Am I Missing Something?

A lot of fun.

A Brilliant Conflict

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

"In the Beginning" is a mark of brilliance...a perfect made for TV movie for the Babylon 5 series. It is the best of the B5 movies with the second being the pilot episode.ITB chronicles the genesis of the Earth Minbari war which was a holy war started by misunderstanding between Humans and a powerful alien race called the Minbari. In the struggle, a huge chunk of humanity is killed as the Minbari march towards Earth, destroying human colonies on the way.Since this movie comes near the end of the 3rd season and out of chronological order, it answers many unanswered questions that B5 watchers would expect to be answered from the 1st Season onwards.On its own, the story is PERFECT. There is plenty of CGI war scenes, plenty of dramatized war scenes and plenty of intrigue. A perfect reason to bother getting into the series itself if you weren't a fan.

I adore BABYLON 5. It's my all-time favorite sci-fi series because unlike any other show, it is almost like one huge movie--where almost all the episodes connect into one large and captivating tapestry. This made for TV movie is meant to fill in the gaps for die-hard fans, as it goes back in time BEFORE the series opener to explain a lot of the back story. People who have seen all the prior episodes will probably not be all that surprised by the events of the film, as you've already heard and seen bits and pieces. More importantly, you already know the outcome of the Earth-Minbari war as well as WHY the whole conflict was just "called off". However, for someone who hasn't seen the show before or isn't a huge sci-fi fan, I could also see that they could find the film pretty dull--especially since the first 20 minutes or so is filled with so much talking and no action. So who is the movie for? Well, die-hard lovers of the show and those who like the show but haven't seen most of the episodes of seasons 1-4. Intesesting, well acted and written, yes, but nothing compelling enough to merit making the film in the first place.

As with most TV movies that are effectively a story arc, "In the Beginning" is only attractive to fans of the series. But for these people, this movie adds critical background information only hinted at in the series, and as well, casts one of the significant characters of the show into a different light. Now we can see a little of why the first four Babylon stations were destroyed, and how Sinclair and then Sheridan were fated to be the keystones in the development of Earth-Mimbari relations.Finally the linked histories of Delenn, Sincliar and Sheridan that are alluded to throughout the series are explained, revealing some of the deep background created by J. Michael Straczynski that helped add to the series strength. The acting is well crafted, highlighting the depth of skills in their craft of the major cast. What I found particularly intriguing was the manner in which Straczynski rounded out the character of Llando by having him slightly distort the historical events covered in the series (only apparent to someone who had paid particular attention to the original TV screening).

The first season of Babylon 5 somewhat revolved around the Earth-Minbari war, in which the human race was on the verge of extinction when the Mibari surrendered for reasons that were not yet know at the time. This 90-minute film successfully portrayed the events leading up to the greatest war in human history. For those who are new to the B5 universe, the movie starts in the devastated world of Centauri Prime, where Emperor Londo Molari (wonderfully played by Peter Jurasik) explains to two children the events leading and during that war. The story focusses on how Earth was expanding on all areas when they head an expedition into alien space. The film shows the arrogance at the time: "My people can handle this. We took care of the Dilgar." Unfortunately, due to a miscommunication, Earth ships start a holy war with the death of Minbari leader Dukhat. For B5 fans, the movie covers certain episodes and familiar characters. We see John Sheridan as a brash young commander with a buzz cut. We see Delenn before she had hair. We also see Claudia Christian pass herself off as a teenage in this film. The best performances came from Boxleitner as Sheridan, Mira Fulan as Delenn, and especially Peter Jurasik as Londo. The special effects were terrific as the dreaded Battle of the Line is re-enacted. I was moved as Londo grievely explains the progress of the war as people die and hope seemed loss. It is the best of the Babylon 5 films.