Rating: 
Summary: This DVD will Rock!
Review: I am a 15yr old B5 freak. And I have watched these movies on tape and they were very good but on DVD they will be much cleaner and just plain better. I think. I can't wait until the rest of the series comes out on dvd!!
Rating:
Summary: Sets up the series
Review: These two movies setup the begining of the Babylon 5 saga. One is the pilot movie, the other is preparing for the SHADOW WAR!!!! OOHHH SCARY. But seriously. These are a must have for any sci-fi fan.
Rating:
Summary: A Dream Given Form...
Review: At long last, Babylon 5, perhaps the greatest science fiction series ever created (and that's coming from a die-hard Star Trek fan) makes its debut on DVD with the made for television movies "The Gathering" and "In The Beginning". While many have slammed this DVD for it's lack of extra content, poor picture quality (which I really haven't noticed in my viewing of this DVD), whatever, I amsimply content with the fact that Warner has even taken any kind of chance with releasing anything from the series to the DVD format. After all, Bablyon 5 is hardly as well known as the various Star Trek series. Ask people what a Klingon is and they'll tell you even if they've never seen an episode of Star Trek a day in their life. They can tell you who Kirk is, who Spock is, etc. However, ask a person who's never seen Babylon 5 to tell you what a Vorlon is, or who Sheridan and Delenn, etc. are, and odds are they'll just give you a blank stare (which has actually happened to me before). So to all you naysayers out there, I recommend that you just be thankful that they gave you ANYTHING.
Rating: 
Summary: First DVD of the Series. B5 enters the light!
Review: It's about time Babylon 5 made it to DVD. The quality of the TV Movie "In The Beginning" is quite high, especially the effects shots. And it's widescreen. Most importantly I'm watching B5 on a DVD player!The other flick "The Gathering" (the B5 pilot) isn't widescreen and is pretty grainy. However, from what I've heard, the quality of the original material of the older B5 episodes is pretty bad so I suppose this isn't surprising. This episode sucked, really, though. So it isn't as important to me as the "In The Beginning." Oh, the effects shots are clean, it's the live action that's grainy. I don't understand why it's not widescreen though, considering the Sci-Fi channel has it in widescreen format.......... Sound is Dolby Surround I believe, which is right for the time it was made. What IS completely lacking on the DVD is ANY extras whatsoever. There aren't any trailers, no behind-the-scenes, no pretty pictures, no interviews, etc. A big letdown considering this is B5's first DVD and it's a special 2 volume at that. The price is good though! And it's Babylon 5. That's why I bought it, not for extras but for the best sci-fi series ever made.
Rating:
Summary: Five stars for content and one star for presentation.
Review: This DVD was a great disappointment to me. I am a big fan of "Babylon 5". I love what writer/producer/creator J. Michael Straczynski accomplished with his 5 year epic. Sure, the show was a little slow to get going (he had a lot of build up to accomplish) and it stumbled in the first half of the final season (the telepath war wasn't everything it could or should have been), but when you take the long view of the structure and the impact of the story being told, it's one of the best novels ever produced on television. This DVD presents the re-edited two-hour pilot movie "The Gathering" and the backstory feature "In the Beginning." This version of "The Gathering" was produced for TNT when that network picked up the series for its fifth and final season. It was re-edited, with updated special affects and a new score added. It is a better movie in this form than the original. However, what is odd about it is that the series was produced in letterbox format (and was shown as such on Sci-Fi). However, as TNT didn't show it in letterbox format, this transfer of the film is in 1.33:1 ratio. The plot involves a space station that serves as a meeting place for various alien races where they can work out their grievances on neutral territory. The first ambassador from the fifth major space faring races (Humans, Minbari, Narns, Centauri, and Vorlons) is due to arrive. He is Kosh, a Vorlon. The Vorlons are the oldest of the races known. When an assassination attempt is made on his life, suspicion falls on the station's commander, Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O'Hare). The story is a mystery, and it serves to introduce many of the main characters and themes that would run throughout all of Babylon 5. It's impressive to see how much groundwork Straczynski laid out right from the start. His universe and the story he intended to tell were already in sharp focus in his mind, and it shows. If you see "The Gathering" and follow the series to its conclusion, you can see many things alluded to in the initial pilot pay off years down the road. It's impressive. It's also interesting to see what ideas and cast members were shed along the way. Michael O'Hare was never