Babylon 5 (Babylon 5)

Member Name: Nakor

Product:	Babylon 5
Date:	04/09/00 (19 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great overall arc story

Disadvantages: Some poor individual episodes

Babylon 5, while not as popular as Star Trek, is very loved by it's legions of fans. If you're not one of those fans you probably won't be greatly interested in it, probably because the best thing about Babylon 5 is it's Arc story which spans 5 seasons and 110 episodes, as well as 5 TV movies. Most of the stories except the two parters can be seen on their own, but then you lose so much. Unlike Star Trek (with the exception of DS9) which has a new story each week and at the end returns to the usual status quo ready for the next episode, Babylon 5 has a very complex ongoing storyline, and the characters develop more each week as well. Characters can also die or leave to go elsewhere, so you can never be sure about what's going to happen next. As has often been said, Babylon 5 is very much a novel for TV. The first season sets up the background, the characters etc. In the second season the story arc gradually starts to get going, and in the third season it explodes into action and conflict which continues throughout the fourth season. The fifth season however is a bit of a disappointment, though there are some good episodes in it. If you like science fiction and space opera in particular, and are after an ongoing storyline full of complexity, conflict and intrigue that you can watch episode by episode, video by video then you'll love Babylon 5. Don't buy a Babylon 5 video if you just feel like watching a couple of episodes of a sci-fi series because you won't be able to follow it very well.

Summary: