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Babylon 5 - The Lost Tales Trailer Posted 140

Posted by Zonk from the shiny-new-space-station dept.
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."
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Babylon 5 - The Lost Tales Trailer Posted More

Babylon 5 - The Lost Tales Trailer Posted

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  • Hideous Web Site (Score:5, Informative)

    by Ray Radlein ( 711289 ) on Monday June 25, 2007 @05:47AM (#19633703) Homepage
    Gawdalmighty is that web site awful. It looks like someone's class project in Flash programming.

    Someone should send it to Z'ha'dum to die.

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I have this horrid fear. Fear that sites like that is what "Joe" prefers. Just look at MySpace! Or Facebook! *shudders*. 90% of the world is crazy I tell you, and soon all the web will be collected under an interactive flash video with background music.

      The future is a dark and scare place

    • Re:Hideous Web Site (Score:5, Funny)

      by soccerisgod ( 585710 ) on Monday June 25, 2007 @09:14AM (#19634659)
      Are you crazy? It'll only come back stronger, totally fearless and ready for action!!!
    • Yeah, I admit I cannot find a link to the trailer within the two minutes of patience I had for the site navigation and design. If this is the future, it'll be a dim one indeed. After all, imagine how difficult the light switches would be to find.

  • Babylon 5 was great... (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Quark was the best ;)

  • Another Video Diary (Score:4, Informative)

    by HistoryNerd ( 325402 ) on Monday June 25, 2007 @05:54AM (#19633723)
    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. [vmix.com]

    Among other things you get a longer glimpse at the space battle scene shown in the trailer.
  • Anyone have an actual link to the trailer? The official website is a downright abomination. I have no fuckign idea if the content is loading or if the thing froze or even if I've clicked on the right freaking button.

    • A direct link to a trailer mirror (Score:5, Informative)

      by HistoryNerd ( 325402 ) on Monday June 25, 2007 @06:07AM (#19633767)
      You can find a direct link to a mirror of the trailer at this link. [youtube.com]
    • Just watch the old TV show hold little gray goatees in front of everyone. That should give you a feel for the trailer.
    • youtube has all the trailers posted. came out 3-8 weeks back depending on which trailer or video diary you are looking for. frankly, the teaser trailer blows the official trailer out of the water. also, jms has additional work on his B5 myspace page. dont have a link for you on the myspace page stuff though. http://http//www.youtube.com/results?search_query = babylon+5+lost+tales&search= [http]

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by rbanffy ( 584143 )
      Well. I saw the trailer and, as much as I liked B5, I am not very optimistic.

      B5 has a very rich universe and there is absolutely no need to keep rehashing those same old (some of them I really like) characters over and over again like they could create a story by themselves.

      While JMS is no Tolkien (even with his own LOTR), he proved once he could write a very good story. Maybe he can do it again.
      • What with so many of them being dead and all.
      • B5 has a very rich universe and there is absolutely no need to keep rehashing those same old (some of them I really like) characters over and over again like they could create a story by themselves.

        I wouldn't mind seeing a B5 TV movie with the old cast*, except that I *knew* JMS was not going to be able to resist throwing in his stupid technomages and was sadly proven right once I managed to find the trailer.

        The technomages were an annoyance the first time around, but at least they were only in one episode.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by rbanffy ( 584143 )
          The technomages are not a bad idea by itself. They embody two characteristics I find interesting, the domain of "sufficiently advanced technology", as in being able to wreak havoc on B5's computers and predicting the future, and a reverence to it akin to religious devotion - They employ such technologies and, because of it, they inspire fear and respect and, in return, they commit themselves to preserving it.

          It's an interesting group and, in the original series, I thought they could appear a little more.

          Of
  • 10 years have passed, luckily computer graphics have not advanced in that time, otherwise the movie might loose continuity with the 90's TV show.

    I'm also glad I'm able to notice the cheesy CG in an artifact ridden 300 x 400 flash movie. That means it'll be extra cheesy in it's full DVD glory.

    Phew.

    • Re:Babylon 5 - The Straight to DVD Tales (Score:4, Insightful)

      by DaAdder ( 124139 ) on Monday June 25, 2007 @06:28AM (#19633835) Homepage
      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.

      • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

        by Kooshman ( 248753 )
        Agreed. Much of the "cheesiness" can be explained through various routes. The Minbari ship prominently showed will definitely look cheezy at that resolution and compression. Each race has its own style in B5, and the Minbari's have a "lifelike" appearance, often compared to fish. Their exteriors have a skin-like sheen, and that definitely came across looking fairly ass in the trailer. The more standard metal exteriors weren't given much screen time, but you could see it on the Star Furies (human personal fi
        • "B5 had some of the first realistic space combat ever showed on a screen."

          This was one of the best things, in my mind, going on in Bab5. Yeah, the aliens had their anti-grav and super stuff, but Earth had the Starfuries with their opposing jets, the destroyers with the rotating sections. It was even better when they did the space battles with silence.

