Babylon 5 - The Complete Third Season Reviews

This narration is spoken during the opening credit sequence of this season. The credit sequence is much different this season than its predecessors. Gone is the optimistic theme music of the first two seasons, in its place is the much sadder Requiem for the Line. It establishes very well the dark places that this season will take us.

The production values of the show seem to improve quite a bit this season, and we see more great work behind the camera from directors like Mike Vejar. The whole show seems to hang together very organically now, as even the stories that don't directly reference that main story arc (the few that there are) are quite good, especially "Passing Through Gesetheme," which is a true science fiction (opposed to sci-fi fantasy) story that explores the theological issues of telepathy. Even the lesser stories pack an unexpected punch, such as "Dust to Dust" which starts out with a pretty unremarkable story of Garibaldi and Bester hunting down drug dealers, but ends with a beautiful scene that heartbreakingly portrays the spiritual redemption of one of the main characters.

Marcus Cole is a great addition to the season. This character could have gone wrong in so many ways, but good casting and writng made him work wonderfully. The White Star also worked out really well after a rocky start. (The first set design in "Matters of Honor" was admittedly not that great, but they quickly fixed it). These two changes also worked well because they were a natural outgrowth of the direction the story was moving, and not just an attempt to get better ratings (as some shows are known to do).

There is much good drama this season. Here, the show really lived up to its billing as a "novel for TV". This season was a great examination of pain, loss, sacrifice, redemption, and most importantly hope. The final words of the season sum up the overall message better than I ever could:

"There is a greater darkness than the one we fight. It is the darkness of the soul that has lost its way. The war we fight is not against powers and principalities, it is against chaos and despair. Greater than the death of flesh is the death of hope, the death of dreams. Against this peril we can never surrender. The future is all around us, waiting, in moments of transition, to be born in moments of revelation. No one knows the shape of that future or where it will take us. We know only that it is always born in pain."

Rating: 5 - One of the Best Sci-Fi Series Around
Babylon 5 pioneered changes in the sci-fi television world that have yet to be equaled and fill in gaps where series like Star Trek have failed to do so, including:

- It was the first major series that created a consistent, compelling story line from beginning to end. Events in one episode affect the events in those that follow. Most series, such as most Star Trek episodes (DS9 being the notable exception) simply rewind at the end of the episode, having little or no effect on future characters or events. Why did they bother?
- They created stunning special effects for television using inexpensive computer graphics. They look good, convincing, even by today's standards.
- They were the only series that ever got spaceship flight correct, instead of making them fly like airplanes in space. They put it to good use, and created some stunning battle scenes.
- Most importantly, they created a gripping, far-reaching story and characters that even science fiction neophytes and decriers can appreciate.

It had its problems. The acting and directing in the first season were almost universally awful (very notable exceptions: Andreas Katsulas and Peter Jurasik). It had its share of regrettable episodes. The sets looked somewhat reminiscent of Dr. Who (though more densely populated). But the series gained serious momentum, directing and acting skill in season two, and made it one of the best sci-fi experiences to hit the home screen, probably ever. Series three is probably the best. Even Star Trek haters and sci-fi nay-sayers will find something good here, because quality fiction revolving around solid conflict and characters you care about never goes out of style.

Rating: 5 - Awsome 3rd season to the geratest Sc-Fi series of all time
The Babylon Project was our last, best hope for peace. It failed.

The Centauri are now waging all out war with the Narn Regime, President Clark has begun take steps to set up a dictatorship on Earth Alliance by spreading fears of alien infiltration and disloyalty with the help of his Night Watch, and the Shadows have begun to move by forging secret alliances with the Centauri to help bring about total galactic war.

Definitly where the 5 year story arc really begins to bury its teeth into you!

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Babylon 5 - The Complete Third Season