Babylon 5 is perhaps one of the best sci-fi tv shows to ever grace the tubes in a very long time. It was a groundbreaking show that became the very first "novel for television" with a definite beginning, middle, and an end. What made the show fantastic were the fact that the characters were three dimensional, its engaging and intricate multi-narrative storylines, surprise plot-twists and subtle mysteries. One of the things that makes this show unique from previous sci-fi shows is that no one is sacrosanct, characters live, die, get promoted (or reduced in rank) and transfer, just like in real life. Another thing that made Babylon 5 so fascinating was its sense of irony and G'Kar's warning in "Mind War", about no one is exactly they appear is true to the core. As the series progressed, viewers' perceptions of the characters have altered dramatically since the launch of the series.
For example, Londo initially appeared to be a jolly and comic buffoon. His position is a joke and nobody takes him seriously. But once his allies himself with the Shadows and almost annihilates the entire Narn people, the Centauri Republic deems him a hero and suddenly he has friends he never knew he had, and now threatens to take the galaxy to the edge of destruction, and eventually pays the price when he ascends to Emperor of Centauri Prime. G'Kar began life as an angry freedom fighter, then he became a villain, and graduated to THE most sympatheic character in Babylon 5 history, he was at peace with himself and became a happier and enlightened individual, not to mention becoming an legendary religious icon in the process. Sinclair was an insecure fighter pilot/space station commander and became Valen. Sheridan went from being a hot-headed and impulsive captain who was proud of his metals, to a mature and important politician, and became the very first president of the Interstellar Alliance. Delenn went from a V.I.P. member of the Grey Counsel to leader of the Rangers, and finally to Vice President of the Interstellar Alliance. Vir went from a meek attache to an outspoken ambassador, and finally as the Emperor of Centauri Prime, becoming an unlikely hero as well. Lennier went from dog-obedient attache to renegade ranger. Lyta went from a shy and sweet lady to a self-advocate, confident and extremely powerful telepath. Zak was a recovering alcoholic and became chief of security. Garibaldi went from chief of security who nearly lost his life due to one of his own who betrayed him, to drunken loser/investigator, recovered from his alcoholism and eventually reunited with his true love, Lise with the two of them taking charge of Edgar's Industries. Dr. Franklyn went from stim junkie to an enlightened man, becoming a Foundationist.
Unlike Star Trek, Babylon 5 had a more darker and cynical view of the future. Now, this is not an attempt to put down Star Trek because I'm a fan of Trek too, in fact, Star Trek, the original series in particular, was also revolutionary for its time, it's just that Babylon 5 took it a step further. It was a more realistic and believeable universe, but despite its darker tone, creator J. Michael Straczynski is adamant that the series is not pessimistic at all, in fact, quite the contrary. The fact that the human race still exists in the 23rd Century is inherently optimistic and the series shows that we can continue overcoming whatever problems arise. It depicts humans and aliens as imperfect beings and the fact that all of the species in the Babylon 5 universe are imperfect allows them to be more tolerant, flexible, understanding and loving towards one another.
Like a lot of good shows, they don't always start off great and Babylon 5 began that way. It started with the pilot, "The Gathering", introducing all of the characters and establishing the Babylon 5 universe. The acting was flat and dull, the pacing of the story was uneven and boring, and the music was uninspiring. If I were a television executive and Straczynski presented it to me, I would have said "No deal" and laughed him out of my office. The only saving grace of the pilot was the "who-dun-it" storyline, but it was executed poorly just the same.
Season One Review In A Nutshell
Then a year later, season one premiered and it was an uneven and dull one at that. Nearly the entire season consisted of standalone episodes, which I personally don't mind, but they were simply not important to the overall major storyline, let alone interesting, with the exception of a few. The only several episodes that made it worthwhile and engaging were the ones that focused on the Shadows making their first move, but unfortunately, that didn't happen until the season was almost over. I would have preferred if Straczynski had wrote a 13 episode guide for season one instead of the usual 20 to 22 episodes, with just those episodes focusing on the Shadows. That way, it would have been cheaper to produce and serve as a test run, as well as making it a more solid season. The introduction to the characters is quite slow and the only ones that really stand out are Garabaldi, Ivanova, G'Kar, Londo, and Delenn. Overall, the first season gets off to a shaky start, but it gets much better towards the end, especially its season finale.
