Aug
18
So I finished the first Season of Babylon 5 this weekend. I really like the show despite its flaws and inferiority to Star Trek: The Next Generation. Here are my thoughts:
1. The basic premise is great. All those different species and civilizations living on a space station in the hopes of creating peace between worlds is an interesting concept. Each of the characters and species have their own motives, which gives the show a mysterious vibe that really works well.
2. As you know, I enjoy shows with major story arcs rather than monster-of-the-week type storytelling, so I really enjoy the continuous flow of the story, and I’m really excited about the introduction of “the Shadows” because I have a feeling they will play a major part in the entire series. Am I correct in assuming that?
3. This show features some of the most god awful hairstyles of any show ever. And I’m not even referring to Londo! I’m talking about Commander Sinclair (bouffant!) and Michael Garibaldi (balding and spiky!).
4. I’d have to say that Lt. Commander Susan Ivanova is my favorite character, followed closely by Garibaldi. What is it with me and strong women?
5. The special effects are generally pretty awful by today’s standards. I can respect the fact that they were pioneers in using computer generated ships, especially on television, but Star Trek did so much better with practical models, it seems silly to use computers just because you can.
6. The music is even worse than the special effects. It sounds like everything is done in MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) and it just comes across as cheap.
7. I was disappointed to see that Season 1 didn’t wrap up Commander Sinclair’s storyline. I know he’s no longer the Commander in Season 2, so I hope that gets resolved and not brushed aside like “Here’s our new commander!” I also looked ahead at the cast lists for future seasons and it makes me worried, especially for Season 5. Where is Ivanova?! (Don’t spoil it for me.)
Now that I’m done with this, I’m switching to Season 2 of Star Trek: Next Generation. I’ll be flip flopping between series after each season. I popped in the first disc of Season 2 just to see if Dr. Pulaski was as awful as most people have suggested, and while she’s not as good as Dr. Crusher, I think I’ll survive this season without her. And there’s Guinan! Yay!
August 18th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
I’ve been waiting for this!
First you say: “despite its flaws and inferiority to Star Trek: The Next Generation” I say: You have 4 more seasons to go before you can fully make that assessment….
#2. Do you really want the answer? I’m sure many of us can tell you if you are correct, but “what do you want?”
#3. Totally! It gets better. All of the make up and hair improves in subsequent seasons.
#4. If you like them now, wait until later! Garabaldi kicks ass! I also love Ivanova (did you call me a Methodist!).
The explanation to Ivanova is not really a spoiler. She is in season 5, but very little. The series was supposed to be 5 years, but there were threats to cancel during the 4th, so they wrapped up some of the story points in season 4. They then were continued for season 5 and finished the rest of the plot.
#5. No argument there. They do get better.
#6. See #5.
#7 All I will tell you is that *everything* is wrapped up in B5. All in its time.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Good point. I suppose I shouldn’t call Babylon 5 inferior to Star Trek: Next Generation just yet. But it’s going to take a lot to overthrow them in my opinion!
August 18th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
I’m ok with that (not that you need me to be ok with that). I’ll refrain from building it up more because I don’t want to set up an inappropriate expectation, but it is fantastic.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
You have to tell me if I’m right about the Shadows though. I’m right, right?
Or are the references to the overall story in season 1 so vague that I won’t be able to pick up on them until I finish the whole series?
August 18th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
I think us gay folks love strong women characters. Buffy, Xena, Divas, Susan Ivanova, etc etc. And flip-flopping? At last craig! Everybody needs that once in a while. Or most of the time. Or every chance we get.
Seriously though, when do we hear a little more about your love life? No need to name ppl or give anatomical details, just some broad strokes about the goings on of your heart. And don’t give me that “I don’t have a romantic life”. You’re human right? And cute, love handles or not. So of course you do.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Sorry David. I honestly haven’t been on a date in forever. I can’t even remember when the last one was. Maybe December of last year? How am I supposed to have time for a dating life when I’m so busy “entertaining” you fine folks all the time?
August 18th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Craig: To quote you:
“Craig says:
July 25th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Thanks John! I’m always right!”
August 18th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Nonsense. Nothing would entertain us fine folks more than a happy and fulfilled Craig, amirite?
August 18th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Anyway, I know these things take time and I’m sry to tease you. I actually believe you don’t search for love, it just finds you instead. You can search for sex, but that’s a different story. Anyway, back on topic, are you watching Sarah Connor? I think that’s the latest sci-fi series I’ve been keeping up with.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Besides, aren’t all the good guys in Brazil?
Yeah, I really enjoyed Sarah Connor last season and am looking forward to its return! Summer Glau and Lena Headey are all sorts of awesome.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
It’s not just strong women, it’s strong, husky-voiced women. Remember: Ivanova is God. (Or was that season 2?)
The great thing about JMS is he can write himself out of any corner. Sinclair’s disappearance, Ivanova’s disappearance, the reappearance of Lyta Alexander (let’s not call that a spoiler, let’s call it a taste of what’s to come…): all are handled deftly under his guidance.
Do avoid spoilers. There are some big surprises in store in coming seasons. Season two is pretty good but it takes on a whole new level come season three. You WILL be glad you made it all the way through when you’re done, I promise.
(Oh, and if you weren’t aware of it, Google B5 and Deep Space Nine to read about the fascinating backstory there. Essentially, the Star Trek producers blatantly stole the idea for DS9 from B5. There are denials, there are allegations, but it’s pretty much true.)
