As I'm sure you know, this is actually the re-edited version of The Gathering, which was first broadcast just before season 5 started in 1998, on TNT. At some point you should seek out the original 1993 version of it, which has a completely different score, by Stewart Copeland, the drummer from The Police. It's an interesting curiosity.
The fact that there was a longer than expected period between this and the start of the series allowed JMS to see what was wrong and fix a bunch of things. Like those rings...
Notice in G'Kar's proposal to Lyta, he states he doesn't know her threshold, and now in season 5, she told him she has no threshold. What a callback in S5!
One of the reasons people say the first season and the pilot aren't good, isn't because they aren't good, but because the show becomes so much better. On a rewatch, people want the show to "get to the good stuff" because season one is a lot of world building. You can appreciate the world building, because it really does seed the entire show, minus a few things we never see again i.e. Delenn's rings. Yes, the stims were foreshadowing the doctor's fall into addiction. The gap in filming made Johnny Sekka unavailable for the show, so they just moved his story directly over to Franklin. I'm really looking forward to you watching B5 for the second time. It is an entirely different experience and really makes you appreciate the thought JMS put into the details of the early episodes that later play out.
I've always looked at b5 season one as a benchmark for how to do a first season of a television show or even a movie series for arc based storytelling. Establish the characters and universe and then end the chapter with a universe breaking event (ie assassination of Santiago... Attack of the narn quadrant) that has lasting affects on the characters and living universe.
Agreed, those rings are ridiculously too powerful and scientifically stupid - but G'Kar's foreshadowing to not scream and to give in at the very last opportunity is dead on.
Although if Minbari have artificial gravity on their ships, it stands to reason that they would have the capacity to use the same artificial gravity technology as an offensive weapon. However, it would probably require an engine the size of a large room, rather than something you can wear.
The weirdest thing in retrospect for me is Kosh getting poisoned. The Kosh we know from later wouldn't have been poisonable, nor would he even agree to a handshake. And the suggestion of sending s criminal to the Vorlon home planet wouldn't've been an option either, although it is fun to imagine what the Vorlons as we knew them later would do with a criminal once they had him.
Laurel Takashima was originally going to be Psi Corps Bureau 13 Sleeper agent called control and the one that shoots Garibaldi in the back and was involved with the plot to assassinate Kosh
@@edwardhuggins84 Yes, it was she who let the assassin in Del Warner's quarters in the pilot, you could see her hand swiping the card to open the door.
Yeah, Ed was, I believe, originally cast for Corwin, but JMS found Ed could play his Morden character perfectly, so he was recast. Though thats Ed Wasser, that is not Morden. I'm sure you both know this, but watching it the 2nd time deserves this mention. And sorry for commenting a lot, ive been almost completely silent on your first run because I wanted to respect your no spoilers request.
As I recall, either the Minbari were to be a race that had only one gender, or Delenn was supposed to be male. The transformation in the Chrysalis makes her female and suddenly attractive to Sinclair (Sheridan). Had the actor who played Sinclair stayed, then Ms. Sakai would have explored Z'ha'dum, like she did Sigma 957, and never heard from again, and Sinclair would begin a relationship with Delenn, which is somewhat hinted at with these scenes with the two of them in the sand garden.
The Gathering is not a favorite of mine. It put me off B5 for awhile (I saw a part of it when it was first broadcast). I appreciate it now, but I am glad for the development
At the time The Gathering was released, I owned a computer store that sold the Commodore Amiga and the video toaster. We were really hyped about the fact the show's CGI had been produced on the toaster so I was really biased about this airing on TV. After watching the pilot, I really really disapointed and did not enjoy it. I forced myself to watch the show when it came out and did not enjoy that either, watched maybe 5 episodes then quit. It was only about 15 years after that I re-watched it after a friend convinced me that the show was really good if you could get past season 1. I am glad I did, and he was right. When JMS decided to take over the writting of the episodes instead of having other people write the episodes, the show became to notch! Re-watching the gathering now, I still think it is terrible, especially knowing how good the show becomes afterwards.
Pilots often have an innate dichotomy to them. On the one hand, they are "putting their BEST foot forwards" to get the show approved. On the other hand, they are often very bad/ flawed, in many ways due to the show "trying to find its legs". It's amazing how many Pilots are great & you can see WHY the studio approved the show, but seem damn near AWFUL upon later review, after watching a lot of the series.
Yeah as a life long B5 fan I do not rewatch the Gathering that often. It's just so, I don't wanna say bad, but it kinda is. It did its job to give JMS the budget for the show, which I love.
The circle is almost complete. They are returning to the beginning.
As I'm sure you know, this is actually the re-edited version of The Gathering, which was first broadcast just before season 5 started in 1998, on TNT. At some point you should seek out the original 1993 version of it, which has a completely different score, by Stewart Copeland, the drummer from The Police. It's an interesting curiosity.
Stewart Copeland's score is a bit more electro prog rock, than Christopher Franke's symphonic one. I like them both.
The fact that there was a longer than expected period between this and the start of the series allowed JMS to see what was wrong and fix a bunch of things. Like those rings...
Notice in G'Kar's proposal to Lyta, he states he doesn't know her threshold, and now in season 5, she told him she has no threshold. What a callback in S5!