a particularly charismatic presence, and his departure at the end of the series' first season allowed for the more dynamic actor Bruce Boxleitner to come in as John Sheridan. However, Mira Furlann as Delenn, Andreas Katsulas as G'Kar, and Peter Jurasik as Londo make it through to the end of the show and the three of them gave consistently interesting and intriguing performances. Unlike many TV shows, these characters grew and changed. Jerry Doyle also stayed with the show to the end as Michael Garibaldi. He's always adequate (and sometimes excellent), but he's never been able to shake his Bruce Willis image sufficiently to make an impact of his own. "In the Beginning" is the story of what happened before "The Gathering." As a movie, it fills in the backstory of what happened in the days before the Babylon 5 station was established. It was originally produced between seasons 4 and 5 when the show moved to TNT. As such, it has always been a bit of a puzzlement to me. Now, this is not to say that it is a bad movie. It's actually an exciting story in and of itself that goes a long way in explaining the suspicion with which the Humans and the Minbari view each other during the entire run of Babylon 5. However, it also reveals some secrets that viewers weren't privy to for years while watching the series in real time. I'm never sure when to recommend that new viewers should watch "In the Beginning." Should it be watched in storyline chronological order--before "The Gathering" or after the final episode of season four "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars" so that none of the surprises are ruined. It's a tough call, but Warner Brothers has released it with "The Gathering" so there you go. They seem to think it should be watched here and now. Personally, I love "Babylon 5" and I'm glad to see this DVD. I hope it will lead to the release of the entire series. However, as a DVD, it's very disappointing. There are absolutely NO extras. I've read what Straczyski has written about the creative choices he made while producing the show and about his theories of storytelling. I would have loved to have a commentary track from him detailing the production process. I have little doubt that additional commentary from the cast, from conceptual consultant Harlan Ellison, and from co-producer John Copeland would have been of great interest. Unfortunately there isn't any. Because of this, I have very mixed feelings about this DVD. I want the entire series, but I feel a little cheated. I don't want to say "Don't buy this DVD!" because I don't want to ruin the chances that the rest of the show won't follow. But I want more and I want Warner Brothers to know that. If we're going to invest in 5 years worth of material, they should give us something extra. It will be no small investment to buy all of "Babylon 5". Make it worth our while. If you like "Babylon 5", I highly recommend "Farscape" now being released on DVD. (C)2002 Joe Edkin
Rating:
Summary: "The Gathering" is worth it for Newbies to the show.
Review: The B5 Pilot, "The Gathering" is low budget, poorly acted, and not very well written. Still, if you've never watched Season One of Babylon 5, you have to see this movie. The characters refer to the events in this pilot all the way into the final season. You don't really want to see the rest of the movies unless you've seen this show, so I don't recommend getting the Movie Box Set, because the other B5 films are full of spoilers. The best thing to do is to order this DVD used (or rent it). After you watched the whole series, when you buy the movie box, sell this DVD to someone else who is just starting out on the show.
"In the Beginning" is full of spoilers, so I have no idea why they packaged it with "The Gathering". I enjoyed it, but while watching it, it felt a bit like watching a clip show. The movie basically glues together the final battle between Earth and Minbar, showing exactly what happened. Since what happened at this event is a secret for much of the show, I don't recommend watching this until you're deep into Season 4.
Rating: 
Summary: What a rip off
Review: Ok.. thats a bit strong, but I bought this when it came out, assuming the other movies would be released seperately. Now I have to buy "B-5: The Movies" which includes these two. Just ignore this DVD collection and get the 5 movie set. END OF STORY. Might as well End of Life this one.
Winton
Rating: 
Summary: One thumbs down, one up
Review: 3 stars is an average. The Gathering is not a good movie. It is to B5 what the Jeffrey Hunter pilot was to the original Star Trek series- interesting for the differences in the embryonic characters (personality and make-up), but disappointing after watching the series. If you love the series you may as well watch it, but don't expect too much.
The prequel "In the Beginning" is excellent - as you might expect from a 1998 production. If you have enjoyed the series, it is a must.
If you haven't watched the series DVD's yet, you can start with The Gathering if you want, but don't let a lukewarm response stop you from going forward. It gets a whole lot better!
