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DVD Babylon 5 - The Complete First Season
The epic sci-fi series Babylon 5 was a unique experiment in the history of television. It was effectively a novel for television in five seasons, consisting of 110 episodes with a clear beginning, middle, and end. The first season introduces the main characters, headed this year by Commander Jeffery Sinclair (Michael O'Hare) and Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle), and familiarizes the audience with the unique environment of a five-mile-long space station in the year 2257.
The first episode, "Midnight on the Firing Line," plays at a breathless pace, introducing Commander Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian) and establishing the conflict between the Narn and Centauri races as represented by their ambassadors, G'Kar (Andreas Katsulas) and Londo Mollari (Peter Jurasik). Then follow several mediocre episodes that initially give the impression that B5 is a Star Trek clone afflicted with "silly alien of the week" syndrome. With "And the Sky Full of Stars," B5 really begins to hit its stride, Sinclair being forced to relive his mysterious experiences during the Earth-Minbari war. Filler shows such as "TKO" are notable only for being controversially violent, while the disappointing "Grail" points to writer-creator J. Michael Straczynski's fascination with Arthurian mythology. "Signs and Portents" introduces the sinister Mr. Morden (Ed Wasser) and offers the chilling first appearance of the Shadows, an ancient alien threat.
B5 hits warp speed with a run of exceptional episodes building to the season finale. The two-part "Voice in the Wilderness" has Mars breaking into open revolt against Earth and the discovery of a "Great Machine" on the dead world Epsilon 3. Referencing 1950s sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet, the story leads to the superb time-travel-based "Babylon Squared." Season finale "Chrysalis" proves more than just the usual television cliffhanger, placing Minbari ambassador Delenn in conflict with her ruling Grey Council and forcing on her a decision that laid the groundwork for Babylon 5's eventually becoming a great love story. --Gary S. Dalkin
Review(s): DVD Babylon 5 - The Complete First Season
No 1
first class, good clear picture. this series would rate as one of the best si-fi series ever produced
A Science Fiction Soap Opera
Like a typical television soap opera, this series drags on and on through dozens of plots and sub-plots featuring at least as many characters. A situation is introduced in one episode and eventually concluded ten to fifteen episodes, or maybe even entire seasons, later. In the ensuing episodes, one is introduced to even more plots and sub-plots, many with seemingly no purpose whatsoever other than to fill time.
For example of all this, the idea of the "Shadows," a race of powerful evil aliens threatening the universe, is introduced in the first season and mentioned repeatedly in the following episodes. However, the first real confrontation with those "Shadows" doesn't take place until well into the third season, with the first major battle at the very end of that season (the overall "Shadow" confrontation doesn't end until the forth season). But even that very long-awaited first battle is side-tracked by distracting sub-plots, the most irritating being a doctor on the space station, not even involved in the battle, dealing with his own petty drug addiction. Who cares!! In my opinion, this doctor (his girlfriends and his problems) could have been written out of the entire series without any loss whatsoever. Instead, sub-plots featuring this doctor, and others, also side-track several other intense moments in the series.
I just don't see how the fans, watching this series on television, sat around for weeks, or even entire seasons, waiting for some particular event to happen. This is frustrating enough when one can fast forward through the boring parts while watching this DVD collection. But even then, it's irritating. An episode ends with a cliff-hanger, only to have the next episode focus on some alien's love life or whatever. The series may not get back to the cliff-hanger for several episodes (you really have to hunt if you want to skip to it). I would discuss the other characters, plots, sub-plots, and so on, but there are just way too many of each to cover.
In reality, this would have been terrific entertainment if the entire Babylon 5 series had been compressed down to about a single season, with many of the sub-plots, filler episodes, filler content, and lesser characters, written out entirely. It could have then focused much more strongly on the two main themes - the conflict with the "Shadows" and the political events on Earth. After all, those are the two areas where the most interesting aspects of this series reside - the most intense moments, the most impressive special effects, the most thought-provoking situations, and so on.
Regardless, the Babylon 5 series does at least have that, if one has the patience to sit through all the other nonsense - wacky aliens, endless conspiracies, preachers, rabbis, monks, gospel singers, absurd creatures, incessant pretences of grander, often infantile humor, the boring romance between the overblown captain Sheridan and somewhat homely ambassador Delenn, the ever-present liberal political discourse, and so on. But those comparatively rare good moments do at least make Babylon 5 worth watching.
