Babylon 5 - The Gathering (TV Premiere DVD)

Starring:Michael O'Hare, Tamlyn Tomita, Jerry Doyle, Mira Furlan, Blaire Baron, John Fleck, Paul Hampton, Peter Jurasik, Andreas Katsulas, Johnny Sekka, Patricia Tallman, Steven R. Barnett, Billy Hayes, Linda Hoffman, Robert Jason Jackson, F. William Parker, Marianne Robertson, David Sage, Ed Wasser, Haley McLane
Director: Richard Compton
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Product Description

The long-running, Emmy-winning TV series launches onto DVD with two feature-length adventures about an outer-space way station.

Amazon.com

In spring 1993, a year before the Babylon 5 series was launched, the two-hour movie and series pilot "The Gathering" staked out the initial territory, introducing primary characters (some of whom would never appear again) and sketching the alliances and rifts in interplanetary diplomacy. The central story involves the attempted assassination of the newly arrived Vorlon, the mysterious Ambassador Kosh, at the hands of (perhaps) Commander Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O'Hare). This is the reedited cut released on video, a stronger, more engaging film than the original, but still a broad first stab at characters that would be redefined through the course of the show's run.

"In the Beginning," produced between the fourth and fifth seasons, packs all the history alluded to in "The Gathering"--and more--into a prequel stuffed to the hatches with the epic doings of Earth, Minbar, Narn, and Centauri in the days before the Babylon stations were built. Infused with epic sweep and storytelling confidence by producer-writer Michael J. Straczynski and his cast and crew, it's an elegant, compelling addition to the Babylon 5 universe and a dramatic highlight of the series. It's not an ideal introduction, though, as it gives away the shadowy history slowly revealed through the first three seasons. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

a new idea.......2007-01-16

this movie gives the real grounding to the whole series, and does an excelent job of laying the foundations for the whole series.

You see I was there at the dawn of the Third Age..........2006-12-18

What a strange release this is, especially if you're new to Babylon 5. Here we have the original series pilot "The Gathering," introducing us to the fantastical B5 universe, and one of the outstanding highlights of the entire 5 year run, the stuffed-to-the-gills-with-spoilers-and-plot-revelations film, "In The Beginning," both on the same double sided disc.

And if that wasn't odd enough, "The Gathering" seems to be JMS's "Special" edition, complete with Chris Franke soundtrack, but shown in the original full-frame ratio, instead of a fake matted letterbox format... this is strangeness of almost Kosh-like proportions!

Oh well, after seeing the entire 5-year run on TV, plus the attendant films and the sadly short-lived "Crusade" spin-off, it's funny to watch "The Gathering" again. You can see the B5 universe coming together, although there are a few stumbles; even in this re-edited/tightened version it's still a little stodgy. However this is really only apparent with the perfect 20/20 hindsight that comes from having watched the entire five-year series!

Michael O'Hare's "Sinclair" is somewhat wooden, Jerry Doyle's "Garibaldi" is definitely Bruce Willis-lite; if he'd growled "Yipee-ki-yay MoFo!" after dispatching a bad guy I wouldn't have been in the least surprised! Mira Furlan's "Delenn" and Andreas Katsulas' "G'Kar" both had noticeable cosmetic changes to their appearances once the series proper got underway. In particular, the pilot Delenn had quite masculine features, as was the original intention, especially, it seems, in profile, and Furlan herself appeared to be consciously reaching for `weird' in her performance; the Series 1 Delenn was obviously female, with the `weird' factor toned down considerably. G'Kar's makeup also changed, and became much smoother and `natural' in the series, especially `round his jawline and chin; Katsulas' wonderful characterization of G'Kar, however, was nailed from the very beginning!

The one character that seemed to explode onto the screen fully formed and exquisitely realized, was Peter Jurasik's "Londo Mollari." Watching "Gathering" again I was amazed at how Jurasik created "Londo" so completely; the good-natured bantering with Garibaldi, the dry humor, the sadness, the pain, the pride, the crushing sense of loss and despair at what his people had become, the dark introspection, guilt over his family's past, the vicious politicking that drives the upper echelons of Centauri society. His "My god, man! We've become a tourist attraction..." and, "Nice shark, pree-ty shark..." speeches are superb performances, foreshadowing - sorry! - the entire Mollari arc for the next five years!

"In The Beginning" is set between the events of Series 4 and Series 5, and starts with Londo telling a story, "...a true story," to two children in the Emperor's palace, of how the Humans changed the universe, "...but in doing so, paid a terrible price." Once again a simply exquisite performance by Jurasik, the film starts like a dark fairytale, full of foreboding and menace, as Londo recounts how the Humans - "Ah, arrogance and stupidity all in the same package. How efficient of you!" - were almost exterminated after an unprovoked attack on a Minbari starship, ten years prior to the commissioning of Babylon 5 itself.

