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Reviews of Babylon 5 |
Last updated September 9, 1998
The following is a review of each Babylon 5 episode from Season Three along with an evaluation of the show. Note that the word "ARC" indicates that this episode contains information that is especially important to the overall story line of Babylon 5 (in other words, the arc of the plot).
Warning! I do have spoilers for the episodes now that season 3 is over.
Note: JMS stands for Joe Michael Straczynski. Mr. Straczynski is: the inventor of Babylon 5; the co-executive producer of B5; and the main writer of B5 episodes. He is often on the B5 forum of CompuServe and will generally respond to questions.
Note: Joe Michael Straczynski wrote every single one of the Season Three episodes. This is actually the first time in the history of television that any one person wrote all the episodes for an American TV season, and he earned a lot of respect from the science fiction community. Joe says that he won't do this again (because it is murderous). However, as of 9/96, the rumor is that Joe will indeed attempt to write all of season 4! We shall see.
I no longer give out grades for the episodes, just a single score. There is no longer any excuse to miss even a single episode of Babylon 5. Some are better than others, they are all worth seeing.
Point Scale: I have given these a rating from 1 to 10 (well, nothing has a one). Obviously 10 is the best and 1 is the worst. Ratings are all entirely subjective. Feel free to harass me about them. -- Colin Glassey
Season Three : Point of No Return
#1 Matters of Honor (10/95)
Rating: 7 ARC
Summary: Captain Sheridan is given a command of a new ship (called the White Star) and he immediately takes off on it to deal with the Shadows. He ends up destroying a fleeing Shadow vessel by creating a jump point within an existing jump gate (it leads to the Markab system). The resulting blast is enough to destroy the Shadow ship.Review: A bit of a let-down after the brilliant season two final episode. JMS has stated that the introductory episodes are different fromt he later shows because they are designed to bring new people in, as well as be less heavy on the computer graphics. The result of this is that the opening episodes for season 2 and three have not been as "impressive" as the closing episodes for the season.
#2 Convictions (10/95)
Rating: 6.5
Summary:Some is setting off bombs on B5. Needless to say, this does not make people very happy. Londo and G'Karr are stuck together in a lift.Review: The main plot was fairly uninteresting. A crazy terrorist like blowing up bombs and so threatens B5? While I admit that this could occur, it is quite arbitary. This plot could have taken place in a police drama. However, the interesting stuff had to do with the scenes that took place between Londo and G'Karr. They are trapped in an elevator together for several hours. And this just after G'Karr's homeworld has been destroyed by Londo's fleet. The scenes work very well.
#3 A Day in the Strife (11/95)
Rating: 7
Summary: A mysterious probe comes upon B5 and demands answers to some hard questions. The probe claims that if the questions are not answered, it will blow up, destroying Babylon 5. The staff on B5 works hard to come up with the answers but at the end, Sheridan does not release the answers and is proven to have guess correctly, the probe moves away, satisfied that the people who created B5 are no threat.Review: A good idea for a story. Sheridan shows some cunning in this episode. I' m not sure why it doesn't rate a better score. Still suffering in comparison to the final episodes of season 2?
#4 Passing Through Gesemane (11/95)
Rating: 8.5
Summary: Some Catholic monks set up an outpost on B5. One monk in particular seems to embody the highest values of the order. However, it turns out that he is a former murderer, and he is tracked down and killed by the relatives of his victems. Also, largely unrelated, Leyta Alexander, the former telepath for B5 who reappeared and unmasked Talia Winters as a spy, returns after a visit to the Vorlon home world.Review: A moving episode, quite sad, and thought provoking. Leyta has a great scene with a stubborn Centauri telepath. The questions this raised: what are the limits of justice? How much retribution is enough? In retrospect, I've bumped this from 7.5 to 8.
