Customer Reviews

Babylon 5: The Complete Second Season

5 star:		(101)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is the year things really started to heat up and the overall story arc of this series' five-year plan began to edge out the more stand-alone episodes. About halfway into the season, Babylon 5 becomes a true chapter-by-chapter affair.

In fact, series creator, J. Michael Straczynski's saga became so continuity driven, that by the last third of this season, he went from the show's most prolific writer to its ONLY writer. This Herculean task would challenge him for the next two and a half seasons (and three B5 movie specials) without a break.

Amazingly, this staggering amount of work didn't decrease the quality of writing; Just the opposite. I'd go so far as to say that jms' unbroken marathon of scripts running from late Season Two through the end of Season Four is an unmatched body of work in all of science fiction television (perhaps ANY television, period).

Like Buffy and The X-Files, Babylon 5's Season Two pulled in casual viewers and Season One viewers became unmitigated addicts with no turning back.

Here's a SPOILER-FREE smattering of the some of the better Season Two Babylon 5 entries (as small a list as I could bring myself to provide!):

REVELATIONS: Without fanfare or preamble, one of the central mysteries of this saga is revealed and a major character will never be the same again after a certain "change".

AND NOW FOR A WORD: The first (but not last) of Babylon 5's refreshing experiments in format. This episode is done entirely as a futuristic "60 Minutes" or "24 Hours" type program, which visits Space Station Babylon 5 and digs deep with hard hitting, exploitive journalism, bringing one character to tears and also illuminating the seemingly dark motivations of another.

IN THE SHADOW OF ZA `HA `DUM: An intense episode about personal loss and sacrifice when two powerfully opposed characters square off. Bruce Boxleitner does some of his best work in this episode as John Sheridan's personal agenda puts him in conflict with his staunchest allies.

DIVIDED LOYALTIES: The less revealed the here, the better. You need to see this one for yourself. A jaw dropping surprise awaits. Without spoiling here, I've noticed that whenever Star Trek does the same kind of story that B5 does in this episode, they turn it into a cheap stunt by promoting away any possible audience surprise (Spock's TNG guest appearance, for example). Here is a good example of how anything is possible on this series without warning!

THE LONG TWILIGHT STRUGGLE: A massive and dramatic conclusion to a major storyline. Breathtaking effects, performances, surprises, and great tragedy capped off with tremendous performances by Andreas Katsulas as G'Kar and Peter Jurasic as Londo.

COMES THE INQUISITOR: The most claustrophobic and intense episode so far, featuring one of the best guest performances by Wayne Alexander (Babylon 5's favorite utility guest player) as The Inquisitor. This atmospheric and experimental episode (almost a two-person stage play) also features a tour-de-force performance by Mira Furlan's Delenn.

THE FALL OF NIGHT: A Season-ender, which does the seemingly impossible job of topping Season One's finale. The (very story-supporting) special effects pushed the state of the art at that time and still hold up magnificently today. The story itself is a pressure cooker, but the topper is a MAJOR series revelation.

Saving the best for last...

THE COMING OF SHADOWS: This Season's best episode (which is saying something) won the Hugo (A major award from the Science Fiction community) for Best Dramatic Presentation of the Year, beating out other entries in television AND feature films. It's easy to see why. The drama, subtlety, surprise turns, and razor sharp dialogue are positively Shakespearian. A pillar of the series as a whole. Also, here's a good model to study for any serious writer of television drama.

Of course, the balance of this season has some dynamite episodes such as GROPOS, SOUL MATES, A RACE THROUGH DARK PLACES, and ACTS OF SACRIFICE.

Season Two is wonderful, with even the weakest episode well worth watching. It's a solid improvement on a perfectly fine inaugural season...and year three is even better!

Happy Viewing!

Now that most of the characters had a backstory, the second season of B5 ventured further into it's 5 year story arc involving the war with the Shadows. Although I never really bought the romantic subplot involving Sheridan (I never felt that Boxleitter and Mira Furlan had much chemistry as a couple), it does work well within the context of the story. The political intrigue of season one expands to include Mars colony, the Psicorp and the usual suspects.

Boxleitter is a better actor than Michael O'Hare and he manages to bring considerable power to the role. The change in the guard (due to studio politics amongst many other things)also allowed for a richer, more indepth back story for the series. Although there are a fair share of clunkers during this season, overall the quality is high. The third season would be where the series really hit its stride.

There are a number of very cool extras on the second set. Once again JMS does a color commentary on a couple of episodes but, more important, Bruce Boxleitner, Jerry Doyle and Claudia Christian provide a color commentary that is quite funny and glib on 1 key episode. I had forgotten that Melissa Gilbert did not play Sheridan's wife in the brief footage we see of her. Amazing how time will adjust your memory. The special features include a couple of documentaries and are of pretty good quality. There's a new introduction by J. Michael Straczynski and Bruce Boxleitner that is interesting as well.

