LondosHair
Regular
The Hair\'s B5LR Review *SPOILERS*
This is going to be "all-encompassing," so this will be a long post.
First of all, I missed the original airing, since I was seeing the "other" LOTR in the theater. I chose not to tape it, because I prefer to pause-out all the commercials. I watched it for the first time today at 5pm (Sunday).
I did try to get on the messageboard last night to get a general consensus of everyone's opinion of the movie by reading the topics, but it was down... apparently slammed from all the traffic.
It's great to see all the new faces here! If there's one thing all the years B5 has been on have taught me, it's never to underestimate fan interest. (Critics don't get that part.) I hope you all stick around in the months (years?!) to come. Faith manages, and Babylon 5 endures.
First:
THE CHARACTERS
David Martel- Remember when everybody was speculating that this would be Sheridan/Delenn's kid? hehe.. anyway, I like the guy. He reminds me a lot of Sheridan (but not so much that he seems like a ripoff). The guy simply makes sense. "Run, fight, or hide." There's no dishonor in running or hiding if you can't possibly fight anymore, unless you possess information the enemy cannot have by any means. I think any military tactician would say the same. Dylan Neal's performance was great, especially considering the rapid pace of the movie. What is Martel looking for?
Dulann - At first I thought, "oh no, this guy's a Lennier carbon-copy." But, after a short while, Dulann's close friendship with and good-natured ribbing of David came through and I found myself laughing at it. A Minbari who can appreciate good Human humor. I like that.
I only wish Dulann's role would have stayed as strong through the last third of the movie. I think he will be one of my favorite characters if/when this goes to a series. And, I've got to practice saying and typing his name... I've already typed "Delenn" too often!
G'Kar - exactly as I remembered him from B5 S5, and it was so good to see him again. I loved how he handled the diplomats, and I burst out laughing when he interrupted the Grey Coucil and peeked into the hood of one of them. "You did say that I could treat every closed door as an open one..." G'Kar's little spiff about B5 without actually naming B5 was nice, although I kind of cringe whenever notable phrases are paraphrased & re-used ("no one THERE is exactly what he SEEMS). Besides, I knew where they were going as soon as Kit said "Epsilon jumpgate."
G'Kar had a great moment with Malcolm, as we got to see that he still knows how to give a good stare-down... even if he was getting a bit of personal entertainment out of it. The classic, unblinking, red-eyed stare of G'Kar... unforgettable.
Sarah Cantrell - Great Maker, I love this character. Attractive and strong like Ivanova, honorable like Ivanova, yet not Ivanova. Not afraid to get her hands dirty. We didn't learn much about her in this movie, but as JMS has said before, if you put too much exposition about every single character into one movie, the pace plods and the viewer is left with too much information. Questions are good... answers will come in time. The one thing that did make me cringe (and I'm sure it was absolutely no intention of Myriam's
) was the extended battle-cry when she was blowing up the mines. But hey, there's always "that one thing."
Malcolm Bridges - Great holosuit. Intimidated by large Narns (and rightly so!). Unfortunately the suit was the only one of his talents we saw during this show, but like I said before... questions are good. I look forward to seeing just how "covert" Malcolm can be... a great skill for a Ranger to have!
Kitaro Sasaki - did anyone notice how cool Warren looked while operating his navigation board? The way he moved his fingers reminds me a lot of Data. Obviously a character with a lot of gusto, and anybody who can pilot a ship thru a comet's tail has my vote.
Na'Feel - aside from having a name too similar to Dureena Nafeel from Crusade, I did like this character. Na'Feel chooses to reserve herself around others (probably instilled in her by the Anla'Shok training), yet when she's working alone (in the engine room) she, er... lets her hair down (so to speak). Someone commented in the chat room that she didn't behave like a Narn... I guess they must have missed that scene.
Tafeek - not much to say about this fellow... we didn't get to see him much. I got the impression that he didn't like to talk about himself much. Could be a mystery behind this character...
Firell - boy, we're just getting our fill of Minbari, aren't we? And rightly so... we are talking about the Rangers, after all. Firell is obviously of the religious caste, as we can tell by her smooth-edged, rounded bone crest. Good choice for a Healer. (Interesting to note that the Minbari call their doctors "healers"... kind of refreshing, since every space show has to have a "doctor" these days.) Soft-spoken, speaks "infrequently" (which I think would change during a series), yet carries a proverbial big medical stick. Again, not a lot of dialog, which means anything can happen with this character in the future.
Tirk - Man, I loved how he described his name... I cracked up on that one. Tirk does seem like just a big dumb guy... probably the next-least used character in the movie, next to Tafeek. I expected him to be well-spoken yet belligerent, a typical Drazi, but now I kind of see the logic in making him the way he is. He has a lot of growing to do, and his language skills will improve. Obviously the brawn of their operation, as he was carting that cargo around like a suitcase. I guess I'm always interested in the "underdog," as it were... I'm really looking forward to where this character will go.
THE ENEMY
Obviously intimidating, yet I wasn't scared of them the way I was of the Shadows or of the Borg. I guess that's ok though, since these ships were "merely toys" compared to what's coming.
