BABYLON 5 REMASTERED: A Retrospective and Rewatch Thread!

[DKDetective]

Oh wow, I never would've suspected anything like that with the actor playing Sinclair. Nice to hear JMS was able to help him get better and come back later. I also didn't realize it was another BSG situation where the main show premiered so long after the initial movie/pilot. Makes total sense that they couldn't get all the actors back then.

And yeah, based on "Believers" I'd say the actor playing Doctor Franklin is indeed an improvement.

And on the Vorlons....

Spoiler

My current random and probably totally way off base theory is that they are humans from the future or something along those lines. Probably ridiculous, but I remember Kosh at least had a human-looking hand in "The Gathering"!

With respect to the Vorlons, I will only say that...

 

[InCali]

Oh wow, I never would've suspected anything like that with the actor playing Sinclair. Nice to hear JMS was able to help him get better and come back later. I also didn't realize it was another BSG situation where the main show premiered so long after the initial movie/pilot. Makes total sense that they couldn't get all the actors back then.

And yeah, based on "Believers" I'd say the actor playing Doctor Franklin is indeed an improvement.

And on the Vorlons....

Spoiler

My current random and probably totally way off base theory is that they are humans from the future or something along those lines. Probably ridiculous, but I remember Kosh at least had a human-looking hand in "The Gathering"!

I watched it with an eye to see if I could discern any issues with Michael as he's playing Sinclair (probably the psychologist in me bubbling up...I was "supposed" to be a therapist before I decided on engineering); especially in the later episodes and found nothing. Mental illness is so sad. We only have one shot at life and to have something like this interrupt it, well, I find it distressing. That has a lot to do with why I wanted to be a therapist to begin with.

 

[InCali]

Since I went home yesterday evening, I am only on S3 Ep10 and can't watch anything today. I have a sinking feeling that @flickchick85 is going to be nipping at my heels soon and the taste of that dust is going to be some microwaved noodles or something.

At least I don't have access to my beef jerky. I only have about 4 (thick) pieces left.....

 

[DKDetective]

Since I went home yesterday evening, I am only on S3 Ep10 and can't watch anything today. I have a sinking feeling that @flickchick85 is going to be nipping at my heels soon and the taste of that dust is going to be some microwaved noodles or something.

At least I don't have access to my beef jerky. I only have about 4 (thick) pieces left.....

Wait, did you finish episode 10 or is it your next one to start? Because stopping at the end of episode 9 would be a painful cliffhanger, episodes 8 through 10 are a fully serialized mini-arc.

 

[InCali]

Wait, did you finish episode 10 or is it your next one to start? Because stopping at the end of episode 9 would be a painful cliffhanger, episodes 8 through 10 are a fully serialized mini-arc.

I stopped at the one where

Spoiler

Sheridan pulled a fast one to get NW under control. I think it's E9

. I had to get going. I didn't drive home until 11PM. It takes almost an hour to drive home and I figured it would be nice to talk to my wife before she went to sleep.

 

[DKDetective]

I stopped at the one where

Spoiler

Sheridan pulled a fast one to get NW under control. I think it's E9

. I had to get going. I didn't drive home until 11PM. It takes almost an hour to drive home and I figured it would be nice to talk to my wife before she went to sleep.

Oh man... That was the episode I mentioned about hitting really close to home right now...

Spoiler

the talk about the Senate building under siege, Senators barricaded in their offices, and begging the military to intervene and save them from the President, who is engaging in a coup.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Nice! Heads-up, the departure of Sinclair was the result of Michael O'Hare's severe mental illness that developed during filming. During the filming of season 1 he started developing severe psychosis and paranoid delusions. JMS was ready to put production on hiatus so that O'Hare could get treatment. O'Hare was scared it would kill the show and people would lose jobs, so they agreed JMS would help O'Hare finish the season and would write his character out after that so that he could get treatment. JMS actually funded O'Hare's treatment and kept it secret until O'Hare's recent death, so that O'Hare could keep acting after his recovery. The character still gets a great arc and wonderful closure during later appearances after O'Hare's treatment.

With respect to the departure of Takashima and Dr. Kyle after the pilot, it is my understanding that the actors chose not to return. The gap between the pilot and the series order was about a year and I think they moved onto other work. So it was not studio interference as far as I am aware. And with respect to Dr. Kyle, they at least replaced him with another POC who was a better actor.

