Niners Unite...around Babylon 5! - The Continuing Arc

[Harvey]

^^
Uncomfortable, yes, but brilliant. Jerry Doyle absolutely sells every moment he's in, culminating in my favorite Babylon 5 episode, The Face of the Enemy. Mike Vejar should have directed every episode-- stunning work in that one.

That being said, I'm not sure if I totally buy the way most of the characters ignore Garibaldi's rather obvious behavioral changes in the series. There was a huge gap between seasons 3 and 4 for me, so that could have something to do with it. Hopefully, the series will finally come down to a reasonable price, and I'll be able to watch it all in a short period of time like Tom Riker. I still haven't managed to see season five, Crusade, or any of the movies besides the two precursors to the series-- "The Gathering" and "In the Beginning." One of these days...

 

[Neroon]

Neroon said:
Now let me see where I put those pics......

Well, Mr. Garibaldi does get some perks with the job

 

[The Habs Fan]

No Surrender, No Retreat
So here I am at the central thematic episode of Season 4. In case you're wondering, yes it was good. Excellent, in fact. It was so nice to see Londo and G'Kar, although still not getting along and probably never will get along, on the same side for once. They've always been on opposite sides to everything over the course of this series, so this was a nice development between the two. Sheridan's battle with the EarthForce had good SFX and was pretty suspenseful. Meanwhile, Garibaldi is headed to Mars, to help out with the resistance? Or for some more sinister purpose?

 

[Can]

well you are going to find out what Garibaldi is up to soon enough.....

 

[Neroon]

Ther eare several things I like about NS,NR. Earlier I mentioend the music and how evocative it can be, especially in the scenes between Londo and G'Kar.

Next is the demonstration of some specific tactics used by the various spacecraft. Okay, so it's not in much detail, but I still thought it was cool.

Third.... the way the episode ended. That demonstrated the schisms developing within EarthForce itself. People still regarding Sheridan as traitor, others not sure what to think, some wanting to follow him. Very nice little microcosm

 

[DWF]

Tom Riker said:
No Surrender, No Retreat
So here I am at the central thematic episode of Season 4. In case you're wondering, yes it was good. Excellent, in fact. It was so nice to see Londo and G'Kar, although still not getting along and probably never will get along, on the same side for once. They've always been on opposite sides to everything over the course of this series, so this was a nice development between the two. Sheridan's battle with the EarthForce had good SFX and was pretty suspenseful. Meanwhile, Garibaldi is headed to Mars, to help out with the resistance? Or for some more sinister purpose?

Paul Jenkins from TNG's Evolution and Scrubs and Richard Grant really made this one work and I LOVED the space battles in this one. And I CAN'T wait for your recview of the next one.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

Neroon said:
Have you ever seen any of the B5 bloopers?

Yeah...I have a DVD of them, IIRC. But it's been a few years since I watched 'em.

 

[Neroon]

PKTrekGirl said:

Neroon said:
Have you ever seen any of the B5 bloopers?

Yeah...I have a DVD of them, IIRC. But it's been a few years since I watched 'em.

Of all 5 seasons? Coolness!


And Tom Riker.... the picture I posted is not really a spoiler... but consider it a vague preview of season 5.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

I've now watched the first two episodes of season 1 and though I'm sure you've all stomped this ground into mush I wanted to post my virgin impressions.

I was struck by how the lines are delivered in a theatrical manner. Many of the scenes in the first episode involving Ambassador Londo Mollari were like watching a stage play. The delivery, the lower budget set and the very pithy and excellent lines all added to this effect. It was very interesting. Jeffery Sinclair reminded me of Cary Grant with his cool as cukes delivery, he was smoooooth in the old Hollywood smooth.

Nothing slow so far, I enjoyed every bit of it. Such refreshing grit! Yeah, I always wanted more more more grit in DS9.

And finally when I saw the first exchange between Susan Ivanova and Talia Winters my first thought was "god the slash archive on those two must be massive".

That is all. I am looking forward to the rest of it! I just had to post that first impression about the stage play styleing, I don't know if it retains that or not but it is watchable and different.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

btw looking over the Lurkers Guide I see that I do not have the Pilot on my DVD set. My set starts with "Midnight on the Firing Line".

 

[Neroon]

You can get the pilot as part of the Movies boxed set. Although to be accurate, this one is somewhat modified from the true original pilot. It has a musical score by Christopher Franke, who scored the entire series. It also has some added footage. However, none of that will affect your evaluation of the series as a whole.

I'm not sure where you can get the original version from, but after you're finished with the rest it might pay off to find a copy and compare. Stewart Copeland did the musical score for it, btw

 

[Lindley]

The original version is on iTunes.

Oh, and while the sets do improve somewhat, the analogy to a stage play never completely loses its relevance.

 

[Neroon]

I may have to give in and go with iTunes, then. I do have that original on VHS, but after watching DVDs so much....

And agreed on the "stage play" comment. I've never been able to pin down why it comes across that way, though.

 

[Jan]

Neroon said:
And agreed on the "stage play" comment. I've never been able to pin down why it comes across that way, though.

That was deliberate on JMS's part. He has a theatrical background and deliberately hired people with that same background for B5. He also postulated a more formal mode of speaking to be the norm in that future which contributes to that feeling.

 

[Neroon]

When in doubt, go to the Great Machine! No wait.... that was Fiona. Nevermind.... it just goes to show ya, how you can lern something new every day.

 

[Jan]

I am Grey. I stand between the question and the answer. We are Grey. We stand between the candle and the star.

 

[Neroon]

Tom Riker and the rest watching this for the first time, I just took a look at the episodes you have left to watch for season 4:

• - The Exercise of Vital Powers
  - The Face of the Enemy
  - Intersections in Real Time
  - Between the Darkness and the Light
  - Endgame
  - Rising Star
  - The Deconstruction of Falling Stars

... and trust me. There's not a bad one in the lot. It's a heckuva way to end a season! But one episode in particular..... "Intersections in Real Time.... is a tough one to watch, because it's incredibly effective. While I can't wait to her your thoughts on all of these, it's that particular episode that I am I think most intrigued to see what you think.

 

[MyCylon]

Tom Riker said:
Lines Of Communication
Those Drakh are creepy. Their ships look a little like Vorlon ships, don't know if that's just coincidence are some sort of hidden meaning. Minbar looks like it's headed toward civil war. In fact, it's almost paralleling what's happening on Earth. Meanwhile, on Babylon 5, Sheridan has decided to fight the propaganda war by producing some propaganda himself, with Ivanova as anchor . And on Earth, Franklin has a new girlfriend, the mysteriously named Number One. This is a good episode that sets up a lot of things for future episodes.

Did anyone else think that the Minbari who was trying to strike a deal with the Drakh was a little, umm, naive? I found myself giggling during some of the scenes because he was trying to convince Delenn of how great and trustworthy these new allies were while one of them was walking around looking about as trust worthy as a second-hand car dealer
I enjoyed the episode but that part was just....strange.

 

[Can]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

teacake said:
btw looking over the Lurkers Guide I see that I do not have the Pilot on my DVD set. My set starts with "Midnight on the Firing Line".

Can we expect any reviews from you teacake ?

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

Can said:

teacake said:
btw looking over the Lurkers Guide I see that I do not have the Pilot on my DVD set. My set starts with "Midnight on the Firing Line".

Can we expect any reviews from you teacake ?

Maybe after a dozen more eps. I haven't read enough of this thread to see how redundant season 1 reviews would be.