@avclub-945ba977c27d196cdeaf6cbe4ff682f4:disqus I think you're onto something there. Babylon 5 loses something when it's disconnected from the overarching structure. Seems like every weak episode and sequel has that as the common factor. Something about the lack of larger consequences sinks the individual episodes.

Wait…why do the Vorlons and Zathras use the same speech patterns?

My regret, if the reviews end here, is the missed opportunity to discuss the failures of the last two seasons. The fourth season has triumphs, of course, and even the fifth has it's bright spots, but the complex relationship between the fans and the show really cries out for a discussion of why it works and reasons…

There's a way to build up a character who is barely seen into an overwhelming presence, such as Orson Welles in The Third Man. B5 does it quite effectively with Kosh, Bester…and Morden. So it's doubly disappointing that Justin never quite works for that. Especially since Morden is already our very effective symbol of…

There are definitely moments throughout the series when exposition gets dropped in where it isn't plot relevant. Feels like its put there for the fans. This rewatch I noticed Sheridan explaining his insignia, and Delenn dropping an explanation of gravity control technology the first time the human characters…

There are a lot of things in B5 that are there to be the anti-Trek, rather than, say, Firefly's un-Trek. Telepaths, for example, are introduced to the show as if they are assumed sci-fi essentials. Obviously, Trek has always had a '60s psi fringe, since the original was drawing on the Campbell-edited stories of the…