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Babylon 5 - The Complete First SeasonRating:
Release Date: 05 November, 2002 Retail Price: $99.98 OUR Price: $89.98 You SAVE: $10.00! Cast: |
Babylon 5 - The Complete First Season Reviews
Get hooked on a wonderfully complex show.
This show is fantastic. The complexity of the characters and story have rarely exceeded what I have seen in this show. Every character in this series has many motives. Every time you think you know a character, they do something that will completely change your opinion of them. "Babylon 5" uses science fiction to it's fullest by using the future as an allegory for modern issues. These issues include euthanasia, racism, religious conflict, civil rights, government oversight, nations sitting on the sidelines during genocide, and when to cross the line between pacifism and violence. Every action taken on B5 has a consequence, and every issue addressed tries to represent both sides. The story is so complex that things brought up in the pilot, are referred to in the fifth season.
Some people don't quite like the first season as much as the others. For me, it is one of my favorite seasons. It is true that the cast are still finding their rhythm, much of the story is about the set-up for the following seasons, and the effects are a bit low budget and sparse (especially by today's standards). Still, the story is so wonderful that I found it very hard not to be drawn in. Also, I may be in the minority, but I really enjoy Michael O'Hare as Lt. Cmdr. Jeffrey Sinclair. Some find him wooden, but I think he had a certain strength and determination that I really enjoyed about his character. I want to say more, but it's difficult to talk about this show without giving spoilers away.
For a very basic plot, Babylon 5 is a space station which acts as a cross between the United Nations and a Trading Post. There were a few big space wars, so now the major and minor races meet at Babylon 5 to try to work out their differences without resorting to violence. Since the Minbari vs. Earth and Centari vs. Narn wars had recently ended, there are still many who have animosity towards their former foes, and constant conflicts are inevitable. At the same time, B5 is where aliens from all planets gather to make both legitimate and shady (...or shadowy?) deals. That's about as much as I can say, without giving away too much. There are a lot of small fights, large battles, backstabbing characters, creepy telepaths, and alien races that are defined by more than a just a spiny forehead.
ADVISE for those new to the series: First, you have to track down and watch the pilot "The Gathering". It sets up the entire first season. It's really low budget, but you need to see it. Second, don't watch any of the other B5 movies, because they will give away the story. After Season 4 you can watch "In the Beginning", and the rest of them after you are done with the show. Finally, don't listen to ANY of the commentaries or watch ANY of the extras. They are full of spoilers for the whole series, which I discovered (much to my disappointment).
Outstanding first season of the best sci-fi series ever made
Babylon 5 was perhaps the most daring, risk-taking sci-fi series ever to appear on television since the original Star Trek, and like its predecessor, set the benchmark for future science fiction series like Stargate SG-1 and the new Battlestar Galactica. It broke the old conventions with a believable atmosphere, rich characters who didn't comform to the old hero/villain stereotypes, and, most revolutionary of all, a huge story arc that spanned the entire five-year run.
Season 1 lays down the groundwork for the rest of the series and sets important plot elements in motion. The episodes "Midnight on the Firing Line", "Babylon Squared", "Signs and Portents", and "Chrysalis" are especially exciting and important to the story. A disappointment were many of the episodes written by guest writers, which generally fit the Star Trek mold of business as usual ---> bad guys appear ---> bad guys commit various acts of evil ---> bad guys defeated ---> business as usual again. This is not to say that these particular episodes are bad; they just don't meet the stratospheric standards set by the episodes written by series creator J. Michael Straczynski himself.
The characters are much different from your average jingo-spouting heroes and idiot "villains". My favorites by far are Commander Jeffrey Sinclair, Centauri ambassador Londo Mollari, and Narn ambassador G'Kar. All of the characters (but especially the three I mentioned) are played with great conviction and are far more interesting and believable than one-dimensional cardboard cut-out characters like those of Star Trek. The series has humor sprinkled about in just the right amounts, and all the jokes are good.
If you're looking for epic space battles, season 1 will disappoint, because the scenes of huge fleets blasting each other are largely reserved for later seasons, when the plot is kicked into high gear. However, season 1 is plenty exciting and tense, especially in the relationship between the Centauri and the Narn, two of the alien races in the series. The episodes "Signs and Portents" and "Chrysalis" are riveting.
I highly recommend the Babylon 5 season 1 DVD set to anyone interested in science fiction. But once you're finished watching it, you should get the later seasons (in sequence), because season 1 is only a foretaste (but a necessary one, if you want to experience Babylon 5 to its fullest effect) of the roller-coaster thrill ride that comprises the rest of the series.
5 stars out of 5.
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