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

[Harvey]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

^^
Your reviews of season five don't fill me with a whole lot of confidence, but on the other hand, aren't quite as scathing as I had expected (considering the rep the season gets around here).

Out of curiosity, since the other B5 thread is surely long buried, how'd you feel about season one, which is also usually dumped on?

 

[Mal]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

Tom Riker said:
It was the end, when Byron and Lyta were "doing it", and all the telepaths crowded around to watch .

i can't believe i'm defending anything to do with Byron, but FWIW, it seems to me that since the telepaths can sense them fucking, and that sensing is probably more invasive than just watching, then the watching was really no big deal.

think of it this way: if you could already see people fucking, would it really matter that you could hear them too?

 

[The Habs Fan]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

Hirogen Alpha said:
Out of curiosity, since the other B5 thread is surely long buried, how'd you feel about season one, which is also usually dumped on?

I like Season 1, but it's by far the worst B5 season. Actually, Season 5, up to where I'm at now, feels a lot like Season 1. It's nowhere near as good as Seasons 3 and 4. For at least the first 8 episodes, it's mostly standalone stories. So don't get your hopes up.

But to answer your question, yes I do like Season 1. If I didn't, I don't think I'd still be watching B5.

 

[Neroon]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

While it's not on the order of effect as with S1, this fifth season of b5 does improve with age. Its problems are somewhat glaring, but the good stuff shines nicely after you've seen it all. There are some superb character moments.

 

[MyCylon]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

^^
I had the same feeling of it being a lot more like S1 than the other seasons. It certainly lost the pace that especially seasons 3 and 4 had. I think it's ok that S1 had a slower pace and was more disjointed since it was, well, the first season. 5 just should have more Umph!, I think. It gets better, though, I think.

 

[Neroon]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

IMHO, season 5 does improve once the telepath mini-arc has been taken care of.

 

[Harvey]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

Okay, so season five doesn't sound THAT bad then. I suppose this is all trivial since the DVD is coming in the mail.

Oh, and Neroon, I love that avatar. :thumbsup:

 

[Neroon]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

Season 5 holds a fair place of controversy amongst Babyloniacs. I'm not sure if DS9 fandom has one season for the show that causes as much disagreement. As far as b5 goes, consensus is that S5 does not live up to anywhere near what the previous 4 built up. What happens is that there is a large enough segment that wants to disregard its existence. "Sleeping in Light" (can't wait until you see THAT one!) is usually exempted, since it was originally created to end as part of S4.

But yeah... S5 has plenty of problems, but it's not as bad as it has been made out to be. Once you do see it completely, I think you'll be glad you did as far as viewing the entire series as a whole.

And thx on the av. It's for this week's contest in SFF. Not sure where I grabbed it from, though.....

 

[Harvey]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

^^
I'll have to vote for you, then. That episode is one of my all-time favorites of Farscape. Just so wacky it's great. :thumbsup:

And I am SO looking forward to Sleeping in Light. I almost wish it was on the season four box set instead of Deconstruction of Falling Stars (cool title; lame episode). It might be a while till I see it though. The DVDs still haven't arrived, and I'm shooting a documentary over spring break that probably means there won't be any sleep or DVDs (my collaborators aren't sci-fi or B5 fans, anyways).

 

[Neroon]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

A documentary, huh? About what, exactly?

 

[Harvey]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

^^
The origins of grunge music, specifically in Seattle, and the musical styles preceding it that made it possible. I shouldn't oversell myself--I'm just the (seemingly entire) sound department-- the film is the brainchild of a friend of mine. We're heading out on a non-stop drive from Ithaca, NY back to my hometown of Olympia, WA on March 9, which will probably be as miserable as it sounds. But the shoot should be a good time.

