The Babylon 5 Season FOUR Discussion Thread
12-31-03, 06:08 AM
#1
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
The Babylon 5 Season FOUR Discussion Thread
We're less than a week away from the release of Season 4 on DVD, so I thought I would get the discussion rolling on our traditional season thread.
Last time, we waited until the Monday following the release to begin a daily episode-by-episode review. Should the same be done this time? Or should we begin earlier?
Just for review, here's the season three cliffhanger:
Z'ha'dum
Last time, we waited until the Monday following the release to begin a daily episode-by-episode review. Should the same be done this time? Or should we begin earlier?
Just for review, here's the season three cliffhanger:
Z'ha'dum
Third season finale. A face from Sheridan's past takes him on a dangerous mission to meet his Shadow counterpart. Londo receives important news about his political future. The Shadows mass a fleet against Babylon 5.
Given that Anna most likely lied about the fate of the Icarus' crew, and that they tried to mislead him about what had been done to her, much of what Sheridan was told may be lies or misrepresentation as well, and it's possible that important elements of the relationship between the Vorlons, Shadows, and the other First Ones were left unsaid.
Some part of Kosh is definitely in Sheridan's head -- Sheridan sees or hears him twice. The first time is just before he leaves for Z'ha'dum, when Kosh says, "If you go to Z'ha'dum, you will die." The second time is just before the White Star crashes into the Shadow city, when he tells Sheridan to jump into the pit.
The Shadows don't seem to have very good security, given that they failed to detect that Sheridan was carrying a second gun. On the other hand, it's possible they did detect it, but elected for some reason not to do anything about it.
Z'ha'dum's defenses are similarly flawed; the White Star was able to crash into the surface of the planet intact, apparently with no opposition on the way down. Why weren't the Shadows vigorously protecting their homeworld? Obviously they left the White Star alone while it was in orbit because of their guarantee to Sheridan, but once it started plummeting toward one of their cities, it's odd that they didn't shoot it out of the sky.
Some part of Kosh is definitely in Sheridan's head -- Sheridan sees or hears him twice. The first time is just before he leaves for Z'ha'dum, when Kosh says, "If you go to Z'ha'dum, you will die." The second time is just before the White Star crashes into the Shadow city, when he tells Sheridan to jump into the pit.
The Shadows don't seem to have very good security, given that they failed to detect that Sheridan was carrying a second gun. On the other hand, it's possible they did detect it, but elected for some reason not to do anything about it.
Z'ha'dum's defenses are similarly flawed; the White Star was able to crash into the surface of the planet intact, apparently with no opposition on the way down. Why weren't the Shadows vigorously protecting their homeworld? Obviously they left the White Star alone while it was in orbit because of their guarantee to Sheridan, but once it started plummeting toward one of their cities, it's odd that they didn't shoot it out of the sky.
12-31-03, 07:04 AM
#2
DVD Talk Hero
I've seen this show so many times it's not healthy, and yet I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened to Sheridan at Z'ha'dum. Tuesday can't come soon enough.
/me shivers with antici ... SAY IT!!!! ... pation.
das
G'Quan wrote, 'There is a greater darkness than the one we fight. It is the darkness of the soul that has lost its way. The war we fight is not against powers and principalities; it is against chaos and despair. Greater than the death of flesh is the death of hope, the death of dreams. Against this peril we can never surrender. The future is all around us, waiting in moments of transition, to be born in moments of revelation. No one knows the shape of that future or where it will take us. We know only that it is always born ... in pain.'
das
12-31-03, 07:30 AM
#3
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For some reason, I feel the need for some...ketchup??
Count me in. I'll be late as usual, but by the time I get here, you'll likely be needing fresh
Can't wait!
Tick tock...
Count me in. I'll be late as usual, but by the time I get here, you'll likely be needing fresh
Can't wait!
Tick tock...
12-31-03, 01:33 PM
#4
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Chew you read my mind with this thread.
If we could wait until the Monday after release day to get the discussion going that would be wonderful. The student loan check doesn't come until until the 12th so I figure if I buy it on Saturday the check won't clear until Monday at the earliest
.
Oh the things we'll do for a B5 fix especially when we're broke!
If we could wait until the Monday after release day to get the discussion going that would be wonderful. The student loan check doesn't come until until the 12th so I figure if I buy it on Saturday the check won't clear until Monday at the earliest
. Oh the things we'll do for a B5 fix especially when we're broke!
