Babylon 5... I'm in my glory!!

[Suicides-by-Steve]

Well, as an earlier birthday gift, I received the first season of Babylon 5, Signs And Portents... a few weeks later, I got the second season, The Coming Of Shadows... wow! 44 episodes of my favourite televised sci-fi show ever (so far). All I need post-haste is the pilot movie, and I'll be all set... God, I love watching all these episodes at whim. It'll be interesting if my kids like watching them in a few years, or view them as cheese.

It wasn't until I got into ST:TNG that I could sit through an episode of the original Star Trek... and that was after the first season of ST:TNG... Babylon 5 takes off great right from the beginning! It goes to show that a series written with a solid plot from its' inauguration is so much more concise and believable than, lets say, the ST episodes, where they go from plot to plot, season to season.

[Aku]

I never watched Babylon 5. Yes, Star Trek (pick a series) is mostly episodic, with the same tired morality plays done over and over. "Oh, no, you violated the Prime Directive - what would Starfleet Command say?" "Yes, we know that our new ally sacrifices their first born, and then eats them at a big barbecue, but we must respect their culture." At least Enterprise is trying to go where no Star Trek show has gone before, that is, building a more continuous storyline in its new season, and emphasizing the action over the pontificating.

[Renzatic Gear]

Nothing touches the X-Files for good, quality TV. You should start buying the box sets for that, instead.

[Hieremias]

I used to be a big Star Trek fan. I think I just got bored with it. Enterprise was fun for a few episodes, then I just lost interest. B5 is like watching C-SPAN. It's boring as death, just one big political debate.

I have to agree with Renzatic about X-Files, the earlier episodes were pretty darn good. Like any TV show I get tired of it eventually, but they were certainly entertaining.

[Renzatic Gear]

I thought the X-files stayed at a consistant level of quality goodness up til about season 7...and even then it was better than most stuff on TV.

I do agree with you that the earlier episodes were the best of the bunch..the first 3 seasons are amazingly good. So good, in fact, that I'm surprised they put em on the air.

[Suicides-by-Steve]

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I have to agree with Renzatic about X-Files, the earlier episodes were pretty darn good. Like any TV show I get tired of it eventually, but they were certainly entertaining.</div>

That about explains your tastes to a tee... Remember folks, this is the guy that thinks Blade Runner sucks too. You know, for someone who's scared of the zombies in Thief, you sure do like that crap in other mediums, such as the LAME-O XFiles on TV... What they're okay on TV, but not in games?

RG Man, that show was okay, until they started introducing witches, wizards, and warlocks into the fray, and turned it into a Buffy clone. B5 rocks, plain and simple. Get over it... I have 2 seasons, and you don't. You don't have to make your jealousy so apparent! LOL :p

[Renzatic Gear]

RG Man, that show was okay, until they started introducing witches, wizards, and warlocks into the fray, and turned it into a Buffy clone. B5 rocks, plain and simple. Get over it... I have 2 seasons, and you don't. You don't have to make your jealousy so apparent! LOL :p

Okay, I've seen like 2 episodes of Buffy and though that other than whatsherface and the lesbian chicks the show sucked. And anyway, I can't think of more than a few episodes with wizards, witches and crap. You're really reaching, Steve. :p

[Hieremias]

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That about explains your tastes to a tee... Remember folks, this is the guy that thinks Blade Runner sucks too. You know, for someone who's scared of the zombies in Thief, you sure do like that crap in other mediums, such as the LAME-O XFiles on TV... What they're okay on TV, but not in games?</div>

You are not going to let that go, are you? :)

Blade Runner did suck. It was slow, boring, and bleak. The overall premise was good and the sets/backgrounds were good, it just had horrible pacing and a cheesy script.

I agree about the X-Files episodes dealing with witches, etc--those were stupid. But the main plot--about UFO existance and government conspiracies--was great. I love that stuff, both in games and TV (remember, I really liked Deus Ex!).

[Suicides-by-Steve]

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You are not going to let that go, are you? :)

Blade Runner did suck. It was slow, boring, and bleak. The overall premise was good and the sets/backgrounds were good, it just had horrible pacing and a cheesy script.

I agree about the X-Files episodes dealing with witches, etc--those were stupid. But the main plot--about UFO existance and government conspiracies--was great. I love that stuff, both in games and TV (remember, I really liked Deus Ex!).</div>

Hell, no, I won't let that go!! I've been waiting close to a year to use that on you again! LOL Which reminds me, what the hell have you been doing that kept you away from the boards?

Eh, that goes to show your tastes! No wonder you thought B5 is like watching C-SPAN. I can only assume that you never really watched it on an ongoing basis (or you caught a couple early episodes- they are kind of painful to watch), so of course you won't "get" it... It's not like an episode of ST where they basically go from show to show, with a VERY slowly evolving storyline, that even watching once in a blue moon you could follow. Just the fact that B5 had a solid storyline from the start makes it (for me) a bigger payoff when the end of the series comes about, and when all is said and done, it feels more like a novel you've read, rather than simply a hastily thrown together series finale (like oh so many ST spin-offs). For me hating DS: 9 as much as I did, I have to admit the final couple seasons weren't too bad (the old lady watched it on a regular basis).