 

[The Habs Fan]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

In The Kingdom Of The Blind
This is the tale of two plots. One plot, the Centauri Prime plot, was excellent. The other plot, the telepath blackmail plot, I could care less. Londo and G'Kar, I've said this before and I'll say it again, are great together. I love having them on the same side. The Regent is as weird as ever, but a little more evil (because of the Keeper). This plot was full of suspense, intrigue, and surprises. It was on the level of Season 4. The Byron plot, I could care less about. I'm a little confused as to how Byron is being written. Is he a good guy or is he a bad guy? He's resorted to blackmail, yet he abhors violence.

A Tragedy Of Telepaths
Again, like the previous episodes, this was a case of two plots. The Londo and G'Kar plot was (surpise, surprise) the better of the two once again. Seeing Na'Toth again was a welcome surprise. Those attacks on the shipping lines by Centauri are interesting, obviously orchestrated by whatever dark forces are operating on Centauri Prime. The Byron plot was a little more of the same, except now we have some crazy hippie telepaths running around putting graffiti on the walls. I did like the end with Lochley calling Bester for help. Very interesting...

Phoenix Rising
This episode was 100% Byron plot. Surprisingly, I liked it. Maybe it was seeing his backstory, which makes a lot of sense for his character. Or maybe it was the fact that Bester was chasing him. I hate Bester more than I'm annoyed by the character of Byron, so I'd rather see Bester fail than Byron die. Happily, I saw both. The thing I enjoyed most about the telepath arc is the obvious parallel to Jesus. I thought it was worked in very well right to the end. Unfortunately, I wasn't moved enough to care about these dumb telepaths. Lyta, for example, has really fallen down the character standings for me. Hopefully she redeems herself. Meanwhile, Garibaldi has begun drinking alcohol again...

 

[Orac Zen]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

Tom Riker said:
I hate Bester more than I'm annoyed by the character of Byron, so I'd rather see Bester fail than Byron die. Happily, I saw both.

Exactly what I thought, too. I also agree about Lyta. Seeing her turn into Boredom - err, Fabyron - err, Byron's doormat was one of the lowest of the many lows of the telepath arc.

Happily, season 5 improves a great deal from here (one episode excepted). The last half a dozen or so episodes especially are a huge quality lift over the first part of the season. Well, I think so, anyway.

 

[Neroon]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

I'm really eager to get into a discussion about S5, but that will have to wait until ore of you have completed it.

 

[Harvey]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

^^
As soon as the frelling DVD box arrives in the mail, as soon as it arrives...

I look forward to the discussion, believe me. Almost as much as I look forward to Sleeping in Light (even if every other episode sucks, I have pretty high hopes for that episode, and don't expect to be disappointed).

 

[The Habs Fan]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

The Ragged Edge
Season 5 has started getting really good. This episode continues the plot threads left by the other episodes regarding the Centauri shipping lane attacks. Even though this episode has no real surprises, I still found it pretty good. Maybe it's because it feels like a Season 4 episode? I don't know. G'Kar's plot was funny and was a nice counterpoint to the seriousness of the A plot. G'Kar, religious figurehead of the Narns. That's interesting. Garibaldi is falling deeper and deeper into alcoholism. Again, I'm interested to see where this leads. And Franklin is taking a new posting starting January 1, 2363. Isn't that convenient . This episode was a big build up to future episodes. It moved the storyline along, but gave no real answers. However, it is a great episode and it's nice to be back to what made Babylon 5 great.

 

[Neroon]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

It was also the 100th episode of the series, if memory serves

 

[Orac Zen]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

I must remember to drop by for the rest of the season 5 discussion. Like many others, I'm...err, not a fan...of the telepath arc, but (as I said above) I consider the last few episodes to be quite outstanding.

And then there's "Sleeping in Light"....

 

[Harvey]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

Allright, I just cracked open my used copy of season five, and it looks brand new. As soon as I get off work tonight, No Compromises is going in the DVD player. I'm pretty damned excited, even if it sucks, it's 22 more episodes.

 

[Mal]

Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin

Tom Riker said:
In The Kingdom Of The Blind

the whole episode was worth it just to hear Sheridan say:
They did it the wrong way. The inconvenient way.