Eyes (13 Jul. 1994)

A Colonel investigates Sinclair and his command staff for recent station actions.

Director:

Jim Johnston

Writers:

J. Michael Straczynski (creator), Lawrence G. DiTillio

Stars:

Michael O'Hare, Claudia Christian, Jerry Doyle

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Michael O'Hare	...	Cmdr. Jeffrey Sinclair
Claudia Christian	...	Lt. Cmdr. Susan Ivanova
Jerry Doyle	...	Michael Garibaldi
Mira Furlan	...	Delenn
Richard Biggs	...	Dr. Stephen Franklin
Andrea Thompson	...	Talia Winters
Stephen Furst	...	Vir Cotto
Bill Mumy	...	Lennier
Julie Caitlin Brown	...	Na'Toth (credit only) (as Caitlin Brown)
Andreas Katsulas	...	G'kar
Peter Jurasik	...	Londo Mollari
Gregory Paul Martin	...	Colonel Ari Ben Zayn (as Gregory Martin)
Jeffrey Combs	...	Harriman Gray
Macaulay Bruton	...	Tragedy
Marie Chambers	...	Sofie Ivanova

Storyline

A Colonel investigates Sinclair and his command staff for recent station actions.

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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 Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 July 1994 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Babylonian Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

44 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title has a double-meaning: 'Eyes' means Top Secret in spy jargon; it also stands for I.I., meaning Internal Investigation.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Michael Garibaldi: [interrupted assembling a motorcycle by beeping] Stop program. Open.
Lennier: Forgive me for disturbing you in your quarters, Mr. Garibaldi. But I've had urgent orders from Ambassador Delenn.
Michael Garibaldi: What can I do for the Minbari?

User Reviews

Eyes

Yay, Jeffrey Combs guest starred! Sorry, I'm a Re-Animator fanboy, so sue me! Anyway Combs is a Psi Corps cop (but vows to Ivanova his allegiance to Earthforce, saying he wanted to be a pilot but was not allowed when he was discovered to be a telepath) who accompanies Colonel Ari Ben Zayn (a hissable Gregory Paul Martin, with a scar down his face, certain to assure us right away he's a heel that will cause a lot of headache to the principles) visiting Babylon 5 station to interrogate Commander Sinclair and his top officers. Ivanova says she will not receive a scan from Combs' Harriman Gray (a subplot concerns Ivanova's torment regarding the loss of her mother thanks to the dangerous Psi Corps), even saying she'll resign her post if ordered to do so. Sinclair is trying to search Earthforce law in order to countermand Zayn's mission to find something incriminating that will give him command of the station (this is actually a personal vendetta born from jealousy because of Sinclair's gaining the position over him despite his being higher up the list of candidates, with far more credentials). Sinclair's defiance to Zayn, superior in rank, could have him in front of a tribunal facing a court martial, but he will fight this agenda to see him in the gallows. Meanwhile, Garibaldi must work in concert with Zayn while he's investigating; soon Sinclair is removed from command with Zayn taking control of the station, exactly his sole purpose for coming to Babylon 5 to begin with. How will Sinclair stop Zayn and keep Ivanova from giving up her post? A minor subplot involving Delenn's assistant, Lennier, learning how to assemble a motorcycle for Garibaldi at least finally gives Billy Mumy something to do; it is also a nice bonding moment for Lennier and Garibaldi. While this episode could easily be viewed as a stand-alone, I think it has a relevance because it does comment on how fractured Earth (and Mars colony) is at the moment, how the political landscape is changing, how peace between alien races could be just a pipedream doomed to fail, and, important here, how Psi Corps is possibly gaining power, with Bester's influence noticeable (even when not present, Walter Koenig's character has an impact on the show). "Eyes" once again proves how resilient Sinclair is when up against it.