Babylon 5 season sets confirmed

[aintnosin]

Joe Straczynski, creator and exec. producer of Babylon 5, has confirmed that a first season box set is due in the fall.



It will be in widescreen and features plenty of extras, according to Straczynski, including commentary tracks by him on at least two, maybe as many as four episodes.

[Martin Blank]

I will have to start saving up now. It's a definite buy for me, even though I like the other seasons better (John Sheridan vs. Jeffrey Sinclair).

I've been waiting for this.

[smurdleman2000]

Saving has begun. I can die happy now (in seventy years )

[IRISH TENOR 2]

Sweet! I enjoyed B5 but hated the various timeslots it was on in the 90's on Canadian tv. Sat at 7 PM then 11pm then 1:50 AM. I lost interest when Tracey Scoggins joined the cast though. Maybe the dvd will include *that* scene between Claudia Christian & Andrea Thompson...

[UFO]

YES!!!!!

The best sci-fi serial ever (IMO) comes to DVD...I can die happy now.

[UFO]

BTW, I ran across what JMS released:

"I was holding off saying anything until WB or someone else could announce it, but since it's come up here (newsgroup) via the captioning institute...yeah, as noted, it's real.

Season One will be out in a boxed set this Fall, and they're going to be including at minimum two commentaries from me, probably on Signs and Portents and Chrysalis (it's a matter of how much time and energy I can give to it given that there's no fees involved and I'm in the midst of Jeremiah), and if possible, Babylon Squared, maybe Sky Full of Stars. They'd also like to film an on-camera intro by me (but I guess folks will buy it anyway, even with that particular horror included).

They're pulling together a lot of stuff on this release so that there are plenty of extras this time around, now that the value of the DVDs has been shown by the first release.."

[aintnosin]

Originally posted by IRISH TENOR 2
Maybe the dvd will include *that* scene between Claudia Christian & Andrea Thompson...

You wish!

[aintnosin]

Wow, we've got two people on this forum who can die happy because of this.

B5 = the solution for overpopulation?

[retroboy]

Okay, I'm one of those so-called snobs who claims not to watch a lot of sci-fi other than the Trek incarnations (and I like 'em all, even poor, little Voyager), so I ask you B5 fans out there: will this series appeal to people who like intelligent, innovative dramas? I've watched a few minutes of the show, but I got distracted by the CGI FX (I guess I'm spoiled by Trek's budget).

My friend Phil swears by the show, but he loves all things sci-fi/fantasy/horror, etc., so I question his objectivity (He thinks Battlestar Galactica is a brilliant show, I think it's a fun, kitschy show not to be taken seriously).

[Wirehed]

Originally posted by retroboy
Okay, I'm one of those so-called snobs who claims not to watch a lot of sci-fi other than the Trek incarnations (and I like 'em all, even poor, little Voyager), so I ask you B5 fans out there: will this series appeal to people who like intelligent, innovative dramas? I've watched a few minutes of the show, but I got distracted by the CGI FX (I guess I'm spoiled by Trek's budget).

My friend Phil swears by the show, but he loves all things sci-fi/fantasy/horror, etc., so I question his objectivity (He thinks Battlestar Galactica is a brilliant show, I think it's a fun, kitschy show not to be taken seriously).

Yes, you should give it a try. Unlike Trek, the story has a continuing arc, you have to watch the show in order and it's important not to miss an episode (most of the time).

B5 is the best TV Science Fiction ever, IMHO.

[redshifter]

> Babylon 5 season sets confirmed

thank god.

some technical questions:

what site did you get this info?

is it to be widescreen matting the t.v. show's 4:3 aspect ratio, or was the show shot widescreen but p&s'ed for tv? (i'll need proof)

will it be an anamorphic transfer?

will there be a dolby 5.1 track?

will there be other seasons?

how many dvds will there be and how much?

i ask the tough questions because i care.

[samuelk]

Originally posted by retroboy
Okay, I'm one of those so-called snobs who claims not to watch a lot of sci-fi other than the Trek incarnations (and I like 'em all, even poor, little Voyager), so I ask you B5 fans out there: will this series appeal to people who like intelligent, innovative dramas?

Here are the things that I love about Babylon 5:

1 - It's a 5-year story with a beginning, middle and end. The main B5 story ended after 5 years.

2 - Major characters die. Characters die not because of actor conflict, but because it serves the story.

3 - Major characters change. Some of the main characters undergo DRASTIC -- yet logical -- personality/belief changes.

4 - DETAIL. Everything on screen has a purpose and a reason.

5 - Realism - Certain aspects of the show turned heads at NASA. One of the coolest ships in the show -- the Starfury one-man fighter, was praised by NASA engineers for it's realism. In fact, NASA asked the show's creator if they could use the design in order to build maintenance craft for use on the International Space Station. He said yes under the condition that they keep the name. So in the future, we may see real Starfuries in Earth orbit.

