Rating: 
Summary: not great, but good
Review: I never viewed Babylon 5 in its' initial run. I caught one episode, from this season, and that was it. So, i can only state my opinion on the dvd presentation of the series. As anyone who has followed a series from its' inception to finale can state, there is a definitive difference between watching a series on tv, and watching it on dvd (or video).I love Babylon 5. Every good thing that any scifi geek has ever told you about it being it best science fiction series produced is dead on. And yet one cannot really give the first season a great review. There are very few series that could warrant such a review for the first season, simply because there are always growing pains. This first season isn't bad, it's simply mediocre. It's slow in its character development, there are a lot of serial (self-contained) episodes, the dialogue is pretty bad at times (eg. "that's on a need to know basis, and you don't need to know"), and one of the actors is quite horrible (but thank [god] they get rid of her in the second season). Really, it all boils down to this; if you are unsure as to whether you want to purchase the series, start on series 2. You'll be pleasantly surprised. You'll continue on, and find you need the first for your collection. You really cannot go wrong with this show, but I can see as how the first season would be off-putting. So, rather than give it a stellar review, I give you this. Hopefully you will come to know, and love, Babylon 5 as I have.
Rating: 
Summary: This is one of the worst shows I've ever seen
Review: I am a big fan of Science Fiction and I had heard that Babylon 5 was the "Best Science Fiction Show ever made", but I do not understand what all the fuss is about. After having watched the 1st season, I have to say that this is one of the worst shows I've ever seen. The acting is horrible and the dialogue doesn't even come up to B-movie standards. The special effects are interesting, but a show needs a lot more than special effects to be good. I am going to rent the 2nd Season, as I've heard it's better than the 1st, but it needs to be a lot better for this show to keep me interested. It's not even bad enough to be amusing. If you're thinking of buying this show, save your money, it's not worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: Generally quite disappointing
Review: This show was a big letdown for me. The writing is poor, and the acting is worse. I found it extremely difficult to achieve even the most mild level of emotional engagement with the characters or interest in the storyline. There were a handful of episodes (mainly those connected with the larger story arcs) that rose above the rest, (which is why I gave it two stars) but even the best episode in this season did not hold the interest for me of even an average episode of TNG or DS9. Special effects, audio and video were also nothing to write home about. To be fair to the creators of B5, I should say that I only watched the first season and other reviewers have commented that subsequent seasons are better, but after this experience I have little interest in finding out for myself.
Rating:
Summary: BEST SHOW EVER. Lousy first season. Skip to season 2.
Review: "We live for the One."
Yes, Babylon 5 is the best sci-fi show ever produced, but I think the B5 fans are being too generous with Season 1. Why? Because most of the episodes were NOT written by J.Michael Straczynski (series creator) but by outside help. Result: Lousy B-movie scripts. SO LET'S BE HONEST: Season 1 only has 3 good episodes: The Premiere, The Finale, and the Season Title "Signs and Portents". The rest is either crap, or simply boring. SO IF YOU'RE NEW TO BABYLON 5 then I recommend you start with season 2... which is where the show truly starts to shine.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent season of an excellent show... decent set
Review: Okay, we all know how TV shows on DVD work... if you're here looking at it, chances are you're familiar with the show. Maybe you've only seen the show a couple times, but it really needs no introduction. I won't spend much time on the show's content here. There are obvious weak spots in some of the acting, and the effects/costuming are definitely right out of the '90s, but you can't hold that against the show, or against this set. When you're starting a *very* ambitious project, and you have real-world constraints (budgets, time, casting restrictions), you've gotta expect to not get a perfect "10" on every point. Babylon 5 -- on the whole -- came very close. And while the first season is arguably the weakest of the five (season 5 gives it a run for its money on that front), it blew away my expectations for the show. So, why only 4 stars? Nothing against Babylon 5, but more against Warner Brothers' packaging and special features. The box is by no means terrible, but definitely could have been better. Special features are nice, but they do not abound. In fact, there are disks that don't have any features, which is a pretty major bummer when you're trying to waste an entire afternoon with beer and B5. But hey, if you're looking to kill an afternoon with B5, this is the season to do it with. The story arc is in place, but all the episodes stand alone well enough for lots of casual, repeated viewing.
Rating:
Summary: The Beginning Of An Epic Space Opera...
Review: I remember once my local TV Station aired a few episodes of Babylon 5. It never complete all 5 seasons but rather just skip a few episodes here and there. I watch a few, wasn't much interested then. Few years later, couple of friends of mine who were fans of Babylon 5 had asked me to get it on DVD. The first thing they said was start with Season 2. I was hesistated for a moment and then finally, find the courage to get Season 1 instead of 2 (I don't enjoy jumping in the middle for nothing). So I got it, watched all 22 episodes, watched the extras and once its done... I realize that this series is worth watching. At first, I notice the backdrop and special effects were rather dull at the beginning. But after few episodes and right in the middle of Season 1, everything starts off. I realize there is a story to be told here. A space epic saga that is big it takes 5 seasons to complete (or so I heard from the creator). And at the end of Season 1, I know the finale is so good, I had to get Season 2 to know more. It has a good story to begin with in Season 1. But what pulls it down are the scenes and special effects. The cast on the other hand were great. Michael O'Hare had the leadership power in this series (and its sad after Season 1 he had to go). Jerry Doyle, Mira Furlan, Richard Biggs, Claudia Christian & the rest of the cast were great. After season 1, its the script and the cast that create a beginning for Babylon 5 and had earn a fan. On to Season 2...
