lurkers-guide/ftp/babylon-5-setting-s5

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From: Babylon 5 FAQ <no_hormel_products@anywhere.com>
Subject: Babylon 5 FAQ (G): Setting for season 5
Approved: news-answers-request@mit.edu
Organization: Interstellar Alliance
Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated
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Summary: This document is a supplement to the Babylon 5 FAQ list.  It contains
         information to help viewers of the show who are catching up with the
         show in season 5 ("The Wheel of Fire", Earth year 2262).

Archive-name: tv/babylon-5/setting/season5
Frequency: bi-weekly
Last-modified: 29 May 1998

+-----------------------------------+
|  BABYLON 5 FAQ, part (F):         |
|  Setting for season #5            |
|                                   |
|  A guide for viewers who wish to  |
|  catch up to the events  leading  |
|  up to  season 5, "The Wheel of   |
|  Fire," airing in 1998 on TNT in  |
|  the U.S.  This is the year       |
|  2262 in the opening credits.     |
|                                   |
|  This holds SPOILERS  for season  |
|  1 - 4 episodes, and descrip-     |
|  tions of season 5 settings.      |
|  DO NOT READ unless you are now   |
|  watching SEASON 5 episodes!      |
+-----------------------------------+

NOTE: The Babylon 5 FAQ is going into retirement after this edition, so
please don't be concerned that the season 5 descriptions are incomplete.

WORLD WIDE WEB users should see http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/lurker.html
for the much more detailed "Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5"; the information
in this document is similar to the "Universe" section.

    -------------------------
    Contents of this document
    -------------------------
    1.  Introduction
    2.  The Setting of Babylon 5
    3.  The Major Players
    4.  The Characters
    5.  The Story So Far
    6.  Past and Current reference
    7.  Credits and Legalese

------------------------------

Subject: 1.  Introduction

(2258)
Kosh:     And so it begins...
Assassin: There is a hole in your mind.
Sinclair: What do you want?
G'Kar:    No one here is exactly what he appears.
Sinclair: Nothing's the same any more.
(2259)
Senator:  Commander Sinclair is being reassigned.
Mollari:  Why don't you eliminate the entire Narn homeworld,
          while you're at it?
Elric:    I see a great hand reaching out of the stars.
Sebastian:Who are you?
(2260)
Reporter: President Clark has signed a decree today declaring martial law.
Sheridan: These orders have forced us to declare independence.
Bester:   ...Weapon supplies...
Sheridan: ...Unless you people get off your encounter-suited butts and
          do something.
Zathras:  You are the one who was.
Kosh:     If you go to Z'Ha'Dum, you will die.
(2261)
Lorien:   Why are you here?  Do you have anything worth living for?
Delenn:   I think of my beautiful city in flames.
Sheridan: ...Giants in the playground.
Sheridan: Now get the hell out of our galaxy!
Sheridan: We are here to place President Clark under arrest.
(2262)

------------------------------

Subject: 2.  The Setting of Babylon 5

A hundred years ago, humanity made contact with its first alien civilization
-- or more to the point, they made contact with us.  Before the arrival of the
Centauri, we were confined to our own solar system, forced to use slow sleeper
ships to explore the universe.  The Centauri gave us the stars, offered us the
use of their "jumpgates" -- portals into hyperspace -- and later, taught us to
make our own.  In exchange for this and other technologies, they asked only
for trinkets, novelties to sell back home.

In the eighty years that followed, humanity flexed its muscles, expanding
outward at a rapid pace.  When a group of less powerful races was attacked by
an invading army, Earth came to their aid, cementing its role as a major
galactic power, if a young, brash one.

The wave of euphoria came crashing down when humanity made contact with a
mysterious race called the Minbari.  The Earth-Minbari War began with a
misunderstanding, a human captain and a Minbari commander too quick on the
trigger.  Thanks to bad luck or something darker, our first meeting with the
Minbari resulted in the death of their supreme religious and political leader.
To the Minbari, what followed was a holy war, vengeance for the murder of
their spiritual leader.  Earth was no match for the technologically superior
Minbari, and they easily beat us back to our home planet.

Then, without explanation, as their ships closed in on Earth and wiped out our
last desperate defenses, the Minbari halted their advance and surrendered.
Only an elite few knew why.

The Babylon Project was conceived in the aftermath of the war.  Modeled after
the United Nations, it would be a meeting place, neutral ground where the
powers could meet and work out their differences peacefully.

The first three Babylon stations were sabotaged in mid-construction.  The
fourth was completed, but just as it was about to go online, it vanished
without a trace.  The Earth government would have stopped there, but some of
the alien governments, seeing the value of a meeting ground, offered financial
assistance for the construction of a fifth station.  Naturally, there were
strings attached.

Babylon 5 is the story of the last of the Babylon stations, the last hope for
a galaxy without war.  It begins in the year 2257 with the opening of the
Babylon 5 station.

 + + + + +

Babylon 5 has failed in its original mission, yet has it done much more than
was intended.  It was built to keep the peace, yet a great war erupted which
treated the races on Babylon 5 as pawns -- yet, with Sheridan and Delenn's
leadership, they drove the aggressors away.  Not long after, the station served
as a base for taking back Earth from a totalitarian regime.  And now, the
station serves as the base of a nascent Interstellar Alliance -- one which
will undergo many growing pains in the next year.

------------------------------

Subject: 3.  The Major Players

========    a. Babylon 5 (an independent state)

Babylon 5 was an outpost operated by the Earth Allance, built with the aid of
a few alien governments.  Captain Sheridan had declared independence in
mid-2260 to break away from a totalitarian Earth, but now that Earth has been
restored as a democracy, it serves as the base for a new interstellar
alliance.  Its status is in limbo, but is planned to be purchased from Earth
to maintain autonomy.

========    b. The Earth Alliance

The Earth Alliance, headquartered in Geneva, has just been liberated from
martial law.  Most citizens are happy to see democracy restored, but there
will likely be those loyal to the old guard who will have trouble adjusting
to the new rules.  A particular hotspot is the  Psi Corps, a government agency
in charge of overseeing humans with telepathic abilities.  The influence of
the Psi Corps has risen tremendously in the last few years, and it is clear
to many that a conflict between telepaths and non-telepathic "mundanes" is
imminent.

========    c. The Minbari Federation

An old, highly spiritual race, the Minbari are humanoid with exterior bone
crests on their heads.  Once an adversary of Earth, the Minbari Federation
sided with Babylon 5 and a coalition of many other races to fight an ancient
enemy from a thousand years ago, the Shadows.

Only a few know that Minbar and Earth have linked histories: a human,
Sinclair, the first commander of Babylon 5, traveled back in time to the
previous war against the Shadows and delivered a new base of operations,
Babylon 4, to the Minbari.  Sinclair became Valen, the great Minbari spiritual
leader, builder of modern Minbari society and a prophet thanks to his knowledge
of future events.  Sinclair's journey opened a doorway between Minbari and
humans, and since the last war a thousand years ago, Minbari souls have been
slowly reincarnating in human bodies.  Upon discovering that, the Minbari
halted their recent war against the humans.

========    d. The Centauri Republic

The Centauri Republic, once a fading former power, has come into a precarious
situation due to the government's alliance with the Shadows in the recent
conflict.  The Centauri drove them out, but it is clear that the minions of
the Shadows have intentions of getting even with the Centauri.

========    e. The Narns

Once an up and coming power, the Narn Regime was a victim of Centauri
expansionism, especially humiliating since they were unwilling subjects of the
Centauri Republic a hundred years ago and once again fell under their hand in
the recent years.  Liberated again, it appears that the Centauri will leave
them alone for good.  Narns have a reptilian appearance and are easily
provoked.

