Step inside for an entirely non-amusing look at the way my Babylon 5 reviews will be structured. Trust me when I tell you they aren’t just a review, but an experience. Well, most of the time, but not this time. But, next time, oh, an experience will be had.

Of course every review will have the show name, season number, episode number, episode name.

While I appreciate that any creative work such as a television show is a collaborative art, there are always two people that have more sway over the final product than others, so for every episode I will be listing the writer and director.

Spoilers, Schmoilers: Seeing as how this is a review and not a preview, I will not be using any spoiler warnings at all. I will make reference to episodes two years down the line, to other shows, etc.. I hate the idea of spoilers in general, so you won’t find any spoilers or spoiler warnings in my reviews, they simply do not exist.

Bare Essentials:

A very brief look at the plot or plots of the episode. This is a review to let you know whether the episode is any good or what interesting little factoids are contained therein, not my chance to spell out every little thing that happens in the episode story wise.

More Arc, Less Arch:

What impact if any did this episode, or moments within the episode, have on the overall 5 year arc.

Who Are You? What Do Yo… Hey, I’m Asking The Questions Here!:

Any questions that arise in the episode, both those affecting the overall series and solely the episode in question.

Idiosyncratic Musings:

My take on the meaning of the episode, how I interpret it, and what the episode may be trying to tell us. As well as looks at the harder issues tackled in any given episode.

I See What You Did There:

Observations on any off-camera happenings and little non-specific factoids that are dropped in the show that I deem cool enough for you to know about.

It’s Not Kosher If It’s Not Kosh:

From the inane to the ridiculous, awesome quotes provided by our favorite Vorlon, Kosh.

Eeesh, It’s Just Ulkesh:

Quotes provided by our least favorite Vorlon, Ulkesh.

Say It Again Mac:

Good dialogue and quotes that need to be reprinted.

Lost In Translation:

Bad dialogue or quotes that make me groan and therefore I will make all of you groan with me in unison.

Yes, I Am A Fleet Junkie:

I will list any military ships that catch my eye and even go into detail about what abilities they show in any given space, and the occasional planetary, battle.

Let’s Go Planet Side:

If we get to go down to a planet, and it doesn’t happen often, I’ll talk about it’s features and whether it does anything for me.

It’s Your Cultural Imperative:

Little tidbits and facts about various cultures and planets that are referenced on the show.

I Think This Might Be Based On Something:

Babylon 5 has many influences from the worlds of literature, myth/religion, and history. If I am smart enough to pick up on them, and trust me that won’t always happen, I’ll talk about them here.

You Look Mighty Familiar:

Other movies and TV shows where you may recognize some of the actors on B5 from.

Casting Ahead:

Notes and observations on the cast proper, new additions to the show as well as departures.

That Wasn’t Supposed To Happen:

B5 is great, but even they make mistakes, and I will highlight those mistakes and continuity errors.

The Ombuds Have Decided:

My breakdown of the episode and the reasoning for its rating.

Rating:

I use a 0-100, letter grade system, the same as the one that the site uses, so check out the grading system page for the specifics.

There you have it, that’s the dry, very dry actually, and cut breakdown of how my reviews will work. I am happy to point out that my actual reviews won’t be this dry and systematic, expect some humor and more of a conversational tone, something that just doesn’t work for a breakdown like this.

Also, I do owe a great debt to Andy Lane, the author of The Babylon File, as the style he used in that book is what gave me the idea of using this style of review for Babylon 5. Thanks go out to Mike Marinaro as well, whose Buffy reviews at www.superjer.com are really a treat and gave me the basis for my grading scale. Those two men are smarter than I could hope to be and I thank them for their indirect help in my review style. I will also be using the season by season episode guides by Jane Killick as well as the script books by JMS himself, and the excellent and essential B5 resource, http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/ (The Lurker’s Guide To Babylon 5) as resources to help my reviews be better and to provide all of you with more B5 info.

That’s it for this session, when next I return we shall commence the reviewing with episode 1 of season 1, Midnight On The Firing Line.

Cheers,
Bill