The best sci-fi movies in my opinion are 2001 of course, Andromeda Strain, Matrix, all of the Star Wars movies, and the Next Generation Star Trek movies.
But the Best TV sci-fi show has to be Babylon 5! I was a die hard ST:NG and DS9 fan, but B5 kicked all of them out of the ring.

Babylon 5 was easily the best of all. The storyline was excellent, always had you coming back for more. If it was SFX you were into, then Star Wars were world beaters but story lines weak. Except for Phantom Menace - Star Wars grew up with that one. Whilst the story was only slightly iffy, it made up for it with spectacular SFX and I for one love it, still do.:D :D :D

Maybe I misheard you, but are you honestly trying to suggest that Phantom Menace had a more developed storyline and characters then the first 3 Star Wars movies? Please don't make me laugh any harder then I already am...

The Star Wars trilogy was great...Awesome special effects, even by todays standards, cool lightsaber battles, neat story, likable characters. It is a very 3-dimensional universe...You always feel like the fictional universe has a lot of depth to it, instead of it just having been created for the movie.

And I know it has been said many, many, many, many, many times before, but Phantom Menace is an abomination. I just watched it at work the other day, and it could have been cool if not for Jar-Jar "Meesa failed attempt at humor!" Binks, and that crappy kid that played Anakin. If Lucas had focused more on making a good movie, and less on making a movie that the general audiences would enjoy, the movie could have been spectacular.

OK OK!! I was actually thinking of that effeminate bloody jarjar whatever when I typed it. Take that out and I still enjoyed it!!:D Just enjoy it for what it is, a well made, SFX movie - its better that way! Forget the effeminates!! *squeak* *squeak*

To me
TV series
1. Babylon 5
2. Doctor Who

SF movies
2001 Space Odyssey
Planet of the Apes
Star Trek - the movie
Terminator 1 & 2

Personally, so dont shout at me ok, but I think 2010 was better than 2001 BUT - the time difference does help. I went to see 2001 when it first hit the screens and Wow! Was I hooked, especially as it tied in with my own pseudo scientific religious belief - but 2010 was superb. Yes - I still like Phantom Menace!! Someone must have - it made a fortune in video sales!!:rolleyes: :D

I would like to see a movie based on Kurt Vonnegut's "SlaughterHouse 5" in which a man is abducted by aliens and such it just gets crazier and crazier.

Last week I watched part of the new "Dune" Sci Fi blockbuster on UK TV. The rest is on tape for me to catch up with later. Effects outstanding! Visuals superb. It is on for 6 weeks I understand. Well done to the makers!:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Babylon 5 truly was a mind blowing experience once it started running. The first episodes were kinda boring though because they were just like Startrek... there was no continous plot. But when the shadows showed up, B5 got a LOT more interesting. Also I think that Minbaris looked better in the pilot episode... they didn´t look so much human as they did in the actual show.

To enjoy Babylon5, one has to see all of it to get the overall plot. Then go back to relish the dialogs and subtleness of the activities. The dialogs are as good as any Oscar winning drama.

I love it. Hope the "Rangers" do the same....

I´m still crying myself to sleep since I didn´t see the episode in which Earth Force tries to capture Babylon 5 after the Sheridan announces B5`s intependence :(

Perhaps one of the reasons why Babylon 5 was so exellent was not only the big continous events like shadow war and the civil war, but also it was wery nice to see how the characters evolved. How G´Kar evolved from agressive, bloodthirsty Centauri hater to quite calm, sympathic philosopher (altough I don´t think the hate towards Centauries never went away fully. The Centauries just did too much to Narn´s and to G´Kar). And how Londo evolved from irresponsible drinker to a resposible (altough quite bitter) ruler.

I think, Babylon 5 is the best SF TV drama for adults, ever. Nothing comes close. Then again, I am prejudiced. What surprises me is that most intellectuals admit it, yet no one has been able to duplicate the efforts and come up with a strong series like Babylon 5.

Is Hollywood losing its creative talents?

It´s the capitalism I say!

They only want series like Baywatch where nothing really dramatically change so that you can start watch the show from the middle.

And movies like Demolition Man and Armageddon which really have no deep pondering.

Those kinds of shows fit to everyone and make money.

We need to change the nature of film industy... REVOLUTION!! LONG LIVE BABYLONISM!! :cool:

I watched B5 from day one, at first it was because it was a new sci-fi series and I was open minded to give it a go. I thought the acting was a bit poor, and some of the sets looked like they were made of cardboard, but what impressed me was the way the story-lines were so intricately put together.