The transfer is an improvement over the first season box set Signs and Portents. There's still quite a bit of scratches and analog artifacts. Most noticable, though is the occasional fuzzy picture quality. This is probably due to the low level lighting in some key scenes and a lack of QC when the digital compression was done. Still, the overall quality is quite good although not comparable to the Trek or DS9 picture quality (particularly for seasons 4-7 with ST:TNG).

Nevertheless, it's nice to finally have this important series available on DVD. The overall quality of the writing and directing is top-notch and an improvement over the uneven quality of season one. The acting also took a leap forward during this pivotal season with the addition of Boxleitner and a number of strong guest turns.

With the second season we finally see some payoff to some of what the brilliant writers and producers set up in the first season and of course, upon answering some earlier questions, new ones are raised. This is one of the reasons this show is so appealing as J. Michael Straczynski set up the five year plot and this is but the second chapter and there are so many layers that one cannot help but get caught up in this extraordinarily intriguing epic.

Of the many DVD Boxed sets that I've purchased, the B5 sets seem to stand out above the rest as far as quality goes to include Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and widescreen presentation, episode previews right there with the episode and the overall quality of the transfer.

Stand out episodes:

Points of Departure - This is a wonderfully well written and played episode that serves well to lead off the new season and bring some closure to the incredible first season's cliffhanger and introducing the new and much stronger commanding officer, Captain John Sheridan. It's easily discernable up front to see the different leadership style that he brings into the role and you can readily see that the writers are now beginning to ramp up the war with the shadows in these early beginnings.

Revelations - In a continuance from the season opener, we finally see G'Kar after his search for what destroyed the Narn outpost and his run in with the shadows. Delenn makes her dramatic "return" in this well written episode.

The Geometry of Shadows - In this outstanding Londo Mollari episode we begin to see the furtherance of his unknowing relationship with the shadows, his rising value in the politics of Centauri Prime and his mistaken attempt to meet with the Techno Mages.

A Distant Star - To provide more evidence of the coming of the shadows, this episode teases the Shadows brilliantly before us as they're making their presence seen but not seen as a whole. This episode also serves well to give us further insight into Sheridan and what makes him tick.

Soul Mates - Written by Peter David, one of Star Trek's finest authors, this superb episode is replete with his humor and brilliant style. Londo has been granted permission by the emperor to divorce two of his wives and he makes the best of it.

A Race Through Dark Places - This excellent episode fits well in the "big" picture of B5 as we're brought further into the mystery of Psi Corps and guest star Walter Koenig makes his return as Bester.

The Coming of Shadows - The flood gates of the "epic" open wide with this outstanding episode in which the Centauri emperor comes to apologize to the Narn, however, Londo and his "associates" turn towards war against the Narn. We're also introduced to the Rangers as Garibaldi receives a message from Sinclair. This is quite easily the best episode of the season!

All Alone in the Night - This is an extremely interesting and pivotal episode in which Delenn is ordered home to meet her fate with the Gray Council and at the same time, Sheridan is captured by an unknown species.

Acts of Sacrifice - This is a rather poignant episode in which the war between the Centauri and Narn is heating up and carrying over to B5's population. We begin to see the effect that Londo's new "status" is taking on him.

There all the Honor Lies - This is another brilliantly funny episode written by Peter David. Sheridan is accused of murdering a Minbari and Earth Force wishes to turn a buck by selling B5 souvenirs.

And Now for a Word - This is a fantastic episode portrayed entirely from the point of view of the Interstellar News Network and their visit to B5 just as the Centauri/Narn war heats up on B5's doorstep.

In the Shadow of Z'Ha'Dum - This is another extremely pivotal episode to the entire five year plot as Sheridan meets Mr. Morden upon discovering he was on the Icarus, the same ship in which Sheridan's wife died. Here is where Sheridan must make the decision between his own personal goals and that of the greater good.

Divided Loyalties - In this stunning episode, Lyta Alexander makes a visit and she's seeking a traitor in the midst and Ivanova makes a major revelation to Sheridan.

The Long, Twilight Struggle - In this extremely intriguing and pivotal episode the Centauri/Narn war comes to its inevitable conclusion signaling the coming of the larger war...

Comes the Inquisitor - This is one of the most intriguing and thought provoking episodes of the season as Kosh summons an "Inquisitor" to test Delenn and G'Kar attempts to gain control and leadership over the remaining Narn on the station.

The Fall of Night - Earth makes an unexpected move with reference to the Centauri and we finally see some payoff with reference to the Vorlon and the Shadows...