          Loved that show. And my wife got me the complete series on DVD for Christmas last year!
        • While I agree that B5 showed some of the most realistic space combat to date (only recently surpassed by BSG), I have to call shenanigans on that NASA story. The only references to anything even close to that I can find online are unsupported "trivia" references, and all of them suspiciously have exactly the same wording. If you can find some more substantial evidence for the claim, then I'll believe you. Until then, I'll go on believing that NASA worked on several designs for Orbital Maneuvering Vehicles [nasa.gov] (
    • Ironically as I understand it, the original shows were all filmed on good quality film in a widescreen aspect ratio for their eventual DVD/Laserdisc/HD/whatever release. The assumption was that by then, the special effects could be re-done at a higher quality with new technology to match the quality of the film. That of course never came to fruition, but it was a nice hope.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by elrous0 ( 869638 ) *
      I'd be more worried about the quality of the script.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Kjella ( 173770 )
      10 years have passed, luckily computer graphics have not advanced in that time, otherwise the movie might loose continuity with the 90's TV show.

      Unfortunately, with a very few notable exceptions I don't think they've advanced where I'd like them to - in the "old days" it was puppets and cheesy special effects. The special effects got a lot better so the puppets looked silly, but what we got for the most part is aliens which all mysteriously are about 6 feet tall bipeds with two arms. If they're not, they're

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by CaptnMArk ( 9003 )
        What I wish is that the computer graphics advance to a point where ST:TOS can continue with the original crew.

        • What I wish is that the computer graphics advance to a point where ST:TOS can continue with the original crew.
          To get a computer to render a Kirk as wooden as the real thing, I think you'd have to carve it by hand. :)

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Kelson ( 129150 ) *
        But what about Rygel and Pilot from Farscape? I thought they blended fairly well.

  • Richard Biggs a.k.a Dr. Frankelin (Score:3, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 25, 2007 @06:08AM (#19633771)
    Died of cancer I believe. Before he died I herd he invited all his B5 pals to a big dinner, as a final good bye. Brings a tear to my eye just thinking about it. Terrible way to go.

    • Re:Richard Biggs a.k.a Dr. Frankelin (Score:5, Informative)

      by the_doctor_23 ( 945852 ) on Monday June 25, 2007 @06:29AM (#19633841)
      Andreas Katsulas [wikipedia.org] (G'Kar) died of cancer (he was a heavy smoker).
      Richard Biggs [wikipedia.org] tragically died at age 44 because of an aortic dissection.

      Fortunately JMS has decided not to racast these roles.

      • Re:Richard Biggs a.k.a Dr. Frankelin (Score:5, Informative)

        by the_doctor_23 ( 945852 ) on Monday June 25, 2007 @06:36AM (#19633877)
        In the words of JMS [jmsnews.com]:

        Just over a year ago, Andreas Katsulas -- who loved smoking with a
        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 [jmsnews.com]

        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
        • "When we spoke about it, he laughed, and said, "Now that I'm dying I've never felt better!""

          Oddly enough, that unscripted statement happens to be *quintessential* G'Kar..

          • "When we spoke about it, he laughed, and said, "Now that I'm dying I've never felt better!""

            Oddly enough, that unscripted statement happens to be *quintessential* G'Kar..

            He also said he really liked the G'kar makeup and that he felt it made him look sleek and sexy. I'm not sure if that's from the heart or if he's just having a go at us. The practical jokes on the B5 set are the stuff of legends. On the set they used to call Andreas Two-Pack G'Kar on account of how much he smoked.

            The practical joke battle I remember the most involved Andreas and Peter getting to a con presentation a little early. JMS hates public speaking and is always nervous. Those two rogues coached the

        • As a Marf (one diagnosed with Marfan Syndrome) with a high percentage of dying from Aortic Dissection, the death of Richard Biggs (whom I also followed in his days on Daze of our Lives...), it ripped me to shreds. It still does.

          No one can ever replace G'Kar. Never.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by ducomputergeek ( 595742 )
        And about the only two from the cast that's back is Bruce Boxlighter and the woman that played the station commander for a season after the show should have ended. Still, no Mira (although she is in lost unless they've killed her off and I missed it) or Jerry Doyle or most of the rest of the cast. I know Doyle does a radio show now, but sort of half expected a cameo....

        No indication that it's going to be aired, from what I saw, on Sci-Fi or TNT/TBS/Whoever had the series for most of it's run. That was

        • The budget for Voices in the Dark wasn't exceptionally high, so they decided to cut the release from three stories down to two, removing the story that would have involved Jerry Doyle. If sales go well (within two days of being available for pre-order on Amazon back in April, it was up to #5 on the top sellers list), future stories will bring in more characters. Jerry Doyle, Mira Furlan, and Peter Jurasik would probably appear in the second or third releases, obviously depending on availability.

      • Richard Biggs tragically died at age 44 because of an aortic dissection.

        What? You mean somebody cut him open and took pieces of his heart out, like something out of "Hostel"? That's wild!!

        Or do you maybe mean aortic distension ... or some other word?

