Rating: 
Summary: Babylon 5 - The Complete First Season
Review: If you are a Babylon 5 fan, then this DVD edition of the complete first season is for you! Outstanding presentation and many extra features (such as the Babylon 5 tour) that could not have been pulled off on VHS make it worth that extra step above buying the VHS version. Another reason to get this series on DVD; it is not currently being played in syndication that I am aware of, so catching up on the series is almost impossible if you are pursuing the idea of becoming a "true fan". See the series for the first time in the right way; in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound and in widescreen format! I can't wait until the second season is released...
Rating: 
Summary: Really bad transfer!
Review: Babylon 5 achieved the kind of character development and plot continuity that took STNG 3 seasons to acomplish. This is a complimen to the wonderful writers on teh series. I loved the LightWave coputer-generated graphics and although they look anachronistic by today's standards, there is still no series that uses all CG effects with the scale and attention to detail B5 had. I glue myeyes to my HDTV monitor and soak up the lucious detail in the ships. This brings me to my only criticism of the DVD. The transfer is horrible. One woudl thinkt that the prints would be preserved in a better state or that a Betacam tape would be available. However, the episodes are full of scratches, and on some dark scenes, the graniness is nearly unbearable. Having owned the first 4 seasons of Start Trek TNG, I was used to a pristine transfer. The sound is first rate on the set so I was so surprised by the terrible film transfer. Still, I would recommedn this series to any sci-fi fan out there. I grew use to the characters and their deveoplments. I look forward to the future releases.
Rating:
Summary: Finally! Finally! Finally!
Review: My wife and I have been waiting for the B5 series to come out on DVD and it has FINALLY ARRIVED!!! We like Trek a lot but nothing compared to the richness and full story-telling scope B5 so adeptly portrayed....
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!!! I want all 5 seasons!!!
Review: I agree 100% with the reviews already written about this wonderful sci-fi saga. The best ever!!! I grew up with Star Trek - the original series. Hated the other "Treks" I did not know really why, untill B5. Maybe DS9 comes close, but it cannot be compared to a masterpiece like B5. Babylon 5 adds to the movies a new dimension: You are invited into the story by the introductory narrative given by one of the characters from the story, just like a good storyteller does ("Space above and beyond" series had the same kind of introduction to each episode). This technique is improved in the following seasons by having some of the characters "speaking their souls" in some parts of the episodes just like any good book does. And this places you inside the characters' mind, seeing the story from the character's point of view. It also has wonderful sequences of silence, with no dialogues at all, just the music and flashes of the faces (as I recall some of the battle scenes from the third and fourth seasons, that makes you feel like you are "live" in the battle, side by side with the fighters!) If you like Sci-fi, serious Sci-fi, this is a MUST: well planned, wonderfully developed, thought provoking. Buy it and ask for the entire saga, all 5 seasons, otherwise we will be loosing the best that is yet to come. As to the DVD set, I really liked it. I was gladly surprised by the way this first season set is built. The disks are not intended to be sold individually but as a set, which is really great. I loved having the option of playing all the episodes at once or selecting a particular episode. I also loved the episodes' previews that are included. I had the impression that this box set was really carefully created to the fans of the series not to a casual viewer. I want more, I want all 5 seasons as soon as possible!!!
Rating:
Summary: B5 First Season DVD Set
Review: If you're reading this, then I'll assume that you're already familure with the B5 Series, and trying to deceide if this is worth the [$]... The DVD set benifits from being released on DVD as a set first, rather than one/two eppisodes at a time. You get the full year (I forget 21 or 22 epps) in 5 discs (unlike Farscape's 11 disc set). It's easy to follow the compleate season as it progresses from one week to the next. Unlike Star Trek this is one of those shows that you want to watch in order without missing a single one. Not all problems are magically solved in the last 5 minutes of the epp, and each epp sets up a little that will bit that will come into play in seasons 2, 3, and 4. (Season 3 and 4 being the best in my opinion) This entire show is one that I will want to have all of, and after you see what is to come you should too. ________ Other notes:
The sound is definatly better with 5.1 Dolby (as apposed to the original Pro Logic), and many of the CG scenes have been re-rendered at DVD resolution - Much better that what originally aired on TV.
