Babylon 5: Season 5 [DVD] [1994]

Season 5 beguins with the introduction of a new character ( Captain Lochley ) played by Tracy Scoggins. The captain like in funny TV ploys turns out to be Sheridan's first wife, but the story does justify this later on. The first major story is that of the rogue telepaths allowed to stay onboard Babylon 5. This story places Lyta Alexander at the forefront of the action and acts to develope her charcter and the story later on.

The next story plot is the conflict with the Centauri Republic. This story elaborates on the connection between the Drakh who were first mentioned in season 4 and were the allies of the shadows. This story also relates to the apotheosis of Londo Mollari, this is shown in 'The Fall Of Centauri Prime'.

'Sleeping In Light' Set 20 years after the shadow war acts as fitting farewell to the show. Like my fellow fans I was quite moved by this episode, the last few scienes are particularly emotional.

A lot of people have knocked this season unjustifiably. This final season was the most dark and emotional of the 5 seasons but stands out for its excellent character developement and resolution. I personally was quite moved by the stories presented thoughout this season.

Regarding the missing scene at the start of 'The Fall Of Centauri Prime', this error seems to have been resolved ( well at least on mine anyway ). Thanks to my fellow customers for mentioning the fault, hence the reason I waited before I made my purchase.

GOODBYE BABLYON 5 YOU ARE BOTH MISSED AND NOT FORGOTTEN

Season Five begins very ploddingly in a time of peace and explores the setting-up of the new alliance with the former Captain of Babylon 5 John Sheridan as its President. The new Captain of the station Elizabeth Lochley is very likable almost immediately- despite being written to oppose almost every regular on the show before she's even got both feet through the whooshing space-doors- but she is in my view a very solid replacement for Susan Ivanova, who especially gets the chance to shine in the "River of Souls" TV Movie made at the same time as this season.

The telepaths invited to start a colony on the station are one of the two main subjects of the season, but it's not until episode seven that this storyline picks up pace and becomes absorbing. But even then- after the so-called "telepath war" was alluded to more than once in previous seasons- it's somewhat of a disappointment when you consider what could have been had Straczynski chosen to really take on such a large story-arc and all that it entailed ethically, socially and politically for the universe of Babylon 5. The telepaths' story, which comes at a time between their exploitation by Earth Gov. in the past and the war (between them and the "mundanes") that's to come...is an interesting one, but the main problem is that as a group they are largely uncharismatic and with the exception of their leader- mute, which doesn't make for thrilling viewing. But on the flip side this story does provide Patricia Tallman (Lyta Alexander) with the screen-time she deserves and also some fantastic character dilemmas to sink her teeth into and that's reason enough for me be glued to my seat throughout this season. And once it gets up some momentum the storyline and the characters involved do make for compulsive viewing. The second subject of the season I won't give away for those who haven't seen it before, but it's much more thrilling than the telepath story-arc and also ties in with the finale of the show and also the fabled Babylon 5 feature film, which has yet to materialise...

Every season of Babylon 5 is marked by at least one superlative episode that takes every revelatory idea, every glimmer of brilliance and every subtle exploration into what it means to be human to extraordinary heights and it's no surprise that "Sleeping in Light," the episode in the fifth and final season of Babylon 5 and the finale of the show as a whole...is the episode for me, which attains that inexplicable goal. Even though I hadn't followed the programme from the beginning- when I saw this episode for the first time I was moved to tears, such was the power of the feeling and ability of all those involved in its making and I dare anyone not to react in the same way. The last thing you'll want to hear is that this episode alone is worth the price of the box set, because that implies the rest is below par. Well unfortunately...it is to some extent, but this is Babylon 5- it's still an awesome season, so buy the set for every episode, all 22 and be more than pleasantly surprised by a gem of an episode right at the end.

I just got around to watching episode 18 (The Fall of Centauri Prime) and the opening scenes are missing. The episode starts with the opening titles - which is not the way it's supposed to start. The actual scene where Londo notices the Drakh for the first time is missing.
(I've checked the DVD on my computer and the actual opening scene isn't on the the DVD(It's not in the VOB file, so it's no a faulty disc.)

(And trying to find the right WB Email address to conatact them isn't easy either!