posts on 7/20/2006 5:07:27 AM
That's what annoyed me about Babylon5, I loved the series even obsessed about it but at points JMS churned out absolute garbage that had no relevance to the story arcs.
Grey 17 is missing for example, apart from the sub story where Sinclairs belongings are sent to Delenn there is nothing in this episode that drives the story forward and what about that alien suit, the least they could have done to hide how bad it was would have been to put some dodgy cgi effect around it like they did the first time we saw the draak.
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posts on 7/19/2006 6:41:58 AM
Pretty much most of season 5 except the last 4 show that ended the series
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posts on 7/17/2006 9:35:59 PM
Sorry, the absolute worst was about the telepaths seeking their own world...singing that dreadful ditty...you know, the one that was nauseatingly like Kumbaya.
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posts on 7/15/2006 11:24:25 PM
After the whirlwind that was season 4, i found Deconstruction of Falling Stars to be the most anticlimactic hour of TV i've ever seen. I understand that since they were renewed for a 5th season, the season finale had to be pushed back, but this episode was extremely weak.
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Soylent Yellow is MM Good
posts on 6/15/2005 10:03:37 PM
Worst? Pretty much any episode from Season 1 involving Sinclair - He was the Captain Archer (ST:Enterprise) of Babylon 5. To say his acting was wooden is an insult to trees. When Sheridan showed up the show started to rock - He liked to blow sheet up, shooting first and asking questions later. Sheridan had balls of steel; especially when he dove into the bottomless pit.
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The commentator abracadaver
posts on 3/26/2005 8:22:40 PM
In response to E.C.S.' initial post about the strange song that played in the stylized sequence in which Sheridan was captured...
I don't know who the singer was, but try listening to that song and "I Can Hardly Wait" from the Strange Days soundtrack. The latter songwas written by P.J. Harvey and sung by Juliette Lewis in the movie. This song is clearly a direct rip-off of the Strange Days song.
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The commentator E.C.S.
posts a message on 3/11/2005 8:30:05 PM
Thank you for that bit of information on the " set me free" song that has been driving me crazy for a number of years. But I think if you watch the first year that song plays a great deal int he casino. The song in walkabout may be a different one. I will review the episode and let you know. There is also a strange song that plays in the background when Sheraden is captured by Clacks people on Mars.
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The respected commentator graylensman
posts a message on 3/10/2005 8:37:07 AM
If you are referring to the episode "Walkabout", a trip to The Lurker's Guide reveals that the lyrics were written by JMS, music by Christopher Franke. It also gives the actress' name who performed the vocals, but I don't remember it right off.
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The commentator E.C.S.
posts a meandering thought on 3/9/2005 9:01:02 PM
This is only to true there is always a subplot or interaction in B5 that will make you stop and think. However, there is one burning question who sings the most popular song on B5. I have never noted a credit to the artist who wrote or sang the " set me free, set me free ..." song
I have written to sonic images to see if it is their work, but I never heard back on this issue.
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The respected commentator graylensman
posts a gentle reminder on 3/9/2005 2:21:54 PM
You know, most B5 episodes, no matter how bad, usually had some one thing that made worthwhile the time spent watching. "Infection", my vote for all-time worst, included a great bit by Sinclair who tells a visiting reporter why we should be in space. It is an eloquent and moving tribute to the human spirit - especially after all the rubber monster suitsilliness.
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The commentator E.C.S.
posts a message on 3/8/2005 6:39:56 PM
The saving grace of TKO was the B story line. Ivanova dealing with the death of her father. This had a real heart felt aspect that that was human in every way.
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The commentator E.C.S.
posts a bold assertion on 3/7/2005 7:41:54 PM
I think that you put that in the correct perspective. I have a love of the 1930's flash gordon and Buck Rogers also, these movies made a great start for Sci-Fi. I do agree that the B5 universe is a true reflection of who we are now. Star Trek is who we wish we were. It is harder to rise above the fray as both B5 captain's do. In Star Trek the fight is not as hard because we confront the other who is not us.
