Babylon 5: A Call to Arms - Part 3

This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm watching the final third of the 5th Babylon 5 movie, A Call to Arms.

I'm getting really close to the end of the Babylon 5 franchise now, with only 13 episodes of Crusade, one more pilot movie and two Lost Tales left to go before it's all over. Oh, plus an animated movie that came out of nowhere recently. And there is always the threat of that reboot series actually getting made, along with more animated films. But after all that I'll be done.

I suppose it could be worse. I could be working my way through Doctor Who or Star Trek...

This is the third and final part of my A Call to Arms review, so if you want to go back to PART ONE or PART TWO click the appropriate text. This is going to include big SPOILERS for the movie and the rest of Babylon 5, but I'll not spoil anything about Crusade.

Babylon 5: A Call to Arms - Part 2

This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm watching the middle third of the Babylon 5 movie A Call to Arms, which is basically the pilot for the short-lived spin-off series Crusade. Or the prologue to it at least. It lays the groundwork.

The film aired on TNT right at the start of 1999, just 7 weeks after the previous movie, The River of Souls... which was arguably a bit too soon. Especially considering that it had only been a month since viewers had said an emotional goodbye to the characters in Sleeping in Light. It's like when half the Star Trek cast came back for the movie Star Trek: Generations right after wrapping their era up with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, except worse because those guys at least waited three years!

This is part two (of three) so if you want to go back to PART ONE, click that text. This will include big SPOILERS for the movie and the rest of Babylon 5, so be aware of that. I'll not spoil anything about Crusade, however.

Babylon 5: A Call to Arms - Part 1

Written By:

J. Michael Straczynski

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Directed By:

Mike Vejar

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Release Date:

1999

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, it's the first part of my three-part review of the Babylon 5 TV movie A Call to Arms! Here's a fun fact for you straight away: this is one of only two Babylon 5 stories to share its name with a Deep Space Nine episode (the other being Chrysalis). 

A Call to Arms is the last of the four Babylon 5 TV movies made for TNT, as The Legend of the Rangers was actually made for the Sci Fi Channel. Legend of the Rangers features a new cast and new sets, and it goes off doing its own things. Call to Arms, on the other hand, is a proper Babylon 5 movie, featuring the station and the lead characters and everything. A Call to Arms and The Legend of the Rangers are similar in some ways though, as they were both designed to function as a pilot movie and both of their spin-offs got cancelled before a single episode had aired. At least Call to Arms' series, Crusade, was able to get 13 episodes filmed before being shut down.

Call to Arms also had the proper Babylon 5 production team behind it, with J. Michael Straczynski writing and Mike Vejar returning to direct. They didn't bring back composer Christopher Franke however, making this the first B5 story to be missing his music since the original pilot (and they eventually went back and rescored that to match the rest of the series). Instead, this features a soundtrack by Evan Chen, who'd continue to work on the Crusade series.

Alright, I'm going to go through the whole film scene by scene sharing my reactions and observations, so there will be huge SPOILERS here for the movie and perhaps the rest of Babylon 5. I won't spoil a thing about Crusade or Legend of the Rangers, however.

Babylon 5 5-14: Meditations on the Abyss

Episode:

102

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Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

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Director:

Mike Vejar

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Air Date:

27-Mar-1998

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures I'm watching Babylon 5 season 5 episode 14: Meditations on the Abyss. I'm not sure about that title as meditation isn't typically all that thrilling. Though abysses can be dramatic sometimes I suppose, especially when there's a risk of all your hopes and dreams falling in. James Cameron even made a film about one once.

The episode was written by showrunner J. Michael Straczynski, though that goes without saying really. There are just eight episodes left after this and they're all by him. This was the final episode to be directed by Mike Vejar however, which is a shame because he's a contender to be the greatest director B5 ever had. He did come back for the movies and the Crusade spin-off though.

SPOILER WARNING: this is episode 102, which means there are 101 other episodes that I could spoil at any time, and I'm definitely going to spoil this one. The particulars of subsequent episodes will remain undisclosed however.

Babylon 5 5-03: The Paragon of Animals

Episode:

91

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Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

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Director:

Mike Vejar

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Air Date:

04-Feb-1998

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm still watching Babylon 5, and I've reached season 5, episode 3: The Paragon of Animals. The title's a quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet and in context it basically means 'humans are the best'. Though the character saying the line in the play is being sarcastic, so what it really means is 'humans suck'.

It's always nice to get a B5 episode that's put something other than a CGI shot of the space station under its title for a change. I like seeing the station, but you've got to have a bit of variety. Sometimes what you want is a shot of Garibaldi putting his shoes all over a table in the council chamber.

The episode was directed by Mike Vejar, which is generally a good sign as he was one of the series' best directors. Sadly he only returned for one more episode of B5 after this, but he did direct a couple of the TV movies and a third of Crusade.

That's the last thing I'm going to say here about future B5 stories, but this recap and review is definitely going to contain huge SPOILERS for this story and earlier ones. If you haven't seen the series up to Paragon of Animals then you might want to stop reading here.

