Season One: "Signs and portents" (Part one)
It was the dawn of the Third Age of Mankind, ten 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, 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.
As I mentioned in the introduction, Babylon 5 was conceived as a five-year story arc, both in the show's fictional universe, and in the real world. The series would run over five seasons from 1993 to 1998, and each of the five season was subtitled, with a tagline that gave some clue as to the part it would play in the overall story arc. Season one, with its title of "Signs and portents", alluded strongly to the placing of the pieces on the chessboard, as it were; the drawing of battlelines, the arrangement of characters and plot elements, and hidden and not so hidden clues within the episodes that would point to a greater, overall truth which would come to drive the whole plot. Not every episode in every season advances or even contributes to the main story arc, and season one more than most, as it was here that the very skeleton of the plot was being built. But the signs are there, if you know where to look for them. Or have someone to point them out to you.
But first, there have been some character changes, as mentioned in the intro to "The Gathering". Let's take a look at the important ones.
Lieutenant Commander Susan Ivanova (played by Claudia Christian)
Replacing the (I thought) somewhat wooden and one-dimensional Laurel Takashima from the film, Ivanova is the new second-in-command on the station. She is of Russian descent, and as such can be seen to be quite cold and clinical as she goes about her duties. She has a softer side, though she hardly ever lets anyone see it. She will become indispensable as the commander's right hand throughout most of the series.
Doctor Stephen Franklin (played by Richard Biggs, RIP)
Having seen what lies beneath a Vorlon's encounter suit in the movie, Dr. Kyle is recalled to Earth, and Franklin is sent as his replacement to Babylon 5, where he assumes the post of Chief Medical Officer. His outspoken ways and often arrogant belief in himself and in his abilities tends to land him in trouble with the commander, but he's fiercely loyal and dedicated to his vocation.
Talia Winters (played by Andrea Thompson)
As the second resident commercial telepath on the station, Talia replaces Lyta Alexander, whose fate we learn some time later on, and which will have another big effect on the storyline. Talia, too, will impact on the plot, though her part will end, coming to critical mass as it were, near the end of season two. After that, there will be no third telepath, at least, not officially.
Vir Kotto (usually known only as Vir, and played by Stephen Furst)
Attache to Ambassador Mollari, Vir is a young, impressionable Centauri with a great sense of duty, and eager to please his new employer. He sees his posting to Babylon 5 as a great honour, though Londo tells him it is the joke job handed out to those among their people the Court can't find a proper place for. Vir will soon lose his childlike wonder though, and become both a staunch ally and later a vehement opponent of Londo, while carving his own name in Centauri history.
Lennier (played by Bill Mumy)
A man those who watched the sixties sci-fi classic show "Lost in space" will know as Will Robinson, Mumy plays attache to Delenn, the Minbari ambassador. But just as Vir's fate will take him places he could never have guessed at, Lennier's place in galactic history is also assured. He is devoted to Delenn, later revealing that he is in fact in love with her.
Na'Toth (played by Julie Caitlin Brown, later Mary Kay Adams)
And just as the other two ambassadors have attaches, so must G'Kar. His aide comes in the form of Na'Toth, a determined, fierce female Narn who initially makes no secret of her dislike of her new employer, but whom she eventually becomes fast friends with.
1.1 "Midnight on the firing line"
Season one opens on "Midnight on the firing line", with a "Bay of Pigs"-style standoff as Ragesh 3, a Centauri agricultural colony is attacked by persons unknown and destroyed, persons who later turn out to Narns, reigniting the still simmering enmity between the two races' ambassadors on Babylon 5. Londo Mollari accuses his opposite number of attacking a defenceless station, while G'Kar sneers that during the war against them Londo's people had no such qualms, and subjugated whoever and whatever they saw fit. Londo warns that if his nephew, who was stationed at the colony, is harmed, there will be war between the two races.
This is a key element of the show, as in later sf series: war is always looming, seemingly imminent and unavoidable. Man's lust for power and territory and his taste for combat (when I say "man" I refer to all races, obviously, not just humans: the aliens have sadly just as little control over their emotions and their desires as we often have) drives him to fight his neighbour, take his lands --- or in this case, his planet(s) and/or system(s), and it seems there will never truly be a lasting peace. Old grievances are harboured, old hatreds merely pushed down, never forgotten, never forgiven, and everyone puts on the face of the diplomat. But behind that cheerful, often bland and dishonest mask hides the true nationalist, who is ready to avenge past wrongs and bring down bloody retribution on his old enemy.
