Watching Babylon 5

[lizbee]

I'm currently about six episodes into the first season. And I'm really glad that my flist reassured me that it got better, because ... wow, it's got room for improvement.

So far I have noted:

- HOLY EXPOSITORY DIALOGUE, CAPTAIN!
- AND DID I MENTION THE EXPOSITION?
- Some attempts at humour that miss their mark by, oh, miles.
- A whole bunch of dead womens, plus the first women we see who aren't diplomatic personnel or Earth military are exotic dancers.

And yet, something keeps me watching. I think it's the combination of Delenn and Ivanova. Not by coincidence, they're also the only characters whose acting hasn't made me cringe yet. I'm having a lot of trouble coping with the idea that Andrea Thompson was actually paid. To "act".

The best bit, though, is that poking around the internet has revealed that J. Michael Straczynski's interactions with the fandom make Russell T Davies look like ... I don't know, someone worth speaking to. I had read about his habit of hanging around on Usenet, clarifying things that weren't clear in scripts and throwing hissy fits of varying proportions if fans drew attention to genderfail* or compared something to Star Trek. But actually reading the archived posts is terribly ... entertaining? Frustrating? Not unlike finding a brick wall and hitting your head against it for a while?

Good times, guys. Good, good times.


* I'm sure there's going to be other kinds of fail, too, but hey, I'm only six episodes in.

Comments

[ase]

If you have the option, skip to the second season: S1 is very uneven, but S2 is pretty solid.

(I have zero perspective on B5. I thought it was the best thing ever when I was 12, which should tell you something.

I can watch most of S2 without cringing, which is why I would suggest skipping S1, or getting the highlights reel from someone.)

JMS's presence on usenet was a big factor in my discovery of the internet. This may explain a few things.

[lizbee]

I am checking Wikipedia, whose episode guide includes notes as to the arc significance of each story, and I've already skipped one that seemed largely standalone.

[pearwaldorf]

I love B5 and I just finished watching the entire run, so I'm thrilled that somebody else gets to experience it for the first time. But yeah. Delenn and Ivanova are total win, and you still get to meet Londo and G'Kar. It gets totally lulzy at times, and the CGI is ever so dated, but for the most part the show has held up really well.

[aquila1nz]

I watched it for the first time a couple of years ago. Some things will not get better (exposition speechifying, certain people's acting). Some things will (the uniforms, the story arc).

I mostly loved it, warts and all. JMS may not be as clever as he thinks he is, but continuity is a wonderful thing, and I think it paved the way for a lot more of it in other things we loved. And yeah, reading along on the lurkers guide while watching was a heap of fun o_O

[longtimegone]

Huh, that's a show I would like to watch eventually, as it's consistently held up as an example of a show with a true, planned arc from start to finish, and that's pretty appealing. I'll be interested in hearing what you think about it!

[copracat]

Aaargh! Did no-one advise you to watch the second season first, fall in love and THEN go back and slog through season one? Oh dear.

Yay!

[idlerat]

Probably my favorite show of all time, though I had absolutely no use for it until I stumbled on Babylon Squared one day (end of season), and then Season two, and then was utterly hooked until I started getting unhooked in S4 and completely disgusted in S5. In retrospect, there are actually a lot of things I really like in S1, but only in retrospect.

It just had a ... way the story went, way things got held on to and paid off down the line, that truly was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. It was also more genuinely science-fictiony than anything since TOS, IMO, and in some ways than anything ever.

JMS was a douche. I tried to ignore him. My place was "The Lurkers' Guide," which I just used as a Web Site - never tried to engage with other fans.

I seem to have lost all my B5 icons in an Incident, except this one, which is neither awesome nor appropriate.

[thirdblindmouse]

Maybe I should watch that. I tried the first episode once, and ...yeah.

[katemonkey]

I'm a bit of a freak, because the first season has some of my favourite episodes and I much prefer Sinclair and Catherine Sakai (who you have yet to meet) is awesome.

But stick with it. Trust me. Yes, it's a bit faily at times, and yes, JMS is crazy, and, yes, it's so obviously trapped in the early 90s, but oh man, when it's good, it's beautiful.

[copracat]

Yep. That's about it for season one. It just gets so much better, though.