Rating: 
Summary: The best SF TV series America has produced.
Review: I should qualify that statement slightly; Babylon5 is not the most IMPORTANT, and there is a certain quality to originality and "boldly going where no man has gone before" which the original (though not later) Star Trek can lay claim to. On those terms, and for its time, Star Trek (original) is a better show. In terms of entertainment, consistency, intricacy, acting, and just about everything else, Babylon 5 stood, and still stands, head and shoulders above everything else the U.S. networks have aired. Just the fact that it maintained a reasonable level of rational consistency was enough to do that -- i.e., that a fact or comment made in Episode 3 would be remembered, and its significance used, 30 episodes later, and that things weren't allowed to happen that contradicted prior episodes (with some minor exceptions generally due to interference from outside). The first season featured Michael O'Hare as Commander Jeffrey Sinclair; Sinclair was later replaced by Captain John Sheridan. O'Hare has often been accused of wooden acting in this one, a very unfair and incorrect characterization in my opinion. Sinclair was a man doing his job, a military man with a reserve and a quiet approach when possible. O'Hare played him brilliantly, making him a much deeper character than Sheridan (played by Bruce Boxleitner) in many ways. This is not to denigrate the character of Sheridan; he was a Man on a White Horse and was a better choice for the Shadow War sequence, but many of the earlier episodes would not have been served so well by a Hero; they needed someone like Sinclair. CHARACTERS are actually the strong point of Babylon 5. An early quote from one of them is very apropos: "No one on Babylon 5 is exactly what they seem." -- Ambassador G'Kar. Everyone, even the most straighforward, has hidden depths or secrets which emerge, sometimes at the most unexpected times. While I like all of them, it is generally agreed that the two most impressive characters are the Centauri ambassador, Mollari (Peter Jurasik) and the Narn ambassador, G'Kar (Andreas Katslukas). Both go through tremendous personal change and growth in the series, with their personal attitude towards each other ranging from utter loathing through adversarial respect to pity and even to friendship, depending on the point in the series. Bab5's overall plotline isn't terribly original (it's often described as "Lord of the Lens", as it draws strongly on plot elements from Lord of the Rings and Doc Smith's Lensman series), but it's well done. One other thing Babylon 5 is noted for is its honest attempt to at least pay attention to the laws of space physics when possible, leading to some very interesting space combat sequences. If you haven't seen this one, try it. BE WARNED: This is a serial, a coherent story. DO NOT WATCH SCATTERED EPISODES. Babylon 5 loses its impact when viewed piecemeal; episodes that can leave one gasping when watched in sequence can produce a "so what?" reaction in those who don't have the background.
Rating:
Summary: Babylon 5 - The Complete First Season
Review: The Best Space Science Fiction there ever was a "thinking men's or woman's SF Classic" it Babylon 5 had it all life and death war love! No silliness' like Star Trek and Star wars!!!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Why is this show so well liked?
Review: Someone needs to explain to me why this show is deified as much as it is. It wasn't well-written (poorly used plot devices, no tension, juvenile humor based on some very old jokes, pointless and meandering speeches, etc.) and it wasn't well-conceived. Poor dialogue, dull plots and lack-luster, one-dimensional characters that were painfully stereotyped. Oh, and did I forget to mention a host of alien races so poorly developed and sketched out that it makes one wonder why? JMS' problem as a writer is he assumes that his ideas are so new, complex, witty and clever that he had to dumb down his work so the audience would get it, but in reality he insults any person with a greater than 6th grade education. His ideas are stale, utilized much better in other works, and not nearly as profound as he thinks. And for those fans who would say "you just don't get it" - I do get it, and all the superficially epic-looking battles in the world won't compensate for shotty writing.
Rating:
Summary: Not your average sci-fi show
Review: If you're a fan of sci-fi television, i think you could hardly find a better show. Don't pop these episodes in your DVD player expecting to see Star Trek, though. This is a much different series, though some of the writing is done by those who wrote Star Trek. These guys combined some of the best sci-fi writers around, and brought them together to create what they would consider a great show. They succeeded. To me, much of the technology is not beyond what I could see actually occuring, with a lot of thought put into HOW the technology works, instead of Star Trek, where they throw a lot of techno-babble into the script. This stuff is thought out. Season 1 is a little slow, but it all bulds up to the next 4 seasons. This show is like a big novel, where the first chapters are spent setting up the world and the characters that are going to be making up the story you are about to enjoy. Every episode adds something to the story, whether large or small, and the story gets better and better as you continue on. I highly reccommend this entire series to any sci-fi fan out there with but one warning: beware. this show is addictive. when you gt through with season 1, you will wish that you had bought the rest.
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