BABYLON 5
Season 5

Available on DVD

No Compromises

It's time for Sheridan to be inaugurated as the new President of the Alliance and everything needs to go smoothly, so it is not the best time for the new station commander CAptain Lochley to be taking over or a new telepath leader to announce Babylon 5 as their new refugee centre.

Much as changed since the events of the last season. Commander Ivanova has gone, Sheridan is now a political leader full time, Garibaldi is now Sheridan's head of security with Zack Allen stepping up as chief of security for the station. And there's a new Commander for the station. Meet Captain Lochley, basically a Susan Ivanova clone played by Tracy Scoggins with no particular flair or defining characteristics.

Some things don't change, however, and already the seeds for future conflict are being sown. The telepaths arrivng on the station are a sure sign of things to go wrong in the future. For this episode, there is a lone wolf assassin to deal with. There is the usual amount of ripe dialogue and a certain predictability to events but otherwise it's good to see the crew back, though how they can top the events of the last season remains the hard question they have to answer.

The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari

Londo collapses, his heart failing under weight of his conscience. As those who are his friends and enemies look on, he fights for his very soul.

Londo Mollari has long been one of the most interesting characters in BABYLON 5. A would-be hero of his people who has done horrible things and been forced to do even worse in the service of his ambition and his fear, whilst trying to keep some semblance of his self-worth intact. His relationship with G'Kar has been fascinating in its shifts of balance. This examination a man fighting his own guilt is, unhappily, a blunt and obvious one that has some nice surreal touches, but is not as subtle as the subject deserves.

At least it features at its heart the relationship between Narn and Centauri ambassadors and that gives Peter Jurasik and Andrea Katsulas some scenes to get their teeth into. A nice character piece, but nothing in terms of plot development.

The Paragon Of Animals

Mr Garibaldi wants to recruit telepaths to steal secrets. Sheridan is against the idea, but allows the approach to be made. Whilst trying to get Alliance members to sign up to a declaration of principles, the President must also deal with a remote world begging for assistance against raiders.

The telepaths are clearly going to be the focus of this season. This episode brings them front and centre. The question, though, is on what side they will line up. For all his professing of peace and a desire only for a telepath homeworld, Byron speaks of non-telepaths as 'mundanes' and espouses the fact that telepaths are superior in every way - truly the paragon of animals. Dehumanising your enemy is an important first act in fighting them. This is not likely to end well.

As with many of BABYLON 5's episode plots, the problem of the week also supplies its own solution of the week. The fate of a previously unknown race on a previously unmentioned planet gives the perfect way to get the allies to agree to a set of shared principles. Sometimes, the show can be a little too neat in its plotting.

A View From The Gallery

An alien race is about ot attack Babylon 5 to test its defences for potential invasion. Two maintenance men roam the station from job to job, interacting with many of the higher-ups.

This episode is filler of the worst kind. The standalone story makes almost no sense. An alien race wandering through the universe looking for easy targets just happens to appear, leading to a firefight and general destruction. It's just an excuse for J Michael Straczynski to find an interesting new way to write about the station. More interesting for him, anyway.

The set up is artificial, the story is artificial, the way that the two repair men happen to bump into every one of the major characters in a single day is artificial and the conversations that they have with Dr Franklin, Delenn and Byron the telepath leader are extremely artificial. It is an exercise in writing for the show's creator rather than a story told for the audience and, as a result, is of little interest.

Learning Curve

A new element is taking over all the criminal enterprises in the darker parts of the station. When they bring a Ranger recruit to the very edge of the death, the situation is taken as an opportunity for learning.

The Minbari religion and belief system has been one of the most complex and interesting aspects of the show and this story is another examination of that belief system, though told through the prism of the Rangers. The criminal enemy is never even remotely believable, but they are just a narrative tool. It is the Minbari concept of terror that concerns us here. It is filler, to be sure, but it is filler with more interest than the previous episode.

Strange Relations

Psi-Corps and Bester are back on the station, come to take the rogue telepaths into custody. Lochley and Sheridan's hands are tied by the Alliance's rules, but are determined to see that Psi-Corps fail. Mollari's ride home to become Emperor explodes and sabotage is the obvious conclusion.