========    f. The Rangers

The Rangers are an "army of light," comprised of mostly Humans and Minbari,
originally formed to gather information and perform covert operations in the
war against the Shadows, they now act as the patrollers and protectors of the
fledgling Interstellar Alliance.  Rangers are identified by a pin which
depicts elements of human and Minbari appearance.

------------------------------

Subject: 4.  The Characters

========    a. Main Cast (appearing in most episodes throughout the season)

i. Humans

PRESIDENT JOHN J. SHERIDAN                  Bruce Boxleitner

Formerly the commander of Babylon 5, Sheridan has been elected to the
presidency of the new Interstellar Alliance.  Sheridan is newly married to
Delenn, the representative of the Minbari.  A strong leader, he shattered
everybody's expectations by participating in a revolution against a
totalitarian government on Earth as well as an interstellar war against the
Shadows.  Because he was recently brought back from death by the galaxy's
oldest resident, he now has less than 20 years left to live.

MICHAEL ALFREDO GARIBALDI                   Jerry Doyle

Once in charge of security on Babylon 5, he left that post while under mental
control of the Psi Corps.  Now recovered, he has taken up the position of head
of covert intelligence for the new Interstellar Alliance.  Garibaldi is
something of a smart-aleck, always ready to crack a joke, but given to bouts
of self-doubt and introspection when nobody's looking.

DR. STEPHEN FRANKLIN                        Richard Biggs

Franklin is charge of Medlab on Babylon 5.  A specialist in xenobiology (alien
biology), his background is mainly in experimental medicine, so his bedside
manner is occasionally not what it should be.  His strong sense of personal
morality is at times in conflict with his duties as the chief medical provider
for aliens from hundreds of worlds and cultures, some of whom view his
obligations rather differently.  He is known to operate outside the rules when
he feel the issue is important.

ii. Ambassadors

AMBASSADOR LONDO MOLLARI                    Peter Jurasik

The representative of the Centauri Republic, soon to become Emperor of
Centauri Prime.  Stuck on an inconsequential assignment, Londo struck a
Faustian bargain with the Shadows -- new "friends" he knew nothing about --
putting the Centauri on an expansionist path that resulted in the decimation
of the Narn homeworld and bringing chaos to the region of the Galaxy near
Babylon 5, exactly what the Shadows wanted.  That conflict is over, and he is
now on a slow path to redemption.

AMBASSADOR DELENN                           Mira Furlan

Religious, with a strong sense of fate and justice, Delenn was the Minbari
ambassador who then became the leader of the Rangers in the fight against the
Shadows.  Once a member of Minbar's ruling body, the Grey Council, she lost
her position after her controversial decision to undergo a transformation that
gave her human characteristics, a transformation that has brought her very
close to Captain Sheridan, whom she has recently married.  Delenn is now on
the council of the new Interstellar Alliance.

AMBASSADOR G'KAR                            Andreas Katsulas

The ambassador of the Narn Regime, then a fugitive when his homeworld fell to
Centauri Prime, G'Kar has become a central figure of the new interstellar
alliance. G'Kar is well-read, deeply spiritual, and extremely intelligent.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

========    b. Supporting Characters (also in the opening credits)

iii. Ambassador assistants

VIR COTTO                                   Stephen Furst

Diplomatic Attache to Ambassador Mollari. Having to watch Londo work with the
Shadows from the sidelines, he has grown from a naive, timid assistant to a
confident leader, though he still must operate under the shadow of Londo.  Vir
served briefly as the Centauri ambassador to Minbar, and was involved in a
humanitarian effort to save Narn lives during the recent war.

LENNIER                                     Bill Mumy

Delenn's aide, originally brought up in a monastery on the Minbari homeworld.
He reveres Delenn as an almost holy figure and feels left out now that Delenn
has married Sheridan.

iv. Humans

CAPTAIN ELIZABETH LOCHLEY                   Tracy Scoggins

The newly appointed commander of Babylon 5, Lochley represents Earth's
interests on the Station.  Hand-picked by Sheridan to succeed him (or
Ivanova), Lochley apparently knows Sheridan from the past.  Though tough and
serious while on the job, she does have a sly sense of humor.

