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New To Babylon 5

I recommend stopping Season 5 after OBJECTS AT REST, 5.21. Save 5.22 SLEEPING IN LIGHT until you have watched everything else, all movies CRUSADE, LEGEND OF THE RANGERS, and THE LOST TALES. TRUST ME. You will thank me. It will be VERY difficult. You will want to watch it so bad after you see OBJECTS AT REST, 5.21, but don't give in.
SLEEPING IN LIGHT is the absolute last thing Babylon 5 related you should watch. It is the end.

On a first viewing??? Looney, what's the matter with you telling somebody to break up the emotional impact of the final three episodes???? NO NO NO NO!!! I forbid it! On subsequent viewings they can go to the trouble (I'm not really sure why) of doing the chronology route but certainly not the first! Sheesh!! :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
 
On a first viewing??? Looney, what's the matter with you telling somebody to break up the emotional impact of the final three episodes????

I guess if I were going to pinpoint what is the matter with me under these circumstances I would say it is that I am a GENIUS. :angel:


(Axionz don't read this spoiler. It is really only meant for Jan.)

Spoiler for spoiler:

Yes there is emotional impact of the end of the series, but then there is emotional impact of the end of the SAGA. I can't think of any SAGA that comes to a better ending than SLEEPING IN LIGHT. And SLEEPING IN LIGHT is soooooooooooo far superior to everything that followed it is the best way to close the novel on a satisfying note.


OOOOOOO now Axionz is going to have to make a decision. Either way is win / win so it isn't much of a choice. The ONLY reason one might slightly lean Jan's direction is that it could take awhile to get access to and watch all the movies, CRUSADE, LEGEND OF THE RANGERS, and THE LOST TALES.

And OBTW Axionz, good luck choosing a viewing order for CRUSADE. :guffaw:
 
On a first viewing??? Looney, what's the matter with you telling somebody to break up the emotional impact of the final three episodes????

I guess if I were going to pinpoint what is the matter with me under these circumstances I would say it is that I am a GENIUS. :angel:


(Axionz don't read this spoiler. It is really only meant for Jan.)

Spoiler for spoiler:

Yes there is emotional impact of the end of the series, but then there is emotional impact of the end of the SAGA. I can't think of any SAGA that comes to a better ending than SLEEPING IN LIGHT. And SLEEPING IN LIGHT is soooooooooooo far superior to everything that followed it is the best way to close the novel on a satisfying note.


OOOOOOO now Axionz is going to have to make a decision. Either way is win / win so it isn't much of a choice. The ONLY reason one might slightly lean Jan's direction is that it could take awhile to get access to and watch all the movies, CRUSADE, LEGEND OF THE RANGERS, and THE LOST TALES.

And OBTW Axionz, good luck choosing a viewing order for CRUSADE. :guffaw:


Yes this will now be a tough decision, my original plan was to watch through all of season 5 then check out the movies but now I'm stuck haha!

Btw I just noticed Crusade is an actual spin off series from Babylon 5!? from what I can see a completely different cast, I wonder why it only ran 1 season? Reviews for it are showing as very good as well.

I just watched Season 5 episode 4 A View From The Gallery, the point of view from 2 technicians that dart about the Babylon 5 station doing their job fixing stuff haha, that was actually a fantastic episode!
 
I just watched Season 5 episode 4 A View From The Gallery, the point of view from 2 technicians that dart about the Babylon 5 station doing their job fixing stuff haha, that was actually a fantastic episode!

HA!!!!! SEE TOLDJA EVERYBODY!!!!! :guffaw: :guffaw: :guffaw:

A VIEW FROM THE GALLERY is a very .... ummmm how should I say this.... debated episode. I personally think it is a BRILLIANT concept that has some weakness in the execution. (And truth be told I think all of them are brilliant concepts. ;)) You will find others out there with a large dislike for A VIEW FROM THE GALLERY. Actually not many I can think of prowling around here, but those other internet places you might get some debate. My "TOLDJA" comment was more directed at the Universe than anyone in particular. :LOL:
 
Yes this will now be a tough decision, my original plan was to watch through all of season 5 then check out the movies but now I'm stuck haha!
Trust me on this one. You'll be watching the show numerous times after this (well, most people do) and you can play with all sorts of orders then. But for this first time, go with the order it was shown in the first time. Because that's the order that JMS knew we'd see it in and so that's how he was writing for the effect he wanted us to have.