Babylon 5: In the Beginning - Part 3

Today on Sci-Fi Adventures I've reached the end of In the Beginning, the Babylon 5 prequel movie that takes place years after the series ends.

This is the last of three parts, but if you'd rather read PART ONE or PART TWO, you can click one of those convenient links. Or maybe even click both of them; you can never have too many tabs open.

Once again I'll be sharing screencaps and SPOILERS as I go through the story writing my opinions and observations, so I'd recommend watching the movie first. In fact I'd recommend watching the first four years of the series first, as there'll be big spoilers for those as well. Blame writer jms for that, it's not my fault!

Babylon 5: In the Beginning - Part 2

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Today on Sci-Fi Adventures I'm in the middle of In the Beginning, which is either the first, second or third of the Babylon 5 TV movies depending on who you ask. It was definitely filmed after The Gathering and Thirdspace, but it was the first movie to air on TNT to promote the launch of the fifth season.

This is the second part of a three part review, so you should probably start with PART ONE if you haven't read it already.

You should probably also watch the movie yourself, though make sure you watch four years of the TV show as well. Some would make the argument that the movie is actually a good place for new viewers for start watching the series, but I'm going to be dropping SPOILERS for seasons 1 to 4 and I don't want to ruin anything for anyone.

Babylon 5: In the Beginning - Part 1

Written By:

J. Michael Straczynski

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Directed By:

Mike Vejar

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Release Date:

1998

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Great news! Sci-Fi Adventures is back for another two months and I'm getting right back into Babylon 5. I've finally reached the fifth and final season... though before I carry on to the end I have to first go back to the beginning.

Babylon 5 had been on shaky ground for its whole run, renewal was never guaranteed, and in its fourth year that ground collapsed entirely due to their network getting cancelled. Fortunately cable network TNT stepped in to give its first four seasons a new home and asked for a couple of new B5 TV movies (In the Beginning and Thirdspace) to stir up some interest. So the show went from losing its final year, to getting bonus content that creator jms had never planned for. In fact TNT decided they'd do one better than that and paid for a complete fifth season!

This was around the same time that Star Wars was gearing up to be a movie franchise again, with the original trilogy getting a theatrically released Special Edition in 1997 and the upcoming prequel (The Phantom Menace) generating huge amounts of hype, so I'm not surprised TNT wanted a bit of that for themselves. They decided to kick off their B5 run with a movie double-bill: the new prequel, In the Beginning, followed by a special edition re-edit of the original pilot The Gathering. This led straight into a season 1 rerun and, a couple of weeks later, the brand new season 5 stories.

Man this would've been confusing for new viewers.

In the Beginning can function as a new introduction to the series, but it's got pretty massive SPOILERS for all the way up to the end of season 4 and jms is happy leaving it to viewers to decide for themselves where it should be watched. Either way, I definitely wouldn't recommend reading this review until after season 4.

Babylon 5 4-17: The Face of the Enemy

Episode:

83

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Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

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Director:

Mike Vejar

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Air Date:

09-Jun-1997

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm up to Babylon 5 episode 83: The Face of the Enemy.

You can tell the series is picking up momentum again as they've put the title up during a space battle. More often than not an episode title will appear over a nice calm CGI shot of the station just chilling out and rotating, but there's too much going on in the story for that right now.

The episode was directed by Mike Vejar, again. He skipped the first half of the season entirely, but he's been directing every other episode lately, ep 13, 15 and now 17... not that I'm complaining. This was his last for the year though, and he only directed two stories in season five.

I feel like I should give you a SPOILER WARNING just so it's clear I'm going to go through Face of the Enemy scene by scene and maybe spoil a bunch of earlier stories as well. This article will be first-time viewer friendly though, so there'll be no spoilers for later episodes.

Babylon 5 4-15: No Surrender, No Retreat

Episode:

81

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

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Director:

Mike Vejar

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Air Date:

26-May-1997

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures I'm writing about another episode of Babylon 5. It's season 4, episode 15: No Surrender, No Retreat.

Each of Babylon 5's five seasons is named after a big game-changing episode from that year. The first was named after Signs and Portents, which introduced one of the series's main antagonists, season two's title came from The Coming of Shadows which kicked off the that year's arc, and season three took it's name from Point of No Return, where the crew made a choice that radically altered their situation. Season four is called No Surrender, No Retreat, so I've finally reached this year's title episode and the shit is almost certainly going to hit the fan.

Here's some more trivia for you: the word 'no' doesn't show up in episode titles as often as you might think. In fact Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation are the only two Trek series to have a 'no' title, and they each only have the one (Where No Man Has Gone Before and Where No One Has Gone Before respectively). Stargates SG-1 and Atlantis have just one each as well (Point of No Return and No Man's Land), as does Battlestar Galactica (No Exit). Doctor's Who's been around for 57 years so you'd think it'd do well here, but even if you count the individual episodes that make up the classic serials, it's still only used 'no' once (in Sleep No More). Babylon 5, on the other hand, has four episodes with 'no' in the title, and this one uses it twice! I guess this is the kind of thing that happens when you get one writer scripting most of the stories.

