Meta: Episode skipping and strategies for getting friends hooked.

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

Here be spoilers for the entire show, just to warn you!

One of the greatest pleasures of being a fan of Babylon 5 is seeing someone else watch the show for the first time. Between reading episode reaction posts from first-time viewers and subjecting all your friends to the DVDs, there's something about someone's unspoiled first viewing of some really good television which never gets old, no matter if they agree with your interpretation of the show or not. ("I really like Lyta and Byron's relationship," one of my first-time-viewers remarked in the middle of Season 5. I never took anything about Babylon 5 for granted again.)

Watching first-time viewings or tracking reaction posts, there seems to be a common thread: Season 1 starts and the viewer, especially if they're watching it now in the age post-BSG and New Who, complains about the special effects, the slowness of the arc, the bad acting... basically wondering where this spectacular television show everyone has told them about is. And depending on who you are, you'll either urge them to hold on until Season 2, or reassure them that there are some really good episodes in Season 1 and the acting gets better, or you say "Okay, you're right, let's just skip a bunch of episodes and I'll tell you what happens in them," or some combination of the above.

By Season 3, of course, they're crying and throwing things at the screen and yelling "LONDO! NOOO!" so there's that to look forward to.

If you've got someone's viewing experience under your control--they've finally acquiesced to your demands that they watch, and you own the DVDs and the remote control, for example--you want to make their first viewing as awesome as possible. And you're stuck with the following questions: What to do about Season 1? And what to do about Season 5?

I'm actually someone who will defend Season 1 to the death if I have to. I love Sinclair, I love the lightly-sprinkled backstory, I love the clunky acting and the too-dark too-spare sets and the dramatic pauses before commercial cuts and making problems-of-the-week feel like they're going to actually cause serious danger when they're going to get wrapped up at the 43-minute mark. I also seriously love the costumes, especially the Earthforce dress uniforms. But I am also aware that part of my love was bought by watching the episodes over and over and over again until paths were worn into my neurons. Season 1 is one of those things that improves greatly on re-watching: The contrast between how characters are portrayed in Season 1 and the rest of the show is greater than between any other two seasons, with Delenn, G'Kar, and Londo all going through moments of emotional and physical transition at the end, Sinclair being replaced and the other Human characters reacting to Sheridan's presence, Garibaldi being shot and getting far more paranoia in return... the S1 versions of the characters are almost startling when we return to them and remember how young they all were at one time, before five years of JMS hit them. But for a first-time viewer, without the benefit of hindsight, there is a lot to get through, and you don't want your friend to be discouraged.

So between all of the admitted flaws (oh, I love the flaws) in Season 1, your friend might get frustrated if you ask them to sit through too many episodes before they finally reach whatever makes them fall in love. There are a few strategies to dealing with this:

1) Drunken marathon. Insist they watch everything, but strategically allow drinking and sarcastic commenting during certain scenes. This can work, depending on your friend's patience and how long you have the TV for.

2) Watch the TV Movie "In the Beginning" first, with or without some kind of explanation of the context of the framing device. Hope they've forgotten that by the time you reach Season 3 and "War Without End". This has the advantage of starting off with one of the strongest stories produced by the creative team, and some of the best CG on the show itself. It also blows the secret of Season 1, which means that many of the arc episodes don't work as well.

3) Skip most of Season 1, watch several later episodes out of order with hurried commentary, only find "Comes the Inquisitor" running when you try to catch reruns on television, misplace your VHS of Season 2 episodes, and finally frustrate your friend to the point where she reads an episode guide cover to cover to try and figure out what happened. This happened to me, and I don't recommend it.

4) Watch an abridged Season 1, and come back to interesting episodes when your friend wants a break from the heavier episodes later in the arc, or when you're done with the entire show and are starting over.