Btw I just noticed Crusade is an actual spin off series from Babylon 5!? from what I can see a completely different cast, I wonder why it only ran 1 season? Reviews for it are showing as very good as well.

The short version is that TNT resucued the Babylon 5 show when it was cancelled after the network carrying it collapsed. That was an existing show so they left JMS alone to do as he pleased. So Season 5 ran and the reruns were running and, like any TV network, they kept an eye on viewership. Turns out that they found that the core TNT audience would click off when B5 came on and the B5 audience would click off when B5 went off. So no increase in viewership. BUT they'd already contracted for Crusade. After getting those results, they decided to get out of the contract 'by any means necessary' and gave JMS egregious notes for what they wanted him to do with the show (more later after you've seen it). Eventually JMS said NO and so the show was killed halfway into filming the first season, months before it ever aired.

I just watched Season 5 episode 4 A View From The Gallery, the point of view from 2 technicians that dart about the Babylon 5 station doing their job fixing stuff haha, that was actually a fantastic episode!

I enjoyed that one a lot. But I usually like the off-format episodes a lot. As Looney says, opinions on this one are split very often. I loved the chemistry between Mac and Bo.
 
Yeah. I loved A View From The Gallery for the same reasons that I thought And Now For A Word or Intersections In Real Time were brilliant too.



The whole premise of B5 (a single, ongoing story told over the course of 5 years) was something completely new in its day. But the crew weren't going to stop there, "Let's do something different" was the way they approached a lot of things.
 
Yeah. I loved A View From The Gallery for the same reasons that I thought And Now For A Word or Intersections In Real Time were brilliant too.

Actually I need some clarification here because I'm not sure how those three episodes relate to each other, so I'm not sure why you love them for similar reasons? Is it because you are getting an outsiders view? Just a bit confused on the reasoning here. Also I would throw THE ILLUSION OF TRUTH 4.8 into any conversation where AND NOW FOR A WORD 2.15 gets mentioned, but that is just a personal preference. :LOL: ;)
 
Not that anyone does ask me, but if anyone did, I'd recommend And Now For A Word as a good introduction to the series, it gives the viewer a good overview of all the characters, the station, and the circumstances.

It may be sacrilege to say this, but I find Intersections in Real Time a bit dull. I rarely re-watch it.

The Illusion of Truth feels a bit forced to me. Stuff like "Nothing in the Universe can stop us" felt completely unnatural things to say. Though I did appreciate the concept of showing how things can be taken out of context. Nowadays they'd just deep-fake it.

A View From the Gallery... yeah, not my cup of tea, but I understand why people like it.

The other off-format episode I can think of is The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari, which I think is very underrated, but it's one of the best episodes of season 5.

By the way, just want to say how much I'm enjoying reading Axionz thoughts about viewing the show for the first time. There's also been a lot of first-timers posting on Twitter after watching on HBOMax, and it's a joy to read.
 
Yeah. I loved A View From The Gallery for the same reasons that I thought And Now For A Word or Intersections In Real Time were brilliant too.

Actually I need some clarification here because I'm not sure how those three episodes relate to each other, so I'm not sure why you love them for similar reasons? Is it because you are getting an outsiders view? Just a bit confused on the reasoning here. Also I would throw THE ILLUSION OF TRUTH 4.8 into any conversation where AND NOW FOR A WORD 2.15 gets mentioned, but that is just a personal preference. :LOL: ;)


Those are episodes that did something different. Either we see things from the point of view of two minor characters, or as a news report rather than as an episode. Or as a single room drama.



