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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Babylon 5

Discussion in 'Archive: The Amphitheatre' started by Baks, Jul 15, 2003.

  1. DarthArsenal6

    DarthArsenal6 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2001
    Yes but now its old news


     
  2. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Eventually, yes. He actually almost made one a few years ago but certain backers fell through.
     
  3. DarthArsenal6

    DarthArsenal6 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2001
    so we can say B5 is dead ? :(
     
  4. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    No- these new DVD anthology movies are a stepping stone towards a future theatrical film. WB has already asked JMS to do one, he just needs time what with Richard and Andreas's deaths still so recent. So he's starting out with something smaller with The Lost Tales DVD series. And I suspect his directing these is so he can prepare himself to helm a theatrical film (since the director and not the producer is mostly in charge with film, as opposed to the tv world).

    On a sidenote- the TLT trailer is now up online at babylon5.com
     
  5. Chancellor_Ewok

    Chancellor_Ewok Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2004
    I can understand that. It's kind of hard to imagine Babylon 5 without Londo and G'kar going at each other.
     
  6. JediTrilobite

    JediTrilobite Jedi Grand Master star 7

    Registered:
    Nov 17, 1999
    Guys, I just want you to see this:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hGAQMhRTwA


    I need a new pair of pants, I think.
     
  7. dp4m

    dp4m Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Nov 8, 2001
    Yup, trailer for The Lost Tales has been out for quite some time... :p
     
  8. WormieSaber

    WormieSaber Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 22, 2000
    When I was an intern on this show, I remember the assistant producer talking about how the writers were messing around with the minds of the fans that they would be loyal to Babylon Five forever. And then he mentioned how TNT was going to make it into a major motion picture. So what happened? I personally like it better than Star Trek. It will spurn up somewhere, someday. There is more money to be made in television though.
     
  9. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    TNT funded about 5 TV movies, the 5th season of the series and half a season of a spinoff series (before other TNT execs killed it).
     
  10. Wilderness_Comedian

    Wilderness_Comedian Jedi Youngling star 6

    Registered:
    Feb 5, 2005
    I can't wait to get the DVD movie tomorrow.
     
  11. JediTrilobite

    JediTrilobite Jedi Grand Master star 7

    Registered:
    Nov 17, 1999
    I thought it was out the 31st?
     
  12. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Yeah it's the 31st.
     
  13. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Just finished watching it- and it's quite good, I thought. The Lochley part is a smaller piece, and at first it's exorcism plotline feels a bit strange being explored in B5, but it takes what might have been a straight forward concept and spins it into some unexpected directions which ends up working very effectively. So, in a way, it's Thirdspace-esque being horror-like in nature, but more exorcist than lovecraft, and minus the action and huge space battle.

    Also some very nice touches with the new FX- most notably seeing the station rotating by Lochley's quarters' window, as well as the jumppoint vortex effect which really is now more reminiscent of the original designs with the colors being distinctive, but still has the realistic touches of gasous effects that Crusade and Legend of the Rangers explored.

    The Sheridan/Galen story is actually quite good though- it'd fit in with the regular series perfectly. Some good dilaogue as well as some funny lines (Sheridan's reactionary line in New York had me rolling, and it's hard to not grin like a bastard at Galen at the end). It also sets up a potential large story arc for this series to explore as it goes on (I'd imagine the suggested story including David Sheridan for a future installment would be a likely canidate to continue this plotline).

    Also, the FX folks showed some Starfury love for this story- the FX look really great, and the space battle, though brief, is quite good- even finally giving us a decent peak at some Warlocks in battle after being onscured in the background of A Call to Arms and cameoing as a glorified shuttle in Crusade.

    Only element introduced that seems odd is the quantumspace thing being a faster version of hyperspace, using the ame jump points. Didn't really seem to add much other than give Sheridan something to tease the reporter with. It looks pretty, though I would have been curious to see how hyperspace would be portrayed (would it be the hellish, blurry turbulence of Legend of the Rangers, or the calmer foreboding void of the other two series?).
     
  14. Darth-Stryphe

    Darth-Stryphe Former Mod and City Rep star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Apr 24, 2001
    I bought it but haven't watched it yet. I noticed in the main menu it had three options: Voices in the darkness, over there, over here. What exactly are "over here" and "over there"?
     
  15. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    "Over Here" is apparerntly the title of the Lochley storyline, with "Over There" as the title for the Sheridan/Galen storyline, clicking on "Voices in the Dark" (which is the title for this volume) is essentially "Play All".

    Oddly enough there doesn't seem to be scene selection options on the menu, so the Overe Here/There clicks are sort of like a minimalized chapter selection after a fashion.
     
  16. Darth-Stryphe

    Darth-Stryphe Former Mod and City Rep star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Apr 24, 2001
    Interesting. So you can just play one sub-story, then?
     
  17. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Right- the stories are separate and not interwoven in terms of presentation (there are some connections between them though), so it makes it's easy to jump to the one you want to watch.
     
  18. JediTrilobite

    JediTrilobite Jedi Grand Master star 7

    Registered:
    Nov 17, 1999
    I've since watched it twice, and while I enjoyed it, it was far too short for the $20 that I dropped for it. Dialog, camera movements, CGI (especially the CGI) was all just fantastic, and I really enjoyed both stories. Anyone know how well this has been selling?
     
  19. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    It was a top seller for amazon during it's pre-order period; not sure how's it been doing beyond that, though.
     