Spoiler

Yeah, the explanation that those involved in Kosh's treatment were recalled to Earth is a pretty darned fitting explanation for the cast changes.

With respect to Mr. Bester, because I grew up with B5, Walter Koenig as Bester actually comes first to my mind ahead of Chekhov. He is so awesome in the role and there will be much more of him to come.

Yeah, there are a lot more episodes like The War Prayer that hit super close to home right now. I peeked ahead and watched a favourite scene from an episode about where @InCali is right now and oof... Even more relevant than I remembered. Certain lines said by reporters are almost verbatim to some recent CNN coverage.

Yeah, Deathwalker is a really good one too. In particular, I love the Vorlon stuff. Oh Kosh...

On re-watch that line and the Vorlons' intervention in the Deathwalker situation says sooo much more about the Vorlons than one realizes on a first watch.

My brother mentioned someone having serve mental illness and having to leave the show. I would not have expected Sinclair.

Just did episode 3 and am doing episode 4 right now. Episode 3 being a melodrama about Londo love life is exactly what I needed. The hair thing kills me, especially seeing a woman of the species. For 5 seconds, I thought it was randomly Selma Hayek.

Londo being like Lando means I will never forget his name again. Not after that episode. I now know where DK got all his skills.

Episode 4 with the talk about speaking to a reporter. Somehow the biggest Mass Effect vibe I have gotten from this.

Also I am definitely never catching up to any of you. I watch the show with Snow and my brother*. The three of us have very different schedules, so we have to all be together to do it. So we will be taking the long way.

Still rather enjoying it. Still very 90s, so sometimes it feels a bit slow, but at the same time exactly what I grew up with.

*He loves it by the way. Always wanted to see this, so he was excited to jump on and he is enjoying it quite a bit.

 

[flickchick85]

Just started S2.

Spoiler

I figured after "Sky Full of Stars" that the Minbari had worked with Earth's government to maneuver Sinclair and put him in charge in order for him to serve some higher purpose in the future, so glad to finally get that confirmed. Definitely didn't call that bit about the souls though, lol.

Well I expected Babylon 4 to come back, just didn't expect it this soon. But I knew we were dealing with some time-travel shenanigans. Knew it!

Not sure what to make of the Shadows yet.

Loved that Ivanova seemed to get a lot more focus in the 2nd half of the season. I think she might be my favorite character at the moment.

Loving Sheridan already. He and Ivanova had a nice, pretty instant rapport, which helps. He seems a bit goofier than Sinclair, and I enjoy the contrast. I'm a little suspicious of why he was chosen, considering I don't trust the current Earth government or anything they say at all, but I do trust him.

Also, I had to look up Navy ranks because I was SO confused as to why they made him a Captain, and not a Commander. My dad's retired Army, and in the Army, a Captain's not a very high rank for an officer, so I initially assumed Ivanova would outrank him. Needless to say I was surprised to learned that in the Navy (where this show clearly got its rankings from), a Captain is an even higher rank than a Commander. Education!

 

[flickchick85]

Just did episode 3 and am doing episode 4 right now. Episode 3 being a melodrama about Londo love life is exactly what I needed. The hair thing kills me, especially seeing a woman of the species. For 5 seconds, I thought it was randomly Selma Hayek.

I thought that was Salma for a sec too.

 

[Snow Queen]

*catches up on thread*

Yeah, uh, well... episode 3 was pretty good. I did like the main storylines of the first two more but I thought this one was very solid as well. The dramatics were definitely entertainiing and those two would-be killers looked like they were on their way to a very early audition for the first Matrix

But I thought episode 4 was the best so far. Some nice characterization for Sinclair and Franklin, and I imagine stuff like divisive inter-species sentiments and the Earthforce bio weapons divison is setting up for more exploration in the future. Just feels like the kind of stuff you drop in there early to make a big deal of later.

Okay, @Snow Queen and @DarthSkywalker, now that Darth has recovered from his post-Royal Rumble coma, it's time for us to quicken our pace! We can't let an old man beat us!

This one is on me, actually. In between the last episode and now, I have been told I have to move and so the last week's been a bit frantic between cleaning the place to get it ready for photos for the listing and finding somewhere new to move to. So it's been a bit of a week.

