Tracer Bullet

I knew that would be the first response.

chess

Update:

I got seasons 2 and 4 in the mail today, but no pilot. Sigh.

Unfortunately, I'm travelling to Chicago for most of next week (leaving Sunday), and I probably shouldn't start the seasons before I leave as I'll have no access to a home theater...and my internet time will be spotty at best. I will watch the pilot if I get it in the next few days though.

I get home next Thursday night and will probably get started on the seasons next Friday (taking the day off).

Bandoman

Sorry it didn't get to you yet, Chess. It should be there soon.

chess

No worries. You're still the man in my book.

I just wanted to update everybody on my progress...or lack thereof.

chess

Got Bandoman's copy!!!!

Will report back tonight.

das Monkey

And so it begins ...

das

Sessa17

With the updates & reports of when the shows will be watched this sure looks exactly like another thread. Tryinig to still my spotlight

Bandoman

chess

Wasn't originally my intent, but sure.

Hey, he gave me a free copy of the pilot...it's the least I could do.

Please forgive my spelling of names and whatnot...

The Gathering

I'd seen the pilot before when it first aired, but fortunately, I'd forgotten "whodunnit". So far, it's off to an interesting start. The story wasn't anything to write home about, but it was a sound mechanism for introducing us to the races and their respective embassadors. We got to see that relationships are complex and tense amongst the 5 races. They effectively show the "inferiority complex" of the Narn, the faded glory of Lando's race (forgot), the mysterious nature of the Vorlons, and the general cluelessness of the Humans. The Minbari seem like they're just sort of there, and I wasn't feeling the post-war tension AT ALL, but this whole mysterious surrender thing is intrigueing.

I liked each of the four ambassadors as characters. They seem to be working on several levels and are not simple characatures. The actors who played Lando and Dakar did so with a whimsy that felt more natural when most of the cast (except Geribaldi) was a bit stiff. I especially hated the Asian executive officer...just a terrible actress. It was like she was reading her lines and she smiled at inappropriate times in her delivery. I don't remember her in the few other episodes I had seen, so maybe she's just there for the pilot. I think I remember another female first officer in the episodes I've seen. I'm lukewarm about the actor who plays the Captain too, but I know he only has a season. Gerebaldi, like I said, was great and seemed natural. I think my favorite actor of the bunch was the doctor, but sadly I know he's gone because I remember the other guy who plays him.

The effects were mostly good, especially for their time. I remember being very impressed when I first saw them, and they hold up OK for relatively primative CG. The only thing that makes the pilot look dated is the big poofy 1980s hair on all the women!

Anyway, I'm glad I waited for the pilot. It's good to have a bit of background, and I'm looking forward to diving into the show. I'll probably TRY to wait till I get back from my trip, so as to not have the missing actors fresh in my head, though the loss of Takashimi will be welcome.

So it begins...in a week...assuming I can hold out.

Finally, I just want to thank Bandoman again for the hookup.

Chew

I'd say we're off to a good start if those are your thoughts on the pilot. It only gets better and better from here on.


"G'Kar"

xVladx

Yeah, may as well get all the spelling straightened out now...

It's Garibaldi, not Geribaldi.

Londo, not Lando (although that seems to be a common mistake). And he's a Centauri.

The thing about there not really being any noticable "post-war tension" between the Minbari and the Humans is that it's been around nine years at the point of the pilot (ten when the first season starts) since the war ended. There's also some other reasons that there's not a whole lot of animosity between the two races, but that'll be revealed in time...

Bandoman

Cool, Chess - if you liked the pilot, you will absolutely LOVE this show when it "takes off".

dstrauss

What I love is that there's so much hidden in the pilot that someone who really knows this show can point out to you.



And I also love the Requiem for the Line music that plays over Sinclair's memories of the Battle of the Line in the revised edition. Among the best music Franke ever wrote for the show.

das Monkey

Yeah. This is one of those rare shows where watching it in its entirety a second time is a profoundly rewarding experience.

das

chess

Just curious...do they ever address the alien languages? I can get over the ambassadors speaking English. They are ambassadors after all, but I'm curious if language barriers ever come up. Even if they solve it with a Dues Ex Machina like Farscape or Star Trek did, I can live with that.

...just one of my pet peeves in space movies.

xVladx

Yes, it's addressed. Most of the ambassadors do learn to speak English (the station is owned by EarthGov, after all), but there are at least two I can think of offhand that either don't or can't speak english and use visible translation devices to communicate.

There are some other good "language barrier" scenes that come up every so often, too...

chess

Thanks.

Bandoman

Well....?

[Bando taps his foot impatiently.]

Michael Corvin

Well, I re-watched the first episode. Along with the next 3. Not as bad as my first impression. Not great either. Seems like it suffers the same fate as a lot of first seasons, i.e. testing the waters and getting a feel for things. The acting is quite wooden though. Hopefully that gets better with time. That is my last best hope.

What I want to know is who played the bald dancer in the 3rd episode that Londo was infatuated with. She looks so familiar. Anyone?

