Remembering "BABYLON 5" Season Five (1998)
REMEMBERING "BABYLON 5" SEASON FIVE (1998)
For years, I have been aware that many fans of the 1990s science-fiction series, "BABYLON 5" have expressed disappointment in its final season - "The Wheel of Fire" (1998). Some have found it anti-climatic. And some believe it was simply terrible. However, I do not agree with either assessment.
The two biggest conflicts featured in "BABYLON 5" - the Shadow War and the Earth Civil War - finally ended during the series' fourth season, "No Surrender, No Retreat" (1996-1997). Showrunner and creator J. Michael Straczynski had originally planned for one or both of these arcs to end after five seasons. But Warner Brothers shut down its Prime Time Entertainment Network (PTEN) channel (which aired "BABYLON 5") during the series' Season Four, the series' fifth season seemed in danger. This situation had led Straczynski to complete the Shadow War and the Earth Civil War during the fourth season. However, the Turner Network Television (TNT) network picked up the series for its fifth and final season. This led Straczynski to concentrate the fifth season around the consequences of both conflicts and the creation of the Interstellar Alliance.
However, a good number of fans found it difficult to accept or appreciate this new narrative. Many, even to this day, believe that Straczynski should have allowed the series to end following the end of the Earth Civil War and the Interstellar Alliance creation in the Season Four episode, (4.21) "Rising Star" and the series' final episode, (5.22) "Sleeping in the Light", which had been taped during Season Four. Allow the series to end on a high note, following a great victory for the series' protagonists, instead of the bittersweet note upon which it had actually ended.
When I had claimed that Season Five had focused a lot on the consequences of the Shadow War and the Earth Civil War, I was not kidding. This especially seemed to be the case with the Shadow War. To be honest, some of those consequences had originated in previous seasons. Discovering that Shadow technology was susceptible to telepaths, the Volons had created telepaths within the younger races a long time ago. This act had eventually resulted in the creation of the Psi Corp on Earth; along with telepath Lyta Alexander's revelation of this fact to Byron Gordon, leader of a group of telepaths that had arrived on the station; the hostage situation that developed inside the Medlab; and Lyta's developing as the rogue telepaths' new leader. Michael Garabaldi's disappearance in early Season Four, along with his confrontational behavior during that scene and his discovery that Psi Corp had brainwashed him for a certain task, led toward a renewal of his alcoholism during Season Five. The Shadow War had not only ended with the Vorlons and Shadows' departures from the galaxy, but also with some of the latter's allies at loss. One of those allies were the Drahk, who first made their appearance in the Season Three episode, (3.17) "War Without End (Part 2)". They appeared again in two Season Four episodes - (4.07) "Epiphannies" and (4.11) "Lines of Communication". The Drahk finally became the major villains during Season Five. But unlike the Shadows, the Vorlons, and President Clark; they were never defeated - at least in Season Five. Chances are many years had passed - probably close to two decades - before the Interstellar Alliance and Centauri Prime finally rid themselves of the aliens. But since "BABYLON 5" had ended years before the Drahk left, audiences never saw what happened to them in the end. I would not be surprised if this was a source of frustration.
Personally, I believe that the series’ fifth season proved to be a lot better than many had believed it was. I think it had suffered in popularity, due to its focus on the consequences from both the Shadow War and the Earth Civil War. Especially the Shadow War. People rarely want to see a story that explores the aftermath of a major war or event. Which is probably why it has rarely done in movies and television. I can only think of three sagas that did this - "ROOTS", the "NORTH AND SOUTH" trilogy and "BABYLON 5". The "STAR TREK" franchise, on the other hand, had never explored the aftermath of the Dominion War, following the end of "STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE". The TREK franchise was never able to explore this in "STAR TREK VOYAGER", since that series was set in another part of the galaxy, the Delta Quadrant. And the "STAR TREK: NEXT GENERATION" movie that had followed - "NEMESIS" - never bothered to explore the consequences of the Dominion War. Instead, the franchise has focused on the years before the 1966-69 series, "STAR TREK" or way into the future. As I had earlier stated, most stories tend to finish with the end of a major conflict or event. If "BABYLON FIVE" had finished with the end of the Earth Civil War in late Season Four, I suspect many fans would have been happy or satisfied. If I must be honest, I would have been satisfied with this ending. But I have to give kudos to Stracynski's willingness to explore the consequences of the show's conflicts during Season Five, especially since he had already hinted the consequences through dialogue, flash forward scenes and brief character appearances in earlier episodes. These consequences were explored through the situation regarding the telepaths, the fate of certain major characters and the emergence of the Drahk. Would they have preferred if Sheridan and his forces had defeated the Drahk by the end of Season Five? Perhaps. But (3.16-3.17) "War Without End" had established that the Drahk still had control over Centauri Prime as late as 2278, nearly 16 years after the events of Season Five. Such a resolution would have been false and against canon.
