Babylon 5 DVD (1 Viewer)

[Andy_B]

Thanx Joe!

I would love to see some more details on the time line as I thought the two (Crusade and LOTR), were pretty close in time..

Andy

 

[Ric Easton]

I believe the events in Legend of the Rangers take place about 5 years after season 5 of B5, but not the final epidode (Sleeping in Light) which takes place some 20 years later. Crusade took place approximately 10 years after season 5. If LOTR turns into a series and they last more than 5 years, they will enter the time of the Earth plague. It would be nice if that storyline could somehow be finished, either with a Crusade movie,(very doubtful since they would have to reassemble the actors and the sets, etc) or during the events of LOTR.

And any new news of the B5 series on DVD will be most appreciated!

-Ric Easton

 

[Ryan Spaight]

The Cliff Notes Guide to the Babylon 5 Timeline:

(Corrected as per Joe D.'s notes below.)

2247 "In The Beginning"

2254 "Flash-Backs" in "Babylon Squared," "War Without End"

2257 "The Gathering"

2258 Season One

2259 Season Two

2260 Season Three

2261 Season Four, "Thirdspace"

2262 Season Five (except "Sleeping in Light")

2263 "River Of Souls"

2264 Telepath War

2265 Legend of the Rangers Pilot/Movie

2267 "Call to Arms", Crusade

2272 Drakh Plague Deadline (not necessarily when cured)

2278 "Flash-Forwards" in "In The Beginning," "War Without End"

2281 "Sleeping In Light"

And that's not counting the many excellent novels that fill-in lots of information around the margins.

Ryan

 

[nolesrule]

Ric, as you can see from Ryan's abridged timeline which looks pretty accurate to me, you're off by a few years for both Rangers and Crusade. You put Rangers where Crusade is and the start of Crusade at the point where the plague would have killed everyone on Earth.
A Rangers show would only have to go a couple of seasons to sync up with Crusade.
As for more B5 DVD news, other than the unconfirmed news report on B5LR.com that they will be put into production, that's all anyone has heard.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Ryan:
Almost perfect. Two (minor) corrections:
The framing sequence from In the Beginning and the time-flashes from "WWE" take place in 2278, not 2279. (There is a on-screen title during the ItB credits that says something like, "Centauri Prime. Homeworld of the Centauri Republic. 2278, Earth Calendar.") And you can move your date for the Telepath War out of the "inferred" and into the "definite" column. JMS confirmed in an usenet post last year that the war starts in 2264 and ends in 2265.
Oh, he's also said that the cure for the Drakh plague would have been found in Crusade season 2. Although that would only have opened the door to other, in some ways worse problems.
Regards,
Joe

 

[Ric Easton]

Joe,

Thanks for setting me straight! :p)

-Ric

 

[nolesrule]

Like I said earlier, Joe D. is the timeline master.

 

[Ryan Spaight]

Joe D.,
I figured you'd correct whatever I messed up.
I goofed up the math somehow for the ITB/WWE flash-forwards. I know it was eighteen years after season three, but somewhow typed 2279 anyway. I'll fix it.
As for the "real" Crusade story, I would *really* like to hear it in some fashion eventually. I assume you've read the unfilmed scripts and the techno-mage trilogy and know what I'm talking about.
Ryan

 

[Qui-Gon John]

On ItB, I usually say, if someone is totally new to B5, wait until the end of Season 3. If you are a B5 fan and just re-watching it all, see it before The Gathering.

 

[Philip Verdieck]

OK. To the books, since they seem to be one of the best things to read to fill things in.
So far, I read a bunch of the lightweight early ones.
I also read the one which details Besters end.
I have seen the Centauri ones, but not picked them up.
Joe, can you list what there is, what they cover
I think there is the Centauri Trilogy, and the Technomage Trilogy, and a Telepath Trilogy????

 

[Ryan Spaight]

I'm not Joe, but I'll do what I can. No spoilers beyond what you can read on the book covers.

The really good books (and the ones most important to the overall story) are:

"The Shadow Within" (#7 in the Dell series) - tells the story of Anna Sheridan's ill-fated trip to Z'ha'Dum. Also sets up a lot of the Technomage trilogy (see below). Takes place in 2256, I believe. Out of print from Dell, but being reissued by Del Rey at the end of the year.

"To Dream in the City of Sorrows" (#9 in the Dell series) - about Sinclair's adventures after leaving B5 at the end of Season One. Lots of good stuff for Sinclair and Minbari fans. Takes place in 2259-2260. Same in-print status as "Shadow" above.

The other Dell books range from awful to diverting, but none are really essential, nor are they as "canon" as these two. (The plots of the above two, as well as all the trilogies below, come from JMS outlines, so they can be considered authoritative.)

