Babylon 5: Season 3 - Point of No Return Review

Today on Sci-Fi Adventures I'll be writing a bit about the third season of Babylon 5! Three down, two to go.

I've finally hit the end of the middle season and it's nice to be 60% done with the series. Not because I'm not enjoying it, it's just a relief to see some light at the end of the tunnel. Only 44 episodes, a handful of movies and a couple of spin-offs left and then I can finally relax. Move on. Maybe even start a Babylon 5 podcast. (I won't be starting a B5 podcast).

Anyway, this is going to feature SPOILERS for the whole of season three, from Matters of Honor to Z'ha'dum, and I'll inevitably end up spoiling earlier seasons as well. I won't say a word about future seasons though, so if you're watching through the series for the first time and you've made it up to this point then this is all safe for you to read.

Babylon 5 3-22: Z'ha'dum

Episode:

66

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

|

Air Date:

28-Oct-1996

---

This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I've finally reached the Babylon 5 season 3 finale Z'ha'dum!

Saying anything about the name would be spoiling earlier episodes, but if you're not familiar with it, it's a made up sci-fi place that has a lot of significance and a lot of apostrophes, and using it as the title gives the impression that this story will be somewhat important. If the fact that it's a season finale didn't already give that away. This unfortunately means that it's given me more to write about than usual, so you're getting a double-length article this time.

You want to know an absolutely pointless fact that I guarantee you've never read anywhere else? Season 3 contains both Babylon 5's alphabetically highest and lowest episode titles, with A Day in the Strife up at the top and Z'ha'dum right at the end. Here's more obvious piece of trivia: this is the second episode of the series to be directed by Leonard Nimoy's son, Adam Nimoy (the first being the universally beloved Passing Through Gethsemane). It's also the last episode he directed, for whatever reason.

This recap/review is first time viewer safe, but there are going to be SPOILERS for this episode and the series so far, so I'd suggest watching it first. I mean you can do what you like, but the series has gotten pretty good by this point and the episode will tell you the story much better than I can.

Babylon 5 3-21: Shadow Dancing

Episode:

65

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

|

Air Date:

21-Oct-1996

---

This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, it's Shadow Dancing!

Wikipedia tells me that Shadow Dancing is a song by Andy Gibb from an album of the same name, a Canadian thriller starring Christopher Plummer, and the penultimate episode of Babylon 5's third season, but really it's only that last one I care about.

When you see the word 'shadow' show up in a Babylon 5 episode title you know there's a fair chance that events are soon to transpire. Sure The Geometry of Shadows was fairly tame, but you couldn't say that about The Coming of Shadows or In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum. Hey, 'Z'ha'dum', there's another word that shows up in titles sometimes...

The episode was directed by Kim Friedman, who's more famous these days for being the mother from the crazyjewishmom Instagram account. This was her first and only episode of Babylon 5, but that was possibly because she was busy with all the Star Trek she was doing. She directed four fairly rubbish episodes of Voyager overall (three of them generally ranked in the bottom third of the entire run) and six pretty good episodes of Deep Space Nine (four of them ranked in the top third), so this episode could go either way really.

This recap/review is mainly intended for people who've seen the series up to this point, so I won't be holding back with the SPOILERS. Though if you're watching the series for the first time you'll be fine, I won't ruin what comes next.

Babylon 5 3-20: And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place

Episode:

64

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

|

Air Date:

14-Oct-1996

---

This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm writing about Babylon 5 episode 64: And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place.

Now there's a proper title! In fact there's so much title there that they couldn't show the station in the same shot as it'd be hidden behind the wall of text. Plus it starts with 'and', which makes it feel like it's just a fragment of an even longer title.

This is actually is the longest title of any episode of Babylon 5... except for the The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father, which has the the same number of words but is exactly one character longer (including punctuation and spaces). Here, have a list of some of the longest sci-fi episode titles so you can see where this fits in the grand scheme of things:

• Star Trek: For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky (50 characters)
• Discovery: The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry (48 characters)
• Babylon 5: The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father (40 characters)
• Babylon 5: And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place (39 characters)
• Doctor Who: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (38 characters)
• Twilight Zone: The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross (38 characters)
• Battlestar Galactica: Taking a Break from All Your Worries (36 characters)
• Stargate: SG-1: There But for the Grace of God (30 characters)

By the way, if you're looking for SPOILERS, you're in the right place, as I'll be spoiling the hell out of this episode and anything that led up to it. Though if you're a first time viewer, or just don't want to be reminded about what happens next, you've got nothing to worry about here.

