Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Audiophilander (A) on November 05, 2005 at 11:37:25

In Reply to: I'll take classic elements of drama, Alex posted by late on November 5, 2005 at 02:50:49:

That's the point, religious themes are present, but not intended as allegory, as in the rehashing of a biblical story transposed to space. BTW, I own all five sets on DVD and my wife and I watched this series *ahem* "religiously." :o)

On Babalon 5 we actually have scenarios where faith is dealt with in a realistic manner, including a wide range of both religious and non-religious beliefs. You might have an episode where the B5 crew is placed in a precarious diplomatic scenario trying to be ameniable to every religious sect without showing any bias against or favoritism for any of them. In another bizarre series of stories the alien who may actually be the "first" (i.e., GOD) is actually on board B5 as an observor with Sheridan who he technically raised from the dead (albeit for a limited period, about 20 years as I recall).

And yes, there are many many more interesting religious themes explored, but without any agenda. As I recall, J. Michael Strazinski, B5's creator, writer and mentor is either an atheist or an agnostic who found interesting ways of discussing religion, dissecting religious philosophies and, on occasion, exploding religious conventions.

>>> "I will Tivo 4400 and Threshold, but I don't hold out much hope." <<<

4400 is successful and IMO, very engaging; it's on the USA Network which has smaller ratings requirements and, accordingly, budgets. Threshold has yet to find an audience and I fear it may not survive the evil Nielsen onslaught. Most folks apparently prefer the trite fodder of Invasion which appears to be little more than a warmed over Invasion of the Body Snatchers concept with a misogynistic subtext woven into the backstory based on what I gleaned from watching the first episode.

>>> "Scifi is about creating some imgainary reality. Battlestar Galactica does that with intensity. I watched the very first episode last night (the one after the pilot). When it was over, I felt like I had been put through the wringer. My wife said something to that effect." <<<

Well, my wife and I watch it as well and enjoy it, but it is a mixed bag. We both agree that Olmos character is what MAKES the series and the effects are first rate for a series like this. Less impressive is the Starbuck character, not because of the twist of making the character female, but because the actress doesn't always bring it off believeably. As I've pointed out before, a better female Starbuck would have been more like Pvt. Vasquez from the movie Aliens. The other complaint I have about BG is it's interminably slow pacing; sometimes an episode goes by and hardly anything has changed or advanced the plot. It's a tribute to the overall theme, strong believeable acting of principles like Olmos, Michael Hogan, et al., and suspense driven plots that it's slow pacing can hold an audience for the long haul.

BTW, Battlestar Galactica's screenwriting is guilty of the most blatant example of Deus Ex Machina ever conceived, but what the heck! ;^)

Just for grins, I think I'll include a link to the episode guide for Babylon 5 (enjoy!):

• Babylon 5 Lurker's Guide   (Open in New Window)