Then there are the three trilogies (a Minbari must have designed the Del Rey publication plan):

Telepath Trilogy: "Dark Genesis", "Deadly Relations", "Final Reckoning." The story of Psi-Corps from the first human telepaths through the death of Bester. (Except, of course, for the gory details of the Telepath War, which no one knows yet.) Spans 2115-2271 -- Book One is the early years of Psi-Corps, Book Two is Bester's life up to his first mission to B5, and Book Three is Bester's last days as a fugitive after the Teep War. Great stuff.

Centauri Trilogy: "The Long Night of Centauri Prime", "Armies of Light and Dark", "Out of the Darkness." Picking up where the series leaves off in 2262, these books tell the story of Londo's reign as Emperor of the Centauri Republic up to 2278.

Technomage Trilogy: "Casting Shadows", "Summoning Light", "Invoking Darkness." This is basically the backstory of Galen, the mage character from Crusade. After reading this, you'll definitely want to watch a few Crusade episodes over again. And curse the fact that it was cancelled. Covers 2258-2260. Could be my favorite of the bunch.

All of these go well beyond the typical TV tie-in books, and the stories don't feel "tacked on" to the show itself. If you're a fan of the show, these books are a must.

Ryan

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Ryan:
See this link, and brave the massive spoiler box, if you dare.
TV Shows - B5: Legend of the Rangers
Philip:
You rang?
So far, I read a bunch of the lightweight early ones.
Suck, don't they? Actually two of them, numbers 7 and 9, IIRC, are good B5 and (pretty) good novels. The others tend to be one or the other (or neither.) The Shadow Within by Jeanne Cavelos tells the story of Anna Sheridan, Mr. Morden, and the ill-fated expedition of the Icarus to Z'ha'dum. To Dream in the City of Sorrows, by Kathryn M. Drennan, follows Jeffery Sinclair from his arrival on Minbar as Earth Ambassador to his departure for Babylon 5 and the events of "War Without End."
JMS has said that these two are between 80% and 90% "canon", that is, as much a part of the "real" story as the episodes themselves. (There are some minor mismatches in chronology and other details in both, and a few ideas that JMS doesn't feel bound to stick to if he decides to contradict this backstory in later TV or movie installments.) Not surprising, when you think about it. They are among the few books written after the series was on the air, Cavelos was the editor for the series, early on, and therefore had more access to show materials and to JMS, and Kathryn Drennan not only wrote for the series ("By Any Means Necessary"), but is married to JMS.
All of the early Dell books are now out of print, but the good news is that Del Rey has acquired the rights to republish them. They'll be released again starting December with The Shadow Within, followed by To Dream, since they are the two most requested.
I also read the one which details Besters end.
That is actually the last book of the Psi-Corps Trilogy.
Joe, can you list what there is, what they cover?
In addition to the newer trilogies (which are all based on outlines by JMS, and therefore "canon" except for small errors here and there) Ballantine books (through various divisions) also publishes novelizations of three to the TV movies, The Babylon 5 Security Manual, and Jane Killick's invaluable B5: Season By Season episode guide.
Killick's books are:
S1: Signs and Portents
S2: The Coming of Shadows
S3: Point of No Return
S4: No Surrender, No Retreat
S5: The Wheel of Fire
(A lot of people don't realize that each of the five seasons actually did have a title, just like the volumes in a series of books. Each "book" took its title from a "chapter", that is, an episode, also a common practice in publishing. Killick's books use the season titles for each volume.)
The TV movie books are:
Thirdspace by Peter David
A Call to Arms by Robert Sheckley
In the Beginning by Peter David
ItB was based on the script, and written before the film was shot, as is common with novelizations that have to be in the stores when a movie debuts. In JMS's script the Centauri "governess" who minds the children is not given a name. In the novel, David dubs her Senna, and makes her role a bit bigger. When it came time to outline the Centauri trilogy, JMS needed a female Centauri who would be a certain age in 2278. Rather than invent a new character, he borrowed Senna and made her an important character in the events leading up to ItB, though circumstances still put her in charge of the children at the moment they burst in on Londo. For this reason the characterization of Senna is jarringly different in the book version of ItB and the later Centauri novels. Short of a major rewrite of ItB there is really nothing that can be done to fix this. Oddly the film doesn't suffer nearly the same problem, because Senna is such a minor character in it, and we learn so little about her.
Spoiler protection for those who haven't seen the whole series. No real spoilers for the books themselves:

