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- Babylon 5 Project I: Dawn of the Third Age
Babylon 5 Project I: Dawn of the Third Age
Updated
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie Title:
Genre:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1993
Original Running Time:
306
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
110
Time Cut:
196
Additional Links:
Brief Synopsis:
The Babylon 5 Project aims to focus on the arc stories of the TV show by creating a series of films. This creates a more streamlined rewatch of Babylon 5 for those who want to maximize the arc without having to watch the mostly stand-alone episodes with arc storylines in them.
Intention:
Babylon 5 has such a riveting arc based story that I've returned to watch time and time again but I'm not a big fan of the standalone episodes. However, many standalones do have some arc based storylines which are paid off later. I wanted to craft a new way to watch the series which creates an "all killer, no filler" B5 experience. Some films would just be three or so episodes strung together because of how heavily arc concentrated they are. Other films need to be built from the ground up from the pieces of many episodes which creates new viewing experiences and slightly changed narratives.
The Babylon 5 Project also looks to exorcise some loose plot threads that don't pay off down the line. Talia Winters is reduced in her role throughout the early seasons for this reason. Some inconsistencies are also removed, especially when it comes to Babylon Squared and the War Without End two-parter.
The Babylon 5 Project also looks to exorcise some loose plot threads that don't pay off down the line. Talia Winters is reduced in her role throughout the early seasons for this reason. Some inconsistencies are also removed, especially when it comes to Babylon Squared and the War Without End two-parter.
Special Thanks:
Zarius, sgp1428, memoryblau, and TM2YC for all of the feedback in the beta edits! Made this the best possible edit!
Release Information:
Digital
Editing Details:
Crafting a story from a bunch of bottle episodes was pretty difficult. The backbone of the edit was Midnight on the Firing Line and Babylon Squared with Londo's plotline from Born to Purple stringing the whole thing together. Quality of Mercy was used to also introduce Dr. Franklin and the alien healing machine... and give the good doctor something to do.
The Battle of the Line segment from Babylon 5: In the Beginning provides a prologue and sets up Sinclair. He regains his memory from a flashback in Babylon Squared rather than "And the Sky Full of Stars" which gets to the point quicker (avoiding what I think of as a weak episode) and removes Sinclair's flash-forward in B-Squared which never happens.
The Battle of the Line segment from Babylon 5: In the Beginning provides a prologue and sets up Sinclair. He regains his memory from a flashback in Babylon Squared rather than "And the Sky Full of Stars" which gets to the point quicker (avoiding what I think of as a weak episode) and removes Sinclair's flash-forward in B-Squared which never happens.
Cuts and Additions:
There are too many cuts to go through but here's a quick rundown:
Removed:
Midnight on the Firing Line
- Most of Talia's storyline (sorry Talia/Ivanova shippers!)
- Londo at the casino
Babylon Squared
- The breakfast scene
- Fasten/zip sequence
- Minor edits to remove inconsistencies with War Without End
Additions:
- Battle of the Line footage from In the Beginning as a prologue. Minor edits made to hide certain bombshell revelations by Delenn.
- Truncated version of the Londo/Adira love story. Removed the Purple Files aspect and made a more runaway slave kind of story.
- Truncated version of the alien healing device storyline with Dr. Franklin.
- Sinclair's memory from And the Sky Full of Stars of the Battle of the Line were added and mixed with footage from In the Beginning of the same event.
- The final scene from And the Sky Full of Stars of Sinclair giving his personal log.
- A shot or two from War Without End added for consistency.
Removed:
Midnight on the Firing Line
- Most of Talia's storyline (sorry Talia/Ivanova shippers!)
- Londo at the casino
Babylon Squared
- The breakfast scene
- Fasten/zip sequence
- Minor edits to remove inconsistencies with War Without End
Additions:
- Battle of the Line footage from In the Beginning as a prologue. Minor edits made to hide certain bombshell revelations by Delenn.
- Truncated version of the Londo/Adira love story. Removed the Purple Files aspect and made a more runaway slave kind of story.
- Truncated version of the alien healing device storyline with Dr. Franklin.
- Sinclair's memory from And the Sky Full of Stars of the Battle of the Line were added and mixed with footage from In the Beginning of the same event.
- The final scene from And the Sky Full of Stars of Sinclair giving his personal log.
- A shot or two from War Without End added for consistency.
