Text 2853, 52 rader
Skriven 2006-06-26 13:31:00 av Robert E Starr JR (3326.babylon5)
Ärende: Re: Babylon 5 revisited a
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 * * * This message was from Neil B to rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.m * * *  
         * * * and has been forwarded to you by Lord Time * * *         
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Wendy of NJ wrote:
>> Besides which, there's still a few things that TNG did way better than 
>> B5. ;)
> 
> Care to elaborate? (I'm not baiting you to start a flame war, honest!)

And neither do I want to have one, but I did drop that jab in there so I 
can't get away from it now. :) Let me preface this by saying I love both 
shows, just in very different ways.

Relationships, for one, and I don't mean in terms of romance, but in 
terms of one person relating to another (alien or otherwise)... the 
emotional authenticity. I think they're more convincing and meaningful 
in TNG than in B5, with some notable exceptions (need I say: Londo and 
G'Kar). Not just amongst the crew, but in the series as a whole. When 
characters outside the Enterprise are brought in, the interplay and 
drama is compelling and, more often than not, well played by all 
concerned. I can honestly think of only a few B5 characters outside of 
the main crew that made an impression on me (Rheiner Schone's Dukhat 
being at the top of a short list).

Dialogue, on the whole, is tighter and more convincing, some obvious 
stand-outs notwithstanding (the G'Kar monologues, for example). This is 
especially true of the commanders. Patrick Stewart lends a charisma to 
the Enterprise which is sorely lacking on B5, and when he's given good 
material to play with, he's blindingly good (re: Yesterday's Enterprise, 
Best of Both Worlds, Chain of Command, and many others). Picard is TNG's 
G'Kar in many ways, utterly convincing in the role, the most rewarding 
route into the program. Dialogue is not JMS's strong point, weaving a 
story is; dialogue, on the other hand, is the cornerstone of Stewart's 
Picard. Both progs could learn lessons from the other in these respects.

Finally, as I said, TNG's ability to forge memorable standalones far 
exceeds B5's. They made their fair share of rubbish, but when an 
episodic format is all you've got to play with, I guess you have to 
raise your game. B5's problems are most apparent when the arc is forced 
into the background, IMO, especially in the first season, which I 
certainly don't rate as highly as many folks here, and it's no 
coincidence that S3 and S4 represent B5 at the very peak of its quality.

There, you asked. :)

Neil B
                                                                 
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