Mira Furlan sells that moment so well, you really believe her when Delen gives those lines, up there with Claudia's later scene facing the advanced Earh destroyers when she tells them she is the last thing they will ever see. Those lines could have been cheesey, but the actors make you believe them. So sad to think Mira is no longer with us
@@SunlessNick The line is a reminder, and they skipped the set up line. "You don't want to be here." "Why not?" and the rest is her pointing our her 2 ships have ABSOLUTELY nothing to fear from the ships in front of them. Only 1 captain ever beat such a ship, and since he isn't in front of her so she is being polite by giving them a chance to run. It speaks to the Mimbari capabilities. Also, sometimes you have to remind the people about to do something stupid why they are going to get hurt if they do.
@@joegordon5117 Sadly, many of the cast members are gone now. I'd love to see the series recreated today, but I'd hate to see it treated the way Disney treats Star Wars....
@@SunlessNick That was a deliberate choice, though. Delenn is emphasizing that Minbar is willing to go to war in support of Sheridan's cause. She could simply have ordered her fleet to obliterate the EarthForce ships, instead she gave them a choice.
"Only One Human Captain has survived battle with the Minbari Fleet, He is behind me. You are in front of me. If you value your lives, be somewhere else!" Delenn just being a badass! RIP Mira Furlan and all those B5'ers that are no longer with us, for we are all starstuff in the end!
You forgot a great part. Before the monolog her reply to the statement from the earth ships "We have authority here, do not force us to engage your ships" With utter contempt and disdain "Why not, only one human captain has survived battle with a Minbari fleet, he is behind me, you are in front of me, if you value your lives be somewhere else". The Why not is important, it is almost quizzical, it adds so much to her delivery when she puts the steel in her voice, they know this is not a contest, it is facts, stay and die now, or leave and possibly not die later, but see my face again you will die.
That "be somewhere else" line was fantastic, no reliance on giving a female protagonist male physical or emotional attributes just a bad ass line from a bad ass character who happens to be female.
Robert Foxworth not being available to play Hague resulted in a great blooper. "Where's General Hague?" "General Hague is... on Deep Space Nine. His agent doubled booked him. there was nothing we could do." As an aside. 3,574 views in 7 hours. There's a lot of us B5 fans out there. 😄
I didnt even know how much starved I was for this premise until I watched the animated movie... Now I know how my dad felt when they restarted Startrek with TNG. Man I can't wait for that new series... ( please don't suck like ST:Discovery did is all I ask )
Jerry Doyle suffered an actual broken leg filming the boarding fight scene. He insisted on finishing the scene before getting medical attention and they worked his injury into the scene. Him being helped and in great pain at the end is real.
@@TheJestersGhost Actually, he broke his arm during a take. IIRC, he tripped over one of the soldier extras while filming the boarding battle. Now, you may remember that Garibaldi (Doyle) was walking with a cane during the final scene where the populace of the station are cheering the command team. That scene was filmed before the boarding battle scenes. Thus, Garibaldi's leg injury was just part of the script. But next Episode (Ceremonies of Light and Dark) you see Garibaldi in an arm sling, which is the real injury. They explained it with a brief conversation about "missing a fracture the first time he was examined", then just went onward with the rest of the episode.
You might be thinking of Claudia Christian actually breaking her leg while filming the Drazi Green vs Purple episode, which they worked into the script.
@@macgameshistory She didn't break her leg filming that scene. She broke her leg chasing a cat in her garden. (According to her.) But they had to work the broken leg into the script.
@@JeanPiFresita Might be my favourite spoken part, but my favourite music is the first half of the season 5 one. A channel called HeroPoint has a guitar cover which is excellent
Severed Dreams and the two episodes before it are some of the best dramatic (not just Sci Fi) story arcs ever broadcast on TV (IMO), and they cemented my reason that Babylon 5 is my favorite TV show of all time. I think it works incredibly well how the storyline of the Narn being annihilated by the Centauri and finding sanctuary on B5 leads to displaced Narns making up much of the security force defending the station. It makes it so much more plausible as to how B5 could legitimately fight off an assault by training military units. And Delenn showing up just before all hope is lost...it's still my favorite example of the "fleet showing up to save the day".
Severed dreams really gives a gut punch as you think the bad guys are defeated and then you get the “o no” b5 has some truly stand out episodes like Babylon squared with its link to war without end and one of the best finales sleeping in light.
@@marksterling8286 Babylon Squared is excellent, and war without end was a clever way to save it, but I have to admit part of me would of loved to have seen the original plan play out.
Not an episode but G'Kars character arc still gives me chills (ruffian, schemer, freedom fighter, the emperor apologizing to him, tormented, beaten down... all the way to elder statesman, philosopher and holy man). Close second is Londo. And when both arcs meet angain and again and finally culminate... good lord JMS is a true artisan of his trade!
Those two had such good chemistry it defies belief. That and JMS was a master of setting up expectations and flipping the script. The Narn were clearly teased to be an antagonistic race in the context of the show compared to the Centauri, but with the fall of Narn they became the one people sympathized with.
@@danielbuggie591 Yeah, they started off with the belligerent attitude you'd expect from TOS Klingons. They weren't afraid to throw their weight around; and, they had a huge chip on their shoulders. Defeat brought them humility and taught them the value of honor.
@@mkang8782 the creators of The Expanse are rabidc B5 fans, and took great inspiration from the attempts at realistic science... the Starfuries behwvior in space as a prime example
In terms of space opera I agree, (although maybe one could argue for a place for _Space Battleship Yamato_ ) but there's also the space outlaw thread that goes from _Blake's 7_ through _Firefly_ .
Not just scifi. GoT wouldn't exist without B5 either. Back when B5 came out the only long-form TV in America was soaps. And B5 was vastly more ambitious than anything that had been done in the US market. It was B5 that showed what TV could be something vastly different than what had come before. The growing influence of long-form Anime was a huge part of what changed things, creating sustained pressure for doing things differently in TV programming.
One reason Delenn's appearance doesn't feel like a deus ex machina is that she has to break the Grey Council to pull it off. That turns out to be a very big price for Delenn.
And the entire B-plot of the episode focuses on her efforts to persuade, and then her decision to break, the Grey Council, so it really comes together in a way B-plots rarely do.
True. A deus ex machina is in part characterized by it's unexpectedness and lack of prior story support. While the whole beating a cheat with a cheat thing is a valid beat as well. The whole thing is well woven so it doesn't feel out of place to the viewer. A welcome surprise to some character and new pants moment to others, but the viewer is able to see how it's a well fit intentional part of the story and not a writer pulling a fast one to get out of a corner they've painted themselves into it.
A further reason is that it's thematically necessary - the greater storyline of the Shadow War demands the galaxy stand together, and the Minbari ships showing up to defend Babylon 5 represents that beginning to happen.
@@kaseyboles30 It also works because this isn't the end of a story arc, but the beginning of a new arc. It also re-emphasizes a major theme for the first part of the series, namely that humanity isn't the big fish, or even remotely close to it, in the galaxy. Furthermore, it exposes the lie that was the whole premise by which Clark seized power and by which he maintains his popular support at home, namely that he is capable of, and would, defend Earth from the hostile aliens, and that, thanks to his militarization program, Earthforce has now reached parity with the likes of the Minbari, and because of him, an event like the Earth-Minbari War would not occur again. So to see his forces, which time and again in earlier episodes we see his propaganda try to claim were now strong enough to stand up to the Minbari, turn tail and run when faced with what is in the end a rather small Minbari fleet that actualy isn't even crewed by the Minbari's combat experienced warrior caste, fully exposes not only that all of the above was a lie, and that Clark and all his forces KNEW it was a lie (and that it wasn't a case of them just deluding themselves with false bravado and overestimating their own capabilities). We can contrast this with the actual completion of this story arc in Season 4, where the alien support fleet holds back and does not engage except for humanitarian assistance after the main conflict between the humans has already been decided. It also emphasizes that there is a bigger universe with bigger events going on out there (we are still in the middle of the Shadow War, after all), and that humanity's private problems are only one small facet of the bigger crisis.
I agree that the stakes are way higher in Severed Dreams. What I enjoy about the Proxima battle is how well it gets across the strategy and blow-by-blow of the battle - making something complex comprehensible.
its my favourite in B5 though the ending is a bit rubbish, but it is in the vein of Lord of the Rings (cavalry rides in and saves the day) so maybe thats what he was going for
Ten years later, Galactica might have edged it out, but by God, wasn't it something else to behold? Ther first time I saw it, my thoughts were that I was watching Science Fiction history. In a literal way. Return of the Jedi's third act, the Battle ofEbdor, was the highmark of space opera battles. It had all: dashing dogfights, harrowing stakes, quick paced combat, personal stakes, ground combat, personal conflict... It was a masterpiece. And here was a humble tv show, doing just as well, if not better.
@@sergioaccioly5219 I think it was part for the time, visually at the time it was probably less impressive than DS9 as the models still looked better than the CGI tv could afford. Way of the Warrior on DS9 had already set the bar pretty high
@@jackdoyle7453 I strongly disagree that the DS9 ships looked better. Honestly, the action scenes ST was churning at the time were, to me, a sure cure against imsomnia, with nothingto recommend for it. And that sureas hell includes WotW, an episode that could get one into an alcoholic coma if somebody made a drinking game of the problems in the script. Including a lackluster battle, despitethe tons of money people threw at it. In retrospect, I think we better agree to disagree on this point and avoid comparing those two shows.
I remember watching these episodes for the first time, and nothing on TV had so emotionally gripped me. The build up of all the plot points just kept coming, and when Delenn finally arrives, you literally cheer and have tears in your eyes. It's powerful TV. Such wonderful stories and characters. Remarkable what they achieve with their budget also.
When this episode aired the first time, my Dad walked into the room and heard Delenn say that line. He'd never seen B5 before, but he was impressed. VERY impressed.
I remember being absolutely delighted when we got to see Vir get his wish, eventually. And he looked around, a lil' bit sneaky, and even got to do his little wave! 🤣
As a fan of B5 I was so impressed by the series that I eventually bought the whole saga on DVD. I became so emotionally invested in the stories and characters that some episodes wrung me out, as they also did to my wife, also a fan. ''Sleeping In Light'' breaks me every time I see it, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that. Babylon 5 was, and still is, an incredible series, leagues above any competition. It's heartbreaking that so many of the cast have since left us, but they left us something worthwhile to remember them by. I envy anyone who has yet to watch it.
One of the things I liked about Babylon 5 is that it showed the aftermath of battles on the station. None of the other Sci-Fi shows ever did as much to show the aftermath of face-to-face battles that Babylon 5 did even DS 9 would have a battle on the station then basically cut straight to them talking in an office or on the promenade not actually showing it. Babylon 5 actually showed doctors and medics walking amongst the wounded that were twitching on the floor of the station. That's the real aftermath.
