Niners Unite...around Babylon 5! - The Lost Threads

[Lindley]

There's a bit of irony. "Sleeping in Light" was moved back from the end of season 4 so it'd still be the final episode when S5 was greenlit, and replaced with "Deconstruction". And now you've swapped that one back as well.

I'm not sure if that's irony, actually. But it's funny.

B5 also leaves a few plot points to the novels, incidentally.

 

[Jan]

Well I watched the series closer today. Almost got tearful but not quite. I finished this show far faster then I meant to. I told myself I was only going to watch 1-2 episodes per day but that got thrown out the window. I was completely hooked near the finish of season 2 and by season 3 I was sometimes watching 3-4 episodes per day. Anyway I finished the whole series right at two months.

Wow, quite the marathon. Congratulations on your first run through the show. One of the best things about B5 is that it's one of the few shows I've ever watched that rewards repeat viewings.

Let us know your thoughts on "Deconstruction". I liked it a lot.

Jan

 

[Phily B]

Ivanova used to unsettle me. I dunno there is something about the actress, she isn't ugly or anything but there is something unsettling about her to me - she seemed like a tall dwarf or something.

 

[Anthony Sabre]

Let us know your thoughts on "Deconstruction". I liked it a lot.

Jan

I liked it. Mind blowing. Seeing the Ranger at the end transcend the physical and hop into an encounter suit gave me chills. I rewatched that scene twice. Then I called to mind that an episode mentioned it would be a million years before humans were deemed ready by the Vorlons to have their technology. But I preferred to think it was developed on their own. I had to wonder why humans would use encounter suits. Is it because, like the Vorlons, there was a danger in us being recognized as what we are? Or maybe it was just to make the point of how far we'd come.

The character assassination of Sheridan and the others was a nice touch. Typical of the eventual pessimism with which historic figures are inevitably viewed. Garibaldi outwitting the guy in the future was classic. All that studying of their characters and he still didn't realize who he was dealing with.

All in all I enjoyed it. I'm glad I saved it for the 2nd to last episode. Looks like my truly last episode will be The Gathering. Should be here tomorrow, along with Alien Nation, War of the Worlds and Earth 2. I'm not quite interested in BStar yet so I'm going backwards a bit.

 

[Harvey]

Is that Alien Nation the series? Because I'd highly recommend that. Just finished it for the first time on DVD myself.

 

[Anthony Sabre]

Is that Alien Nation the series? Because I'd highly recommend that. Just finished it for the first time on DVD myself.

Yep. I haven't seen it since I was like 12, but I remember really enjoying it.

 

[Harvey]

Is that Alien Nation the series? Because I'd highly recommend that. Just finished it for the first time on DVD myself.

Yep. I haven't seen it since I was like 12, but I remember really enjoying it.

There's a certain amount of Kenneth Johnson campiness, and the transfer is REALLY bad, but it almost always transcends both of those drawbacks and manages to be one of the most adult television series I've ever watched.

Back on Babylon 5, has anyone else seen those two new books in the scriptbook series that are coming out--first the TV movies and second a book that promises to be some kind of mega-chronology?

 

[Jan]

Back on Babylon 5, has anyone else seen those two new books in the scriptbook series that are coming out--first the TV movies and second a book that promises to be some kind of mega-chronology?

The movie book isn't out yet but for fans can submit questions about them here. The movies that will be in that book are "Thirdspace", "The River of Souls", "The Legend of the Rangers" and "The Lost Tales". The window to submit questions is only open until August 23.

There will be two chronologies in the book that's currently available for pre-order. The first was originally published in the Official Babylon 5 Magazine and was used by Fiona Avery in her duties as reference editor for B5 and Crusade. The second has been seen online from time to time. Both have been brought up to date through the Lost Tales.

Jan

 

[Anthony Sabre]

Nice. I'm ordering.

 

[Harvey]

I'm just not sure on either of these, to be honest. I don't love any of the four movies being covered in the script book (I liked Thirdspace). And I'm curious as to how worthwhile a chronology book is in the age of wikipedia and the like. I don't suppose you've seen early versions of either of these, Jan?

 

[Jan]

And I'm curious as to how worthwhile a chronology book is in the age of wikipedia and the like. I don't suppose you've seen early versions of either of these, Jan?

A link to some sample pages was included with the newsletter. Here you go. What I find most interesting is how the timelines reflect all of the different sources, from episodes, to short stories to novels, etc and how they were interwoven. I doubt that any wiki would have this level of detail. Is it necessary to enjoy the B5 universe? Not at all. But I think they're pretty cool.

Jan

 

[Harvey]

Ah, thanks for that sample, Jan. I must have missed it at first look. It will be interesting to see how the novels and such are incorporated. Especially the ones that JMS finds less than part of the official continuity.

 

[Neroon]

I'm eager to see the final results of the "Chronologies" book, because I kinda sorta formatted my own awhile back. It was based on Jones' version that had appeared in the magazines. Only part of it (I think up through the events at the end of S2 or thereabouts) ever appeared on the web, so I ended up transcribing everything from the magazine as well as whatever other sources I could find. The Babylon 5 History Page for example. There are some conflicts between them all, but by and large it tends to hold together reasonably well. Drove me quite mad.

 

[Mal]

can you imagine a chronology for WWE and B^2

more importantly, can anyone keep the Intel bunny-suits straight?

 

[Mal]

weeks with no post... might it be time to start this thread fresh?

or as they say in star trek: howzbout be hit that reset button

 

[Harvey]

I think discussion has been siphoned away towards RoJoHen's threads in General Sci-Fi at this point. Perhaps this thread will come alive again in the future, although without hope for more Lost Tales (or more anything Babylon 5) I don't know what would motivate such a resurgence in Babylon 5.

 

[Jan]

Well, it may be a small thing but JMS did mention possibly finishing the long-overdue B5 graphic novel this fall. No telling how long before it would be drawn and published after he turned in the script, though.

Jan

 

[Harvey]

A graphic novel, you say? I'm not very interested into comics, but I do make exceptions from time to time and would be interested in this one. Any sense of what the story is about?

I'm hard pressed to see where else new enthusiasm for the show is going to be shored up. The DVDs have already been dropped in price to under 20 dollars. No new DVDs are on the horizon. All the script books for the series regular have been released (and been discontinued). There aren't any Babylon 5 computer games coming out. Any chance at a new novel line has been stalled, if not finished entirely. No more Lost Tales will be made. Chances of a movie that Straczynski has pondered are almost zero.

I imagine it will continue to bring in a small, steady stream of dedicated fans, but as far as great numbers of new viewers are concerned, Babylon 5 seems to have gone out to the pasture. It's not even regularly aired on any prominent television channel anymore.

 

[Jan]

A graphic novel, you say? I'm not very interested into comics, but I do make exceptions from time to time and would be interested in this one. Any sense of what the story is about?

No, 'fraid not. *If* if turns out as originally planned, it's supposed to be quite long, though, at 100 pages. Back in 2005 he posted that the script was about halfway done but he also mentioned at a con that he'd had to steer the story away from what he'd written for TMoS.

When/if I hear anything new, I'll be sure to post it.

Jan

 

[dauntless111]

"We are now at war..........we are now at war"

G'Kar, "Coming of Shadows"


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