Episode 2:



Guest stars: Beverly Leech (Rizzoli & Iles, Mathnet) as Elizabeth Sheridan, Beth Toussaint (Dallas, Young & the Restless) as Anna Sheridan.

Synopsis: Londo is ranting about Delenn (in her cocoon) and G'Kar's (off in space) absence and asks for a vote of censure, though it is shot down. Sheridan calls a recess, for heads to cool and Londo asks Na'Toth where G'Kar is. She replies he is investigating the attack in Quadrant 37. In that area, a trio of Narn fighters are attacked by strange alien vessels. Two of the ships sacrifice themselves so that G'Kar can escape with the news.



Sheridan checks in on Garibaldi and Franklin says there is no change. He wants to try the alien healing device, though Sheridan has reservations. he heads off to meet his sister, who is visiting the station. Londo meets with Morden, worried that G'Kar might uncover something.



Sheridan has dinner with his sister and talks about his new assignment. She cuts through things and asks what's wrong. he admits he is still grieving for his wife Anna, who died on a deep exploration expedition on the rim of space. Elizabeth says he must deal with the grief, instead of burying it in work. Later, Sheridan stops into Medlab, as Franklin is about to hook himself into the healing machine and insists on taking part, to safeguard Franklin. Na'Toth finds G'Kar in his quarters and he warns of an ancient evil revived. he quotes from the Book of G'Quan, a holy text, which relates events of an ancient war that raged across the stars and affected hundreds of worlds. He believes that the ancient enemy may have returned.

Garibaldi awakens in medlab and is filled in. His aide Jack is watching from behind, but Garibaldi can't recall who shot him. Londo runs into G'Kar who tells him of the new dnager and says they must call a meeting of the council. Lenier checks on Delenn and finds the cocoon opened, and Delenn covered in a robe, in pain. he skin is covered with bluish scales and he calls for Dr Franklin.



Sheridan talks again with his sister and admits that he feels her death is his fault. They were supposed to go on vacation; but, he cancelled at the last minute and she went on the doomed expedition, instead. Dr Franklin examines Delenn and the scales break off when he touches them. he asks if that is supposed to happen and she replies she doesn't know. At the council meeting, G'Kar tells of his research and the others are skeptical and ask for more concrete proof. G'Kar informs them that Narn has sent a heavy cruiser to the ancient planet of the Shadows, Z'ha'dum, which should be arriving in a couple of hours. Londo tells Morden, who asks for all of the details. Garibaldi asks Lou Welch to bring Talia to scan him. She agrees and sees an image of Jack reflected on a wall, as he shoots Garibaldi. Lou and other officers arrest him. Garibaldi interrogates him and Jack dismisses the theory of Homeguard. he says there is a "new order" on Earth, bigger than Homeguard. he gives Garibaldi the same fish-eye salute and "Be seeing you," that Bester gave, previously (an homage to The Prisoner). Pres. Clark speaks to Sheridan and wonders in Jack was involved in a conspiracy to murder Santiago. He orders him put on a shuttle to Earth and Sinclair reluctantly agrees. The Narn heavy cruiser arrives at Z'ha'dum and is immediately attacked by a Shadow vessel, destroying it in an instant.



Na'Toth delivers the news and says there was an accident. G'Kar refuses to believe there was an accident and believes they were attacked when they arrive. he then surmises that the Shadows must have been warned and looks at Londo, but says nothing. The meeting is interrupted by Delenn, who is covered in a white robe. She pulls back the hood to reveal her change...



She says she has transformed to build a bridge between human and Minbari, just as Sinclair has become an ambassador to Minbar (the first, from Earth) to do the same. Sheridan speaks of the events to his sister, who gives him a data crystal. It contains a message from Anna to Elizabeth, telling her that she was going to cancel the vacation to go on the expedition, when John beat her to it. She is looking forward to the trip. Sheridan sees that she had chosen to go, all along. He says goodbye to his sister. Garibaldi talks privately to Ivanova and Franklin about Jack's salute and the Bester connection. Franklin brings up a previous scandal when Psi Corps endorsed Clark and Garibaldi points out Clark's convenient departure from Earthforce One. G'Kar quote William Butler Yeats to Na'Toth. Ivanova calls Sheridan. She checked on the ship transporting Jack. he was met by another ship, with proper codes and transferred, only the ship had no registry and he disappeared. Both are unnerved by this revelation and what it means.

Fantastic episode, which wraps up the still dangling threads from Season one and moves the Shadows up to the front of the list of threats. The gang also begin to suspect that the conspiracy to assassinate Santiago may be tied to Clark. Jack's disappearance seems to confirm that. Morden and his allies are revealed to be an ancient threat, from a previous galactic war. His retort to Londo's joke sends chills down even Londo's spine. Londo realizes he is getting in deep. G'Kar has gone from the scheming baddie to the voice of alarm to the rest of the League, another warning of the Shadows, as Delenn has previously watched. We see have roles have reversed, as G'Kar and the Narns were the aggressor in Season 1, while Londo was the sympathetic figure. Now, Londo is the agressor, thanks to Morden and the Shadows, and G'Kar is the sympathetic one. As he said before, to Catherine Sakai, "No one here is exactly as they appear." JMS makes sure we get this.

