Rating: 
Summary: The Signs and Portents...
Review: What strikes me most about the first season of B5 is its ability to draw you into the storyline so early into the series. It is fortunate for fans and newbies alike that each season is being released in its entirety (I had missed the series on tv, and regretted it because of all the praise the show received.) The price of the discs is fair, although I have seen this particular season for less. The actor Michael O' Hare maybe does not get enough credit for his portrayal of B5's first captain. He is a Zen like figure, who rarely exposes any hint of doubt about his duties. His is an imposing presence, and one that establishes the seriousness of the plight of the B5 station. I have only watched the first three seasons so far, and have seen the series reach such heights of greatness in the second and third seasons with Bruce Boxleitner taking on the role, that I almost forgot how much I enjoyed the first season as well. It lays a solid groundwork for the next two seasons, and definitely is a landmark in the history of Science Fiction Television.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece for Television
Review: Babylon 5 is a rare show indeed it was a novel for television with each season a book and every show a chapter. I think that the first season is the weakest in the five year run but yet it laid the foundation for seasons to come. I am really pleased with the Dvd compilation released by warner brothers they did a very good job with it. For one the picture quality is very good and only a little grain and dust show up. Also if you compare the picture quality with the tapes and the original broadcast footage the dvd picture is vastly supieror. They also threw some good extras in to and did something that was really great, they through in the original previews of the original episodes and is something that is not used enough in other dvd releases of tv shows. But to reiterate, the first season even though it was the weakest season in the five season run it was still a great season.
Rating:
Summary: Greatest Entertainment Show On Earth
Review: When I watched the pilot when it first aired I couldn't get over the funky hairdo of the Centauri so I never watched it again until I gave the show another chance and bought this boxset. Well, I now have a new favourite TV show that nothing will ever surpass, Not even The Simpsons, Stargate SG-1 or The Saint. I can say this with confidence and great ease. That's how good it is. They will never make another show better. Bonus Features: Audio commentary on episodes "Signs And Portents" & "Chrysalis". Two documentaries. Trailers and other features.
Sad thing is there are no deleted scenes. I suppose they are following the current trend and intend on squeezing more money out of us a few years on down the road. So typical.
Rating:
Summary: ... And so it begins
Review: As the start of the Babylon 5 series, this first season, titled "Signs and Portents" is aptly named. So many things in the first season are revisited in other seasons...the reappearance of Babylon 4 in "Babylon Squared" for instance.
In my humble opinion, Babylon 5 is the best science fiction ever produced on television so far...and I am a loyal Star Trek fan!
Definitely worth the price.
Rating: 
Summary: A few tracks had "skipping"
Review: Overall the quality of the transfer looks good on my 51 inch TV but two of the episodes had segments that skipped back to the first track. The surround sound was a bit disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome stories, OK DVD Features.
Review: Babylon 5 is truly one of the most entertaining, well written space operas out there. For you Star Trek fans, this is NOT the same. There are no cute happy endings, no silly androids, and no stories written by some high school kid who had spare time on the weekend. This is the first part of a 5 year story that all seamlessly comes together like a huge novel. I won't get into details about all the episodes, I will just say that for the truly intelligent viewer out there, Babylon 5 is what you are looking for. The DVD set is excellent for keeping up with the story, unlike on TV when 8 weeks can go by after an episode that has to do with the new episode. Dialogues and politics are very realistic, and stay that way. No utopian happy endings, or feel good love and peace, but realpolitik of the cosmic variety. And how refreshing to hear a military commander of a quasi-military ship say things like "Surrender, or be destroyed!" My only gripe is on the DVD features. I would have loved to have heard so much more from the writers, directors, and actors about what is going on in the episodes. There is only commentary in 2 of the episodes. Supposedly it got better in the later DVD sets. (Which I am eagerly buying on Amazon right now!) I think these DVDs are spawning a huge new craze in SCI-FI again. A lot of my friends never saw the show on TV, and have been BEGGING for more DVDs after seeing the first one! You will not be sorry you purchased this.
