I’ve never seen Babylon 5… am I missing out?
If you like sci-fi political drama mixed with action and intrigue, yes.
Otherwise, yes.
I won’t lie, G’Kar = Accidental Jesus got me.
Saving this for after I understand
Yes.
It’s the first TV show with actual character arcs - planned out from the start
Offhand remarks from S1 will realise into actual actions in S4
Me watching the first episode: Wow, the budget for these episodes is someone’s lunch money.
Me watching the last episode: 🫡😭
You need the 4:3 4k rescan version, it’s so unbelievably crispy and correct.
Which is honestly too bad because the show was originally filmed for 16:9 with the expectation that 16:9 TVs would become common in the near future, which they did. The 4k version is only 4:3 because the effects were done on the cheap and mastered for 4:3 standard definition and nobody that could afford it wants to redo all the effects work.
No. You get harsher contrasts in quality whenever a digital effect is used.
And, starting with Mind War, there is an increasing appearance of green tint on everything until it dominates.
Get the DVDs while you still can.
Donde
It will either change your world, or help you accept that you are really a simple person at heart.
B5 is a more honest tale (feels handmade and passionate), that you might not appreciate if you need high production values to keep interested.
B5 is less accessible, and sometimes you need to be paying attention. DS9 is better at spoon feeding you and making sure you have what you need. B5 is trying to tell the B5 story. DS9 is trying to expand its region of Star Trek story telling, and occasionally wanders into expert episodes of single story high sci-fi. B5 is a different kind of epic (more like a Space Opera)
They both do great things but some people want the backing and polish of a Star Trek univese, which can make DS9 feel more like home, whilst also preventing it from feeling alien. B5 feels more alien and like there’s something unknown going on, as scifi maybe should?
Just like DS9 takes 3 seasons to find its footing, B5 takes almost the whole first season. But then the rewards are so, so good…
Sounds like fun. I got through SG-1 and has fun in an MST3K way but I’m sure this will be better
SG-1 is almost more of a comedy disguised as a sci-fi,. particularly in later seasons. I love it, but it was certainly an adjustment after seeing the other major sci-fi shows of the 90s.
Agreed it hit like a parody so when they put in a meta tv show it sent me.
People love it and all respect to them. I could never get into it. Back in the day, serialized storytelling on TV was often harder to break into because you didn’t just sit down and steam whole series in order. You had to watch whatever was on the air and whenever Babylon 5 came on I’d check it out, be totally lost on what was happening, get sick of all the talking, and change the channel.
The space station show where an alien religious cast helps the station commander fight a large scale political and physical war against an insidious enemy not detectable to the human eye, even though a genocidal race aiding them may be sacrificed?
…wait, which one am I talking about?
spoiler
The one that’s pro-union, has large character arcs, and a conspiracy that plays out back home.
Wait, which one?
spoiler
The one where ancient text profecy it all.
spoiler
The one where the Station Commander actually belonged to that part of space after all. You know, he wasn’t really like other humans.
…i give up.
They both match these descriptions… But interestingly enough B5 often ends up feeling like it’s telling the bigger story! Sometimes it feels like DS9 is just trying to keep up with it (albeit with much higher production values).
…and the B5 aliens are somehow, more alien. It’s got a lot going for it, and is an underdog that punches above its weight class.
They’re my two favorite Sci-fi shows, and I have room in my heart for both!
Same here, but B5 will always be my number one.
It’s both 10% sillier and 10% darker at the same time 🙂
I’ve only seen 1 episode of Babylon 5, the union episode that was floating around Lemmy yesterday. It definitely beats Bar Association, but I have a hard time imagining that it could beat episodes like Past Tense
Babylon 5s pay off comes in season 3 and 4. There are some great episodes at the end of season 1 and season 2. But S3 and S4 are the best television I’ve seen. It’s hard to imagine but still the case.
JMS pitched B5 to Paramount, and then Paramount mysteriously made DS9, a show with no similarities at all…
odd choice for a meme to compare. you know how that movie ends tho…
the smaller bullet won that battle.
I dunno. Some aspects, maybe. But others aspects are quite jarring.