Rating:
Summary: Epic Story - Well Told!!
Review: B5 is one the great epic stories worthy of being compared to LOTR. JMS, over five American TV seasons, crafts a story of depth and wonder. This is one of the most ambitious stories ever tried on American Television. The best extra in this set is the Commentary JMS does for two of the stories. I hope that with the coming releases, he will provide more commentary for more of the episodes. The only knock that I have against this set, and against the entire series as well, is the lack of audio quality. Without the kind of special sound effects heard on most DVD releases, B5 sounds flat. If you have invested in Home Theater as I have, you will find the listening experience unfulfilling. Here is hoping that the series is such a hit on DVD that Warner Bros and JMS will be able to create some quality sound effects in the future and apply them to selected episodes. I believe that the visuals effects, that at first seemed flat on broadcast TV, appear much more rich on DVD. There are scenes that I remember from SIGNS AND PORTENTS that didn't impress me when I first viewed the series that are richer and more ambitious that I had realized in 1994. Overall, I believe the story trumps the sonic weakness of the presentation. I'll always remember BABYLON 5 as one of the great TV Series and personal experiences of my entire life!!
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: I have always wanted to watch Babylon 5 from the beginning, as I have only caught glimpses of it here and there in the past. Now I can with this new DVD release! This is a great way to watch the series from the beginning, in digital 5.1 surround sound, at a relatively good price (compared to the videos). THIS SHOW IS EXCITING and raises many questions about politics, religion, philiosophy, war, love, and hate. All you have to do is read between the lines. TAKE THE PLUNGE AND GET THIS DVD SET!
Rating:
Summary: DVD AT LAST!
Review: Having read the reviews that lament the poor quality of the DVD transfers, I feel I should try to put thing into perspective. Yes, the DVD transfers could have been better, but they are not aweful either. (I use a...progressive scan DVD player with component feeds into a 32" HDTV flat screen monitor) I say give thanks that studio bean counters decided to release season one on DVD in the first place. The bottom line to them will always money. The first season was probably released on a tight budget in order to gauge sales potential. If initial sales are high, we will likely see future seasons released on DVD in record time. If sales are slow, we may not see future B5 DVD releases for a long time, or at all. Conclusion: if you are a B5 fan, don't wait - buy the first season right now. Then email WB demanding that the remaining seasons be released on DVD with better DVD transfers. Just think of how many CDs and DVDs have been re-released in remixed, remastered and/or expanded form because sales of the initial, inferior transfer were high enough to justify a properly mastered "deluxe" edition. In any case, watching a less than pristine B5 DVD is still more enjoyable than watching old DirecTV-sourced VHS tapes. No commercials, better picture and better sound, Besides, the attraction of B5 has always been its rich and complex story line and characters, not the special effects.
Rating:
Summary: Well done DVDs, some technical issues.need fixing.
Review: The series is great. The DVDs play in Wide screen. I've anxiously awaited the release of the remaining seasons.
There are 3 technical issues worth mentioning. They used 6 single DVDs for the release. That's a huge improvement over the 2/DVD releases often seen of other TV series.
The case, however is brittle and slick plastic. Don't drop it. The set I recieved was damaged before shipping. The holder design is OK but, the plastic is too slick to hold the DVDs in place reliably and one of them slipped out of place and was scratched, marred too badly for my machine to read that DVD. Great series. Great extras (at least those in english) Disk 4 & 6 commentarries looks to be the episodes in French. I look forward to the rest of this series and also to the Crusaders series release.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent series marred by shoddy production
Review: I love the series but the quality here is at best VHS-level.
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