Best season to start watching B5

[Elenopa]

I have both versions of 'The Gathering' on DVD.

I bought it and ITB from Amazon and was disappointed that it was the original, as I had never seen the re-edit. Later on, possibly through some discussion on this board, I found out that it should have been the re-edit on the DVD.

I took a chance and bought another copy. I was lucky. Unfortunately, the cases are exactly the same, so I have put a sticker on one of them to tell them apart.

I would suggest for a first timer, to slog through all the episodes. We all like different ones. I still think the best pre-title cliffhanger is from the episode that JMS would like to loose.

 

[Quagmire]

For me it was scenes like the "when they ran out of ships they used guns" montage and the president asking for volunteers that were done well enough to be moving. Both are moments that can easily become cheesy if not done right. Those parts made me want to find out what all the talky stuff was about when before I hadn't given the show a chance.

 

[cappy]

WOW, thanks for all the replies. I'm awaiting delivery of the first DVDs and cannot wait. Unlike someone who posted on here I was a big DS9 fan but never really liked any of the other Treks and the broadcasting of B5 was so disjointed here (and with not many friends watching it) that it was hard to find 'episode 1' on the TV to get in to it.....but now the delights of postal DVD rental has made it's way into my life and intend to use it to provide me with B5 (and DS9 - is that blasphamy on here ) marathons on the many rainy weekends I have to endure here in northern England.

Cheers again

cappy

 

[rangerPHIL]

I enjoyed watching B5 in the UK. It wasnt hard to find if you were looking for it. Channel 4 did a fairly decent job ( and we got z'ha'dum first ).

It is a real shame that one of the BIG broadcasters didn't show any faith in it ( ie - BBC etc... ) It would now have had an absolutely massive following.

 

[Elenopa]

I think it did very well with C4. If it was on the BBC, then it would have got shafted everytime a sports event happened e.g. snooker.

Just remember what happened with Buffy.

 

[Quagmire]

Some people are a little touchy about DS9 because there is some belief a few initial ideas were lifted from the years Paramount had JMS's B5 proposal. They became different enough that it's not that big of an issue, especially now but for awhile many Star Trek fans thought the idea of a not-ST scifi series could not be legitamate. Most B5 fans are current or former Star Trek fans. DS9 was the last ST series I watched when I caught the later seasons in reruns. Personally I thing once the head ST people turned their attention to Voyager DS9 was able to become quite good.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Star Trek fans thought the idea of a not-ST scifi series could not be legitamate.

And let's not forget the some of the dimmer Trek fans went so far as to say that B5 was ripped-off from DS9, based on the fact the Paramount rushed production enough to get its pilot on the air a week or two before Warner Bros. did. (In case anyone was wondering why half the pilot for a series set on a space station was set aboard one or another Galaxy-class starships, well, now you know. Using the standing TNG sets saved Paramount a lot of time and money.)

Regards,

Joe

 

[The_One]

I think it did very well with C4. If it was on the BBC, then it would have got shafted everytime a sports event happened e.g. snooker.

Just remember what happened with Buffy.

It sucked that we had to watch the last half of Season 5 on the Big Breakfast though

 

[GaribaldisHair]

... and the first half of season 5 on Sunday lunchtime.

 

[cappy]

It wasnt hard to find if you were looking for it. Channel 4 did a fairly decent job ( and we got z'ha'dum first ).

I meant episode 1 wasn't that easy to find on the tv, not B5 in general.

 

[Elenopa]

Oh yea, I didn't know anything about this B5 show until my brother was watching it one day. I looked at the screen and thought 'What's Chekov doing on TV?'

It was the episode 'Mindwar'. Two weeks later with 'The Sky Full of Stars', I was hooked.

 

[The_One]

... and the first half of season 5 on Sunday lunchtime.

Yeah, I don't know what happened to the ratings, because the first 3 seasons were on in the 6 o'clock slot; but Season 4 got shifted to something like 11pm, and Season 5 ended up with some strange morning and afternoon airtime.

I remember having to video all of Seasons 4 and 5, not just to keep; but simply because I wasn't able to watch it "live."

 

[grumbler]

I frankly can't imagine In the Beginning being of interest to a non-B5 fan. It's very talky and without having seen the first 4 season you don't get the thrill of seeing the characters in the past. ...

True, but it also has some of the most moving dialogue in the entire arc, and concentrated into a coupla hours. "See you in hell" is good. "They never ran out of courage... they only ran out of time" is better, and "we will not lie to you... anyone who undertakes this mission will never come home" is powerful enough to make stones weep.

It may not get the attention of yer buds, but it has never failed me..

 

[GaribaldisHair]

Yeah, I don't know what happened to the ratings, because the first 3 seasons were on in the 6 o'clock slot; but Season 4 got shifted to something like 11pm, ...

That was actually a good, positive move because it allowed C4 to show the episodes uncut (unlike seasons 1-3), and it was felt at the time that the themes and stories underlying S4 would have been badly damaged if it had been shown cut to ribbons at 6pm.

 

[GKarsEye]

It may not get the attention of yer buds, but it has never failed me..

Which is exactly my point. It means a lot to a fan, not to a first timer.

Everyone should start with the pilot or Midnight on the Firing Line.

 

[Quagmire]

It has been my experience, with others as well as myself, that these words do mean alot to non-fans. They're universal comments on the human spirit.

 

[grumbler]

Which is exactly my point. It means a lot to a fan, not to a first timer.

Everyone should start with the pilot or Midnight on the Firing Line.

I think that (having shown this several times to doubters after a few episodes) that In the Beginning works for non-fans as well.

The problems are in getting to the final resolutions. The show starts with exposition, is interrupted with exposition, and ends with exposition, and only that final bit seems to work as exposition to the prospective fans. But they DO seem to appreciate what the earlier exposition was setting up, and judge it worth the wait.

Lots of films hide their meaning until the end. The Usual Suspects was constantly interrupted by exposition, and yet worked.

I hold ItB in reserve when introducing people to the series, just because it spoils so much. But it is a never-fail gobstopper when employed strategically on the doubters.

 

[QMCO5]

Having become a perhaps a purist sort of fan I always start with "The Gathering" and Season One. I have watched the entire series multiple times but "In the Beginning" only a few times. I prefer to begin with the mystery as the story was meant to be watched. Season One almost has a noir character about it, which causes the viewer to unwittingly suffer along with Sinclair in his search for meaning, but when Season Two begins there is a notable lift in my spirits. I think you have to go through the valley to appreciate the heights.

QMCO5

 

[grumbler]

Season One almost has a noir character about it, which causes the viewer to unwittingly suffer along with Sinclair in his search for meaning...

Good point. I never got that into words, but you are right about season one (at east the better portions of it). Unfortuantely, it isn't a uniform feeling. Sometimes, Season One is just Star Trek done poorly.

 

[deaded]

Coming to this discussion late I'd like to add my vote for starting at season 1. The advantage you have is that you KNOW it's great so you can sit through the dribble. I too started watching from the beginning because I was an Amiga computer user and a sci-fi fan. To me it was dumb, so I stopped, but I tuned in one day towards the end of season 2 and was hooked. Thank god! This is the best TV show ever to grace the airwaves, IMHO.

I hold ItB in reserve when introducing people to the series, just because it spoils so much

I agree completely with this statement. It's too much information the first time around. OTOH, I believe that this series needs to be watched **AT LEAST** five times to be fully appreciated.