BABYLON 5
Season 2

Available on DVD

Points of Departure

Only a week after the explosive events that finished off series one, a new commander is appointed to Babylon 5. His name is John Sheridan and he is the only human commander to have destroyed a Minbari warship during the war. As a result, he is not a popular choice amongst the Minbari. Within hours of his arrival, a rogue Minbari warship appears and sends out its fighters to destroy the station. It seems likely that Sheridan's first action will be to start a second Minbari war.

This is virtually another pilot show considering the changes that are underway. Delenn is still in her cocoon, we see neither G'Kar nor Mollari and the focus is squarely on Bruce Boxleitner as Commander Sheridan. He is an instantly more personable character than Sinclair was in series one, but is also a lot less convincing. His is a character in a TV show from start to finish rather than a real person. Still, it's only his first day.

The plot strand of him having to give his good luck speech within 24 hours of taking command may humanise him, but it's pure corn.

Revelations

Ambassador G'Kar returns to Babylon 5 with stories of a new alien race that was once an ancient enemy and which has returned. He informs the council that his government has sent a ship to the homeworld of that race to learn if they have truly come back. In the meantime, Delenn has emerged from her cocoon and the change has not gone well.

It's a busy day on Babylon 5. Garibaldi is brought out of his coma by the Doctor's use of the alien healing device from last season's The Quality of Mercy and gets his head scanned to find out that his own man was responsible for his injuries. Captain Sheridan gets a last message from his dead wife and Mollari learns that everything comes with a price. He just hasn't learned what his is yet.

The dark currents continue to run beneath the surface of BABYLON 5 with all their promise of the dangers and problems to come.

The Geometry of Shadows

Technomages are so technologically advanced that they seem to have magic powers. They are rarely seen and never together. Now a hundred of them have come to Babylon 5, running ahead of a great storm that will shake the very foundations of the galaxy. On a lighter note, the Drazi are knocking eight bells out of each other in a ritual where those dressed in green fight those in purple. It's up to Ivanova to find a peaceful solution to a conflict that has no cause.

There's plenty of incident here, but not a lot of plot. We are now told that trouble's on the way, probably for the benefit of those that haven't been watching to date and Garibaldi finally decides to stop moping around and get back to work, but that's about it.

A Distant Star

An explorer ship commanded by an old friend of Sheridan's comes to Babylon 5 to replenish its supplies and the visit causes him to question the decision he made taking the post of commander. When the ship leaves, an accident leaves it adrift in hyperspace and only Sheridan's quick thinking and the station's starfuries can bring it back.

Another not particularly inspiring episode with a plot that is little more than two friends meet and discuss whether they're in the right job. Then there is the incident in hyperspace, tacked on to add a little (and I do mean little) excitement and to show that there really is something hiding out in hyperspace, something that does not look friendly.

The Long Dark

An ancient sublight speed ship drifts into Babylon 5's space and the surviving crewmember brought out of stasis a hundred years after she went to sleep. Something else, though, has hitched a lift, something that likes the taste of human and may have killed an entire outpost of soldiers during the Minbari war.

Dwight Schultz overracts horribly throughout this episode, setting the tone for a not very convincing, but entertaining enough episode. True, it's hardly believable that a creature that killed an entire troop would just happen across the hiding place of the one survivor by chance, although the revelation of its intended destination hints at darker things to come.

There also seems to be a problem with consistent dimensions. Last week, a starfury entered the main bay with very little room to spare. The ship featured here is much, much bigger and that also seems to have gotten inside somehow. It's a detail, but it matters when the plots aren't good enough to distract you from the details.

A Spider In The Web

Mars Colony has always been a troublesome child for Earth, but all that might change as one of the might Earth corporations is willing to offer the freedom fighters a deal that will secure their financial future and make independance less appealing. Someone, however, has sent an assassin to kill the negotiators, an assassin who is already dead.

Politics is something that Babylon 5 has not been shy at tackling, even though the episodes featuring it turn out to be the less interesting ones. That's a trend that this episode doesn't buck. It's basically a police procedural. There's a killer out there and security is out to find him before he kills again.

Nothing that we haven't seen done elsewhere, and better.

Soul Mates

Londo Mollari, once the joke of the Centauri royal court, find his star in the ascendant. The Emperor grants him the gift of allowing him to divorce two of his three wives. They gather together on the station to see who will remain and who will be left without name, honour or title. Wives, though, are as versed in the political arts as their husbands and on Centauri Prime, those arts include murder.

