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(Contains comments
from my reviews of the 5-season run)
Those of you who know me or are familiar
with my reviews know I am a big fan of Science
Fiction. Now, I’m not one of those
die-hard fans who has to nitpick every little
thing that doesn’t seem feasible,
I just like to sit back and enjoy a good
story. (Though if the error is really glaring,
I am apt to point it out.) I have always
liked “Star Wars” and “Star
Trek”, but as far as series go I’ve
always been partial to “Babylon Five.”
And now that Warner Brothers Home Video
is rolling out the Movie Collection of this
extraordinary show, I feel like a kid in
a candy store.
The 1st season of “Babylon 5”
was an interesting one. When I first started
watching it, I liked it immediately. Though
I wouldn’t say I loved it.
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Over the course of the first few episodes, some
of the stories and acting came off a little cheesy,
but not so bad as to turn me off. All the characters
and stories were interesting, and they seemed
to be fully developed so I pretty much had the
show all figured out and knew what to expect.
I quickly learned how wrong I was.
As the 1st season continued, I started to notice
subtle changes in the some of the characters.
Every now and then, little bits of information
would pop up and bring a new dimension to that
character. By the time the season was drawing
to a close it was pretty darn evident that no
one, and I mean NO ONE was who he, she or it…
appeared to be.
From my understanding, that was what creator J.
Michael Straczynski intended. He went in with
an entire 5-year story arc written out, a ‘Bible’
if you will. The plan was to draw in audiences
with simple stories and likable characters. As
the 2nd season progressed everything started to
evolve. The stories started becoming more complex,
and plotlines began to mesh. Situations that were
alluded to or foreshadowed in the 1st season began
to surface in the 2nd. Things that might not have
been clear would suddenly become crystal.
The same goes with all the characters. Personalities
and relationships began to shift. Characters that
were funny and likable started becoming darker.
Alliances were formed and broken, political ties
began to be questioned, and friendships were torn
apart. What started out as ‘Sci-fi’
light, became an intricate web of conspiracies,
lies and deception. Some of the treachery bordered
on shocking. “Babylon 5,” in its 2nd
season became a force to be reckoned with in the
realm of science fiction dramas.
Along with the changes many of the characters
were going through, there also came a change in
leadership. With the disappearance of the original
commander Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O’Hare),
there was need for a new face of authority. It
came in the form of John Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner)
who, like every one else, turned out to be more
than what we saw at face value. His is the command
that guides the series throughout the remainder
of its five year run.
Once we hit the 3rd season, it was evident that
everything had changed again and this time all
bets were off. The fact that “Babylon 5”
had grown even darker was immediately apparent
from the spoken lines in the opening credits of
the 3rd season, followed by a more somber version
of the theme. “The Babylon Project was our
last, best hope for peace. It failed. In the Year
of the Shadow War, it became something greater:
our last, best hope... for victory." That
season brought our characters and the station
right into the middle of what seemed to be an
unstoppable war by the Shadows, as well as the
secession of the station and its personnel from
Earth Forces. Straczynski wrote all of the episodes,
and delivered what was the best season yet. Until
the 4th season that is.
I was especially excited back in January about
being able to watch the entire 4th season when
it hit DVD. This season of the show marked the
point in my life where I had started watching
less and less TV. As much as I loved the show
up until this point, circumstances just didn’t
allow for me to catch it with any regularity during
it original run. It took my wife and me about
4 days to get through all 22 episodes, and in
the end we were more than satisfied. I wouldn’t
have thought it possible, but the 4th season was
even better than the 3rd.
The one thing I really love about Straczynski’s
writing is his attention to detail. No action
is without consequences, and even though the war
was ended and the Shadows stopped, there were
further battles to fight. Even the secession from
Earth’s government was brought to a close
in the ultra exciting last half of the season,
but again the ripples of repercussions were revealed.
I mention Straczynski’s writing again because
I’d like to make a few points. What sets
this show apart from most other sci-fi shows is
again that attention to detail. Every aspect of
a plotline is looked at, whether it is the battles
themselves or the political ramifications. Once
again, little details from earlier seasons are
brought back and are proven to be extremely important.
Many of these details we as viewers have already
forgotten, but when we see them again suddenly
the ‘light goes on and somebody’s
home.’
There are also the relationships between the characters
which are constantly evolving, none more evident
than that between Londo (Peter Jurasik) and G’kar
(Andreas Katsulas). These two have run the gamut
throughout the series. Bitter enemies because
of the enslavement of G’Kar’s people,
they were almost constantly at odds. The 4th season
is no different, yet is. Every single scene between
these two actors resonates with emotional intensity,
it didn’t matter if they were at each other’s
throats, quietly seething or begrudgingly becoming
allies. I was used to seeing Katsulas in other
films, where he generally played a mob guy or
killer, but in this series his abilities as an
actor almost make his extreme makeup invisible.
The guy is a terrific actor.
In watching the series I love the fact that Straczynski’s
is so willing to take chances. No episode is typical.
Where one might be a battle from start to finish,
another might take on the look of a news show.
One episode in particular from the 4th season,
“Intersections in Real Time” stands
out for me as it spends the entire time focused
on Sheridan as he is tortured in order to get
a ‘confession’ out of him. Even the
final episode of that same season, “The
Deconstruction of Falling Stars” stands
out as it presents a timeline of the “Babylon
5” universe that takes viewers years into
the future to see the effects of what Sheridan
did had on the people of Earth. And we’re
not talking just a few years, we’re talking
thousands plus. It’s an amazing episode.
As the 4th season was coming to a close, there
was the real possibility that there would be no
5th season. Straczynski did a good job of tying
up as many loose ends as he could, just in case.
