gavin6942
The opening of a crucial space station is put in jeopardy when the commanding officer is accused of the attempted murder of a diplomat (Jeffrey Willerth).There was a strange point in history, known as 1996, where voters on IMDb rated this film one of the Top 100 movies ever made. Not Top 100 of the decade, but of all time. A made-for-TV movie for a second-rate science fiction series. Oh, voters of 1996, you were a strange people.The movie is not bad for what it is. And, since it was basically a pilot, I can understand how this led to a series. It is nothing compared to the Star Trek shows of the era, but could arguably be said to be better than "Voyager".
bpeck13
You can buy the first two movies (In the Beginning, The Gathering) separately, but in order to get all five B5 movies (the first two plus Thirdspace, The River of Souls, and A Call to Arms), you have to buy them in a box set. The first two movies are out of orderthey should be In the Beginning and then The Gathering. These movies are GREAT for background information. They really should be watched before watching the series. Thirdspace is a detached from the rest of the movies and series. It comes after the end of the Shadow War (season 4, episode 6), but then there is no mention of it again. If you never saw this movie, you wouldn't miss any continuity. The only thing it clears up is why Lyta Alexander and Zack Allen never got together. The River of Souls occurs in apx. Year 2263 and is less detached because B5 has encountered Soul Hunters before. This just gives more insight to them. It is like an extra episode in Season 5.A Call to Arms (Year 2267) is a prequel to the Crusade series. If you aren't planning to watch the Crusade series, there is no reason to watch this movie. Season 5 should go like this: 1. Season 5 Episode 21 "Objects at Rest" (Year 2262) 2. The River of Souls movie (Year 2263) 3. A Call to Arms and the Crusade Series (Year 2267)optional. I suggest these be watched separately from B5 series as they really don't enhance or expand on the B5 series. 4. The Lost TalesVoices in the Dark movie (Year 2271) 5. Season 5 Episode 22 "Sleeping in Light." (Year 2280)6. The Legend of The Rangers: To Live and Die in Starlight (after the Year 2280)optional. Does not add nor detract from the series.
MartinHafer
I have long time been a fan of Babylon 5, so you should keep this in mind--I'm sure this must color my review of this TV movie pilot for the show. Fans of the series might notice some odd changes in cast--this happens a lot in pilot episodes, as the show often is slightly re-tooled before the shows begin in production. For example, the doctor, the second in command were different actors than in the series and the prosthetics on Mira Furlan made her look much more "alien" in this movie. It's a shame about the doctor, as I really liked the African man who played him with a bit of sarcasm and flair.As for the rest of the cast, they were amazing to watch for a pilot. Normally, on most pilots, the camaraderie isn't really there and the relationships just seem a bit underdeveloped. However, here, Garibaldi, Sinclair and the rest seem to work well together and the made for TV movie is very watchable and similar to the resulting series despite the cast changes. For the early 1990s, the production values are excellent, though in 2006, the computer graphics appear, at times, a bit dated--as this was the first sci-fi series that got rid of modeling and used computer generated images for all its space scenes. All in all, it's an exciting and riveting show--made even more so by the always brilliant writing of J. Michael Straczynski.
mweller
While I count myself as a fan of the Babylon 5 television series, the original movie that introduced the series was a weak start. Although many of the elements that would later mature and become much more compelling in the series are there, the pace of The Gathering is slow, the makeup somewhat inadequate, and the plot confusing. Worse, the characterization in the premiere episode is poor. Although the ratings chart shows that many fans are willing to overlook these problems, I remember The Gathering almost turned me off off what soon grew into a spectacular series.
AD
