jwerner

I know there was a thread a few months back detailing how awesome the Babylon 5 experience is. My wife and I are SG1 fanatics. Due to all the praise of B5, I have started watching season 1. My wife absolutely refuses to watch it with me. She thinks it's terrible and the cheesiest thing she's ever seen. Of course, she's not watched but just a few minutes. I'm actually quite enjoying it. It's just sad to be enjoying it by myself.

I will be watching "A voice in the wilderness part 2" soon and then Babylon Squared. From prior posts, I understand this is when it starts really getting good. I'm going to try to get my wife to watch with me.

Anyway, I thought I'd let everyone know, just for the fun of it. I'm excited to see if this ends up being as good as everyone here says.

strife

Yup it is just getting good. Have her try watching again once you get about halfway into season 2.

chess

Old thread may have been mine. An excellent bit of television.

After all the buildup, Babylon Squared sort of left me cold (it gets pretty strange)...but it's an amazing episode to go back to after you've seen the rest.

The third and fourth seasons are pure gold. If your wife doesn't get into those, get a divorce immediately.

spainlinx0

I love Babylon 5, but some of the acting is just downright cheesy. I love the story so much that I'm willing to ignore some of those flaws, but for some people it's a big distraction. If she doesn't have the patience to watch from the beginning she may find herself lost later on.

Bandoman

Boy, are you in for a great ride! Please convince your wife to give it a try, by the time you are into seasons 3 and 4 you'll both be completely hooked.

dstrauss

I'll be the first.

Heh heh heh.

Welcome to the club. Round about the middle of season 3 you will join us in knowing why B5, at it's peak, was the best damn show ever.

das Monkey

Meh. Never seen the show myself, but I've heard it's pretty stupid. Your wife's probably right.

das

jwerner

I'm up to "Squared" tonight . . . I talked her into watching it with me. Did you feel that the episode was a disappointment or just strange? Either way, hopefully she'll enjoy it tonight.

She got hooked on "Roswell," "Voyager," and "SG1" after watching a couple of episodes. Hopefully, "Squared" will be a good episode to get her interested.

lordwow

I'll be the first to say, I just watched the first episode of season 1, and it looks really cheesy. But I have faith... you guys have never let me down before

chess

It's kind of a left-field episode that fits into the grand scheme of things but doesn't make a lot of sense right now. It's top quality but might be confusing even for somebody who's watched the show up to that point. But if she doesn't see it, there's no point in going forward because it's absurdly pivotal.

chess

Seasons 3 and 4 are some of the best television I've seen...ever.

Mattrk

Das prefers Sliders, so take what he says with a grain of salt.

Babylon 5's okay. It's no Captain Power & The Soldiers of the Future, but it'll do.

das Monkey

Sliders was da bomb, yo! The Cromags own the Shadows.

All kidding aside, what I wouldn't give to be featured in a Wade/Maggie sandwich.

das

Autotelik

Loved the entire series. Introduced it to a friend who adores Buffy, Battlestar Galactica, and he was absolutely speechless throughout seasons 3 and 4. He called me up and told me how awesome the show was.

strife

You have to remember it this is a true arc storyline. It's similiar to a book where season 1 setups everything. The rest build from it.

Anubis2005X

After finishing Season 3, I IMMEDIATELY went out and purchased Season 4. $80? Didn't even register, didn't matter, needed Season 4, was that good...

GreenMonkey

Chiming in because I just love reading newbie experiences with this. Best. Show. Ever. Too bad most sci-fi aired isn't more like B5.

Chew

Ooooo, a B5 newbie. This should be fun.

valkyrie

Welcome to the brotherhood. You're lucky. The best show on TV for it's time, maybe ever...is right before you.

RKillgore

I experienced the adventure myself last fall, as my brother loaned me his season sets. Like you, jwarner, I knew Babylon 5 had a reputation, which helps to get through the beginning. It was a slow pick-up, as I ambled through the first season, watching an episode sporadically. But, after the end of the first season, I was watching an episode daily, in the morning before work, when I knew I wouldn't be interrupted and watching two, maybe three episodes on my days off. By the middle of the third season, my day-off viewing was sometimes four episodes and leaving me wondering if I had time to watch a fifth one.

As I watched the first season, I kept wondering why Michael O'Hare seemed familiar, trying to place what I may have seen him in before. Was it something I've seen or did he do a voiceover for the Justice League cartoon? Checking IMBD didn't ring any bells. Later, my brother made a joke that Sinclair and Ace Rimmer from Red Dwarf were separated at birth, and then it clicked.

An excellent online resource, which may help your wife get involved if she hasn't yet, is The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5. The episode guide will help you pay attention to the episode's details, and as long as you don't jump ahead, it doesn't spoil future episodes. That site also became part of my routine as I would refer to it for the episodes I had recently watched.

BTW, avoid the DVD extras and commentaries until you're done with the series, as they're not so considerate about spoiling events you haven't seen yet.

I feel like I'm a latecomer to the Babylon 5 party, having just watched it last fall. But now that I have and encountered another newcomer, I finally have the opportunity to add my own knowingly Heh Heh Heh. And someday, you will too.

Tommy Ceez

Let me be the first to say...

And so it begins.

Tracer Bullet

I wish I could watch B5 again for the first time. I really do.

Tscott

Congrats on your journey. I caught B5 once it came out on DVD as well. I think I bought the first and second seasons around the same time, then had to wait for the rest to be released.

Just last week I started rewatching the series from the beginning. This time I'll be able to listen to the commentaries and other extras along the way since I don't have to worry about spoilers.

I remember liking season one the first time I watched it, but now it's kind of like torture waiting to get to the good stuff. For example, I watched "Believers" yesterday and except for the scene where the parents of the sick child went to each of the ambassadors to ask for assistance, that episode had nothing going for it. There's some bad acting issues throughout the whole series but it's most prominent in the early episodes. So, I can understand your wife's reluctance.

That being said, there is a lot more that I'm catching and understanding the importance of while rewatching even these early episodes. It's a great ride. Enjoy.

exharrison

I just started B5 last week. I watched half of episode 5 last night, liked it better than the earlier. I'll be going through this for the next several weeks on BlockBuster.

MEJHarrison

I've found the next best thing. Watch it with a newbie. We have a thing at work where every Thursday we spend our lunch hour watching a show together. A few years back someone wanted to watch Babylon 5. We now have 5 episodes left of the whole series. I'm not sure what we'll do with the movies/Crusade.

Anyway, there's about 6 people in the group who have never seen the show before (I'm the only one who's actually seen it). It's not as much fun as seeing it for the first time. But it's almost as good.