Babylon 5
- Thread starter Kail
- Start date
This isn't a spoiler because it never happened. There was a very different version of the script before the episode was shot. See, once upon a time, Andreas Katsulas (G'Kar) and Peter Jurasik (Londo) played a practical joke on JMS. The guy who wrote their characters...who swore to get even. Days pass...weeks pass...months pass...no revenge. Until one day, a script comes out which has a *massive* change in Londo & G'Kar's relationship - and a massive change to G'Kar.
In that version of the script, JMS postulated that in times of intense stress, Narns can change sex. Which happened to G'Kar. And he went in search of Londo. And the rest? Well...let me quote you two lines.
Later...in the afterglow...
JMS kept it going for a week, including sending Andreas for a chest cast so he could be fitted with breasts.
Moral of the story? Don't honk off the writer!!And sometimes as much as 3-4 months!
And we had to walk 10 miles to school every day - uphill both ways - through blinding snowstorms...
I honestly don't remember the schedule B5 had. I vaguely remember they did kind of the BSG miniseries approach with The Gathering and then the series later but after that, wasn't B5 close to a Summer show?
I was curious so I looked it up and found this site:
http://epguides.com/Babylon5/
Man B5 had a very odd schedule. Airing the first two episodes of the fight for independence trilogy and then wait 2 months for Severed Dreams. That wouldn't fly today.
I was curious so I looked it up and found this site:
http://epguides.com/Babylon5/
Man B5 had a very odd schedule. Airing the first two episodes of the fight for independence trilogy and then wait 2 months for Severed Dreams. That wouldn't fly today.
Just finished "The face of the enemy". I can only say one thing... I knew it! I knew it! Garibaldy was brainwashed by the Psi Cops and Bester. Funny, this episode demonstrates Edgars was right. The telepathes are a huge threat to the normal human way of life. A race of people who can read and control minds would have a HUGE advantage. And of course genocide is also considered a moral no-no. Excellent story telling showing both sides of the coin. Garibaldy is screwed now.
On another note, what is the history of the FX? Was it always the same company rendering them, and just getting better and better, or did they switch to an effects house who knew what they were doing?
The writers revenge story is hysterical. I wonder how long he strung them along.
On another note, what is the history of the FX? Was it always the same company rendering them, and just getting better and better, or did they switch to an effects house who knew what they were doing?
The writers revenge story is hysterical. I wonder how long he strung them along.
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As JWPlatt says, that story's pretty well known. I just thought Kail and others probably didn't know it and might get a kick out of it.
Mostly it's just that I've been following JMS' online presence since (eek!) 1996 when I got my first computer. Also, for some time I've been trying to make it to most of JMS' appearances at conventions. He's aware of me but I'd say we're friendly acquaintances, that's all.
Kail, according to the B5 books, the original joke was in November of 1996, about the middle of the third season and the joke script came out in the middle of the fourth season. The joke itself was for about a week, I think, before JMS had to release the real pages for production purposes.
Regarding the effects, for the first three seasons they were done by Foundation Imaging and for the final two they were done by Netter Digital - though ND enticed a number of Foundation's people from what I gather. The thing is, CGI was in its infancy back then with the animators often creating things as they went along. JMS often just let the effects crew go all out without describing every move.
Would it be possible to pull a Star Wars or Star Trek Remastered, and go back and add in modern effects to B5? I know it might be expensive, but I'm more interested in this from a technical perspective. I would love to see what B5 would look like with modern TV CGI effects.
I wasn't sure because I thought I remember reading somewhere that because of the effects used in them Voyager and DS9 wouldn't be able to be remastered. I know that was about remastering the whole thing, and not just replacing the effects, but I thought it might apply to B5 too since it used similar early CGI effects.
Well as for DSN and perhaps VOY effects, apperantly the CGI models were overbuild and for the most part could hold up to HD. There was a test image a couple of years back that showed one of the ships re-rendered for HD.
http://trekcore.com/blog/2013/05/deep-space-nine-in-high-definition-one-step-closer/
http://trekcore.com/blog/2013/05/deep-space-nine-in-high-definition-one-step-closer/
@Kail
A few days ago when you wrote your review (I think it was No Surrender, No Retreat) and you said what you thought Garibaldi was going through, I had to bite my tounge a bit because you were exactly right. I didn't think it was that predictable, but when you go back and watch the season again and really focus on his arc, you can understand why Garibaldi did what he did. In fact, I was really looking forward to your Face of the Enemy write up for that reason. Also, now that you've come to this point, I will say (Without spoiling) one of my favorite things about Season 5 was Garibaldi. I hope that is pretty vague.
