Babylon 5 - General Discussion

[DoctorAtomic]

Amazon does have genre properties like Wheel of Time and Lord of Rings, and with the Expanse ending, this could have been a good fit. Clearly, having a hand in Sens8, with the lack of constraints on the streaming platform, he can excel. I know that wasn't entirely JMS, but still. 

[BetterButter]

‘Babylon 5’ Reboot Still Possible, But Pushed To Next Development Season By The CW

[SVNBob]

Everything We (@ TheMarySue.com) know about the Delayed Babylon 5 Reboot.

Includes several quotes and/or tweets from JMS.

[Affogato]

I've been listening to this podcast, I caught up (they are almost at the end of the second season). It is interesting, although I haven't been watching along with them. https://www.babylon5first.com/  Seeing the show through fresh eyes.

 

It occurred to me, as I was listening, that I think of babylon 5 as being an atheist's five season treatise on faith, and that at all times that has made the show more interesting than if it was just the epic fantasy that it is. Even the duller episodes have their moments.

 

 

[AnimeMania]

Babylon 5: J. Michael Straczynski Confirms Warner Bros Animated Film

[AnimeMania]

‘Babylon 5: The Road Home’ Voice Cast Unveiled (Exclusive)

Babylon 5 animated movie, "Babylon 5: The Road Home" 

"Travel across the galaxy with John Sheridan as he unexpectedly finds himself transported through multiple timelines and alternate realities in a quest to find his way back home. Along the way, he reunites with some familiar faces, while discovering cosmic new revelations about the history, purpose, and meaning of the Universe." 

Returning Babylon 5 castmembers include Bruce Boxleitner as John Sheridan, Claudia Christian as Susan Ivanova, Peter Jurasik as Londo Mollari, Bill Mumy as Lennier, Tracy Scoggins as Elizabeth Lochley and Patricia Tallman as Lyta Alexander.

Additional voice cast includes Paul Guyet as Zathras and Jeffery Sinclair, Anthony Hansen as Michael Garibaldi, Mara Junot as Reporter and Computer Voice, Phil LaMarr as Dr. Stephen Franklin, Piotr Michael as David Sheridan, Andrew Morgado as G’Kar and Rebecca Riedy as Delenn.

[DoctorAtomic]

You beat me to it.

[statsgirl]

I'm excited. But the list of the new voices to replace those who died ..😭

[merylinkid]

YAAAY Claudia Christian is back.

But so sad that so many have gone beyond the rim.

[DoctorAtomic]

I said the same thing. So many gone. I wouldn't want them recast, but this is ok for me. Plus, it's supposed to be other universes, so I can buy in to to that. 

[starri]

Not that I’m not excited, but the premise sounds waaaaay more Star Trek than B5. 

[Affogato]

Saw a George Miller movie: "Three Thousand Years of Longing" (Prime) with Tilda Swinton and Idris Alba. One of them knows who they are and the other one knows what they want. I really liked the conversation, and eventually they figure it out.

I think a long time ago in the Babylon 5 univertse there were many more races and a lot of them were destroyed by nuclear holocaust or devastated in religious wars. I wonder if the Mimbari were visited by both the Vorlon and the Shadows, and if the religious caste and warrior caste grew out of those visits.

[DoctorAtomic]

On 5/12/2023 at 10:21 AM, starri said:

Not that I’m not excited, but the premise sounds waaaaay more Star Trek than B5. 

To be fair, the Thirdspace movie had a mega jump gate that opened to another universe. 

So the premise is canon of a sort. 

[AnimeMania]

[AnimeMania]

[Anduin]

Very cool!

[DoctorAtomic]

I hope we see some real kick ass Ivanova. 

[DoctorAtomic]

Also Ivanova swearing.

The full 2 minute trailer is on youtube. It looks really good, and the plot makes sense in the context of the show/books. There's another character (who is actually alive) I was glad to see included as well. There's a couple of scenes I saw that were on the show that made a cool retcon. 

[AnimeMania]

Babylon 5: The Road Home release date August 15, 2023, available Digitally ($19.99 SRP) and on 4K Ultra HD ($39.99 U.S./$44.98 Canada) and Blu-Ray ($29.98 U.S./$39.99 Can.) from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment.

Synopsis: Return to Babylon 5 as the epic interstellar saga continues with The Road Home. Travel across the galaxy with John Sheridan as he unexpectedly finds himself transported through multiple timelines and alternate realities in a quest to find his way back home. Along the way he reunites with some familiar faces, while discovering cosmic new revelations about the history, purpose, and meaning of the Universe.

