasn't going to be perfect).

2. Some people complained about the way that Cmmdr. Sinclair was portrayed (or the "stiff" acting associated with the character...) - I actually liked the character of Sinclair and wish that we would have seen more of him.

3. To Stand alone stories. The arcs that were commonplace across seasons 2-5 were in their infancy during season and things that seemed unrelated or unimportant would be dealt with later on. IMHO, JMS was trying to lay the foundation of the B5 universe and flesh out what made this show different from other sci fi at the time. But, I always felt, especially after revisiting those past epsiodes, that there were many great nuggets that were showed in season that would not reach full fruition until much later in the show's five year run. I have a greater appreciation for some of those episodes.

Some episodes like Death Walker and TKO were among my least favorite. Yet the nugget of stories formed in Mind War, Sign and Portents, and Babylon Squared exemplified what was the come and the potential that B5 as a series had to offer.

 

[FPAlpha]

To be honest i don't know if it really could have been done better.

Only very few shows tend to have outstanding first seasons that can rival their later seasons.. most shows tend to find their footing and style that will define the show later on. They have to set up all the characters and introduce the story and what the show is about and you can count on one hand which shows did that very well (Firefly and BSG come to mind). B5 doesn't differ that much from other shows.. the show didn't have a central theme like BSG for example so it could broaden its horizon a bit more which either dilutes the main story or expands it.. depends on the way you look at it.

Yes.. the Cmdr. Sinclair actor was not a very good actor but i've seen worse but i also prefer Bruce Boxleitner because he played his character with a little bit more life and range.

 

[mandragora]

Production values and CGi aside (things that were due to the state of technology and budget constraints), Season 1 had an awful lot of filler material that makes it feel slow by today's standards. Basically it's a similar problem to the first half of season 5. Granted, there were hints and clues in every single episode, even the so-called stand-alone eps, but in most cases they weren't integral to the A or even B-plots. Often they were included in casual dialogue or background action (like Delenn building the Chrysalis machine) and could easily have been shifted around.

My feeling is that season 1 could have been trimmed by about 1/3rd. By this I don't mean cut out 7 episodes, but cut out filler material like the A-plot in TKO, to mention one of the worst examples, and in some other episodes, the B-plots in some episodes and recombine the remainder. It would've streamlined the whole thing without losing any hints.

 

[Deckerd]

I thought the problem with the first half of season 5 is that the story was wrapped up at the end of season 4.

 

[glindros]

Season One is guilty of doing a little too much world building. The setups that it did were needed as the series progressed. Perhaps if the arcs were dived into a bit earlier, and the world building was done while the story unfolded, as opposed to being introduced before hand.

It's hard to conceive of now, but at the time, but I don't doubt that the network and affiliates were pushing for stand alone episodes. Trek was the only game in scifi at the time. Remember in the mid 90's Trek had two series running, and motion pictures coming out every 2+ years. jms had to struggle at times to be non-trek (meaning not anti-trek, just different) in writing, shooting, graphics and presentation. Stand alone did not work for B5

It has often been said that B5 is like a book. Perhaps jms followed that structure a little too much at the beginning.

 

[Forbin]

On the CGI: let me remind everyone that it was state of the art TV-budget CGI at the time. They were breaking ground for what was to come. We have the B5 production team to thank for developing LightWave on the Video Toaster platform in concert with NewTek, and for all the TV CGI that has come since.

You don't look at the Wright Flyer and say "OMG, what an ugly primitive airplane! How could they build something like that?"

 

[Deckerd]

The CGI in B5 never bothered me. Perhaps I'm just not that fussy.

 

[od0_ital]

2. Some people complained about the way that Cmmdr. Sinclair was portrayed (or the "stiff" acting associated with the character...) - I actually liked the character of Sinclair and wish that we would have seen more of him.

I liked Sinclair, too.

 

[Bisz]

I preferred Sinclair to Sheridan, actually.

I think what could have made it a bit better is if it was fester in getting into the arc of the show. Yes you need to lay the foundation and all that, but I think it could have laid it faster and better and then gotten into everything sooner.

 

[Jan]

I've been hearing from people that the first season of Babylon 5 is mostly mediocre except for episodes like Mind War, Babylon Squared, and Chrysalis. What made the season mostly mediocre? And what would you change to make the first season better as the beginning of the series' five-year arc?

