Customer Reviews

Babylon 5: Point of No Return (Babylon 5, Season by Season)

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

 

 

As with her other books, Jane Killick delivers more than just a retread of the season's episodes, plot lines and cast lists. The most interesting and valuable parts are the quotes from JMS, the actors, and the creative forces behind the show, commenting on the scenes, issues and their reactions to them. If you have to choose among the growing list of "guides to Babylon 5," make this series your top priority.

Babylon 5 was unique in television. The main plot for the entire series was mapped out before the show even started. As a result, it developed a loyal fan base that still loves it.

This book is the third in a series of five episode guides to the series. Covering the third season, it has a separate chapter for each of the twenty-two episodes. Each starts with a plot summary, but then goes into behind the scenes stories and commentaries. Through interviews with cast, crew, and creator J. Michael Straczynski, author Jane Killick is able to give a full picture of what went into each episode. Some of my favorite parts are the stories of bloopers or jokes the cast played on each other. I also find the summaries useful if I'm looking for a particular episode to rewatch.

Starting out the book are two essays. The first provides insight into creating the special effects for the show. While the majority of the time is spent on describing the computer graphics used (something unheard of when the series started), there is also some insight into the traditional effects and the make-up used to create the aliens. The second in an introduction to the third season, painting broad strokes of the story arcs introduced and developed over the course of the season.

Any fan will love to have this well researched book for a behind the scenes look at a wonderful piece of science fiction television history.

The Babylon 5: Season by Season guidebooks are an essential read for fans of the TV series. Containing photos, interviews, essays, and in-depth rundowns of each episode, each book is indispensable for B5 vets and newbies alike. Strongly recommended.

This is a really good book series for B5 fans. It makes a great companion & fun reading after you have watched each show. But I would recommend it mainly for those that have seen the series & are watching it again. The reason I say that is because it is laced with spoilers all throughout the commentaries. That's fine if you've seen the whole thing already, but it stinks if you are watching it for the first time. If you don't mind that sort of thing...go for it, but this is the only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars. For a good "non-spoiler" companion guide, I highly recommend The Babylon File: The Definitive Unauthorized Guide to J. Michael Straczynski's TV Series Babylon 5 by Andy Lane (Versions 1 & 2). He shows no mercy sometimes. If he does or doesn't like the show, he let's you know. But it's a blast to read.

The book starts with a description of the long road of "selling" B5 to various tv execs seeking partners and funding. Boring? On contrary it offers a rare look behind the curtains and helps to understand why it's so hard to get funding for a truly artistically ambitious tv show like Bab 5, or why most tv drama lacks that ambition. It also gives the readers an idea of how dedicated JMS, Copeland and Netter were to getting this show on air against all odds. The overall wiew on the first season On the other hand can be a bore to those who have already studied the episodes site on the net, although more compact and a must to understanding the continuing story lines that would make Macchiavelli jealous, layers on layers, from scale of individuals to institutions, worlds and the universe. For those new to this complexity and richness it makes the book easier to follow episode by episode.

The episode guide includes a two-page synopsis followed by 4-5 pages of comments from JMS, directors and actors, episode by episode including the pilot of the series, "the Gathering". If these comments would constitute a bigger part of the book instead of about 100 pages, with even more detail and humour the book would be a fiver, but as people were interwiewed years after the first season these kind of things tend to give way for more professional-orientated memories. Still by no means dry or "basic" even for the most educated fans, this book is worth it's price, and more when combined with the series on video, allowing to see the episodes in a new light.

This is yet another installment in a series of episode guides for B5--probably the best science fiction show made in America in the 1990s--giving the reader a thorough retelling of the season's episodes and the background action of B5's on-going production problems. There should, however, be some warnings for new fans of B5! All of the books in this series give out plot points that viewers might not want to know--especially those who are willing to get up at 6 am (5 ET) to watch the show.

This book is very helpful especially if you happen to ocassionally miss an episode, or if someone interupts the show while you are watching it. A definate help to some enigmatic points in episodes!

This is apparently a copy of the original book. In the other 4 books I have, the photo section is printed in color on glossy paper. This book has black and grey photos that look like they were photocopied. Only the cover looks like the original. A bait-&-switch if you ask me.

The whirlwind third season is my favorite of the entire five year arc. This book does a wonderful job of showing not only an excellent episode guide and summary of the season but info on what goes on where the viewers seldom get to go: behind the scenes. I loved the actor's takes on their characters, especially on the relationships.

The item I received from Amazon is not what is described here. Despite the banner on the front of this book and in the image stating "8 pages of color photographs", the photos were very poor quality black and white photocopies. This was true for all 3 of the Babylon 5 season books that had photos. I am not even convinced that the text in any of the 5 books is not just photocopy as well. I paid full cover price and purchased directly from Amazon. After sending a complaint and asking how to get the correct item, Amazon immediately sent another set. These too were defective black and white photocopies. Although the book itself appears to be interesting, I would buy it from a book store and not purchase it unseen through Amazon.