Babylon 5: Season 1
From AwardAnnals
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| Director(s) | Tony Dow |
|---|---|
| Subtitle | Season 1 |
| Distributor | Warner Home Video |
| The epic sci-fi series Babylon 5 was a unique experiment in the history of television. It was effectively a novel for television in five seasons, consisting of 110 episodes with a clear beginning, middle, and end. The first season introduces the main characters, headed this year by Commander Jeffery Sinclair (Michael O’Hare) and Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle), and familiarizes the audience with the unique environment of a five-mile-long space station in the year 2257. The first episode, “Midnight on the Firing Line,” plays at a… | |
Reviews
Amazon.com
The epic sci-fi series Babylon 5 was a unique experiment in the history of television. It was effectively a novel for television in five seasons, consisting of 110 episodes with a clear beginning, middle, and end. The first season introduces the main characters, headed this year by Commander Jeffery Sinclair (Michael O’Hare) and Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle), and familiarizes the audience with the unique environment of a five-mile-long space station in the year 2257.
The first episode, “Midnight on the Firing Line,” plays at a breathless pace, introducing Commander Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian) and establishing the conflict between the Narn and Centauri races as represented by their ambassadors, G’Kar (Andreas Katsulas) and Londo Mollari (Peter Jurasik). Then follow several mediocre episodes that initially give the impression that B5 is a Star Trek clone afflicted with “silly alien of the week” syndrome. With “And the Sky Full of Stars,” B5 really begins to hit its stride, Sinclair being forced to relive his mysterious experiences during the Earth-Minbari war. Filler shows such as “TKO” are notable only for being controversially violent, while the disappointing “Grail” points to writer-creator J. Michael Straczynski’s fascination with Arthurian mythology. “Signs and Portents” introduces the sinister Mr. Morden (Ed Wasser) and offers the chilling first appearance of the Shadows, an ancient alien threat.
B5 hits warp speed with a run of exceptional episodes building to the season finale. The two-part “Voice in the Wilderness” has Mars breaking into open revolt against Earth and the discovery of a “Great Machine” on the dead world Epsilon 3. Referencing 1950s sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet, the story leads to the superb time-travel-based “Babylon Squared.” Season finale “Chrysalis” proves more than just the usual television cliffhanger, placing Minbari ambassador Delenn in conflict with her ruling Grey Council and forcing on her a decision that laid the groundwork for Babylon 5’s eventually becoming a great love story. —Gary S. Dalkin
Barnes and Noble
Inspired by, but in no way derivative of, the long-running Star Trek, this early-’90s sci-fi series acquired a devoted and sizable fan following, making its issuance on DVD not only welcome but inevitable. Creator J. Michael Straczynski designed his series with a master plan, intending each episode to be part of a unified story that would stretch across five seasons. This narrative cohesiveness gave Babylon 5 a little something extra, making it more aesthetically satisfying than open-ended TV series. Straczynski’s saga was set in the 23rd century, following a long and destructive series of conflicts that had left humans and aliens distrustful of each other. Babylon 5 is an outer-space weigh station, a port-of-call for diplomats, entrepreneurs, and scalawags of all species. Commander Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O’Hare)—aided by chief security officer Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle), Lt. Commander Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian), and resident telepath Talia Winters (Andrea Thompson)—tries to keep apprised of all the intrigues swirling around his little corner of the galaxy, but things invariably spiral out of control. Memorable first-season episodes include “Parliament of Dreams,” in which an interstellar summit faces disruption, thanks to an assassin’s threats; “Signs and Portents,” which initially revolves around the recovery of a valuable artifact entrusted to a Centauri nobleman for return to his home planet; and “Babylon Squared,” a suspenseful time-travel story that offers tantalizing clues to the fate of the long-lost Babylon 4. Consistently fine writing, inventive production design, and above-average acting made Babylon 5 extremely popular with fans of the genre, and its arrival on DVD will remind viewers just how good this show was. Ed Hulse
