Babylon 5
Captain John Sheridan (Bruce Boxlietner) arrives on Babylon 5 in the first episode of the second series, "Points of Departure", which marks the handing over of command of B5 to Sheridan from Commander Jeffery Sinclair (actor Michael O'Hare had become a victim of studio politicians who wanted a bigger star in the leading role). This excellent instalment also reveals more about why the Minbari surrendered to Earth at the Battle of the Line when they were on the verge of victory. "Revelations" explains that Sheridan's wife, Anna, died during an archaeological survey of the world Z'ha'dum, the name being just one of many oblique references to Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. "The Geometry of Shadows" introduces the Technomages, characters who featured more significantly in the ill-fated spin-off series Crusade (1999), while "The Coming of Shadows" proved to be Babylon 5's finest hour. The story of political intrigue foreshadowing the fate of two of the major characters won the Hugo award for the Best Dramatic Presentation at the 1996 World Science Fiction Convention and proved so powerful that J Michael Straczynski included it in his Complete Book of Scriptwriting.
"And Now for a Word" takes the unusual step of presenting a day-in-the-life of B5 seen through the eyes of a TV news crew, just as the Narn declare war on the Centauri. The inclusion of a PSI-Corps commercial paid homage to Paul Verhoeven's satirical ads in Robocop (1987). In "In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum", Sheridan learns that Morden was on the ship on which Anna died, this episode seeing the Captain pushed to his limits by grief and determination to discover why Morden survived. Three exceptional shows conclude the year. The Narn-Centauri war escalates in "The Long, Twilight Struggle", Sheridan faces a most unusual ordeal in "Comes the Inquisitor", while in "The Fall of Night" all hope of peace is shattered as a nerve-wracking assassination attempt reveals a startling secret about Ambassador Kosh.
On the DVD: Babylon 5--Series 2 presents all 22 episodes anamorphically enhanced at 16:9, with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. Originally shot with eventual widescreen presentation in mind, the programmes looks far better than they did when broadcast. The effects shots, reformatted from full-screen CGI, show occasional pixilation, but the new compositions are more dynamic than the old 4:3. Always a show with powerful audio, the remixed soundtrack is rich and involving, if lacking in the bass punch and complex layering of much more expensive cinema productions. Extras are an introduction to Series 2 (eight mins) and Building Babylon: Blueprint of an Episode (13 mins), is a perfunctory promotional piece. More interesting is Shadows and Dreams, an eight-minute feature on B5's two Hugo Awards. Three episodes have commentaries, with J Michael Straczynski examining the politics, mythology and production of In the Shadow of Z'Ha'Dum and The Fall of Night, and stars Bruce Boxleitner, Claudia Christian and Jerry Doyle have a decidedly low-brow laugh-fest through The Geometry of Shadows. There is an alternative French soundtrack and subtitles for the hard-of-hearing. --Gary S Dalkin
As Captain John Sheridan assumes command of Babylon 5, he learns the reason why the Minbari inexplicably surrendered to Earth in the Earth-Minbari War while a renegade Minbari ship seeks to restart it.
G'Kar brings news of an old enemy's return. Dr. Franklin tries to bring Garibaldi out from his coma. Delenn returns, quite changed.
Ivanova deals with a Drazi custom, which only occurs once every 5 years. Techno-mages arrive on the station.
Captain Sheridan's old commanding officer Captain Jack Maynard arrives at the station aboard the Explorer-class ship EAS Cortez and disaster ensues in hyperspace.
A 100-year-old sleeper ship is found adrift near the station. It has brought a deadly force with it.
Talia witnesses a murder at the hands of a Free Mars member.
Visitors to the station include Londo's three wives and Talia's ex-husband. Delenn has a bad hair day.
Bester has Talia investigate an "underground railroad" of telepaths escaping the Psi Corps.
The Centauri emperor visits the station, leading G'Kar to attempt to assassinate him. Lord Refa and Londo conspire to expand their power on Centauri Prime.
A task force of ground troops led by Dr. Franklin's father General Richard Franklin is assembled at Babylon 5, leading to some friction.
While investigating strange readings on a Starfury patrol, Sheridan is kidnapped by aliens. General Hague makes an unofficial visit to the station. Delenn is called before the Grey Council in response to her recent transformation.
G'Kar asks Sheridan and Delenn for help from their respective governments in the Narn-Centauri War, which the Narn are losing. Ivanova shows a representative from a new species around the station.
A fugitive with secret Earthforce data relating to President Santiago's death takes refuge on Babylon 5.
Sheridan kills a Minbari warrior in self-defense, but a Minbari witness to the incident claims it was not justified.
ISN arrives on Babylon 5 to film a documentary about the station, its crew and its mission. During the filming of the documentary, Babylon 5 must deal with a skirmish between the Narn and the Centauri on its doorstep.
Sheridan discovers that Morden has a connection to his late wife Anna. Nightwatch, a new agency on Earth, is trying to recruit new personnel on Babylon 5.
An old friend asks for help from Londo. Sheridan is possessed by a strange creature.
Dr. Franklin tries desperately to find a cure for a disease which is killing off all the Markab on the station.
Lyta Alexander returns to the station with news that one of the officers on the station is an undercover operative.
The Centauri war machine rolls on toward the Narn homeworld, unknowingly aided by the Shadows, while the remains of the Narn fleet plan a last-ditch counter-attack.
Kosh tests Delenn's allegiance while G'Kar attempts to bring his people together on Babylon 5.
The command staff are caught between a rock and a hard place when Sheridan agrees to give sanctuary to a Narn warship, while EarthForce attempts to placate the increasingly aggressive Centauri Republic.
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Bruce Boxleitner | Capt. John Sheridan |
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Andreas Katsulas | G'Kar |
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Stephen Furst | Vir Cotto |
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Peter Jurasik | Londo Mollari |
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Claudia Christian | Cmdr. Susan Ivanova |
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Mira Furlan | Delenn |
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Bill Mumy | Lennier |
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Robert Rusler | Warren Keffer |
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Andrea Thompson | Talia Winters |
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Richard Biggs | Dr. Stephen Franklin |
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Jerry Doyle | Michael Garibaldi |
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Mary Kay Adams | Na'Toth |
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Josh Coxx | Tech David Corwin |
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Bill Blair | Alien |
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Jeff Conaway | Zack Allan |
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Ardwight Chamberlain | Kosh |
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Kim Strauss | Narn #2 |
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Haley McLane | Computer |
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Jonathan Chapman | Ambassador #1 |
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Neil Bradley | Kha'Mak |
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Mark Hendrickson | Narn #1 |
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David L. Crowley | Lou Welch |
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William Forward | Lord Refa |
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Michael McKenzie | Markab Victim |
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Elisa Beth Garver | Tech #2 |
| Packaging | Custom Case |
|---|---|
| Nr Discs | 6 |
| Screen Ratios | Widescreen (16:9) |
| Audio Tracks | Dolby Digital 5.1 [English] |
| Subtitles | Arabic | Dutch | English | English (Closed Captioned) | French |
| Distributor | Warner Home Video |
| Layers | Single side, Dual layer |
| Edition Release Date | 2003 |
| Regions | Region 2 |