To Satisfy My Own Curiosity

[Mike G]

In what way did you primarily use to watch Babylon 5 the first time you saw it?

Edit: This should probaby be in B5 related, feel free to move it.

 

[Ranger1]

original airing all the way baby.

 

[RW7427]

When I first got into the show it was airing on TV. After watching it a while I started recording eps and buying them on VHS tape. Eventually I got the whole show on DVD.

But the first time I ever saw it was when it aired on TV.

 

[hypatia]

I am not sure when I started watching it on and off. Around season 2 or 3? After that, on repeats and on friends' borrowed tapes, I saw the whole series from start to finish, which made a MUCH bigger impression on me. It eventually became one of my two favorite sci-fi series. And no adorable, bald captain to cloud my judgement either.

 

[vacantlook]

Edit: This should probaby be in B5 related, feel free to move it.

Done. :thumbsup:

 

[vacantlook]

I know I saw The Gathering when it was originally broadcast, and I know I saw some episodes when they were originally broadcast, but I also know there were more than a few episodes that I didn't see until they were rerun on TNT. I don't know how many episodes fall into the original run category and how many fall into the rerun category, so I can't really say which way I primarily watched, so I voted "other".

 

[maneth]

Original airing, then I watched them on very poor-quality (much worse than VHS) illegal downloads, got bit by my conscience and bought The Complete Universe with my bf, whom I introduced to B5 and now he loves it as much as I do. Oh, and now a cable channel specializing in sci-fi is running them in syndication. It's quite fun to watch a first-season B5 ep and a DS9 ep right after!

 

[Jade Jaguar]

I saw the Gathering, and all subsequent eps when they first aired. And when they second aired, when I taped them all, on broadcast grade SVHS tape, in SVHS.

 

[Cell]

I first started with the reruns of seasons 1-4 on TNT and then watched Season 5 in its original run along with the movies River Of Souls and A Call To Arms and the next series Crusade. I also read all of the trilogy books as soon as they were released, but wasn't into the franchise when the comics and original novels were being published,.

 

[Jan]

I missed seeing "The Gathering" when it aired and almost deliberately ignored B5 when I heard it was coming. I was just sick of SF/Fantasy shows coming along and then disappearing overnight. I read an interview with JMS in TV Guide, though, about the 'novel for television' concept and it intrigued me enough to give it a try. By 'Signs and Portents" I was hooked and watched all of the rest as they came along except for "Comes the Inquisitor" which I missed until seeing the 'stripped' episodes on TNT.

Jan

 

[Mike G]

Interesting. A lot more people, at least around here watched it durring the inital run then I thought, I figured those people would be a pretty small percentage.
I probably should have included VHS Tapes but I didn't think to many people would have seen it on those first.

 

[hypatia]

I probably should have included VHS Tapes but I didn't think to many people would have seen it on those first.

I think that's a testament to just how rabid B5 fans are/were.

They were so into this show that as soon as anyone they knew got a bite of it, and liked it, they eagerly offered up what they had taped of it so far, in hopes of recruiting a new viewer. It sure worked in my case. Seeing what some of the later episodes would bring gave me the patience to sit through some of the initial ones. Seeing the unprecedented character development and plot development is what hooked me in the end, and I did end up watching the rest of the series (from whenever I started, on) on its first run. But having caught up quickly via my friend's tapes, I admit I find it confusing to think back and track just where I actually started seeing every episode, without fail, live.

Another thing, I used to do my typical "do something while watching tv" thing with B5. I eventually learned that I missed far too much subtle action and dialog doing this, and had to stop. No grading papers or balancing the checkbook during this show. You actually had to pay some attention.

 

[KoshFan]

I saw a lot on VHS, but because I was dependent on other people's tapes I had some rather incredible gaps. I didn't see Mind War until I bought the DVDs, for example.

 

[fisheggs]

I missed the first few episodes from the 1st season. episodes here were often delayed due to local sports games and I was working a varying shift at work. I VHS taped all shows according to TV schedule, but missed a few due to faulty info. It was almost a chore to keep up.:devil: But well worth it. I eventually taped/retaped any episodes that were missed on its initial run when sci-fi channel replayed it with a reliable schedule.

 

[Kraig]

I saw the pilot and seasons one through four in original airings on over the air free TV on PTEN. I live in a rural area that doesn't have cable TV service, so I couldn't watch the original airings of season five. My first viewing of season five was on LaserDisc.

 

[Alluveal]

I got the DVD's. I started watching right before season 4 came out on DVD (because I remember finishing season 1, 2 and 3 and freaking out.)

I was such a glutton. I watched like 10 episodes at a time some nights.

 

[Truth_Seeker]

I watched the first season in 1994 right after the show was aired in the US.After that those morons from the cable tv that aired the show decided that they better air soap operas(understandable they are much cheaper to buy) so I never knew that there were more episodes after "Chrysalis".It was six years later when I finally got the rest of the show from a friend.