Babylon 5: The Wheel of Fire - The Complete Fifth Season  (1998)

Creator: J. Michael Straczynski

Rating: NR

Distributor: Warner Home Video

Release Date: April 13, 2004
Review posted: April 28, 2004

Spoilers: Major

Reviewed by Dennis Landmann

"For my next trick, I shall fly around the room under my own power." - Londo Mollari

SYNOPSIS

From the beginning, both were running out of time. The space station that was the last, best hope for peace was sooner or later certain to be eclipsed by new political coalitions and technical advances. And John Sheridan, who guided the massive freeport through its most tumultuous days, knew that his own fate had been inalterably prophesied. Now both storylines converge in a 22-episode final season whose events also include Sheridan's attempts to wage peace for the Interstellar Alliance, the tragic fate of the telepaths, and the ultimate fireball destruction of the outmoded station after it is declared to be a spaceway navigational hazard.

CRITIQUE

Last season was really special. In fact, it was damn entertaining and really exciting to watch as all the subplots merged with the big stories. Last year the war against the Shadows came to a dramatic close and the immense battle against EarthGov forces turned the tides at the very end of the season four. Both the Narns and the Minbari were engaged in a struggle, the former to become a free people and the latter to maintain freedom among the two castes. More importantly, there were the mysteries surrounding Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle), the telepaths, and the Centauri's political problems. The revelation of the Garibaldi subplot was great, and the mission to Mars, led by Garibaldi and Dr. Stephen Franklin (Richard Biggs), proved to be highly entertaining as well. In effect, season four was just great. But a few things were left open-ended, and with that let's look at the final season of Babylon 5.

The fifth season begins with John Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) inaugurated as President of the Interstellar Alliance, but a lone assassin is out to kill him, which puts security forces on high alert. The remaining stories that lead in from last season concern the fate of the telepaths and the fate of Centauri, but especially Londo Mollari (Peter Jurasik). Early on in the season a telepath named Byron (Robin Atkin Downes) arrives at the station asking for a temporary home for himself and other telepaths. Lyta Alexander (Patricia Tallman) befriends him and soon joins his cause to create a homeworld for telepaths. When the Psi Corps becomes involved, but especially Alfred Bester (Walter Koenig), the telepath situation on the station gets out of control.

The situation on Centauri Prime, that something is terribly wrong with the Regent, is not explored until the second half of the season. Problems in the Interstellar Alliance arise quickly when unknown forces attack shipping lines of the alien worlds. Tensions rise and patience wears thin. A combination of the two leads to an all-out attack on Centauri Prime, with only little time for Sheridan and the White Star ships to intervene, and for new Emperor Mollari to come clean about the turmoil inside the palace. A mysterious entity has overthrown the power structure of Centauri Prime, a very small hint of which appeared least season, and with the Regent dead, Mollari assumes power. Yet he must also assume the burden of his action last year that involved the Shadows.

Series creator J. Michael Straczynski again scripts every episode of the season, except for Day of the Dead, a somewhat unusual episode; a section of the station gets lost in time, and the power of a mysterious force brings back people from the dead, most notably loved ones of Garibaldi and new station captain Elizabeth Lockley (Tracy Scoggins).

Almost every episode this season ends with a tiny cliffhanger, slowly building tension and advancing the story until the end. This works just fine, yet I'm a little hesitant to show my approval of the handling of the telepath and Centauri plots. The resolution of the respective plots didn't excite me as much as the resolutions of last season. With that in mind, I find the fifth season is only good, and not great.

Despite some small reservations about the season, most of the major character arcs are well done. G'Kar (Andreas Katsulas) assumes a great new status among his people, although he refuses to acknowledge it. He also becomes  Mollari's bodyguard, which is interesting but also slightly contradicts their shared history. Moreover, Lennier (Bill Mumy) must make some tough decisions as he joins the Angla'shok (or Rangers), Garibaldi succumbs to alcoholism, Dr. Franklin studies alien anatomy, and Lyta discovers her true powers.

However, I'm a little disappointed at the arcs for Delenn (Mira Furlan) and Lockley. Delenn gets boring and Lockley will sometimes disappear for a number of episodes, not to mention JMS didn't really make captain Lockley as important as she could've and/or should've been. The Londo Mollari story is only a little disappointing towards the end when he has to accept his new role, a role that renders him completely helpless. But before that happens he enjoys (perhaps the wrong word) a number of good scenes together with G'Kar. The last few episodes of the season wrap up almost all of the major characters, that is, giving them a new purpose and place in life.

Sheridan's role in the fifth season is somewhat neutral. Sure, he is the President, but I felt his actions were limited. The final episode, Sleeping in Light, changes everything. It takes place some twenty years later with Sheridan finally reaching his place in time, accepting his fate that was sealed during the aftermath at Za'ha'dum (at the end of the third season). But before leaving he invites his best friends for one more round of good conversation. The last ten minutes are very emotional and I had a few tears in my eyes as the show came closer and closer to the end.