Remember the incident with Babylon 4, how it mysteriously re-appeared during the first season, and then a 3rd season episode involved Sheridan, Delenn, and Sinclair travelling back in time to steal it and inadvertantly causing its appearance 2 years earlier, that blew my mind away with the level of continuity involved. Especially when in one part, Sheridan accidently slips about 20 yrs forward and meets a much older Londo. The next 2 seasons of B5 basically showed the events that led up to Londo becoming emperor and Sheridan leading the alliance of the alien worlds.
You see thats one problem with Star Trek, they constantly travel through time, but if they travel into the future and see something they dont like, dont worry, they'll just change histoy and the future they saw wont happen.

The timeline in Babylon 5 was consistent, story-lines lasted for more than 1 episode, old characters re-appeared and had lasting impact, the aliens like the shadows and vorlons actually looked alien instead of just having ridges on their foreheads and pointy ears.

I am looking forward to the Ranger series. Hope that keeps the same quality as B5.

When growing up, I was used to Ramayana and Mahabharat which has subplots that keep thier continuity from story to story - even though they were written many thousand years ago.

I love B5....Long live JMS....

Personally, I liked Earth: Final Conflict. The first time I saw it I watched it for about 10 minutes then changed the channel, but later I actully watched an entire episode. Then another, and another, and I started to see what an incredible job they did with the storyline. Not only were there MORE than enough twists and turns, but each episode flowed into the next as if it was simply pages out of one big book.

The special effects were also very nice, and I loved the way the companions true intentions were slowly revealed. I hated Boone though, he was a weak character, I liked the Liam-Renee duo better.

All in all, I'd give it a 9/10.

B5 was the ultimate Sci-Fi series. not only was the plot superb but the characters and their interaction made the whole thing unique.
How could they better that? Well I sure hope it's a better try than Crusade. That was a real let down.:(


Anyone seen Dark Star?

My daughter watches most sci-fi going, on tv, so I tend to get a bit of everything. Earth Final Conflict was, sorry EFC fans, garbage! I spent most of my time trying to decide if these "aliens" were gay or something!! The acting was wooden. But Babylon 5 - supreme - and I look forward to Rangers too - anyone know when it is due to hit the screens both in the US and in GB? THe thing about B5 is that I can watch repeats too, as it was such a well written complex scenario that it is worthy of re-viewing. :rolleyes:

Although I can see some didn't like Crusade, I did purely for the Technomage character and his abilities.

For instance his ability to clone himself holographically and the "humour" he used when his clone was "looking to be preyed upon" in one episode.

Also the entire notion of travelling around in your own lonesome craft to do what you do in a freelance sort of way was of small amusement.

B5 is for adults sameway Staertrek or EFC is for young adults. Andromeda is a cross and lately I am enjoying the show. Rangers comes out sometime this month. One of the interesting part of B5 is that the story kept the power levels of aliens and technology gadgets consistently at its respective level throughout. I too liked the Galen character (I like both father and son Woodwards)...

Earth Final Conflict was, sorry EFC fans, garbage!

That's what I thought at first. How many episodes have you seen in order (ie. #12 then #13 then #14)? Personally I never liked B5, but then again I'm a young adult so I guess that would be why :p

Is Rangers the sequel series to B5 or something? Or is it a whole new series that's been spun off from B5?

As I understand it, Rangers is a byproduct - a separate series, based upon B5 :rolleyes:

Xelios, watch the Andromeda series and give us your perspective as an young adult. I think series are made for a specific target audience. EFC is designed for you, so you like it. That means, the producers are right on track.

We shall see if The Rangers are targeted to Adults or Young Adults...

Andromeda is the sorriest excuse for a Sci Fi series I've seen in a while. I've given it a fair chance and watched 3 episodes, all I can say is no more.

Lets see, a violent person who looks like a WWF wrestler (Tier, which by coincidence means Animal in German). A chronicly hyper computer whiz who at the same time acts like an idiot constantly. A purple woman that serves no purpose. An AI that you can't tell apart from a real person 90% of the time. And last, and least, a "captain" who constantly looks as if he is in a photo shoot.

All stuck in a black hole and "time warped" to the future, where their government doesn't exist any more. Wow, great plot.

That's my view on the show. What's your verdict? :p

I would like to know :)

It simply suffers from weak characters, poor plots and totally naff
acting.
Andromeda( the android that is) is a bit of fair eye candy but that's about it.

Have you ever had junk food? Loved it to eat but know that there is no nutrition value in it?

Need I say more....?

Yeah, except this junk food tastes horrible ;)

Originally posted by kmguru
B5 is for adults sameway Staertrek or EFC is for young adults.

Im 18 and i would just like to say that I enjoy B5 alot, i started watching it when I was younger and it was just a new series right out of the crib. ive enjoyed it and i have enjoyed Legend Of the rangers. EFC is cool Ive liked it since I first watched, so that would make me a young adult right? Startrek isnt for just adults but teens to and Enterprise is for teens and adults. I like enterprise to. but im just a big scifi geek freak so what do i know?