 

[DKDetective]

My brother mentioned someone having serve mental illness and having to leave the show. I would not have expected Sinclair.

Just did episode 3 and am doing episode 4 right now. Episode 3 being a melodrama about Londo love life is exactly what I needed. The hair thing kills me, especially seeing a woman of the species. For 5 seconds, I thought it was randomly Selma Hayek.

Londo being like Lando means I will never forget his name again. Not after that episode. I now know where DK got all his skills.

Episode 4 with the talk about speaking to a reporter. Somehow the biggest Mass Effect vibe I have gotten from this.

Also I am definitely never catching up to any of you. I watch the show with Snow and my brother*. The three of us have very different schedules, so we have to all be together to do it. So we will be taking the long way.

Still rather enjoying it. Still very 90s, so sometimes it feels a bit slow, but at the same time exactly what I grew up with.

*He loves it by the way. Always wanted to see this, so he was excited to jump on and he is enjoying it quite a bit.

No worries about the slow pace! I'm just teasing you guys and cheerleading the effort. Yeah, I can't do the InCali/flickchick pace either, so it is nice to some people closer in pace to me.

I'm glad your brother is enjoying it. Based on your various comments about his tastes in music and other things, I'm not surprised to be honest. He sounds like he has phenomenal taste in all things.

Yeah, the pacing is interesting. The first season is slow, mostly all worldbuilding and build-up with a few oh **** moments scattered through. But it ramps up as the series goes along and the show gets more and more serialized as you approach the climax at the end of season 4. Season 4 is full speed ahead, addictively bingeable very much like modern genre TV. I was lucky to have watched the series the first time in syndication on TNT where I got an episode everyday after school. Having to wait a week between episodes during season 3 and 4 would have killed me.

Yeah, you will never forget Londo's name again. He is like JMS's Falstaff, the greatest character he ever created. Also, he is so incredibly quotable:

*catches up on thread*

Yeah, uh, well... episode 3 was pretty good. I did like the main storylines of the first two more but I thought this one was very solid as well. The dramatics were definitely entertainiing and those two would-be killers looked like they were on their way to a very early audition for the first Matrix

But I thought episode 4 was the best so far. Some nice characterization for Sinclair and Franklin, and I imagine stuff like divisive inter-species sentiments and the Earthforce bio weapons divison is setting up for more exploration in the future. Just feels like the kind of stuff you drop in there early to make a big deal of later.


This one is on me, actually. In between the last episode and now, I have been told I have to move and so the last week's been a bit frantic between cleaning the place to get it ready for photos for the listing and finding somewhere new to move to. So it's been a bit of a week.

Oof, that sounds like a hell of a week, Snow! "Just feels like the kind of stuff you drop in there early to make a big deal of later" = the entirety of B5 season 1.

Can't wait until you and Darth meet Mr. Bester in two episodes.

I thought that was Salma for a sec too.

I thought the same as a kid. Glad that both you and Darth thought the same! Here I was at 10 thinking Garibaldi was played by Bruce Willis and Adira by Salma Hayek. She is actually someone notable... The actress is Fabiana Udenio, who played

Spoiler

Alotta Fagina from Austin Powers.

Just started S2.

Spoiler

I figured after "Sky Full of Stars" that the Minbari had worked with Earth's government to maneuver Sinclair and put him in charge in order for him to serve some higher purpose in the future, so glad to finally get that confirmed. Definitely didn't call that bit about the souls though, lol.

Well I expected Babylon 4 to come back, just didn't expect it this soon. But I knew we were dealing with some time-travel shenanigans. Knew it!

Not sure what to make of the Shadows yet.

Loved that Ivanova seemed to get a lot more focus in the 2nd half of the season. I think she might be my favorite character at the moment.

Loving Sheridan already. He and Ivanova had a nice, pretty instant rapport, which helps. He seems a bit goofier than Sinclair, and I enjoy the contrast. I'm a little suspicious of why he was chosen, considering I don't trust the current Earth government or anything they say at all, but I do trust him.

Also, I had to look up Navy ranks because I was SO confused as to why they made him a Captain, and not a Commander. My dad's retired Army, and in the Army, a Captain's not a very high rank for an officer, so I initially assumed Ivanova would outrank him. Needless to say I was surprised to learned that in the Navy (where this show clearly got its rankings from), a Captain is an even higher rank than a Commander. Education!