I think most of us go for some variation of 4, if only to the point of leaving out the pilot movie "The Gathering," "Infection," and "The War Prayer." If you're going for the really quick version (like you're one of those people who would happily skip to Season 2, heretic) I think the minimum number of episodes you can manage is probably:

"Midnight on the Firing Line"--it's a good introduction to the show, much better than the pilot.
"And the Sky Full of Stars"--the forcing open of the Sinclair plot.
"Signs and Portents"--The introduction of the Shadows!
"Babylon Squared"--the first half of the Babylon 4 plot.
"Chrysalis"--Gotta have the season ender.

It's short! It's sweet! It's got most of the high points of the season. I'd hate to leave it that short, though. But if you really think it's best to skip all of it I'd argue for including at least those five episodes for your first-time viewer.

If I had a few more episodes, I'd add "Soul Hunter," "Parliament of Dreams," "By Any Means Necessary," and "Quality of Mercy" to those, just as far as quality and fleshing out of the universe goes. But there are a lot more good episodes in Season 1 or episodes that get referred to later which are worthwhile to hit on a first viewing.

The other issue when watching B5 is what happens when you get to the end of Season 4. Andraste has a fantastic defense of Season 5 which I hope will keep anyone from making the suggestion to leave it off entirely. Season 5 has a lot of great stuff in it and it's well worth watching. I really just advise people to slog through the first half, enjoying the high points and Bester, and tell people ahead of time that Byron's going to die in a fire.

But I also want to question where to watch Sleeping in Light. I know, I know, it's the best series finale of all time. But at the end of Season 5, it also comes at the end of a number of episodes all dedicated to saying goodbye--and if you're marathoning, that's a lot of farewells all at once. At least I felt that way the first time I mainlined Season 5 after not seeing any of the episodes for a few years.

I have successfully shown someone Sleeping in Light before Season 5. It worked rather well, actually. The episode was filmed at the end of Season 4 and it very much feels like a S4 episode. It doesn't need any context from S5 and it doesn't do too bad as a lead-in.

You can also make someone watch the end of Season 5, the TV movies, Crusade, Legend of the Rangers, and the two Lost Tales before watching Sleeping in Light in full chronological order. This is cruel and unusual punishment.

From doing this a number of times, what I've done that seems to work well is to just take a break after Objects at Rest. Take a few days or a week off the viewing party and come back to Sleeping in Light. It's a beautiful episode which won't be ruined by the time away, and it'll be a perfect capstone to your inductee's Babylon 5 experience.

Until you try to convince them to watch Crusade a week later.

Comments

[ingrid44.livejournal.com]

Love your comments. I taped the entire series on the old VHS tapes, which I still have, even though I have bought nearly all the DVD's. My only complaint was the uncertainty of the battle against the 'shadows' allies and how Earth survived. I wish a sponser had been found to finsh at least 2 seasons of Crusade. I am surprised the Sci Fi channel here in USA has never picked up the show. They did with Battlestar Gallactica.
Of well, at least we have LJ to keep it alive.

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Yeah, there was some wrangling over trying to get SciFi to pick up Crusade when it was out. The timing just never worked out between them and TNT. I don't know what the difficulties are in picking up such a show after it's been canceled, but it's sad that nobody was able to save it, hearing some of JMS' comments about what he wanted to do with it. It sounds like it would have been cool!

[rebecca2525.livejournal.com]

Great write-up!

I started watching B5 on TV in the second season (sort of accidentally), and I only got to watch Season 1 when it finally got out on DVD. I liked it instantly, but it wasn't a true first watch. Like you say, it's really interesting with respect to what you know is to come, seeing how the characters change, detecting so many hints and forshadowing going on etc, things that you miss when you first watch B5.

I also don't know what people have against Sinclair. A long time, B5 has only been Sheridan for me, so one would think I'd have a harder time getting used to Sinclair, but I like him. Dunno. *shrugs*

I totally agree with your choices of S1 episodes. :)

And yeah, S5 is great--except for the Byron plot. I have no problem watching the weaker episodes of S1, on the contrary, maybe it's easier since they are all stand-alone episodes. But Byron over and over again really gets on my nerves. But it's worth it.

