TotalTelly.co.uk
Devoted to Popular, Cult and Retro TV
Babylon 5: Season 4
In the aftermath the sheer scale drops back a little but the pace never slows as the rest of the year plays out in one relentless cycle of conspiracy, betrayal and conflict, Babylon 5 siding with the rebel Mars colony against the totalitarian Earth regime. Meanwhile, Delenn finds herself increasingly in conflict with her own people and, paralleling her relationship with Sheridan, Garibaldi becomes involved with his ex-fiancée Lise Hampton (Denise Gentile); in addition, an intense platonic love grows between Ivanova and Marcus Cole. On an unstoppable wave fuelled by roller-coaster plot twists and spectacular action shows from "No Surrender, No Retreat"--when Sheridan avows to overthrow EarthGov--to "Rising Star"--when the aim is realised--this series of Babylon 5 achieved a consistent excellence rare in television. Yet within that run "Intersections in Real Time" stands out as a bold experiment; essentially a two-hand drama taking place entirely within one dimly lit room. Then in "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars", a descendant of humanity one million years hence reviews excerpts from the history of Babylon 5. In one sequence set in 2762 a Brother is devoted to the preservation of history some time after the "Big Burn". In a homage to Walter M Miller's SF classic A Canticle for Leibowitz, Sheridan and Delenn have themselves become the stuff of legend. --Gary S Dalkin On the DVD:
RRP: £54.99
Our Price: £11.72 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
The fourth series of Babylon 5 begins on a high point with Centauri Prime in the grip of the insane Emperor Cartagia (Wortham Krimmer) and a run of six shows leading to the climax of the war against the Shadows in "Into the Fire". If this colossal narrative is resolved a little too easily and the ultimate aim of the Shadows turns out to be a tad disappointing, it's still one of the most powerful slices of space opera ever to grace the small screen.
All 22 episodes of Season 4 of Babylon 5 are presented on six DVDs. Anamorphically enhanced for widescreen TV, the picture is significantly stronger than on the original TV broadcasts, if not up to blockbuster movie standards. The remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is punchy and richly impressive, if again not quite state-of-the-art. As with previous seasons the main extras are three commentaries. The first, by actors Bruce Boxleitner, Jerry Doyle, Peter Jurasik and Patricia Tallman, finds these leading cast members having a great time joshing around on Falling Towards Apotheosis and failing to say anything very interesting. Series creator and writer J Michael Straczynski and director Michael Vejar discuss The Face of the Enemy, the conversation tending towards a technical scene-by-scene analysis, while by far the most interesting commentary is J Michael Straczynski alone on The Deconstruction of Falling Stars. JMS covers many aspects of the show, going into depth explaining both his ideas behind the series and the practicalities of realising his vision. Celestial Sounds is an interesting but too-short five-minute look at the scoring process with composer Christopher Franke, complemented by a powerful six-minute musical suite. The package also includes a six-minute introduction, a three-minute gag reel and video data files of characters, organisations and places. An Easter egg offers a comparison between untextured and completed CGI models of Babylon 5 itself. There is an optional French soundtrack, plus English, English for Hearing Impaired, French and Netherlands subtitles. --Gary S Dalkin
A truly great series of a truly great show
Review date: 2008-05-06 Rating: 10 out of 10
This fourth season of Babylon 5 is one of the best from the entire run of the show although the season is not without its flaws. The events detailed in this season cover a multitude of subjects including, among other things, the conclusion of the Shadow War, the retaking of Earth and a Minbari Class War. Of these plotlines I do feel that the Shadow War conclusion was a bit of an anticlimax and the Minbari Class War could have been shown in more detail than it was but all of this is made up for by the excellent way that the retaking of Earth was portrayed.
The show retains its brilliant acting and writing throughout this series and there is even a slight improvement in the special effects as well. Season four also includes many of my favourite episodes from the entirety of Babylon 5 including `Atonement' which explores Delenn's past, `No Surrender, No Retreat' where Sheridan finally decides to do something about Earth and the excellent `Intersections in Real Time' where Sheridan is tortured in an attempt to get him to admit his crimes. My favourite episode from this season though is the finale `Deconstruction of Fallen Stars' a brilliant look at how coming generations will remember the events of the series. Babylon 5 is a great series and this season is one of the best.
Similar Products
- Babylon 5: Season 3
- Babylon 5: Season 5 [1994]
- Babylon 5: Season 2
- Babylon 5 : Season 1 [1994]
- Babylon 5 Movie Box Set - Thirdspace/River of Souls/A Call to Arms [1998]
Reviews
Splendid
Review date: 2008-04-29 Rating: 10 out of 10
Everyone else seems to have said most of what needs to be said, covering all perspectives, so I won't attempt to repeat any of that.
