A Dream Given Form: The Unofficial Guide to the Universe of Babylon 5

A DREAM GIVEN FORM

The Unofficial Guide to the Universe of

BABYLON 5

Ensley F. Guffey and K. Dale Koontz

CONTENTS

Pilot: The Gathering

SEASON 1

1.01 Midnight on the Firing Line

1.02 Soul Hunter

1.03 Born to the Purple

1.04 Infection

1.05 The Parliament of Dreams

1.06 Mind War

1.07 War Prayer

1.08 And the Sky Full of Stars

1.09 Deathwalker

1.10 Believers

1.11 Survivors

1.12 By Any Means Necessary

1.13 Signs and Portents

1.14 TKO

1.15 Grail

1.16 Eyes

1.17 Legacies

1.18 and 1.19 A Voice in the Wilderness, Parts 1 and 2

1.20 Babylon Squared

1.21 The Quality of Mercy

1.22 Chrysalis

Earth Alliance Rank Structure for Officers

SEASON 2

2.01 Points of Departure

2.02 Revelations

2.03 The Geometry of Shadows

2.04 A Distant Star

2.05 The Long Dark

2.06 Spider in the Web

2.07 Soul Mates

2.08 A Race Through Dark Places

2.09 The Coming of Shadows

2.10 GROPOS

2.11 All Alone in the Night

2.12 Acts of Sacrifice

2.13 Hunter, Prey

2.14 There All the Honor Lies

2.15 And Now for a Word

2.16 In the Shadow of Z’Ha’Dum

2.17 Knives

2.18 Confessions and Lamentations

2.19 Divided Loyalties

2.20 The Long, Twilight Struggle

2.21 Comes the Inquisitor

2.22 The Fall of Night

Oranges

SEASON 3

3.01 Matters of Honor

3.02 Convictions

3.03 A Day in the Strife

3.04 Passing Through Gethsemane

3.05 Voices of Authority

3.06 Dust to Dust

3.07 Exogenesis

3.08 Messages from Earth

3.09 Point of No Return

3.10 Severed Dreams

3.11 Ceremonies of Light and Dark

3.12 Sic Transit Vir

3.13 A Late Delivery from Avalon

3.14 Ship of Tears

3.15 Interludes and Examinations

3.16 and 3.17 War Without End, Parts 1 and 2

3.18 Walkabout

3.19 Grey 17 Is Missing

3.20 And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place

3.21 Shadow Dancing

3.22 Z’ha’dum

In the Beginning

SEASON 4

4.01 The Hour of the Wolf

4.02 Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?

4.03 The Summoning

4.04 Falling Toward Apotheosis

4.05 The Long Night

4.06 Into the Fire

4.07 Epiphanies

4.08 The Illusion of Truth

4.09 Atonement

4.10 Racing Mars

4.11 Lines of Communication

4.12 Conflicts of Interest

4.13 Rumors, Bargains, and Lies

4.14 Moments of Transition

4.15 No Surrender, No Retreat

4.16 Exercise of Vital Powers

4.17 The Face of the Enemy

4.18 Intersections in Real Time

4.19 Between the Darkness and the Light

4.20 Endgame

4.21 Rising Star

4.22 The Deconstruction of Falling Stars

Thirdspace

SEASON 5

5.01 No Compromises

5.02 The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari

5.03 The Paragon of Animals

5.04 A View from the Gallery

5.05 Learning Curve

5.06 Strange Relations

5.07 Secrets of the Soul

5.08 Day of the Dead

5.09 In the Kingdom of the Blind

5.10 A Tragedy of Telepaths

5.11 Phoenix Rising

5.12 The Ragged Edge

5.13 The Corps Is Mother, The Corps Is Father

5.14 Meditations on the Abyss

5.15 Darkness Ascending

5.16 And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder

5.17 Movements of Fire and Shadow

5.18 The Fall of Centauri Prime

5.19 The Wheel of Fire

5.20 Objects in Motion

5.21 Objects at Rest

5.22 Sleeping in Light

You wanted to invite Londo Mollari to your party! An Interview with Peter Jurasik

The River of Souls

The Legend of the Rangers: To Live and Die in Starlight

A Call to Arms

CRUSADE

1.01 War Zone

1.02 The Long Road

1.03 Appearances and Other Deceits

1.04 The Memory of War

1.05 The Needs of Earth

1.06 Racing the Night

1.07 Visitors from Down the Street

1.08 Each Night I Dream of Home

1.09 The Path of Sorrows

1.10 Ruling from the Tomb

1.11 Patterns of the Soul

1.12 The Well of Forever

1.13 The Rules of the Game

1.14 To the Ends of the Earth (Unproduced episode)

1.15 Value Judgments (Unproduced episode)

1.22 The End of the Line (Unproduced episode)

The Lost Tales: Voices in the Dark

The Literature of Babylon 5

Comics

Babylon 5 Issues #1–4

Babylon 5 Issues #5–8: Shadows Past and Present

Babylon 5 Issue #11: The Psi Corps and You!