#5 Voices of Authority (1/96)
Rating: 8
Summary: Sheridan figures they need more help against the Shadows, he wants to make use of "The Great Machine" on the planet below to find allies. But suddenly, a new political advisor is sent from Earth to "help Sheridan make better decisions". This means Ivanova goes instead. Ivanova finds two things: first that some old ones are coming back for a visit and may be helpful, and second, she finds a recording that directly implicates the former vice president in the destruction of Earth Force One (which killed the president). This recording is political dynamite.Meanwhile, the new political advisor is a cunning, amoral woman of significant physical charms, Sheridan needs to get rid of her before she discovers their disloyalty but how? Meanwhile, Ivanova goes off to see if she can get help from the Old Ones. She has a difficult time but finally plays on their evident dislike of the Vorlons to get them to agree to help them, at some point in the future.
Review: A very good episode. The woman who plays the political advisor really had the role down, quite chilling. Ivanova finally gets to show her strength of character and a certain bullish refusal to back down.
#6 Dust to Dust (1/96)
Rating: 8.5 ARC
Summary: The Psi Cop, Bester, is back. This time he is after a supplier of the illegal drug called "dust". G'Karr gets some of the dust and goes off to pay a little visit to his very best friend, Londo. Bester and Girabaldi work together and crack the crime ring but not before G'Karr does a mind attack on Londo and learns everything, including the fact that Londo was initially given the post on B5 because no one else would take the job.However, after the attack on Londo, G'Karr is in a curious state and he suddenly sees visions, first of his father, then of the great Narn religious leader who tells G'Karr that he needs to think about things in a differnt way. We, the viewers learn that these visions are in large part the result of Kosh, but G'Karr is sure that he has seen a devine revelation. This is a pivotal scene in the story of B5.
Review: Another good episode, this time, Bester comes out looking pretty good (setting us up for "Ship of Tears"). The scene with G'Karr and Londo, then just G'Karr is very powerfull. In fact, the Bester stuff is really just a smoke screen in the story for the real heart of the story.
#7 Exogenesis (2/96)
Rating: 6 ARC
Summary: Some of the lurkers (homeless people who live in the unfinished sections of B5) are acting strangely. Dr. Franklin and Marcus do some investigating.Review: Weakest episode of the Third Season. It had some good moments, and some rather sickening moments also. In the first two seasons this sort of episode would have been farmed out by Joe to someone else. In this season, Joe gets the clunkers in addition to the gems.
#8 Messages From Earth (2/96)
Rating: 10 ARC
Summary:A xeno-archealogist is smuggled on board B5. She has a great story to tell (though one that is in part known to those people who read the B5 comic book). Basically, some elements of the Earth Government have known about the Shadow ships for years! There is even worse news, the Earth Government under the "evil" president Clark has found a second Shadow ship on Ganymede (biggest moon of Jupiter). The Earth Government is trying to take control of this Shadow ship. Sheridan deciedes that must be prevented. He takes the White Star to the Solar system and gets there in time to see the Shadow ship wake up. Delenn tells him the ship is insane so Sheridan tries to destroy it. The White Star can't damage it much but Sheridan, in one of the most brilliant manouvers of science fiction, convinces it to follow him into Jupiter itself. The White Star pulls out, but the Shadow ship is pulled in by Jupiter's gravity and crushed! Go Joe!Review: Wow! One of the best episodes of B5. I really loved this episode, especially the way that Sheridan handles the enemy ship. I just love smart moves, and killing the Shadow ship by gravity, flying deep into Jupiter is just great.
#9 Point of No Return (3/96)
Rating: 8 ARC
Summary: The Night Watch (a group analagous to the Gestapo of Nazi Germany) is trying to take over B5. Either Sheridan lets this happen, or he needs to work his way around the problem. Also, the widow of the Centauri emperour comes for a visit.Review: Some people liked this episode a lot. I didn't like the way the Night Watch was handled, the ending lacked drama, Sheridan marched them into a corridor and then got them to surrender without a fight. This was a big confrontation, the Night Watch had done evil things and I wanted them to suffer for it. Another problem I had with the episode was I didn't like Majel Barret's performance as the widow of the Emperor. I appreciate the fact that Majel came and gave her visible support to B5. I also think that she has done a good job playing Troi's mother in some early episodes of STNG. However, I wanted Lady Lidera back. Still, all in all it was an impressive episode, very intelligent.
