Season 2: The
Coming of Shadows
“The Babylon
Project was our last, best hope for peace. A self-contained world five miles
long, located in neutral territory. A place of commerce and diplomacy for a
quarter of a million humans and aliens. A shining beacon in space, all alone in
night.
“It was the dawn
of the Third Age of Mankind, the year the Great War came upon us all.
“This is the story
of the last of the Babylon stations. The year is 2259. The name of the place is
Babylon 5.”
- Earthforce
Captain John Sheridan
Regular Cast
Captain John Sheridan Bruce
Boxleitner
Commander Susan Ivanova Claudia
Christian
Security Chief Michael Garibaldi Jerry Doyle
Ambassador Delenn Mira
Furlan
Dr. Stephen Franklin Richard
Biggs
Lt. Warren Keffer Robert
Rusler
Talia Winters Andrea
Thompson
Vir Cotto Stephen
Furst
Lennier Bill
Mumy
Na’Toth Mary
Kay Adams
Ambassador G’Kar Andreas
Katsulas
Ambassador Londo Mollari Peter
Jurasik
Credits
Creator J.
Michael Straczynski
Producer John
Copeland
Executive Producers J.
Michael Straczynski & Douglas Netter
Script Editor Lawrence
G. DiTillio
Conceptual Consultant Harlan
Ellison
Production Designer John
Iacovelli
Constume Designer Anne
Bruice-Aling
Visual Effects Designer Ron
Thornton
Visual Effects Producers Foundation
Imaging
Makeup Supervisor John
Vulich
Makeup Producers Optic
Nerve Studios
Music Composer Christopher
Franke
Music Performers Christopher Franke & the Berlin
Symphonic Film Orchestra
Between-Season Changes
A number of significant changes took place on Babylon 5 between the production of
Season 1 and Season 2. The most notable was the change in lead actor: Michael
O’Hare departed the show and was replaced by Bruce Boxleitner playing new
character Captain John Sheridan. The change happened in such a way that O’Hare
was unable to film a farewell scene, and J. Michael Straczynski had to explain
the departure in the first issue of the Babylon
5 comic book instead
At the time, Straczynski said that Sinclair’s departure was
a creative choice: with the mystery of the Battle of the Line to be resolved
early in Season 2, Sinclair suddenly became a character to bounce exposition
off and he had no actual stake in the new storylines that were becoming more
important. Straczynski also indicated that O’Hare had the option to return to
acting on stage in New York, which he missed. Straczynski claimed that he and
O’Hare discussed the situation and, using a Lord
of the Rings analogy, decided that Sinclair would leave the show like the
Fellowship of the Ring splitting and then return later on to round off his
storyline.
Some fans were sceptical of this choice, some believing that
Warner Brothers wanted a better-known actor in the lead role and others
claiming that the studio wanted O’Hare gone as they were unhappy with his performance.
However, given that the first season had been a moderate success with O’Hare in
the role, this seemed unlikely.
Many years later, after Michael O’Hare’s premature death
from a heart attack in 2012, Straczynski agreed to reveal the truth. O’Hare had
been suffering from mental health issues which gradually worsened over the
course of the gruelling filming schedule for the first season. This manifested
as paranoid delusions, with O’Hare convinced that people were out to get him or
control him. Jerry Doyle, who played Garibaldi, confirmed this on his radio
talk show and by the end of the season had effectively decided he couldn’t work
with him anymore. Before that point, O’Hare confessed the severity of his
condition to Straczynski and they agreed that O’Hare should leave the show for
his own good. Straczynski did offer to delay production by a few months so
O’Hare could seek treatment, but O’Hare did not want to endanger production or
other people’s jobs. After leaving the show, O’Hare did manage to get the worst
excesses of his condition under control and he returned for episodes B9 and C16-C17. Straczynski offered to keep the secret until his death but
O’Hare suggested he keep it only until his
death, as he felt that fans deserved to (eventually) know the truth and it
might help people facing the same problem. Straczynski eventually revealed the
truth at the Phoenix Comic-Con in 2013.
The change in actor resulted in some shuffling of the
planned storylines for the opening episodes. Straczynski worked on creating a
new lead character, someone who could have a direct tie to the unfolding
storyline. This also involved shuffling events around in the opening few
episodes. The planned opener, Chrysalis, Part 2 (although this was only ever a working title), was dropped back
to second place and a new introductory episode was penned for the new
character. This also allowed JMS to have a pause between two very intense,
complex episodes (A22 and B2) to allow the viewers to catch their
breath (especially since in the US the show moved straight into Season 2 after Chrysalis was aired for the first time).
A number of actors were considered for the role of Captain John Sheridan,
including relatively big names like James Earl Jones (the voice of Darth Vader
in Star Wars, a bomber crewman in Dr.
Strangelove and Jack Ryan’s boss in Clear and Present Danger and Patriot
Games) and John Rhys-Davies (Professor Arturo in Sliders, Salla in the first three Indiana Jones films and Gimli in the Lord
of the Rings films), but it ultimately went to Bruce Boxleitner,
best known for his leading role in Scarecrow
& Mrs. King and the title role in the film Tron.
