Jan 15 2009
Will vs. Jumping the Shark! Vol. III
SPOILERS WITHIN! BE WARNED!
This was supposed to happen ages ago but I finally found a time to get to this. This ‘week’ I am going to tackle the JumptheShark.com’s residents and their choices over Babylon 5. To start, I USED to be a gigantic Babylon 5 fan. The epic storytelling still intrigues me and the environments JMS created are still fascinating. But as I grow older I start to see through the cracks that were previously covered by naivete and nostalgia. Babylon 5, while still generally good, is kind of a crappy show. Produced on a C-level budget with A-level aspirations, some of the show is unwatchable. But in the end it still has it’s place amongst the science-fiction greats. I can’t help but love it for its originality and hate it for the parts of other sci-fi it blatantly rips off and ruins. I love and hate this show! Now before you analyze those last few statements and realize they are generally contradictory statements, let’s prepare to analyze Babylon 5 by viewing the epic and moving Season 5 title sequence.
ANALYSIS: Due to a rabid, fanboy following that used to include myself, Babylon 5 dominates the first category as NEVER JUMPED. Since I have an intense love and an intense hate for this show it is tough to decide this one. But in the end I’d have to disagree. Babylon 5 did a great job of constantly redeeming itself after failing. After criminally horrible telefilms, the show would recover with engaging story arcs. After outrageous amounts of filler episodes that meant absolutely nothing, the show would then defy the odds and produce long episode arcs dedicated only to character and action. Sometimes the show didn’t care that it wasn’t a widespread hit or that it wouldn’t appeal to audiences trying to join in late: B5 stuck to its guns. But for those unforgivable gaffes, such as killing Marcus for soap opera dramatic effect, showing outer space urinals or. . .*shiver*. . .River of Souls. . .*shiver*, amongst others, B5 definitely did it’s share of jumping. DISAGREE
The fifth season is, unjustly, regarded as the second reason why B5 jumped the shark. I always defend season five because it took the characters to the next logical place in the time allotted. Many people know that season 4 was suddenly the last season of Babylon 5. JMS had to scramble and finalize four years’ worth of storylines in four final episodes. He did, somewhat successfully (who can blame him), but then B5 was miraculously picked up for a fifth season. As a result JMS had to pad the first 10 episodes or so and add a truly horrible telepath-rouge thing to set up what he wanted to finish. Season 5 is breathtaking storytelling when it focuses on the characters: the characters in season 5 are the same fundamentally as they were in season 1 BUT they have made an understandable progression from that point and inhabit very different roles in the B5 universe by the time season 5 rolls around. It adds to the epic appeal of the show and is not a distraction. So, I DISAGREE.
’The Vorlons and Shadows Leave the Galaxy’ is listed as the third reason. If I didn’t understand the behind the scenes struggles of the show I’d agree. But due to the fourth season debacle as explained in the previous example the storyline had to be rushed and patched up to avoid future conflict. Thus the easy solution of ’see ya guys, it was fun being the main bad guys but we are done!’ It makes for poor storytelling but was a necessary evil for JMS to finish the President Clark storyline. Still, it sucks. I AGREE.
The fourth reason is listed as ‘Byron and the Telepaths’. As I mentioned in the first example, this storyline was absolutely dreadful. Since most of Byron’s storylines were filmed in a tiny cardboard box and involved lots of poetic sermons and preachy diatribes you couldn’t help but eye the fridge or the holy Throne (everyone knows what that is, right?) whenever he and his ‘goth’ telepaths showed up. Their fate was written long before their story played out and it was just plain boring! The interesting world of telepaths, so often unexplained or just plain weird, was overexposed and a lame, oft-used plot device was used to overuse it! Damn it! I definetly AGREE.
The final reason given is that the fourth season was bad. The previous mentioned behind the scenes troubles were the cause of this disastrous run of episodes. Though the fourth season ends solidly enough you definetly can’t help but feel the fourth season had too much going on for its own good and was a tad bit pretentious. A lot of poor dramatic choices were made to spice the season up and in the end the show suffers for it. Still, it is waaaaaaay better then the 1st season. In the end, I AGREE.
In the end there were four agrees (the first disagree counts in the agree category, if that makes any sense) and only one disagree. Thus, for the first time on the site, I’d have to say that Babylon 5, despite its best efforts, JUMPED THE SHARK!
FUNNY REASON: ‘Delenn Becomes a Housewife’. . .it needs no more explaining and is just damn funny.
NEXT TIME: I will reluctantly tackle the fun enigma that is House MD!
