Babaylon 5
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torchthebitch
Soothing jacuzzi bath
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Nope. Did you not pay attention to Dr Cooper?
Sean
We'll see.
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It gets better after Bruce Boxleitner replaces him. But, neither mind that, just groove on the pure awesomeness that is Peter Jurasik as Londo Mollari!
DaddyValin
Literotica Guru
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A lot of people agree with you about the commanders, but I preferred Sinclair to Sheridan. However, I agree that Jurasik/ Mollari was excellent.
DaddyValin
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Wow! I liked Ivanova on the show, but I never knew or heard about this video. Based on the subject, I wonder if CC posts on this board?
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It was good for a few seasons and then when to shit. The transformation undergone by that female ambassador and the love story that develops was a bit too 
.
If memory serves, the writers had 10 years of material already written from the onset of the series.
Also, Sean, there's a typo in your title. It should be 'Babylon'.
. If memory serves, the writers had 10 years of material already written from the onset of the series.
Also, Sean, there's a typo in your title. It should be 'Babylon'.
DaddyValin
Literotica Guru
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It was good for a few seasons and then when to shit. The transformation undergone by that female ambassador and the love story that develops was a bit too
.
For better or for worse, B5 and DS9 were the start of SF shows merging space opera with soap opera.
lovetoread
hello daddy
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Yuck.
lovetoread
hello daddy
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I told you Sheldon hated it for a reason.
Typo man
Typo man
Byron In Exile
Frederick Fucking Chopin
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You're wasting time and bandwidth.
KRCummings
Uh...
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Never watched it but I'm just now starting to watch TNG so...
LitEroCat
Really Really Experienced
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It was good for a few seasons and then when to shit. The transformation undergone by that female ambassador and the love story that develops was a bit too
If memory serves, the writers had 10 years of material already written from the onset of the series.
Also, Sean, there's a typo in your title. It should be 'Babylon'.
Delenn, the female Minbari ambassador, changed in the year 1 cliffhanger. It was a shock that we had to wait to learn why it was absolutely essential to the overall arc.
It was FIVE years of story developed five years before it was shopped around. It is so intense, cohesive, consistent and crafty it inspired me to start writing.
It works on MANY levels - for kids or the brain dead who only see the scifi part (the smallest layer); for teens who begin to get an inkling there is MUCH more to it than appears; to the cerebral and focused mind who can see the complexity and depth woven so precisely into a single NOVEL of 120 chapters written for TV. It isn't JUST TV. You must stay focused to catch all that's going on. Take a toilet or beer break or chatter instead of paying attention and you will miss much of its beauty. It's a drama set on a station.
The story about making the story; surviving each year; the tough defenses JMS had to mount to defend HIS story; the validations finally awarded him; all make for a compelling and insightful true story on its own.
If you have any doubt how rich it is and the quality writing it enjoyed, look at the long list of awards it got despite the politically biased institutions that parcel them out.
For the best viewing order (including the book series, movies, DVDs) and insider info, go to midwinter.com - avoid the spoilers until you've seen an ep.
Once you watch it the 2nd and 3rd time, you start seeing the clues left in plain sight and wonder how you missed it. As authors, you should appreciate how hard that alone is. That it still stands up after 10 viewings and 15 years after going off the air, is further testament to its quality.
It's a great summer project - watch it all - closely. Shadows move when you aren't watching!
Comshaw
VAGITARIAN
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It was good for a few seasons and then when to shit. The transformation undergone by that female ambassador and the love story that develops was a bit too
If memory serves, the writers had 10 years of material already written from the onset of the series. *snip*
No they didn't. The series was written to run four years. The entire story line was complete before the first take of the first episode. As far as I'm concerned the big mistake they made was season five. It was so popular at the time the dumb ass executives tried to stretch it out, but found they couldn't.
To each his own. I liked it and I have the whole series on DVD. But then taste is a personal thing.
Comshaw
To the tune of "One Week," by Barenaked Ladies:
It's been... five years since we went online,
Laurel Takashima's gone, but Susan's so fine,
Five years since the Vorlon came,
Someone tried to kill him, Sinclair didn't take the blame.
