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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 5th and final season
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. 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.
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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.
That’s 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 wage. 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 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.
The other thing that sets this show apart is Straczynski’s
willingness 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 5th season is about to be released on DVD
by Warner Brothers, and the set spans 6 discs
with all 22 episodes. They are presented in all
new Widescreen transfers and Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround Sound. The series never looked or sounded
this good on broadcast TV. And just as they did
in the previous sets, Warner included quite a
few extra features that make this set well worth
getting a hold of. There are commentaries on 3
of the episodes, including one by Bruce Boxleitner,
Peter Jurasik, Patricia Tallman and Tracy Scoggins
on “Movements of Fire and Shadow.”
Together, they provide a very entertaining look
at the episode, which is elevated by the relaxed
and conversational tone of old friends getting
back together. I also definitely recommend Straczynski’s
commentaries on “The Fall of Centauri Prime”
and the series finale, “Sleeping in Light.”
Straczynski is very well spoken and is fascinating
to listen to. Being that he is such a prolific
writer, he is able to share his insight with great
detail.
The 1st disc starts out with an introduction to
the 5th season by Straczynski, but all of the
rest of the features are on the final disc (except
commentaries). There is a nice featurette that
focuses on the special effects on the series.
It runs just a little under 6 minutes and includes
comments and insight from Strackzynski, as well
as Doug Netter, John Copeland, Shant Jordan, Mitch
Suskin and John Teska. The next feature is sure
to be a hit with fans, because it includes the
fans. “Beyond Babylon 5” offers up
a look at the world of conventions, fans and merchandise.
We get to hear from several fans as to why they
like the series so much, plus some of the reactions
from the cast and crew. This final disc also has
a few additional and extended scenes from the
last episode.
This set continues the feature called “The
Universe of Babylon 5”, where you can access
data and personnel files about the series. You
can also find a hysterical Gag Reel in this area.
By the way, on the “Data Files” menu
screen be sure to click on the big ‘5’
in the middle of all the files. There is a great
little Easter Egg that was a big hit at my house.
As far as I’m concerned, “Babylon
5” ranks amongst the best that television
Sci-Fi has to offer. Very few shows are on my
list, and when anyone asks me, this is on my ‘Top
2’ list. A lot of my friends that are into
“Babylon 5” argue as to whether or
not this final season lived up to what had come
before, and now that I have finally seen it I
definitely say, “Yes.” The final episode,
“Sleeping in Light” is as emotionally
powerful as a final episode of any series should
be. It includes a brief appearance by Straczynski
that is especially fitting.
On a side note, there has been some talk that
Warner Brothers might release a set of the “Babylon
5” TV movies, as well as the follow-up series
“Crusade.” Here’s keeping my
fingers crossed!!
Episodes:
No Compromises
The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari
The Paragon of Animals
A View from the Gallery
Learning Curve
Strange Relations
Secrets of the Soul
Day of the Dead
In the Kingdom of the Blind
A Tragedy of Telepaths
Phoenix Rising
The Ragged Edge
The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father
Meditations on the Abyss
Darkness Ascending
And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder
Movements of Fire and Shadow
The Fall of Centauri Prime
The Wheel of Fire
Objects in Motion
Objects at Rest
Sleeping in Light
Starring: Bruce Boxleitner, Jerry Doyle, Mira
Furlan, Peter Jurasik, Andreas Katsulas, Richard
Biggs, Bill Mumy, Tracy Scoggins, Stephen Furst,
Jeff Conaway, Patricia Tallman
Extras: All New Introduction by Series Creator
J. Michael Straczynski, Audio Commentary on 3
Key Episodes, Digital Tomorrow, Beyond Babylon
5, The Universe fo Babylon 5 – Repository
of Personnel and Data, Additional Scenes, Gag
Reel, Episode Previews
Specifications: Widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround Sound
Studio: Warner Brothers
Release Date: 4/13/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
We'll give Babylon 5: Season 5 an A.
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