Our review:Description:This 6-DVD set includes all 22 episodes from The Complete Second Season of the cult science-fiction favorite Babylon 5.
DVD Features:Audio Commentary:Audio commentary on two key episodes by Straczynski and another key episode by three of the series stars
Documentaries:Building Babylon: Blueprint of an Episode; Shadows and Dreams: Honors of Babylon
Episodic PreviewsInteractive MenusIntroduction:All-new introduction by series creator J. Michael Straczynski and cast, including Bruce Boxleitner
Other:From the Universe of Babylon 5 Audiovisual Archive - access data files, personnel files, tech files and a Babylon 5 historical timeline
Scene Access
Amazon.com:Delenn's future love interest, Captain John Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) arrived on
Babylon 5 in the first episode of season 2, 'Points of Departure.' The show marked the handing over of command of
B5 to Sheridan from Commander Jeffery Sinclair, actor Michael O'Hare becoming a victim of studio politicians who wanted a bigger star in the leading role. This excellent installment also revealed more about why the Minbari surrendered to Earth at the Battle of the Line when they were on the verge of victory. 'Revelations' explains that Sheridan's wife, Anna, died during an archaeological survey of the world Z'ha'dum, the name being just one of many references to Tolkien's the Lord of the Rings (the bridge at Khazad-Dum). 'The Geometry of Shadows' introduced the Technomages, characters who featured more significantly in the ill-fated spinoff series
Crusade (1999), while 'The Coming of Shadows' proved to be
Babylon 5's finest hour to date. The story of political intrigue foreshadowing the fate of two of the major characters beat
Apollo 13,
Toy Story,
12 Monkeys, and
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode 'The Visitor' to win the Hugo award for Best Dramatic Presentation at the 1996 World Science Fiction Convention and proved so powerful that J. Michael Straczynski included it in his
Complete Book of Scriptwriting.
'And Now for a Word' took the unusual step of presenting a day-in-the-life of
B5 seen through the eyes of a TV news crew, just as the Narn declared war on the Centauri. The inclusion of a PSI-Corps commercial paid homage to Paul Verhoeven's satirical ads in
Robocop (1987), while his later
Starship Troopers (1997) seemed at times like a spoof of
B5's earnest space opera. In 'In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum,' Sheridan learns that Morden was on the ship on which Anna died; the episode sees the captain pushed to his limits by grief and determination to discover why Morden survived. Three exceptional shows conclude the season. The Narn-Centauri war escalates in 'The Long, Twilight Struggle,' Sheridan faces a most unusual ordeal in 'Comes the Inquisitor,' and in 'The Fall of Night' all hope of peace is shattered as a nerve-racking assassination attempt reveals a startling secret about Ambassador Kosh.
--Gary S. Dalkin
Item Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Some related products we found for you:
click for more
Some related products we found for you:
Buyer Testimonials
Average Buyer's Review:
-
The Coming of Shadows
By Season Two, a much clearer picture of the big story arc is able to be seen, and it is glorious. While the new captain, John Sheridan, sometimes lets cheesy boyishness and gung-hoism overcome him, he is still a marked improvement and a much better fit for his eventual role.
The titular Shadows have arrived in the Babylon 5 universe, playing off of the younger races while the impassive Vorlons seem to care not a whit. All the while, the station deals with the Narn-Centauri War (which arrives at a shocking climax in this season) and the ever-increasing tensions with Earth and the new Clark government.
With many of the hiccups from the last season out of the way, JMS and the rest of the crew are really able to shine in season 2 - the big story arc is increasingly emphasized and the actors are clearly really hitting their stride in the story (particularly the Jurrasik/Kastulas duo, who really were spectacular in this series). HIGHLY recommended.
Buyer's review: -
Babylon Five - The Complete Second Seacon
Fine product. Now I have them all. Liked years 1-4 so much better than final year.
Buyer's review: 
-
Great Escape
It was fun to escape into the future with an exciting series. You get caught up in the intrigue of inter-alien squabbles versus day to day reality. You wish we were as advanced in space travel as the story line progresses. Viewing Babylon5 with popcorn in one hand and soda in the other was a treat to repeat.