*Lieutenant:* "Captain, why did we enter the area through the jump gate?" *Captain:* "We may need our reserve energy to jump out in a hurry." *Lieutenant:* "But, Captain... why?" *Delenn:* "Why not?"
"I served the Council for sixteen cycles. I was the chosen of Dukhat to replace him. I held him when he died; his blood is on my hands, his spirit in my eyes, his word on my lips. You will step aside in his name and mine, or in Valen's name I will tear this ship apart with my bare hands until I find them!" - Delenn, Severed Dreams
Way to many of them gone. We're down to just three of the main cast of start-trek tos as well. Shatner, Takei, and of course Koenig who played Bester on B5. The sad thing of growing older is burring family and noting the passing of hero's and icons.
@@TomatoFettuccini There is an elevator scene in Sleeping In Light and I think only Claudia Christian (and JMS making a cameo) are the only survivors out of a full group... Franklin, Garibaldi, Delenn, Vir, Zack...
@@TomatoFettuccini I hadn't caught that Jerry Doyle passed, so I just looked at his Wikipedia. I had always thought he looked like Bruce Willis, so it's no wonder he was considered a replacement for him on "Moonlighting."
Delenn had to *break* her own government, disband the Grey Council, which had ruled Minbar for centuries. Which just further expands the scope of this episode and how it flipped multiple tables, completely upending the entire series. Yeah the Minbari under her command show up to save Sheridan and B5 from President Clark's second fleet, but there would be a huge price to pay for it - Minbar itself would be swept up in a civil war of their own the next season.
@@sunspot42 The video not calling attention to this is a disservice in my opinion. Part of the drama is that Delenn is waging her own battle politically at home, and the effort and cost of her doing so is huge. She breaks the council, thus gaining the ability to arrive back at B5 *just* in time to save Sheridan is perfect- it feels like they both achieved such victories in this episode. The costs, though- and the portrayal of such set up the rest of the season and the next.
She basically started a civil war among the Minbari, in order to intervene in the civil war starting among the humans, which is nicely thematic with the overall arcs for both species and how their destinies become ever more intertwined.
@@YAVcc I agree. I think he was trying to focus on the earth side, but the Minbari stuff was all also set in motion over seasons (the steady loss of Delenn's influence and power, the giving of her seat to a warrior cast member, her semi-banishment all of which she mostly had to hide from everyone else) that all comes to a head when she takes the most extreme measure she can at literally the last possible moment to arrive and rescue B5. The consequences that follow in season 4 make clear just how much that particular victory cost in the long term. It really was masterful long range storytelling that avoided the fetch-quest style we see in a lot of the TV miniseries of the last couple years while advancing the plot bit by bit over a season.
I remember growing up that I had to stay up until 1:05am to watch Babylon 5, except for this one episode. My local CBS thought so much of Severed Dreams that they put it on primetime on a Friday and dear lord was it incredible. Still holds up as the greatest episode of one of the greatest series ever.
"It was my deciding vote that led to the Minbari War, leading to your species' near-extinction. One word from my mouth and you were almost history. Do you really want to see what I can do when I am acting instead of just talking?" She could have said that. She didn't. She isn't flexing on them. She is telling them a simple truth. One human could only ever spite them, and he is on her side. They have nothing. And that's more impactful of a message than anything else she could have said. Only Delenn can pull off restraint and humility even when she is threatening someone. JMS is a great character writer.
Yes, she had one the top 'words and speeches" scenes. Kind of like the better Matt Smith moments in Who that forces the bad guys to realize just how badly they screwed up. Ivanovna gets one of her own later in the battle she nearly gets killed in.
@@BCWasbrough Kind of what Smiths Doctor did at the end of his first episode. He asked the alien threat if they new of the earths previous issues with aliens threats, then asked what happened in those cases. the stepping forwards said "Hello, I'm The Doctor. Basically, run"
B5 is still one of the greatest TV shows I ever have seen, even with its shortcomings. There are several great episodes in this show and Severed Dreams is one of them.
B5 changed how prime-time shows are made. They swung too far to the arc and non-episode, but the five-year (planned) story arc in B5 and Farscape forever changed TV. I saw the Pilot/Movie (The Gathering) at Worldcon and knew then and there it would be great; then the series started, and I was floored. People talk about GoT, The Sopranos and others; B5 beats them all, hands down. The actors were great (Londo & G'kar especially,) and the stories flowed (until halfway through season five.) I grew up with TOS, TAS, TNS, Space 1999, UFO, etc. B5 wins. Farscape and West Wing are the only things that come close in my NSHO.
We knew this was coming with the opening credits for Season 3 - as Susan Ivanova narrated the failure of Babylon 5's original intention we see a Starfury firing on another Starfury - we knew that nothing would be the same this season. Season 3 was probably the best damn season of Television, and I loved every moment of it. Thank you for this.
I love the scene where the general is telling Sheridan where the Nightwatch order comes from and telling him to respect the chain of command. He keeps trying to get the point across and is clearly thinking that he might need to draw Sheridan a graph using crayons.
I dunno, Claudia Christian's delivery just was not up to the task with some of the lines they gave her. I like Ivonova, but the 'God sent me' speech just makes me cringe. Gotta give it to Delen in this one.
@@weaselwolf That may have been intended. There are hints she's showing hubris in her attempt at righteousness and she does nearly die in this battle shortly afterwards, saved only by Marcus's deliberate.
@@weaselwolf In this case the german synchro is right on track with her character. It's one of the few shows I like to watch in german, cause the choose very good voice actors for all the main characters.
'Fire on all decks' That line over a crackling comm channel does a fantastic job of creating an idea of the horror...fire on the inside vacuum on the outside without a need to show. Chilling moment for sure
For me it's Hiroshi's last call of "... there's nothing we can do except -" when the comms suddenly cut off, followed by Major Ryan's anguished calling "Hiroshi? HIROSHIII!!". He knows that Hiroshi's last act is to take the Churchill on a suicide run into the Agrippa, and Ryan is powerless to do anything except watch the inevitable. It tears me up every time I watch that scene.
I remember the first TV screening of Severed Dreams. Back then, we were used to Star Trek style storytelling, where everything got reset by the end of the episode. As the two rival fleets of Earthforce and Babylon 5 flew towards each other, I said to my friend "Oh you watch. Someone will send a message from Earth that they've found some solution and they won't end up attacking each other. There's no way that they'll...." and all of a sudden the first ships opened fire and I thought: "Holy sh*t! They actually went there!" It was the most rivetting piece of plot development on television that I'd ever seen. Back then, this series knocked Deep Space Whatsisface into a cocked hat.
Was in college and me and my gaming buddies always got together to watch B5. The very idea of breaking the episodic reset was a shocker. Incredible roller coaster ride in this episode. No last minute resolution. War, both sides getting hammered...then the 2nd Earth fleet. Only to be topepd with "Be somewhere else" Wow. Best episode ever.
My friends and I were hooked on this series during the mid-90s. The overarching story plot, stretching through 4 seasons, was amazing. By Season 3 nearly every other episode was a cliff-hanger and we couldn't wait to see the next episode. We haven't seen another sci-fi series THIS good until the advent of The Expanse, which uses many of the strengths of Babylon 5. Mainly, fantastic stories, interesting characters and overarching plots from season to season. If you liked Babylon 5, and you miss those days, try The Expanse. You will not regret it I assure you. Great overview on this episode. Subscribed!
Originally the main story arc was 4.5 seasons (roughly) with a half season of epilog to wrap it up. Then they got word that season 5 wasn't likely to happen so they had rush and compress (and did it well) season4 and leave the hanging threads for the viewers and novels to figure out. Then they got renewed against expectation and were able to spread the epilog out across an entire season.
There was nothing like this on television prior to this. Bear in mind that most of us had to watch this show for 3 years with it building to this the whole time. Also prior to this the most special effects we got in a show was the enterprise fires phasers one or two times. This was an entire battle. An entire battlefield. And it felt like that. It was all there right on the screen. The ships the fighters the stars the whole thing all swirling about. And the story. My God the story. I remember showing this to my son when he was 3 years old. And he sees the ships coming at one another and he says wow! Big trouble! It was indeed
I always thought the music during the space battles was what really took it up a notch. This episode, The Long Twilight Struggle and Shadow Dancing are chefs kiss moments,
Such a great episode. Great job recounting it! My favorite, however, was The Long, Twilight Struggle. The battle of Gorash 7 gave me chills of fear of the Shadows' power, and Molari's face falling into shadow as he watches the bombardment of the Narn homeworld, literally feeling his very self slipping away from him by his own choices, was tragic and evocative in a way television had never been for me before.
I also have several favorite episodes with chilling effect in that show. I think, The Long, Twilight Struggle I also would call my favorite. It absolutely ends Molaris journey to the darkness, until he is redeemed in death. It is just so great to see how things come together, that are foreshadowed seasons before. They do not have that quality of writing any more.
You missed the taking down of the TV station, and the Grey Council plots in the summary whcih shows just how much B5 packed in. What I love about the news channel bit is the horror and desperation of it, the attempt to get the truth out in their final moments. RIP Rick!
Little known tidbit: The control panel on fire on the bridge of Babylon 5 was an actual, unplanned fire. There were supposed to be sparks and smoke but no flames, but the set caught alight. The guy who runs in is some extra the production staff handed a fire extinguisher to, saving the rest of the set from catching fire and burning down.
When I re-watch the show and it gets to the bit with the Churchill commander is deciding what to do, I can't help but think "honor and death" - another Minbari soul in a human.
Reading your comment, for some reason the episode where Commander Sheridan has to indirectly tell Walter White that he has to sacrifice himself and his ship. In Valen's name.
I can't help but note how much the modern Mainstream Media likes to lie reminds me of the re-launched ISN... "Secret Service rushes Trump off stage after he falls at rally." ~CNN A fun way to frame Trump being shot. "I'm about to tell you the truth. And F--- you if you can't handle the truth. This version of Biden intellectually, analytically, is the best Biden ever." ~Joe Scarborough Literally telling everyone who'd been pointing at Joe's decline to F Off. Suddenly, Joe's in decline. What a shocking revelation... "Donald Trump said there would be a ‘bloodbath’ if he wasn’t elected and that if he lost there would be no more elections." ~Joe Biden A comment about the import of cheap Chinese cars becomes 'proof' that Trump wants to murder people. "We're done talking about the debate, it's time to put Trump in a bullseye." ~Joe Biden The same guy that played a Car comment off as Violent Rhetoric uses Sniper terminology ahead of a Sniper Attack, then says we need to chill on the Violent Rhetoric. Remind me how Clarke, the **sitting president** who uses the **Media** to broadcast **lies** painting his political rivals as **insurrectionists**... is Donald Trump.
As a new video editor, I was shocked at the efficiency, writing, and timing of this whole episode. Not a spare moment. Even Sheridan's talk with his dad was vital.
