Akwat Kbrana

Gee, looks like twooffour wrote a couple of his trademark novel-length posts in response to something I said. I hope you weren't planning on a response; in case you didn't notice, I put you on my ignore list a long time ago due to the condescending, conceited tone of every post of yours I've ever observed. So when you address one of your posts to me, this is all I ever see of it:

Just FYI.

If anyone else (that is to say, anyone who makes a habit of sensible posting) wants to continue to discuss this issue, I stand by my earlier comments. If I have strongly negative preferences regarding a particular film, I see no reason to go out of my way to secure a copy so my child can watch it. And I certainly don't think regulating what movies I do or don't show my children constitutes manipulation.

I guess the problem with adywan's posts is that they actually had some substance to them.

twister111 said:

 

Akwat Kbrana said:

As for The Gathering...well, I don't feel quite so strongly as Twister111 does. It works well enough as a pilot, but again I don't feel that it's quite on par with the bulk of the show (Seasons 2-5).

It's not that I feel strongly about it. I did type "You can watch Season 1 without seeing the Gathering. Since "Midnight on the Firing Line" does sort of allow a person to get introduced to the series but, if you can I do recommend watching The Gathering first." Afterall.

 

Oops, sorry. My mistake; didn't mean to misrepresent you. :)

Doubleofive

We're about to start B5 soon, so I should start with the pilot/movie then? Which one is that (have to make sure they have it)?

It's called "The Gathering." I wouldn't say "don't watch it," because it's not bad per se. My opinion is that it's just not quite as good as the series itself. But seeing it won't hurt anything, just so long as you know going into it that (a) there are a few character changes between the pilot and the series; (b) it's not absolutely essential to the plot of the series, though it does provide some interesting non-essential backstory; and (c) in the opinion of many Bab5 fans, the pilot and, to a slightly lesser degree, season 1, are a bit uninspired compared to seasons 2-5.

Additionally, if you do want to watch it, just be aware that it's not included in the Season 1 DVD set. As twister111 pointed out, you want to look for either the movie collection or the 2-dvd The Gathering/In the Beginning set.

zombie84 said:

I'm not saying either of those things. I'm just saying, if kids want to watch something that will probably give them entertainment and fun times, it seems counter-intuitive to go to such lengths to manipulate them into not having that experience just because you didn't have it.

Rather stringent language, don't you think? How is it manipulative or excessive to educate my child about the Star Wars current state-of-affairs and explain my negative opinions of the PT to him? Just because my child "wants to watch something that will probably give [him] enjoyment and fun times", that doesn't necessitate that I go out of my way to procure specific movies and let him watch them, especially movies that I happen to dislike. For example, one of the worst films I've ever had the displeasure of seeing is Beowulf (1999) starring Christopher Lambert. If my son one day expressed a desire to watch that film, I would explain that (a) it's a very stupid, uninteresting movie, and (b) we don't own it, and (c) I'm not going to spend good money to rent a crappy movie. If he decides to watch it at a friend's house then I'm not going to do anything to stop him, but he'd be doing it with the knowledge that his dad thinks it's a crummy movie, so he's only got himself to blame if he ends up hating it. Same scenario applies to the PT...how exactly is that "manipulative"?

Well Xhonzi, since everyone else is getting on your case about what an obsessive person you are and how your efforts are doomed to futility, let me just say that I for one completely agree with your approach, and that this is how I plan on raising my children as well. My son is only fourteen months old at present, but you can bet your bottom dollar that he will be raised in a PT-free environment. I suppose if he's bound and determined to watch them he could always see them at a friend's house and there's not much I could do about that, but I'm hoping that this can be preempted by educating him about the situation and persuading him that the PT is pretty stupid and not worth watching.

My rationale is probably the same as yours. It's not a matter of censoring the movies he watches (beyond what a responsible parent should do anyway) or trying to force my views down his throat; it's more a matter of wanting him to be able to appreciate the magic of Star Wars exactly how it was before the PT came along and ruined it. Personally, I wish to high heaven someone had prevented me from ever seeing the prequels, since it irreversibly alters the context within which the OT occurs. I know you can always say "Well just ignore the PT; problem solved!" but that's really easier said than done. Whereas pre-1999 there was a lot of mystery and intrigue involved whenever I watched Star Wars ("I wonder what the clone wars were like," etc.), I now have to make a conscious decision not to think about the official crappy backstory. So while it is possible to enjoy the OT while ignoring the PT, it's still not as interesting/exciting/magical as it was in the days of pre-1999 blissful ignorance. And that's the untainted Star Wars universe that I want my kids to experience.

