posted 02-01-2002 01:21 AM               

This is where I show you folks my bona fides as a reviewer who can put aside his personal agenda and look at a DVD with some degree of honesty. As much as I desperately want you to buy Babylon 5: In the Beginning/The Gathering, I'm here to tell you that you shouldn't buy it on its own merits.

I should probably explain that remark. If you don't know already, Babylon 5 is a science fiction series that originally ran from 1994-1998 and earned acclaim, fans and two Hugo Awards for its novel-for-television approach. The series told the story of the dawn of the Third Age of Mankind, and since creator J. Michael Straczysnki had intricately plotted the entire story before production began, events in early episodes set up consequences that would pay off in later episodes and even seasons. At its best, B5 tackled themes of war, hatred, paranoia, forgiveness, redemption and friendship with skill, heart, and great power. The best episodes of the series thrilled you, moved you, and often had you screaming 'That bastard!' at the television as the credits rolled immediately after some mind-blowing plot twist.

The series currently runs in widescreen format on the Sci Fi Channel; a video release was aborted midway through, before many of the best episodes were released. Among the fans, there has been a hue and cry for the series to be released on DVD, preferably in the form of season-by-season box sets with all sorts of extras and special features. The folks at Warner Home Video have been less than convinced at the viability of series TV on DVD, so they finally decided to release one bare-bones DVD to test the market; if it sold well, they'd make more. The result is the disc in question here, and when I say bare-bones, I mean it. The only features are a scene selection menu and a cast and crew list. So obviously no one's going to buy this one for the supplemental features. That leaves the two made-for-TV movies themselves, the 1998 special edition version of the 1993 pilot film 'The Gathering,' and the 1998 prequel movie 'In the Beginning.' Unfortunately, neither are examples of B5 at its best, although it is possible to see the potential lying at the heart of them.

'The Gathering' is basically a mystery story - Babylon 5 is meant to be a place in neutral territory where representatives from various governments can meet, learn to work together, and perhaps negotiate their differences - except that someone tries to kill the ambassador from the Vorlon Empire five minutes after he arrives on the station, and station commander Jeffrey Sinclair (O'Hare) looks like the chief suspect. Packed around that mystery are large helpings of exposition and information designed to set up the series. The Centauri Republic is an empire in decline, its ambassador Londo Mollari (Jurasik) a hapless drinker and gambler. Delenn of the Minbari Federation (Furlan) seems friendly to the humans, but knows more than she lets on. The Narn Regime's G'Kar will go to any lengths to advance his people's cause. Security Chief Garibaldi (Doyle) has a checkered past and a friendship with Sinclair. Sinclair was one of the few survivors of the final battle of the war between Earth and Minbar ten years ago. Unfortunately, little of this information is allowed to come out naturally - we either get contrived scenes to get them across, or worse, characters just volunteer the information in a non-conversational way, kind of the way people in radio ads answer 'How are you' with 'I'm just fine since I got zero percent financing at the local Ford dealer, and you can too until Friday.' Straczynski would fall into this trap again at times over the years, but never worse than here, in my opinion. Still, 'The Gathering' is not bad, and it does give you a glimpse at the detailed universe and backstory that Straczynski has created. If you watch it, just remember that the best is yet to come.