Category: Babylon 5 / Crusade

Delenn and Lennier form a welcoming party for arriving human “true seeker” Aldous Gajic, whose announcement that he has come to inquire with the alien ambassadors the whereabouts of the Holy Grail draws incredulity from Sinclair; however, Gajic is allowed to make appointments with the alien representatives to aid in his search. Along the way, he encounters a young thief named Jinxo, a former construction worker who participated in all five Babylon stations’ creation. Jinxo is on the run from Deuce, who is running an extortion ring below decks apparently with the help of Ambassador Kosh. Despite the fact that Jinxo tried to steal from him on their first meeting, Gajic takes him under his wing and tries to instill a sense of worth in him. When Gajic runs afoul of Deuce and his thugs while trying to protect Jinxo, he may have to trust everything to his new protege’, for he will not complete his quest.

written by Christy Marx
directed by Richard Compton
music by Christopher Franke

Guest Cast: David Warner (Aldous Gajic), William Sanderson (Deuce), Tom Booker (Jinxo), Jim Norton (Ombuds Wellington), Linda Lodge (Mirriam Runningdeer), Ardwight Chamberlain (Kosh), John Flinn (Mr. Flinn), Marianne Robertson (Tech #1)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Two shady individuals arrives from Earth and begin asking questions about Sinclair and the station’s command staff. Though they start out under the pretense of being corporate investigators, Garibaldi discovers that they are an Earth Force Colonel and a Psi Corps telepath. Colonel Ben Zayn cuts to the chase very quickly – there is something wrong with B5’s command crew, and he wants all of them to submit to his companion’s mind scan so he can find out what. Ivanova objects strongly to the participation of a telepath, even to the point of submitting her resignation to Sinclair, who has found a legal loophole that prevents Ben Zayn from forcing anyone to do anything without a formal inquiry tantamount to court-martial. But when Sinclair calls this bluff, he finds out that Ben Zayn is willing to break all the rules when the colonel calls a formal inquiry on the entire command crew. His real mission – to put himself of command of B5, an assignment he was passed over for, and he has the help of a high-ranking memer of Psi Corps who Sinclair once defeated.

written by Lawrence G. DiTillio
directed by Jim Johnston
music by Christopher Franke

Guest Cast: Gregory Martin (Colonel Ari Ben Zayn), Jeffrey Combs (Harriman Gray), Macaulay Bruton (Tragedy), Marie Chambers (Sofie Ivanova), David L. Crowley (Lou Welch), Frank Farmer (General Miller), Drew Letchworth (Comedy), Marianne Robertson (Tech #1), Curtis Laster (Jax), Max Daniels (Wallaby)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Seismic disturbances on the surface of Epsilon 3, the planet B5 orbits, draw the attention of the crew. A shuttle manned by a science team leaves the station to investigate, but it is thrown off course by a burst of intense energy from Epsilon 3’s surface. A further attempt to survey the planet activates an automatic defense system which fires heat-seeking missiles from an installation hidden beneath the planet’s surface. In the meantime, news reaches the station that the Mars Colony has been engulfed in a full-fledged political revolt, and a mysterious image is sighted aboard B5 pleading for help. Deciding that the recent attack constitutes a threat to station security, Sinclair and Ivanova are the next shuttle crew to try to land on Epsilon 3. Evading the defense systems, they dive below the surface and discover an underground installation filled with astounding technology on a scale never before seen. And at the center of this vast complex, the being from the mysterious image begs Sinclair and Ivanova for help – and warns that anyone near Epsilon 3 is in grave danger.

written by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by Janet Greek
music by Christopher Franke

Guest Cast: Louis Turene (Draal), Curt Lowens (Varn), Craig Barnett (Security Guard), Langdon Bensing (Derek Mobotabwe), Kelly Coyle (Earthforce Liaison), Kathryn Cressida (Bartender), Jim Ishida (Dr. Tasaki), Lenore Kasdorf (ISN Reporter), Marianne Robertson (Tech #1), Patty Toy (Psi Corps Rep), Jerry Weil (Technician)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

