Amazon.com
The Babylon 5 pilot movie The Gathering was originally broadcast in 1993 a full year ahead of the regular show. A somewhat dull tale of an attempt to assassinate Koch, the Vorlon ambassador to B5, the feature served to introduce Commander Jeffery Sinclair (Michael O'Hare) and Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle) as well as familiarize the audience with the unique environment of a five-mile-long space station in the year 2257. Missing many of the main cast, and suffering from a leaden pace and mediocre music score, series creator J Michael Straczynski later improved The Gathering by tightening the cut for a special edition (the version released on DVD), adding some deleted character moments and commissioning a new score from series composer Christopher Franke. Four new TV movies were part of the deal to syndicate Babylon 5. In the Beginning is a prelude set 10 years before Babylon 5, telling the story of the Earth-Minbari war. Told retrospectively, many of the mysteries revealed gradually in the main series are recounted, making the show a collection of spoilers for newcomers while adding little for established fans. It is effective to see events only previously talked about, and enjoyable to have most of the main cast playing younger versions of themselves. River of Souls is a self-contained adventure featuring a return of the Soul Hunters from Season One, while Thirdspace offers a spectacular Lovecraftian space opera which slots into the saga after the end of the Shadow War. A Call to Arms is the most important of the TV films, laying the ground for the future TV series Crusade. Set five years after the Shadow War, it tells the story of a Drahk revenge attack on Earth. A final showcase for Bruce Boxleitner as Sheridan, the story fits between fifth-season episodes "Objects at Rest" and "Sleeping in Light." The cliffhanger ending sets the scene for new starship Excalibur to boldly go on a five-year mission to explore strange new worlds and find a cure for the Shadow virus infecting the Earth. --Gary S. Dalkin
Product Description
Now entering your stargrid: 5 B5 movie adventures in one deluxe set! First time on DVD! Initiate jump sequence for feature-length tales about key events in the B5 chronology. Movie 1: The Gathering - Alien envoys come to the giant space station in the pilot that launched the five-year TV series. Movie 2: In the Beginning - The B5 prequel! It's humans vs. aliens in the battle that led to the station's creation. Movie 3: Thirdspace - Is there a realm beyond hyperspace? Discovery of a million-years-old gateway technology may hold the answer...and more. Movie 4: River of Souls - After death then what? Questions of eternity arise when a supposedly infallible harvester of souls proves to be very fallible. Movie 5: A Call to Arms - The torch is passed. A race against time to save Earth links the B5 mission with the Rangers' new interstellar efforts.Running Time: 469 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY UPC: 085393343729 Manufacturer No: 33437
(Review copyright Amazon.co.uk)
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