Matters of Honour" launches the third series of Babylon 5 with the introduction of the White Star, a spacecraft added to enable more of the action to take place away from the static space station. Also introduced is Marcus Cole (Jason Carter) who, in another nod to The Lord of the Rings, is a Ranger not so far removed from JRR Tolkien's Strider. In "Voices of Authority" the show finds an epic scale as Ivanova seeks the mysterious "First Ones" for allies against the Shadows, and evidence is discovered pointing to the truth behind President Santiago's assassination.... A third of the way through the series "Messages from Earth", "Point of No Return" and "Severed Dreams" prove pivotal, changing the nature of the story in a way previously unimaginable on network TV. Earth slides into dictatorship, the fascistic Nightwatch takes control of off-world security and Sheridan takes decisive action by declaring Babylon 5 independent. "Interludes and Examinations" presents the death of a major supporting character, while the two-part "War Without End" reaches apocalyptic dimensions in a complex tale resolving the destiny of Sinclair and the fate of Babylon 4 (dovetailing elegantly with the events of Year One's "Babylon Squared"), resolving a 1,000-year-old paradox and presenting a vision of a very dark future for Sheridan and Delenn. All this is trumped by the monumental "Z'ha'dum". In the preceding "Shadow Dancing", Anna Sheridan (Melissa Gilbert, Bruce Boxleitner's real-life wife) returns from the dead, no longer entirely human. In the mythologically resonant climax Anna invites Sheridan back to the Shadow homeworld with no hope of survival. Just as Gandalf fell into the abyss at Khazad-Dum, so Sheridan takes a comparable leap into the unknown on an alien world. On the DVD: Babylon 5, Series 3 presents all 22 episodes anamorphically enhanced at 16:9 for widescreen TVs. While not up to blockbuster movie standards these are the finest looking B5 discs yet. Likewise the remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 sound packs a considerable punch in the many action scenes while remaining clear and atmospheric throughout. Reasonable though unremarkable extras are in line with previous box sets, with detailed and informative commentaries by series creator J Michael Straczynski on episodes "Z'Ha'Dum", and the Hugo Award-winning "Severed Dreams". Actors Bruce Boxleitner, Jerry Doyle, Richard Biggs and Ed Wasser offer a more jokey and backslapping appraisal of "Interludes and Examinations". Introduction to Point of Return is essentially a six-minute trailer for the season, while Behind the Mask: Creating the Aliens of B5 offers make-up artist John Vulich, JMS, and producer John Copland reflecting on the creation of various races. Complementing this is a seven-minute look at Building a Better Narn. Designing Tomorrow: The Look of Babylon 5 focuses on the work of production designer John Iacovelli. Finally The Universe of Babylon 5 presents five short character profiles. The set offers an alternative French soundtrack and subtitles in English, English for the hard-of-hearing, French and Dutch. --Gary S Dalkin [show more]
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The complete third season of the dark and gritty Space Station based drama which opens with a bang as the war between light and dark starts in earnest. In 'Matter of Honour', Captain Sheridan must take the Minbari/Vorlon vessel 'The White Star' to break the Centauri siege of the Rangers' training world - the base for the forces of light in their battle with the awesome Shadows. Meanwhile, Londo concludes his dealings with Morden, the human emissary to the Shadows. In 'Convictions', the station is under threat from a mad bomber and an explosion traps G'Kar and Londo in an elevator together - offering G'Kar the opportunity to kill his sworn enemy. In 'A Day in the Strife', the Centauris send a representative to the station to watch over the Narn inhabitants and force G'Kar back to the homeworld. Londo decides to send Vir to Minbar to work as an ambassador, while the Babylon 5 crew realise that they are being scanned by an alien probe that intends to destroy it. In 'Passing Through the Gethsemane', Lyta Alexander returns to the station to become Kosh's aide, and Brother Edward (a member of Theo's order) discovers that he was once a criminal, and has had a personality transplant. In 'Voices of Authority', the Forces of Light use the Great Machine on Epsilon 3 to locate the First Ones. Meanwhile Ivanova and Marcus have to travel to a distant point in the galaxy to make contact, with the result that Ivanova has a telepathic brush with the Shadows. Back on the station, the influence of the Nightwatch strengthens and evidence of Clarke's involvement in Santiago's assassination is made public. In 'Dust to Dust', Psi Corp's Bester returns to the station to track down an illegal source of the telepathic-enhancing drug Dust. G'Kar