Babylon 5

[Blake00]

Originally Posted by Indiana Jones

Wouldn’t surprise me if one is the US release and the other the U.K. release, identical discs but different SKU’s.

Originally Posted by NX-74205

Yep, the Blu-ray listing (without mention of 21-disc) has the UK artwork+SKU

Ahh cheers, so there really is 2 release variants for the regions but the discs are the same region free ones. Oh well I won't push it with them then. Still ticks me off that had I waited a few more days I could have saved $35 and got the newly listed one but oh well...

[Cplhicks]

The news about Paramount and WB discussing a merger is terrible for a lot of reasons, but as a Babylon 5 fan I absolutely hate it. You know if they merged Babylon 5 would be buried completely, because no studio is going to make Star Trek AND Babylon 5, and B5 would lose that fight. Of course, after seeing what happened to loss of variety when Disney bought Fox, there are other reasons to hate the idea, but B5 being buried permanently worries me the most....

[dykesy]

Giving Zaslav anymore properties to destroy is always worrying. Someone needs to seriously kick him out of the company. He's a cancer on Warner's.

[LexInHD]

Originally Posted by Cplhicks

The news about Paramount and WB discussing a merger is terrible for a lot of reasons, but as a Babylon 5 fan I absolutely hate it. You know if they merged Babylon 5 would be buried completely, because no studio is going to make Star Trek AND Babylon 5, and B5 would lose that fight. Of course, after seeing what happened to loss of variety when Disney bought Fox, there are other reasons to hate the idea, but B5 being buried permanently worries me the most....

JMS has long claimed that someone at WB - a long-time high-level executive, apparently - absolutely hates Babylon 5. He hasn't named names, but claims that this person has had and exerted enough clout to keep B5 dead and buried for many years, hence the lack of B5 novel reprints and other merch to keep the IP active and he claims this person is responsible for the bad relationship between JMS and WB, which is why he had no knowledge whatsoever of the B5 HD remastering until it leaked.

[dykesy]

Originally Posted by LexInHD

JMS has long claimed that someone at WB - a long-time high-level executive, apparently - absolutely hates Babylon 5. He hasn't named names, but claims that this person has had and exerted enough clout to keep B5 dead and buried for many years, hence the lack of B5 novel reprints and other merch to keep the IP active and he claims this person is responsible for the bad relationship between JMS and WB, which is why he had no knowledge whatsoever of the B5 HD remastering until it leaked.

I believe that once that executive left was when the HD remastering and talks of the animated film and reboot started. I would love it if someone would produce models of some of the ships in the series like what Eaglemoss was doing for Star Trek. I'd love a detailed model of a Starfury and a White Star.

[Blake00]

I see now from the links in the first post of this thread that the US & Canada releases have 20 discs and the UK release has 21 discs. I wonder what's on the extra disc?

[Indiana Jones]

Originally Posted by Blake00

I see now from the links in the first post of this thread that the US & Canada releases have 20 discs and the UK release has 21 discs. I wonder what's on the extra disc?

Links are wrong, all sets are 21 discs (4 discs per season and The Gathering on its own disc)

[Agent Bond]

JMS has long claimed that someone at WB - a long-time high-level executive, apparently - absolutely hates Babylon 5. He hasn't named names, but claims that this person has had and exerted enough clout to keep B5 dead and buried for many years, hence the lack of B5 novel reprints and other merch to keep the IP active and he claims this person is responsible for the bad relationship between JMS and WB, which is why he had no knowledge whatsoever of the B5 HD remastering until it leaked.

Most likely Kevin Fortson. The timeline adds up.

[drb999]

I was really hoping to see the movies come out on blu-ray. The show feels incomplete without them.

[MarcelS1]

Same here! Want them all on Blu but mostly for In the Beginning

[DKLou]

Originally Posted by drb999

I was really hoping to see the movies come out on blu-ray. The show feels incomplete without them.

Never saw the movie. Hmmmm. I’ve watched a lot of the show over the course of a long time via streaming but never the entire show & all seasons. I mostly like it. Might have to grab this set and have a full go at it.

The movie is only on DVD then? Eeeeew.

[KcMsterpce]

Originally Posted by DKLou

Never saw the movie. Hmmmm. I’ve watched a lot of the show over the course of a long time via streaming but never the entire show & all seasons. I mostly like it. Might have to grab this set and have a full go at it.

The movie is only on DVD then? Eeeeew.

Season 1 is kinda rocky and corny, but has great moments.
Seasons 2-4 is very good to excellent.
Season 5 is quite bad, and it couldn't find itself after the main story arc(s) of S2-4.

Also, there are like, 7 movies. The first three movies were between seasons of the show, then the other ones came out after the series ended.

[drb999]

That’s a pretty good assessment of the show’s quality.

