"Babylon 5" was actually one of my favorite shows of the nineties, second only to "The X-Files". This first Pilot tele-movie really does not do the later series justice. I think what is evident here is that the writing was superior to a lot of the other sci-fi offerings out there. The acting seemed strained in this tele-movie and there were casualties in the follow up series because of this. The special effects were the then state of the art CGI but seems dated now. All this was improved later on when the producers had a hit on their hands and some more money to play with. Still, sit through it in order to fully appreciate the fantastic story arcs that were unfolded in the following series. Consider this a prologue to a great sci-fi epic because it is!

Despite having heard about it for years,I somehow have never got round to seeing any of Babylon Five. Picking up a complete series box set during the New Year sales,I got set to finally set foot on the station.

View on the film:

Laying the foundation for the universe under a (attempted) murder-mystery, rather then joining the crew on their first day, the screenplay by J. Michael Straczynski holds the suspicions to the planned murder as a mirror to the fragile state of peace barely being contained within the space station.

Straczynski closely follows commanding officer Jeffrey Sinclair (played by Michael O'Hare,who keeps a fine balance between Sinclair being confident in his role as a officer,whilst nervous about the accusations being spread about him) having to wrestle control from those wanting to take advantage of the act,who are also slyly trying to frame him,as a method of breaking the peace.

Although the early CGI looks rather iffy, (model work would have allowed for more detail,and the various spaceships to have less of a flat appearance) director Richard Compton & cinematographer Billy Dickson listen in on the deals being made by the five major spacefaring races of the galaxy in smooth panning shots across the floors of Babylon Five.