Babylon 5: The Gathering (1993)

Thanks for the memories!

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

For any true Babylon 5 fan, The Gathering is indispensable. With such a long and detailed story arc ahead, it would be a mistake to miss this, or the majority of the episodes of the first season. Unfortunately, both suffer from mediocre acting and so-so special effects (by today's standards). By the end of season 1, Michael O'Hare does grow on you, even with his hammy acting (he is a stage actor which didn't translate so well to TV). He's not bad, but Bruce Boxleitner ultimately does a much better job. Claudia Christian also gets better over time, and is light years ahead of Tamlyn Tomita, who did an awful job in the pilot. That said, I am on my second viewing of B5, and although the pilot and first season are cringe-worthy at times, they are both worth seeing, culminating in an incredible payoff with seasons 2,3 and 4. Watch this and then watch the whole series. You won't be disappointed.

The real shame of "The Gathering" is not in the bad acting, nor is it in the despicably shallow plot. The real shame is that it was far worse than the series it begun, even though it did have one main attraction: Takashima. I would love to see Laurel Takashima in a room with Susan Ivanova, even for just five minutes. She has that sarcasm, that wit, that double-edged personality that is at once volatile and lovable. Sadly, though, the "Babylon 5" pilot movie has an incredibly dull story involving assassination. Patricia Tallman-- who never seriously returned to the series until much later-- fortunately got much better with age as Lyta Alexander, who here is little more than a whiny, tiresome telepath. I shall leave you with one final thought-- why is it that Delenn looks like some sort of outer-space frog man (even though she is a woman)? Thank heavens for the way the Minbari looked later in the show.

"The Gathering" comes as a complete surprise unless you are aware of the process of the development of a TV series for sale. For anyone who has not seen Babylon 5, "The Gathering" is a reasonable telemovie, but only of strong interest to serious science fiction fans. But for fans of the series, this movie is an excellent example of how the storyline for the series was originally conceived and then modified when its limitations became obvious. The changes in the characterisations of Delenn, G'Kar and Llando can, in the retrospect provided by the later release (and viewing) of this pilot, be seen as significantly adding to the strength that made the series the classic it has become.

As a Babylon 5 fan I have watched it more than once, last time today, after seeing yesterday another B5 movie "B5:In the Beginning". I must confess that the latter is much better. Still, it is not bad for a series' start. Some of the characters are portrayed differently than I've grown accustomed to in the series (like G'Kar for example), Delenn's makeup is less than perfect (compare it with the one in "In the Beginning") and she really looks unusual (after seeing her later transformation...).But there are some good lines and Peter Jurasik(Lando Mollari)'s act is delightful and so is Mr Jerry Doyle(Garibaldi)'s. A good start for a B5 beginner and a must re-watch (after seeing the rest of the series).When J. Michael Straczynski conceived B5, he really wrote a great story!