Well, for whatever reason, the spoiler codes are not working for me.
Is this a Mozilla problem or something?
Anyway,
SPOILER WARNING!!!! DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE A NEW VIEWER TO B5!!!!!
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Justtoyourleft said:
I will say this: I do still prefer DS9. Irrespective of any form of analysis or comparisons between DS9 and B5, DS9 will probably always be 'my' show, if you know what I mean.
However, B5's come very close this time around. There are undoubtedly areas where it even did a noticeably better job. If you combined the best of both shows, hell, you'd have a show that'd be almost unbearable to watch, that's how good it would be
Well, this is exactly how I feel, so I understand completely.
Without a doubt, these two shows are my favorite shows. And for the time being, they are in a category by themselves...although BSG, if given enough time, has potential to reach that level (I don't think BSG has had enough seasons yet to make a fair comparison - one or two more seasons like this one though and it's in the bag.)
For me, DS9 and B5 are two sides of the same magnificent coin. One is a show that is very plot driven, but also does a strong job with character development (B5)...and the other is a show that is very character development driven...but does a fine job with moving an overall plot along.
Both have their strengths...and both have their weaknesses. Although IMO, most of the weaknesses of both shows are less to do with the writers and actors on the show, and more to do with the environments in which they were created.
IMO, B5 suffers because of it's production values (special effects, etc). They are good, given their limited budget...but the cold hard fact is that DS9's is better.
B5 also suffers from the uncertainty that surrounded the show's future at the end of season 4. The beginning of season 5 is a mess...but while this was largely not JMS's fault, it is nevertheless so.
Now, the one criticism I have of B5 that *is* JMS's fault is the ending of the Shadow War. I didn't like it and thought it was a cop-out. And I'll always feel this way, no matter how many people try to explain it away. I think we had alot of build-up...and then very little in the way of climax....and it didn't work for me at all. It was redeemed somewhat by the War for Earth...but it's still a glaring problem for me.
DS9, however, has it's own problems. The main one being too many one-off's during the war arc. I like SOME one-offs...but when it reaches the point where the practice interrupts the plot too much, it gets a bit annoying. This is the case with DS9's last couple of seasons, IMO.
Like B5's faults-that-weren't-JMS's-fault, this, however, I don't believe was Ira Behr's fault. Based on all I have read and the extras on the DS9 DVD set, it is pretty apparent that Behr would have liked for the show to be more focused during the last few seasons. But in the Star Trek franchise environment under Rick Berman, this was not possible. Behr, in fact, disobeyed direct orders just to keep things as 'on track' as they were, and he says so in the
DS9 Companion and in the DS9 season set special features.
I'm sure he pressed the war arc to the envelope...but certain things he had to either tone down or flat-out do differently from what he would have liked because of Berman's brilliant 'ideas' about how a Trek show should be (and we see what those 'ideas' where through VOY and ENT).
In short, given his constraints, he and the writers did a great job...and we see their talent for sustaining a plot without break during the Occupation Arc and the Final Chapter. But the bottom line is that there were too many interruptions to the war during the last two seasons...and whether it was the writer's fault or not, it still IS.
Now what *is* the writers fault on DS9 were the 'ships. IMO, Trek writers have always sucked at writing 'ships...and DS9, while better than most, is no exception. Sisko and Kassidy is fairly decent...but Worf and Dax is merely okay-to-slightly-lame, and Kira and Odo, frankly, makes me wanna hurl I hate it so much. Bashir and Ezri might have been okay given enough time...but one season was not enough time to really develop that.
B5, on the other hand, is very good at 'ships. Sheridan/Delenn was very well-written, as was Marcus/Susan...although that one was cut short, unfortunately.
Anyway...those are my criticisms of both shows, in a nutshell.
Not a very long list in either case...which is why I think they are both so wonderful!
) is one of the most repellent characters in all the TV SF I've seen. Lyta became a doormat, Sheridan and co. were out of character in failing to deal with her concerns, and the whole thing just fell flat for me. However, the last 10 or so episodes are right up there with the high standards the show achieved for most of its run.
, great characterization (Franklin's addiction), clues of the future (Sheridan will go to Z'ha'dum and die, Kosh will not be there to help him), Morden as evil as ever (kiling Adira to get Londo back on his side). And above all those things, the Shadows, with Morden's help, kill Kosh. I wasn't expecting this to happen, so it was a huge surprise to me. After the episode ended, I said to myself, "Wow...", and was left speechless.