It's okay about your rank confusion. It also does not help that BSG used a weird hybrid rank system combining both air force and naval ranks where commander was the highest, non-flag rank. Space forces in B5 use the same traditional naval rank system as Star Trek and Mass Effect, with the exception of flag officers who are typical "Generals" instead of Admirals. EarthForce Marines use traditional army ranks, as you may have noticed with Major Kemmer or Colonel Ben Zayn. The EarthForce Navy wears navy blue and EarthForce Marines wear khaki uniforms.

Spoiler

The Soul Hunter episode set up a lot about Minbari and their beliefs about souls and Sinclair's specialness, which is why I am such a fan of it. On rewatch, there is a lot going on there, but without that context, I totally can understand why it might be a lesser episode on first viewing.

B4 is pretty cool and they pay off everything from Babylon Squared so so well.

Yeah, I love Sheridan, he is my favourite sci-fi hero of all time. Whenever people ask me "which Captain? (in the Star Trek context), I just troll them and say Sheridan. Yeah, he is definitely more human and jovial at times than Sinclair, who is more brooding and almost kinda zen. However, Sheridan can also be pretty pragmatic and almost ruthless when necessary. The character gets really interesting and complicated when the central conflicts put him into difficult military situations without easy answers. JMS does a great job showing off his military and strategic talents, which was quite different from previous sci-fi captains like Kirk or Picard and which really sets the stage for characters like Adama.

Although the whole O'Hare situation was extremely tragic, I think it was one of those art through adversity situations where I think the show benefits from JMS dividing up his original hero character into two separate characters with different arcs and roles in the story.

Sinclair is a great character and is the entry into the B5 universe and its mysteries, but Sheridan is irreplaceable for me as the human hero who leads B5 through its central conflicts. There is a reason why Mass Effect's Commander Shepard (at least the paragon version) is basically a gigantic Captain Sheridan rip-off. Yeah, I love his relationship with Ivanova, who is such a great character. JMS giving her his own Russian background and the cultural attitudes and such that come with it make her so interesting.

With respect to why Sheridan was chosen to replace Sinclair, you have great instincts and are only a few episodes away from some answers.

 

[InCali]

Started S4. Building my comment list for tomorrow so beware.

The Rock Cried out no Hiding Place. Lol

 

[flickchick85]

It's okay about your rank confusion. It also does not help that BSG used a weird hybrid rank system combining both air force and naval ranks where commander was the highest, non-flag rank. Space forces in B5 use the same traditional naval rank system as Star Trek and Mass Effect, with the exception of flag officers who are typical "Generals" instead of Admirals. EarthForce Marines use traditional army ranks, as you may have noticed with Major Kemmer or Colonel Ben Zayn. The EarthForce Navy wears navy blue and EarthForce Marines wear khaki uniforms.

Spoiler

The Soul Hunter episode set up a lot about Minbari and their beliefs about souls and Sinclair's specialness, which is why I am such a fan of it. On rewatch, there is a lot going on there, but without that context, I totally can understand why it might be a lesser episode on first viewing.

B4 is pretty cool and they pay off everything from Babylon Squared so so well.

Yeah, I love Sheridan, he is my favourite sci-fi hero of all time. Whenever people ask me "which Captain? (in the Star Trek context), I just troll them and say Sheridan. Yeah, he is definitely more human and jovial at times than Sinclair, who is more brooding and almost kinda zen. However, Sheridan can also be pretty pragmatic and almost ruthless when necessary. The character gets really interesting and complicated when the central conflicts put him into difficult military situations without easy answers. JMS does a great job showing off his military and strategic talents, which was quite different from previous sci-fi captains like Kirk or Picard and which really sets the stage for characters like Adama.

Although the whole O'Hare situation was extremely tragic, I think it was one of those art through adversity situations where I think the show benefits from JMS dividing up his original hero character into two separate characters with different arcs and roles in the story.

Sinclair is a great character and is the entry into the B5 universe and its mysteries, but Sheridan is irreplaceable for me as the human hero who leads B5 through its central conflicts. There is a reason why Mass Effect's Commander Shepard (at least the paragon version) is basically a gigantic Captain Sheridan rip-off. Yeah, I love his relationship with Ivanova, who is such a great character. JMS giving her his own Russian background and the cultural attitudes and such that come with it make her so interesting.

