DVD Review | Babylon 5 (Season 1)
Written by: Kage Alan

One of the complaints I had with the Star Trek franchise and heard mirrored
from other fans was the lack of a series arc (minus "Deep Space 9" of
course).  Well, when it came to science fiction and an arc, one didn't have
to look any further than Babylon 5.  The funny thing is that after the 2-hour
premier of "The Gathering", I was so turned off by the show that I didn't
start watching it again until the fifth season.  Talk about having to catch
up with quite a few episodes, which I did on when TNT aired them.  Now, after
years of requests from fans of the show and a decent reception to a 2-episode
disc released last year (a far better reception than the quality of the disc
deserved), Warner has released the first season.  Okay, I guess they do
listen, only they're a little slow to respond.

Babylon 5 is a huge space station sitting in neutral space and serving as a
port of call where all the diplomats in the galaxy as well as aliens can do
business.  Commanding the station is Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O'Hare,
"C.H.U.D."), a soldier who fought in the last great battle Earth had with the
Minbari and who has a 24-hour period of his life that he can't account for. 
His second-in-command is the lovely Russian Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian,
"The Hidden".  If there's someone you don't want to cross, it's her!  Station
security is run by the ever-resourceful Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle,
"Devious Beings") while Dr. Stephen Franklin (Richard Biggs, "The Guiding
Light") handles the Med Lab.  Let's also not forget our resident telepath,
the lovely Talia Winters (Andrea Thompson, "Delirious").

As for alien ambassadors, there's Delenn (Mira Furlan) and her attaché
Lennier (Bill Mumy, "Lost In Space"), Londo Mollari (Peter Jurasik, "Problem
Child") and his attaché Vir Cotto (Stephen Furst, "Sorority Boys"), G'Kar
(Andreas Katsulas, "The Fugitive") and his attaché Na'Toth (Caitlin Brown) as
well as a score of others.  As can be expected with politicians, there's
plenty of backstabbing, bickering and mayhem that cause the station to be put
in jeopardy more than once.

As for Season 1's arc, there's trouble with raiders attacking a number of
shipments, a political disaster back home between the Mars colony and Earth,
pro-Earth groups attacking aliens, a possible assassination attempt and the
coming of an ancient enemy capable of destroying them all.  Don't look for
too much closure during this season, known as "Signs and Portents", because
it's setting everything up that's yet to come.  The majority of the episodes
are excellent, but some, like "TKO" wouldn't have been missed had they never
been filmed.  Despite those rare instances, Babylon 5 is an extremely
engaging show full of intrigue, humor and innovative special effects.  As for
the season finale, it's a doozy!!!

Warner Home Video has delivered a Widescreen transfer of the first 22
episodes (they originally aired in Full Frame).  While that's good news, the
quality of the transfer is full of specs and flecks and, in my opinion, looks
as if it hasn't been cleaned up at all for this release.  If it was, then I'd
hate to see how they looked originally.  The audio sounds quite incredible,
so that's a strong point.  As for extras, there's a short introduction by
creator J. Michael Straczynski, commentary by Straczynski on 2 episodes, 2
documentaries titled "The Making Of Babylon 5" (19 mins) and "Back to Babylon
5" (12 mins) featuring lots of interviews with cast and crew, a virtual
station tour and computer files on historical events, personnel and a
technical area.

I truly hope this first box set of Babylon 5 does well because there are 4
more seasons to go that weren't all released on VHS.  There is a definite fan
base and Warner finally seems to be paying attention to them.  In all
honesty, hats off to them for giving us the Widescreen transfers and the
extras.  They weren't particularly interested before, so it's nice to see
they had a change of heart.  If you're looking to make that special sci-fi
geek's Christmas a bright one, "Babylon 5 (Season 1)" is a sure-fire way to
do it.  Had I not bought it for myself, it would have made mine!

Film Rating: A-
DVD Special Features: B+

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