The other major cast change was that, between seasons, Julie
Caitlin Brown (who played Na’Toth) decided to leave to pursue the chance to
appear in films and also because she was developing severe allergies to the
make-up used. Straczynski elected to recast Na’Toth and Mary Kay Adams (best
known for playing the Klingon Grilka in two episodes of Deep Space Nine) was introduced to take over the role. Adams and Straczynski
clashed over her “soft” interpretation of Na’Toth and she left the series after
just two episodes. Straczynski later managed to convince Julie Catilin Brown to
reprise the role for a single episode in Season 5.
A new regular cast member was also introduced, Robert Rusler
as Lt. Warren Keffer. JMS needed someone to tie into the ongoing storyline in
Season 2 as well as satisfy Warner Brothers’ complaints about the station
commander always leading fighter missions in Season 1 when that just wouldn’t
happen in real life. Straczynski resented this note and always planned to kill
Keffer off as soon as possible.
Ex-Taxi and Grease star Jeff Conaway (Kenickie!) had
become a major fan of the series during Season 1 and instructed his agent to
get him onto the show by any means necessary. He landed the role of recurring
security officer Zack Allan in episode B6
and remained with the series until the end.
JMS originally planned to have Ivanova narrate the Season 2
opening titles. The change in lead actor necessitated having Sheridan do it
instead. Bruce Boxleitner re-recorded the narration from episode B4 onwards
to make it stronger (and also because the title sequence was complete by that
point, making the synchronisation of narration and visuals easier). A new
version of the theme tune was also arranged by Christopher Franke. He ‘tweaked’
the music slightly from episode B4 onwards. The Season 2 opening credits
were also altered from episode B3 onwards to show the new-look Delenn.
The Season 2 title sequence features a “5” logo appearing
behind each character before warping the next character over the top. This was
a very complicated effect to pull off in 1994 and was extremely time-consuming
for the editors and the effects team, so Seasons 3-5 feature somewhat more
straightforward title cards.
Episodes planned but not made for this season included The Customer is Always Right and Unnatural Selection (aka All Our Songs Forgotten) by D.C.
Fontana, Expectations by David
Gerrold and The Very Long Night of Susan
Ivanova by Straczynski (he later repurposed the plot – but not the
storyline – for Londo in Season 5). Additional attempts to bring Harlan
Ellison’s Demon on the Run to the
screen also failed.
Between seasons Foundation Imaging upgraded their computers
again, resulting in more and more ambitious CGI. During Season 1 they were
using a mixture of Commodore Amigas equipped with Video Toaster cards and PCs,
but during Season 2 switched over to high-end PCs running early-generation
graphic cards. This resulted in improved visual quality and somewhat faster
turn-around times for shots.
MORE AFTER THE JUMP
DC1: In Darkness, Find Me
Publication Date: October 1995
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Artwork by Michael Netzer (pencils), Rob Leigh (inks)
& Robbie Busch (colours)
Date: The
Earthdome scenes take place on 6 and 7 January 2259. The rest of the issue
takes place a few days later, probably shortly after the events of episode B1.
Plot: Commander
Jeffrey Sinclair experiences another flashback to the Battle of the Line at the
end of the Earth-Minbari War. However, his memories are ironic, as he is now
standing in an observation room on a Minbari warcruiser travelling through deep
space. An acolyte approaches and tells him that the Grey Council will receive
him in a few minutes.
Sinclair flashes
back to a couple of days earlier. He had been recalled to Earthdome from
Babylon 5 with no notice and no-one would tell him what was going on. Eventually
he had a meeting with President Clark and Rathenn, a member of the Minbari Grey
Council.
Rathenn produced a
Triluminary and used it on Sinclair. This restored his full memories of his
capture by the Minbari during the Battle of the Line. After being scanned by
the Triluminary, it was confirmed that Sinclair had a Minbari soul. Rathenn
confirms that Minbari souls have been disappearing from their species for
millennia, and at the Battle of the Line they confirmed these souls were going
to the humans. The Minbari halted the war rather than continue killing their
own souls. Sinclair’s memory was blanked and he was released…with the full
knowledge of the Earth Alliance President.
Later, Clark asks
Sinclair to take up the role of Earth Alliance Ambassador to Minbar, at the
request of the Grey Council and religious caste. Clark doesn’t believe in the
soul story, but it’s important that the Minbari believe it, and continue
believing it. Clark tells Sinclair he’ll be kept informed on Garibaldi’s
condition. Clark is also concerned about rising tensions between the Minbari
religious and warrior castes and asks Sinclair to help bridge that gap, if he
can.
With little choice,
Sinclair agrees. As the warcruiser carries on towards the Minbari homeworld,
however, a member of the warrior caste watches Sinclair walk past and angrily decries
the reasons for the surrender as “lies”.
Dating the Comic: A
title card gives the date at the start of the comic.
The Arc: This
comic confirms that there is more than one Triluminary, since Rathenn also
carries it despite Delenn having taken possession of another in episode A20.
Straczynski confirmed behind the scenes that there are three Triluminaries and
they were not created by the Minbari.
The Minbari surrendered
at the Battle of the Line because they believed that Minbari souls were being
reborn (in full or in part) in human bodies and they needed to halt the war to
stop killing their own brothers and sisters. Knowing that neither humans nor many
of the Minbari would accept this, the Grey Council kept the reason for the
decision secret. Episodes B1 and B11 follow up on this.