SECURITY CHIEF ZACK ALLAN                   Jeff Conaway

Once Garibaldi's principal lieutenant, Zack was promoted to Chief of security
after Garibaldi resigned.  He earned the trust of Sheridan and Garibaldi
when he rejected the Machiavellian organization Nightwatch, which was bent on
taking control away from the station on behalf of President Clark.

LYTA ALEXANDER                              Patricia Tallman

A Psi Corps telepath, the first assigned to the station, in fact.  Five years
ago she scanned Ambassador Kosh, and subsequently left the Corps.  Her scan
later brought her back to the station to serve as Kosh's aide.  She proved
helpful in the fight against the Shadows, due to her Vorlon-enhanced telepathy.
When the original Ambassador Kosh died, she had a hard time working with his
replacement, and eventually turned on him.  Finding herself alone and unable
to find work, she reluctantly re-joined the Corps after Bester approached her
with an unorthodox proposal.

========    c. Recurring and Past Characters

+-----------------------------------+
|  This section  lists  characters  |
|  that are seen from time to time  |
|  on Babylon 5.   Characters that  |
|  have appeared in the past,  and  |
|  may have some relevance  to the  |
|  current season, are listed here  |
|  as well, to provide context.     |
+-----------------------------------+

LIEUTENANT DAVID CORWIN                     Joshua Cox

Brought up through the ranks working as a technician in C&C, Corwin is now an
executive officer working under Captain Lochley.  Corwin is shy but
well-intentioned, and a loyal officer.

ALFRED BESTER                               Walter Koenig

A Psi-Cop, one of an elite unit of the Psi Corps whose function is to track
down rogue telepaths, among other things.  A powerful figure in the Psi Corps,
perhaps in part because of his high P12 psi rating, Bester was often at odds
with Babylon 5 personnel; he recently found himself an unexpected ally of
Sheridan and the fight against the Shadows when he discovered that the woman
that he loved had been abducted by the Shadows.

LISE HAMPTON                                Denise Gentile

Once involved with Garibaldi when he worked on Mars, Lise has come back into
Garibaldi's life.  Her second husband, a business tycoon, is dead, and she is
in charge of his corporation.

MARCUS COLE                                 Jason Carter

Marcus was the head ranger stationed on Babylon 5 until last year, when he
sacrificed his life to save Ivanova's.

JEFFREY DAVID SINCLAIR                      Michael O'Hare

The commander of Babylon 5 and representative of the Earth Alliance for its
first two years of operation, Sinclair was transferred to Minbar to serve as
Earth ambassador, but covertley became the head of the Rangers.  Recently,
Sinclair took Babylon 4 back through time to aide the Minbari in their war
against the Shadows of 1000 years ago; in doing so, he used the same
device that had transformed Delenn in order to attain Minbari appearance, and
in doing so, became Valen, Minbar's great spiritual leader who formed the
Grey Council.

DRAAL                                       John Schuck

The steward of the vast machinery below on Epsilon 3.  He is a Minbari who was
looking for a new purpose in life when he heeded the call to become caretaker
of the planet.  He has offered his services in the Shadow War, though Sheridan
has kept Draal as his 'ace in the hole' so far.