One of the things that we most like about BABYLON 5 is its sense of humour and the absurd. It is a show that is not above giving us a whole comedy episode, which this is. Londo gets some choice moments and there is some cracking dialogue that everyone makes the most of.

Shallow, but fun.

A Race Through Dark Places

Psi-Corps! Nobody really trusts them and nobody really likes them. Unregistered telepaths are being funnelled through Babylon 5 and Bester, the Psi-Corp's most vicious officer, has come to close down the operation. He has not counted on the allegiance and powers of resident telepath Talia Winters, though.

OK, we admit it, we like Alfred Bester, the Psi-Corps chief baddie. He's a pantomime villain and Walter Koenig plays him as such, but he gets all the best lines and has enormous fun chewing the scenery.

The plot harkens back to Mind War when Talia was granted some serious psychic gifts. The manner in which she plans Bester's defeat is ingenious. No doubt Bester will be back and we look forward to that.

The Coming Of Shadows

The elderly emperor of the Centauri Republic comes to Babylon 5 to make one last great speech. In that speech, he plans to apologise for all that his race did to the Narns and to ask for their forgiveness in order that both races might move forward. Unfortunately, his health prevents him from making the speech and power blocks back home start to jostle for position, something that leads to a decision by Londo Mollari that will lead to war.

This is an extraordinary episode and the best that the show has ever produced by a good stretch. It is dramatically satisfying on a number of levels and shows a maturity and depth as yet only hinted at. The politicking around the Emperor's death and the pressures that lead Londo to make a pact with the devil are the more obvious, flashy levels, but it is in the character of the Emperor that the show finds its real heart. Played in a quiet, sad manner by Turhan Bey, he is a being that has been locked into times, decisions and ultimately a life that he did not ask for and did not want. His desire to make it right with the Narn is profound and moving. It is one of those fragile moments in which the future is made, for better or for ill. In this case, it turns out to be for the worse.

Then there is G'Kar. His journey in this story takes him from hatred to a revelation and then to cruel betrayal. This is portrayed with great skill by Andreas Katsulas even through the layers of his alien makeup. It is a fine performance and it is rare to have two of such quality in a single episode.

There is also a minor strand carried in a message to Garibaldi from his old commander, Sinclair, that hints of darkness to come and a secret army being readied to face it. An army that Ambassador Delenn knows more about than perhaps anyone else.

If this is the quality of writing that we can come to expect from the show then we are blessed indeed.

GROPOS

Gropos are GROund POunders, a slang term for infantry and 25,000 of them have arrived on Babylon 5 en route to a battle on Akdor. They are led by Dr Franklin's father and so the visit allows time for the two men to open up old wounds. The crew also get the chance to bond with a group of people that live life to the full because they might not see the next day. One pretty female warrior sets her sights on Garibaldi.

This is disappointingly flat after the excellence of The Coming of Shadows. The situation seems contrived, not least because the politics behind the necessity for this little jaunt into open warfare doesn't convince for a second. It's all just a set up to get Dr Franklin into a couple of shouting matches with his dad, two men with the same strength of character, but different viewpoints. But they love each other really - Aaah.

What is effective is the last few minutes when reports start to come in about the battle, a victory that was hard won, and the casualty lists start to arrive. It's a pretty powerful message about the human cost of war.

All Alone In The Night

Just before an unofficial meeting with a senior officer, Sheridan takes on what would appear to be a minor mission, but is kidnapped and forced to battle for his life by an unknown race. Ambassador Delenn, meanwhile is summoned before the Grey Council of the Minbari, stripped of her rank and forced to argue to be allowed to continue her work on Babylon 5.

Politics and science fiction are rarely successful bedfellows, but the depth of detail that this series has invested into the backgrounds of its worlds and peoples allows for it to go a little further into the intricacies of the politics without boring or losing the audience. Therefore, the fate of Delenn is the more interesting of the two strands at work here. Captain Sheridan's story is a left over STAR TREK plot that has been done often and better than it is here.

Also on the political front, mention is made again of the troubles back on Earth. These have rarely been detailed, but it is clear that they are going to become a major story.

Acts of Sacrifice

The war is going poorly for the Narn. The Centauri are better equipped and trained in open warfare and they are not above attacking civilian targets. Tension is rising between the Centauri and Narn on the station. In order to help curry support from both the humans and the Minbari, G'Kar is forced to battle for his authority over his own people to prevent bloodshed.