For anyone new to the series watching this film would be a disaster, as it recaps so much of what went before, and even has a major revelation about one of the central characters that certainly took my breath away the first time I saw it! The CGI/SFX on "Gathering" was cutting edge for the small screen at the time, but does look rather dated today, "Beginning," on the other hand, looks beautiful, as you would expect; five years is an absolute eternity in the field of computer generated visual effects!

As I said, a very strange release indeed, but even with "Gathering" being a work in progress, it's essential viewing for those looking to get into the Babylon 5 universe for the first time, as it introduces the five main space-faring races, the Earth Alliance, Minbari, Centauri, Narn, and ever mysterious Vorlons. It also sets up the main characters from each race, and introduces us to the interstellar political intrigue that would drive the story forward for the next five wonderful years!

Classic Science Fiction TV.......2006-07-03

Anything that involves Babylon 5 is tops according to me. This single CD is included in the "Movie Pack" of Babylon 5 disk and is not needed separate unless one is completely obsessed in getting all that is Babylon 5.

"The Gathering" is worth it for Newbies to the show........2005-02-10

The B5 Pilot, "The Gathering" is low budget, poorly acted, and not very well written. Still, if you've never watched Season One of Babylon 5, you have to see this movie. The characters refer to the events in this pilot all the way into the final season. You don't really want to see the rest of the movies unless you've seen this show, so I don't recommend getting the Movie Box Set, because the other B5 films are full of spoilers. The best thing to do is to order this DVD used (or rent it). After you watched the whole series, when you buy the movie box, sell this DVD to someone else who is just starting out on the show.

"In the Beginning" is full of spoilers, so I have no idea why they packaged it with "The Gathering". I enjoyed it, but while watching it, it felt a bit like watching a clip show. The movie basically glues together the final battle between Earth and Minbar, showing exactly what happened. Since what happened at this event is a secret for much of the show, I don't recommend watching this until you're deep into Season 4.

What a rip off.......2004-11-19

Ok.. thats a bit strong, but I bought this when it came out, assuming the other movies would be released seperately. Now I have to buy "B-5: The Movies" which includes these two. Just ignore this DVD collection and get the 5 movie set. END OF STORY. Might as well End of Life this one.

Winton

Babylon 5 - The Gathering (TV Premiere DVD)

Average customer rating:

DVD Babylon 5 The Gathering
BABYLON 5-THE GATHERING (TV PREIMERE)
Warner Brothers' "TV Premiere DVD" Series - Cheaply-Made & Over-Priced
4 Stars for the Pilot, 6 Stars (!!!) for the Series
Better than Star Trek

Babylon 5 - The Gathering (TV Premiere DVD)
Starring: Michael O'Hare , Tamlyn Tomita , Jerry Doyle , Mira Furlan , and Blaire Baron
Director: Richard Compton
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Babylon 5 - The Complete First Season
Babylon 5 - The Complete Second Season
Babylon 5 - The Complete Third Season
Babylon 5 - The Legend of the Rangers
Babylon 5 - The Complete Fourth Season

ASIN: B000255LMK
Release Date: 2004-06-08

Amazon.com

In the early spring of 1993, a year before the series was launched, the two-hour movie and series pilot Babylon 5: The Gathering appeared. This proto-Babylon staked out the initial territory for the series (some of which would change by the first episode), introducing primary characters and sketching out the alliances and rifts in interplanetary diplomacy. Some of the primary characters bowed out after their initial appearances (Tamlyn Tomita's Lt. Commander Laurel Takashima and Johnny Seka's Dr. Benjamin Kyle never returned; Patricia Tallman's telepath Lyta Alexander made periodic revisits beginning in the second season, eventually rejoining the cast permanently). Set on the first anniversary of the Babylon 5 (none of the first four stations survived even a month), the central story involves the attempted assassination of the newly arrived Vorlon, the mysterious Ambassador Kosh, at the hands of (perhaps) Commander Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O'Hare). Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle, a smart-aleck tough guy in the Bruce Willis vein) investigates and uncovers a web of conspirators, a portent of things to come. When TNT picked up the series for the fifth season Straczynski reedited the pilot, weaving back in a dropped subplot while cutting the rest of the film more tightly, tweaking special effects, and commissioning a new score from Christopher Franke. This is the cut released on video, a stronger, more engaging film, but still a broad first stab at characters that would redefine themselves through the course of the show's run. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

DVD Babylon 5 The Gathering.......2007-06-22

This is the movie that launched the TV show. It was very well scripted and acted. The characters were just lovable and hateable enough to make for a really good story,

BABYLON 5-THE GATHERING (TV PREIMERE).......2007-05-30

IT WAS NICE TO SEE THIS SERIES TV PILOT, AS IT WAS ORIGINALLY MEANT TO BE SEEN, AND ENJOYED. THE SHOW WAS ENJOYED, AND IT BROUGHT BACK GOOD TIMES AND PLEASANT MEMORIES OF A ENJOYABLE TV PROGRAM. MANY THANKS.