"The Babylon Project was our last, best hope for peace. It failed. But in the year of the Shadow War it became something greater--our last, bets hope for victory."
The opening theme music changing every season and setting the mood for that season, ah, so beautiful. Each season getting its own lietmotif. Still some of the best tv theme music around. You can feel the hope in Season 1, the despair and loss and anger and hatred in the following seasons. Soo darned good.
I introduced my now wife to Babylon 5 15years ago. I asked her to give it a shot. She wasnt a sci-fi fan or nerd like me, but she gave it a shot. 15yrs later as she sits watching random TV shows or movies, she's like isnt that so n so from B5. she has her fav eps n chars like we all do, but to see a non sci-fi fan/nerd enjoy it the 1st time through. MY GOD was it hard not to spoil any eps for her back then. I have all the DVD's n they get watched about every 2yrs. Babylon5 set the tone for sci-fi storytelling
What a lovely story! I got my whole family hooked on to it back in the day. The characters and story are so good that anyone can get into it if they give it half a chance.
What adds gravitas to Delenn's arrival is that the Minbari had literally just concluded their own highly destructive civil war. The shooting had barely stopped and the fires weren't even out when Delenn, backed by a fleet of Minbari ships, comes to stand with the station. They literally put their own reconstruction on hold to aid Babylon 5 and Sheridan. It wasn't just for the threat of the Shadows either. Even after that was taken care of, the Minbari aided the rebel forces in ousting Clark. This circles around to the end of S4. While not alone, the Minbari were instrumental in getting the other species on board with an alliance. As a twist of fate the Minbari, who decades earlier were ready to glass Earth and were hours away from doing so, become ultimately responsible for its salvation. Severed Dreams really is the fulcrum episode on which the series stands and the tip of that fulcrum is the arrival of Delenn's relief forces.
Recall watching when it first aired thinking, "She smashed the Grey Council and that doesn't even rank as a Top 5 Shocking Events." This episode was body blow after body blow.
Arguably this is the best episode of any SF show in the ‘90s. And while I love the Battle of Proxima, the stakes are so much higher in this one that there’s no real comparison: If they lose, they die.
This is a crux moment and the crucible. This episode is where our hero's paths are narrowed down the wide broad avenue of utter defeat, or thin trail one hopes leads to the light. There was no try again tomorrow after this one, no second chances, either they won or they died.
I vividly remember watching this and being completely blown away. Up to that point, it was the coolest thing I had ever seen on TV. Now TV has improved by leaps and bounds since 1997, but I think this still holds up.
It’s one of my favorite episodes and I love the Lynn speech. It’s become even better sadly since we’ve now have lost the actress that plays her. She passed away last year.
11:01 After Delenn gives her famous "If you value your lives, be somewhere else!" line, the focus instantly shifts to this shot of the two Earth Alliance ships turning to flee. I always pictured it kind of anthropomorphically as though if that scene started just a couple of seconds sooner, you would see these two ships look sideways at each other and simultaneously decide to get the hell out of there.
This trilogy of episodes always, always grabs me by the heart. I have to watch them back to back to back, I can't put time between them...and by the end, I'm exhausted. I've been emotionally wrung out, and am usually crying when Delenn appears at the end, even though I know the speech by heart. RIP to Mira & Stephen & Richard & Jerry & Jeff & anyone I missed.
I've watched a lot of Sci fi over the years and I have to agree with this. People look at the dated cgi in the battle but they don't know how impressive it looked at the time
got to agree it is the best but one that got me was a TNG episode where a kid loses his mom and she is re-created by aliens this to me was personal as 2 weeks b4 i saw this my father died
"Severed Dreams" is by far THE best science fiction episode PERIOD. Nothing from any of the other Science Fiction shows even come close to the build up and resolution of this one brilliant episode. The story lines from Season 1, 2 and half of 3 were immaculately being built up to this one fantastic moment, where everything changed. G'Kar found his calling from a conniving selfish vengeful opportunist to a man of such refined theology to become a great leader of his people. Delenn came from a subordinate member of the Grey Council to the pinnacle of its power and influence that it turned her from a reserved member of a proud race to the honored an courageous de-facto leader of the race itself. Londo was a playful man that took nothing seriously, and he became something he never wanted to be: a monster.... if only to bring back glory from his people's past. You can see it in his eyes that he realized the evil that he has allowed to happen and is numb to stop it. Thus all the members of Earthforce that worked on Babylon 5 and backed Sheridan went from workers in a space station to become part of an new administration for the good of Earth and the galaxy themselves. The brilliance of JMS to bring all this together is unmatched in anything in Science Fiction. Personally, I have only once beef: I felt that the scene that everyone was waiting for the enemy to come, and thus start their counter-offensive against them..... there was a moment of silence. They needed to extend the time of silence 1 minute longer. Because at that moment....... EVERYONE'S skin was crawling with anticipation. An extra minute would have given an additional amount of tension build-up that was needed to really bring the release of tension to a higher level. OOOOHHH, that would have been great! But I digress. JMS did a superb job. What a great episode "Severed Dreams" is. I was glad when it won the award.
Have always considered B5 a show way ahead of its time, and without doubt one of the best Sci Fi shows of all time. I always called it Star Trek for grownups. Love the long story arcs, the actual attention to detail - from spin gravity, to pretty well done physics of maneuvering in space.
"Messages From Earth", "Point of No Return", and "Severed Dreams" are the 3 central 3rd season episodes forming a connected unit. At our house, 'The Trilogy', as I like to call it, is ALWAYS watched in one setting. And they are my favorite episodes of the show. You've done an EXCELLENT job of sketching out the context, leading up to this episode. The only thing I would add, is that, at the time, Delenn's arrival felt like anything BUT a deus ex machina. She had been on her own extensive story arc, beginning as a strong but mysterious character, delving into GREAT self-doubt and insecurity after a great personal change, and slowly building back up her self-confidence and sense of purpose. For her, this culminates IN THIS VERY SAME EPISDODE, to her standing up to her own ruling body and breaking ties with them, in order to do what's right. Just as Sheridan and the B5 crew are doing. When she shows up in that 11th hour to save the station, it feels COMPLETELY earned. The show is something of a Trojan Horse, presenting itself as a 'U.N. in space', so that the viewer thinks that status quo will be retained at all costs. When actually, the show's main theme is the call to stand up and do what's right, even if you end up standing alone. It's a theme repeated throughout the series, but which finds its major turning point in this episode. It's the pivot on which the whole narrative turns. Did it change TV forever? That may be debatable. But what it did do, was to demonstrate that long-form storytelling on American TV COULD be done. And many later showrunners did take note. If you've never seen "Severed Dreams," I would HIGHLY recommend it. But I would also recommend watching the majority of the 2 1/2 seasons that lead up to it, and that give it it's full context. You'll be glad you did.
To me it is the best episode of the series, the story telling, drama camera work all go into to make it a stunning episode. I loved B5 in a whole and when it started all these years ago, I thought it would be some special, and it was.
Even today, almost 30 years later, I still love B5 more than any other tv series, scifi or otherwise. Such fantastic characters, great actors, fabulous storylines and - for its day - great CGI. JMS deserves every award & medal ever given to a writer and/or director for this epic show.
In the parallel universe where Michael O'Hare was blessedly free of his struggles and stuck around for three or four years on the show, I can see Season 2 of Babylon 5 having the EAS Agamemnon under the command of Captain Sheridan chopped from fleet duty and tasked to act as the long arm of Babylon 5, with Sheridan picking up a ton of resistance from the Minbari and even a little from Sinclair. Things don't get better when Sinclair and Garibaldi pick up signs that Sheridan may be tangled up in some sort of conspiracy while they are being prepped for the coming Shadow War... ...until both sides realize they're on the same side: Sheridan _is_ in on a conspiracy, but it's aimed against the treachery of Clark and the Shadows. Both Sheridan and Sinclair find out their goals are the same, they team up and everything comes to a head at "Severed Dreams"... ...where the EAS Alexander and the EAS Agamemnon stand with Babylon 5. In the course of the battle, General Hague sacrifices his doomed ship to take out the enemy and Sheridan is left to seek out a rebel fleet. When Sinclair meets his destiny on Babylon 4, Sheridan is recalled from his efforts aboard Agamemnon and assumes command of Babylon 5 for the rest of the story. 7:44 Hitchcock, my son. The dolly push was instituted by Alfred Hitchcock in _Vertigo._
Sinclair and Sheridan working together, what a sight that would have been! That said, your version of events would have lessened the tensions between the veteran crew and their new commander, which did lead to some interesting and tense moments in the show, especially with Garibaldi. Honestly, the one thing I would change in the early seasons was to have Talia continue aboard B5 instead of the rushed mess they put her character through. I do like Lyta and she still would have had things to do, but Talia left just as her arc was culminating and it never reached a satisfying conclusion, especially regarding her relationship with Ivanova which I very much wanted to see unfold naturally. They did Talia dirty and she deserved better.
such a great recap! I would have also mentioned the part that took my breath away when u think Ivanova is a goner especially with the foreshading goodbye when she leaves to lead the starfuries!!
Back in January I treated myself to the new Blu-Ray box set of B5 as a belated birthday treat, and then spent some pleasan evenings working through every single season. Revisiting it was actually a greater pleasure than the original viewing (good as that was), now I was able to watch more carefully for all the many seeds Straczynski sows throughout, right from the start, which increased my respect for the writing. Now we we are in an era of high-quality series that build story arcs across seasons, but when Stracsynski did it, it was considered crazt by many, it was the era of "episode of the week". The moral and philosophical and political issues raised throughout also remain, sadly, incredibly relevant thirty years on to our own troubled times, another mark of damned good writing.
"Severed Dreams" is my second-favourite episode, only surpassed by "Comes the Inquisitor". Delenn's sudden appearance is an epical moment for the space station and the perfect delivery of her warning to Clark's posse is equally epic. "If you value your lives, be somewhere else." Sends shivers down my spine everytime I watch the episode. Although, of course, the best scene of the entire series simply has to be Londo and G'Kar stuck in an elevator. It does not get any better than that.
I’ve been telling people for years that the best story told on television was Babylon 5. It is remarkable how much it also reflects and remains relevant to current events. We need to do and be better.
I remember I recorded it (vhs) because I was at work when it was on. When I got time to watch it I must’ve re watched it 5 times before I went out with some friends for dinner. I couldn’t stop talking to them about it. They didn’t care that much, they weren’t as into B5 as I was. Loved that episode and the one where Kosh dies. OMG.
I tapped it while watching it, editing out the commercials. I think there was a break or something between "Point of No Return" and this one, because I remember a longer wait than normal after Sheridan and Ivanova were looking out the window possibly facing arrest and the end of their careers.
