104 lines
5.8 KiB
Plaintext
104 lines
5.8 KiB
Plaintext
Babylon 5: TV Science Fiction Through New Eyes
|
|
|
|
by
|
|
|
|
Steven Grimm
|
|
|
|
Imagine a future three hundred years hence. Humankind has recently been
|
|
beaten, badly, in a three-year-long war with an alien federation, who for
|
|
reasons unknown pulled back and sued for peace on the eve of their final
|
|
victory. Ten years later, we're back on our feet, fast becoming a major
|
|
player in a complex political milieu of alien civilizations, some of them
|
|
huge empires and others barely spacefaring.
|
|
|
|
That's the premise of "Babylon 5," a new science-fiction series from Warner
|
|
Bros.' PrimeTime Entertainment Network, or PTEN. It joins two existing PTEN
|
|
series, "Time Trax" and "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues," both of which
|
|
premiered last season. It can be seen Wednesdays at 8PM on most PTEN
|
|
stations.
|
|
|
|
Set on an Earth-sponsored space station in the year 2258, "Babylon 5" is the
|
|
story of station commander Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O'Hare), a survivor of
|
|
the final climactic battle of the Earth-Minbari War and, unbeknownst to him
|
|
until a recent episode, a key part of the puzzle of the Minbari Federation's
|
|
sudden surrender during that battle. The station is the fifth to bear the
|
|
name Babylon; the first three were sabotaged and destroyed, and number four
|
|
vanished without a trace shortly after becoming operational. Its fate is
|
|
another of the many ongoing mysteries of the series' universe.
|
|
|
|
"Babylon 5" is the brainchild of executive producer J. Michael Straczynski, a
|
|
longtime science-fiction buff and veteran of such shows as "Murder, She
|
|
Wrote" and the new "Twilight Zone." Straczynski has been developing "Babylon
|
|
5" since 1987. One result of this long gestation period is a detailed
|
|
five-year plot outline, a roadmap for the entire series from start to
|
|
finish. In that respect, the show is like a novel for television, a story
|
|
spanning five seasons with a beginning, middle, and end.
|
|
|
|
Nonetheless, Straczynski says, "Babylon" isn't like "Twin Peaks," which
|
|
required viewers to tune in each week or fall hopelessly behind in the
|
|
ongoing storylines. Each episode of "Babylon 5," by contrast, is intended
|
|
to be enjoyed on its own by someone who has no idea there's a larger story
|
|
being told. "The way the story is constructed, you can come in at any
|
|
point, even miss episodes, and still be able to follow the thing," says
|
|
Straczynski. "It's just that the *more* you watch, the more you'll get out
|
|
of it, the more things you'll pick up on. It's a very difficult task from
|
|
a writing point of view, but worth the effort, I think."
|
|
|
|
Since they know where the show will be headed down the line, Straczynski's
|
|
team can schedule set construction, special-effects work, and casting well in
|
|
advance when necessary, leading to much lower production costs than similar
|
|
series. The first-season finale, for example, was shot twelfth due to the
|
|
extensive post-production work required. It won't be aired until late
|
|
November.
|
|
|
|
Special-effects costs are also kept low by "Babylon"'s groundbreaking use of
|
|
computer-generated imagery, or CGI. Using computer graphics instead of
|
|
models for outer-space scenes allows three to four minutes of new effects
|
|
footage to be produced for each episode, something almost unheard-of in
|
|
traditional science-fiction television. But don't expect to see the effects
|
|
spread evenly across episodes. Straczynski's plot outline allows non-
|
|
effects-intensive episodes to be grouped together in production, so that the
|
|
effects team (Valencia-based Foundation Imaging) can use several episodes'
|
|
worth of production time on one especially spectacular show. A recent
|
|
episode titled "And the Sky Full of Stars" featured a flashback to the
|
|
disastrous final battle of the Earth-Minbari war. That sequence is
|
|
considered by many science-fiction aficionados to be the most complex space
|
|
battle ever shown on series television. And according to Straczynski, it
|
|
pales next to some of the upcoming episodes.
|
|
|
|
Another unusual aspect of "Babylon"'s production is Straczynski's interaction
|
|
with potential viewers via computer networks. He has been a regular user of
|
|
the GEnie commercial data service since before the start of filming, and has
|
|
shared the day-to-day details of production with other GEnie users. Even
|
|
more unusual, he has solicited comments, suggestions, and criticisms from his
|
|
fellow users, many of which have resulted in changes to the series. For
|
|
those on Usenet, Straczynski can also be found answering questions and
|
|
dropping tantalizing hints about things to come in the newsgroup
|
|
"rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5".
|
|
|
|
Reaction to the show has been generally positive. The aforementioned "And
|
|
the Sky Full of Stars" is the most popular episode to date; least liked is
|
|
"Infection," the first series episode produced and fourth aired. Viewers
|
|
seem to enjoy the fact that the series is gradually telling a story spanning
|
|
many episodes, even if only bits and pieces are revealed at any one time,
|
|
and the special effects and makeup are very well-regarded. The most common
|
|
complaint among fans is the often wooden acting of several regulars.
|
|
Straczynski counters that this is becoming a less frequent complaint as
|
|
viewers come to know the characters. Some viewers find the dialogue stilted;
|
|
one scene in particular, a reconciliation between Sinclair and former flame
|
|
Catherine Sakai (Julia Nickson), provoked an especially strong negative
|
|
reaction. But even those complaining most loudly continue to tune in to see
|
|
where the story will go next.
|
|
|
|
Like it or hate it, most viewers would agree that "Babylon 5" has a feel and
|
|
a look all its own, and whether or not the show runs for five seasons and
|
|
finishes telling its story, that's an accomplishment to be proud of.
|
|
|
|
-----
|
|
To find out more...
|
|
|
|
GEnie: Go to page 471 (SFRT2), and choose message category 18.
|
|
Usenet: See the newsgroup "rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5".
|
|
Internet: Anonymous ftp to "ftp.hyperion.com" or "ftp.uml.edu".
|
|
WWW: Go to URL "http://www.hyperion.com/lurk/lurker.html".
|