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| Author |
Message |
matthew
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Babylon 5
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Jan 30 06:39 UTC 1993 |
What has anyone heard about Babylon 5 ?
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| 278 responses total. |
robh
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response 1 of 278:
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Jan 30 17:49 UTC 1993 |
It debuts March 1st on Channel 20, it's science fiction, I read
an interview with the creator in _Science_Fiction_Age_ and he
sounds like a good person to have creating an SF series. I
look forward to it.
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robh
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response 2 of 278:
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Mar 2 23:11 UTC 1993 |
Come on, guys, I know at least a few of you saw it last night.
What did you think?
My full opinions on the subject of B5 and stupid Star Trek fans
shouting while I was trying to watch could grow to many pages, but my
quick review is, "Looks good. I want to see more, but get a new
script-writer and lose a few of the actors."
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kentn
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response 3 of 278:
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Mar 3 03:58 UTC 1993 |
I'd like to see more, also, but the "coincidences" and "parallels"
b/t B5 and DS9 were too obvious. The special effects were good, but
sometimes the lighting was a bit too garish for my taste.
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robh
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response 4 of 278:
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Mar 3 15:34 UTC 1993 |
Re #3 - The similarities aren't surprising, since J. Michael
Stracynski (sp?) originally pitched the idea for DS9 to
Paramount. If anything, B5 came first.
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kentn
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response 5 of 278:
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Mar 3 17:20 UTC 1993 |
I don't think the similarities are surprising, either, but they are
obvious and thus tug at the mind when watching. And, at least with
television, it's not so much who was first on paper, but who aired it
first, so DS9 takes precedence in viewers minds in any comparison.
It appears that B5 is the copycat and this means B5 will have to be
twice as good at writing and acting and special effects to make a
successful series. I don't know that that's impossible at this point
because DS9 hasn't settled down quite yet, either. B5 has potential,
but they've got to be so good that viewers put B5 first in the
comparison.
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dam
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response 6 of 278:
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Jan 18 01:53 UTC 1994 |
ok, here comes the series! Why do you await it with such bated breath, Rob?
I didn't think the movie was so hot, but I bet I'll get another chance at
the start of the regular series to see the movie again and possibly re-
evaluate my opinion... (the current star trek quality may be a positive
influence in this case...)
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vidar
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response 7 of 278:
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Jan 18 22:24 UTC 1994 |
How come I've never seen this show before? I'm a SciFi addict.
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young
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response 8 of 278:
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Jan 19 01:03 UTC 1994 |
When exactly is the show premiering next week?
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robh
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response 9 of 278:
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Jan 19 03:39 UTC 1994 |
Wednesday, January 26th, 8 PM, Channel 20. It's been in my events calendar
for months...
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vidar
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response 10 of 278:
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Jan 21 00:52 UTC 1994 |
Das ist sehr gut.
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kaplan
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response 11 of 278:
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Jan 25 16:35 UTC 1994 |
dam, I think the b5 pilot movie was lousy. I don't need to see it again.
I don't need to re-evaluate it. I just hope that the series is good
despite the movie. Yes, I plan to watch the series.
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vidar
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response 12 of 278:
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Jan 25 17:58 UTC 1994 |
That is quite interesting.
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robh
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response 13 of 278:
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Jan 25 21:43 UTC 1994 |
Re 11 - Jeff, check response #2, and ask yourself if you would have
enjoyed the pilot more if people hadn't been shouting (I do not
kid) when you and I were watching it.
If you still feel that way, try watching "Encounter at Farpoint"
again and tell us what you think.
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dam
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response 14 of 278:
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Jan 25 23:04 UTC 1994 |
I thought farpoint was pretty good the first time, but my opinion of
the episode dropped after future viewings... but that is just because
I don't like seeing all the 'spectacularisms' in farpoint - the saucer
seperation, the dramatic reunion on troi and riker, the holodeck, data,
etc...
the previews for B5 the Series look pretty good, like they have a lot
more computer graphic animations in them. looks like they have something
like xwing fighters, too... tomorrow night will tell the true tale...