In Valen’s Name

Beyond the Rim

Novels

The PSI Corps Trilogy

The Shadow Within

To Dream in the City of Sorrows

The Passing of the Techno-Mages Trilogy

Legions of Fire

Short Stories

Hidden Agendas

The Shadow of His Thoughts

Genius Loci

True Seeker

The Nautilus Coil

Babylon 5: Space, Time, and the Incurable Romantic

In Memoriam

Sources

Acknowledgements

About the Authors

Copyright

ENSLEY F. GUFFEY: For Dale, my love, the brightest star in my sky, and for my mother, Pat Guffey, because faith manages.

K. DALE KOONTZ: First, as will always be, for Ensley, whose sense of honor and loyalty never wavers, and second, for the raucous Clan McLane, who know the magic that results from combining tall mountains, fierce love, and an always-open house.

Pilot The Gathering

Written by J. Michael Straczynski

Directed by Richard Compton

Original air date February 22, 1993; January 4, 1998

The sky was full of stars, and every star an exploding ship — one of ours.

— Commander Jeffrey Sinclair

A mysterious new ambassador comes to Babylon 5. Meanwhile, G’Kar plots a number of sinister schemes.

There are actually two versions of The Gathering. The first aired in 1993 on the Prime Time Entertainment Network, while the second premiered in 1998 on TNT. In 1993, J. Michael Straczynski (JMS) was a first-time showrunner, and his previous experience as a television producer had given him no experience in editing. He therefore left everything in the hands of the director and editor, and then spent the next five years regretting that decision, until the day we recut ‘The Gathering’ for the TNT cable network special edition. According to JMS, it is this second version that is closest to his vision, that is the edit used for all DVD releases, and that is usually considered canonical.

Even so, The Gathering (1998) is a bit of a rough ride. The bones of the series are there, and there are a few solid moments, but there are a lot of things that just haven’t been figured out yet. The casting is rough (not unusual for a pilot), with Tamlyn Tomita as a very wooden Lt. Commander Laurel Takashima, and Johnny Sekka running hot and cold as Dr. Benjamin Kyle. Neither actor will return for season one — and that’s a good thing. On the flip side, with the notable exception of Patricia Tallman as Lyta Alexander, the remainder of the primary cast are already giving hints of future brilliance. Peter Jurasik as Londo Mollari and Andreas Katsulas as G’Kar embody the positions of their respective empires perfectly, and play off one another with admirable ease. Mira Furlan as Delenn suffers under layers of angular, masculine makeup, but nonetheless brings a gentle gravitas and secrecy to her role. Jerry Doyle as the irascible security chief Michael Garibaldi displays a perfect kind of hard-boiled and weary-yet-kind cynicism, and Michael O’Hare, as Commander Jeffrey Sinclair, expertly mixes diffidence with command.

The Gathering is heavy on the exposition — again, not unexpected for a science fiction pilot — and the viewer is quickly introduced to the station, the Psi Corps, the Babylon 5 Council, and the five major races of the series: human, Minbari, Centauri, Narn, and Vorlon. The scene is set with a specific year (2257), just 10 years after a major war between humans and Minbari, which the Minbari were apparently winning, right up until they mysteriously surrendered. The Vorlons are also set up as very powerful and even more mysterious, and every race seems to have plans within plans. Sinclair is a man with a past he doesn’t remember, Delenn knows more than she says, G’Kar is looking for an advantage that will allow his people to make the final transition from past slavery to future domination, and Londo is the bitter and decadent representative of a once-great empire now in luxuriously obsequious decline.

The Gathering is flawed, but by the end of the film, JMS & Co. have effectively drawn a universe with a messy past and a messier present, and one in which good old Homo sapiens are not necessarily the top biped on the scene — all of which were a new way of looking at science fiction on TV. The film leaves the viewer right where a good pilot should: wanting more. And JMS would deliver.

STATION DIAGNOSTICS

Highlight

Londo: My God, man, we’ve become a tourist attraction!

Did You Notice

The science behind the Babylon 5 station is pretty solid, with rotation to simulate gravity, a central axis where that pull is negligible, and large areas of green space around the inner cylinder to take up carbon dioxide and produce oxygen.

Even in the 23rd century, at least one print newspaper exists: Universe Today.

Hyperspace Beacons

Ed Wasser plays the role of one of the techs in the command center. He will return often during the series in a very different role.

Unlike Takashima and Kyle, this is not the last time Lyta Alexander will appear.

Unlike some TV science fiction, the B5 universe still has some all-too-familiar problems like street drugs (dust) and potentially dangerous and addictive prescription drugs (stims), both of which will continue to plague B5.

Earth governs Mars Colony directly, although apparently not all that well.

Kosh’s greeting to Sinclair — Entil’Zha Valen — was added in the 1998 re-edit, and its meaning will become clear in season three.

