* * * N E R D A L E R T ! ! ! * * *

If you are a fan of one of the current crop of serialized sci-fi dramas, Heroes, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, then you can thank Babylon 5 for trailblazing the concept. From its inception, B5 was to be a five year with a predefined beginning, middle and end. The show was a kind of Casablanca in space. However, there was a \”Lord of the Rings\”-like story going on in the background that eventually became the main story.

So, it\’s been nearly a decade since the show ended. And, with DVD sales starting to decline, it was time to come out with some new material. And, for the B5 fan, this may be a welcome Netfilx treat (i.e. not necessarily something you would want to buy).

The Lost Tales consists of three half hour short stories taking place on the 10 year anniversary of the end of the series. The first is absolutely dreadful. It\’s your basic satanic possession in space story. The main problem is that Tracy Scoggin\’s Colonel Lochley and her manface are ten times scarier than Satan ever could be.

The second and third story kind of meld together. As President Sheridan travels back to Babylon 5, he is first interviewed by an annoying journalist and then presented with the task of having to kill a young prince in order to save New York City in the future. Sure, that sounds silly, and it is. But it is the best of the three stories.

What\’s Good: Peter Woodward\’s Galen, a character from B5\’s short lived spin off Crusade, a beautifully rendered B5 using modern CGI.

What\’s Bad: Pretty much everything else.

Sometimes you can\’t go home again. And this is a good example of leaving sleeping universes lie. Unless you\’re already a fan, avoid at all costs. Get the original show DVDs, fight through the poor acting and production of season 1 and you\’ll enjoy seasons 2-4. Season 5, well, let\’s not talk about that.

C
But only if you love Babylon 5.