Other plot strands begin to develop here too: we see the new station telepath, Talia Winters, who reports to the new station second-in-command, Russian-born Lieutenant Commander Susan Ivanova, but is brushed off rudely by the officer. There doesn't seem to be any real reason for this; perhaps Ivanova is just naturally rude? As the series develops, we come to see that yes, in general she is short and curt with people, intolerant of incompetence and unforgiving to those who break the rules, but there is a deeper reason behind her dislike for Winters. It goes to the heart of who and what Talia is, and will be part of a major revelation later. What we do learn here is that at the end of the episode, when Talia speaks to Susan off-duty, Ivanova reveals that her mother was a telepath, but refused to join the Psi Corps, as all telepaths are required to do. Her only other two choices were to go to prison or to take inhibitory drugs, which she did. The drugs however had a terrible effect on her and led to her taking her own life. Ivanova has always therefore blamed Psi Corps for her mother's death.
Then there's the presidential race back on Earth. The incumbent, Luis Santiago, is being challenged by Marie Crane, whom some give a better chance than she's expected to have. Sinclair is watching the election campaign from Babylon 5, mindful that Earthgov, the seat of authority on the home planet, pay the bills and keep the lights on at the station. Without its continued support Babylon 5 can no longer function and would have to be shut down, so it's important to him that whoever occupies the position of power looks upon the station favourably. He seems disappointed at the end of the episode when it's clear the incumbent has won the election. This may seem odd in the light of later events.
Important plot arc points:
Londo vs G'Kar/Centauri vs Narn
Arc level: Red
This is an ongoing struggle between the two races which will have a massive effect on both of them in the future, and also on the wider galaxy. The argument between the two ambassadors over the taking of Ragesh 3 escalates to a point where they have to be separated, and later Londo plots to kills G'Kar, but more than that, Londo has had a dream. He tells Sinclair that the Centauri are able to see their own death in dreams, and he has seen himself, many years hence, squeezing the life out of G'Kar as the Narn strangles him back, and he knows the two will eventually kill each other. This, too, will turn out to be so much more than it seems on the surface. Also, as the series progresses, there will be no clear good or bad guy, loyalties and sympathies will shift like desert sands, and it will become hard to know who is in the right, for a long time.
Kosh:
Arc Level: Red
The enigmatic Ambassador Kosh is the first Vorlon to venture beyond his home planet, and like the Minbari in the pilot movie, he seems more inclined to hold a watching brief than get involved in any of the politics of the station. When Sinclair asks for his help in sanctioning the Narns for invading Ragesh 3, his reply is "They are a dying people. We should let them pass," to which Sinclair, confused, asks "Who? The Narn or the Centauri?" Kosh's answer is one that will become typically ambiguous and mysterious: "Yes", he says.
Telepaths and Psi Corps:
Arc Level: Orange
The revelation that Ivanova's mother was a telepath is a relatively minor one, considering what is to come, and Talia Winters has a huge role to play that will only become clear near the end of season two. Psi Corps itself will become more involved and entangled with the affairs of the station, proving themselves at times a deadly enemy, not only to Babylon 5, but to all races.
The presidential race:
Arc Level: Red
Although merely a footnote to the story here, the leadership on Earth will turn out to be a pivotal point which will run through the end of season two and right into season four, laying down some totally jaw-dropping moments on the way. The end of this season will see the beginning of that seachange, and it will not be for the better!
1.2 "Soul hunter"
In episode two we meet the alien race known as "soul hunters", in fact the episode is titled for them. They are a mysterious cadre of beings who can sense death, and travel to where the great and the good pass on, to harvest their souls by ways shrouded in ancient mystery and myth. One comes to the station but his ship was on a collision course as he had passed out. When the ship is taken inside and the pilot transferred to Medlab, Delenn comes in and sees the creature, shrinks back and advises Sinclair to send the Soul Hunter back where it came from.
This turns out to be good advice, because it's Delenn the alien has come for, and he manages to abduct her and hooks her up to a machine which will suck out her life-essence and transfer her soul to his keeping. Sinclair however rescues her and the Soul Hunter's comrades, who have come looking for him, believing him deranged, take him back with them.
