Babylon 5: In the Beginning
Encyclopedia
Babylon 5: In the Beginning (1998) is a science fiction
television movie
set in the Babylon 5
fictional universe
. It was written by J. Michael Straczynski
and directed by Michael Vejar.
The film originally aired January 4, 1998 on the TNT cable network
, a couple of weeks before season five of the series began. It focused mainly on characters part of the established Babylon 5 cast, but it did include the notable guest star Reiner Schöne
(playing Minbari
leader Dukhat).
creating the Babylon space stations as a means of preventing further wars.
During the first four years of the Babylon 5 TV series, numerous hints about and glimpses of the Earth–Minbari War were offered. When the program moved to the TNT cable network for its fifth season, a set of television movies were ordered to promote it, and Straczynski chose to use the first of these to tell the story of the war he had so often alluded to in previous episodes.
The movie opens with a view of Centauri Prime in flames. A man is seen looking out of the window of the Royal Palace looking at the destruction. A boy and his younger sister are seen playing in the royal throne room and looking out the window watching numerous buildings go up in flames. Their governess finds them and tells them that it's the Emperor's window and that only he can look out that window. It is then that the Emperor hears them and tells them to come in front of him. It is then revealed that it is an aged Londo Mollari. Mollari allows the young boy to be Emperor of the Centauri Republic for five minutes in which he may give any order he wishes. He wishes that he be told a story of great battles and heroes and villains. His sister wants to hear a true story. Mollari decides to give them both what they want and decides to tell them the story of the Earth–Minbari War that happened 35 years ago and in which he was present at the time while he was ambassador to Earth.
The movie begins before the war, when the human race—feeling cocky following their defeat of the Dilgar
—is rapidly expanding into space. Word reaches them of the mysterious Minbari race. Though they are warned by Centauri ambassador Londo Mollari to leave this race alone, they seek to research the species first-hand.
Meanwhile, the Minbari Grey Council
, led by Dukhat, has become concerned that the Shadows
may have returned to Z'ha'dum
in fulfillment of Valen
's prophecy. They are taking a roundabout route to the dark world to investigate when they encounter Earth ships, specifically the Prometheus, seeking to investigate the Minbari.
A tragic misunderstanding follows. The Minbari ships turn towards the Prometheus and engage their long range sensors to gain more data on the unknown Earth ship. Unknown to the Minbari, the intense EMP
field generated by their long range sensors have the unexpected side effect of disabling the Prometheus jump engine, preventing the Prometheus from retreating. As the Minbari ships draw closer, they open their gun ports—a sign of respect in their culture. The interference from the Minbari sensors also prevent the Prometheus from determining whether or not the Minbari ships are charging their weapons. The captain of the Prometheus, with his jump engines disabled and the Minbari ships approaching in apparent preparation fire weapons, misinterprets this as a sign of aggression and opens fire. The Minbari ships are heavily damaged, and their beloved leader Dukhat killed. In retaliation, the Grey Council announces a holy war
against humanity, and the Earth–Minbari War begins.
, they incorrectly fear that it is to secure a shipment of advanced armament to aid the Humans in their struggle. The Centauri therefore bomb the peace conference, with neither the Humans nor Minbari suspecting them and each assuming a rogue commander from the other side of the war carried out the attack. All hope for peace is lost, and humanity's destruction at the hands of the Minbari continues.
As a last, desperate effort to stave off the inevitable, the President of Earth orders all available ships to form a "line" around the planet in a vain attempt to stave off the final Minbari obliteration of the human race. This "Battle of the Line
" is the final engagement of the war.
During the battle, Satai Delenn
(Mira Furlan
), a member of the Grey Council, abducts a human pilot to learn about Earth's defenses. This pilot is Jeffrey Sinclair
(Michael O'Hare
). The Grey Council is startled to discover, upon using the triluminary
, that he appears to carry the soul of Minbari religious leader Valen. After examining several other humans, the Grey Council concludes that Minbari souls have been reincarnated
in whole or in part in humans.
Since Minbari do not kill Minbari, they surrender to the defenseless Earth forces rather than kill Minbari souls in human bodies. Because of the damage this revelation could do to their own culture, they keep the reason for the surrender a secret.
In the wake of the war, Earth decides to build a space station
that can serve as a kind of "United Nations
in space", with the intent of preventing future wars. This was Babylon 1, destroyed by terrorists during construction. Various fates befall later attempts, until the completion of the Babylon 5 station and the pilot
of the Babylon 5 series, set in the year 2257.
The film ends right before the future seen in the episode "War Without End", when Delenn and Sheridan are held captive in the Centauri palace and Londo is drinking massively to put his Keeper to sleep so that he can let the captives escape.
