I have the series on DVD but I’ve never seriously cracked it, only seen a few episodes. Was wondering what people here think, is it as good as the internet often says it is? I know it was an inspiration for one of my favorite franchises (Mass Effect) and The Orville had a cute reference to it by making its main actor the president of the Planetary Union, but that’s the extent of my B5 knowledge. So anyway, should I binge the series?
Yeah aside from the hard continuity issue where the main character’s actor in season one developed mental illness and had to quit - one of the most engaging sci fi universes
They really go into ideas that other shows skim over, like aliens having to breathe different atmospheres, being radically different lifeforms that need mysterious suits to interact with humans
The show is primarily a political drama, which is actually refreshing. It’s not all shootouts, it’s a lot of diplomacy. But not so incredibly serious that it’s tedious, Babylon 5 is often comical, with its outrageous alien characters
Basically a hidden gem, maybe on par with Andromeda or something. A unique b-list cult series. Has been a few years, might be time to watch it again for me
Damn that’s insulting, putting B5 and Andromeda on the same level. And I say that as someone who enjoyed the first 1.5 seasons of Andromeda.
The worst B5 episodes are vastly better than anything in the last three years of Andromeda.
The worst B5 episode is probably the technomagus one, and I was going to argue, but you are very right.
Andromeda is so much worse than B5.
Yeah it’s worse, but hey, they both made 5 seasons lmao
The first season can be hard to slog through due to the alternating wooden performance / theatre extreme facial expressions of the principal character.
I had really enjoyed the 90 minute pilot (with a different first officer) and was surprised how stiff he was when the first season.
While there’s a lot of important set up in the first season, if it’s too much of a barrier that you’re not watching B5 at all, better to skip ahead to season two.
Michael O’Hare was pretty healthy when they filmed the pilot, but got worse after, which is part of why season 1 was delayed; he took some time for treatment and JMS held off on filming until he was ready to come back. He took a turn while they were filming the season and it affected his acting. He came back for a guest appearance later on when he was feeling better and put in his best performance as the character. He retired shortly after, though.
Weirdly enough I was all aboard the season one captain, really loved the show right away. I was super disappointed that he didn’t make it back for season 2 - but eventually it was fine
Never saw Andromeda either, should try it out as well
I can’t recommend Andromeda.
I attempted unsuccessfully to slog alone through the first season. Our kids bailed after a few episodes.
The fact that it’s fans say the early seasons are the better ones gave me no incentive to persevere.
Kevin Sorbo (Hercules) got into some weird shit later in life, but it’s a great “lost in space” style show anyway. They cruise around in their lil space shippy solving mysteries or whatever. Nothing too original but fun
Yeah Kevin Sorbo is some Christian fundie now who does anti-atheist propaganda, lol
The interactions between Gkar and Mollari are worth the watch on their own. Two legendary actors giving a legendary performance.
Sleeping in light will affect you significantly.
It is a gem of a series.
Definitely worth getting into. Seasons 2-4 are some of the best sci-fi ever produced
Imo it is the best when considering the completeness of the plot lines and character arcs, and how the entire series was written basically as a whole.
Best thing since slice bread. You just have to accept it looks cheap and old.
Cuz it is old and had limited funds iirc
The old is more important than limited funds. I remember reading an interview from JMS where he mentioned B5 was about $1 million an episode. Which after accounting for inflation is about $2 million an episode in today’s money. The BSG remake was at about $1 million per episode.
I can tell you in 1995 the CGI on B5 was pretty great.
On bsg they cut every corner on every square thing because they were literally cutting all corners they could for budgetary reasons.
Nah, it looked video gamey and cheesy even then. Season four was better, but the main station model never kept up l.
I just didn’t think the resolution was there to make completely CGI models believable.
For sure it looks fake as can be, but compared to video games (of the time) it was amazing.Look at some screenshots of MechWarrior 2 or Descent and compare to B5.
At the time B5 had some of the better CGI, it’s just that amazing CGI in 1993 was awful.
The thing is there were great physical models in other shows. It was just Straczynski’s determination to go completely digital that was driving it.
DS9 was made with models because Paramount understood the technology wasn’t there yet. I just wish they’d kept high definition analogue film rather than video.
Yes you should binge watch it.
Don’t skip season 1. There’s great character building in there. It does really set actual plot events in motion as well. I don’t know why anyone would say to skip it.
Now, you can decide whether to watch The Gathering (pilot episode, later released as a movie) before season 1 or not. They’ll make references to it in the show, but I don’t think most of the audience had seen it at the time those episodes aired, so skipping it might give you to “correct” experience. Some things are different that you’ll have to overlook, but there’s legitimate plot value there.
