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Babylon 5 - The Lost Tales Trailer Posted
Space writes "The trailer for the upcoming movie Babylon 5: The Lost Tales — Voices in the Dark has been posted at the official Babylon 5 site. The movie's pre-production was mentioned in a previous discussion. For more on the creation of the film, the CG Society has an ongoing series of articles about the production's effects development."
Someone should send it to Z'ha'dum to die.
After all, using B5 as an example the "Techno Mages" are viewed either as gods, magicians, or freaks, depending on where they are. For what we may construe as purely fantasy may simply be because we don't understand science enough to know what is and what isn't truly possible.
We are an arrogant people who for some reason think we know everything yet laugh at those who came before us for thinking the very same thing
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
Along with the 5 video diaries that you can also find at the official site, an additional video diary with a behind the scenes look at the how the special effects for the production were done is also available at this link.
Among other things you get a longer glimpse at the space battle scene shown in the trailer.
Well put. Dune, for example, had loads of dreams, visions etc but it was science fiction, not fantasy, because it was quite obvious that the human mind had evolved (perhaps thanks to Spice) in the tens of thousands of years since present-day. And frankly, our knowledge of cosmology and what the human brain can do is pretty primitive. For example, is consciousness preserved at the quantum level, thus leading to the possibility that reincarnation is possible? I think not, but I can't prove it -- which makes it excellent 'story material'.
People who think that 21st century science is the be-all and end-all of all knowledge display staggering amounts of hubris, especially since they are familiar with overzealous predictions like "everything that can be patented has been patented" and "there's a world market for maybe 5 computers".
Whether it's overused or not is another question -- that depends on the writer, and I think the B5 seasons treated techno-mages and psychics quite well. Especially compared to a certain Betazoid on TNG, whose sole purpose seemed to be, er, wear dresses and state the obvious.
Go somewhere random
You can find a direct link to a mirror of the trailer at this link.
Most of what you see in B5 is explained along the way in one way or another, some isn't. The future is an interesting place don't you think?
There are many kinds of SciFi that aren't strict, *hard* SciFi. The writer has chosen his path, and it's your choice to stop watching if you find it unbearable.
If you don't find B5 unbearable, then just sit back and enjoy in the knowledge that there are things out there, bigger and more complex than our current understanding of science and the universe.
Are you sure you clicked the "Babylon 5 - The lost tales"-tab and viewed the correct trailer?
I didn't find the effects particularely cheesy there, I'm sorry if you did.
On the other hand, B5 always had to survive on a shoe string budget. One quoted number was that it at most for one episode, B5 got about 25% of what it cost to produce one Star Trek episode. With that in mind, I'm quite impressed with what they accomplished.
I always admired the designs and ideas of B5 and thought them to be inventive, ingenious and on the whole quite beautiful. Even if you're of course often more aware that you're watching CG, mostly due to the restrictive budget from what I can tell.
Andreas Katsulas (G'Kar) died of cancer (he was a heavy smoker).
Richard Biggs tragically died at age 44 because of an aortic dissection.
Fortunately JMS has decided not to racast these roles.
"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" - Carl Sagan
passion that cannot be described -- was diagnosed with lung cancer,
which by then had already spread to other areas. He quit smoking at
once and went on a healthy diet and vitamin program, but there was
little hope of a good resolution even though the new regimen was very
good for him. When we spoke about it, he laughed, and said, "Now that
I'm dying I've never felt better!"
His spirits were always up and positive, putting everyone at ease about
his condition, because...well, that's the kind of person he was.
A couple of months ago, he and his wife convened a dinner with me,
Doug, and Peter Jurasik, which was filled with laughter and stories and
good food. He wanted to know all the stories we never told him
because, as he said, "Who am I going to tell?" So we did. Because we
knew we were saying goodbye, and there would not be a second chance.
Last night, in the company of his wife and family, Andreas closed his
eyes and went away.
He lived an amazing life...full of travel and wonder and good
work...was part of the world renowned Peter Brook company...he saw the
planet, loved and was loved, ate at great restaurants, smoked too many
cigarettes...he lived a life some people would die for.
And, sadly, due to the last part of that equation...he did.
Memorial arrangements are still being worked out, but will doubtless be
private.
Andreas is gone...and G'Kar with him, because no one else can ever play
that role, or ever will.