And concerning X-Files, yeah, I was all into it when they were investigating the UFO's and occasional hauntings, but then they pulled off a Psi-Factor meets Outer Limits and I just couldn't stomach it any more....

[BortiiS, The]

YEAH, I heard Season 3 was on DVD now or something like that, saw some commercial for it on TV, if I recall.

Bablyon 5 was probably the first show to REALLY get me addicted to it.
I watched it from the pilot allt he way to the 4th season (didn't have cable, when them fools switched to cable for Season 5, I still caught some episodes and got the last four on tape, but I missed about half of Season 5, mostly the first half).
The only other show to get me so glued to it, was probably Robotech back in the 80s.

Bablyon 5 takes a HUGE DUMP on Star Trek. B5 was like a cross between....well, crap, it was its own original thing!

First of all: no shields!

Second of all: Starfighters, starships, etc., FLEW IN SPACE LIKE IT WAS SPACE! No warp engines, no inertial dampeners, no anti-matter/anti-gravity. Starfighters, in particular the Earth Alliance fighters, had thrusters all over them, and could actuall perform some kick-butt manuevers.

Third: Weapons. One of the coolest things, was that the show was perhaps the first to show beams weapons, as they'd probably actually be! Beam weapons would carve into a ship and then come out the other side, and effectively slice-and-dice ships up. Starfighters vs. warships were hair-raising battles, especially cuz the show realistically, in my opinion depicted them.
If a STARSHIP can blow a hole through another STARSHIP with its beam weapons, then a STARSHIP zapping a STARFIGHTER, would VAPORIZE the STARFIGHTER.
One hit: BOOM. Dead.
Rarely did you see a warship strike a fighter, and "damage it". Starfighters rarely survived beam-weapon hits (usually only survived, when they got "nicked").

Fouth: Space battles. Bablyon 5 ships, for one, were very colorful and varied. It had a slight ring of "Wing Commander", ONLY IN THE SENSE, that everything was realistically structured, fleets and ships, that is.
You had your cruisers. Your destroyers. Your dreadnaughts. Your heavy cruisers. Your frigates. Your fighters. Your fighter-bombers.
In Star Trek, it's usually "our starships against your starships". Star Trek has "cruiser" and "destroyers" and all that too, but you rarely see them fight in a battle where this matters. It's usually "let's all get them!", with not real space tactics or organization.
B5's weapons varied as well on each ship.
Most starships, had different weapons systems, instead of just "phasers" and "photon torpedos".
Some had gunnery-pods/turrents, others had missile launchers, others had weird-crap, or flak-cannons, interceptor, and such.
Earth destroyers, had a few beam cannons, gunnery-turrents/AAA, and flak-like cannons.

Fifth: Targeting systems. I just mention this, because B5 weapons, especially beam weapons, fire FAST and can lock onto a new target FAST. In Star Trek, you see phasers fire, and they are slow, and you can actually see them "travelling" less than the speed of light, and if they miss, it seems they can't fire again for several seconds.
In B5, it's "ZAP-ZAP-ZAP. WHOOSH-ZAP. ZAP-ZAP! ZEEEEEEP. ZAP!"

INTERCEPTORS, not starfighters, but in B5, once in a while, you'd see them using interceptor-batteries, firing energy balls at enemy energy balls to destroy them.
This was cool, cuz I always wondered why in Star Trek, when an enemy fires a photon torpedo at them, why don't they just zap it to bits?
Like in Star Trek VI, when the Enterprise fires that torpedo at the cloaked Klingon ship, and every sits there waiting for it to it. The ship could fire when cloaked! Man, don't they have a Patriot missile in the future?

Sixth: The physics. I remembering watching the first-aired, officialy episode of B5 "Midnight on the Firing Line", and gawking at how fricken cool the space-combat was, because they flew around like space was space, with Newtonian physics, and all that. They'd manuever the fighters like mini-space-shuttles, until they glided and turned to face the right position, and then let the enemy have it. This was cool!
Also, later, you'd see them "strafe" ships or use inertia, like rotating the fighter 180 degrees, so that it is now "flying backwards", and then blast the guy who was on their 6 o'clock.
Against ships, they would fly parallel to the ship, and point their fighters inwards, and use the inertian to simply glide over its surface, while blasting away at its hull.
The Babylon 5 station rotated for gravity.
Earth ships commonly had rotating sections.

Seventh: The story. It was epic and had a mythological-feel to it, despite all the "2010 meets Wing Commander"-setting/vibe. Darkness vs. Light (I believe the creator said he was inspired by Record of Lodoss Wars and LOTR, and Lensmen, or something like that).

When the show first started, the special FX were "passable". In the second season, you see some better, cooler stuff. In the third-season, it seems they got a decent upgrade, and from there kept getting better.