System Errors

Why is Sinclair explaining Psi Corps regulations to Lyta? Shouldn’t that be the other way around?

So no human being has ever seen a Vorlon, yet Dr. Kyle is able to successfully run tests on, operate on, and create an antidote for Kosh?

When Kyle pulls Lyta off Kosh, he is holding her bare hand, but she is not affected by it, despite previously mentioning how direct contact increases telepathic sensitivity.

After revealing that she is illegally growing coffee onboard, Takashima proceeds to mention how long it has been since she has broken any rules.

SEASON

1

SIGNS AND PORTENTS

It was the dawn of the Third Age of Mankind, 10 years after the Earth-Minbari War. The Babylon Project was a dream given form. Its goal: to prevent another war by creating a place where humans and aliens could work out their differences peacefully. It’s a port of call, a home away from home for diplomats, hustlers, entrepreneurs, and wanderers. Humans and aliens wrapped in two million five hundred thousand tons of spinning metal, all alone in the night. It can be a dangerous place, but it’s our last, best hope for peace. This is the story of the last of the Babylon stations. The year is 2258. The name of the place is Babylon 5.

— Commander Jeffrey Sinclair

1.01 Midnight on the Firing Line

Original air date January 1, 1994

Written by J. Michael Straczynski

Directed by Richard Compton

Ignore the propaganda, focus on what you see. — Commander Jeffrey Sinclair

A Centauri colony falls to a mysterious surprise attack, ratcheting up diplomatic tensions on the station. Meanwhile, Garibaldi and Sinclair try and track down a group of raiders.

With Midnight on the Firing Line, Babylon 5 really gets moving. There have been some major cast changes, but because most of the main human characters are members of Earthforce — where transfers and reassignments are part and parcel of military life — the changes become part of the storyline. Midnight also introduces a monologue over the opening credits. The voiceover, performed by Michael O’Hare, sets the scene, gives some basic background for new viewers, and places the action in a specific year: 2258, the year after the events in Pilot/The Gathering. In fact, each season of Babylon 5 will take place in consecutive years, with one year of broadcast time equaling one year of narrative time, again making the realities of production serve the ongoing storyline.

Season one of Babylon 5 is all about exposition, and the opening episode begins to develop what are arguably the most important ongoing relationships in the series, with the micro of Londo and G’Kar mirroring the macro of the Centauri and Narn polities. The evolution of these intertwined associations will be at the core of Babylon 5 through all five seasons. With Katsulas and Jurasik providing consistently bravura performances throughout, the story of these two men and the people they literally and metaphorically represent will produce some of the most powerful and moving moments of the series.

Here at the beginning, the Narn regime is riding high. Having thrown off their Centauri oppressors in the recent past, they have become newly powerful and aggressive, with generations of pent-up resentment and hate driving them forward, always with an eye to ending the Centauri once and for all. At the center of the fury strides G’Kar, who is the Narn will to power and vengeance made manifest: proud, devious, and cunning, willing to do whatever is necessary to rid the galaxy of the Centauri, and dedicated to guaranteeing Narn security and freedom by guiding the regime to the heights of galactic military and political power

On the other side, the Centauri Republic is an empire in decadent decline, vainly proud of their past as world-conquering galactic masters, yet forced to live in a present where their vaunted power is on the wane and their prestige a tattered façade, unable to effectively resist the depredations of a people whom they once enslaved. In Londo Mollari, the Centauri have found their perfect essence: cynical, bombastic, and wry, with an enormous appetite for drink, beautiful women, and gambling, yet also a pragmatist and a patriot, galled by the realities of his times and the deterioration of his beloved republic.

The maneuvering between these two and their empires takes place within a wider political sphere introduced in this episode. Babylon 5 is now home to something like a galactic UN, where the five major races preside, Security Council–like, over an organization made up mostly of the League of Non-aligned Worlds: smaller planets and systems that lack the power of the big five. The League is the gallery to which the major races play, the supporters they must secure to win majority votes of the Babylon 5 Advisory Council, and the players most likely to suffer should two or more of the five giants go to war. Everyone has an agenda, both personal and political, and intrigue and backroom deals are the order of the day, with diplomatic immunity thrown in just to sweeten the pot. This is the world of Babylon 5, the scene set in some 42 minutes. Let the games begin.

STATION DIAGNOSTICS

Highlight

Kosh: They are alone. They are a dying people. We should let them pass.

Sinclair: Who? The Narn or the Centauri?

Kosh: Yes.

Did You Notice There have been some dramatic changes in some of the characters’ appearances. Delenn’s look has been softened, with her skin tones brought closer to those of Caucasian humans. Londo’s hair is much more a solid fan, although JMS will lament that they were never able to get Londo’s hair quite right at any point in the series.

