Babylon 5: The Gathering (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:

woman wearing a gas mask | space station | 23rd century | alien | gas mask | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Mystery | 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?

Trivia

The Minbari assassin's line "There is a hole in your mind" was later one of the phrases featured in the opening sequence of Season Five.

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Goofs

Carolyn Sykes mentions that she has bed sheets that are said to be frictionless. If that were true, she and Sinclair would be sliding out of bed all night. Furthermore, no one could make the bed with them or even move them.

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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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Alternate Versions

In the original airing, the end credits scroll over a hand-drawn sketch of Babylon 5. This is changed in the special edition by replacing the original credit scrawl with one that matches the end credit scrawl of all the episodes and telemovies.

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Connections

Referenced in Babylon 5: Deathwalker (1994)

User Reviews

One of the better attempts at a pilot for a new series

"The Gathering" comes as a complete surprise unless you are aware of the process of the development of a TV series for sale. For anyone who has not seen Babylon 5, "The Gathering" is a reasonable telemovie, but only of strong interest to serious science fiction fans. But for fans of the series, this movie is an excellent example of how the storyline for the series was originally conceived and then modified when its limitations became obvious. The changes in the characterisations of Delenn, G'Kar and Llando can, in the retrospect provided by the later release (and viewing) of this pilot, be seen as significantly adding to the strength that made the series the classic it has become.