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Babylon 5 - The Gathering (TV Premiere DVD) |  | Director: Richard Compton
Actors: Michael O'Hare, Tamlyn Tomita, Jerry Doyle, Mira Furlan, Blaire Baron
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $5.98
Buy New: $3.99
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Rating:  23 reviews
Format: NTSC
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Region: 1
Running Time: 89 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.8 x 0.1
MPN: WARD38866D
UPC: 085393886622
EAN: 0085393886622
Theatrical Release Date: February 22, 1993
Release Date: June 8, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Studio: Ingram Entertainment Release Date: 04/01/2004
Amazon.com
In the early spring of 1993, a year before the series was launched, the two-hour movie and series pilot Babylon 5: The Gathering appeared. This proto-Babylon staked out the initial territory for the series (some of which would change by the first episode), introducing primary characters and sketching out the alliances and rifts in interplanetary diplomacy. Some of the primary characters bowed out after their initial appearances (Tamlyn Tomita's Lt. Commander Laurel Takashima and Johnny Seka's Dr. Benjamin Kyle never returned; Patricia Tallman's telepath Lyta Alexander made periodic revisits beginning in the second season, eventually rejoining the cast permanently). Set on the first anniversary of the Babylon 5 (none of the first four stations survived even a month), the central story involves the attempted assassination of the newly arrived Vorlon, the mysterious Ambassador Kosh, at the hands of (perhaps) Commander Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O'Hare). Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle, a smart-aleck tough guy in the Bruce Willis vein) investigates and uncovers a web of conspirators, a portent of things to come. When TNT picked up the series for the fifth season Straczynski reedited the pilot, weaving back in a dropped subplot while cutting the rest of the film more tightly, tweaking special effects, and commissioning a new score from Christopher Franke. This is the cut released on video, a stronger, more engaging film, but still a broad first stab at characters that would redefine themselves through the course of the show's run. --Sean Axmaker
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 23
 In the begginning March 15, 2009
Michael Patrick Boyd (Waukesha, WI)
Babylon 5 - The Gathering (Series Pilot Film) is one hour and thirty-three minutes long and was released on February 22, 1993. The movie deals with the opening of the space station Babylon 5. Think United Nations and you get the idea. All of the key ambassadors have arrived with the exception of one; Ambassador Kosh from the Vorlon Empire. Within minutes of coming off his ship Ambassador Kosh is poisoned. The rest of the movie deals with finding who poisoned Ambassador Kosh and why. We find out who did it; a Minbari from a renegade warrior caste but, we never find out why. Also we are introduced to the key characters in the series. Ambassador G'Kar from the Narn Regime, Ambassador Delenn from the Minbari Federation, Ambassador Londo Mollari from the Centauri Republic and we also get a brief glimpse into their history as well. When season one kicked off, major changes were done to the characters and new one are introduced as well. This is not a bad pilot episode. I am giving Babylon 5 - The Gathering a B+.
 Gathered up February 9, 2009
E. A Solinas (MD USA)
Every epic begins somewhere... and in "Babylon 5's" case, it was the TV movie/pilot "The Gathering." Like most pilots, it's kind of an awkward beginning (could the doctor and Lyta be more exaggerated?), but the first flowering of this now-classic TV show is a pretty solid one -- we've got murder mysteries, strange aliens, and a distinctly philosophical bent.
Ten years after the Earth-Minbari War ended, Babylon 5 is a political, social and diplomatic hub for all the assorted races -- most importantly, to avert future wars. Despite the fact that half the ambassadors hate each other or are trying to cut deals, it's working well.
Now the newest ambassador -- a mysterious Vorlon named Kosh -- is about to arrive, as well as the new telepath Lyta Alexander (Patricia Tallman). But mere moments after his arrival, Captain Sinclair (Michael O'Hare) finds Kosh collapsed -- he's been poisoned, and may die. And as the doctor goes to extreme lengths to save him, Lyta scans his mind.
Unfortunately, she sees Sinclair doing the loathsome deed. Hoo boy.
And even more unfortunately, the Council (with two yeses, a no and an abstention) votes to send Sinclair to the Vorlon homeworld for trial. And security chief Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle) starts discovering some disturbing clues -- and dead bodies -- that may mean Sinclair is innocent. But they have less than a day to find out who or what is framing the captain... and almost as importantly, why.
Most TV pilots are rather awkward compared to the actual series itself. In this case, "The Gathering" has a very different cast lineup, some vastly different alien prosthetics, and the first hints of the series' many subplots. In short, it's a bit like putting on new, stiff shoes for the first time.
But J. Michael Straczynski manages to whip up a solid sci-fi premise, with lots of old grudges, wars, extremely weird aliens (check out the full-body suit!), and a rather grimy space station the size of a moon. Moreover, he whips up a fairly solid whodunnit full of little twists and turns, and an assassin whose appearance can change into anything.