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

I don't dislike Byron (or Lochley) as much as I did on first viewing, but there are certain early Season 5 episodes--especially "No Compromises" and "Learning Curve"--which I just can't stand. And as you say, the whole thing is so interlinked that it's hard to do, especially on a first viewing. But the second half is so good, and even most of the Byron episodes have Bester in them, who is totally worth watching for.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Great write-up. ♥ Reading it fills me with nostalgia, because my very favorite thing about Babylon 5 fandom was the way, during my first mostly-unspoiled viewing, people kept coming out of the woodwork to comment, tease, occasionally taunt, and generally cheer me on. It was like all of a sudden being part of a big, faintly crazy but extremely friendly combined family and support group. ;)

If I have a choice in introductions, I like to do what the person who introduced me did - show "Parliament of Dreams" first, and then set them off on as much of S1 proper as I think they can handle. I hate the thought of important back-story getting missed, and there really is some awesome stuff in S1 (although the acting frequently makes me want to tear out my hair).

Then again, sometimes you don't have a choice - I'm currently cheerleading three people through their first viewing, and all three (my boyfriend, and a good friend and her husband) have refused to skip around. I did convince my BF to skip both "Infection" and "TKO" (which I don't think I've ever actually seen, now that I think of it... I seem to recall getting halfway through in my own first viewing and then more or less letting out a shriek of anguish, throwing things at the TV and giving up), but everything else has been in perfect order. The other friends I'm just plying with constant encouragement that it gets better.

As for the latter half of the series... I can't say a whole lot since I've never seen any of the extra movies or "Crusade," but I did take a month long break before moving from S4 to S5 (which I don't regret at all - that was a lot to process!), and then ripped through the first half of S5 on the theory that it would be like pulling off a band-aid. It still hurt, but I was glad I'd watched the whole thing in order. For one thing, if I'd gone ahead and watched "Sleeping in Light" at the end of S4, I don't think I would have been able to make myself actually watch S5. The prospect of seeing Ivanova again dragged me through the more painful bits of the Byron plot, and fear over Lennier's final fate would have solidified to outright fury if I'd known he would disappear completely in the end.

("I really like Lyta and Byron's relationship," one of my first-time-viewers remarked in the middle of Season 5. I never took anything about Babylon 5 for granted again.)

Heeee. That's fantastic.

the S1 versions of the characters are almost startling when we return to them and remember how young they all were at one time

It's so true. I've been shocked by that over and over again in my re-watch. I keep saying it, but it brings out in me a bizarre temptation to hide favorite characters away in cryogenic freezing or something, to keep them safe from everything that's going to happen. And seeing it all happen again, knowing what's coming? Aaaaaaagghhhhhhhh. So painful, but so awesome.

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

It was like all of a sudden being part of a big, faintly crazy but extremely friendly combined family and support group. ;)

So true. I love this fandom.

"Parliament of Dreams" first is interesting. It's an episode that I feel obliged to force on anyone I'm showing the series to, but I've never tried it as an introduction. It does have plenty of good intro-y stuff in it, though. I'll keep it in mind!

Heh, the person I'm watching with right now is insistent on watching everything in order and it was a bit difficult in the middle there. I think we wound up skipping ahead and watching some of the better episodes in the middle of the streak. The way I feel about most of the episodes in Season 1, though, is even the really irritating ones usually have an interesting B or C plot that I like. "The War Prayer" has Shal Mayan and the Centauri kids, even though the plot about xenophobia is really annoying. "TKO" has Ivanova's Rabbi. And "Infection" has... well, it has the speech from Garibaldi to Sinclair about how he shouldn't be Kirk, and the speech from Sinclair about going to the stars. So there's that.

In conclusion, yay Season 1. Poor Season 1 Lennier.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Me too. ♥

"Parliament" makes a remarkably good intro, actually! I can't remember if she gave me any kind of lead-up framework, but it seemed to work.

