:: theLogBook.com DVD Reviews ::

This first installment of what many hope will be a series of new Babylon 5 stories has two segments. A third was originally planned, but was cut for budgetary and logistical reasons during the preproduction process. As a result, Voices in the Dark clocks in at a little over an hour, plus a number of short featurettes included as extras. I’d like to start this review on a positive note, so I’m going to discuss the second segment first. (Spoilers below, and feel free to check out the plot synopsis in the LogBook entry.) (more…)

This is actually more of an editorial than a review. I had been looking forward to the Crusade DVD for two reasons. For one, I originally had a pretty harsh opinion of the series, which I expressed on this site before it even aired and which the first-aired episodes did little to dissuade me from. By the end of the run, though, I was seeing a few things I liked, and I was looking forward to reacquainting myself with the show and trying to get a new appreciation for it. And I admit I was also hoping to gain a little clarity and detail on the troubled history of the show and the disputes with TNT that ultimately led to its early demise. Indeed, at an appearance in New Jersey earlier this year, J. Michael Straczynski said that his condition for participating in the DVD set was that he have the chance to put his story out there. (more…)

The universe may have decided to let J. Michael Straczynski have a fifth season of Babylon 5, but it sure wasn’t about to make it easy. The negotiations with TNT weren’t finished by the time the cast’s options were set to expire; most agreed to a short extension, but Claudia Christian chose to let herself become a free agent. When she and Warner Brothers failed to come to terms, Straczynski suddenly found himself without a station commander. To add insult to injury, Straczynski found out about Christian’s departure while at a convention - at which the cleaning staff at his hotel dumped his notes and outlines for the beginning of the season. Given all these disruptions, it’s not really a surprise that season 5 often has a disjointed feel which disappointed many fans, myself included. Even if things had flowed smoothly, however, I think the basic structure of the season had significant flaws. (more…)

Although Babylon 5 did complete its intended five year run, that final renewal didn’t come until after filming for the fourth season had concluded. Creator J. Michael Straczynski decided to hedge his bets slightly and wrap up the series’ major plot points. This gave the fourth season no end of intense high-stakes conflict, and although a few of those developments wound up feeling a little rushed, No Surrender, No Retreat is a satisfying climax to the Babylon 5 saga. (more…)

Here’s where the fun truly begins. The third season of Babylon 5 really was the Point of No Return, as the crises begun and foretold over the last two years came to a head and forced just about every major character to make life-altering choices. It was also the point where the scripts, production design and performances clicked like never before, and the result was thought-provoking, emotionally-stirring and exciting television that had me eagerly awaiting each new episode. (more…)

Babylon 5’s second season was much more consistent than its first. After weathering the change in commanders from Michael O’Hare’s Jeffrey Sinclair to Bruce Boxleitner’s John Sheridan, the cast and crew manage to find a new level of performance. While creator J. Michael Straczynski was ramping up the series’ fabled arc in episodes like The Coming of Shadows and The Fall of Night, there was still room for Peter David, D.C. Fontana, Scott Frost and Lawrence DiTillio to offer other perspectives on the characters and life on the station. It’s a very satisfying mix that works well in a full-season box set that also boasts some worthwhile and entertaining extras. (more…)

Man, have I been waiting for this.

The first season of Babylon 5 can only be described as uneven. Just look at disc 4, where the pivotal Signs And Portents shares space with the much-less-pivotal Grail and TKO. But even while the show was finding its legs, its potential was clear. And when it delivered on that potential, it was something very special. The five-year-arc for television has been discussed over and over again, but to me that’s not the strength of Babylon 5. Series creator J. Michael Straczynski mentions it repeatedly in his episode commentaries…it’s a series that passionately argues that we all can make a difference in the world, that we all need to believe in ourselves and each other. It’s a show that has something to say, and is willing to take risks in order to say it. (more…)

It’s been a long time coming, and here it is at least: Babylon 5 on a shiny round thing. Both sides of the aforementioned shiny round thing, no less.

After months - nay, years - of speculation, wishing, dreaming, petitioning, and plenty of fan bitching - Babylon 5 has arrived on DVD in this budget-priced, two-movie set containing the 1998 revisionist edition of the pilot movie, The Gathering (originally aired in a vastly different form in 1993 and re-edited later for a 1998 TNT airing), and the sweeping 1998 prequel TV movie In The Beginning. (more…)