However, it also didn't help the fact that Michael O'Hare as Sinclair was the series lead in the first season. I'm sorry folks, but he's just a terrible actor. He couldn't act his way out of a bag if his life depended on it. He's stiff as a board and has no chrisma at all. And everytime I listen to his droning voice, it always put me to sleep. Gee, it's no wonder that Ivanova fell asleep when he discussed about his experience with Jesuit Priests about the importance of breathing! LOL. O'Hare was (supposedly) a stage actor and it was well documented that he was not accustomed to the fast-paced and back-breaking experience of tv production. In addition, he had a hard time memorizing his lines, so the writers had to simplify his speeches and worked with a voice coach on the set. Plus, that notion about him having a problem with his lines only shows he's a very poor actor because even though tv production is more fast-paced when you're shooting 40 pages a day, whereas in film you're shooting 2 and a half pages a day, you still have plenty of time to rehearse. I have a friend whose an actor and he admitted that while television is definitely a lot faster paced than in movies and theater, television is easier when it comes to running lines, however, it's also more frustrating because of having to run through the same lines over and over for pick up shots, different camera angles and what-not.
However, theater/stage is the most difficult medium compared to TV and film because you have to stay in character for a total of two hours, barring intermissions. Plus, if you forget your line you have to cover yourself and your fellow actors by improvising. I'll give you an example. Prior to joining my first acting class, I attended a free show at the theater where I was going to study acting. There was a scene where one of the actresses was supposed to show up, but she was running late and instead of coming to the backstage area, she came through the audience, telling her fellow thespians (and the audience) that she apologizes for being late, but she had some things to attend to! LOL. Hence, stage/theater is harder than tv and movies because you really have to think on your feet. It's not impossible to do, it's just a matter of training, that goes for everything.
In regards to his abrupt departure from the show, well, after doing a lot of research, I came to the conclusion that it was for a variety of reasons. Originally, Straczynski envisioned Sinclair to stay on for all five seasons of Babylon 5. God, help us if that had happened because I would have tuned out long after seeing season one! LOL. Anyway, as Straczynski was completing the outline for season one, he immediately realized that he wrote himself into a corner with the Sinclair character because Sinclair was already an enlightened individual who was "already there", so to speak, so there was no more room for character development, hence, he decided to transfer him to the Minbari homeworld, serving as Earth's first ambassador on Minbar. Another reason for O'Hare's departure was that O'Hare himself admitted that he didn't feel comfortable with doing television work, let alone as the series leading man and it obviously showed onscreen with his awful acting. He wanted to return to doing theater work instead and parted on very good terms with Straczynski, who later told him that he will bring closure to his character sometime down the line. A third reason for O'Hare's departure was that the television executives didn't like O'Hare as an actor and as a leading man. They too have stated that he lacked chrisma and didn't possess a strong presence of a series leading man. And lastly, it was quite apparent that there was some bad blood between O'Hare and Jerry Doyle. I got the inside scoop from a friend of mine who was running a Babylon 5 convention in which I had the opportunity to meet O'Hare in person. He seemed nice and forthcoming and I noticed that he praised Mira Furlan, Bill Mumy, and Richard Biggs as wonderful actors, as well as calling them his friends, but he deliberately avoided mentioning Jerry Doyle. After the convention was over, I turned to my friend Paul and asked him what the deal was because I thought that O'Hare's onscreen chemistry with Doyle was somewhat convincing. Paul told me that the reason why they hated each other was that O'Hare was trying to put the moves on Andrea Thompson, who played Talia Winters and was married to Doyle at the time. Understandably, this pissed Doyle off and ever since then they never spoke to each other.
Anyway, let's get back to the original storyline that Straczynski had intended to produce. Everything that happened to Sheridan would have happened to Sinclair, that is, Sinclair's love interest, Catherine Sakai would have return from Z'ha'dum and lured him back to have a meeting with the Shadows. Sinclair activates the Whitestar via remote control on his comm link and destroys the city of Z'ha'dum, killing Catherine in the process as he dives into the abyss. He dies and is resurrected by Lorien, and eventually becomes the first president of the Interstellar Alliance. However, the final episode would have ended somewhat differently than the final product. The story takes place 20 years after the end of the rest of the series and Sinclair is dying. He bids his wife Delenn goodbye, takes the Triluminary with him, steals Babylon 4, and travels back in time to become Valen. He lives a very long life thanks to the Triluminary and advanced Minbari medical technology (which is pretty advanced considering that its a thousand years old), and at the end of his life, he travels to Corrina 6 to die, and Lorien carries his body with reverence as they both entered the Rim. End of story.