One of the reasons people say the first season and the pilot aren't good, isn't because they aren't good, but because the show becomes so much better. On a rewatch, people want the show to "get to the good stuff" because season one is a lot of world building. You can appreciate the world building, because it really does seed the entire show, minus a few things we never see again i.e. Delenn's rings.
Yes, the stims were foreshadowing the doctor's fall into addiction. The gap in filming made Johnny Sekka unavailable for the show, so they just moved his story directly over to Franklin.
I'm really looking forward to you watching B5 for the second time. It is an entirely different experience and really makes you appreciate the thought JMS put into the details of the early episodes that later play out.
I've always looked at b5 season one as a benchmark for how to do a first season of a television show or even a movie series for arc based storytelling.
Establish the characters and universe and then end the chapter with a universe breaking event (ie assassination of Santiago... Attack of the narn quadrant) that has lasting affects on the characters and living universe.
Minbari cannot lie, except to save face; "saving face" can have a lot of leeway in its interpretation
Minbari can lie, just like Vulcans can. they choose not to.
Agreed, those rings are ridiculously too powerful and scientifically stupid - but G'Kar's foreshadowing to not scream and to give in at the very last opportunity is dead on.
Although if Minbari have artificial gravity on their ships, it stands to reason that they would have the capacity to use the same artificial gravity technology as an offensive weapon. However, it would probably require an engine the size of a large room, rather than something you can wear.
@@alextaylor1705 maybe the device was inside Delenn's personal shuttle/ship, and the ring was just a controller
Thanks, guys. This was a nice surprise to a tough week for me.
I still have the original DVD version and the re-edited version 😁
What a treat! I didn't expect Babylon 5 for the Second Time to start until at least after the end of the Series First Watch.
"I thought Minbari couldn't lie...." No that's Vulcans. *smirk*
The weirdest thing in retrospect for me is Kosh getting poisoned. The Kosh we know from later wouldn't have been poisonable, nor would he even agree to a handshake. And the suggestion of sending s criminal to the Vorlon home planet wouldn't've been an option either, although it is fun to imagine what the Vorlons as we knew them later would do with a criminal once they had him.
According to the B5 card game, the original first officer was secretly a member of Psi Corps, which is why she was recalled.
Laurel Takashima was originally going to be Psi Corps Bureau 13 Sleeper agent called control and the one that shoots Garibaldi in the back and was involved with the plot to assassinate Kosh
@@edwardhuggins84 Yes, it was she who let the assassin in Del Warner's quarters in the pilot, you could see her hand swiping the card to open the door.
Yeah, Ed was, I believe, originally cast for Corwin, but JMS found Ed could play his Morden character perfectly, so he was recast. Though thats Ed Wasser, that is not Morden. I'm sure you both know this, but watching it the 2nd time deserves this mention. And sorry for commenting a lot, ive been almost completely silent on your first run because I wanted to respect your no spoilers request.
From what I recall his reasoning for casting Wasser as Morden was that he wanted someone to that role with the most punchable face he could find.
Ok, now I have to watch the series again!
I'm going to have to find the original pilot and rewatch that, especially for the alien sector.
As I recall, either the Minbari were to be a race that had only one gender, or Delenn was supposed to be male. The transformation in the Chrysalis makes her female and suddenly attractive to Sinclair (Sheridan).
Had the actor who played Sinclair stayed, then Ms. Sakai would have explored Z'ha'dum, like she did Sigma 957, and never heard from again, and Sinclair would begin a relationship with Delenn, which is somewhat hinted at with these scenes with the two of them in the sand garden.
The Gathering is not a favorite of mine. It put me off B5 for awhile (I saw a part of it when it was first broadcast). I appreciate it now, but I am glad for the development
At the time The Gathering was released, I owned a computer store that sold the Commodore Amiga and the video toaster. We were really hyped about the fact the show's CGI had been produced on the toaster so I was really biased about this airing on TV. After watching the pilot, I really really disapointed and did not enjoy it. I forced myself to watch the show when it came out and did not enjoy that either, watched maybe 5 episodes then quit. It was only about 15 years after that I re-watched it after a friend convinced me that the show was really good if you could get past season 1. I am glad I did, and he was right. When JMS decided to take over the writting of the episodes instead of having other people write the episodes, the show became to notch! Re-watching the gathering now, I still think it is terrible, especially knowing how good the show becomes afterwards.
Sinclair was top man from day one!
...Sheridan changed the show...
I liked the ol'cowboy vibe Valen rocked. Cheers guys🍻💦
Pilots often have an innate dichotomy to them.
On the one hand, they are "putting their BEST foot forwards" to get the show approved. On the other hand, they are often very bad/ flawed, in many ways due to the show "trying to find its legs".
It's amazing how many Pilots are great & you can see WHY the studio approved the show, but seem damn near AWFUL upon later review, after watching a lot of the series.
Foreshadowing the fact the Vorlons are not necessarily the good guys...
Wait, what!?
is this the start of "for the second time"?
Minbari like to claim that they don't lie, but that's probably their number 1 lie
Is there a full version of this coming on patreon?
Yeah as a life long B5 fan I do not rewatch the Gathering that often. It's just so, I don't wanna say bad, but it kinda is. It did its job to give JMS the budget for the show, which I love.
Wait, did I miss something? I thought you guys still had a few episodes of season 5 and the movies to still get through?
1st comment. Club 65.
The original Delenn design was a lot more androgynous.