The Energon Pub

It has been off the air for a few years here. We were out at Borders one day and saw the series but oh my lands 150.00 for the set. I dont even think it was the entire set. I have kept my eyes open at game stop since they have a small series collection. In fact we got the Star Wars Trilogy on DVD for 20 dollars there. No luck though. I looked on EBay but I also heard there are fraud problems with that site. So right now we are just wishing someone would bring back Babylon 5.

The Lost Tales were released earlier this year.

Just two shorts stories revolving around Lockley and Sheridan, but damn the special effects were good.

Except for the landing bay, that was a step backwards from the older eps.

I admit I can't really mourn Babylon 5, as JMS got to finish the 5-year arc he planned, and damn was it a fabulous ride. One of the best SF shows ever aired, IMHO.

I do miss Crusade, though. It was shaping up really nicely at the end, had some top-notch episodes, and I enjoyed the ensemble of characters (especially Galen). To have it get cancelled before it even got started was disheartening.

And they never really made an effort to finish that tale did they?

Obviously Earth was saved, I guess that's enough.

From some hints that Straczynski's dropped over the years the intention was for a cure to the plague to be found towards the end of season 2 with the rest of the story arc following the crew of the Excaliber on the run from corrupt elements of Earthgov. The biggest bugbear for me is that the first episode with Bester was just two away in the shooting schedule when the axe fell.

I can't say that I'm disapointed that the main B5 arc ended when it did. It was planned from day one as a five year story and that's what we got. Real world problems meant that season 4 ended up rushed and season 5 was a bit thin on the ground, but we got a real conclusion, something which is often all to lacking in episodic television. Besides, Voices in the Dark is only the first volume of Lost Tales, while there isn't any sort of schedule for follow ups as yet we should expect more. Warner are making enough out of DVD sales that they're desperate for new B5 material at this stage.

I do mourn Crusade, but also Legends of the Rangers, which looked really promising from To Live and Die in Starlight. The main reason that I don't let myself get too upset about that one is that Sci-Fi's budget for new programming ended up going into BSG instead and I really like that show. It's also a shame that The Memory of Shadows never got off the ground. I would have loved to see a B5 story get a cinema release, although the studio constraints about bringing in 'name' actors may well have killed the thing, so maybe it's for the best that it died early rather than get out there and flop.

If you haven't alteady check out the 3 Babylon 5 book trilogies - The Psicorp(Bester) Trilogy, the centauri trilogy, and my favourite the technomage trilogy. They're really good and fill in a lot of stuff in the period before, during and after the series.

I've only been fortunate enough to pick up the Psicorp books. Good enjoyable read, and was great character development for Bester who easily became one of the stand out characters for me, not just in B5, but in sci-fi in general.

All three of the trilogies are worth checking out. The nine novels that came before those are mainly tosh though, the exceptions being To Dream in the City of Sorrows and one that's title escapes me at the moment but dealt largely with Morden and Anna Sheriden, and acted in many ways as a prelude to the Technomage trilogy.

edit - It's The Shadow Within. Thank you wiki, and damn most of my books being in storage at the moment.

I loved that show

My favorite season was the Shadow war and they started to wear those black uniforms after they broke away from Earth

Wheeljack35 wrote:I loved that show

My favorite season was the Shadow war and they started to wear those black uniforms after they broke away from Earth

Oh yeah that is when it got interesting! I have been looking for the season at some of our used DVD sales but so far no luck. I did find Deep Space Nine however. That would be fun if Spike TV did not play it to death. That show was only interesting the first 3 times. After that it got old.

no not really

Missed it so much, that I went out and bought all 5 seasons + movies.

Everybody should take this chance now to mourn the passing of both Richard Biggs (1961-2004) aka Dr. Stephen Franklin and Andreas Katsulas (1946-2006) aka G'kar.

Richard died of a burst aorta and Andreas of lung cancer.

It really drives home one of my most favorite scenes in the entire series. Season 5, episode 14; "Meditations on the Abyss."

The scene where G'kar is talking to his "acolytes" about What is Truth and What is God.

G'kar gives this beautiful answer that goes completely over the head of the other Narns but satisfies them none-the-less.

