I would! It's got compelling characters with compelling arcs, a lot of character development both up and down, a lot of fascinating plot, a lot of strong ensemble work and compelling non-romantic relationships. With the following comments/caveats:
-it was made in the 90's, so, you know, some things have aged well and some things have aged less well. It however does a whole lot of things right that not everyone was doing in the 90s (like not make a big deal out of queer characters). It also means it's a lot more episodic than current-day TV, although still in service of the 5-year arc. This was a plus for me, honestly, because the last couple of years sometimes I just want to watch my hour of television and get at least a little closure.
-Like a lot of shows, it's still finding its feet in the first season and really comes into its own in the second season. It's still worth watching a good bit of S1 because a lot of it comes back later. I can look for a rec set of episodes if you want.
-It also suffered from several actors leaving in the middle, which meant they had to rejigger the storylines. Mostly this is done quite well, but sometimes there are places where you can feel that a plotline had to be rejiggered.
-That all being said, JMS has a very good sense of history and it was kind of surreal watching it in 2022 and realizing, well, what a very good understanding he had of the ways that humans operate in the context of history. (That's super vague but I can't say more without spoilers)
-There are a couple of plotlines I found very compelling! For those alone I'd recommend it.
-I haven't watched S5 yet, but I have heard it is more uneven and the pacing isn't great (because they found out very late they'd get a fifth season, so they'd already kind of had to squeeze most of their stuff into fourth season). I will report back!
-I don't think JMS can write functional romantic relationships -- I don't think there is a single one on the show! Many of the non-romantic relationships are really great, though.
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Date: 2022-09-09 05:41 am (UTC)-it was made in the 90's, so, you know, some things have aged well and some things have aged less well. It however does a whole lot of things right that not everyone was doing in the 90s (like not make a big deal out of queer characters). It also means it's a lot more episodic than current-day TV, although still in service of the 5-year arc. This was a plus for me, honestly, because the last couple of years sometimes I just want to watch my hour of television and get at least a little closure.
-Like a lot of shows, it's still finding its feet in the first season and really comes into its own in the second season. It's still worth watching a good bit of S1 because a lot of it comes back later. I can look for a rec set of episodes if you want.
-It also suffered from several actors leaving in the middle, which meant they had to rejigger the storylines. Mostly this is done quite well, but sometimes there are places where you can feel that a plotline had to be rejiggered.
-That all being said, JMS has a very good sense of history and it was kind of surreal watching it in 2022 and realizing, well, what a very good understanding he had of the ways that humans operate in the context of history. (That's super vague but I can't say more without spoilers)
-There are a couple of plotlines I found very compelling! For those alone I'd recommend it.
-I haven't watched S5 yet, but I have heard it is more uneven and the pacing isn't great (because they found out very late they'd get a fifth season, so they'd already kind of had to squeeze most of their stuff into fourth season). I will report back!
-I don't think JMS can write functional romantic relationships -- I don't think there is a single one on the show! Many of the non-romantic relationships are really great, though.