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Babylon 5: The Made for TV Movies
To date there have been a total of 7 Babylon 5 movies including the pilot movie "The Gathering". Below is a list in chronological order within the Babylon 5 universe and not in the production/air date order.1: In The Beginning
This movie begins in the Centauri Royal Court. Emperor Mollari is an old man and Centauri Prime is in ruin. Londo recounts a story to two children who have made their way into his throne room. As he puts it, he begins his telling at the "dawn of the third age" which began with the disastrous first contact between Minbari and Humans.On Minbar, Dukhat the leader of the Minbari and Lenonn the head of the Rangers are both aware the time is approaching for the great enemy to return. Both are having trouble convincing others in their government. Dukhat is secretly being visited by Vorlons, long believed to be a sign that would signal the return of the Shadows. Dukhat decides it is time to travel to Z'ha'dum to discover for all if the great enemy has returned. While enroute they encounter a fleet of Earth ships sent to investigate the Minbari and possibly make first contact.
The encounter leads to a great misunderstanding. It is the custom of the Minbari to approach unknown ships with their gun ports open, a sign of "open arms". The Earth ships misinterpret these actions as a preparation for an assault and so fires first on the Minbari killing Dukhat. Enraged with a desire for revenge, the Minbari wage a "Holy War" against Earth. But the Humans are no match for the Minbari and soon all of Earth is about to fall.
We have seen hints at the plot to this movie in several episodes of the Babylon 5 series. Here, some of the missing pieces are provided. We witness how a young John Sheridan outsmarts the Minbari in battle, becoming the only human to defeat a Minbari warship. We learn of Delenn's full involvement in the decision of the Minbari to go to war with the Humans and her part in its sudden and mysterious end at the "battle of the line" involving Jeffrey Sinclair.
It is this grave misunderstanding between these two races that prompts the Earth government to begin construction of the Babylon stations in neutral space to serve as a place for alien races to work out their differences peacefully.
And so it begins.
2: The Gathering
This was the pilot movie for the series and our introduction to the Bablylon 5 universe. The station is awaiting the arrival of the Vorlon ambassador to complete the representation of the four major alien races - Vorlon, Minbari, Centauri and Narn. Nothing is known about the Vorlons except that they are one of the oldest races. When the Vorlon ambassador arrives he is found lying on the floor mysteriously dying.The Vorlon homeworld has strictly forbidden any tampering with the ambassador's encounter suit, they would prefer to let him die rather than let any of the lesser races learn a thing about a Vorlon. Commander Sinclair refuses to let the ambassador die and in defiance of the Vorlons he allows the doctor to treat him. The doctor learns the ambassador has been poisoned and Sinclair concludes it is the result of an assassination attempt. As the Vorlon lays mortally wounded in Medlab with only hours to live, Garibaldi and Commander Sinclair mount an investigation.
The investigation is stalled until the doctor and Commander Sinclair's second in command Takashima allow Lyta Alexander to make an unauthorized telepathic scan of the dying Vorlon. The scan imparts to Lyta images of Commander Sinclair as the assassin and soon he is the focus of suspicion. As Garibaldi and Sinclair continue their own investigation it is soon learned that the assassin is in possession of a "changeling net", a personal holographic energy field that can project any image he wants.
Once caught, the assassin turns out to be a Minbari who was getting inside help from G'Kar. The two were intent on sabotaging any newly formed diplomatic relations between Earth, the Minbari and the Centauri.
For those B5 fans who did not connect with this series right from the beginning, this is a very interesting movie. This early Babylon 5 episode is populated with a greater variety of aliens than the remaining series episodes and it is fun to see some of the early versions of our favorite characters. Delenn's appearance is drastically different in this first installment and Londo Mollari's hair style is even more pompous. I can only assume they were using Bozo the clown as his model. And did anyone catch the yet to be created character Mr. Mordon working on the command deck?
As one who has watched this entire saga, I have to wonder how a Vorlon, who we now know to be billions of years ahead of us, who is in fact a being of light and not flesh - how could such a being be poisoned with a chemical compound and through the skin of a non-existent hand? This gives us a glimpse into the creative process of J. Michael Straczynski. A process that was unfolding before our very eyes as the saga itself evolved.