Babylon 5 celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, and returning to voice their characters from the original series are Bruce Boxleitner as John Sheridan, Claudia Christian as Susan Ivanova, Peter Jurasik as Londo Mollari, Bill Mumy as Lennier, Tracy Scoggins as Elizabeth Lochley and Patricia Tallman as Lyta Alexander. The film also stars Paul Guyet as Zathras and Jeffery Sinclair, Anthony Hansen as Michael Garibaldi, Mara Junot as Reporter and Computer Voice, Phil LaMarr  as Dr. Stephen Franklin, Piotr Michael as David Sheridan, Andrew Morgado as G’Kar and Rebecca Riedy  as Delenn.

Special Features:

Babylon 5 Forever (New Featurette) – Join the cast and filmmakers as they reveal the process behind creating the first state-of-the-art, animated adaption of Babylon 5.

Audio Commentary with creator/writer/executive producer J. Michael Straczynski, actor Bruce Boxleitner and supervising producer Rick Morales.

Edited June 15, 2023 by AnimeMania

[DoctorAtomic]

I thought it would be streaming somewhere.

 

[Anduin]

I always thought the Shadows preferred to stir things up and let their agents to the dirty work, not so much an in-person physical invasion. Still, I'm certainly going to watch.

[DoctorAtomic]

It's an alternate universe, so you get some leeway.

Sheridan is also a pain in their ass. They could be making a special exception. 

It's actually going to stream on Amazon Prime Video. 

Edited June 15, 2023 by DoctorAtomic

[Anduin]

14 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

It's an alternate universe, so you get some leeway.

Sheridan is also a pain in their ass. They could be making a special exception.

Yeah, those are good reasons!

[DoctorAtomic]

It would be hilarious if Sheridan pwns them at Zha'ha'dum in every universe. 

That's probably the key tactical victory to the shadow war. 

[Gharlane]

1 hour ago, DoctorAtomic said:

It would be hilarious if Sheridan pwns them at Zha'ha'dum in every universe. 

That's probably the key tactical victory to the shadow war. 

Something in the trailer indicated the Shadows won.

[DoctorAtomic]

In one of the universes, Sheridan says, 'wait. The Shadows won?' That's why I was thinking maybe there they didn't blow up Zha'ha'dum. 

[starri]

"We will take you to the Council, G'Kar.  And some day when all this is over, perhaps you will find it in your heart to forgive me."

"Perhaps...but not today."

---

"You want my help for the sake of my people.  I will give it...for the sake of my own.  If I remove the monster from your throne, you will remove the monster from my world:  Leave Narn.  Set my world free.  Promise me this, and I will do as you ask."

Sometimes I forget just how damned good of an actor Andreas Katsulas was.  This animated movie, with the replacement voices, no matter how good it is or isn't, no one is going to measure up to him.

[DoctorAtomic]

No, but it is in the writing too, to be fair. We still have that. 

[merylinkid]

Never forget this scene:

 

It's an Earth food. They are called Swedish meatballs. It's a strange thing, but every sentient race has its own version of these Swedish meatballs! I suspect it's one of those great universal mysteries which will either never be explained, or which would drive you mad if you ever learned the truth.

[Anduin]

So there's a funny-shaped crater on Mars. Does it look familiar to anyone else?

[merylinkid]

oh crap.

[AnimeMania]

Babylon 5: The Complete Series     Blu-ray Disc   Five Seasons:  110 Episodes  December 5, 2023

Edited July 18, 2023 by AnimeMania

[starri]

I know it can’t be helped, but Delenn really doesn’t sound much like Mira Furlan.

[statsgirl]

The accent is all wrong. It sounds vaguely Italian rather than Furlan's Croatian. (That could be helped with a good coach.)

[baileythedog]

Decades later I'm just finally making my way through this show.  The 90s were college / overseas travel years for me, so there is a big chunk of TV that I missed.  Also, I'm thinking this maybe aired on a cable channel that I didn't have?  Lastly, I was very much into "The X-Files" as the one show I could reasonably keep up with, though even at the time I remember people of various forums saying how much they liked "Babylon 5."   So thanks, Tubi, for throwing it all up there for free to watch.

I'm sure I'll have more to say later, but the first question I have --- admittedly incredibly shallow --- is what is the deal with Sheridan's missing wife Anna?  His sister brought that video message on board for him to listen to and assuage his own guilt but the only thing I could concentrate on was how completely unusual looking she was (and I don't think she's supposed to be an alien, right?  She's human?) and wondered if they had found the worst possible actress for that very small part.  Just shocking and cringe-worthy.  

[Anduin]

4 minutes ago, baileythedog said:

I'm sure I'll have more to say later, but the first question I have --- admittedly incredibly shallow --- is what is the deal with Sheridan's missing wife Anna?  His sister brought that video message on board for him to listen to and assuage his own guilt but the only thing I could concentrate on was how completely unusual looking she was (and I don't think she's supposed to be an alien, right?  She's human?) and wondered if they had found the worst possible actress for that very small part.  Just shocking and cringe-worthy.  