. It also uses significant footage taken from the television episodes. In fact, Michael O'Hare (Jeffrey Sinclair) appears only in file footage, despite his pivotal role, since the actor was on the East Coast and could not economically be brought to Los Angeles for filming a few additional scenes.
Some of the contradictions in the film are disputed. For example, in the first season episode "And the Sky Full of Stars
", a member of the Minbari Grey Council tells Delenn that Sinclair
must be killed if he remembers his missing 24 hours at the Battle of the Line
. J. Michael Straczynski has stated that this is not a contradiction, as unlike Kosh and Ulkesh (AKA Kosh II), the Grey Council did not know of Sinclair's destiny to travel back in time and become Valen, rather believing that it was the other way around. They had concluded that rather than see Minbari society destroyed, as they were not prepared for the truth about Valen at the time, it would be necessary to kill Sinclair if he remembered.
The level of interaction between G'Kar, Franklin and Mollari with Sheridan and each other in the film is not easy to reconcile with seasons one and two of the series, in which Sheridan is known to most other characters principally by reputation, and there is no hint of any interaction between these characters before the construction of the Babylon 5 station. For example, one of the scenes in the film has Franklin, Sheridan and G'Kar going on a secret mission to the Epsilon system, but in the series, Franklin's dialogue suggests that he had never met or worked with Sheridan before the latter took over administration of Babylon 5. (However, given that that Epsilon events were a secret mission, this could potentially be interpreted as intentional pretense rather than retconning.)
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
set in the Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
fictional universe
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
. It was written by J. Michael Straczynski
J. Michael Straczynski
Joseph Michael Straczynski , known professionally as J. Michael Straczynski and informally as Joe Straczynski or JMS, is an American writer and television producer. He works in films, television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is a playwright, a former journalist,...
and directed by Michael Vejar.
The film originally aired January 4, 1998 on the TNT cable network
Turner Network Television
Turner Network Television is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner...
, a couple of weeks before season five of the series began. It focused mainly on characters part of the established Babylon 5 cast, but it did include the notable guest star Reiner Schöne
Reiner Schöne
Reiner Schöne is a German actor, known for such roles as Dukhat in the Babylon 5 series, Shinnok in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and Esoqq in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Allegiance". He was born in Fritzlar....
(playing Minbari
Minbari
The Minbari are a fictional alien race featured in the television show Babylon 5. The Minbari characters of Delenn and Lennier figure prominently throughout the series; Neroon, Draal, and Dukhat are less prominent Minbari characters....
leader Dukhat).
Synopsis
In the Beginning tells the story of a pivotal event in the history of the Babylon 5 universe. Ten years before the television series Babylon 5 is set, a terrible event occurred: Earth became involved in a deadly conflict with the just-discovered Minbari race. This war almost led to the extermination of the human race, but it was mysteriously halted at the last moment by the Minbari leadership for reasons that would remain secret for over a decade. This near-destruction of the human race led to the Earth AllianceEarth Alliance (Babylon 5)
The Earth Alliance is the name of a fictional alliance of the nations of Earth and off-world colonies in the television series Babylon 5. The transition of Earth government from a democratic, elected government to an authoritarian, militaristic one and back to a democracy again is a major theme of...
creating the Babylon space stations as a means of preventing further wars.
The movie opens with a view of Centauri Prime in flames. A man is seen looking out of the window of the Royal Palace looking at the destruction. A boy and his younger sister are seen playing in the royal throne room and looking out the window watching numerous buildings go up in flames. Their governess finds them and tells them that it's the Emperor's window and that only he can look out that window. It is then that the Emperor hears them and tells them to come in front of him. It is then revealed that it is an aged Londo Mollari. Mollari allows the young boy to be Emperor of the Centauri Republic for five minutes in which he may give any order he wishes. He wishes that he be told a story of great battles and heroes and villains. His sister wants to hear a true story. Mollari decides to give them both what they want and decides to tell them the story of the Earth–Minbari War that happened 35 years ago and in which he was present at the time while he was ambassador to Earth.
The movie begins before the war, when the human race—feeling cocky following their defeat of the Dilgar
Dilgar
The Dilgar War is a fictional war that forms part of the back story of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.-Background:Until the early 23rd Century the mighty Centauri Republic controlled a vast empire. When the Centauri became decadent and corrupt their empire began to decline and the...
—is rapidly expanding into space. Word reaches them of the mysterious Minbari race. Though they are warned by Centauri ambassador Londo Mollari to leave this race alone, they seek to research the species first-hand.