The Earth Alliance
President was told why the Minbari surrendered. This knowledge was passed down
to her successors, Santiago and now Clark (who was informed by the Minbari on
assuming office). Clark doesn’t believe the story but does know that the
Minbari believe it, and that was all that saved humanity from extinction.
Sinclair’s appointment to Minbar as ambassador is the result
of pressure from the Grey Council and the religious caste. The warrior caste
are not happy about it. Clark suggests that Sinclair may be able to bridge the
gap, possibly a reference to Sinclair’s handling of Neroon in episode A17. The tensions between the religious
and warrior castes play a larger role in B11
and Season 4.
Background: No
Minbari has killed another for “thousands of years”. It is the ultimate taboo
in their society.
Earth Alliance Spaceport 022 in located in the Eastern
European Sector, Geneva. It services flights to and from Earthdome.
References: Sinclair
breaks out his go-to poem, Ulysses by
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, when he decides to impress the Minbari with some dope
literature.
Mistakes, Retcons and
Lamentations: When he appears “in the flesh” in episode C16, Rathenn appears to be an acolyte
of the Minbari religious caste rather than a member of the Grey Council. Book NOV9 does re-confirm that he is indeed a
member of the Grey Council at this time, however.
The Minbari “soul shortage” is said to have begun six thousand years ago in this comic.
Episode B1 says two thousand. The correct
figure is eventually revealed as one thousand, according to episode C17. However, this is itself a retcon,
as the “vanishing Minbari souls” storyline was heavily amended in the War Without End two-parter to reflect
Straczynski reconceptualising Sinclair’s entire storyline.
It’s a bit odd that Geneva’s spaceport is listed as being in
Eastern Europe when Geneva is pretty
far west.
Earthdome looks nothing like it does in episodes C1 and D21.
Apparently, Sinclair overheard the Minbari discussing his
fate and his Minbari soul, necessitating his memory wipe. Presumably they would
have been speaking Minbari and he would not have been able to understand them.
Behind the Scenes: DC
Comics expressed an interest in releasing a Babylon 5 comic during the making of the first season and, as a
keen comic fan himself, Straczynski agreed to kick off the series. The comic
only lasted a year before concluding due to creative differences.
Straczynski had already written comics, including issues of Teen Titans and Star Trek. He later become a very prolific and respected comics
author himself, heavily lauded for his 2001-07 run on The Amazing Spider-Man (followed by shorter runs on Thor and Fantastic Four).
Due to the publication dates of the comic and its
international distribution, British fans learned the “secret of the Battle of
the Line” from this comic rather than the TV show, since Season 2 did not start
airing until February 1995, four months after US transmission.
Familiar Faces: This
episode marks the first appearance of Minbari religious caste member and Grey
Council representative Rathenn, who’d previously been mentioned by Delenn and
Draal in episode A18. He finally shows
up in the flesh in episode C16. President
Clark also shows up.
Review: As
comics go, this is not great. Heavily immersed in the mythology of the show,
this is a useful (and kind of cool) side-story for TV fans and not of much use
for getting DC Comics readers to watch the series. Still, it’s good to see
Sinclair learn the truth about his missing memories. ***
B1: Points of Departure
Working Title: Chrysalis,
Part 2
Airdates: 2
November 1994 (US), 7 February 1995 (UK)
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Janet Greek
Cast: Shai Alyt Kalain (Richard Grove), Satai
Hedronn (Robin Sachs), General William Hague (Robert Foxworth), Alyt
Deeron (Jennifer Anglin), Shai Alyt Vastor (Michael McKenzie),
Ambassador 1 (Jonathan Chapman), Ambassador 2 (Mark Hendrickson), Ambassador
3 (Kristopher Logan), Merchant 1 (Rus Fega), Merchant 2 (Bennet
Guillory), Young Woman (Catherine Hader), Pilot (Brian Starcher),
Agamemnon Crewmember (Kim
Strauss), Security Guard 1 (Greg Wrangler), Security Guard 2 (Thomas
Valinote), Station One (Joshua Cox), Station Two (Debra Sharkey),
Station Three (Kim Delgado)
Date: 8
January 2259.
Plot: The EAS
Agamemnon responds to a distress call from a cargo ship under attack by
pirates. After driving off the attackers the Agamemnon leaps to
hyperspace. Her captain, John Sheridan, receives a priority transmission from
General William Hague, one of the Earthforce Joint Chiefs of Staff. Hague
informs Sheridan that a Minbari warcruiser has been seen in Sector 423/27, less
than two jumps from Babylon 5. The warcruiser has not been authorised to enter
this sector and it is believed the ship may be the Trigati. Sheridan is
slightly surprised, but agrees to rendezvous with the second warcruiser the
Minbari government has despatched to reign in the rogue vessel. Hague tells him
that there is another important assignment waiting for him...
On Babylon 5 the station is in a state of controlled chaos.