As I remember, they both had jobs that kept them apart. They were due to meet, but she got called away at the last minute, to go look at Alpha Omega III. Maybe he got called away too. Either way, they didn't meet up and he felt guilty about it. Which actress did you mean, Beth Toussaint or Melissa Gilbert? Gilbert was married to Sheridan's actor at the time. Anyway, I found that there were a lot of ropey guest stars on the show.

[baileythedog]

9 hours ago, Anduin said:

As I remember, they both had jobs that kept them apart. They were due to meet, but she got called away at the last minute, to go look at Alpha Omega III. Maybe he got called away too. Either way, they didn't meet up and he felt guilty about it. Which actress did you mean, Beth Toussaint or Melissa Gilbert? Gilbert was married to Sheridan's actor at the time. Anyway, I found that there were a lot of ropey guest stars on the show.

I mean Beth Toussaint.  A very shocking and distracting appearance, that I wasn't expecting.

 

(I do remember from my celebrity news fix that back in the day Melissa Gilbert and Bruce Boxleitner were married.  But I have not gotten that far in this watch to know that she makes an appearance.   Curious how that works out.)

[DoctorAtomic]

Let us know where you are in the show so we don't spoil for you. But, yes, Anna is a human woman. Not any alien. 

[baileythedog]

1 hour ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Let us know where you are in the show so we don't spoil for you. But, yes, Anna is a human woman. Not any alien. 

Oh thank you.  Don't worry about spoiling though. This show is nearly 30 years old. It isn't possible to remain spoiler free and don't expect others to not discuss freely.  :-)

 

(I just finished season two.)

[DoctorAtomic]

Exclusive Clip From Babylon 5 Animated Film Emphasizes the Perils of Phasing

 

[Anduin]

Anyone watched The Road Home yet? I keep meaning to, but in the evenings recently I have no mental energy left for things I think will be complex and require brainpower.

[starri]

1 hour ago, Anduin said:

Anyone watched The Road Home yet? I keep meaning to, but in the evenings recently I have no mental energy left for things I think will be complex and require brainpower.

I have not, mostly because I don't want to have to pay $20 to own something that might not be a timeless classic for the ages.  

I've only seen one critic review, but it seems like it's more a (well-intentioned) nostalgia piece, rather than something envelope-pushing, so it may not be as much of a brain commitment as you think.

[DoctorAtomic]

Same. Although it's raining today, so I might depending what's in my current movie queue. 

[tessaray]

I have the plain blu-ray on order. It was only $2 more than the digital copy.  I really loved B5 once upon a time, so it was more for a nostalgia fix. (Though without so many of the original cast voices, I'm not sure how successful it will be.)

[Anduin]

I had a light day on the thinking today, and watched it. Yeah, not bad. Not really hitting the high points, but not the low ones either. Now, let me see if I understand the plot. Some kind of cosmic beings are hanging out on the edge of the galaxy. Not the First Ones, something more and different. Incarnated aspects of the universe was my impression. They wanted John to take a tour, see the sights for a bit. He saw a couple of possibilities, then Delenn came to bring him home.

Was that Warren Keffer in the Starfury? He's not listed on the Road Home page, and the role isn't listed on the actor's page either.

Gotta say, precursors in SF are so often complete assholes. This time, the Vorlons killed Sheridan and then were so bad losers they blew up Earth. One day, someone will write a story where precursors are actually useful and helpful.

Anyway, I enjoyed it. Much more good than bad.

[DoctorAtomic]

To be fair, Kosh 1 was helpful on the show. 

[starri]

1 hour ago, DoctorAtomic said:

To be fair, Kosh 1 was helpful on the show. 

Was he, really?  He kind of had to be shamed into taking direct action, first by Delenn and then by Sheridan.

Otherwise, he was pretty much just like the rest of the Vorlons.

[DoctorAtomic]

You get more from the books about him that gives him more character development. 

[call me ishmael]

2 hours ago, starri said:

Was he, really?  He kind of had to be shamed into taking direct action, first by Delenn and then by Sheridan.

Otherwise, he was pretty much just like the rest of the Vorlons.

He did help get rid of Kosh 2

[starri]

20 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

You get more from the books about him that gives him more character development. 

See, that's the thing.  I don't like the idea that I need to pick up outside material (usually at an additional cost) to get the whole story.  I think it's one of the reasons why I'm not crazy about the bulk of Season 5.  Most of the story that starts and concludes is fine (I'd probably even like the telepath stuff if I didn't find Byron so goddamn annoying), but you're left with at least two dangling teases for future plots, Lyta vs Psi-Corps and David Sheridan/Centauri Prime, and then I have to sink extra money into finding out the resolution.  It doesn't really play by the rules about Chekov's Guns that the series as a whole had been so good about.