Babylon 5: The Lost Tales DVD Review

Buy This DVD Now By Clicking On The Icon Below!

Title: Babylon 5: The Lost Tales

Region: One

Genre: Sci-Fi Anthology

Stars: Bruce Boxleitner, Tracy Scoggins, Peter Woodward, Alan Scarfe, Bruce Ramsay, Keegan Macintosh, and Teryl Rothery

Writer: J. Michael Straczynski

Director: J. Michael Straczynski

Feature length: 72 minutes

Extras: Interviews, Memorials, Production Profile and Character Profiles

Languages: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Subtitles: English Subtitles For The Deaf And Hearing Impaired

Packaging: Amaray Keep Case

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Year of DVD Release: 2007

Home Video Distributor: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: Not Rated

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

It has been a little over five years since Babylon 5 fans have had anything new in the venerable TV space opera to watch. The last program was the SCI FI Channel original movie/backdoor pilot Babylon 5: The Legend Of The Rangers and sufficed to say, there was no TV series following this film and the DVD release was about two years ago so the well of brilliant storytelling Straczynski has provided us with regards to his Babylon 5 has been somewhat empty up until now. Last year excitement grew when news regarding a straight to DVD Babylon 5 film was put into production with Straczynski stepping into the director’s chair for the second time and providing the script too. The result is Babylon 5: The Lost Tales, which differs from previous Babylon 5 movies in that the stories are more intimate and while I’m sure on a grander scale they fit right into with whatever is already available regardless of the media, these stories are more or less self contained and do not carry any necessity of having to be familiar with the series to enjoy them though obviously it doesn’t hurt to be a fan of the show ahead of time. Conversely not seeing the film will have really no impact on the grander scale of the epic series, at least for now. In the end, it really comes down to personal interest. If you are a Babylon 5 fan like me, you’ll want to buy this DVD no matter what. Microsoft X-Box 360 users with X-Box Live can also purchase and download the film in high definition. Hopefully if the DVD proves successful and more Lost Tales are produced, a double feature HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc option will be made available, but as far as I know at the time of this writing, you can only purchase the film on DVD and you can only purchase a high definition download if you are an X-Box Live subscriber with an X-Box 360.

Babylon 5: The Lost Tales centers around two stories that ultimately have to deal with moral choices and consequences as well as faith. Entitled Voices In The Dark, the first half deals with Colonel Lochley (Tracy Scoggins) and a Roman Catholic Priest, played by the ever-reliable genre TV actor Teryl Rothery, who has come to Babylon 5 to investigate the possibility of the first recorded case of demonic possession in nearly a century. With the faith in the Catholic Church having waned in the century or so since humanity made first contact with extraterrestrial life and journeyed farther into the stars faster than one could ever imagine, the proof of an actual case of possession could actually boost the faith for Christians everywhere since it suggests that if there is a devil then there must indeed be a God. However regardless if the individual is indeed possessed by a Legion of demons or simply the victim of something else, this is a person who needs help and not exploitation. The choices come down to ultimately making a moral choice based on faith. This is not an easy thing to do when you consider this is a universe that has extraterrestrials so powerful like the Vorlons, the Shadows, and even Lorien, the immortal first one, that it is not so much that possession is in question so much as the nature of it. It could be an extraterrestrial entity just as much as a Biblical one.

The second half of the story concerns President John Sheridan’s journey to Babylon 5 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Interstellar Alliance. Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) is visited by the Technomage Galen (Peter Woodward), who shows him a vision of New York circa 2091 just as it is eliminated by vast Centauri weapons of mass destruction because an Emperor wants to bring the Republic back to it’s former glory and thus targets Earth since humans have had a profound effect on the Centauri Republic since first contact. Angry and in despair, Sheridan wants to know what he can do to stop this event from happening. It just so happens the future Emperor will be joining Sheridan for the final leg of his trip to Babylon 5. Galen suggests finishing off the tyrant to be now is the easiest choice, but is it the best one?

Ultimately you will have to buy this DVD or purchase the HD download for the X-Box 360 if you want to find out. Beautifully written with great care and fine performances by the entire cast, what I liked best about Babylon 5: The Lost Tales was that it was not only gripping, but references are made to certain characters not present in the film, but spoken of in such a way that I felt somehow they were there even though they are not. I think once one realizes that these are stand alone stories that are far more character driven than action driven, fans will enjoy the show and I also think this might be the best way to keep Babylon 5 alive on the small screen. Instead of competing network politics and shifting timeslots, with Babylon 5: The Lost Tales there is no programming competition because the people who buy it will be fans of the show as well as fans of sci-fi and science fiction in general. If there were one or two of these volumes produced a year, I think fans would be very pleased.

Shot using high definition video cameras and benefiting from the use of advances CGI and green screen technology Babylon 5: The Lost Tales looks sharp and pristine. At times the clarity reveals the virtual backgrounds a bit too much. Particularly the dock where Lochley meets the guests simply sticks out too much, but not enough to pull one out of the fantasy of it all. The English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is quite lively at some points and I think it might be the best mix yet for a Babylon 5 program on DVD. English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired are encoded onto the DVD as an option too. The interactive menus are standard still frames and the two portions of the film can be viewed individually or collectively.

Extra value materials on the DVD include J. Michael Straczynski with Bruce Boxleitner, Tracy Scoggins, and J. Michael Straczynski with Peter Woodward. It’s great to see Bruce Boxleitner and J. Michael Straczynski sitting together. Straczynski seems to loosen up Bruce a little and leads the interview just enough to get Bruce rolling. Tracy Scoggins seems like a real sweet lady and she makes it a point to introduce behind the scenes folk we might never know even exist and that is generous of her since few creative endeavors are the product of one person alone, especially in television and film and even radio. Peter Woodward is a class act all his own. These interviews can be viewed individually or via a “Play All Option” (17:36). In fact all of the extra value materials related to Babylon 5: The Lost Tales feature “Play All” options and are presented in a 16 by 9 enhanced widescreen aspect ratio too. There are some beautiful memorials for Andreas Katsulas and Richard Biggs (13:16). People remark about Biggs liveliness at conventions and the elegance Katsulas brought to the set whenever he appeared. Straczynski remarks with moving words that Andreas taught him not how to live, but how to die.

The Straczynski Diaries are a mixed bag. Some of it is interesting, such as when Straczynski gives background into the genesis of the show, shows the set construction, and even gives a little insight into his second experience as a Director on Babylon 5. He directed the series finale Sleeping In Light approximately ten years ago and even appeared in a cameo as the guy who shuts the lights on the station off before the timer is set for it’s self destruction. Straczynski’s Fireside Chats (18:45) are far more interesting as he discusses the Babylon 5 Universe he created and why he chose the name for the station to begin with. Straczynski reveals having studied clinical psychology and he was fascinated by observing the grouping that would occur at lunchtime between extras as background regulars who often were either placed in Centauri or Narn costumes and makeup and how the Narns stuck together with the Narns and the Centauri with the Centauri. This is actually not uncommon. The same thing occurred on the set of the original Planet Of The Apes with the Orangutans, Chimpanzees, and Gorillas segregating themselves at lunchtime too.

Before the main menu appears on DVD, there is a promo trailer for the upcoming direct to video animated release Superman Doomsday (2:24). Babylon 5: The Lost Tales is available on DVD-Video now at retailers on and offline courtesy of Warner Home Video.

Return To The Previous Page

Buy This DVD Now By Clicking On The Icon Below!