No Compromises

089/502

Written by: J Michael Straczynski
Directed by: Janet Greek

Regular cast: Sheridan, Delenn, Garibaldi, Lochley, G'Kar, Franklin, Londo, Zack

Guest starring: Robin Atkin Downes (Byron), Joshua Cox (Lt. Corwin), Anthony Crivello (John), Timothy Eyster (Simon), Mauricio Mendoza (Ranger)

A brainless yet entertaining little episode very much in the spirit of the second season. Everything one can expect from the first episode of a season.

Notes:

• Robin Atkin Downes who played Byron also played Satai Morann in Atonement and ItB.
• What on earth did the music box have to do with anything? Or the mysterious past of Simon the Special? Bloody JMS and his bloody red herrings...

My favourite scene:
One of the many hilarious scenes with G'kar. Can't decide which one.

The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari

090/503

Written by: J Michael Straczynski
Directed by: David Eagle

Regular cast: Sheridan, Delenn, Garibaldi, G'Kar, Franklin, Londo, Zack, Vir, Lennier

Guest starring: David Kettle (Ruell), Akiko Ann Morison (Med Tech)

A funny little episode in all its overblown symbolism and foreshadowing (sorry, was I supposed to take this seriously?).

Notes:

• Franklin seems to have gotten his medical degree from the same cereal box as Dr. William Indiri (see TIoT). According to Lurker's Guide he confuses bipulmonary ('two lungs') and bicardiac ('two hearts'), and orders a toxology report instead of a toxicology report sending the medtechs looking for bows instead of poison (then again, a bow in your bloodstream can be quite lethal so maybe he was just being thorough).
• The scene where Vir exits Zocalo just before Londo (in his dream) enters it was filmed in one continuous shot (and reportedly required quite a lot of organising to empty the set quickly enough)
• How did Londo know about Sheridan's shortened lease on life? I mean, Sheridan wasn't originally going to tell even Delenn about it. Imagine if Sheridan had told Londo and not Delenn:
  
  

  INT. Zocalo [Sheridan, Londo and Delenn are talking over a drink] Londo: "So, Sheridan, how does it feel to know that you're going to die in twenty years?" [Sheridan makes desperate gestures as if trying to tell Londo to shut up] Delenn: "WHAT?" [Delenn looks angrily at Sheridan who's trying to look innocent] Sheridan: "I don't know what he's talking about." Londo: "Yes you do, you just told me yesterday that you will die in twenty years... " [Sheridan kicks Londo who gets the message and leaves] Delenn: "Is it true?" Sheridan: "Well, yes..." Delenn: "And when were you going to tell me?" Sheridan: "Well, I..." Delenn: "Right. We're going home to have a serious talk about this." [Delenn grabs Sheridan's arm and drags him with her]

The Paragon of Animals

091/504

Written by: J Michael Straczynski
Directed by: Mike Vejar

Regular cast: Sheridan, Delenn, Garibaldi, Lyta, G'Kar, Franklin, Londo

Guest starring: Robin Atkin Downes (Byron), Tony Abatemarco (Verhan), Kim Strauss (Drazi Ambassador), Daniel Bryan Cartmell (Merkat), Bart Johnson (Ranger)

Not a brilliant episode, but an entertaining one.

Notes:

• The title of the episode comes from William Shakespeare's Hamlet, which Byron also quotes in one scene:

  What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! (Act II, Scene II, Lines 23-28)

• The name of the new alien race, Enphili, sounds suspiciously similar to the Minbari ship Imphili that took part to the battle against Shadows in ShD

My favourite scene:
I can't really think of any particular scene, but I love the way Sheridan says "Sometimes it's like living in a madhouse ..."

