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
Product 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 Previews
Interactive Menus
Introduction: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
Season 2: The Coming of Shadows
| “ | The Babylon Project was our last, best hope for peace. A self-contained world five miles long, located in neutral territory. A place of commerce and diplomacy for a quarter of a million humans and aliens. A shining beacon in space, all alone in the night. It was the dawn of the Third Age of Mankind...the year the Great War came upon us all. This is the story of the last of the Babylon stations. The year is 2259. The name of the place is Babylon 5. | ” |
| # | Title | Original airdate | Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | "Points of Departure" | November 2, 1994 | 201 |
| Captain John Sheridan takes command of Babylon 5 after Sinclair is reassigned; a rogue Minbari warship is on the loose in hyperspace; and the truth behind the end of the Minbari War is revealed. | |||
| 24 | "Revelations" | November 9, 1994 | 202 |
| Franklin takes extreme measures to save Garibaldi; Delenn emerges from her chrysalis; Sheridan's sister arrives for a visit; Londo's dealings with Mr Morden become even more complex; and G'Kar returns from his travels with a dire warning. | |||
| 25 | "The Geometry of Shadows" | November 16, 1994 | 203 |
| Londo continues to use Morden and his associates to gain prestige and power; a group of Technomages call upon the station; and Ivanova is forced to settle a dangerous dispute amongst the Drazi population. | |||
| 26 | "A Distant Star" | November 23, 1994 | 204 |
| Sheridan launches a dangerous operation to rescue an Earth exploration ship, captained by his friend, when it is stranded in hyperspace; Delenn's authority within the Minbari is questioned as a result of her transformation. | |||
| 27 | "The Long Dark" | November 30, 1994 | 205 |
| A cryonic exploration vessel from a hundred years ago approaches Babylon 5, bringing with it a deadly creature and a human from the past. | |||
| 28 | "A Spider in the Web" | December 7, 1994 | 206 |
| An old friend of Talia Winters is murdered by what appears to be an agent of a Martian resistance movement. | |||
| 29 | "Soul Mates" | December 14, 1994 | 208 |
| Londo's three wives arrive on the station; Delenn seeks Ivanova's help in adjusting to her new human characteristics; and Talia's ex-husband, a fellow Psi Corps telepath, arrives on the station with an intriguing story. | |||
| 30 | "A Race Through Dark Places" | January 25, 1995 | 207 |
| Psi Cop Alfred Bester returns to Babylon 5, searching for an underground railroad helping rogue telepaths to escape the Corps; his arrival sparks discord amongst the command staff as they realise that an insider is helping the railroad. | |||
| 31 | "The Coming of Shadows" | February 1, 1995 | 209 |
| Emperor Turhan of the Centauri is coming to Babylon 5 for a state visit, prompting extreme behaviour from both G'Kar and Londo. Garibaldi encounters a group called "the Rangers". | |||
| 32 | "GROPOS" | February 8, 1995 | 210 |
| Babylon 5 plays host to 25,000 EarthForce marines, known as "ground-pounders", led by General Richard Franklin, Stephen's father. | |||
| 33 | "All Alone in the Night" | February 15, 1995 | 211 |
| During a Starfury flight, Sheridan is kidnapped by an unknown alien race. Delenn is summoned by the Grey Council to hear her fate. | |||
| 34 | "Acts of Sacrifice" | February 22, 1995 | 212 |
| G'Kar attempts to rally support for his people from Sheridan and the Earth Alliance; Ivanova goes to great lengths to secure an alliance with a new race. | |||
| 35 | "Hunter, Prey" | March 1, 1995 | 213 |
| The command staff races against time - and EarthForce - to find a missing doctor who has information on President Santiago's assassination. | |||
| 36 | "There All the Honor Lies" | April 26, 1995 | 214 |
| Sheridan nearly loses his command after he kills a Minbari in self-defense. Ivanova is placed in charge of a gift shop selling Babylon 5 merchandise. | |||
| 37 | "And Now For a Word" | May 3, 1995 | 215 |
| An ISN news crew spends 36 hours on Babylon 5 to film a documentary, capturing a snapshot of life on the station as well as the progress of the Narn-Centauri war. | |||
| 38 | "In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum" | May 10, 1995 | 216 |
| Sheridan discovers a connection between his late wife and the mysterious Mr Morden, and makes enemies of everyone around him when he has Morden detained. | |||
| 39 | "Knives" | May 17, 1995 | 217 |
| Londo is reunited with an old friend, only to be caught in the middle of Republic agendas. An alien life form invades Sheridan's body. | |||
| 40 | "Confessions and Lamentations" | May 24, 1995 | 218 |
| A deadly plague threatens the Markab race with extinction, leaving Franklin in a race against time to find the cure before even more species are infected. | |||
| 41 | "Divided Loyalties" | October 11, 1995 | 219 |
| Lyta Alexander returns to Babylon 5 with news that one of the command staff may, unknowingly, be a sleeper agent for the Psi Corps. | |||
| 42 | "The Long, Twilight Struggle" | October 18, 1995 | 220 |
| The Centauri war machine rolls on towards the Narn homeworld, unknowingly aided by the Shadows, while the remains of the Narn fleet plan a last-ditch counter-attack. | |||
| 43 | "Comes the Inquisitor" | October 25, 1995 | 221 |
| The Vorlons send an "Inquisitor" to Babylon 5 to test Sheridan and Delenn's readiness to lead the Army of Light. The Narns onboard the station begin to challenge G'Kar's leadership. | |||
| 44 | "The Fall of Night" | November 1, 1995 | 222 |
| The command staff are caught between a rock and a hard place when Sheridan agrees to give sanctuary to a Narn warship, while EarthForce attempts to placate the increasingly-aggressive Centauri Republic. The Nightwatch begins to expand their influence on the station. | |||