The darkness of war hangs over this episode. G'Kar's desperate search for allies is completely believable and the failure of that mission is made all the more poignant by the fine performance from Andreas Katsulas under his makeup. That he has managed to make G'Kar so convincing is a real credit to the actor. Peter Jurasik also has his moments as Ambassador Mollari, a character whose flaws make him much less likeable, but who also has his depths and his qualities. They both shade the black and white situation into grey and bring the whole of the war into relief.

The second strand story of Susan Ivanova having to try and negotiate with a lifeform that won't even talk to her directly until he has decided whether or not she is inferior and who expects to seal the trade deal with sex undermines the serious story with its flippancy. The two do not complement each other.

Hunter, Prey

The personal physician of the deceased former President is rumoured to be aboard Babylon 5 and the cream of Earth Force Intelligence has arrived to capture him. Some powerful people don't want the secrets that the man has made public, evidence that President Santiago was murdered in a coup d'etat. Evidence, but not proof. Sheridan has to find a way to appear to offer the Earth Force personnel every assistance whilst spiriting away the man to safety.

A straightforward thriller storyline that manages to be workmanlike, but nothing more. The human villains are not remotely believable, which undermines the plotting and the action.

There All Honor Lies

A Minbari warrior is killed attacking Sheridan, but the Minbari witness swears that the captain was responsible for an unprovoked attaked and everybody knows that Minbari don't lie. It might all be a ploy by powerful Minbari elements to see Sheridan removed from his place as commander.

Politics rarely make for an exciting science fiction show, but BABYLON 5's whole premise is based upon it. The machinations are interesting enough, but certainly nothing to excite the viewer. The gift shop provides some minor amusement, but this is not a great episode.

And Now For A Word

The Narn/Centauri conflict comes to the station with unsettling force as a Centauri ship is shot out of the sky. Ambassador G'Kar accuses Mollari of using the station as a weapons supply depot. When it seems likely that he is right, Sheridan impounds all Centauri ships, but then a military frigate arrives with enough firepower to destroy the entire station. It's a hell of a couple of days and it's all being captured by the Interstellar News Network

Everything about this episode screams Gimmick!! Showing the events through the distorting lens of a faux news report might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but it gives the impression that the writers don't have faith enough in their own story. This is a shame because the escalation of the conflict and its arrival on the station's metaphorical doorstep is perfect stuff for the show. There is the character drama of G'Kar and Mollari's war of words in the debating chamber with Sheridan caught in the middle. There is tension in the stand off between station and frigate and there is action as the skies are filled with battling spaceships.

This is all, sadly, undermined by the news report format. The spin being put on events by the network hints at the bias of the press towards the new President and some of the darker things that might be going on back on Earth, but it just gets in the way of telling the story and the inclusion of a recruiting advert for the Psi Corps is plain painful. So obvious are all of the inferences that it is impossible to believe that they could take in anyone remotely intelligence and so actually insult the intelligence of the audience.

In The Shadow of Z’Ha’Dum

Sheridan learns that one of the crew from the Icarus, the ship on which his wife died, is alive and well and visiting the station. It is Mr Mordern, the mysterious man who has been responsible, through his 'associates' for most of the Centauri successes. Sheridan hauls him into confinement and starts the interrogation without due process, causing Garibaldi to resign, the Centauri to offer diplomatic immunity and Delenn and Kosh to reveal the greatest nightmare of all.

Bloody Hell! After the awfulness that was And Now For a Word, BABYLON 5 shows what it is really capable of and a hint of the epic scale upon which it is operating. Ambition it is not short on. The main part of the story is not too far out of the ordinary, but the background that Delenn and Kosh explain to the commander is stunning in its scope and possibilities.

The Icarus landed on the dead planet of Z'Ha'Dum to find that it wasn't quite dead. There, in hiding, were a race older than all of the known alien species called only by the name Shadows. They have been waging a war over millions of years against the other ancient races of the galaxy. The last war, 1,000 years in the past, defeated them, but it took the combined strength of the Minbari and all the other elder races. Those elder races have all gone, except the Vorlons, and the Shadows have returned.

This is brilliant stuff, sending a shiver down the spine and making this show suddenly a whole new ball game. It is also helped by the performance of Ed Wasser as Mr Mordern. His calm, unruffled arrogance makes him disturbing and dislikeable all at the same time. His exchange with Vir Kotto also gives a hint of the depths beneath the buffoonish exterior of the Centauri ambassadorial aide.

On the evidence of this one episode it would appear that BABYLON 5 is going to some very exciting places indeed.