#10 Severed Dreams (4/96)
Rating: 10 ARC
Summary: Earth government is in chaos, martial law is declared and military forces are sent to take control of B5. The forces defending B5 get help from two other rebel Earth ships but the enemy has sizable fleet. A massive battle ensues, the B5 forces lose one of the two capital ships, but the attacking Earth fleet is destroyed. However, shortly after the battle, another fleet arrives, however, at the same time Delenn in charge of a fleet of Mimbari warships arrives and frightens the Earth fleet away.Review: An incredible episode! Fantastic special effects, strong performances, basically a perfect episode. Delenn's performance was especially good. So was Sheriden in command of the council of war.
Note: This episode won the 1997 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. This was the second Hugo for Babylon 5 (The Coming of Shadows won the previous year's Hugo award). I fully agree with this award although both Z'Ha'Dum and Interludes and Examinations were almost as good. Like last year, Z'Ha'Dum was also nominated and then withdrawn at JMS's request.
#11 Ceremonies of Light and Dark (4/96)
Rating: 7.5 ARC
Summary: The Night Watch isn't through yet. They have orders to make sure B5 can be recaptured. So, they capture Delenn and demand Sheriden send the Minbari warships away. Prior to the kidnaping, Delenn had been trying to get a "rebirth cerimony" organized.Londo pointedly refuses to come but he invites his old partner Lord Refa to come to B5. When he gets to B5, Londo poisons him and tells him to "shape up" or be killed.
Review: Not much of a breather for the characters. A really harsh situation for all involved. I didn't like the ending of the episode. Each of the main characters comes to visit Delenn who is lying wounded in the hospital. They each say something important to her but she says nothing. She just looks "soulfully" at each of them. I feel that she needed to say something, some words of recognition. (IMHO).
#12 Sic Transit Vir (4/96)
Rating: 6.5
Summary: A marriage is arranged for Vir. Vir learns that truth and beauty are not so closely linked.Review: The episode starts out as light humor, poor Vir, just when things seem to be going well for him... However, the episode breaks down near the end as Vir's wife-to-be reveals the fact that she is the daughter of a truely evil Centauri and she agrees with everything he did, including the deaths to thousands of innocent Narn civilians. This change of tone, and the parrellels to Nazi Germany just make this episode hard to enjoy. Downgraded from an original score of 7.5.
#13 A Late Delivery from Avalon (4/96)
Rating: 8
Summary: A man claiming to be King Arthur comes on board B5 (played by Michael York).Review: This episode made good use of the Arthurian legend to explain the origin of the Earth-Minbari war. I also liked Michael York a great deal (I always have, ever since his performance in The Three Musketeers). However, once again when Delenn had a chance to say something profound, she is silent. She comes in to Micheal York's hospital room, takes the sword from his hands, he revives and all there is to the scene is ... silence. I ascribe the lack of dialog to fatigue by JMS. I'm not saying I know what Delenn should have said, I'm just saying she needed to do more than look "soulfull".
#14 Ship of Tears (5/96)
Rating: 9
Summary: Once again, Bester shows up and this time, he needs help. A fair number of telepaths are being taken on a Shadow cargo ship to the Shadow home world where they are to be merged with new Shadow ships. Bester doesn't like the idea of "his telepaths" being stolen away by the aliens. After some initial distrust of Bester, they take him with them on the White Star and they capture the cargo ship. There was a Shadow ship nearby, but instead of attacking, it goes away. It seems as though Bester's presence on the ship had something to do with it. When Bester finds out that his own true love was aboard the ship, he pledges his aid agains the Shadows.Review: A scary episode, very dark and menacing. Also has a great scene between G'Karr and Delenn. Ties up most of the lose ends from the comic book series. Walter Koenig does a good job as the slimy Bester is forced to reveal a very human side to his character. This episode is also a turning point for season three, the knowledge they gain from Bester about telepaths being a threat to the Shadows is vital later on.
