Sunday, October 13, 2013

Babylon 5: The Complete Fifth Season (Repackage)



"Wheel of Fire" Final Season
Like the other four seasons, "Season Five" will be in widescreen anamorphic format and Dolby Digital 5.1. It includes all 22 episodes and runs for 968 minutes. For the final season, fans are expecting some special extras. Here is a list of the scheduled extras:

=>Introduction to Wheel of Fire (Season 5 of Babylon 5) by series creator, J. Michael Straczynski
=>Two audio commentaries by J. Michael Straczynski
=>Movements of Fire and Shadow commentary by cast members Bruce Boxleitner, Peter Jurasik, Patricia Tallman and Tracy Scoggins
=>Digital Tomorrow - a featurette about making the special effects for the series
=>Beyond Babylon 5 - a featurette focusing on the fans, their reactions to the show and available Babylon 5 merchandise
=>The Universe of Babylon 5
=>Personnel Files; Data Files; Gag Reel; Episode previews
=>Easter Egg: Marcus Cole: Dead or Frozen
=>Additional and Extended Scenes

Unfinished from prior seasons, the telepath...

The wheel turns, does it not, Ambassador?
After Season Four's constant exillerating pace, Season Five slows down to give the show a fresh story-arch climb. The season starts out by introducing the new Babylon 5 Captain, Elizabeth Lockley, an Earth Force Captain who faught for Clark's regime during the civil war, creating an interesting dynamic between herself, Sheridan, Dellen, and Garibaldi. We are also introduced to the machinations of the Inter Stellar Alliance.

Much of what Sheridan feared in Season Four comes to fruition with the legacy of the Vorlons and Shadows causing the paramount issues through out the year, and his Grandfather's quote, "The duration is longer than the war," is explained through action, consequence, and chance.

Much of the drama involved with the telepath crisis is sucked dry due to Ivannava's absence, with Lyta evoling to capture and express much of the emotional struggles. It is her story sallied with the character of Byron where the show fails to capture the force that was prevelent...

A correction, and an opinion...
Kevin is mistaken, Babylon 5 was only ever intended to run 5 seasons, start to finish. It was all plotted out in advance and there was never any intention of having a sixth season.

However, during the fourth season there was doubt as to whether the show would get picked up for the fifth, which required Straczynski to wrap up all the major storylines at the end of season 4 while still leaving room for another season if they got it. In the majority of television series, that wouldn't be a huge concern, as very little tends to change from one season to the next, let alone from episode to episode. The novel-like structure of Babylon 5 made this more challenging -- and yet, it also made it easier. Since he knew all along what the five-year story would be, Stracynski was able to shoot the series finale in such a way that it could be played at the end of either season four or five, depending on how things worked out. A somewhat differently-styled episode was shot which would be able...

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