Can't believe Babylon 5 is 19 years old

[Candlelight]

February 22nd marks the 19th anniversary of the screening of The Gathering. Makes me feel old (that said, I'm ignoring Star Trek The Next Generation!).

I remember I saw The Gathering on VHS sometime in 1994, then TV2 began screening the show at 2pm (later 3pm) on Saturdays, running for an unbroken 68 weeks in a row (The Gathering was split into 2 hour-long episodes, and the first 3 seasons played back to back). I remember liking the pilot but thinking the FX were a bit ropey (but impressive given there were no models). The first season was ok but it really wasnt until Babylon Squared that I fully sat up and took notice. I recorded that and maybe half a dozen season two episodes on VHS, before deciding to record the last three seasons in their entirity.

Season 2 and 3 played right through my final year of high school, while the fourth season played during my time in film school, then season five just as I was starting work. I remember avoiding all spoilers possible for Sleeping in Light.

If I remember correctly Crusade played in 2000 (which other than Racing the Night felt was a below par season), then all tv movies played a year later.

I still haven't seen the special edition of The Gathering, must get round to that some day.

 

[sonak]

I didn't start watching it until season 3. I went back years later, and watched it from the beginning of the series to the end over a matter of months. It was quite a cool experience because it's a show that really does work very well that way, it unfolds like a novel.

Definitely one of the greatest sci-fi TV shows of all time. And yeah, it's been a while now since it came out.

 

[Guy Gardener]

First of all "High School" Candlelight?

Isn't it amazing how our universal translators are automatically set to Americanese.

Second, I'm thinking about "The Girl in the fire place" where those robots were waiting for Rennet's brain to be ready, which frankly means by those sort of skewed judgements that we still have 5 years till to wait till Babylon 5's farewell closing down party.

Third. TV2 was good to us, but Crusade was cancelled before it was aired even in America, which created an explosion of ntsc vhs tapes snail mailed around the world of the complete, was it 14 episodes, that some friends and I watched in a single lazy weekend with a lot of Pizza at least a year and a half before the advertising on TV2 started saying "hey kids, do you like space ships? Then have I got the best show for you!" It was like you found out they were cutting up Zombies in the back of McDonalds to make their patties... I think that was the moment I lost all respect for TV2 to be a seriously invested dealer of my needs. It was al\so quite like a pretemor for Firefly.

I still can't believe the irony that Richard Biggs was too nervous to fly, a day and a half after 911, to come to Armageddon in Wellington, when he was the first to die... Although that just means that his time was more valuable than people who had decades to waste on drivel like conventions, not that Rick knew his time was more valuable, but if he did, then surely an all expenses paid trip to New Zealand would have packed a bit of a gem into his few remaining years, but Biggs sided against having an interesting short life for having a safe short life.

See, IRONY!

He should have come, defying death because he was going to die, not that death was not just a fuss because the reaper was already holding his hand.

Hindsight is 20/20.

 

[Candlelight]

First of all "High School" Candlelight?

Isn't it amazing how our universal translators are automatically set to Americanese.

If I said college then I'd have to explain to the Americans New Zealand's educational naming structure.

 

[FPAlpha]

I remember watching it as it aired for the first time in Germany and get captured by the story.. Next Generation was big with me and some friends but B5 was something else.. an ongoing and highly engaging storyline with top notch effects (hey.. it was the 90s and they ruled the screen for their time! ) that was must see TV.

"Fondest" memory was me watching the season 3 finale.. i was on edge, couldn't turn away and for whatever reason during the last 5 minutes of the episode my parents barged into my room and started to talk to me about something truly trivial and i missed the entire end!!!

It was agony.. i had to wait the whole summer to find out how it ends and this was way before widespread Internet and information availabilty at your fingertips.

Similar thing applies to the TNG cliffhanger with the Borg back in season 3.. my friend and me nearly fell out of our chairs when Riker gave the command to fire!

Ah.. good times..

 

[Guy Gardener]

First of all "High School" Candlelight?

Isn't it amazing how our universal translators are automatically set to Americanese.

If I said college then I'd have to explain to the Americans New Zealand's educational naming structure.

American's are not cats.

Well, most of them.

Some of them?

 

[Candlelight]

"Fondest" memory was me watching the season 3 finale.. i was on edge, couldn't turn away ... i had to wait the whole summer to find out how it ends

I was hooked on the Babylon 4 storyline - I had to wait two seasons to see the resolution!

 

[RandyS]

It's also 19 years since the beginning of DS9.

