BABYLON 5: MORE ADVENTURES TO COME (Plus DVD review)

Well, following on from the release of the first ‘Lost Tales DVD’ and promises of more to come, we now have confirmation from Mr Stracbigsurname (kidding sir, kidding) that the WB execs have approved further instalments in the straight-to-DVD series, with the next one set to feature a Garibaldi tale and others. This is cool news to us diehard B5 fans, and I for one think that the straight-to-DVD route is the best thing to do with the series, at least for now. For years there has been talk of a big screen movie, which, while a fun idea, would be difficult to sell to a current mainstream audience. SERENITY managed it because its mother series (Firefly) was still fresh in the general public’s consciousness, but I’m sceptical when it comes to bringing the B5 universe to the big screen. While it certainly has the scope, it doesn’t really have the pulling power, much as I’d like it to.

 

A happy medium needs to be found. TV and home cinema has enjoyed something of a renaissance of late, and as such I think that the Babylon 5 universe would do well to stick to the small screen in this way for now. That way the makers (and indeed B5 mastermind J Michael Straczynski) can concentrate on further developing established characters and storylines without having to go through a tedious recap of what has gone before, or, worse still, a redux and origin story. The series had a damn good run- five full seasons of 45 minute episodes, six TV movies (if you count the pilot movie), a spin-off series (the short-lived CRUSADE) and now a promising first instalment of original DVDs. We really don’t need to start over with it again.

 

I would love to see the B5 universe gain some new fans and continue to please the old ones, and with more ‘Lost Tales’ DVDs on the way, it seems out last, best hope for peace is far from dead.

 

BABYLON 5: THE LOST TALES DVD REVIEW

The last time we had a new Babylon 5 project to watch, it was the ill-fated LEGEND OF THE RANGERS movie/pilot, which didn’t really offer much for its viewers. Back on home ground with familiar characters and settings, the franchise now dips its metaphorical toes into new waters with THE LOST TALES, the first in a proposed series of straight-to-DVD anthology films. Some will apparently contain two stories, others three.

 

This initial DVD features a story concerning Captain Lochley doing battle with a demonic possession on board the B5 station, and a story concerning Captain Sheridan escorting a Centauri prince. As first instalments go, these two stories are incredibly small-scale, which is shown in the blatantly low number of sets built (amounting to two or three rooms and a couple of corridors) and the obvious miniscule budget. Granted, this is pretty much a ‘test’ to see if enough interest in the series remains to warrant more DVDs, but the limitations of the budget and resources at hand are very, very obvious.

 

As for the stories themselves, they are watchable and enjoyable, but not particularly engaging. What is fantastic about this DVD is basically seeing the characters back in uniform and the incredible CG recreations of B5 and various internal sets, that would never have been possible on the original show. The two stories do nothing to move the franchise forward, but they are decent nonetheless. Seeing the brand new 3D renderings of the Starfury ships is something of a WOO-HOO moment for fans such as myself. The addition of Galen to the DVD’s cast is one of the finest parts of the whole project- as a character the Techno-mage is hard to beat, and he is as gloriously cryptic as ever.

 

An odd pair of tales to start off a potential new series of releases, but worth the time of any fan who misses the good old days on the station. I look forward to the next one with excitement, and yeah, a little bit of hope too.