Babylon 5

*slobbers*

Um...pardon me.

I have only recently gotten into the Babylon 5 series and I am looking forward to seeing the new movie.

okay, still bouncing, but better able to type.

I adored B5. From the first episode to the movies and even Crusade (which would have been phenomenal too, had TNT just let JMS do his thing) I have watched it all. Several times.

And I have had the honor of meeting Richard Biggs, Jason Carter, and Andrea Thompson. I will be meeting Claudia Christian in two weeks at Shore Leave in Baltimore. I can't wait.

Claudia Christian is playing in a session of the Babylon 5 role-playing game at a convention run by Mongoose Publishing, the people who put out the B5 RPG. She'll be playing the part of her character, Susan Ivanova, of course.

I don't have the details, but I'm sure they're on the Mongoose website if anyone is interested. I'm sure it'll be in the UK because that's where they're based.

Not enough Garibaldi, waaay too much Lockley, IMHO. (Won't stop me from getting it, of course. I'll just whine as only a fan-girl can. )

Norma

Yeah, I never liked Lachley either.

That's one of Edward Woodward's offspring too, isn't it? He looks like his dad.

Ab_Normal said:

Not enough Garibaldi, waaay too much Lockley, IMHO. (Won't stop me from getting it, of course. I'll just whine as only a fan-girl can. )

Norma

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I have to admit, I agree with you here. There is never enough Garibaldi.

I couldn't get enough of B5 when it was on TV, it's a shame it only had a five year run. The movies were good, although I liked Crusade, it wasn't as good as the original series. The best of the movies IMO was the one they made about the Earth Minbari war (set 10 years before the the time of the station B5).

jvc said:

I couldn't get enough of B5 when it was on TV, it's a shame it only had a five year run. The movies were good, although I liked Crusade, it wasn't as good as the original series. The best of the movies IMO was the one they made about the Earth Minbari war (set 10 years before the the time of the station B5).

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In the Beginning. And yes, it was one of the best movies they did. Although I really liked the Crusade set-up movie, A Call to Arms.

JMS only had a five year plan for B5, then some ideas for an offshoot story or two. They were lucky they got in the fifth season, it was the only one that had some doubt right up until the last minute.

Oh, and Cath? That's Peter Woodward, and he is dreamy... and don't get me started on his voice.

JMS only had a five year plan for B5, then some ideas for an offshoot story or two. They were lucky they got in the fifth season, it was the only one that had some doubt right up until the last minute.

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And it's the major reason why season four seems a bit rushed, especially toward the end, that uncertainty about whether he'd be able to tie up plotlines and satisfy fans. I'm betting the Shadow war would have gone on longer if JMS had been certain of that fifth season.

I love B5, have since the beginning. And the show is a tremendous lesson for any writer in how to tell an epic story; the foreshadowing in the very first episode is incredible. So is the way JMS turns your expectations about characters inside-out.

To paraphrase G'Kar, nobody on Babylon 5 is exactly who or what they seem to be. Which is especially true of G'Kar.

CheshireCat said:

To paraphrase G'Kar, nobody on Babylon 5 is exactly who or what they seem to be. Which is especially true of G'Kar.

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And this was what I loved about the show. Nobody ended up in the same place where they started. Everyone changed. All hail the Great Maker, JMS. The man has such a way of telling a story.

Left field thought: if he and Joss Whedon were to collaborate on a series, it would so kick ass!

At first, the first season was very hard for me to get...but by this third, yes that is all the farther I am, I really enjoy it. I think it was the CGI that I couldn't get past but once you start paying attention to the plot and the writing you get lost in it.

I thought it was planned as a 4-year arc and they talked JMS into stretching it to five...hence the lame, tacked-on fifth season.

If there's no G'kar and no Londo, what's the point of Lost Tales, pfft.

Cassiopeia said:

At first, the first season was very hard for me to get...but by this third, yes that is all the farther I am, I really enjoy it. I think it was the CGI that I couldn't get past but once you start paying attention to the plot and the writing you get lost in it.

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The first season did sputter a bit, trying to find its legs. But the second was better, and I loved the third season. Passing Through Gethsemane simply was one of the best episodes of any series I've ever seen. Brad Dourif was phenomenal. It was the only time I had ever written a show's creator about a particular episode, and JMS actually wrote back! Classy.

zpeteman said:

I thought it was planned as a 4-year arc and they talked JMS into stretching it to five...hence the lame, tacked-on fifth season.

If there's no G'kar and no Londo, what's the point of Lost Tales, pfft.

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That's odd, I could have sworn it was that the fourth and fifth seasons were the best and that he had planned for a sixth...but I could be wrong and not remember what the person said to me who got me interested in watching them in the first place.

Serenity said:

The first season did sputter a bit, trying to find its legs. But the second was better, and I loved the third season. Passing Through Gethsemane simply was one of the best episodes of any series I've ever seen. Brad Dourif was phenomenal. It was the only time I had ever written a show's creator about a particular episode, and JMS actually wrote back! Classy.

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I just saw Gethsemane yesterday, I bawled my eyes out. Excellent writing.

zpeteman said:

I thought it was planned as a 4-year arc and they talked JMS into stretching it to five...hence the lame, tacked-on fifth season.

If there's no G'kar and no Londo, what's the point of Lost Tales, pfft.

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Five planned seasons. Mid-fourth, the fifth season was in doubt. They taped Sleeping in Light (the series finale) during the fourth season just in case there wasn't a fifth. When they got the green light to film season five, JMS set aside Sleeping in Light and quick-filmed The Deconstruction of Falling Stars to take its place as the season 4 finale.

Cassiopeia said:

I just saw Gethsemane yesterday, I bawled my eyes out. Excellent writing.

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I cried too, Cassie. Everything about that ep from start to finish is incredible, in my ever so humble opinion.

Bit of trivia- the actor who played Brother Theo (Louis Turenne) was the original actor who played Draal. Draal was taken over by John Schuck in later episodes. Actually, they did that a lot- recycle actors.

Serenity said:

I cried too, Cassie. Everything about that ep from start to finish is incredible, in my ever so humble opinion.

Bit of trivia- the actor who played Brother Theo (Louis Turenne) was the original actor who played Draal. Draal was taken over by John Schuck in later episodes. Actually, they did that a lot- recycle actors.

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My son is watching them with me, *yeah gave in and bought them when I couldn't get them on blockbuster online quick enough* and he liked the episode with the interrogator who was meant to be Jack the Ripper.

He said those were some of the best lines in any show he has seen. I have to say I agree with him on this third season. It is awesome stuff.

Cassiopeia said:

My son is watching them with me, *yeah gave in and bought them when I couldn't get them on blockbuster online quick enough* and he liked the episode with the interrogator who was meant to be Jack the Ripper.

He said those were some of the best lines in any show he has seen. I have to say I agree with him on this third season. It is awesome stuff.

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Another of my favorites: Comes the Inquisitor. You'll see Wayne Alexander return as another character in Season 5.