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Babylon 5 - The Movie CollectionStarring: Michael O'Hare, Bruce Boxleitner Director: Tony Dow |
| Four new TV movies were part of the
deal to syndicate Babylon 5. The Babylon 5 pilot movie The Gathering was originally broadcast in 1993 a full year ahead of the regular show. It served to introduce Commander Jeffery Sinclair (Michael O'Hare) and Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle) as well as familiarize the audience with the unique environment of a five-mile-long space station in the year 2257. In the Beginning is a prelude set 10 years before Babylon 5, telling the story of the Earth-Minbari war. Told retrospectively, many of the mysteries revealed gradually in the main series are recounted, making the show a collection of spoilers for newcomers while adding little for established fans. It is effective to see events only previously talked about, and enjoyable to have most of the main cast playing younger versions of themselves. River of Souls is a self-contained adventure featuring a return of the Soul Hunters from Season One, while Thirdspace offers a spectacular Lovecraftian space opera which slots into the saga after the end of the Shadow War. A Call to Arms is the most important of the TV films, laying the ground for the future TV series Crusade. Set five years after the Shadow War, it tells the story of a Drahk revenge attack on Earth. A final showcase for Bruce Boxleitner as Sheridan, the story fits between fifth-season episodes "Objects at Rest" and "Sleeping in Light." The cliffhanger ending sets the scene for new starship Excalibur to boldly go on a five-year mission to explore strange new worlds and find a cure for the Shadow virus infecting the Earth. |
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Babylon 5 - The Gathering (Pilot) & In the BeginningStarring: Michael O'Hare, Tamlyn Tomita Director: Richard Compton |
| In spring 1993, a year before the
Babylon 5 series was launched, the two-hour movie and series pilot "The
Gathering" staked out the initial territory, introducing primary
characters (some of whom would never appear again) and sketching the
alliances and rifts in interplanetary diplomacy. "In the Beginning," produced between the fourth and fifth seasons, packs all the history alluded to in "The Gathering"--and more--into a prequel stuffed to the hatches with the epic doings of Earth, Minbar, Narn, and Centauri in the days before the Babylon stations were built. Infused with epic sweep and storytelling confidence by producer-writer Michael J. Straczynski and his cast and crew, it's an elegant, compelling addition to the Babylon 5 universe and a dramatic highlight of the series. |
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Babylon 5 - The Gathering (TV Premiere DVD)Starring: Michael O'Hare, Tamlyn Tomita Director: Richard Compton |
| This TV movie is the pilot for the "Babylon 5" TV series. Set on a space station in the late 23rd Century, Babylon 5 is a centre of diplomacy and trade, in neutral space located between many rival space empires. The project's success, already shaky, is put further in doubt when incoming Commander Jeffrey Sinclair is the key suspect in the attempted assassination of Kosh, a mysterious alien ambassador. | |
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Babylon 5 - The Legend of the Rangers (2002)Starring: Dylan Neal, Andreas Katsulas Director: Michael Vejar |
| Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers is a two-hour television movie created by J. Michael Straczynski (original creator of the Babylon 5 series) for the Sci-Fi Channel. The telefilm takes place in 2264 after the wars are over and a new age of space exploration has begun. The Interstellar Alliance has been organized to establish and maintain peace among its member worlds, including Earth. The Rangers are an elite military force made up of hand-picked young, smart, dedicated human and alien members who combine the high-tech elements of space travel with the idealism and honor of the knights of old. | |
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Babylon 5: A Call to Arms (1999)Starring: Bruce Boxleitner, Jerry Doyle Director: Michael Vejar |
| Five years after the events of the Babylon 5 series, a technomage named Galen predicts an imminent attack by the Drakh, the old allies of the Shadows. Through dreams, a thief, a captain, and a president are brought together to head them off. The president is John Sheridan. Because of his irrational behavior, Sheridan's friends begin to wonder about his sanity. It's up to all of them and two prototype battlecruisers, the Excalibur and the Victory, to stop the fleet and their planet-killer. |