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.

Babylon 5 Movie Week: Babylon 5: Thirdspace

Back again my little space rangers and welcome to a belated Day 2 of Babylon 5 Movie Week.  Due to a slight injury yesterday I was a bit too sore to sit in this seat but I am well enough now to bring you lot some amusement and disturbing story arcs.   So fasten your space belts, prep the safety harness and breach that jumpgate.  This is Babylon 5: Thirdspace.

Thirdspace is crazy ya'll!

Susan Ivanova: Well, the spoilers are starting to circle.

For starters this film takes place in the year of 2261 (after Season 4, Episode 8: The Shadow War) so our heroes have conquered an ancient evil and allow themselves a moment to breathe.  Babylon 5 Star Fury patrols discover an immense artifact in hyperspace (point between normal space and travel faster than light) and the Interplanetary Expeditions Xenoarchaeologist Dr. Elizabeth Trent (Shari Belafonte of Hotel, The Midnight Hour, Beyond Reality, Hey Arnold! And Teacher of Year) to better decipher what it is, what it can do and how best to exploit it.  

Hungry Eeeyessss!!!

Current commander of Babylon 5 Captain John Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner of Tron, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Gunsmoke: One Man’s Justice, Free Fall and Tron: Legacy) prepares for the worse and feels this artifact is a great and significant find but we should tread cautiously.  There is wisdom in these words but they atypically fall on deaf ears as human greed and arrogance rears its ugly head in these matters.  I was shocked as well.

   

Using a low level current to get better readings on the artifact the entire station seems to have their dreams influenced and are almost reduced to a vegetated state without proper explanation…or is there?

Dr. Trent comes to the conclusion the artifact is pre-existing Jumpgate before even the ancient Vorlons developed it and it starts drawing power from the station causing energy spikes all over the boards.  Hope tech and sub-repair get time and a half. 

Given all that is known by the Vorlons at this time we are given to revere them as wise, brave and with great compassion for the younger races.  The united races find it almost unprecedented that the Vorlons could ever falter.   The device activates on its own opening a passage to Thirdspace and this invasion force proceeds to lay waste to several cruisers and extracts massive destruction on the station itself.  EarthForce preps a counter attack and give our mysterious aliens on hell of a wingding.  These invaders single seat fighters even have shields so the Star Furies are in for one hell of a tumble.   The artifact itself seems to be disrupting the station but driving every sentient being on it to the brink of crackers.

The Galaxy's cutest couple.

I had just a few points to make on the film at this time.  The elevator seen between Zach Allen and Lyta that felt clunky and unnecessary was actually inserted (oOoOo kinky) to fill up time for the film.  Sci-fi and Sci-Fi Fantasy artist/author Wayne Barlowe designed the appearance of the artifact Thirdspace jumpgate  Not one of the better films due to the story flow feeling a bit interfered via time constraint but effects and performances remained spot on so yes you can have this one in your collection.

Babylon 5 Movie Week: Babylon 5: The Gathering

Hello there readers and welcome to the Babylon 5 Movie Week.  Starting us off with we begin logically at the beginning.   The year is 2257.  Earth has taken to the stars and engaged in battles with other species.  Yes humans just can’t help but be messing with peoples.  To create this complex series of creatures, other worlds and cultures we turn to Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski (Captain Power: The Beginning, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, The Real Ghost Busters, Jake and the Fatman,Jeremiah, Changeling, Thor, and World War Z) to open our minds to this realm.  So age that spoo, consult the elders and for God’s sake speak nothing of the Grey Council.   This is Babylon 5: The Gathering.

Look out for the credits, Phil!!!

Delenn:  I look forward to meeting a Vorlon.  I’ve heard much about them that is spoiler.

From humans to humanoid to just downright unexplainable lifeforms, the search of intergalactic peace is sought by many.  The place to allow commerce and peace talks are Babylon 5.  A hub in the galaxy allowing issues to be resolved amongst the 5 major space travelers of the known galaxies; humans, Narn, Centauri, Minbari and Vorlons.    It has been a 10 year commission to construct a place that prevents war; this 5 mile long space station is home to 250,000 residents, roughly 100,000 humans and 2,000 EarthForce personnel and including areas for business, living quarters and recreation.

Great, Londo is hammered...again.

Commander Sinclair (Michael O’ Hare of Fly Away Home, C.H.U.D., Into Thin Air, A Case of Deadly Force and Tales from the Darkside) runs this little bailiwick and boy howdy he has his work cut out for him.  Awaiting the final delegate of the Vorlons; Ambassador Kosh arrives 2 days ahead of schedule when he is falls ill in less than a minute of being on the station.   Station chief medical officer Dr. Kyle (Johnny Sekka of Woman of Straw, Khartoum, The Message and Passion Paradise) puts Kosh in quarantine and attempts to prevent his death while Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle of The Outsider, Babylon 5, Babylon 5: The River of Souls, Devious Beings and Storm Watch) launches his own investigation into possible poisoning of the ambassador.   The Babylon Council consisting of the 5 major races hold the Commander in contempt and decree his guilt of attempted murder.  Not the best way your first day on the job can go.

A few comments about this movie now if you don’t mind.   With the introduction of CGI just in the wings, accomplished scale models and forced perspective; the visual effects can hold their own but this was a truly ambitious start to an impressive feat of writing as well as storytelling.   Complex characters and various story arcs were getting life breathed into them and frankly it offered a wide range of twists and turns for every adventure.   No two Babylon 5 episodes were the same and that is very difficult to do in a medium like science fiction.  This was only just the beginning of greater things to come.

Flying casually sir.

Babylon 5 Movie Week

Welcome eager young space cadets!!!  This week we will view the phenomenon that was Babylon 5.  Five seasons, seven films, series of novels and comic books this has been deemed one of America's finer science fiction.  I felt almost anyone can critique the seasons so I thought we would tackle the TV movies instead.

So grab your junior spaceman rocket belts and flitter on over to this Babylon 5 Movie Week.

Bit phallic ain't it?