However, do remember this is a soap opera. Each season ends at a decisive moment, a cliff-hanger, with several stories from that season left unresolved until the next season or perhaps several seasons after that. Therefore, to follow each story to it's ultimate conclusion, one would have to purchase the entire series instead of a single season. Since that is a very expensive proposition only a truly devoted fan would even consider, I simply cannot give this series a high rating.
I was very pleased with
I was very happy with the speed and condition of my Bab 5 1st year set. Not to mention the reasonable price. Thank you very much.
Related DVD's Babylon 5 - The Complete First Season
Delenn's future love interest, Captain John Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) arrived on Babylon 5 in the first episode of season 2, "Points of Departure." The show marked the handing over of command of B5 to Sheridan from Commander Jeffery Sinclair, actor Michael O'Hare becoming a victim of studio politicians who wanted a bigger star in the leading role. This excellent installment also revealed more about why the Minbari surrendered to Earth at the Battle of the Line when they were on the verge of victory. "Revelations" explains that Sheridan's wife, Anna, died during an archaeological survey of the world Z'ha'dum, the name being just one of many references to Tolkien's the Lord of the Rings (the bridge at Khazad-Dum). "The Geometry of Shadows" introduced the Technomages,... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 29 April 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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"Matters of Honor" launched Babylon 5's third season with the introduction of the White Star, a spacecraft added to enable more of the action to take place away from the station. Also introduced was Marcus Cole (Jason Carter)--in another nod to The Lord of the Rings, a Ranger not so far removed from Tolkien's Strider. In "Voices of Authority" the show finds an epic scale as Ivanova seeks the mysterious "First Ones" for allies against the Shadows, and evidence is discovered pointing to the truth behind President Santiago's assassination. A third of the way through the season "Messages from Earth," "Point of No Return," and "Severed Dreams" prove pivotal, changing the nature of the story in a way previously unimaginable on network TV. Earth slides into dictatorship, the... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 12 August 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Season 4 began on a high point with the Centauri Prime in the grip of the insane Emperor Cartagia (Wortham Krimmer) and a run of six shows leading to the climax of the war against the Shadows in "Into the Fire." If this colossal narrative was resolved a little too easily and the ultimate aim of the Shadows turned out to be a tad disappointing, it still proved to be the most powerful slice of space opera to ever grace the small screen. In the aftermath the sheer scale dropped back a little but the pace never slowed as the rest of the season played out in one relentless cycle of conspiracy, betrayal and conflict, Babylon 5 siding with the rebel Mars colony against the totalitarian Earth.
Meanwhile Delenn came increasingly into conflict with her own people and, paralleling her... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 06 January 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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A disappointment after the superb two previous seasons, the final run of Babylon 5 found Claudia Christian departed and Ivanova replaced by Captain Elizabeth Lochley (Tracy Scoggins), who in a soap-opera twist turned out to be Sheridan's first wife. Sheridan was promoted to President of the Interstellar Alliance and the action moved to a group of telepaths seeking sanctuary from the PSI-Corp on B5. Giving a prominent role to Patricia Tallman's Lyta Alexander, a love story for her was woven with the leader of the telepaths, Byron (Robin Atkin Downs). Meanwhile the aftermath of the Shadow War was explored as the origin of human telepaths became clear in "Secrets of the Soul," and the appearance of PSI-Corp's Bester (Walter Koenig) brought the plight of the refugees to a... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 13 April 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The Babylon 5 pilot movie The Gathering was originally broadcast in 1993 a full year ahead of the regular show. A somewhat dull tale of an attempt to assassinate Koch, the Vorlon ambassador to B5, the feature served to introduce Commander Jeffery Sinclair (Michael O'Hare) and Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle) as well as familiarize the audience with the unique environment of a five-mile-long space station in the year 2257. Missing many of the main cast, and suffering from a leaden pace and mediocre music score, series creator J Michael Straczynski later improved The Gathering by tightening the cut for a special edition (the version released on DVD), adding some deleted character moments and commissioning a new score from series composer Christopher... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Richard Compton - Michael Vejar - Jesús Salvador Treviño DVD Release Date: Released the 17 August 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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