------------------------------

Subject: 5.  The Story So Far

+-----------------------------------+
|  This section contains  spoilers  |
|  for Babylon 5 seasons 1 through  |
|  3.  It contains no spoilers for  |
|  this or subsequent seasons.      |
+-----------------------------------+

Babylon 5, a space station constructed with the hope of keeping the various
races in the galaxy at peace, seems to function as it should for a while.
In the first year of its operation, the station's Commander Sinclair
discovers that he had been captured and interrogated in the Earth-Minbari
war of a decade ago, only to have his memory erased for unknown reasons.
The crew of B5 discover that the barren world below them is actually
housing a vast underground complex of machinery, and the mystery of the
disappearance of Babylon 4 is partly revealed: it had been taken through
time by unknown forces to assist in a war in an unknown place and time.
Behind the scenes, an ancient race, known only as The Shadows, is building
its forces.  Through Morden, a Human intermediary, the Shadows subtly begin
working their influence on the galaxy by capitalizing on the desires of
Centauri ambassador Londo Mollari to rebuild his fading empire.  Londo lets
his benefactors assist him by destroying a Narn outpost, thus reigniting
conflict with the Narn Government.  On that same day, the President of the
Earth Alliance is killed in an explosion that few realize is really an
assassination, and Delenn, the Minbari ambassador, activates a machine that
will cause her to physically transform.

Days later, the original commander of the station, Sinclair, is reassigned,
and Captain Sheridan takes command, unaware of the existance of the
Shadows.  The mystery of the Minbari surrender is finally revealed:  The
Minbari discovered that Minbari souls were being reborn in humans.  Delenn
emerges from a cocoon to appear nearly human; she claims she has done so to
promote peace between the Humans and the Minbari.  The situation on Earth
is getting worse; covert forces are working in the background and the
"Night Watch" program is stomping down on dissidents; meanwhile, Sheridan
reveals that he is part of an underground movement to gain control back
from the corrupted government; he brings his trusted officers into the
fold.  On the eve of an historic speech that would have brought peace
between the Narn and Centauri, Londo calls upon his unknown agents to
attack a major Narn colony, starting a war.  Ambassadors Kosh and Delenn
reveal the existance of the Shadows behind the Centauri brutality; Sheridan
is enlisted to help in an upcoming war against them; he takes it personally
when he learns that the Shadows were likely responsible for the death of
his wife five years ago when she travelled to a planet called Z'ha'dum.
The Centauri, with the aid of the Shadows, terminate the war with the Narn
decisively by bombing the Narn homeworld "into the stone ages."  The
Centauri soon begin annexing other worlds; the enigmatic Ambassador Kosh
finally reveals himself, revealing that Vorlons appear to most races as
angels; and a shadow ship has been caught on camera, undoing the secrecy
that the Shadows had been maintaining. The Great War is begun.

The Minbari give Sheridan a powerful new ship, the White Star, to command
in the upcoming fight against the Shadows.  Further corruption in Earth
government is revealed when it is learned that the Shadows have been
cooperating with certain individuals in government.  The Earth alliance
plunges into civil war as martial law is declared back home; Sheridan is
forced to secede from Earth and is only able to keep the forces at bay with
the help of the Minbari.  The Shadows begin attacking openly (and seemingly
randomly); Sheridan builds an alliance among the many races by enlisting
the help of the Vorlons, an act which results in the death of Ambassador
Kosh.  Sinclair returns to the station with a message from the past; with
the help of the machinery on the planet below, The White Star takes Babylon
4 through time to assist in a war against the Shadows of 1000 years ago.
Londo continues his ascension to power in the Centauri government, removing
his political rival.  Using a discovery that telepaths interfere with the
functionality of Shadow Ships, Sheridan and Delenn organize their alliance
in to a preemptive strike against the Shadows, celebrating a difficult
victory.  Sheridan's wife appears, returning from Z'ha'dum, the homeworld
of the Shadows, and attempts to convince Sheridan that the Shadows really
aren't the bad guys; Sheridan rejects her plea when he discovers that her
personality has been altered; instead, he rigs the White Star to crash onto
and detonate a bomb on Z'ha'dum; Hearing the advice of Ambassador Kosh in
his head, Sheridan jumps into an abyss below him just before the explosion;
he is presumed dead.  Immediately after the explosion, the shadow ships
that had been threatening B5 dissapear, possibly returning home; one of the
ships seems to have taken Garibaldi along with it.

