Babylon 5: The Road Home (Blu-ray)

I'm going to preface this review by saying that I really hope Straczynski stops trying to remake the same story. I know that's what it's about; it won't work. We humans are very funny when it comes to fiction, and he seems to acknowledge that even here by making sure to use the right voices. As humans, we will accept animation that isn't exact, but you can't change your characters voice. Similarly, we will accept continuations of stories, but we rarely accept complete remakes. There are those of us who still groan at the whole Dallas it was all a dream thing. And I never even watched the stupid show! I was something like eight. So I'm hoping this is just a one off, but even still, I really liked it. It does take a little while to adapt the cartoon format. Some of the animation is truly evocative of the originals, especially Delenn. The animators really got Mira Furlan's subtle, beautiful smile down. Most of the others are harder to recognize, but it doesn't really matter. With the right voices you fall into the story very quickly, and it's the story above all else that matters. That's why you watch Straczynski. Even after all these years, the seeker remains. The wondering, the questioning, the pushing of boundaries... always asking Who Are We? What Do We Want? Some of this particular plot was pretty forced – I personally had flashbacks to Quantum Leap - but this is pure Babylon 5. So again, it's worth watching, and who knows? Perhaps he will be able to redo the whole story. But I'm a pretty avid Masters of the Universe fan, and will point out rather sharply that the endless attempts to re-create that original there have never remotely succeeded, almost inevitably because people took the characters and forgot the point. ( Straczynski should know that, because he wrote a couple of episodes, including one that's considered one of the top five.) That shouldn't happen here, as it's the same creator, but the pitfalls are huge. It's both endearing and frustrating that some expansions to a story can be considered "canon" and others not. But if you are a Babylon 5 fan, the fact that "canon" even exists is in and of itself a source of wonder and thoughtfulness. And he is right. There are still so many questions I have to ask...

This was a great addition to one of the great Scifi series of all time. It was fun to revisit beloved characters. It is sad that so many original actors had passed, but I was impressed with those voices picked to carry the torch. Wonderful trip down memory lane.

Note: some spoilers below.As a huge fan of the ground-breaking Babylon 5 show, I was uncertain about this release, but I finally decided to get it and watch it.On the EXCELLENT! side, the look of the Babylon 5 station (the exterior shots) in this show was stunning; it took my breath away. So very, very well done.I also give credit for doing it right; there was a LOT of watching of the original B5 shows by the new people, and I think it paid off. The animators took time to make the characters move like the characters from the show, and they really did a good job.This show is a tribute to those main B5 characters who are no longer with us.Of the original actors, there were a few that sounded a little off to me and I didn't realize that the original actually came back: Elizabeth Lochley (Tracy Scoggins) and Lyta Alexander (Patricia Tallman) come to mind first.Of the characters with different people doing the voices, most were really pretty good: some of the Delenn lines and some of Stephen Franklin's lines were absolutely spot on; also, Sinclair's voice was done well. Garibaldi and Zathras were acceptable, but not quite to the same level. Sadly, G'Kar was pretty far off; I never really thought it was him.I'm really not trying to pick on G'Kar, but the animation for him was the most changed and hard to remember that it was supposed to be him. The Star Furies, on the other hand, were excellent. At the same time, when I first saw the White Star ship in this show, I thought it was worse.The Shadow soldiers were the biggest surprise: (spoilers!) that they had one-way force shields was something utterly new and kind of surprising.Sad to say, however, is that all of the good was let down by a so-so plot. I know that alternate realities (alternate timelines; multiple universes) are popular, but I don't like them - it just seems too much like cheating. Yes, we got to explore some other concepts that we didn't see in the main series, but most of those were just depressing. There just seems to be a lot of "lost and traveling between alternate realities and trying to get home", and this was yet another one of those kind of shows. It didn't grab my attention in the way that the series did... I can remember watching the show sitting on the edge of the couch with adrenaline flowing because I was so much in to what would happen. This was nice, but nothing else.If you're a fan of B5, this is some nice tie-in and nostalgia. The extra "Babylon 5 Forever" is very good.