Fortunately, there was to be a 5th season so the
saga continued. We quickly found out that some
of the situations weren’t quite as resolved
as they seemed and there were a few changes. The
biggest change came about with Claudia Christian’s
(Ivanova) decision not to return to the series.
She was replaced by veteran B-movie actress Tracy
Scoggins, who did a fairly good job as the new
Captain. But there was no doubt that Christian
was missed. The 5th season also marked the first
time that an episode was written by someone other
than Straczynksi since the 2nd season. Acclaimed
author Neil Gaiman stepped in to pen the episode
“Day of the Dead.” I would like to
note that this episode was yet another example
of the detail inherent to the series. In earlier
seasons, in order to make the human characters
seem more realistic, they made mention of some
comedians of the day, even going to so far as
to blurt out some of their signature lines, much
in the way we do with our comics today. These
mentions were fleeting, yet memorable. In “Day
of the Dead”, the comedians actually make
their appearance (portrayed by Penn & Teller).
This finally brings me to the newest “Babylon
5” DVD set, known simply as “The Movie
Collection.” Straczynski has often been
asked why there were movies made at all? Wasn’t
the series enough? He generally answers, “No.”
When Straczynski created “Babylon 5”,
he created more than just a series. He built a
universe rich in stories, and some he felt, were
too big to fit into the 45 minutes allowed for
a weekly episode. With that in mind he opted to
create these films to fill in the blanks and give
us the bigger picture. Of course, the very first
film, “The Gathering” actually served
as the series’ pilot episode. Most of the
main characters were introduced, while a few didn’t
make it past the pilot. Actress Tamlyn Tomita
starred as Laurel Takashima, was alter replaced
in the series by Claudia Christian’s Susan
Ivanova.
This first movie introduces us to the Babylon
5 Space Station as well as its Commander, Jeffrey
Sinclair (Michael O’Hare). It is here that
we learn of the mysterious circumstances surrounding
the destruction and disappearances of the first
4 stations. Of course, the station is supposed
to be a place where different races can come together
in peace, but it is quickly realized there is
much more to the story. Even Sinclair gets off
on the wrong foot when he is accused of an assassination
attempt on the Vorlon Ambassador Kosh. Admittedly,
of all the films, this is probably he weakest
of the bunch. It is rather slow to get going,
but there is a lot of foreshadowing of things
to come, so it is still a very important film
in the series.
This is followed by “In the Beginning”,
which is more of a “Babylon 5” prequel.
If you’re already familiar with the series,
then you know all about the Earth-Minbari War.
In the series, we are introduced to the war only
in flashbacks, here we have a more detailed account
of the events the shaped the creation of the Babylon
5 station. It takes the viewer both into the future
and the past as we the story is told by the now
Ex-Centauri Emperor Londo Mollari. This was a
favorite of mine, if for no other reason than
to give us a glimpse into what eventually happens
to Londo.
]“Thirdspace” takes place within the
time period right between the war with the Shadows
and the stations fight against the Earth Alliance.
It revolves around and ancient artifact that may
hold the key to a gateway into another dimension.
“The River of Souls” re-introduces
us to the Soul Hunters when a renegade scientist
learns how preserve souls forever.
The final film, “A Call to Arms” fits
in right between the fifth-season episodes “Objects
at Rest” and “Sleeping in Light.”
When the Drahk unleashes a new biogenetic plague
on Earth, it is up to Sheridan stop it before
it destroys the entire human race. He assembles
a fighting force, made up of Rangers to find a
cure before it is too late. Shot with a cliffhanger
ending, this film was the perfect beginning to
what should have been lengthy run for “Crusade.”
That particular series stumbled a little at first,
but quickly gained footing, but not before the
powers that be squashed it. Hopefully, there will
be a complete series release down the road.
The first two films were previously released on
a double-sided DVD, but this is the first time
the last three have been available. This is the
set to have, however as there is a new introduction
to each movie as well as new commentaries by Straczynski,
along with various members of the cast. As you
might guess, there isn’t a boring commentary
among them. The films have all been re-mastered
and they look and sound incredible.
Aside from the introductions and commentaries,
the only other extra feature is a featurette entitled,
“Creating the Future: How Science and the
Series Have Influenced Each Other”, which
is exactly what it sounds like. For the most part,
it allows Straczynski, as well as other members
of the creative team to talk about how the science
of the series and real science collides. It’s
actually a great featurette, only way too short.
Coming in at just 8 ½ minutes, I would
have gladly welcomed another 51 ½ minutes.
Very few can argue the fact that “Babylon
5” stands amongst the best of what television
science fiction has to offer, and this Movie Collection
offers a fitting ending, not only to your DVD
collection, but to the series itself. (Unless
of course, they release the few episodes of “Crusade!”)
On a sad note, the set is dedicated to Richard
Biggs, who played Dr. Stephen Franklin throughout
the entire run of the series. He unfortunately
passed away on May 22 of this year. My condolences
go out to his family for their loss. He will be
missed.
Movies:
The Gathering
In The Beginning
Thirdspace
A River of Souls
A Call to Arms
Starring: Bruce Boxleitner, Claudia Christian,
Jerry Doyle, Andrea Thompson, Richard Biggs, Peter
Jurasik, Mira Furlan, Andreas Katsulas, Stephen
Furst, Bill Mumy, Tracy Scoggins
Extras: All-new Introductions and Commentaries
on Each Movie by J. Michael Straczynski and Select
Cast and Crew, “Creating the Future: How
Science and the Series Have Influenced Each Other.”
Specifications: “The Gathering” -
Full Screen, All Other Movies - Widescreen, Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Warner Brothers
Release Date: 8/17/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
We'll give Babylon 5: The Movie Collection an
A..
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