Knives

Security chief Garibaldi tells Captain Sheridan about a spooky section of the station and the commander immediately goes to take a look, finding a dead alien. Following the contact, he starts to have strange, scary visions. Londo Mollari is visited by an old friend who is being faced with ruination by the some of Londo's new allies. When politics fails in the Centaurum, there is always hand to hand combat to the death.

Following the heights of In the Shadow of Z'Ha'Dum, this was always going to be something of a disappointment and so it proves. Both stories running side by side are uninspired and, in the case of Sheridan's visions, dull as the proverbial ditchwater. At least Londo's story shows some of the personal cost that his decisions are starting to rack up. It is a measure of the show Mollari has grown from a figure of fun into a dark and layered character with real depth to him.

Confessions and Lamentations

Markab citizens are dying in surprising numbers aboard Babylon 5. When a whole ship with hundreds of dead aboard is discovered Dr Franklin is concerned. When he learns that the disease is 100% fatal and 100% contagious he gets worried. When the first alien case is confirmed, he gets scared.

What starts off as a lecture on the need for tolerance and understanding of ill people (especially AIDS sufferers) becomes something much much more powerful as the scale of the disaster becomes clear and the frightened Markab huddle together in an isolation area. The heroism of Delenn and Lennier volunteering to go inside and help the sick and dying is palpable. Their desolation when they emerge alone from a charnel house is compelling.

The writing of this episode is stunnigly powerful. The introduction of a Markab child elicits a groan, but she provides the strongest moment when she is reunited with her mother (one small victory in the dark) only to stumble as the disease takes hold. It's a moment to break the heart.

It's in episodes like this that BABYLON 5 is turning into something special indeed.

Divided Loyalties

Telepath Lyta Alexander returns with information that someone close to the command staff of Babylon 5 is a traitor. They are part of a sleeper programme that has an artificial personality buried deep below their real one so that they are not even aware they are a spy. Lyta can reveal them, but in the meantime paranoia sets in and Susan Ivanova has to give up a closely guarded secret.

A surprising twist that comes out of nowhere and changes the face of the station personnel forever makes this an above average episode, but one that falls short of the recent heights to which the show has risen. Until, that is, Ivanova drops her bombshell.

The Long Twilight Struggle

The Narn have learned of a supply station that is vital to the Centauri war effort. They plan one gigantic assault to drive the enemy back, but they did not count on Mollari's allies and the Narn homeworld comes under a direct assault.

The Centauri/Narn conflict comes to an abrupt climax as Centauri plans finally fall into place. Londo learns of the manner by which victory is to be acheived and is appalled and yet still goes ahead. He is now the darkest character, locked in a private hell of his own making. G'Kar, the great and proud warrior has been reduced to victim and Sheridan is gifted an army. These are huge events, excellently written, brilliantly acted (see Mollari as the mass drivers plunge Narn into global devastation) and setting out an agenda for the show that can only be called epic.

BABYLON 5 has come a long way since its uncertain opening.

Comes The Inquisitor

Vorlon Ambassador Kosh informs Delenn that she is to undergo a testing by an inquisitor. He turns out to be a human that the Vorlons picked up from London in 1888. He wants to know why Delenn believes that she is the person to carry the burden in the dark days ahead and he is willing to torture her to death to get the answer.

This is another fine episode, loaded with layers and depth. Delenn is in the frontline in the fight against the shadows and should surely be venerated and yet she is subjected to torments of the body and soul to get at the truth of her bravery. It is not enough to have courage, it must be the right sort of courage. All of this is played out in a tour de force of double-handed acting between Mira Furlan and guest Wayne Alexander. It's theatrical to be sure, but always stays on the right side of pantomime.

It does lose a bit at the end, though, when the inquisitor is revealed to be none other than Jack the Ripper. Science fiction shows just can't leave that historical figure alone.

The Fall of Night

A pair of negotiators come to the station to speak to all of the ambassadors in order to make clear Earth's stance on the Centauri/Narn situation. The Centauri are now annexing worlds in other races' space and Sheridan expects Earth to take a side. Instead, they announce a non-agression treaty with the Centauri. Before the treaty can be signed, however, a Narn warship claims sanctuary and the Centauri launch an assault on the station.

The finale to season 2 isn't a traditional cliffhanger, but it does leave a political situation that is ripe for further exploitation. Earth is slipping into the grip of the nazi-lookalike regime, the Centauri are running amok with the Shadows in support of them.

Fortunately, the humans have Sheridan on their side. He is now officially a messiah in waiting after falling from a great height to be rescued by Ambassador Kosh in the guise of an angel (or every race's equivalent). This bit pushes things a little too far, but truth be told, we can't wait for season three.