Would I like Babylon 5 ?

[mswood]

SOme of the series regulars were absolutely awesome, some were horrible miscast. THe guest cast didn't to be even weaker (though again this was produced on a fairly small budget and as such talent cost money).

What regulars do you think were miscast? The mantis who played n'grath was excellent IMO! And actually, I liked all the actual regulars too.

God its been awhile so I have forgotten most of the actors names so I will stick with the characters, the doctor and Marcus, I have never liked either (especially the the actor who played Marcus whO I have sen in several other things, I have yet to enjoy a performance from the actor). The fighter pilot (I can't even remember the characters name), I also didn't care for Zach (and again have never liked that actor), Sinclair was hit and miss with me (I think with time the actor might have grown on me).

And don't even get me started on the guest cast. Most didn't work in my opinion. But again, I do understand how budget is a huge factor and that certainly impacts its casting.

 

[Neroon]

I don't think anyone care for the "fighter pilot" very much. The character - Lt. Keffer - was essentially forced upon the producers, though I forget by whom, specifically. However, as you can recall it's of little consequence, since he only appeared in a couple of episodes and was gone at the end of the season.

 

[Jan]

I don't think anyone care for the "fighter pilot" very much. The character - Lt. Keffer - was essentially forced upon the producers, though I forget by whom, specifically. However, as you can recall it's of little consequence, since he only appeared in a couple of episodes and was gone at the end of the season.

That was PTEN. JMS *had* intended to have a squadron leader character introduced in the second season but *not* Warren Keffer. JMS's character was Idori (Dory) Shima. PTEN didn't think that JMS's character profile was “too thoughtful and not dynamic enough.” and requested “Give us Babylon 5’s Han Solo,” they said, “someone dashing, young, brash.”

What I wonder is whether Dory would have suffered the same fate as Keffer did?

Jan

 

[Neroon]

Dory? - "Just keep flying. Just keep flying. Flying. Flying.

 

[Reverend]

Hey look a Shadow! Lets ask it for directions.

As for Keffer, JMS's dislike of the character is a matter of record. Though Crusade never got very far, I defiantly got a 'Keffer' vibe from Trace and wondered given that he only seamed to appear in the 'black uniform episodes', was his character also the result of the network's (TNT in this case) demand for a hot-shot pilot character?

 

[Neroon]

Hey look a Shadow! Lets ask it for directions.

As for Keffer, JMS's dislike of the character is a matter of record. Though Crusade never got very far, I defiantly got a 'Keffer' vibe from Trace and wondered given that he only seamed to appear in the 'black uniform episodes', was his character also the result of the network's (TNT in this case) demand for a hot-shot pilot character?

"defiantly" ? Interesting typo. And "seamed to appear in the 'black uniform episodes'" is also amusing.


But yes, Trace was the same type of character and came about in the same manner as Keffer. The character also appeared in "Ruling From the Tomb" as well as "Appearances and Other Deceits" and "War Zone". he standard youthful "stud" type of character. Pretty useless and bland if you ask me.

 

[JoeD80]

What regulars do you think were miscast? The mantis who played n'grath was excellent IMO! And actually, I liked all the actual regulars too.

God its been awhile so I have forgotten most of the actors names so I will stick with the characters, the doctor and Marcus, I have never liked either (especially the the actor who played Marcus whO I have sen in several other things, I have yet to enjoy a performance from the actor).

Well that's interesting. I have never heard anyone mention those characters as miscast before. Richard Biggs (the Doctor) was one of my favorites of the show and Jason Carter (Marcus) as well.

The fighter pilot (I can't even remember the characters name), I also didn't care for Zach (and again have never liked that actor), Sinclair was hit and miss with me (I think with time the actor might have grown on me).

Not really many scenes with the fighter pilot anyway, but I did enjoy him in GROPOS. I always loved Jeff Conaway (Zack). I was a big fan of Taxi though. Personally, with Sinclair, I think he should have shown up 4 or 5 times in season 2 instead of just the once, but that's just my wishful thinking .

And don't even get me started on the guest cast. Most didn't work in my opinion. But again, I do understand how budget is a huge factor and that certainly impacts its casting.

A big problem with guest casting on any show in general is that they don't have the time to rehearse or get into character that regulars do. In the case of B5, they changed casting directors after season 2 and I get the impression it was because of issues with guest casting.

 

[Reverend]

"defiantly" ? Interesting typo. And "seamed to appear in the 'black uniform episodes'" is also amusing.

Late night + firefox's spell checker + dyslexia = typos.

As for miscasting, anyone who think's Biggs was miscast wasn't watching the same show as me. Conaway was always great to watch, especially that lift scene in Thirdspace.

The actor who played Keffer certainly wasn't terrible and made the most of a limited character. The fact that GROPOS was one of my favourite episodes also helps.

 

[Danoz]

I think B5's great. It's one of my three favorite science fiction tv shows. The other two are nuBGS and DS9.
One of the reason I like these three is that they're all (more or less heavily) serialized, have really well-developed characters, deal with interesting and difficult subject matters, they go for shades of grey rather than black vs. white, and they're all highly entertaining IMHO.
So, based on my personal preferences I figure there's a 50/50 chance you'll like B5 .

I enjoyed it very much, as well. I JUST finished it. I had to "stomach" the first 3-4 episodes, but once I was familiar with the new universe I was hooked about halfway through season one. Don't give up on it without finishing season one-- and after that the patience is VERY rewarding.

 

[mswood]

"defiantly" ? Interesting typo. And "seamed to appear in the 'black uniform episodes'" is also amusing.

Late night + firefox's spell checker + dyslexia = typos.

As for miscasting, anyone who think's Biggs was miscast wasn't watching the same show as me. Conaway was always great to watch, especially that lift scene in Thirdspace.

The actor who played Keffer certainly wasn't terrible and made the most of a limited character. The fact that GROPOS was one of my favourite episodes also helps.

While I clearly disagree on the actor (just have never liked him), I love GROPOS.

 

[mswood]

What regulars do you think were miscast? The mantis who played n'grath was excellent IMO! And actually, I liked all the actual regulars too.

God its been awhile so I have forgotten most of the actors names so I will stick with the characters, the doctor and Marcus, I have never liked either (especially the the actor who played Marcus whO I have sen in several other things, I have yet to enjoy a performance from the actor).

Well that's interesting. I have never heard anyone mention those characters as miscast before. Richard Biggs (the Doctor) was one of my favorites of the show and Jason Carter (Marcus) as well.

The fighter pilot (I can't even remember the characters name), I also didn't care for Zach (and again have never liked that actor), Sinclair was hit and miss with me (I think with time the actor might have grown on me).

Not really many scenes with the fighter pilot anyway, but I did enjoy him in GROPOS. I always loved Jeff Conaway (Zack). I was a big fan of Taxi though. Personally, with Sinclair, I think he should have shown up 4 or 5 times in season 2 instead of just the once, but that's just my wishful thinking .

And don't even get me started on the guest cast. Most didn't work in my opinion. But again, I do understand how budget is a huge factor and that certainly impacts its casting.

A big problem with guest casting on any show in general is that they don't have the time to rehearse or get into character that regulars do. In the case of B5, they changed casting directors after season 2 and I get the impression it was because of issues with guest casting.

Well that and B5 wasn't a typical show it would be difficult for any casting department (even with the budget to afford better actors (even many stage actors cost), its a stylized world of its own. Trek had that same problem of getting actors who get fit the mod of its created universe but it had a far faster budget to allow both going longer on filming (which dramatically increases cost) and a history to help both the casting department and the actors find the right style.

So while I am critical of much of it, I do understand the limitations they worked with.