Commander Sinclair has been recalled to Earth for reasons unknown, leaving
Ivanova to cope with the multiple crises going on. Security Chief Garibaldi
remains in a coma, Ambassador G’Kar has vanished without a trace and Ambassador
Delenn appears to be in some sort of cocoon. The crew are still stunned by
President Santiago’s death, whilst the Narn populace is still angered and
worried about the loss of their outpost in Quadrant 37. General Hague contacts
B5 and informs Ivanova that Sinclair will not be returning to Babylon 5. He has
been reassigned at the personal order of President Clark and will now be based
on the Minbari homeworld as the first Earth ambassador given permanent
residence there. Ivanova is shocked, even more so when he tells her that
Captain Sheridan will be the new CO of the station, despite protests from the
Minbari government. Ivanova makes preparations for his arrival.
A Minbari warrior named Kalain arrives on the station and
immediately heads for the ambassadorial wing in Green Sector. Hedronn, a member
of the Minbari Grey Council, confronts Lennier in his quarters and tells him
that Delenn has broken her word to the Council by proceeding with the prophecy
despite their warnings (given in episode A20). He tells Lennier that,
should the Trigati appear in this sector, he must tell the humans what
the Council has told him. A repeat of past mistakes cannot be allowed. Hedronn
then almost literally bumps into Kalain in a corridor. Kalain tells him that
the Grey Council has betrayed Minbar by allowing Sinclair onto their world and
letting the Starkiller take command of Babylon 5. Kalain warns him he will do
now what must be done.
Sheridan arrives and Ivanova gives him a brief tour of the
station, as well as bringing him up to date on recent events. Ivanova admits
her surprise that Sheridan was the one to replace Sinclair: during the
Earth-Minbari War Sheridan destroyed the Minbari warrior caste’s flagship, the Black
Star, by luring it into range of two nuclear bombs in the Solar system’s
asteroid belt. It was the biggest human victory of the whole war, but the
Minbari believe it was cowardly and dishonourable. Hedronn informs Sheridan of
Kalain’s presence, telling him that Kalain is the captain of the Trigati.
He also warns Sheridan that the Minbari will not tolerate his presence on
Babylon 5 as easily as they did Sinclair’s. Sheridan tells Ivanova that the Trigati
was a Minbari warcruiser whose captain committed suicide at the Battle of the
Line rather than surrender to the humans. Her crew went into self-imposed exile
rather than dishonourably surrender as well. Kalain is arrested after breaking
into Delenn’s quarters and threatening Lennier and is thrown into the brig, but
refuses to tell Sheridan where his ship is. Sheridan is puzzled, since for a
thousand years no Minbari has ever killed another Minbari. Why should Kalain
betray not only law but also custom and tradition as well?
Lennier arranges an audience with Sheridan and Ivanova and
informs them that he has been authorised to speak for the Grey Council and tell
them why the Minbari surrendered at the Line. This is necessary because if the Trigati
appears they cannot be permitted to destroy it. Lennier explains that
during the Battle of the Line the Grey Council decided to take a human prisoner
on board and study him to learn more about Earth’s defences. The human they
chose was Sinclair. They interrogated him and scanned him. During the scanning,
something terrible was discovered: Sinclair had a Minbari soul. The Minbari,
shocked, captured and scanned other pilots, but it was true. Minbari souls
were, and still are, being reborn, in part or in whole in human bodies. This
has been happening for more than one thousand years, with the Minbari race
diminishing. At the Line the Council learned why. They stopped the war to avoid
killing their own souls. Knowing that neither the humans or Minbari were ready
for this information, it was kept top secret. Sinclair’s memory of the event
was erased and they let him go. Because Sinclair was their first direct contact
with humanity, they kept him under close observation to see if he would
remember the truth. Lennier tells Sheridan and Ivanova that the secret must be kept:
high-ranking members of the Earth Alliance have been informed of the truth
because changes are coming and the Minbari and humans may have to work together
at some point in the future.
The Trigati emerges through the Babylon 5 jump gate
and launches its fighters. Babylon 5’s fighters launch to defend the station.
Alyt Deeron demands the return of Shai Alyt Kalain, but Kalain is dead, having
killed himself in the brig. Deeron’s forces advance on Babylon 5, but Sheridan
is puzzled that their sensors can detect the Minbari ships. During the war, the
Minbari employed stealth systems to hide their vessels from targeting
computers, yet they aren’t bothering to use them now. He orders the Starfuries
to hold their position and not fire and then sends a transmission through the
jump gate. The Minbari fighters advance on the Starfuries, but also refuse to
fire first and return to the Trigati. Sheridan realises that the Minbari
wanted Babylon 5 to make the first move so they could die with honour. The Trigati
begins to retreat, but a second warcruiser jumps in and orders the Trigati
to stand down. When the Trigati refuses, the second ship slices off the Trigati’s
hyperspace engines with a particle beam, preventing the ship from escaping. The
crew of the Trigati destroy themselves and their ship rather than
surrender. The Minbari captain, Shai Alyt Vastor, is unhappy with what he has
had to do here today and warns Sheridan that his part in this will be
remembered. The second warcruiser leaves. Later, in Delenn’s quarters, Lennier
expresses regret at not being able to tell the Earthers everything. After he
leaves the chrysalis begins to crack...
Dating the Episode: A
title card at the start of the episode confirms the date.
