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Hm. I was planning to post episode titles along with my reports, but that’s going to be more of a challenge than I thought because there are plot spoilers EVERYWHERE. For now, I think I’m just not going to worry about episode titles (though if any of you know them, feel free to volunteer them in the comments section). I’ll pay more attention at the beginning of each episode for the title.
Apologies to those who already read the following comments in my blog today but I figured I should repeat them here in case anyone stumbles across this new blog from somewhere else along the way.
Anyway… I’ve started watching B5 with my husband Jeff. I remember how excited everyone seemed to be when Babylon Five first debuted. I tried watching the first episode but couldn’t stand it; I don’t think I even watched all the way through.
This time, I gritted my teeth and forced myself to stick with it. I still wasn’t all that crazy about the first episode. The guy with the weird hair still freaked me out and the special effects seemed pretty cheesy. But I remind myself of how the original Star Trek would look to someone nowadays, and I’m a big fan of the original series. I was also confused by the introduction of so many characters and found them a tad wooden.
I like the second episode a bit more. The weird hair guy still irritates me. I wrote a Babylon Five song ages ago for my music group; it was basically a song about being one of the only people who hasn’t seen Babylon Five (I’ll have to post the lyrics online sometime). I actually did snoop through a page of info about B5 back then to find one actual B5 reference to include in the song, and it was Londo Mollari.
But anyway, the one line that made this episode for me was in a conversation about how short life is. I’d look up the exact wording but again, I’d rather avoid the spoilers. I was also intrigued by the character of Ivanova. AND the clear indication that there is more going on that the immediate plot (something sadly lacking in the original Star Trek series), mysteries that needed to be uncovered in future episodes.
I’m definitely intrigued.
11 comments ↓
Congratulations on joining the ranks
As I’m certain you’ve heard many times, the first season of B5 was not the greatest TV, but it improved by orders of magnitude both along the way (oh, that pilot!) and in the next few seasons.
the clear indication that there is more going on that the immediate plot (something sadly lacking in the original Star Trek series), mysteries that needed to be uncovered in future episodes.
This is a hallmark of the series, and part of what makes it so much fun to watch. Yes, things matter from episode to episode (and season to season); the world doesn’t “reset”, the way it does in so many other series. Do be observant, but don’t get hung up on trying to remember everything (it’s easy to miss what’s happening now).
Enjoy!
Trust me, you will love “the weird hair guy” eventually
Have you watched the pilot? Is that what you refer to as first episode? The pilot is pretty boring and it makes more sense to go back and watch it after, say, you’ve watched the first season or such.
I believe you will not be disappointed.
Think back to those long ago days of yesteryear… when the first season of Babylon 5 was acted the same as the *second* season of Star Trek, TNG.
Seriously- when you look at it in historical context; the acting in much of the first season, while wooden, was head-and-shoulders above the first season of any of Bab5’s contemporaries. Hence the reason people got hooked so easily at the time.
Katy and I just re-watched the first four seasons about six months ago; and it does stand up to the test of time. I’ll be reading on with you.
Oh, one more thing. In my parody, “I Am Filker” (sung to “I Am Woman”), I do sing:
Ignoring noise abatement needs
In halls we pop up like strange weeds
Ju-st one more song about poor Londo’s hair…
… not that I’ve ever actually *heard* a song about poor Londo’s hair, mind you…
If you just want the episode names with no spoilers, see http://www.tv.com/babylon-5/show/11/episode_listings.html — just don’t click on the episode names if you don’t want to see details! (This is true of all of their episode guides, I find it very useful for putting recorded episodes in order without seeing spoilers so I can watch them in order, UK TV stations are not good about keeping series order when showing them.)
I’m not sure which episode you think of as “the first”. The pilot, “The Gathering”, was pretty dire and I’m very glad I only saw it after the end of the first season, otherwise I doubt that I’d have watched any more. The official “episode 1″, “Midnight on the Firing Line”, was a lot better.
I’ll stick with you and read your B5-Blog!
I call myself a “fiver” now, but as I watched the pilot and first season, I wasn’t one. But if you survive the first season, you will see that all the lose plot ends won’t be lose ends forever.
BTW, I didn’t write a Londo filk, but one for his poor assistant. But I think you haven’t met Vir yet, so I will shut up and leave now.
There are a lot of things that many people liked about the first season that were missing in the pilot (The Gathering). These have to do with the enigmatic sayings of Kosh (out of action in the pilot), the rather more direct sayings of Ivanova (not in the pilot), the much improved appearance/voice of Delenn (the pilot was “a failed experiment” for the voice per the creator of the series JMS) and a few other things.
So give it a chance and see if it grows on you.
I watched the first episode again the other night - you know, it wasn’t as bad as I remembered it to be. I didn’t realize that the Narn/Centauri conflict was introduced so early.
Some don’t like the acting of Claudia Christian (Ivanova), but I really liked it. It seemed true to character for me.
The lead character, Sinclair, really reminded me of the actor who played Christopher Pike in Star Trek. Hired for his photo shoot rather than his acting skills.
Fortunately, he doesn’t hang around long.
I’ve watched through the entire series 3 or 4 times now. The first season isn’t quite as good as the next few seasons but there’s lots of important story line, history, and foreshadowing in this season. Pay close attention. Everything has a way of showing up again.
I found that the second time I watched the series, the first season became all that more interesting knowing what I then knew was going to happen in the future. And the third time it was even better.
I really hope you enjoy the series. I think it’s some of the best television I’ve watched.
Enjoying your B5 reviews and funny enough a mutual reader mentioned they were reading both of our sites as I am in the midst of doing my own. I also enjoy your blog. But I won’t be getting too far ahead. I don’t want to read any spoilers myself. I’m in the middle of Season 2 and Babylon 5 is shaping up to be a sci fi classic. My site is http://scifimusings.blogspot.com if you ever want to visit. I’ll keep returning.