Check out The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5. This is the ultimat source for Babylon 5 information. The site contains pages and pages of information about each episode, including comments from the show's writer/creator, J. Michael Straczynski -- who has been posting on Usenet since 1991.

Another site -- JMS News is an archive of every single Usenet post that JMS has made since 1991. There are litterally thousands of posts, mostly about Babylon 5.

[samuelk]

Originally posted by redshifter
> Babylon 5 season sets confirmed

thank god.

some technical questions:

what site did you get this info?

J. Michael Straczynski, the show's creator, posted the information on Usenet. He was keeping tight-lipped about it until Warner Home Video announced it, but a few days ago, someone from the Captioning Institute posted a request for sources she could use to get correct spelling of names/places in the show. After the cat was out of the bag, JMS was free to talk.

is it to be widescreen matting the t.v. show's 4:3 aspect ratio, or was the show shot widescreen but p&s'ed for tv? (i'll need proof)

The live action footage was filmed in widescreen--in anticipation of HDTV--but the CGI was rendered full-frame. So the CGI will be cropped. This is not a big deal, since the CGI was intentionally shot so that the action took place center-screen. So cropping will not affect the impact of the CGI.

For "proof", check THIS PAGE.

will it be an anamorphic transfer?

Unknown at this time.

will there be a dolby 5.1 track?

The episodes are being remastered in Dolby 5.1

will there be other seasons?

It's only logical that the entire series (all 5 seasons) will be released.

how many dvds will there be and how much?

Unknown at this time.

[aintnosin]

Originally posted by samuelk

Unknown at this time.

The "In the Beginning" movie was an anamorphic transfer. This should be, too.

[Lenny Nero]

Yeah I heard already but this is such great news!
I already have all the sci-fi tv series I could ever want EXCEPT for 2 missing in action, and one can now be filled.
We all still want the excellent Ssssssliderssssss

[UFO]

Originally posted by retroboy
Okay, I'm one of those so-called snobs who claims not to watch a lot of sci-fi other than the Trek incarnations (and I like 'em all, even poor, little Voyager), so I ask you B5 fans out there: will this series appeal to people who like intelligent, innovative dramas?

In a word: Yes. I like Star Trek too (even though I DS9 bored me to death, and V'ger was just....bad), but B5 blows pretty much all of Star Trek out of the water in it's 5 year arc. There are literally on a handful of weak episodes. Characters are great, some you both love and hate at the same time (Londo).

If you want a sample, tune into the Sci-Fi Channel, they're running reruns. BUT, realize that to fully appreciate the show you MUST start at the beginning.

[Lenny Nero]

Yeah, what's great about Babylon 5 is it's not separate stories in each episode but one big ass long one throughout the whole series, more or less.

[JDeMartino]

retroboy:

...so I ask you B5 fans out there: will this series appeal to people who like intelligent, innovative dramas?

Forgive me for saying so, but I'd have to answer "much more so than Trek, which has become increasingly derivative, pedictable and boring." (And I say that as a Trek fan going back to the days when the original series was on NBC. ) DS9 didn't get good until they started using story arcs, several of which bore more than a passing resemblance to things being done on B5. (They even hired Robert Foxworth away from a pervious commitment to B5 to play essentially the same character on DS9. )

Voyager finally lost me completely. Innovative? Intelligent? Drama? We must have been watching different shows.

In fairness, I have to say that I didn't warm up to B5 very quickly myself. I watched an episode here or there at the urging of a friend who was a huge B5 fan. Like you I found the CGI distracting. (But hey, B5 was shot on less than half a Trek show's budget - and unlike Trek actually stayed on budget - and didn't have to go into second run syndication before it returned a profit to the studio. Trek's known inability to keep to a budget is one of the things that made it so hard to get any other space-based SF shows off the ground.) But mostly, I must admit, my problem with the show boiled down to, "It isn't Star Trek" It was like Paramount owned outer space as far as television is concerned, and I just couldn't accept anything that wasn't what I was used to.

That actually tends to be a problem with "SF snobs"who only watch Trek (or Star Wars or Dr. Who.) Because their SF frame of reference is limited, they tend to view everything through the prism of what they are familiar with - and to assume that any resemblances with another show are film are rip-offs, and any difference either incompetance or an attempt to make fun of "their" show or movie. I've seen messages objecting to the communincations devices on B5 because "everyone knows that in the future we'll be using chest-insignia communicators." Another post argued that a religious discussion on B5 was just like the notion of the katra from Trek films III and IV. Evidently this guy thought that the notion of the soul and reincarnation had been invented by the Trek writers. Talk about a limited frame of reference.

