Any Fans of Babylon 5?

[hyped78]

I want to get into this. But I am confused. All the movies and stuff they have of it. Where do I start? I remember watching some of season 1 years ago and did enjoy it.

Start with the movie “The Gathering”, then watch seasons 1-4, then watch the movie “In the Beginning” and then season 5. Everything else is not essential and, in my opinion, inferior anyways.

[mace11]

My all-time favorite tv show. I’d wish there was a remake, as the FX is clearly outdated.

'Ground Up' Babylon 5 Reboot Being Developed for The CW by J. Michael Straczynski

The cult classic sci-fi TV series Babylon 5 is being rebooted by the CW, Warner Bros. Television and its original creator, J. Michael Straczynski.

https://www.cbr.com/babylon-5-reboot-cw-straczynski/

[hyped78]

'Ground Up' Babylon 5 Reboot Being Developed for The CW by J. Michael Straczynski


https://www.cbr.com/babylon-5-reboot-cw-straczynski/

Oh wow, great news!!!

[Mister Mets]

I want to get into this. But I am confused. All the movies and stuff they have of it. Where do I start? I remember watching some of season 1 years ago and did enjoy it.

Go with the main TV show.

It's an okay sci fi show in Season 1, but it gets really good in Season 2, when the story becomes more complex and we get payoff to stuff that was set-up earlier. And then Season 3 might be one of the best TV seasons ever.

The pilot episode "The Gathering" was a TV movie, so it's the easiest key episode to miss, though that's not too big a deal.

[Deathstroke]

I love the show. I rewatch it every so often. I've met a few of the actors from the show and JMS himself.

[Scott Taylor]

Like others, its one of my favorites. If nothing else, just for the way it handles the power structure of the galaxy and makes it an integral part of the saga is pretty damned interesting. Its the kind of show that sticks with you.

[Gray Lensman]

I want to get into this. But I am confused. All the movies and stuff they have of it. Where do I start? I remember watching some of season 1 years ago and did enjoy it.

Start with The Gathering - it's the TV Pilot. The effects weren't fully dialed in yet, some of the makeup is notable different as they hadn't figured out the aliens. Delenn especially, since the plan was to have some gender stuff seem off to the audience with women actors playing male Minbari and men playing the females. That doesn't last past the pilot and it isn't actually mentioned in the show unless you watch behind the scenes interviews or the commentary episodes on the DVDs.

At any point after that you can watch In The Beginning - it was produced later but it is basically a prequel telling the tale of the backstory. It has a lot of Easter Eggs for later episodes but it shouldn't spoil too much.

About halfway through season 4 is when to watch Thirdspace. It's a non-connected story but it takes place between the two major meta-plot arcs in the season. I can't say more without a major giveaway, but the break between the arcs that movie is set in will be obvious when you get to it.

Sometime in season 5 (after a few episodes to get the feel of some new characters who feature heavily in the movie) is when River of Souls is set.

After the end of the show is when you can get to A Call to Arms - if you want to watch Crusade then A Call to Arms is mandatory viewing since it is the setup for the show. Anything else can be watched after, but those are the big ones and where they fit into continuity.

[choptop]

My all-time favorite tv show. I’d wish there was a remake, as the FX is clearly outdated.

You want a remake just for better FX? You know in 4 to 5 years it'll just be outdated again right?

[beatboks]

Loved Bab 5.

Pretty sure I've got every season on boxed set.
Only Sci-Fi I loved more was Blakes 7

[Timothy Hunter]

In contrast to a lot of people, I thought Season 5 was excellent as a whole, I would say the only bad episodes are the the season premiere and episode six where Dr. Franklin denies this vaccine to a species because of something their ancestors did generations before, which might be the most mind boggling moment of the whole series.

It features some of my favorite episodes, A View From The Gallery, Day of the Dead, and The Corps is Mother The Corps is Father. I dare you to find a series finale better than Sleeping in Light.

I genuinely loved the character of Byron, a leader who struggled to uphold his pacifist principles while leading his increasingly angry followers. I think the reason why most fans have such a hatred for the character is that there was the expectation that the Byron arc would lead to the Telepath War that was teased, but nothing comes of it.

I think the biggest problem with the fifth season was focus. They should have dedicated the entire season to the Drakh, the aftermath of the Earth Civil War, or the Telepaths search for a homeworld, not an awkward juggling of the three.

Did they ever expand on the Drakh in the TV movies or Crusade? The way they ended Londo's character makes me feel like the writers were teasing a bigger conflict with the Drakh in future films or shows.

[Nate Grey]

Did they ever expand on the Drakh in the TV movies or Crusade? The way they ended Londo's character makes me feel like the writers were teasing a bigger conflict with the Drakh in future films or shows.

I have no idea if Season 2 and beyond were supposed to go another direction, but Season 1 was all about finding a cure to the Drakh plague, the titular "crusade" I suppose.

[hyped78]

You want a remake just for better FX? You know in 4 to 5 years it'll just be outdated again right?

Not just for the better FX. However, I disagree that current FX will be outdated in 4/5 years, I think we've achieved an FX level these days that is much more sustainable than the FX from the 90s; Babylon 5's FX in the 90s already looked bad/ outdated back then, if compared to e.g. Star Trek The Next Generation.

I also think that potential new viewers are put off by the way B5 looks and updated FX would mitigate that.

[C_Miller]

Not just for the better FX. However, I disagree that current FX will be outdated in 4/5 years, I think we've achieved an FX level these days that is much more sustainable than the FX from the 90s; Babylon 5's FX in the 90s already looked bad/ outdated back then, if compared to e.g. Star Trek The Next Generation.

I also think that potential new viewers are put off by the way B5 looks and updated FX would mitigate that.

Agreed. It's facetious to imply that there actually isn't a peak to FX. The zenith of VFX, specifically digital VFX is that it looks real enough for the viewer to blend in with the visual style of the show; to look real enough that it doesn't distract. We will be constantly making strides in VFX, but much of those strides will be in terms of efficiency whether it's in speed or cost.

Babylon 5 looks awful and as you said, Babylon 5 looked awful in the mid 90s. The Mandalorian looks great. It is still going to look good in 4 to 5 years because its VFX passes the eye test. Dune is going to look good in 4 to 5 years for the same reason. There is no reason that a rebooted Babylon 5 couldn't still look good in 4 to 5 years too.

Also, updated acting for many of the principal cast members would be welcome too...

[Timothy Hunter]

I have a soft spot for bad 90s cgi, so I didn't mind the dated special effects of Babylon 5.

[Jokerz79]

I have no idea if Season 2 and beyond were supposed to go another direction, but Season 1 was all about finding a cure to the Drakh plague, the titular "crusade" I suppose.

JMS has said a cure would had been found by Season 3 and the series would be them on the run because they discovered Earth Gov was still secretly developing Shadow Tech. This would tie into what happened to Gideon when Cerberus went missing.