Babylon 5 3-19: Grey 17 is Missing

Episode:

63

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

|

Air Date:

07-Oct-1996

---

This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, it's a late contender for the worst ever episode of Babylon 5. Grey 17 is Missing is currently in the bottom three on IMDb, just above Infection and TKO, and the other places I've checked haven't been much kinder to it.

(Though right now the main thing that's bothering me about it is that it's the 19th episode this season; the numbers are just a little bit too close. I have to keep double checking to make sure it's not episode 17 and the title's not 'Grey 19 is Missing'.)

Seems that what went wrong with the story is similar to what went wrong with Exogenesis (the 7th worst B5 episode according to IMDb), as it just took too long to write. Showrunner jms says his best scripts only took one or two days, as once he got on the right track the ideas would start flooding out of his head. Apparently this one took more like two weeks for whatever reason, possibly because he got pulled away to deal with other problems, possibly because of some kind of idea blockage that needed sorting out, I don't know.

Exogenesis took so long to write because it was interrupted by that strike that happened during the filming of A Day in the Strife. They eventually worked things out and got production running again by finding the money to go full union, but that meant cutting costs elsewhere. Turns out that this is one of the places they cut costs on... as director John Flinn chose to give up his payment for this episode and direct it for free! I'm starting to think that people liked working on this show and wanted it to do well.

SPOILER WARNING: This recap and review is for people who've seen the series up to this point. I won't spoil anything that happens after this episode but I'll definitely be spoiling what came before it.

Babylon 5 3-17: War Without End, Part Two

Episode:

61

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

|

Air Date:

20-May-1996

---

This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm writing about the conclusion of Babylon 5's epic War Without End two-parter.

Sorry about the mosaic up there where the screencap should be, but the image seemed a bit spoilery to have up here in the non-spoiler intro section which everyone can see. Not that you can really tell what you're looking at if you don't already know.

There's going to be even more SPOILERS below this point, for this episode and earlier ones, so I'd suggest you stop here if that's an issue for you. Then watch the episode and come back!

Babylon 5 3-16: War Without End, Part One

Episode:

60

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

|

Air Date:

13-May-1996

---

Ray Hardgrit's Sci-Fi Adventures has finally returned for its fifth season... and I'm still working my way through season three of Babylon 5. Though that's not so bad, as it means I get to write about the epic War Without End two parter!

I've spent almost the entire last two months preparing for this. I've been growing my hair out to try to get it as long as Marcus Cole's and I've grown an appropriate beard. I've also studied to become fluent in Minbari, I've trained to become a master of staff fighting, and I've been taught the application of terror.

Actually I'm lying, I've done no preparation. In fact it's been so long since I've published anything here that I've forgotten what Babylon 5 even is. I'm sure it'll all come back to me though.

One thing I do remember is that I've already written about the episode Walkabout, even though it was originally broadcast after War Without End. That's because I'm following the Lurker's Guide Master List, which reorganises this block of episodes to look like this:

15 - Interludes and Examinations
18 - Walkabout
16 - War Without End, Part One
17 - War Without End, Part Two
19 - Grey 17 is Missing

Not long now before I get to write about Grey 17 is Missing!

The reason I'm pointing out this story shuffling is because there's going to be SPOILERS here for this episode and anything that came before it, and for me Walkabout came before it, so it's possible I might mention something that happens in it. Like the scene where Franklin goes to a bar, sits down and just listens to an entire song.

Babylon 5 3-18: Walkabout

Episode:

62

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

|

Air Date:

30-Sep-1996

---

Hey, a shot looking straight down at Babylon 5 station, you don't see that often.

This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm writing about Walkabout, an episode of Babylon 5. In fact this is the last episode I'll be writing about for a while, as I'll be switching over to Super Adventures to play video games for a couple of months instead.

Because of scheduling weirdness this and the remaining four episodes in the season all aired earlier here in the UK than they did in the US, which is a rare and beautiful thing. In fact it was the last time it ever happened for Babylon 5. Though we still got them in the wrong order.

According to the airing and DVD order I should be watching War Without End right now, which is a huge two-parter I'm eager to get to. But Walkabout was originally supposed to be aired first and the season apparently works better if it's moved before it. At least according to the Lurker's Guide Master List, which has this block of episodes looking like this:

14 - Ship of Tears
15 - Interludes and Examinations
18 - Walkabout
16 - War Without End, Part 1
17 - War Without End, Part 2

So this review won't have any SPOILERS for War Without End, but I will be going through all of Walkabout scene by scene and I'll probably end up spoiling some of the episodes leading up to it as well.

