I admit I've seen a Handfull of Babylon five episodes and I like what they were doing but some of it seemed...silly

You really ought to watch B5, from the pilot (which is rough, and they made changes between the pilot and S1E1.), and Seasons 1 thru 5, in order, and the TV movies, where they fall in the series timeline, plus Crusade.  What did you think was silly, Centauri hairstyles?  The higher the crest, the higher the rank, until one balding Centauri emperor gave up the trappings of appearance in 2259 when he was quite old and very ill and couldn't be bothered with a wig, and one Centauri emperor adopted a short crest in 2261, but he was insane.  The only part of Babylon 5 that I'd avoid is the Legend of the Rangers Sci-Fi Original movie.

The fall of Londo Mollari, which spans Seasons 1 thru 5, is particularly poignant.  See http://youtu.be/6_QquHyveg4

See also:

http://www.b5tv.com/showthread.php?t=11668
http://www.b5tv.com/showthread.php?t=11723

DS9 did have the problems of too many cooks in the kitchen.
Paramount wanted x (We want something the Kids, Families, and the Fans can watch)
The producers wanted y (They wanted to Do what would become Battlestar Glattica, and some of them wanted to do Gene's 'vision")
the fans wanted Z (The Fans wanted, Borg or Crossovers, or Boobs or who knows what Star Trek fans want, and more importantly who cares)

Sadly you jumped ship on DS9 right before it got good, the last 3 seasons were great.

I just couldn't stand it any longer.

JJ is making Star Trek assessable to well, everyone who is not us.
You have no idea the number of people I've met who go, Yeah I've tried to Watch Star Trek TNG/VOYAGER/DS9 but it was so boring/corny/weird. But then I saw that Star Trek movie and it was Really fun!

Oh, I really don't understand people anymore.  It's probably partly due to new effects.  That's part of why some people get turned off of Babylon 5 when they're watching the pilot or Season 1, the crude, initial effects.  The thing is, Babylon 5 effects improved every year.  If you stick with it long enough to get into the story, you'll make allowances for the initial effects.  The thing is, Babylon 5 is a complex story, with many threads running through each episode, and you'll see things on the second viewing of the series that you didn't see on the first. Ditto for subsequent viewings.

You bought the DVD, so he got your "vote" as it were. But me and you will go see bad movies or "Okay" movies because we are loyal to the Franchise.  But even that didn't stop Star Trek Nemesis from Tanking

I kind of liked the effects in "Star Trek: Nemesis" and I'm always happy to see Dina Meyer.     The Picard and Shinzon (I had to look that name up.) got really tiresome.  If I'd kept "Star Trek: Nemesis" in my DVD collection (Bought it for less than $10 at Wal-Mart.), it would've been for the space battles.

I loved DS9!

I hated DS9 even before I knew that Babylon 5 existed (I discovered B5 in Sept. 1996.).  I'd stuck with DS9 for FOUR LONG YEARS out of goodwill built up from watching TOS and TNG from 1966 to 1994, before gradually quitting watching it (DS9).  The freakin' kids seemed to be there only to cause problems.  Keiko O'Brien was a royal pain in the ass for Miles O'Brien.  The Bajorans and Kai Whatsherface were more annoyances.  In Sept. 1996, I saw "Babylon 5"  S3E21 "Shadow Dancing" and was HOOKED immediately.  The writing was better, the effects were better, the characters and alien races were more fleshed out, less one-dimensional, less stereotypical sci-fi; it was head and shoulders above Trek.  Then, much later, I found out that B5 had been shopped to Paramount before Warner Brothers, and Paramount had been given the Babylon 5 series treatment/bible.  Paramount turned 'em down and then rushed DS9 into production, and got their pilot out before the Babylon 5 pilot.  Hmmmmm.  Leeta vs. Lyta.  Worm hole vs. hyperspace.jumpgate system.  Defiant vs. Whitestar.   Tsk, tsk.  Well, regardless of how eerily close the starting point for B5 and DS9, the series diverged as time went on due to the different creative teams making them.