This is the first time we meet the new Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Franklin. He and Sinclair will butt heads many times, over many issues, but will remain good friends. He will remain on the station until the last episode, and will play a large part in the overall story arc.
Important plot arc points
This episode does not have too many, but there are a few that will link into the main arc.
Satai Delenn:
Arc Level: Green
Sinclair hears the Soul Hunter call Delenn this, and wonders what it means. He asks the computer to look it up and finds it to be an honorific used in the Minbari tongue which refers to a member of the Grey Council, the ruling body of their people. He is surprised, as Delenn has never mentioned, nor made any allusions towards being a member of the Grey Council. As far as he knows, she is simply a government functionary, an ambassador assigned to Babylon 5. Could she have a dark secret?
Also, linked to this:
"They are using you!"
Arc Level: Red
The Soul Hunter tells Sinclair this, and asks why he is fighting for the ambassador? How can he know such a thing, and if by "they" he means the Minbari, what are they allegedly using him for? And why? To what end?
"We were right":
Arc Level: Red
When Sinclair rescues her at the last moment, Delenn breathes "I knew you would come. We were right about you." Sinclair wonders what she meant, but this will all be tied in to the revelation as to what happened at the Battle of the Line, and why the Minbari surrendered on the eve of their victory.
1.3 "Born to the Purple"
In episode three we learn a little more about the workings of the Centauri court. Londo has fallen in love with a dancer, Adira, who is a Centauri, but it turns out she is a slave, being used by an alien who has a grudge against Mollari and wants to discredit him and bring his house down. When he realises he has been played, Londo is more anguished than angry, as he had really fallen for the girl. After the slavemaster is defeated and arrested, and Londo's sensitive files (Purple Files) are recovered, Mollari arranges for Adira to be freed of her slave contract. She is now a free woman, and he sends her on her way, hoping she will one day return to him.
In a subplot, Garibaldi traces unauthorised communications which lead him to inadvertently eavesdrop on the final converation between Ivanova and her dying father back on Earth. As he watches on helplessly, the man dies and Ivanova cries. He switches the channel off, knowing that it will not be compromised again, but feeling terrible for the stricken woman.
Best lines:
With a dog of a hangover, Londo is "unwell" and sends Vir to be his representative in the negotiations with G'Kar and Sinclair. Excited and honoured, Vir says he will do Londo proud. Mollari's groaning retort is "Just don't give away the homeworld!" When Vir enters the chamber and G'Kar sees Londo is not coming, he takes umbrage and nominates Ko'Dath, his new head of security, as his representative. Equally honoured, she declares she will endeavour to do well, to which G'Kar laconically replies "Just don't give away the homeworld!"
Important Arc Plot Points:
Although there is really only the one in this episode, it's quite important.
Adira Tyree:
Arc Level: Red
The relationship between Londo and Adira will later be exploited to tragic effect, in order to manipulate the Centauri ambassador and push him into making a decision he will forever regret, and which will have dire consequences for every living being in that part of the galaxy.
1.4 "Infection"
Next up is "Infection", and there's nothing to say about it. It's a throwaway episode, hardly worthy of JMS's writing, in fact it's so bad you'd be fooled into thnking he didn't write it. But he did. It's worse than the worst Star Trek episode you've ever seen, almost B-movie material about an alien device that attaches itself to a host body and becomes a weapon. Yawn! Even the presence of the magnificent David McCallum ("Man from UNCLE", "The invisible man", "Sapphire and Steel") can't drag this out of the cesspool it inhabits. JMS has even been quoted as saying "What was I thinking?" It's just that bad.
The only real point of interest in it is the first mention is ISN, the InterStellar Network, the news channel who will become both a friend and a foe of the crew of Babylon 5 as the series runs on. Other than that, if you're watching for the first time and want to skip it, you'll miss nothing by doing so. Even Sinclair's speech at the end, about why mankind must go to the stars, seems stilted and forced. Awful episode, but in fairness, one of the very few bad eggs.
Important Plot Arc Points:
None.
I wanted to go ahead to the next episode but it will take me over the maximum allowed characters per post, so that will have to wait for part two of season one. If this has whetted your appetite for the series and you intend now watching it, you can get by without any major shocks coming from this article, nor probably the next, but after that you need to stop if you don't want to ruin the surprises, twists and revelations yet to come.
Remember, you have been warned!