With respect to why Sheridan was chosen to replace Sinclair, you have great instincts and are only a few episodes away from some answers.

OMG, you're right - BSG is absolutely to blame for all my rank confusion. I just realized all this time I had wrongly assumed THEY were just using straight-up naval ranks. So I've gone years thinking Commander is the rank directly below Admiral. Damn you, Ron Moore!

I'm on episode 16 now ("Knives"). Don't worry, I remember the switcheroo coming up soon.

Spoiler

I still don't know what to make of the Shadows. But their manipulation of Londo has certainly made him more interesting this season.

It was nice to see Talia get the same kind of added focus in the first part of this season that Ivanova got late last season. About time they challenged her loyalty to the Psi-Corps. They and Earth in general continue to be shady as hell. Unfortunately, in the current portion of the season I'm on, Talia's been again shuffled back into the background. Right now she feels like the main character they don't really know what to do with a lot of the time. Also, it took me half an episode to recognize her ex-husband as Keith Szarabajka, aka Holtz from Angel, and Not!Bullock from TDK. It was the voice that did it. Love that guy, though.

I loved that newscast/doc episode, but I'm always a sucker for that type of episode in my genre shows. The fake Psi-Corps commercial was an especially nice touch. I'm now basically picturing their Earth as, like, RoboCop's version.

I died at Ivanova's "sex" dance. And her in the gift shop. She's just the best.

I feel like they changed Delenn's appearance this season mainly to make her a love-interest for Sheridan. But...I'll allow it. Girl needs something, cuz her people kinda suck right now, lol.

Oh, and me at the beginning of "Spider in the Web":

 

[OutOfBoose]

I'm late to the party, but I absolutely didn't know this was coming. I'm gonna jump into the rewatch immediately... Can't believe they did it. So far looks amazing. And in true TV format like it was in 90s. Wow.

Also really sad about Mira Furlan's passing.

 

[DKDetective]

OMG, you're right - BSG is absolutely to blame for all my rank confusion. I just realized all this time I had wrongly assumed THEY were just using straight-up naval ranks. So I've gone years thinking Commander is the rank directly below Admiral. Damn you, Ron Moore!

I'm on episode 16 now ("Knives"). Don't worry, I remember the switcheroo coming up soon.

Spoiler

I still don't know what to make of the Shadows. But their manipulation of Londo has certainly made him more interesting this season.

It was nice to see Talia get the same kind of added focus in the first part of this season that Ivanova got late last season. About time they challenged her loyalty to the Psi-Corps. They and Earth in general continue to be shady as hell. Unfortunately, in the current portion of the season I'm on, Talia's been again shuffled back into the background. Right now she feels like the main character they don't really know what to do with a lot of the time. Also, it took me half an episode to recognize her ex-husband as Keith Szarabajka, aka Holtz from Angel, and Not!Bullock from TDK. It was the voice that did it. Love that guy, though.

I loved that newscast/doc episode, but I'm always a sucker for that type of episode in my genre shows. The fake Psi-Corps commercial was an especially nice touch. I'm now basically picturing their Earth as, like, RoboCop's version.

I died at Ivanova's "sex" dance. And her in the gift shop. She's just the best.

I feel like they changed Delenn's appearance this season mainly to make her a love-interest for Sheridan. But...I'll allow it. Girl needs something, cuz her people kinda suck right now, lol.

Oh, and me at the beginning of "Spider in the Web":

And Ron Moore should know better, he served in the Navy!

Holy crap, I totally forgot that Jessica Walter was in that episode. Awesome.

Spoiler

What is it about the Shadows that has you uncertain? Just their goals? Or their whole role as antagonists? Interestingly, based on the HBO episode order, you were one episode away from some big Shadows revelations.

I really enjoy Knives. Competitively drinking of fine wine and sword fighting just appeals to me so much on a core level.

What did you think of the revelation of why Sheridan was chosen to replace Sinclair? It lined up pretty well with your instincts.

With respect to B5's Earth, I personally don't see it as being Robocoplike. I don't see it as a true dystopia. I kinda see it as a heightened version of Trump's America. It is still a liberal democracy and most people are good and have positive values (hence the Babylon Project to begin with), but corporations have obtained too much power and influence and are running unchecked. Combined with that, due to recent traumas (Earth-Minbari War or current economic change due to globalization), there growing currents of xenophobia and isolationism that allow dark forces to start preying on people's worst instincts.

