A friend lent me the first season and I seriously don't remember this show being as cheesy as this! And it feels so 80's. The clothes, the typically bad 80's dialogue, and the hair! So much big, teased, crimped, 80's hair. I don't remember 80's hair lasting this far into the 90's.
Every TV series shows artifacts of the culture that produced it. I wouldn't say B5 is any cheesier than it's most similar contemporary, Star Trek: Deep Space 9. Both series were centered around a space outpost that was a gathering point for many different races. Both series had a planned arc encompassing an interstellar war. But B5 had a tighter budget, and where DS0 relied heavily on miniatures for its special effect, B5 took the leap and used computer graphics for all its space scenes. It was state of the art, but the state of the art was primitive by current standards. Still, B5 did a better job of avoiding the "agreed upon up" assumption, and had truly three dimensional battles. The races were less humanoid, and more of them weren't even bipedal. The storyline itself was a good blend of inter- and intra-species politics and intrigue. B5 was one of the better science fiction efforts to hit television in the 20th century. Compare the cheddarness with the original V series or the original Battlestar Galactica. Or if your taste runs more to Limberger or other really stinky cheeses, go back a bit further to Space: 1999.
I just watched the entire run of Babylon 5 on DVD for the first time, not so long ago. Yes, it's dated in many ways, but still great fun. And some of the characters were fantastic. I do think it's one of the best Space Opera stories to ever hit the screens. Mind you, my favourite still is (and probably always will be) Farscape.
The best way to watch it is to start with the TV movie "In the Beginning" and then skip the entire first season.
It's interesting you bring that up, because Paramount "lost in space'd" J. Michael Straczynski in with DS9. When Roddenberry originally pitched Star Trek to CBS he thought the pitch went well. It turned out that the producers were actually set to produce another show, Lost in Space, and were farming ideas by inviting writers in. Paramount did the same thing with Straczynski in his pitch for Babylon 5. When Straczynski finally did get his show on FOX, Paramount responded by blacklisting any actor who appeared on the show, keeping most of the best Sci-fi actors in the business for themselves. Also, Lenir is played by Bill Mumy who played Will Robinson on Lost in Space.
Truth be told, Billy Mumy's portrayal of Lennier is the reason I borrowed the DVDs. In the original airing of the show I had the biggest boy with a conch-shell for a head crush on that little minbari.
That didn't fly. I fact, both Majel Roddenberry and Walter Koenig appeared on B5. Tell me Paramount blacklisted them. There was a lot of misinformation flying around about a supposed feud between B5 and the Star Trek franchise. Most of it is baloney.
There's an account I can't find now that Paramount threatened to terminate Berrett's contract, when she took the job. No I'm talking about the greats, James Cromwell, Wallace Shawn, and the inestimable David Warner, all of whom were well known in the Sci-fi circuit and were offered roles in the series at various points.
I remember seeing advertisements for Babylon 5 when I was younger, but I never watched it. Is it worth it? Or is the 80's hair too much of an issue? Love Farscape. I'm watching through it again right now, it's really unique... and kinda twisted. I love it.
The first season was not my favorite, truth be told. It had some damned good stories, but I didn't really care much for Sinclair. He seemed rather wooden to me. I liked Sheridan better. He had more fire in the belly. Also, the Shadow War really started rolling in the second season, and the Narn and Centari started to show more depth. I have the full series on DVD, and every so often, I run through it from beginning to end (not in one red-eyed marathon, though!)
I'd forgotten that Laura Ingalls Wilder was Captain Sheridan's wife. I'd also forgotten how slightly annoying her voice is....
I've never watched it. I flicked on the TV one time and it popped it, and I watched it for about 5 minutes. No clue what was going on, but I thought the characters' lives were truly interesting. Is it worth watching?
It's a little dated and it has something of a sci-fi soap-opera feel to it, but yeah, it's worth a watch. I've been kinda' marathoning the show for the past couple of weeks in between projects. It didn't have a huge budget, so don't expect super-slick sets and things like that, but it went for 5 seasons with a number of in-between season movies, follow up movies and a spin-off show called Crusade. If you choose to hunt it down, you'll want this:
You beauty! Sorry, I get carried away when I see chronological orders, mainly because I enjoy delving into new universes. I'll probably check out The Gathering first and see what comes of it. Thanks.
I originally thought that, but, when we found out who he really was, his character made a lot more sense. I don't think a Sheridan-like personality would have worked for him.
I actually preferred Sinclair, who was the kind of commander I'd have had confidence in. I always thought Sheridan, while likeable enough, was a bit too much of a loose cannon to have risen so far. He was always disobeying orders and doing things his way. These kinds of characters often rise very quickly in sci-fi shows, but I think a more stable, more 'by the book' kind of guy is a more realistic leader. That doesn't mean he can't occasionally break the rules, if need be. But I thought Sheridan was never much of a 'company man,' really. I liked him well enough, but I always missed Sinclair.
That's because Sheridan was a pretty-boy. Pretty-boys think they can do what they want. He was always mugging the camera with that 3/4 turn smile of his.
Sure, but did he make you want to watch the whole season just to find out that his shitty acting had a reason behind it?