Meanwhile, the Minbari Grey Council
Grey Council
In the Babylon 5 fictional universe, the Grey Council is the governing body of the Minbari Federation. Its members carry the title satai...
, led by Dukhat, has become concerned that the Shadows
Shadow (Babylon 5)
The Shadows are a fictional alien species in the science fiction television series Babylon 5. Their homeworld is Z'ha'dum. In contrast to the Vorlons, whose philosophy is represented by the question "Who are you?", that of the Shadows is represented by the question "What do you want?", centering...
may have returned to Z'ha'dum
Z'ha'dum
Z'ha'dum is the final episode of the third season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.-Teaser:Anna Sheridan, John Sheridan's lost wife, returns to the station, unexpectedly showing up at Sheridan's room, much to the shock and anxiety of Delenn. Anna attempts to get close to...
in fulfillment of Valen
Valen
Valen is a character in the fictional universe of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5. Although he has only one scene in the show, he is an important character in the history of the Minbari, and is frequently mentioned...
's prophecy. They are taking a roundabout route to the dark world to investigate when they encounter Earth ships, specifically the Prometheus, seeking to investigate the Minbari.
A tragic misunderstanding follows. The Minbari ships turn towards the Prometheus and engage their long range sensors to gain more data on the unknown Earth ship. Unknown to the Minbari, the intense EMP
Electromagnetic pulse
An electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field...
field generated by their long range sensors have the unexpected side effect of disabling the Prometheus jump engine, preventing the Prometheus from retreating. As the Minbari ships draw closer, they open their gun ports—a sign of respect in their culture. The interference from the Minbari sensors also prevent the Prometheus from determining whether or not the Minbari ships are charging their weapons. The captain of the Prometheus, with his jump engines disabled and the Minbari ships approaching in apparent preparation fire weapons, misinterprets this as a sign of aggression and opens fire. The Minbari ships are heavily damaged, and their beloved leader Dukhat killed. In retaliation, the Grey Council announces a holy war
Religious war
A religious war; Latin: bellum sacrum; is a war caused by, or justified by, religious differences. It can involve one state with an established religion against another state with a different religion or a different sect within the same religion, or a religiously motivated group attempting to...
against humanity, and the Earth–Minbari War begins.
Earth–Minbari war
The war lasts three years and countless humans are killed, being overwhelmed by superior Minbari technology. Several battles are seen: a lone corvette is witnessed charging a Minbari fleet; a Nova Class dreadnought rams a Minbari War Cruiser. Colonists are seen saying good bye to family and children, before flying to certain death. Lieutenant Commander John Sheridan, first officer of the EAS Lexington is part of a battle group engaging the Minbari. After a Minbari ambush, Sheridan's commanding officer is killed. He assumes command of the damaged ship and lays a trap for the enemy, seeding the local asteroids with nuclear mines. The Minbari flagship Dral La Fi (Minbari for "Black Star") closes in to finish off the remaining Earth ship but is destroyed by the mine blast. This is Earth's only real victory in the war, and the faction of Minbari that feel the war has caused enough senseless bloodshed push to use this as an opportunity to engage in peace talks with Earth. Privately, Earth's political and military leadership is even willing to accept unconditional surrender should the Minbari ask it, rather than risk complete annihilation. However, when the Centauri's intelligence division discovers that the Humans and Minbari are having a secret meeting on a neutral planet that is being brokered by the NarnNarn
The Narn are a fictional alien race in the universe of the Babylon 5 television series. Their homeworld is also called Narn.-Homeworld:Narn is the homeworld of the Narn and the Narn Regime. Its day is 31 hours long. Prior to the Centauri's first invasion, Narn was a healthy green planet. Now it...
, they incorrectly fear that it is to secure a shipment of advanced armament to aid the Humans in their struggle. The Centauri therefore bomb the peace conference, with neither the Humans nor Minbari suspecting them and each assuming a rogue commander from the other side of the war carried out the attack. All hope for peace is lost, and humanity's destruction at the hands of the Minbari continues.
As a last, desperate effort to stave off the inevitable, the President of Earth orders all available ships to form a "line" around the planet in a vain attempt to stave off the final Minbari obliteration of the human race. This "Battle of the Line
Battle of the Line
In the Babylon 5 fictional universe, the Battle of the Line was the final battle of the Earth-Minbari war. The Battle of the Line was a desperate attempt by the Earth Alliance to stop a Minbari combat fleet from attacking Earth. Over 20,000 Human defenders fought in the battle; including most of...
" is the final engagement of the war.
During the battle, Satai Delenn
Delenn
Delenn is a fictional lead character in the universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Mira Furlan.-Overview:Delenn, an alien ambassador and leader from the planet Minbar, is one of the pivotal characters in Babylon 5....
