I know, I just like pretending to believe it. I won't rest until Snopes has to put up a Wallace Shawn is still alive page.

BTW: Wallace wasn't really in Waiting For Guffman, unless you count his appearance as a My Dinner With Andre action figure.

Neither will I. Nor will I forgive the other Academy for ignoring Mr. Biggs.

As to the late Mr. Shawn, the joke's been going on for so long that I didn't even flinch at adam's response. One of these days the poor man is going to really die, and we're all going to feel like shit ... but not today!

das

Copycat, copycat

Farscape is one of my 3 favorite shows of all-time, but I could never get into B5. And not like I was with Buffy, I gave B5 a shot, I find it unbearably boring & bland, with just a dreadful cast. Nothing near the creativity or innovation Farscape has. But, a lot of people love it & hate Farscape so don't go by my opinion.

So no one can really agree on B5 or Farscape. Can I get a hell yeah for Freeks & Geeks, and Sports Night?

On a scale of 1 to 10, how much did you enjoy The Lord of the Rings?

das

I also took the recommendations here to start Babylon 5.... that was almost a year ago now. I must say that it was absolutely awesome. Season 3 is spectacular, but the episode that also gave me a lot of goosebumps was the Season 2 finale. When it happened, my jaw just dropped. You've heard this many times in other places, but "I wish I could watch this show for the first time, again." Well, that's not going to happen of course, but since I haven't been watching much TV in the last decade, there are still plenty of shows for me to "watch for the first time". I'm watching Six Feet Under season 1 right now, and when I'm done with season 2, I'll be embarking on Buffy and Angel. Now I know that's going to kick some serious ass.

Have a wonderful journey.

Babylon 5 is the best SciFi story told on TV. Period.

How much of a shot did you give B5? I'm a huge Farscape fan, but I'd have a hard time saying it's better than B5. I could say both are better than Buffy, though. (I do like Buffy.)

tasha

For shows from the same basic genre, these are two very different programs in just about every way, so it's hard to compare them. But I agree. On the whole, B5 is the superior show.

das

Is this the dictator game? you ask me 15 questions about movies to determine whether I will like the show.

LOTR films: Solid 9, possibly a 10 on a good day.

With a larger set of shows, I may need 15 questions, but with just these two, only one question need be asked. Now that it's answered, I can answer yours, recognizing of course that it's not my opinion you want ... but since I'm the only one who seems to talk to you around here, you're stuck with it!

Babylon 5 has many roots in The Lord of the Rings. Considering how much material has been inspired by, borrow from, and even stolen from this classic tale, that's not a shocking statement by any means; but unlike so many other works, B5's relation to The Lord of the Rings is not superficial, but cuts to the core of truly great epic storytelling. While very different tales, these two works are fundamentally similar in many ways, and I have a hard time imagining there are too many people who would like one but not the other.

The Lord of the Rings is the greatest fantasy epic ever told. If you have the courage and the trust to make it to the second season of Babylon 5 and beyond, you will find that it is the greatest science fiction epic ever told. I know you're convinced that's exaggeration, but I dare you to prove me wrong. It's been established countless times that the early episodes are highly flawed, and you'll receive very little argument from anyone around here, but when you get to the Hugo Award winning 'Severed Dreams', even your dead grandmother will likely proclaim that this show kicks all kinds of ass.

But, hey ... it's your life. I've tried to help you and others as best I can, but at the end of the day, only you can prevent forest fires. It saddens me that so many people miss out on this amazing journey, but you can't save everyone. One day the show will find you, and whether you post about it or not, you'll have to admit to yourself that the insufferable Internet simian was right all along.

das

You know that's not what I meant.

Nah, I never hated B5 or even announced a dislike, so we're not really talking about the same thing. The few episodes that I've seen have been interesting, but I just lost track of the show because it had goofy timeslots and was always being preempted by other stuff. I think it was mainly the Bulls at the time, because I lived in Chicago, but I could be wrong.

Even now, there are some syndicated shows that look pretty good that I just can't be counted on to keep up with but may catch on DVD. Stargate SG1 leaps to mind...and possibly that Andromeda show.

The bottom line is that I just missed it. I never hated it or ridiculed the folks who liked it. I really doubt I'll have many negative statements about the show at all. Hell, I think I even liked the pilot back in the day.

Speaking of B5 - last night I asked my wife why she had stalled on watching Season 5, and her answer was "because I don't want it to be over. It's too good. What will I watch then?" (A problem we should all have.)

I told her that if she didn't finish B5, she couldn't watch Wonderfalls or Firefly. She loved what she saw on the former, and now trusts my judgement on the latter, so B5 starts up again this weekend.

*Sigh* I really really want to start in on Babylon 5, but just don't have a realistic way to do it. Does Netflix let you keep the discs indefinitely? I can't afford to buy the DVD's, and I can't watch them fast enough to really justify getting them through Netflix. Does SciFi show the shows in order? Maybe I could Tivo them.... Sounds like a great show, I just don't know how to break into it!

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?

Chew - you must have an awesome library. Mine doesn't have cool stuff like that, or I would have watched Farscape a long time ago.

Can't complain. I can always count on them for Criterions and other such releases. They also have Buffy, Next Generation, Voyager, Deep Space Nine, X-Files, I Love Lucy, Dick Van Dyke, Sopranos and lots of other TV stuff. No Farscape though.

My library had Buffy, Angel, 24, The Office. Great selection. No babylon or farscape though.

I broke down and bought the last 2 seasons...plus I ordered the movies, so I guess I can "pay it forward" sooner than planned.

Worst case: I sell them for a few bucks less than I paid for them and move on.

But right now, I have fairly high hopes.

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.

Not true. Babylon 5 is my favorite series ever. I've lost track of how many times I've seen it and I'm not one to re-watch something to death.

But I'd give LOTR a 4. I enjoyed it, but probably wouldn't even own the discs if it weren't for my wife. I've never read the books and would like to, but that's how I'd rate the movies.

Chess, you won't regret the purchases. You're in for quite a ride.

I was comparing it to the books, not the films, but I'm still surprised. Still, it's not an absolute, just a guide. If you like one, you'll probably like the other. No two things will ever be absolutely comparable, but there is no other work that better compares to Babylon 5 for a new viewer IMO. You have to start somewhere.

Btw, you enjoyed it? My statement, "I have a hard time imagining there are too many people who would like one but not the other" seems to fit.

das

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.