Babylon 5

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The iTunes versions aren't HD, but they are remastered.

To do a true HD version of the show would require all new effects, and there's no money for that.

Lost Tales is the only B5 material that actually is in HD.

 

[Morpheus 02]

Just reported... Mark Pedowitz out as CW Chair... so I wonder what that means for Babylon 5 reboot???

https://lm.facebook.com/l.php?u=htt...dtyVkbA46ni0gLoeQ-7OZYjWfzEZMYTrPwFji2YVkJf4A

 

[Farscape One]

I have a feeling that if it does move forward, it's not going to happen on The CW.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

I have a feeling that if it does move forward, it's not going to happen on The CW.

I'd say HBO Max would be a better fit, but it's a shitshow now that WB Discovery has been formed.

 

[Farscape One]

Totally agreed.

It's a real shame JMS can't get full control of B5 back from WB to shop it around. Particularly since Warner Bros. never really did anything with the property for over 20 years.

 

[Jan]

Latest tweet from JMS:

J. Michael Straczynski @straczynski
2h
We ain't dead yet. There are still a lot of discussions going on behind the scenes and no decision has yet been made about #B5onCWin23. As we await that decision, fans eager to see a new Babylon 5 series should continue to voice their support to
@NXSTMediaGroup
and
@WarnerBrosTV

Last time we trended at #1 in the US for three solid hours and in the UK at #2 after the Queen's funeral. Let's let them know we're wanting more B5. Can't hurt!

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

[WB]No, what you want are more reality TV shows and you'd better enjoy them or else. [/WB]

 

[Jan]

[WB]No, what you want are more reality TV shows and you'd better enjoy them or else. [/WB]

Aren't those skewed toward a younger audience, though? Since all reports are that the CW is after a more mature demographic, B5 would seem to be a good fit. All we can do is try. #B5onCWin23 !!

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Who can fathom the thinking processes of network execs?

 

[JesterFace]

I have never gone through Babylon 5 but I'm interested having seen bits of the series.
As someone who knows barely anything what's going on with B5 today, are there any versions out there with improved visual effects?
In the 90s I was a teen and one reason why I didn't get interested in the series might have been the space ships looking the way they did....
Now I know better, maybe, but having up to date CGI would be nice. Are there any updates available or on their way at some point?

 

[DonIago]

FWIW I felt the CGI got noticeably better after S1, but it was obviously still limited by the technology of the time.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Some people on YouTube have redone a few of the CGI scenes but they're obviously not officially sanctioned by WB. In addition, the AI upscaling efforts also uploaded on YouTube look pretty decent, but the "self-appointed guardian of all things video" around here bit my head off for espousing that view one time. Apparently, we aren't allowed to express our opinion about such things.

 

[Starscream2112]

At the time I thought the visual effects were great. They have not aged that well but at the time I thought they were top notch.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

When you've grown up with the model shots used in old TV SF shows, it looked stunning at the time.

 

[StarMan]

FWIW I felt the CGI got noticeably better after S1, but it was obviously still limited by the technology of the time.

B5 premiered only a year after Jurassic Park brought the world's attention to CGI, after all. B5 lay the groundwork for CGI becoming industry standard in the 90's.

S1 was certainly very rough around the edges. By S2, The Coming of Shadows and The Long, Twilight Struggle highlighted the technical improvements they'd made, but it was S3 when Foundation Imaging really hit their stride - Message from Earth and the late-season Shadow Dancing were a showcase of how far they'd come from those early pixelated days.

Netter Digital took over FX work from S4 onwards (Foundation Imaging went over to Trek and were the primary FX house when Voyager went full CGI). They continued to advance the craft, although they weren't as polished as Foundation Imaging out the gate. By the time the show hit the meat of the civil war arc I think they'd found their groove.

When you've grown up with the model shots used in old TV SF shows, it looked stunning at the time.

Indeed. We take it for granted now, but at the time there was nothing like it.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Of course, not all the effects in Jurassic Park were CGI - a lot used animatronics and other practical effects. That movie's budget was also a lot bigger - B5 was run on a shoestring, even for a TV show.

 

[JesterFace]

When you've grown up with the model shots used in old TV SF shows, it looked stunning at the time.

I am of the "Knight Rider generation viewer", that was the hottest thing in CGI when I got old enough to understand at least some of television entertainment. So, that makes me early 80's child.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Was there CGI in Knight Rider? I never watched it as I was too old. I think the first movie in which I noticed CGI was the monochrome Death Star bombing simulation in Star Wars (1977), which I believe Dan O'Bannon created for George Lucas. I expect there might have been earlier examples that I've forgotten. Computer graphics were also used by Jacob Bronowski in his 1973 documentary series The Ascent of Man. It seemed ground breaking at the time. These were notable for being vector-based rather than raster-based.

ETA: Apparently, the first use of CGI in a movie was a brief scene in Westworld (1973), which I think I last saw back then and have almost completely forgotten.

 

[Gov Kodos]

I lived through classic Doctor Who. Complaints about CGI sound ridiculous for the most part.

 

[Forbin]

I lived through classic Doctor Who. Complaints about CGI sound ridiculous for the most part.

Indeed!