Saturday, February 23, 2013

THE PHOENIX STILL RISING. HAPPY 20th BIRTHDAY, 'BABYLON 5'!

A bold new sci-fi universe. BABYLON 5 endures. Images: WARNER BROTHERS.

Belated Birthday wishes from KOOL TV to J. Michael Straczynski's epic sci-fi drama BABYLON 5 on reaching it's well-deserved Twentieth Anniversary on 22nd February. His personal mantra that "Faith Manages" certainly has proved itself with this show-his finest work for television so far, beautifully blending a huge scale story- very much a LORD OF THE RINGS meets STAR WARS in space- alongside the kind of intense and satisfying personal drama arcs that ensured it such devoted fandom and critical acclaim worldwide for years to come. It may not have had the glossy big budget look of that other major space franchise with the word TREK in it, but it never lacked ambition: season by season gaining superiority to many of that other shows later spin-offs, and, in many ways, far more depthful and innovative. In this dark and often cracked universe, with the emerging threat to the universe of a corrupting alien force known as The Shadows, there was no reset button at the end of each episode where our hereos were all hunkey dorey and ploughing happily on with their next mission. In the B5 universe, what happened next had consequences both good, bad and far-ranging, giving a talented cast lots to play with-bringing heroism, joy, loss and sadness in equal measure. Against this fine realm of drama, betrayal and good old-fashioned romance, the shows showcasing CGI effects were pioneering for their time, whilst the spaceships and space battles, weaponry and planetary empires created that rose and fell often during B5's expanding five year story arc proved awesome and iconic.

Babylon 5 Super Main Title - YouTube
▶ SciFi Channel SciFi Buzz Babylon 5 Sneak Peek - YouTube


Sci-fi TV for the future has a lot to learn and enjoy from the continuing presence of both J. Michael Straczynski and his landmark BABYLON 5- check out such incredible episodes such as And the Sky Full of Stars, The Coming of Shadows, War Without End, No Surrender, No Retreat, and All My Dreams Torn Asunder.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABYLON 5! 


Check out our BABYLON 5 Twentieth Anniversary photo gallery on our FACEBOOK page, here:
BABYLON 5 -TWENTY YEARS

Check out another fine tribute to the series here: The Strange, Secret Evolution of Babylon 5

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