Babylon 5 viewing order

[Distorted Humor]

Finished the first four episodes of s2, the Technomages I thought where cheesy....

What did you think of the B-plot with the Drazi?

The Drazi B-Plot made me smile. It is right out of "Silly plots to do in a science fiction series" handbook, but it did make me laugh, and I liked how they mixed it in with garibaldi getting back on his feet and feeling useful again. Also great work in makeup. The Drazi didn't look the same while being alien, which is hard to do. Also Claudia Christian's character is a lot of fun.

I guess a problem with the Technomages is that the B-plot was for laughs, while you don't know if the Technomages are for laughs or seriousness, as it came off as silly, even though I got the sense that it was intended to be serious in nature. I mean, I understand the concept, as Clark said "Technology that is advanced enough will appear to be magic", but I guess it seemed a little weird for the setting. Perhaps if they had been introduced in season 1 even in passing I would "Buy" it more.

But the next episode kept me hooked along. Waiting for work to end so I can watch a few more epsiodes.

 

[Snatcher42]

Waiting for work to end so I can watch a few more epsiodes.

Looks like we've hooked another (as if your avatar didn't give it away).

My favorite quote from Revelations, mostly due to Londo's delivery: "One deserts his post without explanation, the other takes the most breathtakingly inconvenient moment possible to explore new career options. Like becoming a butterfly!"

 

[JoeD80]

I guess a problem with the Technomages is that the B-plot was for laughs, while you don't know if the Technomages are for laughs or seriousness, as it came off as silly, even though I got the sense that it was intended to be serious in nature.

I think a lot of the A-plot was certainly intended to play the humor of it, with Londo and Elric's feud.

 

[Distorted Humor]

Waiting for work to end so I can watch a few more epsiodes.

Looks like we've hooked another (as if your avatar didn't give it away).

My favorite quote from Revelations, mostly due to Londo's delivery: "One deserts his post without explanation, the other takes the most breathtakingly inconvenient moment possible to explore new career options. Like becoming a butterfly!"

That was very very funny. B5 is just worth watching just for Londo.

And I think a mod just merged a thread or two .

 

[Deranged Nasat]

Re: Proper Babylon 5 Viewing Order?

Wow, B5 threads are really taking over this section of the forum recently!

We want our series to reclaim its rightful place on the board. We want to see Babylon Five reach forth its hand again and command the forum. We want a rebirth of glory, a renaissance of power.

 

[Snatcher42]

Re: Proper Babylon 5 Viewing Order?

We want our series to reclaim its rightful place on the board. We want to see Babylon Five reach forth its hand again and command the forum. We want a rebirth of glory, a renaissance of power.

Excellent...

 

[Sindatur]

Re: Proper Babylon 5 Viewing Order?

We want our series to reclaim its rightful place on the board. We want to see Babylon Five reach forth its hand again and command the forum. We want a rebirth of glory, a renaissance of power.

Excellent...

And...Since we're waiting like Charlie Brown in front of the football, for hopefully some good news on the "continuation of Babylon 5" front, it's a good idea to keep B5 fresh in everyone's minds

 

[Neroon]

Re: Proper Babylon 5 Viewing Order?

We want our series to reclaim its rightful place on the board. We want to see Babylon Five reach forth its hand again and command the forum. We want a rebirth of glory, a renaissance of power.

Excellent...

 

[Distorted Humor]

Re: Proper Babylon 5 Viewing Order?

We want our series to reclaim its rightful place on the board. We want to see Babylon Five reach forth its hand again and command the forum. We want a rebirth of glory, a renaissance of power.

Excellent...

My, this is classic, (Runs off to watch more B5)

 

[shivkala]

I guess a problem with the Technomages is that the B-plot was for laughs, while you don't know if the Technomages are for laughs or seriousness, as it came off as silly, even though I got the sense that it was intended to be serious in nature.

I think a lot of the A-plot was certainly intended to play the humor of it, with Londo and Elric's feud.

I really liked the concept of the Technomages and I wonder (since it's been over a decade since I first saw the episode) if the humor overshadows the reason that they are on the station. They are a mysterious and powerful group that is running away from what's coming.

