Right. The original version. When it was re-edited on TNT's dime between season 4 and 5, one of the biggest changes was that Franke recorded an all-new score for the episode.
The Gathering is not that good in either version - original pilot or re-edited for TNT. Although I was glad to be able to watch some SF TV that wasn't TNG-era Trek back in 1993, it seemed unlikely that B5 would prosper because of the much lower production values - I'm glad I was wrong and that we got 5 years. I would not recommend watching the episode to a first-time viewer of B5. There are so many points of difference from the series that it might well confuse them and put them off when watching Midnight on the Firing Line.
Watched the first two episodes last night. I've had the DVD's for the first two seasons sitting on the shelf for years. Nice to watch something not connected to Star Trek.
Nearly a quarter of a century now since the pilot aired and nearly 20 years since the last ever episode of B5 (not counting Crusade, LotR, and Lost Tales). Heck, if Crusade had lasted a full five years, it would have finished 14 years ago. It's about time that I did a rewatch.
I'm generally entertained by the show so far. Less polished than Deep Space Nine or Discovery, but I find myself caring more about what is going on. Though the DVD's blow. It is like watching on a UHF station a hundred miles away back in the old days.
Could be worse could be the VHS tapes, though in the case of B5 didn't they have to use the PAL masters and convert them to NTSC. Which might account for image issues. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon_5
Tomorrow's the 25th anniversary of 'The Gathering'. Anybody doing anything special to commemorate it? I'll probably at least watch the DVD. Been a long time.
Wasn't it the pilot he did for Sci-Fi that the channel wasn't interested in because they deemed it "too Science-fictionny"? -Sergorn
I'm conflicted about which version of The Gathering to watch to commemorate the anniversary. I guess it should be the original pilot, which I bought on iTunes when it was available, even though it is inferior to the TNT version.
No. Back in the 90’s there were 3 masters made of each episode: both a 4:3 NTSC & PAL master and a 16:9 PAL master. So the VHS and Laserdiscs were all sourced from the 4:3 masters. The DVD’s were made from the 16:9 PAL master. Unfortunately the SFX’s were done only in NTSC 4:3, so the 16:9 master features cropped footage that has been upscaled to PAL’s higher resolution.
Sorry to continue something I started on another forum, but Jan knows, I still haven't been able to watch B5 again since Mr. O'Hare died. The last thing I saw was Commander Sinclair say "Nothing is the same any more" right at the time he died. I already had found it really hard to watch bleeding Dr. Franklin dragging himself saying he wanted to live last time through. Sorry to be so depressing, I love the show, I can talk about it, I still think about parts of it a lot. I had another Drazi flashback buying laundry detergent at the store just 2 days ago, (Green or Purple) I even read the Lurker's Guide once in a while, but I just can't seem to watch my discs.
"I was there at the dawn of the third age of mankind..." My wife and I, recently married, happened to catch this airing, and avidly followed the series through all five years. Now, here we are 25 years later, in the middle of a rewatch with our kids. Much has changed, but this remains a terrific series and story! To quote Zathras, "Still, there is symmetry..."
I just finished up the first season. For all the terrible acting, stilted dialogue, acting from the Jonathan Frakes school of acting and poor effects, the show definitely seems to be more than the sum of its parts. I enjoyed it a lot. It reminds me a lot of a proto-Mass Effect. Guess it didn't pay to be a Star Trek snob, as I missed out on this show in its original airing.
Yeah, Bioware had plenty of B5 fans aboard, at least when the first ME was written. Even just the name Commander John Shephard has a... familiar ring to it.
I recently did a re-watch of the entire series. I was amazed at how noticeable the change was from season 1 to season 2 and onward. From acting & directing to production values, everything seemed to improve greatly. The special effects still were what they were though and there still were some bad acting moments (as well as the inexplicable hiring of Tracy Scoggins) But overall it became a much better show.