Babylon 5 did a lot of things differently from other shows. They liked to play with the idea of what their show even is. Deconstruction of Falling Stars is again another example of something I don't think I've ever seen in any other show (Except for the totally ham-fisted way that Star Trek Enterprise handled it in their final episode).
 
I totally agree with Jan here. Watch S5 in the intended (airing) order. Don't worry about the films, spins offs, etc for now.

IMHO most of the TV Movies are pretty bad and only In the Beginning really stands up as excellent. They're like a fun little bonus if you find yourself craving more (and you will!)

Crusade is a bit of a curiosity. I've seen it from start to finish three times, and on my third viewing, I came down very heavily on the side that it shouldn't have been made. It just felt cheap and derivative to me, with rare moments of quality. BUT, that's just me. Check it out once you are done with B5 proper. Everything after the original show is diminishing returns, but it's cool there are extra things here and there to watch.

Enjoy the final stretch! Whilst S5 is a bit up and down in terms of quality, it has some superb moments and B5 has one of the best finales.
 
Not that anyone does ask me, but if anyone did, I'd recommend And Now For A Word as a good introduction to the series, it gives the viewer a good overview of all the characters, the station, and the circumstances.

It may be sacrilege to say this, but I find Intersections in Real Time a bit dull. I rarely re-watch it.

The Illusion of Truth feels a bit forced to me. Stuff like "Nothing in the Universe can stop us" felt completely unnatural things to say. Though I did appreciate the concept of showing how things can be taken out of context. Nowadays they'd just deep-fake it.

A View From the Gallery... yeah, not my cup of tea, but I understand why people like it.

The other off-format episode I can think of is The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari, which I think is very underrated, but it's one of the best episodes of season 5.

By the way, just want to say how much I'm enjoying reading Axionz thoughts about viewing the show for the first time. There's also been a lot of first-timers posting on Twitter after watching on HBOMax, and it's a joy to read.

It's always great when you find a hidden gem like this but it always get terribly sad when approaching the final season, and you know there will be no more episodes or even the possibility of seeing these characters again.



I totally agree with Jan here. Watch S5 in the intended (airing) order. Don't worry about the films, spins offs, etc for now.

IMHO most of the TV Movies are pretty bad and only In the Beginning really stands up as excellent. They're like a fun little bonus if you find yourself craving more (and you will!)

Crusade is a bit of a curiosity. I've seen it from start to finish three times, and on my third viewing, I came down very heavily on the side that it shouldn't have been made. It just felt cheap and derivative to me, with rare moments of quality. BUT, that's just me. Check it out once you are done with B5 proper. Everything after the original show is diminishing returns, but it's cool there are extra things here and there to watch.

Enjoy the final stretch! Whilst S5 is a bit up and down in terms of quality, it has some superb moments and B5 has one of the best finales.


Yeh I'm just watching through season 5 and I'm on episode 6 - Strange Relations. I've really slowed it down so I can enjoy the last season even more instead of binge watching it all and then I have no more Babylon 5 really lol.

A few things I will say about season 5 so far is that I much prefer Sheridan as the captain, really end up missing him being in that role and it just feels different that he's moved to a president role and taking on a new look, the beard and uniform just feels so strange as if the whole idea was to move Sheridan away from the command structure, that sort of military vibe which I loved about his character.

Garibaldi as well, miss him being in his main security chief role as it just starts to feel like a huge change as if the writer/directors were trying to distance the main characters a bit around that time, like not make them the prime focus anymore? Dunno it just feels strange lol, and I wasn't a big fan of Garibaldi being rogue when his mind got altered by Bester, I just loved that sort of Garibaldi, Sheridan, Ivanova trio. So when Garibaldi was mind altered it completely changed the dynamic of the show I thought and he never got much time on the episodes during that time frame either I don't think.

The last point would of course be not having Ivanova anymore which again just adds to that feeling mentioned above, as if the main cast have changed big time with their roles and sort of moving off the spot light a bit. I'm assuming Ivanova doesn't come back in as I think I read somewhere that she wanted more focus or a bit of a change up with her character and michael straczynski did not agree and wanted to keep her as is on the show?

