Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Babylon 5 was a terrific science fiction show which aired on the USA Network from 1994 to 1998. The main story was centered on a 5 mile long space station inhabited by a variety of beings from a wide cross-section of planets. It was one of the first shows to rely on an ongoing story as the main focus of the show, rather than independent, stand-alone episodes involving the same characters week after week. I didn't watch the show when it first aired, and could never get into it catching an episode here and there. It's truly a show that needs to be viewed sequentially. I only fully appreciated it when I began purchasing the season-long boxed sets and watching the show from start to finish in order.

The end of the fifth and final season left me shouting "Nooo!" It felt like it should have been longer and had more time given to it. I wanted to know what the future held for so many of the characters that had grown on me.

This year, 2007, series creator and writer J. Michael Straczynski created a direct to DVD movie set ten years after the events of that final season. Babylon 5: The Lost Tales brings back Tracy Scoggins in the role of Colonel Elizabeth Lochley (a role she took on only in the final season of the show) as well as Bruce Boxleitner as the President of the Interstellar Alliance, John Sheridan. Jeff Conaway makes a cameo appearance as Zack Allan.

The only other members of the cast seen are in flashback. That is a shame. I know some have left us, but it would have been nice to have more of the cast together again. I don't think all of them would have worked without it having the forced feeling so typical with "reunion" type shows, and they usually don't satisfy the fans. Straczynski does a pretty decent job here in that regard.
The first half is titled Over Here. Col. Elizabeth Lochley has a priest, Father Cassidy (portrayed by Alan Scarfe) come to Babylon 5 after strange experiences in Brown Sector involving what appears to be a haunting. The path leads to a worker, simon Burke (portrayed by Bruce Ramsay) who appears to be possessed. As Lochley and the priest prepare to perform an exorcism, the real truth behind the situation comes to her.

This would have made a good episode of the series, with a funny filler "B" story involving one or more of the other characters. It has the feeling of a scrip that ended up not being filmed. The main problem is the only character that's familiar is Lochley, although the setting of being on the Babylon 5 space station was nice again.

The second half is titled Over There and is much better. On Minbar, President Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) prepares to depart for the 10 year celebration of the InterStellar Alliance. On board his transport, he conducts an interview with a reporter. He reminisces about old friends which is nice although I would have liked to have seen the ones who are still with us.

Dr. Franklin went with G'Kar exploring beyond the rim...

Sheridan is told he will be escorting someone. The third from the throne from the planet Centauri arrives, Prince Regent Dius Vintari (portrayed by Keegan MacIntosh). He is a boy who appears to be somewhere in his early to mid teens. Sheridan is given a vision by a techno-mage, Galen (portrayed by Peter Woodward) that the Prince will slaughter the Earth one day. Galen encourages Sheridan to kill the boy in an "accident".

When Sheridan and Lochley were together, it is wonderful. The dialogue is great and that portion had a real feel to it of being a continuation of the show. The tributes to the two actors who passed was handled nicely without being overdone or too melancholy.

Tracey Scoggins is starting to show her age. That's not necessarily a bad thing, I just have a pet peeve with actresses who choose not to grow old gracefully and try to act like they are in the 30-ish range when they are quite a bit more than that. I thought that about her in another television show I saw her in recently where she also seemed to be acting quite a bit younger than her actual age. However, after thinking on it and viewing a few movies where 50-ish actors have wives in their mid-20's, I think I would rather have an older actress in these roles. It just seems more credible. A piece of advice, though: Girl, let it out - be yourself. You're beautiful at any age.

Bruce Boxleitner falls into his role as Sheridan as easily as if he's been doing it all these years. He was actually the second Commander of the station and always seemed better suited to the role. It's easy to see why when he slips back into it with such ease here and doesn't seem to need time to get a handle on the role again.

I enjoyed the special features, particularly the interviews with Joe Straczynski. He just seems so warm and so open to the fans, rather than seeming to have an air of superiority or that anything he's doing is a huge favor to the fans and they better damn well appreciate it. Straczynski is a class act - it's like he's as huge a fan of the show as we are.

The special effects were great, although it's apparent from the limited number of shots that the budget here wasn't that huge. There were episodes from the series that had better use of the effects. Still, at this point some Babylon 5 is better than none, and I hope that the fact that this disc is being received so well leads to more which will include more of the original cast that is still with us.

If you read what I wrote and are scratching your head as to who the characters are that I mentioned, don't expect to pickup this disc and really appreciate it. Take the time to watch the series from the beginning. You'll see what a great series this was.


Special Features:

• Interviews - Joe Straczynski, Bruce Boxleitner, Tracey Scoggins, Peter Woodward
• Memorials - Andreas Katsulas, Richard Biggs
• The Straczynski Diaries
• Fireside Chats


Other Babylon 5 reviews:

Babylon 5: The Complete First Season ~ Babylon 5: The Complete Second Season ~ Babylon 5: The Complete Third Season ~ Babylon 5: The Complete Fourth Season ~ Babylon 5: The Complete Fifth Season

Babylon 5: The Movies ~ Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers ~ Crusade: The Complete Series



© 2007 Patti Aliventi

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD