Rating: 
Summary: Lack of extras the only drawback - terrific pilot & movie
Review: Yep, it has no real extras to speak of - but "In the Beginning" more than makes up for it, a strong TV movie that not only further develops favorite B5 characters but makes you wistful for bigger movie budgets - and how it could have fleshed out the "Battle of the Line" even more dramatically."The Gathering" is most fascinating for the evident changes between the original pilot and the final syndicated (later TNT) series - namely in the appearance of Mira Furlan as Delenn. Her original makeup masks Furlan's delicate features and makes the character more androgynous and much more ambivalent as a potential heroine. Speaking of actresses, with the crappy overdubbing removed, Tamlyn Tomita shows why she was hired in the first place. Apparently, Tomita's role as a tough second-in-command was a little too threatening to some of the network "suits", who forced redubbing of all of her lines, to "soften" them. The first time I saw Babylon 5, it was through this pilot, and I thought Tomita was *terrible* - only to see and appreciate her skill in later films like "Joy Luck Club". The dubbing really hurt her perfomance, which is quite solid for a pilot. [Fans who delve deeper and deeper into the series, and read through some of producer JMS' postings on the web will find her portrayal of Laurel even more interesting, once they learn some more facts (...being vague so as not to spoil the series)]. The score by Stewart Copeland (ex-Police) is also interesting, as it suggests different directions than what regular composer Christopher Franke later chose. Those who are or become regular viewers of Babylon 5 may be surprised *just* how much JMS had already planned this storyline, and how much of the pilot was retained or further developed later in the series. So, although most TV pilots suffer in comparison to their "final" series, where actors, writers, and other crew have had the chance to "gell", this one is still a cut above. "In the Beginning," by contrast, was shot after B5 had hit its stride as one of TV's best dramatic series. Backtracking to the war between the humans and Minbari, it should not be seen if you haven't watched the two part episode "War Without End" and other pivotal episodes from the first three seasons. It's one piece that improves and becomes much more dramatic the more you've previously seen of "B5". While some of the other B5 TV movies veer around in quality, this stars the four strongest, most solid performers from the show: Furlan, Bruce Boxleitner (who manages to convince us he is a younger officer), Andreas Katsulas and Peter Jurasik, with good support from Richard Biggs and Claudia Christian, two other favorites. The last major scene set in the past is both stirring and heartbreaking, with character actor Tricia O'Neil adding her usual blend of class and vulnerability to a tough role - the president of Earth. Theodore Bikel turns in a good performance too as a Minbari whose faith and wisdom outshines his enemies in the "warrior caste". Jurasik, meanwhile, who explains the history and action to viewers, takes lines that could be dry exposition and turns them into poetry. A definite buy for those who already appreciate Babylon 5; for those of you just starting to see the series, watch some more before getting this disc.
Rating: 
Summary: Two Movies. One DVD. More Of The B5 Story.
Review: You can't find these two Babylon 5 movies on the Season One, Two or Three DVD boxsets. "In The Beginning" with Boxleitner is awesome and what you would expect from the B5 people. "The Gathering" can get very dull at times but it was good that they made it because it explains more of the B5 story. I think it's definately worthwhile, After all it's B5.
Rating:
Summary: Tasty sample of Babylon 5's universe
Review: I'm not going to say much about "The Gathering" here, for the simple reason that pilots really can't be said to be the best example of a show. All I will say is that, for a pilot, it's pretty good. "In the Beginning," on the other hand, is a fine movie. It demonstrates what Babylon 5 did best: tell a compelling and intriguing story that takes the viewers deep into the past and far into the future. Not only that, it was filmed at a time when the actors had really grown into their roles, the effects crew was on its stride, and the story was exploring familiar enough territory (ie, history that had already been hinted at, but never developed) that the writing stayed tight and confident. Later B5 movies and the disastrous Crusade and Rangers flops strayed too far from that recipe. What made the B5 univese so great was its intricacy, its history, and characters we cared about. And, while watching all 5 seasons is the best way to get that, "In the Beginning" captures a nice, tasty slice.
