he year is 2259, and the universe is on edge, a powder keg on the verge of exploding—with a rippling effect echoed far and wide. The space station Babylon 5—the universe's self-proclaimed last, best hope for peace—is trying to maintain order amid the impending chaos as hostilities break out between the Narn and the Centauri. In spite of the uncertain times, B5 strives to maintain its ideals, serving as a peaceful, neutral territory for intergalactic commerce and transit for allies and foes alike.
The lyricism of Babylon 5 becomes clear when revisiting the show's second season. This season, which was predominantly scripted by series creator J. Michael Straczynski, has remarkable resonance, even now, 10 years after the futuristic episodes aired. If anything, the arc of the season—which is aptly titled "The Coming of Shadows"—serves as a commentary on the eternal struggle between war and peace. Straczynski's fluid vision for his story is completely realized as the year progresses, and even standalone episodes that are not overtly part of the greater Shadow War story arc often contain subtle foreshadowing of the events to come.
The season starts out with the unexpected introduction of a new captain, John Sheridan (Boxleitner, replacing Michael O'Hare's Sinclair), a new look for the Minbari ambassador Delenn (Furlan), and a new, darker dynamic on the station. Sheridan needs little time to grow into his role as station commander; in fact, he hits the ground running in a big way in the season opener, "Points of Departure," dodging rogue Minbari intent on making Sheridan pay for his past success in the Earth-Minbari War.
The first half of the season slowly builds to a crescendo, interspersing the humorous with the chilling (as in "Soul Mates"); tracing the mounting tensions between the Narn and the Centauri ("Revelations"); delving deeper into the Psi Corps's duplicity ("A Race Through Dark Places"); and of Centauri ambassador Londo Mollari's (Jurasik) increasing complicity with the Shadows (any number of episodes). By the ninth episode, the stunning, Hugo Award-winning episode "The Coming of Shadows" chronicles one emperor's last bid for salvation, even amid the power plays for his throne and threats on his life.
After "Coming of Shadows," the series continues toward its inexorable conclusion, one that sets the stage for the Shadow War. Sheridan, Garibaldi (Doyle) and Ivanova (Christian) wrestle with increasing doubts about the integrity of the president, of Psi Corps and of EarthForce itself. The arc episodes can be powerful ("In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum," "The Long, Twilight Struggle," "The Fall of Night"), but so too are the episodes in the periphery ("There All the Honor Lies," the clever "And Now for a Word," "Divided Loyalties" and "Comes the Inquisitor").
The six-DVD season-two set includes three audio commentaries, an introduction to the season, two documentaries and assorted supplemental multimedia bits with information about the universe of Babylon 5.
Stellar stories poorly presented
Generally speaking, season two of Babylon 5 is well conceived, well constructed and well implemented. The same cannot be said, however, of this DVD set.
Sadly, Warner apparently did not take time to clean up the master video—presented in anamorphic widescreen format—before putting this season on DVD: Multiple episodes are plagued by scratches and other obvious, visual glitches. Warner also seems to have done a middling job at compressing the video, as seen on the final box set we received for review: occasionally, on a DVD player, we could tell this is compressed video; and, more often on a laptop PC using a software MPEG II decoder, the pixellation becomes quite evident.
The flip-book design of the case remains a positive, at least, as does the fact that the navigational menus are refreshingly streamlined (unfortunately, they also have a few quirks, and don't look as polished and professional as those found on other season sets).
Also refreshing are both of Straczynski's audio commentaries, for "In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum" and "Fall of Night." Straczynski does a great job at providing a mix of detailed insights and anecdotes, woven together in a coherent and entertaining way.
Less interesting to hear is the audio track for "The Geometry of Shadows." As narrated by Christian, Boxleitner and Doyle, it's clear that most of the rambling commentary is improv. And there's so much crosstalk and meandering among the trio's narrative that it's impossible to walk away with a coherent viewpoint, let alone enjoy listening to the track for any length at time. That said, it's also clear that the trio of reunited actors are obviously enjoying playing off each other and hamming it up.
The first disc includes a 10-minute introduction to the season with Straczynski and a handful of cast and crew. The short documentaries on disc 6, titled "Building Babylon: Anatomy of an Episode" and "Shadows and Dreams: Honors of Babylon," are packed with interviews of various cast and crew and offer an interesting perspective on B5's evolution and honors (i.e., the show's Hugo Award nominations). Less useful are the handful of super-short personnel, data and tech files and the historical timeline (which goes only as far as season two).