Personally I thought this was the best series of an exceptional tv program. It's almost academic though really - you would be foolish to do other than start at season 1 (or the pilot from before that), and you're not going to stop until you've had enough. For me that would have been well beyond the end of season 5...
Where it all went wrong
Review date: 2007-09-05 Rating: 4 out of 10
I was a great fan of the series during seasons 1-3. It developed an intriguing story arc that other shows of the time were afraid to take on, fearing the casual viewer dropping in. What Straczynski realised was that viewers will stay with a series if it's good enough. He built things well enough in a patchy season 1, refined them in season 2 and brought things to a head in season 3. Arguably any climax to such a build up was going to be a disappointment, but as other reviewers have said, the attempt to wrap up the entire Shadow war/Vorlon arc in six episodes (whether through necessity or not), was a huge mistake and the resolution, such as it is, is almost laughable. By this stage B5 was afflicted by Straczynski-itis -the unwillingness of its creator to let others in - and it shows in the writing. You can have a degree of fun in these episodes counting how many times someone says 'hell', but thats pretty much the only entertainment on offer.
B5 is often compared with DS9 because the two series ran at the same time. The comparison is a little unfair, in that the premise, beyond the space station setting, is different. Where DS9 consistently surpassed B5 though, was in production values and scripting. What many people see in B5 as complex political intrigue is really teenage paranoid angst. DS9 meanwhile successfully integrated lighter episodes into its canon (B5 never seemed to realise that humour comes even in dire situations), and dealt with more serious issues in a frequently more sophisiticated way. The acting is also a good deal better, but, hell, that's got a lot to do with the scripts.
B5 can be intriguing and sometimes does hit the right notes, but in seasons 4 and 5 those times are rare. It was a great shame to see something with such promise end this way.
This is how the world ends..
Review date: 2006-10-04 Rating: 10 out of 10
Season 4 is my personal favourite B5 season. Having been informed that the show was unlikely to be renewed for a fifth season on its current network, Joe Michael Straczynski opted to rewrite his five year story in such a way that it could end satisfactorily after either four or five seasons. The result is that season 4 is the most intense, dark and dramatic of all B5, and wraps up virtually all of the major story threads. There's very little space in here for standalones, and barring a brief lull in the middle almost every episode follows on from the last one. This was a pretty revolutionary format at the time, though it works perfectly on DVD and has since become pretty much ubiquitous in US television.
The show also continued to push the envelope in other ways, with experimental episodes like the Illusion of Truth, which deals with a biased news report, Intersections in Real Time, which takes place entirely in an enclosed prison cell, and the `night club' scene in the Exercise of Vital Powers.
The series opens controversially by wrapping up B5's defining plotline in a single six episode arc. Although these are six of the best B5 episodes ever, the ending does leave you wondering how the story can regain the lost momentum. Fortunately it rallies brilliantly, and remains tense and gripping right through to end. The very final episode of B5, Sleeping in Light, was filmed at the end of Season 4 but ultimately moved to the end of Season 5. In its place we get the Deconstruction of Falling Stars, an anthology episode filmed at the beginning of Season 5 that tracks the history of B5 far into the future. Sadly it comes across as a bit stagy and static, and is probably the weakest of the season enders. Otherwise, though, this season is a satisfying and breathtaking continuation of the B5 story. Watch out for the brilliant `Babylon 5 suite' music video on the extras disc, but don't watch it until you've seen the whole of season 4!
The paragon of excellence
Review date: 2005-08-25 Rating: 10 out of 10
Season 4 of Babylon 5 really is superb both on an episodic and arc level. True, it's unlikely that you'd be purchasing it not having seen the first three seasons, but even so (most of) the episodes work well outside of the bigger picture. Certainly, when compared to its contemporaries (notably Deep Space Nine) one realises how B5 is in a totally different league. Everything about it oozes quality: from the political intrigue to the sweeping space battles, the character developments to the humour that hits the mark more often than not.
The season answers some questions and poses others - it covers a broad range of the story arc including the end of the Shadow War (which could only be considered an anticlimax if one hadn't been paying attention to the story thus far), the fight to reclaim Earth (a salutory lesson in the true nature of democracy), and the growth of characters into new and interesting realms.
On the downside there are still a few times when the picture quality becomes poor, but these are few and far between (certainly less so than previous seasons' DVDs).
It's a real pleasure to watch (some years since I last saw it on the television) and the quality of everything; the effects, the acting, the storyline; is evident. This is, to paraphrase a certain brand of lager, probably the best sci-fi in the world (sic).
Product Details/Specifications
Artist(s):
Babylon 5
Recording label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
EAN: 7321900279727
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 6
Format: Box set, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2004-04-19
Number of discs: 6
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 924 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1994-01-26
Language: English (Original Language)