This was an amazing storyline, When Sheridan is meeting with his staff deciding if they should rebel and fight the Earth Alliance Fleet. He doesn’t make the decision himself, he gives his staff the opportunity to make the decision with him, and the emotional costs of his decision and the incredible loss of life and sacrifices on both sides weigh heavily on him and the entire crew of the station. This was a very gripping, gritty, and emotional storyline for its time.
Excellent write up! It's definitely up there as one of the best episodes. I always proclaim B5 to be one of the best Sci fi shows ever made, but I'm never able to vocalise quite why I love it so much. Fortunately people like yourself exist who can do just that. Thank you...
My favorite sci fi show. No other sci fi show ever hit me in the feels like this. It used to air Sunday nights at 11:00 in my country back then. It became the reason why my whole week was to look forward to Sunday nights. The first commander will always be the best character for me. R.i.p. to all the members who had passed away. Their magic will last forever in the show.
Watching shoals of Starfuries and Thunderbolts dogfight like actual space ships (Suck it Expanse. You weren’t first) or make strafing runs on the capitol ships and station was epic. Watching B5’s defense grid try to intercept all the incoming fire was nerve wracking. Seeing the Omega Destroyers firing both their Heavy Lasers and Heavy Pulse Cannons, with the occasional shot from the dorsal Particle Beams, was true perfection*. It was just like in all the WWII movie naval battles where you saw them firing the big guns, secondaries and AAA to show how desperate the fight really was. *Yup, I was totally addicted to the B5 Wars game. I even bought a hardback 2nd ed. rules book autographed by JMS. I still have all the game books and a _massive_ Earth Alliance fleet (disposable income disposed of) of the larger, pre Fleet Action, ships along with a few each of the Narn, Minbari and Centauri ships and their fighters. I’m still annoyed I didn’t buy any of the Vorlon or Shadow ships, but no one in my group was willing to face them. Cowards.
I haven't watched this in 20 years and I was still repeating the dialogue as it played out. Good God modern writing rooms could learn from this series.
7:45 I really hoped, that you would mention this. I really, really, really, really like this moment. There is a moment in bloopers, when Sheridan asks: "Where is General Heig?" And the answer is: "He went for a Depp Space 9" 😁
If not my favorite, it's certainly in my top 5 episodes. On a personal note, I was in a room with JMS just after the episode was finished and we got to see it early. The feeling was electric.
Can't wait to watch this, but had to tell you right now I remember watching this episode on the edge of my seat! I'm sure I'l have some thoughts to offer after watching it, but thank you upfront for making this video!
I saw your video on the Proxima battle the other day and now have just watched this one. Comparing the two battles is very difficult but I'll have a go. I think the reason Severed Dreams stands out is because it is such a jaw-dropping moment, a real head-turner. We've had a few skirmishes at this point but nothing on this level. The episode took the show to a whole new level. It was the moment the fans really, Really, REALLY knew this show was awesome. The battle for Proxima, meanwhile, is part of the climax. We've had so much big stuff going on by this point that our heads are already turned, we've already committed, we already know this is the culmination of where it was all heading. Think of an album that's got a lot of songs you'd give 6 or 7 out of 10, and then you find one song you'd give 9. Then they follow up with an album that's got lots of 8 or 9 out of 10 songs and then has that perfect 10. That perfect 10 is better but it doesn't stand out as far from the others as the 9 on the previous album. I hope that makes sense.
This is still one of my all time favorite episode(s) of television and what showed me what was possible with long form story telling on TV. It's no coincidence that almost all television series use this format to tell stories now. One point, Delenn's return never felt like a Deus Ex Machina resolution to me because you get to see the journey that brought her to that point. It didn't come out of nowhere, during the Severed Dreams and previous episodes you see her leave the station to go to the Grey Council. You see how she has essentially been ostracized by them and how she no longer has their support. You see her shatter the Grey Council initiating the Minbari's own civil war of sorts, although it would take much longer to come to violence. It cost Delenn a lot to be able to get those ships back to Babylon 5 so her appearance felt very earned when she does finally show up. Sure, maybe the timing of it is a bit much, but that's television for you and it set up probably the most badass scene of the entire series.
Babylon 5 as a whole was genius television... was so much more grounded in a semblance of reality than anything else in Sci-Fi (including Star Trek and Star Wars). Severed Dreams is a superb episode and Delenn's iconic lines give me chills every time.. so brilliant.
I was living in Wales back then and visiting my parents in England (this is sort of relevent), anyway my mate rang up and casually said "Oh I'd have thought you'd be watching Babylon 5" and I said "Is it still running? Not seen it since season one." and I turned the TV o just at the Alexander came through the jumpgate... I was hooked. I went back to Wales and said to my friends "I've just got hooked on Babylon 5" and they said, "So have we." However I watched it on Chanel 4, they watched it on S4C, which was a week behind, so I got so watch Severed Dreams again. I have now just bought my second Box set, most of my first lot died of disk rot.
If I remember rightly UK tv used to bounce B5 around the schedule a lot. I had my first proper run at it with the VHS box set (which I might still have in storage somewhere.)
Sheridan: "Where's General Hague?" Ryan: "General Hague... is doing Deep Space Nine. It seems he was double booked by his agent, there was nothing to be done. You'll have to deal with me now, sir." - from the blooper reel 🙂
❤😢 Babylon 5 was such a great show and had so much of love and tears I learned a lot about modern society through Babylon 5 and where the world is today it looks a lot like some of the stuff that's happening on that show rest in peace to all the fine actors and crew that made that show what it was, we will never see their like again.
Babylon Squared and War Without End I and II hit harder for me in terms of what as possible on a TV show. I remember not knowing anyone who watched and needing to talk about what I'd just seen. when people used to talk about the golden age of television I'd add that it started with Babylon 5.
Babylon 5 was the best show on TV back then. I wish that someone would come up with another show like B5 that was not only just episodic but also serial. It was the latter that made B5 so compelling. Delenn's statement was really the most badass statement I have ever seen on TV.
I was in 5th grade when this aired, and even as a kid with only a nasent understong of story and TV I knew I had watched something earth shattering. It's still my favorite hour of TV.
One of my core memeories that you never forget was the moment he announced they were seceding from earth. I literally didn't see it coming as was shocked. I vividly remember the moment. I'm older now and probably could have seen it coming, I'm glad young me got to see it first :)
Sheridan is in the front line of the episode, but I like how they intertwined Delenn fighting to rally political support for his actions. And she has some pretty cool moments there - "if they don't want to speak to me, they will listen to me! Now move aside!" (Not exactly eclipsing the "Be somewhere else", but still.) So I view the construction of the episode as "war on two fronts" with the arrival of Delenn with the Minbari fleet as the final victory.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
This 1997 Hugo lineup…
Man were we spoiled back then.
I think those films/shows were terrible compared to what we have now...
@@Andreas-gh6is Mwahaha bad movies/TV shows in the 90s/early 2000s kick modern 2020's nonsense
Delenn's declaration is arguably the most badass line in tv sci-fi.
Mira Furlan sells that moment so well, you really believe her when Delen gives those lines, up there with Claudia's later scene facing the advanced Earh destroyers when she tells them she is the last thing they will ever see. Those lines could have been cheesey, but the actors make you believe them. So sad to think Mira is no longer with us
Over time, I've come to wish she'd just stopped at "Why not?" instead of a line that's more about Sheridan than her.
@@SunlessNick The line is a reminder, and they skipped the set up line. "You don't want to be here." "Why not?" and the rest is her pointing our her 2 ships have ABSOLUTELY nothing to fear from the ships in front of them. Only 1 captain ever beat such a ship, and since he isn't in front of her so she is being polite by giving them a chance to run. It speaks to the Mimbari capabilities. Also, sometimes you have to remind the people about to do something stupid why they are going to get hurt if they do.
@@joegordon5117 Sadly, many of the cast members are gone now.
I'd love to see the series recreated today, but I'd hate to see it treated the way Disney treats Star Wars....
@@SunlessNick That was a deliberate choice, though. Delenn is emphasizing that Minbar is willing to go to war in support of Sheridan's cause. She could simply have ordered her fleet to obliterate the EarthForce ships, instead she gave them a choice.
"Only One Human Captain has survived battle with the Minbari Fleet, He is behind me. You are in front of me. If you value your lives, be somewhere else!"
Delenn just being a badass!
RIP Mira Furlan and all those B5'ers that are no longer with us, for we are all starstuff in the end!
You forgot a great part. Before the monolog her reply to the statement from the earth ships "We have authority here, do not force us to engage your ships" With utter contempt and disdain "Why not, only one human captain has survived battle with a Minbari fleet, he is behind me, you are in front of me, if you value your lives be somewhere else". The Why not is important, it is almost quizzical, it adds so much to her delivery when she puts the steel in her voice, they know this is not a contest, it is facts, stay and die now, or leave and possibly not die later, but see my face again you will die.
Yeah, something like this will never be made again. They don't just 'Rest In Peace' , They are Stars that guide us.
@@joehealy6376 Yep. 1st time I saw "Severed Dreams", when Delenn said "Why not", I knew the fight was over.
Franke's soundtrack absolutely boosts the impact
Fighting for independence in Babylon 5 S3 was epic
Rest in peace Mira Furlan. You will NEVER be forgotten and will ALWAYS be loved by B5 fans.
That "be somewhere else" line was fantastic, no reliance on giving a female protagonist male physical or emotional attributes just a bad ass line from a bad ass character who happens to be female.
Robert Foxworth not being available to play Hague resulted in a great blooper.
"Where's General Hague?"
"General Hague is... on Deep Space Nine. His agent doubled booked him. there was nothing we could do."
As an aside. 3,574 views in 7 hours. There's a lot of us B5 fans out there. 😄
One of the best outtake/bloopers ever.
Simply amazing! 😂
Also Funny, the actor playing Major Ryan was a Mistake, they wanted Everett McGill, and instead hired Bruce McGill. I think he did a great job still.
I didnt even know how much starved I was for this premise until I watched the animated movie...
Now I know how my dad felt when they restarted Startrek with TNG. Man I can't wait for that new series... ( please don't suck like ST:Discovery did is all I ask )
I was from the start. Star Trek DS9 was GOOD but B5 was BETTER.
Jerry Doyle suffered an actual broken leg filming the boarding fight scene. He insisted on finishing the scene before getting medical attention and they worked his injury into the scene. Him being helped and in great pain at the end is real.
Did he accidentally kick a helmet?
@@TheJestersGhost Actually, he broke his arm during a take. IIRC, he tripped over one of the soldier extras while filming the boarding battle. Now, you may remember that Garibaldi (Doyle) was walking with a cane during the final scene where the populace of the station are cheering the command team. That scene was filmed before the boarding battle scenes. Thus, Garibaldi's leg injury was just part of the script. But next Episode (Ceremonies of Light and Dark) you see Garibaldi in an arm sling, which is the real injury. They explained it with a brief conversation about "missing a fracture the first time he was examined", then just went onward with the rest of the episode.
