''Babylon 5: The Gathering'' is the
test pilot movie
A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...
of the
science fiction television series ''
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 ...
'', aired on February 22, 1993. It is also the first of six feature-length films in the
Babylon 5 media franchise
''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 Telev ...
.
''The Gathering'' covers events which take place roughly one year before those of the first-season episode "
Midnight on the Firing Line
"Midnight on the Firing Line" is the first episode of the first season of the science fiction television series, ''Babylon 5'', following the pilot movie, " The Gathering". It first aired on January 26, 1994. It was notable for being the first re ...
," providing a framework of backstories, political agendas, and personal relationships for some of the series' major characters.
Following the success of the movie,
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...
commissioned the series for production in May 1993, as part of its
Prime Time Entertainment Network
The Prime Time Entertainment Network (PTEN) was an American television network that was operated by the Prime Time Consortium, a joint venture between the Warner Bros. Domestic Television subsidiary of Time Warner and Chris-Craft Industries. Fi ...
(PTEN); the first season would premiere in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
nearly a year later, on January 26, 1994.
Synopsis
In the Earth year 2257, a multitude of humans and non-humans gather deep in neutral space at a new station, ''
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 ...
'', which has recently become operational. ''Babylon 5'' was built as a neutral venue for discussing and resolving issues between the five major spacefaring races of the galaxy, the
humans
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
,
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 ...
,
Centauri,
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 ...
, and
Vorlon
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 ...
s. Commander
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 n ...
is in overall charge of the station.
As the crew awaits the arrival of the fourth and final alien ambassador, Ambassador
Kosh from the Vorlon Empire, a transport ship arrives from Earth, bearing
Lyta Alexander
Lyta Alexander ( ) is a character from the fictional universe of the science-fiction television series ''Babylon 5'', played by Patricia Tallman.
Role in ''Babylon 5'' Character arc
In the series' pilot, Lyta is described as a sixth-generation ...
, a human telepath who joins the station crew, and Del Varner, a civilian. Ambassador Kosh arrives two days ahead of schedule, and is on board the station less than a minute when he suddenly falls ill, apparently from poisoning. ''Babylon 5'' chief medical officer,
Dr. Kyle, conducts a medical investigation and seeks to prevent Kosh's death, while Security Chief
Michael Garibaldi
Michael Garibaldi is a lead fictional character in the universe of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5'', played by Jerry Doyle.
Character history Overview
During most of ''Babylon 5's'' five seasons, Garibaldi is the Chief of Sec ...
conducts a security investigation. Worried that, if Kosh dies, the Vorlons will attack and destroy the station, Dr. Kyle and
Lt. Cmdr. Takashima persuade Lyta to perform an unauthorized mind scan on the unconscious Kosh. As she conducts the scan, Lyta sees Commander Sinclair poisoning the Ambassador. Lyta accuses Sinclair of attempted murder. A meeting of ''Babylon 5''s Council, made up of delegates from all five races, resolves to extradite the Commander to the Vorlon homeworld for trial. Sinclair is told that he will be deported in twelve hours.
Garibaldi comes to suspect Del Varner might have been involved in Kosh's poisoning. When he enters Varner's quarters, however, he discovers Varner dead in a fish tank. Lyta enters the medical lab, where she begins adjusting some of the settings that are keeping Kosh alive; when Dr. Kyle realizes what she's doing, he tries to stop her, and she attacks him. At that moment, the real Lyta Alexander enters the room; her double escapes.
Upon further investigation in Varner's quarters, Garibaldi learns that Varner had been smuggling illegal items between systems, and that he most recently had gone to the Antares sector to acquire a changeling net: a device that can make an individual appear to look like somebody else. The crew realizes that Kosh had not been poisoned by Sinclair when he arrived at the station, but by someone using the changeling net to imitate Sinclair. Since the use of such a device would put out a lot of energy, Takashima uses the station's scanners to pinpoint an area of the station with a high concentration of unidentified energy use. Sinclair and Garibaldi head for that part of the station, just as a Vorlon squadron arrives in the vicinity of the station to pick up Sinclair for his voyage to the Vorlon homeworld.