(Mira Furlan
Mira Furlan
Mira Furlan is a Croatian actress and singer currently residing in the United States. She is well known for her roles as the Minbari Ambassador Delenn on all five seasons of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 , and Danielle Rousseau on Lost.-Early life:Furlan was born to an...
), a member of the Grey Council, abducts a human pilot to learn about Earth's defenses. This pilot is Jeffrey Sinclair
Jeffrey Sinclair
Jeffrey Sinclair is a character in the fictional universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played by actor Michael O'Hare. He was a regular in the first season of the show, as Commander of the Babylon 5 station, and made a number of guest appearances afterward.-Early life and...
(Michael O'Hare
Michael O'Hare
Michael O'Hare is an American actor, best known for playing Jeffrey Sinclair in the science fiction television series Babylon 5.-Biography:Michael O'Hare was born in Chicago, Illinois...
). The Grey Council is startled to discover, upon using the triluminary
Triluminary
Triluminaries are devices in the science fiction drama Babylon 5. The triluminary is a triangular shaped Minbari crystal with a small chip in the centre. The full extent of its abilities are unknown, although it is said to be the holiest of all relics in Minbari society and thus any readings it...
, that he appears to carry the soul of Minbari religious leader Valen. After examining several other humans, the Grey Council concludes that Minbari souls have been reincarnated
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
in whole or in part in humans.
Since Minbari do not kill Minbari, they surrender to the defenseless Earth forces rather than kill Minbari souls in human bodies. Because of the damage this revelation could do to their own culture, they keep the reason for the surrender a secret.
In the wake of the war, Earth decides to build a space station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
that can serve as a kind of "United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in space", with the intent of preventing future wars. This was Babylon 1, destroyed by terrorists during construction. Various fates befall later attempts, until the completion of the Babylon 5 station and the pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
of the Babylon 5 series, set in the year 2257.
The film ends right before the future seen in the episode "War Without End", when Delenn and Sheridan are held captive in the Centauri palace and Londo is drinking massively to put his Keeper to sleep so that he can let the captives escape.
Story arc and continuity
In the Beginning focuses significantly on what major characters of the TV series were doing during the Earth–Minbari War. In the process, it creates a few apparent contradictions to series continuityContinuity (fiction)
In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer over some period of time...
. It also uses significant footage taken from the television episodes. In fact, Michael O'Hare (Jeffrey Sinclair) appears only in file footage, despite his pivotal role, since the actor was on the East Coast and could not economically be brought to Los Angeles for filming a few additional scenes.
Some of the contradictions in the film are disputed. For example, in the first season episode "And the Sky Full of Stars
And the Sky Full of Stars
"And the Sky Full of Stars" is an episode from the first season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5. The episode title is derived from a line Sinclair says in the B5 Pilot telefilm: "…and the sky was full of stars, and every star was an exploding ship — one of ours."-Synopsis:As the...
", a member of the Minbari Grey Council tells Delenn that Sinclair
Jeffrey Sinclair
Jeffrey Sinclair is a character in the fictional universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played by actor Michael O'Hare. He was a regular in the first season of the show, as Commander of the Babylon 5 station, and made a number of guest appearances afterward.-Early life and...
must be killed if he remembers his missing 24 hours at the Battle of the Line
Battle of the Line
In the Babylon 5 fictional universe, the Battle of the Line was the final battle of the Earth-Minbari war. The Battle of the Line was a desperate attempt by the Earth Alliance to stop a Minbari combat fleet from attacking Earth. Over 20,000 Human defenders fought in the battle; including most of...
. J. Michael Straczynski has stated that this is not a contradiction, as unlike Kosh and Ulkesh (AKA Kosh II), the Grey Council did not know of Sinclair's destiny to travel back in time and become Valen, rather believing that it was the other way around. They had concluded that rather than see Minbari society destroyed, as they were not prepared for the truth about Valen at the time, it would be necessary to kill Sinclair if he remembered.
The level of interaction between G'Kar, Franklin and Mollari with Sheridan and each other in the film is not easy to reconcile with seasons one and two of the series, in which Sheridan is known to most other characters principally by reputation, and there is no hint of any interaction between these characters before the construction of the Babylon 5 station. For example, one of the scenes in the film has Franklin, Sheridan and G'Kar going on a secret mission to the Epsilon system, but in the series, Franklin's dialogue suggests that he had never met or worked with Sheridan before the latter took over administration of Babylon 5. (However, given that that Epsilon events were a secret mission, this could potentially be interpreted as intentional pretense rather than retconning.)