What would have made the first season of Babylon 5 better?
- Thread starter Joe Washington
- Start date
Same here.
People have mentioned the cgi a few times, since it doesn't hold up at all.
What I wouldn't give for a remastered B5. It will most likely never happen either. I read somewhere recently that the original cgi models no longer exist.
What makes it worse is that the cgi on the widescreen versions of the show had to be cropped to fit the new aspect ratio.
I watched this series in first run, and many times since. What I like is the little things that they changed after they first aired. One example that comes to mind is in Comes The Inquisitor (probably my favorite episode besides The Face of the Enemy), where they had to adr over Sheridan's "string of murders on the west end", and as such it doesn't line up anymore. I still have the original unchanged version on vhs.
My problems with the first season have all been mentioned by others already. By the time you get to the last few episodes, it's a totally different show.
Bri
What I wouldn't give for a remastered B5. It will most likely never happen either. I read somewhere recently that the original cgi models no longer exist.
What makes it worse is that the cgi on the widescreen versions of the show had to be cropped to fit the new aspect ratio.
I watched this series in first run, and many times since. What I like is the little things that they changed after they first aired. One example that comes to mind is in Comes The Inquisitor (probably my favorite episode besides The Face of the Enemy), where they had to adr over Sheridan's "string of murders on the west end", and as such it doesn't line up anymore. I still have the original unchanged version on vhs.
My problems with the first season have all been mentioned by others already. By the time you get to the last few episodes, it's a totally different show.
Bri
True, but most of the major ones were rebuilt when they made "Lost Tales", so there's hope yet.
If they were to redo the effects for an HD release, what I'd most like to see enhanced is actually the interior of the station itself, much more than the "cool space battles". Aside from the odd establishing shot it's hardly ever shown just how HUGE the place is, especially in the open air carousel.
Some of the major ones were rebuilt (or salvaged from other sources) for The Lost Tales. But I'm willing to bet money that there's a lot more models that would have to be built before they could go about re-rendering anything but the basic establishing shots on the series.
A start, yes, but probably not enough of one to make much of a dent in the costs of remastering the series. And since JMS has said he's said his final word in the B5 universe, outside of a big budget film, and Warner Bros. has shown that they'll spend as little as possible on the property with their DVD sets and the Lost Tales, I don't see a force that would even attempt to drum up interest in such a project.
A shame, really, because I would love to see the series restored with new effects (and, more importantly, see the scenes that mix visual effects and live action at the picture quality of everything else).
A shame, really, because I would love to see the series restored with new effects (and, more importantly, see the scenes that mix visual effects and live action at the picture quality of everything else).
Oh, it'll never happen. Straczynski's ambitions have far surpassed Babylon 5's financial viability at this point. Some would argue they've surpassed the franchise's creative viability, too. A DVD movie in the vein of the Stargate SG-1 films might be a possibility, but keeping in mind the costs of reconstituting sets, creating new digital models, and employing a large enough cast from the series regular to justify a feature-length dramatic venture, it might be, financially, a pipe dream as well.
I think the viability of a remastering really depends on how much Warner Bros thinks it can make on the BluRay sales. Given the quality of the DVDs I can't see them upgrading to HD using the original CG footage. Not because of the crudeness of the CG compared to today's standards, but because of the resolution. It's not like a film element that can be cleaned up, remastered and enlarged. Whatever resolution and aspect ratio those scenes were rendered at is pretty much what you're stuck with.
So, as you say it comes down to money, or rather the promise of money. If the cost of remastering is greater than the revenue they think they'll get from the BluRay sales, then they won't do it, if it's less then they might.
So, as you say it comes down to money, or rather the promise of money. If the cost of remastering is greater than the revenue they think they'll get from the BluRay sales, then they won't do it, if it's less then they might.
Actually, jms posted once that WB actually was interested, but they wanted to completely re-cast it, which jms would never go for.
Now I think a big budget flick set during the last great war could fix any of those issues.
Done right, it wouldn't even have to be for fans of the show only.
One can dream.
Bri
Not quite, though the end result was the same.
JMS owns the movie rights to B5 and the mivie rights were optioned by an independant group who also commissioned him to write the screenplay "The Memory of Shadows". It turned out that the independent group could not put together the financial package needed on their own and so approached WB. Yes, they were only interested in blockbusters and so would only support it with name actors replacing the original cast which JMS resisted.
Reportedly WB also mentioned doing a feature film to JMS later on but with Andreas Katsulas having passed away not long before (and Richard Biggs before that), JMS broached the idea of the Lost Tales instead, not being able to conceive of a big story without them.
Jan
Well, it also follows on nicely from Susan's line to that effect at the end of "Babylon Squared".
Thats interesting, thanks Jan.
I don't see Blu-Ray anytime soon, the quality already looks pretty terrible on standard DVDs if you watch it on a HDTV. I think releasing re-mastered CGI would be very costly, though probably financially worthwhile. Didn't the series DVDs make ass lodas of money for WB?
I don't see Blu-Ray anytime soon, the quality already looks pretty terrible on standard DVDs if you watch it on a HDTV. I think releasing re-mastered CGI would be very costly, though probably financially worthwhile. Didn't the series DVDs make ass lodas of money for WB?
Uh-huh. That was my thought on the matter too.
No doubt it'll be a fair few years, but sooner or later they'll get around to it either on Blu-Ray or whatever even-higher-definition format replaces it.
Well if that's accurate and representative of the potential Blu-Ray market then, even with large profit margin it equates to several million dollars per episode. Anyone know what the budget was for Star Trek remastered?
Here's Jerry Doyle's side of that O'Hare feud: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0641365/board/thread/78758094
Can't say that I necessarily believe him, though. However, didn't JMS mention in one of the books that there was an actor who harassed someone?
Can't say that I necessarily believe him, though. However, didn't JMS mention in one of the books that there was an actor who harassed someone?
I honestly think season one was fine. Despite what some have said, I actually find certain episodes to be more "enjoyable" than the rest of the series ... even if they weren't as intellectually interesting. And I still maintain that Sinclair is a more fascinating character than Sheridan ever was.
If nothing else, he's mixed up about his times. He specifies the first season and then talks about hitting on Pat Tallman who wasn't in the first season.
To say that Jerry Doyle has always been a boor about Michael O'Hare would be an understatement.
Possible, but I don't see it in the first two volumes which is when it would be if it applied to Michael O'Hare.
Jan
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