BABYLON 5- THE COMPLETE
SECOND SEASON:
THE COMING OF SHADOWS
After
the brisk sales of the season one boxed set, Warner Home Video has stepped
up to the plate again and have issued BABYLON 5- THE COMPLETE SECOND
SEASON: THE COMING OF SHADOWS ($100) on DVD in a six disc set
containing all twenty-six year two episodes. This, of course, is great
news for fans of this terrific science fiction television series (myself
included) and if the Internet rumors are to be believed, Warner was so
encouraged by the sales of the first season that they’ve revved up
production on the future DVD sets- to get the rest of the series released
in a more timely fashion. While season one of BABYLON 5 laid the
groundwork for the series five-year story arc, season two is where things
really begin to get interesting.
Disc
one contains the episodes Points Of Departure, Revelations,
The Geometry Of Shadows and A Distant Star. In
the season two opener, Points Of Departure, things are in
turmoil on Babylon 5 due to the events that played out in the season one
finale. Newly arrived Captain John Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) has taken
command of the B5 Station, Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle)
is comatose as result of the attempt made on his life and Ambassador
Delenn remains cocooned- undergoing some sort of transformation, while at
the same time a renegade Minbari Warship arrives at the station. In Revelations,
Abassador G’Kar (Andreas Katsulas) has an encounter with a deadly
prophecy that sends the Narns to investigate a dead world on the rim of
known space called Z’Ha’Dum, and Delenn finally emerges from the
chrysalis. The Geometry Of Shadows finds newly promoted
Commander Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian) having to deal with her first
diplomatic assignment and Ambassador Londo Mollari (Peter Jurasik) finds
that his political fortunes are beginning to change back on his home world
of Centauri Prime. A Distant Star finds scientific vessel
captained by an old friend of Sheridan’s in need of rescue, while Delenn’s
fellow Minbari question her transformation.
Disc
two contains the episodes The Long Dark, A Spider In
The Web, Soul Mates and A Race Through Dark
Places. In The Long Dark, the B5 crew retrieves a
hundred year old sleeper ship and revives its cryogenically frozen
occupant, as well as something unexpected and deadly. A Spider In
The Web finds commercial telepath Talia Winters (Andrea Thompson)
made a killer's next target, after her former mentor is murdered. In Soul
Mates, Londo has the option of ridding himself of two of his three
wives, while Delenn finds difficulty in dealing with the results of
becoming half human. A Race Through Dark Places marks the
return of PSI-Cop Alfred Bester (Walter Koenig), who traces an underground
railroad for telepaths to Babylon 5.
Disc
three contains the episodes The Coming Of Shadows, GROPOS,
All Alone In The Night and Acts Of Sacrifice.
Political machinations dominate The Coming Of Shadows, a
Hugo award-winning episode, in which plots are launched to change the
dynamics of the Narn Régime and the Centauri Republic. GROPOS
finds twenty five thousand marines temporarily stations on B5, while Dr.
Stephen Franklin (Richard Biggs) has to deal with his disapproving father-
the general in command of the ground pounders. In All Alone In The
Night, aliens capture Sheridan, while Delenn faces the judgment of
the Gray Council for her decision to undergo her unapproved metamorphosis.
Acts Of Sacrifice finds Sheridan asked to take sides in the
Narn-Centauri war, while Ivanova’s latest diplomatic efforts will
require her to have sex with an alien to close the deal.
Disc
four contains the episodes Hunter, Prey, There All The
Honor Lies, And Now For A Word and In The
Shadow Of Z'ha'dum. Hunter, Prey requires that
Garibaldi and Franklin go undercover to protect the man who has evidence
of a Presidential assassination. In There All The Honor Lies,
Sheridan is forced to kill a Minbari in self-defense, while Earth tries to
create a revenue stream with "Official Babylon 5" merchandise. And
Now For A Word finds the Narn-Centauri war arriving on the
doorstep of Babylon 5, which comes under the scrutiny of a network news
program. In The Shadow Of Z'ha'dum finds Sheridan making a
shocking discovery about the mysterious Mr. Morden, plus Ambassadors Kosh
and Delenn inform Sheridan about the dark forces that are gathering at Z’Ha’Dum.