Continue on next page....
For example, Londo initially appeared to be a jolly and comic buffoon. His position is a joke and nobody takes him seriously. But once his allies himself with the Shadows and almost annihilates the entire Narn people, the Centauri Republic deems him a hero and suddenly he has friends he never knew he had, and now threatens to take the galaxy to the edge of destruction, and eventually pays the price when he ascends to Emperor of Centauri Prime. G'Kar began life as an angry freedom fighter, then he became a villain, and graduated to THE most sympatheic character in Babylon 5 history, he was at peace with himself and became a happier and enlightened individual, not to mention becoming an legendary religious icon in the process. Sinclair was an insecure fighter pilot/space station commander and became Valen. Sheridan went from being a hot-headed and impulsive captain who was proud of his metals, to a mature and important politician, and became the very first president of the Interstellar Alliance. Delenn went from a V.I.P. member of the Grey Counsel to leader of the Rangers, and finally to Vice President of the Interstellar Alliance. Vir went from a meek attache to an outspoken ambassador, and finally as the Emperor of Centauri Prime, becoming an unlikely hero as well. Lennier went from dog-obedient attache to renegade ranger. Lyta went from a shy and sweet lady to a self-advocate, confident and extremely powerful telepath. Zak was a recovering alcoholic and became chief of security. Garibaldi went from chief of security who nearly lost his life due to one of his own who betrayed him, to drunken loser/investigator, recovered from his alcoholism and eventually reunited with his true love, Lise with the two of them taking charge of Edgar's Industries. Dr. Franklyn went from stim junkie to an enlightened man, becoming a Foundationist.
Unlike Star Trek, Babylon 5 had a more darker and cynical view of the future. Now, this is not an attempt to put down Star Trek because I'm a fan of Trek too, in fact, Star Trek, the original series in particular, was also revolutionary for its time, it's just that Babylon 5 took it a step further. It was a more realistic and believeable universe, but despite its darker tone, creator J. Michael Straczynski is adamant that the series is not pessimistic at all, in fact, quite the contrary. The fact that the human race still exists in the 23rd Century is inherently optimistic and the series shows that we can continue overcoming whatever problems arise. It depicts humans and aliens as imperfect beings and the fact that all of the species in the Babylon 5 universe are imperfect allows them to be more tolerant, flexible, understanding and loving towards one another.
Like a lot of good shows, they don't always start off great and Babylon 5 began that way. It started with the pilot, "The Gathering", introducing all of the characters and establishing the Babylon 5 universe. The acting was flat and dull, the pacing of the story was uneven and boring, and the music was uninspiring. If I were a television executive and Straczynski presented it to me, I would have said "No deal" and laughed him out of my office. The only saving grace of the pilot was the "who-dun-it" storyline, but it was executed poorly just the same.
Season One Review In A Nutshell
Then a year later, season one premiered and it was an uneven and dull one at that. Nearly the entire season consisted of standalone episodes, which I personally don't mind, but they were simply not important to the overall major storyline, let alone interesting, with the exception of a few. The only several episodes that made it worthwhile and engaging were the ones that focused on the Shadows making their first move, but unfortunately, that didn't happen until the season was almost over. I would have preferred if Straczynski had wrote a 13 episode guide for season one instead of the usual 20 to 22 episodes, with just those episodes focusing on the Shadows. That way, it would have been cheaper to produce and serve as a test run, as well as making it a more solid season. The introduction to the characters is quite slow and the only ones that really stand out are Garabaldi, Ivanova, G'Kar, Londo, and Delenn. Overall, the first season gets off to a shaky start, but it gets much better towards the end, especially its season finale.