You might be thinking of Claudia Christian actually breaking her leg while filming the Drazi Green vs Purple episode, which they worked into the script.
@@TheJestersGhost LOTR ref nice
@@macgameshistory She didn't break her leg filming that scene. She broke her leg chasing a cat in her garden. (According to her.) But they had to work the broken leg into the script.
The Babylon Project was our last best hope for peace. It failed.
That intro is amazing
@@JeanPiFresita Might be my favourite spoken part, but my favourite music is the first half of the season 5 one. A channel called HeroPoint has a guitar cover which is excellent
"Welcome to Babylon 5, the last, best hope for a quick buck."
@@Dr.W.Krueger that would be Star Trek : Deep Space 9 - which ripped it's whole premise off of J Michael Straczynski's pitch to Paramount television.
@@williestyle35
It was a direct quote from season 2, but yes, that whole plagiarism debate is going on since the Usenet times.
Severed Dreams and the two episodes before it are some of the best dramatic (not just Sci Fi) story arcs ever broadcast on TV (IMO), and they cemented my reason that Babylon 5 is my favorite TV show of all time. I think it works incredibly well how the storyline of the Narn being annihilated by the Centauri and finding sanctuary on B5 leads to displaced Narns making up much of the security force defending the station. It makes it so much more plausible as to how B5 could legitimately fight off an assault by training military units. And Delenn showing up just before all hope is lost...it's still my favorite example of the "fleet showing up to save the day".
Totally agree. These 3 episodes are the best in the whole show from a storytelling POV
I do think the Narn storyline was one of its strongest elements.
Severed dreams really gives a gut punch as you think the bad guys are defeated and then you get the “o no” b5 has some truly stand out episodes like Babylon squared with its link to war without end and one of the best finales sleeping in light.
@@marksterling8286 Babylon Squared is excellent, and war without end was a clever way to save it, but I have to admit part of me would of loved to have seen the original plan play out.
Not an episode but G'Kars character arc still gives me chills (ruffian, schemer, freedom fighter, the emperor apologizing to him, tormented, beaten down... all the way to elder statesman, philosopher and holy man). Close second is Londo. And when both arcs meet angain and again and finally culminate... good lord JMS is a true artisan of his trade!
You are in error, my friend. G'Kar and Londo are one. There is only one arc. The best one, indeed
@@BRC-1234literally they were the embodiment of yin and yang where one character couldn’t exist without the other.
Very true, DS9 did a good job with some of those relationships and Garak is a great character, but there is no pair that really compares to those two.
Those two had such good chemistry it defies belief. That and JMS was a master of setting up expectations and flipping the script. The Narn were clearly teased to be an antagonistic race in the context of the show compared to the Centauri, but with the fall of Narn they became the one people sympathized with.
@@danielbuggie591 Yeah, they started off with the belligerent attitude you'd expect from TOS Klingons. They weren't afraid to throw their weight around; and, they had a huge chip on their shoulders. Defeat brought them humility and taught them the value of honor.
This is why is always feel that B5 is the progenitor of more ‘adult sci-fi’ like Battlestar Galactica, The Expanse, etc.
Oh, B5's DNA is very definitely present in those shows.
@@mkang8782 the creators of The Expanse are rabidc B5 fans, and took great inspiration from the attempts at realistic science... the Starfuries behwvior in space as a prime example
B5's influence is great. The Expanse is the B5 of the 2010s and excellent in its own right.
In terms of space opera I agree, (although maybe one could argue for a place for _Space Battleship Yamato_ ) but there's also the space outlaw thread that goes from _Blake's 7_ through _Firefly_ .
Not just scifi. GoT wouldn't exist without B5 either. Back when B5 came out the only long-form TV in America was soaps. And B5 was vastly more ambitious than anything that had been done in the US market. It was B5 that showed what TV could be something vastly different than what had come before. The growing influence of long-form Anime was a huge part of what changed things, creating sustained pressure for doing things differently in TV programming.
One reason Delenn's appearance doesn't feel like a deus ex machina is that she has to break the Grey Council to pull it off. That turns out to be a very big price for Delenn.
And the entire B-plot of the episode focuses on her efforts to persuade, and then her decision to break, the Grey Council, so it really comes together in a way B-plots rarely do.
True. A deus ex machina is in part characterized by it's unexpectedness and lack of prior story support. While the whole beating a cheat with a cheat thing is a valid beat as well. The whole thing is well woven so it doesn't feel out of place to the viewer. A welcome surprise to some character and new pants moment to others, but the viewer is able to see how it's a well fit intentional part of the story and not a writer pulling a fast one to get out of a corner they've painted themselves into it.
A further reason is that it's thematically necessary - the greater storyline of the Shadow War demands the galaxy stand together, and the Minbari ships showing up to defend Babylon 5 represents that beginning to happen.
@@kaseyboles30 It also works because this isn't the end of a story arc, but the beginning of a new arc. It also re-emphasizes a major theme for the first part of the series, namely that humanity isn't the big fish, or even remotely close to it, in the galaxy. Furthermore, it exposes the lie that was the whole premise by which Clark seized power and by which he maintains his popular support at home, namely that he is capable of, and would, defend Earth from the hostile aliens, and that, thanks to his militarization program, Earthforce has now reached parity with the likes of the Minbari, and because of him, an event like the Earth-Minbari War would not occur again. So to see his forces, which time and again in earlier episodes we see his propaganda try to claim were now strong enough to stand up to the Minbari, turn tail and run when faced with what is in the end a rather small Minbari fleet that actualy isn't even crewed by the Minbari's combat experienced warrior caste, fully exposes not only that all of the above was a lie, and that Clark and all his forces KNEW it was a lie (and that it wasn't a case of them just deluding themselves with false bravado and overestimating their own capabilities).
We can contrast this with the actual completion of this story arc in Season 4, where the alien support fleet holds back and does not engage except for humanitarian assistance after the main conflict between the humans has already been decided.
It also emphasizes that there is a bigger universe with bigger events going on out there (we are still in the middle of the Shadow War, after all), and that humanity's private problems are only one small facet of the bigger crisis.
@@adamwu4565 BINGO
The Severed Dreams fight feels FAR more desperate than the Proxima battle. Arguably the most intense battle in all of scifi television
I agree that the stakes are way higher in Severed Dreams.
What I enjoy about the Proxima battle is how well it gets across the strategy and blow-by-blow of the battle - making something complex comprehensible.
its my favourite in B5 though the ending is a bit rubbish, but it is in the vein of Lord of the Rings (cavalry rides in and saves the day) so maybe thats what he was going for
Ten years later, Galactica might have edged it out, but by God, wasn't it something else to behold?
Ther first time I saw it, my thoughts were that I was watching Science Fiction history. In a literal way.
Return of the Jedi's third act, the Battle ofEbdor, was the highmark of space opera battles. It had all: dashing dogfights, harrowing stakes, quick paced combat, personal stakes, ground combat, personal conflict... It was a masterpiece.
And here was a humble tv show, doing just as well, if not better.
@@sergioaccioly5219 I think it was part for the time, visually at the time it was probably less impressive than DS9 as the models still looked better than the CGI tv could afford. Way of the Warrior on DS9 had already set the bar pretty high
@@jackdoyle7453 I strongly disagree that the DS9 ships looked better. Honestly, the action scenes ST was churning at the time were, to me, a sure cure against imsomnia, with nothingto recommend for it.
And that sureas hell includes WotW, an episode that could get one into an alcoholic coma if somebody made a drinking game of the problems in the script. Including a lackluster battle, despitethe tons of money people threw at it.
In retrospect, I think we better agree to disagree on this point and avoid comparing those two shows.
I remember watching these episodes for the first time, and nothing on TV had so emotionally gripped me. The build up of all the plot points just kept coming, and when Delenn finally arrives, you literally cheer and have tears in your eyes. It's powerful TV. Such wonderful stories and characters. Remarkable what they achieve with their budget also.
When this episode aired the first time, my Dad walked into the room and heard Delenn say that line. He'd never seen B5 before, but he was impressed. VERY impressed.
*_"Can you and your associates arrange that for me Mr. Morden?"_*
{R.I.P., Stephen Furst}
RIP along with Biggs, Katsulas, Furlan, Doyle, Conway, O'Hare. Sadly the show was kind of cursed with it came to their cast members dying early.
@@mrow7598>>> Yup...😞
xD
Yeah, that was an awesome fuck you to Morden.
I remember being absolutely delighted when we got to see Vir get his wish, eventually.
And he looked around, a lil' bit sneaky, and even got to do his little wave! 🤣
As a fan of B5 I was so impressed by the series that I eventually bought the whole saga on DVD. I became so emotionally invested in the stories and characters that some episodes wrung me out, as they also did to my wife, also a fan. ''Sleeping In Light'' breaks me every time I see it, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that. Babylon 5 was, and still is, an incredible series, leagues above any competition.
It's heartbreaking that so many of the cast have since left us, but they left us something worthwhile to remember them by. I envy anyone who has yet to watch it.
One of the things I liked about Babylon 5 is that it showed the aftermath of battles on the station.
None of the other Sci-Fi shows ever did as much to show the aftermath of face-to-face battles that Babylon 5 did even DS 9 would have a battle on the station then basically cut straight to them talking in an office or on the promenade not actually showing it.
Babylon 5 actually showed doctors and medics walking amongst the wounded that were twitching on the floor of the station. That's the real aftermath.
They did an entire episode about Nog losing his leg in a battle 🤷🏾♂️
Reminds Battlestar Galactica where Adama gather soldiers medallions.
yea the 2 techs saying we have to clean up the mess, then walking into a room where all the dead bodies are, realising that maybe they are lucky
"Be somewhere else!" And they didn't think twice before getting the hell outta there!
*Lieutenant:* "Captain, why did we enter the area through the jump gate?"
*Captain:* "We may need our reserve energy to jump out in a hurry."
*Lieutenant:* "But, Captain... why?"
*Delenn:* "Why not?"
For the first time in history, entire ships crews suddenly remembered that they had left the stove on at home.
"I served the Council for sixteen cycles. I was the chosen of Dukhat to replace him. I held him when he died; his blood is on my hands, his spirit in my eyes, his word on my lips. You will step aside in his name and mine, or in Valen's name I will tear this ship apart with my bare hands until I find them!"
- Delenn, Severed Dreams
@@Dreamfox-df6bg i miss her
Most epic line spoken in all of sci fi fandom!
I'm still saddened to no end that Mia Furlan left us way too soon! ♥♥♥
Way to many of them gone. We're down to just three of the main cast of start-trek tos as well. Shatner, Takei, and of course Koenig who played Bester on B5. The sad thing of growing older is burring family and noting the passing of hero's and icons.
@@TomatoFettuccini There is an elevator scene in Sleeping In Light and I think only Claudia Christian (and JMS making a cameo) are the only survivors out of a full group... Franklin, Garibaldi, Delenn, Vir, Zack...
