The Vorlon ambassador arrives
on Babylon 5, only to be poisoned the moment he steps off his ship. That’ll
teach him not to show up two days early.
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Richard Compton
| The Legendary Bile of J.M. Straczynski |
| TV Guide critic Jeff Jarvis on the possibility that B5 would become a series after "The Gathering": "Fat chance." |
Straczynski's reply: "Bite me!" |
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THE CAST
Michael O’Hare – Commander
Jeffrey Sinclair
Tamlyn Tomita – Lt. Commander
Laurel Takashima
Jerry Doyle – Security Chief
Michael Garibaldi
Johnny Sekka – Dr. Benjamin
Kyle
Mira Furlan – Ambassador
Delenn
Andreas Katsulas – Ambassador
G’Kar
Peter Jurasik – Ambassador
Londo Mollari
Patricia Tallman – Lyta
Alexander
Blaire Baron – Carolyn Sykes
John Fleck – Del Varner
Paul Hampton – The Senator
WATCH OUT FOR:
* Ed Wasser sporting a floppy
early-'90s hairdo. After appearing in "The Gathering", he would spend half
of a season helping out at rehearsals before being cast as Morden in "Signs
and Portents".
* Widescreen that isn’t really
widescreen. This version of "The Gathering" is simply the "normal" version
with big black bars slapped over the top and bottom of the screen.
ANALYSIS
"The Gathering" premiered
in 1993 to vicious reviews, which called it dull and talky. Surprisingly,
series creator J. Michael Straczynski agreed with the critics.
Under Richard Compton’s direction,
the movie ran long, and most of the comedy and character development landed
on the cutting room floor. Straczynski suspected this was a bad idea, but
as a relatively inexperienced executive producer, he wasn’t confident enough
to make his own changes.
Five years later, he got
to do a "special edition" of the pilot. Fourteen minutes of excruciatingly
long reaction shots and some embarrassing sequences -- including the "alien
petting zoo" and the transparent "privacy" field -- vanished. Another 14
minutes of comedy and character interaction returned.
The difference is like night
and day. It’s not that "The Gathering" was bad -- it was well above average
for its time and genre, especially for a pilot --but the remix is fast,
witty, almost graceful.
Oh, the humanity!
For example, Jeff Sinclair
suddenly becomes a hero worth watching. In the original version, we first
encounter him giving Lyta Alexander a long, dull tour of the station; in
the special edition he displays a wicked sense of humor (warning a hapless
sex tourist away from a mate-eating alien) and some fire (getting into
a tense face-off with a dust dealer , not to mention fighting with his
girlfriend).
Sinclair may have a reserved
nature, but his relaxed off-duty persona creates an important contrast
to his stoic on-duty game face.
Most of the other characters
enjoy similar improvements, with the exception of Dr. Kyle. Johnny Sekka’s
performance is atrocious -- his body language seems designed to keep him
from establishing any eye contact with the other actors. Since Kyle’s lines
suggest he is gregarious and friendly, that’s a bizarre approach.
Richard Biggs’ replacement
doctor "Stephen Franklin" was a vast improvement.
COMING UP
Narn tourism turns ugly in
"Midnight on the Firing Line".
Many have argued that
Babylon
5 is the finest science fiction television show ever made, and
Chris Aylott was one of the series' earliest converts. SPACE.com's SF
editor has had to put up with
him ranting about the show (intermittently, of course) for seven years
now. Now that pleasure is shared.
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