Rating: 
Summary: A Classic that fulfills television's potential.
Review: Television all too often fails us with the mind numbing brain candy that is so prevalent in it's prime time scheduling. Babylon 5 is the delightful exception to that judgement. This series brought to life the Arthurian legend in a futuristic space station. With fine character development; riveting action sequences; surprisingly complex plot twists; episodes worthy of Shakespeare's pen; and special effects which set a new standard for the small screen; JMS created a series which is timeless. Of note, the series also bravely introduced characters who were practicing monks of the Cistercian Order in the Roman Catholic Church and did so with a respect and reverence for these men of faith without turning them into grotesque comic caricatures - a sad ploy used all too often by networks for cheap laughs.This series was well worth the wait in DVD format. If you can only afford to buy one television series in DVD, buy this one. It is some of the very best entertainment television has offered. Period. Would that all television programming could be thus.
Rating:
Summary: The reward
Review: This season is the unbelievably gratifying reward for watching seasons 1 and 2 (as if they weren't rewards in and of themselves).
This is the season that turned me from an average avid B5 watcher and follower, someone who almost merely used B5 to fill the sci-fi TV series void, into a legitimate B5 advocate and a true fanatic. It is the only series that I would ever "force" on anyone... and at my own peril, even the closed-minded, antiquated, self-elitist, purist subset of the trekker population.
This season puts the B5 universe on the edge of despair, with astounding changes, engaging character development, and delightful revelations and begs one to proclaim JMS a genius.
Unlike most series where seasons merely complement/continue/ruin previous seasons, this season completely renovates your concepts and ideas of the first two seasons with a mental "Ahaaaah!!"
This is the pinacle season of quite arguably THE BEST TV sci-fi series ever to air (at least in the US, but quite probably anywhere). And luckily for us, season 4 is a great resolution season of nearly equal quality. (Though it would have been interesting to see how seasons 4 and 5 would have paced if JMS had been allowed to make them as he intended and without the mass problems from the TV execs.)
Rating:
Summary: Simply amazing!
Review: Every review of Babylon 5 - Season 3 so far has been 100% accurate. It definately is THE best season of the show (followed closely by season 4). It offers a more realistic view of the future then Star Trek does. It has amazing characters, acting, writing, and special effects. It has the full range of emotions. At some points you'll feel like you're starting to get choked up and in other you'll be on the verge of cheering for your favorite characters. It has all these thing and more!
The main point that I'd like to mention is for those who aren't as familiar with the full series, as some are. You may have seen the 1st & 2nd seasons and thought, "Season 1 was alright, and season 2 was pretty good." But once you see #3, you'll look back and go, "WOW! Now that I think about it, season 1 was very good and season 2 was great!"
Season 3 is the glue that binds the entire series together. It's Babylon 5's bread and butter. Buy this and you WON'T be disappointed!
Rating:
Summary: Epic grandure
Review: As B5 by all sentient beings that actually deserve that name is recognized as the best sci-fi series ever, this season is the best of all 5 (with the 4th coming in a close second). We are quickly moving to the heart of the story. With the Narn-Centaury war officially at an end, the focus shifts to developments on earth, whose government is increasingly moving into a not so enlightened dictatorship with definite connotations of Hitler's nazi Germany and Stalin's equally devastating Soviet Union, with some Orwell thrown in for good measure.
The more desperate the situation gets, the more clearly the B5 station becomes the focus of hopes of all involved and sees some very dramatic changes with most characters that will keep most viewers on the edge of their seat. A central character even dies, another one has to fight a drug habit, another one chooses death after being confronted with a life considered dead, another one goes through a spiritual transformation through epiphany, another one crosses time and space to become legend and so on.
Yeah, the effects and music are great too, but that's not what B5 stands for: it's all about story and JMS for this season alone should have an honorary place in American television history.
Don't let this one pass you by, it's of unparallelled quality.
Only Farscape at times came close, but even their best work never could attain the scope, vision and excellence of writing that this season produced.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Sci-Fi Series Around
Review: Babylon 5 pioneered changes in the sci-fi television world that have yet to be equaled and fill in gaps where series like Star Trek have failed to do so, including: - It was the first major series that created a consistent, compelling story line from beginning to end. Events in one episode affect the events in those that follow. Most series, such as most Star Trek episodes (DS9 being the notable exception) simply rewind at the end of the episode, having little or no effect on future characters or events. Why did they bother?
- They created stunning special effects for television using inexpensive computer graphics. They look good, convincing, even by today's standards.
- They were the only series that ever got spaceship flight correct, instead of making them fly like airplanes in space. They put it to good use, and created some stunning battle scenes.
- Most importantly, they created a gripping, far-reaching story and characters that even science fiction neophytes and decriers can appreciate. It had its problems. The acting and directing in the first season were almost universally awful (very notable exceptions: Andreas Katsulas and Peter Jurasik). It had its share of regrettable episodes. The sets looked somewhat reminiscent of Dr. Who (though more densely populated). But the series gained serious momentum, directing and acting skill in season two, and made it one of the best sci-fi experiences to hit the home screen, probably ever. Series three is probably the best. Even Star Trek haters and sci-fi nay-sayers will find something good here, because quality fiction revolving around solid conflict and characters you care about never goes out of style.