Twelve years since we held the Line,
Twenty-four hours missing outta Jeff's mind,
Yesterday, it went off TV.,
But it'll still be okay, 'cause we got the story.
Oh my God, how it enthralled me, with Garibaldi,
He's getting' balder every season.
He got attacked, his buddy Jack, he went and shot him in the back,
To keep on track the planned assassination/treason.
Hot like Ivanova and Talia, we're gonna Draal ya,
And then we'll kick a little Zathras,
Al Bester's in the Psi Corps, we got a mind war,
Ironheart's the mower and you're the grass.
Lennier and Vir will share a beer and watch Adira disappear,
Without her, Londo's Morden likely bound for darkness,
So it begins, and then Delenn will spin Triluminary
Thin and glowing spiderwebs and step into the Chrysalis.
G'Kar is helpless, then he's hostile, then a holy man,
Trying hard not to smile in front of Sheridan,
I'm the kinda guy who laughs at the Shadow horde,
Can't understand, then you're not a three-edged sword,
I have a tendency to do my thinking with my hands,
I have a history of taking off my gloves.
It's been... five years since Third Age began,
John met Delenn, but Anna would be back again,
Five years since we met Neroon,
He ended up a hero, started out a major loon,
Three years since the Shadow War,
Nastier than any aliens we've seen before,
Yesterday, all the Narns were freed,
But there is something still Keeping hold on Centauri.
Medieval Marcus, the Rescue Ranger,
Lorien shows up, and things get stranger,
Watching out the window of a White Star, it came from Minbar,
And then we'll steal Babylon Four.
Sinclair's fork would be a Valen Tine, he travels through time,
And Ba-Bear-Lon Five is too cute.
Lyta comes back and she's eyin' a guy named Byron,
And Reebo in a Zooty Zoot Suit.
Gonna meet the violence with defiance and Alliance
Cause the giants left the playground with a lot of blood and sorrow.
Gonna get a room on Z'Ha'Dum, the ship'll zoom,
And then go Boom Shubba Lubba 'cause there's always one tomorrow.
How can I help it if I think they're driving Johnny mad?
All the time used to smile, now he's Dave's dad,
I'm the kinda guy who'd rather walkabout than run,
Can't understand why they killed their own son.
I have a tendency to shorten everybody's hair,
I have a history of lopping off heads.
It's been... five years since "The Gathering",
Beginning, middle, end, Joe wrapped up the whole thing,
Five years since we saw this show,
How good it was gonna get, there was no way to know,
Three years since we really knew,
We voted Joe a Hugo, then we gave him Number Two,
Yesterday, it went off TV.,
But we have still got Crusade, so we ain't too sorry.
Still got Crusade, so we ain't too sorry....
Joe, I've seen Crusade -- you're gonna be sorry.
Bring me the head of Londo Mollari.
-- Tom Smith
It's been... five years since we went online,
Laurel Takashima's gone, but Susan's so fine,
Five years since the Vorlon came,
Someone tried to kill him, Sinclair didn't take the blame.
Twelve years since we held the Line,
Twenty-four hours missing outta Jeff's mind,
Yesterday, it went off TV.,
But it'll still be okay, 'cause we got the story.
Oh my God, how it enthralled me, with Garibaldi,
He's getting' balder every season.
He got attacked, his buddy Jack, he went and shot him in the back,
To keep on track the planned assassination/treason.
Hot like Ivanova and Talia, we're gonna Draal ya,
And then we'll kick a little Zathras,
Al Bester's in the Psi Corps, we got a mind war,
Ironheart's the mower and you're the grass.
Lennier and Vir will share a beer and watch Adira disappear,
Without her, Londo's Morden likely bound for darkness,
So it begins, and then Delenn will spin Triluminary
Thin and glowing spiderwebs and step into the Chrysalis.
G'Kar is helpless, then he's hostile, then a holy man,
Trying hard not to smile in front of Sheridan,
I'm the kinda guy who laughs at the Shadow horde,
Can't understand, then you're not a three-edged sword,
I have a tendency to do my thinking with my hands,
I have a history of taking off my gloves.
It's been... five years since Third Age began,
John met Delenn, but Anna would be back again,
Five years since we met Neroon,
He ended up a hero, started out a major loon,
Three years since the Shadow War,
Nastier than any aliens we've seen before,
Yesterday, all the Narns were freed,
But there is something still Keeping hold on Centauri.