Stopping after season 4 is an ok thing to do, but I say go ahead and watch it. (Watch the Season 5 finale even if you do stop there, though).
Between seasons 4 and 5, you can watch or not watch the In The Beginning and Thirdspace movies. That’s the order they aired in. “in the beginning” is a prequel of sorts that adds some color to things we see flashbacks to throughout the show. Thirdspace was a season 4 episode that got cut when they rushed to finish the series early, I think?
The other movies…. Meh. The recent animated one was better than I expected, but I wasn’t expecting much…
Thanks for the detailed response, I’ll start with season 1 then. I like how Tomalak is in the show :D
As an adendum to that guy’s post, season 5 is weaker due to production issues, but really picks up in the back half and resolves the G’Kar-Londo plot. That last bit makes it worth watching all on its own, for me.
Did you watch the spinoff show?
I did, but it wasn’t very good. If you really like the original, go ahead and give it a shot. Make sure you watch the Call To Arms movie, which is kind of a pilot for the spin-off.
First season is all setup. Really, start with season 2.
Season 4 is the single best season of sci fi television ever done.
Here’s what I would do…
Burn through season 2 and 3, then go back and watch season 1 so you can see all the seeds they planted there before hitting season 4.
Season 5 is the “Oh, crap, we thought we weren’t getting a season 5…”
Sorry but that’s a horrible idea… The whole point of ‘planting seeds’ is how the pieces fall together in succession.
There are problems with Season 1, Season 2 has a better hook and because they replaced the commander and are doing a bunch of catch up work, there’s no harm starting there then circling back.
Season 1 is a slow burn and there are a lot of filler episodes that don’t go anywhere (looking at you Infection, Deathwalker, Believers, TKO).
That being said, the must watch season 1 episodes:
1-3, 5-8, 11-13, 16-20, 22.
That’s pretty much the case of S01 of any series, especially sci-fi, especially from the 90’s.
I’m in the minority who believes Fox was right to start Firefly with the Train Robbery, so what do I know? :) (I know my wife fell asleep 1/2 way through the original pilot.)
Possibly… It’s true that people want instant gratification, and also true that pilots tend to kinda suck (see B5 actually).
I think these days the show creators have gotten better at hitting the ground running from the start.
Better to skip the first season than not watch at all.
I am someone who noped out of the show mid season one during its original broadcast run, despite being really psyched by the pilot, and fortunately gave it a second chance for season two when Boxleitner was brought in.
I think watching season 1 later isn’t a bad idea at all. It feels like you’re in on what’s being set up, and knowing what’s coming makes the sloggy episodes tolerable. I watched the show in the order 2 3 1 4 5 on the advice of a friend, and I’m really glad I didn’t start with season 1. I would have quit before the end of the season and missed out on what’s now my favorite show of all time.
Thanks for the heads up. Is Season Five bad or just not as good?
It’s not that season 5 is bad, it’s that they pretty much resolved everything in season 4 when they didn’t think they were getting a season 5.
Then, after they hit it out of the park with 4, TNT comes along and goes “So about season 5…”
“Uhh… yeah… season 5… heh.” 💧💧😅💧💧
It’s decent. First half is not as good as any of the other seasons, but the second half ramps it up considerably and is great. Sad but great.
Maybe I’m the only one who likes S05 just as much. Yea it’s not as bombastic in scope, but you still get the same great characters and universe.
I liked season five too.
It is brilliant. It is superb. It is My Show.
I hang out here because trekkies are cool too, but I cosplay Bab at Dragoncon, not trek.
Babylon 5 is one of the best sci-fi shows out there. Top notch material.
Babylon 5 is brilliant and you should really give it another shot.
Will do
The CG was kinda shit.
Amiga genlock
The best sci-fi series to feature Zima!
i’ve been watching some old TNG, and realized Ronald Moore (Battlestar Galactica) was very involved. but, not involved with B5 – he was influenced thereby, along with the Lost guy, Lindelof maybe. how did Babylon 5 compare to TNG in cheesyness?
B5 looks a lot cheaper and cheesier than TNG, especially as it uses really bad outdated CG-I. I also imagine it was just a lot lower budget. Im strictly talking about aesthetically from what Ive seen on YouTube. Also I don’t think Ron Moore was influenced by B5.
thanks, i concur
especially as it uses really bad outdated CG-I.
In context, the CGI was pretty good for the time.
Which is why i said its outdated
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Couldn’t tell you, I’m rewatching TNG again.