Originally, when the Minbari were shown as androgynous (in The Gathering), the plan was that delenn would transform into a more definite female form. When the make-up was redesigned, the transformation was changed, to a more human /Minbari hybrid. This gives us the opportunity to see more of Mira Furlan's beautiful face, though how her hair works in conjunction with her bone crest is still a bit confusing. The hair seems to fit under it, though it has never been shown to have hollows. In a later episode, her hair is teased out in a rat's nest, obscuring the bone. It's never really addressed. It's a minor point; but, it always bugged me.

The episode also provides some character background for Sheridan, about his lost wife and his grief The message from Anna will later reappear, though it will be reshot with Melissa Gilbert, the then-Mrs. Bruce Boxleitner, who appears in an episode as Anna Sheridan. I highly recommend this episode to anyone who grew up with her on Little House on the Prairie. You get a very different side of Half-Pint!

The alien healing machine makes a reappearance and will be seen one more time, way down the road.

Episode 3: "Geometry of Shadows"



Guest stars: Michael "Kang, Baddest Klingon of them all" Ansara (I Dream of Jeanie, Voyage Beneath the Sea, some sci-fi show with pointy ears) as Elric (not the albino dude, though), William Forward (DOA, bunch of commercials) as Lord Refa.

Synopsis: Garibaldi is examined and declared fit for duty, though he is reluctant, feeling he lost his edge, which nearly got him killed. Londo is meeting with Lord Refa, a powerful and influential figure in the Imperial court. He praises Londo for the victory in Quadrant 37 and says the Emperor will die soon and they wish to decide who fills the void. He asks Londo to ally House Mollari with them and he agrees. Londo sees him off to his ships and spots three Techno-mages arriving.



He tells Vir that they use highly advanced technology to simulate magic. he remarks that to see one is rare, 3 is cause for panic. While this goes on, fighting breaks out between two groups of Drazi, some wearing green scarves, others wearing purple. Sheridan later discusses the situation with Ivanova (who has just been promoted to commander) and remarks that they do this every 5 years, to establish dominance. He assigns Ivanova the task of finding a peaceful solution. Vir finds Londo who is contemplating fate. He tells of how the first emperor received a blessing of 3 techno-mages and sends Vir off to arrange an audience for him. Vir isn't exactly turning cartwheels at the assignment (Ivanova isn't exactly jumping for joy with hers, either). Ivanova gets the leaders of the two factions together to discuss the fighting and the cause of the division.



Basically, Ivanova screws the pooch on this one and gets a broken leg for her trouble. Sheridan visits Garibaldi who says he might not come back. Sheridan says he thinks Garibaldi can be a great asset to him and will hold open his job as long as he can. Vir goes to Downbelow and finds the meeting place of the techno-mages. He announces himself and his master and requests an audience, only to be met by some kind of hulking monster.



Vir stands his ground (atta boy...) The head techno-mage, Elric, dismisses the monster and hears Vir out. He tells Vir that they are not interested in meeting Londo and to bugger off, and that wizards are a cranky bunch and not to tick them off. Vir heads off, with tail between legs. Ivanova is treated in Medlab and gets a shiny new set of crutches. Vir tells Londo that the wizards ain't interested and he tries another route to play D&D. He sees Sheridan and warns him about the techno-mages. Earth wants more intel, so Sheridan takes Londo up on an offer to help investigate and sets up a meeting with Elric. Lou Welch asks Garibaldi when he is coming back and he is non-committal. Ivanova gets a link from CnC, telling her that Green Drazi have started to kill Purple, on their homeworld. She ehads off to find it has occured there, too. Elric meets with Sheridan and says they pose no threat and will be on their way in a day or so. Londo shows up, hides a camera and goes to shake hands with Elric. He tells Londo not to think of it as a blessing and destroys the camera with a gesture. He tells Londo, "Now we go to school!" (in a wizardly way). He continues talking to Sheridan, as they walk...



Ivanova meets with the Drazi and they ask her to call the other faction there so they can kill them and end things. When she refuses they say they have already done it and hold her at knifepoint. Garibaldi runs into Lou and some security headed off. He tells Garibaldi that Ivanova linked in for them to clear out Brown 29, for the Drazi. Garibaldi is suspicious, especially when Lou said Ivanova added she would be offline for a while. he heads off to investigate. He finds her and bluffs his way in, then frees her. They catch up with the others and say they have them locked away, but find out their intel about the conflict is missing a few points.



Since the rules committee hasn't come back with an answer, Ivanova is able to end things before anyone gets killed. Vir enters Londo's quarters and finds out that he is hip deep in doo-doo...



Londo goes and apologizes to the techno-mages, but doesn't hear anything. He takes it as a sign that things are okay and turns to go back to his quarters, while three demons hang on the back of his coat. Later, he runs into Elric and apologizes again and Elric says the torment will pass; but, he sees a great darkness surrounding Londo...



So, he's got that going for him...