@@TomatoFettuccini Yeah too many died to soon imho. they are all missed.
@@TomatoFettuccini I hadn't caught that Jerry Doyle passed, so I just looked at his Wikipedia. I had always thought he looked like Bruce Willis, so it's no wonder he was considered a replacement for him on "Moonlighting."
@@TomatoFettuccini something to the tune of 50 or so actors from B5 have passed away.
The fact Delenne has to defy her own govt adds so much weight to her rescue
Delenn had to *break* her own government, disband the Grey Council, which had ruled Minbar for centuries. Which just further expands the scope of this episode and how it flipped multiple tables, completely upending the entire series. Yeah the Minbari under her command show up to save Sheridan and B5 from President Clark's second fleet, but there would be a huge price to pay for it - Minbar itself would be swept up in a civil war of their own the next season.
@@sunspot42 The video not calling attention to this is a disservice in my opinion. Part of the drama is that Delenn is waging her own battle politically at home, and the effort and cost of her doing so is huge. She breaks the council, thus gaining the ability to arrive back at B5 *just* in time to save Sheridan is perfect- it feels like they both achieved such victories in this episode. The costs, though- and the portrayal of such set up the rest of the season and the next.
She basically started a civil war among the Minbari, in order to intervene in the civil war starting among the humans, which is nicely thematic with the overall arcs for both species and how their destinies become ever more intertwined.
@@YAVcc I agree. I think he was trying to focus on the earth side, but the Minbari stuff was all also set in motion over seasons (the steady loss of Delenn's influence and power, the giving of her seat to a warrior cast member, her semi-banishment all of which she mostly had to hide from everyone else) that all comes to a head when she takes the most extreme measure she can at literally the last possible moment to arrive and rescue B5. The consequences that follow in season 4 make clear just how much that particular victory cost in the long term.
It really was masterful long range storytelling that avoided the fetch-quest style we see in a lot of the TV miniseries of the last couple years while advancing the plot bit by bit over a season.
@@peterstewart7332 Agreed 100%!
I remember growing up that I had to stay up until 1:05am to watch Babylon 5, except for this one episode. My local CBS thought so much of Severed Dreams that they put it on primetime on a Friday and dear lord was it incredible. Still holds up as the greatest episode of one of the greatest series ever.
"It was my deciding vote that led to the Minbari War, leading to your species' near-extinction. One word from my mouth and you were almost history. Do you really want to see what I can do when I am acting instead of just talking?"
She could have said that. She didn't. She isn't flexing on them. She is telling them a simple truth. One human could only ever spite them, and he is on her side. They have nothing. And that's more impactful of a message than anything else she could have said. Only Delenn can pull off restraint and humility even when she is threatening someone. JMS is a great character writer.
Yes, she had one the top 'words and speeches" scenes. Kind of like the better Matt Smith moments in Who that forces the bad guys to realize just how badly they screwed up. Ivanovna gets one of her own later in the battle she nearly gets killed in.
Sometimes telling a simple truth *IS* flexing on someone. :)
@@BCWasbrough Kind of what Smiths Doctor did at the end of his first episode.
He asked the alien threat if they new of the earths previous issues with aliens threats, then asked what happened in those cases. the stepping forwards said "Hello, I'm The Doctor. Basically, run"
B5 is still one of the greatest TV shows I ever have seen, even with its shortcomings. There are several great episodes in this show and Severed Dreams is one of them.
B5 changed how prime-time shows are made. They swung too far to the arc and non-episode, but the five-year (planned) story arc in B5 and Farscape forever changed TV. I saw the Pilot/Movie (The Gathering) at Worldcon and knew then and there it would be great; then the series started, and I was floored.
People talk about GoT, The Sopranos and others; B5 beats them all, hands down. The actors were great (Londo & G'kar especially,) and the stories flowed (until halfway through season five.) I grew up with TOS, TAS, TNS, Space 1999, UFO, etc. B5 wins. Farscape and West Wing are the only things that come close in my NSHO.
@@jlholmes8 To me, the only thing that comes close is the Xindi War arc which makes up the entirety of S3 of Star Trek: Enterprise.
B5 has akways been my favourite sci-fi tv show, and will remain so.
We knew this was coming with the opening credits for Season 3 - as Susan Ivanova narrated the failure of Babylon 5's original intention we see a Starfury firing on another Starfury - we knew that nothing would be the same this season.
Season 3 was probably the best damn season of Television, and I loved every moment of it.
Thank you for this.
I love the scene where the general is telling Sheridan where the Nightwatch order comes from and telling him to respect the chain of command. He keeps trying to get the point across and is clearly thinking that he might need to draw Sheridan a graph using crayons.
Sheridan is a Boy Scout, he's not used to duplicitous thinking.
I was half expecting him to bust out a chart with the chain of command on it.
Hard to choose between Delenn's "Be somewhere else", Ivanova's "God sent me" and G'kar's "We are one" for most epic writing.
I dunno, Claudia Christian's delivery just was not up to the task with some of the lines they gave her. I like Ivonova, but the 'God sent me' speech just makes me cringe.
Gotta give it to Delen in this one.
@@weaselwolf That may have been intended. There are hints she's showing hubris in her attempt at righteousness and she does nearly die in this battle shortly afterwards, saved only by Marcus's deliberate.
@@weaselwolf Also Ivanova: "Im the boot that will kick your but!" 🙂
@@weaselwolf In this case the german synchro is right on track with her character. It's one of the few shows I like to watch in german, cause the choose very good voice actors for all the main characters.
@@weaselwolf "No boom today, boom tomorrow, there's always a boom."
'Fire on all decks'
That line over a crackling comm channel does a fantastic job of creating an idea of the horror...fire on the inside vacuum on the outside without a need to show. Chilling moment for sure
For me it's Hiroshi's last call of "... there's nothing we can do except -" when the comms suddenly cut off, followed by Major Ryan's anguished calling "Hiroshi? HIROSHIII!!". He knows that Hiroshi's last act is to take the Churchill on a suicide run into the Agrippa, and Ryan is powerless to do anything except watch the inevitable.
It tears me up every time I watch that scene.
I remember the first TV screening of Severed Dreams. Back then, we were used to Star Trek style storytelling, where everything got reset by the end of the episode. As the two rival fleets of Earthforce and Babylon 5 flew towards each other, I said to my friend "Oh you watch. Someone will send a message from Earth that they've found some solution and they won't end up attacking each other. There's no way that they'll...." and all of a sudden the first ships opened fire and I thought: "Holy sh*t! They actually went there!" It was the most rivetting piece of plot development on television that I'd ever seen. Back then, this series knocked Deep Space Whatsisface into a cocked hat.
Was in college and me and my gaming buddies always got together to watch B5. The very idea of breaking the episodic reset was a shocker. Incredible roller coaster ride in this episode. No last minute resolution. War, both sides getting hammered...then the 2nd Earth fleet. Only to be topepd with "Be somewhere else" Wow. Best episode ever.
My friends and I were hooked on this series during the mid-90s. The overarching story plot, stretching through 4 seasons, was amazing. By Season 3 nearly every other episode was a cliff-hanger and we couldn't wait to see the next episode. We haven't seen another sci-fi series THIS good until the advent of The Expanse, which uses many of the strengths of Babylon 5. Mainly, fantastic stories, interesting characters and overarching plots from season to season. If you liked Babylon 5, and you miss those days, try The Expanse. You will not regret it I assure you.
Great overview on this episode. Subscribed!
Originally the main story arc was 4.5 seasons (roughly) with a half season of epilog to wrap it up. Then they got word that season 5 wasn't likely to happen so they had rush and compress (and did it well) season4 and leave the hanging threads for the viewers and novels to figure out. Then they got renewed against expectation and were able to spread the epilog out across an entire season.
This is definitely the best episode, I remember at the time wishing for the next weeks episode to come quickly.
There was nothing like this on television prior to this.
Bear in mind that most of us had to watch this show for 3 years with it building to this the whole time.
Also prior to this the most special effects we got in a show was the enterprise fires phasers one or two times.
This was an entire battle. An entire battlefield. And it felt like that. It was all there right on the screen. The ships the fighters the stars the whole thing all swirling about.
And the story. My God the story.
I remember showing this to my son when he was 3 years old. And he sees the ships coming at one another and he says wow! Big trouble!
It was indeed
I always thought the music during the space battles was what really took it up a notch. This episode, The Long Twilight Struggle and Shadow Dancing are chefs kiss moments,
Agreed, without the music, the battles wouldn’t have packed the punch they did.
Christopher Frankie doesn’t get nearly enough credit imo.
@@matthewcorcoran2891 Watching/listening to the battles in B5 and comparing them to Crusade....it's like night and day.
@@control4230 The music for Crusade was a complete flip from B5, absolutely horrible. It sounded like banging saucepans together.
Such a great episode. Great job recounting it! My favorite, however, was The Long, Twilight Struggle. The battle of Gorash 7 gave me chills of fear of the Shadows' power, and Molari's face falling into shadow as he watches the bombardment of the Narn homeworld, literally feeling his very self slipping away from him by his own choices, was tragic and evocative in a way television had never been for me before.
I also have several favorite episodes with chilling effect in that show. I think, The Long, Twilight Struggle I also would call my favorite. It absolutely ends Molaris journey to the darkness, until he is redeemed in death. It is just so great to see how things come together, that are foreshadowed seasons before. They do not have that quality of writing any more.
This is one I was thinking about too when I thought about best scenes in the series.
You missed the taking down of the TV station, and the Grey Council plots in the summary whcih shows just how much B5 packed in. What I love about the news channel bit is the horror and desperation of it, the attempt to get the truth out in their final moments. RIP Rick!
DS9, Babylon 5 and First Contact. 1997 was top scifi
Those were all 1996... 1996 was top scifi.
I still rate the First Contact as the best Star Trek movie ever made.
@@What_do_I_Think FC was the best TNG movie, IMO. TWOK and VI just beat it out tho as the best ST movies.
@@What_do_I_Think No, First Contact wasn't the best Star Trek movie. Galaxy Quest was the best Star Trek movie.
@@stephengray1344 I think, it is a matter of taste. Yes Galaxy Quest was a good movie.
Little known tidbit: The control panel on fire on the bridge of Babylon 5 was an actual, unplanned fire. There were supposed to be sparks and smoke but no flames, but the set caught alight. The guy who runs in is some extra the production staff handed a fire extinguisher to, saving the rest of the set from catching fire and burning down.
When I re-watch the show and it gets to the bit with the Churchill commander is deciding what to do, I can't help but think "honor and death" - another Minbari soul in a human.
She did her soul ancestor Valen proud.
Reading your comment, for some reason the episode where Commander Sheridan has to indirectly tell Walter White that he has to sacrifice himself and his ship. In Valen's name.
You mean Sinclair.
Every time I see that scene, I pound my heart in a sign respect. It may be fiction, but what it stands for is very real.