Hyperspace Beacons

Homeworld politics directly affect government policies, for all polities represented, including the Earth Alliance, which in this case is unwilling to get too tangled in foreign affairs on the eve of a domestic election. This is one of the key realistic elements that JMS & Co. incorporate in the narrative early and often.

In President Santiago’s campaign platform there is a bit of Earth first rhetoric, and a hint of concern about alien influences and culture.

Ivanova’s history with and feelings towards the Psi Corps are major touchstones for her character, and are one of the few things that have the ability to make her lose her cool.

Daffy Duck is not limited by things like time and space, and will be seen again.

Interesting Facts

Midnight on the Firing Line gave its name to a recognized TV trope in which an episode quietly sets up events that will have profound effects on the narrative later. The website TV Tropes used the title of this episode as the trope name until replacing it with the more specific moniker Innocuously Important Episode.

Garibaldi’s second favorite thing is 20th-century Daffy Duck cartoons, and the one he watches with Delenn over popcorn is one of the funniest: Duck Dodgers in the 24th½ Century, a 1953 Warner Brothers animated spoof of the popular Buck Rogers character.

COMMAND DECISIONS

The Sinclairs of the RAF Sinclair tells Ivanova that the Sinclairs have been fighter pilots all the way back to the Battle of Britain. Historically, there are actually a couple of candidates for Jeffrey Sinclair’s ancestors. Wing Commander Gordon Sinclair shot down 11 German planes during his service in the skies over Dunkirk, Britain, and occupied France, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Czech Military Cross, and the Order of King George of Podograd, among others, for his exemplary war service. Pilot Officer John Sinclair served with No. 219 Squadron throughout the Battle of Britain and World War II, flying twin-engined Beaufighters as part of both daylight and nighttime air cover over London.

1.02 Soul Hunter

Written by J. Michael Straczynski

Directed by Jim Johnston

Original air date February 2, 1994

We were right about you. — Delenn

A mysterious visitor arrives on Babylon 5, and endangers Delenn and her secrets.

Fans of Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003) coined the term monster-of-the-week for standalone episodes that did not really advance a season’s overall arc. At first, Soul Hunter would appear to fall squarely into this category, but what appear to be a few small crumbs of information scattered here and there are actually a vital part of the superstructure of Babylon 5’s major arc. Soul Hunter also marks the first appearance of Dr. Stephen Franklin (Richard Biggs), who rounds out Babylon 5’s command team. Franklin’s tone is set almost immediately with a deep, dark monologue on the brevity of life. Franklin will become notorious for such ruminations throughout the five seasons of the show. Biggs fills the part brilliantly throughout, giving a depth of emotional realism to a very complex, often tragic character.

The key subject of the episode, however, is the Minbari soul. As a species, the Minbari hold a fundamental belief in the existence and reincarnation of their souls as part of a grand racial cycle wherein the same souls reappear in generation after generation of Minbari. This puts Delenn at murderous odds with the Soul Hunter (William Morgan Sheppard), whose calling is to trap souls at the moment of their deaths, thus preventing them from reentering the great cycle. With fewer souls in the cycle, fewer Minbari are born, making the actions of the Soul Hunters mass murders at best, genocides at worst. The Minbari soul cycle is one of the underpinnings of the show, the importance of which will begin to be revealed towards the end of season one.

Yet the Soul Hunters aren’t portrayed as mindless killers — they obviously believe in the reality of souls, but do not believe that Minbari souls reincarnate. From their perspective, they are saving souls from extinction or sublimation into the greater universe. Soul Hunter reveals one of Straczynski’s major themes: faith — how it works, why it matters, and its universality. He also begins to play with ideas of spiritual and cultural toleration and respect, including the question: where should such respect end? In Soul Hunter the answer is: when tolerance of a given cultural behavior results in people being directly harmed. Faith, choice, and responsibility are the trinity of Babylon 5, and Soul Hunter is just the beginning.

STATION DIAGNOSTICS

Highlight

Ivanova: This is not a clear and present danger? I must read the rule book again.

Did You Notice

Soul Hunter provides the first look at the seedy underbelly of Babylon 5. Unlike Star Trek, Babylon 5 does not assume some kind of post-scarcity society. Babylon 5 has its share of poverty, indigence, and homelessness all tucked away in the darker, less public areas of the station. Largely out of sight and out of mind, the poverty persists, as do the most basic social problems.

The Earth Alliance weaponry has changed significantly from that used in The Gathering, as have the communication units. The guns are now PPGs — phased plasma guns — and the communication links are now attached to the back of the hand directly, without any kind of wristband.

Hyperspace Beacons

The Soul Hunter reveals that the Minbari leader, Dukhat, was mortally wounded in the attack (presumably by forces from Earth) that started the Earth-Minbari War.

Dr. Franklin disembarks from the star liner Asimov, named for the prolific American science fiction writer Isaac Asimov (1920–1992). Like J. Michael Straczynski, Asimov was of Russian Jewish descent, and he wrote or edited over 500 books in his lifetime. The star liner named in his honor becomes something of a running through-line in the Babylon 5 universe, appearing or being mentioned in 14 episodes of Babylon 5, one Babylon 5 TV movie, two episodes of Crusade, and one of the canonical short stories.