Rating:
Summary: Finally watched the prequel and pilot for "Babylon 5"
Review: One of the great things about DVDs is that I finally get to catch up on all the science fiction series from cable that, for various reasons, I missed out on the first time around. Today I watched the double-origin of "Babylon 5," although since I finished watched the two made for television movies I discovered that my introduction to the series is decidedly different today than it was when the pilot first aired on February 22, 1993. Now that I know they were made four years apart I can understand why the first one is in widescreen while the second is in full frame and why the idea of a prequel was a good thing for fleshing out the back story of the Earth-Minbari War. "In the Beginning" starts off on Centauri Prime, where the Emperor Londo Mollari (Peter Jurasik), is telling the story of the start of the Third Age. This would be the year 2243, when a young Londo Mollari arrived at the Earth Dome as liaison to the Centauri delegation. Earth had recently won the Dilgar War and the government of Earth is now expanding its sphere of influence. Earth is having some success in its attempt to make treaties with the League of Non-Aligned Worlds, and now Earth is sending an expedition to make contact with the mysterious Minbari. Londo advises General Lefcourt to send only one ship and to be wary of the Minbari, but, of course, the military of Earth is nothing if not arrogant. Before the Earth ships reach Mindari space we learn something about the warrior caste of these people and Lenonn, the leader of the Anla'shok (the Rangers). Lenonn is worried about the prophecies of Balen, which indicate that a time of crisis is coming during which the Anla'shok will play an important role. Then Captain Jankowski shows up and despite having been warned not to make first contact (which begs all sorts of questions about why this particular captain was sent with a fleet on an intelligence gathering mission) gets close enough for the Mindari to engage their senses. This begins a chain of events with tragic consequences, as both Jankowski and the Mindari prove equally adept at having no understanding of cross- cultural communication. The importance of this exchange is that this little encounter is the spark that ignites the Earth-Mindari war, and the importance of that war is that the forces of Earth are no match for the Mindari. It is ironic to watch "In the Beginning" today, a year after the war with Iraq, because it is hard not to see strong parallels between the one sided wars. The great strength of this story is the idea that there is nothing Earth can do to stop the Mindari from destroying the Earth and ending the human race, a far cry from the superiority of the species that is a constant in the vast majority of science fiction. Just as the cause for the war was a bit far fetched, so is the end of the war, where a convenient bit of information pretty much pops out of nowhere. But what matters most is the idea that humanity is occupying one of the lower rungs on the intergalactic totem pole, which is a decidedly different premise from what we are used to. When I flipped the DVD over and watched "The Gathering" I was immediately confronted with the giant hole that exists between the end of "In the Beginning" and this pilot episode. The station is being run by Michael O'Hare (Jeffrey Sinclair), with Laurel Takashima (Tamlyn Tomita) and Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle) making up the other two sides of the power triad. Sinclair is the important character because of the role he played in the end of the Earth-Mindari war in the prequel. However, we learn nothing more about that aspect of this character, although there are some veiled references made to it by some Mindari characters. The movie basically focuses on a mystery in that the Vorlon ambassador arrives and almost immediately collapses on the point of death. There are all sorts of delicacies involved in not opening up his environment suit, but that becomes secondary when Commander Sinclair becomes the prime suspect. The point of the pilot is to introduce the cast of characters and the politics of this particular science fiction universe, but doing it in the context of a mystery is rather strange. The scene that carries most of this weight is the hearing where G'Kar (Andreas Katsulas) makes a motion to extradite Sinclair to the Vorlon homeworld for a trial. The vote, not only in terms of how it was put together but how it is justified after the fact, is what provides the best insights we have into the "Babylon 5" universe. One running bit is why "Babylon 5" is the fifth and last Babylon ship. Sinclair says it has something to be with human stubbornness, but my question was why the name "Babylon" was used. I understand the appropriateness given all the species that come together on the vessel, but you would think that one of those species would get their hands on the book of Genesis at some point and figure out that even if this is not a veiled insult it is at least a joke at their expense. Both the prequel and the pilot for "Babylon 5" show potential for the series. The less than stellar plot line for "The Gathering" does not matter given what is being established as a foundation for future episodes. Between the two movies there are a lot of characters and apparently more to. So at the end of these two tales I do not have a real feel for what "Babylon 5" is going to be about, but I do have a sense that it is moving in an interesting direction, especially since the aliens are so much more interesting than the humans at this point.
Rating:
Summary: BEST SHOW EVER. 2 Movies: Both lousy & great at same time
Review: Yes, Babylon 5 is the best sci-fi show ever produced, and I *highly* recommend you go buy seasons 2/3/4, but like most shows it had a rocky start. "The Gathering" was the pilot, and although somewhat entertaining, I never watched it more than twice. It's just too...boring.
IN THE BEGINNING IS GREAT. Completely opposite of the Gathering, in the Beginning is probably the best "episode" Babylon 5 ever produced. Great scripting, great story, great ending. As my English professor remarked, "It felt like something Shakespeare would create." Absolutely. Series creator J.Michael Straczynski wrote: "In the Beginning is the best thing we've ever done. On every level: acting, writing, the directing, sets, costumes...everything. It's a very moving and emotional movie in a lot of places, which was the goal. If it doesn't touch you, there ain't much point to doing it."
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