Babylon 5 3-15: Interludes and Examinations

Episode:

59

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

|

Air Date:

06-May-1996

---

This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm sharing my thoughts on Babylon 5 season 3, episode 15: Interludes and Examinations. With a title like that, you can tell everything's about to kick off.

If you're wondering why the screencap is so fuzzy, it's because it's from a scene of the characters watching footage on a TV screen. Footage of fuzzy CGI.

Speaking of the characters watching TV, I should give you a SPOILER WARNING... about the DVDs. This episode features a commentary track with Bruce Boxleitner, Richard Biggs, Jerry Doyle, and Ed Wasser talking about the story together and they mention one thing in particular that you probably wouldn't want to know if you haven't seen the entire series. Just thought I'd give DVD owners a heads up about that.

Oh, also I'm going to spoil the hell out of this episode for you myself right now.

Babylon 5 3-14: Ship of Tears

Episode:

58

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

|

Air Date:

29-Apr-1996

---

This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm writing about Ship of Tears, the 14th episode of Babylon 5's third season. I've been watching a few episodes out of their broadcast order lately, but this one's right where it's supposed to be.

Sounds like a fun episode this one, judging by the title, but you never know with Babylon 5. The names are sometimes deliberately misleading to subvert expectations. And sometimes they're not.

I'll be recapping the whole story by the way, so there'll be tons of SPOILERS below. Though if you're watching through the series for the first time, you don't have to worry about me ruining what happens next, because my spoilers stop at this episode.

Babylon 5 3-12: Sic Transit Vir

Episode:

56

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

|

Air Date:

15-Apr-1996

---

This is my 200th post on Sci-Fi Adventures, so to celebrate I'm writing about the next Babylon 5 episode: Sic Transit Vir!

Star Trek loves to throw in the occasional Latin title, like Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges or Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum, but this is the first and only time it happened in Babylon 5. It's also the first of three occasions that a character's name appeared in a title, with Garibaldi and Londo getting their turn later. The title's a pun by the way, as it can mean both "thus passes the man" and "thus passes Vir". It's a step up from A Day in the Strife at least.

Additional trivia: this is one of five B5 episodes directed by Jesús Treviño, his second after Divided Loyalties. I think J. Michael Straczynski must have liked his work, as he's one of the elite few who got to direct a Babylon 5 movie (Thirdspace) and was invited back for the Crusade spin-off.

If you're wondering why I posted this after A Late Delivery From Avalon, it's because I'm still following the Lurker's Guide Master List, which makes this block of episodes look this:

11 - Ceremonies of Light and Dark
13 - A Late Delivery From Avalon
12 - Sic Transit Vir
14 - Ship of Tears
15 - Interludes and Examinations

This is relevant to you because I'm going to be giving SPOILERS for A Late Delivery in this review. I'm also going to be spoiling the hell out of Sic Transit Vir and some of the other episodes leading up to it.

Babylon 5 3-13: A Late Delivery from Avalon

Episode:

57

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

|

Air Date:

22-Apr-1996

---

This week on Sci-Fi Adventures I'm writing about A Late Delivery From Avalon, an episode of Babylon 5 that definitely isn't Grail, though it's easy to get the two of them mixed up due to their King Arthury titles.

There's definitely something wrong with that screencap up there isn't there? I've been looking at it wondering when Babylon 5 put on so much weight. The CGI for the series was rendered full frame and then cropped to widescreen for the DVD release, but I think they accidentally stretched it wider this time instead.

But one thing that wasn't a mistake, was Sic Transit Vir being aired in this episode's place during the original TV run. It was felt that they needed something lighter after all the tension of the last few stories and they wanted their big guest star on screen during the first week of sweeps, so they switched the stories around. But the Lurker's Guide Master List says I should watch this one first so that's what I'm doing.

It's been ages since I've had to do this, but here's the order I'm watching the episodes in:

10 - Severed Dreams
11 - Ceremonies of Light and Dark
13 - A Late Delivery From Avalon
12 - Sic Transit Vir
14 - Ship of Tears

All this really means to you is that I won't be spoiling Sic Transit Vir. There'll be a whole lot of SPOILERS for this episode though, and the stories leading up to it.

Babylon 5 3-11: Ceremonies of Light and Dark

Episode:

55

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

|

Air Date:

08-Apr-1996

---

This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, the Babylon 5 continues with Ceremonies of Light and Dark. Sorry for the close up of the guy's fingernail up there, that's the image the episode chose to display its title over.