The episode also reveals that Delenn is Satai, a title given to members of the Grey Council, the ruling body of the Minbari — not the sort that is usually assigned to a diplomatic post like Babylon 5.

COMMAND DECISIONS

Sinclair Aircraft and Sinclair Oil In his quarters, Commander Sinclair has an old sign for Sinclair Aircraft on display. Rather than an aircraft company, the sign is an advertisement for Sinclair Oil’s aviation fuel and motor oil products. Founded in 1916, Sinclair Oil Corporation introduced the first service station in the U.S. in Chicago in 1922, where for the first time trained mechanics were available to service automobiles alongside their filling stations. Sinclair aviation products were popular through World War II, and the Sinclair Aircraft sign, featuring a green image of Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis , first appeared in the 1930s. What hangs on Sinclair’s wall appears to be a 12-inch sticker logo on a piece of sheet steel that likely dates from the 1980s, when such retro-pop decals began to become popular.

Plasma Guns in Fiction and Fact Earthforce’s standard sidearm is the PPG, or phased plasma gun. While long a staple of science fiction, including the famous phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range from The Terminator (1984), in recent decades plasma weapons have begun to become a reality. In 2013, researchers at the University of Missouri developed a way of creating and launching plasma rings through the open air. The distance is still short — about two feet — but the research proves the theory that plasma can be reliably projected in a controlled manner. Funded largely by the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research, there is little doubt that weaponization of this technology is a major goal. Like Babylon 5 ’s fictional PPGs, the MU device creates plasma that has its own magnetic field, which acts as a kind of sheath as the plasma travels through atmosphere — until the magnetic containment field dissipates in a few milliseconds. According to the project’s lead researcher, the MU device could be modified to handle more power, thus creating stronger plasmas that travel farther. Given 200 years of technological refinement, the production of handheld PPGs by the 23rd century is not really a stretch.

1.03 Born to the Purple

Written by Lawrence G. DiTillio

Directed by Bruce Seth Green

Original air date February 9, 1994

We Centauri live our lives for appearances. Position, status, title: these are the things by which we define ourselves.. . . And then I think of you, and I say, ‘To hell with appearances!’ — Londo

Londo and Ivanova find themselves distracted from affairs of state and command by affairs of the heart. Meanwhile, Garibaldi is trying to track down a hacker.

Trying to diffuse the tensions between the Narn and Centauri Empires, Sinclair has convinced G’Kar and Londo to negotiate a territorial settlement while he acts as an impartial mediator. Unfortunately, Londo’s mind is preoccupied with a beautiful Centauri exotic dancer, Adira (Fabiana Udenio). In fact, the ambassador is besotted. Peter Jurasik has already demonstrated a genius for the character of Londo in the pilot movie and two previous episodes, but Born to the Purple is the first Londo-centric episode. The result is a multidimensional portrait of a man as complex as he is contradictory, painted with exquisite care and surprising subtlety by Jurasik. Loud, proud, tender, brash, baleful, humorous, and heartbreaking, in this episode Londo Mollari truly comes to life in all of his bittersweet glory.

The love affair between the young and beautiful dancer and the aging diplomat is all part of a plot, but like the viewer, Adira finds in Londo someone she can’t help but like, and perhaps even love. For all of his faults — and there are many — Londo is revealed to be a man of passion and integrity, but also a man who holds secrets and has ambitions of power. What comes across so heartbreakingly is that Londo truly loves this woman, even when he discovers that their relationship is not what he thought it was. It is hard to dislike a character that loves so fully, if foolishly. Londo’s hard-drinking, hail-fellow-well-met attitude is revealed to be a very public mask, and the man beneath is actually even more likable.

While Londo and G’Kar are indisputably designed as complementary foils for one another, in Born to the Purple, it is Ivanova who serves as Londo’s mirror image. Claudia Christian brings a perfect mix of stoicism, Russian fatalism, and ironic humor to her character, all simmering atop a deep well of anger and grief, which is beautifully revealed in her final conversation with her estranged father. Ivanova’s own mask of command is laid briefly aside in this episode, revealing the human woman beneath. Importantly, Ivanova proves herself willing to break the rules, and even the chain of command, to do what is right — a facet of her character that will guide her throughout the series.

STATION DIAGNOSTICS

Highlight

Londo (to Vir): What do you want, you moon-faced assassin of joy?

Did You Notice Apparently, handheld gaming devices are still popular in the future, and are sometimes the only things that the Centauri and the Narn can both agree on. Also, Russia and affiliated states are now known as the Russian Consortium.

Hyperspace Beacons

Fresh Air is the premier restaurant on Babylon 5, with an unenclosed dining area giving patrons an incredible view of the inner core of Babylon 5. Fresh Air will appear repeatedly throughout the series as an upscale locale to conduct both private and professional business.