View from the Gallery

092/505

Written by: J Michael Straczynski (story by JMS and Harlan Ellison)
Directed by: Janet Greek

Regular cast: Sheridan, Delenn, Garibaldi, Lochley, G'Kar, Franklin, Londo, Zack

Guest starring: Robin Atkin Downes (Byron), Lawrence LeJohn (Bo), Raymond O'Connor (Mack), Joshua Cox (Lt. Corwin)

I really wanted to like this episode. I mean, it was in most parts quite funny. Unfortunately I have already seen far too many ironic stand-alone comedy episodes on the X-Files. Had AVftG been set on third or fourth season and had the attackers been Shadows or Clark's forces, the episode would have worked brilliantly. Now, all we are left with is a few good jokes and nothing more.

Notes:

• Byron's comment "A fellow of infinite jest... I knew him, Horatio" is (again) a quote from William Shakespeare's Hamlet, more precisely Act 5, Scene 1, Line 190. He gets it slightly wrog, though. It should be "I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest".
• The script for this episode was written in one day (and if I were a mean person, I would say that it shows. But I'm not and so I won't)
• I always thought that the devices the maintainence people push around were some sort of disinfecting devices used to kill all alien germs and stuff
• The book Bo is reading in the shelter, Dining on Babylon 5, has actually been published (and no, it isn't quite as awful as 'Wookie Cookies and Other Star Wars Recepies')

My favourite scene:
The silence in the scene where Franklin after the battle lists the casualties under a sign that says "Welcome to Babylon 5".

Learning Curve

093/506

Written by: J Michael Straczynski
Ohjaus: David Eagle

Regular cast: Sheridan, Delenn, Garibaldi, Lochley, Franklin, Zack

Guest starring: Nathan Anderson (Rastenn), Turhan Bey (Turval), Brendan Ford (Tannier), Trevor Goddard (Trace), Brian McDermott (Durhan), Mongo Brownlee (Enforcer), Dawn Comer (Security Guard), Erica Ortega (Teegarden)

No, no, no, no, no!
LC started off beautifully (and not least because of Turhan Bey), but soon descended below every B5 standard. The Rangers (including Delenn) act like fascist little jerks and the fight in the end is downright repulsive. I mean, does anyone think that the thug had even the slightest chance of surviving the fight upright? He had probably never even seen a denn'bok and was forced to fight a Minbari who had been trained to use the weapon! I agree with Lochley - the Sheridan I know would never have allowed something as stupid as this. LC also reminded me of the good old G17 and not least because the main thug (and the plot) was about as believable as the Zarg.

Notes:

• Turhan Bey who plays the nicer Minbari Turval played also the too nice Centauri Emperor Turhan in TCoS

My favourite scene:
The banter between Durhan and Turval and the sleeping pak'ma'ra (which scared the hell out of me when I first watched the episode, because I thought it was my VCR that was making the odd noise).

Strange Relations

094/507

Written by: J Michael Straczynski
Directed by: John C. Flinn III

Regular cast: Sheridan, Delenn, Garibaldi, Lochley, Lyta, G'Kar, Franklin, Londo, Zack

Guest starring: Walter Koenig (Bester), Robin Atkin Downes (Byron), Joshua Cox (Lt. Corwin), Clynell Jackson III (Security Guard), James Lew (Bloodhound Teep), Clarke Coleman (Telepath), Steven Hal Lambert (Bloodhound Teep)

Again not a disappointment, but nothing to write home about either.

Notes:

• The first commander of B5 was the ancestor of the third wife of the second commander and the first wife of the second commander was the station's third commander. AreF you following me?
• Sheridan has been at war with all three of his wives - Lochley fought on Clark's side during the Civil war, Anna was working for the Shadows during the Shadow War and Delenn gave the order that started the Earth-Minbari War. How's that for healthy marriage life.
• It's also worth noticing that Anna, Lochley and Delenn were, respectively, a worker, a warrior and a religious caste member.
• The lyrics for the song Byron & co sing at the end of the episode can be found in the B5 Songbook section.

My favourite scene:
Lochley pounds Garibaldi. No, actually the telepaths had some good scenes - not the one where the slo-mo bloodhounds charge Byron, though.