3: Thirdspace
Thirdspace takes place soon after the end of the Shadow war. The First Ones are gone but Babylon 5 is still under quarantine by President Clark. While returning from a fire fight with raiders, Commander Ivanova and her squad of Star Furys find an alien artifact adrift in hyperspace. The artifact is towed back to Babylon 5 where a preliminary investigation reveals it is over a million years old. Soon everyone wants a claim to it hoping to benefit from its advanced technology. Even the Earth company IPX (Interplanetary Expeditions) wants in on it despite Clark's quarantine.The artifact turns out to be of Vorlon technology. It seems to possess some kind of telepathic influence on a portion of the population on Babylon 5, especially Lyta. The telepathic influence is imparting visions to some of the inhabitants on Babylon 5 and appears to be inciting violence on the station. The scientists of IPX speculate the artifact may be a special type of jump gate designed by the First Ones, only this jump gate does not operate in normal space or hyperspace but rather some kind of "third" space. Without authorization from Ivanova, the scientists of IPX activate the artifact with a modified energy cell. The activated artifact starts draining power from Babylon 5 and soon it is in control of a large population of the station.
From Lyta, Sheridan and Delenn learn the artifact was built by the Vorlons in an attempt to open a door to another dimension, to the "Well of Souls", where the Vorlons believed all life originated. Instead, the door let into our universe a race of beings the Vorlons described as "anti-life", intent on destroying all life except their own. Through Lyta, Sheridan learns what he must do to destroy the gate.
In a personal flight suit, Sheridan must plant a nuclear device within the artifact. What Sheridan did not plan on was the ancient life form still living within the device.
4: River of Souls
River of Souls takes place between the last two episodes of Babylon 5. Sheridan and Delenn have moved to Minbar and Garibaldi is now living on Mars. Captain Lochley is enjoying the peace and quiet that has accompanied their departure from Babylon 5, believing both Sheridan and Garibaldi are lightning rods for trouble. Soon her calm is disturbed by a visit to Babylon 5 by Garibaldi.Now that Garibaldi is head of Edgars Industries he is trying to get a handle on some of Edgars "black" operations. Garibaldi is to meet up with one of Edgars researcher who has been exploring dead worlds. Garibaldi wants to determine if he should continue funding him. The scientist, a Dr. Bryson, is less than cooperative and Garibaldi threatens to stop his funding.
In his stumbling around dead civilizations, Dr. Bryson has come across one of the Soul Hunters whisper galleries, a repository for the souls taken at the point of death and preserved. Dr. Bryson has taken one of the Soul Hunters globes which contain a billion souls, the entire planetary race of a dead world called Ralga. The more Dr Bryson is around the globe the more the souls within it can control him. These souls are enraged at being imprisoned by the Soul Hunters and want to escape even if it means the destruction of Babylon 5. In an accident, these souls escape into the electrical matrix of the station and soon "materialize'" by hijacking the characters in an illegal "holo-brothel" in down below.
Soon a Soul Hunter arrives on Babylon 5 to take back the stolen souls. As the Ralga souls grow stronger they have a greater influence over the station and they make an attempt at striking back at the Soul Hunter but instead Captain Lochley is gravely injured. For a moment she is at death's door and her soul enters the Ralga globe of souls. While there she learns that the Ralgans were not dying but rather at the point of evolving into beings of pure energy. Martin Sheen guest stars as one of the Soul Hunters.
5: The Legend of the Rangers
"To Live and Die in Starlight": This was the pilot movie for a potential spin-off series to Babylon 5. The movie was completed but the series never got off the ground, supposedly due to low ratings. The networks really dropped the ball on this one. This is the series that should have been and not "Crusade". It just felt right.As the story opens, Ranger David Martel is second in command on a warship battling raiders who are preying on Alliance shipping lanes. The ship he is on is damaged badly leaving the captain dead, the weapons system destroyed and the engines barely functioning. Second in command Ranger Martel now finds he is captain by default and must now make his first command decision. If he is a true Ranger he must abide by the code of the Rangers - "We live for the One, we die for the One". As damaged as the ship is, he is expected to pursue the raiders even if it is to their certain death. Much to the shock of the crew, he withdraws from battle.
Back on Minbar, the Grey Council is about to expel David from the Rangers for his cowardly decision when G'Kar intervenes and provides a different point of view on the incident. The Council reconsiders and decides to give David one more chance. He is given command of a 20 year old cursed ship called the Liandra. Captain David Martel selects his crew and is about to embark on his first mission - a milk-run in his opinion, providing security to a brand new ship called the "Valen", the ship David would have been given command of had it not been for his previous decision to withdraw from battle.
This apparently simple first mission proves to be anything but that. Captain David Martel and his crew soon find themselves up against overwhelming odds with an unknown race called "The Hand". This unknown race possess ships and technology far in advance of what the Rangers possess. The only weapons Captain Martel has available to use against this new power are his own cunning and the skill and insights provided by his crew.
For us die-hard science fiction fans this is a thoroughly enjoyable ride as we watch Martel and his new crew out-smart this apparently far superior threat.
6: A Call to Arms
This is the pilot movie to the spin-off series "Crusade" which ran for 13 episodes before it was canceled. As the story opens it is the 5th anniversary of the Interstellar Alliance created by Sheridan and Delenn which places this story about 5 years after the end of 4th season of Babylon 5.President Sheridan meets with Garibaldi who is to introduce Sheridan to the newest warship funded by the new Interstellar Alliance (ISA). The ship, called the Excaliber, is the most advanced ship in the ISA, a result of reverse engineered Minbari and Vorlon technology. Sheridan is to take the ship on a test run to demonstrate its superior weapons and propulsion systems. While on the Excaliber, Sheridan receives a personal transmission from a Technomage named Galen and thereafter starts having dreams and visions designed by Galen to bring to Sheridan's attention a new threat to Earth. Galen is somewhat of an outcast in the circles of Technomages because of his involvement with people. He becomes Sheridan's guide throughout this story and in fact plays the same role throughout the Crusade series.
As a result of the visions Sheridan has, the Excaliber is needed now. Sheridan takes the Excaliber in search of key individuals seen in his visions and then proceeds to intercept the new threat to Earth. This new enemy is none other than the Draak, the dark servants of the Shadows. The Draak have in their possession the last of the Shadows' planet killers and they intend to use it on Earth.
This is a fine spin-off to the Babylon 5 series. There is just one thing terribly wrong with this production - the music soundtrack. It is so bad it can distract you from the story. In fact, the music soundtrack to the 13 episodes of Crusade are by the same composer. One wonders what they were thinking. It makes you really appreciate a composer like Christopher Franke, who composed the music to the Babylon 5 series. I think if "A Call to Arms" and the 13 episodes of "Crusade" were to be remixed with a soundtrack composed by Christopher Franke, it would be a completely new creation of much greater value.
7: Lost Tales
"Voices in the Dark": This story is set 10 years after the creation of the Interstellar Alliance. It has a very sharp look to it with enhanced graphics produced in high-definition. This movie was a direct-to-DVD production and follows two separate stories around Captain Lochley and President Sheridan.It starts out on Babylon 5 as Captain Lochley meets and arriving priest. She has specifically requested a priest authorized to conduct exorcisms. People have been hearing voices in some of the hallways that have not been picked up by the station's monitors. Then a security officer, recently returned from a visit to earth, exhibits behavior that can only be explained by demonic possession. This particular demon, however, seems eager to be exorcised. It goes out of its way to produce all the signs needed to convince the priest of genuine demonic possession.
The priest is convinced it is genuine demonic possession and must decide if the exorcism should be conducted on Babylon 5 or back on Earth. Captain Lochley begins to suspect something else is going on. Why, she wonders, is this demon so eager to be exorcised. In a leap of logic, Captain Lochley concludes that if an exorcism was to be conducted in space it might free a demon meant to be imprisoned on Earth.
The second story follows President Sheridan as he makes a trip from Minbar to Babylon 5. He is to make an appearance on Babylon 5 commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Interstellar Alliance. While enroute, Sheridan begins to have visions of mass destruction on Earth. As happened in the movie "A Call to Arms", these visions are planted once again by the Technomage Galen. He warns Sheridan of a threat to Earth by a future Centauri Emperor named Dius Vintari.
Sheridan is to pick up the young Prince Vintari who is also scheduled to make an appearance on Babylon 5 for the celebration. Galen tries to convince Sheridan that the only way to save Earth from a future devastating war with the Centauri is if the Prince was to somehow conveniently die before he ascends to the throne. Sheridan is outraged by the suggestion and is determined to find another way.