Still from "Babylon 5: The Lost Tales Voices in the Dark."
© Warner Bros.
Babylon 5 Finally
By: Stephen LackeyDate: Monday, June 18, 2007
One of the first things I wrote about for TV Wasteland last year was that a new Babylon 5 series of direct to DVD films were in the works. Now, finally 10 years after the original series ended the next tales of Babylon 5 will begin on July 31st with Babylon 5: The Lost Tales Voices in the Dark. When I first heard about the film I had hoped the story would have the epic feel of a theatrical release. After checking out the description it appears to be more along the lines of a two hour episode, which for “good” B5 means something better than most other similar sci-fi series. A trailer has been released for the film that features narration that could have been lifted right from the original series. Seeing the characters and hearing that over-the-top narration felt like I ran into an old friend. I really hope the film is good. I’m disappointed to see a few missing cast members. Of course sadly since Richard Biggs and Andreas Katsulas passed away they don’t appear in the film other than via some brief archival footage but also Mira Furlan isn’t back, probably because of her work on a little television series called LOST, and neither is Claudia Christian, but she doesn’t appear to be doing anything that would conflict. I know there were some real issues between B5 creator J. Michael Straczynski and Jerry Doyle after the original series ended and Doyle tried to restart the franchise himself and got the fan base in an uproar thinking something was happening that wasn’t meant to be at the time but couldn’t they bury the hatchet to get these new films made? How do you have a B5 without a wise cracking Garibaldi? Instead of these great actors we get Tracy Scoggins back reprising a character I never liked to start with. Bruce Boxleitner is of course back as is the fantastic Peter Jurasik and some other actors return for supporting roles. At any rate head on over to the official site and check out the trailer, then tell me what you think.
http://babylon5.warnerbros.com/
Shows I’m most looking forward to this week are John from Cincinnati, The 4400, and HEX. John from Cincinnati continues to grab me with the utter bizarreness of the series. I don’t think there’s another series on television right now that has nearly as many strange characters as this one. HEX continues to be a fun watch and I’m hoping the new season of The 4400 is as strong as the previous ones. I’ll be watching some other series but the ones above have the most potential to actually be good.
Monday
CREATURE COMFORTS (CBS, 8PM EST) Winter: The Zoo
Creatures discuss how they feel about winter and the zoo..
KYLE XY (ABCFAM, 8PM PST) The Homecoming
Kyle returns to the Trager house and agonizes over the secrets he must keep from the family; Xx journeys outside the walls of Zzyzx.
Tuesday
ON THE LOT (FOX, 8PM PST) Five More Films, One Less Filmmaker
A filmmaker is eliminated and the last group shows their films with Wes Craven as guest judge.
CRISS ANGEL MINDFREAK (AETV, 10PM PST) Motorhead
Car truck and bike illusions
Wednesday
MYTHBUSTERS (DSC, 9PM PST) Snow Special
Myths about snow are sure to be busted.
TRAVELER (ABC, 10PM PST) The Tells
Tyler and Jay find a security box with Will’s aliases inside along with evidence about the bombing.
Thursday
GHOST HUNTERS (SCIFI, /PM PST) Nightmare Noises
Two families need help after years of dealing with bizarre incidents in their homes.
DESTINATION TRUTH (SCIFI, 10PM PST) Ropen and Chupacabra
Searching for a birdlike a birdlike creature in New Guinea and the chupacabra in Chile.
Friday
STARGATE SG-1 (SCIFI, 8PM PST) Unending
With extinction imminent the Asgard decide to hand over all of their knowledge and technology to SG-1.
STARGATE ATLANTIS (SCIFI, 9PM PST) First Strike
A replicator attack forces Atlantis to sink back into the ocean.
PAINKILLER JANE (SCIFI, 10PM PST) Portraits of Lauren Gray
Jane and Maureen go undercover at a fashion show to find out what is rapidly aging young women.
Saturday
HEX (BBCA, 8PM PST) You Lose
Thelma wants to help Leon save Ella but it will mean losing Maya. Will she close her ghostly lover or ridding the world of evil? The show is better than the description sounds.
STAN LEE’S HARPIES (SSCIFI, 9PM PST)
A man is transported to the Middle Ages where he must battle supernatural creatures and a wizard. I dunno….
Sunday
JOHN FROM CINCINATTI (HBO, 9PM PST) His Visit: Day Two Continued
Dr. Smith believes a paranormal event has occurred within the Yost family; Kai takes John to her trailer Cass confronts Mitch.
THE 4400 (USA, 9PM PST) Fear Itself
Tom and Diana search for someone who has the ability to make people’s worst fears come true. Danny seeks Shawn’s help to get a promicin shot, and Cassie leads Kyle to a book that holds a prophecy about Jordan Collier.
THE DEAD ZONE (USA, 10PM PST) Ego
Yeah, and "Ice Ice Baby" wasn't a rip off of "Under Pressure".