Secrets of the Soul

095/508

Written by: J Michael Straczynski
Directed by: Tony Dow

Regular cast: Lyta, Franklin, Zack

Guest starring: Robin Atkin Downes (Byron), Jana Robbins (Ambassador Tal), Fiona Dwyer (Kirrin), Jack Hannibal (Peter), Stuart McLean (Carl), Robert Hewlett (Thug), Skip Stellrecht (Security Guard), William Scudder (Drazi Captain)

My opinions of this episode might be affected by the fact that it was the first one that I didn't watch alone (and the person I watched it with, i.e. my sister, had the flu and had the episode been any better than this, I would have strangled her to stop the sniffling). Anyway, I didn't like it one bit. I have never liked the Hyach, I don't like the new Peter the Special with his mysterious powers and the violence was once again too cartoonish. Not to mention the fact that Sheridan wasn't in it (the episode, not the violence). Besides, SotS left a bitter aftertaste of having been made in too much of a rush.

Notes:

• This was the first episode since Chrysalis that didn't have Sheridan in it.

My favourite scene:
No, I can't think of even one decent scene in the entire episode.

Day of the Dead

096/511

Written by: Neil Gaiman
Directed by: Doug Lefler

Regular cast: Sheridan, Delenn, Garibaldi, Lochley, G'Kar, Londo, Lennier

Guest starring: Penn & Teller (Rebo & Zooty), Joshua Cox (Lt. Corwin), Bridget Flanery (Zoe), Marie Marshall (Dodger), Fabiana Udenio (Adira Tyree), Ed Wasser (Morden), Jonathan Chapman (Brakiri Ambassador), Mary Major (ISN Reporter), Skip Stellrecht (Customs Officer), Ismael Kanater (Brakiri Salesman), Harlan Ellison (voice of Zooty)

The best stand-alone episode (or plot) in the history of B5. Neil Gaiman rules!

Notes:

• The first non-JMS episode since the second season no-brainer Knives.
• A couple of scenes were cut from the episode because it ran too long. The scenes include one where Sheridan and Garibaldi annoy Lochley with their Rebo and Zooty act, and an explanatory scene where she discusses the Day of the Dead with G'Kar and the Brakiri Ambassador. JMS also made numerous little additions (like Londo's comment on how "an Earth cat can be the Emperor" and the whole "Because it tells me to" scene) to the episode.
• Dodger's farewell to Garibaldi, "Parting is all we know of heaven, and all we need of hell", is from a poem by Emily Dickinson. The poem she sings in the tune of Yellow Rose of Texas on the other hand isn't by Dickinson. It's "A Few Figs from Thistles" by Edna St. Vincent Millay and Neil Gaiman made the mistake on purpose (or so he says...).
• This episode was supposed to air after PR, but was moved for reasons which I can't remember at the moment. Anyway, because of this, there is a slight glitch in the plot line when Byron in ItKotB talks about SotS as if it had happened the previous day even though DotD happens between them. Besides, G'Kar and Londo should be on their way to Centauri and not on the station. Then again, DotD would not fit perfectly after PR either, again because of Londo and G'kar - they leave the station in SR and only return in TRE. Then again if DotD were set after TRE, it would, perhaps, put the events too late into the season, too much into the drakh plot.
• For those of you who have been living under a rock: Penn and Teller who play Rebo and Zooty, respectively, are an American comedy/magician duo (if you liked them, see the movie "Penn and Teller Get Killed" which is not one of the greatest movies ever made, but without question one of the weirdest). Neil Gaiman is the genius behind my favourite comic Sandman and (together with my favourite author Terry Pratchett) one of my favourite books Good Omens. The voice of Zooty is of course none other than the one and only Harlan Ellison, the science fiction writer who we have previously heard in CoLaD (as the voice of Sparky the computer) and seen in TFotE (as a Psi Cop).

My favourite scene:
No single scene in particular stands out because the entire episode is so good. Many touching scenes, but also several funny ones.

