Should I get the Babylon 5 Pilot DVD or is it in season 1? (1 Viewer)

[Rolando]

Title says it all!

Should I get the Babylon 5 Pilot DVD "The Gathering" or is it included in the season 1 set?

Saw it somewhere for $6 (it does not include "In the beginning") and I figured I should get it before I buy Season 1.

 

[Andy_Bu]

1) It is not included in Season 1.

2) Is is not crucial to see this before season 1 but most would recommend it

3) I was not aware that the Pilot was ever release as a standalone DVD. I am pretty sure it has only been released in one of two ways.

a) Paired with In the Beginning
b) Part of the recently released B5 Movies box set

Andy

 

[Gord Lacey]

You should watch it before season 1. You have a few options; the DVD you mention, the previous released DVD with "The Gathering" or you could buy it as part of the B5 movie collection.

If you aren't familiar with the show then I'd suggest picking up the DVD you mention. If you know you'll like it then I'd suggest picking up the B5 movie collection, that way you have the other movies to watch as you buy the other seasons (assuming you will).

Gord

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

If you're already a fan of the series ignore the "loss-leader" disc (part of a series of TV samplers released by Warner Bros.) You'll want the five TV movie set anyway, and the you'll get better transfer, 5.1 sound remix and commentary track by writer/producer J. Michael Straczynski. If you're new to the series and plan to give it a try with the S1 set, buy the cheap disc. It comes with a $5 off coupon for any of the season sets anyway, so you're effectively paying a buck for it. You can watch it in the right spot chronologically (just remember that it is a pilot and there are substantial changes between it and the series although they are mostly incorporated into the show's continuity.) Then, assuming you get completely hooked, you can buy the movie set later. (That works out anyway because one of the other films is best watched during S4, another after S4 and the other two after S5.)

Regards,

Joe

 

[Rolando]

whoa! was not aware of the 5 movie set. Is the Pilot still 4:3? I hear that is the OAR but that they were planning on making 16:9 like the rest of the series.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

The movie set only came out last Tuesday. It contains all of the TV movies except the unsold pilot for the spin-off Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers (2002) - which will get a separate release at some point. The Gathering has always been in its original production apsect ratio of 4:3 in all of its video release. (The Sci-Fi Channel, which edited the movie into a two-part episode and ran it as part of the season one episode rotation, matted "The Gathering Parts 1 & 2" down to 16:9 to match the rest of the widescreen episodes, but there was no reason for Warner Bros. to do so when releasing it as a movie on home video.)

Regards,

Joe

 

[Rob T]

The Gathering is a decent introduction to the show, but it has little to do with the show itself.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

"Little to do with the show"?

The film establishes the fact of the Earth-Minbar War, the mystery of the Minbari surrender, the relationship between Sinclair and Delenn, Lyta's scan of Kosh and the beginnings of their programming of her, Sinclair's missing 24 hours, the Battle of the Line, the fact that at least some of the Minbari know about the hole in Sinclair's mind, the lack of Narn telepaths and their interest in acquiring genetic material from a Human Teep to correct this problem. (Something that pays off in the last few episodes of season five.)

To mention only a few of the important plot threads introduced by the movie.

The makeup, props and some of the cast may have changed, between pilot and series, but JMS deiberately continued the story from the pilot and it remains an integral part of the story.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Britton]

I saw "The Gathering" DVD for $3.99 at my local Target, so I would highly recommend anyone "trying out" the show to pick it up and see it all from the beginning. There's a $5 rebate coupon you can use towards the purchase of any of the seasons, so you effectively get the pilot for free should you decide to continue on with this excellent novel for television.

 

[James Lambert]

There are several events depicted in the pilot that are referenced to in later episodes, so highly recommended that you watch it first