20th anniversary of 'The Gathering'...Really!

[Jan]

The intrepid Jason Davis (B5 Books Editor and Harlan Ellison Books Preservation Project) posted this on Facebook today.

BABYLON 5: THE GATHERING premiered 20 years ago today.

"That can't be right!" you exclaim, "The 25th anniversary of BABYLON 5's pilot is NEXT month! How can it be 20 today and 25 next month?"

On 4 January 1998, after MUCH ballyhoo in the month-long lead-up, TNT premiered both BABYLON 5: IN THE BEGINNING and the newly edited special edition of THE GATHERING. The following day, TNT began stripping the first four seasons daily, with season five beginning later that month. After four years in the wilds of first-run syndication, BABYLON 5 had a consistent home in the US television market.

For me, the special edition of THE GATHERING is The One. The original 1993 version of the pilot left little impact on me--though I did particularly enjoy the performances of Jurasik, Katsulas, and Tallman (pictured) as well as Stewart Copeland's score--but I do love the revised version, a bit of lagniappe from the TNT era of B5 history.

[Looney]

WELL I disagree!!!!!! As I have said before, I think both versions have positives and negatives. LOL

This post reminded me that we are actually fast approaching the end of the B5 license on Go90 already. There are a few months left, but the year is almost up. I am guessing Go90 will renew. I wish they wouldn't and Netflix or Hulu would pick it up because I still have to explain what Go90 is to anyone who asks. Maybe that is just because Verizon isn't big in my rural area. I can only say one bad thing about Go90, I wish it were available on Roku. As of the last time I checked - two weeks ago - it was not. Roku is how I stream everything on my TVs so that would greatly improve my viewing experience.

[Jan]

WELL I disagree!!!!!! As I have said before, I think both versions have positives and negatives. LOL

This post reminded me that we are actually fast approaching the end of the B5 license on Go90 already. There are a few months left, but the year is almost up. I am guessing Go90 will renew. I wish they wouldn't and Netflix or Hulu would pick it up because I still have to explain what Go90 is to anyone who asks. Maybe that is just because Verizon isn't big in my rural area. I can only say one bad thing about Go90, I wish it were available on Roku. As of the last time I checked - two weeks ago - it was not. Roku is how I stream everything on my TVs so that would greatly improve my viewing experience.

I much prefer it being available FREE!

[Looney]

I much prefer it being available FREE!

I would definitely agree with that statement if I knew it were getting exposure. Netflix might come with a price, but you know there are millions out there who can access it. Go90 is free, but I've never heard anyone mention it anywhere. The good news is there are people clicking the "LIKE" button on Go90 and leaving comments about episodes. And I love that it is free and I've only seen a VERY minimal amount of ads.