I too envy you...I remember well watching all five years of B5 in first run. The long waits between seasons and eps could be deadly since JMS was such a master of leaving you hanging and dangling. Ugh!
I too have never been so touched by any TV characters (SF or no) than I have by those in B5. It is a character driven story which is part of what makes it so unique and wonderous. You feel their pain and watch them grow and change so much over five years.
Not one of the main characters is that same person from season to season as they grow and learn. Unlike other SF, they change permenantly as real people do, their past affects their future.
I know when it was over, after I had watched the last ep, SiL for the first time...I stood up...face wet with tears...walked into my kitchen and got a napkin to wipe my face with...stood there silent for a good five minutes still crying, and finally broke that silence when I looked to my roommate (who was also still crying) and said, "I feel like my best friend just died." There was a hole in my heart where B5's characters used to live, and knowing that I wouldn't get to visit them any longer tore me up.
No show or film has ever done that to me before or since. It is why B5 is at the top of my list for the best series, best SF ever written/produced.
You're in for a lovely time with S5.
And as for watching it so fast...my roommate and I watch whole box sets of seasons in about that time as well. It's addicting.
We just watched all of the disks that are out on FARSCAPE in about two weeks...that's almost four seasons. Now we're dying for 4.4 and 4.5 to come out. Hopefully 4.5 will be out before the mini-series airs.
Remember always: "What is built endures. What is loved endures. And Babylon 5...Babylon 5 endures." Probably one of my favorite moments and BG's by the way.

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