Definitivamente una gran adición. Aunque algunos del repertorio original se nos han ido, me sentí como en compañía de viejos amigos.

I started watching this and my first impression was that I didn't like the style of the animation and stopped watching after ten minutes. Some weeks later I decided to start from the beginning again and watch it all and I'm very glad I did.It will not appeal to all and I don't know how those seeing B5 for the first time will cope but for original fans like me it has so much to love. The way the original cast members have taken part, where available, was a fine start and their love for their parts obviously hasn't dimmed with time. Those taking parts for the first time, where the original stars had passed beyond the Rim, also brought a respect and understanding of the character and the way it was originally played, to the role and it showed in the quality of their work.The story enabled the introduction of many of the main parts of the B5 arc and it was like meeting old friends in familiar places with the warmth and love that brings.As for the graphics, I got over my initial dislike as the pictures and scenes whisked me away to places I loved and the greater pixel count that Blu-ray offers enabled the ships and planets, etc to be shown in greater detail, a welcome move.Overall, I am glad I bought the story, despite some negative reviews from others on-line, and it holds it's own special place in my B5 collection, which I still hope will grow further in times to come.Thanks to all of you involved. Until the next time...

Es importante que venga con lenguaje castellano, en el audio o los subtítulos.

Non fatevi scoraggiare dal fatto che è un film animato, riprende perfettamente lo spirito della serie originale. Peccato solo che alcuni degli attori che hanno creato questi personaggi iconici non siano più con noi e sia stato impossibile usare le loro voci.

Der spoilerfreie Teil:Als Babylon 5 Fan bin ich sehr froh, dass es in diesem Universum zu einer Fortsetzung kommt.Den Machern kann man hier ein großes Kompliment aussprechen, denn die Fortsetzung ist würdevoll gelungen.Noch schöner wäre es gewesen, wenn es eine Fortsetzung mit echten Schauspielern gewesen wäre, aber nur so konnte man die liebgewonnenen Charaktere fast alle nochmal sehen. Hier muss man wissen, dass einige Darsteller leider schon verstorben sind. Das heißt eine reale Verfilmung wäre mit den gewohnten Charakteren leider nicht mehr möglich. Und bevor sie Darsteller ersetzen, ist das eine gute Lösung gewesen, um im liebgewonnenen Umfeld zu bleiben.In der Story kommt zu keiner Zeit langeweile auf. Im Gegenteil, es war packend bis zum Schluß.Schade ist, dass auf der Bluray keine deutsche Tonspur ist. Aber Babylon 5 habe ich schon immer lieber im Original gesehen. Das Englisch bleibt durchgehend auf einem Level, den man gut verstehen kann.Der Zeichenstil ist im Ordnung. Lediglich bei den Darstellungen der Raumschiffe hätte ich mir gewünscht, dass sie völlig beim Original geblieben wären. Obwohl es ein Zeichentrick ist, blieben die Macher dabei, was tatsächlich physisch auch bei echten Menschen möglich ist und haben da keine Fähigkeiten übertrieben.Für mich hat sich der Kauf der Bluray sehr gelohnt. Und ich hoffe sehnlichst, dass die Produzenten mehr Würdevolle Fortsetzung machen und gerne auch reale Verfilmungen im gleichen Universum. Und ich hoffe, dass es da zu keinen fragwürdigen Reboots kommt.Der nicht spoilerfreie Teil:Es war richtig schön, dass die Macher es immer wieder geschafft haben Storyelemente aus der echten Serie einzubauen. Zum Beispiel die Szene mit Ivanova auf der Brücke. Nun macht ihr Funkspruch absolut sinn.Richtig gefreut hat es mich als er auf dem Planeten der Schatten war und die Icarus zu sehen war.Andere Realitäten ist eigentlich nicht das Steckenpferd von Babylon 5. Und die Erklärung mit dem Beobachter und das die gesamte Realität bedroht ist, war auch nicht wirklich plausibel. Aber das tut der Story letztlich kein Abbruch. Der Film war einfach insgesamt schön.