With respect to Delenn, a romantic relationship with the human hero was always part of the original plan. The character was actually originally conceived of as trans when they made the pilot. Delenn was supposed to be male as a full Minbari (hence Mira's masculine prosthetics in The Gathering) and then was supposed to become female when she used the triluminary. They used a voice changer effect on the original version of The Gathering, but it was not great and covered up Mira's wonderful acting. The Gathering aired with Delenn as male. The version released in the remastered is a special edition from 1998 that they re-edited and tweaked to bring it more in line with the main series.

So JMS decided to simplify and just have Delenn be female before and after the change. I am still astounded by how progressive and challenging of a move that would have been in 1993 America... Make your female lead and romantic interest of the main character transgender. Kudos to JMS.

Yeah, Ivanova is awesome. Remember the B5 mantra:

You have some serious meat involving her and Talia coming up soon.

 

[InCali]

OMG, you're right - BSG is absolutely to blame for all my rank confusion. I just realized all this time I had wrongly assumed THEY were just using straight-up naval ranks. So I've gone years thinking Commander is the rank directly below Admiral. Damn you, Ron Moore!

I'm on episode 16 now ("Knives"). Don't worry, I remember the switcheroo coming up soon.


Oh, and me at the beginning of "Spider in the Web":

You immediately popped into my mind during this episode. LOL.

So, some non-B5 stream of consciousness.......

GD it..... @flickchick85 is gonna catch me. What manner of being is she??? If I didn't have to wait until the afternoons to start watching, I coulda been a contenda......still, I'll anoint InCali and Flick the King and Queen of the couch potatoes (not necessarily in that order LOL).

The end of S3 was pretty awesome. I've definitely come to appreciate Ivanova more and more. The entire crew fits together well.

 

[DKDetective]

Started S4. Building my comment list for tomorrow so beware.

The Rock Cried out no Hiding Place. Lol

You immediately popped into my mind during this episode. LOL.

So, some non-B5 stream of consciousness.......

GD it..... @flickchick85 is gonna catch me. What manner of being is she??? If I didn't have to wait until the afternoons to start watching, I coulda been a contenda......still, I'll anoint InCali and Flick the King and Queen of the couch potatoes (not necessarily in that order LOL).

The end of S3 was pretty awesome. I've definitely come to appreciate Ivanova more and more. The entire crew fits together well.

I would say Queen-Empress and Prince Consort are the most fitting titles (if we use the ranks and titles of the British royals).

Okay, where are the deets of your thoughts and comments regarding season 3 and the ending in particular? I've been waiting for them since I say your teaser post when I got up this morning. I'm super curious (and will give 1000 Centauri ducats for your thoughts ). For me, the season 3 finale is just pitch perfect epic awesomesauce.

P.S. @flickchick85, don't peek at @InCali's thoughts, you are so close behind him and you want to experience these things fresh, trust me.

 

[InCali]

I would say Queen-Empress and Prince Consort are the most fitting titles (if we use the ranks and titles of the British royals).

Okay, where are the deets of your thoughts and comments regarding season 3 and the ending in particular? I've been waiting for them since I say your teaser post when I got up this morning. I'm super curious (and will give 1000 Centauri ducats for your thoughts ). For me, the season 3 finale is just pitch perfect epic awesomesauce.

P.S. @flickchick85, don't peek at @InCali's thoughts, you are so close behind him and you want to experience these things fresh, trust me.

I tried to be her consort, but she slapped me.

Quit rubbing it in....

I'll add my thoughts later, they're pretty extensive.

 

[Flash525]

I really need to get on top of this.

I'm curious though, what defines this remaster? Is it just higher definition or something? I know when they remastered TOS Trek, all the CGI elements were redone - almost modernised. Does the same apply? That would've been quite a costly venture if so.

 

[InCali]

S3 Thoughts

Spoiler: Flick - "You cannot pass!"

The introduction of The White Star and later the fleet is very cool. I wondered what weapons they would find against the shadows and it's ironic that telepaths are part of the solution. I knew the Vorlon's entry into the war was going to have negative consequences for Kosh, but it seems that those "could" have been avoided.