It's a pretty fitting title for a post published at Christmas though. I mean Christmas is a social or religious occasion that happens in the dark of winter that involves putting lights up, and participating in ritual acts such as giving gifts and eating too much. Not that the episode has anything to do with Christmas whatsoever, it originally aired in April, but it's still a bit of an occasion.

Babylon 5 has at least five TV movies, two spin-offs and whatever you'd call The Lost Tales, but if you just take the episodes on their own then this story is the halfway point of the Babylon 5 saga. We're halfway through the five year arc!

Which means this recap potentially contains SPOILERS for exactly half the series, including this episode. But if you're watching through the series for the first time you don't have to worry about me spoiling what happens in the other half.

Babylon 5 3-10: Severed Dreams

Episode:

54

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

|

Air Date:

1-Apr-1996

---

Today on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm writing about a Babylon 5 episode.

Severed Dreams was pretty much the final part of a stealth three-parter, and this worked out pretty well for UK viewers who got the episodes weekly with no breaks and no cliffhangers. It was less good for US fans, as they had to wait five weeks to see how things got resolved here. They couldn't have really aired it any sooner though to be fair, as the episode is so VFX heavy they struggled to get it all finished in time as it is. I'm not sure it was absolutely necessary to air the episode on April 1st though. Viewers just had to hope that the entire story arc didn't turn out to be a magnificent prank.

I can't talk really, as I had the bright idea to launch Sci-Fi Adventures on April 1st, and it's the day the site always comes back after taking February and March off. In fact I could've been clever and held off reviewing Severed Dreams until next April, using it to kick off the next block of reviews, but... no. It's already taken me long enough to get here.

Here's some trivia for you: the episode was up for the 'Best Dramatic Presentation' Hugo in 1997, an award that Babylon 5 had actually won the previous year with The Coming of Shadows. This time though it was up against Independence Day, Star Trek: First Contact, the 30th anniversary episode of Deep Space Nine where they go back and hang out with Captain Kirk, and... uh, Mars Attacks! Spoiler: Mars Attacks! didn't win.

In fact it was Babylon 5 that went and won the Hugo for a second time! Because that's what happens when you make Severed Dreams.

SPOILER WARNING!

The DVD comes with a commentary track, but I'd recommend staying clear if you haven't seen the whole series yet as they tend to spoil things. In fact stay clear of all the special features. My review, on the other hand, won't spoil a thing! Well, except for the whole of Severed Dreams and the episodes leading up to it.

Babylon 5 3-09: Point of No Return

Episode:

53

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

|

Air Date:

26-Feb-1996

---

Today on Sci-Fi Adventures I've got some more Babylon 5 for you. It's episode 9 of season 3: Point of No Return.

Every season of Babylon 5 has its own title, named after one of its most important episodes and the name on the front of the season 3 DVD box is Point of No Return. So I'm going to consider it false advertising if this isn't at least as good as season 1 fan favourite Signs and Portents and season 2's Hugo Award winning The Coming of Shadows.

It wasn't the only title on creator J. Michael Straczynski's list though and for a while he may have been leaning more towards "I Am Become Death, The Destroyer of Worlds," quoting Oppenheimer, quoting the Bhagavad Gita. I think he probably made the right choice by going with the title he did.

If you're watching through Babylon 5 for the first time, then I've got good news for you! I won't be spoiling or even hinting at events that take place in later episodes in this review. There will be massive SPOILERS for this episode however, and for episodes that lead up to it, as I'm going to basically recap the entire story.

Babylon 5 3-08: Messages from Earth

Episode:

52

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

|

Air Date:

19-Feb-1996

---

Today on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm watching Babylon 5, season 3, episode 8: Messages from Earth. With a title like that you can already tell it's going to be a real thrill ride.

Though it was directed by Mike Vejar, who also gave us the unusually pretty looking Convictions earlier in the season, along with several decent episodes of Deep Space Nine. Here's another DS9/B5 similarity for you: if you see Mike Vejar's name at the start of an episode it's probably going to at least look interesting.

I may have mentioned this once or twice already, but this recap will feature SPOILERS for the episode and other episodes leading up to it. But if you're watching through the series for the first time you won't have to worry about me spoiling anything past this point. This story is as far as the spoilers go.

Babylon 5 3-07: Exogenesis

Episode:

51

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

|

Air Date:

12-Feb-1996

---

This week on Sci-Fi Adventures I'm writing about Exogenesis!

