babylon 5
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chipper
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one of the best sci fi shows of all time imo the last season was a little weak but the whole shadow war think its seasons 2-4 was amazing.
the plot lines were fantastic and for the most part all the sub plots got tied up in the end was bit pants when lochley took think it just changed too much.
have caught a few episodes when ive had chance to put it on and i still love it managed to catch the one where babylon 4 reapeared
the plot lines were fantastic and for the most part all the sub plots got tied up in the end was bit pants when lochley took think it just changed too much.
have caught a few episodes when ive had chance to put it on and i still love it managed to catch the one where babylon 4 reapeared
Turamber
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I couldn't forgive it for ripping off some of the spaceships from Blakes 7, so never really gave it a fair chance. Bruce Boxleitner was one of the quietest stars at the London sci-fi film con last year, people quickly forget tv series I guess.
soze
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First time i have every watched it I'm on s01e09 at the moment. I just finished Battlestar Galactica for the first time in blu ray. So far I'm still not sure with b5 but i will give it a go.
I have the same complaint so far with this as b5 though they never put them on the disk in the view order so i am following this.
I have the same complaint so far with this as b5 though they never put them on the disk in the view order so i am following this.
Dukat
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Bloody good stuff this B5! Got every episode on VHS(!!) from back in the day 
I love how it had so many of those real 'woah man' profound moments, too many to name really, just increadible
And then there's the film, 'In the beginning'... epic!
I love how it had so many of those real 'woah man' profound moments, too many to name really, just increadible
And then there's the film, 'In the beginning'... epic!
chipper
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starts hotting up in season 2 season 3-4 are fantastic season 5 meh got some good eps in it season one is just setting the scene and it really does need a whole season to do it cos so many story arcs just branch off, neary every cast member has some sort of major plot contribution, as well as other things going off its so well written.
trust me get past season 1 and ill be surprised if you dont love it by season 3
trust me get past season 1 and ill be surprised if you dont love it by season 3
Zenith.UK
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I've got the 5 DVD boxsets for B5 and think it's one of the best TV series ever, let alone sci-fi TV series.
The problem with releasing a bluray boxset of B5 is the different resolutions of the VFX.
The main programme was recorded in 16:9 widescreen on Super35 film at 24fps. No problem with HD transfer there.
The CGI shots are 4:3 NTSC 720x480/30Hz. Not only are there problems with timing, there are problems with cropping a 4:3 image to a 16:9 aspect and upscaling.
The composite VFX shots are a REAL problem because the masters for those are also 4:3 NTSC 720x480/30Hz, even though they have film from the master in them.
The different cropping and resolutions can be seen on the DVDs if you're looking for them. If you magnify those up to to HD rez then you'll REALLY notice them. The only way that it could possibly work is if a team of people got their hands on the meshes and textures for the CGI and re-rendered all the CGI scenes in 1080P. They could then hand those scenes over to the rights holders for bluray distribution and say "We did this off our own back, let us loose at the master film to do the same for the composite shots". In effect, the bluray release would be made by fans of the show using the master film.
JMS has turned around and said he's not going back to the B5 universe, and Warner have also said that they're not that interested in developing the franchise any further.
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[edit]
Oh yeah, the show is slow through S1, but watch out for the episode "Babylon Squared" where B4 turns up for the first time.
S2 starts getting good, then you see the Shadow Battlecrabs and it goes from "Not bad" to "OMFG!".
S3 is just great from beginning to end with only a couple of poor episodes.
S4 starts good then slowly goes to "alright".
S5 is more self-contained than the rest of the series because it wasn't clear if there was going to BE a series 5.
What I love is how the episodes tie together.
There's an episode near the end of series 2 called "Confessions and Lamentations" where the Markab get wiped out by a disease. It doesn't seem to have any 'A' plot at all, and is all 'B' and 'C' plot.
Then you go to the first episode of S3 and you're introduced to the Whitestar. As they're getting chased by a Shadow Battlecrab, Sheriden chooses a jumpgate they're going to blow up and picks the Markab one because "It's expendable". Yes, JMS spent a whole episode wiping out an entire race JUST to set up a plot device in a later episode.
That's why I love the series so much.
The problem with releasing a bluray boxset of B5 is the different resolutions of the VFX.
The main programme was recorded in 16:9 widescreen on Super35 film at 24fps. No problem with HD transfer there.
The CGI shots are 4:3 NTSC 720x480/30Hz. Not only are there problems with timing, there are problems with cropping a 4:3 image to a 16:9 aspect and upscaling.
The composite VFX shots are a REAL problem because the masters for those are also 4:3 NTSC 720x480/30Hz, even though they have film from the master in them.
The different cropping and resolutions can be seen on the DVDs if you're looking for them. If you magnify those up to to HD rez then you'll REALLY notice them. The only way that it could possibly work is if a team of people got their hands on the meshes and textures for the CGI and re-rendered all the CGI scenes in 1080P. They could then hand those scenes over to the rights holders for bluray distribution and say "We did this off our own back, let us loose at the master film to do the same for the composite shots". In effect, the bluray release would be made by fans of the show using the master film.
JMS has turned around and said he's not going back to the B5 universe, and Warner have also said that they're not that interested in developing the franchise any further.