The Arc: We finally learn in this episode the main
reason the Minbari surrendered at the Battle of the Line, a plot point raised
in PM and A2 before being addressed in A8, A13, A17,
A20 and A22. The Minbari believe that the diminishment of their
species (in terms of population numbers) over the past thousand years (Lennier
says two thousand but Straczynski admitted that this is a mistake and it should
be 1,000) has been due to their souls being reborn as humans. Because Minbari
do not kill Minbari they stopped the war against Earth to not kill the other
half of their spirits. Lennier later admits this is not the whole truth. We
find out additional information about this event in episodes C17 and TVM1.
The prophecy mentioned by Delenn in A20 is again referenced, but this
time we learn that the same prophecy also foretells that Minbari and humans
will fight side-by-side against the great “darkness” that is coming. We see
more of this in episodes B2, B9,
B20 and C1.
General Hague returns in episode B11 when we learn
additional reasons why he assigned Sheridan to Babylon 5.
The Trigati was originally commanded by Sinoval, the
Minbari captain who killed himself rather than surrender at the Battle of the
Line. This was referenced in episode A17. There are hints that the
Minbari assassin seen in episode PM may have also been affiliated to the
Trigati crew.
Kalain’s disillusionment with the Grey Council is a symptom
of a greater problem among the Minbari castes, addressed again in episodes B11,
C10, D11, D13 and D14.
Hedronn returns in episodes B11 and (oddly, under a
different name) TVM1.
Sheridan’s destruction of the Black Star comes back
to haunt him in episode B14. We actually see this event in TVM1.
We learn in episode B15 that the Agamemnon is
an Omega-class destroyer, one of a new breed of ships built after the
Earth-Minbari War. The Omega-class has a rotating section to allow the crew to
move about as if in a gravity environment.
Background: Sheridan has spent two years on the
Galactic Rim exploring new systems and patrolling the frontier. During that time,
he had contact with the Narn, Centauri and representatives of the League of
Non-aligned Worlds, as well as a few Minbari. He hasn’t had a fresh orange
since leaving on that assignment. Ivanova served under Sheridan at the Io
colony. We first learned that Ivanova worked on Io in episode A7.
Sheridan’s father was a diplomatic envoy and took him to see
the Dalai Lama when he was 21, roughly twenty years before the events of this
episode.
As of circa 2239, the Dalai Lama once again resides in
Tibet.
Babylon 5 utilises XV-7 tracking units to scan local space.
The B5 jump gate is located directly “in front” of the
docking sphere, so a laser transmission from the main coms tower can be sent
straight into hyperspace.
According to Straczynski, the Minbari were embarrassed by
the Black Star incident as they got cocky and overconfident and paid the
price. Sheridan was, of course, only fighting as a soldier should, but his
destruction of the Black Star made
him well-known among the Minbari, just about the only human whose name they
knew, so a lot of their anger and resentment for the death of Dukhat and the
entire war ended up being levelled at him.
This episode marks the first appearance of Earhart’s, the
Earthforce Officer’s Club on Babylon 5. According to Straczynski, only swing or
big band music is permitted there.
According to Straczynski, General Hague’s medals were
awarded for service in both the Earth-Minbari and Dilgar wars.
Sector 423 by 27 is two jumps from Babylon 5.
All visitors to Babylon 5 are given Earth Alliance
identicards to facilitate their use of station services.
The large “fin” at the rear of the Minbari warcruiser is
part of its jump drive.
References: The Agamemnon is named after a great leader
of the Trojan War, the King of Mycenae and the military commander of the Greek
forces during the Siege of Troy. Agamemnon survived the war but was killed by
his wife Clytemnestra. He is often portrayed as a manipulative politician and
dishonourable leader, often at odds with the great hero Achilles.
Sheridan quotes from Abraham Lincoln’s December 1862 speech
to the US Congress: “The dogmas of the
quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high
with difficulty, and we must rise to the occasion. We cannot escape history. We
will be remembered in spite of ourselves. The fiery trial through which we pass
will light us down, in honour or dishonour, to the last generation. We shall
nobly save, or meanly lose, our last, best hope of earth.”
The Earharts bar is, of course, named after 20th Century aviator
Amelia Earhart.
Captain Sheridan is a direct descendant of General Philip
John Sheridan of the Union Army, who fought during the American Civil War.
The Agamemnon was
heavily inspired by the starship Alexei
Leonov from the film 2010: The Year
We Make Contact (based on Arthur C. Clarke’s novel 2010: Odyssey Two). The most notable inspiration is the rotating
drums, which are identical in design on both ships.
Unanswered Questions:
What did the Trigati crew hope to
accomplish? And why did they reject the authority of the Grey Council? If they
consider the Council’s order to be dishonourable, why do they then feel dishonoured
themselves?
Mistakes, Retcons and
Lamentations: Babylon 5 is still using XV-7 tracking units, the same kind
as used in the war twelve years earlier. You would assume that Earthforce would
have updated their tracking units in that time, especially given their attempts
to break Minbari stealth technology.
Sheridan suggests that the Trigati targeted Babylon 5 because he was there. However, at the
start of the episode General Hague reports that the Trigati has been spotted near B5 when Sheridan is still in command
of the Agamemnon.
When B5 sends its laser transmission through the jump gate,
the gate is directly “in front” of the station and pointing towards it.