I'm kind of worried that "The Hand" will make the Shadows seem like a lesser enemy. From what Minister Funnyface said, that seems to be so... if it is so, then how does the ISA hope to defeat them? Is The Hand defeated before Crusade? If so, it happened pretty fast. In the B5 universe, you never know... and that's the cool part.
THE PLOT
Probably the most criticized aspect of the show so far, from what I can tell. My thoughts:
The Setting: Minbar is even more beautiful than we ever saw on B5. The shipyards were huge. Remember the giant building they kept showing from the air? Did that remind you of one of those fried onion dishes you get at Applebee's?
The Space Imagery: fantastic... relying on the traditional B5 method of using colorful nebulae & such in the background... although the blue haze behind Babylon 5 was sort of confusing... we never saw that before. And where was Epsilon 3? Oh well.
The CGI: Spectacular. The Raider/pirate ships were a nice throwback to B5. I would imagine this was the way JMS always intended it to be seen... nuff said.
The Valen: I would not have given this ship that name, simply because it is destroyed on its maiden voyage. Kinda took the wind out of my sails when that happened, and I think it was a little inappropriate to just off the ship, considering who it was named after.
The Gunnery Pod: Damn cool. DAMN COOL. I think it's very Minbari-esque. Just because we didn't see it on the White Stars, some folks are giving it a thumbs-down. Let's not forget that the Minbari have been a space-faring race for over 1000 years. The decision to keep this technology off the White Stars (at least initially) was probably made to keep the Humans from learning about it too quickly. The Minbari-Earth alliance was still on relatively shaky ground, as we were reminded when Delenn spoke of her efforts to develop the White Stars in the first place. I think the interactive weapons interface is a great idea... I mean, our own military is using limited virtual reality simulations for that kind of thing here in the 21st century! It's only natural that the Minbari would have that technology, ten-fold.
The Liandra: eh, uhh... well, it's a nice ship, I guess... more aesthetically pleasing than whatever the Valen was, to be sure... and it will be interesting to see how they keep her going. Although, I was under the impression that 20 years isn't that old for a space ship. True, technology is always advancing, but let's not forget that the Minbari have been using essentially the same ship designs for centuries. Apparently the Liandra wasn't constructed with such tradition and reliability in mind, but that's ok... if anyone can make do with a ship like that, it's a bunch of Humans.
Plus the "cursed" aspect is interesting... I wonder if the old crew now considers themselves properly avenged?
CRITICS
Well, I think Recoil already said it best: "I can watch something and enjoy it because it touches me emotionally, or is exciting to watch, or simply just kicks ass. Critics can never do this, and that is why I pity them."
Whew, that ought to do it. If I think of anything else, I'll add it in an additional post, since editing this thing would be no picnic.
------------------
-Londo's Hair
"Vir, intelligence has nothing to do with politics!"
This is going to be "all-encompassing," so this will be a long post.
First of all, I missed the original airing, since I was seeing the "other" LOTR in the theater. I chose not to tape it, because I prefer to pause-out all the commercials. I watched it for the first time today at 5pm (Sunday).
I did try to get on the messageboard last night to get a general consensus of everyone's opinion of the movie by reading the topics, but it was down... apparently slammed from all the traffic.
It's great to see all the new faces here! If there's one thing all the years B5 has been on have taught me, it's never to underestimate fan interest. (Critics don't get that part.) I hope you all stick around in the months (years?!) to come. Faith manages, and Babylon 5 endures.
First:
THE CHARACTERS
David Martel- Remember when everybody was speculating that this would be Sheridan/Delenn's kid? hehe.. anyway, I like the guy. He reminds me a lot of Sheridan (but not so much that he seems like a ripoff). The guy simply makes sense. "Run, fight, or hide." There's no dishonor in running or hiding if you can't possibly fight anymore, unless you possess information the enemy cannot have by any means. I think any military tactician would say the same. Dylan Neal's performance was great, especially considering the rapid pace of the movie. What is Martel looking for?
Dulann - At first I thought, "oh no, this guy's a Lennier carbon-copy." But, after a short while, Dulann's close friendship with and good-natured ribbing of David came through and I found myself laughing at it. A Minbari who can appreciate good Human humor. I like that.
G'Kar - exactly as I remembered him from B5 S5, and it was so good to see him again. I loved how he handled the diplomats, and I burst out laughing when he interrupted the Grey Coucil and peeked into the hood of one of them. "You did say that I could treat every closed door as an open one..." G'Kar's little spiff about B5 without actually naming B5 was nice, although I kind of cringe whenever notable phrases are paraphrased & re-used ("no one THERE is exactly what he SEEMS). Besides, I knew where they were going as soon as Kit said "Epsilon jumpgate."