Garibaldi’s Universe Today has one easily readable headline: Home Guard Leader Convicted.

System Errors The rare and beautiful star lace flowers Adira is so fond of look like nothing so much as small, white Christmas lights surrounded by clear gummy worms. The bouquet prop is just ridiculous.

Interesting Facts On the surface, Born to the Purple refers to House Mollari’s purple files, which give them political leverage and power. The phrase itself however, has historically been used to indicate someone who is born to rule, or to exercise power. In this episode, it underlines the fact that Londo is from the nobility — as his purple coat illustrates to everyone — while, as a slave, Adira is of the lowest class.

1.04 Infection

Written by J. Michael Straczynski

Directed by Richard Compton

Original air date February 16, 1994

You forgot the first rule of the fanatic: when you become obsessed with the enemy, you become the enemy. — Jeffrey Sinclair

Much to Sinclair’s dismay, a news crew is doing a story on Babylon 5. Meanwhile, Dr. Franklin’s former professor is in need of some assistance.

Infection is another episode that lays some structural components for the Babylon 5 universe and the grand arc, while foregrounding a very monster-of-the-week story. Interestingly, however, one of the episode’s monsters is the press in the form of Mary Ann Cramer (Patricia Healy), an abrasive reporter from the Interstellar News Network (ISN), complete with flying drone-cameras. ISN is one of a very few arc-seeds that are dropped in Infection, and the network will become very important in later seasons, as JMS & Co. wrestle with the tension between a free press and an intrusive one. For the moment however, JMS & Co. are content merely to establish its existence. There are a few other seeds planted in this episode (see below), but the main thrust here is developing the characters of Franklin, Sinclair, and Garibaldi a little more fully.

Franklin is revealed as something of a workaholic, particularly when faced with an interesting problem like the mechanics of the alien technology brought aboard the station by his old professor, Vance Hendricks (David McCallum). This is one of Franklin’s core traits, and will prove to be a boon when it comes to solving problems like the alien killing machine, and a deep flaw when it causes him to forgo asking questions about the alien artifacts’ provenance, which might have prevented all the trouble in the first place. Meanwhile, in hounding Garibaldi for an interview, Cramer reveals to viewers that he’s been fired five times from five different positions for unspecified personal reasons, and that Babylon 5 is his last chance to make good. In both cases these issues will continue to torment these characters for the rest of the series, but they are also the very real elements of personality that make for fully realized characters.

Commander Sinclair, taking on the role of action-hero for the episode, is revealed to be acting somewhat out of character. At the end of the episode, Garibaldi calls him out, noting that this is the third time in a single year that Sinclair has acted recklessly and put his life at risk, as if he were trying to prove something. Garibaldi is worried about PTSD, and Sinclair can’t avoid admitting that he’s not sure exactly what is going on in his own head. This is a fascinating area of characterization, marking one of the first times that battle stress and PTSD became an element on American SF television. Unfortunately, due to Michael O’Hare’s own tragic mental health issues (see extra on page 467), it is an area that is never fully explored, if indeed that was ever JMS & Co.’s intent. At the end of Infection, the viewer is left with three dedicated, talented men whose heroism is matched by their frailty, and with an early education in Straczynski’s own mastery of character as a driving force of storytelling. In Babylon 5 the stories are real because the characters are.

STATION DIAGNOSTICS

Highlight

Dr. Hendricks: There’s a Martian war machine parked outside. They’d like a word with you about the common cold.

Hyperspace Beacons

Interplanetary Expeditions (IPX) will make several appearances throughout the series.

Biomechanics is an extremely powerful technology, which Earth does not have, but is very interested in, particularly as the Vorlons are known to possess it, and the Minbari are suspected to.

The theme of the interactions between ideology, science, and religious and military extremists will become one of the series’ through-lines.

System Errors The Ikarran super-weapon can burn through blast doors, but not Sinclair’s flak-jacket.

COMMAND DECISIONS

Biomechanical Technology

The terminology used by Babylon 5 to refer to the semi-organic technology in Infection and subsequent episodes is somewhat dated. Today we would likely refer to the Ikarran artifacts as biotechnological. Basically, biotechnology is the use of living systems and organisms to make or modify a product or technology. Some of the earliest uses of biotechnology include using yeasts to ferment alcohol and for leavening bread, or using bacteria to make cheese. Other examples of basic biotechnology include plant hybridization and selective stock breeding. The relatively new fields of nanobiotechnology and bionanotechnology have allowed the production of biocomputers, which use DNA and certain proteins to perform calculations, and have pioneered the growth of organs from donor-specific cells or stem cells. Scientists and ethicists are just beginning to explore the possibilities and problems of nanobiotechnologies, but the science fiction biomechanical wonders and terrors of Babylon 5 are well on the way to becoming science fact.