In the Kingdom of the Blind

097/509

Written by: J Michael Straczynski
Directed by: David Eagle

Regular cast: Sheridan, Delenn, Garibaldi, Lyta, G'Kar, Franklin, Londo, Zack

Guest starring: Robin Atkin Downes (Byron), Neil Hunt (Minister Vitari), Damian London (Regent), Victor Lowe (Telepath), Francis X. McCarthy (Minster Vole), Ian Ogilvy (Lord Jano), David Darling (Drazi)

A good, but forgettable little episode that rises above average thanks to Damien London.

Notes:

• Ian Olgivy who plays Lord Jano is way too nice for a Centauri. On a sidenote, if I'm not completely mistaking here, he's married to Bruce Boxleitner's ex-wife.

My favourite scene:
The one where the Regent says goodbye to Lord Jano. Damien London is just brilliant.

A Tragedy of Telepaths

098/510

Written by: J Michael Straczynski
Directed by: Tony Dow

Regular cast: Sheridan, Delenn, Garibaldi, Lochley, Lyta, G'Kar, Franklin, Londo, Zack

Guest starring: Julie Caitlin Brown (Na'Toth), Robin Atkin Downes (Byron), Walter Koenig (Bester), Leigh J. McCloskey (Thomas), Kim Strauss (Drazi Ambassador), Caroline Ambrose (Lara), Freddy Andreiuci (Worker), Jonathan Chapman (Brakiri Ambassador), Tom Billet (Centauri Guard), Christina Gavin (Telepath)

AToT - which I have dubbed 'Lochley's Day' - was again one of these 'no-classic-but-not-bad-either' episodes that seem to be the trend of the fifth season.

Notes:

• The name of this episode, "a tragedy of telepaths" is not quite grammatically correct, but that  doesn't mean that JMS doesn't know his who from his whom.  The title is intentionally weird, suggesting that the same way as a group of birds can be called a flock, a group of telepaths can become a tragedy (or something like that).

My favourite scene:
Londo's story about the guardians of the long-dead flower.

Phoenix Rising

099/511

Written by: J Michael Straczynski
Directed by: David Eagle

Regular cast: Sheridan, Garibaldi, Lochley, Lyta, Franklin, Zack

Guest starring: Robin Atkin Downes (Byron), Walter Koenig (Bester) , Jack Hannibal (Peter), Victor Love (Telepath Leader), Leigh J. McCloskey (Thomas)

A dramatic ending to the somewhat bland telepath plot. Although Bester's visits have been watered down a bit due to the fact that he seems to be around in every other episode, I would definetely call this episode 'The Best of Bester'.

Notes:

• This was the first time that Bester appeared in two episodes in a row.
• When Byron is flying around in his starfury, there is a badge in his uniform that spells 'Byron' - this would then indicate that it is his surname. Gregory J. Keys' book Deadly Relations: Bester Ascendant on the other hand states that Byron's full name is Byron Gordon. Either Keys made a mistake (the only one I can spot in the entire Telepath Trilogy) or the Black Omega are on first name basis.
• I remember reading a comment by JMS that Byron's name is somewhat descriptive of his character. The question is whether the name Byron is a reference to the romantic poet Lord Byron (whose real name, by the way, was George Gordon) and the literary term 'byronic hero', or the etymology of the name, i.e. 'the one who looks after the cattle'.

My favourite scene:
The would-be dramatic scene where Sheridan & co are discussing what to do next and Bester keeps ruining the dramatic atmosphere by being himself and explaining how everyone wants to talk to him and how Garibaldi's death would result a bigger office for Zack. Bester at his best.

The Ragged Edge

100/512

Written by: J Michael Straczynski
Directed by: John Copeland

Regular cast: Sheridan, Delenn, Garibaldi, G'Kar, Franklin, Londo, Zack

Guest starring: Marshall Teague (Ta'lon), John Castellanos (Tafiq Azir), Mirron E. Willis (Brannagan), Mark Hendrickson (Narn Acolyte)

Again a bit too bland for my taste. I especially didn't like Garibaldi's Indiana Jones-esque visit to Drazi homeworld. I was also somewhat disappointed by the fact that the mysterious message Franklin received was nothing more than a job offer. I was expecting something a bit more dramatic.