Sinclair and Garibaldi confront the mysterious assailant. Garibaldi is injured in the firefight and Sinclair faces the assassin himself. The changeling net is disabled, revealing the assailant to be a Minbari assassin. The assassin is a member of the Minbari warrior caste and wanted to discredit Sinclair as retribution for Sinclair's role in the
Earth–Minbari War ten years earlier. Sinclair asks the assassin why he did it; the assassin replies simply, "There is a hole in your mind." Sinclair, being informed that the assassin has triggered an explosive charge, manages to get away just before an explosion rips a hole in the station's hull, throwing the station off its axis and beginning to tear it apart from the inside. Takashima uses the station's stabilizers to reestablish its axis.
The Vorlon delegation, now satisfied that Sinclair is innocent, drops all charges against him. In the station's garden, Sinclair reveals to
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 ...
what the Minbari assassin had said about the "hole" in Sinclair's mind. Delenn claims that it is just an old Minbari insult. Sinclair, however, tells her that he had fought in the climactic battle of the Earth–Minbari War, and that there is a twenty-four-hour period in the climactic battle, just before the Minbari surrendered, which he can't account for.
Takashima declares Babylon 5 open and operational.
Cast
*
Michael O'Hare
Robert Michael O'Hare Jr. (May 6, 1952 – September 28, 2012) was an American actor who performed on stage and television. He was best known for playing the lead role of space station Commander Jeffrey Sinclair in the science fiction tele ...
- Cmdr.
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 n ...
*
Tamlyn Tomita
Tamlyn Naomi Tomita (born January 27, 1966) is a Japanese-American actress and singer. She made her screen debut as Kumiko in ''The Karate Kid Part II'' (1986) and reprised the character for the streaming series ''Cobra Kai'' (2021). She is also ...
- Lt. Cmdr. Laurel Takashima
*
Jerry Doyle
Jerry Doyle (July 16, 1956 – July 27, 2016) was an American talk radio host, right-libertarian political commentator, television actor and founder of the content platform EpicTimes. His nationally syndicated talk show, ''The Jerry Doyle Show ...
-
Michael Garibaldi
Michael Garibaldi is a lead fictional character in the universe of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5'', played by Jerry Doyle.
Character history Overview
During most of ''Babylon 5's'' five seasons, Garibaldi is the Chief of Sec ...
*
Mira Furlan
Mira Furlan (7 September 1955 – 20 January 2021) was a Croatian actress and singer. Internationally, she was best known for her roles as the Minbari Ambassador Delenn in the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5'' (1993–1998), and as ...
-
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 ...
* Blaire Baron - Carolyn Sykes
*
John Fleck - Del Varner
*
Paul Hampton
Paul Hampton (born August 20, 1937) is an American actor, singer, lyricist and writer. He is listed as one of one hundred major architects of American rock and roll in the British rock journal "Footsoldiers and Kings." While he was a sophomore ...
- The Senator
*
Peter Jurasik
Peter Jurasik ( ; born April 25, 1950) is an American actor known for his television roles as Londo Mollari in the 1990s science fiction series ''Babylon 5'' and Sid the Snitch on the 1980s series ''Hill Street Blues'' and its short-lived spino ...
-
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 ...
*
Andreas Katsulas
Andrew Katsulas (May 18, 1946February 13, 2006), known professionally as Andreas Katsulas, was an American film and television actor, most recognized for portrayals of Narn Ambassador G'Kar on the American science fiction television series ''Bab ...
-
G'Kar
*
Johnny Sekka
Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females.
Variant ...
- Dr.
Benjamin Kyle
*
Patricia Tallman
Patricia J. Tallman (born September 4, 1957) is an American actress, stunt performer, and studio executive best known for her starring roles in ''Night of the Living Dead'', '' Star Trek'' and ''Babylon 5''. She is the former CEO and executive ...