Buyer's review: -
Excellent season of SF television
When Babylon 5 was renewed for a second season, it was clear some changes were needed. There was a great deal of positive acclaim for the story arc, the CGI and many of the characters and actors, but there were concerns about the stoic, haunted nature of lead actor, Michael O'Hare, and about his character leaping in a fighter to investigate every crisis that came along, which strained credulity. According to J. Michael Straczynski, this coincided with him struggling about giving Sinclair a connection to the mysterious alien 'Shadows', who would play a big role in the upcoming season at the same time that the mystery about the Minbari, a dominant storyline in Season 1 which featured Sinclair in a big way, would be fading into the background. Apparently amicable discussions were undertaken and O'Hare, who had been missing his old theatre life back in New York, agreed to depart but return for further episodes down the road when his character was needed.
Season 2 starts with the sudden reassignment of Commander Sinclair to the Minbari homeworld as ambassador. Captain John Sheridan is brought in to replace him, which proves controversial as the Minbari hold Sheridan in disfavour for his destruction of a Minbari warship during the war by 'cowardly' tactics (using nuclear mines and a fake distress call). At the same time the station is in something of a crisis: Earth Alliance President Luis Santiago is dead, security chief Garibaldi is in a coma having been gunned down whilst claiming someone wanted the President dead. Elsewhere, Narn Ambassador G'Kar is missing and Minbari Ambassador Delenn is in a cocoon of some kind. "Interesting place you have here," is Sheridan's assessment.
Season 2 charts the descent of the Galaxy from the pre-existing status quo towards fire, darkness and war. An ancient, exceptionally powerful and apparently long-forgotten alien race has returned to prowl the fringes of known space for their own ends. The Centauri are offered a chance to reclaim their place as the most powerful race in the Galaxy. Earth is riven by political corruption. The Vorlons are showing signs of ending their long isolation. Every story element that was set up in Season 1 is now put to use in the second season, with impressive and logical plot and character developments following. If Season 1 was setting up the guns, Season 2 is about watching them fire.
Compared to the variable first year, the second season is much better and more consistent. The arrival of Bruce Boxleitner as Captain Sheridan injects some much-needed life and energy into the command staff, and it's clear he has a much better rapport with most of the other actors. He also convinces much more as a military leader and tactician. JMS has a tendency to give him slightly cheesy speeches from time to time, but he mostly handles these well and does superbly with a dark, intense performance during In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum, a pivotal episode which spells out what the stakes are in the overall story arc.
There are many other key episodes, but other stand-outs include And Now For a Word (an episode told in the style of a news documentary about the station and its crew, revealing new information about the B5 universe) and Confessions and Lamentations (probably the best non-arc episode the series ever did), but the powerhouse episodes of the season have to be The Coming of Shadows and its sequel, The Long, Twilight Struggle. In the former, which won the 1996 Hugo Award, the Centauri Emperor pays a state visit to Babylon 5. Certain Centauri factions aligned with Londo attempt to use his visit to further their own agenda whilst G'Kar plots an assassination. However, the Emperor falls ill and devastating consequences for the entire B5 universe follow. Half a season later, in The Long, Twlight Struggle, the fall-out from the former episode reaches its horribly inevitable conclusion, culminating in the most powerful use of CGI in the entire series (Londo's face reflected in the windows of a Centauri battlecruiser as he realises what his modest political ambitions have led to) and an absolutely barnstorming performance from Andreas Katsulas as G'Kar as his world comes crashing down around him. The rest of the season could have been an anticlimax, but the season finale (The Fall of Night) sees events get even worse and leaves things hanging for the third season.
Season 2 of Babylon 5 (*****) takes the world and story painstakingly set up in the first year and really runs with it, backed by increasingly excellent performances from the central cast.
Buyer's review: -
GREAT SERIES
Babylon 5 series is great/just get ready to get the whole series .It's just that good