Babylon 5: In the Beginning (1998)

Emperor Londo Mollari of the Centauri Republic tells the story of the Earth-Minbari War that almost destroyed humanity and later inspired its last best, hope for peace.

Director:

Michael Vejar

Writers:

J. Michael Straczynski (creator), J. Michael Straczynski

Stars:

Bruce Boxleitner, Mira Furlan, Richard Biggs

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Boxleitner	...	John J. Sheridan
Mira Furlan	...	Delenn
Richard Biggs	...	Stephen Franklin, M.D.
Andreas Katsulas	...	G'Kar
Peter Jurasik	...	Londo Mollari
Theodore Bikel	...	Lenonn
Reiner Schöne	...	Dukhat (as Reiner Schone)
Michael O'Hare	...	Lt. Cmdr. Jeffrey Sinclair (archive footage)
Robin Atkin Downes	...	Morann
J. Patrick McCormack	...	General Lefcourt
Tricia O'Neil	...	Earth Alliance President
Robin Sachs	...	Coplann
James Patrick Stuart	...	Presidential Aide
Jason Ross-Azikiwe	...	Captain Sterns (as Jason Azikiwe)
Yasemin Baytok	...	Centauri Woman

Storyline

The Earth military encounters an alien race called the Minbari. Through a series of accidents and misunderstandings, a war breaks out that nearly results in the death of every human on Earth. The war and its aftermath provide the background for the TV series "Babylon 5," especially its first season.

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Plot Keywords:

alien | space opera | 23rd century | alien invasion | space station | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 January 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Babylon 5: Last of the Fallen

Company Credits

Production Co:

Babylonian Productions, TNT

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min (PAL DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the novelization, Jankowski later committed suicide. He left a note which said only, "On my head,". He meant that he foresaw his mistake being the reason for humanity's extermination.

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Goofs

During the "ambush" scene, a Starfury and a Dreadnaught suddenly disappear as the jump point opens on a heavy cruiser.

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Quotes

Londo Mollari: [Speaking to Luc and Lyssa Deradi] Very well. I will give you both what you want. A story about great deeds, about armies of light and soldiers of darkness. About the place where they lived, and fought, and loved, and died. About great empires. Terrible mistakes. A true story. You see I was there at the dawn of the Third Age. It began with the humans you know. They're the quiet ones I mentioned before. They changed the universe but doing so, paid a terrible price. It began 35 of their years ago....

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Connections

Features Babylon 5: And the Sky Full of Stars (1994)

User Reviews

A good movie that adds important detail missing from the series

As with most TV movies that are effectively a story arc, "In the Beginning" is only attractive to fans of the series. But for these people, this movie adds critical background information only hinted at in the series, and as well, casts one of the significant characters of the show into a different light. Now we can see a little of why the first four Babylon stations were destroyed, and how Sinclair and then Sheridan were fated to be the keystones in the development of Earth-Mimbari relations.

Finally the linked histories of Delenn, Sincliar and Sheridan that are alluded to throughout the series are explained, revealing some of the deep background created by J. Michael Straczynski that helped add to the series strength. The acting is well crafted, highlighting the depth of skills in their craft of the major cast. What I found particularly intriguing was the manner in which Straczynski rounded out the character of Llando by having him slightly distort the historical events covered in the series (only apparent to someone who had paid particular attention to the original TV screening).