Distorted Humor, after you read the series, if at all possible, I suggest tracking down a few of the B5 book, especially the Technomages, since there is a lot more going on then you realize and some of my opinions regarding them might have been colored by that trilogy.

I started watching late in season one and, aside from having seen parts of "The Gathering," "TKO" was my first episode. Being Jewish, the idea that Ivanova is Jewish caught my attention and the b-plot really made me want to watch more episodes with these characters. What makes the episode suffer is that the a-plot might have worked better as a b-plot to another episode.

"Babylon Squared" and "A Voice in the Wilderness" cemented my love for the show (though the scheduling hijinks on my local station made it hard to stick with it). I really loved the idea of seeing a destiny for Sinclair.

I am interested to see your thoughts on "The Coming of Shadows," especially because one of your comments will get addressed and I think you'll be surprised by the outcome.

 

[OmahaStar]

Re: Proper Babylon 5 Viewing Order?

We want our series to reclaim its rightful place on the board. We want to see Babylon Five reach forth its hand again and command the forum. We want a rebirth of glory, a renaissance of power.

Excellent...

He is such a GILF ... Rawr!

 

[Distorted Humor]

I am interested to see your thoughts on "The Coming of Shadows," especially because one of your comments will get addressed and I think you'll be surprised by the outcome.

Well I understood that they are running, and gave a good hint of what was to come. But I still find them...a bit cheezy at first viewing.

As for "The Coming of Shadows" I just have two words.

"In fire."

Good enough for Kosh, Good enough for me. still adsorbing it and might go back to re-watch it as it carried a lot of weight.

 

[Distorted Humor]

Watched a bunch of episodes last night.

The Long Dark - First off, is our good doctor taking notes from the "Laforge book on how to be a sweet but deeply creepy guy"? I mean "Sorry your husband died, and it wasn't a machine failure, he was killed." then tries to make out. I guess I laugh since that something stupid I tried to pull off .

It is also good to see Dwight Schultz in a role, and he does a good job for being a throwaway guest star. This episode is better then it deserves to be.

A Spider in the web - This is the first episode where you see added layers being dabbed on to the story. I kinda root for Mars myself. In the coming war there might be need for this type of weapon vs. the shadows...but then again, the shadows might very well get the weapon of the near zombies.

A race though Dark Places - I was surprised by how good this episode was, and it was fun to see how the doctor was smuggling people, and a lot of stuff that seemed normal had its own reasons.

Soul Mates - Fun episode, I have to admit that even Londo getting hit by the two darts was darkly funny. I forgot how nice Mira Furlan can look. after a couple of serious episodes it was good to have a good funny episode....That and Peter David wrote one of my fave Star Trek novels as a kid, "Vendetta".


The coming of Shadows - This is still one of those "Wow" episodes. A lot is going on, and it is VERY VERY good episode. I guess the best part, is that it one of the few SF episodes where a war starts, and instead of getting the feeling "This is going to be fun and get to see a lot of space battles." it is more correctly of dread as "How in the #$(*# did we get here. The wheel of fate keeps rolling at now the Narn might be once again being on the bad side. (as a Aside, due to my religious beliefs, it matches closely with the "pride Cycle" and thus is doubly enjoyable to be seen, but thats a aside) There is a LOT going on in this episode, Londo's dream, War beginning, Centuari Politics, Kosh fateful words, Rangers, near assassination attempts. Will rewatch it again before going on the next episode.

 

[shivkala]

I am interested to see your thoughts on "The Coming of Shadows," especially because one of your comments will get addressed and I think you'll be surprised by the outcome.

Well I understood that they are running, and gave a good hint of what was to come. But I still find them...a bit cheezy at first viewing.

Maybe they work better when first experienced as a teenager?

As for "The Coming of Shadows" I just have two words.

"In fire."

Good enough for Kosh, Good enough for me. still adsorbing it and might go back to re-watch it as it carried a lot of weight.

So, what are your thoughts upon meeting Emperor Turhan? Going back to your comment about how you expected his hair to look, did the wig match your expectations of hair length? As you saw, he decided to give up that trapping of power and go au natural.