As Sinclair and Ivanova return to the station with the dying being from Epsilon 3, the Earth Alliance heavy cruiser Hyperion arrives, supposedly to provide backup should any of the alien governments object to an anticipated Earth takeover of the unimaginably powerful technology found on Epsilon 3. In the meantime, Draal, a friend of Delenn’s who has arrived to tell her he is probably never going to return to Minbar, somehow picks up on the presence of the alien Varn in the medlab. Varn reveals that Epsilon 3 is the hiding place of a level of technology which could be malevolently destructive in the wrong hands, and Varn is its guardian, but with his condition fading of natural causes, the planet’s defenses are becoming erratic and volatile. As if the uncooperative captain of the Hyperion isn’t enough for Sinclair to deal with, an alien ship containing beings similar to Varn arrives, demanding custody of Epsilon 3’s technology and theatening any who stand in the way. Draal wants to take Varn and go to Epsilon 3, and Delenn convinces Londo to fly them down to the surface in the midst of a pitch battle between the combined forces of B5 and the Hyperion and the alien attackers. Draal intends to take Varn’s place as the Guardian of Epsilon 3 – but who will lay claim to the planet and its arsenal?

written by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by Janet Greek
music by Christopher Franke

Guest Cast: Louis Turene (Draal), Ron Canada (Captain Ellis Pierce), Curt Lowens (Varn), Denise Gentile (Lise Hampton), Aki Aleong (Senator Hidoshi), Joshua Cox (Tech #2), Chip Heller (Rowdy #1), Lenore Kasdorf (ISN Reporter), Michelan Sisti (Takarn), Marianne Robertson (Tech #1)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Tachyon disturbances in the area of space which was once occupied by Babylon 4 concern Sinclair, especially when a fighter pilot who investigates returns to the station dead. Then a message arrives from the long-gone station – a distress call from B4. A convoy of fighters and transports departs B5 to see if the ghostly station can be evacuated. It turns out that B4 and its crew have been lost in time for years, and the station, according to an unusual and evasive alien named Zathras, has been brought back to 2258 so its occupants can escape. Zathras also mentions The One, a space-suited figure who appears ghostlike in the corridors of B4, and tells of how the station has been lifted from its present to serve as a staging base in a great war of the future. Sinclair offers his help, but Zathras refuses his help. As time runs out and Babylon 4 is due to return to its future soon, Sinclair and Garibaldi are confronted with the impossible task of evacuating the station’s inhabitants.

written by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by Jim Johnston
music by Christopher Franke

Guest Cast: Kent Broadhurst (Major Krantz), Tim Choate (Zathras), Denise Gentile (Lise Hampton), Frank Costa (B4 Guard), Mark Hendrickson (Grey Council #2), Doug E. McCoy (Alpha Seven), Tommy Rosales (Panicked Man), Marianne Robertson (Tech #1)

Notes: The “kidnapper” of B4 is revealed in season 3. Additionally, though it is unknown how or why, some manner of life form from the sector 14 region where B4 disappeared made its way to B5 at some point – intriguingly enough, possibly well before the events in Babylon Squared. This is revealed in Knives. And if you have seen this episode and just don’t get it, watch it back to back with both episodes of the third season’s War Without End.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Ivanova discovers that Dr. Franklin has been operating a free clinic for dwellers of Down Below, the area of B5 where most of the unemployed eke out a poverty-stricken existence, and that he’s been using some of his medlab supplies to do so. Not much later, Franklin himself learns of another free clinic being operated aboard the station, one which promises to heal everything. Franklin finds Dr. Laura Rosen, an aging physician who has discovered an alien device with an unknown purpose that seems to remove illness, disease and debilitation harmlessly. Dr. Rosen herself is slowly dying of a terminal illness, but does not use the machine on herself. In the meantime, convicted murderer Mueller is sentenced to have his brain wiped and reprogrammed so he may serve a useful function in society. Prior to the wipe, Talia must scan him so she can compare his thoughts before and after the wipe to verify the success of the operation. What she finds in Mueller’s mind horrifies her…and when he escapes his guards, more terrors are sure to follow.

written by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by Lorraine Senna Ferarra
music by Christopher Franke

Guest Cast: June Lockhart (Dr. Laura Rosen), Kate McNeil (Janice Rosen), Mark Rolston (Karl Mueller), Damian London (Centauri Senator), Jim Norton (Ombuds Wellington), Lynn Anderson (Rose), David Crowley (Lou Welch), Kevin McBride (Guard), Philippe Bergeron (Lurker)