However, multiple episodes show ships coming through the gate and travelling towards
the station from the right (with the station usually shown in quarter or half profile
from the left). Other episodes (most notably TVM2) do show that the jump gate can move, but there is no
indication in this episode of this being done.
Behind the Scenes: The
cast and crew – most notably director Janet Greek – worked hard to integrate
Bruce Boxleitner onto the team. Boxleitner worked extremely hard to learn his
lines and learn about his character and the show, and his professionalism
impressed his costars considerably.
Jerry Doyle often joked that this was his favourite episode
of Babylon 5, as he showed up, laid
on a table and had no lines but picked up full salary.
Straczynski was aware that giving the explanation of the Battle
of the Line to Sheridan and Ivanova (neither of whom had been involved in that
story thread) through a lengthy infodump from Lennier was not an optimal
solutions. His original plan was for Delenn to tell Sinclair after she emerged
from the chrysalis, but events required him to move faster. He did decide to feature
more flashbacks to the battle to make the exposition easier to sell.
The original broadcast version of this episode features an
impressive visual effect on the Minbari warcruiser when the ceiling shimmers
down and unfolds into the 3D holographic display surrounding the Grey Council.
However, the DVD version (which crops the CGI for widescreen) almost completely
cuts the effect off as the camera zooms in under the shimmering, dramatically reducing
the impact of the effect.
Bill Mumy was acquainted with Bruce Boxleitner’s then-wife,
Melissa Gilbert, and as a fellow veteran of TV decided to act as an unofficial
liaison with Boxleitner, showing him around and introducing him to the rest of
the cast and crew.
Ivanova’s line about paying off karma at a vastly accelerate
rate was a saying from Straczynski’s then-wife, Kathryn Drennan.
Straczynski hated the BabCom logo, so had it reworked for
Season 2.
Familiar Faces: Bruce
Boxleitner (Sheridan) is best-known for his role as the title character in the
film Tron and its 2011 sequel Tron: Legacy, as well as the TV series How the West Was Won and Scarecrow and Mrs. King.
Robin Sachs (Hedronn) has numerous genre credits in both
British and American TV shows, movies and stage plays, as well as a late career
resurgence as a voice-over artist in both video games and animation. He is
arguably best-known for playing the recurring role of Ethan Rayne on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and voicing
space mercenary Zaeed Massani in the Mass
Effect video game series, as well as playing Sergeant Roderick on SpongeBob SquarePants. Sachs passed
away from a heart attack in 2013; several hundred Mass Effect players staged a multiplayer gathering as a tribute to
him.
Robert Foxworth (General Hague) is a well-known American
character actor on stage and screen. He made his first screen appearance in
1970 in The Storefront Lawyers. He
made frequent guest appearances on American TV from the 1970s onwards. His
other genre credits include Star Trek
(playing Admiral Leyton in two episodes of Deep
Space Nine and a Vulcan politician on Enterprise)
and Transformers; he has voiced the
character of Ratchet since the 2007 Michael Bay movie. Foxworth was actually
auditioned for the role of Sheridan, and Straczynski liked him so much he wrote
the part of Hague for him.
Review: This
episode could have been a bit of a mess, since it has to introduce a major new
regular character right in the middle of the chaos that A22 left the
story in. However, it ends up working really
well. The pause in the chaos before the next episode picks up those story
threads gives Straczynski a chance to give Sheridan a really good introduction,
resolves the mystery of the Battle of the Line (maybe a little more clunkily
than we’d like, but it serves) and gets the second season set up really well.
Also, with maximum respect to Michael O’Hare, Bruce Boxleitner brings a lighter
edge to him, more of a sense of command and charisma that immediately lightens
the show up a lot. The result is a winning episode that sets up the second
season nicely. ****
Ivanova: “I’ll say a prayer for him.”
Franklin: “He’s agnostic.”
Ivanova: “Then I’ll say half a prayer.”
Sheridan: “It’s amazing what two years on the rim can
do to you.” (indeed)
Sheridan: “Interesting place you have here.”
Hedronn (to
Sheridan): “If there is a doom on this
station, it is because you brought it here!”
Lennier (to Kalain): “If you are going to kill me, then do so.
Otherwise I have considerable work to do.”
Lennier: “I wish I could have told them the rest,
about the great enemy that is returning, and the prophecy that the two sides
our spirit must unite against the darkness or be destroyed.”
B2: Revelations
Airdates: 9
November 1994 (US), 14 February 1995 (UK)
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Jim Johnston
Cast: Elizabeth Sheridan (Beverly Leech), Anna
Sheridan (Beth Toussaint), Morden (Ed Wasser), President Morgan
W. Clark (Gary McGurk), Security Aide Jack (Macaulay Bruton), Sergeant
Lou Welch (David L. Crowley), Narn Captain (Mark Hendrickson), Medtech
(James Kiriyama-Lem), Narn Navigator (Michael McKenzie), Deveraux
(Edward Conery), Guard (Warren Tabata)
Date: Approximately
22 January 2259.
Plot: A
meeting of the Babylon 5 Advisory Council is disrupted - again - by the
continued absence of Ambassadors G’Kar and Delenn. A frustrated Londo demands
that both governments be reprimanded, but neither Sheridan, Lennier, Na’Toth or
Kosh second the motion. Londo demands to know where G’Kar is, but all Na’Toth
will tell him is that the ambassador is investigating the destruction of the
Narn base in Quadrant 37 (A22).
