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- Verified Buyer
I'll be reviewing both the series as a whole and the packaging, separately.PACKAGING: The series was originally released in cardboard booklets with super-glued plastic DVD holders. My dad owns this set, and it's really quite terrible.The series was later released in large DVD cases about half as wide, but the brittle plastic doesn't hold up. Out of all 6 boxes, all that I received were broken internally, and only one was useable. Luckily, I store my DVDs in carrier cases and use the cases as decorations, and none had any external damage.So it's up to you, whether you want the big carboard set that falls apart or the plastic set that falls apart, but I believe unless otherwise stated, you'll be getting the newer all-plastic cases.The cover art is wonderful, as you can see. The only thing that bothers me is that some characters are featured on the covers more prominently than others. For example, Londo is on nearly every single one, yet Garibaldi and Ivanova each appear once. Another disappointing thing is that this set doesn't include The Lost Tales, Legend of the Rangers, or Crusade, but oh well.REVIEW OF THE SERIES:Though I was born halfway through this show's original run, thanks to my dad purchasing it on VHS and making me watch it growing up, it's somewhere in my top three favorite shows. If you're reading this, you're probably familiar with it. If not, well...The story is great. There are minor details, lines in season one that have repercussions all the way until season four. The special effects are terrible nowadays, and you can easily tell what was shot on film and what was shot digitally, especially in earlier seasons, so when you see the screen get slightly pixelated, you know someone's gonna pull out a laser gun or use space magic or something. I imagine this wasn't too apparent on TVs of the time, but if watching this on an HDTV, it's painfully obvious. The CGI gets significantly better over time, though, as does the film quality. And the story.Side note: Some say the series is a ripoff of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but though DS9 was released a few months prior, Babylon 5 started production first. But, there are plenty of die-hard Star Trek fans that love Babylon 5 as well. The two series are not at all in competition, especially now, 20-some years later.The following is a spoiler-free review of each season and movie, in chronological order.In the Beginning: Prequel movie, which starts near the end of the series, and may spoil a few minor things, but figuring out how those things come to be may be fun. Best viewed either at the beginning of the series, or after Season Four.The Gathering: Pilot movie. A rather bad reflection of the series. Characters are undeveloped and aliens' makeup (Such as main characters Londo, G'Kar, and Delenn) looks both cheesy and completely different from how they look in the rest of the series. A murder mystery, packed with sci-fi action and politics.Season One: Almost unanimously considered the worst season, the dialogue is cheesy, as is the makeup, and characters disappear at the end of the season. The main purpose of Season One was to introduce the titular space station's mission, with various political and religious issues among different alien races. (One episode features a boy dying of a condition a simple surgery can fix, though surgery of any kind is against his parents' religion.) Though each episode is independent, some hints are sprinkled in there of the coming seasons.Season Two: The next two and a half seasons blur together, but this season features a new captain, John Sheridan, a hero from a past war with one of the alien races. This causes some tension, but these issues are irrelevant in the coming danger everyone senses.Season Three: The series really picks up steam in the third season, with an all-out war between nearly every alien race in the galaxy, even the nearly-omnipotent Vorlons and Shadows. In the process, the Earth and Centauri governments are infested with corruption. subtle dialogue hints from Season One start coming into play. Two old characters return, and another falls.Season Four: Originally, this season was supposed to be two, but the series' contract expired and the two seasons had to be condensed into one (And it was later renewed for a fifth season, which didn't work out too well. More on that later.) The Shadow War seemingly ends halfway through, but the threat remains. Major characters are put in serious jeaopardy on several occasions. Between the two major story arcs is a movie, Thirdspace. More on that later. After this, the cast takes the fight to Earth to rid its government of corruption. The last episode features a look at the consequences of the series up to a million years later. I recommend watching this episode just before the Season 5 finale.Thirdspace: Inspired by the works of HP Lovecraft, this movie puts a horror twist on Babylon 5. A lot of major characters are not featured, but aren't necessarily needed. Not one of the series' high-points in my opinion, but worth watching, regardless.Season 5: The plans for the series' fifth season were, as previously mentioned, condensed to fit into Season 4, so this season seems a bit superfluous. Though it doesn't live up to seasons 3 and 4, it's definitely worth watching, even without a few fan-favorite characters. STOP and do NOT watch the last episode of this season. You have a bit to go yet.The River of Souls: This movie features a race from Season One coming back to haunt Babylon 5, figuratively and literally.NOT INCLUDED: Legend of the Rangers: To Live and Die in Starlight: Failed pilot episode to a spinoff series. Poorly received, but worth watching.A Call to Arms: Pilot episode to spinoff series Crusade, featuring a new cast trying to find a solution to a major problem left behind by the Shadows, threatening everyone on Earth and potentially the rest of the galaxy.NOT INCLUDED: Crusade: This series, as mentioned, follows A Call to Arms. Definitely worth buying, though the episode order is a bit jumbled.NOT INCLUDED: The Lost Tales: This two-part movie made several years after the series' end is basically just two more standalone episodes for Season 5, with a higher budget and better CGI.THEN watch the Season 4 finale. Though it chronologically takes place at the end, it would be a terrible finale. Season 5's finale ends the series perfectly.Season 5 finale: NOT INCLUDED: Box of tissues. Seriously. You need one. Or maybe three. By far the best series finale I have ever seen. That's all I'll say.IN CONCLUSION: If you want an underrated, deeply philosophical sci-fi series full of realistic characters and issues and of course packed with epic space, gun, and fist fights, this is the series for you. It's well worth the price.