The first skirmish in the telepath war is a low-key affair that suffers mainly from the performance from Robin Atkin Downes as Byron. Admittedly, he is given dialogue that makes him sound like the most pompous prig the show has ever produced and maybe that is enough for the audience to want to see the Psi Corps succeed. When security chief Zack Allen says that Byron is a martyr in waiting and therefore dangerous, it is easy to see why he wouled believe such a thing.

Psi-Corps means Walter Koenig is back, licking his lips at the most evil telepath alive, but he is given such little screen time that he fails to register very strongly. Lyta is becoming a more significant character and Patricia Tallman is making the most of her exposure.

However, we finally get to know why Lochley was Sheridan's choice as station commander and when Garibaldi exclaims that he couldn't have come up with that one in a hundred years, you have to wonder why J Michael Straczynski couldn't come up with something better.

Secrets Of The Soul

Researching the medical backgrounds of an alien race, Dr Franklin unearths a shattering secret. The telepaths on Babylon 5 lash back out against their oppressors and Lyta's closeness with their leader Byron leads to the unearthing of a secret of even greater import.

Moral superiority has been one of the failings of BABYLON 5. It is so very sure in its belief of what is right and what is wrong that often it can come across as being preachy. The character of Byron is this superior attitude made flesh. When Lyta says she cannot condone the telepaths' vengeance, but she understands it, she could just as well have been tallking about the audience when it comes to their ambivalance about the telepaths. Certainly, his sudden change from peacemaker to vengeful rights activist in seconds when he learns the truth of the telepaths' origins does not bode well.

More set up for the oncoming telepath crisis, there is little enough in this episode to fill up the entire running time. As a result, we get the preaching of the Stephen Franklin story, with its own inbuilt just outcome for those at fault just to round out the running time.

Still, there is enough going on for the episode to avoid being boring.

Day Of The Dead

The Brakiri temporarily buy a section of the station for the Day of the Dead. That section of the station is removed from normal space and the people within it meet people from their past, people who are no longer alive. Meanwhile, a visiting comedy duo bring a little levity to the station.

One of the few episodes in recent times not written by J Michael Straczynski, this story bears the hallmarks of writer Neil Gaiman, being original, off the wall and quirky. Lochley's visitor is disappointingly mundane, Londo's love of his life returns to cast his troubled persona into some much-needed relief, bringing out his 'humanity', Michael Garibaldi gets a glimpse of what might have been and Lennier, well Lennier gets the most surprising visitor of all.

The explanation for all this is suitably esoteric and cloaked in the kind of spirituality that has been a hallmark of the show. The episode burrows into the psyches of certain characters in fun ways and, in terms of Lennier most especially, fascinating ways. It is intriguing, touching, uplifting and diverting.

How stupid must Sheridan be to think that the outcome of his decision to allow the filming could be anything different. The script makes a point of seeing what Earthgov's worst is, but it's a decision of such epic stupidity that it undermines the character totally. Michael Garibaldi's sudden switch from loyal fan to Sheridan-hater is altogether too severe and doesn't convince for a second.

That said, Penn and Teller's appearance as apparently the funniest people in the galaxy fails to be anything other than inexplicable.

In The Kingdom Of The Blind

Byron takes action, demanding a telepath homeworld in exchange for all the secrets that have been stolen from the ambassadors' minds, precipitating a crisis. On Centauri Prime, Londo Mollari and G'Kar get the first hints that someone is very, very wrong. The Interstellar Alliance also learns disturbing news of attacks on shipping lanes.

Byron miscalculates hugely and finds his community split and in disarray. Even so, his messiah routine continues unabated as he burns every bridge that he can find. In the meantime, Londo and G'Kar find some very strange goings on in the Imperial Palace, not least the introduction of a new race living in the dark and looking extremely unrealistic. We have another mad Emperor, but there is definitely more going on than is seen on the surface.

The telepath story seems to be racing towards a messy end whilst the Centauri story is just getting started.

A Tragedy Of Telepaths

The telepaths holed up in Brown sector are still resisting being brought out, but others are already loose on the station and they have just raided an armoury. On Centauri Prime, G'Kar and Londo make a surprising discovery in the cells.

The telepath stand off continues to meander on and it takes up most of the running time of this episode without progressing the story very far. There is a whole section where Lochley crawls through tunnels in order to meet with Byron only to be told that the reason for her being there is to say goodbye. Later on, trained security personnel are consistently unable to deal with a rabble of fighters with no formal training simply because the plot needs them to.