Far out on the Galactic Rim, G’Kar is leading a four-ship
patrol on an investigation of a remote, barren world. They come under fire from
unknown alien fighter craft. The last Narn fighter sacrifices himself so G’Kar
can escape and bring warning of what they have discovered to Babylon 5.
Sheridan’s sister, Elizabeth, arrives on board to see her
brother for the first time in two years. They catch up on old times, but
Sheridan finds it hard to talk about his late wife, Anna, who died on a science
mission shortly before the Agamemnon left for the Galactic Rim.
Dr. Franklin requests permission from Sheridan to use the
alien healing device he recovered a couple of months ago (A21) to heal
Garibaldi, who is still in his coma. Sheridan agrees, but only if he and
Franklin both donate parts of their life-force to the security chief. Garibaldi
comes around and is shocked by news of Sinclair’s replacement and Santiago’s
death. He cannot remember who shot him since he was gunned down from behind.
Mr. Morden arrives back on Babylon 5 and meets with Londo.
He tells him that according to his sources, as he expected, Londo’s name is now
being mentioned at the highest levels of the Centauri government after he took
credit for resolving the Quadrant 37 situation. He is sure Londo will receive
some interesting offers soon. He tells Londo that his associates want Londo to
do a minor favour for them, in return for their assistance: they want to know
if any news relating to events on the Galactic Rim comes up at the Council. In return,
they offer to provide another “demonstration” of their power against any target
Londo would care to nominate. Londo agrees to keep his ear to the ground.
Garibaldi asks for help from Talia Winters in recalling when
he was shot. She agrees to scan his mind to see if there are any details he
forgot and Garibaldi suddenly remembers that there was a mirror at the end of
the hall. Looking into the mirror in his mind, Talia and Garibaldi both see his
aide, Jack, firing a PPG. Security arrests Jack and Garibaldi questions him.
Jack refuses to tell him who he was working for, but does claim it had nothing
to do with Homeguard. Before Garibaldi leaves Jack gives him the Psi Corps
salute. Garibaldi talks to Ivanova and Franklin, recalling the scandal last
year when Psi Corps illegally told their members to vote for Morgan Clark as
Vice-President. He wonders if Psi Corps had anything to do with Santiago’s
murder. President Clark contacts Sheridan and orders him to send Jack back to
Earth for a full investigation. Sheridan reluctantly complies.
G’Kar returns to Babylon 5 and talks with Na’Toth. Following
the attack on Quadrant 37 G’Kar concluded that only a major power could have
mounted such a strike, but none of the four other races had a reason to do it
and the lesser ones were not powerful enough. He concluded that some other
force was out there and began consulting Narn history texts. According to The
Book of G’Quan, a revered Narn prophet, a great darkness engulfed the skies
of Narn more than a thousand years ago, a darkness which originated on the
Galactic Rim, from a desolate and barren world known as Z’ha’dum. G’Kar took a
flight of fighters to investigate the supposedly dead planet, but instead came
under attack from the unknown alien fighters. He brings his evidence to the
Advisory Council and tells them that to investigate his claims the Narn
government has despatched a heavy cruiser to Z’ha’dum. Londo alerts Morden, who
thanks him for his cooperation. When the Narn warship reaches Z’ha’dum a Shadow
warship is waiting for it and blows the Narn ship apart. The Narn government
dismisses the loss as an accident and claims it will not be able to send
another investigative ship for some time. Lennier then announces that
Ambassador Delenn is ready to return to her role on the Council. Delenn enters,
now looking much more human and even possessing hair. She claims that this
transformation and the granting of permission for Sinclair to live on Minbar is
part of an attempt to bring humans and Minbari closer together. Sheridan, for
once, is speechless.
Elizabeth returns to Earth, but leaves Sheridan a message
Anna sent to her just before they went their separate ways. In it Anna says how
grateful she is Dr. Chang gave her a place on the Icarus mission and how
much she loves her husband. Sheridan is finally able to say goodbye to her.
Ivanova then gives him some disturbing news: Jack has vanished. The transport
carrying him back to Earth was intercepted by a vessel bearing Earthforce
identifications and the correct transfer orders, but the ship is not on the
Earthforce register. The only piece of evidence they had that Santiago was
assassinated has now vanished without a trace.
Dating the Episode: In
dialogue, Sheridan says he’s been on board Babylon 5 for about two weeks.
The Arc: Pretty much a sequel to A22, with all
the major plots of that episode being carried forth. Garibaldi awakens from his
coma and, with help from Talia, identifies Jack as his assailant. Jack seems to
hint that Psi Corps was involved in Santiago’s death but refuses to elaborate any
further. We learn more about this plot strand in episodes B11, B13,
B17, C5 and C8-C10.
Morden tells Londo that his influence on Centauri Prime is
now rising and he should receive some interesting offers soon. This is followed
up on in episode B3. Morden next appears in episode B17 (although
he is mentioned and is apparently present offscreen in episodes B9 and B20).
The Narn history texts go back more than a thousand years.