===================
[edit]
Oh yeah, the show is slow through S1, but watch out for the episode "Babylon Squared" where B4 turns up for the first time.
S2 starts getting good, then you see the Shadow Battlecrabs and it goes from "Not bad" to "OMFG!".
S3 is just great from beginning to end with only a couple of poor episodes.
S4 starts good then slowly goes to "alright".
S5 is more self-contained than the rest of the series because it wasn't clear if there was going to BE a series 5.
What I love is how the episodes tie together.
There's an episode near the end of series 2 called "Confessions and Lamentations" where the Markab get wiped out by a disease. It doesn't seem to have any 'A' plot at all, and is all 'B' and 'C' plot.
Then you go to the first episode of S3 and you're introduced to the Whitestar. As they're getting chased by a Shadow Battlecrab, Sheriden chooses a jumpgate they're going to blow up and picks the Markab one because "It's expendable". Yes, JMS spent a whole episode wiping out an entire race JUST to set up a plot device in a later episode.
That's why I love the series so much.
Zede
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chipper
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think one of my fav episodes is "a view from the gallery" where instead of following the main cast it focuses on 2 ordinary maintenance men who go about their day to day activites it sounds boring i know, but i think its a great episode it made B5 seem more real where as many sci fi shows focus solely on the main chars for the duration of the shows life.
so many great episodes but watch out for the ones with bester they are fantastic
so many great episodes but watch out for the ones with bester they are fantastic
Dukat
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Yea, "a view from the gallery" and "and now for a word" are two really clever episodes - the latter being the one where it shoots the whole thing from ISN's perspective
It's a great series if you stop watching at the end of S4 and avoid the spin offs. I still rate Severed Dreams in S3 as one of the best sci-fi episodes ever
From the standalones "In the beginning" was decent, thirdspace is watchable but the rest are meh
From the standalones "In the beginning" was decent, thirdspace is watchable but the rest are meh
ilaya
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easily the best sci series ever made.
and as for plots extending over series, was one about some race wanting to sell drug for immortality... and just when you think its going nowhere.. a Voorlon ship turns up and blows the bastards to pieces, claiming.. you are not ready for immortality!
how dare those nasty Voorlon interfere in human affairs eh?... wonder if they've done it before...
oh and... remember...
ZOG!!
and as for plots extending over series, was one about some race wanting to sell drug for immortality... and just when you think its going nowhere.. a Voorlon ship turns up and blows the bastards to pieces, claiming.. you are not ready for immortality!
how dare those nasty Voorlon interfere in human affairs eh?... wonder if they've done it before...
oh and... remember...
ZOG!!
Zenith.UK
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Ivanova: "Zog? What do you mean zog? Zog what? Zog yes, zog no?"
Marcus: "It's leaving. My guess is zog means no."
Ivanova: "Like hell. I am not letting them leave here without saying yes."
Marcus: "Really? And how do you propose stopping them? Perhaps a big red and white sign with the word 'Stop' on it? I know, I'll put a bucket on my head and pretend to be the ancient Vorlon god Booji."
Ivanova: "That's it!"
Marcus: "Fine, I'll get a bucket."
From the eipsode "Voices of Authority"
PLightstar
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Such a great show, Marcus was just awesome. always liked Londo for the reason he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, for most of his life.
chipper
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agreed think thats another reason why i loved it so much it didnt give out the we are holier than thou vibe like star trek did. (which im quite a fan of)
Jeros
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Ya, trek appeals to a different part of the brain, the part that makes us hope we can be better than what we are now one day
Vae
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I loved the fact that over the story arc you see these 2 arch-enemies switch position (G'Kar goes from an aggressive almost villanous character to the spiritual leader of his race whereas Londo goes from the happy go-lucky playboy to the aggressive villain and then almost back again) in an almost Macbeth like way.
Some of the production values paled compared to Star Trek and it looks a little dated now particualrly the CGI but I still rate it as one of the best series I've seen and probably the best Sci-Fi series there is. The stories they told and the fact these stories wend their way over 4 series (the 5th is almost a standalone in my opinion) is what makes it special. Some episodes were weak but were more than made up for by the vast majority of episodes.
ford prefect
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I'm not a huge sci-fi fan, but I loved Babylon 5 too. The CGI may look dated now, but it was amazing at the time, 16 fully kitted out amiga 2000's to render those scenes as I remember. Twas very impressive stuff back in the day.
Ch3tan
I aer teh win!!
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There's an episode near the end of series 2 called "Confessions and Lamentations" where the Markab get wiped out by a disease. It doesn't seem to have any 'A' plot at all, and is all 'B' and 'C' plot.
Then you go to the first episode of S3 and you're introduced to the Whitestar. As they're getting chased by a Shadow Battlecrab, Sheriden chooses a jumpgate they're going to blow up and picks the Markab one because "It's expendable". Yes, JMS spent a whole episode wiping out an entire race JUST to set up a plot device in a later episode.
That's why I love the series so much.
Just watched the episode now, it's expendable and I don't like grave robbers. Classic.
As for those that say the FX looks dated, it ages much better than star trek and other sci-fi in recent years.