Did I have any problems with Season Five of "BABYLON 5"? Well . . . yes. My major problem proved to be the underwhelming quality of most of its early episodes - something that has been the norm for the show's other seasons (aside from early Season Four) and shows like "BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER" and "ANGEL". I had a problem with the initial portrayal of the telepath fugitive Byron Gordon and his followers. I do not mean to seem biased, but they reminded me of some clichéd version of the Flower Children from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Very irritating. I also had a problem with Stracynski's portrayal of Lyta Alexander. In a character arc that began in mid-to-late Season Four, Stracynski had portrayed Lyta as someone who had used by Sheridan and the station's command staff during the Shadow War . . . and later callously discarded. She had eventually rejoined the Psi Corps as a means to support herself. I found this portrayal problematic, since Lyta had her own reasons for supporting Sheridan's efforts during that war. The idea that she was simply used by the Babylon 5 staff and then discarded, because she was a telepath, never really worked for me. But I really had a problem with her characterization in Season Five. Lyta eventually became romantically involved in Byron and his attempts to blackmail or coerce the Interstellar Alliance Council into finding a home world for Human telepaths. Following Byron's death, Sheridan ordered those telepaths involved with Byron off the station . . . except Lyta. And I never understood why she became the exception or why Sheridan had waited until she became a real threat in order to kick her off the station. I also had a problem with one of the two episodes that proceeded the series finale - (5.20) "Objects in Motion". I found it dull and slow-paced. My recent re-watch of the episode that followed, (5.21) "Objects in Rest", proved to be an improvement and more interesting that I had originally assumed. "Objects in Motion" had brought back bad memories of the second half of the series finale for "DEEP SPACE NINE", (7.26) "What You Leave Behind - Part II".
Many fans had problems with the fate of Lennier, aide to the Minbari ambassador Delenn, during Season Five. Following Delenn's marriage to Sheridan near the end of Season Four, Lennier left his post as her aide and joined the Anla'Shok aka the Rangers, a small elite force first commanded by Jeffrey Sinclair to serve as peacekeepers and watchers of the galaxy. Despite becoming a Ranger, Lennier managed to appear on Babylon 5 every now and then. He had been with Delenn when her White Star ship had nearly been destroyed by a Drahk-controlled Centauri battleship. In a move that surprised and outraged many fans, Lennier had left Sheridan and another Ranger behind to die during a toxic leak accident aboard their White Star ship. Many fans felt Lennier would never do such a thing. I never understood their reaction. Stracynski had established Lennier's motive as far back as mid-Season Three, when he had revealed his unrequited love for Delenn in the episode, (3.11) "Ceremonies of Light and Dark" to the former Ranger, Marcus Cole. Although Lennier had admired Sheridan as a leader, I do not recall him ever being emotionally attached to the latter. But I do recall his caustic, yet silent disappointment over Sheridan's return from dead in Season Four's (4.03) "The Summoning".
When it came to fandom's outrage, their anger over Lennier's fate seemed like nothing in compared to their outrage over the portrayal of former Security Chief Michael Garibaldi's alcoholism. The latter had first reared its ugly head in a single episode, Season One's (1.11) "Survivors". Garabaldi had fallen under the suspicion of being a terrorist plotting to assassinate the late Luis Santiago, Earth Alliance's former president. These same fans seemed to resent Stracynski's decision to allow Garibaldi to succumb to the bottle again, after so many years. What can I say? Perhaps they had regarded Garibaldi's addiction as something that had been cured by the end of "Survivors". But that is not how alcoholism or any addiction work. No one can be cured of an addiction. Former addicts and alcoholics have to struggle to manage and refrain from giving in to addiction for all of their lives. It is a lifelong struggle. But many fans had not only resented the return of Garibaldi's alcoholism, but they also seemed to resent how it affected Garibaldi's performance as the Interstellar Alliance's intelligence chief and help set in motion the tragedy that engulfed Centauri Prime near the end of Season Five. Strange. These fans used to consistently make jokes about Dr. Stephen Franklin's stim addiction during Season Three. But when it came to Garibaldi's alcoholism - the least shown, the better - as far as they were concerned. You know what. Perhaps it was not strange . . . just hypocritical on their parts.
Yes, I had my issues with Season Five of "BABYLON 5". Then again, the show's other seasons also provided some issues for me, as well. For years, I could recall many "BABYLON 5" fans expressing a desire for the series to end following the Earth Civil War in late Season Four. And there have been many complaints about Lennier's fate and the impact of Michael Garibaldi’s alcoholism on Season Five's overall plot. For some reason, people did not want to see stories about the aftermath or consequences of a major war. I suspect they still do not. And I cannot help but wonder why.