Disc
five contains the episodes Knives, Confessions And
Lamentations, Divided Loyalties and The Long,
Twilight Struggle. Knives finds Londo betrayed by
political allies back home, while Sheridan becomes an unwilling host to an
alien life form. In Confessions And Lamentations, Delenn and
Lennier (Bill Mumy) give aid and comfort to members of the alien race
known as the Markab, all of who appear to be dying of a plague. Divided
Loyalties finds telepath Lyta Alexander returning to B5 with a
shocking revelation- someone in their midst is a spy and doesn’t even
know it. In The Long, Twilight Struggle, the Narn-Centauri
war ends with a new occupation of the Narn home world, leaving G’Kar
seeking political asylum on Babylon 5.
Disc
six contains the episodes Comes The Inquisitor and The
Fall Of Night. In Comes The Inquisitor, the Vorlons
summon an Inquisitor to Babylon 5 to test Delenn’s worthiness to lead
the forces of light against the shadows in the coming war. The Fall
Of Night finds the Centauri emboldened by their victory over the
Narns and begins an aggressive campaign to expand their empire, while at
the same time Sheridan gives a Narn warship sanctuary at B5, much to the
dismay of Londo and Earth’s government, which has just made a deal with
the Centauri.
Warner
Home Video has made all twenty two episodes from BABYLON 5- THE
COMPLETE SECOND SEASON: THE COMING OF SHADOWS available on DVD in a
1.78:1 wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement
for 16:9 displays. For the most part, the appearance of the episodes is
very similar to season one, although there are some mild improvements in
the look of the CGI special effects work being modified to the 1.78:1
aspect ratio. The film segments, which have been newly transferred look
the best, usually appearing sharp and well defined, although there are
segments that do appear a bit grainy and dark, as well as displaying
occasional blemishes. The reformatted CGI and special effects sequences
tend to appear soft in comparison to the filmed sequences, but as I stated
above, they seem a bit better than those in season one. Colors tend to be
nicely saturated, although those in the special effects sequences seem a
bit subdued. Blacks appear solid and contrast is good on the newly
transferred film sequences. The six dual layered DVDs don’t display any
appreciable signs of digital compression artifacts.
As
with the previous set all of the episodes have been upgraded to Dolby
Digital 5.1 channel soundtracks. It would appear that the sound mix comes
from the pre-matrixed surround elements and maintain the character of the
original television broadcasts. While the tracks do sound great, they tend
to favor the forward soundstage and utilize the surround channels for
ambient and musical fill, as well as a few active effects. Fidelity is
very good for a television production, with the musical scores coming
across rather well. Dialogue is always cleanly rendered and maintains full
intelligibility. The bass channel is solid and reasonably deep, but it isn’t
going to rock anyone’s world. A French language track is also present
for the episodes, while subtitles are offered in English, French and
Spanish.
Animation
and sound serve to enhance the DVD's interactive menus. Through the menus,
one has access to standard scene selection and set up features, as well as
a number of fine supplemental features. A five-minute introduction to
season two- The Coming Of Shadows features series
creator/producer J. Michael Straczynski and various cast members is
included on disc one, as is brief bios for the series creator and its
producer Douglas Netter. The DVD set also includes episode commentaries
with J. Michael Straczynski for In The Shadow Of Z'ha'dum
and The Fall Of Night, while cast members Bruce Boxleitner,
Claudia Christian and Jerry Doyle are on hand to talk about The
Geometry Of Shadows. Disc six includes two features, Building
Babylon: Blueprint Of An Episode (thirteen minutes) Shadows
And Dreams: Honors Of Babylon (eight minute), which looks the Hugo
Award winning episode The Coming Of Shadows. Other
supplements include The Universe Of Babylon 5 that contain a
number of text files on various aspects of the plotlines and characters, a
Babylon 5 Timeline that lays out the events of the series in
chronological order and a Gag Reel, which is a hidden Easter
egg.
BABYLON
5 is a great science fiction series that only gets better in season
two. This DVD presentation is as good as it can be considering that the
show's CGI effects could not be redone for the 16:9 format. Fans will
definitely want to add BABYLON 5- THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON: THE
COMING OF SHADOWS to their collections. Lastly, I remain glad that
Warner is continuing to release the series on DVD and hope that the rumors
are true that production on the remaining seasons is being stepped up.