User reviews
5 reviews
Overall rating
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
9.4(5)
Audio Editing
9.6(5)
Visual Editing
9.4(5)
Narrative
9.0(5)
Enjoyment
9.8(5)
Overall rating
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
7.0
Enjoyment
10.0
Okay. So conceptually I love this. Been meaning to watch for over a year. As a fan of B5, it's great, and it looks amazing. The editing is overall well done, but the narrative is all over the place. The scenes at the beginning (the battle of the line) gave us too much, and the B4 story is too late and feels completely unconnected. I feel like this should have been 2 movies, perhaps including more scenes from the episodes the first have came from. All in all, its good but it may not be the best way for a new fan to see these stories. Still looking forward to the rest of these however.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
E
Overall rating
8.6
Audio/Video Quality
9.0
Audio Editing
8.0
Visual Editing
9.0
Narrative
8.0
Enjoyment
9.0
Having watched all 22 of Subjectzero's B5 movies once, I am now doing a second pass (I need another fix, and Discovery is trash).
As an opener, this is a magnificent achievement since it will draw viewers in immediately without having to slog through some very questionable episodes or B stories.
I won't be commenting on the individual categories in each review, but I will comment on points of note.
There is no question that Subjectzero has managed to improve the image, but it still sits at a 9 for me coz one just can't ignore the inherrant issues. Without his tweaking, the score here would be a 6..maybe even 5, but a sold 9 is good, and it gets better later as the source material does permit it.
CONSTRCUTIVE POINTS
The majority of the audio edits were well done but there were several that felt rushed and gave away the fact that there was a transition point. There was also a very repetative OPENING SHOT music cue, which could have been easily replaced to remove the monotony AND further diguise that the establishing shot of B5 was from another episode. This was less of an issue with the visuals.
In regards to the narrative, for the most part the several episodes were well interwovem I believe that dragging some of the babylon 4 easrlier material higher up the running order would have made things a tad smoother and avoided the feeling that this was a two episode edit (which it is not...there many episodes worth of material here). Also, the establishing scene of the fighter arriving was kind of redunadant and I feel it's excision would make things actually a tad smoother, though Londos love interest being peppered throughout certainly helps in that respect (though there is a big lul in that arc, and it would benefit from a more even distribution).
Enjoyment was a firm 9 since one can't ask for more on what is an opener after all. Slipping in the healing machine early on is great...coz you do need to forget about it (as we all did on the first run).
I do miss the breakfast scene, and it could easily be included since there is not much light relief here. V2 please possibly.
Finally, I do miss the opening titles, and though no deductions were made, I would love for the season 3 opening to be used for the first half of these, and the season 5 opening for the remainder...That season 4 opening is an astonishing mood setter...and I missed it sorely however, no dedustions from me on that point.
So that's my ep 1 review. A great start and frankly, I already know the bar is raised significantly as this astonishing endevour progresses.
BRAVO and Highly recommended.
As an opener, this is a magnificent achievement since it will draw viewers in immediately without having to slog through some very questionable episodes or B stories.
I won't be commenting on the individual categories in each review, but I will comment on points of note.
There is no question that Subjectzero has managed to improve the image, but it still sits at a 9 for me coz one just can't ignore the inherrant issues. Without his tweaking, the score here would be a 6..maybe even 5, but a sold 9 is good, and it gets better later as the source material does permit it.
CONSTRCUTIVE POINTS
The majority of the audio edits were well done but there were several that felt rushed and gave away the fact that there was a transition point. There was also a very repetative OPENING SHOT music cue, which could have been easily replaced to remove the monotony AND further diguise that the establishing shot of B5 was from another episode. This was less of an issue with the visuals.
In regards to the narrative, for the most part the several episodes were well interwovem I believe that dragging some of the babylon 4 easrlier material higher up the running order would have made things a tad smoother and avoided the feeling that this was a two episode edit (which it is not...there many episodes worth of material here). Also, the establishing scene of the fighter arriving was kind of redunadant and I feel it's excision would make things actually a tad smoother, though Londos love interest being peppered throughout certainly helps in that respect (though there is a big lul in that arc, and it would benefit from a more even distribution).
Enjoyment was a firm 9 since one can't ask for more on what is an opener after all. Slipping in the healing machine early on is great...coz you do need to forget about it (as we all did on the first run).
I do miss the breakfast scene, and it could easily be included since there is not much light relief here. V2 please possibly.
Finally, I do miss the opening titles, and though no deductions were made, I would love for the season 3 opening to be used for the first half of these, and the season 5 opening for the remainder...That season 4 opening is an astonishing mood setter...and I missed it sorely however, no dedustions from me on that point.
