Flu-like cold + Nyquil + Netflix + Babylon 5 Season 1, Disc 1 DVD + couch + rain outside + hot water with lemon and eucalyptus honey = TELEVISION CRACK.
I adore JMS as a storyteller. I think he and Moore are among the best genre writers who've worked in television because of they both have that ability to pull off multiseason arcs.
And, yeah, huuuuge B5 fan (Vir is my favorite character in the series). But I haven't watched it in awhile. I ran through the whole series something like three times (original run, two repeats on SciFi), so this is my fourth time through. I'm still picking up new things.
It's really nice to be watching B5 again and the series lends itself so well to DVD. Pity I can't afford the sets. But then again, Netflix is there to save the day.
Babylon 5 is one of my favourite shows of all time. It was the first show I watched that really had a serious arc to it. I have all the seasons on DVD, and just finished watching seasons 1 to 4 awhile ago. Still have to do season 5, but I got distracted by other things... Hope you feel better today!
B5 really does lend itself so well to DVD, doesn't it? I'm not crazy about the transfer for S1 (it should be letterboxed, IMHO), but it's so nice to watch it without the SciFi cuts. I forgot how long the original episodes actually were. Four episodes take about 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Man, such a great series. This is practically the reason why I signed up for Netflix.
It certainly is a great series. So great that I forked out about $700 at once to buy all 5 seasons on DVD. I figured I deserved a treat. I watched it to the end of season 4 awhile ago, then got distracted. Must go back and watch the fifth season soon. Did you watch Crusade when it was on?
What I especially love about JMS is that he never put a bullet in the brain of any of his characters. Even the "bad guys" like Bester had their good points and could be right.
Plus, Vir is probably one of the best executed secondary characters anywhere on television. Even though he was never center stage like Londo or G'kar, he had a clear character arc that made sense and unfolded almost entirely in the background.
You poor thing. Hope you feel better soon. Babylon 5 is definitely good watching for when you feel under the weather. Or any time, for that matter. It's one of my favorite programs of all time. I should rent it too - or hey...come to think of it, I should *buy* it.
But Netflix is a godsend in that respect. Plus, I get to dole it out instead of overdosing. I will say this, Babylon 5 is one of those series that's just perfect for DVD viewing. It works so much better when you can see the episodes back-to-back. It's more like reading a good novel than watching television.
Speaking as a guy who owns all 5 seasons of B5, plus all the movies, plus Crusade (the canceled spin-off), all on DVD, I think it's safe to say I'm a B5 fan. And yet, I haven't watched every single episode yet, because I just haven't had time.
I hope you enjoy your B5, and although I don't envy you being sick, I envy you having time to actually sit down and watch something with a relaxing cuppa.
All four eps on the B5 disc in one go. Wah-HOOOOOO!
I've gone through the whole series something like three times. The original run, and two repeats on SciFi. Plus, I was part of the rec.arts.b5 Usenet newsgroup back during the original run when JMS himself would post there and answer questions.
Good times. Good times.
Seriously, though. I think JMS and Ron Moore are probably among the smartest television writers working in genre television. Both of them are very, very good at pulling off multiseason arcs and writing what I call "televised novels." Generally, their series tend to have clear beginnings and clear ends. Although I think JMS is slightly smarter about his exit strategies than Moore is. Although to be fair, Moore's run on DS9 was somewhat hamstrung by Star Trek universe conventions, so I'm rather interested to see how he does with Battlestar Galactica now that he's the head cheese.
Which is why I always shake my head when hardcore Whedonites proclaim Joss as the true genius of television. Personally, I think JMS or Moore could steal Whedon's lunch money and then eat Joss for desert without breaking a sweat.
One thing I do love about JMS, aside from the fact he's a smart storyteller, is that he is well aware of his weaknesses as a writer. He admits he tends to go overboard in telling instead of showing and sometimes his dialog isn't the best. He's got an ego (show me a writer who doesn't), but he never blames actors/networks/others whenever he's the one who legitimately messed up. That's probably why I honestly believe him when he says that Crusade got wrecked by TNT (aside from the fact that some episodes were clearly hurt by network interference).
I am sorry he never got to do what he wanted with Crusade, because I think if TNT gave him his head that show would've been oodles better. I will always love it for the X-Files take-off they did, though. Man...classic episode.
One of the things I love about JMS is that he always tells you what's going to happen and he never lies to the audience. Every twist in Babylon 5 was telegraphed sometimes years in advance (G'Kar's and Londo's character arcs are especially obvious in retrospect). It's just one of those series you can watch over and over again beause you always pick up new nuances. I mean, I wept at the end of 'Born to the Purple' last night. I never noticed before that when Adera waves good by to Londo, they actually filmed that in slow motion before snapping back to real time. Considering her assassination resulted in the beginning of the end of Londo...*gulp.* Subtly done, beautifully played, and something you only spot when seeing that episode after watching the whole series to the end.
