Customer Reviews

Babylon 5: The Gathering

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First off, let me say I'm writing as a fan that's seen the whole series, hence in retrospect. The top question for newcomers to B5 is `where do I start?' and I will attempt to answer that in a bit. Season 1 (and the pilot movie "The Gathering") often gets a bad rap, even from die-hard fans of the show. Some even suggest skipping it entirely. When taken as a whole, the first season pales in comparison to the others. The show took a while to find its footing. But even here the threads of a great story are being quietly laid.

The main mystery of the first season deals with Commander Sinclair's past and a pivotal moment he can't remember. If you get the sense that bigger things are stirring beneath the surface, you would be correct. Already, the wheels of a much bigger arc are turning, though the arc story is more or less in the background for now and the episodes are mostly self-contained.

In retrospect, all the seasons fit together like an elaborate puzzle, and every bit is essential. It is a much tighter weave than shows like LOST. BABYLON 5 was a story conceived and planned out from one man's vision in full from the very beginning, so Season 1 is very purposeful in giving out details and threads which will show up again in later seasons.

BABYLON 5 was the first show to be so planned out as a novel for TV, with beginning, middle, and end. The story would progress and the arc would eventually take over, especially starting season 2. The characters would grow and change like real people, and this bunch of misfits stuck aboard a space station will be deeply affected by events unfolding around them. On that note: the characters. They are absolutely marvelous! So well-developed and finely nuanced, with complex motivations and secrets, they are about as good as you can get. If we are following the novel format, Season 1 is all about character development and establishing the necessary background for the story. The acting is rough in places here (cringe-worthy sometimes), but the actors eventually adapt to their roles as the whole show finds its element. They really are an extremely talented cast, as you will see in later seasons.

So, where to begin?

- "The Gathering" (Pilot movie, aka. episode 0 here) TG is probably the weakest link in the B5 story quality-wise. The writing is okay, possibly enough to leave you interested; the execution not so good. It's not a fair representation of what the rest of the series will look like or be like. There's also lots of discrepancy between TG and Episode 1 ("Midnight on the Firing Line") because they were made a year apart. The cast list went through some major changes (although one character would return in season 3 and become very important) and everything got a facelift. You could almost argue the episode 1, not TG, is where the series proper begins. If you skipped TG, you wouldn't be missing too much except backstory and a big event, but you wouldn't be lost. The big event in TG isn't referenced much later. The complete-ists will want to seek it out anyway. If you're committed, start with TG. Otherwise, it's your call. 2.5 stars

- "In the Beginning" (sometimes called `the prequel'. In movie collection) In case you are thinking about ITB, DON'T. True, it is an excellent movie, and sure to hook. BUT. The title is misleading, because it actually takes place at the very end, with one of the main characters, Londo, recounting events of the Earth-Minbari war which preceded the building of the Babylon 5 station, where the series begins. The movie was made after the series and assumes you've seen the arc already, so it will mean spoilers for *all* five seasons. Plus, you will better appreciate the subtleties and references if you see it at the end.

- Please do not skip season 1 like some fans may advise. Really, some fans are overly hard on their own show for having a rough start and a small handful of bad episodes. The rest is quite good, just not great! (4 stars) If you really must, let me suggest an abbreviated run: episodes 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 16, 18-22

The bottom line: If you are here for well-written, powerful, intelligent, and memorable television (I say not just sci-fi TV, but television in general), filled with believable and endearing characters, you have some to the right place. BABYLON 5 truly is peerless. Sit down, relax. It only gets better from here.

I missed out on Babylon 5 when it aried, and have never really watched it, though I am usually a sucker for scifi TV shows (even bad ones!) This first ep/pilot isn't great on it's own, but is promising. (At this writing, I have not yet watched any other epsisodes...)

The acting is a bit wooden -- especially Micaheel O'Hare as the commander -- he just doesn't seem to fit. But Peter Jurasik's Londo is swell in a somewhat minor role at this point. He seems like likeable scum -- one of my favorite character types.

The plot (don't worry, i won't give spoilers) is a confusing bit of business, mostly designed to introduce the players and races, and reveal details about the commander's past. (I assume they will become signinficant later, but no more said about that here.)

I would give this 3.5 stars if Amazon had half-scores -- and it's defintiely enough to get me to watch more of the series.

Babylon 5 is one of the few Science Fiction shows that deals with religion in a real way. Though they push the boundaries it is a thoughtful approach to the future!

Fascinating, sometimes maddening mix of wonderful and silly,
intelligent and dumb, insightful and obvious.

At it's best it's the 'Wire' of science fiction, challenging
'Battlestar Galactica' for intelligence and emotional depth. At it's
worst, it's like an OK episode of 'Lost in Space'.

Generally far more intelligent than most TV sci-fi (or recent sci-fi
films for that matter), with stories based more on ideas than laser
battles. In that, it's a little reminiscent of the original 'Star Trek'
series.

The most interesting thing; this was an early case of a series having a
pre-planned 5 year arc, so throughout there are sometimes seemingly
throwaway details that suddenly return to be finally explained as
having great importance a season or two or three later. On the other
hand, because this preceded the acceptance of truly serial cable shows,
each episode is more self contained than more recent shows in a
sometimes annoyingly neat way.

The show is also full of allusions; Shakespeare, the Bible, Buddhism,
King Arthur, the Koran. Certainly the writing is grounded in pretty
heady stuff. Of course, sometimes it's dealt with in a pretty heavy
handed way.

The setting is a space station that's sort of an intergalactic United
Nations. In season 1, some of the acting is so stiff, that it brings
the series down. Also, the effects, production design, etc. all reflect
a budget that's clearly way too low, giving it all an amateurish air.
None-the-less, I found myself caught up in a number of the episodes,
both emotionally and intellectually. One even brought tears to my eyes.
And the layering in of deep mysteries only slowly solved gives it a
sense of deeper meaning and arc.

One running problem of the series, the villains tended to be a little
'Snidely Whiplash', complete with black costumes and deep scary voices.
It got a little better as the series went along, but I wish the 'bad
guys' were a little less cartoony.

I wish the series was even more consistently great, but - in the end - it was
more than good enough.

Oh, the pilot... the pilot is bad. The acting is wooden, the direction is flat, the entire thing really comes across as uninspired if you aren't paying attention. The cheesy opening... ack. I expect there to be a dance routine choreographed by Debbie Allen in the station's control room

But it is better than that. There is promise. The attempt on Kosh's life, Sinclair's hidden background, the unraveling of a very deep back story... it's all there if you look for it, but you have to be patient enough to do so.

This is easily the worst episode of the series, but that can be forgiven once you watch the second.

My only question is: Where is Amazon getting the video from - some local syndicated station? I was watching "Infection" last night and there was a voiceover promo for "Time Trax" of all things!