rom the outset, Babylon 5's fourth season unfolds at a breakneck pace. The battles are fierce and proceed in ways that are pleasantly unexpected. Rather than a protracted conflict with the Shadows, the opening six-episode arc careens toward a surprising and almost anticlimactic conclusion, only to be replaced by the ramping up of an intense battle for Earth. Together, the resulting season of 22 episodes comprise one of the most stunning narratives on television.
The pace is unsurprising, given the history of this year in Babylon 5's existence. Creator J. Michael Straczynski needed to wrap up the major outstanding arcs on an accelerated schedule, leaving no cliffhangers because of the uncertainty surrounding the show's future. The season reflects B5's roots in epic mythology, led ably by Capt. Sheridan's (Boxleitner) classic hero's journey.
Also, unsurprising, is the theatrical feel this season has, between the stellar acting and often minimalist shot constructions. Straczynski has a theatrical background, as does much of the cast and crew. The ensemble cast delivers one strong performance after another, from Boxleitner's strength as the transformed leader, Sheridan, to Furlan's fortitude as Delenn faces civil war on her homeworld; from Doyle's angry Mr. Garibaldi to Katsulas' G'Kar, who finds inner peace amid his torture. No character is left unaffected by the events of the year, not even frequent guest star Walter Koenig, as the PsiCop everyone loves to hate.
When the show isn't being intimately, and intensely, minimalist, it aims high, with ambitious special effects shots that take the battle to new heights. Titled "No Surrender, No Retreat," season four brings together the disparate elements introduced piecemeal over time—and introduces enough new threads—ongoing telepath conflicts, a new interstellar alliance—to carry something over to season five.
The memorable episodes this year are too many to list by name. But the last "true" episode of the year, "Rising Star," was a particularly nice way to bring closure to so many things (the civil war on Earth, G'Kar and Londo's sparring relationship and actress Christian's final performance, an impassioned reflection on Marcus' sacrifice) while establishing the groundwork for the future.
Like its predecessors, this six-disc DVD set includes three audio commentaries (one by Straczynski, one by Straczynski and director Mike Vejar, and one by cast members). The remaining extras feel skimpy—an intro, a blooper reel, a few text items and a featurette on the music of Babylon 5 (complete with a soundtrack excerpt).
Meager bonuses dampen enthusiasm
B5's fourth season episodes carry themselves on the strength of their own merits. The supplemental content, by contrast, does not. Somehow, the material here feels even less substantial than in prior seasons.
The featurettes all hover at around six to seven minutes in length. The intro on disc one acts more as a season overview, with soundbites from Straczynski and producers Doug Netter and John Copeland and from a slew of cast members. On disc six, there's a segment featuring composer and musician Christopher Franke on the making of the "Celestial Sounds" that defined the Babylon 5 soundtrack. To complement the music-making segment, there's also six minutes of soundtrack music from "No Surrender, No Retreat," a six-minute musical suite with clips from the season serving as the "music video" in the background. The taste of the music is just enough to encourage you to hightail it to Amazon.com or some other online purveyor of music and order the soundtrack immediately.
In the "Universe of Babylon 5" section on disc six, you'll find a handful of personnel files, with short (as in typically 30 seconds or so) profiles of secondary characters and data files that define specific terms or events. The only thing that makes it worth clicking through to this corner of the disc is the well-produced, three-minute gag reel.
Sadly, the first audio commentary undermines the set. Considering the apparent willingness of the actors to participate in the DVD, it's a shame that Boxleitner, Doyle, Jurasik and Tallman ended up stepping all over one another's voices in the fourth episode, "Falling Towards Apotheosis." The cast is obviously having fun being reunited again, but there's more snarking than reminiscing, and more overlapping yapping than thoughtful reflection. Perhaps if Warner ever revisits Babylon 5 again sometime in the future, when high-def DVDs are in vogue, we can get better-produced commentaries.
Fortunately, the other two commentaries both offer the depth and informative entertainment value we've come to expect from Straczynski's audio narratives. On "The Face of the Enemy," Straczynski joins up with director Mike Vejar to discuss the technical and creative points behind the episode. The other commentary accompanies the season finale, "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars," and is quite helpful for adding context to an ingenious episode that's a complete departure from the norm.