I have JMS's book The Complete Book of Scriptwriting on my desk in easy reach. Really, as far as story construction goes, he's really among the best.
Nah, you're no fangurl, 'cause you don't have the commemorative plate set. I mean, appreciating the skills of the creator and primary writer of the show is one thing, but if you don't have your house full of kitsch related to the series, and if you don't dress up and go to conventions and stuff, you are no fangurl.
Have you read JMS' graphic novels? I like the work he's done on Rising Stars and Supreme Power (the first a mutant-type book, the second a superhero from outer space book). I find the kewl art a bit distracting, but I almost always do. I've always been more of a fan of the more subtle artists like Peter Snejbjerg and Steve Yeowell on Starman, or classic George Perez stuff, instead of the hyper-stylized stuff that Todd McFarlane popularized back in the late 80's and early 90's. If you can keep the art from getting in your way (like how two of the main characters in Rising Stars look so much alike you can't tell them apart, even if they are in the same frame), the writing in both books is pretty good.
Got burned by too many conventions in high school, so I've learned to stay away from that end of fandom. Now that I see what conventions are doing to fans (highway robbery springs to mind), I'm glad I got out of the end when I did. Plus conventions really tend to bring out the tin hat wearers, which makes me pretty uncomfortable (and I have a high tolerance for the weird).
*hangs head*
Makes me a Bad Fan, I know.
I haven't read any of JMS's comics. I fell out of collecting right around the time the hyper-stylized stuff became big. (I blame working in a comic book store for putting me off.) I did some foray into small indies like Strangers in Paradise, but the whacked out publishing schedules made it difficult to keep up.
Plus, I only have so much money. So I kind of stopped following comic books. I've heard really good things about JMS's comic book work, so it's a shame I haven't kept up on that end of his career. But, you know, gotta follow the budget.
I've come pretty close to dumping Cable TV, too, but I hang on to it because what few shows I watch tend not to be on broadcast networks.
Ahh, that's where the joys of Bit Torrent come in. The fact that my wife canceled the satellite doesn't impact me as much when I can watch the shows I really, really want to watch anyway. And I have to admit, $600 per year is a pretty good savings.
And shouldn't that be cancelled, not canceled? For some reason the spell checker in LJ insists is should be canceled. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary says either is right, but I don't know why canceled would ever be right. Aah, English, the truly non-sensical language.
Supreme Power rocks. I wasn't quite as impressed with Rising Stars, but I think that was mostly because of the year-long hiatus in the middle when he got busy on other stuff.
Midnight Nation is another amazing comic from JMS. Indescribable.
And yeah, total agreement with the not utterly villainizing anyone in B5. Even the Shadows end up sounding like lost children at the end, holding out hope that they won't have to be alone. Bester made some gross errors, and yet ended up feeling very human. Plus his interactions with Garibaldi were a riot. "I want to beat you like a pinata." "So that's how you see me, a colorful figure filled with treats for children?" It was hard to ever see Londo as a villain, no matter what he'd done.
If anything, JMS kinda made the opposite mistake IMO. While many of the twirling mustache types came across as complex and not-soulless-evil, some of the 'good' characters like Marcus and that long-haired telepath martyr dude (Byron) from season five came across as treacly 'too-good-to-be-true.'
But maybe I just hated their hair. I'm fickle that way.
He still post on boards regularly. I usually check JMSNews (http://www.jmsnews.com/) for his latest posts. Do a quick browse and you will find his thoughts on the TNT debacle. He's kind of pissed they edited out his criticism on the DVD commentary. As for admitting mistakes, he freely admit he lost his way during Rising Stars. Also kind of fun reading about budgets and showrunning.
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:-) I brought the CD to work so I could rip n send.
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Feel better soon!
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And, yeah, huuuuge B5 fan (Vir is my favorite character in the series). But I haven't watched it in awhile. I ran through the whole series something like three times (original run, two repeats on SciFi), so this is my fourth time through. I'm still picking up new things.
It's really nice to be watching B5 again and the series lends itself so well to DVD. Pity I can't afford the sets. But then again, Netflix is there to save the day.
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Hope you feel better today!
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Man, such a great series. This is practically the reason why I signed up for Netflix.
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Get well soon.
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Plus, Vir is probably one of the best executed secondary characters anywhere on television. Even though he was never center stage like Londo or G'kar, he had a clear character arc that made sense and unfolded almost entirely in the background.
I loves me JMS just on general principle.
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Oh wait, there was the female captain in S5.
But apart from her...
And the ships and the alien races were amazing.
RE: A little Math...
Get well soon! And send me $$, I'll need it.
Re: A little Math...
But Netflix is a godsend in that respect. Plus, I get to dole it out instead of overdosing. I will say this, Babylon 5 is one of those series that's just perfect for DVD viewing. It works so much better when you can see the episodes back-to-back. It's more like reading a good novel than watching television.