The whole martial law thing was sort of creepy and declaring independence and building the coalition was pretty exciting. I knew Clark had his hand in this somehow. While I want to slap him, Londo is really a character to be pitied. He struggled with his upbringing, but didn't really have the moral courage of Vir. He went too far without realizing the consequences and his redemption came far too late. While I wanted to slap or shoot him, I also felt rather sorry for him at times.

I sort of saw the Sinclair thing coming, but wasn't sure exactly what was going to happen. They kept talking about Valen and Mimbari but not born of Mimbari.....I knew something was up and when the time travel part came in and we found out that Babylon 4 helped in the war effort 1000 years ago, I was able to put it all together. Loved Zathras. Great character. The part about Franklin didn't seem relevant at first and didn't interest me, but he came back a stronger character so that was fine.

The Rock Cried Out No Hiding Place might be one of my favorite episodes. I KNEW Londo was up to something and put those pieces together in advance. He is way to devious to be easily taken down like that. The last two episodes were great and it was clear Sheridan wasn't fooled by his ex-wife showing up, but I think they could have dialed back on his anger towards Delenn even though he didn't have all the info yet. That didn't fit quite right. I started S4 and clearly Lorien will be playing a key role in the war. Sheridan will get himself out of this and be back on B5 soon.

 

[DKDetective]

I really need to get on top of this.

I'm curious though, what defines this remaster? Is it just higher definition or something? I know when they remastered TOS Trek, all the CGI elements were redone - almost modernised. Does the same apply? That would've been quite a costly venture if so.

They re-scanned all of the original film negatives for the live action footage at 4K. re-doing the effects a la TOS would have been impossibly expensive given how much more effects-heavy B5 is (there is a lot of composite shots as well as pure space CGI). Unfortunately, the original effects house went under and assets were lost in the intervening years, so the best they could was rescan the broadcast effects and upscale them to 1080. They downscaled the film footage to 1080p to match and re-assembled it all in the original 4:3 aspect ratio. They also redid the colour grading.

The 16:9 presentation on the the DVDs had to pan and scan any composited shots or CGI shots, which looked horrible.

Here is a good comparison of the different versions:

 

[InCali]

S3 Thoughts

Spoiler: Flick - "You cannot pass!"

The introduction of The White Star and later the fleet is very cool. I wondered what weapons they would find against the shadows and it's ironic that telepaths are part of the solution. I knew the Vorlon's entry into the war was going to have negative consequences for Kosh, but it seems that those "could" have been avoided.

The whole martial law thing was sort of creepy and declaring independence and building the coalition was pretty exciting. I knew Clark had his hand in this somehow. While I want to slap him, Londo is really a character to be pitied. He struggled with his upbringing, but didn't really have the moral courage of Vir. He went too far without realizing the consequences and his redemption came far too late. While I wanted to slap or shoot him, I also felt rather sorry for him at times.

I sort of saw the Sinclair thing coming, but wasn't sure exactly what was going to happen. They kept talking about Valen and Mimbari but not born of Mimbari.....I knew something was up and when the time travel part came in and we found out that Babylon 4 helped in the war effort 1000 years ago, I was able to put it all together. Loved Zathras. Great character. The part about Franklin didn't seem relevant at first and didn't interest me, but he came back a stronger character so that was fine.

The Rock Cried Out No Hiding Place might be one of my favorite episodes. I KNEW Londo was up to something and put those pieces together in advance. He is way to devious to be easily taken down like that. The last two episodes were great and it was clear Sheridan wasn't fooled by his ex-wife showing up, but I think they could have dialed back on his anger towards Delenn even though he didn't have all the info yet. That didn't fit quite right. I started S4 and clearly Lorien will be playing a key role in the war. Sheridan will get himself out of this and be back on B5 soon.

So....what say you to that?

 

[DKDetective]

So....what say you to that?

Well, I was in the process of responding...

Spoiler

The Shadows' relationship with telepaths is very interesting. I don't think it is explicitly stated, but if I recall correctly, the Shadows do not naturally have telepathic abilities. Telepathy is moreso in the Vorlon box of tricks, which is the Shadows fear them and are trying to weaponize other races' telepaths for their own use.