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The respected commentator graylensman
posts supporting argument on 3/7/2005 8:54:24 AM
The boxing episode ("TKO") was lame, though the B story of Ivanova mourning her father's death as original in SF TV.
I think the shadow of the original Trek series is so long that any show must work hard to avoid comparisons. ST:TOS was so innovative and set a particular standard. Next Generation took two years to try to find its voice; DS9 had TNG and TOS to live up to. (I've read comments from the DS9 producers that intimated their show was treated like the red-headed stepchild in the Trek family).
And B5 was soooo different, it had to fight the mindset that if it isn't Trek nobody will care. So B5's first year was as much about establishing a new universe as it was setting up the mysteries to explore in the next four years.
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The commentator Ihate it
posts on 3/6/2005 8:40:07 PM
the episode with Michael York was just plain silly ...but ican forgive it for 5 years i followed that show and miss those characters .. it was the first sci fi series to show that humans heroes can be flawed and even the most lowly person can rise up when all is lost and led others.
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The commentator E.C.S.
posts a bold assertion on 3/4/2005 11:21:08 PM
I also think that DS 9 was a follower and not a leader in the space station shows of the 1990's. But I will say that the feel of each show was very different. I found the 5 year arch of B5 much more rewarding. DS 9 felt like a show in search of a story at times. I think it did find its way but things seemed to be forced in many episodes.
The boxing episode of B5 was also poor.
However, I think I will rewatch it to look at the B plot and see how that held up in a review of quality.
Just one thing we shoud all think about, all the episodes that have been noted as poor come from the first year of B5. When I look at Star Trek this is not the case. I find Episode of both TNG and DS9 that are in later seasons that seem to be better suited to a stand alone Twilight zone or outer limits.
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The respected commentator graylensman
posts a bold assertion on 2/28/2005 10:01:46 AM
I recently rewatched "Late Delivery" and I liked it alot, too. Don't forget G'Kar's entry into the fray as well - a light turn for a very burdened character. And Delenn stepping in as the archetypal Lady of the Lake was wonderful. Toss in Franklin's reallization that maybe sometimes helping can be hurtful... well, B5 was as much about stepping outside the expected as it was the overall arc.
And as for B5 being a DS9 knockoff... I always thought the opposite - that Paramount rushed out DS9, and the whole Dominion War thing came out after B5 really got the Shadow War going.
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The commentator E.C.S.
posts a bold assertion on 2/27/2005 9:22:28 AM
I think that you have found the true bottom of the barrel episode. My wife who has sat through the DVD reserections of every star trek and all of B5, will get up from sitting down, after a long day of work, to do laundrey rather than to watch that episode. I will point out that I am a bit strange in that I watch one of these two TV shows every day. So Death walker walks in my home every 6-8 months. That is one of my favorite episodes so Doctor Strange Love.
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The very well respected commentator penfold
posts on 2/26/2005 1:51:57 PM
I definitely agree that "Infection" was right there in the bottom of the series, but I think the worst one was the Season 1 episode with the alien "boxing" match (Mutai? It was so bad that it's one of the few episodes that I can barely remember). This just came across so poorly. The "King Arthur" episode ("A Late Delivery From Avalon") however, was superb. Michael York is an excellent actor and made Arthur come to life. And the 2 scenes someone mentioned (the old woman, and the fight) were indeed wonderful. Someone complained that it added nothing to the story arcs - so what? If you look over the seasons, there were always some that did (Wham! episodes) and some that didn't. There were more Wham episodes each year, but having non-Wham episodes helped to provide breaks and pauses in the tension - a technique any good storyteller knows is vitally important. And as for "Late Deliver," I think it did explore an important point. Someone had to take the first shot, the one that started the Earth-Minbari War. What would that have done to that person? Imagine the guilt and horror that would've grown as he watched the Minbari walk all over us. "Following orders" wouldn't have assuaged the guilt - something would eventually give. JMS handled it in a touching, entertaining, and novel way. Sigh. I will always miss the delight of watching B5 for the first time. There has never been anything like it, before or since, and I just don't think anything will ever touch it. To think that at first I wrote it off as a knock-off of DS9 - more fool I.
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