Hey, lets talk Babylon 5!
It turns out there’s more than a few newbies on BBS, so let’s please keep the discussion spoiler-free. Thank you!
Link to proposed Viewing Schedule Thanks @miasm!
So did I. I happen to also 1) own flarn.com as my personal domain, and 2) Own all the script-books for the show, and 3) still rewatch the entire series yearly.
The number of references that have parallels to current events are frankly terrifying at the moment.
Nightwatch and Alt-Right parallels just spring to mind…
So does, terrifyingly, Emperor Cartagia.
Starring James Comey as Mr. Morden.
Y’know, I could have slept just fine without that comparison being made.
(Also, Cartagia had better hair)
But… well, does the CIA have a union for their torturers pain technicians?
I watched B5 at a formative age. Does it show?
And, yeah, I keep flashing back lately to that scene with the political officer for Sheridan… “We don’t have homeless ever since we rewrote the dictionary.”
Terrifyingly prescient… or learning from history.
Humans have a phrase. “What is past, is prologue.” Minbari also have a phrase, “What is past, is also sometimes the future.” ~ Delenn
Amazing show. In the top ten TV series of all time easily.
I was just telling someone earlier that we may not again see a show like that in history - where the vision of one writer is basically left alone for more than a hundred episodes. That allows for a LOT of universe building.
And I truly hope that’s not the last we see of said universe.
This isn’t a high bar, but I think it was the best thing on TV to come out of the 90’s.
Crusade was good, but it never really had the chance to find it’s voice. Lost Tales OTOH was every bit as good as B5 the series. For whatever reason, JMS seems to do his best work with the B5 characters.
I introduced my fiancee to during my visit around New Years, and I got chills when I watched Londo’s rant to Mr. Morden.
All right. Fine! You really want to know what I want? You really want to know the truth? I want my people to reclaim their rightful place in the galaxy. I want to see the Centauri stretch forth their hand again, and command the stars! I-I want a rebirth of glory, a renaissance of power. I want to stop running through my life like a man late for an appointment, afraid to- to look back, or to look forward. I want us to be what we used to BE! I want…I want it all back, the way that it was! Does that answer your question?
Make the Empire Great Again…?
Also, does anyone else just want to give Londo a big hug by the end of season 4…?
It’s too bad that Lost Tales was more or less destroyed by budget issues, causing a massive rewrite to the exorcism story. JMS’s response to that was basically “Never doing that again unless it’s a proper movie, with a proper budget”. I keep hoping his recent success will allow him to push for something like that in the future.
As TV SF, I’ll stand it up against anything, even now.
And as TV Drama, I reckon it’s got a fair shot at my Top 10. OK, no Breaking Bad, but defo a St. Elsewhere or Hill St. Blues.
I always sorta felt like Londo’s story was the story of B5. It was handled wonderfully, and powerfully, by Peter Jurasik. It’s too bad he chose to never really do television after that.
In some ways yes, in some ways no. He was our perspective man on staring into the abyss… and being molded by it. But I can definitely agree with that statement enough to echo it.
I’ve heard, apocryphally, that at the start of the series, Peter and Andreas both wanted to be the villain and went into a side room to flip a coin, with the punch line being that we don’t know who won. 
I just wish that our current crop of leaders had a tenth of the personal integrity that Londo did.
TBH, we could do with a Vir about now.
…waves…
ETA: He’s the prime case in how to do character development, IMO. From starry-eyed noob to politcally savvy diplomat all without sacrificing principles. I’m a fan. 
So. I should go and watch this “Babylon Five”?
I will if you will.
He and G’Kar are the best odd couple in TV history. Though Londo and Vir had a great dynamic too…
Pretty much where it sits for me as well. But I too spent the decade after it aired quoting the show regularly, so I’m definitely biased.
A B5 fan site I stumbled on about ten or so years ago had a bit about why Kosh’s only suitable career option was Vorlon ambassador. Kosh the Used Car Salesman was side-splitting. I wish I could find the site again.
Just like this.
Yes. Start at the beginning, know that the first season is generally weaker than the later seasons, and know that the characters will grow beautifully. Also, the CGI is twenty years out of date, but the story… oh, the story…
Babylon 5 was the first series conceived of as a coherent story with a specific beginning, middle, and end, and, in many ways, as we’ve discussed, it still stands up as one of the best examples of that method, despite having begun over twenty years ago now.
Without reservations, yes. The first season is slow to start but the stories told there will weave you through seasons.
If the first season finale, Chrysalis, doesn’t grip you, then give up on it, but I’ve yet to meet anyone to whom that happened:slight_smile:
If you can, watch the movie “In the beginning” before you start with the pilot & series. As a newbie, it’s a prequel, and despite a few minor spoilers that you won’t realize until the events are upon you, it really helps you get a feel for the characters, the universe, and the overall setting.
