Sleeping in Light 

Nearing the end of his 20 year life extension, Sheridan bids his farewells to all his friends and family, while the now obsolete Babylon 5 is prepared for decommissioning.

Director:

J. Michael Straczynski

Writers:

J. Michael Straczynski (created by), J. Michael Straczynski

Stars:

Bruce Boxleitner, Claudia Christian, Jerry Doyle

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Boxleitner	...	President John Sheridan
Claudia Christian	...	Gen. Susan Ivanova
Jerry Doyle	...	Michael Garibaldi
Mira Furlan	...	Delenn
Richard Biggs	...	Dr. Stephen Franklin
Bill Mumy	...	Lennier (archive footage)
Jason Carter	...	Marcus Cole (archive footage)
Stephen Furst	...	Vir Cotto
Jeff Conaway	...	Zack Allan
Patricia Tallman	...	Lyta Alexander (archive footage)
Andreas Katsulas	...	G'Kar (archive footage)
Peter Jurasik	...	Londo Mollari (archive footage)
Wayne Alexander	...	Lorien
Romy Rosemont	...	Publicist
David Wells	...	Commander William Nils

Storyline

20 years after he visited Z'Ha'Dum, Sheridan knows his time is short and gathers his old comrades together. Afterwards he takes personalized White Star to Babylon 5 where it's going to be decommissioned shortly. The final leg of his journey takes him to Coriana 6 where they ended the Shadow War, and meets with one last person. The old command staff gather on Babylon 5 to watch its decommissioning.

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Plot Keywords:

series finale | death of main character | reunion of old friends | 23rd century | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

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Did You Know?

Trivia

This takes place from December 28, 2280 to January 20, 2281.

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Goofs

During Sheridan's last supper, Emperor Vir comments that the Pak'ma'ra have beautiful singing voices to which Sheridan sounds surprised. However in "There All the Honor Lies" Ambassador Kosh shows Sheridan 'one moment of perfect beauty' which is a choir of singing Pak'ma'ra on Babylon 5 as part of his training for the oncoming Shadow War.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

The closing credits for the final episode, "Sleeping In the Light", include shots of all the major characters as they are when the episode took place (20 years after the events of the series), whether or not they are present in the episode. Ranger Marcus Cole, who sacrificed his life to save Ivanova, is represented by the control and information panel on a "coldsleep" hibernaculum -- presumably where his body is being kept until he can be revived.

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Connections

References Babylon 5: Endgame (1997)

User Reviews

One of the most emotional episodes in Sci-Fi

As a lifelong Science Fiction fan, I have seen nearly every episode of nearly every show. By far, the single episode of any series with the greatest emotional impact is "Sleeping in Light". I have seen it countless times, and every single time it brings me to tears. Even in a series known as a masterpiece of storytelling, it goes beyond the other episodes to be an incredibly heart-wrenching finale. I believe it is unmatched in television science fiction, and possibly in TV in general.

As has been said before, it is imperative that you watch the rest of the series, in its entirety and in order, before you watch the finale. Otherwise it will lose most of its effect, and possibly spoil some of the rest of the show.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 November 1998 (USA)

Box Office

Budget:

$900,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Babylonian Productions, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1