Tag: Babylon 5

Babylon 5: Season 2

B5 Marathon, DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon

Season 1 | Season 3

The Coming of Shadows

Disc 1

Points of Departure

Synopsis: Cmdr. Sinclair has been re-assigned, Garibaldi is still comatose, Delenn is still in her cocoon and Babylon 5 gets a new commander: Captain John Sheridan, amongst the Minbari known as “Starkiller”, because he destroyed their flag ship – the Drala Fi (Black Star) – in the war. And now a renegade Minbari war cruiser takes course to Babylon 5.

My opinion: The new season starts as powerful as the last season ended. While I liked Sinclair, Sheridan seems much more powerful as a station commander. And we finally learn why the Minbari ended the war. I especially liked the speech of Sheridan in front of – no one. Wink

Revelations

Synopsis: G’Kar has returned from his search and reports from a great ancient enemy who has returned after a thousand years and he believes that this foe is responsible for the destruction of the Narn base in quadrant 37. Meanwhile Dr. Franklin heals Garibaldi by using the alien healing device we’ve seen in the previous year and Anna Sheridan – Cpt. Sheridan’s sister – visitis the station. And Delenn has left the cocoon!

My opinion: Without knowing Garibaldi Sheridan decides to give his own life power to heal him, I liked that a lot. And we learn about the loss of his wife, who died on an IPX expidition on the Rim. But at least the traitor has been apprehended. But Londo drifts deeper and deeper in the maelstrom of his destiny. And finally, Delenn has been transformed into a beautiful being!
Spoiler (mark to read):
Londo asks about the complete destruction of the Narn homeworld and Morden answers something like “not everything at once” – we know it will happen. Sad

The Geometry of Shadows

Synopsis: The Techno Mages are leaving for the Rim and don’t intend to return because they feel a dark force rising. But Londo wants to meet with them because it would be a powerful symbol to his people. Meanwhile Ivanova has to “negoiate” between the “purple” and the “green” fraction of the Drazi who are fighting over leadership.

My opinion: Ivanova says our flags have meanings whereas the colors of the Drazi are totally random but I tend to disagree. A flag is nowadays a symbol for a country. In earlier days it was the clan or the colors of the local lord. They only showed alliegience but for most of the people who fought and died it made no difference on which side they fought because they were forced to and often one side wasn’t an inch better than the other. Even nowadays for most people the color of the flag is set by the birth place. Therfore it’s not entirley true that our flags aren’t random.But i liked the episode because it showed how stupid it is to fight over flags or colors.
The Techno Mage wasn’t that interesting except for the dialog between Elric and Londo at the departure.

A Distant Star

Synopsis: A huge earth explorer ship arrives at Babylon 5 and refills their supplies. When it re-enters Hyperspace there is an accident and the ship drifts aways from the marked routes and may get lost. The station’s Starfurys try to find and rescue it.

My opninion: I think we’ve seen the Hyperspace for the first time in the show. Yes we’ve seen ships entering and leaving but not being in Hyperspace. Except from that it was an OK episode, nothing world-shaking.

Quote of the episode:
Sheridan: “If the primates that we came from had known that someday politicians would come out of the gene pool they’d have stayed up in the trees and written evolution off as a bad idea!”
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Babylon 5: Season 1

B5 Marathon, DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon

Pilot (Director’s Cut) | Season 2

Signs and Portents

Disc 1

Midnight of the Firing Line

Synopsis: A Centauri agricultural colony is attacked by the Narns and taken over. The head researcher of the Centauri happens to be the nephew of Centauri embassador Londo Mollari and the Narn have no intention of giving the colony back. Meanwhile unarmed transports are raided by people who seem to know exactly when and where a transport will be.

My opinion: This episode is somewhat of a second pilot. While it doesn’t introduce the station or the characters it sets certain things in order and makes changes to the staff and the appearence of certain aliens (e.g. Delenn, the Minbari ambassador). It also introduces the concept of a primary and a secondary storline to this show, a concept that many of the following episodes will use, too.
It’s not that great an episode but it shows the mutual hatred between the Narn and their former oppressors, the Centauri. But I loved Lt. Cmdr. Susan Ivanova from the start and while Lt. Cmdr. Takashima (from the Pilot) was ok, Susan seems much more powerful from the beginning.

Soul Hunter

Synopsis: An alien unknown to mankind “stumbles” through the jump gate and lands himself in the infirmary. To other aliens his kind is known as Soul Hunters because they catch the soul of people the moment they’re dying. And this particular Soul Hunter has come for a certain ambassador.

My opinion: I liked this episode because it discussed the different belives of what happens to a soul when the body is dying. And everyone was certain that his/her concept alone was to be the correct one and than one should act accordingly.
I also liked the hints that Delenn is hiding something from Sinclair and the first mention of Dukhat, although the events leading to his demise are not revealed yet.

Born to Purple

Synopsis: Londo falls in love with a Centauri exotic dancer and doen’st care much about his duties as ambassador of the Centauri Republic. Meanwhile someone uses illegaly the high priority communication channels known as “Gold Channel” and security chief Michael Garibaldi is determined to find him or her.

My opinion: I really liked the insight of the Centauri society because it showed that the Republic is more like an aristocracy with houses and titles and slaves. I also liked. We also learn more about Ivanova and that she is russian. OK, since Star Trek’s Chekov this is no new concept but I was always a fan of the idea that not every human in space is of american origin.

Infection

Synopsis: Babylon 5 has its second birthday and Sinclair is trying to evade from a InterStellar Network (ISN) News reporter. But more danger to the station are some artefacts from a world long dead and the realization that not one person of a species is a pure being of that species.

My opinion: I love enemies who mus be defeated in the great Star Trek tradition of “talk them to death”. While ST often used it on computers and confused them with logic, it works with bio weapons, too. And we learn that there are deserted worlds and civilisations long gone and the earth company InterPlanetary eXpiditions (IPX) sponsors such expiditions.
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