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48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
And So It Begins ..., October 30, 2001
Reportedly the version of the two-hour pilot movie "The Gathering" on this DVD will be "Version 2.0", if you will.The version that aired in 1993 was considered by many to be dull and muddled. B5 creator J. Michael Straczynski later placed the blame on director Richard Compton, who he felt chose the wrong takes in an attempt to emphasize the station itself rather than the actors' performances. "Version 2.0", released in 1999, was heavily revised by JMS and producer John Copeland. They tightened up the storyline, upgraded the effects and, most importantly, dug up from the archives alternate takes that showed stronger performances by the actors. Some scenes that slowed down the pacing have been dropped, while other scenes that emphasized the characters and the plot have been restored. If you can get hold of the original version, compare it to "Version 2.0" and enjoy a clinic in the right (and wrong) way to edit a movie. Like any pilot, though, the actors have yet to find their characters and the writer/creator is still finding their voices. That's the point of any pilot, so don't unnecessarily bash it just because the look of some aliens changed later in the series. A pilot is supposed to sell the show as a series, and that it did. But "The Gathering" is also important because of B5's unique structure -- a five-season "novel for television", and "The Gathering" is the opening chapter. Plot lines established in this episode resonate throughout the next five years, sometimes not even paying off until late in the series. If "The Gathering" is Chapter 1, "In The Beginning" is the prologue. Told in flashback by one of the primary characters years after the events seen in the series, the story takes place ten years before the events seen in "The Gathering". Throughout the B5 saga, we hear about the Earth-Minbari War and even see snippets of flashback. But this film finally lets us take the ride in total. Another interesting advantage of comparing these two films is to observe how JMS's storytelling skills improved with experience. Early in the series, episodes tended to bog down with expository narrative as he struggled to find an effective means of planting with the viewer certain information that would be needed down the line. (In fact, if you go back and watch the first season episodes, virtually every one contains some plot point that pays off down the line in future seasons.) With four years under his belt -- and freed of the need to story arc plot points -- he's free to tell a whopper of a story. "In The Beginning" does have some inconsistencies with what was established in the series -- in particular, a rather improbable adventure involving several of the series' regulars who don't seem to have any memory of it when they reunite years later on the station -- but in typical Straczynski fashion we're entertained while at the same time reminded of the conseqences of our own human foibles and arrogance. Finally, I'll chip in with a message for WB. As others have posted, I've held off on buying the VHS series because I was waiting for DVD. Please, release the series season-by-season in box sets. With commentary by JMS. His people are waiting.
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