What is exogenesis anyway? I was curious so I checked Wikipedia and it gave me a few different answers: it's a song by the band Muse, it's a visual novel, it's an album by Eloy Fritsch, it's the theory that life here began out there, far across the universe, and it's apparently an episode of the science-fiction TV series Babylon 5. I'm surprised it's not an episode of X-Files and Star Trek: Voyager as well, with the way they liked to name their stories (though X-Files did have Biogenesis).

I'm not looking forward to this one to be honest, because I remember it being one of the bad episodes. I don't think there'll be many of them this season, but I know that they're there, lurking in the cracks between major story arc episodes. Waiting for viewers to get drawn into the ongoing drama so they can leap out and trip them up with some self-contained rubbish.

I can't be talking about crap episodes coming up in the near future though, as I'm only allowed to give away SPOILERS for this story and the rest of the series so far. If I want to write about the other stories I'm not eager to write about this season I'll have to be patient.

Babylon 5 3-06: Dust to Dust

Episode:

50

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

|

Air Date:

05-Feb-1996

---

This week on Sci-Fi Adventures I'm reviewing episode 50 of Babylon 5! A few episodes got shuffled around the airing order along the way for various reasons, but not this one. It's absolutely, unambiguously episode number 50... unless you count the pilot movie as an episode, in which case this is 51.

I don't think they did anything special with the episode to celebrate the milestone though. That establishing shot of the station up there looks unusually pretty, but that's just coincidence. However, the episode's called Dust to Dust, which of course means that a major character's going to die before the end credits roll. But which one of them will it be?

It's Chief O'Brien! Sorry O'Brien fans, but this is the story that he dies in. Oh hang on, I forgot to mention that there will be massive SPOILERS in this review, for this episode and for earlier ones as well. But nothing that comes after it. Basically I'm going to pretend that it's February 5th 1996, this is the latest episode to air, and I haven't even watched the trailer for the next story yet.

Babylon 5 3-05: Voices of Authority

Episode:

49

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

|

Air Date:

29-Jan-1996

---

This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm watching Voices of Authority, the 49th episode of Babylon 5. Or maybe it's the 48th. It was originally planned to to be the fourth episode of the season, but they needed extra time to get the CGI finished so Passing Through Gethsemane was moved up to take its place.

In the US the first four episodes of the season were originally aired in a block together with the last four episodes of season two, followed by a break. So pushing this down the episode list actually delayed it by two months... making it the first episode of 1996!

That means we're in the year of Independence Day, Star Trek: First Contact, 12 Monkeys, Mars Attacks, Space Jam and that Doctor Who TV Movie. Well I liked two of those things at least... maybe two and a half. Plus Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was in season 4 at this point (Crossfire aired the same day), Star Trek: Voyager in season 2 (the legendary Threshold aired the same day), and The X-Files was in season 3. It was also the year we finally lost TekWar, Space: Above and Beyond and seaQuest DSV, three of the most successful sci-fi series of the mid-90s (two of them even lasted more than one season, sort of).

Sometimes I'll mention that I'm watching a B5 episode out of order, but the Lurker's Guide Master List says it actually works better to watch Voices of Authority and Passing Through Gethsemane in the order they aired, so there'll be no confusion about what stories I'll be spoiling this time. There are huge SPOILERS below for this episode and anything that aired before it is also fair game.

Babylon 5 3-04: Passing Through Gethsemane

Episode:

48

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

|

Air Date:

27-Nov-1995

---

Welcome to Sci-Fi Adventures, it's like a podcast with pictures! Except when I say that this week I'm talking about Babylon 5's Passing Through Gethesmane, I'm not literally saying it out loud. So if you're wondering, it's pronounced like 'Geth-seh-man-ee', not 'Geth-semain' or 'Get-hess-man-ee' or whatever.

This one's directed by Adam Nimoy who has a pretty big connection to Star Trek... as he's married to Terry Farrell, who played Jadzia Dax! Plus his dad apparently had a role in the Original Series. Nimoy would return to direct the last episode of season three, and he also directed two episodes of The Next Generation: Rascals and Timescape. I've blocked Rascals out of my memory, but Timescape was pretty good I reckon. Lots of screwing around with time.

Speaking of temporal anomalies, Passing Through Gethsemane was intended to air fifth in the season, but the VFX on Voices of Authority required more time so they aired this in its place. Though the Lurker's Guide Master List I've been following says that the season actually works better with the stories this way around so I'll not be watching them out of order this time.

So there'll be no SPOILERS for Voices of Authority here, but I will be spoiling this episode and I'm considering anything that came before it in the series to be fair game as well.