The Psi-Corps Trilogy (Doesn't really have an over-all title) by J. Gregory Keyes
Dark Genesis: The Birth of the Corps
From the discovery of Human telepaths (about 100 years before the series starts) through the founding of the agency that will become Psi-Corps and the birth of Alfred Bester.
Strange Relations: Bester Ascendant
Bester's early life and his rise through the ranks of Psi-Corps. Ends with his departure for Babylon 5 in pursuit of the rogue telepath Jason Ironheart (S1, "Mind War")
Final Reckoning: The Fate of Bester
Picks up Bester's story many years after the Telepath War and the destruction of Psi-Corps. A hunted man for nearly 20 years, Bester decides to stop running and hide out in the last place anyone would think to look for him - Earth, headquarters of the government that has already convicted him of treason and war crimes in absentia.
Legions of Fire by Peter David
The Long Night of Centauri Prime
From Londo's ascension through the early years of Centauri isolation and the secret Drakh occupation. (Roughly 2262 to 2265)
Armies of Light and Dark
Resistance to "Londo's" policies comes from an odd quarter. Londo's isolation and powerlessness grow as ministers influenced by the Drakh take control of the government. The Centauri secretly plot against the Alliance, and the Drakh prepare to attack both Earth and Minbar with deadly weapons left by the Shadows. (Includes events that happen "off-screen" in A Call to Arms (2265 to 2267)
Out of the Darkness
The Ministers tighten their grip on Centauri Prime. The Resistance prepares to make its move. The Keeper in the urn siezes control of David Sheridan. G'Kar goes undercover on Centauri Prime to investigate recent events. Sheridan and Delenn risk everything to save their son. (2267 to 2278 - Overlaps with S3, "War Without End" and In the Beginning)
Peter David was evidently given a timeline that had a typo in it, because several of the events in these the novels are off by just about a year. I'm not sure how this was missed in editing. But this and one or two other minor inconsistancies are the only real flaws.
The Passing of the Technomages by Jeanne Cavelos
Casting Shadows
The technomages hold a convocation to induct new members, including Galen (A Call to Arms, Crusade) and three less skilled mages who will play a part in other novels. Disturbing hints emerge about the origins of the implants the mages use to work their "magic" Galen's mission to investigate these rumors brings him into contact with Anna Sheridan, now implanted in a Shadow warship, and brings him to the notice of Kosh, who is himself monitoring the mages. (2258, late S1)
Invoking Darkness
The mages decide to go into hiding on the eve of the Shadow War. Two of the mages join the Shadows, putting the escape of the others at risk. The group passes through Babylon 5 on their way out of known space (S2, "The Geometry of Shadows"), but what they allow Sheridan and others to see of their actions is mostly illusion and misdirection. You'll never look at the episode the same way again.
Summoning Light
Galen discovers the secret of the Mage implants, a secret that may destroy their order. The Shadows discover the identity of Anna Sheridan and remove her from her ship to use her as bait in a trap for her husband. Kosh is killed by vengeful Shadows, but manages to "break off a piece of himself" as Vorlons do, and implant it in John Sheridan. Galen confronts the renegade Mages even as Sheridan faces the Shadows on Z'ha'dum. (S3, 2261. Overlaps with several episodes, notably "Z'ha'dum")
The Cavelos books are probably most closely tied to the events of the series, since they all take place between 2258 and 2262, and frequently weave in and out of individual episodes in interesting ways. She also refers to events concerning Kosh, Anna Sheridan and Morden that come from her earlier novel, The Shadow Within. This makes Shadow a good, but not indispensible, companion piece to the Mage trilogy.
Personally I liked the Cavelos books best as novels, and, oddly, they are probably the ones that would be most enjoyed by someone who has never seen the series. I found the Psi-Corp books well-written and informative about the history of the B5 universe and Bester, but drier somehow, less involving. OTOH, I know people who loved the Keyes Psi Corps books, and view the Technomage novels as the weakest of the three. Everybody seems to like Peter David's Centauri books, he has a great feel for Londo, especially his way of speaking, but they don't seem to inspire the kind of passionate response the other two do in both those who like and those who dislike them.

 

[DavidEC]

The Legend of the Rangers movie takes place before Crusade and the Drakh plague.

Hu? How could this be? Because 'GKar' left on his soul searching trip after the 'Drakh' poisoned the earth at the end of the 'Shadow' wars.

--David

 

[nolesrule]

Hu? How could this be? Because 'GKar' left on his soul searching trip after the 'Drakh' poisoned the earth at the end of the 'Shadow' wars.

Nope. G'Kar left with Lyta in the episode Objects in Motion near the end of the 5th season in 2262.

The poisoning of Earth by the Drakh takes place 5 years later. This takes place in the TV movie A Call to Arms which leads into Crusade.

G'Kar comes back from his trip with Lyta after 2 years, the Telepath War breaks out and ends, then the Rangers movie takes place. Crusade is then 2 more years down the road.

See Ryan Spaight's post above (#43 of the thread) for the condensed timeline.

 

[Philip Verdieck]

Thanks for the info. Now that you mention it, I have read "Sorrows", which was indeed a good book, and I also read the 1st Psi-Corp novel.

Whoah, I just followed that link!

 

[Qui-Gon John]

I read the Centauri trilogy, I think it is great. I would love to see a series, mini-series or TV movie covering that material.

 

[todd s]

Going back to the subject of the dvd's. I wonder when we will hear anything regarding B5 on dvd? We already have the April release info for Friends. Which is 3 months from now. Next to Star Trek:TNG, B5 is my most wanted tv show.