Babylon 5 - The Gathering (1993)

In the early spring of 1993, a year before the series was launched, the two-hour movie and series pilot Babylon 5: The Gathering appeared. This proto-Babylon staked out the initial territory for the series (some of which would change by the first episode), introducing primary characters and sketching out the alliances and rifts in interplanetary diplomacy. Some of the primary characters bowed out after their initial appearances (Tamlyn Tomita's Lt. Commander Laurel Takashima and Johnny Seka's Dr. Benjamin Kyle never returned; Patricia Tallman's telepath Lyta Alexander made periodic revisits beginning in the second season, eventually rejoining the cast permanently). Set on the first anniversary of the Babylon 5 (none of the first four stations survived even a month), the central story involves the attempted assassination of the newly arrived Vorlon, the mysterious Ambassador Kosh, at the hands of (perhaps) Commander Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O'Hare). Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle, a smart-aleck tough guy in the Bruce Willis vein) investigates and uncovers a web of conspirators, a portent of things to come. When TNT picked up the series for the fifth season Straczynski reedited the pilot, weaving back in a dropped subplot while cutting the rest of the film more tightly, tweaking special effects, and commissioning a new score from Christopher Franke. This is the cut released on video, a stronger, more engaging film, but still a broad first stab at characters that would redefine themselves through the course of the show's run. --Sean Axmaker Amazon.com

DVD Babylon 5 The Gathering

This is the movie that launched the TV show. It was very well scripted and acted. The characters were just lovable and hateable enough to make for a really good story, June 22, 2007

BABYLON 5-THE GATHERING (TV PREIMERE)

IT WAS NICE TO SEE THIS SERIES TV PILOT, AS IT WAS ORIGINALLY MEANT TO BE SEEN, AND ENJOYED. THE SHOW WAS ENJOYED, AND IT BROUGHT BACK GOOD TIMES AND PLEASANT MEMORIES OF A ENJOYABLE TV PROGRAM. MANY THANKS. May 30, 2007

Warner Brothers' "TV Premiere DVD" Series - Cheaply-Made & Over-Priced

This is not a review of this specific title, but rather of Warner Brothers' "TV Premiere DVD" series as a whole. I would like to make you aware of my issues with features that are apparently prevalent in ALL of the titles in this series, based upon my purchase of one of these titles ("The Flintstones - The Flintstone Flyer").

Although the list of issues below was written specifically for The Flintstones DVD, I highly suspect that most (if not all) of it applies to this and all of the other titles in the "TV Premiere DVD" series. Be sure to check out The Flintstones page to see the photos that I uploaded which better illustrate the packaging and disc printing issues mentioned below.

-- The disc does not come in a plastic case, but rather in a cardboard sleeve which opens on the side. I've purchased $1 public domain DVDs from no-name companies that came in plastic slim cases, so it's appalling that a $6 DVD from a big-name company would be done so cheaply. Also, the sleeve has a hole at the top in the center where the peg would go for it to be hung on a rack like an action figure or toy. The hole has been edited out of the promo photos that Warner Bros. gave Amazon to display for the DVDs.

-- The text on the disc is very faint and hard to read - another way Warner Bros. skimped on production costs.

-- The cheapness doesn't stop at the packaging. The DVD does not contain a menu, not even a plain one. Because of this, there's an interesting glitch that happens if you let the DVD play past the episode. You see, after the episode plays, it goes to a FBI Warning on title 3, which then goes to the non-existent menu, so the player just hangs on a black screen.

-- They were even cheap in the placement of the chapters marks, which are placed every ten minutes (0:00, 10:00, and 20:00) no matter if it makes sense in the episode content for one to be there or not.

-- From what I've read, most (if not all) of the titles in the "TV Premiere DVD" series were originally released on VHS and/or laserdisc, with these DVDs being done from the VHS and laserdisc masters. The quality of The Flintstones DVD definitely appears to be better than VHS, so either it came from a laserdisc master, or not all of the titles were done from old home video masters.

Although at first I didn't mind paying $6 for one 26 minute Flintstones episode, that was before I knew that the DVD didn't even come in a plastic case. Now that six dollars really seems like a rip-off.

Warner Bros. "TV Premiere DVD" Series (10 titles)
* The Flintstones - The Flintstone Flyer
* The Jetsons - Microchip Chump
* ER - Pilot
* Babylon 5 - The Gathering
* Taboo - Tattoo
* Gilligan's Island - Two on a Raft & Home Sweet Hut
* The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest - Escape to Questworld
* Gilmore Girls - Pilot
* The Waltons - The Foundling
* Kung Fu - Pilot April 5, 2007

4 Stars for the Pilot, 6 Stars (!!!) for the Series

A good pilot to an excellent series, Babylon 5 - The Gathering, brings to the screen the parallel stories of prominent people aboard a major station under Human control in neutral territory.
The setting is the Babylon 5 space station orbiting Epsilon 3. The date is 2257, nine years after the Earth-Minbari War (one year before the series begins), and representatives from the four major space-faring races, the Centauri, Humans, Minbari, Narns, as well as numerous minor races have all gathered at B5 in a last effort at maintaining galactic peace. The arrival, however, of the fifth major space-faring race's ambassador, the Vorlon Kosh, will result in quite a bit of turbulence...
Michael O'Hare, Mira Furlan, Andreas Katsulas, Peter Jurasik, and the rest of the cast, carry out their performances well though one can tell that they are a bit uneasy, as is the case with most series in the beginning. Eventually all the actors, without exceptions, will give it their 100% and it will really show!
My two questions are as to why the Centauri Republic is run by... an emperor, in which case it should be called an Empire since "republic" means the exact opposite, and as others have also pointed out, why is Chief of Security Garibaldi so similar in so many ways to Bruce Willis (!); was that coincidental or did it just turn out that way?
In any case Babylon 5 is a series definitely worth watching and one to seriously consider adding to your movie collection as it is without a doubt guaranteed to provide hours of entertainment.
You just cannot beat that wonderful feeling of being addicted to the show and wanting more!
March 15, 2007

Better than Star Trek

It seems to me that Babylon 5 shows more creativity and realism than most SF series. I prefer it over the much lauded Star Trek. It seems grittier and more enigmatic than most. January 10, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...