(Speaking of religion - unlike Trek even Humans are allowed to have religious beliefs and argue about them. The creator, an atheist, decided that it was unlikely that humanity will suddenly stop believing in religion in the next couple of hundred years, and that therefore it would be silly and unrealistic to depict a society in which no one every approached things from a religious point of view. Sharp contrast to Trek where only aliens had religions - usually intolerant or stupid ones that our heroes had to rescue them from. On B5 there are also money problems, difficulties with labor unions, with the press, crooked - Human - politicians and all the other messy things that happen in real life. Hell, in the very first episode there's a Presidential election going on, and in the tag the security chief realizes he was too busy to vote and goes racing off to the polls before they close. Never saw - or even heard about - a Federation election in Trek)

In light of my resistance (cue Borg joke ), my friend made an interesting suggestion. With the first season in reruns he said to watch it for five or six episodes in a row. Not to try to figure anything out, not to form any judgments, just watch the show for five or six straight weeks. He was right. At the end of that time I was hooked - because I could already see how the shows tied together, and how an event in one episode was not completely forgotten in the next.

One of the really great things about B5, and what makes it such a good candidate for DVD release, is that it pays repeated viewings. The second time through the series, after you've seen the ending, is a whole new experience because you suddenly see all the subtle foreshadowing in the early episodes, things that wouldn't stand out except in the light of later knowledge. And it is fun to see how far in advance certain things were worked out. There is a conversation between two characters in the pilot about a business deal that never happens. Five years later the same two characters take the subject up again in a different context, in one of the very last episodes of the season. (And at that point you realize the implications of the deal have changed radically.)

Give a try, but stick with it for several episodes in a row. I think you'll like what you see.

Regards,

Joe

[Damo]

The news i always wanted to hear!

I'ved been waiting for Babylon 5 for years to come to DVD..

I admit i love Star Trek/Star Wars/Farscape (getting better)

BUT Babylon 5 with the continuing Story ARC over 5 years is my no 1 Sci-Fi show yet..

I remember here in the UK they had to show Season 4 late at night UNCUT beacuse it had more violent elements (i didn't really see much evidence of this) so must presume it wasn't as popular as mainstream crap..

But saying that Babylon 5 is quite popular here.. As all the Seasons have been released in VHS boxsets.. At the time they came out - i had no money and now are not available..

It's a pity Sci-fi channel never picke dup B5-Legend of the Rangers for a series..

4 dead cert DVD's this year

LOTR-FOTR
SW-AOTC
Red Dwarf Series 1
Babylon 5

[retroboy]

Thank you for your comments (especially Seamonkey ). I could still find plenty of room to debate some of the points (but I won't because I don't want to sit here and type--I do enough of that at my job and in my writing), but I have an open mind when it comes to Babylon 5. Someday I will give it a chance--maybe when I've finished collecting season sets of my favorite programs.

[Morticia]

Retroboy:

I too would encourage you to check out B5. My OH loved it from the get-go, but I wasn't too convinced at first. Finally at about the 2nd or 3rd season I started watching it regularly and got hooked. I've always been a Trek fan, but was disappointed by Voyager, just so you know. I used to watch TOS in syndication after school (ok, so who didn't?).

Anyway, I don't like to compare B5 with Trek, their worlds/views/rules are so completely different. Suffice it to say that B5 is great sci-fi and great storytelling....I think you'll enjoy it.

[aintnosin]

Originally posted by JDeMartino
In fairness, I have to say that I didn't warm up to B5 very quickly myself.

My recommendation is, after watching the last episode of the last season, go back and watch the first couple of seasons again. You'll be able spot little bits of forshadowing and say, "Ahhh, so that's where they were going with that."

[JDeMartino]

originally posted by aintnosin
My recommendation is, after watching the last episode of the last season, go back and watch the first couple of seasons again.

Thanks. Knew that. (From my original post):

One of the really great things about B5, and what makes it such a good candidate for DVD release, is that it pays repeated viewings. The second time through the series, after you've seen the ending, is a whole new experience because you suddenly see all the subtle foreshadowing in the early episodes, things that wouldn't stand out except in the light of later knowledge.

The time when my friend was trying to hook me on the show was the first run of the first season on PTEN. I watched the five or six episodes in a row during the summer reruns and became a regular viewer starting with the original run of season two. So I've seen the entire series a lot more than two times.

Regards,

Joe

[C Roberts]

Although saying the episodes were remastered in 5.1 on the box, I watched Signs & Portents last night (first episode from the set I've looked at) and it was only 2.1. 5.1 was not an option on the DVD. Are the rest of the episodes like this? I was really looking forward to hearing the show in surround.

[Hollow Man]

Um, my set is in 5.1.

-HM