Rating: 
Summary: Not as advertised, not the best
Review: As you have no doubt already read, this is *not* the premiere movie from 1993 but rather the 1998 TNT version. That irked me, and I hope that the distributors of this movie and amazon.com correct this mistake. This DVD literally contains an ad for Season 1 on DVD and the TNT version of "The Gathering". Nothing else. There's not even a menu on this DVD. This is as bare-bones as it gets, but then again, you are paying a few bucks for it so you get what you pay for. The only reason this merits two stars is literally the content. This is a editing of the movie that started it all for Babylon 5, laying the groundwork for a five year storyline. While it can seem a bit drab and drawn out, if you watch the show you will return to this movie and see things you never saw before. For completists, get this. For everyone else, wait until the Babylon 5 movies set comes out and buy that instead. You will get a much better experience with the same movie as part of that set.
Rating:
Summary: Not as advertised, not the best
Review: As you have no doubt already read, this is *not* the premiere movie from 1993 but rather the 1998 TNT version. That irked me, and I hope that the distributors of this movie and amazon.com correct this mistake. This DVD literally contains an ad for Season 1 on DVD and the TNT version of "The Gathering". Nothing else. There's not even a menu on this DVD. This is as bare-bones as it gets, but then again, you are paying a few bucks for it so you get what you pay for. The only reason this merits two stars is literally the content. This is a editing of the movie that started it all for Babylon 5, laying the groundwork for a five year storyline. While it can seem a bit drab and drawn out, if you watch the show you will return to this movie and see things you never saw before. For completists, get this. For everyone else, wait until the Babylon 5 movies set comes out and buy that instead. You will get a much better experience with the same movie as part of that set.
Rating: 
Summary: The beginning of diplomatic tussles on Babylon 5
Review: Because it was not until this year that I finally got around to watching "Babylon 5" I watched this pilot movie, "The Gathering," after watching the prequel movie, "In the Beginning," which was made four years later and provided the back story on the Earth-Minbari War. Anybody who adopts a similar approach to the television series are 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 pilot (essentially a two-part episode) 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: Not bad, not bad at all
Review: Definately worth watching. Sets the tone well for the whole 5-year story, with nice little tidbits of foreShadowing to whet the appetite...such as Kosh's comment to the assassin disguised as Sinclair: "Enthil'sa Valen."
Rating:
Summary: Babylon 5's pilot TV Movie The Gathering now in WIDESCREEN!
Review: I bought this DVD in the store even though I have the original two-story release DVD The Gathering/In the Beginning and am planning to get the movie box set. The reason I did so was because that it said on the label that it was the original pilot episode from March 8, 1993. That version was only ever released on VHS not DVD. I was skeptical but for a few dollars I decided to take a chance. Not to my surprise it was the TNT Special Edition not the original. The Gathering Special Edition much like the Star Wars Special Editions added scenes, deleted scenes and redid effects and dialogue. Strangely the creator of B5 J. Michael Straczynski was praised by his fans for doing so whereas Lucas was condemned for his changes. The thing though that made this DVD worth getting after all was that they have reformatted the movie which was only made in 1:33:1 fullscreen to a widescreen presentation like they did the Kung Fu TV series DVD's even though the labeling on the back says it is in standard format like it's original exhibition.
Rating:
Summary: This isn't the original pilot as the package claims
Review: I bought this DVD thinking they had finally released the original pilot shown in 1993 (as the package says) with Stewart Copeland doing the music... it isn't. It is the same version as the one included with IN THE BEGINING.
Having said this, even if the package is deceptive, it is still a well made murder mystery. It takes you on a tour of the station, and introduces all the characters without too much standing around talking as most pilots have.
It is a good start for the series... I just wish it was the original version... my recording of the original pilot on VHS (I took it off the television) is showing it's age!
