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Talen
Capellan Confederation
Sang-shao
Joined: 05-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 1269
Location: United States
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 Posted: 26-Nov-2004 23:53 Post subject: Babylon 5 |
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So, I started my B5 collection finally. I would have to say this is the only series I would actually ever pay money for. It had such a rich story, a great arc and an actual feel of continuity, unlike many sci-fi series. Anyways...I grabbed Season 5 first...odd no? Heh.
Anyways....what were your impressions of Babylon 5? Did you like it, hate it, spit on it, worship it?
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"Historians exercise great power and some of them know it. They recreate the past, changing it to fit their own interpretations. Thus, they change the future as well." - Leto II
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StarRaven
Federated Suns
Leftenant General
Joined: 01-Jun-2004 00:00
Posts: 1138
Location: United States
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| Posted: 27-Nov-2004 01:45 Post subject: RE: Babylon 5 |
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I always loved Babylon 5. A great story, and it had a nice feel to it. It was better than any of the Star Treks, that's for sure. I still haven't seen every episode, because it's never been in at a good time, or I've never known that it was on. I'll eventually (maybe) get the DVDs, but Farscape comes first. B5 may be really good, but nothing can beat Farscape.
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"Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close semblance to the first."
- Attributed to General Aleksandr Kerensky
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Vagabond
Mercenary
Mr. Referee
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 5792
Location: United States
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| Posted: 27-Nov-2004 02:07 Post subject: RE: Babylon 5 |
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worship defintly. it was the best scifi space show in its time, still is IMHO. great and believeable characters, solid story, and plot twists that had you hating then loving then feeling compassion for characters.
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one must work hard to cultivate the mind and body. and one must always cultivate the mind.
//^(^_^)^\\
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Talen
Capellan Confederation
Sang-shao
Joined: 05-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 1269
Location: United States
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| Posted: 27-Nov-2004 02:22 Post subject: RE: Babylon 5 |
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Londo and G'kar!
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"Historians exercise great power and some of them know it. They recreate the past, changing it to fit their own interpretations. Thus, they change the future as well." - Leto II
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DarkAdder
Clan Star Adder
Star Commander
Joined: 10-Jan-2004 00:00
Posts: 604
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| Posted: 27-Nov-2004 03:57 Post subject: RE: Babylon 5 |
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It was alright, but the writers seemed to have a bet going as to how many times they could get the words 'Babylon Five' into each episode.
I think the movies were better than the Star Trek ones, with the exception of Star Trek II. Definitive Ship-to-ship combat in that one. 
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Meddle not in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
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Ruger
Lyran Alliance
Hauptmann General
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 2104
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| Posted: 27-Nov-2004 08:03 Post subject: RE: Babylon 5 |
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Great series...
Ruger
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Seraph
Blighted Sun Battalion
2nd Company
"Seraph's Slaughter"
Major
Joined: 11-Mar-2004 00:00
Posts: 1744
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| Posted: 27-Nov-2004 11:14 Post subject: RE: Babylon 5 |
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I liked it. But any show that shows ship battles I like!. 
I have also played bab5. And I'll tell you. The Brakiri Light Cruisers can kick the crap outta Narn BattleCruisers anyday.
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If ignorance is bliss, then why are you so miserable?
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SaberDance
Federated Suns
Colonel
Joined: 07-May-2004 00:00
Posts: 837
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| Posted: 27-Nov-2004 13:57 Post subject: RE: Babylon 5 |
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Absolutely loved it from the Pilot episode until Season 4 episode 20.
As far as I'm concerned, the series ended with "Endgame."
I hated Season 5, I wasn't real thrilled with any of the movies except for "In the Beginning," Crusade kinda blew, and I haven't seen Legend of the Rangers, but it looked like it had promise.
Reasons (though I'm currently engaged in a long argument about whether these types of judgments can be reasoned...):
Essentially, the story-line ended in Season 4 Episode 20. There were only a few loose ends to tie up, and they are mostly addressed in Season 4 Episode 23/Season 5 Episode 22 "Sleeping in Light." Ep 4/21 was too wishy-washy and sentimental for me. Episode 22 opened up a whole new can of questions that I didn't really care about, and most of them weren't answered in Season 5. Season five, for that matter merely creates new problems and then solves them, sort of, making Season 5, overall, separate and distinct from the first 4 seasons.
JMS has this thing about long Codas that tie back into the history of the universe. He does it in his books too. My objection is that it is bad drama to have new problems come up after the climax. The story should rejoin the timeline (it's called the return to stasis in Theater) but it should be one long slope, and it shouldn't end lower than the story began.
Drama is about raising tension and suspense, and then releasing all that tension in the climax. By definition, you can't have a higher peak after the climax, so any peaks after that point will be let downs. Therefore, once you reach the climax (4/20) you should very quickly tie up all the loose ends and get off the stage.
If you want to be very artsy, you can do a full circle ending, where you end the drama the same way you started. For example, "Forest Gump" with the bench and feather motif. It is far easier just to end at the climax with the audience standing up and applauding as you rush through the coda and then take a bow, like the ending in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast."
Most writers end up somewhere in the middle. Not JMS. He hits his climax in the 4th act and still has another act to go. A metaphor is leaping to mind right now, which I won't repeat, being as it relates to climaxes of a different sort coming too early.
He's like the actor who refuses to get off the stage and has to be pulled off with a cane.
The series was so great for the first four seasons. He'd shown great ability for 84 episodes, and then he just delivered junk for 24 more. I felt betrayed by the story teller who is always talking about "playing fair with the audience." It is the same general feeling as watching "Gettsyburg" (a very good movie), and then watching "Gods and Generals," a terrible movie made by the very same production cast and crew. Better to have ended early than to end badly. For that reason, I just pretend Season 5 and the last two episodes of Season 4 didn't happen.