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Feel better soon!
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I hope you enjoy your B5, and although I don't envy you being sick, I envy you having time to actually sit down and watch something with a relaxing cuppa.
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I've gone through the whole series something like three times. The original run, and two repeats on SciFi. Plus, I was part of the rec.arts.b5 Usenet newsgroup back during the original run when JMS himself would post there and answer questions.
Good times. Good times.
Seriously, though. I think JMS and Ron Moore are probably among the smartest television writers working in genre television. Both of them are very, very good at pulling off multiseason arcs and writing what I call "televised novels." Generally, their series tend to have clear beginnings and clear ends. Although I think JMS is slightly smarter about his exit strategies than Moore is. Although to be fair, Moore's run on DS9 was somewhat hamstrung by Star Trek universe conventions, so I'm rather interested to see how he does with Battlestar Galactica now that he's the head cheese.
Which is why I always shake my head when hardcore Whedonites proclaim Joss as the true genius of television. Personally, I think JMS or Moore could steal Whedon's lunch money and then eat Joss for desert without breaking a sweat.
One thing I do love about JMS, aside from the fact he's a smart storyteller, is that he is well aware of his weaknesses as a writer. He admits he tends to go overboard in telling instead of showing and sometimes his dialog isn't the best. He's got an ego (show me a writer who doesn't), but he never blames actors/networks/others whenever he's the one who legitimately messed up. That's probably why I honestly believe him when he says that Crusade got wrecked by TNT (aside from the fact that some episodes were clearly hurt by network interference).
I am sorry he never got to do what he wanted with Crusade, because I think if TNT gave him his head that show would've been oodles better. I will always love it for the X-Files take-off they did, though. Man...classic episode.
One of the things I love about JMS is that he always tells you what's going to happen and he never lies to the audience. Every twist in Babylon 5 was telegraphed sometimes years in advance (G'Kar's and Londo's character arcs are especially obvious in retrospect). It's just one of those series you can watch over and over again beause you always pick up new nuances. I mean, I wept at the end of 'Born to the Purple' last night. I never noticed before that when Adera waves good by to Londo, they actually filmed that in slow motion before snapping back to real time. Considering her assassination resulted in the beginning of the end of Londo...*gulp.* Subtly done, beautifully played, and something you only spot when seeing that episode after watching the whole series to the end.
I have JMS's book The Complete Book of Scriptwriting on my desk in easy reach. Really, as far as story construction goes, he's really among the best.
Okay...wow...quite the fangurl am I, hunh?
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Have you read JMS' graphic novels? I like the work he's done on Rising Stars and Supreme Power (the first a mutant-type book, the second a superhero from outer space book). I find the kewl art a bit distracting, but I almost always do. I've always been more of a fan of the more subtle artists like Peter Snejbjerg and Steve Yeowell on Starman, or classic George Perez stuff, instead of the hyper-stylized stuff that Todd McFarlane popularized back in the late 80's and early 90's. If you can keep the art from getting in your way (like how two of the main characters in Rising Stars look so much alike you can't tell them apart, even if they are in the same frame), the writing in both books is pretty good.
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*hangs head*
Makes me a Bad Fan, I know.
I haven't read any of JMS's comics. I fell out of collecting right around the time the hyper-stylized stuff became big. (I blame working in a comic book store for putting me off.) I did some foray into small indies like Strangers in Paradise, but the whacked out publishing schedules made it difficult to keep up.
Plus, I only have so much money. So I kind of stopped following comic books. I've heard really good things about JMS's comic book work, so it's a shame I haven't kept up on that end of his career. But, you know, gotta follow the budget.
I've come pretty close to dumping Cable TV, too, but I hang on to it because what few shows I watch tend not to be on broadcast networks.
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And shouldn't that be cancelled, not canceled? For some reason the spell checker in LJ insists is should be canceled. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary says either is right, but I don't know why canceled would ever be right. Aah, English, the truly non-sensical language.
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(Anonymous) 2005-05-26 12:11 am (UTC)(link)Midnight Nation is another amazing comic from JMS. Indescribable.
And yeah, total agreement with the not utterly villainizing anyone in B5. Even the Shadows end up sounding like lost children at the end, holding out hope that they won't have to be alone. Bester made some gross errors, and yet ended up feeling very human. Plus his interactions with Garibaldi were a riot. "I want to beat you like a pinata." "So that's how you see me, a colorful figure filled with treats for children?" It was hard to ever see Londo as a villain, no matter what he'd done.
If anything, JMS kinda made the opposite mistake IMO. While many of the twirling mustache types came across as complex and not-soulless-evil, some of the 'good' characters like Marcus and that long-haired telepath martyr dude (Byron) from season five came across as treacly 'too-good-to-be-true.'
But maybe I just hated their hair. I'm fickle that way.
Set
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Also kind of fun reading about budgets and showrunning.
I highly recommend the site.
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