Comments | nagashi: Mike's Super Late Review of Babylon 5!

nagashi

Mike's Super Late Review of Babylon 5!

Jan 29, 2010 21:33

Has anyone else heard of Babylon 5? It was the *other* space station sci-fi drama that aired at nearly the same time as Star Trek: Deep Space 9. I just finished watching it and feel the need to rant a bit. I watched it because my business partners and I got into this huge discussion over dinner a month or so ago about what the best sci-fi tv show ( Read more... )

Comments 5

dakeeni January 31 2010, 22:32:39 UTC

YES PLEASE.

I have similar feelings about B5.
Leaving aside most of the visual aesthetics (Since when do "neon" "fake alien font" or "dirty boxes" constitute believable scenery??), B5 does have great over-arching plot threads. It's practically unheard of for a sci-fi show to have meaningful correlation between seasons. But, that said, I'd rather watch "meh" plot delivered by superb actors than suffer through a sub-par performance. (Otherwise I'd rather read a book and imagine all the characters myself!)

What I love about B5: FINALLY, a intergalactic council as it should be, COMPLETELY FUCKING USELESS. Seriously, if a multinational committee can't work on Earth, why do scifi writers assume that a multiPLANET one will?

nagashi February 1 2010, 00:33:51 UTC

Completely agree on the intergalactic council. As to why writers do that, I guess it just comes down to sci-fi writers innately being idealists or something I suppose. One could argue that in order for any far term sci-fi plot to exist, then humanity has to survive for the next hundred years or so, which might indeed require an idealist :)

dakeeni February 1 2010, 00:36:00 UTC

Or an Adama in charge. :P

Some Spoilers in my comment ladydragonspaw February 1 2010, 16:56:43 UTC

Maaaaaaaaaaan.

You just knocked Ivanova and Garibaldi! Seriously? They're two of the best people on the show not counting poor Markus. You lose favoritism points for having knocked them.

Everyone else.... well, I kinda have to agree with that. I think someone just really hated Leneer in writing though. He started getting cool for like half a second... and then they turned him into a psychotic stalker. That just seemed unfair.

I think you left out the important part of "the reason Deleen was the chosen one was... she was BFF with the prophesier". I think it made for interesting plot involvement when you realize she was also a big reason for the war. "Okay, so do we declare war- or just hug it out with the humans?"
"WARRRRRRR!"
"Okay Delenn, you're the tie breaker- sounds good to me."

Re: Some Spoilers in my comment nagashi February 1 2010, 17:15:43 UTC

Well, in all fairness I did like the characters of Ivanova and Garibaldi, but at least in Ivanova's case her acting was pretty poor. I just really dislike running jokes and characters that seem to be completely defined by a single one, which both of them were somewhat guilty of. I would say though, that her speech at the end of season 4 was actually by FAR her best acting and really redeemed her.