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Comettv has been running this. So, anyone wanna discuss?

My favorite character was Londo Mollari.

I hate B5 with a passion, awful programme.

Great show, loved it. First season is rocky but then it really starts to pay off in the second.

I really liked it as well. The end of the main arc feels a bit rushed, and after that it kind of meanders aimlessly, but it's great at its peak. As far as character development goes it's definitely up there, for a sci fi show.

Iirc the end of the main arc Was rushed, because they thought they weren’t getting another season and had to cram to finish the story. Then they Did get another season but had already used the material for it so didn’t have anywhere to go with it.

A great show two-decades ahead of its time. Stunning continuity, great storytelling, fantastic worldbuilding, and a great cast.

This is one of the few series I'd like to have rebooted. If they did a "Battlestar Galactica" to it it would be great.

That being said, I didn't care much for the first or fifth season.

The first time I ever saw an episode when I was a kid was when I flipped on the TV just as "Shattered Dreams" started. Omega Destroyers will always remain on of my favorite starships of all time after that episode.

Seasons 2-4 are where the show was at its best.
Season 1 was turgidly slow in a lot of places, but it set the groundwork for stuff that didn't pay off until MUCH later on.

it's another thing that hasn't aged well

I think my comment regarding KOTOR 2's writing is fairly applicable as in 'look at me I is so smart what with them philosophy books I dun read' covers JMS fairly well

that said some of the side plots involving 2nd tier characters like Vir, Lennier et al had some merit

I always wondered of Viir might have somehow been londo's illegitimate son and Londo never told him.

Definately my favourite show of all time. Own all of the related DVDs, and an [almost] complete collection of the CCG.

It's Severed Dreams, though. Not shattered.

The actors and overall story structure have aged well; the technology and visuals and CGI are clearly very dated.

That said its a landmark series with strong actors who really embody their characters; coupled to story arcs that are far reaching. Don't forget around this time many TV shows were like the Original Series of Startrek - one shot episodes where very little actually changed. You'd have your adventure of the week and next week everything was back to normal.

B5 was the first series to come up with and push for the concept of long running story arcs. Of having major events that changed the political, social and character cast scene. These were new grounds - esp for sci-fi. The idea of writing a script that could be spread out over multiple seasons is not a revolution but its darn bold to do because no series has a guarantee of what's to come. Also the idea that you could end the series without resolving all the plot points!



I was always sad that I never got to see it all when I was young as it was on Channel 4 which was an iffy channel reception wise for us, being in a bit of a dip and with the aerial up a pear tree.


As for a reboot they could do really well with it and give it a huge face lift; that said I'd not like to see them do a Battlestar to it. The new Battlestar certainly had a bigger budget and skilled actors; but they changed so much of the original story and characters that, to me, it was unrecognisable.

As you might exepct from my Avatar - big fan.

Its by no means perfect but it has many great elements - there is an intersting story and many fine characters - plus love the space ships, very different from what else was on tv/film and i think they still look good.

 Overread wrote:


As for a reboot they could do really well with it and give it a huge face lift; that said I'd not like to see them do a Battlestar to it. The new Battlestar certainly had a bigger budget and skilled actors; but they changed so much of the original story and characters that, to me, it was unrecognisable.

Okay serious answer (for those who didn't get the initial check my sig!).

But I really, really hope they don't remake it. If they want to go through and update the graphics I would be well happy but the thing that really made the initial series was the feeling or chemistry between the actors and their performances. The interactions between Londo and G'Kar especially I cannot see ever being recreated with as much authenticity.

Yeah, I'm not in favor of remakes, especially garbage like Battlestar. I'd be very irritated if they did it to B5.

While some of the plots are a bit hackneyed and the end was awful, the core of the show was great, seasons 2-4 are probably the best sci-fi TV to date.

Unfortunately some of the best actors from the show are dead now, and it'd be a hollow shell without them.

Voss wrote:
Yeah, I'm not in favor of remakes, especially garbage like Battlestar. I'd be very irritated if they did it to B5.

While some of the plots are a bit hackneyed and the end was awful, the core of the show was great, seasons 2-4 are probably the best sci-fi TV to date.

Unfortunately some of the best actors from the show are dead now, and it'd be a hollow shell without them.

Loved the Battlestar remake - but not sure about a B5 remake.

Agree about Seasons 2-4, and even 5 had some good bits (and 2-4 some bad ones).

The problem I have with most remakes is that they either change almost everything to a significant degree - like the Battlestar did - at which point it doesn't really resemble the series I first enjoyed and I can't relax into enjoying the new one because I keep seeing things that are "wrong".

Or they carbon copy it and they can lack some of the dynamic between actors and characters because they are afraid to change anything. So whilst the story can remain the same, the quality of acting can feel diminished. Or the story can retain elements that originally didn't work but get glossed over like before.


Really I think the best approach is something new. You can make a new B5 style series. IT can have its own actors, its own plot and direction. It's not slaved to certain elements or tropes from before; its not always compared back to its predecessor and it can adapt and readily change as it progresses. Leaving it far more free to expand.