There are some points that could have been easily cut, such as Takashima rambling for a whole scene about coffee beans and what a rebel she used to be. But the entire movie tightens up in the second half, when Sinclair and Garibaldi start really homing in on the Bad Guy. It also has more of a sense of humour, such as Sinclair's last conversation with Delenn.
The cast in the pilot -- unlike in the series that followed -- is a pretty mixed bag. O'Hare is a pretty good commander (noble, upright, kind yet stern) with a mysterious blot in his past, and Doyle is a likable ordinary guy. Andreas Katsulas, Peter Jurasik and Mira Furlan all do good jobs as well, and manage to give hints of their own personal ambitions and vendettas.
The downside is that three of the cast are, pretty simply, awful. Tamlyn Tomita doesn't radiate an iota of toughness or authority as Sinclair's second in command, and both Tallman and kindly doctor Johnny Sekka overact to a sometimes embarrassing degree (complete with dramatic pointing and cries of, "He did it! I saw it! I SAW IT! I SAW IT!").
"Babylon 5: The Gathering" serves as a solid introduction to the classic sci-fi epic, marred only by some bad acting. But definitely worth watching... right before you check out the series.
 DVD Babylon 5 The Gathering June 21, 2007
Charles Moser (Ukiah, CA)
This is the movie that launched the TV show. It was very well scripted and acted. The characters were just lovable and hateable enough to make for a really good story,
BABYLON 5-THE GATHERING (TV PREIMERE) May 30, 2007
Jeffrey M. Bembaron (ANAHEIM, CA.)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
IT WAS NICE TO SEE THIS SERIES TV PILOT, AS IT WAS ORIGINALLY MEANT TO BE SEEN, AND ENJOYED. THE SHOW WAS ENJOYED, AND IT BROUGHT BACK GOOD TIMES AND PLEASANT MEMORIES OF A ENJOYABLE TV PROGRAM. MANY THANKS.
 Warner Brothers' "TV Premiere DVD" Series - Cheaply-Made & Over-Priced April 5, 2007
Paul Rudoff (http://spookcentral.cjb.net)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is not a review of this specific title, but rather of Warner Brothers' "TV Premiere DVD" series as a whole. I would like to make you aware of my issues with features that are apparently prevalent in ALL of the titles in this series, based upon my purchase of one of these titles ("The Flintstones - The Flintstone Flyer").
Although the list of issues below was written specifically for The Flintstones DVD, I highly suspect that most (if not all) of it applies to this and all of the other titles in the "TV Premiere DVD" series. Be sure to check out The Flintstones page to see the photos that I uploaded which better illustrate the packaging and disc printing issues mentioned below.
-- The disc does not come in a plastic case, but rather in a cardboard sleeve which opens on the side. I've purchased $1 public domain DVDs from no-name companies that came in plastic slim cases, so it's appalling that a $6 DVD from a big-name company would be done so cheaply. Also, the sleeve has a hole at the top in the center where the peg would go for it to be hung on a rack like an action figure or toy. The hole has been edited out of the promo photos that Warner Bros. gave Amazon to display for the DVDs.
-- The text on the disc is very faint and hard to read - another way Warner Bros. skimped on production costs.
-- The cheapness doesn't stop at the packaging. The DVD does not contain a menu, not even a plain one. Because of this, there's an interesting glitch that happens if you let the DVD play past the episode. You see, after the episode plays, it goes to a FBI Warning on title 3, which then goes to the non-existent menu, so the player just hangs on a black screen.
-- They were even cheap in the placement of the chapters marks, which are placed every ten minutes (0:00, 10:00, and 20:00) no matter if it makes sense in the episode content for one to be there or not.
-- From what I've read, most (if not all) of the titles in the "TV Premiere DVD" series were originally released on VHS and/or laserdisc, with these DVDs being done from the VHS and laserdisc masters. The quality of The Flintstones DVD definitely appears to be better than VHS, so either it came from a laserdisc master, or not all of the titles were done from old home video masters.
Although at first I didn't mind paying $6 for one 26 minute Flintstones episode, that was before I knew that the DVD didn't even come in a plastic case. Now that six dollars really seems like a rip-off.
Warner Bros. "TV Premiere DVD" Series (10 titles)
* The Flintstones - The Flintstone Flyer
* The Jetsons - Microchip Chump
* ER - Pilot
* Babylon 5 - The Gathering
* Taboo - Tattoo
* Gilligan's Island - Two on a Raft & Home Sweet Hut
* The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest - Escape to Questworld
* Gilmore Girls - Pilot
* The Waltons - The Foundling
* Kung Fu - Pilot
Showing reviews 1-5 of 23
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