Agreed on "The War Prayer" - I actually think it's a very cute episode, despite the annoying xenophobia angle and the horrible acting (seriously, does Ivanova just go for bad acting, or what?), but... oh, "TKO" and "Infection." Someday I may guilt myself into watching them... but it's not terribly likely, honestly. *Shudders*

Poor Lennier in general. ♥ We just watched "Atonement" last night. My shippiness was definitely showing. A lot.

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

Heh. "Infection" is sort of... you can start fast forwarding really early on and just keep fast forwarding until you reach the ending. The ending is really quite good (after Sinclair talks the alien menace to death which is... cringeworthy) and you don't really have to watch anything before it to have it make sense. I don't think you need to have seen Every Episode Ever to be a Real True Fan, but I really encourage you to check out those last five minutes or so.

(Why don't I have any Lennier icons? Meh!)

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Last five minutes it is, then! I don't think my bad-acting-squick can handle much more than that. Large swathes of S1 are nearly physically painful. But you're right, there always seems to be something worthwhile about even the worst episodes.

(I don't know! Why do I only have this one, which is intensely depressing? ...Probably because every time I set down to make B5 icons I get distracted by how pretty Delenn is, especially in S1. Alas. Must fix that someday.)

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

Also, you've never seen any of the movies? Even "In the Beginning"? I feel I should rectify at least that. "Thirdspace" has more Ivanova and "River of Souls" made me really like Lochley, and "In the Beginning" always makes me cry.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

I know, I know - I'm a bad fan. I figure I'll see "In the Beginning" at the very least - I'm saving it as a treat for after I've seen The Boy through the series proper, I think. The others I can take or leave, from what I've heard, but I can't resist more Delenn and Dukhat. ♥

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

*chuckle* Nah, never a bad fan, just a fan I might have to get intoxicated and sit down for a "Stuff you never though you'd watch" party, apparently! ;) ItB is a treat, though, and well worth it.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

After the radioactive green werewolves and "Trial of a Time Lord," I think we've thoroughly proved that everything is more fun with sufficient alcoholic lubrication. ;) Although it is endlessly amusing to me how faint and disjointed my memories of both those experiences are. "There were these twins... no, hang on, we fast-forwarded through most of that one. So, there was this... planet? And then the Master showed up, and he was... really smug. Hang on, I'm sure there was more to it than that..." ♥

I'm definitely down for ItB. I think I've secretly been saving it, knowing it's the last I'll ever get of Dukhat. I love all the Minbari, but for him only being in one episode and something I haven't seen, he really is one of my favorites.

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Watching first-time viewings or tracking reaction posts, there seems to be a common thread: Season 1 starts and the viewer, especially if they're watching it now in the age post-BSG and New Who, complains about the special effects, the slowness of the arc, the bad acting... basically wondering where this spectacular television show everyone has told them about is.

Wow, did you sneak inside my house earlier this year when I started watching the show for the first time? I didn't mind the SFX too much, because you can't really blame a show for bearing the effects of its time, but the rest? I admit, I was a little slow in always getting the next disc from the library, and was thinking that all of the rave reviews I'd read over the years were crazy.

Now, when I try to get people to watch a show, I'm a traditionalist for the most part, advising they just start at the beginning and hit every episode along the way, maybe skipping the equivalent of a "TKO." Sometimes I'll find one really, really good episode and show it first, get them hooked, and then tell them to start at the beginning. I have some friends I'm trying to get to watch B5 right now, and nothing yet; I wish I could find that one really great episode to show them, but everything seems so arc and context dependent that nothing jumps out at me.

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

*nodnod* I don't mind the SFX (I mean, I also love Classic Who, so I'm good at forgiving effects) but yeah, it's admittedly a hurdle. That's why I think the weird "Oh you can totally just skip Season 1" meme went around for a period of time, but thankfully most of the fans I talk to today recoil in horror from the idea.

rivendellrose above mentioned starting with "Parliament of Dreams", which sounds like a good idea to me. It's got less-clunky dialogue than "Midnight on the Firing Line" and is still a fairly fresh Season 1 episode without too much connection to the arc.

