Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5681 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-04-19
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Number of discs: 6
• Formats: Box set, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 6
• Running time: 924 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The fourth series of Babylon 5 begins on a high point with Centauri Prime in the grip of the insane Emperor Cartagia (Wortham Krimmer) and a run of six shows leading to the climax of the war against the Shadows in "Into the Fire". If this colossal narrative is resolved a little too easily and the ultimate aim of the Shadows turns out to be a tad disappointing, it's still one of the most powerful slices of space opera ever to grace the small screen.

In the aftermath the sheer scale drops back a little but the pace never slows as the rest of the year plays out in one relentless cycle of conspiracy, betrayal and conflict, Babylon 5 siding with the rebel Mars colony against the totalitarian Earth regime. Meanwhile, Delenn finds herself increasingly in conflict with her own people and, paralleling her relationship with Sheridan, Garibaldi becomes involved with his ex-fiancée Lise Hampton (Denise Gentile); in addition, an intense platonic love grows between Ivanova and Marcus Cole. On an unstoppable wave fuelled by roller-coaster plot twists and spectacular action shows from "No Surrender, No Retreat"--when Sheridan avows to overthrow EarthGov--to "Rising Star"--when the aim is realised--this series of Babylon 5 achieved a consistent excellence rare in television.

Yet within that run "Intersections in Real Time" stands out as a bold experiment; essentially a two-hand drama taking place entirely within one dimly lit room. Then in "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars", a descendant of humanity one million years hence reviews excerpts from the history of Babylon 5. In one sequence set in 2762 a Brother is devoted to the preservation of history some time after the "Big Burn". In a homage to Walter M Miller's SF classic A Canticle for Leibowitz, Sheridan and Delenn have themselves become the stuff of legend. --Gary S Dalkin

On the DVD:
All 22 episodes of Season 4 of Babylon 5 are presented on six DVDs. Anamorphically enhanced for widescreen TV, the picture is significantly stronger than on the original TV broadcasts, if not up to blockbuster movie standards. The remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is punchy and richly impressive, if again not quite state-of-the-art. As with previous seasons the main extras are three commentaries. The first, by actors Bruce Boxleitner, Jerry Doyle, Peter Jurasik and Patricia Tallman, finds these leading cast members having a great time joshing around on Falling Towards Apotheosis and failing to say anything very interesting. Series creator and writer J Michael Straczynski and director Michael Vejar discuss The Face of the Enemy, the conversation tending towards a technical scene-by-scene analysis, while by far the most interesting commentary is J Michael Straczynski alone on The Deconstruction of Falling Stars. JMS covers many aspects of the show, going into depth explaining both his ideas behind the series and the practicalities of realising his vision. Celestial Sounds is an interesting but too-short five-minute look at the scoring process with composer Christopher Franke, complemented by a powerful six-minute musical suite. The package also includes a six-minute introduction, a three-minute gag reel and video data files of characters, organisations and places. An Easter egg offers a comparison between untextured and completed CGI models of Babylon 5 itself. There is an optional French soundtrack, plus English, English for Hearing Impaired, French and Netherlands subtitles. --Gary S Dalkin

DVD Description
Contains all the episodes from Series 4:

• The Hour of the Wolf
  
• Whatever Happened To Mr Garibaldi?
  
• The Summoning
  
• Falling Toward Apotheosis
  
• The Long Night
  
• Into the Fire
  
• Epiphanies
  
• The Illusion of Truth
  
• Atonement
  
• Racing Mars
  
• Lines of Communication
  
• Conflicts of Interest
  
• Rumours, Bargains and Lies
  
• Moments of Transition
  
• No Surrender, No Retreat
  
• The Exercise of Vital Powers
  
• The Face of the Enemy
  
• Intersections in Real Time
  
• Between the Darkness and the Light
  
• Endgame
  
• Rising Star
  
• The Deconstruction of Falling Stars

Special Features

• TV promos
  
• No Surrender, No Retreat Suite: music composed exclusively for the DVD, set to stunning images from the 22 episode season
  
• Celestial Sounds profiles series composer Christopher Franke
  
• Gag Reel
  
• Introduction by series creator J. Michael Straczynski
  
• Commentaries by series creator and director
  
• Cast commentary by Bruce Boxleitner, Jerry Doyle, Peter Jurasik and Patricia Tallman
  
• A closer look at the characters
  
• Series facts

DVD Technical Information:

Customer Reviews

The Best season in one of the Best Sci-Fi series ever
Season four of babylon 5 is undoubtly the best, we see Sheridan's return from the dead, the dramatic conclusion of the Shadow War, the war against Clark and his suporters. At the time belived to be the last season, alot happens in this series and its this multitude of event which makes this the best. The betrayal of Garibaldi, the capture of Sheridan there is so much in this series, there are no bad episodes and to any fan this is the series you must have.
Babylon 5 was the first Sci-Fi to look at the people behind the future and this is continued to form in season 4, sure events take place on a five mile long station spining in space some 250 odd years in the future. But its the characters and their development, their relationships which is impotatnt.