So that's my ep 1 review. A great start and frankly, I already know the bar is raised significantly as this astonishing endevour progresses.
BRAVO and Highly recommended.
W
Overall rating
9.2
Audio/Video Quality
8.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
8.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
While I was interested in the Babylon 5 series, its sheer length intimidated me. I had also heard from fans of the show that a fair amount of the show was a slog to get through. By sheer coincidence I also ran into subjectzero's edits around the same time. I'm so glad I did, as I ended up watching every single release. This series of edits are very digestible as one who had been completely new to the series. Everything made sense and I loved all the characters. I'm very glad subjectzero decided to do this project. The only thing that is jarring are the zoom-ins used to cut out certain characters and credits, but I quickly got used to it.
I later learned that the beginning to subjectzero's edit is very different than the beginning of the original run, and all I can say is that it was a clever way to speed things up! I can only remember a single time where the audio wasn't cleanly cut. Great job!
I later learned that the beginning to subjectzero's edit is very different than the beginning of the original run, and all I can say is that it was a clever way to speed things up! I can only remember a single time where the audio wasn't cleanly cut. Great job!
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
U
Overall rating
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
As a fan of the series I am honestly staggered by this edit.
The way subjectzero intercut multiple episodes is simply brilliant. Those who have watched the show will know that the first season is a bit of a slog at times but this film successfully takes the first season's best elements and weaves them together to create a compelling opening chapter to Babylon 5's grand narrative.
What's more this edit managed to made the show more believable. Babylon 5 actually felt busy. Normally the commander would only have to deal with the A and B plots of any given episode but this film actually made the commander appear to be deftly spinning multiple plates. It does this while successfully introducing the shows ensemble cast who each get ample screen time.
Honestly it is hard to find fault with this project. I did occasionally think of a scene that could have included but when I tried to think where it would actually fit or what would need to be replaced in order to keep the run time sensible it just didn't seem like there would be any net benefit overall. If I had any criticism it would be that, when compared to the series, you simply have less time to get invested in the characters. However, with a project like this that is as inevitable as it is understandable and it didn't diminish my enjoyment of the film. Ultimately if you already love the show you will love this.
All in all it is a well paced distillation of the early key points of the series and I am very much looking forward to the second movie.
Pros:
- No filler episodes
- Reduced cringe worthy scenes/dialogue
- Babylon 5 genuinely feels like a bustling space port
- Maintains early plot foreshadowing
- Excellent editing throughout
Cons:
- Reduced time with each character
The way subjectzero intercut multiple episodes is simply brilliant. Those who have watched the show will know that the first season is a bit of a slog at times but this film successfully takes the first season's best elements and weaves them together to create a compelling opening chapter to Babylon 5's grand narrative.
What's more this edit managed to made the show more believable. Babylon 5 actually felt busy. Normally the commander would only have to deal with the A and B plots of any given episode but this film actually made the commander appear to be deftly spinning multiple plates. It does this while successfully introducing the shows ensemble cast who each get ample screen time.
Honestly it is hard to find fault with this project. I did occasionally think of a scene that could have included but when I tried to think where it would actually fit or what would need to be replaced in order to keep the run time sensible it just didn't seem like there would be any net benefit overall. If I had any criticism it would be that, when compared to the series, you simply have less time to get invested in the characters. However, with a project like this that is as inevitable as it is understandable and it didn't diminish my enjoyment of the film. Ultimately if you already love the show you will love this.
All in all it is a well paced distillation of the early key points of the series and I am very much looking forward to the second movie.
Pros:
- No filler episodes
- Reduced cringe worthy scenes/dialogue
- Babylon 5 genuinely feels like a bustling space port
- Maintains early plot foreshadowing
- Excellent editing throughout
Cons:
- Reduced time with each character
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
M
Overall rating
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
Babylon 5 is an epic length novel for television and can work in a multitude of ways...long-form tv and now long-form "movies", edited together with supreme craftsmanship by subjectzero. I was very privileged to have seen the betas and helped out with ways of how to improve the final product. Here, in the first chapter of the B5 saga, several key episodes of the first season are held together by coherent editing and the very strong connective tissue of the series myth arc. This edit will remind older fans of the journey they went on, only now they have a lengthier amount of time to take it all in than just standard tv length. A worthwhile project that I look forward to seeing through to completion.
Z