As the Narns leave, you see Dr. Franklin in his vantage point where he was sitting in. He smiles and nods to G'kar. G'kar bows slightly back.

Just a great moment that says so little but means so much at the same time.

I'd heard about Andreas Katsulas, but I hadn't heard about Richard Biggs.

I don't think he really had much of a career did he? Aside from B5 his only other notable role was on Days of our Lives.
And yes, that's where I first saw him.

LuckytheWonderLlama wrote:Everybody should take this chance now to mourn the passing of both Richard Biggs (1961-2004) aka Dr. Stephen Franklin and Andreas Katsulas (1946-2006) aka G'kar.

One of my favourite parts in the new Voices in the Dark is the conversation between Sheriden and Lochley that refers to them both as travelling 'beyond the rim'. Touching and bittersweet.

Burn wrote:I'd heard about Andreas Katsulas, but I hadn't heard about Richard Biggs.

I don't think he really had much of a career did he? Aside from B5 his only other notable role was on Days of our Lives.

Which is a definite pity, I think, because I thought he was an excellent actor on Babylon 5. The scene with him "confronting" himself in the episode Shadow Dancing is still one that sticks strongly in my head.

(And ironically, I didn't like Franklin the *character* all that much until the late seasons, since he initially came off as being written too self-righteously for my tastes. But then, I think that was the point - for him to undergo that change of personality.)

Andreas Katsulas, of course, was all manner of excellent. He could handle everything from humor to intimidation to quiet philosophy with equal artistry and believability... and all behind a full-face alien head getup to boot. Two talented actors that died well before their time.

I want to read the Centauri Triology, but i can´t seem to find it.

Another good work of the same author:

"Jeremiah"

Awsome series, with good story and very solid momments.

They're on amazon uk - seach for 'babylon 5 legions of fire', for some reason book 2 doesn't come up in the search but here's the link

Jeysie wrote:Andreas Katsulas, of course, was all manner of excellent. He could handle everything from humor to intimidation to quiet philosophy with equal artistry and believability... and all behind a full-face alien head getup to boot.

He truly was a great actor, and never given the credit he truly deserved.

When I heard of his death the obligatory list of all that he'd done was carried with the news report and I was suprised that he'd done so much. I of course only knew him as G'Kar, had no idea what he looked like behind the make up so it was suprising to see his name listed with other things I had watched and I just never recognised him.

General Magnus wrote:Another good work of the same author:

"Jeremiah"

Awsome series, with good story and very solid momments.

Unfortunately Jeremiah was never given a full chance to take off. It also wasn't easy to watch with Luke Perry in the lead either.

But Straczynski has done a number of things, lately he's been working on comics.

Oh how nice it would be to see a Straczynski/Wheadon team up.

Burn wrote:But Straczynski has done a number of things, lately he's been working on comics.

Personally, I'd *love* to see Straczynski's take on the eternal war of the TF universe, either on a series or in comics. But, sadly, TF manages to completely violate his "No robots or cute kids, ever!" rule. (Now, Peter David, he might be willing. Ironically, he's currently tied up with Marvel...)

i have no idea what babylon 5 is but i saw the whole series at costco and i remembered this topic.

I remember this show but I can't recall seeing it on tv at all in recent years. I tried to get interested in it, but I just couldn't. Guess I'm just more of a Trek girl.

Moonbase2 wrote:Guess I'm just more of a Trek girl.

My condolences.

Don't get me wrong, I like Star Trek. But there is that whole plagarism thing going on.

Time travel? Done by Doctor Who. (In fact it's amazing how much ST ripped from DW)

Ongoing story arc like DS9? Done by Babylon 5.

Burn wrote:

Moonbase2 wrote:Guess I'm just more of a Trek girl.

My condolences.

Don't get me wrong, I like Star Trek. But there is that whole plagarism thing going on.

Time travel? Done by Doctor Who. (In fact it's amazing how much ST ripped from DW)

Ongoing story arc like DS9? Done by Babylon 5.

Um, nothing in B5 compares to DS9.

Anyway, there are so many common themes in sci-fi, that it all starts to resemble one another. But millions of Trek fans can't be wrong!