It's nice to see Walter Koenig back as Bester with enough screen time for his sneering, superior attitude to be used to best effect. It remains a pantomime performance of evil, but it is fun.

As for the Centauri strand of the story, it makes no sense, no matter what stories Londo tells about flowers.

Phoenix Rising

Bester's Psi-cops are running rampant on the station, the rogue telepaths take hostages, including Garibaldi, who has just learned that Bester blocked any hope he had of taking his revenge. As violence mounts, Byron takes drastic action.

Byron reveals his past, and his links with Bester, which are melodramatic at the very least. The ending is inevitable and the approaching doom has a sense of foreboding that is palpable. The personal link was not necessary to meet the dramatic requirements of the story.

The show's tendency towards preaching and towards soap operatics undercuts some of the stronger moments. In fact, it is a personal moment of backsliding at the very end that is the strongest and most disturbing.

The Ragged Edge

A pilot escapes one of the attacks on shipping and goes to ground on the Drazi homeworld. Michael Garibaldi goes to extract him, but his newly-returned drinking problem causes issues. G'Kar struggles with his his newfound position as a holy icon.

Two extremes of character are juxtaposed in this episode. The focus is on Garibaldi and his descent back into drinking, brought about by his inability to take action against Bester. This is put up against G'Kar, who has been through several hells and back and has gained only enlightenment and wisdom. The personal journeys that the characters have taken over the length of the show is one of its strengths. They are marked by the events that they have witnessed and are far from the people we met five years ago.

The Alliance now has the suspicions about Centauri involvement in the shipping raids that the audience has been privy to and we will now see where this takes us.

The Corps is Mother, The Corps is Father

This is the very definition of a filler episode. Bester has been one of the most fun characters in the show, never believable, but fun. He is not, however, a character who benefits from a bit of depth. He is the pantomime villain, and showing him a telepath-loving spouter of bad jokes renders him far less interesting rather than more. Walter Koenig softens his hissable performance, but it is really that which we liked about the Psi-Corps psychopath.

The plot is pretty perfunctory and the lack of involvement from major characters from the station shows what an afterthought this must have been.

Meditations On The Abyss

Lennier is given a secret mission by Delenn and must undertake space pilot's training. G'Kar gets matching eyes and Vir gets a promotion.

There was clearly not enough plot left after the end of the Shadow War and the liberation of Earth, since we have had two complete and utter filler episodes and this episode touches on the main plotlines only tangentially. We see G'Kar giving more lectures on his philosophical outlook, and we get to see Lennier being an all-round good egg, if a bit of a pompous, self-satisfied good egg, but we learn nothing new and none of the major plotlines is moved forward even a little bit.

Character progression is nice, but there has to be more than just that. Whilst these characters are likeable, we need to see them doing something more than just having a laugh at dinner. And what happned to Captain Lochley? She seems to have fallen completely out of sight.

Darkness Ascending

Lennier abandons his post and goes in search of the proof of Centauri involvement in the attacks on shipping lanes, despite not having enough air to survive the attempt. Mr Garibaldi's drinking gets worse.

This is Lennier's story as he risks his life and discovers the essential proof about Centauri involvement. It is also Michael Garibaldi's story as the love of his life shows up and immediately challenges him over the drinking. This dynamic isn't believable as both parties swap moods fast enough to make the audience's head spin.

The road to war is gathering pace and seems inevitable at this point. This is clearly to be the plot arc for the second half of the season and we have finally gotten around to it.

And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder

The Centauri are put on trial and found guilty. A blockade is put ito place and peace can only be maintained if Michael Garibaldi can keep the fleet organised and in the right place. Inevitably, things do not go as planned.

This is a nice episode that gradually ramps up the tension by concentrating on Mollari watching his situation rapidly deteriorate. Delenn prays and G'Kar makes a surprising decision, all of the major players given interesting character developments and the actors are given a situation that they can really work with, all adding up to one of the most interesting episodes in this entire season.

The galaxy is back at war and that is when the show has been at its strongest.

Movements of Fire and Shadow

The Centauri War is in full swing, though the tactics of the enemy seem impenetrable. Sheridan sends Delenn on a delicate mission. On Centrauri Prime, Mollari tries to overthrow the secret manipulators of his race. Dr Franklin and Lyta Alexander go to the Drazi homeworld on a mission of mercy, but learn a strange truth.