Rating:
Summary: Babylon 5 is THE place to be
Review: Wow. where to start, where to start? Here is the season which propells Babylon 5 into becoming possibly one of the greatest stories ever told. The stage as been set-two years in the making-and now it is ready for THE story. It has been well over 6 years since I have seen any episode from the Third Season, but this season is forever imprinted on my mind as the year things changed. This is the season that touched so many people and branded so many with cold fire. This is when stands are made, friends lost, and the most profound words uttered. Mr. Straczynski, you out-did yourself here. This is IT, folks. This is when it all changes. The story ceases to be optimistic. A darker tone is taken. This is the season that will burn the Story into your mind. It is truly a wonderful thing, this story of Babylon 5. For those of you new to this colorful universe: buy all three box sets. It will be the best money you ever spend. To put it in simpler terms: Babylon 5 has b*lls, and they get a whole lot bigger in the third year. Two Words: Severed Dreams(ah, but then again, you can't really rate one episode over another in this season). For those of you who've been with the show: Buy this even if you have all the tapes(like I do. teehee). Come revisit our old friends. They're still nice to talk to after all these years. One more thing for the newbies: As Sinclair said in The Gathering, "Sooner or later everyone comes to Babylon 5"...isn't it about time you stopped by? ciao!
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the BEST sci-fi ever...
Review: "Severed Dreams" stands so far above anything else that's been on the T.V. and movies this one episode is worth the purchase price of the entire set. Delenn's "If you value your lives, be somewhere else." speach is my personal favorite from the B5 universe, and any other, for that matter. Buy this set, you won't be sorry.
Rating:
Summary: It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This
Review: Babylon 5 is the ultimate sci-fi epic. A 5-year novel for television with characters of great depth, spirituality, lightness and dark. No matter how many times I watch this series, I am riveted from start to finish. A stellar cast that gelled from the first episode and managed to move us as they moved through life altering changes themselves. Brilliant writing, incredible artistry and computer generated imagery, a feast for the eyes and the mind. There will never be another of its kind.
Rating:
Summary: The superb heart of the story...
Review: "The Babylon Project was our last, best hope for peace. It failed.
In the Year of the Shadow War, it became something greater: our last, best hope... for victory." This narration is spoken during the opening credit sequence of this season. The credit sequence is much different this season than its predecessors. Gone is the optimistic theme music of the first two seasons, in its place is the much sadder Requiem for the Line. It establishes very well the dark places that this season will take us. The production values of the show seem to improve quite a bit this season, and we see more great work behind the camera from directors like Mike Vejar. The whole show seems to hang together very organically now, as even the stories that don't directly reference that main story arc (the few that there are) are quite good, especially "Passing Through Gesetheme," which is a true science fiction (opposed to sci-fi fantasy) story that explores the theological issues of telepathy. Even the lesser stories pack an unexpected punch, such as "Dust to Dust" which starts out with a pretty unremarkable story of Garibaldi and Bester hunting down drug dealers, but ends with a beautiful scene that heartbreakingly portrays the spiritual redemption of one of the main characters. Marcus Cole is a great addition to the season. This character could have gone wrong in so many ways, but good casting and writng made him work wonderfully. The White Star also worked out really well after a rocky start. (The first set design in "Matters of Honor" was admittedly not that great, but they quickly fixed it). These two changes also worked well because they were a natural outgrowth of the direction the story was moving, and not just an attempt to get better ratings (as some shows are known to do). There is much good drama this season. Here, the show really lived up to its billing as a "novel for TV". This season was a great examination of pain, loss, sacrifice, redemption, and most importantly hope. The final words of the season sum up the overall message better than I ever could: "There is a greater darkness than the one we fight. It is the darkness of the soul that has lost its way. The war we fight is not against powers and principalities, it is against chaos and despair. Greater than the death of flesh is the death of hope, the death of dreams. Against this peril we can never surrender. The future is all around us, waiting, in moments of transition, to be born in moments of revelation. No one knows the shape of that future or where it will take us. We know only that it is always born in pain."
Rating:
Summary: Now We're Cooking!
Review: Season two added spice to the mix, but season three turns up the burner to "full." This is the season that made Babylon 5 truly memorable. The middle three episodes, "Messages From Earth," "Point of No Return," and the deservedly much-honored "Severed Dreams" make up a single three-part episode that is probably the best SF ever filmed. They take the series to a point where it is simply must-see. Once at that point, the show never lets up for the duration of the season. It was simply scary to watch the Shadows advance on all fronts, with the charactors seemingly helpless to stop them. However, the story's mystical turn always left open that door of hope, and the ending of the season (not just in a bang, as we would expect, but with an extremely moving monologue by Andreas Katsulas' charactor G'Kar) is the perfect end to an amazing season. You can say all you want to about the acting (which is very good), effects (likewise) and the music (which is very, very good indeed) but the writing makes season three what it is. There are no hesitations or faults in season three, because JMS wrote all of the episodes. THIS is what I have been waiting for! Most highly recommended.
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