Also, face of the enemy was once again another example of JMS coming to a resolution and hitting it out of the park. You may have known why Garibaldi was against Authority, but when they reveal the reason here, especially after what he did to Sharidan in the Bar (And that was an awesome scene), it's just one more reason why this show is worth watching and is very rewatchable.
A few days ago when you wrote your review (I think it was No Surrender, No Retreat) and you said what you thought Garibaldi was going through, I had to bite my tounge a bit because you were exactly right. I didn't think it was that predictable, but when you go back and watch the season again and really focus on his arc, you can understand why Garibaldi did what he did. In fact, I was really looking forward to your Face of the Enemy write up for that reason. Also, now that you've come to this point, I will say (Without spoiling) one of my favorite things about Season 5 was Garibaldi. I hope that is pretty vague.
Also, face of the enemy was once again another example of JMS coming to a resolution and hitting it out of the park. You may have known why Garibaldi was against Authority, but when they reveal the reason here, especially after what he did to Sharidan in the Bar (And that was an awesome scene), it's just one more reason why this show is worth watching and is very rewatchable.
I am very much looking forward to re-watching this show. Everyone was absolutely right when they said the smallest of scenes, perhaps a single line of dialog, can have much greater meaning later on. The over-all story arc of this show is mind boggling with the amount of detail and research. The amount of pre-thought to bring it all together seamlessly to me is staggering. I've done a bit of story telling with my animated series comics, and sometimes making everything fit together for just one 40 page comic could be a strain, to do this with whole seasons.... my hat is off to this master JMS. Can you tell I'm a convert?
Yeah. I actually think rewatching it is more rewarding than the first watch just because of what you said about the detail that went into developing the overall arc. I remember when you were still back in season 1 and you asked if you should rewatch some episodes and I think you're seeing why you want to wait until the series is finished and then rewatch them. Once you know the overall scope of the series and how it finishes, the rewatch will allow you to pick up on the little things and I remember how much fun I had when I rewatched the series when I finally picked up the DVDs.
The funny thing is that Garibaldi, with his heightened suspicious attitude towards authority and odd man out attitude, does have a valid point about the whole "Sheridan is a messiah" thing. After a fashion... there is always that "BUT!" in this show.
Overall, I think that is the most uncomfortable storyline of season four. In some ways Garibaldi is still Garibaldi, but in many ways he just isn't. Something is off. You don't really know how to feel about this guy. I kinda feel like Zack to be honest everytime I watch the show. People, you should really listen to Zack damn it!
Overall, I think that is the most uncomfortable storyline of season four. In some ways Garibaldi is still Garibaldi, but in many ways he just isn't. Something is off. You don't really know how to feel about this guy. I kinda feel like Zack to be honest everytime I watch the show. People, you should really listen to Zack damn it!
The first few times I watched the show I hated what Garibaldi was saying about Sheridan. Captain Sheridan is our hero, damn it, and he is only doing what he thinks is in the best interest of everyone! Now I think Garibaldi has a valid argument on how Sheridan conducted himself after he came back from the dead. The show presents Sheridan as almost always knowing best, and even when his actions seem harsh, it will turn out he was right in the end. While this makes Sheridan, to still a line from another scifi show, a Big Damn Hero, Garibaldi's critiques of Sheridan's "father knows best" attitude make an interesting point on Sheridan and the use of his authority.
It probably could be done but from what JMS has said, it never will be because Warner Bros. will never foot the bill. One thing is that every effect would have to be entirely redone if it were to be a modern widescreen product. While the live action was filmed wide, the effects were rendered in standard ratio due to a short-sighted financial decision. One reason why it's daunting is that B5 used more effects in a few episodes than TOS had in an entire season. Another is the large number of composite live/CGI shots. Quite a number of scenes are CGI that most people don't notice. There were scenes in space ships where it was an actor sitting on a box and the ship's cabin created around him. Or the Santuary on B5. It consisted of a floor and short wall and the rest was CGI.
I'm sure there are folks far more tech-savvy than I who could go into details but that's what I understand.
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