After
the brisk sales of the season one boxed set, Warner Home Video has stepped
up to the plate again and have issued BABYLON 5- THE COMPLETE SECOND
SEASON: THE COMING OF SHADOWS ($100) on DVD in a six disc set
containing all twenty-six year two episodes. This, of course, is great
news for fans of this terrific science fiction television series (myself
included) and if the Internet rumors are to be believed, Warner was so
encouraged by the sales of the first season that they’ve revved up
production on the future DVD sets- to get the rest of the series released
in a more timely fashion. While season one of BABYLON 5 laid the
groundwork for the series five-year story arc, season two is where things
really begin to get interesting.
Disc
one contains the episodes Points Of Departure, Revelations,
The Geometry Of Shadows and A Distant Star. In
the season two opener, Points Of Departure, things are in
turmoil on Babylon 5 due to the events that played out in the season one
finale. Newly arrived Captain John Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) has taken
command of the B5 Station, Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle)
is comatose as result of the attempt made on his life and Ambassador
Delenn remains cocooned- undergoing some sort of transformation, while at
the same time a renegade Minbari Warship arrives at the station. In Revelations,
Abassador G’Kar (Andreas Katsulas) has an encounter with a deadly
prophecy that sends the Narns to investigate a dead world on the rim of
known space called Z’Ha’Dum, and Delenn finally emerges from the
chrysalis. The Geometry Of Shadows finds newly promoted
Commander Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian) having to deal with her first
diplomatic assignment and Ambassador Londo Mollari (Peter Jurasik) finds
that his political fortunes are beginning to change back on his home world
of Centauri Prime. A Distant Star finds scientific vessel
captained by an old friend of Sheridan’s in need of rescue, while Delenn’s
fellow Minbari question her transformation.
Disc
two contains the episodes The Long Dark, A Spider In
The Web, Soul Mates and A Race Through Dark
Places. In The Long Dark, the B5 crew retrieves a
hundred year old sleeper ship and revives its cryogenically frozen
occupant, as well as something unexpected and deadly. A Spider In
The Web finds commercial telepath Talia Winters (Andrea Thompson)
made a killer's next target, after her former mentor is murdered. In Soul
Mates, Londo has the option of ridding himself of two of his three
wives, while Delenn finds difficulty in dealing with the results of
becoming half human. A Race Through Dark Places marks the
return of PSI-Cop Alfred Bester (Walter Koenig), who traces an underground
railroad for telepaths to Babylon 5.
Disc
three contains the episodes The Coming Of Shadows, GROPOS,
All Alone In The Night and Acts Of Sacrifice.
Political machinations dominate The Coming Of Shadows, a
Hugo award-winning episode, in which plots are launched to change the
dynamics of the Narn Régime and the Centauri Republic. GROPOS
finds twenty five thousand marines temporarily stations on B5, while Dr.
Stephen Franklin (Richard Biggs) has to deal with his disapproving father-
the general in command of the ground pounders. In All Alone In The
Night, aliens capture Sheridan, while Delenn faces the judgment of
the Gray Council for her decision to undergo her unapproved metamorphosis.
Acts Of Sacrifice finds Sheridan asked to take sides in the
Narn-Centauri war, while Ivanova’s latest diplomatic efforts will
require her to have sex with an alien to close the deal.
Disc
four contains the episodes Hunter, Prey, There All The
Honor Lies, And Now For A Word and In The
Shadow Of Z'ha'dum. Hunter, Prey requires that
Garibaldi and Franklin go undercover to protect the man who has evidence
of a Presidential assassination. In There All The Honor Lies,
Sheridan is forced to kill a Minbari in self-defense, while Earth tries to
create a revenue stream with "Official Babylon 5" merchandise. And
Now For A Word finds the Narn-Centauri war arriving on the
doorstep of Babylon 5, which comes under the scrutiny of a network news
program. In The Shadow Of Z'ha'dum finds Sheridan making a
shocking discovery about the mysterious Mr. Morden, plus Ambassadors Kosh
and Delenn inform Sheridan about the dark forces that are gathering at Z’Ha’Dum.
