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Starting Babylon 5 for the first time...

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Starting Babylon 5 for the first time...

Old 03-07-05, 03:22 PM
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Originally Posted by waporvare
The first season really sucked pretty bad. The acting was horrible. The storyline took forever to set up, I almost gave up on it. Then the last episode hooked me. I though by far Season 3 was the best, season 4 second best but then it lost me. I just couldn't connect with it through season 5 and in fact I haven't finished season 5 yet and it's been almost a year.
Even if you don't watch the entire season you must watch the last three episodes. The finale is one of only two TV episodes where I cry every single time I watch it.
Old 03-07-05, 03:32 PM
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Originally Posted by Bandoman
Chess, you won't regret the purchases. You're in for quite a ride.
I sure hope you're right. Your good will is largely responsible for my taking the proverbial plunge.

I'm in for 5 seasons at about $55/season and the movies were about $35 for a grand total of about $310. That's a pretty big investment for a show I've only caught a few episodes of in passing!

But it's not like I'm poor, and it really does look like my kind of show. It might even be one of the few I keep after I watch it along with Farscape, the Simpsons, Smallville, and anything by Joss Whedon.

I think I might even try to limit myself to an episode/night so as to let it sink in. I don't want to rush through like I have with the X-Files.
Old 03-07-05, 03:40 PM
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chess

I think I might even try to limit myself to an episode/night so as to let it sink in.


Good luck with that.

das
Old 03-07-05, 03:48 PM
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Yeah, you won't last.

Also, you might want to follow along with The Lurkers Guide to Babylon 5. The episode synopses are very good - I read them as I went along, and I found they helped me understand what was going on a bit better. I did stumble across the occasional minor spoiler, but if you have the discipline to read only the synopses of the episodes you've watched you should be okay.
Old 03-07-05, 04:59 PM
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"pay it forward" my way.
Old 03-07-05, 05:01 PM
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Originally Posted by Bandoman
I found they helped me understand what was going on a bit better.
I need a manual to understand what's going on??
Old 03-07-05, 05:18 PM
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Originally Posted by Michael Corvin
"pay it forward" my way.
begging takes all the fun out of it.

i may try to hook a friend on it, but if he's not interested, i'll get back to you.
Old 03-07-05, 06:57 PM
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Originally Posted by ClarkKentKY
I need a manual to understand what's going on??
No, but that site is a very detailed recap of all the episodes, with questions from viewers and comments from the series creator/writer, J. Michael Straczyinski. It offers insight you might not find elsewhere.

The B5 universe is complex and ever-changing. I found that talking to people herein the TV Talk forum, and looking at the guide, make watching B5 a fuller, more enveloping experience. You don't need to, though, you can just watch it.
Old 03-07-05, 07:07 PM
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This seems to be a standard for TV shows on DVD, but I haven't seen it mentioned here yet...

DO NOT WATCH ANY OF THE SPECIAL FEATURES BEFORE FINISHING THE ENTIRE SERIES

While some of the features may be relatively spoiler-free, most of them aren't. This is especially true for JMS's commentaries. They tend to contain major spoilers for future events, so steer clear of them at all cost.

Another thing you should avoid are the intros to each season on the first disc of each set. While they're a good idea, they actually outline the entire plot for the whole season, which can completely ruin some of the turns the plot takes.
Old 03-07-05, 09:57 PM
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chess, have you started watching yet?
Old 03-08-05, 03:52 PM
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Originally Posted by Chew
If you can't afford to buy or rent them, here's another option: check your library. My (smaller-town) library carries all five seasons. Perhaps yours will?
Thanks for the tip! I'll give that a try...

We have another Tivo in the house now, so I need more shows to watch. Am going to start watching the repeats of Smallville too. Man, it looks like there are no good shows on Sci Fi any more. No Babylon, no Farscape, no Highlander. What else should I be watching?
Old 03-08-05, 04:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Xander
What else should I be watching?
errm, have you seen the Firefly dvds?
Old 03-08-05, 05:22 PM
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Originally Posted by ClarkKentKY
chess, have you started watching yet?
Not yet. I actually just dropped in to post my frustration. Season one just came in the mail, but I don't have the pilot yet, and I'm struggling to fight the urge to just start it up. It's really tough given all the good word of mouth around here (not to mention the pretty case), but I remain focused on the best possible viewing order!

I will manage until I get the pilot. Right now I have the copy Bandoman sent on the way as well as a copy of the movies that I bought on ebay. Whichever gets here first, I'll watch the pilot and report back.

For Babylon 5, the following are going on the back burner: X files 4-6 (though I may watch a couple eps tonight), Angel 5, Smallville 3, and Alias 1 & 2
Old 03-08-05, 05:55 PM
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Originally Posted by chess
Not yet. I actually just dropped in to post my frustration. Season one just came in the mail, but I don't have the pilot yet, and I'm struggling to fight the urge to just start it up. It's really tough given all the good word of mouth around here (not to mention the pretty case), but I remain focused on the best possible viewing order!

