Posted by Jonathan Klotz | Published
Babylon 5 it was meticulously planned from the beginning detailed in the eighth episode of Season 1, “And The Sky Full Of Stars,” which not only called the pilot episode, “The Gathering,” but laid the groundwork for the main plot. It was one of many episodes written by creator J. Michael Straczynski, and has become a fan favorite thanks to the performances of both Michael O’Hare as the kidnapped and tortured Sinclair, and Christopher Neame as the ruthless detective Knight Two. It also gets to the heart of the mystery of the previous series, what happened in the Battle of the Line to end the World War with the Minbari?
World War-Minbari
It’s no secret that Earth will lose the Minbari. Human technology was no match for Minbari ships, however, and the Minbari surrendered to Earth. As mentioned in “The Gathering” by one of the Minbari, Sinclair “has a hole in his mind” and does not remember a single day during the War of the Line. That is what came to the station Knight One (Judson Scott) and Knight Two (Neame) whose name has not yet been revealed in this station. They believe that Sinclair has been compromised and is a Minbari Sleeper Agent.
By kidnapping Sinclair and putting him in a detailed digital reconstruction of Babylon 5, Knight Two seeks to torture the information out of the Commander. Exploiting the pain and psychological warfare of Sinclair’s departure from his military career, until the day so many of his comrades died, Knight Two tirelessly digs for the truth (and chews up space with a deliberately hammy performance), when Sinclair admits, enters his lost memory, and remembers his time on the Minbari ship where he met the Minbari Council. And Delenn was there.
Michael O’Hare’s Favorite Episode
“And the Sky is Full of Stars” was one of O’Hare’s favorite episodes, and for good reason. He had brothers who served in the military, and he wanted to honor the real danger that comes with serving your country. The dramatic moment where he turns and sees his comrades killed, over and over with each turn, was a bit of stage direction suggested by O’Hare himself.
The episode’s wham moment however, featuring Delenn (Mira Furlan) present while Sinclair is a Minbari prisoner, will continue to have an impact on the entire team. Babylon 5. Until now, Delenn had been the most logical ambassador, a representative of the Minbari Religious Caste, and had never given the impression that he was directly involved in the Gray Council. With one lift of the hood, everything fans thought they had figured out about the human/Minbari relationship went out the window.
Originally, Walter Koenig was supposed to take over the role of Knight Two, but his health prevented him from being available for filming, which led to Bester being cast. Patrick McGoohan, creator and star of the popular sci-fi series A prisoner it was the second choice, but he was also unavailable. It all worked out, as Christopher Neame’s performance is still praised by fans to this day.
Babylon 5 it finally revealed the whole mystery behind the Gray Council and the Minbari, and Sinclair’s ultimate fate, but it took a while to get there. As there was always a story, unlike other sci-fi shows that pretended to have a plot when it didn’t, “And The Sky Full Of Stars” manages to pay off what came before, set up what comes later, and in retrospect, excels by putting all the pieces in front of the audience before they know the mystery is there.