Sheridan finds himself at death's door and finds the galaxy's oldest resident,
Lorien, there to guide him back to life.  Londo returns home to find that the
new Centauri emporor is dangerously insane, planning on the destruction of
Centauri Prime.  G'Kar, searching for Garibaldi, is captured by the Centauri
and tortured.  Garibaldi is found, but is acting peculiarly and soon resigns.
Ivanova and Marcus discover that the Vorlons are gathering to battle the
Shadows directly; Sheridan and Lorien battle with the new Vorlon ambassador.
The Army of light begins a battle with the Shadows and the Vorlons; the war
comes to an abrupt end when those races find that they cannot get the younger
races to choose their way.  Londo assassinates the Emperor, detroys the Shadow
base on Centauri prime, and withdraws from Narn.  With the Shadows gone,
President Clark on Earth launches a plan to recapture Babylon 5.  Garibaldi
comes upon a plan by a tycoon on Mars to control the telepaths, but then
discovers he has been a pawn of the Psi Corps as they eliminate that problem.
Civil war erupts on Minbar; Delenn and Neroon, a warrior caste member, manage
to bring the war to an end.  Sheridan undertakes a campaign to recapture
Earth, starting first with the outer colonies and working inward.  Sheridan is
captured by Clark's forces, and tortured.  Ivanova leads a rescue, and
Sheridan's forces finally liberate Earth, mortally wounding Ivanova.  Using an
ancient healing machine, Marcus saves Ivanova's life but dies in the process.
Delenn, Londo, and G'Kar found an Interstellar Alliance, and Sheridan is
elected President.

------------------------------

Subject: 6.  Past and Current Episode Reference

+-----------------------------------+
|  This section contains brief de-  |
|  scriptions  of episodes  up to,  |
|  and including, the current sea-  |
|  son.   These entries do contain  |
|  minor spoilers, enough to iden-  |
|  tify the episode title based on  |
|  its storyline.                   |
+-----------------------------------+

FOR THE FIRST FOUR SEASONS, PLEASE SEE PART C THROUGH F OF THIS DOCUMENT.

Season 5: The Wheel of Fire

* No Compromises
  Lochley arrives on Babylon 5; Sheridan is inaugurated.

* The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari
  Londo has a major heart attack and must face his demons.

* The Paragon of Animals
  Garibaldi works to enlist the aid of local telepaths.

* A View from the Gallery
  An attack on the station is seen from the eyes of two of the station's crew.

* Learning Curve
  An underground crime leader threatens the safety of the station.

* Strange Relations
  Bester attempts to retrieve the refugee telepaths from the station.

* Secrets of the Soul
  Franklin discovers a dark secret held by the Hyach.

* Day of the Dead
  A Brakiri religious festival brings some unusual visitors to the station.

* In the Kingdom of the Blind

* A Tragedy of Telepaths

* Phoenix Rising

* The Ragged Edge

* The Corps is Mother, The Corps is Father

* Meditations on the Abyss

* Darkness Ascending

* And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder

* Movements of Fire and Shadow

* The Fall of Centauri Prime

* Objects in Motion

* Objects at Rest

* Wheel of Fire

* Sleeping in Light

------------------------------

Subject: 7. Credits and Legalese

This text file may be distributed online, in complete or excerpted form, as
long as acknowledgement is made to the authors, and the URL of the current
version of this file is indicated. (see top of document.)

The Babylon 5 Frequently Asked Questions List part (F) is Copyright 1996-98 by
Dan Wood and Steven Grimm.  Acknowledgement is made to J. Michael Straczynski,
previous FAQ maintainer Lee Whiteside and to excerpted contributions from the
Babylon 5 online libraries.

Thanks to Charles Gousha, David Henderson for their suggestions and fixes,
and to many people who helped me fill in the opening credits.

Maintained by Dan Wood.  This is the final edition.

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