Despite his relatively short screen time in the scheme of things, I really liked Emperor Turhan. His scenes were great and carried so much weight.

 

[Distorted Humor]

Maybe they work better when first experienced as a teenager?

Perhaps, it just seems odd as the show is getting more serious, then they throw in something that I can't take seriously.

So, what are your thoughts upon meeting Emperor Turhan? Going back to your comment about how you expected his hair to look, did the wig match your expectations of hair length? As you saw, he decided to give up that trapping of power and go au natural.

Despite his relatively short screen time in the scheme of things, I really liked Emperor Turhan. His scenes were great and carried so much weight.

I loved Emperor Turhan, a good man at the wrong spot. and he had the Gravity to play someone who is a born into leadership.

I finished though In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum. I loved Vir waving bye bye to Morden. That, and it now getting rather ...epic...

 

[shivkala]

Vir waving goodbye to Morden was epic, in and of itself. Vir is one of my favorite characters in a show packed with great characters. There's a lot more Vir-goodness coming, too.

"In the Shadow of Z'ha'Dum" is a major episode and pretty much everything in the episode pays off later. Most of it in later seasons, but one thing in particular that came up in this episode will become very important towards the end of this season.

BTW, season 3 is my favorite out of all the seasons. Season 4 is often touted by some here, but for my money, the third season is nearly perfect (with one notable example, but JMS even said he wished he could personally visit everyone who saw that particular episode and apologize. For what it's worth, if he were to do so, I would tell him all was forgiven due to the B-plot of that particular episode).

 

[Snatcher42]

BTW, season 3 is my favorite out of all the seasons. Season 4 is often touted by some here, but for my money, the third season is nearly perfect

Season 3 is probably the closest to JMS' true vision for the show. The arc in full gear, production firing on all cylinders, and little outside interference. It is indeed nearly perfect.

Season 4 had the pressure of not knowing if there would be a 5th season, so can feel rushed. But it's still my favorite. There's just something about its intensity, and the special effects are incredible.

No wonder many people were initially disappointed by Season 5. Other than a few missteps early on, it's really no worse than the first two years, but boy Seasons 3 and 4 were a tough act to follow!

Slightly off-topic edit: Saw Thor today, and got a real kick out of J. Michael Straczynski's cameo!

 

[JoeD80]

Maybe they work better when first experienced as a teenager?

Perhaps, it just seems odd as the show is getting more serious, then they throw in something that I can't take seriously.

This is something Joe likes to do that he calls "roller coaster" writing. Putting you to funny and then dropping you to serious so that it has more effect than going from neutral to serious.

 

[Reverend]

^Or like most shows seam to do these days: neutral to neutral-with-a-scowl-and-some-sad-music.

That also plays into a common complaint about how each season starts so slow compared to the end of the previous season. If a season opener tried to maintain the pace set by the last cliffhanger it'd very quickly loose steam or the audience would become tired with the constant tension. A show needs peeks and valleys to pace things out and build to a crescendo, rather than randomly smack viewers in the back of the head any time there's a "stunning revelation." So in that context, season one was one long build up for everything that came after it.

..anyway, I think we should avoid discussing the merits of seasons DH hasn't gotten to yet, lest we prejudice his opinions.

 

[The Lensman]

Ah, to be a new Babylon 5 viewer again! Glad you're enjoying the show DH. For myself, I actually finished my fourth run through tonight watching "In The Beginning" and the finale, "Sleeping In Light".

Turned my "casual sci-fi fan" roomate on to the show with this current run through, and it's always fun to see someone fall in love with the show. He was in awe of the whole thing when done, and it seemed to be as much an "experience" for him, as it was for most of us fans.

Once, Star Trek was my favorite sci-fi.....by the end of season 2, Babylon 5 became my favorite. Over the course of 5 years, and a few movies, it felt like a more coherent, consistent and epic series than all of Trek put together. Plus, no reset button!!
If you've liked what you've seen so far, I think you'll really dig what's to come.

I look forward to seeing where you'll place Babylon 5 when all is done.