Babylon 5 - I'm finally going to do it
- Thread starter tomalak301
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I really, really hate River of Souls. The Soul Hunters were bad. The brothel was bad. Lochely in a starring role was bad. (Though this was the *ONLY* appearance I found her vaguely palatable in). The lack of action was bad. Everything was bad. It's the only TV Movie I actively dislike.
He was fantastic on The West Wing.
Wow. I guess that's a big difference where if I find something in it worth enjoying, the better off it is. Of course you've said already that you really hate Lochley, so that might have something to do with it.
Even if I didn't like anything else about River of Souls, I loved the scene between Lochley and the alien who took on Dr. Franklin's aspect. With a simple change in posture and a slight accent change, I stopped thinking of him as Franklin and accepted him as the alien. Nice touch on the part of Rick Biggs who was often underutilized.
Jan
Jan
Well, first episode all series where I really am in a minority I guess. That's got to count for something. Like I said, it's not nearly as good as the series or ITB, but there were some parts I liked. It wasn't "indefensibly" bad as some here say.
While it's not a favourite, the low quality of RoS does appear to be a little over stated. It wasn't THAT bad! On the mediocre side perhaps but not an actively poor piece of work.
As for Franklin, I think it'd stetch credibility a bit if BOTH he and Garibaldi just happened to be visiting the station when this situation kicked off (at least Garibaldi had a valid reason to be there.) Don't forget, Franklin was back on Earth working as head of xenobiological research. Not the kind of job you could take time out from to visits the old stomping grounds. Hell, in his 5 years on B5 the only two occasions he got off the station were both covert missions for the resistance and that was just while he was a CMO. Heading up an entire government division would be an even more time consuming job, one would imagine.
What I did find curious was the amount of regard Lochley seamed to have for him.
Not that I don't buy it or anything, I just don't recall them interacting much during the fifth season.
As for Franklin, I think it'd stetch credibility a bit if BOTH he and Garibaldi just happened to be visiting the station when this situation kicked off (at least Garibaldi had a valid reason to be there.) Don't forget, Franklin was back on Earth working as head of xenobiological research. Not the kind of job you could take time out from to visits the old stomping grounds. Hell, in his 5 years on B5 the only two occasions he got off the station were both covert missions for the resistance and that was just while he was a CMO. Heading up an entire government division would be an even more time consuming job, one would imagine.
What I did find curious was the amount of regard Lochley seamed to have for him.
Something that was reiterated in both Crusade & Lost Tales.
It's *THE* best sci-fi show, nay, TV show, ever made
If it wasn't for the various Star Treks, I agree.
So I'm re-watching "War Without End Part One" and I'm wondering what people thought was going on with Sinclair watching it the first time unspoiled. Because he talks about not coming back from B4 and knowing his fate and receiving a message from someone 1,000 years in the past... what was the misdirection here? That he would sacrifice his life on a suicide mission? Were you all surprised by the ending revelation of the story? I started watching in S4 so I read synopses of the show long before I actually saw the episodes unfortunately.
A Call to Arms
Of all the B5 movies I've seen, I really really liked this one the best. Yeah I liked ITB, but that one was a retelling of what we already knew. This one moved the Babylon 5 universe forward, and brought on consequences from the Shadow War (Which is always welcome) and really brought the Drakh into the Mythos of this thing. We only got hints before and then the whole Centauri storyline, but this movie brings that story a lot closer to home, and it was very effective. It's also really interesting too in that while they succeeded in bringing down the Dark Cloud (Another fixture I liked), there was still some bad in it because the plague was released. Nice pilot for a future series.
Anyway, really liked the cast in this one. Dureena was a great character, and Tony Todd is always amazing. Sheridan is great as always, and it was just great seeing Sheridan, Lochley and Garibaldi all together for I guess the last time. Really liked the Excalibur too. Nice design and liked the main weapon, even with that minor flaw of having to wait a minute to recharge. Also, one difference from this movie to the others I've seen so far, I loved the music. There was a very epic feel to the music, the beats, the rhythm and I'd actually say this is some of the best music I've heard in the Babylon 5 Lore. Hell, I watched the credits role one because of what just happened, and two, because I loved the score.
I think if there was one thing I had an issue with, it was the actual battle sequence. A lot of it was very dark, and I didn't really feel what was going on. It was nice, and I got the gist of it, but I could tell it was shot with a limited budget.
I have to say though, I don't think I'm going to watch crusade, unless we can work something out where I can borrow a copy of it from one of you or someone knows of a place online where I can see it. Evidently, the broadcast order is not the order I should be watching it, and I don't have the sets or the luxury to "mix 'n match" on the Blockbuster account because it's my parents. I did read (And it's easy to guess) that a cure was found so that was good. I do want to know though if there were any hints as to what that cure was or do I get that in Lost Tales or Legend of the Rangers (Those I will watch eventually).
I was wanting to mention this, but almost forgot. I kinda wish there was an onscreen explanation for the new Jump effect. That thing looked really cool.
Still, overall, this is probably my favorite movie so far.