Sorry for the long rant. I'm obviously a little passionate about this series.
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"Politics is the Art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, misdiagnosing the problem, and applying the wrong solution."
-Groucho Marx
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Ruger
Lyran Alliance
Hauptmann General
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 2104
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| Posted: 27-Nov-2004 15:02 Post subject: RE: Babylon 5 |
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Quote:
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On 2004-11-27 13:57, SaberDance wrote:
He'd shown great ability for 84 episodes, and then he just delivered junk for 24 more.
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I don't know...I thought that "A View from the Gallery", a season 5 episode was one of the best in the series, ranking up with "Severed Dreams" (my favorite episode of the series)...
Ruger
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Talen
Capellan Confederation
Sang-shao
Joined: 05-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 1269
Location: United States
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| Posted: 27-Nov-2004 20:13 Post subject: RE: Babylon 5 |
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IMO, the quirky episodes (like a View from the Gallery and the one that was entirely a newscast) were some of the best episodes of any TV show I have ever watched...
...As for the plot falling off in Season 5...the universe's plot was tied up in Season 4 for the most part, but the characters themselves werent finished.
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"Historians exercise great power and some of them know it. They recreate the past, changing it to fit their own interpretations. Thus, they change the future as well." - Leto II
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Sir Henry
Team Bansai
Senior Tech Specialist
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 4899
Location: United States
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| Posted: 29-Nov-2004 07:09 Post subject: RE: Babylon 5 |
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Loved it. Love it still. I have all 5 seasons. All movies. And a feww odds and ends.... Like the B5 magizine, and a few pewter figures....
I loved that the Universe wasn't perfect.
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Sir Henry
A Dragon in the disguise of a bunny, is still a Dragon.
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AlexxKnight
Federated Suns
Colonel
Joined: 11-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 787
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| Posted: 18-Dec-2004 08:50 Post subject: RE: Babylon 5 |
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I have ot agree with Vagabond and Sir Henry. THis is by far the best Science Fiction Series of All Time.I loved the simple fact that JMS started out with one story, fleshed it out a bit and ran with it. It never got old and played out like every Star Trek Series ever made. It was extrmely original. The characters were human plain and simple (even the aliens) and that is what made the show great. Everyone can identify with what each character is dealing with every step of the way. They faced real problems that real people face everyday.
And to say that the story ended in Season, while I agree in part, is inaccurate. I watched the entire series while I was deployed this year and the chracters had some much going that despite the fact that they had removed hte monster Clark form power there was so much more to deal with. They had to deal with the consiquences of there actions, and that that had not really happened by Season 4 episode 20.
The only episode I can come close to saying I hated was the Industrial goo one with the dying alien child whose parents won't let franklin operate on him since it is similar to food animals and he'd loose his soul. But it does a great job dealing with Franklin's character and hte hypocratic oath he has taken.
As for Crusade, that had great potential but TNT ruined it for JMS, they tried ot exert too much influence on the show. It is clear when all the episodes were aired way out of order.
As for Legend of the Rangers, it was a cool idea, but I think it too was ruined by outside forces, and died before it even went on the air. I'm not sure exactly what ever really happened to it.
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Alexx Knight, Lance Sgt.
Command Company, Crimson Janissaries
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The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. . . And you
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SaberDance
Federated Suns
Colonel
Joined: 07-May-2004 00:00
Posts: 837
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| Posted: 30-Dec-2004 23:16 Post subject: RE: Babylon 5 |
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On LOTR:
It was put up against a college Bowl Game.
The second hour was a hit as the game sucked, so people clicked over at halftime.
This the rumor according to the Lurkers Guide to B5.
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"Politics is the Art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, misdiagnosing the problem, and applying the wrong solution."
-Groucho Marx
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Rarich
Federated Suns
Leftenant General
Joined: 05-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 991
Location: United States
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| Posted: 05-Jan-2005 04:09 Post subject: RE: Babylon 5 |
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So you found the DVDs on the Warner website?
I liked B5 a lot better than Star Trek, it seems a lot more realistic about reality and Idealism. Everybody wants peace, but have different priorities on how they are willing to get there. I suspect that the League of Non-Aligned Worlds would be a good facsimile of the U.N.
Idealism is a good thing as long as you also deal with the realities of the situation. Without that you have dogma much like the Maoism and Stalinism of the mid 20th Century (I have been waiting to use that appropriatly for 5 years now, as pompous as it sounds) That is the problem I have with National gun control and other firearm legislation on a large scale, there are always local issues that overide the dreams of the beltway boys. The same thing applies to why the USA broke away from Britain, local issues caused serious tensions with a king that did not understand the local realities.
That is why B5 split with EartGov in the span of the story. I also like the realistic way other issues were dealt with. A whole race dying due to superstition (the Markab Plague), and the way drug addiction was dealt with.
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Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side & a dark side, and strings also lie under it all.
Life is a sexually transmitted terminal disease.
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AlexxKnight
Federated Suns
Colonel
Joined: 11-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 787
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| Posted: 06-Jan-2005 10:06 Post subject: RE: Babylon 5 |
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Rarich has said it the best. The reason why B5 is such a greatshow, is because it is so real. Of any TV show I have watch, and probably most that have been made, it is by far the most realistic in terms of portarying people onad their motivations and the causes and effects of their actions. The characters, human, Narn, Centauri, Minbari, Markab, an the countlessother races, were portrayed like real people. They all had real motivations that everyone could relate to on some level or another. The story was great too, and on a lot of levels it resembled things that have happened here on Earth of the course of human history already. Particularly in the last few hundred years.
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Alexx Knight, Lance Sgt.
Command Company, Crimson Janissaries
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The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. . . And you
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