What's funny is that the episodes are totally relevant here in 2024
Clarke = orange one
@@andyf4292 But Biden dropped out.
Reported to the Wokewatch.
I can't help but note how much the modern Mainstream Media likes to lie reminds me of the re-launched ISN...
"Secret Service rushes Trump off stage after he falls at rally." ~CNN
A fun way to frame Trump being shot.
"I'm about to tell you the truth. And F--- you if you can't handle the truth. This version of Biden intellectually, analytically, is the best Biden ever." ~Joe Scarborough
Literally telling everyone who'd been pointing at Joe's decline to F Off. Suddenly, Joe's in decline. What a shocking revelation...
"Donald Trump said there would be a ‘bloodbath’ if he wasn’t elected and that if he lost there would be no more elections." ~Joe Biden
A comment about the import of cheap Chinese cars becomes 'proof' that Trump wants to murder people.
"We're done talking about the debate, it's time to put Trump in a bullseye." ~Joe Biden
The same guy that played a Car comment off as Violent Rhetoric uses Sniper terminology ahead of a Sniper Attack, then says we need to chill on the Violent Rhetoric.
Remind me how Clarke, the **sitting president** who uses the **Media** to broadcast **lies** painting his political rivals as **insurrectionists**... is Donald Trump.
I would not say that's funny. But it's true nonetheless.
"Where's General Hague?" "General Hague... is doing Deep Space Nine. It seems he was double booked by his agent and there was nothing to be done!"
That's in the season 3 Blooper reel.
yeah, that was a good one 🤣
Every time I see this space battle I get goosebumps. The end of the battle where the Minbari appear and Delen says the line is pure drama
As a new video editor, I was shocked at the efficiency, writing, and timing of this whole episode. Not a spare moment. Even Sheridan's talk with his dad was vital.
"The Babylon Project was our last, best hope for peace. It failed. But in the year of the Shadow War it became something greater--our last, bets hope for victory."
The opening theme music changing every season and setting the mood for that season, ah, so beautiful. Each season getting its own lietmotif. Still some of the best tv theme music around. You can feel the hope in Season 1, the despair and loss and anger and hatred in the following seasons. Soo darned good.
I introduced my now wife to Babylon 5 15years ago. I asked her to give it a shot. She wasnt a sci-fi fan or nerd like me, but she gave it a shot.
15yrs later as she sits watching random TV shows or movies, she's like isnt that so n so from B5.
she has her fav eps n chars like we all do, but to see a non sci-fi fan/nerd enjoy it the 1st time through. MY GOD was it hard not to spoil any eps for her back then.
I have all the DVD's n they get watched about every 2yrs.
Babylon5 set the tone for sci-fi storytelling
What a lovely story!
I got my whole family hooked on to it back in the day.
The characters and story are so good that anyone can get into it if they give it half a chance.
What adds gravitas to Delenn's arrival is that the Minbari had literally just concluded their own highly destructive civil war. The shooting had barely stopped and the fires weren't even out when Delenn, backed by a fleet of Minbari ships, comes to stand with the station. They literally put their own reconstruction on hold to aid Babylon 5 and Sheridan. It wasn't just for the threat of the Shadows either. Even after that was taken care of, the Minbari aided the rebel forces in ousting Clark.
This circles around to the end of S4. While not alone, the Minbari were instrumental in getting the other species on board with an alliance. As a twist of fate the Minbari, who decades earlier were ready to glass Earth and were hours away from doing so, become ultimately responsible for its salvation.
Severed Dreams really is the fulcrum episode on which the series stands and the tip of that fulcrum is the arrival of Delenn's relief forces.
The Minbari civil war started after (some would say “as the result of”) Delenn breaking the Grey Council in this episode.
Recall watching when it first aired thinking, "She smashed the Grey Council and that doesn't even rank as a Top 5 Shocking Events."
This episode was body blow after body blow.
Lovable every man Zach Allen is probably the best way to encapsulate his character in four words that ever existed.
Arguably this is the best episode of any SF show in the ‘90s. And while I love the Battle of Proxima, the stakes are so much higher in this one that there’s no real comparison: If they lose, they die.
This is a crux moment and the crucible. This episode is where our hero's paths are narrowed down the wide broad avenue of utter defeat, or thin trail one hopes leads to the light. There was no try again tomorrow after this one, no second chances, either they won or they died.
I'm 65 yrs.old. B5 is one of the best sci-fi shows of all time. I still watch the show all these years later. Thank you JMS.
I vividly remember watching this and being completely blown away. Up to that point, it was the coolest thing I had ever seen on TV. Now TV has improved by leaps and bounds since 1997, but I think this still holds up.
It’s one of my favorite episodes and I love the Lynn speech. It’s become even better sadly since we’ve now have lost the actress that plays her. She passed away last year.
11:01 After Delenn gives her famous "If you value your lives, be somewhere else!" line, the focus instantly shifts to this shot of the two Earth Alliance ships turning to flee. I always pictured it kind of anthropomorphically as though if that scene started just a couple of seconds sooner, you would see these two ships look sideways at each other and simultaneously decide to get the hell out of there.
He is behind me--such a nuanced/layered statement.
Outstanding review
Couldn’t agree more
This trilogy of episodes always, always grabs me by the heart. I have to watch them back to back to back, I can't put time between them...and by the end, I'm exhausted. I've been emotionally wrung out, and am usually crying when Delenn appears at the end, even though I know the speech by heart. RIP to Mira & Stephen & Richard & Jerry & Jeff & anyone I missed.
This is not just the best B5 episode, it’s arguably the greatest SciFi episode of all time.
I've watched a lot of Sci fi over the years and I have to agree with this. People look at the dated cgi in the battle but they don't know how impressive it looked at the time
@@DukeJon1969 exactly. And it’s not just the CGI. The whole episode is well done, and the 2 prior episodes set the whole thing up so well
got to agree it is the best but one that got me was a TNG episode where a kid loses his mom and she is re-created by aliens this to me was personal as 2 weeks b4 i saw this my father died
"Severed Dreams" is by far THE best science fiction episode PERIOD. Nothing from any of the other Science Fiction shows even come close to the build up and resolution of this one brilliant episode. The story lines from Season 1, 2 and half of 3 were immaculately being built up to this one fantastic moment, where everything changed.
G'Kar found his calling from a conniving selfish vengeful opportunist to a man of such refined theology to become a great leader of his people.
Delenn came from a subordinate member of the Grey Council to the pinnacle of its power and influence that it turned her from a reserved member of a proud race to the honored an courageous de-facto leader of the race itself.
Londo was a playful man that took nothing seriously, and he became something he never wanted to be: a monster.... if only to bring back glory from his people's past. You can see it in his eyes that he realized the evil that he has allowed to happen and is numb to stop it.
Thus all the members of Earthforce that worked on Babylon 5 and backed Sheridan went from workers in a space station to become part of an new administration for the good of Earth and the galaxy themselves.
The brilliance of JMS to bring all this together is unmatched in anything in Science Fiction.
Personally, I have only once beef: I felt that the scene that everyone was waiting for the enemy to come, and thus start their counter-offensive against them..... there was a moment of silence. They needed to extend the time of silence 1 minute longer. Because at that moment....... EVERYONE'S skin was crawling with anticipation. An extra minute would have given an additional amount of tension build-up that was needed to really bring the release of tension to a higher level. OOOOHHH, that would have been great!
But I digress. JMS did a superb job. What a great episode "Severed Dreams" is. I was glad when it won the award.
Have always considered B5 a show way ahead of its time, and without doubt one of the best Sci Fi shows of all time. I always called it Star Trek for grownups. Love the long story arcs, the actual attention to detail - from spin gravity, to pretty well done physics of maneuvering in space.
Star trek space battles are so boring in comparison. Big ships.just grinding each other down with phasers and torpedoes. Zero tactics.
"Messages From Earth", "Point of No Return", and "Severed Dreams" are the 3 central 3rd season episodes forming a connected unit.
At our house, 'The Trilogy', as I like to call it, is ALWAYS watched in one setting. And they are my favorite episodes of the show.
You've done an EXCELLENT job of sketching out the context, leading up to this episode.
The only thing I would add, is that, at the time, Delenn's arrival felt like anything BUT a deus ex machina.
She had been on her own extensive story arc, beginning as a strong but mysterious character, delving into GREAT self-doubt and insecurity after a great personal change, and slowly building back up her self-confidence and sense of purpose.
For her, this culminates IN THIS VERY SAME EPISDODE, to her standing up to her own ruling body and breaking ties with them, in order to do what's right.
Just as Sheridan and the B5 crew are doing.
When she shows up in that 11th hour to save the station, it feels COMPLETELY earned.
The show is something of a Trojan Horse, presenting itself as a 'U.N. in space', so that the viewer thinks that status quo will be retained at all costs.
When actually, the show's main theme is the call to stand up and do what's right, even if you end up standing alone. It's a theme repeated throughout the series, but which finds its major turning point in this episode. It's the pivot on which the whole narrative turns.
Did it change TV forever? That may be debatable. But what it did do, was to demonstrate that long-form storytelling on American TV COULD be done. And many later showrunners did take note.
If you've never seen "Severed Dreams," I would HIGHLY recommend it.
But I would also recommend watching the majority of the 2 1/2 seasons that lead up to it, and that give it it's full context.
You'll be glad you did.
The best scifi space opera ever. Hands down.
To me it is the best episode of the series, the story telling, drama camera work all go into to make it a stunning episode.
I loved B5 in a whole and when it started all these years ago, I thought it would be some special, and it was.
1:29 "Never ask that question!" - Kosh
get the hell out of my galaxy
@@this.is.a.username Make me😉
@@this.is.a.username I have always been here.
Who are you?
@@neil999ish what do you want?
Even today, almost 30 years later, I still love B5 more than any other tv series, scifi or otherwise. Such fantastic characters, great actors, fabulous storylines and - for its day - great CGI. JMS deserves every award & medal ever given to a writer and/or director for this epic show.
In the parallel universe where Michael O'Hare was blessedly free of his struggles and stuck around for three or four years on the show, I can see Season 2 of Babylon 5 having the EAS Agamemnon under the command of Captain Sheridan chopped from fleet duty and tasked to act as the long arm of Babylon 5, with Sheridan picking up a ton of resistance from the Minbari and even a little from Sinclair. Things don't get better when Sinclair and Garibaldi pick up signs that Sheridan may be tangled up in some sort of conspiracy while they are being prepped for the coming Shadow War...
...until both sides realize they're on the same side: Sheridan _is_ in on a conspiracy, but it's aimed against the treachery of Clark and the Shadows. Both Sheridan and Sinclair find out their goals are the same, they team up and everything comes to a head at "Severed Dreams"...
...where the EAS Alexander and the EAS Agamemnon stand with Babylon 5. In the course of the battle, General Hague sacrifices his doomed ship to take out the enemy and Sheridan is left to seek out a rebel fleet.
