Customer Reviews

Babylon 5: Deathwalker & Believer [VHS]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Contemporary legal problems extrapolated to a futuristic setting are the common denominator for the two episodes in this five volume from the first season of "Babylon 5." Episode 9, "Deathwalker" (Written by Larry DiTillio, Aired April 20, 1994) has Babylon 5 ready to explode when a notorious war criminal shows up. Known as the Deathwalker, Jha'Dur (Sarah Douglas) is a member of the Dilgar and a scientist who has invented an immortality serum, which explains why she does not look her age. Most of the species represented on the station what the Deathwalker tried as a war criminal, but the greater powers want to get a hold of her immortality serum, which puts Commander Sinclair (Michael O'Hare) in the middle. Meanwhile, Talia Winters (Andrea Thompson) is hired by Ambassador Kosh to sit in on negotiations with a strange fellow named Abbut. The problem is that while the telepath is being paid handsomely by the Vorlon she picks up absolutely nothing from Abbut's mind at this meetings.

If you thought that the conventions governing the species who are trying to live in harmony on Babylon 5 were going to be an improvement on the United Nations, this episode will convince you otherwise. This group makes the League of Nations look enlightened. What is surprising is that all of the parties involved stick to sneaky underhanded diplomatic maneuvers and never escalate to something a bit more coercive and effective. The idea of an intergalactic war crime trial is a fairly interesting idea, but unfortunately this episode never gets that far.

Episode 10 "Believers" (Written by David Gerrold, Aired April 27, 1994) is about the problems Dr. Stephen Franklin (Richard Biggs) has with a young patient whose family are members of the Children of Time, a minor race with strong religious beliefs. Young Shon (Jonathon Kaplan) has a serious congestion of his lungs that requires immediate surgery. But his parents (Tricia O'Neil and Stephen Lee) are horrified because only "food animals" are punctured. To cut into Shon would allow his soul to escape, so they refuse to give permission for the surgery. Insisting that his medical oath does not allow him to do nothing because of superstitious beliefs, Franklin tries to get Sinclair to back him up. The subplot has the station receiving a distress signal from the starliner "Asimov," which is adrfit in Radier territory. Lt. Commander Ivanova (Claudia Christian), who is still looking for something of consequence to do on this show, convinces Sinclair to send her and a fighter wing to rescue the ship.

My problem with this episode is the idea anything that happens in this episode is a surprise to Franklin. I am sure that in any course in xenobiology that was a unit on intergalactic bioethics. Besides, the idea that you do not have to respect someone's beliefs if you think they are stupid is not exactly the sort of enlightened view you would want to see being taken by anybody a couple of centuries down the road. Franklin is too busy gloating to see the obvious end of this episode coming, which just underscores that this episode has some flaws. It would have been a lot more interesting if they had reversed the situation, and had an alien species asking Franklin to do something that violated his beliefs. Still, these two episodes do keep the focus on the diplomatic problem solving that is at the center of the first season of this series.

In the first episode, we meet an interstellar war criminal, which just happens to have a drug formula that can reshape the galaxy and the creatures that use it. As the various races try to get hold of her and her formula, it all comes to an end through an unexpected intervention. A good episode that shows how easily cruelty can prevail.

The next episode deals with Dr. Franklin and his attempts to save an alien kid's life, although the cure he offers goes against everything this race believes. Interesting, but somewhat boring.

Although neither episode is part of series creator J. Michael Straczynski's 5 year long epic chronicling the Shadow War and its aftermath, they are fine introductions to the Babylon 5 universe, and especially, in the second episode, an excellent look at Dr. Franklin's compassion and love for other sentient beings. Indeed, the second episode, "Believers", was one of the finest during Babylon 5's first season. It is a sobering examination of religious zealotry and an insightful look as to how religion can conflict with science. Science fiction writer David Gerrold, best known for his classic Star Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles", wrote this episode. I believe that it is one of his finest tales ever shown on film; if the video was released without "Deathwalker", I'd give it 5 stars, otherwise I have to rate it 4 stars.

Deathwalker is forty-three minutes and thirty seconds long and originaly aired on April 20, 1994. The story begins when Na'Toth sees a woman comes aboard the spacestation. She begins to scream Deathwalker and runs after and beats her. Deathwalker is taken to the Med Lab and we find out that she is Warmaster Jha'dur (aka Deathwalker) one of the leaders of the Dilgar race whose people did horrible acts to other races. The Dilgars were brought to trial and those whose survived died when their sun went nova. Deathwalker is at Babylon 5 to meet with a Narn high official to talk about a drug she has discovered. However that all changes when Na'Toth attacked her. When G'Kar tries to talk to her, Deathwalker agrees to sell the drug to him only if he will bring her the head of her attacker. Commander Sinclair tries to sneak Jha'dur off the station but his efforts are blocked by the body of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds. Commander Sinclair reluctantly agrees to hold a meeting in the next three hours. A vote is taken in council chambers 3 to 2 against Deathwalker for standing trial. At this time the council erupts with anger and leaves the room. Warships from the League of Non-Aligned Worlds start to arive at Babylon 5 to demand the surrender of Warmaster Jha'dur (aka Deathwalker). Commander Sinclair reasons with the leaders of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds and tell them about the life drug. The council backs down and the warships leave the station. When Deathwalker leaves the station in her ship she, Deathwalker and her ship are destroyed by a Vorlon ship. Ambassador Kosh tells the people in the room that they are not ready for immortality yet. In a substory Ambassador Kosh asks Talia Winters to represent him with a meeting with Abbut. Unknows to Talia Winters, Ambassador Kosh is using her. Abbut is a Vicar that can record a person thoughts, brainwave patterns, colors and sound. The main story is very good and goes at a steady pace and the sub-story has it share of human to it. Deathwalker gets an AAA+++.

Beleivers is forty-three minutes and thirty seconds long and originaly aired on April 27, 1994. This story begins with a young alien boy in Med Lab who is suffering from a chronic respiratory ailment which requires a simple operation. The parents objects to cutting their son open because it means releasing his soul. Dr. Franklin sees Commander Sinclair but asks him not to do. The parents file petition with Commander Sinclair who must now ask as an advocate for the family. Finally he makes his decision claiming he has no right to interfere in the belief of alien religion. Dr. Franklin upset with the commander decision dois the operation anyway. When the parents find out what they have done, they are in horror and believe their son now to be souless. The leave the room but come back later with a Travel robe for their son and take him back to their quarters. When Dr. Maya Henandez shows the information about the alien race to Dr. Franklin; he finds out that the travel robe is actually a sacrifice robe. Dr. Franklin rushes to the family's quarters, but it is too late. It is unclear if they murdered the boy of if the boy committed suicide. This is the first show that touches on religion and the rights of the parents. Beleivers gets an AAAA++++ from me.