Of course the latter is harder to pitch to investing studios. They'd rather you stuck a known name on the front to help guarantee at least a launch audience without a huge need to invest in marketing.

I don’t think you could remake it, they’d have to “Next Generation” it, which I wouldn’t be opposed to.

 Mr Morden wrote:

Voss wrote:
Yeah, I'm not in favor of remakes, especially garbage like Battlestar. I'd be very irritated if they did it to B5.

While some of the plots are a bit hackneyed and the end was awful, the core of the show was great, seasons 2-4 are probably the best sci-fi TV to date.

Unfortunately some of the best actors from the show are dead now, and it'd be a hollow shell without them.

Loved the Battlestar remake - but not sure about a B5 remake.

Agree about Seasons 2-4, and even 5 had some good bits (and 2-4 some bad ones).

Season 1 is great, when you watch it again after watching seasons 2 - 5.

Only for specific episodes, really. Season 1 had too many formulaic star trek style episodes. They'd drop a moral anvil on your head, and everything reverts to status quo at the end, except the guest stars and maybe a red shirt or two are dead.

 Overread wrote:
The actors and overall story structure have aged well; the technology and visuals and CGI are clearly very dated.

The CGI looked dated even when it was released. It was one of the things that put me off the show when I first saw it on TV... although to be fair, it was back when CGI was still fairly new and expensive, and nobody was going to spend the sort of cash that would have been required for good CGI on a scifi TV show.

I am glad that they put the money on everything else but the CGI for the show
Today a lot of time, money and afford is made to make the show look good but therefore story and characters have to be cheap


And than instead of a remake, reboot, or spin off (they tried it twice), a remastered edition would be a thing.
Replace the CGI with an expensive one and rescan the rest in HD

Babylon 5 was an incredible story. way ahead of its time for TV sci-fi. It proved that proper world-building, plot and character development could be done and done well.

My favorite character was Vir.

 AduroT wrote:
I don’t think you could remake it, they’d have to “Next Generation” it, which I wouldn’t be opposed to.

Both Crusade and Legends of the Rangers flopped (but apparently Lost Tales sold well).

 kodos wrote:
I am glad that they put the money on everything else but the CGI for the show
Today a lot of time, money and afford is made to make the show look good but therefore story and characters have to be cheap


And than instead of a remake, reboot, or spin off (they tried it twice), a remastered edition would be a thing.
Replace the CGI with an expensive one and rescan the rest in HD

You know, i don't feel like HD would be very forgiving to this old show. Costumes, set, a lot of iffy stuff would just be laid bare in spectacular definition.

Much as i Love the performances, Peter Jurasik and Andreas Katsulas in particular, I think a full re-make in today's TV climate would be a beautiful thing. Plot the story over a 5 season arc and cast some fresh talent, it could be great!

People rag on B5's sfx but they were a quantum leap for the film industry. They were done on an Amiga toaster modeller and renderer, and made it possible to do 3d CGI on a very small budget. It was a breakthru for small studio productions making SF and shows like hercules and xena.

Hey, original star wars looks dated today too. B5 proved you can do adequate effects without a huge sfx budget.

 theCrowe wrote:

You know, i don't feel like HD would be very forgiving to this old show. Costumes, set, a lot of iffy stuff would just be laid bare in spectacular definition.

We have already seen what can be done with TNG, TOS and Star Wars (the despecialised Edition), so if done right (and not just a cheap reprint of the existing stuff on BR) it could be a thing

I think a b5 remake could be good today, especially with a corrupt, power mnad earth government and a band of heroes breaking away from it and fighting it from the outside in an open, armed resistance. That might strike a chord with today's audience.

 Techpriestsupport wrote:
People rag on B5's sfx but they were a quantum leap for the film industry. They were done on an Amiga toaster modeller and renderer, and made it possible to do 3d CGI on a very small budget. It was a breakthru for small studio productions making SF and shows like hercules and xena.

Hey, original star wars looks dated today too. B5 proved you can do adequate effects without a huge sfx budget.

Actually Starwars used a lot of model and animatronic based visuals. Those tend to age pretty well all told. Early B5 CGI is very low grade and most would need a total rebuild not just a little touching up.

It could be done, but then you'd run the risk of having a disjointed appearance where you've got things like the Black Market Mantis which is clearly very low grade "man in a suit" with upgraded CGI. So then you're either having a mish mash of high and cheap end or you're going to rebuild huge scenes and segments with CGI.

Honestly I think B5 just hasn't got the power for a full CGI rebuild. It's too much money on a niche franchise that hasn't had anything new in years and which hasn't spawned a legacy like Star Wars has.


I'd wager any investment on that scale would be better put into a new series.

Personally I'd rather see a b5 remake than a firefly remake. I mean b5 had several years, a sp;in off series, tv movies, etc. firefly was aone season flop that a small clot of screaming fanatics won;t stop inflicting on everyone else.