Special Features

Disc 1 - Introduction to "The Coming of Shadows."
"The Geometry of Shadows" Commentary by Bruce Boxleitner, Claudia Christian and Jerry Doyle.
Text strings on Executive Producer Douglas Netter and J. Michael Straczynski

Disc 4 - "In the Shadow of Z'Ha'Dum" Commentary by J. Michael Straczynski

Disc 6 - "The Fall of Night" Commentary by J. Michael Straczynski
Building Babylon: Blueprint of an Episode
Shadows and Dreams: Honors of Babylon
The Universe of Babylon: Several tech files, personnel files and a timeline up to the end of Season 2 and a great gag reel.

Episode list:

Points of Departure
Revelations
The Geometry of Shadows
A Distant Star
The Long Dark
A Spider in the Web
Soul Mates
A Race Through Dark Places
The Coming of Shadows
Gropos
All Alone in the Night
Acts of Sacrifice
Hunter, Prey
There all the Honor Lies
And Now for a Word
In the Shadow of Z'Ha'Dum
Knives
Confessions and Lamentations
Divided Loyalties
The Long, Twilight Struggle
Comes the Inquisitor
The Fall of Night

The second season of the best tv show ever introduces us to a fantastic new character: Sheridan, who is one of my all time favorite heroes. The second season has some of the most increadibly written storys ever told: Coming of Shadows, where the war truly starts to develop, Comes the Inquisitor (one of my top three favorites ever) where we see the importance of a leader's motivations--doing the right thing for the right reason--maybe one of the most important themes to understand in today's political climate, The Long Twilite Struggle, where we see some of our favorite characters fall into very difficult positions, sorry can't elaborate, but it is very moving in hopeful and disturbing ways, and then the season finally which gives us our first view of the man behind the curtain--Kosh. The second half of season two is fast, terrifying and provokative. You will not see more intricate stroy telling or character development in any tv show before or since. Lets keep the sales up so we can get up to season 5 on DVD--Babylon 5 deserves it and so does its fans. Look around, at the reviews on this site and at the messages on its home posting board, see the way this show has educated and inspired people to do better, to be better. It's a rare thing today, and that is why it should be marvelled at. The Ancient Greeks felt that the Ilyad and the Odysse where the halmark of their civilization, if there was a story that was to equal that in our society, it would be/should be Babylon 5!

This is where, as they say, the plot thickens. With the advent of season 2, which begins with a significant cast-member change, stories which were hinted at in season 1 start to bear some fruit. For instance, right at the start of the season in "Points of Departure" and "Revelations", we finally find out what happened to Sinclair at the epic Battle of the Line, why the Minbari surrendered, but in true Babylon-5 tradition, the ramifications of this are left neccessarily vague until much later.

The season title is 'The Coming of Shadows'. We see Londo's agonising descent into darkness as his ambition, with the aid of the mysterious Shadows, starts to become terrifying reality. Earth is in turmoil due to events at the end of the last season, and some very sinister things start to happen there. We learn what a Vorlon looks like under his encounter suit. In short, the arc moves up a couple of gears, until by the end of the season you're left gasping, desperate to see the continuation.

There are some truly magnificent (never bettered) episodes in this season. The Hugo award winning "The Coming of Shadows" episode is the obvious first WHAM! episode, and stands out. With audio commentary by series creator J. Michael Straczynski this will be interesting even if you've seen it dozens of times. Other highlights include: "The Long Twilight Struggle" (with cast commentary), "The Fall of Night" (with JMS commentary), "In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum", "And Now For A Word", "Comes The Inquisitor", "Acts of Sacrifice" and many more. Basically, the quality just jumps up a few notches with this season, and if you've only ever experienced Star Trek before, this season will show you just what TV SF can be and should be.

Enjoy!

Video Quality:

Overall, this season looks a lot better than the first season's episodes. This isn't really because of the mastering of the discs, but is most likely the result of a better filming process that was used. Still, you tend to notice some graininess on certain scenes (especially close up shots). So far, I've watched 17 episodes and only one ("In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum") looked really bad...almost like I was playing a VCD instead of a DVD on that episode! The rest were fine, and some were absolutely flawless in appearance.

Audio:

I think it sounds absolutely great! Very clear on all channels and I think it is an improvement over the season one set with respect to Dolby Digital 5.1 mastering. Some cooler surround effects and a wider dynamic range on the audio this time around.

Extras:

A little better than the last set, especially the easter egg on disc 6 which has a 3 minute gag real. Again, you get episode teasers for each episode which is a nice touch and some documentaries. One of the best extras is a commentary on "The Geometry of Shadows" by Boxleitner, Christiansan, & Doyle. Absolutely hilarious and something fans will love.

A not so good thing:

If you are new to the series, DO NOT listen to the 3 commentaries or it will ruin the series for you since they have a habit of discussing stuff that happens later on in the show...like the ultimate fate of certain characters (Oops!!) No kidding, you listen to these and kiss all the big suprises for the rest of the series goodbye. A shame.