#15 Interludes and Examinations (5/96)
Rating: 10 ARC
Summary: The Shadows are on the march, and Sheridan needs something to rally the other worlds. He confronts Kosh and demands help from the Vorlons. Kosh agrees, with great reluctance, and a Vorlon fleet does engage and defeat a Shadow fleet! This is the first time the Shadows have lost an engagement. But there is a price, Morden and his Shadow aids get on board B5 and do two things: 1) They kill Londo's girl and blame it on Lord Refa, 2) They kill Kosh.Review: Oh my, oh my, oh my. This was another super episode. The battle between the Vorlons and Shadows was something that I didn't expect to see for another year, and it was great. The death of Kosh, which JMS has said really surprised him (the writer was surprised? Yes, it happens), was very well done. Very moving indeed. And the high point of the episode was Sheridan's confrontation with Kosh. A magnificent scene. Sheridan has now established himself as a better character than the original station commander. After this, few people were making comments about how much they liked Sinclair over Sheridan (and yes, I was part of that group for much of season 2. I have been proven wrong.).
#16 & #17 War Without End (parts I and II) (5/96)
Rating: Part 1: 8, Part 2: 9. ARC
Summary: Finally we get to see the flip side of Babylon Squared, and Commander Sinclair again. Sinclair arrives on B5 and Delenn tells the main people that they need to help move the previous station, Babylon 4, back to the past so it can help the Vorlons and the Minbari win the Shadow war of 1000 years ago. This was a total shock as most people (including myself) figured that B4 was going into the future to help with the current war against the Shadows. The rest of the episode deals with the efforts of Sinclair and the rest to get B4 sent back in time. Along the way they meet up with the events and people which we say in the Season 1 episode "Babylon Squared".Review: A very impressive episode. Time travle episodes are very hard to do. The issue of causality is rarely delt with well. JMS handled it with skill and much thought. Other good things: Zathras was great fun to have around. The ending of part II was really impressive with Commander Sinclair transformed into Valen, flanked by two Vorlons, greeting the Minbari of 1000 years ago. The extended time displacement for Commander Sheridan was both fun and odd. Why did JMS do this? Why did he choose to reveal so much of the future? He has eliminated (it would seem) a great deal of speculation about the ending of the series. Why show it here? JMS has hinted that one of the Vorlons that Sinclair knew when he was Valen was Kosh and that was why Kosh was willing to greet Commander Sinclair in person when he arrived at B5 in the pilot episode all these years ago.
#18 Walkabout
Rating: 7.5
Summary: Doctor Franklin is on a Walkabout to try and find himself, and to recover from "stim" addiction. Sheridan takes Leyta with him to see if she can "hurt" a Shadow ship enough to let the White Star damage or destroy it. The telepathic attack is successful and several Shadow ships are destroyed, thanks to some timely intervention by G'Karr and his ship.Review: A good episode but it was hurt by some minor problems with Doctor Franklin's new love. Basically she looked great, yet she is suffering from a terminal illness that causes her such pain she can faint. This is completely at odds with normal human physiology. Sigh, it is typical "movie" problem, lovely young woman has incurable disease. Still, its a minor point.
#19 Gray 17 is Missing
Rating: 6.5
Summary: With Sinclair gone, the Rangers need a new "Ranger One" i.e. leader. Delenn is pressed to accept the job and she agrees. This does not go over well with the newest of the Grey Council members from the warrior caste. He threatens Delenn's life. Lennier tells Marcus about the threat and he agrees to try and stop Nerroon, no matter the cost. And Marcus does stop hold Nerroon off for some time in a fight to the death. Nerroon finds the Rangers are fully in keeping with Minbari tradition and he calls off his attack on Delenn. Marcus survives. Meanwhile, Girabaldi is off investigating a problem in a little visited area of the station.Review: Part of this episode worked fine (the part I have described) and the other part with Girabaldi was quite poor. As Joe himself says, this episode is one of the weakest of season three. I rate "Exogenisis" as the weakest of season three. But this one isn't very good.
#20 And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place
Rating: 9
Summary: Matters between Londo and Lord Refa come to a head. They both accuse the other of being a threat to the new emperor, they both seem to want the other dead. Londo is engaged in a plot against Refa and he uses G'Karr as bait. Meanwhile some religious leaders visit B5 and one of them has good advice for Sheridan.Review: This was a very good episode, after some initial misgivings about the plot, I feel that JMS had it worked out very nicely. I think a few more events could have been shown more clearly, specifically the nature of the Centauri guards on Narn, and Lord Refa's mental state when he discovers Londo's plan by mind-reading Vir. The ending sequence is quite memorable. I suspect it will stick in the minds of most viewers.