It is insinuated that, although they are the youngest of the major spacefaring
races (according to G’Kar in PM), they have actually had knowledge of
interstellar travel and other worlds for more than a millennium. G’Quan, the
Narn prophet who mentioned the “great darkness”, is the holy figure G’Kar
reveres, as previously revealed in episode A5. We learn more about the
darkness in B17 and the involvement of the Narn with it a millennium ago
in C1 and C14.
The real reason why Delenn undertakes her transformation,
aside from it being prophesised, is not fully 100% explained until episode C17.
This is the one and only time that President Clark directly
talks to any of the series regulars. He appears again in episodes C5 and
D20 and is probably the most mentioned-but-doesn’t-actually-appear
character in the whole series.
Garibaldi refers to a scandal last year about Psi Corps
recommending its members vote for Clark as Vice-President. We saw an article on
this in the paper that Garibaldi was reading in episode A8.
Sheridan’s wife died on an archaeological mission more than
two years ago. We learn more about this in episodes B17 and C22
and actually see it in NOV7.
The alien healing device, obviously, is the one Franklin
inherited from Laura Rosen in episode A21.
Background: The jump gate at Z’ha’dum is different to
the standard design seen elsewhere in the series, using three pylons instead of
four. Episode B9 suggests that this gate is actually of Narn design, but
G’Kar indicates that before he investigated the planet no-one had gone to
Z’ha’dum in centuries, certainly not since the Narn were invaded by the
Centauri. Episode D7 suggests it may
have been built by allies of the Shadows instead.
This episode marks the first appearance of the Shadow
fighters. It also shows, for the first time, that “conventional” weapons can
hurt the Shadows when a Narn fighter rams and destroys one of the Shadow ships.
This episode also features the first appearance of the Narn G'Quan-class heavy cruiser, which replaces the T'Loth-class assault cruiser from Season 1 (specifically A1 and A22), a design that Ron Thornton hated.
A hazmat (hazardous materials) team is operating at the
start of the episode. According to Straczynski, they are clearing up the
wreckage of the Trigati from the previous
episode.
This episode features the first shots from inside hyperspace, showing it to be a
red-and-black realm of confusing visual distortions.
Earthforce military vessels are permitted to use the space
dock facilities at Centauri Prime, presumably due to the close relations
between the Earth Alliance and Centauri Republic.
According to Straczynski, Delenn’s new head structure has introduced
gap between the bone and the rest of her skull, so her hair can go through it
or over it according to her preference.
References: Z’ha’dum
is a very clear and obvious reference to The
Lord of the Rings, where the dwarven mines of Moria are also known as Khazad-dûm.
At the end of the episode G’Kar reads from the poem The Second Coming by Yeats. This is a
popular go-to poem in SFF, and is quoted extensively in Stephen King’s novel
(and TV adaptation) The Stand.
Anna Sheridan’s ship was called Icarus, after the Greek legend of the man who created his own wings
out of wood and glue, but flew too close to the sun and paid the price for his
hubris. There is an analogy here.
G’Kar says he has looked into the abyss and will never be
the same, a nod to the writings of Friedric Nietzsche.
Unanswered Questions:
Why do the Narn write off the destruction of one of their best ships so
easily?
Mistakes, Retcons and
Lamentations: Unavoidable, but of course when Anna Sheridan appears in
later flashback scenes she is played by a different actress to Beth Toussaint,
creating a slight mismatch in this material.
No mirror is in evidence in the corridor in episode A22 when Garibaldi is shot, so it’s a
bit convenient one appears here.
Behind the Scenes: When
he slammed the cane down on the table in the interrogation scene, Jerry Doyle
inadvertently hit himself in the groin with the metal cane. The pain Garibaldi
shows in the rest of the scene is therefore genuine.
Peter Jurasik was unhappy with his performance in this episode,
feeling that it took him longer to get back into the character than it should
have done.
Andreas Katsulas had no real interest in poetry, but he did
enjoy reading the poem at the end of the episode, showing as it did both
another side to G’Kar and also his growing interest in humans.
Bruce Boxleitner felt it a little difficult to get into
Sheridan’s emotional backstory so quickly, but was helped out by his co-stars
and director Jim Johnston, who found him very professional and easy to work
with.
Familiar Faces: Beth
Toussaint plays Anna Sheridan in this episode, in the video message Sheridan
watches. She has numerous American TV credits, but is arguably best-known for
playing Tasha Yar’s sister on Star Trek:
The Next Generation.
Review: A pretty good follow-up to A22, although arguably it resolves a lot of things a bit too neatly (Jack being unmasked and arrested so quickly is a bit convenient). The episode is also odd in that it doesn't make it clear that Delenn is now a half-human/half-Minbari hybrid, and also feature's Sheridan's amazing disappearing sister (which given his later heavy family storylines about his dad is a bit strange). However, the rising Shadow/Londo storyline is still effective and some of the visual effects are still extremely impressive. There's a feeling of rising doom in this episode which is effectively unnerving. ***½
Londo: “Why don’t you eliminate the entire Narn
homeworld while you’re at it?”
Morden: “One thing at a time, Ambassador. One thing
at a time.”
G’Kar: “Weep for the future, Na’Toth. Weep for us
all.”
Garibaldi (upon
waking up from a coma he’s been in for three weeks): “What’s up, doc?”
G’Kar: “I’m too late. Everything is too late.”
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