Events are accelerating all the time, as the war turns from a holding manoeuvre to an all-out assault. These are the final moves in the chess game that will lead to the downfall of the Centauri. The plot rattles along at a face pace that makes up in part for all of the slow and filler episodes that came before it. This is the endgame and what Straczynski has been interested in all along. It shows.

The Fall of Centauri Prime

The Narn and Drazi fleets assault Centauri Prime. Mollari learns the truth about what has happened on his homeworld. Delenn's ship is crippled and adrift in hyperspace.

After the shooting comes the human, or alien stories. Mollari, most of all, learns some awful home truths about the real nature of power. Peter Jurasik gets a chance to hog the screen and makes the most of it. Mira Furlan and Bill Mumy also make the most of their time as they drift in a shattered ship and certain truths also surface.

By concentrating on the characters and all but ignoring the reality of a bombardment from space, the show again offers a surprising change of pace that is more akin to a Greek tragedy than a space opera. These changes in tone and pace have always been one of Babylon 5's strongest points.

The question now is, with the Centauri War over what is there left to tell?

The Wheel of Fire

With the Centauri War concluded, there really is no more story to tell and that becomes very clear as this episode. There is something to be said for tying up loose ends, but when loose ends are all that are left then it is probably past time to finish things up. There really is no more story to tell and the personal issues and deal making are on a scale that can only be considered minor compared to what has gone before.

The journey is almost over, but it feels liek the show will be going out with a whimper rather than a bang.

Objects in Motion

Michael Garibaldi and his fiancee learn that they have been targeted for assassination. A farewell event for G'Kar is used to as a trap to lure the killer out.

And so the farewells begin. The assassination plot storyline is an exercise in filling out the running time, but the true point of the episode is to say goodbye to G'Kar and Lyta Alexander and Michael Garibaldi. The rest is all a little bit melodramatic, but the goodbyes are seriously melodramatic. It doesn't matter, though. Those of us who have shared the five years of this journey will still be touched by this parting of the ways.

Objects at Rest

Sheridan and Delenn leave the station for the new headquarters on Minbar. An incident on the ship leads to a betrayal and a surprising greeting awaits them on planetfall.

Lennier is a character who has been constant throughout the show. He would never do anything to hurt Delenn. His devotion to her has always been absolute. Bill Mumy has made him the most memorable of the second tier characters. All of this makes the betrayal that the character faces from the show's creator and main writer J Michael Straczynski one of the worst that any character has ever suffered. His actions are so out of character and the situation leading to them so artificial that it sullies everything that the character has been through since the pilot.

For the third episode in a row, there is no real plot to the episode. There are hints of future storylines that we may never see, but this is about Sheridan and Delenn saying goodbye to the station and in that moment there might be a tear in the eye of the long time viewer.

Sleeping in Light

It's twenty years since Sheridan died on Z'Ha'Dum. The extension of life that the alien known as Lorien gifted him is all but used up. There is just time for one last dinner with friends, a visit to the soon to be decommissioned station and a trip to the site of his famous victory over the Shadows.

You can sometimes tell the quality of a show simply by looking at its final episode and that is certainly the case here. There is lots of talking and some of that dialogue is hackneyed, trite and predictable. At the same time, however, there are moments of true emotion and a sense of gravitas that the show has come to merit over five seasons. Well, over four seasons, anyway, since this season was patchy and almost resembled an afterthought. There is also the mystical aspect to the show, celebrated right to the last and there is the spectacular as the station finally goes into the night, though not too quietly.

This a final episode for the lonng term viewer. It will be all but impenetrable to anyone who has not been on the journey, but for those who have travelled the full distance, there will be no shortage of eyes grown moist.

There are few shows that can honestly say they tried something new, and even fewer that can claim to have changed the face of television science fiction. BABYLON 5 is one such show. With its five season arc, with moments that took the audience's very breath away at their audacity, with the detailing of the inner lives of the alien races, even the CGI (which will look shonky in no time) BABYLON 5 pushed the boundaries so hard that even the STAR TREK franchise had to take notice with its Deep Space Nine series. Yes, it could be pompous. Yes, some of the dialogue stank. Yes, some of the performances were shocking, but when BABYLON 5 was good, it was as good as anything in the genre.