However, it also didn't help the fact that Michael O'Hare as Sinclair was the series lead in the first season. I'm sorry folks, but he's just a terrible actor. He couldn't act his way out of a bag if his life depended on it. He's stiff as a board and has no chrisma at all. And everytime I listen to his droning voice, it always put me to sleep. Gee, it's no wonder that Ivanova fell asleep when he discussed about his experience with Jesuit Priests about the importance of breathing! LOL. O'Hare was (supposedly) a stage actor and it was well documented that he was not accustomed to the fast-paced and back-breaking experience of tv production. In addition, he had a hard time memorizing his lines, so the writers had to simplify his speeches and worked with a voice coach on the set. Plus, that notion about him having a problem with his lines only shows he's a very poor actor because even though tv production is more fast-paced when you're shooting 40 pages a day, whereas in film you're shooting 2 and a half pages a day, you still have plenty of time to rehearse. I have a friend whose an actor and he admitted that while television is definitely a lot faster paced than in movies and theater, television is easier when it comes to running lines, however, it's also more frustrating because of having to run through the same lines over and over for pick up shots, different camera angles and what-not.
However, theater/stage is the most difficult medium compared to TV and film because you have to stay in character for a total of two hours, barring intermissions. Plus, if you forget your line you have to cover yourself and your fellow actors by improvising. I'll give you an example. Prior to joining my first acting class, I attended a free show at the theater where I was going to study acting. There was a scene where one of the actresses was supposed to show up, but she was running late and instead of coming to the backstage area, she came through the audience, telling her fellow thespians (and the audience) that she apologizes for being late, but she had some things to attend to! LOL. Hence, stage/theater is harder than tv and movies because you really have to think on your feet. It's not impossible to do, it's just a matter of training, that goes for everything.
In regards to his abrupt departure from the show, well, after doing a lot of research, I came to the conclusion that it was for a variety of reasons. Originally, Straczynski envisioned Sinclair to stay on for all five seasons of Babylon 5. God, help us if that had happened because I would have tuned out long after seeing season one! LOL. Anyway, as Straczynski was completing the outline for season one, he immediately realized that he wrote himself into a corner with the Sinclair character because Sinclair was already an enlightened individual who was "already there", so to speak, so there was no more room for character development, hence, he decided to transfer him to the Minbari homeworld, serving as Earth's first ambassador on Minbar. Another reason for O'Hare's departure was that O'Hare himself admitted that he didn't feel comfortable with doing television work, let alone as the series leading man and it obviously showed onscreen with his awful acting. He wanted to return to doing theater work instead and parted on very good terms with Straczynski, who later told him that he will bring closure to his character sometime down the line. A third reason for O'Hare's departure was that the television executives didn't like O'Hare as an actor and as a leading man. They too have stated that he lacked chrisma and didn't possess a strong presence of a series leading man. And lastly, it was quite apparent that there was some bad blood between O'Hare and Jerry Doyle. I got the inside scoop from a friend of mine who was running a Babylon 5 convention in which I had the opportunity to meet O'Hare in person. He seemed nice and forthcoming and I noticed that he praised Mira Furlan, Bill Mumy, and Richard Biggs as wonderful actors, as well as calling them his friends, but he deliberately avoided mentioning Jerry Doyle. After the convention was over, I turned to my friend Paul and asked him what the deal was because I thought that O'Hare's onscreen chemistry with Doyle was somewhat convincing. Paul told me that the reason why they hated each other was that O'Hare was trying to put the moves on Andrea Thompson, who played Talia Winters and was married to Doyle at the time. Understandably, this pissed Doyle off and ever since then they never spoke to each other.
Anyway, let's get back to the original storyline that Straczynski had intended to produce. Everything that happened to Sheridan would have happened to Sinclair, that is, Sinclair's love interest, Catherine Sakai would have return from Z'ha'dum and lured him back to have a meeting with the Shadows. Sinclair activates the Whitestar via remote control on his comm link and destroys the city of Z'ha'dum, killing Catherine in the process as he dives into the abyss. He dies and is resurrected by Lorien, and eventually becomes the first president of the Interstellar Alliance. However, the final episode would have ended somewhat differently than the final product. The story takes place 20 years after the end of the rest of the series and Sinclair is dying. He bids his wife Delenn goodbye, takes the Triluminary with him, steals Babylon 4, and travels back in time to become Valen. He lives a very long life thanks to the Triluminary and advanced Minbari medical technology (which is pretty advanced considering that its a thousand years old), and at the end of his life, he travels to Corrina 6 to die, and Lorien carries his body with reverence as they both entered the Rim. End of story.
Continue on next page....
SUPPORT GATEWORLD ROLEPLAY
Comment