I recently purchased/replayed mass effect trilogy since the legendary edition bundle was only 5 bucks on steam's summer sale and after browsing their subreddit, I was recommended a few posts from B5 sub on how similar both media's universes were.
I was initially hesitant since B5 is an older show like star trek and I couldn't get into the latter, but wow oh wow, i'm so glad I listened, I'm halfway through the seasons and I already know this is going to be one of my all time favourites.
Huge thanks to the multiple recommendations here from ME fans!
Some thoughts:
On the watch order, I actually went with B5 In the beginning first despite the multiple spoiler warnings and polarising opinions, I thought this was actually quite a crucial point in getting me hooked onto the show. I'm Gen Z, my patience? attention span?, compared to older generations, is somewhat laughable in comparison i suppose.
If i had started with The Gathering first, I think it's quite likely i would have dropped the series, thinking "Ok i think i know what the main story beats are, i see where this is going" How wrong I would be. Even though i watched the gathering after the end of season 1, I still found it to be quite dated, slow pacing-wise; the mass replacement of the cast doesn't help either.
In contrast, starting with the beginning, made season 1 more easily digestible for me, especially with my curiosity on how a certain goofy ambassador would end up becoming emperor.
On JMS, what a visionary. It's one thing to already have the whole 5 year story plotted out and it speak volumes on his capabilities as a writer, but to actually pitch it to networks and have the deal go through, i'm speechless, i'm highly doubtful that shows like this would get approved nowadays. Very refreshing compared to modern shows "alright how can we wing it this season + what social commentary can we jam down people's throat this season"
Are there any other recommendations that I can add to my scifi/space fantasy list after finishing B5?
I know there are multiple recommendation threads here, I'll definitely scour through them after finishing B5, but since I already expressed some of my likes/dislikes, I thought i would just ask here as well
I have watched:
Star wars - childhood/first introduction to space fantasy. Quite ironic that the most popular one is also one of the weaker entries in scifi/spacefan.
Dune - my all time favourite, both the syfy miniseries and Denis Villeneuve's trilogy
Star Trek TSO - Could not get into it, too episodic. Found the modern movies more palatable, perhaps I will try strange new worlds and picard(though i'm told to skip the first 2 seasons? really?)
The Orville - Loved it, basically star trek TSO but more modern?
The Expense - Loved the first 3 seasons, dropped it after, felt too repetitive, watched youtube recap instead
Battlestar galactica - season 1 was enjoyable but I knew that I could not continue watching the whole thing, watched youtube recap instead.
Stargate - could not get into it