# Babylon 5 returns! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2006, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-returns/365847 "2006-07-24T17:28:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-returns/365847/21 "2006-07-25T01:33:30Z")
> [@](#): > > I also watched, or re-watched all the mini movies. Horrible. Almost too painful to watch. I’ve only seen _The Gathering_ and _In The Beginning_. _Gathering_, as the pilot episode, was unsurprisingly undeveloped in spots (pilots always are), but I thought that _In The Beginning_ was very good. I especially liked the way they used Londo for the framing story. It’s not at all surprising that Straczynski wanted full artistic control, and given the work he’s done in the past, it’s fully justified, but I am a bit pleasantly surprised that he got it. Now if only the TV folks would get the hint to allow artists to create their art. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-returns/365847/22 "2006-07-25T02:03:13Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] This…would be a mistake. Just let it pass. [/QUOTE] That bad, huh? Okay. Ah hell, who am I kidding? I’ll watch it anyway, just for completeness. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-returns/365847/23 "2006-07-25T18:56:56Z")
[QUOTE=Chronos] On the other hand, it also likely means a significantly lowered budget, and possibly lower production values [/QUOTE] FWIW, they’ve always made good with a low budget. Their episodic budget was less than half that of DS9, but they always managed to make the CGI much better, while being relatively on par with other things. (Although the CGI took a big hit when they switched to Netter Digital, I think, during season.. 4? The battles got bigger, and more elaborate, and probably prettier - but they stopped doing the little things right, like showing extremely realistic physics on starfuries) > [@](#): > > \*The other tidbit dealt with the question will there be a B5 computer game soon? Jms said he could not talk about it now, but that in two weeks expect something big to be announced Years ago, Sierra was developing a starfury space sim. They got about 90% done, and then cancelled the project (along with others) when they reorganized their games division. Pretty much killed them. It had so much promise, too - a realistic space fighter, instead of “WWII dogfights in space” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-returns/365847/24 "2006-07-25T19:17:37Z")
[QUOTE=SenorBeef] (Although the CGI took a big hit when they switched to Netter Digital, I think, during season.. 4? [/QUOTE] Is that a scene I saw where an obviously CGI aircraft circles down to a landing? ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-returns/365847/25 "2006-07-25T20:15:44Z")
**cbawlmer** thanks for the pointing. I knew I could count on someone around here for that (my Google-fu is incredibly weak.) ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-returns/365847/26 "2006-07-25T22:59:55Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] Is that a scene I saw where an obviously CGI aircraft circles down to a landing? [/QUOTE] I don’t remember specifically when the switch happened, and they retained, I think, some of the core people… but the philosophy of the CGI battles changed to cramming as much action in as possible on huge battles, which has its own upside, but I really appreciated earlier in the series, when they had more minimalist, but surprisingly realistic and attentive to details, CGI. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-returns/365847/27 "2006-07-25T23:15:15Z")
[QUOTE=levdrakon] Thanks to the article in the OP though, I realized I’ve not yet seen Legend of the Rangers, so I just added it to my Netflix queue. We’ll see how that is. [/QUOTE] Just try to ignore the silliness that is the controls for their weapons. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-returns/365847/28 "2006-07-27T17:32:23Z")
[QUOTE=Wile E] I guess there won’t be any stories about Zathras either. Poor Zathras. [/QUOTE] Well, it’s true they can’t use Zathras anymore…but they could do a story featuring Zathras. Or maybe Zathras. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-returns/365847/29 "2006-07-27T17:43:35Z")
[QUOTE=Merijeek] Just try to ignore the silliness that is the controls for their weapons. -Joe [/QUOTE] I got the disc yesterday & watched it. Hah! OMG. Turns out I had seen it before, but blocked it from my memory. The weapons controls are HI-larious! Was Legend of the Rangers supposed to be the pilot for new show or was it always intended to a one-shot movie? ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-returns/365847/30 "2006-07-27T18:12:28Z")
[QUOTE=levdrakon] Was Legend of the Rangers supposed to be the pilot for new show or was it always intended to a one-shot movie? [/QUOTE] IIRC it was a pilot-but-not-a-pilot in that it had about a one in a jillion shot of getting picked up. I loved B5 at the time, but it hasn’t aged well. And all the characters had complete arcs (except Lyta, IMO) - let it alone already. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-returns/365847/31 "2006-07-27T18:16:24Z")
At this point, the best thing to do would be to tell the story of the telepath war and let the series rest in peace. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-returns/365847.md?page=1)