12-31-03, 08:26 PM
#5
DVD Talk Legend
May not be the best place for this, but does anyone know a good place to find used season sets of these DVDs. I figure some of you may have picked the previous seasons up this way. The prices of the Canadian e-tailers seems to be better than used copies on ebay or half.com. And being a more obscure show, I don't really expect to see many of these lying around in other places. Thanks for any help and back to your regularly scheduled discussion.
12-31-03, 08:28 PM
#6
DVD Talk Hero
It was the year of fire.
The year of destruction.
The year we took back what was ours.
It was a year of rebirth.
A year of great sadness.
A year of pain,
And a year of joy.
It was a new age.
It was the end of history.
It was the year everything changed.
The year is 2261,
The place, Babylon 5.
The year of destruction.
The year we took back what was ours.
It was a year of rebirth.
A year of great sadness.
A year of pain,
And a year of joy.
It was a new age.
It was the end of history.
It was the year everything changed.
The year is 2261,
The place, Babylon 5.
Last edited by Josh-da-man; 12-31-03 at 08:32 PM.
01-05-04, 02:41 PM
#14
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
Originally posted by Chew
Amazon shows a January 12th estimated shipping date for my B5 order.
Amazon shows a January 12th estimated shipping date for my B5 order.
shipped today! ....and the accurate Amazon ESD continues.
01-05-04, 03:21 PM
#15
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Kewl.
Who's gonna get theirs first?
Edit: where's that crying kid pic? I sort of need it right now, if "Where's My Stuff" is accurate.
Who's gonna get theirs first?
Edit: where's that crying kid pic? I sort of need it right now, if "Where's My Stuff" is accurate.
Last edited by Wizdar; 01-05-04 at 10:16 PM.
01-06-04, 10:06 AM
#16
DVD Talk Legend
Man, I can't tell you how much I envy you noobs who are experiencing B5 for the first time. I can recall EXACTLY where I was and how I felt when I was in the position you are in now, having seen Z'ha'dum and being left with that cliffhanger.
For me, it was back in 1994 or 95 (whenever B5S3 was still "new"). In Dayton, B5 aired on Channel 22 at some horrible time like 2am Sunday night/Monday morning. During the latter part of S1, I would happen to stumble across it if I was having a tough time getting to sleep. By the time I caught on that there were story threads being woven through all the episodes, it was already early S2. I decided to tape the episodes so I could watch them at a reasonable time. A month goes by, and suddenly it starts to "click" for me. I'm wondering about Vorlons, telepaths, the Battle of the Line, and am starting to get a little worried about Shadows. So I begin watching it EVERY week.
It soon dawns on me -- I'm using the same tape for each episode, meaning that I'm TAPING OVER previous episodes. :shudder: That's like reading a chapter of a book, then ripping that chapter out and throwing it away. I begin buying blank tapes to archive this. I start talking about it at work. I even find myself staying up on Sunday nights to make sure the local station didn't monkey around with their schedule and slip the scheduled start by 10-15 minutes (which would frequently occur).
In a word, I got hooked. But I didn't really jump in until about midway through S2. It was already about midway into S3, but I still didn't know all of the background. So I started looking around for a way to get a chance to see S1. I prowled the internet (it wasn't nearly as big then as today), and stumbled across a guy at Ohio State who had copies of every episode and was making arrangements to get a lab on campus with a projection TV system so he could invite folks for a B5-a-thon. I contacted him, and two weeks later I was hunkered down in some physics lab with a couple of dozen or so students and watched 7-8 hours of B5 straight. We ended up breaking it into three viewing chunks, one per Saturday.
Then came the coup. S3 had 5 episodes left, but they were not going to be broadcast for another month or two, even though the UK had already seen them. The guy at Ohio State had a friend who had a friend in the UK, and on the final Saturday as we settled in to see the final S1 eps, he pulled out tapes of the five final S3 eps. Man, that was one long day!
As the final images of Z'ha'dum unfolded across the screen, most of the folks in the room were absolutely stunned and silent. After everyone collectively gasped out the breath they had been holding, talk of Sheridan and "what the heck happened?" began swirling. But I continued to sit there in silence, wondering whatever happened to Mr. Garibaldi.
I won't spoil anything for you, but will let you know that it will be a few episodes into S4 before you will fully be able to piece together what happened to Sheridan and Garibaldi.