For me, I didn't get into Babylon 5 until 1998 when the last season, as well as the reruns came to TNT. I had no choice. Before that, our local station claimed that it was airing Babylon 5 at 3:30am on Saturday nights, but I set my VHS to record it every week for two years, and without fail, I got the last 30 minutes of a late movie, and an infomercial.

I doubt our local station EVER aired the show.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I only caught one or two odd episodes during its original run, but then I got hold of some box sets a few years ago and started watching it through, and started to love it. I only got as far as season 4's "Into The Fire" and after that, things trailed off a bit.

I might pick up again where I left off some day.

 

[Sindatur]

I watched The Gathering When it first aired, and then watched weekly when it went to series. I had the Privilege of S1 - S4 being shown on Wednesday Nights Back to back with DS9, Wednesdays were the BEST night of the week. (I believe Farscape must've figured in there some of the run on Friday Nights on SciFi Channel). Babylon 5 was what sent me to the Interne, 'round about S3, I believe.

 

[Sky]

Dayum. I watched it when it first aired and I never realized it has been that long.

 

[Candlelight]

I only got as far as season 4's "Into The Fire" and after that, things trailed off a bit.

I might pick up again where I left off some day.

You should try. The fourth season is amazing. The fifth season, meh, not so much. Some people liked it but I felt the story had run it's course, and - without giving away spoilers for a 19 year old show - too much was concluded in the end of season four.

Watch the series finale in season five though!

 

[Guy Gardener]

Don't you mean watch the series four finale in series five?

Vir getting skinny again after he took the throne over Londo's dead body is hilarious.

of course, is his belly getting fat and skinny, like a human might, or are his 6 octopus like 9 foot long sexual appendages hugging his torso getting fat and skinny?

 

[OmahaStar]

I had the Privilege of S1 - S4 being shown on Wednesday Nights Back to back with DS9, Wednesdays were the BEST night of the week.

I'm not saying you suck, but I'm thinking it really, really loud. In my neck of the woods, it aired at random times. Really random. Sometimes Saturday at 6 pm. Sometimes Wednesday at 3 am, whenever they had a spot to fill. Oh, they'd show the various Trek series in a consistent slot, but not B5. It wasn't until season 5, when TNT started airing them, that we had that.

"Fondest" memory was me watching the season 3 finale.. i was on edge

Those of us who watched it in the States, as they originally aired, probably all envy you. PTEN, the "network" that aired B5 (among other series) for the first four years held back the final four episodes of each season. There was always a weird break after episode 18, then months and months would go by, then they would air the final four episodes of the season, immediately followed by the beginning of the next season.

So for us, we saw Sheridan go you-know-where, the big G'Kar voice over, then a week later, season 4 started right up. We didn't GET a cliff-hanger.

It really wasn't until season 4 that JMS wrote episode 18 to end on a cliff-hanger, knowing the final four would be held back. And I loved how that eventually aired - the final four episodes of that season aired on the local PTEN stations, then only a few days later, the final season started airing on TNT. If I remember right, for us, that last episode aired on Saturday local, then season 5 started on Tuesday on TNT.

Though you had to wait longer between seasons, you had it much simpler.

 

[Guy Gardener]

4.18... Intersections in real time... An odd choice to say the least.

Very Empire, ending on a downer.

 

[Mage]

My girlfriend and I are watching B5 again right now, fourth time or so for me, second time for her. We're in S3 now.
It's funny, she's a big Niner, and wanted to watch Voyager. But during S5 of VOY she lost interest, sooner then that really. So we watched The Gathering. After witch she said she wanted to see the first episode of season 1. That was on January 2nd I believe.

 

[nightwind1]

I watched The Gathering When it first aired, and then watched weekly when it went to series. I had the Privilege of S1 - S4 being shown on Wednesday Nights Back to back with DS9, Wednesdays were the BEST night of the week. (I believe Farscape must've figured in there some of the run on Friday Nights on SciFi Channel). Babylon 5 was what sent me to the Interne, 'round about S3, I believe.

I was a member of GEnie back when JMS had a forum on there, where he was putting forth ideas for his new, forthcoming series.

We were the lurkers that he names lurkers for on B5, and the Board/Forum numbers were incorporated into the show as the spatial coordinates for the station.

A lot of us called ourselves "B4B5".

 

[Candlelight]

Don't you mean watch the series four finale in series five?

It's still the series finale.

 

[tomalak301]

I remember watching Babylon 5 when it was first on, but for some reason the only season I really remembered was Season 1. Then it was a long while till I rewatched the series again, and really enjoyed the rewatch that I ended up buying the DVDs. I think I've rewatched it one more time since buying the DVDs and it really is a good series. Not as good as Farscape, but it was around the same time we were getting some good quality space based shows. I wish that era would come back somehow.