Rating:
Summary: Babylon 5 -- And So It Begins
Review: I still remember the first time I saw this pilot episode on television. Having watched the Star Trek franchises for many years, I thought they were the benchmark against which all other science fiction storylines would be compared. My first impression of the B5 pilot, "The Gathering," seemed to bear that out. I felt this B5 storyline was too dark, and I especially disliked the make-up of Mira Furlan's character, D'Lenn. She looked TOO evil, especially her chin. How could a prominent character like hers project a sense of compassion for the human race? "Humans form communities, and from that comes a strength that no race can defeat." She would make a statement like this later in the series. So, it would do her character an injustice to make her look like an evil and malevolent person. Then there was G'Kar -- he, too, had an evil look to him. Granted, his race is malevolent and seeks only to advance its personal agenda, and it has suffered dearly at the hands of its former masters, the Centauri. But I got no sense that there was any redeeming quality in G'Kar, and that he would just be a stereotypically evil person. Then there was Londo Mollari -- I thought of him as a "Broom Head." He looked like all he was good for was sweeping up messes. Nor did he project a sense of authority that was due his position. In effect, he was nothing more than a clown. I also didn't like the musical score for the original pilot episode. It made Babylon 5 feel like a funeral parlour, rather than "Our last, best hope for peace." In essence, I felt that "The Gathering" was a waste of time, and that it had no future on television. However, having seen how the five-year storyline unfolded after that pilot episode, I really started to appreciate JMS's vision. In addition, when the new version of "The Gathering" came out on DVD in 2001, I felt that JMS had really done a good job of cleaning the pilot episode up. There was a new sound track that didn't feel as depressing, although it still retained that dark nature that I came to appreciate even better than I originally did. Then there are the additional scenes that were put in, especially those with Sinclair and his girlfriend. These added more depth to the plot. I was also happy to see in the series that Mira Furlan lost the evil chin and that the facial features of Andreas Katsulas' character were also softened to make him look less malevolent. All in all, this new version of the pilot episode is much better than its original broadcast in 1993. While I cannot give it five stars out of five, it definitely deserves four stars for having been cleaned up.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the best, but still fun to watch.
Review: Many are called... and each has his place in the events to follow. We meet Sinclair, the first Commanding officer of B5. A decent man with a "hole in his mind". In the past he has fought bravely on the Line, but his *real* past -or future- lies a thousand years away. We also meet Garibaldi, the security chief, who has allowed his addiction to ruin his life numerous times in the past. This is his chance to make a difference, if he can stay sober. We see Dellen, the Minbari ambassador, with slightly different features that the series, and more ruthless as well. We also see Mollari, the Centauri ambassador and someone we may like. Just as we may dislike the Narn ambassador, G'Kar, and imperialistic and warlike individual. But first impressions can be deceiving. Because, as G'Kar states in a later episode: "no one here is what he appears"... In this pilot episode, the story goes like this: The arrival of the Vorlon ambassador, Kosh, is almost at hand. Everyone expects this with great anticipation, because no one so far has seen a Vorlon (and lived, if I may add). However, when Kosh sets foot (?) on the station an attempt is made on his life. Sinclair is accused for this, and he has to set things straight. Otherwise, the future (and the past) of this station is in grave danger. Apart from the great storyline, the depth in character development and the philosophical threads, this series has exceptional effects and make up. The alien races look really alien, even dress and behave as such. This is the best SF series you can ever find.
Rating:
Summary: The Gathering - Series Pilot
Review: Overall, I felt like this production was a bit disappointing. Being a diehard Babylon 5 fan I expected more from this movie. But to be fair, I must also say that as disappointed as I was with this movie, it is an important part of the overall storyline of Babylon 5. What I felt detracted from the story was not necessarily the actual storyline, (which was good overall). It was more along the technical presentation of the movie. I felt that the acting was rather poor on most everybody's part. This is the basic element that distracted me from truly enjoying it. But on the other hand, as I stated above, the story was good and very important in setting up the rest of the series. The computer graphic generation was excellent and really saved the movie from falling short. The music, composed by Christopher Franke, is excellent. It does the job of drawing the viewer in while still not trampling over what is happening at the moment. It is definitely worth watching if you have not seen it before.
Rating:
Summary: Slow start for a good series
Review: The Gathering is an interesting, yet unspectacular start to this generally good series. The storyline appears as straightforward intrigue. Several tantalizing hints of later series developments are dangled for the viewer, and the story is not afraid to leave certain questions unanswered or unelucidated. The action climax, however, fails miserably for the patient, reasoned viewer, with too many illogical and downright stupid events happening all at once to be believable. The pilot also suffers from a supreme case of overacting from almost all the key cast members during various scenes, especially Michael O'Hare in the role of Jeffery Sinclair, Patricia Tallman as Lyta Alexander, and to a lesser extent Andreas Katsulas as G'Kar. Although not immune, one bright spot in this respect is Peter Jurasik (Londo Mollari), playing several scenes excellently. Perhaps one should blame the directing for the preponderance of the problems here, as the overacting is so widespread. Hurried editing at times also hurts the overall quality of the production. Except for several oblique references in later shows to the events in this show and the incredible brown eyes (sorry I'm a sucker for eyes like that) of Patricia Tallman, who only reappears near the end of the series, little would be missed by starting with episode two. If this episode is found wanting, however, take heart. It only gets better from here.
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