Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7465 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-04-08
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
In the gap between seasons four and five of Babylon 5, fans suffering withdrawal symptoms were sated by this first TV movie. As a prequel to the series' timeline, creator J. Michael Straczynski had an awful lot of continuity to consider. Amazingly, there's only one inconsistency throughout (a matter of who met whom and when), making this an essential part of the overall storyline. The tale is told cleverly from the future as the remembrances of Londo (Peter Jurasik), who is now Emperor of a dying Centauri homeworld. He looks back at the beginnings of the Earth-Minbari war and links together many clues strewn throughout the shows' early years. We see exactly how Delenn contributed to the first blows, the death of dignitary Dukhat, and most importantly what really happened to Sinclair (Michael O'Hare) at the Battle of the Line. The FX showcased by the battle are genuinely spectacular, but overshadowed by the make-up department which had the thankless task of making everyone look younger. Their best success is on an uncredited Claudia Christian who appears as an 18-year-old Susan Ivanova dealing with the death of her brother. Being a prequel there's little in the way of a surprise finale, but there's plenty of intrigue along the way. --Paul Tonks

Special Features
English
Region 2

Synopsis
Set 200 years in the future--in a universe where mankind has reached the stars, contacted and colonised new races, and fought new wars--IN THE BEGINNING is the first feature-length film based on the popular sci-fi series. The movie charts the war between Earth and the mysterious Minbari race and recounts the early days of the characters who will one day change the destiny of the galaxy.

Customer Reviews

Best of the TV Movies
Warner Brothers released this DVD as part of a test to see if there was a market for Babylon 5 DVDs. Fortunately for us fans, they learned there was.

"In the Beginning" was filmed after season 4 and tells the story of the Earth-Minbari War. It combines all the stories of the war that we've learned over the first four seasons, from the misunderstanding that started it to the climatic Battle of the Line. But it's not all familiar; we get to see the entire story, not just the parts that were important to later happenings on the show. Along the way, we see Delenn, Sheridan, Franklin, G'Kar, and Londo in the time before the series started.

I hadn't seen this movie since its initial airing until I got the DVD. At that time, I had only seen the last half of season 4, so much of the movie didn't make too big an impact on me. Watching again, I was amazed at how much history and suspense JMS was able to put into the movie even though we knew the outcome. It is interesting to note that it was among the first released from the show since it contains major spoilers for the first few seasons.

It's disappointing to see that once again the features are non-existent. Still, the picture and sound are good.

The Babylon 5 movies were hit and miss, but this is by far the best they made. Any fan will find the complete story fascinating. Everything is explained enough to not confuse new viewers, but if you want to enjoy the mystery of the show, make this later viewing.

In the beginning, but view at the end
Babylon 5: In The Beginning is an excellent addition to the B5 saga. A stand-alone TV movie, set 10 years prior to the construction of the Babylon 5 station, it chronicles the Earth-Minbari war that lead to the need for such a politically neutral platform of peace.

The principal characters developed throughout the TV series are introduced here, providing further insight to their character development, and fills in some of the blanks that are suggested in the series itself. Created during B5's season 4 run, it acts as a prequel for those who have followed the story from the beginning.

However, there are two points to note for those wishing to view B5 for the first time. Firstly, Babylon 5: In The Beginning directly provides answers to some questions prompted throughout the TV show, taking away some of the intrigue of the first few seasons. Furthermore, certain characters interact within this prequel, which close viewing of the series suggests never happened; usually if you have met someone before there is some degree of recognition prompted by either party.

The continuity issue can no doubt be explained during a B5 fan discussion, but I would have preferred a more obvious reason for the lack of recognition between two characters in the series. I guess this is a problem with any prequel of this calibre, as Star Wars is also known to have confused viewers in its prequel as to the character interaction that is never suggested in the original trilogy (Read: R2D2 & C3PO interaction with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker).

Babylon 5: In The Beginning is undoubtedly an essential addition to any B5 fans collection. For those that wish to view the saga as originally aired, I suggest viewing it after season 4, so as not to spoil the TV series intriguing build up.

The Earth/Minbari war in all its glory
This is the first movie set in the world of, the brilliant, series Babylon 5 and it is probably one of the best that I have seen. Detailing one of the most important parts of the Babylon 5 back-story, the Earth/Minbari war, this film uses a mixture of footage already used as flashbacks in the series alongside newly filmed footage, although it is quite difficult to tell the difference between the two. The acting is just as good as in the series as the actors now feel comfortable in their roles, and the graphics are OK considering how old they are, the Battle of the Line is just spectacular and is probably one of the best space combat sequences that I have witnessed. This is a definite must see for all fans of the series, though newcomers may be slightly confused by some of the detail.