First you'd have to accept that the first season was actually mediocre which I don't. When it's noted that B5 is like a novel, what's often forgotten is that the literary structure of a novel is Introduction, Rising Action, Complication/Conflict, Climax and Denouement. Of necessity, the first and last of those parts are the 'slower' ones.

Could B5 have moved some of the introductory elements to the background? Maybe. But my personal opinion is that the B5 universe is richer for having been introduced more fully.

Jan

 

[Joe Washington]

But maybe there's a way of having the first season be the introduction of the show's story while having its own mini-arc to draw the audience in before the main story arc is kicked into gear by the end of the season.

 

[Neroon]

But maybe there's a way of having the first season be the introduction of the show's story while having its own mini-arc to draw the audience in before the main story arc is kicked into gear by the end of the season.

I don't really think so, not when the series creator had such development sin mind and the resulting work was pretty good for my money. I suppose it's possible the way you describe, but I feel enough of those elements were already in place. Perhaps if you gave specific examples of what you're after.....

 

[theenglish]

I think the first season was pretty good, really. Certainly much better than the fifth season. My only problem with the first season is the same as my problem with the rest of the show. B5 suffers from a lot of "cheesy dialogue syndrome" that many viewers just cannot get past and even many of us who enjoyed the series have to wince at.

To be fair, Star Trek of the period had the same problem to a lesser degree, but the better acting (with a few major exceptions) went a long way to compensating for this problem.

 

[Maestro]

Too many "Sinclair meets the mustache-twirling military guy and has to prove he belongs in command of B5 to" episodes.

 

[Joe Washington]

Neroon: Here's my examples.

Lost Season 1 which gave time to get to know the plane-crash survivors while planting hints of what is to come and giving us a bit of a conflict with some of the island's inhabitants.

Deadwood Season 1 which laid down the foundation for Deadwood's society with the introduction of Al and Seth Bullock who doesn't become sheriff until the end of the season. They did this while giving us storylines like Wild Bill's murder and its aftermath and the plague that spread through town.

Dexter Season 1. The first season allow us to connect with the series' murderous protagonist and the arc that ran through that season (the Ice Truck Killer) gave us further glimpses into the protagonist's past. What happened in the first season had consequences for future seasons (Deb's kidnapping by the Ice Truck Killer and how it shaken her confidence as a cop and her view of certain things, Dexter's conflict with the Ice Truck Killer causing him to question his life and his identity, and the increasing tensions between Dexter and Doakes.)

And Battlestar Galactica's first season goes without saying.

 

[OmahaStar]

Hmmm I'd say the best way to make the first season even better would be to have more appearances by Jane. Yep, that's all I can think of at this time.

 

[Mysterion]

2. Some people complained about the way that Cmmdr. Sinclair was portrayed (or the "stiff" acting associated with the character...) - I actually liked the character of Sinclair and wish that we would have seen more of him.

I liked Sinclair, too.

Ditto. O'Hare did a fine job portraying Sinclair, who had very good reasons to be "a little stiff" or distant. I think O'Hare gets kind of the same rap that Averey Brooks gets sometimes for his portrayal of Sisko on DSN. In both cases, if you pay attention, the actors are doing some really cool but subtle stuff that I think a lot of folks just don't catch, thus writing off the acting as being "flat".

 

[Mistral]

I thought the portrayal of Sinclair was necessary the way it was done. You had to open up the B5 universe through relatable eyes. I thought the first season was brilliant. The little, toss-off lines that came back to mean so much later were unlike anything I'd encountered before. The CGI was like nothing else out there. The characters created their own depth as the season progressed and even episodes like TKO played into the evolving storyline(TKO showing Humanity trying to be accepted by the various alien races on their terms). No show is perfect, but B5 managed to be brilliant and engrossing. If it wasn't then what the hell are we doing discussing it after all these years?

 

[Harvey]

I think there were too many cliched standalone episodes in the first season. It doesn't matter how many important details are subtly dropped into a bad hour of television. World building is no excuse for the cheesy villains and tired tropes that populate a number of episodes in the first year. Babylon 5 proved that it was capable of so much more in "Mind War" and "Babylon Squared" and "Chrysalis" that year, as well as in numerous episodes in subsequent years.