"Babylon 5" Sleeping in Light (1998)

User Rating:

9.0/10   

Director:

J. Michael Straczynski

Writers:

J. Michael Straczynski (creator)
J. Michael Straczynski (writer)

TV Series:

"Babylon 5" (1994)

Original Air Date:

25 November 1998 (Season 5, Episode 22)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

20 years after he visited Z'Ha'Dum, Sheridan knows his time is short and gathers his old comrades together...

Plot Keywords:

Space | Space Station | Saga | Alien | Space Opera

Cast

Bruce Boxleitner	...	John Sheridan
Claudia Christian	...	Gen. Susan Ivanova
Jerry Doyle	...	Michael Garibaldi
Mira Furlan	...	Delenn
Richard Biggs	...	Dr. Stephen Franklin
Bill Mumy	...	Lennier (credit only)
Jason Carter	...	Marcus Cole (credit only)
Stephen Furst	...	Vir Cotto
Jeff Conaway	...	Zack Allan
Patricia Tallman	...	Lyta Alexander (credit only)
Andreas Katsulas	...	G'Kar (credit only)
Peter Jurasik	...	Londo Mollari (credit only)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Wayne Alexander	...	Lorien
Sharon Annett	...	Mary
Kent Minault	...	Captain of the Guard
Romy Rosemont	...	Publicist
Dan Sachoff	...	Krantz's Aide
Lair Torrent	...	Ranger
David Wells	...	Commander William Nils

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Trivia:

When Zack Allan (Jeff Conaway) is talking about the trials they went through on Babylon 5, the words are actually executive producer, J. Michael Straczynski's own thoughts. Straczynski did indeed think, at times, that no one would get out alive.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Michael Garibaldi: [voiceover] The Interstellar Alliance, based on the Homeworld of the Minbari Federation, was founded in the Earth year 2261 shortly after the end of the Shadow War, 20 years ago. Twenty years of history. Those of us who survived have seen it all and those of us who understand have been waiting and dreading the arrival of this day.

A fitting and heartfelt conclusion

Not since the last episode of MASH have I been so affected by the last episode of a TV series. There are moments here that almost break your heart. One of my favorites is when Sheridan calls for a toast to old friends long gone and each character recites the name of someone who has passed on. Garibaldi toasts G'Kar, Delenn toasts Lennier, Vir toasts Londo and just as Steven is about to toast Marcus, Susan finally says Marcus's name showing that she has finally come to terms with his sacrifice. One moment that rarely gets commented on is the fulfilment of one of B5's longest running prophecies. Way back in season one, episode 13 "Signs and Portents" Sinclair is given a vision of the future by the Centauri Seer Lady Ladira. The vision depicts a single shuttle being jettisoned from B5 while the station explodes. The same vision is shown in "Babylon Squared" along with a monumental battle against the Shadows. Sinclair asks Ladira if this is a vision of the future and she replies that the future is fluid due to what the choices that we make along the way and she's not sure whether it will actually happen. So at the end of "Sleeping" we finally get to see the partial fulfilment of that vision with the peaceful and bittersweet destruction of B5 which is JMS's way of telling us that the bleak future predicted by Ladira has been irrevocably changed for the better.