Saturday, June 02, 2007

Babylon 5 is Coming Back

I've just managed to lay my hands on a copy of the latest trailer for the new Babylon 5: The Lost Tales DVD.




I'm completely blown away by the improved CGI. One can only wonder how much more popular B5 would be today... if the technology and budget afforded to more established science fiction franchises was readily available at the time the original series was made. Here's another brief clip which shows one of the climactic scenes from the final series updated with modern CGI:


I should point out that the man doing the narration is the gifted and sadly departed Andreas Katsulas, who played the part of G'Kar... one of the series most important characters.

Babylon 5 fans are some of the most hardcore science fiction disciples you will find. There are a lot of parallels between being a Babylon 5 fan and being a Christian... you get a lot of stick from people who don't understand and think you are just an idiot on both counts... guess I'm just a masochist!.

The simple truth is that B5 is arguably one of the most political science fiction television series in existence. In fact there is a lot in its storyline which is highly relevant to the world we live in today.

It was often described as "space opera" (although there isn't really that much singing). It has a definite beginning, middle and conclusion... and draws on rich literary and historical sources. It taught the science fiction "old guard" a trick or two. Why do you think it is that about 10 years ago, many dramas suddenly shifted emphasis from merely being episodic... to having a defined story arc?

I would argue that inheritors of Babylon 5 in the modern world would include the modern incarnation of Battlestar Galactica... and in some ways Lost.

If you aren't already a fan, check Babylon 5 out.

1 comment:

  1. Babylon 5 is still my all time favorite sci-fi show. It is only now 10 year later that the title is being challenged by my current fave show which is the new Battlestar Galactica. Currently the two vi for the top spot.

    Look forward to the new output from JMS in the B5 Universe.

    ReplyDelete

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