So, this 'Babylon 5' thing better be good...
- Thread starter Ethros
- Start date
I think the main points about the shoddy DVD transfer have been covered, but for a thorough analysis, go here: http://www.modeemi.fi/~leopold/Babylon5/DVD/DVDTransfer.html
Either you've been lucky, or I haven't. But I've heard a lot of complaints about those DVD-18's, both online and from friends. Apparently there was enough of a stink that Universal studios (And yes, I know B5 is released by Warner) has discontinued them and are re-releasing their library on single sided disks.
There's a difference between DVD-10s (which is what the B5 disc is) and DVD-18s. DVD-10s only have one layer on each side, and are much less prone to failure. DVD-18s have four layers, which makes them more likely to have a defect in manufacturing. (When DVD-18s were first being produced, for Terminator 2, the success rate was something like 20 or 25%.)
Yeah, I noticed that specifically on "Into The Fire", but the sound mix seemed fine on every other episode.
Sometimes they seem to have just cropped the CGI/composite footage dead in the middle without bothering to check if it's framed properly. There are a few CGI/Live Action composites which cut off the frame in the middle of people's faces. It's a shoddy transfer. Even the pure 16:9 live action stuff from film is full of compression artifacts and dirt. The whole series doesn' upscale very well on modern TVs.
It's possible that I just chalked up any poor DVD quality to the general poor quality of the time period in which it was filmed. I just watched it for the first time over the summer, and none of it really (visually) stands up to the test of time.
Sadly I have to agree. Aside from the proto-CGI (which was amazing and still is in the context of the time), it has that "greasy 90s TV" look about it. Fortunately the writing and the performances more than make up for it.
I'm hoping, really hoping, that one day they get the budget for a good hi-def redux. They lost all the CGI assets from the original, but I think for Lost Tales they used fan-made models and rendered in 1080i. If they could re-create the CG shots (and the VFX composites, assuming they still have the raw live action plates), clean up the film a bit and release them all on blu-ray, that would be pretty much the most sexual thing in the history of sci-fi.
What is it with Bruce Boxleitner and ground-breaking CGI? He'd better be on Pixar's christmas card list...
Well I've finished most of my DVDs so I can finally make a start on this. Watched The Gathering last night
I enjoyed it. It didn't blow me away but I enjoyed it. Obviously one can tell the budget wasn't huge and it was the early 90s after all. There were a few cheesy stuff like that guitar music used throughout, what was that about? That gorilla bartender was a bit dodgy, and some of the actors were a lot more "natural" than others.
But overall there was some interesting stuff and as I've got the next two days off I'll definitely be making a start on the Season 1 set
I enjoyed it. It didn't blow me away but I enjoyed it. Obviously one can tell the budget wasn't huge and it was the early 90s after all. There were a few cheesy stuff like that guitar music used throughout, what was that about? That gorilla bartender was a bit dodgy, and some of the actors were a lot more "natural" than others.
But overall there was some interesting stuff and as I've got the next two days off I'll definitely be making a start on the Season 1 set
That was mainly about trying to differentiate itself from the orchestral wallpaper of Trek. Fortunately, the composer changed for the series to someone who managed to differentiate himself without sucking.
That was mainly about trying to differentiate itself from the orchestral wallpaper of Trek. Fortunately, the composer changed for the series to someone who managed to differentiate himself without sucking.
I must be one of the few that prefers Stewart Copeland over Christopher Franke. I found Franke too pedestrian and obvious in his music for Babylon 5. The original music for "The Gathering" is more kinetic than what we got in the series.
Although, Franke did do a lot of good work on the series especially his "Sleeping in Light" score.
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Yes--the Special Edition had to be completely rescored, and the gorilla bartender wasn't quite meant for the starring role he got.
I haven't been abel to get into http://www.third-space.net/ for quite some time.
This isn't the best quality, but you can get a bit of the taste here on Down Below:
The Gathering, opening
Here's the original closing: Closing, Copeland
This isn't the best quality, but you can get a bit of the taste here on Down Below:
The Gathering, opening
Here's the original closing: Closing, Copeland
Franke's work on B5 was awesome. As someone mentioned, it differentiated itself from Trek without making itself worse. It manages to convey an epic tone, and a timeless quality, which is quite remarkable given the use of the synthesizer which you would have thought would date things quite quickly.
The 'Sleeping in Light' soundtrack was superb, and the music over the final few minutes and the credits are his best work on the show IMO. It has pride of place in my mp3 collection.
I much preferred Franke's scoring of The Gathering. Of course, both Franke and Copeland are far superior to Evan Chen who managed to undo all of Franke's hard work in giving the B5 universe a synonymous tone, by completely ruining the scoring of Crusade. IMO.
The 'Sleeping in Light' soundtrack was superb, and the music over the final few minutes and the credits are his best work on the show IMO. It has pride of place in my mp3 collection.
I much preferred Franke's scoring of The Gathering. Of course, both Franke and Copeland are far superior to Evan Chen who managed to undo all of Franke's hard work in giving the B5 universe a synonymous tone, by completely ruining the scoring of Crusade. IMO.
I couldn't disagree more. imo, Chen was vastly superioir to Franke. Franke, for the most part, had one musical style: orchestral synth. Yeah, every once in a blue moon you had something cool like the scene when Sheridan gets taken out in S4, but most of the time it was Franke-by-numbers and was bland.
Chen, on the other hand, went all over the place with his music. he did orchestral, tribal, folk.... you name it. And he did it well. The problem most B5 fans have with Chen, and Crusade in general, is that it's not B5 and doesn't fit their definition of the B5 world. Crusade wasn't canned like B5, and the music should, and did, show that. Crusade was all over the place, as was the score. It was kinetic, stretched the boundaries of sci-fi music, and simply kicked ass.
For that, you have JMS to blame; he didn't want Crusade to sound the same as Babylon 5. (One can only assume he was happy enough with Chen's work on A Call to Arms, or else we would've gotten someone else for Crusade.)
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