Garibaldi decides to return to work, as he proved to himself he can still do the job. Sheridan excuses himself from the celebration when he receives word that Elric is leaving. He receives a gift from Elric and sees that it is an orange blossom and repeats Elric's line, "...Dreamers, shapers, singers and makers..." Sheridan wonders if he will see them again.

Fantastic episode, one of my favorites of the series. it is a nice blend of drama and comedy, with terrific character moments. It gives a look at other aliens (the Drazi, who have mostly been in the background), as well as other mysteries of the stars. The Drazi will be favorite aliens among fans and they and Ivanova will revisit the green/purple conflict, down the road, as she is still the leader of those onboard the station. The actors playing the two Drazi leaders are semi-regulars, as Drazi, though it is never clear if it is the same two. B5 used a stock company of actors to play many of the background aliens and you could often hear familiar voices. One actor, Wayne Alexander, would go on to play a Narn, a Drazi, one of the Drakh, a human character; and Lorien, the First One.



Michael Ansara is beyond awesome and plays the mystery of Elric and the techno-mages to the hilt, just as he did a djinn, on I Dream of Jeanie. He deep voice commands respect and exudes power and he bears himself as one of power, who has the confidence to know how to use it properly. It is one of the best performances of the series, in my opinion. If only he had returned to repeat the role.

We will see the techno-mages, down the road, in the form of Galen, whis is introduced in the movie, "A Call to Arms, " which introduces the plot for the sequel series, Crusade. There was a trilogy of novels about the techno-mages, which filled in their history and what happened after they departed B5



Galen was played by Peter Woodward, son of Equalizer and Callan star Edward Woodward, who appeared in an episode of Crusade, with his son.

Elric is, obviously, named for Michael Moorcock's albino hero, the most popular aspect of the Eternal Champion. Many of his lines are adapted from Tolkien, especially the warning about angering wizards. Tolkine factors into B5 quite often, as does the Foundation Trilogy and the Lensman Saga. JMS set out to create an epic saga for tv and succeeded admirably.

Ivanova's injury was inserted after Claudia Christian broke her foot, to explain why she is hobbling around on crutches. In a later episode, Jerry Doyle breaks his shoulder, shooting a battle scene, and is taken to the hospital, covered in stage blood and still in his costume, by a PA.

This episode really demonstrates how great a writer JMS is (well, usually) and he gives his characters great speeches. When they are matched with great actors, like Michael Ansara, Andreas Katsulas, Mira Furlan and Peter Jurasik, they rival the best of the great writers of literature, stage and screen. G'Kar's speech about oppressors, given when he is removed from the council, is stirring stuff and speaks for everyone who stood up to tyranny, regardless of the risk.

Which was always odd, since he was born in Syria.

He's in the first Clayton Moore Lone Ranger movie.

Was that the episode where it shows the Rolling Stones on the schedule ona screen in the back? Or is that later?

I have no particular knowledge other than wwatching the show, but I always though the Sheridan was mean to lead the Shadow War, but NOT be the politican he became... I think that stuff was meant for Sinclair... whether he would have passed it to Sheridan or not I'm not really sure, but I kinda think there was meant to be someone else, with Sheridan JUST doing the military stuff.

I don't recall that bit.

There was a bit in the opener, where Lenier is chanting why sitting vigil over Delenn's cocoon, where he (Bill Mumy) snuck in references to some of his songs.  He said he didn't think anyone would even be aware and then JMS came up to him after finishing the scene and told him not to ever do that again.  He asked JMS how he knew and he replied that he knows everything!

Knowing them, it was a sight gag.  Producer Doug Netter appeared as Pres. Santiago, so JMS said he got to kill him off at the end of season 1.

One thing that is really hard to convey is how great the online activity was for the show.  They weren't getting much attention in the media, outside of stuff like Starlog, except in the UK, where the show was a huge hit and a regular feature of entertainment magazines (especially sci-fi, like Starburst and SFX).  However, The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5 site was a great source for episode information and JMS regularly commented and clarified on their episode run-downs.  He also interacted a lot on message boards and took part in online chats.  I remember one, with Claudia Christian and JMS, that was a scream.  They had a great back-and-forth that made it such fun.  He was very accessible then, which was refreshing.  Also, they were pretty cool about fan sites, as long as you put up the copyright notices.  Meanwhile, Paramount had been cracking down about Star Trek sites and had built up a lot of ill will, before they softened their stance.  Other cast members took part in online chats, which gave you a virtual convention panel, especially for those of us far away from the major convention venues.

We take it for granted that the internet has tons of info on new media projects (Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, official sites, etc, etc...)  Back then, apart from more cutting edge projects, it was more of a fan-driven thing.  It was nice to see the creative people embrace it, which also helped pull in new people, as it gave you a really good source to catch up on the story arc.  You did run into a bit of a spoiler issue, as episode synopses might appear before the episode was broadcast.  I never minded because I like to peek at the ending and then see how they get there.  Must have been conditioned from years of watching Columbo.  It was especially true between US and UK broadcasts.  We generally got the episode first; but, not always.

For me, it was my first experience as part of a broader, organized fandom.  I went to a couple of comic conventions before that; but, alone, mostly searching for books and talking to pros.  This was my first experience interacting with others, apart from immediate friends, about a pop culture topic.