Medieval Marcus, the Rescue Ranger,
Lorien shows up, and things get stranger,
Watching out the window of a White Star, it came from Minbar,
And then we'll steal Babylon Four.
Sinclair's fork would be a Valen Tine, he travels through time,
And Ba-Bear-Lon Five is too cute.
Lyta comes back and she's eyin' a guy named Byron,
And Reebo in a Zooty Zoot Suit.
Gonna meet the violence with defiance and Alliance
Cause the giants left the playground with a lot of blood and sorrow.
Gonna get a room on Z'Ha'Dum, the ship'll zoom,
And then go Boom Shubba Lubba 'cause there's always one tomorrow.
How can I help it if I think they're driving Johnny mad?
All the time used to smile, now he's Dave's dad,
I'm the kinda guy who'd rather walkabout than run,
Can't understand why they killed their own son.
I have a tendency to shorten everybody's hair,
I have a history of lopping off heads.
It's been... five years since "The Gathering",
Beginning, middle, end, Joe wrapped up the whole thing,
Five years since we saw this show,
How good it was gonna get, there was no way to know,
Three years since we really knew,
We voted Joe a Hugo, then we gave him Number Two,
Yesterday, it went off TV.,
But we have still got Crusade, so we ain't too sorry.
Still got Crusade, so we ain't too sorry....
Joe, I've seen Crusade -- you're gonna be sorry.
Bring me the head of Londo Mollari.
-- Tom Smith
Byron In Exile
Frederick Fucking Chopin
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- May 3, 2002
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It's Space Opera for the screen, like Star Trek and Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica. Either you like that sort of thing or you do not like it. They're all a bit silly sometimes, Space Opera is an inherently silly thing. At any rate B5 certainly deserves to be ranked in that exalted company, it equals any of them in production quality, acting, directing, writing, and scale-and-grandeur of concepts. And outshines them sometimes in concept-technology. The Starfury is the result of some writer having a rush of brains to the head and thinking, "So, if it's a one-person fighter-spaceship moving in three dimensions in microgravity, why should it look like an airplane? And why does the pilot even need to be sitting down?"
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AngeloMichael
Literotica Guru
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- Oct 6, 2003
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Wrong. The series was originally meant to run five years and then a sequel series named Babylon Prime was to carry on the story for another 5 years. That was the original outline anyway.
Major Spoilers for the actual series and the series that were meant to be below:
In the final episode of Babylon 5-as-planned, the station is destroyed in a pitched battle with the Minbari warrior caste, who had pulled off a coup d'etat over the other castes and renewed their war against Earth (which they would have eventually lost, due to Earth's new ships and the extreme reluctance of the worker and religious castes to support the war). The flashforward in Babylon Squared was referring to that. In the opening episodes of Babylon Prime, the planned sequel series, Sinclair and Delenn would have gone back in time and seized Babylon 4, bringing it forwards to be the primary base of the war against the Shadows (in the original draft, the Shadow plans are only just getting going by the end of B5 itself, and the main war against them is fought in Prime). This is the reason that B4 was more impressively-designed and more advanced than B5, as it was going to carry an entire sequel show.
JMS seems to have rejigged his plans after Season 1 (possibly spurred by O'Hare's departure) and realised that the show wasn't going to support that length of story. He collapsed most of what was going to happen down to one five-year show and rejigged things so that B4 was going to be taken into the past to win the prior war against the Shadows, with Sinclair becoming Valen. It's amazing the show held together the way it did, given JMS spun on a dime and did a completely different show to the one he was thinking of originally.
The 7-page memo detailing the original story arc was written by JMS as he was plotting season one. Michael O'Hare saw it the day after, and remained the only one who ever saw it until volume 15 of JMS's Babylon 5 script books were published. Keep in mind this might not be what the story arc was prior to the pilot, but nothing was actually written down about the full arc then. So "original" story arc is a relative term.
Page one summarizes the story of the Earth-Minbari war, the Battle of the Line, the decision for the Minbari to surrender, and the suicide of the military caste's leader, and Sinclair's memory wipe.