takes a dose, attacks Londo, is imprisoned, has a revelation and starts writing a new holy book for his race. In 'Exogenesis', the wayward inhabitants of the area of the station known as 'Down Below' start to behave like model citizens. Meanwhile, the awesome Shadow fleet starts to mass on the edge of Centauri space - either ready to strike out or waiting for a more terrible purpose. In 'Messages from Earth', the projected five-year storyline takes a dramatic turn as a three-part mini-arc begins. An agent smuggled from Earth onto the station reveals that EarthGov are planning to merge a human subject with a dormant Shadow vessel found on Ganymede. To avert the potentially catastrophic events, Sheridan dispatches the White Star to Jupiter to attempt to destroy the menace. From now on in, things take a rather dramatic and shattering course. In 'Point of No Return', corrupt President Clarke declares a vicious martial law on Earth and the 'Nightwatch' force conspires to take control of the station. Captain Sheridan chooses drastic measures to keep the station under his control. Meanwhile Londo hopes for a prediction from a visiting Centauri dignitary and, after his quasi-religious experience, G'kar believes he has something to offer Sheridan's over-stretched team. In 'Severed Dreams', EarthGov send a fleet of powerful ships to retake Babylon 5 from Sheridan and his crew, while on Mars, several colonies declare themselves independent from Earth. In 'Ceremonies of Light and Dark', the Nightwatch hatch a plan to destroy the fragile Alliance of Non-Aligned Worlds by assassinating Delenn, and Londo meets with Lord Refa, urging the latter to break links with Morden and his 'Associates'. When Refa refuses, Londo plots his downfall. In 'Sic Transit Vir', Vir is presented with a Centauri woman who is to be his bride, while Ivanova finds that he has been passing Narn refugees through the station. Londo is delighted to find that Vir has been having them all killed - or so it seems. In 'A Late Delivery from Avalon' a man claiming to be 'the Once and Future King', King Arthur, turns up on Babylon 5, but it seems he is actually a weapons officer from the ship that started the Earth-Minbari War. In 'Ship of Tears', Bester returns to the station with shocking news - The Shadows are in league with President Clarke and there is a shipful of weapons components en route to them. Sheridan orders an attack on the transport and reveals a grisly secret while finding a chink in the Shadows' armour. In 'Interludes and Examinations', Sheridan and Delenn try to form an alliance of non-aligned worlds, but need the Vorlons to take some positive action. Sheridan convinces Kosh to act, but the Vorlon ambassador warns the Captain that there will be a price to pay. Meanwhile, Mordern plots to kill the love of Londo's life and put the blame on Lord Refa. In 'War without End (Part One)', Sheridan joins Commander Sinclair and Delenn in a treacherous mission to evacuate Babylon 4 (last seen in the first season episode 'Babylon Squared'), and stop the time shifting station from being destroyed by the Shadows in the last great war over 1000 years ago. While on the stricken station, Sheridan finds himself jumping through time where he sees a terrible sight. In 'War without End (Part Two), Sheridan sees more of his future where he sees Londo as the Centauri Emperor, but under the control of something unpleasant. Back on Babylon 4, time paradoxes unfold as Sinclair sees Zathras captured by the Sinclair of two years ago, and then Sinclair travels back in time to the time of the last Shadow War to take his place as Valen, the Minbari leader who set up the Grey Council. In 'Walkabout', Doctor Franklin faces his addiction to stims while Kosh's replacement arrives, holding Lyta Alexander to blame for his predecessor's death. Lyta proves that she can cripple Shadow vessels using her Psi talents. In 'Grey 17 is Missing', Garibaldi discovers a hidden level of the station occupied by a weird religious sect. Meanwhile, Neroon denounces Delenn's appointment as Ranger One, and Marcus is prepared to lose his life in her defense. In 'And the Rock Cried Out No Hiding Place', Londo plans to be rid of G'Kar once and for all, but Lord Refa hijacks the plan - a move that he might well regret. In the war room, Sheridan discovers the awful truth about the Shadow's strategy. Z minus 10 days. In 'Shadow Dancing', Franklin gets stabbed, Marcus and Ivanova take a fleet of White Stars to a point where they believe the Shadows will strike (and they are not wrong) and Anna Sheridan comes back from the grave. By now, as everyone knows, if Sheridan goes to Z'Ha'Dum, he will die. In the cliff-hanging season finale 'Z'Ha'Dum', Sheridan, with Kosh's warning still ringing in his ears, travels to Z'Ha'Dum with his wife to get to the bottom of the conflict. The episode ends with a stunning and shocking denouement.
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