Warner Brothers' "TV Premiere DVD" Series - Cheaply-Made & Over-Priced.......2007-04-05

This is not a review of this specific title, but rather of Warner Brothers' "TV Premiere DVD" series as a whole. I would like to make you aware of my issues with features that are apparently prevalent in ALL of the titles in this series, based upon my purchase of one of these titles ("The Flintstones - The Flintstone Flyer").

Although the list of issues below was written specifically for The Flintstones DVD, I highly suspect that most (if not all) of it applies to this and all of the other titles in the "TV Premiere DVD" series. Be sure to check out The Flintstones page to see the photos that I uploaded which better illustrate the packaging and disc printing issues mentioned below.

-- The disc does not come in a plastic case, but rather in a cardboard sleeve which opens on the side. I've purchased $1 public domain DVDs from no-name companies that came in plastic slim cases, so it's appalling that a $6 DVD from a big-name company would be done so cheaply. Also, the sleeve has a hole at the top in the center where the peg would go for it to be hung on a rack like an action figure or toy. The hole has been edited out of the promo photos that Warner Bros. gave Amazon to display for the DVDs.

-- The text on the disc is very faint and hard to read - another way Warner Bros. skimped on production costs.

-- The cheapness doesn't stop at the packaging. The DVD does not contain a menu, not even a plain one. Because of this, there's an interesting glitch that happens if you let the DVD play past the episode. You see, after the episode plays, it goes to a FBI Warning on title 3, which then goes to the non-existent menu, so the player just hangs on a black screen.

-- They were even cheap in the placement of the chapters marks, which are placed every ten minutes (0:00, 10:00, and 20:00) no matter if it makes sense in the episode content for one to be there or not.

-- From what I've read, most (if not all) of the titles in the "TV Premiere DVD" series were originally released on VHS and/or laserdisc, with these DVDs being done from the VHS and laserdisc masters. The quality of The Flintstones DVD definitely appears to be better than VHS, so either it came from a laserdisc master, or not all of the titles were done from old home video masters.

Although at first I didn't mind paying $6 for one 26 minute Flintstones episode, that was before I knew that the DVD didn't even come in a plastic case. Now that six dollars really seems like a rip-off.

Warner Bros. "TV Premiere DVD" Series (10 titles)
* The Flintstones - The Flintstone Flyer
* The Jetsons - Microchip Chump
* ER - Pilot
* Babylon 5 - The Gathering
* Taboo - Tattoo
* Gilligan's Island - Two on a Raft & Home Sweet Hut
* The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest - Escape to Questworld
* Gilmore Girls - Pilot
* The Waltons - The Foundling
* Kung Fu - Pilot

4 Stars for the Pilot, 6 Stars (!!!) for the Series.......2007-03-15

A good pilot to an excellent series, Babylon 5 - The Gathering, brings to the screen the parallel stories of prominent people aboard a major station under Human control in neutral territory.
The setting is the Babylon 5 space station orbiting Epsilon 3. The date is 2257, nine years after the Earth-Minbari War (one year before the series begins), and representatives from the four major space-faring races, the Centauri, Humans, Minbari, Narns, as well as numerous minor races have all gathered at B5 in a last effort at maintaining galactic peace. The arrival, however, of the fifth major space-faring race's ambassador, the Vorlon Kosh, will result in quite a bit of turbulence...
Michael O'Hare, Mira Furlan, Andreas Katsulas, Peter Jurasik, and the rest of the cast, carry out their performances well though one can tell that they are a bit uneasy, as is the case with most series in the beginning. Eventually all the actors, without exceptions, will give it their 100% and it will really show!
My two questions are as to why the Centauri Republic is run by... an emperor, in which case it should be called an Empire since "republic" means the exact opposite, and as others have also pointed out, why is Chief of Security Garibaldi so similar in so many ways to Bruce Willis (!); was that coincidental or did it just turn out that way?
In any case Babylon 5 is a series definitely worth watching and one to seriously consider adding to your movie collection as it is without a doubt guaranteed to provide hours of entertainment.
You just cannot beat that wonderful feeling of being addicted to the show and wanting more!

Better than Star Trek.......2007-01-10

It seems to me that Babylon 5 shows more creativity and realism than most SF series. I prefer it over the much lauded Star Trek. It seems grittier and more enigmatic than most.

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