I will manage until I get the pilot. Right now I have the copy Bandoman sent on the way as well as a copy of the movies that I bought on ebay. Whichever gets here first, I'll watch the pilot and report back.

For Babylon 5, the following are going on the back burner: X files 4-6 (though I may watch a couple eps tonight), Angel 5, Smallville 3, and Alias 1 & 2
Truth be told, you can go ahead and start watching the series if you feel like it. The pilot takes place about a year before the start of the first season, and while it does a little bit better job of establishing the races and such than the first actual episode, you won't really miss out on too much plotwise if you watch it later. I know the events of the pilot are referenced during the first season, but I don't think it's for a while, so you can at least watch a few episodes and be ok.

And in case you missed my bolded post above, stay away from the special features!
Old 03-08-05, 06:00 PM
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The pilot is worth it for the one line (Chess don't read):
Spoiler:
There's a hole in your mind!
Old 03-08-05, 06:22 PM
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All this talk about Babylon 5 has convinced me to buy the sets (when I'm done with the shows I am currently slowly getting through, such as Carnivale, Firefly, Angel Season 5, and The Shield Season 3). I was watching the show on TNT when they first started airing the reruns, and I liked it a lot. However, I consistently lost episodes through VCR malfunctions and other tragedies (thank God for the more reliable TiVo)!

I missed many episodes of each season, and I never saw the last half of season 5 (or the last few of season 4). It is hard to just watch the episodes you missed and still get the flow of episodes. But starting the whole show from scratch seemed like a horrible prospect. Basically, I watched it in the manner that I have ensured has never happened again, because good tv is too excellent to allow to be ruined by these kinds of external factors.

Now that enough time has passed, I think it will be fun to start the show from scratch and see it develop the way it was meant to be seen.
Old 03-08-05, 06:35 PM
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Can someone explain to me the idea behind the episode order of Farscape...Ive been watching them in disk order instead of episode numerical order, because I heard that that is the way that the creators intended...is this true?
Old 03-09-05, 12:05 AM
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Originally Posted by xVladx
You really should finish the last season. It actually improves quite a bit about halfway in, and the last bunch of episodes are all REALLY good.
Heck, if someone absolutely, positively doesn't want to watch season 5, they should still watch "Sleeping in Light," the series finale. I'm sure everyone here who's seen it would agree that there's a certain sequence near the end, starting with a certain cameo, that proceeds without words and yet still breaks your heart. With Chris Franke's amazing theme, it is absolutely the most heartbreaking series of images ever seen in a SF series. It tears me up every single damned time.

Spoiler:
"And, every morning for the rest of her life, she got up early to watch the sun rise...."


::sniff:: Damn, gotta go watch it now.

Last edited by Jadzia; 03-09-05 at 09:15 AM.
Old 03-09-05, 12:59 AM
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Originally Posted by Tommy Ceez
Can someone explain to me the idea behind the episode order of Farscape...Ive been watching them in disk order instead of episode numerical order, because I heard that that is the way that the creators intended...is this true?
pretty much....this only really applies to the first few episodes of season 1 as far as i can recall. there are several minor details that make much more sense when you watch them in the order they are in on the discs...The Region 1 discs anyway....I think the Region 2 discs kept the order in which they aired or something similar.
...there were likely shown sort of out of order in the original airdates due to the need to finish certain effects and such on certain episodes....they shot the first batch of episodes in pairs simultaneously (at least i think i remember hearing something like this on the commentaries)....and some episodes required more post-production than others...so they sort of got finished a bit out of order.
Old 03-09-05, 04:39 AM
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I know we all love this show, but how about we don't spoil things for people, even in vague terms?

das
Old 03-09-05, 07:17 AM
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Originally Posted by das Monkey
I know we all love this show, but how about we don't spoil things for people, even in vague terms?

das
Along those lines, please replace vague-term-spoilers with HHH*


*heh-heh-heh
Old 03-09-05, 10:06 AM
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Originally Posted by garmonbozia
errm, have you seen the Firefly dvds?
Oh yes, I own them. Can't wait for the movie!
Old 03-09-05, 10:12 AM
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Whoops. Sorry 'bout that. I figured it was so absolutely vague as to be useless to new watchers but memorable for old ones, but then again spoilers don't bug me.

Besides, as long as we don't tell them Rosebud was Sheridan's sled, they'll be fine.
Old 03-09-05, 11:09 AM
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Well, here's a puzzler: I finally got my boyfriend to sit down and watch B5, and he actually liked the first season. A lot. We're now about halfway through the third season (the next episode to watch is "Severed Dreams", so... yeah) but he hasn't expressed a desire to watch in about THREE months.
Old 03-09-05, 11:20 AM
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Originally Posted by TracerBullet
Well, here's a puzzler: I finally got my boyfriend to sit down and watch B5, and he actually liked the first season. A lot. We're now about halfway through the third season (the next episode to watch is "Severed Dreams", so... yeah) but he hasn't expressed a desire to watch in about THREE months.
Dump the bum, he's obviously cheating.

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