Of all the B5 movies I've seen, I really really liked this one the best. Yeah I liked ITB, but that one was a retelling of what we already knew. This one moved the Babylon 5 universe forward, and brought on consequences from the Shadow War (Which is always welcome) and really brought the Drakh into the Mythos of this thing. We only got hints before and then the whole Centauri storyline, but this movie brings that story a lot closer to home, and it was very effective. It's also really interesting too in that while they succeeded in bringing down the Dark Cloud (Another fixture I liked), there was still some bad in it because the plague was released. Nice pilot for a future series.
Anyway, really liked the cast in this one. Dureena was a great character, and Tony Todd is always amazing. Sheridan is great as always, and it was just great seeing Sheridan, Lochley and Garibaldi all together for I guess the last time. Really liked the Excalibur too. Nice design and liked the main weapon, even with that minor flaw of having to wait a minute to recharge. Also, one difference from this movie to the others I've seen so far, I loved the music. There was a very epic feel to the music, the beats, the rhythm and I'd actually say this is some of the best music I've heard in the Babylon 5 Lore. Hell, I watched the credits role one because of what just happened, and two, because I loved the score.
I think if there was one thing I had an issue with, it was the actual battle sequence. A lot of it was very dark, and I didn't really feel what was going on. It was nice, and I got the gist of it, but I could tell it was shot with a limited budget.
I have to say though, I don't think I'm going to watch crusade, unless we can work something out where I can borrow a copy of it from one of you or someone knows of a place online where I can see it. Evidently, the broadcast order is not the order I should be watching it, and I don't have the sets or the luxury to "mix 'n match" on the Blockbuster account because it's my parents. I did read (And it's easy to guess) that a cure was found so that was good. I do want to know though if there were any hints as to what that cure was or do I get that in Lost Tales or Legend of the Rangers (Those I will watch eventually).
I was wanting to mention this, but almost forgot. I kinda wish there was an onscreen explanation for the new Jump effect. That thing looked really cool.
Still, overall, this is probably my favorite movie so far.
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I highly recommend Crusade ... worth every penny if you shell on it. Watch Amazon closely and you may see a 70% off sale on it now and then.
Actually, there is no "correct" order for Crusade. No matter what order you watch it in, there will be continuity errors. The original broadcast order may not be the most ideal one, but many of us watched it that way the first time, and we got by. I wouldn't sweat it if you watch the series in a funky order.
Yeah, the continuity of Crusade was so fucked up that there's no fully non-contradictionary episode order.
The least bad order for Crusade is probably that one:
- "War Zone" (the crew starts their mission, pilot episode of the black uniform episodes)
- "Appearances and Other Deceits" (the crew is given the grey uniforms)
- "Racing the Night" (introductionary episode of the grey uniform episodes, originally intended as the pilot)
- the remaining grey uniform episodes in production order
- the remaining black uniform episodes in production order
The least bad order for Crusade is probably that one:
- "War Zone" (the crew starts their mission, pilot episode of the black uniform episodes)
- "Appearances and Other Deceits" (the crew is given the grey uniforms)
- "Racing the Night" (introductionary episode of the grey uniform episodes, originally intended as the pilot)
- the remaining grey uniform episodes in production order
- the remaining black uniform episodes in production order
I loved Call to Arms. Finally a post-S4 story where Sheridan is a renegade action bad ass and there's some sweet space battles. I thought the battle in this was amazing and a much higher visual quality than the normal series. AND it introduces my all time favorite character: GALEN!
That's one of my complaints too. Not only is it darkly lit, there's so much going on and so much motion blur that it's damn near impossible to get clear screencaps.
You probably didn't even spot them, but that battle had a couple of Warlock class destroyers (they type Ivanova was given.) For some reason, we only ever get very fleeting glimpses of that design, though I suspect it might be partly because they were saving it for Crusade, when the REAL story kicked in (see below.)
Yeah, there was never meant to be any mystery in that regard, I mean we SAW Earth after that period in 'Sleeping in Light' & 'Deconstruction of Falling Stars' and there was no plague.
However, the thing was that from what JMS has said since, it looks like the plague would have been cured midway in Season 2 and they the series was going to really be about something else (I shan't spoil you though.)
Put it this way, the Drakh plague was going to be to Crusade what the hole in Sinclair's mind was to Babylon 5, in terms of significance to the overall arc and just like in B5, the seeds for the REAL story are hidden right there in plain sight. In fact, the seeds of Crusade's arc was actually in some of the very early episodes of B5 season 1!
Oh, FYI, not that it matters much but if you see LotR, it takes place BEFORE 'A Call to Arms' & Crusade, even though it was produced later. In 2265 to be specific, while ACtA is in late 2266 and Crusade the first 6-8 months or so of 2267 and Lost Tales is in 2271, exactly 5 years after ACtA (on the 10th anniversary of the ISA.)
The jump effect changes EVERY time there's a new B5 production. Just have a look back at 'The Gathering' and see how they were different than in the series proper. They change again in Crusade, Legend of the Rangers and Lost Tales.
I think the reason is just down to advancements in graphics, even the look of hyperspace changes a little in LotR, which as I recall JMS said is much closer to how it should have looked from the get-go. That is a more stormy, hellish and chaotic dimension that really sells how easy it is to get lost away from the beacon and how impractical combat would be. What we saw in the series was just the best they could manage with lightwave at the time.
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"Ruling from the Tomb" needs to come before "Appearances". Other than that, yeah. That order preserves visual and story continuity, while sacrificing verbal mentions of how long they've been out there.
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