Babalon 5

So it seems that JMS has just hit the A+ list in Hollywood and has at least one more B5 project up his sleeve. He recently sold a script for a movie called The Changeling to Imagine Entertainment, and Ron Howard wants to direct it. This has gotten Hollywood in an uproar as everyone wants to know who exactly he is. This also has people beating down his door with projects. He says that he is able to pick and choose just about anything he wants to do right now, but is being careful about it so that he doesn't ruin the momentum he built up.

Babylon 5! Woot!

"Only time is infinite. Zathrus is finite. YOU are finite. THIS is wrong tool... never use this!"

When it came out, B5 absolutely wiped the floor with everything else out there. The mere idea of having a plot that took 5 years to tell was so utterly daring, nothing since has come close... although I admit to getting completely lost with Farscape due to missing so many episodes - many people I know and respect really rate it.

The acting on B5 took a real dive, for me, when Bruce Boxleitner came on board. There's a brilliant ST/B5 fan movie where the two universes collide and have a space battle, and the Sheridan-clone keeps making these long speeches. It's called Star Wreck, and it was made by a Finnish team. Well worth watching, I tell ya - there are some great in-jokes.

But these days... Battlestar Galactica rules! Edward James Olmos is the man!

I think Babylon 5 is actually one of the best if not the best sci-fi show of recent times. Farscape isn't my thing, but a lot of other people enjoy so fair enough. Battlestar Galactica is also very good.

Babylon 5 successfully managed to create its own universe and style without copying Star Trek & Star Wars. I especially love how the various crafts use inertia in combat, such as Starfuries suddenly cutting their engines, as they do a 180 turn then fire as they travel backwards. Similar with the White Star as it's being chased by a lone Shadow Battlecrab, but it quickly changes direction rather than a 180 spin.

The fact that many vessels used the single beam as a cutting weapon, not just a straight point and shoot, which you'd get from sci-fi series such as Star Trek, nothing wrong with that but it's different. Although the extensive use and crafting of bio-technology on ships. Truly distinguished the older races from the younger ones.

Some felt the conclusion of the Shadow War was a little anti-climactic and disappointing, i guess it could've been altered, but nonetheless was an entertaining and gripping one. Even the Minbari got it handed to them.

Although here's a question for the folks well versed in B5 lore. It's mentioned by some character about relations between the Minbari & Humans in the future. Saying something along the lines of.."they will be friends, for now". Implying there may be another conflict between the two powers. The "In the Beginning" tv film was brilliant, truly captured the devastation and carnage of the Earth-Minbari war. Although the Minbari have changed little in their 1000 years of spacefaring, Earth seemed to be progressing quicker. Especially when they've incorporated alien technology with their own, which is nothing new since all the races acquired bits of technology that way, including the Minbari, courtesy of the Vorlons & Shadows of course. Apparently the 'Warlock' class vessel is supposedly able to go head-to-head against the Minbari Sharlin Warcruiser. Even though Humans aren't quite at the level of the Minbari, it seems that they will be soon enough and any future conflict will prove unwise for the Minbari, since i suspect they will take a heavy toll of casualties.

[edit on 25/9/06 by Flyboy211]

There was an episode, bear with me its been a long time since I saw it, that showed the future history of Earth/humanity up until the death of the Sun. It was quite a confusing episode, but at several points it had scenes that told of Earth becoming aggresive towards other species. It was several hundred years after the B5 timeline, and eventually the Rangers took action, and bombed Earth back to the stone age. And IIRC cut off all ties and placed an exclusion zone around the solar system. It didn't show the action exactly, but by an monk (or something similar) telling a younger monk about 'the big burn' (I think they called it), a couple hundred years after the event.
I'm sure someone can explain better as I've never gotton round to buying all the B5 seasons, but I think thats what you are talking about.

I know what you mean about the end of the shadow war but there were legitimate reasons for it. The producers didn't think they would get the 5th season so they decided to cram all the remaining storyline into season 4. That explains why it was such a kick ass season with the end of the shadow war, and the fight to retake earth, which should've been the season 5 storyline. Hence the rushed 'get the hell out of our galaxy' dialogue nonsense. And also a pretty lame season 5 which the producers had to get ready pretty quick when the show got renewed.