August 18th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
There are plenty to go around across the world, I’m sure. Though there are some really gorgeous ones around here. I’d refer you to another blog called “Made in Brazil” for some tasteful eye candy (not porn - usually focuses on models/fashion). / Yep, in Sarah, the teen that saves all mankind is really dwarfed by the two powerful women in his life. It’s amusing to see a male character so powerless and being saved all the time by his mom and robot-girlfriend.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
I just looked up the controversy involving DS9 and B5 on Wikipedia. Very interesting! I never saw DS9 and I’d be interesed to see how closely the storylines match up.
August 18th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
You….never saw…DS9?
Sorry, Craiggers, but I must now shun you.
This is it. This is me shunning you. Hurts, don’t it?
August 18th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
ACK! It hurts! It hurts!
August 18th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Holy hell, you’ve never seen DS9? I won’t shun you like Brian but its close. I’m not the sci-fi fan you are (I have my moments though) and I used to watch DS-9 regularly. Is it similar to/better than/worse than B5? No freaking clue, never seen it. Just felt the need to express my dismay.
August 18th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Since you haven’t seen STTNG season 2 until now, I’m not all suprised about you not seeing DS9.
Pulaski herself isn’t really all that bad, but Season 2 itself was horrid, and she was only in that season so she’s a reminder of just how bad the season was.
HUGS…
August 18th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
No way! I love Londo’s hair! I think it’s pretty kick ass. I’ve only watched up through season four, and there are definitely ups and downs to the show. Ivonova is one of my favorites as well.
August 18th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
As a rule, Bossy doesn’t enjoy programs with Lt. Commanders. Just saying.
August 18th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
You MUST watch DS9. I’m super cereal. For the longest time I thought the people who said it was the best series of all the Treks were nuts until I sat down and finally watched it. Eh. Mah. Gawd. The last three seasons are amazing. Usually seasons one and two of any Star Trek series sucks (my balls… what?) then start to get interesting during the fourth and fifth season. This was true with me at first with DS9, but once I went back to the earlier episodes after seeing how it all ended (spoiler: everyone dies) they didn’t seem so bad.
In conclusion, I cannot express in words the sheer radness that is ST:DS9 so I think you should invite me over and we should watch the entire series together. I can guide you through the better episodes, or we can watch every single one in order if you insist. And I bet you would insist, because you seem like the insistent type…
August 19th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Ok, I rarely enter the comment section, but I feel I need to speak up for B5.
In regards to #5, the special effects, B5 at its peak cost about 100k per episode; ST:TNG cost over a million per episode. Comparing the two doesn’t seem fair. Although I will tell you that the quality of B5 special effects improves much more so than ST:TNG over the course of the show.
August 19th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Sam I am: No need to defend B5. I think it’s a great show! The special effects need work, but they were still groundbreaking for their time.
August 19th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
The other major issue with the CGI in B5 is that the fact that the DVDs were released in the widescreen (16:9) aspect ratio. This is a problem because at some point all the master CGI files were um, lost, and the only surviving effects shots were 4:3 masters. So for the DVDs, they cropped and zoomed the 4:3 shots to fill a 16:9 shot.
But yes, Sam I am is right in saying that CGI was chosen for B5 because it was cheaper.
August 22nd, 2008 at 4:41 pm
About the CGI: They were mainly used for budget reasons in Season 1, as has been said. But especially from season 3 onward, there are space battles that couldn’t have been done with models at all, no matter the budget.
The Shadows will play a major part in the first 3 1/2 seasons. Don’t worry about the Sinclair storyline. It will get closure eventually.
August 25th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Hi! I came on over to look through things because of Moosh In Indy.
My bf and I are total dorks and love watching Babylon 5. A few things:
1–Jeffrey Sinclair has MUCH better things to do than command Babylon 5 anymore, just you wait! There’s some pretty strong reasons why the Minbari like him so much.
2–Susan Ivanova is THE BOMB! (you should check out her Playboy spread too, highly recommend!) She’s also one of the most tragic stories out of all the characters (IMHO). But she is by far one of my favorites, followed by Marcus (wait until Season 3) Talia Winters, and Delenn. I like Lenir a lot too, but I’m also a fan of the old Twilight Zone episodes and it still throws me that he was that evil kid that an entire town feared because he could make anything/anyone he didn’t like disappear with a thought. (Bill Mumy is an AWESOME person btw)
3–Oh yeah, BIG storyline with the Shadows. So big in fact my bf decided to run a tabletop RPG based on that whole plot. It was awesome!
4–Does the whole Bester vs Chekhov thing ever pop up in your head and mess with you? It does for me.
5–Some of the sexiest people on this show are bald, strangely (probably because all the weird hairdos messing with your mind)–there’s a lot of HAWT Centauri women. BUt then again I think of all the Sci-Fi shows this had the highest concentration of HAWT women in general. (yes I have fantasized about a lesbian 3-way with Ivanova and Talia, and just to throw in a redhead for good measure I’d take Lyta too)
Overall, stick with it! It gets better! Season 3 is probably the best season, in my opinion, although some people prefer 4. I’ve never seen 5 because my bf the uber-critic flat out refuses to acknowledge there is a season 5, so we have the boxed sets for the first movie (which goes into the details of the Minbari/Earth war from like 10 years ago as told by Londo) and first 4 seasons, but no more than that.
Much love, from one dork to another
Amber