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed Blessings
Review: The double dvd, B5: The Gathering, In The Beginning, suffers from a lack of value. There are no extras on the dvd, which is acceptable, but what is unforgivable is the sound. Neither title is rendered in 5.1. One of the points of buying a DVD is the sound reproduction. In terms of content, the first side of the DVD contains the B5 pilot entitled "The Gathering". This is in fact a "Special Edition" of that piece. Some of the effects have been redone (in the case of an absolutely cartoonish breaching pod, not redone to the degree that they should have been), some voice overs have been added (one for Kosh, and a surprisingly successful sampling of sound from the Season 1 episode "And The Sky Full Of Stars" in a scene made particularly poignant by its addition). This piece is Babylon 5 at its best and worst. It has the worst acting and worst pacing of any episode of the series, but it gives you an interesting taster of what is to come. Remember that in 1993, when this aired, nothing like this had been seen on American TV. Some of what you will see is jaw dropping - like the beauty shot of the interior of the space station, covered in gardens. Other things, like the previously mentioned breaching pod are so ridiculous that it is impossible to reconcile that they are both visuals in the same piece. The main difficulty is that many people became so disgusted with the acting in this pilot, that they gave up on the series before it began. To be fair, the returning cast needed time to become acclimated to their roles. The Gathering was produced very quickly, and the acting suffered from that. The sister piece, In The Beginning, suffers from none of its predecessors weaknesses. Top notch acting, excellent visuals. Like The Gathering, it is a truly interesting story and a great intro to the series, even if it spoils a bunch of the great B5 mysteries. Considering the price, perhaps the value is not as bad as I originally let on. They should have fixed the sound though, and the addition of the original version of "The Gathering" with Stewart Copeland's soundtrack would have been a nice addition.
Rating:
Summary: The Beginnings of an Epic
Review: The Gathering is the movie/pilot for Babylon 5. Though production values were relatively low, and the acting mediocre, it lays the foundation for a brilliant series. This movie is not to be missed. Be sure to buy it along with Babylon 5 season 1. In The Beginning takes place before The Gathering, but must not be watched before the end of Season 4. It was made at that time and contains spoilers for story arcs in prior seasons.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not the best
Review: There are a lot of reviews of the two movies that are here, so I want to make a couple of comments that go in a different direction, about the series in general, specifically responding to the comparisons to DS9. Having watched both series all the through more than once, I honestly have to say that overall, DS9 is better. B5 had a more strong overall story, and some of the plot complications and characterizations were superb. Andreas Katsulas, Peter Jurasik, and Mira Furlan were all excellent as the principle non-human characters, but several of the actors playing humans (such as Michael O'hare, Patricia Tallman, and Steven Briggs) were decidedly mediocre actors who were generally unable to make their characters believable. By comparison, the quality of acting on DS9 was uniformly solid across the board. The result is that when watching B5, one is frequently distracted by poor acting, while this never occurs on DS9. One has only to watch the respective pilots to see this is true. Additionally, the humor on DS9 always felt organic and believable, while humor on B5 often seems strained, improbable, and a result of poor writing (such as the painfully unfunny and unbelievable bits about Ribo and Zooty)--the exception to this is Jurasik and Katsulas' humorous bits, which they somehow always made feel believable. On a more amusing comparison, both shows, surprisingly, features several musical numbers, and while this seems strange for sci-fi shows, DS9's musical numbers (all 50's and 60's lounge bits) are much better than then awful choral piece by the telepaths or number by the lounge singer that Dr Franklin falls in love with. Also, the 5th season of B5 is definitely a let-down, being much weaker than the 2-4th seasons. DS9 also, I would argue, simply looks more realistic than B5. One final criticism of B5 is that I generally found the female characters a bit stereotypical--will all women in the future have long, flowing hair,even when they're in the military?
Now, having said all this, B5 is still a solidly done series, and its creative highpoints are in many ways superior to DS9's. The plotting and story arc of the first 4 years are little short of brilliant in places, and the alien cultures are more fully conceived and realized. So, I guess in summary I would say that B5 has higher highs than DS9, but much lower lows, while DS9 is more consistant.
Rating:
Summary: Worth buying for any B5 fan...
Review: If you love B5, this is worth getting. If you like great sci-fi, this is a good way to get into the B5 universe. The set comes with two introductory movies. The older movie, The Gathering, is the pilot of the show, so its quality isn't as high as the rest of the series. I would suggest watching it after the second movie, In the Beginning, a prequel to the series that was done in the last year of the show. I just rewatched both movies recently, and they are still a pleasure. There are plot holes with the Gathering that don't make it a perfect mesh with the rest of the series, and certain aspects (character makeup, lighting, the weapons that make a sound like a nerf gun when they shoot) were changed before the series. In the Beginning is a much better place to start.