Frink: you may be thinking of this...

xhonzi said:

Akwat Kbrana said:

Ripplin said:

I'll be watching "Babylon 5" soon. Didn't watch it during the original run (missed too much to just jump in), so I got Season 1 a coupla weeks ago. If I like it, I'll get more. :)

...Just a heads up: the series doesn't really start picking up steam, IMO, until Season 2. Season 1 isn't bad, it's just not really on par with Seasons 2 and following. So if you finish Season 1 and feel like it's a little meh, I'd really recommend giving Season 2 a shot anyway.

...

I was going to say more or less the same thing.  After season 1 was pushed on us by a friend, my wife and I were kind of "...  ehhh....?" about the whole thing.  When we gave season 1 back, he had season 2 all ready to go and we were still king of ".....  oh, gee.... I don't know....  um....." about it.  Season 1 seems to be all about single episode stories that establish the fabric of the universe.  Seasons 2-4 (by Rousseau, feat. Tron) are actually really good and have more of a "serial" flavour to them. 

Agreed. When I introduce someone to Bab 5, I give them the following list of nine Season 1 episodes that are more or less important to the story arc. The rest of the episodes are essentially skippable. (Assuming, that is, that they want to skip the rest...)

1. S01E2, Midnight on the Firing Line

2. S01E7, Mind War

3. S01E9, And the Sky Full of Stars

4. S01E14, Signs and Portents

5. S01E18, Legacies

6-7. S01E19-20, A Voice in the Wilderness, pt. 1-2

8. S01E21, Babylon Squared

9. S01E23, Chrysalis

Ripplin said:

FanFiltration said:

"Babylon 5"

What a great show this is...

I'll be watching it soon. Didn't watch it during the original run (missed too much to just jump in), so I got Season 1 a coupla weeks ago. If I like it, I'll get more. :)

Oh, man, you've never watched Babylon 5? Boy are you in for a treat! Just a heads up: the series doesn't really start picking up steam, IMO, until Season 2. Season 1 isn't bad, it's just not really on par with Seasons 2 and following. So if you finish Season 1 and feel like it's a little meh, I'd really recommend giving Season 2 a shot anyway.

As for The Gathering...well, I don't feel quite so strongly as Twister111 does. It works well enough as a pilot, but again I don't feel that it's quite on par with the bulk of the show (Seasons 2-5).

Johnny Ringo said:

Did anyone ever see the short lived spin-off? Crusade. I think about 3 people liked it, myself included.

Make that four people. Crusade was pure awesomeness; I'm still really peeved it got cancelled after one season. :(

He watched the Ghostbusters movies a lot, and made some custom DVD covers.

Hey luke.the.darkside.is.fun, I was just driving around the neighborhood and came across the following. Is this your group?

luke.the.darkside.is.fun said:

fuck you ppl im done ban me

Sorry to see you go. Be sure to make lots of socks so you can keep us informed about your vinyl project.

On ChainsawAsh's recommendation, I checked out Sherlock. Bloody brilliant stuff; can't wait for series 2...

Like this?

How about "Rebels Without a Clue"?

Just gonna go out on a limb here...is it, by any chance, elementary school?

The Captain's log.

Your grasp of highbrow satirical humor is astounding, to say the least.

Welcome, Bloodnose. Love the username and avatar. (Is that by any chance a highly sophisticated beard-weave made from the chest and back hair of real pirates?) ;)

Oooooh. That's gotta hurt.

w00t! Let the comic hilarity ensue.

Somehow, it was more fun before I knew that the OP was actually a rational question...

         ^Frink's mom     Akwat's mom^

(Although despite the obvious strategic advantages to being an elephant, that .gif probably doesn't do too much to dissuade people from thinking my mother is fat...)

Dance party!!

So is Frink's mother.

TheBoost said:

 So if they repackaged Coca Cola as "Pretty Pretty Princess Pony Pop!" in a pink flower shaped can, you'd have no problem buying a 6 pack of that?

Look at the man's avatar.

All you need is love.