Disc
five contains the episodes Knives, Confessions And
Lamentations, Divided Loyalties and The Long,
Twilight Struggle. Knives finds Londo betrayed by
political allies back home, while Sheridan becomes an unwilling host to an
alien life form. In Confessions And Lamentations, Delenn and
Lennier (Bill Mumy) give aid and comfort to members of the alien race
known as the Markab, all of who appear to be dying of a plague. Divided
Loyalties finds telepath Lyta Alexander returning to B5 with a
shocking revelation- someone in their midst is a spy and doesn’t even
know it. In The Long, Twilight Struggle, the Narn-Centauri
war ends with a new occupation of the Narn home world, leaving G’Kar
seeking political asylum on Babylon 5.
Disc
six contains the episodes Comes The Inquisitor and The
Fall Of Night. In Comes The Inquisitor, the Vorlons
summon an Inquisitor to Babylon 5 to test Delenn’s worthiness to lead
the forces of light against the shadows in the coming war. The Fall
Of Night finds the Centauri emboldened by their victory over the
Narns and begins an aggressive campaign to expand their empire, while at
the same time Sheridan gives a Narn warship sanctuary at B5, much to the
dismay of Londo and Earth’s government, which has just made a deal with
the Centauri.
Warner
Home Video has made all twenty two episodes from BABYLON 5- THE
COMPLETE SECOND SEASON: THE COMING OF SHADOWS available on DVD in a
1.78:1 wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement
for 16:9 displays. For the most part, the appearance of the episodes is
very similar to season one, although there are some mild improvements in
the look of the CGI special effects work being modified to the 1.78:1
aspect ratio. The film segments, which have been newly transferred look
the best, usually appearing sharp and well defined, although there are
segments that do appear a bit grainy and dark, as well as displaying
occasional blemishes. The reformatted CGI and special effects sequences
tend to appear soft in comparison to the filmed sequences, but as I stated
above, they seem a bit better than those in season one. Colors tend to be
nicely saturated, although those in the special effects sequences seem a
bit subdued. Blacks appear solid and contrast is good on the newly
transferred film sequences. The six dual layered DVDs don’t display any
appreciable signs of digital compression artifacts.
As
with the previous set all of the episodes have been upgraded to Dolby
Digital 5.1 channel soundtracks. It would appear that the sound mix comes
from the pre-matrixed surround elements and maintain the character of the
original television broadcasts. While the tracks do sound great, they tend
to favor the forward soundstage and utilize the surround channels for
ambient and musical fill, as well as a few active effects. Fidelity is
very good for a television production, with the musical scores coming
across rather well. Dialogue is always cleanly rendered and maintains full
intelligibility. The bass channel is solid and reasonably deep, but it isn’t
going to rock anyone’s world. A French language track is also present
for the episodes, while subtitles are offered in English, French and
Spanish.
Animation
and sound serve to enhance the DVD's interactive menus. Through the menus,
one has access to standard scene selection and set up features, as well as
a number of fine supplemental features. A five-minute introduction to
season two- The Coming Of Shadows features series
creator/producer J. Michael Straczynski and various cast members is
included on disc one, as is brief bios for the series creator and its
producer Douglas Netter. The DVD set also includes episode commentaries
with J. Michael Straczynski for In The Shadow Of Z'ha'dum
and The Fall Of Night, while cast members Bruce Boxleitner,
Claudia Christian and Jerry Doyle are on hand to talk about The
Geometry Of Shadows. Disc six includes two features, Building
Babylon: Blueprint Of An Episode (thirteen minutes) Shadows
And Dreams: Honors Of Babylon (eight minute), which looks the Hugo
Award winning episode The Coming Of Shadows. Other
supplements include The Universe Of Babylon 5 that contain a
number of text files on various aspects of the plotlines and characters, a
Babylon 5 Timeline that lays out the events of the series in
chronological order and a Gag Reel, which is a hidden Easter
egg.
BABYLON
5 is a great science fiction series that only gets better in season
two. This DVD presentation is as good as it can be considering that the
show's CGI effects could not be redone for the 16:9 format. Fans will
definitely want to add BABYLON 5- THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON: THE
COMING OF SHADOWS to their collections. Lastly, I remain glad that
Warner is continuing to release the series on DVD and hope that the rumors
are true that production on the remaining seasons is being stepped up.
