 | sorely disappointed
rating: 1
I have to say I am VERY! dissappointed in my Babylon 5 collection series. Can anyone tell me how to return this item to Amazon to get my money back? I have only been able to stand trying to watch year one and part of year 2 and all I get is problems. From lack of sound to frozen action to a horrible buzzing that occurs after only a few minutes. Over and over again I try to clean the DVD disc or go on to the next scene and at times stop the whole DVD and reboot to try and go on with the show. But disc after disc shows me nothing but problems. It's not my DVD player, I have no problems playing ANY other DVD I have. I have yet to enjoy a single show from start to finish without a problem cropping up.
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480i Babylon 5 The Complete Television Series
rating: 3
It is nice to have all of the episodes in chronological order and no commericial interuptions.
The image resolution changes depending on the scene. Long shots tend to be a bit blurry. Medium to close ups appear to be sharp enough. It's a pity this series was not shot in later years or that Warner Bros chose not to do a high resolution (Blu-Ray or HD) version
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Babylon 5 TV series on DVD
rating: 5
We have followed Babylon 5 from start to finish, and with few exceptions, this recorded series is very complete. Although we would have preferred not to have credits shown at the begninng and end of each episode, at least the disruptive series of boring commercials were deleted. Audio and visual quality of this reproduction was exceptional, and a great price for the entire series.
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4 out of 5 seasons aint bad
rating: 4
I love Babylon 5 and watched it all the time on TV.. I will says that the transfer over to DVD was good but i have seen better.. Still with that said i don't think any B5 lover will be disappointed...
as far as seasons go i do have to say that I am disappointed in the fifth and final season.. The story line is lacking and spacial effects that B% was known for was sub-par.. Honestly i would have ended the series with the forth season, but i think because of fan response it was extended to a fifth and final season...
the other seasons are outstanding and to be honest a lot of the story lines can be easy applied to today.. the one thing i love about the B5 series is a more "realistic" view of the feature.. earth is united but still has problems, unlike others series where the future is a perfect place..
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Flawed, but Fantastic
rating: 4
Had I watched the pilot movie "The Gathering" before starting the series, I would never have started the series. Had I not been assured by a friend that the first few episodes were not on a par with the rest of the series, I wouldn't have made it past those first episodes. The opening of Babylong 5, I must say, is terrible. Everything from the writing to the acting to the music is truly second rate.
HOWEVER:
It plants the seeds of a story that was so well planned that throughout its entire run, everything remains consistent with the plot-points and characterizations that are established from the beginning.
Babylon 5 does what all the best science fiction (its rival DS9, the updated Battlestar Galactica) does: it lets the characters and emotions drive the story, even when the overall plot gets rather intricate. Stories play out over long stretches of time, characters grow and develop, relationships form and develop or dissolve. It is a testament to the strength of the characters that the final episode of the series is perhaps the finest of its whole run, built upon the powerful emotions that come with saying goodbye.
I have more criticisms of Babylon 5 than I do of any other show that I would consider top-tier. Like The West Wing, it is nearly entirely written by one man, and his voice - though it is of course the genius behind the series - can lead to a lack of diversity in conversational style. The acting ranges from excellent (the actors playing aliens are uniformly excellent, as is Bruce Boxleitner) to mediocre, to terrible (Michael O'Hare is one of the worst actors EVER; Jerry Doyle and Patricia Tallman are the primary offenders by the end). The show was forced to wrap things up in the 4th season, then was surprisingly renewed for a 5th season - had they known they had this season available, the Shadow War would have been brought to a more satisfying conclusion.
But the show survives my criticisms because of its strengths. The rise of G'Kar and the fall of Londo Mollarri is one of the most impressive pieces of storytelling ever committed to film. The flaws of the characters feel real and logical. The truly deep and original plotting sustains a very complicated story over five years.
The dvd set is well put together, with each disc well protected, and some very interesting commentaries from series creater J. Michael Straczynski. A word of advice: wait until after you've seen the whole series to view some of the featurettes, as there are occasional spoilers in the commentaries and special features.
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