Notes:

• The smuggler's ship was imaginatively named Red Star. The series has already had ships called White Star and Black Star. What next? Bright Yellow with Light Green Polka Dots Star?

The Corps Is Mother, the Corps Is Father

101/513

Written by: J Michael Straczynski
Directed by: Stephen Furst

Regular cast: Franklin, Zack

Guest starring: Walter Koenig (Bester), Dana Barron (Lauren Ashley), Mike Genovese (Drake), Reggie Lee (Chen Hikaru), Dex Elliott Sanders (Jonathan Harris), Brendan Ford (Gordon), Don McMillan (Bartender), Jeremy Thomas (Man), Michael Max Charles Ciano (Roommate), Michael Jeffrie Stanton (Dealer)

Just hearing that Stephen Furst had directed this episode made me cringe. Not another pseudo-documentary episode like ANfaW (which he didn't direct, though), TIoT and DoFS! Well, TCIMTCIF (don't you just love these acronyms) is not a pseudo-documentary as such, but more like AVftG in the way that it looks at the B5 universe through an alternative perspective (although, when you think about it ...Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do... PSI COPS - All telepaths are innocent, all mundanes guilty). This isn't the real problem, though. The real problem is that the plot is too predictable. In many scenes I could even guess what the characters were going to say. And I'm not even going to start with the Psi-Chick visiting Bester's quarters WITH HER HAIR LOOSE (if you didn't guess where that would lead, you have been living under a rock)!

Notes:

• The second (and last) episode in the series since Points of Departure that didn't have Sheridan in it. In fact, the only main characters who do make an appearance are Zack and Franklin.
• For those who don't know or remember: the love of Bester's life is not his wife (who lives on Mars), but Carolyn, the shadow-enhanced, cryo-genetically frozen rogue Sheridan & co rescued in SoT.
• According to some sources the hump on a pak'ma'ras back is actually a female pak'ma'ra. Now there's a mental image you won't get out of your head for a while.

Meditations on the Abyss

102/514

Written by: J Michael Straczynski
Directed by: Mike Vejar

Regular cast: Sheridan, Delenn, Garibaldi, G'Kar, Franklin, Londo, Zack, Vir, Lennier

Guest starring: Ron Campbell (Drazi Ambassador), Martin East (Findell), Richard Yniguez (Montoya), Carl Ciarfalio (Drazi Vendor), Vincent Deadrick Jr. (Tough Guy), Mark Hendrickson (Narn Acolyte)

MotA started off with a blast (don't you just love when Delenn kicks as... sorry, prods buttock), but unfortunately the rest of the episode didn't follow the example and instead made a visit to mediocre land. Besides, Vir's McBar joke holds a strong lead in the Most Unfunny Joke on B5 Competition.

Notes:

• Have all rangers joined the Anla'Shok to continue the work of some one close to them? I mean, first Marcus, then Lennier and now Findell?
• Notice that the Narn who asks G'Kar the "what is truth and what is god" question is the same Narn who had the book slammed at his face only a few episodes earlier... No wonder G'kar feels frustrated.

My favourite scene:
One of the funniest scenes on the fifth season is unarguably Delenn breaking the finger of the man harassing her (ok... saying that made me sound like a psychopath, didn't it...). This is the kind of girl-power the Spice Girls only dream of.

Darkness Ascending

103/515

Written by: J Michael Straczynski
Directed by: Janet Greek

Regular cast: Sheridan, Delenn, Garibaldi, Lyta, G'Kar, Franklin, Londo, Zack, Vir, Lennier

Guest starring: Denise Gentile (Lise Hampton), Richard Yniguez (Montoya), Thomas MacGreevy (Minister), Wesley Mask (Maitre'd), Edmund Shaff (Business Man)

Mass-production continues. The plot never really takes off, nothing interesting really happens and the scenes with Lise and Garibaldi are a wee bit too soap-opera-esque. Still, had this episode been a book, it would have ended with the phrase "After that, all hell broke loose".