-
Lyta Alexander
Lyta Alexander ( ) is a character from the fictional universe of the science-fiction television series ''Babylon 5'', played by Patricia Tallman.
Role in ''Babylon 5'' Character arc
In the series' pilot, Lyta is described as a sixth-generation ...
* Steven R. Barnett - Eric Hazeltine
*
Billy Hayes Billy or Bill Hayes may refer to:
In entertainment
* Bill Hayes (actor) (born 1925), American actor and singer
* Bill Hayes (television producer), executive producer of ''Jon & Kate + 8''
* Billy Hayes (musician) (born 1985), drummer in Wavves and ...
- Traveler (as William Hayes)
* Linda Hoffman - Dome Tech #2
* Robert Jason Jackson - Dome Tech #3
* F. William Parker - Business Man #1
*
Ed Wasser
Ed Wasser (born March 26, 1964) is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Mr. Morden in ''Babylon 5''.
Biography
Wasser was born in Roslyn Heights, New York on March 26, 1964. He obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Sta ...
- Guerra
Versions
There are two versions of ''The Gathering''. The original version was a TV movie aired in 1993 on the
Prime Time Entertainment Network
The Prime Time Entertainment Network (PTEN) was an American television network that was operated by the Prime Time Consortium, a joint venture between the Warner Bros. Domestic Television subsidiary of Time Warner and Chris-Craft Industries. Fi ...
as a pilot for the series. After a four-year run on PTEN, ''Babylon 5'' moved to
Turner Network Television (TNT) for its fifth and final season in 1998. Series creator and executive producer
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'' ( ...
supervised a
special edition
The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...
of ''Babylon 5: The Gathering'', which aired on TNT immediately following the new TV movie, ''
Babylon 5: In the Beginning''. Scenes were edited to move at a faster pace, allowing the restoration of 14 minutes of footage adding exposition and character development. Among the notable additions is a prophetic line spoken by Kosh when he first meets Sinclair. Lost in the special edition is a trip through the station's alien sector that some viewers felt looked too much like a zoo. Tamlyn Tomita's lines had originally been completely redubbed as the studio thought she sounded too "harsh"; the new edition restored her original performance. The original music, composed by
Stewart Copeland
Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is a Scottish-American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the English rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with th ...
, is also replaced with a score by
Christopher Franke
Christopher Franke (born 6 April 1953) is a German musician and composer. From 1971 to 1987, he was a member of the electronic group Tangerine Dream. Initially a drummer with The Agitation, later renamed Agitation Free, his primary focus eventua ...
, who composed music for the rest of the series, played by the
Berliner Symphoniker The Berliner Symphoniker (''Berlin Symphony Orchestra'') is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin, Germany.
History
The orchestra began its performing activity on 1 September 1967 as ''Symphonisches Orchester Berlin'', under the auspices of ...
.
The special edition is included in the
Warner Home Video
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros.
It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video ...
DVD releases ''Babylon 5: The Gathering/In the Beginning'' and ''Babylon 5: The Movie Collection''. The original version was previously available on
AOL
AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017 ...
's now-defunct
In2TV
In2TV was a website offering ad-supported streaming video of classic TV shows in the USA only. It was operated by AOL Time Warner as an outlet for the company's archival television programming.
History
In2TV was announced in November 2005 as ...
service, and
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
, but is no longer available on either as of April 2014. The
iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
appears to carry the special edition as part of its Season 1 bundle, but not the original, despite being listed with the original air date. The original is available for streaming on Amazon.
The original version was released on DVD by Warner Home Video in Region 2. In Germany, it had the title "Spacecenter Babylon 5 - Die Zusammenkunft." It is also included in the "Complete Collection" and "Ultimate Collection" box sets (released in the UK only).
