I love Stargate in both its incarnations but for me the absolute ultimate in Sci-Fi has to be the late great Babylon 5. This show to me had a heart and soul that many films/programmes lack, the special effects may have dated but they still impress and have the power to stir the emotions, just go and rewatch/watch 'shattered dreams' and you will see what i mean. Humanity is not all powerful and all knowing either in this universe and often we are the bad guys in this universe, something quite unique. The fall from grace of Londo Mollari over five years has to be one of the best stories in TV history ever, regardless of it being sci-fi or not. All fans unite on this thread!
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Originally posted by Benj
I salute you 
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"Ce qui ressemble a l'amour est toujours de l'amour." - Tristan Bernard -
The Movies are good never really got into the series thoughgumboYaYa: you are all beautiful, your words and openness are what make that shine. don't forget how much talent love and beauty you all have.so for now, peace love love love more love and happy, and thank you, thank you, thank you
love TorriComment
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Babylon 5 has a special place in my heart as well, great sci-fi, great characters, great adversaries and just a great feel to the whole show. I almost wish the series would have came along now, where the special effects would be much better and it might have a bigger producing budget.Comment
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Indeed. B5 was an amazing show... great characters, well-thought-out universe, very well-thought-out story arc. It's a shame that the show was threatened with cancellation after 4 seasons... JMS & Co. scrambled to fit the story planned for seasons 4 and 5 into the latter half of season 4, then the show was renewed at the last minute, and there was very little arc left for season 5.
I was in college when B5 was on the air. One of the newer buildings on campus had several very nice lecture halls that had projection TVs. Whenever there was a new ep, we'd find an available lecture hall and watch and then discuss the ep. We had green/purple shouting matches, and (when Kosh II died) a rendition of "Kill the Vorlon, Kill the Vorlon, Kill the Vorlon" to the tune of "Ride of the Valkyries".
Those showings were also where I met my husband, so B5 has a special place in my heart for that reason as well.
I'd start a revolution if I could get up in the morning.Comment
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Last week my sister handed me some old tapes she had made of Babylon 5 back when it was first run. As I'm watching them I'm realizing just how many episodes I missed, and at the same time I can't believe I deprived myself of such a great show by not following it faithfully. I think it's fair to say I've become obsessed with it!!
The day before yesterday, I saw for the first time the episode, "Comes the Inquisitor." I just sat there stunned after it was over - the writing, the acting, the lighting were so amazing. Every scene between Mira Furlan and Wayne Alexander was mesmerizing. I can't believe how fantastic they were. What the bleep was I doing while this show was on??
A hopeless romantic, I've fallen in love with the John and Delenn romance.
I love G'Kar and Londo, Garibaldi and Ivanova. What great characters! I especially love Andreas Katsulas and Peter Jurasik. Their acting is incredible. I can't wait to see more. So now I've got to get the dvds. (I just wish they weren't so expensive.)
Good sci fi is about special effects. Great sci fi is about people.Comment
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Loved B5 and at one point I also praised it as the best, but quite frankly... it isn't. Especially because of the HORRENDOUS 5th season. The 1st season was also "average" it was during seasons 2-4 that the show truly shined.Comment
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Originally posted by Lord Shiva I was a huge fan of the show (can you tell?) but they lost me completely during that 5th season, trying to cram in too much material. Shame, a great vision spoiled.
sigpic "Ce qui ressemble a l'amour est toujours de l'amour." - Tristan BernardComment
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I own the whole series on DVD and i admit season 5 can feel a tad anti-climatic but remember this was the fault of Warner Bros rather than the writer JMS. It still has some fantastic episodes most notably the Fall of Centauri Prime. I bow to the fact that Byron was an annoyingly self-righteous space hippy but Ignore him and overall season 5 aint half bad with a strong string of episodes leading up to Sleeping in Light. I only worry that Babylon 5 will fade into memory, unlike Star Trek which will probably at least live in spirit for eternity(I like Star Trek as well, especially DS9)Comment
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I love B5 as well. It is one series I have not yet purchased on DVD but is on my wants list.Comment
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I loved B5 back in the day.
It still ranks as my fave scifi show of all time.
A lot of people rip on the first season as being pretty stilted, but I look at it as the baseline of the series. All the actors were new to the characters and to each other and had not yet come together as an ensemble.
5th season was mostly unrelated, but that was due to WB and the circus of stations that tried airing it.
The byplay tween Londo and G'Kar over the course of the entire series was great.Comment
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Great thread... Must put in my 2 cents...
Interestingly enough, hubs and I have been rewatching the entire series during the holidays... and the show still looks good.
As far as I'm concerned, there aren't too many shows, much less scifi, that can beat B5 where dialogue and characterization are concerned. To me it is one of the most well-thought, brilliantly executed television shows I've ever seen. I still don't know of too many shows that integrate flash forwards quite as confidently.
However, the thing I love most about the show is the way the mythos and cultural differences are written... it really makes the mythos on Stargate and BSG pale by comparison. Only DS9 really comes close... but only in the sense that the top end of Australia is close to the bottom end. Admittedly, S5 wasn't quite as good as the preceding seasons but still had it's moments. And much better than some shows in their prime. I think losing Marcus and "gaining" Byron was a bitter blow that I don't think I recovered from.
Susan Ivanova is still my favourite scifi female... and I don't have too many that I care about.
Pity that Crusade never got the opportunity to really take off.sigpic
"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth"Comment
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ive only seen the first series i bought the dvd recently ill get series 2 when i can by the end of series 1 you can already see londo start to turn evil its good to see a sci fi series where evil isnt an absolute showing a normal person become evil out of desperation the relationship between delenn and sinclair also shows how life isnt absolutes i mean her people almost destroyed humanity yet among the ambassadors sinclair is closest to herComment
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There's not much I can add to what's already been said.
Our entire family puts B5 at the top of our fav series list - any genre.
Ivonova was the most believably human female SF officer I've ever seen. The ships - romantic and friend - between the characters were wonderfully executed.
The Vorlon/Shadows storyline was tremendously well written and the denouement, powerful.
The (dvd)commentaries by JMS are special. Now here's a guy who knows how to say relevant, interesting stuff about what's going on on screen.Gracie
A Cherokee elder sitting with his grandchildren told them,
"In every life there is a terrible fight – a fight between two wolves.
One is evil: he is fear, anger, envy, greed, arrogance, self-pity,
resentment, and deceit. The other is good: joy, serenity, humility,
confidence, generosity, truth, gentleness, and compassion."
A child asked, "Grandfather, which wolf will win?"
The elder looked the child in the eye. "The one you feed."
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Thanks Easter Lily and Tok'ra Hostess, nice to feel appreciated.Originally posted by Easter Lily
Claudia Christian, who played her, is currently in a UK spoof rolling news show called "Broken News" in the role of a US anchorwoman.sigpic "Ce qui ressemble a l'amour est toujours de l'amour." - Tristan BernardComment
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