Highly recomended, 2261 is a very good year!

The paragon of excellence
Season 4 of Babylon 5 really is superb both on an episodic and arc level. True, it's unlikely that you'd be purchasing it not having seen the first three seasons, but even so (most of) the episodes work well outside of the bigger picture. Certainly, when compared to its contemporaries (notably Deep Space Nine) one realises how B5 is in a totally different league. Everything about it oozes quality: from the political intrigue to the sweeping space battles, the character developments to the humour that hits the mark more often than not.

The season answers some questions and poses others - it covers a broad range of the story arc including the end of the Shadow War (which could only be considered an anticlimax if one hadn't been paying attention to the story thus far), the fight to reclaim Earth (a salutory lesson in the true nature of democracy), and the growth of characters into new and interesting realms.

On the downside there are still a few times when the picture quality becomes poor, but these are few and far between (certainly less so than previous seasons' DVDs).

It's a real pleasure to watch (some years since I last saw it on the television) and the quality of everything; the effects, the acting, the storyline; is evident. This is, to paraphrase a certain brand of lager, probably the best sci-fi in the world (sic).

2261 - My Favorite Year in the Future
Things are looking dark for our heroes. As this year opens, Garibaldi is missing and Sheridan is missing, presumed dead. Even though they are both alive (as we learn from the opening credits), things are dark. The Vorlons and the Shadows are no longer hiding behind allies and have launched a full scale war, using the younger races as the targets. Can Sheridan use what he's learned to bring a peaceful end to the fighting? Plus there's the situation on Earth with dictator President Clark. Throw in Garibaldi's weird behavior and you've got a full season that catches your interest and never lets go.

Since JMS didn't know for sure if he'd actually get season 5, he worked hard to bring major plot threads together in season 4. As a result, this year is packed with action and story, but there are some wonderful character arcs as well. I've always found Garibaldi's to be the most interesting of the season, but Vir gets some great moments early on as well. Londo and G'Kar's relationship also takes some unexpected turns that are wonderful. I love watching that duo at work.

Frankly, this season will always hold a special place in my heart because it's when I started watching. Hard for me to believe now, but my first episode was "Into the Fire." If it weren't for some very patient friends, I would have been lost, but I managed to stick in there, getting so hooked on the Earth plot that I couldn't stop watching. Later, when I'd seen the rest of the show, I realized exactly what I had missed in way of back story. Naturally, I don't recommend starting here. The way JMS is able to bring plot threads together is truly amazing this season and worth every hour spent watching the first three seasons for the payoff (not that that's a chore by any stretch of the imagination.) Still, I'll always have fond memories of waiting impatiently each week to see what happens next and the long wait over the summer to see how they'd resolve the mid season cliffhanger.

This DVD set is in perfect keeping with the others that have come out. Picture quality is mostly good with the occasional grain or spot. A tad distracting, but overall sharper then my video tapes. Sound is wonderful in full surround. Again we get three commentaries. The cast commentary, featuring Bruce Boxleitner, Jerry Doyle, Peter Jurasik, and Patricia Tallman is entertaining if not very informative. (I'll never look at Jerry's head the same way again, however.) JMS does his usual two commentaries. He's joined by director Michael Vejar on "Face of the Enemy" for a fascinating look at creating that pivotal episode. And he does his usual interesting look at "Deconstruction of Falling Stars," the unusual fourth season finale. The special features are rounded out by an introduction on disc 1, a new documentary on the music of the show, a new suite of music set against visuals from the season, the usual data and personnel files, and finally a gag reel. I will confess I almost missed this, but it was great. Makes me wish more then ever that we'd gotten to see the gag reels from the previous seasons.

If you're a fan of this show, you must get this set. It's worth every penny spent. And if you've never seen the show, DVD is a wonderful way to discover this wonderful show. I just suggest being smarter then I was and starting with season 1.