Babylon 5: The Complete Third Season: The Point Of No Return
01/07/2004 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
pub: DVD: Warner Brothers Z1 27461. 22*42 minute episodes plus extras. Price: Varies from around £60 to £35, so look around for the best deal) stars: Bruce Boxleitner, Jerry Doyle, Claudia Christian, Mira Furlan, Peter Jurasik and Andrea Katsulas and many others. Buy Babylon 5 in the USA - or Buy Babylon 5 in the UK  check out website: www.babylon5.com
This
is the season where the war heats up with the Shadows taking a far
more significant open part. It is also where John Sheridan has to
learn that he can’t blunder in to things and expect everything to
fall into place.
It’s the season where B5 has a regular Ranger, Marcus Cole, on-board,
even if he is a rather flamboyant loud eccentric with a perchance
for Shakespeare. It’s also where telepath Lyta Alexander returns
after a little fine-tuning on the Vorlon homeworld. It’s also the
season which has the fantastic two-parter ‘War Without End’ counter-part
to Season One’s ‘Babylon Squared’.
It’s also the season where G’Kar’s attitude changes
and he provides much needed support when the Night Watch are finally
chucked off station. It’s the season where B5 breaks away from the
Earth Alliance and its command staff get black uniforms. It’s the
season where the shit truly hits the fan in a big, big way. It’s
2260 and the place is Babylon 5.
To say that this is a brilliant season is putting
it mildly. Every significant character, with the exception of the
always loyal Lennier and the enigmatic Mr. Morden, has a radical
change and takes on a different path. Stories hit on two significant
fronts more than any other tales on board the station. The first,
is the developing political situation on Centauri and their imposition
on the Non-Aligned Worlds.
The other is that of the Shadow War as they attempt
to take the Vorlons out of the picture for revealing themselves
to be less than observers and make their own moves. Throughout all
of this, writer Joe Straczynski reveals more about what is going
on and its significance.
In the extras, Straczynski also reveals how much
allegory he still relies on from World War Two and other tit-bits
of information you might not have read elsewhere. The actors' voice-over
with actors Boxleitner, Doyle, Briggs and Wasser seems to reveal
that they felt many characters were actually in odd marriages, especially
Garibaldi and Franklin. Four people talking together tends to have
odd pregnant pauses when no one is sure who should speak next.
Wasser seems a little subdued with the other three
but might be indicating his place in the acting hierarchy rather
than stepping too far out of his position in the pay scale. I still
think it might have been interesting in the extras section to feature
some stills from the voice-over section to remind everyone what
they look like today.
Of the other extras, we see how the station was built
and a rather fascinating study of actor Marshall Teague being made
up into the Narn Ta’lon which I found actually beats looking at
the stills in the media mags.
If anything, the only thing I wish was developed
further was the Personal Files, as they don’t really say much more
than what is in the episodes nor enter any fresh insight into the
characters. There was also significantly less than the previous
two seasons which is rather odd when so much is changing in this
season.
If you’re a Babylon 5 fan, then you’ve already picked
this up. If you’ve been tracking this series down based off my other
reviews, then you’re going to love this season.
GF Willmetts 
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