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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great way to get rid of VHS taped episodes!, June 3, 2003
This review is from: Babylon 5 - The Complete First & Second Seasons (DVD)
I started watching the original B5 episodes during the original 2nd season airing.. and since then have taped (on VCR) every single episode of B5 and have kept them. B5 is one of the most sophisticated, well thought-out SciFi series I've known. It takes a little getting used to as the characters are more raw than those from the refined ideal Star Trek world, but that adds to the grounded-ness of the storyline. Also, although each episode by itself is complete in itself, but unlike Star Trek, each episode builds on the previous episode and is chronological, so the full impact of the series can only be appreciated if you see the whole thing. Imagine it being a 5-year mini-series with 22 episodes/year. Thus buying the whole season makes sense (as opposed to Star Trek episodes you just want a select few of the whole season. you can still do that with this, but you miss out a lot if you do) Now with the DVD's I can get rid of my VHS tape clutter (DVD's are more compact!), get better screen resolution (shown in wide-screen letterbox format and DD surround) than you could ever reproduce from a taped show while it was on air. Highly recommended for those who taped the entire series. No commercials, you get the full ending credit (many of the TV airings either squashed or muted the end credits), DVD-quality sound and video, instant episode jumping, etc... in addition to some snippets from the actors. The chapters are done so that it is easy to skip the beginning and end credits too.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Television Series, November 24, 2003
This review is from: Babylon 5 - The Complete First & Second Seasons (DVD)
Babylon 5 is a five mile long space station. Located deep in neutral territory, it is designed to prevent intergalactic war by providing a place where peace can be worked out between the races. Run by Earth, it was built with help from the Minbari after our war with them when we were almost wiped out. Since it is also a trade station, it attracts allies of all kinds on a daily basis. Unfortunately, it also attracts trouble. There are raiders in the area, the Narn and Centauri have at best a fragile peace, and someone is always trying to smuggle something on board. Even worse, an ancient enemy is rebuilding forces, and the effects of this will reach all the way back to Earth. Babylon 5 is still unique in television. It set out to tell a single story that had been mapped out beforehand. As a result, it sucks you in and doesn't let you go until you've reached the end. Season 1 is the most uneven, but the beginnings of the story are there, and it lays the background on the races and cultures we will be dealing with over the course of the show. Season 2 brings a new captain and a storyline that is gaining speed. Of course, if you are looking at this page, odds are you are already a fan and looking for information on the sets. The picture, presented in widescreen, is hit and miss, with some dust popping up occasionally. It is clear and sharp most of the time. Sound is presented in full surround and has never sounded better. Each set contains two audio commentaries by series creator J. Michael Straczynski and a season intro by cast and crew. They also have some behind the scenes documentaries and encyclopedia entries introducing you to the world of Babylon 5. In addition, season 2 has one audio commentary by various cast members. Whether you buy the seasons bundled like this or individually, don't miss your chance to own this fantastic TV series.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Best. Series. Ever., May 14, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Babylon 5 - The Complete First & Second Seasons (DVD)
"Continuity". That's the key word here. Star Trek consists almost entirely of stand-alone episodes -- there is, at best, a very thin plot throughout the show. Babylon 5, however, is essentially a really long mini-series. It is one continuous tale that needs to be watched from start to finish. The story is essentially the tale of a collection of space faring races trying to not kill each other more than necessary, and the eventual arrival of a new and deadly force and the alliance that must come together to stop it. Nothing that hasn't been done before in countless sci-fi stories, but this is really done well, certainly the best of anything commited to film. The show is more militant than ST:TNG, being much more similar to the later seasons of ST:DS9 -- more good old fashioned blowing stuff up than we got out of Picard's ship. Also, while Star Trek tended to use models for their space scenes, which resulted in pretty limited space battles, B5 used computer graphics, so the space scenes of ship to ship combat are much longer, larger, more intense and more frequent. If you enjoy a good sci-fi show, it would be criminal to not get Babylon 5. To me, as someone who loves Star Wars, Star Trek, Aliens, Starship Troopers and sci-fi in general, Babylon 5 is the single best show you can find. I only wish they would release the seasons to DVD faster, cause now I need season 3!
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