Notes:

• Read the lyrics for Garibaldi's song in the B5 Songbook section.

My favourite scene:

And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder

104/516

Written by: J Michael Straczynski
Directed by: Goran Gajic

Regular cast: Sheridan, Delenn, Garibaldi, G'Kar, Franklin, Londo, Zack, Vir, Lennier

Guest starring: Thomas MacGreevy (Minister), Kim Strauss (Drazi Ambassador), Jonathan Chapman (Brakiri Ambassador), Vincent Deadrick Jr. (Brakiri)

One of the most beautiful and artistic episodes in the series, mainly thanks to the refreshingly original style of Goran Gajic.

Notes:

• Goran Gajic, the director of this episode is married to Mira Furlan.

My favourite scene:
It's either Sheridan loosing his temper in front of the council or Delenn's explanation of the symbolism of the candle.

Movements of Fire and Shadow

105/517

Written by: J Michael Straczynski
Directed by: John C Flinn III

Regular cast: Sheridan, Delenn, Garibaldi, Lochley, Lyta, G'Kar, Franklin, Londo, Zack, Vir, Lennier

Guest starring: Wayne Alexander (Drakh), Josh Clark (Kulomani), Joshua Cox (Lt. Corwin), Damian London (Regent), Thomas MacGreevy (Minister), Bart McCarthy (Daro), Robin Sachs (Na'Tok), Neil Bradley (Dr. Uterana Varta)

This episode has the highest P5 rating of the entire fifth season. I can't imagine why. Compared to AAMDTA, MoFaS is crude and at moments annoingly stupid (Lyta and Franklin's visit to Drazi, Londo's abduction, just to name a few scenes I really don't like).

Notes:.

• This is the first episode on fifth season where the entire main cast (i.e. the people who have their faces on the title sequence) is present (even Zack makes a brief visit by running past the camera during the teaser, although I think the scene is borrowed from an earlier episode, TS perhaps?)

My favourite scene:
The ending (and by this I don't mean that the episode was so bad that I was happy that it ended). The last minutes of the episode, when Londo realises what the Regent has done.

The Fall of Centauri Prime

106/518

Written by: J Michael Straczynski
Directed by: Doug E Wise

Regular cast: Sheridan, Delenn, Garibaldi, Lyta, G'Kar, Franklin, Londo, Zack, Vir, Lennier

Guest starring: Wayne Alexander (Drakh), Simon Billig (Ranger), Damian London (Regent), Robin Sachs (Na'tok)

After the disappointment of MoFaS, TFoCP was a real treat. Beautiful, moving, exciting and dramatic. B5 at its best. Still, I was a bit disappointed by the fact that Delenn and Lennier's 'shipwreck' was nothing more than a plot-device. The only reason for it to even exist seemed to be to build a foundation for yet another 'Sheridan Is Forced to Make a Difficult Decision ' (tm) scene. I'm also rather disappointed with Delenn's sudden loss of IQ (She doesn't know how to operate whitestar's weapons systems?).

Notes:

• I'm confused. If Londo's holographic image was as three dimensional as it seemed to be, did some people have to look at his behind when he was making the speech?
• G'Kar forgave Londo in this episode, but has he forgiven Delenn for sacrificing the Narns to the Shadows and the Centauri (cf. SoT)?

My favourite scene:
Londo's flashback as he looks out the window before his inauguration.

Wheel of Fire

107/519

Written by: J Michael Straczynski
Directed by: Janet Greek

Regular cast: Sheridan, Delenn, Garibaldi, Lochley, Lyta, G'Kar, Franklin, Londo, Zack

Guest starring: Denise Gentile (Lise Hampton), Monique Edwards (Officer)

A sympathetic little episode with an interesting twist in the form of Lyta turning to the Dark Side. I'm especially pleased that B5 didn't succumb to overblown cuteness in the scenes about Delenn's pregnancy.

