Babylon 5: The Gathering
Aug. 7th, 2022 11:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meteordust"I was there at the dawn of the third age of mankind..."
So back in the nineties, when TV stations played games with program scheduling, genre shows were relegated to the graveyard slots, and if you missed taping an episode you were out of luck, I started but never finished Babylon 5.
That is to say, I watched the pilot movie and some of Season 1, missed a handful of episodes, and never got around to catching up. I always meant to! It was epic and groundbreaking and everyone loved it. But even later on, when it was released on VHS and DVD, five seasons felt like a big commitment. So this is why Babylon 5 has been on my bucket list for a ridiculously long time.
Now that JMS is going to remake the show, I've finally had the impetus to get around to watching all of the original. It's been impossible to avoid some level of osmosis spoilers over the years, but I'm sure the ride will still be full of surprises.
First up, I wanted to rewatch the pilot movie, to refresh my memory after all this time.
This is not going to be anything as coherent as a review.
* That voiceover intro is still epic. This is one of the things I love about science fiction - that grand sweep of future history. I get the same feeling from Alliance-Union or Legend of the Galactic Heroes.
* It was great setup to have Lyta's arrival give us a reason to get a tour of the station, and great stakes to have the Vorlon ambassador's attempted assassination threaten the peace. I liked the murder mystery feel of the investigation, and the creepiness of the changeling net. (This is why nobody likes shapeshifters.)
* For some reason, I had it in my memory that Takashima was the traitor in league with the assassin! And I was very confused when the big reveal did not happen! Apparently, according to the wiki, this was an idea that got nixed? Have I been lowkey annoyed all this time for nothing?
* I remember imprinting on the original cast, and being disappointed that some got switched out for the rest of the series. I missed Lyta and Dr Kyle, but most of all, Takashima. I know everyone loves Ivanova, and I'm sure I'll love her too, but back then I was really hyped to see an Asian woman as first officer of the station.
* Some of the dialogue and delivery felt a bit stagey and stilted, reminding me a bit of early TNG. But I'm fine to just go with it and see how it shakes out.
* Most of the script has aged pretty well, with the occasional line feeling dated, and some of the character dynamics and attitudes being of their time. (Though I'm not sure if I can say the convo between G'Kar and Lyta has aged badly, because it was probably meant to be creepy at the time - but wow does it hit that out of the park now.)
* Speaking of whom: all these years, I've been mentally pronouncing his name as guh-KAH. But apparently it's jik-KAH. It's like the GIF thing all over again!
* MVPs of the episode: G'Kar seems like he's having the most fun, Delenn is wonderfully complex and alien, and Sinclair is so warm and steadfast.
* Quote of the episode: "There is a hole in your mind." This line has lived in my own mind for all the years since I heard it, and was one of the few things I remembered from the pilot. And those missing 24 hours, and the unexpected Minbari surrender - such a compelling mystery and a fantastic hook.
You know that mindblowing fact about how we are closer in time to Cleopatra, than Cleopatra was to the building of the Great Pyramid? We are further in time from Babylon 5, than Babylon 5 was from Blake's 7. The pilot first aired in 1993, almost 30 years ago.
So back in the nineties, when TV stations played games with program scheduling, genre shows were relegated to the graveyard slots, and if you missed taping an episode you were out of luck, I started but never finished Babylon 5.
That is to say, I watched the pilot movie and some of Season 1, missed a handful of episodes, and never got around to catching up. I always meant to! It was epic and groundbreaking and everyone loved it. But even later on, when it was released on VHS and DVD, five seasons felt like a big commitment. So this is why Babylon 5 has been on my bucket list for a ridiculously long time.
Now that JMS is going to remake the show, I've finally had the impetus to get around to watching all of the original. It's been impossible to avoid some level of osmosis spoilers over the years, but I'm sure the ride will still be full of surprises.
First up, I wanted to rewatch the pilot movie, to refresh my memory after all this time.
This is not going to be anything as coherent as a review.
* That voiceover intro is still epic. This is one of the things I love about science fiction - that grand sweep of future history. I get the same feeling from Alliance-Union or Legend of the Galactic Heroes.
* It was great setup to have Lyta's arrival give us a reason to get a tour of the station, and great stakes to have the Vorlon ambassador's attempted assassination threaten the peace. I liked the murder mystery feel of the investigation, and the creepiness of the changeling net. (This is why nobody likes shapeshifters.)
* For some reason, I had it in my memory that Takashima was the traitor in league with the assassin! And I was very confused when the big reveal did not happen! Apparently, according to the wiki, this was an idea that got nixed? Have I been lowkey annoyed all this time for nothing?
* I remember imprinting on the original cast, and being disappointed that some got switched out for the rest of the series. I missed Lyta and Dr Kyle, but most of all, Takashima. I know everyone loves Ivanova, and I'm sure I'll love her too, but back then I was really hyped to see an Asian woman as first officer of the station.
* Some of the dialogue and delivery felt a bit stagey and stilted, reminding me a bit of early TNG. But I'm fine to just go with it and see how it shakes out.
* Most of the script has aged pretty well, with the occasional line feeling dated, and some of the character dynamics and attitudes being of their time. (Though I'm not sure if I can say the convo between G'Kar and Lyta has aged badly, because it was probably meant to be creepy at the time - but wow does it hit that out of the park now.)
* Speaking of whom: all these years, I've been mentally pronouncing his name as guh-KAH. But apparently it's jik-KAH. It's like the GIF thing all over again!
* MVPs of the episode: G'Kar seems like he's having the most fun, Delenn is wonderfully complex and alien, and Sinclair is so warm and steadfast.
* Quote of the episode: "There is a hole in your mind." This line has lived in my own mind for all the years since I heard it, and was one of the few things I remembered from the pilot. And those missing 24 hours, and the unexpected Minbari surrender - such a compelling mystery and a fantastic hook.
You know that mindblowing fact about how we are closer in time to Cleopatra, than Cleopatra was to the building of the Great Pyramid? We are further in time from Babylon 5, than Babylon 5 was from Blake's 7. The pilot first aired in 1993, almost 30 years ago.