Babylon 5 is a great show overall. The fifth season is not perfect, some of the writing is not as clever and thrilling as that in the previous seasons (notably 3 and 4). However, the final season does justice to the characters and the station. Spoiler (highlight at your discretion): But why blow up the station? What purpose does that serve? Life could've gone on, I guess, but it might've been the climate of space at the time that made Babylon 5 not as viable as it once was. Last season deserved a 10, while this season rates a borderline 8.

THE VIDEO

Warner Bros. presents Babylon 5 in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. Video quality is still not great, but that's okay. The special effects shots were rendered for the 1.33:1 format, and for this presentation cropped to fit the 1.77:1 aspect ratio. This causes minor problems, but they don't really bother me. Colors are overall pretty nice and well-saturated. Detail is fine, and sharpness looks decent. The print image appears in decent shape, although several specks and areas of grain are visible, especially during the low-lit scenes. Many of the dark scenes look a bit fuzzy and grainy, but blacks and dark tones are pretty good. I didn't notice any major compression artifacts. This is not a great presentation overall, but it gets the job done just fine.

That purple thingy ain't no military accreditation.

You can select to view the episodes with optional English, French and Spanish subtitles, plus English Closed Captions.

THE AUDIO

Warner Bros. presents Babylon 5 in English 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound. The soundtrack is listed as being remastered, and in a way that is only half correct. Surrounds are hardly in use, except they're strong during the show's opening theme sequence, and the rear speakers are only active during certain times. Christopher Franke's score sounds just great, however. There is some good definition and placement among the front speakers. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand, and only a few times does a line sound muffled. Audio is not particularly strong, but the soundtrack presentation is fairly good with considerable clarity in most cases.

Jerry Doyle is Michael Garibaldi... and resident Bruce Willis look-alike.

THE EXTRAS

Season Five is getting the same treatment as all the previous season sets, with good extras to satisfy the fans. On disc 1 is the Introduction to Wheel of Fire (7:22), a spoiler-heavy featurette that discusses the major plot points and events in the final season. The interviews are all great, the participants' thoughts are welcome and nice. Appearing are J. Michael Straczynski, producer John Copeland, exec producer Douglas Netter, and actors Bruce Boxleitner, Jerry Doyle, Richard Biggs, Peter Jurasik, Patricia Tallman, Tracy Scoggins, Robin Atkin Downes, and Walter Koenig.

Next are three audio commentaries on select episodes. Movements of Fire and Shadow features reflections and jokes by actors Bruce Boxleitner, Peter Jurasik, Patricia Tallman and Tracy Scoggins. They bring some fun to the table, but the next two tracks are much more interesting. J. Michael Straczynski provides commentary for both The Fall of Centauri Prime and Sleeping in Light. Both are very good and informative, the latter being quite emotional, plus really worth listening to.

Next are two themed featurettes, this time focusing on special effects and the fans. Digital Tomorrow (5:52) is a basic featurette with mostly interviews describing and explaining the creation of the show's special effects. Little behind-the-scenes footage is available, but the subject is covered well enough here with good information.

Much cooler and interesting is Beyond Babylon 5 (6:48), a neat featurette on the show's fan base, conventions, merchandise, novelizations, etc. In the interview, Jerry Doyle remembers something funny about Halloween costumes. He jokes about a Garibaldi costume, saying, "Ding dong. Who's there? Garibaldi." The other interview participants also have nice things to say. A pretty good featurette that I wish could've been a little longer. Also, in general, it's somewhat disappointing not having actors Andreas Katsulas (especially), Jeff Conaway, Bill Mumy and Stephen Furst appear in the interviews.

The Universe of Babylon 5 appears on disc 6, a separate menu featuring a nice 3-minute gag reel (flubbed lines with the actors cursing at themselves cut to a good music beat), personnel files, and data files. Next are three extended/deleted scenes that play out decently, one featuring General Ivanova and a second an extended scene with Sheridan. Episode previews are also available for each episode.

Menus are easy to navigate and the show's signature score plays over them. A "play all episodes" function is available on each disc. There are also episode selections and chapter selections. The average episode length is 44 minutes. The total running time of the season is approximately 968 minutes.

SUMMARY

With the five-year arc finally coming to a close, Babylon 5 goes out with a medium bang. The season is not without its flaws, but my overall reaction is an enthusiastic "good". Some quality episodes make up for the number of weak ones. The quality of the writing remains intact only in stages. Warner's video/audio presentations are decent, and the extras are again informative and much appreciated. Despite a few reservations, Babylon 5 - The Complete Fifth Season is nevertheless highly recommended. For fans, the 6-disc set is worth picking up.

VERDICT: RECOMMENDED

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