Babylon 5: The Complete Second Season

Back in the mid-nineties I really wasn't watching any TV show religiously. There was the occasional "Married...with children" episode, or once in a while I would watch "Star Trek: the Next Generation." Then I caught a single episode from season 2 of some Sci-fi show called "Babylon 5." The reason I know it was season 2 is because Bruce Boxleitner(of "Tron" fame) was the commander of the space station. At first I thought, "Okay, this looks like a slight variation on Deep Space 9, nothing more." I could not have been more wrong. What makes all "Star Trek" shows so frustrating is that they become predictable through repitition of plotting with only a handful of predictable characters. One knows that somehow the characters will resolve to succeed, usually in some positive re-affirmation of humanity. But on "Babylon 5" all the characters are flawed, there are many episodes that are left unexplained and/or unresolved. This makes for a very fresh experience with each story. More or less, there is a through story about "The Coming of Shadows," creatures that are oddly reminiscent of the "Buggers" from the Orson Scott Card novels "Ender's Game," "Speaker for the Dead," and "Xenocide." There are side stories, many of which are very humorous, that keep the show interesting most of the time. There are many reviews here that state that starting with season 2 is the way to go because of a respectable but fairly lackluster first season. I never saw the first season; even in syndication the networks only showed "Babylon 5" from season 2 on. There are also many reviews here noting all the references to "The Lord of the Rings." There are quite a few. There is "Za-Ha-Dum," then there is the Minbari council know as "The Nine," just to name a couple. There is an underlying reference, I feel, to the writing style of Jack Vance and his use of various cultures clashing violently and politically. Other none-too-subtle references come from George Orwell's "1984," such as the "Ministry of Peace" and the Psi-Corps(a thinly veiled nod to the "Thought Police"). Obviously, this is a thoughtfully well-written series. The acting from everyone is solid character acting of the highest quality. There is the occasional down moment, or ill-conceived sub-plot/side story, but overall I was thoroughly entertained and more often than not, completely enthralled with the through story leading me to the coming darkness. It arrives in season 3. Thank you.

Fascinating, sometimes maddening mix of wonderful and silly,
intelligent and dumb, insightful and obvious.

At it's best it's the 'Wire' of science fiction, challenging
'Battlestar Galactica' for intelligence and emotional depth.

The most interesting thing; this was an early case of a series having a
pre-planned multi-year arc, so throughout there are sometimes intentionally
confusing or mysterious details that return to be finally explained as
having great importance a season or two or three later.

On the other hand, because this preceded the acceptance of truly serial cable shows,
each episode is more self contained than more recent shows in a sometimes annoyingly
neat way.

The show is also full of allusions; Shakespeare, the Bible, Buddhism,
King Arthur, the Koran. Certainly the writing is grounded in pretty
heady stuff..

Season 2 brought in some stronger cast, and somewhat better effects than
the slightly rocky season 1.

The stories in season 2 continued to be a mix, mostly quite good, a few
great, and some subplots that were to be honest, dopey. But overall it
remained pretty riveting, with lots of interesting allusions to history
and philosophy. And it was great to see characters that seriously
evolve as the show goes on.

What may be the series' biggest problem; if this show could have been
12 episodes a year instead of 22, as is the case with most current serialized
series, there would be a lot fewer episodes that felt lacking
in substance, as if the show were just marking time.

I wish it was even more consistently great, but - in the end - it was
more than good enough.

P.S. To echo what others have written here, be careful with the special
features. They sometimes have a nasty habit of acting as spoilers and
giving away plot twists to come.

I had forgotten how much I liked this series. I remembered that It was good but after getting all 5 seasons and watching them all, I have to say I'm very glad to have watched it again, all these years later. Well worth the price. I know I will watch all five seasons again a couple of time over the years.

The regular characters are well defined, you really get to like and dislike some of them. For all the weird costumes and hairstyles, and what not, the acting gets you beyond laughing at them and brings you right along to caring about them.

Very good Sci-Fi series. A great addition to my collection.