PSX NATION: welcome to the world.

The science fiction genre is a tough one to break into. Shows generall stall with a hardcore following that eventually gets their favorite show taken away because of a lack of mass acceptance. Shows like Sliders, Earth Final Conflict and Andromeda yearn for the kind of widespread acceptance Star Trek, Stargate SG-1 and X-Files have. Babylon 5 is an example of one of these shows that somehow continues to move forward while being right on the cusp of mainstream acceptance. Afterall Star Trek found its audience long after NBC axed the series.

I must admit that my appreciation for the show came long after the initial season was over with and forgotten. So when Warner announced the release of the complete first season on DVD, I must admit I was anxious to see how this whole creative world began. Upon sitting down to watch the series I brushed up on my Babylon 5 history. The series was formed something like this.

"In the year 2257 A.D., an immense space station called Babylon 5 floats in a stationary orbit in a neutral corner of a distant galaxy. Manned by a crew of peaceful Earthmen and women, Babylon 5 serves as a non-political economic and social hub for the four alien races - the Narn, Centauri, Vorlon and Minbari - who fight to control the galaxy."

The pilot sets up the ongoing conflict as a changeling mimics the human's Commander Sinclair. While mimicing Sinclair he kills one of the opposing ambassadors, thereby causing friction between the races. The first season uses this launching effect to entertwine the races into a bitter conflict.

The first season, like many shows before it, had an issue with finding itself. Many of the episodes are a bit raw, a bit choatic with almost too many plot twists. However the show did manage to find itself eventually leaving way to these early episodes.

Probably the one episode that really shows how this series manage to gain a following is Signs and Portents. This episode showed the exciting action side that could be shown through the ongoing conflict. This episode also introduces us to Morden, a sinister agent secretly working for the powerful mercenaries known as The Shadowmen. Definitely one of the better episodes found on the disc. Of course there are twenty-one other episodes, many of which are worth viewing.

The complete season list includes 22 episodes spread over six discs. These include

Midnight on the Firing Line

Soul Hunter

Born to the Purple

Infection

Parliament of Dreams

Mind War

The War Prayer

And The Sky Full of Stars

Deathwalker

Believers

Survivors

By Any Means Necessary

Signs and Portents

A Voice in the Wilderness I

A Voice in the Wilderness II

Babylon Squared

The Quality of Mercy

Chrysalis

Warner Brothers has done quite a good job here putting together the entire season. Like Paramount's Star Trek The Next Generation Set, this is one of those expensive outings that only true fans of the series will undertake. So in thier defense, I must say that with Season One being edgy, and that fact that Sinclair only last during this season, true fans might want to wait for season two before going out on the wallet limb.

The Disc:

One of the things that Babylon 5 attemtped to do was exploit computer graphics for television. CGI was all the rage in 1994 and the show attempted to make the most of the budding technology. Remember this was before the Internet was a household word or Toy Story captivated audiences.

With this in mind it makes one wonder just why then every scene that contains CGI, whether fully rendered or to supplement live actors, appears mishapen and unattractive. There is an ongoing argument about how the first season was filmed, with an entire website dedicated to the subject. This only affects the CGI scenes of course as the transfer for the actors themselves looks quite well done.

The sound in the disc sounds like Dolby Surround 2.0 track though it has been remastered into DD 5.1. Unlike STTNG, though, the sound just doesn't come off as exciting or impressive. Of course this is still originally a television show but I must admit just a tad bit of disappoinment.

As for the extras what can I say? Warner offers them but not to the extent that a $100 set should. Creator and Writer J. Michael Straczynski may be heard in commentaries on disc four during episode 13 and on disc six during episode 22. Sure this is nice but how about more? Maybe I'm being greedy but we are talking about a decent sum of money here. The featurettes on the opposite are attractive and brought a good insight into the making of the show. I'll give Warner some leeway since this is Season 1 but 2 better up the ante.

bottom line:

For the true Fan this complete Season One box set represents a treasure. For the average viewer little can be found here that's not on television already. Still Warner didn't blow this one, they just failed to measure up to Star Trek TNG, much like the show itself failed to do. In the end still a good offering.

By - Brian "Shroom" Gray

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