A Distant Star (23 Nov. 1994)

Captain Sheridan's old commanding officer arrives at the station, and disaster ensues in Hyperspace.

Director:

Jim Johnston

Writers:

J. Michael Straczynski (creator), D.C. Fontana

Stars:

Bruce Boxleitner, Claudia Christian, Jerry Doyle

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Boxleitner	...	Capt. John Sheridan
Claudia Christian	...	Cmdr. Susan Ivanova
Jerry Doyle	...	Michael Garibaldi
Mira Furlan	...	Delenn
Richard Biggs	...	Dr. Stephen Franklin
Andrea Thompson	...	Talia Winters (credit only)
Stephen Furst	...	Vir Cotto (credit only)
Bill Mumy	...	Lennier (credit only)
Robert Rusler	...	Warren Keffer
Mary Kay Adams	...	Na'Toth (credit only)
Andreas Katsulas	...	G'Kar (credit only)
Peter Jurasik	...	Londo Mollari (credit only)
Russ Tamblyn	...	Capt. Jack Maynard
Daniel Beer	...	Patrick
Art Kimbro	...	Ray Galus

Storyline

Captain Sheridan's old commanding officer arrives at the station, and disaster ensues in Hyperspace.

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Plot Keywords:

23rd century

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 November 1994 (USA)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bagna cauda, the entree Michael Garibaldi makes from the smuggled ingredients, actually exists. It is a "hot dip" fondue like mixture made from olive oil, anchovies, garlic and butter. Most often found in Piedmont, Italy.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ogilvie: Crews report they'll be finished by 1500 hours.
Capt. Jack Maynard: Good. I want to send a message to Babylon 5, attention of Cpt. John Sheridan. And take this down exactly.

User Reviews

Hyperspace 101

This episode gives us a good idea of what the concept of "Hyperspace" looks like in the Babylon 5 universe and it's fair to say that it's a pretty dangerous place.

We learn that ships inside hyperspace must maintain a navigational lock on a jump-gate as there are no fixed points of reference. If the lock is somehow lost due to a malfunction then a ship will naturally drift away due to a "gravitational incline" and will be lost for eternity.

It's good also to see an "Explorer" class ship, with the potential for great unknown adventures that this might bring. Although, like Captain Sheridan for a moment we also wish we are on that ship, exploring the galactic frontier (the rim) rather than stuck within the confines of B5.

There's some good character development as Captain Sheridan is forced to re-evaluate his career and think "just what am I doing here?". Just as in real life, when friends who have gone away for a better career come back and tell us what a great time they are having and we wonder if we shouldn't be doing completely different something too. I'm sure these scenes in the show would ring true for many viewers.

Captain Maynard of the explorer class ship is a very compelling character too with his cowboy boots and his seniority and friendship to Sheridan which give him the freedom to talk frankly to Sheridan about his position, in that he is effectively "tied to a desk".

We learn of great, mysterious alien forces which have been encountered on the explorers' travels and also see them causing a few problems within hyperspace too, although at this point us viewers (assuming watching the show in the correct order of episodes) have no idea what these forces actually are. Although they certainly compel us to continue watching through season two with increasing anticipation.

Sheridan's solution to rescue a lost ship from hyperspace is very bold and gripping if incredibly risky, but it really makes this a memorable episode.

Then there is also the subplot involving Doctor Franklin enforcing strict dietary habits on the B5 senior officers and this does lend itself to some lighthearted humorous moments with Garibaldi, Ivanova and Sheridan.

Overall an enjoyable, interesting episode, which serves to further build up a sense of foreboding in the future direction of the B5 story.