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

Now I started (or re-started, depends on if you count my erratic, skip around, missed most of Season 3 first time watching) with Midnight and went right on through. I love Midnight and think it's a great start. I wouldn't have liked to have seen In the Beginning first; too many spoilers.

And since I'm old, I'm used to bad tv sfx; you learn to watch around them. It's all character and story with B5 as far as I'm concerned anyway.

That's a good point about taking a pause before Sleeping in Light, although I didn't. It felt like going on a total angst bender, but then I like that sort of thing.

I would say the enforced pauses I had (waiting for Netflix to send the next disc) worked to enhance tension and allow for much speculation and anticipation. I think that's a good thing.

Your 5 must-see episodes are really good choices. I might add Parliament of Dreams or Voice in the Wilderness. But maybe not. Nice write-up!

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

*nod* JMS suggested maybe introducing new viewers to the show with "In the Beginning", back when it was first airing, but I think that's a different thing. Now that DVDs are so common it's hard to remember when airdates made a huge difference. It's hard to remember it wasn't designed to be watched in a marathon!

I love "Parliament of Dreams" and it's one of my personal must-see Season 1 episodes, but it's pretty light on the connection to the arc. I feel the same way about "By Any Means Necessary."

[all_strange_wonders]

When I first tried my friends on B5, a few years before New Who or BSG or any of the really slick new scifi shows were out, they made fun of "the awful midi soundtrack". I was severely tempted to beat them to death with the remote control. Granted, it probably wasn't a great idea to started them with Midnight on the Firing Line, and especially not after we'd just finished up Firefly.

Still, I'm a completist, and a second generation B5 fan at that, so I couldn't really do it any other way (well, maybe the Firefly part). My parents started me on the very first season, and apparently childhood will gloss over a lot of faults that adult eyes might catch. I guess that's option 5: Start them on Season 1 when they're young and impressionable. The special effects are still better than whatever version of Power Rangers they're running these days.

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

Oh, man. And Babylon 5 and Firefly are trying to do such different things with their SF, too. I think they make great companion shows; Babylon 5 has the sheer scope and size that I often feel Firefly lacks (especially when the Big Damn Movie showed us how small their universe really is), and Joss has the wit and verve and snark.

And every time I watch "Midnight on the Firing Line" I get this feeling that they're shouting "We're not Star Trek! Look, we're not Star Trek!" at the audience. *grin*

Hoorah for multi-generation fannishness. And I think that's an excellent suggestion. Because nothing's better than growing up and learning that something you loved as a kid is actually good.

[chanter1944]

As someone who really, truly needs to sit down and do a rewatch one of these days, I appreciate this. :) I'll likely end up starting from the beginning and skipping over the truly iffy bits, though lordy if I could find someone to attempt a version of option 1 with... ah well. Now it's a matter of fitting episode names to episodes, not to mention figuring out if 'Infection' was really that bad... 'TKO' was though, oomph.

Not completely off-topic, yay! Someone else who loves season 1! I've always loved both Sinclair and the too-dark-too-spare atmosphere, possibly because there were shades of late-series Dominion War-embroiled!DS9 about it all. Not entirely sure.

[ufgator1977.livejournal.com]

I always point out to them that they will see Marshall Teague again in a much better role.

I personally thought the scene where Sinclair is sitting shiva with Ivanova made "TKO" worth watching.

[chanter1944]

Oooooh, this is what I get for a) not fitting episode names with events, and b) needing to do a rewatch like mad. I forgot that that scene was in 'TKO'! Right, did I say iffy? I meant... mostly iffy, with a definite exception. XD

[deiann.livejournal.com]

I just have to say: love yer Sinclair icon! :D *luffs a whole lot!*

[ufgator1977.livejournal.com]

Said icon would be compliments of [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com]

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

Thanks! And I mean, "Infection" I'll defend for the ending, AFTER the fight scene of WTF, where Garibaldi goes to Sinclair and gives him a rant about not trying to get his fool behind killed, and then Sinclair finally sits down for his interview and does the bit about why going to the stars is worth it. Everything else is kinda sad, though watching David McCallum being irritable is always fun.