Sarah Cantrell - Great Maker, I love this character. Attractive and strong like Ivanova, honorable like Ivanova, yet not Ivanova. Not afraid to get her hands dirty. We didn't learn much about her in this movie, but as JMS has said before, if you put too much exposition about every single character into one movie, the pace plods and the viewer is left with too much information. Questions are good... answers will come in time. The one thing that did make me cringe (and I'm sure it was absolutely no intention of Myriam's
Malcolm Bridges - Great holosuit. Intimidated by large Narns (and rightly so!). Unfortunately the suit was the only one of his talents we saw during this show, but like I said before... questions are good. I look forward to seeing just how "covert" Malcolm can be... a great skill for a Ranger to have!
Kitaro Sasaki - did anyone notice how cool Warren looked while operating his navigation board? The way he moved his fingers reminds me a lot of Data. Obviously a character with a lot of gusto, and anybody who can pilot a ship thru a comet's tail has my vote.
Na'Feel - aside from having a name too similar to Dureena Nafeel from Crusade, I did like this character. Na'Feel chooses to reserve herself around others (probably instilled in her by the Anla'Shok training), yet when she's working alone (in the engine room) she, er... lets her hair down (so to speak). Someone commented in the chat room that she didn't behave like a Narn... I guess they must have missed that scene.
Tafeek - not much to say about this fellow... we didn't get to see him much. I got the impression that he didn't like to talk about himself much. Could be a mystery behind this character...
Firell - boy, we're just getting our fill of Minbari, aren't we? And rightly so... we are talking about the Rangers, after all. Firell is obviously of the religious caste, as we can tell by her smooth-edged, rounded bone crest. Good choice for a Healer. (Interesting to note that the Minbari call their doctors "healers"... kind of refreshing, since every space show has to have a "doctor" these days.) Soft-spoken, speaks "infrequently" (which I think would change during a series), yet carries a proverbial big medical stick. Again, not a lot of dialog, which means anything can happen with this character in the future.
Tirk - Man, I loved how he described his name... I cracked up on that one. Tirk does seem like just a big dumb guy... probably the next-least used character in the movie, next to Tafeek. I expected him to be well-spoken yet belligerent, a typical Drazi, but now I kind of see the logic in making him the way he is. He has a lot of growing to do, and his language skills will improve. Obviously the brawn of their operation, as he was carting that cargo around like a suitcase. I guess I'm always interested in the "underdog," as it were... I'm really looking forward to where this character will go.
THE ENEMY
Obviously intimidating, yet I wasn't scared of them the way I was of the Shadows or of the Borg. I guess that's ok though, since these ships were "merely toys" compared to what's coming.
I'm kind of worried that "The Hand" will make the Shadows seem like a lesser enemy. From what Minister Funnyface said, that seems to be so... if it is so, then how does the ISA hope to defeat them? Is The Hand defeated before Crusade? If so, it happened pretty fast. In the B5 universe, you never know... and that's the cool part.
THE PLOT
Probably the most criticized aspect of the show so far, from what I can tell. My thoughts:
The Setting: Minbar is even more beautiful than we ever saw on B5. The shipyards were huge. Remember the giant building they kept showing from the air? Did that remind you of one of those fried onion dishes you get at Applebee's?
The Space Imagery: fantastic... relying on the traditional B5 method of using colorful nebulae & such in the background... although the blue haze behind Babylon 5 was sort of confusing... we never saw that before. And where was Epsilon 3? Oh well.
The CGI: Spectacular. The Raider/pirate ships were a nice throwback to B5. I would imagine this was the way JMS always intended it to be seen... nuff said.
The Valen: I would not have given this ship that name, simply because it is destroyed on its maiden voyage. Kinda took the wind out of my sails when that happened, and I think it was a little inappropriate to just off the ship, considering who it was named after.
The Gunnery Pod: Damn cool. DAMN COOL. I think it's very Minbari-esque. Just because we didn't see it on the White Stars, some folks are giving it a thumbs-down. Let's not forget that the Minbari have been a space-faring race for over 1000 years. The decision to keep this technology off the White Stars (at least initially) was probably made to keep the Humans from learning about it too quickly. The Minbari-Earth alliance was still on relatively shaky ground, as we were reminded when Delenn spoke of her efforts to develop the White Stars in the first place. I think the interactive weapons interface is a great idea... I mean, our own military is using limited virtual reality simulations for that kind of thing here in the 21st century! It's only natural that the Minbari would have that technology, ten-fold.
The Liandra: eh, uhh... well, it's a nice ship, I guess... more aesthetically pleasing than whatever the Valen was, to be sure... and it will be interesting to see how they keep her going. Although, I was under the impression that 20 years isn't that old for a space ship. True, technology is always advancing, but let's not forget that the Minbari have been using essentially the same ship designs for centuries. Apparently the Liandra wasn't constructed with such tradition and reliability in mind, but that's ok... if anyone can make do with a ship like that, it's a bunch of Humans.
CRITICS
Well, I think Recoil already said it best: "I can watch something and enjoy it because it touches me emotionally, or is exciting to watch, or simply just kicks ass. Critics can never do this, and that is why I pity them."
Whew, that ought to do it. If I think of anything else, I'll add it in an additional post, since editing this thing would be no picnic.
------------------
-Londo's Hair
"Vir, intelligence has nothing to do with politics!"
