Babylon 5: A Call To Arms (TNT)

Okay...Four movies in under twelve months. Each of which I thoroughly enjoyed, with the possible exception of River Of Souls. But this wasn't just another Babylon 5 TV Movie. It served as the introduction to Crusade and it quite possibly the last time we'll see our old friends fight alongside each other (unless JMS makes The Telepath Wars...but I'll get to that in a minute).

Story-wise, it was on par with In The Beginning. Actually, I enjoyed A Call To Arms more than any of the other tv movies. I would go as far as saying that it was great.

First off, I must address the special effects. Of course, the budget was higher than your average episode, but some of the effects in this were mind-blowing. The ones I noticed and liked the most were the improvements on old effects, like adding texture to the White Star and, of course, the jump points! Could you believe how cool they looked? The electrical currents surging through it! The angles from which we saw it open!

The Excalibre is a cool ship, but it isn't a White Star. I love the Vorlon super-laser, and I'm sure that whole "we're dead in the water for a full minute after firing it" thing will be solved by the first episode of season two of Crusade. I feel like adding the Earth-Force tech in w/ the Minbari and Vorlon technology cheapened it a bit.

The Drakh looked much better in season 4 than they did hear. A Call To Arms made them just look like overgrown Drazi. I liked the Shadow death-cloud, as well as the virus.

Speaking of that virus, I have a few points I would like to make. Okay, every man, woman and child on earth is doomed. I accept that. It's Shadow technology, so it's plausible. The one thing I don't like is how the Earth-Dome scientists gave it five years until it took full effect. We still don't understand Shadow tech, so five is a pretty arbritray number. Do I sense an upcoming plot point? Is it possible EarthGov conspired with the Drakh to strike get back at Sheridan for the Shadow War and Earth Civil War while all of his forces are off fighting an imaginary disease? Will Gideon and company be the ISA's last, best hope? Well, folks, that's what five-year story arcs are for.

As for the two new characters, Dureena and Galen...Dureena is kinda cool, but she has really lazy, Star Trek make-up. I mean, really. I thought one of the main B5 tenets was that no alien species would simply look like humans with large bumps on their forehead. Oh, and was she wearing a burlap sack?

Galen is damn cool. He could be the new Marcus Cole. And I love his ship (a mini Star Destroyer?). I have the feeling that it will be getting the Excalibre out of quite a few jams.

There's one more thing I want to address. In the very beginning of the movie, there's that ISN broadcast. It mentions the five-year anniversary of the InterStellar Alliance (establishing that this takes place five years after Objects At Rest). It also hints about the Telepath Wars, and quickly cuts off. Okay, I know JMS said he's not even going to think about starting the B5 theatrical movie until after Episode III is out, but I NEED TO SEE THE TELEPATH WARS!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean, there was so much set-up for it in the last two episodes of season 5, such as Garibaldi's deal with Lyta and G'Kar's deal with Lyta. We know Garibaldi makes it out alive, and so does G'Kar. If Lyta kept her word two years later to Garibaldi and removed the mental block so he could kill Bester, that would place it in the direct timeline of these damn Telepath Wars. JMS has said that Psi Corp is no longer around by Crusade (which takes place in 2268, the last episode of season five being 2263 and the Telepath Wars being 2265-66). So did Garibaldi kill Bester? What happened between Lyta and G'Kar in those two years? Is Lyta dead? Will we ever know?

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Michael Keegan
2.3.1999