Londo is such a tragic and complex character. He goes from a lovable baffoon, who is not treated seriously, witha career seriously in decline, to having made so many horrible choices and feeling trapped by them and continually doubling down as a result. It is only the loss of Adira, his love, the woman who represents his goodness and soul, that makes finally take steps to try and change the course of his life. And Vir is such a wonderful Jiminy Cricket-type character. It is a testament to JMS's writing and Jurasik's wonderfully layered performance that you don't hate Londo, but instead pity him.

Similarly, G'Kar has a wonderful arc as well. Going from a warrior, a former freedom fighter, focused on revenge and power, to a spiritual character, a prophet.

Valen is awesome. I also love how JMS shows us Londo and G'Kar's deaths and they are precisely as Londo's dream foretold in the very first episode, but the context is completely different that we would have ever thought. Zathras is so awesome. Speaking of which, I really need to consider well which Hypster I choose for Zathras in doing my Babylon 5-Hype casting.

I really love the end of season 3. Z'Ha'Dum is such a good episode and the ending is so epic. I'm okay with Sheridan's anger at Delenn. I think it makes sense. He loves her and trusts her so much at this point that he feels completely betrayed and used in finding out that Anna was alive and Delenn concealing from him that was a possibility.

I love how Sheridan just decides to nuke everything. Just a heads-up that the other remastering error is the wonderful G'Kar voiceover at the start of season 4, episode 1 is missing, which is why there is such an abrupt cut from the recap to the opening credits. I hope they fix it soon. It is a great scene.

 

[InCali]

Well, I was in the process of responding...

Spoiler

The Shadows' relationship with telepaths is very interesting. I don't think it is explicitly stated, but if I recall correctly, the Shadows do not naturally have telepathic abilities. Telepathy is moreso in the Vorlon box of tricks, which is the Shadows fear them and are trying to weaponize other races' telepaths for their own use.

Londo is such a tragic and complex character. He goes from a lovable baffoon, who is not treated seriously, witha career seriously in decline, to having made so many horrible choices and feeling trapped by them and continually doubling down as a result. It is only the loss of Adira, his love, the woman who represents his goodness and soul, that makes finally take steps to try and change the course of his life. And Vir is such a wonderful Jiminy Cricket-type character. It is a testament to JMS's writing and Jurasik's wonderfully layered performance that you don't hate Londo, but instead pity him.

Similarly, G'Kar has a wonderful arc as well. Going from a warrior, a former freedom fighter, focused on revenge and power, to a spiritual character, a prophet.

Valen is awesome. I also love how JMS shows us Londo and G'Kar's deaths and they are precisely as Londo's dream foretold in the very first episode, but the context is completely different that we would have ever thought. Zathras is so awesome. Speaking of which, I really need to consider well which Hypster I choose for Zathras in doing my Babylon 5-Hype casting.

I really love the end of season 3. Z'Ha'Dum is such a good episode and the ending is so epic. I'm okay with Sheridan's anger at Delenn. I think it makes sense. He loves her and trusts her so much at this point that he feels completely betrayed and used in finding out that Anna was alive and Delenn concealing from him that was a possibility.

I love how Sheridan just decides to nuke everything. Just a heads-up that the other remastering error is the wonderful G'Kar voiceover at the start of season 4, episode 1 is missing, which is why there is such an abrupt cut from the recap to the opening credits. I hope they fix it soon. It is a great scene.

Spoiler

I'm okay with Sheridan's anger at Delenn. I think it makes sense. He loves her and trusts her so much at this point that he feels completely betrayed and used in finding out that Anna was alive and Delenn concealing from him that was a possibility.

I don't really see it that way. IMO there wasn't a possibility that she, the real Anna, was alive. I sorta see your point, but I would have played the anger differently. Disappointment and frustration more than lashing out would have fit the character better, but I could also see him just breaking....it happens. I just think there was a better way to play it. The lashing out seemed a little cliche; especially considering the uncertainty of the entire situation with Anna.

WRT the end of S3.....yeah.....Sheridan goes all in on his faith. It helps him, but there will be a price to pay. He's being fed life or something (umbilical cord or whatever that scene is) and has a job to do as the one who will be leading to the next epic story. /SPOILER]

 

[InCali]

@DKDetective

What did you think about The Rock Cried out No Hiding Place?

I thought it was one of the most clever episodes yet.

Spoiler

I think the future was always set. Interestingly, it also is another brick in the wall of Londo's fate.