Anyway it all feels very different in season 5 with so many changes and with the Shadow plot done and dusted and no more Vorlon's it sort of feels like the mystery has been removed, the Shadows were an absolutely AMAZING story and not knowing much about them made it even more interesting and just captures you when watching. The Vorlon's as well added to that mystery throughout especially when you learn that both the Vorlon's and the Shadows are linked, stellar story line for those.

With all these changes in both story and characters it makes me want to be back in Season3/4 lol.

Hope you're all doing good and enjoying the weekend!
 
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Et tu, Ubik? :p

But like I said, it is a win, win either way you choose to watch it.

For the record I rank the movies as thus.....

IN THE BEGINNING
A CALL TO ARMS
THIRDSPACE
RIVER OF SOULS

I don't really count THE GATHERING as one of the movies because it is the pilot and was made with different intentions than the made-for-TV movies. I feel LEGEND OF THE RANGERS TO LIVE AND DIE IN STARLIGHT also falls into a different category and I don't really compare it to the above.

Anyone want to mess with the movie viewing order? :)
 
Thirdspace goes in the middle of season 4. It's referenced in later episodes so it needs to go there. The others go after season 5.



You've forgotten Legend of the Rangers and Lost Tales though.
 
You've forgotten Legend of the Rangers and Lost Tales though.

Are you talking to me? I mentioned Legend of The Rangers, but I did forget to mention that I do not consider THE LOST TALES to be a movie. It is episodes of a two episode spin-off series. :thumbsup:
 
I quite like all the movies, even River of Souls for all its faults, it's always fun watching Ian McShane and Martin Sheen. Think Thirdspace and A Call to Arms are my favourites, In The Beginning always felt to me like it needed a bigger budget, and it was a shame Michael O'Hare couldn't come back - what happens to Sinclair at the Battle of the Line just feels tacked on at the end, I think it would have worked better if Sinclair had been present earlier in the movie.

Axionz - don't worry about the ordering of the movies, they are made to be watched out of order, and the chronological ordering of Thirdspace always seems to cause debate among fans anyway :) Just enjoy through to the end of season 5.
 
With all these changes in both story and characters it makes me want to be back in Season3/4 lol.

Yeah, the first four seasons were some of the best TV we've ever been given. Season five is not the one to savor. BUT, the good news is that when you go back and watch it again you are going to find SO MUCH great stuff that you missed before! I must have watched the series 10 times, probably more. Each time I appreciate something new (maybe I'm just not very observant).

I still love it and put it on when I want to be cheered up. It's like comfort food for me.
 
BUT, the good news is that when you go back and watch it again you are going to find SO MUCH great stuff that you missed before! I must have watched the series 10 times, probably more. Each time I appreciate something new (maybe I'm just not very observant).

I still love it and put it on when I want to be cheered up. It's like comfort food for me.

I could not have said it better myself.
 
With all these changes in both story and characters it makes me want to be back in Season3/4 lol.

Yeah, the first four seasons were some of the best TV we've ever been given. Season five is not the one to savor. BUT, the good news is that when you go back and watch it again you are going to find SO MUCH great stuff that you missed before! I must have watched the series 10 times, probably more. Each time I appreciate something new (maybe I'm just not very observant).

I still love it and put it on when I want to be cheered up. It's like comfort food for me.

Yeah, THIS. Season 1 on a re-watch has so many 'ahhhh' moments of foreshadowing. My first proper re-watch really made me appreciate just how well Season 1 is structured. Sure, there are a few clunkers (Infection, Eyes, etc...) but there's so much good groundwork. I had always seen Season 1 as rather weak, but subsequent re-watches have totally changed my opinion. Same for Sinclair / O'Hare, I really grew to appreciate the character / actor.
 
Yes, I was woefully unappreciative of season 1 the first time I saw it. I saw it again , and it really impressed me. It took me a bit before I got into the style.
 

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