The fourth episode was the best so far with the organic weaponry plotline. Kinda remniscient of the Yuzhon Vong in the New Jedi Order book series. Very similar, especially the creature. But of course, it would be the other way around since Babylon 5 is older. Almost a blatant rip off. Even with the living creature that attaches to the chest to overtake the human form.

chess

Like I said earlier, business trip prevails.

I have a party to attend tonight and fly to Chicago tomorrow morning. I could take the first season and watch it on my laptop, but 1) it wouldn't look/sound as good, 2) I'm not sure what my internet access will look like for posting purposes, and 3) my fiance probably wouldn't appreciate it.

I get back late next Thursday and will begin the journey on Friday with 2-4 episodes.

Sorry.

chess

Screw it...I'll watch at least 1 episode today.

das Monkey

Fabiana Udenio

If you're going to make your own run at the show, I wonder if you might want to start a separate discussion thread so as not to overlap chess. You probably think it isn't necessary right now, but if you keep going forward, I suspect you'll want to talk about it a lot. Besides, at this rate, chess's journey to watch this show is going to be its own 5-year arc.

das

chess

Once I get going, I'll probably average an episode/day. This trip is just an unavoidable interruption...and during my little guy's spring break no less.

Besides, I got through the first couple episodes as promised...

General thoughts:

I already see improvements across the board.

The writing is interesting so far with plenty of mystery and political intrigue. I'm getting the feel now that they are opening a lot of arcs that will take a long time to resolve, which is nothing if not ambitious. D'Kar and Londo are a time bomb, and Delenn and the Vorlon get more mysterious by the second.

The new characters are definitely a net plus. I like the new first officer infinitely better than the Asian one in the pilot...more on that to come. I guess the new Psy-corps officer is a wash, but I like that they fleshed out the psy-corps as a bit more menacing presence. The new doc? Meh. I really liked the old one.

The production values have gone up significantly over the pilot. The space stuff is handled beautifully. I especially like the attempts at realism for space flight....although nobody ever seems to figure out that sound doesn't travel in space. So far, the fighters don't handle at all like airplanes, and I appreciate that. The makeup has also improved, particularly in the case of Delenn, who no longer has that freakish looking jaw/chin thing that didn't allow her to emote. As an added bonus, we lose the cheesy 80s hair!

Midnight on the Firing Line

First, we get the introduction of the new first officer, Ivanova, out of the way, and I like her...mostly. I liked her fiestiness when the psy-corps officer, also a new intro, showed up. "I have 15 things to do right now, and they are all annoying". I also liked her line when Garabaldi asked her if she was a pessimist..."No, I'm Russian..." One minor quibble: just when I'm starting to like her and take her seriously, she says she's voting for the guy with the better chin. What?

I like the story in this episode, though I hope G'Kar isn't the goat in every episode. He's 2 for 2 so far, and his race doesn't seem terribly sophisticated. Kudos for the direction they took Londo in. They gave him a goofy sidekick, so he could stop being comic relief and could be menacing. I also liked the "history" between Ivanova and the psy-corps...not to mention the fact that the corps sounds like a bunch of fascists and are probably running the government or something. One beef with the story: it was a bit too convenient IMO for them to have the raider story and the colony story come to a head at the same time. That kind of writing can get annoying.

But all in all, this episode covered A LOT of ground with new characters and their backstory along with expanding the scope of the characters in the pilot.

Soul Hunter:

I'm not sure if I was tired when I watched this or if it was just a bit boring, but I had to fight off sleep. It felt talky, like Star Trek, in a bad way. The Soul Hunter was played well, but was just a goofy character. It's probably not fair, but I couldn't help but compare with the first episode...the downside of watching them back to back, I guess. I'm going to try not to do that again as I really feel it can diminish good episodes.

However, we did get to meet the new doc, who just feels like a substitution to me...which is OK because I didn't mind the direction they were going with the first one. We also get a new mystery to digest: the Minbari gray council...and why a member of said council is the ambassador on Babylon 5...and how they are "using" the humans.

Quibble: Sinclair didn't really just shoot the wall 5 times and then shoot the gun right out of that guy's hand did he?

I'm impressed so far. It's a bit shaky here and there...mostly in that they seem to be struggling with the comic relief. A lot of it is funny (my second favorite thing) but just as much feels out of character and ill timed.

Obviously, I give these criticisms in a constuctive way for discussion purposes, not to tear down a show that is obviously highly regarded.

See you guys in a week!

xVladx

Spelling check time again.. it's G'Kar, not D'Kar

It's Psi Corps.

Yeah, and things definitely improve as the series goes on, especially the effects in the space scenes. The whole "sound in space" thing was actually brought up by JMS once or twice. I think the explanation he gave was that technically, something blowing up up in space could produce a shockwave of some sort that could be heard when it hit the hull of a ship or something.

That, and it would have been boring to have no sound

Yeah, Ivanova is probably the character that takes the longest to really "fit". You could have a whole drinking game revolving around how many times she brings up her Russian background in the first season...

As they say around here, "heh, heh, heh..."

Chew