''Babylon 5: In the Beginning'' is a 1998 American

made-for-television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

set in the ''

Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tel ...

fictional universe A fictional universe, or fictional world, is a self-consistent setting with events, and often other elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes may ...

. It was written by

J. Michael Straczynski Joseph Michael Straczynski (; born July 17, 1954) is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5'' ( ...

and directed by

Michael Vejar Michael "Mike" Laurence Vejar (born June 25, 1943, in Los Angeles, California) is an American television director, with directing credits on four ''Star Trek'' series, as well as directing other notable series, such as ''Zorro'', ''Babylon 5'', ' ...

. The film originally aired on January 4, 1998 on the TNT cable network, a couple of weeks before the fifth season of the series began. The film tells the story of the war between humans and an alien race known as the

Minbari The list of ''Babylon 5'' characters contains characters from the entire ''Babylon 5'' universe. The Babylon station was conceived as a political and cultural meeting place. As such, one of the show's many themes is the cultural and social intera ...

, which forms an important part of the

backstory A backstory, background story, back-story, or background is a set of events invented for a plot, presented as preceding and leading up to that plot. It is a literary device of a narrative history all chronologically earlier than the narrative of p ...

of ''Babylon 5''. The war begins as the result of a misunderstanding, and nearly leads to the extermination of the human race, but is halted by the Minbari leadership at the last moment for reasons that remain secret for over a decade. This near-destruction of the human race leads to the Earth Alliance commissioning the Babylon space stations as a means of preventing further wars.

Plot

In 2278, the planet

Centauri Prime The list of ''Babylon 5'' characters contains characters from the entire ''Babylon 5'' universe. The Babylon station was conceived as a political and cultural meeting place. As such, one of the show's many themes is the cultural and social intera ...

is in flames.

Londo Mollari Londo Mollari is a fictional character in the universe of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5'', played by Peter Jurasik. Although Londo began as a supporting player in the early episodes, his actions and character development a ...

, the emperor of the

Centauri Republic The list of ''Babylon 5'' characters contains characters from the entire ''Babylon 5'' universe. The Babylon station was conceived as a political and cultural meeting place. As such, one of the show's many themes is the cultural and social intera ...

, tells two children, Luc and Lyssa, the story of the Earth-Minbari War, which took place 35 years ago while he was a diplomatic liaison to Earth. In 2243, the human race, emboldened by recent victories, is rapidly expanding into space. Word reaches them of the mysterious Minbari. Though they are warned by Londo to leave this race alone, they send an expedition to study the Minbari, led by the starship ''Prometheus''. Meanwhile, the Minbari leadership—the Grey Council, led by

Dukhat The list of ''Babylon 5'' characters contains characters from the entire ''Babylon 5'' universe. The Babylon station was conceived as a political and cultural meeting place. As such, one of the show's many themes is the cultural and social intera ...

—are voyaging to investigate concerns that an ancient enemy, the

Shadow A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, o ...

s, may be returning. The ''Prometheus'' expedition encounters the Grey Council's convoy by chance. As the Minbari ships approach the Earth ships, they open their

gun port A gunport is an opening in the side of the hull of a ship, above the waterline, which allows the muzzle of artillery pieces mounted on the gun deck to fire outside. The origin of this technology is not precisely known, but can be traced back to ...

s—a sign of respect in their culture. The captain of ''Prometheus'', interpreting this as a signal of intent to attack, opens fire. The Minbari ships are heavily damaged, and Dukhat is killed. In retaliation, the Grey Council declares a

holy war A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

against humanity, with Dukhat's protégée

Delenn Delenn is a fictional lead character in the universe of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5''. She was originally Minbari, but from season 2 onwards, became a Minbari/human hybrid. She was played by Mira Furlan. Role in ''Babylon ...

casting the deciding vote. The war continues for several months, and human forces are overwhelmed by superior Minbari technology. Lieutenant Commander John Sheridan, first officer of the ''Lexington'', is part of a battlegroup engaging the Minbari. After Sheridan's commanding officer is killed, Sheridan assumes command of the damaged ship and lays a trap for the enemy, seeding the local asteroids with nuclear mines. The Minbari flagship ''Black Star'' closes in to finish off the ''Lexington'', but is itself destroyed by the mines—Earth's only real victory during the war. The Minbari faction that feels the war has caused enough senseless bloodshed—led by Delenn, who has learned that Dukhat believed an alliance with humans would be necessary to defeat the Shadows—uses this as an opportunity to engage in peace talks with Earth. However, the Centauri discover that the humans are having a secret meeting that is being brokered by the

Narn The list of ''Babylon 5'' characters contains characters from the entire ''Babylon 5'' universe. The Babylon station was conceived as a political and cultural meeting place. As such, one of the show's many themes is the cultural and social intera ...

, a rival of the Centauri. Not understanding the purpose of the meeting, the Centauri bomb the peace conference, with neither the humans nor Minbari suspecting their intervention. All hope for peace is lost, and humanity's losses at the hands of the Minbari continue for two more years. In a last, desperate effort, the President of Earth orders all available ships to form a "line" around the planet in an attempt to delay the Minbari to give some humans time to flee the planet. During the battle, a human pilot,

Jeffrey Sinclair Jeffrey Sinclair is a character in the fictional universe of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5'', played by actor Michael O'Hare. He was a regular in the first season of the show, as Commander of the Babylon 5 station, and made a ...

, is captured for interrogation. The Grey Council is startled to discover that he possesses the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

of the revered Minbari religious leader Valen. Delenn infers that the reincarnation of Valen as a human is a signal that the humans must not be destroyed, and so the Minbari surrender to the defenseless Earth forces. Because of the damage this revelation could do to their own culture, they keep the reason for the surrender a secret. In the wake of the war, Earth plans to build a

space station A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station i ...

, the

, that will serve as a venue for peaceful collaboration to prevent future wars. After the children leave him, Londo views Delenn and Sheridan being held captive in the Centauri palace. Toasting them as his friends, he begins drinking heavily, and orders the prisoners to be brought to him in one hour.

Notes

External links

* * * {{Authority control In the Beginning 1998 television films 1998 films TNT Network original films Films set in the 23rd century American science fiction television films Television prequel films Films based on television series Television films based on television series Films about space warfare Action television films Films scored by Christopher Franke 1990s English-language films Films directed by Michael Vejar 1990s American films American prequel films