Original title: The Resurrectionist

Notes: The alien device Dr. Rosen uses plays a vital part in the second season episode Revelations and the fourth season episode Endgame.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Londo is visited by a Centauri political plotter named Refa who, having heard of Londo’s impressive feat at quadrant 37, wants to enlist the ambassador’s help in a possible coup to claim power on Centauri Prime. As Refa leaves the station, a group of human technomages arrives, “magicians” who use science and technology to achieve the illusion of magic. They are simply stopping off at B5 en route to a further destination, anticipating that they will be endangered by a coming apocalypse. Londo tries to gain an audience with them, as the previous Centauri Emperor was seen in the company of such people prior to his appointment. Ivanova is also awarded a promotion to full commander, and her first diplomatic duty in that office challenges her to stop a deadly game of hide-and-seek among the Drazi. She could use Garibaldi’s help – but he’s not sure if he wants to remain in charge of security.

written by J. Michael Straczynski
directed by Mike Laurence Vejar
music by Christopher Franke

Cast: Bruce Boxleitner (Captain John Sheridan), Claudia Christian (Lt. Commander Ivanova), Jerry Doyle (Garibaldi), Mira Furlan (Delenn), Richard Biggs (Dr. Franklin), Andrea Thompson (Talia Winters), Stephen Furst (Vir), Bill Mumy (Lennier), Robert Rusler (Warren Keffer), Mary Kay Adams (Na’Toth), Andreas Katsulas (G’Kar), Peter Jurasik (Londo), Michael Ansara (Elric), William Forward (Refa), David L. Crowley (Lou Welch), Kim Strauss (Green Drazi), Jonathan Chapman (Green Drazi #2), Neil Bradley (Purple Drazi), Joshua Cox (Tech #1), Warren Tabata (Guard)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The explorer ship Cortez puts in at Babylon 5, giving Sheridan the chance to reminisce with old friend Captain Maynard. The Cortez crew, having spent more time in hyperspace than just about anyone else, fields questions from Ivanova and Keffler about rumors that an unknown lifeform has taken up residence in the uninhabitable realm of hyperspace. Maynard and his crew admit to having seen something out there, though they don’t know exactly what. The Cortez departs en route to the rim, but something goes disastrously wrong and the ship loses her lock on the jump point needed to emerge from hyperspace ever again.

written by D.C. Fontana
directed by Jim Johnston
music by Christopher Franke

Cast: Bruce Boxleitner (Captain John Sheridan), Claudia Christian (Lt. Commander Ivanova), Jerry Doyle (Garibaldi), Mira Furlan (Delenn), Richard Biggs (Dr. Franklin), Andrea Thompson (Talia Winters), Stephen Furst (Vir), Bill Mumy (Lennier), Robert Rusler (Warren Keffer), Mary Kay Adams (Na’Toth), Andreas Katsulas (G’Kar), Peter Jurasik (Londo), Russ Tamblyn (Captain Jack Maynard), Daniel Beer (Patrick), Art Kimbro (Ray Galus), Miguel A. Nunez Jr. (Orwell), Patty Toy (Ogilvie), Joshua Cox (Tech), Kim Delgado (Comm Tech), Sandey Grinn (Teronn)

Londo’s three wives arrive on B5, summoned by their husband for reasons unknown. Mystery also surrounds the arrival of Matthew Stoner, Talia’s ex-husband. Londo has called his wives to the station on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of his ascension so he can choose which of them to remain married to, since his gift from the Emperor is to be granted a painless divorce from two of them. Stoner, on the other hand, wants Talia back, something Garibaldi is wary of on both professional and personal levels, but no one can seem to disagree with Stoner for very long for some reason. At the party, Londo’s wives give him an old Centauri artifact which turns out to be booby-trapped, and Londo lands in medlab facing certain death. In the meantime, nobody is able to find a reason to think twice about Stoner’s actions, even when Talia announces her wish to leave B5 with him.

written by Peter David
directed by John C. Flinn III
music by Christopher Franke

Cast: Bruce Boxleitner (Captain John Sheridan), Claudia Christian (Lt. Commander Ivanova), Jerry Doyle (Garibaldi), Mira Furlan (Delenn), Richard Biggs (Dr. Franklin), Andrea Thompson (Talia Winters), Stephen Furst (Vir), Bill Mumy (Lennier), Robert Rusler (Warren Keffer), Mary Kay Adams (Na’Toth), Andreas Katsulas (G’Kar), Peter Jurasik (Londo), Keith Szarabajka (Matthew Stoner), Lois Nettleton (Daggair), Blair Valk (Mariel), David L. Crowley (Lou Welch), Carel Struycken (Trader), Jane Carr (Timov), Bryan Michael McGuire (Man)

Original title: Pestilence, Famine and Death

LogBook entry by Earl Green