Rating:
Summary: It all starts here....
Review: This is a great intro to the five year self contained story written by JMS. A LOT of foundation work for the series, and a fun reference point for later viewing. I'm only dinging it for one star because the special features are lacking. Fortunately, WB picked up on the value of this and has been compensating on the first two seasons it has released so far. These are great movies that are decent on their own, but skyrocket in sentimental/viewing value when taken into consideration of the series as a whole.
Rating:
Summary: B5 The Gathering & In the Beginning - Exceptional beginnings
Review: The Gathering This is the genesis of one of Science Fiction's most highly acclaimed on going, epic sagas. "This is Babylon 5, the last of the Babylon stations and this is its story!" There is no more poignant way to describe the beginning of this exceptional series. In no uncertain terms, the universe created here by J. Michael Straczynski is one of well thought out characterizations and a rich history doled out in small or large portions per episode. The Gathering is just the beginning of what was to become the first episodic television series that tells its story over the span of five years! According to the shows creator, J. Michael Straczynski the idea for this great series came in the form of an epiphany while taking a shower which in and of itself is amazing enough! This pilot episode is also where they worked out many of the bugs in the show that would help a year later when the series began. Michael O'Hare in the role of Commander Sinclair was obviously one of the first things they decided they had to correct. Given that he was probably on a one year contract, they honored that but you could tell from early on in the first season that the shows creator had already worked out a way to move him out and make room for Captain Sheridan. Other obvious changes between this pilot and the first episode are some of the alien's costumes and make up. There were minor changes to the Narn ambassador G'Kar and some major changes to the Minbari ambassador, Delenn. The changes made to Delenn were very much needed because in this pilot she looked more like a gremlin than the beautiful woman that Mira Furlan is. Other characters that didn't pan out were Dr. Benjamin Kyle and Lt. Commander Laurel Takashima. The premise: The Gathering is basically set around introducing the main players in this new and wonderful series. This is fortunate for the ones who made the first cut and not so fortunate for those who did not. When Kosh, the Vorlon Ambassador arrives on the station an attempt is made on his life and not too long thereafter the stations own commanding officer, Commander Jeffrey Sinclair is accused of the crime. In the Beginning This is a tremendously enjoyable prequel that finally brought to the screen everything that had been alluded to in the above pilot and during the first four seasons of Babylon 5. Just as when this first aired it was and is a true treasure in the Babylon 5 library of DVD's. It is in good keeping with J. Michael Stracynski's epic style and nature of story telling. The premise: In the beginning of this superb production we're taken to the year 2278 where we meet Emperor Mollari who sits upon his throne in his palace where the rest of Centauri is in ruins. Two small children are running and playing in the palace and they happen upon the room where Emperor Mollari sits in contemplation. A hand maiden attempts to extricate the children from the room before the Emperor becomes angered but to her surprise he calls her and the children to him. In his most generous of tones he offers the young boy to be Emperor for five minutes and tells him he may give one order. The child chooses a story, one of war and conquest whereas the girl wishes for a story of love. Emperor Mollari offers them a story containing both... Here we're taken to more than ten years before the creation of Babylon 5 and brought in upon the "history" of the war between Earth and Minbari. We're treated to everything that we've come to expect from J. Michael Stracynski's superb writing style as there is great intrigue and several things alluded to during the series reach payoff in this prequel. I only have one complaint or two about this DVD and it is purely a minor one; there are no special features to it whatsoever. Additionally, the packaging seems a bit odd in that throwing the series pilot on the same DVD with a prequel that was made between the fourth and fifth seasons seems a bit odd! Either way, I highly recommend this DVD to those who are fans of or are interested in this exceptional Science Fiction series! {ssintrepid}
Rating:
Summary: Excellent content - mediocre package
Review: I am not the first to say this. 1. The content of this DVD is 5 stars. In The Beginning and The Gathering are two quality pieces of SF. It is a pleasure to begin replacing by tapes. 2. The DVD presentation is lacking both quality and extras. A real shame. 3 stars. Carey
| 
