Rating: 
Summary: No blackmail please
Review: The Gathering is virtually worthless, I would have buried this episode, made for tv movie or whatever somewhere in defunct VHS Land.It adds nothing to the B5 series.
The logic of "buy this piece of rubbish so they will release the real stuff" just defeats me. (...)
I am a B5 nut, I love the series. As many have said on here it is not just the best Sci_Fi series it is, by far, the best Series to have ever run on TV.
But that being said - The Gathering is not something I care to own, I have it on tape, it was bad then, it's bad now.
In the Beginning is a different story of course - it is brilliant but I will not buy or recommend this DVD
Rating: 
Summary: A technical review
Review: Most people have commented on how good the series is, so I've decided to review the DVD on its technical merits.The Audio: DD 2.0 only. Front separation is passable, but you're rear speakers will yawn with boredom. The sound is better in "In the Beginning." The Video: Inconsistent. The CG scenes look great in both movies, but many scenes are noticeably grainy. There are a few scenes in the pilot that are terrible, almost pixilated. The Extras: Boo! Cast & Crew listing, that's it. If there is one TV show where extras would be appropriate, B5 is it. So why did I give it a 4/5? Being a fan, you probably know the answer to that. Even if they release the rest of the series in what is technically a poor DVD, I will still buy them. While lack of DD 5.1, a good transfer and extras (sigh) is disappointing, the story is what ultimately matters.
Rating: 
Summary: WHERE'S THE WIDESCREEN??
Review: Like so many other people, I anxiously awaited the first Babylon 5 release on DVD. My excitement was quashed less than one minute after loading the disc into my player when that hated phrase popped up on my screen: THIS FILM HAS BEEN FORMATTED TO FIT YOUR SCREEN. Would someone please explain to me why anything released on DVD is formatted for pan and scan?? The creator of Babylon 5 himself said that if and when the series was ever released on DVD, he would release it in widescreen, since that was how he shot it. In fact, the Sci-Fi Channel runs the series in widescreen. With all the whining that has gone on about not wanting to release the episodes until seeing how this first DVD sells, I for one will not purchase this series unless they are available in widescreen. Anyone dumb enough to make the investment in DVD who is not willing to make the investment in a 32 inch TV or larger is clueless as to what makes this format what it is. Consider this your clue as to what makes DVD sell. DVD WITHOUT WIDESCREEN IS TYRANNY!!
Rating:
Summary: Why why??
Review: B5 is my favorite sci-fi series of all times i have all the B5 movies on VHS and i watched the whole 5 seasons from thier air dates (well here at least 1994-1995),now that they woke up and releasing them on DvD what do they do? just copying the VHS on to DvD format i mean look at its technical references:just the 2 movies on the 2 cd's no audio commentary no outtakes no bloopers not even 5.1 surround sound....nothing,i personally will wait until they will release these dvd's (i hope there will be more) in a reasonable format that i can enjoy watching on my Dvd player i dont need another VHS version on a Dvd.
Too bad....
Rating:
Summary: Babylon 5 - The Gathering (Pilot) / In the Beginning
Review: I watched a few episodes of Babylon 5 near the beginning of its showing, and couldn't quit figure out what i didn't like about it. Years later I saw the series as a whole when it was reshown sequentially and became a convert. Taken as a whole, this series is the best SF series ever made for TV. The show evolves and part of the enjoyment is watching the characters and plots being revealed, thats why i am surprised that the first B5 DVD contains the spoiler "movie" In the Beginning, it spoils part of the enjoyment for the new B5 viewer. With that warning in mind, plan on how you want to watch it, but watch it you must, it is worth it.
This is one series a boxed set is required for each season to enable the viewer to watch each show as it unfolds telling better multiple tales than any other show to date.
This first B5 dvd rated 4 due to spoiler movie in first DVD. The movie "In the Beginning" shouldn't be watched in the beginning, but it should be watched.
The show rated 5 for being the best series going. No Star Trek limitation of "no human conflict" in this series :-)...
... review based on watching the TV show... no DVD yet..
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Sci-fi Story Telling
Review: Having always been a sci-fi and fantasy freak, I've been willing to give any show in those genres at least a shot. During my college years, I became enamoured with B5. In a short amount of time, my friends and I were watching the show every week. Unfortunatley, I didn't get the opportunity to see the show to its stirring climax until later on, when it was in syndication on TNT at 6 in the morning and I was just getting home from work. But that provided me a great opportunity to see every episode in sequence. And I can say, without hesitation, that this is the finest, most compelling sci-fi epic in history. Since that time, I have begun watching the show with my dad, who is just as impressed as I was, on VHS. Unfortunately, the VHS tapes are extremely expensive ($... for six episodes on an out-dated media....please!!!), which may have contributed to their unmarketablility, but now is the time for fans to show their support for this television classic and purchse the first in what will hopefully be a long series of B5 DVDs, sight unseen if needs be. Let the execs know that this is something that must come to pass. Encourage them to continue the production of B5 DVDs by supporting this initial offering. Don't let this timeless story be lost forever.
Rating:
Summary: And So It Begins ...
