Wordiezett So much average

Console best movie i've ever seen.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

classicsoncall For a movie that wound up on IMDb's Top 250 List all the way back in 1996, this movie only had nineteen user reviews posted when I came to this page. That seems rather odd and I don't know what to chalk that up to. Although I've never watched an episode of the TV series, it seems to me this series pilot ought to have had more of an impact on viewers to warrant a broader host of reactions.Arriving a couple of decades after the Star Trek TV series, one can appreciate the improvement in special effects compared to some of the almost cardboard looking sets of The Enterprise. However much of it looked like video game quality compared to the incredible visuals of today. One can definitely measure the progress over time of how television adopted technology to achieve some of the stunning illusions and visual tricks we can witness today.The story itself here is pretty much by the numbers for a sci-fi outer space saga. Much of the acting is a bit sketchy, and the Minbari and Narn prosthetics leave a bit to be desired. My understanding is that some of the pilot actors used here didn't make it into the series, and in the case of Tamlyn Tomita's character, Lieutenant Commander Laurel Takashima, one can see why. Some of her dialog and screen presence was downright cheesy. Even Commander Sinclair (Michael O'Hare) left something to be desired in the way of a forceful presence aboard Babylon 5. With Captain Kirk, you always knew who was top gun on the Enterprise crew. The handful of reviewers for this pilot seem rather mixed in their appreciation of the show. Again, with no basis for comparison against the actual series that followed, I'd have to say it was generally okay with an intriguing story line that got muddled a bit along the way. It wasn't enough to get me interested in the program that it introduced, although I can't say I'll never get to it at some point. Maybe one day.

Tweekums This ninety minute pilot episode introduces us to the space station Babylon 5, its crew, its inhabitants and most importantly its purpose. The Babylon Project aims to provide a location with various alien races can meet to trade and to talk; there are a wide variety of alien species present but there are five that are most important; the Earth Alliance, the Mimbari Federation, the Centuri Republic, the Narn Regime and finally the Vorlon Empire… the story opens as the station is preparing for its official opening and the arrival of the firth and final ambassador; Ambassador Kosh who represents the mysterious Vorlons. He isn't the only new arrival; on the same day a telepath by the name Lyta Alexander and a suspicious character called Del Varver also come aboard. Within a minute of his arrival Kosh is found unconscious suffering the effects of an unknown poison; if he dies it could mean war and the end of the Babylon Project. In an attempt to find out what happened Dr. Kyle asks Lyta to telepathically scan Kosh; when she does so she sees what happened to him; this gives the doctor a lead as to where to look for the poison; it also exposes the killer… Commander Sinclair: the man in charge of Babylon 5. With this evidence he will have a hard job clearing his name before he can be taken to the Vorlon home world for trial.This was a fine introduction to most of the key characters in the series; we learn a surprising amount of back story without it distracting from the story at hand; key details include the fact that the Centuri had subjugated the Narn until fairly recently and Earth and the Mimbari had been at war; Earth won but only because the Mimbari surrendered when it seemed their victory was assured… both stories that will be relevant in the following series. This episode's story featured a good mystery which when solved raised more questions; the most important being 'Why?' While this is primarily a drama with a good mystery there are some humorous moments; usually provided by security chief Michael Garibaldi and Centuri ambassador Londo Mollari… although not exclusively.Technically the special effects have dated quite a bit which is a pity as I recall being wowed by them when I first watched the series… the world of CGI has progressed very quickly though. The acting from the main cast was pretty good and by the time the series proper arrives the weaker members of the cast have been replaced. This doesn't apply to Patricia Tallman who did a fine job as Lyta but doesn't return when Season One begins. I first watched this some time after watching much of the series which was a pity; if you get a chance it is best to watch this first as it explains much of what you need to know to understand who is who.

MartinHafer I have long time been a fan of Babylon 5, so you should keep this in mind--I'm sure this must color my review of this TV movie pilot for the show. Fans of the series might notice some odd changes in cast--this happens a lot in pilot episodes, as the show often is slightly re-tooled before the shows begin in production. For example, the doctor, the second in command were different actors than in the series and the prosthetics on Mira Furlan made her look much more "alien" in this movie. It's a shame about the doctor, as I really liked the African man who played him with a bit of sarcasm and flair.As for the rest of the cast, they were amazing to watch for a pilot. Normally, on most pilots, the camaraderie isn't really there and the relationships just seem a bit underdeveloped. However, here, Garibaldi, Sinclair and the rest seem to work well together and the made for TV movie is very watchable and similar to the resulting series despite the cast changes. For the early 1990s, the production values are excellent, though in 2006, the computer graphics appear, at times, a bit dated--as this was the first sci-fi series that got rid of modeling and used computer generated images for all its space scenes. All in all, it's an exciting and riveting show--made even more so by the always brilliant writing of J. Michael Straczynski.

no-skyline Babylon 5 was a hugely ambitious sci-fi show to get off the ground with complex characters and story arcs that went on over the entire 5 series run. This was the first pilot movie and it paves the way to what would follow.It's an intriguing piece of sci-fi with some strong performances in particular Peter Jurasic as Lando Mollari and Andreas Katsulas as G'Kar. The special effects are a bit limited in places but thats to be expected from a show just finding it's feet.Some of the actors in this initial show would leave to pursue other projects but the core remained in. There are some story lines (which I wont spoil) that could have been further explored had Takishima and Lyta stayed on the show. The acting quality is mixed and this was ironed out as the series went on.All in all it's a good TV movie that does stand on it's own well but it will leave you with a few questions and a good reason to pick up on the series which just get's better as it goes along.Good TV movie that will get you ready for the full series 7/10