Babylon 5 – The Gathering

When I first saw Babylon 5: The Gathering back in the day I had no thoughts of it being a pilot for a sci-fi series. It just didn’t occur to me. I guess most pilots for series are like movies though. They have a beginning and an end much like any other film. The Gathering contains some secrets though. So as a film, it doesn’t reveal enough of the truth needed to conclude it. As a pilot episode for a series, it does much better. Then, you don’t need all the answer because it can be answered later. And it actually is just that. The secrets are answered later in the series. You’ll just have to be patient.

The plot is more or less about a space station where all kinds of people come and go. You could equivalent it to a city in space. There are businessmen, travellers, lost souls and ambassadors from aliens world resided there. We get to know these aliens and the human cast as well of course. I think that what does Babylon 5 great is the characterization of these aliens, and the humans of course. It’s not without humor and situation comedy is present at times.

In this pilot movie, there’s an assassination attempt being made to one of the ambassadors. Of course, a massive investigation is initiated. The guilty must be found or a diplomatic crisis might occur between the races. I see this part of the plot as something that keeps the story together but not as something especially interesting. Again, if we see the series aspect of it all, the events that take place here are of importance for the future events being revealed later.

As being a pilot, some ideas might not have been thought out yet. Some of the characters differ from the actual series. They have both somewhat different personality and appearance. I like their appearance a little better here that later on in the series but that’s just me. It could be because I saw The Gathering several years before seeing anything from the series of Babylon 5.