Babylon 5 - The Road Home 4K UHD

[oddbox83]

It'd be nice to have the TV movies included in broadcast order with a new release too. The Gathering (both versions upscaled) should be on disc 1 of a season 1 set. In the Beginning at the start of season 5, etc.

Won't happen though, if we do get a BD release of the original series they'd hive all the movies into their own set. If they've even restored those yet, as their are conspicuous in their HD absence on streaming. The Gathering is the only one that will all need upscaled but I'm hopeful a good quality 4:3 upscale will still give modest improvements (and a lot of improvements over the version still on streaming which is cropped to 16:9).

[CouncilSpectre]

Originally Posted by oddbox83

It'd be nice to have the TV movies included in broadcast order with a new release too. The Gathering (both versions upscaled) should be on disc 1 of a season 1 set. In the Beginning at the start of season 5, etc.

Won't happen though, if we do get a BD release of the original series they'd hive all the movies into their own set. If they've even restored those yet, as their are conspicuous in their HD absence on streaming. The Gathering is the only one that will all need upscaled but I'm hopeful a good quality 4:3 upscale will still give modest improvements (and a lot of improvements over the version still on streaming which is cropped to 16:9).

All about the direction of travel. WBs ignored B5 for decades. Now, they've realized it's popularity to the point where we've had the series remastered and we're getting a new (animated) movie. I'd be equally surprised if they weren't remastering the movies and/or prepping the lot for blu ray. At this point I'd even be hopeful we'll get Crusade on blu!

[StarFuryG7]

Originally Posted by CouncilSpectre

All about the direction of travel. WBs ignored B5 for decades. Now, they've realized it's popularity to the point where we've had the series remastered and we're getting a new (animated) movie. I'd be equally surprised if they weren't remastering the movies and/or prepping the lot for blu ray. At this point I'd even be hopeful we'll get Crusade on blu!

Keep in mind that the remastering that took place on the series took six years to complete, and that it was done by fans of the series over there at WB on their own time I believe as a side project which the studio okayed. However, I'm sure they've paid attention to the streaming numbers of the remastered version of the series since they released that digitally, and they obviously were willing to produce this animated movie. So they are paying some attention to this franchise series obviously.

[CouncilSpectre]

Originally Posted by StarFuryG7

Keep in mind that the remastering that took place on the series took six years to complete, and that it was done by fans of the series over there at WB on their own time I believe as a side project which the studio okayed. However, I'm sure they've paid attention to the streaming numbers of the remastered version of the series since they released that digitally, and they obviously were willing to produce this animated movie. So they are paying some attention to this franchise series obviously.

I would guess that the popularity of the remastered episodes on streaming services has influenced, to some degree, the decision to greenlight the animated movie.

B5's always been more popular than WB gave it credit for. You can only hope that they've finally woken up to that. If the remastered episodes were popular enough to spawn the animated movie, then it's a good sign for blu rays at some point

[goathunter]

Originally Posted by sandman slim

Extreme weirdness with my Walmart order. Got a text that the total had changed; it still shows as active & "preparing", but the price is now $0.00, with a -27.96 adjustment due to "pre-order price match".

Yeah, that happened to me, too. It was obviously some system glitch, but I have no idea what it means for my order. I assume it will be cancelled at some point, but for now, it's still showing as an active order for $0.00.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by cdx47

I don't remember how I found out about the show or what made me start watching. But lucky for me I started somewhere in season 2 and I would recommend to anyone who is new to do the same. I still haven't watched season 1 but for completeness I will one day. Season 2 and 3 are build up to the kick ass Season 4 which was going to be the final season. I liked Season 5 but I might be in the minority.

I dunno. S3 for me was the peak. The 3-episode gut punch of "Messages from Earth", "Point of No Return", and "Severed Dreams" was astonishing.

S4 was strong (especially the 1984-esque "Intersections in Real Time"), but it and S5 suffered a bit from production issues. Season 4 was not supposed to be the last season. JMS intended the show as a 5-season arc. The problem was that Warner decided to end the syndication "network", PTEN, that some of their shows, including B5, were packaged for. That left B5 hanging, and there were all sorts of wheelin' and dealin' to get Warner-owned TNT to pick the show up for the fifth season.

S5 wasn't guaranteed, so JMS had to do some remapping of his story. Each of the episodes all along were basically made up with an "A" plot (the primary storyline) and a "B" plot (the secondary storyline). What JMS did was to replace the intended "B" plots for S4 with the "A" plots for S5, in order to take the primary story to the finish line. And the series finale was filmed as the last episode of S4.

All of this was set and done by the time TNT agreed to pick up S5. So the first episode to film for S5 was a new "finale" for S4, and "Sleeping in Light" was held back to be the series finale.

Anyways, by some miracle, it all seemed to work well enough, even though the seams showed.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by oddbox83

It'd be nice to have the TV movies included in broadcast order with a new release too. The Gathering (both versions upscaled) should be on disc 1 of a season 1 set. In the Beginning at the start of season 5, etc.

Won't happen though, if we do get a BD release of the original series they'd hive all the movies into their own set. If they've even restored those yet, as their are conspicuous in their HD absence on streaming. The Gathering is the only one that will all need upscaled but I'm hopeful a good quality 4:3 upscale will still give modest improvements (and a lot of improvements over the version still on streaming which is cropped to 16:9).