Overall:

A really good product and well worth buying. They did a great job on this set and I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't be pleased with it.

Following the assassination of President Santiago, Commander Sinclair is recalled to earth and given a new assignment as ambassador to Minbar. To take his place, Earthforce assigns Captain John Sheridan, an unpopular choice with the Minbari because of his actions during the Earth-Minbari war. But getting along with the Minbari is only the start. Ambassador Delenn emerges from her cocoon and rumors of an ancient race begin to gain momentum. Not to mention the rumors about things back on earth. Meanwhile, Londo starts a war to reclaim the Centauri place in the galaxy, and the first target is the Narn.

Season 2 finally picks up the pace and begins to show the promise of what this series could do. While many of the stories are still stand alones, things begin to heat up and the arc gets moving. While some of the mysteries of season one are finally revealed, they only leave more questions. And the power of the writing and performances steps up a notch. In fact, it was the first time I watched the season's title episode, "The Coming of Shadows," that I knew I would be a fan for a long time to come. Yet there are still some very fun character stories and moments, like "Soul Mates" and Ivanova's storyline in "Acts of Sacrifice."

Once again, this set has all 22 episodes from the season on 6 discs. Picture quality could still use a little improvement, but it's a minor complaint and the programs sound fine. The data files are helpful to newbies, but I found them a little redundant. What I did find interesting was the timeline. Covering events through the end of this season (2259), it helped me place in "history" various events only talked about during the show.

The other features are intended for the fans because they spoil much of this season and some of the rest of the show. The feature on the making of an episode was interesting to this entertainment junkie. But the best part was the commentaries. Jerry Doyle, Bruce Boxleitner, and Claudia Christian provide a hilarious if not very informative commentary on one episode. For those wanting a bit more behind the scenes information, J. Michael Straczynski provides plenty of it on his commentary on two episodes.

This is the year that things start to get good. With the background of season 1, this set will be enjoyed for years to come.

Newcomers disciplined enough to have viewed the first season in it's entirety can now begin to reap the rewards of having listened to the high praise of this series. Season 1 was indeed merely a foundation but a necessary one, the main arc of which centered around the hole in Commander Sinclairs mind. With season 2 the story builds and moves, especially in the later half. This is the season that created the addicts who became evermore dependent with the even better seasons 3 and 4.

Having viewed the entire series in it's entirety thrice I guarantee you that once you finish the series you can go back to the first season and go "ah" with appreciation and admiration for what it was and, surprisingly, what clever devices were placed there that you may not have realised. Of course that again leads to season 2 and the addictive cycle repeats itself.

The second season of Babylon 5 is like the second spice you put in your chili: it is definately an improvement, but you only sense that there is something better to come. Of course, the chili doesn't taste right if you don't put in the second spice second, and so those who want to wait for the more numerous "wow" episodes of season three won't get the right "taste."

There are, in fact, some rather lusterless episides in season two (for my money, even more than there were in season one), but the arc hits ground in even the most seemingly arcless episodes.

Plus, JMS really gets comfortable with his charactors in season two, primarily because he gets to re-invent Sinclair in the Sheridan charactor, who is less grim and forboding, and therefore allows JMS to lighten the overall mood and, I think, enjoy the writing more. Season 2 sees the start of the real ensemble interaction that carries the series through to the end.

Of course, some would argue that episodes like "Comes the Inquisitor" are exactly the opposite of light, but I say that CTI wouldn't have been so memorable without the more "human" and less bleakly driven charactors JMS develops in season 2.

The acting in season 2 isn't better than season 1. It just seems so because the writing is so much better (and the special effects and makeup - we finally get to see Mollari's hair as JMS originally wanted it to look!) I am ordering this today, and suffering through the wait. Maybe, if there is a kindly diety, the moneygrubbers will decide that they want their profits early, and we will see season 3 before November 2003!

Season one was mastered better. The first few season two episodes, while cleaner than the first set, suffer greatly from grain and noise in the image. Several scenes are shot in a well lighted room or area but there is a high level of detail lost in dark areas and the Earthforce uniforms look black and not blue. Performing a direct comparison between a scene in Sinclair's apartment in season one with a scene in Sheridan's apartment in season two show season two as being poorly mastered in this regard.

Also the sound is more harsh and comes through more of the center speaker than the first season (much more treble) though the rear surrounds seem to be better used in this set. Still, there are several scenes with poorly mastered dialog (Londo and Vir talking in the Zocalo in "Geometry of Shadows" is noticably poor!)

This is on a system with a HD TV and a reasonably high quality sound system that is not changed between swapping DVDs in the player. So the discs are different in quality.

I have not yet watched the entire set, but it does not look promising after four episodes... You may want to rent before you buy this one.