1.05 The Parliament of Dreams

Written by J. Michael Straczynski

Directed by Jim Johnston

Original air date February 23, 1994

‘Will you follow me into fire? Into storm? Into darkness? Into death?’ And the Nine said, ‘Yes.’ ‘Then do this in testimony to the one who will follow, who will bring death couched in the promise of new life, and renewal in the disguise of defeat.’ — Delenn

Earth Central’s idea for an interspecies religious and cultural exchange on Babylon 5 causes disruptions aboard the station, and old acquaintances reenter the lives of Sinclair and G’kar.

The Parliament of Dreams showcases one of the downsides of the Babylon 5 station as a putative showcase of intergalactic diplomacy: the tendency of Earthgov to come up with big events to justify the station’s existence and generate good PR. The weeklong religious festival and cultural exchange that forms the backdrop to this episode is one such idea. Unfortunately this leads to a major influx of visitors to the station, most of whom are devout adherents to their species’ major creeds, some of which require their worshippers to carry things like knives, which creates problems for Mr. Garibaldi. In addition, Sinclair, Ivanova, Garibaldi, and Franklin, as senior Earthforce and diplomatic personnel, have to find the time to schedule, help organize, and attend the ceremonies of the major participating races.

It’s a busy week on the station, and the episode gives an inside look at two of the major cultures of the Babylon 5 universe that exist at almost diametrically opposed ends of the religious spectrum. The Centauri festival is raucous, polytheistic, and very Dionysian: full of booze, laughter, and music, and culminating in the celebrants becoming one with the gods (i.e., passing out). Its origins are rooted in a vicious and ancient genocidal struggle between two indigenous, sentient species for dominance of the Centauri homeworld, emphasizing an almost hardwired drive to fight, conquer, and rule married to a joie de vivre that demands that life be celebrated because of its brevity.

The Minbari exist on the other end of the spectrum. Their ceremony is Apollonian, somber and serious, with quiet music, detailed rituals, and layered symbolism. It too reveals their history, but perhaps one more recent than that of the Centauri. The Minbari ritual is more regal, but less widely participatory than the Centauri’s, and far more formal. Though less specific in its details, based upon the invocation quoted above, the Minbari ceremony originates in a time of shared danger as well. Taken together, the two ceremonies demonstrate the diversity of belief in the galaxy, for there is plenty of room between the extremes shown for an enormous range of faiths and practices. The human contribution to the week underscores this, as Sinclair leads the ambassadors down a long receiving line of representatives from Earth’s multiplicity of spiritual beliefs and non-beliefs, presenting humanity as a microcosm of the galaxy — another theme that Straczynski will return to, and upon which much will turn.

STATION DIAGNOSTICS

Highlight

Londo: Do you know what the last Xon said, just before he died? ‘ARRRRRGH!!!’

Did You Notice

The absence of Carolyn Sykes (Blaire Baron), Sinclair’s girlfriend from The Gathering, is finally explained as the result of their split a year ago in 2257.

The only non-Centauri who seems to really be having a good time at the Centauri celebration is Ivanova.

Hyperspace Beacons

The Parliament of Dreams introduces two major secondary characters: the ambassadorial aides Na’Toth (Julie Caitlin Brown) and Lennier (Bill Mumy), both of whom will play important roles in the grand arc of Babylon 5.

Alone in his quarters, Sinclair is listening to a reading of Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Sinclair quoted from the long poem in The Gathering, and lines from the epic will appear again in future seasons.

It will take more than a professional assassin to make G’Kar scream.

System Errors The relationship between Sinclair and Catherine Sakai (Julia Nickson) is a rare misfire on Straczynski’s part. Not only does he try to jam several years’ worth of personal history into about 15 minutes, but Sakai is basically a retread of Carolyn Sykes, and there is a noticeable lack of any real chemistry between the actors. This will improve somewhat over time, but due to unforeseen circumstances, the relationship will never have the opportunity to overcome these early, very clunky hurdles.

Interesting Facts

The showtune-esque ditty G’Kar sings in this episode was composed for the occasion by series music director and composer Christopher Franke.

In an early message board posting, Straczynski explained that the gathering of representatives of all the different religions on the stations was the parliament of the title, while their varied belief systems were the dreams.

1.06 Mind War

Written by J. Michael Straczynski

Directed by Bruce Seth Green

Original air date March 2, 1994

Let me pass on to you the one thing I have learned about this place: no one here is exactly what he seems. Not Mollari, not Delenn, not Sinclair, and not me. — G’Kar

Catherine Sakai takes on a dangerous commission, while an even more dangerous player appears on the station.

Mind War marks the first appearance of the Psi Cop Alfred Bester, one of the most chilling, brilliantly realized villains in television history. Brought to deliciously malevolent and witty life by the great Walter Koenig, Bester looms large throughout Babylon 5, and at times seems to be a greater threat than any other faced by the crew. To this point in the series, the Psi Corps has been viewed from only two perspectives: Talia Winters (Andrea Thompson) is a commercial telepath (or teep), spends her time making sure various negotiations are conducted honestly, and is seemingly forthright and relatively harmless. Susan Ivanova’s view of the Corps, on the other hand, is colored by the tragic life and death of her mother, who was forced to go on sleeper drugs when she refused to join the Psi Corps, and eventually committed suicide when she could no longer stand the side effects. There have been intimations that the Corps is not the benevolent, protective organization it is advertised to be, but Mind War marks the first time that some of the realities of the Corps are revealed.

Enter Jason Ironheart (William Allen Young), former Psi Corps instructor, Talia’s former lover, and a victim of psychic experimentation that went wrong in ways no one was expecting. On his heels is a pair of Psi Cops, powerful telepaths authorized to deal with rogue teeps or threats to telepaths as a whole. Bester and Miss Kelsey (Felicity Waterman) have broad authority, and are not bound by the same rules against scanning people without their permission that other members of the Corps are. Dressed all in black down to their boots, there is more than a little of the Gestapo about them, of power without effective restraint, and devotion bordering on fanaticism. Above all, they openly view telepaths as superior to baseline humanity, or mundanes. The Psi Cops, and perhaps increasingly the Psi Corps as a whole, are a law unto themselves.

If originally the hardline teeps acted out of a real need to safeguard themselves and others like them from the bigotry and fear of the rest of humanity, they have lost their way, moving from protection to vicious experimentation in the pursuit of murderous goals and power. They have passed through fear to fanaticism and dreams of control over the human race, with telepaths at the top as a privileged class. This is yet another recurring theme in Babylon 5, and will be played out again and again, by both individuals and interstellar empires as the series progresses. At least with Bester, you always know which side he’s ultimately on.

STATION DIAGNOSTICS

Highlight

Bester (responding to Garibaldi’s thoughts): Anatomically impossible, Mr. Garibaldi, but you’re welcome to try. Anytime. Anywhere.

Did You Notice

Ironheart’s ship matches the station’s rotation as it comes in for docking, a nice example of JMS & Co.’s attention to the details of life in space.

Bester never uses his left hand. It remains constantly clenched into a fist.

Sinclair has a strangely strong aversion to the idea of someone messing around in his mind.

Ironheart’s quarters are located in California Sector, which seems apropos for someone who causes mindquakes.

After Talia’s harrowing mind scan, Ivanova gently gives her some water, the first time she has indicated any real feelings of compassion and kindness towards the telepath.

Ironhart’s line before battling Kelsey, You cannot harm one who has dreamed a dream like mine, is an Ojibwe prayer for protection against enemies.

Hyperspace Beacons

The Starfury fighters that attack Ironheart’s ship on its way to Babylon 5 are emblazoned with the Greek letter omega (Ω), which has come to indicate the final step in any given series, the ultimate end — a chilling reference when the pilots are Psi Corps teeps.

When he transforms, Ironheart tells the command crew, I’ll see you in a million years, a time frame that becomes significant at the end of the series.

Telepaths will play an increasingly important — and increasingly central — role in the series going forward, and a major part in the series of canonical novels based upon Straczynski’s outlines of the Babylon 5 universe.

Interesting Fact Ironheart tells Talia that the Corps is trying to develop telekinetics with very fine control to use as assassins who can pinch off an artery, cause an aneurysm or stroke, etc. This is an idea Straczynski will return to in his wonderful comic series Rising Stars (1999–2000) with the character of Laurel Darkhaven.

COMMAND DECISIONS

Alfred Bester Alfred Bester (1913–1987) was an American writer best known for two highly influential science fiction novels: The Demolished Man (1953) and The Stars My Destination (1956). In The Demolished Man (which won the first ever Hugo Award) Bester created what is considered to be the first novel to deal with telepathy in a realistic way. The novel is a police procedural murder mystery, focused on the investigation of Police Prefect Lincoln Powell, a Class 1 Esper (most powerful type of telepath). Besides depicting a society in which telepaths are integrated at every level, Bester also developed ideas about how telepaths might socialize together, including mental party games. Babylon 5 echoes The Demolished Man repeatedly, from the ranking of telepaths by the strength of their abilities, to the existence of telepathic police, the use of repetitive rhymes to help defeat telepath scans, the existence of telepaths who are convinced of their superiority to non-telepathic humans, and even the ultimate punishment of demolition, where a criminal’s personality is systematically demolished and then replaced by a new, socially beneficial one, a process that JMS & Co. will rename the death of personality and deploy as a punishment for heinous capital crimes in future episodes.

CSICOP (CSI) J. Michael Straczynski deliberately nicknamed the Psi Corps’ telepathic police the Psi Cops as a homonym for CSICOP (The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, known today as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry [CSI]). Founded in 1976 by American philosopher Paul Kurtz, CSICOP was devoted to the critical and scientific examination of various supposedly paranormal events and abilities, such