I've been re-watching B5 for the first time since I saw it in the 90s. Not gonna lie season 1 was a bit of a grind but once it gets going holy shit the characters certainly grow on you and it really picks up. Gkar and Lando steal literally every scene they are in. Just got to the "Only one human has ever survived" scene and had to punch the air in excitement. The series was planned and written all the way through before they began filming and it's really well thought out. All of the characters have an arc, decisions have repercussions, foreshadowing subtly sprinkled in every episode. It's worth the investment

The B5 production was very stressful, from the mental health issues of Michael O'Hare, to the alcoholism of several actors, and the insane workload of the writer and show creator as well as other issues.

Both Jerry Doyle and Claudia Christian were dependent on alcohol at the time and used mock JMS stance against alcohol on set.

The CGI is dated, it was rendered on Amiga computers, but it is part of is charm.

Yet despite all of the issues and low budget, the show they created is absolutely beautiful, the characters are fantastic, the acting is completely on point and it tackles some very heavy subjects.

I love Jerry Doyle's character Michael Garibaldi, he plays him so well all through out, and when I learned that he came almost directly from being a stockbroker with limited acting experience and did B5, I was shocked. I also was sad when I learned that he went all in on conservative radio later on.

G'Kar and Londo, what a fantastic pair of actors, and what amazing choices they made on how to portray their characters! Andreas Katsulas plays a man fighting on the edge of self control trying not only to build a a future for his people, but to maintain their dignity through out, and Peter Jurasik getting not only to ham it up beautifully, but also being able to switch instantly from ham to serious acting is fantastic.

Patricia Tallman plays the amazingly tragic character Lyta Alexander, a woman who have been used and abused by the circumstances she finds her self in, before taking control and finding herself.

Finally we have the amazing Walter Koening playing Alfred Bester, a true believer in the Psi Corps. He plays the role amazingly, and you can feel the contempt he holds for the others. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll leave it here, he is amazing!

That’s amazing. I collected all the episodes and movies over time thinking it was one of those shows that would disappear because it wasn’t one of the big popular sci-fi franchises. Very happy to see it released like this. Never ceased to impress me that they regularly took on difficult subjects like fascism, racism, drug addition, alcoholism, torture, etc. It’s maddening and frustrating to watch Deconstruction of Falling Stars where revisionists make up whatever suits their narratives about events, and just an overall great episode. Straczyinski hits the nail on the head so many times when it comes to politics.

I’m just now watching for the first time. A top quality series. With two episodes left in season 3 this show is wild!

Shit! Only in English, no dubbing😕

BluRay looks sharper.

WARNING - SPOILERS!

This video shows just how brilliant Andreas Katsulas and Peter Jurasik plays their roles in B5:

https://youtu.be/gSTrgsYvyPI

Looks like they cropped the 4:3 original to make it 16:9. Below here is a comparison of a random shot. It wasn't even evenly cropped. There was more cropped off of the bottom here than the top. Which, I guess is a good sign. Perhaps that means that they are trying to crop each shot to optimally keep the subject matter in frame. Still, I think most people would rather they just left it 4:3.

The best Sci-Fi show ever, the themes and storyline are dead on for everthing happening today. "I need a drink!" "Some must be sacrificed, if all are to be daved". Great show. Was able to catch the Blu-Ray on a smoking deal afew years ago, it's better but not ideal.

Loved babylon 5!

A couple years ago it was free on Tubi or Roku, I forget which but we watched four seasons of it with no problem.

Ah fuck yeah

Finally, some good news!

Nice!

I just had a look and so far they just have episodes 1, 3, and 4, and they seem to be releasing new ones weekly at a glance.

Good for people to check out if they've never watched the show before (like me), but not exactly binge-ready yet. I hope they make all the rest of the episodes available.

Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y235YEQstLo

I'm still undecided whether to recommend The Gathering as a starting point, or a later watch after being hooked.

Looks like the videos are now gone.