Before you read any further, I should warn you that there will be SPOILERS below, for this episode and earlier ones. This will all be first time viewer friendly though, so if you've been watching through the series (or just reading through my recaps) you've got nothing to worry about.

Babylon 5 4-13: Rumors, Bargains and Lies

Episode:

79

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

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Director:

Mike Vejar

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Air Date:

12-May-1997

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm writing about Rumors, Bargains and Lies, the 79th episode of Babylon 5.

It was written by showrunner J. Michael Straczynski, who was about two thirds of the way through his unbroken streak of scripts by this point, and it was directed by Mike Vejar, finally making a reappearance after skipping the first half of the season. He hadn't directed an episode since War Without End, Part 2 back in season 3, so it's nice to have him back.

I'll be recapping the whole episode and sharing my thoughts as I go, so there'll be huge SPOILERS for this episode and earlier ones. But you'll be fine if you've been watching through the series for the first time.

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

Episode:

61

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

|

Air Date:

20-May-1996

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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

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Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

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Air Date:

13-May-1996

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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 3-14: Ship of Tears

Episode:

58

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

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Air Date:

29-Apr-1996

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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 3-13: A Late Delivery from Avalon

Episode:

57

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Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

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Air Date:

22-Apr-1996

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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 3-08: Messages from Earth

Episode:

52

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Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

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Air Date:

19-Feb-1996

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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 3-02: Convictions

Episode:

46

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Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

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Air Date:

13-Nov-1995

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures I'm writing words about Babylon 5's Convictions, the second episode of season three.

There's a weird pattern going on with the titles here, as season two started with episodes called Points of Departure and Revelations, and now season three has started with Matters of Honor and Convictions. Sadly the episode after this breaks the pattern, as the title A Day in the Strife is nothing like season 2's The Geometry of Shadows. They should've gone with The Day of Strife and spared us from the pun.

Okay, I'm going to go through the whole episode now, writing my thoughts under screencaps, so if you want to avoid SPOILERS you'd better stop reading here. Though I'll only be spoiling events up to this point in the story arc, so if you're watching the series for the first time you don't have to worry about me ruining it for you.

Babylon 5 2-21: Comes the Inquisitor

Episode:

43

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Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

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Air Date:

25-Oct-1995

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm writing about an episode actually genuinely called Comes the Inquisitor. It's the one where an inquisitor comes to the station I guess.

The is the penultimate episode of Babylon 5's second season so I'm very close to being done with it, though it doesn't really feel like I'm at the end of something. Season two has been a lot more serialised than the first year, but it hasn't built up momentum leading up to anything likely to be resolved soon. There's been no sense of all the pieces falling into place before a massive turning point in the story. So to me this is pretty much just feels like season 2, episode 21.

There will be SPOILERS below for both this episode and the earlier stories that led up to it as I'm going to go through the whole thing writing text under screenshots. Though if you're watching the series for the first time you don't have to worry about me spoiling anything that happens after this episode. This is a first time viewer friendly review.

Babylon 5 2-14: There All the Honor Lies

Episode:

36

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Writer:

Peter David

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Air Date:

26-Apr-1995

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm writing my thoughts about There All the Honor Lies, considered by many to be the 14th episode of Babylon 5 season 2.

It's also the second and last episode written by Peter David (after Soul Mates six episodes back), and the second to last episode written by anyone but creator J.Michael Straczynski for a long long while. But there's still one Larry DiTillio episode to go this season; JMS hadn't achieved total script domination quite yet.

I'll be recapping the whole episode with screencaps and sharing my opinions and observations, so there'll be wall to wall SPOILERS past this point. I'm sure I'll even spoil events from earlier episodes, but I'll give away nothing from any of the episodes that come after it. Or episodes from entirely different series for that matter.

Babylon 5 2-03: The Geometry of Shadows

Episode:

25

|

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

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Air Date:

16-Nov-1994

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm ankle deep into the second season of cult sci-fi epic Babylon 5, watching the third episode: The Geometry of Shadows.

The title makes it seem like it should be a big episode in the overall arc, seeing as the season is called The Coming of Shadows, but I don't think that's the case. In fact I've got a strong feeling that this is the one with the wizards and the eternal conflict of green vs. purple. Either way I'm sure it'll be watchable as it's the first episode to be directed by Mike Vejar, who became one of the series' top tier directors. I'm expecting interesting shots this time and I'll be disappointed if I don't get them.

This is yet another episode written by series creator J. Michael Straczynski, but he took a break after this one to let other writers like D.C. Fontana and Peter David have a turn. They came a time where he went entirely insane and decided to write all 22 episodes each year by himself, but at this point he was only writing half of them, like in season one. So he was only half crazy.

Alright I'm going to take screencaps and write my commentary underneath, so expect SPOILERS for everything up to and including this episode. Speaking of spoilers and commentary, this is one of the few episodes to actually get a DVD commentary track, by actors Bruce Boxleitner, Jerry Doyle and Claudia Christian (the full command staff). It pretty good if you want to hear three people joking around and enjoying themselves for 40 minutes while saying very little about what they're watching, but they do mention a few things about later episodes, so you should probably stay well clear if you haven't seen the entire five years yet.