Notes:

• The title of the episode is a reference to William Shakespeare's King Lear:
  

  You do me wrong to take me out o' the grave: Thou art a soul in bliss; but I am bound Upon a wheel of fire, that mine own tears Do scald like molten lead. (Act IV, Scene VII, Lines 46-49)

My favourite scene:
Lyta says: Clap your hands!

Objects in Motion

108/520

Written by: J Michael Straczynski
Directed by: Jésus Treviño

Regular cast: Sheridan, Delenn, Garibaldi, Lyta, G'Kar, Franklin, Zack

Guest starring: Denise Gentile (Lise Hampton), James Hornbeck (Casey), Marjorie Monaghan (Theresa Halloran), Walter Williamson (Paretti), Neil Bradley (Tru'nill), Jeffrey James Castillo (Guard)

This episode was boring. Boring, boring, B.O.R.I.N.G.
The only redeming quality in OiM was that at least it wasn't stupid. Merely incredibly boring. The worst problem was the lack of a decent plot as the whole episode was just one big plot device. And it was only the fourth episode this season that involved an assasination attempt (Sheridan on NC, Zack on LC and Londo on SR).

Notes:

My favourite scene:
Lyta interrogates the Richard Dreyfuss look-alike

Objects at Rest

109/521

Written by: J Michael Straczynski
Directed by: John Copeland

Regular cast: Sheridan, Delenn, Garibaldi, Lochley, Franklin, Londo, Zack, Vir, Lennier

Guest starring: Marshall Teague (Ta'lon), Jennifer Balgobin (Dr. Lillian Hobbs), Simon Billig (Ranger), Joshua Cox (Lt. Corwin), Marjorie Monaghan (Theresa Halloran), Maggie Egan (ISN Reporter), Mike Manzoni (Employee)

Slow-paced, yet entertaining episode. Very much like WHtMG in that it lacked an all-explaining plot, but the individual scenes themselves were good. Momentarily a bit corny, but I'm willing to forget that.

Notes:

• The last episode to be filmed as SiL had been filmed already at the end of the fourth season.

My favourite scene:
Lennier's betrayal. First time during the entire series I felt sorry for him.

Sleeping in Light

110/422

Written by: J Michael Straczynski
Directed by: J Michael Straczynski

Regular cast: Sheridan, Delenn, Garibaldi, Franklin, Zack, Vir

Guest starring: Claudia Christian (Susan Ivanova), Wayne Alexander (Lorien), Romy Rosemont (Publicist), David Wells (Commander Nils), Sharon Annett (Mary Garibaldi), Dan Sachoff (Aide), Lair Torrant (Ranger), Kent Minault (Captain of the Guard), J Michael Straczynski (Shutdown Tech)

All good things must come to an end, and this is about as perfect ending as you can wish for a tv-show. Hauntingly beautiful and infinitely sad, yet surprisingly full of hope. I have never been this touched by a tv-series before; never felt this strongly about fictional characters. SiL wasn't the most visually stunning episode, it wasn't the best written episode, but it was without argument the most emotional. This wasn't art for the mind or the eyes, this was art for the heart.

Notes:

• The mainteinance worker turning out the lights on B5 for the last time is no other than JMS himself. I too have to ask the same question as Andy Lane in his book The Babylon File Vol 2, namely, did JMS get off the station before it exploded?
• SiL was filmed at the end of fourth season (notice how the credits include Marcus, but not Lochley) because at that time it was possible that there wouldn't be a fifth season.
• In the end titles the 'now' image of Marcus is a cryotube. According to its label Ivanova had him put into cryo until the time that he could be brought back to life. Marcus's fate is revealed in the short story "Time, Space, and the Incurable Romantic".

My favourite scene:
Obviously Sheridan and Delenn's goodbye, Sheridan's death and the destruction of Babylon 5, but I'm also oddly fond of the simple scene where Franklin and Garibaldi sit on the couch and just chat. For some reason that scene strikes me as one of the most realistic and touching moments on B5. It shows that B5 really was about, is the people.