Got my copy of B5 – The Lost Tales earlier this week and finally got around to watching it yesterday. I’m not entirely sure how much I like it yet. I’ll have to watch it one or two more times I think. At 72 minutes long, it’s a little bit shorter than two regular episodes and is split up into two sub-plots. It’s not entirely what I was expecting, but thinking back to what I initially heard about what Lost Tales as supposed to be, it fits pretty well.
If I recall correctly from the initial news of the Lost Tales project, it was supposed to be a series of character focused short stories. As such, I think it does a good job of further developing and refining the traits of the two main characters that make an appearance: Lochley and Sheridan. People expecting something resembling a full on B5 movie are likely to be disappointed. I liked the two stories that were told, and the endings definitely fit the characters involved. In fact, I thought the Sheridan story was predictable and had a reasonably good idea what his solution was going to be about halfway in.
The effects are pretty much all CGI with very few actual sets based on what I’ve seen in the special features on the DVD. The title ‘The Lost Tales’ gives the impression that there will be more than just the two stories, but I think the original intent was that if this one was successful, other DVDs would likely follow. It would be interesting to see the concept applied to other characters.
Lots of the usual extra stuff on the DVD (interviews, behind the scenes stuff), including a couple of nice tributes to Andreas Katsulas (G’Kar) and Richard Biggs (Dr. Franklin), both of whom are ‘out exploring beyond the rim’.
4.5 stars out of 5 for the CGI and FX.
Overall, I think I’d give it 3.5 stars out of 5.
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