Springer
Regular
Since we were discussing Babylon 5 on VHS in the blu-ray thread, I thought I'd make a thread dedicated to the VHS collections. This might seem a bit boring but I seem to have suddenly developed an OCD about it! So here is the history of B5 on VHS – at least as it was in the UK. Looney has already talked about B5 on VHS in the United States in the other thread, if there is any interesting history about B5 VHS collections in other countries, I'd be interested in hearing it. I think because VHS is now a dead format, yet it was how we all got our early B5 collections, it's got a lot of memories locked up in it , at least for me. Here's a crummy picture of my VHS collection on the bookcase circa 2001/2 - the entire B5 series, plus Crusade and TV movies took up two and a half shelves (the rest being X-Files, Battlestar Galactica and some early DVDs on the bottom shelf). Now we get the entire series in one modest blu-ray set (and for a fraction of the overall price – I must have spent £600 in total on VHS tapes in comparison) – remarkable! For the record, I only have a handful of my VHS left, most in the loft at my parents. I figured at the time we were unlikely to see a Blu-ray, so I kept onto the tapes with the special effects-heavy episodes as they were the only versions I had with the uncropped fx. As you'll see though, I kept most of the sleeves. The part of me that likes to hoard kind of wishes I'd kept all the tapes, but they do take up a lot of room.
So starting with The Gathering: this is how we originally got it on VHS in the UK (ignore the cat in the background!). Looking back at it now it looks a little weird - the logo, the overall presentation making it seem more like a one-off direct-to-video effort than the pilot for a long-running series. The copyright on the back is 1994 Warner Home Video UK, so by this stage season 1 would have already begun.
Warners then began releasing the series proper, two episodes per tape (with a few exceptions, which I'll come onto), under their 'Beyond Vision' label, which was the label they used for their SF TV shows, such as V. The first two volumes were released together, and both had exactly this same picture on the cover. Why they decided to use G'Kar's head as a planet, I have no idea! Their intention was to use this picture on the cover of every volume. Fans hated it and complained, and not only did subsequent volumes have bespoke images, but they went back and re-released volume 1 and 2 with new images too. The Gathering was also re-released with a cover more consistent with this style (the image of a backlit Sinclair and Garibaldi in armour, it made a pretty cool cover).
I mentioned there were a couple of exceptions to the two-episodes per tape rule. To avoid splitting A Voice in the Wilderness between two tapes, volume 8 had three episodes – Grail, Legacies and Eyes (and subsequently I've always associated these three episodes together) – and volume 9 had both parts of A Voice in the Wilderness plus Babylon Squared. And I think (someone can correct me if my memory is playing tricks) that it was edited together into one long 90 minute episode. WB didn't do the same for War Without End - that was split over two tapes.
Speaking of A Voice in the Wilderness, that episode was a two-parter because WB wanted something they could market on VHS in overseas territories. Now I don't think we got that here, maybe because the series was already showing in the UK and coming out on video? I have seen it on eBay though, so maybe it was available for rental? I'm sure I've also seen some season 1 tapes on eBay that have four episodes per tape. These may have also been for rental?
Next posts I'll cover later seasons, and also some special gifts we received with the video tapes.
So starting with The Gathering: this is how we originally got it on VHS in the UK (ignore the cat in the background!). Looking back at it now it looks a little weird - the logo, the overall presentation making it seem more like a one-off direct-to-video effort than the pilot for a long-running series. The copyright on the back is 1994 Warner Home Video UK, so by this stage season 1 would have already begun.
Warners then began releasing the series proper, two episodes per tape (with a few exceptions, which I'll come onto), under their 'Beyond Vision' label, which was the label they used for their SF TV shows, such as V. The first two volumes were released together, and both had exactly this same picture on the cover. Why they decided to use G'Kar's head as a planet, I have no idea! Their intention was to use this picture on the cover of every volume. Fans hated it and complained, and not only did subsequent volumes have bespoke images, but they went back and re-released volume 1 and 2 with new images too. The Gathering was also re-released with a cover more consistent with this style (the image of a backlit Sinclair and Garibaldi in armour, it made a pretty cool cover).
I mentioned there were a couple of exceptions to the two-episodes per tape rule. To avoid splitting A Voice in the Wilderness between two tapes, volume 8 had three episodes – Grail, Legacies and Eyes (and subsequently I've always associated these three episodes together) – and volume 9 had both parts of A Voice in the Wilderness plus Babylon Squared. And I think (someone can correct me if my memory is playing tricks) that it was edited together into one long 90 minute episode. WB didn't do the same for War Without End - that was split over two tapes.
Speaking of A Voice in the Wilderness, that episode was a two-parter because WB wanted something they could market on VHS in overseas territories. Now I don't think we got that here, maybe because the series was already showing in the UK and coming out on video? I have seen it on eBay though, so maybe it was available for rental? I'm sure I've also seen some season 1 tapes on eBay that have four episodes per tape. These may have also been for rental?
Next posts I'll cover later seasons, and also some special gifts we received with the video tapes.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!! 
And now I'm definitely going to have to try to track down some of those cards and stickers. Love all of it. That HUNTER PREY cover was so great because it is so random. I hope those actors have seen it. 
