# Rewatching Babylon 5 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 24, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rewatching-babylon-5/551344 "2010-08-24T23:41:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rewatching-babylon-5/551344/81 "2010-11-30T15:20:19Z")
I should probably try to watch the whole thing again, in sequence with the specials, but I have such an aversion to watching things I’ve already seen. In the rare cases I make an exception, it’s always for a movie and my motivations are difficult to explain - even to myself - things like the 5th element and Rocky Horror for example. Plus, while my recall abilities leave something to be desired, I can watch something from 20 years ago and once i find a hook in the plot that fires up some dormant neuron, I can usually remember how the rest of the episode goes. Plus, I really detest Boxleitner. I don’t know, maybe I should start with a couple of favorite episodes and see how it goes. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rewatching-babylon-5/551344/82 "2010-11-30T15:33:00Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > One of the very rare cases where the studio was right about something. The guy who played Sinclair was fucking awful. I’m amazed he ever got cast in anything above community theater level, let alone lead in a television show. I know this post is old…but damn right. Did you know that the proper facial expression for anything going around you is not “wooden smirk”? It’s true! O’Hare never realized that. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rewatching-babylon-5/551344/83 "2010-11-30T15:46:27Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > I know this post is old…but damn right. Did you know that the proper facial expression for anything going around you is not “wooden smirk”? It’s true! O’Hare never realized that. > > -Joe It might have just been bad acting, but I always thought that Sinclair had a sort of Zen quality about him which actually makes a lot sense later in the series when he comes back as the once and future Valen. I really liked that. It was oddly soothing - which I imagine is the same attitude a lot of people had towards Mr. Rogers, just not anywhere near as creepy. With Boxleitner I always had the feeling that there was one of those dial-an-animal toys implanted in his thoracic cavity only instead of having a cow, a chicken, etc, it had maybe 6 or 8 different emotions that you could dial in and you had to hope one of them came close to the picture painted by the dialog. ---
**Author:** ![Bakhesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rewatching-babylon-5/551344/84 "2010-11-30T16:17:37Z")
If any hollywood types are reading, B5 is the only tv show/movie/toy commercial that I think could REALLY benefit from a remake. If the budget had been as epic as the plot, it would have been an instant classic ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rewatching-babylon-5/551344/85 "2010-11-30T16:28:15Z")
> [@dzero](#): > > It might have just been bad acting, but I always thought that Sinclair had a sort of Zen quality about him which actually makes a lot sense later in the series when he comes back as the once and future Valen. > I really liked that. It was oddly soothing - which I imagine is the same attitude a lot of people had towards Mr. Rogers, just not anywhere near as creepy. With Boxleitner I always had the feeling that there was one of those dial-an-animal toys implanted in his thoracic cavity only instead of having a cow, a chicken, etc, it had maybe 6 or 8 different emotions that you could dial in and you had to hope one of them came close to the picture painted by the dialog. I’m not comparing Boxleitner (who was fine, not great) to O’Hare, I’m comparing O’Hare to someone or something that can actually emote. Maybe he’s supposed to be all Zen, but I think it was just bad acting. Zen or not, there should be at least a little difference between his “Captain, your girlfriend’s ship just arrived, time for some nookie” face and his “Captain, there’s an alien invasion fleet pouring through the jump gate” face. > [@Bakhesh](#): > > If any hollywood types are reading, B5 is the only tv show/movie/toy commercial that I think could REALLY benefit from a remake. If the budget had been as epic as the plot, it would have been an instant classic And I know it’s blasphemy when talking about B5, but getting JMS an editor would be nice too. Just something to make a few of the speeches a little less cringe-worthy. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rewatching-babylon-5/551344/86 "2010-11-30T16:33:19Z")
> [@Bakhesh](#): > > If any hollywood types are reading, B5 is the only tv show/movie/toy commercial that I think could REALLY benefit from a remake. If the budget had been as epic as the plot, it would have been an instant classic Just so long as it keeps Peter Jurasik and Mira Furlan. She wasn’t the best actor in the series, but god, what an accent. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rewatching-babylon-5/551344/87 "2010-11-30T18:07:58Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Just so long as it keeps Peter Jurasik and Mira Furlan. She wasn’t the best actor in the series, but god, what an accent. Eh - a remake without Andreas Katsulas wouldn’t be worth doing. Peter Jurasik was great, but he was at his very best playing off Katsulas. And yah, Mira Furlan is something else. Even as Crazy French Lady on Lost. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rewatching-babylon-5/551344/88 "2010-11-30T18:45:38Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Awesome. You have to wait until the end of Season 5, but Delenn gets another Crowning Moment of Awesome against the Drakh. “End this.” ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rewatching-babylon-5/551344/89 "2010-12-03T02:07:08Z")
Still working my way through this with my brother in law. We just reached the half-way point. Damn, Messages from Earth and Severed Dreams were badass. This is about the point were I missed several eps and got hopelessly lost and gave up when it first aired, so I’m looking forward to seeing the rest. All our raving finally convinced my wife to give it a try… she fell asleep 1/3 of the way into Exogenesis. D’oh! 🙂 ---
**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:** [December 3, 2010, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rewatching-babylon-5/551344/90 "2010-12-03T06:11:26Z")
> [@](#): > > You have to wait until the end of Season 5, but Delenn gets another Crowning Moment of Awesome against the Drakh. While I’m a big fan of Delenn, I still have to admit that Ivanova’s crowning moment of awesome in S4 was even awesomer than either of Delenn’s. And she has a lot of lesser great lines, too. Boom. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rewatching-babylon-5/551344/91 "2010-12-03T09:43:28Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Eh - a remake without Andreas Katsulas wouldn’t be worth doing. Peter Jurasik was great, but he was at his very best playing off Katsulas. Everything about the second sentence is exactly, precisely correct. As for the first sentence - well, while J’Kar was my favorite character, and it saddens me to think that another actor would have his role, I wouldn’t hold up everything just for that. It won’t be better, but I won’t look into my crystal ball and say that there’s no way a B5 remake would be worthwhile without Andreas Katsulas. > [@](#): > > By G’Quan, I can’t recall the last time I was in a fight like that! No moral ambiguity, no hopeless battle against ancient and overwhelming forces! They were the bad guys, as you say, and we were the good guys. And they made a very satisfying thump when they hit the floor. But damn, he was great in that role. He had a gift. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rewatching-babylon-5/551344.md?page=4)