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B5 Animated Movie

Below the fold on the cover page of the June 14th edition of The Epoch Times, on the bottom right, there's a picture titled "The Shadow War." ? When you see that as a B5 fan, well it brings up thoughts of something else. ??

Turns out that the full title is "The Shadow War: Chinese Dissidents in Crosshairs of CCP's Overseas Operations" and that's all I'm going to say on the matter.
 
While it is possible to pre-order TRH via Amazon, it cannot yet be purchased from a Fire TV device -- just says Coming Soon -- although the trailer is available for viewing.
 
Typically, it is not yet available on the Dutch amazon site. Nor their main Dutch competitor bol.com. Makes sense, the remastered version has still not made it here either.
 
Too lazy to look for specific posts, but here are a couple of posts from JMS regarding the featurette and the multiverse/alternate realities aspect of The Road Home
Multiverse2.JPG



Featurett.JPG
 
I’m so glad to hear that the time travel will not be modeled after the Marvel universe’s method. I admit, I find Marvel to be mostly mindless fun. Babylon 5 makes me think and feel, I’d really hate to see the nonchalant attitude towards time travel. More “Primer” than “if it’s fun and fan service, go for it!”.
 
I'd hate to think that no one can do time travel and alternate history stories any more just because Marvel have apparently done some. There were plenty of such stories before the Marvel movies came along, and there will be plenty more afterwards!
 
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Cool to see that trailer! Problem for hardcore B5-fans like us is that expectations will easily be too high for anything that is released in the B5-universe and this animated movie is an example of that. It will never be as good as B5 as we remember it (even with its flaws) but I never expected it to be.

I think it will be a nice supplement to what we already have and hopefully will ignite further interest in all things B5 as others have pointed out (very glad btw to see a BD/4K UHD physical disc release of it, it could easily just have been made available on digital platforms - hopefully more will follow in time).
 
dawnchild said:
Cool to see that trailer! Problem for hardcore B5-fans like us is that expectations will easily be too high for anything that is released in the B5-universe and this animated movie is an example of that. It will never be as good as B5 as we remember it (even with its flaws) but I never expected it to be.

I think it will be a nice supplement to what we already have and hopefully will ignite further interest in all things B5 as others have pointed out (very glad btw to see a BD/4K UHD physical disc release of it, it could easily just have been made available on digital platforms - hopefully more will follow in time).
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Bang on assessment. I think if I watched B5, totally cold, as a new viewer now, my experience would be massively different to back in my early teens. Hell, I didn't even notice the wobbly sets, hammy acting and low budget back then, just a great epic SF show. These days, I still enjoy B5, but I can also have a good laugh at it too.

B5 will always be a case of rose tinted glasses for me. Probably why I've struggled to connect with much of JMS' work post B5. Looking forward to the animated film, aniamtion seems a great medium for SF in general and its a great way to continue B5 and lose some of the constraints of live action.
 
Somewhat reassuring to hear this is more of another time loop/War Without End than a multiverse.

I roll my eyes at some of the acting in B5 (especially seasons 1 and 2) and certainly you have to make allowances for the budget and the time it was made. But when I was first watching, I would shake my head at some story elements. "Oh, JMS, you're so silly, we don't have to worry about creeping fascism any more!" Now, story-wise, the show seems to be getting more relevant, not less. That's the truly remarkable thing, and that's why it's still so close to my heart after all these years and all these much-flashier other shows.
 
KoshFan said:
I roll my eyes at some of the acting in B5 (especially seasons 1 and 2) and certainly you have to make allowances for the budget and the time it was made. But when I was first watching, I would shake my head at some story elements. "Oh, JMS, you're so silly, we don't have to worry about creeping fascism any more!" Now, story-wise, the show seems to be getting more relevant, not less. That's the truly remarkable thing, and that's why it's still so close to my heart after all these years and all these much-flashier other shows.
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Even though it was when the show was still in it's early stages, personally I've always favored the 1st season, although it might be since I was unable to watch S1 till the VHS release and had seen 2-5 beforehand. Sets are sets, budgets are budgets, the best 90s effects pale to what can be done on a home system today, but the writing and acting are remembered decades later, while topics are (unfortunately) still relevant so it doesn't seem "dated". Earth had just come out of a civil war and joined the IA... ...500 years later - The Great Burn.