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kaplan
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response 15 of 278:
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Jan 26 16:45 UTC 1994 |
robh, what did I say? I agree with you that B5 has potential. That's
why I said I'm planning to watch the series. I was unimpressed with
the pilot movie and you must have been too 'cause you said thay should
get rid of the writers and some of the actors. I seem to remember that
we watched the TNG pilot together, and I think you liked it more than
I did. I did not regularly watch TNG until the 4th season. It might
be interesting to watch the B5 and TNG pilots back to back and try
to decide which is more lousy. But I've wathced the TNG pilot at least
three times and I watched the B5 pilot a second time after the evening
when the room was too noisy and I don't think that my opinion could
be changed. Both were lousy.
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robh
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response 16 of 278:
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Jan 26 17:41 UTC 1994 |
Well, we should keep in mind that that's what pilots are for.
It's like the first pancake, the one you always throw out. >8)
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young
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response 17 of 278:
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Jan 27 05:19 UTC 1994 |
Aaaaargh! I just missed it! Did anybody tape B5 tonight?
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robh
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response 18 of 278:
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Jan 27 11:33 UTC 1994 |
Of course! What are VCRs for? >8)
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chanur
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response 19 of 278:
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Jan 27 21:17 UTC 1994 |
This response has been erased.
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chanur
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response 20 of 278:
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Jan 27 21:58 UTC 1994 |
I originally had high hopes for B5 when I saw the trailers for it
at a Visions convention, and I still think it has many promising ideas. But
after seeing the pilot, I've lowered my expectations considerably. While
it's true that pilot shows are often lame (the first episodes of both TNG
and DS9 were pretty lackluster),the B5 pilot had to be the most
incomprehensible piece of TV I had seen since -- well, ever. Clearly the
thing was envsioned as a complex epic, but the writers and producers bit
off far more than they could chew in the space of two hours. I watched it
with and without the "screaming Trek fans" in the room, and it had the
same effect on me both times....ZZZzzzzz....The most important event in
the whole bloody mess seemed to be a war that had taken place several
years EARLIER. Okay, I can appreciate a good backstory, but not when it
becomes apparent that all the dramatic stuff is the stuff that we AREN'T
seeing, rather than the stuff that we are. The first dictum of writing
fiction is to SHOW, not tell. The writers of the B5 pilot seem to have
ignored that precept entirely.
Having said that, I still hope that the series will improve over time.
It was loaded with engaging ideas and I certainly don't object to more
science fiction on TV. I do take exception to the idea that "Trek fans"
will accept anything Paramount throws in front of them and won't give
anything else a try. Most of the Star Trek fans I know are hypercritical
of all the Trek shows. Trek may indeed be watered down science fiction
at times (okay, lots of the time). But frankly, I watch almost all TV,
including sf TV for interesting characters. Trek has managed to do that
well most of the time over the years, and B5 will not survive unless the
writers can breathe some life into the wooden characters that I saw
sleepwalking through that pilot.
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matthew
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response 21 of 278:
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Jan 28 00:03 UTC 1994 |
So how was the premier episode ? I've been waiting to see it
for months, but didn't know when it was on. (And now I've missed
it !)
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dam
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response 22 of 278:
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Jan 29 00:50 UTC 1994 |
it is on again, this time on channel 36 from Toledo, if you get that,
at 12:30 or 1 saturday night (technically sunday morning).
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matthew
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response 23 of 278:
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Feb 5 20:25 UTC 1994 |
Sadly I don't get that channel. Ah well, it will re-rrun eventually
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dam
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response 24 of 278:
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Feb 6 16:03 UTC 1994 |
ahh well, it seems you didn't miss it (and I didn't see it) afterall -
apparently the station had a change of heart after the publication of
the ann arbor news tv guide... no b5...
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