Babylon 5 Movie Week: Babylon 5: In the Beginning

Welcome back my blooming observers of the Omniverse.    It was hinted that the Minbari were a peaceful race but proud and willfull as well.  The year is 2245 and EarthForce has just managed to fend off their first threat; a species known as the Dilgar and EarthForce handed them their heads. So prime the main guns, set the twin particle arrays to stun and keep the commerce going.  This is Babylon 5: In the Beginning.

Mardi Gras got out of hand.

Delenn:  It is said that in every age, there is one singular spoiler that forever changes the world around us. A nexus if you will.

Our movie opens with the remains of Centauri Prime up in flames and tattered buildings, a young Centauri boy and girl play in the royal throne room. An aged Londo Mollari (Peter Jurasik of Hill Street Blues, Problem Child, Dear John, Babylon 5: The Gathering, Babylon 5, Sliders and 42) lets the boy be Emperor of all the Centauri Republic for 5 minutes, during this time the lad can give any order he wants.  The lad demands a story of epic battles between heroes and villains.  The young girl asks for a true story.  Mollari sighs with a heavy burden but decides to give the children both what they want and speaks of the Earth-Minbari war which occurred 35 years priop when he was still the ambassador to Earth.

 Before the war, Earthgov is cocky as hell due to their triumph over the Dilgar and they are expanding out into space, creating colonies and pushing their ships and cruisers in the reaches of space. 

You will bow before me Jor-El!!!

Meanwhile the Grey Council of the Minbari are ever vigilant to the resurrection of the Shadows and chose to investigate Z’ha’dum (the planet of the Shadows’ origin) when they encounter the Earth ships.  As a sign of respect, the Minbari open their ship’s gunports and the Prometheus (Earthgov ship) assuming this is the beginning of an attack and fires at the Minbaris’ flag ship.  With their leader Dukhat dead, The Grey Council consists of three casts or clans if you will.  The warrior cast, workers cast and religious cast are comprised bringing order to their people and speak for each cast in the wider picture of things.  The Grey Council screams for blood demanding a holy war against all of humanity. A war lasting over ten years writing the battles in space with gallons of blood; the Minbari are a deeply spiritual people discover that their fellow souls are being shared with the Earthlings.  Minbari must never kill Minbari creating an immediate cease fire. 

I just have a quick couple of concerns about this film in the grand scope of the series.   Even if you are not a Babylon 5 fan, this is a compelling story of battle, potential dark days and overtly prideful peoples.  G’Kar (Andreas Katsulas of True Identity, Blame It on the Bellboy, Babylon 5: The Gathering, The Fugitive and Star Trek: The Next Generation) and Dr. Franklin (Richard Biggs of Walk Like a Man, Days of Our Lives, Babylon 5: The River of Souls and Crusade) seemed relegated to cameo appearances and that just don’t fly with the fans, man and while a few scenes establish the pasts of most of our characters, Garibaldi is nowhere at the station or in the war.  A mild annoyance at best this film does cover almost every facet of the war. There is triumph, good humor, mass explosions and more than a fair share of tragedy.

Annual chili cookout ends in tears.