Even Crusade need a blu-ray release.

[CouncilSpectre]

The movies are very much a mixed bag in terms of relevance and quality.

I'd say the most important ones, as they have greatest relevance to the actual show, are The Gathering and In the Beginning. A Call to Arms is useful if you're heading into Crusade, and The Road Home is decent nostalgia-fodder, but neither are essential. Of the other films, Thirdspace is enjoyable enough, but River of Souls and The Legend of the Rangers are distinctly underwhelming.

[oddbox83]

I like River of Souls for the simple reason it gives us a run of the mill story after Sheridan and the main Ambassadors have moved on.

There was never going to be a season 6 of course, but this is our glimpse into an alternate reality where the series got another year with all the main arcs over!
I just wish season 5 had done more standalones instead of stretching what arcs they had left.

[CouncilSpectre]

Originally Posted by oddbox83

I like River of Souls for the simple reason it gives us a run of the mill story after Sheridan and the main Ambassadors have moved on.

True. I thought it was a bit of a waste of Martin Sheen though, and McShane.

[DKLou]

Originally Posted by KcMsterpce

Season 1 is kinda rocky and corny, but has great moments.
Seasons 2-4 is very good to excellent.
Season 5 is quite bad, and it couldn't find itself after the main story arc(s) of S2-4.

Also, there are like, 7 movies. The first three movies were between seasons of the show, then the other ones came out after the series ended.

So, at least 4 watchable seasons with a weak final season? That’s not a bad ratio. Might still pick it up. I like physical media anyways and can work through the show at my own leisure.

[CouncilSpectre]

Originally Posted by DKLou

So, at least 4 watchable seasons with a weak final season? That’s not a bad ratio. Might still pick it up. I like physical media anyways and can work through the show at my own leisure.

The mark against the final year is the first half of the season, when they had to (for reasons) tread water a little bit. The final 7 or so episodes are very good and the finale is outstanding. This isn't a show that petered out

The first season is hit and miss because it's world-building, but give the show until the end of the second season and you'll have a fair idea of whether you're going to enjoy the rest of it.

The back end of season 2, and seasons 3 and 4 are some of the best genre television you're ever likely to see.

[KcMsterpce]

Babylon 5 is interesting because it has ambitions that far outweigh the technology of the time, and had a stringently limited budget.
The fact that the show was able to follow through on most of its intentions with said limitations is admirable.
Had the series been made after 2005 or so, it would have been cheaper and easier to follow through on the imagination and expanse of world-building and themes presented.

It literally was ahead of its time. I don't fault the show for that, but it's a good thing to keep in mind if you've never watched it.

The other show that makes me say the same thing (but was done better overall) is FARSCAPE. That was so insanely wide in scope and imagination, it's hard to believe that it did as much as it did during the time it was released.

If Babylon 5 and Farscape were made today, with a budget that was given to current Star Trek schlock like Picard, SNW, or Discovery, I can only imagine how iconic these series would be if they came out today.

I respect both shows for accomplishing so much with so little.

But also, season 5 of B5 was quite bad. It's ok for me, since seasons 2-4 had a lot of hits versus its misses, especially when put into context of budget and technology constraints of the time. That more than makes up for season 5, which I kept hoping would come together and didn't. It's easy to forgive and mostly forget when all the factors are put into place if you recognize how much was done with so little JUST BEFORE all of these ideas would have been easier to do even 10 years later.

It's also interesting because serialized television was in its infancy at the time. Babylon 5, Buffy, Angel, and Farscape were some of the first shows to do what is common now: Require viewers to watch the series in sequence.
Many claim The Wire, or Sopranos were the first of such kinds of shows, but again, Babylon 5 was ahead of its time.

(EDIT: It is notable to bring up that soap operas were basically doing serialized television for many years at that point, but it's different because those were dramas and series (such as Dallas, or Empty Nest, let alone Days of Our Lives and all those other famous LEGITIMATE soap operas) that were using the same drama/romance story beats season after season, and no need for SFX and pre-planned, several-season arcs to bring their stories to life. It was basically simple romance drama that happened week to week. So it's not a like-for-like comparison.)

Soon after Babylon 5, Star Trek DS9 and Voyager started to follow suit, and ST: Enterprise leaned in even harder into the serialized concept. By 2005, it started to become more prevalent.

[Cruel Angel]

Originally Posted by KcMsterpce

It's also interesting because serialized television was in its infancy at the time. Babylon 5, Buffy, Angel, and Farscape were some of the first shows to do what is common now: Require viewers to watch the series in sequence.
Many claim The Wire, or Sopranos were the first of such kinds of shows, but again, Babylon 5 was ahead of its time.

And the UK was doing serialized tv shows way before the 90s. Took a long time for the US to catch up.