Babylon 5: The Gathering (TV 1993)

The opening of a crucial space station is put in jeopardy when the commanding officer is accused of the attempted murder of a diplomat.

Director:

Richard Compton

Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

Stars:

Michael O'Hare, Tamlyn Tomita, Jerry Doyle

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael O'Hare	...	Cmdr. Jeffrey Sinclair
Tamlyn Tomita	...	Lt. Cmdr. Laurel Takashima
Jerry Doyle	...	Michael Garibaldi
Mira Furlan	...	Delenn
Blaire Baron	...	Carolyn Sykes
John Fleck	...	Del Varner
Paul Hampton	...	The Senator
Peter Jurasik	...	Londo Mollari
Andreas Katsulas	...	G'Kar
Johnny Sekka	...	Dr. Benjamin Kyle
Patricia Tallman	...	Lyta Alexander
Steven R. Barnett	...	Eric Hazeltine
Billy Hayes	...	Traveler (as William Hayes)
Linda Hoffman	...	Dome Tech #2
Robert Jason Jackson	...	Dome Tech #3

Storyline

This TV movie is the pilot for the "Babylon 5" TV series. Set on a space station in the late 23rd Century, Babylon 5 is a centre of diplomacy and trade, in neutral space located between many rival space empires. The project's success, already shaky, is put further in doubt when incoming Commander Jeffrey Sinclair is the key suspect in the attempted assassination of Kosh, a mysterious alien ambassador.

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Plot Keywords:

space station | alien | 23rd century | outer space | tv series pilot | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

TNT: The Home of Babylon 5

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 February 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

B5

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Babylonian Productions, Rattlesnake Productions, Synthetic Worlds

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min 94 min (special edition)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When the dust smuggler goes through the scan, it shows an outline silhouette with the location of the packet of the drug he is carrying about where a breast pocket would be, but after he surrenders, Garibaldi pulls the packet from one of his trouser pockets.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ambassador Londo Mollari: [voiceover] I was there at the dawn of the third age of mankind. It began in the Earth year 2257, with the last of the Babylon stations located deep in neutral space. It was a port of call for refugees, smugglers, businessmen, diplomats, and travelers from a hundred worlds. It could be a dangerous place, but we accepted the risk because Babylon 5 was our last, best hope for peace. Under the leadership of its final commander, Babylon 5 was a dream given form. A dream of a galaxy ...

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Connections

References Casablanca (1942)

User Reviews

Solid Start To An Intriguing Saga

Babylon 5 was a hugely ambitious sci-fi show to get off the ground with complex characters and story arcs that went on over the entire 5 series run. This was the first pilot movie and it paves the way to what would follow.

It's an intriguing piece of sci-fi with some strong performances in particular Peter Jurasic as Lando Mollari and Andreas Katsulas as G'Kar. The special effects are a bit limited in places but thats to be expected from a show just finding it's feet.

Some of the actors in this initial show would leave to pursue other projects but the core remained in. There are some story lines (which I wont spoil) that could have been further explored had Takishima and Lyta stayed on the show. The acting quality is mixed and this was ironed out as the series went on.

All in all it's a good TV movie that does stand on it's own well but it will leave you with a few questions and a good reason to pick up on the series which just get's better as it goes along.

Good TV movie that will get you ready for the full series 7/10