I never saw all episodes of B5 thus far, so I'm watching them now. (But I realise that I saw quite a few, to be honest.) I watched this late at night, on a Hong Kong television channel whilst I was working in China, back in... 1995? Time flies...
1995
In 1995 I was jealous at my colleague Dapperite Martijn. It seemed that every time I left The Netherlands they would start broadcasting some good show. Those were the days before massive downloads and streaming services, mind you... These days you might see it on HBO Max (though not in the Netherlands).
Back in 1995, I was desperate for some 'international English' television. Fortunately, we could pick up most Hong Kong channels in Guangzhou. Unfortunately, soon after my arrival ST:TOS moved from 23:00 to 17:30, too early for me to watch. And ST:TNG, which was broadcasted on another channel completely disappeared. But... there was also Babylon 5, and though ATV tried to make sure I'd never watch it by moving the schedule around (sometimes it showed at 24:00, sometimes at 00:30, sometimes at 01:00, with no discernable pattern) it was one of the best shows at the time.
In some ways, it still is.
Outdated
One of the first things that strikes me is that this show did not age very well. I can't say why, but it seems the sets, props, and even some of the plots are simply outdated, even though the characters and costumers are still great.
The graphics looked great on old televisions but not-so on modern flat-screens certainly doesn't help. If you are going to watch this, use a screen as small as possible, and preferably in an airplane or car...
Story
Still the overall story line is fine, even great. I can't help myself but to like Garibaldi and Lando, in spite of all their flaws. Never liked G'Kar much, too much of a whiner I guess... Then again, the intertwined destiny of these two ambassadors... Great story telling.
Verdict
Absolutely worth your time, if you watch it on a small screen, and / or if you can stand outdated CGI... Tik. You're alive. Tok. You're dead...
Dapper / TellTales! 53
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