#21 Shadow Dancing
Rating: 9
Summary: Sheridan leads a huge fleet agains the Shadows, since he has figured out what they are trying to do. There is a major battle between the forces of "light" and "darkness" and the good side wins, though not without a major cost. Meanwhile Dr. Franklin, badly injured from a stab wound, finally meets himself and is blasted for being a "quiter" and for "not taking responsibility".Review: The big battle here was not as intense or as effective as I had hoped. I believe that the intercutting between Dr. Franklin and the battle was a bad thing while JMS argues that this battle just didn't mean as much to the audience (quite true, we never saw any of the refugees, we don' t really know why either side is fighting over them). This marks the end of Dr. Franklin's "hiding from his duties, so he is back.
#22 Z'Ha'Dum
Rating: 10
Summary: Sheridan's wife, Anna appears on B5 and offers to "tell him the real truth" if only he will accompany her to the Shadow home world: Z'Ha'Dum. Sheridan is terribly frustrated and unhappy at this event. He has let himself fall in love with Delenn, and now his wife reappears! Despite all the warning, he agrees to go with her. When he gets to Z'Ha'Dum, he goes to the surface where he meets "the middle man" who tells Sheridan what the Shadows really want: evolution by conflict and war. He claims that the Vorlons are directly opposed to the Shadow's methods and suggests that they used to have a working agreement which seems to have broken down. He claims it was the Vorlons who caused telepathy to appear in humans just 100 years earlier, how is unknown. I'm not going to say more at this time.Review: A perfect episode. One of the best B5 episodes ever, possibly the best episode of Season Three (though I lean towards Severed Dreams at this time). The final 20 minutes, with Sheridan on Z'Ha'Dum is truely awesome.
Season Three Notes:
Overall, season 3 turned out very well indeed. Top flight episodes from the season were (chronologically): Messages from Earth, Severed Dreams, Interludes and Examinations, and Z'Ha'Dum ; all fantastic episodes. Not quite perfect but still impressive were (also chronologically): Passing Through Gesthemene, Dust to Dust, Point of No Return, Ship of Tears, War Without End Parts 1 and 2, And the Rock Cried Out, and Shadow Dancing.For me, the season reached a peak of greatness throughout the middle of the year, from "Messages From Earth" all the way through "War Without End". The last five episodes were quite good, but, with the exception of Z'Ha'Dum which was perfect, the end of Season Three was not as good as the last four episodes of Season Two. Still, overall, I rate Season Three as stronger than any previous season, and this is saying a lot.
By the middle of Season Three, Sheridan had reached the same emotional position as Sinclair had in the first season. I think their characters are very similar at that point in time. By the end of Season Three, Sheridan had passed Sinclair and moved into "greatness". Sheridan has proven himself to be every inch a hero. A most impressive transformation indeed.
Joe Straczynski did all of the writting this season. Although some of the episodes may have been slightly weaker than I would have wished, overall, things worked out great. What JMS really needs is a couple of clones. One to write the episodes, one to produce the show, and one to go on vacation. I think it is worth while pointing out that the Season Two episode "The Coming Of Shadows" won a Hugo in August 1996 for best dramatic presentation. I would nominate "Severed Dreams" as the single best episode from 1996, and I expect it to win again.
In terms of B5 mechanics, the special effects are really, really great. They look as good or better than anything that's ever been put on screen before. (Credit to Foundation Imaging for this). Since Foundation Imaging is NOT doing the effects for Season 4, we shall see just how much credit they deserve for the special effects.
Delenn, after a year of wavering, has found her feet and become a major force in the universe. This is a welcome change (and completely believable). The fact that she was a waffle in season two is also completely understandable as well.
Re: Delenn and Sheridan: It should be clear to anyone with eyes that these two are "fated" for each other. And, as shown in "War Without End" and now "Z'Ha'Dum" they have finally stated their love for each other. Now what?
Forward to Season Four!
Back to Season Two
Page by Colin Glassey <cglassey@teleologic.com>