Rating:
Summary: a great beginning
Review: I want to second what another reviewer said. I too was skeptical about this. I was a big trekkie fan when this show first came out. I had seen the commercials all the time and I kept thinking this was just a cheap imitation of Star Trek. How wrong it turns out I have been. I had been reading the reviews of the First Season of Babylon 5 as it appeared on Amazon.com, everybody kept saying how good it was. I figured I should give it a try. I bought this and was impressed. I had known that this was a full five season story, and not just a monster-of-the-week show like many others out there. the first season begins with the introduction of two major characters, Londo Molari and G'Kar, two ambassadors of two races at war against each other. The first season plays up their conflicts while giving numerous fore'shadows' (pun intended), to a greater conflict looming on the horizon. The first season plays well on the foreshadowing as it doesn't divulge much of what is to come, leaving the viewer surprised when it starts to culminate in season three, with explosive results. Season Three, though, works so well because it was well set up by the stories in seasons one and two. To fully get the payoff in seasons three and four, you need to watch the beginning. You will not be disappointed. A MUST OWN!
Rating:
Summary: The best Sci-Fi TV saga begins...
Review: First, disclaimers: I am a huge fan of the series and the entire Babylon 5 universe. I am also a huge fan of Joe Straczynski's writing and his notion of what makes a great story. Given that, let's consider this offering. I realize why <i>"In the Beginning"</i> was not included: casting changes, design changes, make-up changes, etc., would have made it too obvious that the series was designed after the pilot was completed. Otherwise, we have an introduction to an incredibly rich cast of characters, and we see the beginnings of the structure Mr. Straczynski laid out for the rest of the five-year plot. In fact, this is precisely what makes this the best saga yet to be put on TV: it's not just a premise and a series of episodes. The author takes on huge concepts, and a truly galactic scope, and what's really important is that <b>he delivers</b>. My biggest beef with this, as with the other collections, is that <b>too few</b> of the episodes have any commentaries. This year, we only hear from the author. In years two and three we hear from the actors as well, and just last night I was rolling on the floor laughing at the remarks Jerry Doyle was making in a commentary for an episode in Season Three. I would pay extra just to have every episode narrated by the author or the actors. Mr. Straczynski mentioned that it's hard for him to do it, sitting alone in a room, and relating it to the feats of acting Bruce Boxlightner and others had to perform when acting to effects, or the "Wurlitzer," otherwise known as Kosh's costume. OK, I accept that. But <b>please, for your fans</b>!...
Rating: 
Summary: I was skeptical at first, but...
Review: Ok, I'll admit having grown up in the "Trekkie universe", I was quite skeptical that any other sci-fi series would be up to par, and quite frankly it was due to other Trek buyers' suggestions to buy Babylon 5 and not to mention the very crucial fact that I had finished all the DS9 currently out and I was going through "withdrawl"...well, that being said, after watching just a little over half the first season, I was really more than pleasantly surprised! Obvious DS9 parallels aside, it's not TREK and it's surely not meant to be, but that is what gives it its own merits, the continuing story line is already wonderful and the charcters are indeed well developed. (But I could do without the comical effect of the Centauri hair, and the rather too scary look of the Narns). In fact, a new thing in a sci-fi series is a marked continuing real sense of humour, bravo! While Trek will always remain my first love, B5 has created a great new universe, and surely there is room enough for both, and I am deeply grateful for the wonderful creativity of JMS, it is pure entertainment with a thoughtful side, too. I gave it only 4 stars because the image quality is far from good, it looks sometimes like old video, but as I said before, the storyline is more important here, and that, is EXCELLENT.
Rating:
Summary: Babylon 5 - The Complete First Season DVD
Review: I know the story in first season is weak so it is the beginning of story. It is excellent chronologly timeline of story. But I am disppointed with Warner Bros about no closed captioning on special features, ie, commentary.
|