And yay! Season 1 forever!

[jenavira.livejournal.com]

I actually found that I quite enjoyed "Infection," after spending four years in an anthropology program. The archaeologist rings true.

(After Crusade, Though, I am starting to wonder what JMS has against archaeologists...)

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

(After Crusade, Though, I am starting to wonder what JMS has against archaeologists...)

As an anthro major, I've wondered the same thing. All things considered, I suspect an archaeologist must have teamed up with a reporter to crash his car, ruin his favorite t-shirt and drink all his beer.

[ufgator1977.livejournal.com]

Every person I talked into watching BSG I subsequently cajoled into watching B5. Almost every one of them liked B5 better.

I tell everyone to just hang in there for the first season. There are tidbits in every episode that help lay the groundwork and besides, Londo and G'Kar are worth the price of admission.

I start them with "The Gathering" and then right into season one. I have them watch "In The Beginning" after season three and "Thirdspace" in the middle of season four. I have them watch "A Call To Arms" before "Sleeping In Light" and then I have a list of recommended reading for them if they want. One of the great things about most of the comics and a number of the novels is that they slot right in to the show. It gives you an idea of what the show could have been.

I also tell them about the circumstances that caused season five to be less than it could have been. I encourage them to watch "Crusade" and explain to them why "The Lost Tales" just didn't have the same feel.

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

I always have trouble starting with "The Gathering" because for all that Season 1 feels different than the rest of the show, "The Gathering" feels much different still. It's fun, that's for sure, but it's also another one of those stumbling blocks to watching everything else.

Though I absolutely love Sinclair's speech about the Line. "I called in. They told me the war was over."

[ghanimasun]

The one and only time I've introduced someone to B5 I showed them the majority of season 1 episodes, with maybe an episode skip or some fast-forwarding through completely pointless parts, but not much. It worked pretty well, but I think I'm mostly a fan of that or maybe watching a few episodes with some drinking to make things a little bit more entertaining :)

I also found after I had watched everything myself for the first time, when I went back and watched some season 1 episodes, it was sort of amazing how much stuff is there, but how easy it is to miss or dismiss a lot of stuff. So even if you don't show someone all of season 1 at first, they would probably be amazed at how much stuff there is in season 1 to watch after they've gotten into/finished the series.

When I saw Sleeping in Light for the first time, I watched it right at the end of season five. However, I think your idea of waiting a few days after the end of season five is really a good idea. It allows a viewer to digest and come to terms with everything then sort of hits them again with all the emotion of the series at an end.

Really awesome meta, I'm definitely saving this!

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And yeah, Season 1 has so much--I mean, there's a lot that we really do never see again, and they were playing with a lot more toys before finally settling down with the stuff that worked. But there's so much that just ties to the arc in fantastic ways. And the benefit of rewatching is why I'm never too concerned about skipping Season 1 episodes and coming back to them later. There's so much there.

[rebecca2525.livejournal.com]

I also found after I had watched everything myself for the first time, when I went back and watched some season 1 episodes, it was sort of amazing how much stuff is there, but how easy it is to miss or dismiss a lot of stuff.

Exactly!

[mac-beth13.livejournal.com]

Excellent Meta! Watched the show and fell in love with it when it originally aired and I was still in Junior High/ High school. I've recently brought my father into the fold of becoming a B5 fan and took him through the entire series from start to finish. My issues were where to fit in the movies. I ended up showing "In The Beginning" right after "War Without End part II" and it tied up Sinclair's arc nicely.
I'm taking my sister through the series now and got her through "The Gathering" and season one by telling her there are some strong points and that it gets better by season twoand they had a limited budget. She's now in season two and quite hooked, her selling point: it's science fiction but it still remembers the human element, the show has heart, humour and great characters.

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I was a little late on the original airing myself, and only managed to watch the entire thing through when the DVDs came out. (Tapes were so expensive!) And yeah, if I have a preference I usually wait until at least after "War Without End" to watch "In the Beginning", or even after "Atonement", which is where the other borrowed material came from. But for someone hesitant about watching the show it might serve as a hook.