When Sinclair meets his destiny on Babylon 4, Sheridan is recalled from his efforts aboard Agamemnon and assumes command of Babylon 5 for the rest of the story.
7:44 Hitchcock, my son. The dolly push was instituted by Alfred Hitchcock in _Vertigo._
Sinclair and Sheridan working together, what a sight that would have been!
That said, your version of events would have lessened the tensions between the veteran crew and their new commander, which did lead to some interesting and tense moments in the show, especially with Garibaldi.
Honestly, the one thing I would change in the early seasons was to have Talia continue aboard B5 instead of the rushed mess they put her character through. I do like Lyta and she still would have had things to do, but Talia left just as her arc was culminating and it never reached a satisfying conclusion, especially regarding her relationship with Ivanova which I very much wanted to see unfold naturally. They did Talia dirty and she deserved better.
such a great recap! I would have also mentioned the part that took my breath away when u think Ivanova is a goner especially with the foreshading goodbye when she leaves to lead the starfuries!!
Back in January I treated myself to the new Blu-Ray box set of B5 as a belated birthday treat, and then spent some pleasan evenings working through every single season. Revisiting it was actually a greater pleasure than the original viewing (good as that was), now I was able to watch more carefully for all the many seeds Straczynski sows throughout, right from the start, which increased my respect for the writing. Now we we are in an era of high-quality series that build story arcs across seasons, but when Stracsynski did it, it was considered crazt by many, it was the era of "episode of the week". The moral and philosophical and political issues raised throughout also remain, sadly, incredibly relevant thirty years on to our own troubled times, another mark of damned good writing.
"Severed Dreams" is my second-favourite episode, only surpassed by "Comes the Inquisitor". Delenn's sudden appearance is an epical moment for the space station and the perfect delivery of her warning to Clark's posse is equally epic.
"If you value your lives, be somewhere else." Sends shivers down my spine everytime I watch the episode.
Although, of course, the best scene of the entire series simply has to be Londo and G'Kar stuck in an elevator. It does not get any better than that.
"I hear you."
I’ve been telling people for years that the best story told on television was Babylon 5. It is remarkable how much it also reflects and remains relevant to current events. We need to do and be better.
I remember I recorded it (vhs) because I was at work when it was on. When I got time to watch it I must’ve re watched it 5 times before I went out with some friends for dinner. I couldn’t stop talking to them about it. They didn’t care that much, they weren’t as into B5 as I was. Loved that episode and the one where Kosh dies. OMG.
I tapped it while watching it, editing out the commercials. I think there was a break or something between "Point of No Return" and this one, because I remember a longer wait than normal after Sheridan and Ivanova were looking out the window possibly facing arrest and the end of their careers.
I got cable just to watch this one series. Recorded them on VHS too and rewatched this one episode enough to wear out the tape. Now I have the DVDs.
rip Mira, Andreas, and the rest
How profound was this show, how prophetic it has become
Scary
This was an amazing storyline, When Sheridan is meeting with his staff deciding if they should rebel and fight the Earth Alliance Fleet. He doesn’t make the decision himself, he gives his staff the opportunity to make the decision with him, and the emotional costs of his decision and the incredible loss of life and sacrifices on both sides weigh heavily on him and the entire crew of the station. This was a very gripping, gritty, and emotional storyline for its time.
I loved B5! Even 25 years later the CGI holds up and the story telling is amazing. I STILL cry watching the finale.
Sometime's new and improved is not better!
Excellent write up! It's definitely up there as one of the best episodes. I always proclaim B5 to be one of the best Sci fi shows ever made, but I'm never able to vocalise quite why I love it so much. Fortunately people like yourself exist who can do just that. Thank you...
My favorite sci fi show. No other sci fi show ever hit me in the feels like this. It used to air Sunday nights at 11:00 in my country back then. It became the reason why my whole week was to look forward to Sunday nights. The first commander will always be the best character for me. R.i.p. to all the members who had passed away. Their magic will last forever in the show.
This was the ep that hooked me back in the days we had to wait a full week to see what happened.
Star Trek, for grown ups. An essential part of my youth. Groundbreaking in every way...loved it!
This is the BEST episode of the series, bar none! And Delenn's speech still gives me chills!
Watching shoals of Starfuries and Thunderbolts dogfight like actual space ships (Suck it Expanse. You weren’t first) or make strafing runs on the capitol ships and station was epic. Watching B5’s defense grid try to intercept all the incoming fire was nerve wracking. Seeing the Omega Destroyers firing both their Heavy Lasers and Heavy Pulse Cannons, with the occasional shot from the dorsal Particle Beams, was true perfection*. It was just like in all the WWII movie naval battles where you saw them firing the big guns, secondaries and AAA to show how desperate the fight really was.
*Yup, I was totally addicted to the B5 Wars game. I even bought a hardback 2nd ed. rules book autographed by JMS. I still have all the game books and a _massive_ Earth Alliance fleet (disposable income disposed of) of the larger, pre Fleet Action, ships along with a few each of the Narn, Minbari and Centauri ships and their fighters. I’m still annoyed I didn’t buy any of the Vorlon or Shadow ships, but no one in my group was willing to face them. Cowards.
I saw a whole bunch of Babylon 5 wars miniatures being sold on Reddit and was half tempted. The miniatures looked good quality.
Easily my favorite. Love how they laid it all on the line. We need leaders like these characters.
I haven't watched this in 20 years and I was still repeating the dialogue as it played out. Good God modern writing rooms could learn from this series.
7:45 I really hoped, that you would mention this. I really, really, really, really like this moment.
There is a moment in bloopers, when Sheridan asks: "Where is General Heig?" And the answer is: "He went for a Depp Space 9" 😁
If not my favorite, it's certainly in my top 5 episodes. On a personal note, I was in a room with JMS just after the episode was finished and we got to see it early. The feeling was electric.
I've been wanting to rewatch B5. Coming across this video is inspiring me to do so sooner rather than later.
Can't wait to watch this, but had to tell you right now I remember watching this episode on the edge of my seat! I'm sure I'l have some thoughts to offer after watching it, but thank you upfront for making this video!
I saw your video on the Proxima battle the other day and now have just watched this one. Comparing the two battles is very difficult but I'll have a go.
I think the reason Severed Dreams stands out is because it is such a jaw-dropping moment, a real head-turner. We've had a few skirmishes at this point but nothing on this level. The episode took the show to a whole new level. It was the moment the fans really, Really, REALLY knew this show was awesome.
The battle for Proxima, meanwhile, is part of the climax. We've had so much big stuff going on by this point that our heads are already turned, we've already committed, we already know this is the culmination of where it was all heading.
Think of an album that's got a lot of songs you'd give 6 or 7 out of 10, and then you find one song you'd give 9. Then they follow up with an album that's got lots of 8 or 9 out of 10 songs and then has that perfect 10. That perfect 10 is better but it doesn't stand out as far from the others as the 9 on the previous album.
I hope that makes sense.
Yes! An unequivocal yes to your question. It is one of my top-tier favorite moments in TV Sci-Fi History.
This is still one of my all time favorite episode(s) of television and what showed me what was possible with long form story telling on TV. It's no coincidence that almost all television series use this format to tell stories now.
One point, Delenn's return never felt like a Deus Ex Machina resolution to me because you get to see the journey that brought her to that point. It didn't come out of nowhere, during the Severed Dreams and previous episodes you see her leave the station to go to the Grey Council. You see how she has essentially been ostracized by them and how she no longer has their support. You see her shatter the Grey Council initiating the Minbari's own civil war of sorts, although it would take much longer to come to violence. It cost Delenn a lot to be able to get those ships back to Babylon 5 so her appearance felt very earned when she does finally show up. Sure, maybe the timing of it is a bit much, but that's television for you and it set up probably the most badass scene of the entire series.
Babylon 5 as a whole was genius television... was so much more grounded in a semblance of reality than anything else in Sci-Fi (including Star Trek and Star Wars). Severed Dreams is a superb episode and Delenn's iconic lines give me chills every time.. so brilliant.
I was living in Wales back then and visiting my parents in England (this is sort of relevent), anyway my mate rang up and casually said "Oh I'd have thought you'd be watching Babylon 5" and I said "Is it still running? Not seen it since season one." and I turned the TV o just at the Alexander came through the jumpgate... I was hooked.
I went back to Wales and said to my friends "I've just got hooked on Babylon 5" and they said, "So have we." However I watched it on Chanel 4, they watched it on S4C, which was a week behind, so I got so watch Severed Dreams again. I have now just bought my second Box set, most of my first lot died of disk rot.
If I remember rightly UK tv used to bounce B5 around the schedule a lot.
I had my first proper run at it with the VHS box set (which I might still have in storage somewhere.)
As always, a great Babylon 5 video! Love the analysis. I didn't know that about Gen. Hague!
Sheridan: "Where's General Hague?"
Ryan: "General Hague... is doing Deep Space Nine. It seems he was double booked by his agent, there was nothing to be done. You'll have to deal with me now, sir."
- from the blooper reel 🙂
Excelent review! In my opinion, to short battle. Delen’s threats takes seriously!
❤😢 Babylon 5 was such a great show and had so much of love and tears I learned a lot about modern society through Babylon 5 and where the world is today it looks a lot like some of the stuff that's happening on that show rest in peace to all the fine actors and crew that made that show what it was, we will never see their like again.
This show was so great and stands the test of time. I wish it were more widely known these days.
Babylon Squared and War Without End I and II hit harder for me in terms of what as possible on a TV show. I remember not knowing anyone who watched and needing to talk about what I'd just seen. when people used to talk about the golden age of television I'd add that it started with Babylon 5.
Babylon 5 was the best show on TV back then. I wish that someone would come up with another show like B5 that was not only just episodic but also serial. It was the latter that made B5 so compelling. Delenn's statement was really the most badass statement I have ever seen on TV.
11:30 the intro changed after the episode. That hammered down the of changing the goal from peace through negotiation, to winning a lasting a peace.
I was in 5th grade when this aired, and even as a kid with only a nasent understong of story and TV I knew I had watched something earth shattering.
It's still my favorite hour of TV.
One of my core memeories that you never forget was the moment he announced they were seceding from earth. I literally didn't see it coming as was shocked. I vividly remember the moment. I'm older now and probably could have seen it coming, I'm glad young me got to see it first :)
Sheridan is in the front line of the episode, but I like how they intertwined Delenn fighting to rally political support for his actions. And she has some pretty cool moments there - "if they don't want to speak to me, they will listen to me! Now move aside!" (Not exactly eclipsing the "Be somewhere else", but still.)
So I view the construction of the episode as "war on two fronts" with the arrival of Delenn with the Minbari fleet as the final victory.
Thank you for this, B5 is so underrated.
Man that dialogue with his dad makes me so emotional to this day even after seeing it the first time all those years ago.