Review: Reportedly the version of the two-hour pilot movie "The Gathering" on this DVD will be "Version 2.0", if you will. The version that aired in 1993 was considered by many to be dull and muddled. B5 creator J. Michael Straczynski later placed the blame on director Richard Compton, who he felt chose the wrong takes in an attempt to emphasize the station itself rather than the actors' performances. "Version 2.0", released in 1999, was heavily revised by JMS and producer John Copeland. They tightened up the storyline, upgraded the effects and, most importantly, dug up from the archives alternate takes that showed stronger performances by the actors. Some scenes that slowed down the pacing have been dropped, while other scenes that emphasized the characters and the plot have been restored. If you can get hold of the original version, compare it to "Version 2.0" and enjoy a clinic in the right (and wrong) way to edit a movie. Like any pilot, though, the actors have yet to find their characters and the writer/creator is still finding their voices. That's the point of any pilot, so don't unnecessarily bash it just because the look of some aliens changed later in the series. A pilot is supposed to sell the show as a series, and that it did. But "The Gathering" is also important because of B5's unique structure -- a five-season "novel for television", and "The Gathering" is the opening chapter. Plot lines established in this episode resonate throughout the next five years, sometimes not even paying off until late in the series. If "The Gathering" is Chapter 1, "In The Beginning" is the prologue. Told in flashback by one of the primary characters years after the events seen in the series, the story takes place ten years before the events seen in "The Gathering". Throughout the B5 saga, we hear about the Earth-Minbari War and even see snippets of flashback. But this film finally lets us take the ride in total. Another interesting advantage of comparing these two films is to observe how JMS's storytelling skills improved with experience. Early in the series, episodes tended to bog down with expository narrative as he struggled to find an effective means of planting with the viewer certain information that would be needed down the line. (In fact, if you go back and watch the first season episodes, virtually every one contains some plot point that pays off down the line in future seasons.) With four years under his belt -- and freed of the need to story arc plot points -- he's free to tell a whopper of a story. "In The Beginning" does have some inconsistencies with what was established in the series -- in particular, a rather improbable adventure involving several of the series' regulars who don't seem to have any memory of it when they reunite years later on the station -- but in typical Straczynski fashion we're entertained while at the same time reminded of the conseqences of our own human foibles and arrogance. Finally, I'll chip in with a message for WB. As others have posted, I've held off on buying the VHS series because I was waiting for DVD. Please, release the series season-by-season in box sets. With commentary by JMS. His people are waiting.
Rating:
Summary: 5 Star Show... Support the DVD so more will be released!
Review: Ok, I admit it... I'm a B5 freak. I'm a First One that started watching this show because it had a good review in Cinefantastique. At first, I fell into the trap of comparing this show to the standard for all other TV SciFi, "Star Trek" and it came up poorly... but sticking with the show, I began to realize that it wasn't a Star Trek immitation. It was establishing itself on it's own merits. It was to Star Trek as "Law & Order" is to "Hill Street Blues", two excellent shows sharing a similar genre. I became - in short - a FAN... So having admitted to my biases... When the VHS sets were released, I shared "In The Beginning" with my two sons... Rather surprisingly to me, they became hooked as well! "In The Beginning" produced after the show had ended, is just a good scifi/adventure romp for the viewer - not requiring any previous knowledge of the B5 universe (although your enjoyment is enhanced if you do)... It is an excellent jumping-on point. Then theres the other side of the coin, "The Gathering". This is the pilot episode - unfortunately, is rather a poor representation of the show...It has the unenviable task of establishing the main characters as well as the entire universe in which the series would play. Additionally, because the series was not immediately picked up after the pilot, there were quite a few character and design changes from the pilot to the first regular episode. (And the creator has gone on record stating that it wasn't his best effort, that he was still too timid in asserting his creative vision). So all in all "The Gathering" despite a re-edit is probably one of the weakest shows in the lot of over 100... Alas - poor sales of the VHS sets (beautifully packaged btw) caused Warners to cancel future VHS releases after only 1/2 the series was thus produced. Now Warners is trying it again with the DVDs, but have backed off from plans for complete season-by-season releases until sales are gauged from this intial offering. So, despite the fact that I would prefer boxed sets ala "Stargate SG-1" - I will buy this release sight unseen. I hope that all B5 fans, Scifi fans, indeed fans of well-written, tightly scripted TV in any genre, will support this endeavor.
Rating:
Summary: Getting the pilot, but rest will wait until boxset
Review: Hi, I have been really looking forward to this. I will buy the pilot episode alone on DVD .... But for me to buy the rest of the episodes, I am waiting for AOL Time Warner to release the whole season, one box set at a time. Until then, it's only the pilot episode for now. I sincerely hope AOL Time Warner makes the right decision!
Rating:
Summary: The best sci-fi series ever made.
Review: My wife & I watched the entire series seasons 1-5, put up with the strange times of the night it was shown (before TNT), taped the entire TNT series, and we are now watching our tapes for the 3rd time. Babylon 5 plays like a wonderful long movie you want to see over again every year or so. For that reason alone, I am ready to buy all 5 seasons on DVD. It deserves to be sold as a season-by-season box set for the fans (TV movies included), along with releases of 2 shows each (like the VHS releases) for those that don't want to buy it all at once. I would also highly recommend the companion B5 guide books by Jane Killick or Andy Lane while you watch this classic, well made series.
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