Voyager tried to hard (You like Borgs, how about a Million Borg!)

I switched to Voyager from DS9, and Voyager was even WORSE!  ARGH!  <spit>  Maquis?  Bad hair day, sponge-head, Kazon?  Please!  <spit>  I just like Scorpion I & II because Species 8### ships looked vaguely like Vorlon ships, I liked how a group of their ships combined to make a bigger weapon (mimicking how a single Vorlon ship fires),  AND they kicked Borg ass.  I did like 7 of Double-D, though. 

JJ is making Star Trek FUN again.

Oh for God's sake!  BARF!!!! 

JJ Abrams is ruining it, although there was not much left to ruin.  I bought the Star Trek (2009) DVD when it first came out because it was listed on Netflix as Very Long Wait, and I didn't want to wait.  I hadn't seen it in the theaters.  I watched the DVD and immediately sold it.  Didn't want it in my collection.  It was similar to what I did with War of the Worlds (2005), except that I broke that disc in two, so as not to have other minds subjected to it.  I saved the box, though, the most useful and valuable part of War of the Worlds (2005).   I kept hoping that the aliens would EAT the constantly screaming Rachel Ferrier/Dakota Fanning, just to shut her the hell up, plus, it would probably kill the aliens.  Then, I re-watched War of the Worlds (1953) just to help wash the 2005 version out of my memory.

Enterprise got boned because 1. UPN 2. Voyager Fans 3. They basically wrote themselves into a corner with what they could and could not do (I heard an exciting idea for the season after the last which is basically the Romulan-Earth War which would be epic)

Enterprise/Star Trek: Enterprise got Berman and Braga'd to death.  B&B were the two SOBs who ruined it.  Manny Coto did a helluva good job salvaging the show in Seasons 3 & 4.  I found Seasons 1 & 2 pretty boring/going nowhere and not very good at all.  B&B should be banned from ever working in TV or movies for what they did in ENT S4E22.  FWIW, when the alien space nazis were revealed in the last seven minutes of ENT S3E24 "Zero Hour", I dropped ENT and didn't watch Season 4 until four years later, via Netflix DVDs, at the recommendation of a friend on the internet.

I got started watching Babylon 5 back in Sept. 1996 on the recommendation of a friend and fellow engineer, who knew that I was getting 110% fed-up with DS9 & VOY.  I currently have no Trek DVDs in my collection.  OTOH, I have every Babylon 5 and Crusade DVD, the short stories (all out of print), the novels, mugs, baseball caps, some figurines (some pewter, some plastic) and even some of the comics/graphic novels.  The only other TV series/novels I'm into nearly as much as Babylon 5 is The Dresden Files. 

I picture Nick Searcy (currently on Justified) as McCoy.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0780678/?ref_=tt_cl_t2

If he wasn't dead, I'd have picked Don S. Davis from Statgate SG-1
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0204493/?ref_=tt_cl_t5

I say again.  A minor detail under all the other colors.  But if it's that important, there are bleach kits.

Besides:  I was talking about the general look, not just the hair, and I'm sure the dye job was different before she became Harry's apprentice.

OK, like this, with the hair color being dyed/bleached to a strawberry blonde.    Besides, redheads are often rebellious, with tatoos and piercings and wild hair, and Julienne sure seems to be a natural redhead.  So, she fits.

Hey, double post.  Go me!

How about James Purefoy for Nic?  He can do wicked.

Perhaps as Marcone?

I don't see him as Harry (but then, I was always ok with Blackthorne)

I agree completely.

I hadn't considered him as Michael - he might be able to do it, and it would be interesting see him play straight-man for once.

I can't believe how many votes Nathan Fillion got to be Harry!   Nathan is waaay too old and portly.  Back in his Firefly (TV) days maaaybe, but NOT NOW.  He'd have to lose at least 50 pounds and then be stretched on a rack.