If all this happens, it would be likely that only the revised version of "The Gathering" will be included. Completists will want both, but JMS really doesn't like the original version, and I think he'd be happy if everyone forgets that it ever existed. The only home video release I'm aware of is a Japanese laserdisc (which I have) though there was undoubtedly a Japanese VHS as well.

"In the Beginning", despite being a prequel, definitely should not be seen before the second half of S3. If it's seen first, it spoils the revelations in the S3 episode "A Late Delivery from Avalon" of how the Earth-Minbar War started.

[iaragorn1]

Originally Posted by jayembee

I dunno. S3 for me was the peak. The 3-episode gut punch of "Messages from Earth", "Point of No Return", and "Severed Dreams" was astonishing.

S4 was strong (especially the 1984-esque "Intersections in Real Time"), but it and S5 suffered a bit from production issues. Season 4 was not supposed to be the last season. JMS intended the show as a 5-season arc. The problem was that Warner decided to end the syndication "network", PTEN, that some of their shows, including B5, were packaged for. That left B5 hanging, and there were all sorts of wheelin' and dealin' to get Warner-owned TNT to pick the show up for the fifth season.

S5 wasn't guaranteed, so JMS had to do some remapping of his story. Each of the episodes all along were basically made up with an "A" plot (the primary storyline) and a "B" plot (the secondary storyline). What JMS did was to replace the intended "B" plots for S4 with the "A" plots for S5, in order to take the primary story to the finish line. And the series finale was filmed as the last episode of S4.

All of this was set and done by the time TNT agreed to pick up S5. So the first episode to film for S5 was a new "finale" for S4, and "Sleeping in Light" was held back to be the series finale.

Anyways, by some miracle, it all seemed to work well enough, even though the seams showed.

JMS did a remarkable feat when he wrote all of season 3 and 4. With Season 4 seemingly the last, he had to finish many of the narrative arc's into just one season.

I like the fourth season very much but either by knowing that it rushed in part and probably truncated in other parts, it just seemed way too fast. (In these early days of the internet before Twitty, JMS kept the fans in the know)

Season 1 showed some of the mystery and a few pieces to come. Season 2 starting lifting the veil and some of the implications were big. Season 3 is where the **** hit the fan. Season 4 kind of wraps it all up.

He wanted five seasons and thought he only had 4; it is what it is.

[oddbox83]

Originally Posted by jayembee

If all this happens, it would be likely that only the revised version of "The Gathering" will be included. Completists will want both, but JMS really doesn't like the original version, and I think he'd be happy if everyone forgets that it ever existed. The only home video release I'm aware of is a Japanese laserdisc (which I have) though there was undoubtedly a Japanese VHS as well.

"In the Beginning", despite being a prequel, definitely should not be seen before the second half of S3. If it's seen first, it spoils the revelations in the S3 episode "A Late Delivery from Avalon" of how the Earth-Minbar War started.

When The Gathering first got a UK DVD, it was the SE.

I don't think the SE got European language dubs though.... so when it came out on DVD there it was the original cut, which by accident or design became the default region 2 template... so The Gathering in the region 2 complete set, UK included, is the original version.

[Maverick88]

Originally Posted by jayembee

The only home video release I'm aware of is a Japanese laserdisc (which I have) though there was undoubtedly a Japanese VHS as well.

The original version of The Gathering was also available through Columbia House's video club on VHS. I've still got a copy of it to go with my copy of the Japanese LD.

[Titus37]

Any reviews hitting yet? I'm very excited about this release and am especially pleased it is coming in 4k.

[oddbox83]

Originally Posted by Titus37

Any reviews hitting yet? I'm very excited about this release and am especially pleased it is coming in 4k.

My UK copy was shipped today....

People are gonna start receiving copies in a couple of days.

[Rixx]

Had a nice surprise when The Postie delivered this a few days early. Will be watching over the weekend

[Titus37]

Originally Posted by Rixx

Had a nice surprise when The Postie delivered this a few days early. Will be watching over the weekend

Please let us know what you think.

[CouncilSpectre]

Originally Posted by Rixx

Had a nice surprise when The Postie delivered this a few days early. Will be watching over the weekend

Mine's been despatched. Due to arrive on Monday. Of course we're on vacation from Sunday...... FFS

[tyrok]

[Bitofacraic]

Never seen this before, but always saw comparisons of this show to Star Trek TNG/DS9

Would I like it if I like those? Always heard good things

[drb999]

If you like DS9 odds are you’ll like Babylon 5 too.

[Lope de Aguirre]

Originally Posted by Bitofacraic

Never seen this before, but always saw comparisons of this show to Star Trek TNG/DS9

Would I like it if I like those? Always heard good things

Yes, but this is an additional animated film.
The original show will be released on Blu-ray in December.

[StarFuryG7]

Originally Posted by Bitofacraic

Never seen this before, but always saw comparisons of this show to Star Trek TNG/DS9

Would I like it if I like those? Always heard good things

I liked "Babylon 5" more than DS9, but when it starts off you'll have to keep your expectations in check by keeping in mind that they did not have the kind of budget DS9 had to work with. The special effects sequences in space don't look great at times, but improve. Props are cheesy, such as the rifle Sinclair uses during the climax of "The Gathering," which is the original pilot movie for the series. The soul catcher device that the Soul Hunter uses in the second episode, under the same title, is pathetic looking. The sets are okay, but the budget compared to what Paramount gave DS9 to work with is apparent. If you can look past these issues early on, things do get better, and you may enjoy the show.