  • Babylon 5: The Lost Tails Sharks with Fricken Lasers

  • It was real drama (Score:2, Insightful)

    by ciberado ( 619832 )
    Yes, B5 was my favourite series for a time, even over ST:NG. The continuity of the story made it incredible addictive and increased the deepness of every single main character. I'm not sure it's the best format for a couple of mini spinoffs. Sadly, as far as I know Richard Biggs (Dr Franklin) wasn't the only actor that died after the series: the incredible Andreas Katsulas (G'Kar) passed away some time ago too.

    • Re:It was real drama (Score:5, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 25, 2007 @08:10AM (#19634231)
      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 [wikipedia.org]

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by rbanffy ( 584143 )
        +1 funny

        I want to believe he would like it

        • It oughta also be +1 insightful. What ol' Zathras said is absolutely true; it is easier to get things done when everyone else's forgotten about you.

          I always like Zathras. But even more than that, I liked his younger brother Zathras, who reminded me of myself. I just wish I could get the hang of the pronounciation differences among the Zathras brothers' names.

  • more info, no spoilers (Score:5, Informative)

    by apodyopsis ( 1048476 ) on Monday June 25, 2007 @07:49AM (#19634137)
    flipping fantastic. looking forward to this.

    more information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voices_in_the_Dark [wikipedia.org] 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"

  • Babylon 5 was a miracle (Score:4, Insightful)

    by jollyreaper ( 513215 ) on Monday June 25, 2007 @08:25AM (#19634303)
    And you need no more proof of it than the troubles faced by successor projects. Hell, Season 5 was a mess because of the uncertainty of cancellation. TNT fucked Crusade terribly. Of the TV movies, only In the Beginning was any good. That's what, one in four? I saw nothing of Legend of the Rangers and I hear that's probably for the best.

    Between the poor quality of the successor projects and the difficulty of getting anything good on the air in today's television market, the success of the original series is all the more remarkable. If you simply look at the odds, this show never should have happened, a statistical fluke. But the impossible happened. I wonder if JMS can make the impossible happen twice.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Lumpy ( 12016 )
      Yes he did.

      JMS's Jeremiah series was incredible problem was the second season Showtime wanted to change the show and JMS told them to pound sand, showtime still had a contract for season two so they forced it and season two is 100% crap.

      rent and watch the Season 1 of Jeremiah. It will suck you in with the same vigor that B5 did.

      • Yes he did.

        JMS's Jeremiah series was incredible problem was the second season Showtime wanted to change the show and JMS told them to pound sand, showtime still had a contract for season two so they forced it and season two is 100% crap.

        rent and watch the Season 1 of Jeremiah. It will suck you in with the same vigor that B5 did.

        Well, that gets back to my point. Shows have two big challenges: first, be good; second, survive the meddling of the networks. Jeremiah sounds like it was killed not long after the cradle, the main difference between it and Crusade is that at least Jeremiah had an intact and good first season. I never got to watch Crusade but I heard what JMS had planned was very, very good and the unmeddled episodes bear that out. Babylon 5 easily could have snuffed it at the end of any of the first four seasons. The mira

        • The show stands up so strongly because of that. Seems like hardly anyone plans shows out these days so you just get a bunch of random meandering and shark-jumping before the plug gets pulled.

          Yes. This.

          This is why B5 has such a fan base.

          It's not because it's a perfect show. It's not because there haven't been characters or individual episodes in other sci-fi series that totally outshined those in B5.

          It's because it just told a story. There are few or no episodes where you finish and think, "fucking writer

          • It's because it just told a story. There are few or no episodes where you finish and think, "fucking writers are just killing time before the cliffhanger season finale, which will be quickly and easily resolved in one episode of the next season, after which we'll likely get more of this crap!"

            Exactly. Take what many consider to be the worst episode ever, TKO, season 1. The A plot was what everyone hated bt the b story involved susan coming to terms with the death of her father. That b plot was one of the best of the season. Even when the show is bad, it's great. :) If clauidia had not pulled her stunt after season 4, she would have had lyta's role in the whole telepath storyline. Powerful stuff.

  • Way, way too late (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Phaid ( 938 ) on Monday June 25, 2007 @09:33AM (#19634827) Homepage
    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.
    • The fourth season was fine. The fifth didn't do so well with me, particularly with Boobarella as captain of the station.n.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Snaller ( 147050 )
      "The last, best hope for Babylon 5 died when Straczynski was forced to rush the ending of the original story arc after Season 3."

      Nonsense - nothing was rushed after season 3.

      Several things were changed towards the end of season 4 because they weren't sure if they'd get a season 5 - which means season 5 feels more detached from the whole. But it was always the intention to show life after the war was over.
  • without Ivanova [wikipedia.org]? Ivanova is always right.
    I will listen to Ivanova.
    I will not ignore Ivanova's recommendations.
    Ivanova is god.
  • Now, where did I put those tales?

    OOOOH! Here they are? Man, I've been looking for them forever.

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