I love the characters. For me that's what it's all about.

[nhpw.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this write-up; it's fabulous! I need more B5-watching friends, so I might need to try some of this out. Meanwhile I'm so happy to have found this LJ fandom.

Personally, I *like* Season 5. I'd never use it to indoctrinate a new fan, but I like it in the context of the series. I've been through the complete series 4 times, now, I think?... and I always, always get to Season 5 (particularly late Season 5) and look at Sheridan, and listen to him talk, and think to myself, "Is that really the same guy who came in at the beginning of Season 2? For reals? I think I have to go back and remind myself what he was like before he knew he was dying." And that usually leads to some sort of thinking that JMS is the most awesome writer in the universe, or something, because, yes, this really is the same man. (Or they have the same name and are played by the same actor, anyway.)

Sleeping in Light is beautiful, but I can't seem to get through without bawling my eyes out and thus I've only watched it (I think?) twice. And one of those times was with my husband, who tried to keep me from crying by telling jokes and giving off-color commentary throughout. He failed. Maybe I should try it during a drunken marathon.

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Yeah, the transformations of all the characters are really astounding when you go back and look at them later. It always amazes me how far they come in such a short time.

[4thofeleven.livejournal.com]

I'd consider adding "Born to the Purple" to the second list of season 1 episodes - I think it's a much stronger episode that "Soul Hunter" or "Quality of Mercy", and it has at least as much long-term payoff as either of them.

Plus, if someone doesn't like Londo episodes, better they find out the show's not for them early on... *grin*

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

Yes, right, "Born to the Purple" is awesome. I dunno, I'd argue about "Soul Hunter"--I think it's a great episode and really good at setting up B5's universe.

And of course it's got a focus on Londo, and who doesn't love that?

[fifmeister.livejournal.com]

"I really like Lyta and Byron's relationship," one of my first-time-viewers remarked in the middle of Season 5.

Oh. Oh my. :p

I concur with everyone else on the usefulness of this post! I've been trying (unsuccessfully) to convince several friends to give B5 a try. If I ever actually get them to pick it up, I'll definitely have to keep this post in mind for how to deal with seasons 1 and 5. Thanks! :)

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

*chuckle* Between that and finding that Karl Rove and George W. Bush agree that B5 is one of the greatest shows to be put on television, my ability to judge anyone by what they think of a particular piece of media has been shattered. ;)

And thanks! I'd repeat the suggestion made earlier that "Parliament of Dreams" makes a surprisingly good opening gambit. It's worth a shot!

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

...

Karl Rove and George W. Bush agree that B5 is one of the greatest shows to be put on television

Okay. I. Um.

Excuse me. I have to go stare blankly at a wall for a few hours. Pity I'm at work, I'm sure my manager might have some questions about what the hell I think I'm doing. But I think my brain just freaking broke.

.....!!!! Considering how much time I spent during my first viewing of S3 and 4 thinking "god, this is so appropriate to the current political situation (circa 2005 or so), this just... I.... I don't even know.

[athena799.livejournal.com]

I just want to say, guys, Earth on B5 was a warning, not an instruction manual!

[alexcat.livejournal.com]

I watched it first all on Sci fi when it showed 5 nights a week. All of our evenings revolved around the B5 episode for the day. Season 1 wasn't so bad except in hindsight. I htink that was the season that showed us all that no one is ever what he seems to be.

I am not a fan of telepaths.... and so all of them could have been skipped in my opinion. Especially Byron, Lyta and any ep with Bester.

Great meta though... very well thought out.

[athena799.livejournal.com]

"By Season 3, of course, they're crying and throwing things at the screen and yelling "LONDO! NOOO!" so there's that to look forward to."

I am crying laughing right now, its so true. I am currently on my first watch-through, just go to season 3, and last night screamed for what must have been the 10th time "LONDO! NOOO!"

I <3 him so much and he makes me cry for how doomed he is T_T

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

Hee, isn't it just so true! LONDO! NOOOO!