Page two summarizes the Earth Alliance's troubles with the Babylon Project, the selection of Sinclair as commander, and Delenn as his monitor, and the Grey Council's belief that a child of Delenn and Sinclair would unite their species, and noting her transformation would begin in the season one cliffhanger; also about the assassination plot to kill the Earth Alliance president, and a bit on Londo's and G'Kar's motivations.
Page three summarizes Londo's dalliance with the "Shadowmen" as they were called at that point; the entire season two finale episode with Kosh's reveal to save Sinclair from falling; and discussion of the Vorlons as not actual supernatural deities, but manipulators of the other races.
Page four summarizes the discovery of the Psi Corps as not the benign organization as the image it tries to project; and the offer to Londo by the Shadowmen to decimate the Narn Homeworld for him.
So far so good, eh? Everything is tracking with what we got, except with Sinclair instead of Sheridan.
The bottom of page 4 things start to get a little different. In the latter half of the third season and first part of season 4, G'kar spends on Narn as leader of the Resistence; while Londo is plotting his rise to power to become Emperor himself.
Page 5 summarizes the mind-rape of Catherine (not clear if its Sakai at this point, as Sinclair's lover in the pilot was also Catherine) in the season 3 finale or season 4 opener, completely wiping her mind, with no recollection of her relationship with Sinclair. Garibaldi has his alcoholism relapse, and resigns as security chief, not returning to the role until the end of the season, until then operating as a mercenary for hire.
[Middle of page 5 goes into an asides, summarizing the season one episode Babylon Squared, pretty much as aired]
page 5 ends telling that the true demonic appearance of the Shadowmen will be revealed.
Page 6 summarizes the return of G'kar in season 5, and his revealing that Londo was backed by the Shadowmen. The Minbari military caste stage their coup, and resumes the Earth-Minbari war. Londo annexes the region of space containing B5, and Earth and Centauri Prime break off diplomatic relations. A massive Vorlon ship is destroyed by the Shadowmen with Londo's complicity, and somehow Earth is blamed. Season 5 ends with everybody at war with everybody else; and the Minbari assault and invade B5 itself. Sinclair escapes with Delenn and baby David as B5 is completely destroyed.
And that's the end of the series.
JMS then goes on to say "should the series be successful" the sequel series Babylon Prime would continue these plotlines.
Page 7. Sinclair, David and Delenn, and one of G'Kar's relatives, goes to the Grey Council for asylum. They plot the theft of Babylon 4, renamed Babylon Prime. They take BPrime on a journey to clear Sinclair's name (of the attack on the Vorlon ship i gather), and use it as a sanctuary for allies wanting peace, and as a warship when necessary. David ages rapidly as they go through time, but they stop the ageing and give him a Matrix-style upload of things he needs to know, except emotionally he's an innocent. David become the Valen-like religious figure. The Shadowmen are defeated. Earth defeats Minbar's military caste, clearing Sinclair's name. New alliances are formed and David becomes their leader. Delenn rejoins the Grey Council. Sinclair retires, in the last scene sitting on a shore alone, fishing.
I'm so glad we got what we did instead. Notice no Earth civil war storyline here? The arc memo doesn't explain what was going on with Garibaldi, or Catherine's mindwipe, or what happens to Londo and G'Kar 20 years down the road, though of course from what we got we do know those answers, thankfully.
So Babylon 5 was plotted to run for 5 years but the network that aired B5, PTEN, shut down after the 4th season so they had to cram the end of the shadow war and the Earth civil war all into that season. If they had known from the start of season 4 that they were getting a season 5 for sure, season 4 would have ended with the episode where Sheridan has been captured by Earthforce and being interrogated on Mars.
It was just at the last moment though that TNT picks B5 up for season 5, so they had to restart the plot arc again which leads to some stretching of the storyline and some awful episodes - the telepath arc, but then by mid season, season 5 the show starts getting good and ends on a high note.
Finally, JMS only recently revealed the real reason Michael O'Hare left the show in season 1.
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Byron In Exile
Frederick Fucking Chopin
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Seven Hells...
John Doe
Justified Snob
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That gets better after the first season too.
John Doe
Justified Snob
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I take it AngeloMichael is a fan of the show.
Byron In Exile
Frederick Fucking Chopin
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