Reminds me of a statement made during the 2012 presidential debates: "the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back. Because the Cold War has been over for 20 years". Speaking of relevant, to quote from The Exercise of Vital Powers "Nobody takes power. They're given power by the rest of us, because we're stupid or afraid or both. The Germans in 1939. The Russians in 1917 and 2013." And of course the Basic Truths that people will still be people in the future as we'll still be using money and - with the possible exception of a few Crusade episodes - clothes will still have pockets. ?
 
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hypatia said:
I’m so glad to hear that the time travel will not be modeled after the Marvel universe’s method. I admit, I find Marvel to be mostly mindless fun. Babylon 5 makes me think and feel, I’d really hate to see the nonchalant attitude towards time travel. More “Primer” than “if it’s fun and fan service, go for it!”.
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This. Glad it's more like B-Squared and WWE than Into the Spideyverse. Either way I'm purchasing/watching it to support B5 content, but that makes me feel better about it for sure.
 
I'm still waiting to hear about a possible LIMITED EDITION DELUXE SPECIAL LOONEY EDITION. Anyone have any news on that? I REALLY want an ultra-deliciously beautiful box set. I really want multiple covers to own. And where is all the promotional material I can buy?..... ?

I REALLY wish the 4K and standard 1080p Blu-Ray Edition didn't have matching cover art, but I still bought both... more than once on multiple sites. :geek:

VERY surprised that there is not a DVD Edition after finding it listed through Walmart and Target. Especially Walmart. They practically demand DVD Editions. ?

BTW, I have NO expectations on this. I'm just hoping to have fun and PRAYING ? it leads to more arc-based animated movies and a reboot.
 
Springer said:
I'd hate to think that no one can do time travel and alternate history stories any more just because Marvel have apparently done some. There were plenty of such stories before the Marvel movies came along, and there will be plenty more afterwards!
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If it’s written well. Marvel is just an easy example to bring up since so many Marvel fans are complaining that the multiverse just got out of control And some of the writing seems to be getting cheap and kind of dumb. But when it’s done right (War Without End, Primer, Arrival) time travel can be interesting.
 
hypatia said:
If it’s written well. Marvel is just an easy example to bring up since so many Marvel fans are complaining that the multiverse just got out of control And some of the writing seems to be getting cheap and kind of dumb. But when it’s done right (War Without End, Primer, Arrival) time travel can be interesting.
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I think whatever the genre it has to be well-written, that goes without saying. Time travel has featured in science fiction since HG Wells' The Time Machine and other writers of his era. Wells even wrote about alternate histories in his 1905 novel A Modern Utopia and in Men Like Gods in 1923. Alternate history stories also include Philip K Dick's The Man in the High Castle, Harry Turtledove's World War series, even Winston Churchill wrote an alt-history story about if the American Civil War had turned out differently. There's been loads of stories, far too many to mention. The concept of the multiverse didn't even appear in comics until 1961 and an issue of The Flash. The Terminator is a time-travel/changing timelines story. Sliders did it in the 1990s, even Quantum Leap. Star Trek has done this plot line over and over again – the Mirror Universe is the best example. The Marvel films and Everything Everywhere All At Once are really late to the stage by comparison (and in the case of the MCU, any perceived bad writing might be intrinsic to the movies, rather than the genre).

The concept of the multiverse and alternate histories has its roots in the many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics, which came to prominence between the late 1950s and 1970s. The many-worlds theory posits that anything that can happen does happen 'somewhere'. Then there's the idea of chaotic inflation, with non-stop big bangs creating an infinite multitude of universes. And if our Universe is infinite in size, then there will be replicas of us at infinite distances, living alternate histories.

So really, B5 is only standing in the footsteps of the giants of science fiction (including itself, with War Without End) and physics when doing this type of story.
 
With about 5 weeks to go, recall reading a message that the trailer appeared to show Shadows running across what might be the bridge on Epsilon III, and in hindsight that the Great Machine needs a person hooked in to function. Possibly just a coincidence in design, but maybe there is a potential link to Shadow tech?
 
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That would be late afternoon then for us in Europe. JMS confirmed on Facebook it was something B5 related, I'm guessing either the go-ahead for a new animated movie (he'd mentioned he was close to getting that from WB) or as a long shot, maybe he's writing a B5 comic? Or, it's an announcement of something happening at SDCC, since any announcements of new projects might happen there?
 
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