I will miss him terribly.
J. Michael Straczynski
and about Richard Biggs JMS wrote I was awakened today with several phone calls from cast members and Doug to
pass along the terrible news that this morning, Richard Biggs passed away.
We're still gathering information, so take none of this as firm word, but what
seems to have happened, happened quickly. He woke up, got up out of bed...and
went down. The paramedics who showed up suggested it was either an aneurysm or
a massive stroke.
His family members have been informed, and all of the the cast have, as far as
we can determine, also been informed.
This is a terrible loss for all of us. Richard was a consummate professional
but more than that he was an honorable, stand-up guy. If he gave you his word
on something, you never had to wonder about it afterward. He was always
helpful and supportive of all the cast, even those who only came in for one
episode, always with a ready smile and determined to do whatever it took to
make the scene work. He was, quite simply, a terrific guy, and everyone here
is just devastated at the news.
More word as this develops. We may try to have some kind of fund raiser to
help give whatever assistance may be helpful for his kids.
We all miss him terribly.
jms
"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" - Carl Sagan
Then pat yourself on the back for being ahead of the curve: you're arrogantly scoffing at your contemporaries instead of at people in the past. Ain't progress grand?
flipping fantastic. looking forward to this.
more information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voices_in_the_Dark for the lazy amongst us:
Voices in the Dark is the title of the first Lost Tales DVD to be published
Voices in the Dark will be set in 2272. It will feature two linked plotlines viewed separately one after the other but covering the same 72-hour timespan: the first follows ISA President John Sheridan on his way to B5 for a celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the formation of the Interstellar Alliance. During the journey he unexpectedly picks up the Centauri Prince Regent Vintari (third in line to the Centauri Imperial throne) on the edge of Centauri space, and receives a warning from Galen the techno-mage about coming events. The second will feature Colonel (formerly Captain during the series' run) Lochley on B5 awaiting Sheridan's arrival, who summons a priest from Earth space to help deal with a mysterious, seemingly supernatural problem.[14]
Straczynski has stated that predicated on the success of Voices in the Dark a second installment could be released as soon as early 2008.[24] Peter Jurasik has stated that he was contacted by Straczynski to reprise his role as Londo Mollari for a set of alien centric stories after the initial batch centered around humans. He has stated that he said yes to him, "if you [Straczynski] wrote it, I'd do it".[25] The second installment is also set to include a story centered around the character Michael Garibaldi, initially planned for the first installment.[15]
In response to a question about Harlan Ellison writing for the Lost Tales, who acted as conceptual consultant and writer for the original series, Straczynski has stated that he is "sure that down the road I can get Harlan to do something for us". However, for now the studio is pushing for just himself to work on the Lost Tales according to Straczynski, stating they "want this to be you [Straczynski]" because the studio already knows him and likes him.[12]
One of the big events in the Babylon 5 universe that the Lost Tales is set to explore eventually is the Telepath War.[12] Straczynski reportedly stated at the New York Comic-Con in February 2007 that he already has a concept for a possible direct-to-dvd Telepath War story in mind.[24][26]
Straczynski has stated that David Sheridan (John Sheridan and Delenn's son) will both be mentioned in Voices in the Dark, and that he will be seen somewhere else, "in the next DVD"
Everyone always forget Zathras. That okay, Zathras used to that. In fact Zathras prefer that. Zathras get more work done that way.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Choate
The last, best hope for Babylon 5 died when Straczynski was forced to rush the ending of the original story arc after Season 3. Everything that came after that, including that godawful thing with Lumbergh, was just unwatchable.
The best thing about B5 was that, originally, it actually felt like you were in a big universe. The most brilliant scene in the entire show was when Catherine Sakai is telling G'Kar about the time her ship lost power when "something" -- an object so huge it blotted out the sun -- cruised by. Sakai describes what happened and asks G'Kar what the thing might have been. They're standing in the garden, and G'Kar sees an ant crawling up a flower stem. He puts his finger on the stem, the ant crawls onto it and onto his hand, and then after a few seconds he lets the ant crawl back onto the flower. He looks at Sakai and says, "That ant meets another ant and asks, what was that?..."
But after the third season, all that was out the window, and all that was left was a bad space combat show.
Quark was the best
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