Product Details

• Actors: Michael O'Hare, Claudia Christian, Jerry Doyle, Mira Furlan, Richard Biggs
• Directors: Adam Nimoy, Bruce Seth Green, David J. Eagle, Janet Greek, Jesús Salvador Treviño
• Format: Anamorphic, Box set, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 18
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: August 12, 2004
• Run Time: 2880 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000A0MFO
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #130,011 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Television > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Babylon 5

• For more information about "Babylon 5 - The Complete First Three Seasons" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The epic sci-fi series Babylon 5 was a unique experiment in the history of television. It was effectively a novel for television in five seasons, consisting of 110 episodes with a clear beginning, middle, and end. The first season introduces the main characters, headed this year by Commander Jeffery Sinclair (Michael O'Hare) and Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle), and familiarizes the audience with the unique environment of a five-mile-long space station in the year 2257. The first episode, "Midnight on the Firing Line," plays at a breathless pace, introducing Commander Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian) and establishing the conflict between the Narn and Centauri races as represented by their ambassadors, G'Kar (Andreas Katsulas) and Londo Mollari (Peter Jurasik). B5 hits warp speed with a run of exceptional episodes building to the season finale. The two-part "Voice in the Wilderness" has Mars breaking into open revolt against Earth and the ! discovery of a "Great Machine" on the dead world Epsilon 3. Referencing 1950s sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet, the story leads to the superb time-travel-based "Babylon Squared." Season finale "Chrysalis" proves more than just the usual television cliffhanger, placing Minbari ambassador Delenn in conflict with her ruling Grey Council and forcing on her a decision that laid the groundwork for Babylon 5's eventually becoming a great love story.

Delenn's future love interest, Captain John Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) arrived on Babylon 5 in the first episode of season 2, "Points of Departure." The show marked the handing over of command of B5 to Sheridan from Commander Jeffery Sinclair, actor Michael O'Hare becoming a victim of studio politicians who wanted a bigger star in the leading role. "Revelations" explains that Sheridan's wife, Anna, died during an archaeological survey of the world Z'ha'dum, the name being just one of many references to Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (the bridge at Khazad-Dum). "The Coming of Shadows" proved to be Babylon 5's finest hour to date, and in "In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum," Sheridan learns that Morden was on the ship on which Anna died. Three exceptional shows conclude the season. The Narn-Centauri war escalates in "The Long, Twilight Struggle," Sheridan faces a most unusual ordeal in "Comes the Inquisitor," and in "The Fall of Night" all hope of peace is shatte! red as a nerve-racking assassination attempt reveals a startling secret about Ambassador Kosh.

"Matters of Honor" launched Babylon 5's third season with the introduction of the White Star, a spacecraft added to enable more of the action to take place away from the station. Also introduced was Marcus Cole (Jason Carter)--in another nod to The Lord of the Rings, a Ranger not so far removed from Tolkien's Strider. A third of the way through the season "Messages from Earth," "Point of No Return," and "Severed Dreams" prove pivotal, changing the nature of the story in a way previously unimaginable on network TV. Earth slides into dictatorship, the fascistic Nightwatch takes control of off-world security, and Sheridan take decisive action by declaring Babylon 5 independent. "Interludes and Examinations" presented the death of a major supporting character, while the two-part "War Without End" reached apocalyptic dimensions in a complex tale resolving the destiny of Sinclair and the fate of Babylon 4, resolving a 1,000-year-old paradox and presenting a vision of a very dark future for Sheridan and Delenn. All this was trumped by the monumental "Z'ha'dum." In the preceding "Shadow Dancing" Anna Sheridan (Melissa Gilbert, Bruce Boxleitner's real-life wife) returned from the dead, no longer entirely human. In the mythologically resonant climax Anna invited Sheridan back to the Shadow homeworld with no hope of survival. Just as in The Lord of the Rings Gandalf fell into the abyss at Khazad-Dum, so Sheridan took a comparable leap into the unknown on an alien world. --Gary S. Dalkin

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why the price increase?, October 15, 2003

By A Customer

This collection of the first three seasons is more expensive (by $25 at the time I'm writing this) than buying the first three seasons individually. Why should we buy this super-collection?

Still a great show; I'm just pointing out the price discrepancy.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Why the price increase?, December 11, 2003

By	Dr Steve (Monroe, NY) - See all my reviews

1. Why is buying the first 3 sesons bundled more expensive than buying them seperately.
2. Why is buying them at Sam's Club cheaper (even with sales tax)
3. What are other's views on the poor transfer from tape to DVD? There are plenty of web sites out there that rip the DVD releases to shreds because of heads cut off due to improper transfer and artefacts on the CGI's...

Otherwise the story arcing is excellent :) Good effects, good characters (although I wish the mimbari weren't so damned goody goody)

5.0 out of 5 stars The best from day one., November 10, 2003

By	Brian Marriott "sith85022" (phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Anyone who knows the babylon 5 universe, knows how great this novel that was not an actual novel is. I watched the stories many times esspecially now that it is in syndication. What is great about the dvds version is that we get soem of the back ground information that is helpful. Any sci-fi fan, or anyone who is interested in the future would love this series.