Big ship lost in hyperspace. Can anyone find them? You betcha. It's Zeta "Squadron" to the rescue, but even they can't help the senior staff when Dr. Franklin goes diet -- er, "meal plan" -- happy.

Written by D.C. Fontana
Directed by Jim Johnston

Respect My (Voices of) Authoritah

DELENN: Understanding is not required. Only obedience.

DELENN (to Sheridan): We are star-stuff. We are the universe made manifest, trying to figure itself out. But, as we have both learned, sometimes the universe requires a change in perspective.

IVANOVA: Figures. All my life I've been fighting against imperialism. Now, suddenly, I - am the expanding Russian frontier.    More Stories The Name of the Place: SPACE.com's Babylon 5 Nexus Babylon 5 - 'Geometry of Shadows' Babylon 5 - 'Revelations' Babylon 5 - 'Points of Departure'    Related Links SPACE.com's television coverage Babylon 5 The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5 FRANKLIN: But with very nice borders.

Russ Tamblyn - Captain Jack Maynard
Daniel Beer - Patrick
Art Kimbro - Ray Galus
Miguel A. Nunez Jr - Orwell
Patty Toy - Ogilvie

This episode marks a rare science-fiction appearance for counterculture icon Russ Tamblyn, who got his start in a cameo role in 1948 Cold War allegory The Boy With Green Hair.

* The footsteps of death. Lieutenant Keffer describes a Shadow vessel "like someone just walked on your grave." In the fullness of time, one of these ships will do just that, destroying Keffer and his Starfury.

* A misnomer. Every other time, this group of Starfuries is called "Zeta Wing," not Zeta Squadron.

Captain Sheridan sums up this plot nicely: "It's a long shot, but it's their only chance." What commanding officer has not made a calculated risk?

Perhaps an android with some kind of calculating probabilities would reassure Sheridan, but I suspect not.

Besides, he doesn't have an android, he has Ivanova, who, good executive officer though she is, can't resist pointing out that this has never been done -- no ship has ever been rescued from hyperspace.

We may ask ourselves why this situation should be any different, but we already know the answer.

These are Our Heroes. They make things happen, and they get the job done.

But Sheridan is still settling in. The seeming loss of two pilots upsets him greatly, even though their sacrifice saves the Cortez and its full crew.

So Sheridan allows Captain Maynard's teasing to undercut his confidence in doing the job. He gets snappy with his crew, forcing Ivanova to point it out to him.

Ultimately, he wonders if he should be Out There somewhere, the spacer off in the deep unknown. He could have a five-year mission of exploration, not the bureaucratic ball-and-chain Maynard taunts him with.

Such a process of understanding is necessary for characters, even though it doesn't always make for dramatic television. Despite the comic relief provided by Dr. Franklin's new diet plans for the senior staff, all the doubts weigh this plot down.

Perhaps Straczynski should have cut the fat from the command crew's angst, rather than their waists.

"The Long Dark"

Adrift in time, space-
ship arrives in the here-now.
Darkness hid on board.