You will enjoy more (B5) as you age. There are a lot of nuances and dialogs and philosophy that you will relate more as you experience life on this planet (internationally i.e.). As I watch 2nd or 3rd time, I pick up stuff, I missed the first time. I like B5 for its superior dialogs that are as good if not better than any Oscar/Nobel winning serious drama. The story arc is very forward looking too. Reminds me of HG Wells (Time machine) or Clarke (2001).

Combined with powerful story, human drama, and vision - it is the best of the best.

What drew me to B5 when i was younger was the action, just pure action; explosions stuff like that. But as I watched the show more I just fell in love with the characters. Epic characters that will never be forgotten for there deeds or what they had to overcome. Even if they are fake I still give a damn what happens to them and that is a great feeling.

B5 is very definitely re-watchable; over and over again; for the reasons you state.:rolleyes:

im in the process of watching through B5 in its entirety for the first time.. i havnt missed an episode once since they started from the first one sometime in early fall <thank god for my tivo>,
while i already know whats going to happen, its still impossible for me not to watch, jus to see the events that lead up to the end, or see some part of the show in a new light....
the whole shadow war was great, you see them building up for it from the pilot, lita's contact with the vorlons, delen's attitude toward the captain

the episode "deconstruction of falling stars" which was aired last week on the scifi channel, shows how the events would be viewed in the future, and how future generations would interpert them, and the future of the earth, one of the better episodes which is saying alot for any B5 episode ..

although one thing that always annoyed me, what happened with epsilon 3? the planet behind B5, they had access to the great machine there yet only used it in a couple episodes then seemingly forgot about it

does anyone know if legend of the rangers was just a movie, or the prequel to a series?

Heres an interesting fact about the deconstruction of falling stars, it was originally ment to be the last episode but B5 got renewed and it countinued.

Legend of the rangers is not a prequel it takes place a few years after the events of the insteller alliance's birth.

Epsilon 3 isnt forgotten about. They choose to leave it alone because it needs to be left alone. Power like that shouldnt be used by anyone.

This site about B5 (http://www.cs.tut.fi/~albert/Quotes/B5-quotes.html) has quotes and episode interpretations, i still go to it to this day. They even rank each episode with a P5 rating and even have commentary from JMS (series creator)

You dont know everything thats going to happen some things may come as a shock to you.

Interesting link that, thanks.

Epsilon 3 isnt forgotten about. They choose to leave it alone because it needs to be left alone. Power like that shouldnt be used by anyone.

Heinz Beans also had the same effect on me!!! Sorry, could not resist that! :rolleyes:

CounslerCoffee

thanks for the link, that would have been an intresting final episode, but all in all im really glad it aired for another season...

the comment about legend of the rangers being a prequel.. i meant not as a prequel to B5.. but was it a B5 movie like the others.. or more like a pilot for a rangers series...

The time travel technology came from Epsilon 3. Imagine if it would have fallen to the shadows...and their servants....that is why it was left alone but was used well a couple of times like Ivanova reaching out...

If JMS is asked to do a spin off, he could use it again if the plot calls for it.

Ive heard various things about Legend of the rangers being a series. I personally hope that it becomes a series, the only thing us B5 fans have had sense B5 went off the air was Crusade, which was good but got cancelled.

Plus JMS is already working on another series called Jeremiah on showtime, see the thread that I started yesterday for more information.

Let us praise the "inventor" of the modern day video machine - and now the DVD machine - without which we could not watch endless repeats of B5 - quite happily. :rolleyes:

But the only thing on DVD right now is "In the beggining" and "The gahtering" With no extra features and horrible resolution. The movies themselves are great but terrible resolution makes it looks like its on tape. I hope they bring all of the B5 series and movies to DVD i would buy every single one.

I have not seen the DVD. I would complain in every bulletin board including SCIFI website about the resolution and no extended scenecs and no JMS speaks etc. May be they will bring out quality stuff.

With respect to B5, I had a major argument with a friend. The theme was like this. He said the large consulting companies like Andersen hire from Best business schools like Harvard, Yale, Oxford etc and have a lot of bright people that solve company problems. I said, that is not true. Just because someone has a degree from a top university does not make him/her the smartest. Besides according to the bell curve and statistics, there are very few out there and they are not concentrated in one place. Otherwise, large companies (who can afford them) like Enron, K-Mart, Global Crossing would not go out of business. I gave the B5 example, as to how rare it is to find quality and smart creations.

Was I wrong?

I'd just like to say that I have nearly every episode of Babylon 5 from the end of season 3 onward on video tape. Wow. I think I need a cold shower. :>

I have every episode of B5 someplace on SVHS. Maybe I missed one or two. Even the first episode has some information that you don't realize it's significance untill years later. All time best Science Fiction series, ever.

I enjoy Star Wars, even though I don't consider it true SciFi. There is nothing in the plot that really deals with science.