cthia wrote:Thanks Maxx for this post!
My God, was the writing always this good?
I've got a really sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that I missed what would have been some of my best loved sci-fi works. I should have known that if my sister was addicted they had to be good.
Generally, the writing was on a par, if not even better. Like any series, it has its ups and downs. Most of the episodes were written by J Michael Straczinski, the creator of the show, and adhered to an overall 5-year arc (one of the first TV series to do that, I think). Unfortunately, they weren't sure if they were going to get a fifth season, so pretty much wrapped up everything by the end of the fourth. Season five is basically filler, but it's still not bad.
Some episodes were written by DC Fontana who did writing for the original Star Trek, as well as David Gerrold (The Trouble With Tribbles), and Harlan Ellison (City on the Edge of Forever - also is a creative consultant on B5, and a cameo in one or two episodes). Another Star Trek connection is Walter Koenig (Chekov), who ends up playing a pretty major role throughout the series.
If you do start watching it, make sure you start with The Gathering. That is the pilot episode. Oh, and as you're watching, take notes, because some things that seem throwaway in the early episodes might come back to bite you later on.