  20. JediTrilobite

    JediTrilobite Jedi Grand Master star 7

    Registered:
    Nov 17, 1999
    Hm. Let's hope that it does well. I want to see more of these. Maybe a little cheaper...
     
  21. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    bump!

    Well, in the last year and a half JMS seems to have simply drawn a line in the sand with WB about B5- give him a decent budget for a film or no more. Seems like they were gonna underfund Lost Tales Vol 2 following the writer's strike and that was the last straw.
     
  22. corran2

    corran2 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 16, 2006
    Ok, B5 newbie here. Watched "The Gathering" on a whim, and really enjoyed it. I'm a sucker for on-going storylines, so this show looks to be my piece of cake.

    Some quick thoughts:

    * I am completely spoiler free, know nothing about the rest of the series, so if you come and discuss could you please put a small spoiler warning, and I'll be sure to skip over it.

    * I was surprised to see how many people hated "The Gathering". I thought the only bad thing about it was the atrocious acting by Tamilyn Tomita, and apparently she is replaced in the main series, so I have nothing to worry about.

    * My favorite character at this point is either Garibaldi or G'Kar, these two intrigued me the most.

    * Thought the whole "who tried to assasinate the Vorlon ambassador?" to be somewhat predictable, until it turns out to be a Mimbauri, that was a sort of shocker. And when he tells Sinclair that he has a hole in is mind, that was chilling. Really interested to find out what happened in that final battle against the Mimbauri.

    · Loved all the interaction between the ambassadors from the different races, especially that one conversation where Delann pulls out that ring thing and sort of force chokes G?Kar.

    · Loving the interaction between Garibaldi and Londo. Reminds me of Quark and Odo from DS9.

    · The CGI is a little clunky, but that doesn?t bother me much at all

    · Seemed to me that Delann and Sinclair have a past of some sort, but I could be completely off here.

    · Please correct me if I spelled any name wrong, or mixed up a character here and there.

     
  23. halibut

    halibut Ex-Mod star 8 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 27, 2000
    It's Delenn and Minbari, but spot on apart from that.

    I would LOVE to hear an episode by episode commentary from a new viewer to the series :D

    All I will say is stick through the 1st series. It's generally considered to be fairly weak (although some episodes are essential viewing).

    It might be worth contacting one of the mods and asking them to add "no spoilers" to the heading.

    Or perhaps we could start an episode by episode thread, again without spoilers. I'd love to watch the series from the start again, and I'd gladly do it with you!
     
  24. corran2

    corran2 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 16, 2006
    Thanks for the support! Usually I'm fairly spoiled for every series I go into, but I have no idea what is going to happen.

    Ok, watched "Midnight on the Firing Line", here are my thoughts:

    * Again, glad to see Tamilyn Tomita go, she was the worst part about an otherwise good Pilot. Her replacement here, Claudia Christian as Ivanova. She gets the best scene here at the end when she tells the new telepath why she dislikes her. Great stuff, then the telepath asks Ivanova if they can start over, Ivanova promptly tells her it isn't going to happen, showing that this series is going to be a bit different from your "resolve conflicts at the end of episode" shows.

    * Speaking of the telepath Winters, Andrea Thompson is another welcome addition over the lackluster Lyta from "The Gathering".

    * I'm totally loving the political angle the show is taking. G'kar, Londo, Dellen, all have superb roles to play here.

    * I'm wondering if the presidential election has anything to do with future events? Only Ivanova openly voiced who she supported, the one who lost.

    * Another effective scene is when Winters bumps into Londo and reads his mind about killing G'kar.

    * The confrontation between Garibaldi and Londo is another highlight here. Especially like that Garibaldi gives Londo an hour to clean out his apartment of weapons.

    * Then that great scene at the end when Dellen and Garibaldi are watching Duck Dodgers is fantastic.
     
  25. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Might as well use this thread for the episode-by-episode, it's not being used much for anything else at the moment.

    The Duck Dodgers thing is a great touch that distinguishes B5 from Trek and most other space shows- they usually avoid referencing modern pop culture. You hear about Bach and Davici, but little from what has stood the test of time in the 20th century ala Looney Tunes, etc.

    How non-spoilery would you like responses to your comments to be? ie: your wondering if certain things play a role down the road or not ("yes they do" "no hey don't", etc)?
     
  26. corran2

    corran2 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 16, 2006
    If I say something like, "I wonder if the presidential election plays out down the road?", you can say yes it does or no it doesn't, but thats all I want to hear. Nothing specific. If your being specific, please put a spoiler warning or black it out.


    "Soul Hunter"

    * Fairly blah episode, only having a few real moments of brillance.

    * The whole soul hunter thing is only interesting because it seems that Delenn gets very nervous when the hunter talks about this "Gray Council" mentioned in "The Gathering", and Delenn almost killed G'Kar for mentioning it.

    * Another tiny scene that elevates this episode is when the body of the man that the soul hunter sees dying is thrown into space, Ivanova and the new doctor, Franklin, have a conversation about where man is going. Franklin is optimistic, Ivanova is pessimistic. Just a small touch that really adds to the otherwise dull episode.

    *Also like at the end when Sinclair looks up the name that the soul hunter called Delenn, and finds out that is the equivalent of being in the president's cabinet, except it is this mysterious "Gray Council" she belongs to.

    * This episode suffers a lot from not having G'Kar or Londo, two of the more interesting characters here.

    * I wonder it the soul hunters will make another apperance. Sinclair banished them from Babylon 5, but I just have a feeling we might see them again.