So sit back and enjoy. I wish I were you.
For me, it was back in 1994 or 95 (whenever B5S3 was still "new"). In Dayton, B5 aired on Channel 22 at some horrible time like 2am Sunday night/Monday morning. During the latter part of S1, I would happen to stumble across it if I was having a tough time getting to sleep. By the time I caught on that there were story threads being woven through all the episodes, it was already early S2. I decided to tape the episodes so I could watch them at a reasonable time. A month goes by, and suddenly it starts to "click" for me. I'm wondering about Vorlons, telepaths, the Battle of the Line, and am starting to get a little worried about Shadows. So I begin watching it EVERY week.
It soon dawns on me -- I'm using the same tape for each episode, meaning that I'm TAPING OVER previous episodes. :shudder: That's like reading a chapter of a book, then ripping that chapter out and throwing it away. I begin buying blank tapes to archive this. I start talking about it at work. I even find myself staying up on Sunday nights to make sure the local station didn't monkey around with their schedule and slip the scheduled start by 10-15 minutes (which would frequently occur).
In a word, I got hooked. But I didn't really jump in until about midway through S2. It was already about midway into S3, but I still didn't know all of the background. So I started looking around for a way to get a chance to see S1. I prowled the internet (it wasn't nearly as big then as today), and stumbled across a guy at Ohio State who had copies of every episode and was making arrangements to get a lab on campus with a projection TV system so he could invite folks for a B5-a-thon. I contacted him, and two weeks later I was hunkered down in some physics lab with a couple of dozen or so students and watched 7-8 hours of B5 straight. We ended up breaking it into three viewing chunks, one per Saturday.
Then came the coup. S3 had 5 episodes left, but they were not going to be broadcast for another month or two, even though the UK had already seen them. The guy at Ohio State had a friend who had a friend in the UK, and on the final Saturday as we settled in to see the final S1 eps, he pulled out tapes of the five final S3 eps. Man, that was one long day!
As the final images of Z'ha'dum unfolded across the screen, most of the folks in the room were absolutely stunned and silent. After everyone collectively gasped out the breath they had been holding, talk of Sheridan and "what the heck happened?" began swirling. But I continued to sit there in silence, wondering whatever happened to Mr. Garibaldi.
I won't spoil anything for you, but will let you know that it will be a few episodes into S4 before you will fully be able to piece together what happened to Sheridan and Garibaldi.
So sit back and enjoy. I wish I were you.
01-06-04, 02:11 PM
#19
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I had a deposition this morning, but rushed right over to Best Buy and picked up my copy this afternoon. It will be tough sitting through dinner, getting the kids ready for bed, etc. all the while dying to get to the TV.
Further, 24 is on tonight at 9:00, and since I usually can't settle down in front of the TV before 8:20 I definitely won't have seen S4 Ep1 by 9. I have to watch 24.
But then - it's showtime!!!!!!!
I can't WAIT to find out what happened to Sheridan and Garibaldi.
Further, 24 is on tonight at 9:00, and since I usually can't settle down in front of the TV before 8:20 I definitely won't have seen S4 Ep1 by 9. I have to watch 24.
But then - it's showtime!!!!!!!
I can't WAIT to find out what happened to Sheridan and Garibaldi.
01-06-04, 02:59 PM
#20
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I guess shopping at Worst Buy is punishment enough for being one of the First Ones. I was ready to unleash all manner of grief, but thought butter of it.
First Ones. Get it? Aw, I crack myself up.
“Shipping soon.”
First Ones. Get it? Aw, I crack myself up.
“Shipping soon.”
01-06-04, 03:08 PM
#21
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Originally posted by Wizdar
I guess shopping at Worst Buy is punishment enough for being one of the First Ones. I was ready to unleash all manner of grief, but thought butter of it.
I guess shopping at Worst Buy is punishment enough for being one of the First Ones. I was ready to unleash all manner of grief, but thought butter of it.
01-06-04, 06:25 PM
#23
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Originally posted by das Monkey
I know I'm not the only one who stops browsing the forum when the B5 banner comes on screen and waits for it to finish before clicking anything.
das
I know I'm not the only one who stops browsing the forum when the B5 banner comes on screen and waits for it to finish before clicking anything.
das
01-07-04, 08:18 AM
#25
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I watched "The Hour of the Wolf" last night. It raised more questions than it gave answers, but - wow. Just - wow. This is going to be a fun ride.