So far: The X-Files (NEVER, 3-1); Veronica Mars (NEVER, 4-1); Babylon 5 (JUMPED, 1-4)
,
I walk around with that same love/hate syndrome for Babylon 5 that you talk about. As a kid in middle school/high school, I was much more into the storytelling and appeal that JMS offered up, but I was never entirely sold on it. I remember having long, long conversations with you, Will, during sports medicine and hanging around about this show. The telefilms were not at all watchable, as you said. I cringed every time I heard about the next TV movie. But aside from all of that, and aside from JMS’s admitted fascinated with deconstructing the Lord of the Rings and pleasuring himself out a space opera, there were some very well done episodes that saved this series from the brink. Why Martin Sheen even signed up for The River of Souls is beyond me, perhaps it was an early plea to Aaron Sorkin.
As far as the acting goes, ehhh. Bringing in Bruce Boxleitner was an improvement over Michael O’Hare (who fares much better in the theatre environment he was accustomed to), but he sure knew how to way overact or feign the moment. He also knew how to ‘get in touch’ with a floating jukebox. It was like S&M watching Kosh mess him up in the hallway. Andy K. (Andreas Katsulas) and Peter Jurasik brought this show home in some of the best episodes. And they were not perfect, but I will say that what Andy put into G’Kar far surpassed what most of the other actors put into their roles. The hair, Eastern European accent and all in attitude Jurasik went for with Londo was an excellent compliment to G’Kar. Mira Furlan did a good job, too, at times, but she also had a flair for the overdramatic. She made it work when needed, though. Claudia Christian was meant for pure eye candy, and if you could take her seriously after the horrible first season, I would ask you to cut back on your cocaine intake. She had some episodes that worked for her, but all in all, she was so awkward and stale in the role. Stephen Furst, though most of the time a little too feminine, I thought did a pretty good job going for it. Jason Carter was underused, but his professional training (and that alone made him seem a little out of place next to people like Joshua CoXXX) was really an asset throughout the build-up and then horribly rushed conclusions to the Shadow/Vorlon storyline and President “Scorched Earth” Clark plot. Richard Biggs…I liked him for the most part, and like Andy was so sorry to hear of his passing. He got better as the series moved along, still knew how to overact it easily and was underused in a lot of places, but he made himself a niche.
As for the ‘Vorlons and Shadows Leave The Galaxy’, yeah I was really bothered by this later on after taking in the notion that they had built up this monumental story arc for three seasons, only to end it all so hastily for need new avenues. And I do understand some of the logic behind it. JMS had sketched out B5 from the very beginning to last five years, only the notion of having to compete with various Star Trek incarnations and budgetary concerns always left the staff wondering if their next season was coming. That pressure has to be beyond immense, which is why he wrote almost all of the episodes himself. But to this day I have to believe there was a better way to wrap it up aside from the way it went in season 4. Season 2 was showing signs of life and had some great storytelling, season 3 was really on its game in places. Season 4 started out with strength, yet only to see this huge storyline get wrapped up in inconvenient bows so quickly. JMS didn’t have much of a choice since season 5 was greenlit at the last possible second, after Sleeping In Light, but that just will always eat away at me.
I liked the character development we really start to see by means of Season 5, but I could not agree with you more that the telepath storyline was horrible. I cringe every time I happen to hear that “And We Can All Live Together In A Better World” song they used to sing with Byron doing his best Fabio in black look. Don’t get me wrong, the telepath idea used throughout the series had its interesting high and low points, but the buildup within the beginning of the Season 5 was just a non sequitur. You’re right, anyone with a brain could see how that was going to end as soon as it started. Walter Koenig was on the case, bitch!
The fourth season was a little pretentious is you go back and look at it, as has been said, it was trying to accomplish too much through too many questionable means. And in the end, whilst there were some really good episodes, you could not help but feel the shaft in certain places as knots were tied off. They tried too much, too hard, in too many places, but again in agreement with you, it was MUCH better than Season 1. Just watching ‘TKO’, scratch that…just mentioning ‘TKO’ sends that season further into the abyss.
In the end, I agree that despite their best efforts, Babylon 5 jumped the shark, too. It still is an indelible mark on my childhood that I faithfully watched (and have the DVD’s…except Season 1…), but having been shaped by a much larger world of entertainment and the simple passage of time since, looking back and watching those same episodes just don’t do anything near what they used to for me. It’s that love/hate thing. I will say that ‘Severed Dreams’ is one of my favourite episodes, though. They blew most of their Season 3 budget on it, but aside from some stone faced acting, that one made a mark on a kid.
You and I didn’t mention Jerry Doyle who was amazing. Great actor and an amazing character! He single handely saved the show at times. He was the only one who could really pull off the oft-horrendous humor and he just. . .WAS Garibaldi. When I think of great character development and writing I think of Garibaldi’s arc.
Someone mentioned B5 jumped the shark because Garibaldi never got to exact revenge on Bester. In the show, no, he didn’t which added to the tragedy of it. In the extension books he did. . .so there was some fanboy delight there. But in the end it is better that Garibaldi had to live with that pain. It defined him better.
How ya doin’ man?