So, sat with The Girlfriend last night after ballroom dance and watched a couple episodes of Babylon 5. I watched the first three season a couple years ago, but am now starting Season 4. The show ran for five seasons back in the nineties.
It is hard not to mention the appearance of the show. The graphics are very dated already. It is amazing how far we have come with special effects in such a short time.
So why watch something that out of date?
Because good writing NEVER goes out of style. Plus, in our modern world where 140 characters constitutes an entire blog, and blogging was itself a reduction from fanzines and diaries... it can be truly wonderful to watch subplots play out over five seasons. This is not a forgotten art, by the way. Josh Whedon still does this. (Give Dollhouse time, folks.) The writing/production team at Battlestar Galactica still gets it. Even the episodic comedy How I Met Your Mother understands that letting its audience wonder who mom is for a while won't hurt.
J. Michael Straczynski wrote a five year arc and stayed with it, even though he could have continued the series, setting a precedent that BSG is following now. Good for him.
Babylon 5 features characters that actually change, conflicts that occasionally get resolved and a plot that actually develops. I like that.
I also like spaceships, aliens and things that blow up. I'm a guy, remember?
Friday, March 13, 2009
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B5 is my favorite all time television show for just the reasons you state.
ReplyDeleteI grew quite fond of G'Kar over the series. I got to understand Londo. I still lust after Delenn.
I was going to say more but I won't because the real surprises happen in Season 4. And some of them are BIG!
Seasons 3 and 4 are my favorites. There was so much tension. The series was so different I had no idea what was going to happen. Sometimes it seemed like (gasp) the good guys were going to lose!
Damn. Now I have to break out my DVDs yet again. ;)