The story and characters I thought were better than ST, because they actually had a story arc, and the creator, didn't pull punches when it came to tragedy or twists and turns of events.
It was a "Human" story without the characters being all pretentious or self-aware about it, like in Star Trek.
With ST, it was like they always talk about "being Human" or "what does it mean to be Human" and all that.
B5 JUST WERE, they did their thing, they lived the drama, and didn't even need to dwell on the question.
It was nice to see a sci-fi that didn't feel it had to be some "public-service-announcement" or be all "philosophical" in the way ST is.
There were a few episodes that were "obvious", but they avoided the subjectiveness of such things by just sticking to the story, and let the audience work it out themselves.

[BortiiS, The]

http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/lurker.html

Is a good site, that is surprisingly still around.

YEAH, it would take too long to explain the various other aspects of the show, you'd have to just check all that out on your own.
http://www.midwinter.com/b5/Clips/

[BortiiS, The]

http://www.spacebattles.com


HAHAHAH!
This is great!

[Hieremias]

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Hell, no, I won't let that go!! I've been waiting close to a year to use that on you again! LOL Which reminds me, what the hell have you been doing that kept you away from the boards?

Eh, that goes to show your tastes! No wonder you thought B5 is like watching C-SPAN. I can only assume that you never really watched it on an ongoing basis (or you caught a couple early episodes- they are kind of painful to watch), so of course you won't "get" it... It's not like an episode of ST where they basically go from show to show, with a VERY slowly evolving storyline, that even watching once in a blue moon you could follow. Just the fact that B5 had a solid storyline from the start makes it (for me) a bigger payoff when the end of the series comes about, and when all is said and done, it feels more like a novel you've read, rather than simply a hastily thrown together series finale (like oh so many ST spin-offs). For me hating DS: 9 as much as I did, I have to admit the final couple seasons weren't too bad (the old lady watched it on a regular basis).

And concerning X-Files, yeah, I was all into it when they were investigating the UFO's and occasional hauntings, but then they pulled off a Psi-Factor meets Outer Limits and I just couldn't stomach it any more....</div>

I had been working quite a bit until about a month ago when I got sick. I found I barely had time to do the news on the main page, let alone post on the boards. (Now that the news section is toast, I imagine I'll be able to come back here.)

Nope, I never actually got into B5. I'm sure it would be more entertaining if I'd watched it from the start; nevertheless it just didn't grab me. The makeup/alien effects were even cheesier than Star Trek (and that's pretty cheesy), and I felt like I was watching one long political debate. I should point out that I watch almost no TV at all, I get bored with it VERY easily (unless, of course, the Sens are in the playoffs). I prefer doing things than watching things, which is why I vastly prefer gaming to TV.

But then I don't have a kid to run me ragged, I'm sure if I did I would relish the thought of flopping on the couch to just vegetate, if it meant I got an hour of peace. :)

[Suicides-by-Steve]

You point out alot of the things that enamoured me to the series initially... the cool graphics, great starship battles, interesting characters etc. It really wasn't until Season 2 where I really started watching it, but I've seen the series in its' entirity... Season 1 was okay with mainly character development, and a couple plot advancers... it was also at times pretty painful to watch sometimes... I suppose though, it HAS been 9 years since it was first released.

I was laughing at the fact that when B5 first came out, the graphic designers had to compile the 5 second CG clips ALL night... 8 hours to compile 5 seconds of video! LOL Wow! That explains why the explosions in Freelancer look better than the first season battles where the ships just seem to "break" apart like Lego.

Oh yeah, and you're lucky you missed the last bit of Season 5... ugh... Lockley sucked as a Commander, she should go back to her Thighmaster commercials... I didn't understand why they eked the show out for the couple months after the Shadow War was wrapped up like they did... I suppose to add an air of realism of how things were getting back to normal, and getting to see everyone go their seperate ways... Like real life, not the ST universe where all they say is "Engage", and you can imagine the crew flying around space forever, ad nauseum...

Overall though, I'm a happy camper... I should be able to get my hands on Season 3 this Christmas, I'll be getting the pilot Movie in a week or two, and Season 4 and 5 I hear should be out at the beginning of next year (if not earlier).

[moya]

JUST GET OVER IT MAN!!! PICARD OWNZ YOU ALL WITH YOUR NEWTONIAN PHYSICS AND REALISTIC SPACE COMBAT. THAT'S NO MATCH FOR A GOOD BLASTER AT YOUR SIDE KID! erm... wrong thing, but anyway... MAKE IT SO!!

http://frank.harvard.edu/~jason/thoughts/picard.jpg

[Lara]

<div class=\"smallfont\">JUST GET OVER IT MAN!!! PICARD OWNZ YOU ALL WITH YOUR NEWTONIAN PHYSICS AND REALISTIC SPACE COMBAT. THAT'S NO MATCH FOR A GOOD BLASTER AT YOUR SIDE KID! erm... wrong thing, but anyway... MAKE IT SO!!

http://frank.harvard.edu/~jason/thoughts/picard.jpg</div>

LOL, funny stuff moya :D