Changes between pilot and series
Many elements of the pilot were changed when the series began, giving the pilot a different feel than the rest of the series. This was most evident in the prosthetics, sets, music, and cast members.
Patricia Tallman
Patricia J. Tallman (born September 4, 1957) is an American actress, stunt performer, and studio executive best known for her starring roles in ''Night of the Living Dead'', '' Star Trek'' and ''Babylon 5''. She is the former CEO and executive ...
played
Lyta Alexander
Lyta Alexander ( ) is a character from the fictional universe of the science-fiction television series ''Babylon 5'', played by Patricia Tallman.
Role in ''Babylon 5'' Character arc
In the series' pilot, Lyta is described as a sixth-generation ...
– she was replaced by
Andrea Thompson
Rebecca Andrea Thompson (born January 6, 1960)
Film Reference. Retrieved May 19, 2013. is an Ameri ...
as
Talia Winters
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 ...
– but Tallman (as Alexander) would return later in the series, first as a recurring character and then as a regular. The medical officer was Dr.
Benjamin Kyle (played by
Johnny Sekka
Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females.
Variant ...
), rather than
Richard Biggs
Richard James Biggs II (March 18, 1960 – May 22, 2004) was an American television and stage actor, known for his roles on the television series ''Days of Our Lives'' and ''Babylon 5''.
Early life
Born in Columbus, Ohio, Biggs attended the Un ...
as
Stephen Franklin. The explanation used for these cast changes is that these two characters saw
Kosh outside his encounter suit and thus had to be removed from duty – Kosh's secrecy is a running theme in the show.
The first officer was
Laurel Takashima
''Babylon 5: The Gathering'' is the test pilot movie of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5'', aired on February 22, 1993. It is also the first of six feature-length films in the Babylon 5 media franchise.
''The Gathering'' cover ...
(played by
Tamlyn Tomita
Tamlyn Naomi Tomita (born January 27, 1966) is a Japanese-American actress and singer. She made her screen debut as Kumiko in ''The Karate Kid Part II'' (1986) and reprised the character for the streaming series ''Cobra Kai'' (2021). She is also ...
), replaced for the series by
Claudia Christian
Claudia Christian (born Claudia Ann Coghlan August 10, 1965) is an American actress, singer and author, known for her roles as Commander Susan Ivanova on '' Babylon 5'', as Captain Maynard on Fox's ''9-1-1'', and as the voice of Hera on the N ...
as
Susan Ivanova
Susan Ivanova (russian: Сью́зен Ива́нова) is a fictional character in the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5'', played by Claudia Christian.
Character overview
Susan Ivanova holds the rank of lieutenant commander during ...
. The alien characters – such as
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 ...
and
G'Kar – appeared slightly different because the prosthetics were different for the pilot than the series. Also, Delenn was originally supposed to be a male character destined to become female at the end of season 1, but since they could not make Mira Furlan's voice male enough, they decided to play her as female throughout the series.
Ed Wasser, who played
Morden
Morden is a district and town in south London, England, within the London Borough of Merton, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. It adjoins Merton Park and Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Sutton to the south and Worcester Pa ...
in the series, appears in the pilot as Earth Alliance technician "Guerra."
The duty uniforms and rank insignia were altered between the pilot and the series, as were the handheld weapons.
Sinclair's love interest (Carolyn Sykes) is replaced by
Catherine Sakai.
References
External links
*
*
{{Use mdy dates, date=October 2017
Gathering
Gather, gatherer, or gathering may refer to:
Anthropology and sociology
*Hunter-gatherer, a person or a society whose subsistence depends on hunting and gathering of wild foods
*Intensive gathering, the practice of cultivating wild plants as a st ...
Television films as pilots
1993 television films
1993 films
Films set in the 23rd century
Films scored by Stewart Copeland
American science fiction television films
Action television films
Films scored by Christopher Franke
1990s English-language films
Films directed by Richard Compton
1990s American films
ru:Встречи (Вавилон-5)