Lost, Forgotten

[CRONAN]

Is the interest in Babylon 5 fading to the point that it will soon be a distant memory?

B5 forums sites generaly tend to have a scant hundred members. This pales in comparrison to other forums whos members number in the thousands.

It's getting kinda lonely up here....

[Spidy]

I think the strong DVD sales and the advent of this "new project" are evidence that their is still life in the B5 universe.

As for 'forgotton', I don't think that will ever happen. The old TV show "The Prisoner" is certainly not still popular, but a large majority of the population knows what it was, and I think the same kind of the thing will grow around B5.

Babylon 5 is far from dead. Lord of the Rings was a book for decades before it was made into arguably a classic movie. All I'm saying is give it some time, you never know what might happen.

After all, faith manages.

[grumbler]

I would argue that for a forum this young, about a show that was on so long ago, some 230 members isn't bad at all.

The numbers have dwindled with time and then there will be a resurgence if the new project is a hit (and will die out/merge with other stuff if not).

[Joseph DeMartino]

B5TV.com has over 2000 registered users. Thousands participate in the moderated news group.

This forum is actually an exception. Both the JMSNews archive and this forum are relatively recent creation. I don't think the forum is much more than a year old, nor the site much more than three. So the more established fora naturally have the greater memberships. There are still thousands of B5 fans who have no idea that this place has a forum, or who don't bother to register or participate because they've been members of other fora for years and only have so much time to spend gabbing about B5 on the 'net.

Then there are the fora that are no more, like the old TNT site and the discussion areas at www.thestation.com. A lot of fans who participated in those sites and felt comfortable with them didn't like the alternatives when the sites shut down, and gave up on on-line fandom. That doesn't mean they lost interest in the show, only that they stopped being "visible" fans on-line.

Finally there are the groups that "went private". There are a number of invitation-only groups formed of refugees from public boards who got tired of troll attacks or just found s a small group of generally convivial folks and decided to create a space where only people long acquainted through other sites could come and chat. A Google search won't reveal these sites, or if one does you'll find you need a password just to get in and there is no way to browse or even register if you aren't already a member.

I wouldn't judge the show's popularity or the interest among fans by activity (much less membership numbers) on the internet. Especially for a series that has been out of production for five years and which currently isn't even on the TV schedule in its country of origin. Far more significant is the fact that a new project is in the works and that the DVDs continue to sell well. (The S5 set was a featured item in the Sunday supplement ads and on the websites of several major retail chains the week it debuted.)

Finally there is a certain ebb and flow to interest in any show, based on what is happening with it. We've talked the episodes to death for five years. Except when talking to newbies, how much more is there really to say? But when it was at high tide B5 actually had a much bigger internet presence than a lot of presumably more popular SF shows and movies - in part because B5 fans tended to be older, more affluent and more net-savvy, especially in the early days. The Compuserve SFMedia Forum, for instance, covered all SF TV and movies. Only one TV show ever generated so much traffic that it was broken out into its own Compuserve Forum - and it wasn't Trek. B5 had and independent forum for three or four years until waning traffic caused it to be folded back into the main SFMedia Forum (as the subgroup "Straczyznski's works") a couple of years after the show went out of production.

Regards,

Joe

[Ranger Foster]

I am new to the forum and the Babylon 5 universe and i just finished season 4 in 3 days, i promised my self i would take my time but that didn't happen, I have never watched a show that got me so interested in sci-fi characters before, I,m really glad i started watching Babylon 5 on DVD as i heard that when it was airing in the UK it was never on at the same time and was moved about from day time to midnight, if i started watching Babylon 5 when it was airing i would not have bothered so this is one reason i think the DVDs or doing so well.

[Jan]

Welcome Ranger Foster! You know, I knew there seemed to be a fair number of people just discovering B5 thanks to the DVDs but now I think I may understand the reason. If people had started watching but lost track of it, they might well have picked it up when the DVDs started coming out.

I envy you just discovering it for the first time. B5 really rewards repeat watching, though.

Jan

[colonyearth]

Welcome from me as well Ranger Foster!

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.

[Green_Drazi]

I don't think B5 will ever fade away.There are far too many
cool future possiblities,and JMS is a master story teller.

As for these forums,I think most hang out elsewhere.
I am usually at Firstones.com which is quite active with 2749 members.

[sixpence]

Originally posted by Ranger Foster
I just finished season 4 in 3 days, i promised my self i would take my time but that didn't happen,

Welcome Indeed Ranger Foster!!

Yes, unfortunately when it comes to Babylon 5, I too have little patience or self control. Upon purchasing a new season, and bringing it home, I routinely watch more episodes than I probably should in a given day. I too have always made promises of taking my time, perhaps one episode a night to stretch out the enjoyment, but this has never yet happened. Too enthusiastic!
You are not alone.

Cheers!

PAX AETERNUM

[RCmodeler]

Re: Lost, Forgotten

Originally posted by CRONAN
Is the interest in Babylon 5 fading to the point that it will soon be a distant memory?

That happens to all shows. You don't find many people discussing Quantum Leap or the Next Generation either. After all... when nothing new happens, what is there to discuss?

So naturally people discuss *current* shows like Enterprise, Stargate, Andromeda.

[Kevin]

Re: Re: Lost, Forgotten

Originally posted by RCmodeler
So naturally people discuss *current* shows like Enterprise, Stargate, Andromeda.

Except for the fact that all of the above aren't that great

Well okay Stargate's alright, it just hasn't gone in the direction that I felt it should have.

[Ranger Foster]

Thanks for the welcome

I,m currently re watching my favorite episodes from Season 4. ''Rising Star'' has to be the best episode i have seen so far, it was nice to see G'Kar and Londo getting along as friends, but i have a feeling the friendship will not last long thanks to earlier episodes showing future events, which really annoys me

[Kevin]

heheh. Nothing is ever as it seems

[colonyearth]

Originally posted by Kevin
heheh. Nothing is ever as it seems

KEVIN! You evil thing you.

[OmahaStar]

Originally posted by colonyearth
KEVIN! You evil thing you.

lol stop flirting! :P