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- Feed Preview The Audio Guide to Babylon 5
Episode 112: “Sleeping in Light”
It’s the end, but the moment has been prepared for. Steven Schapansky joins us for the Babylon 5 finale. We’ll be back, after a good long hiatus, to cover the spinoff episodes and movies. Tha...
Episode 111: “The River of Souls”
The station may be emptying out, but we’re not quite done yet. Jason Snell reminded us this Babylon 5 “movie” aired before the series finale, so we’re dutifully covering it now–and maki...
Episode 110: “Objects at Rest”
Final departures, fateful errors, and a first-and-last message to a child. Not to mention THE SHOT. Which SHOT are we talking about? Find out as we discuss the penultimate-penultimate story of Ba...
Episode 109: “Objects in Motion”
So many feels: a huge chunk of our cast reaches their points of departure and Babylon 5 approaches the fall of night. JMS’s endgame is in sight.
Episode 108: “Wheel of Fire”
So we can all just breathe now that the conflict with Centauri Prime is over, right? You would be wrong, friend! See Lyta go rogue as she’s never gone rogue before. See John and Delenn realize ...
Episode 107: “The Fall of Centauri Prime”
What more can we say? Lizbeth Myles joins us as all of Londo’s chickens come definitively home to roost.
Episode 106: “Movements of Fire and Shadow”
All year long, Sheridan and Delenn have been trying to pull together a historic political alliance. They’ve been contending with not only the forces of history, but the fundamental forces of pe...
Episode 105: “And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder”
Reckoning. War. One of the most powerful episodes of Babylon 5 ever, during the underrated Season 5. So powerful, in fact, that our Control Group, one Steven Schapansky, demanded to be let on the...
Episode 104: “Darkness Ascending”
Things are ramping up: Lennier, the hero. Lyta, the opportunist. Garibaldi, the watched. Londo, the lonely. The threads are all coming together as we approach the end of Babylon 5….
Episode 103: “Meditations on the Abyss”
Almost the full ensemble gets together for what might be the calm before the storm, with lots of character beats in an episode that–spoiler alert–we all pretty much believe is FABOO.
Episode 102: “The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father”
“I want to see the TV series set in the HR department at Psi Corps.” –James Thomson
Episode 101: “Day of the Dead”
The legendary Neil Gaiman made his American television debut writing the only episode of B5 not authored by Joe Straczynski since late Season 2. Was this mystical character piece too much of a de...
Episode 100: “The Ragged Edge”
This episode has epic ’90s computer matte compositing of a balcony, set to a particularly stirring Christopher Franke score! Oh, and Garibaldi does the secret agent thing, hamstrung by his retu...
Episode 99: “Phoenix Rising”
It’s the end of the Byron arc, in dramatically tragic fashion–which means it is of course time for our own harbinger of doom, Jason Snell, to return to delight in misfortune.
Episode 98: “A Tragedy of Telepaths”
The two threads–the telepath colony crisis and the secret Centauri attacks on ISA ships–get pulled tighter together, with an unexpected rescue of Na’Toth (the real one!) and an entirely exp...
Episode 97: “In the Kingdom of the Blind”
No more pastels for the Regent, no. Damian London portrays a very different Regent from the sweet old man we used to know as Londo begins to suspect very dark things are afoot in his supposedly l...
Episode 96: “Secrets of the Soul”
As Steven discovers a long-buried secret about an Alliance race, Byron discovers an even more deeply buried secret about telepaths in EVERY race–just as life is getting even rougher for his fol...
Episode 95: “Strange Relations”
We all come together in a better place to find a roomful of singing telepaths, an irritated Bester, an irritated Lochley, an irritated Garibaldi, and (thank heavens) a gleefully mischievious Dele...
Episode 94: “Learning Curve”
We use the word “spackle” a few times in this podcast. We like that word. Rolls off the tongue. MEANWHILE, for the second episode in a row the stars of the show aren’t our regulars. What’...
Episode 93: “A View from the Gallery”
DEPLOY THE GREEK CHORUS! Two never-before-seen minor characters Rosencrantz and Guildenstern their way through the space station and their cast. In Spoiler Space for the previous episode, our int...
Episode 92: “The Paragon of Animals”
Telepath politics. Gunboat diplomacy. Newlywed apartment living. Doesn’t sound like much. SPOILER ALERT: We absofragginlutely loved this episode.
Episode 91: “The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari”
It’s the second episode of a brand new season with a brand new status quo, so what do you do? Ignore all the new people and new situations, and do a character study about alllll of the bad deci...
Episode 90: “No Compromises”
Somewhat to their surprise, the cast and crew and showrunner got their fifth season. But to quote some guy way back in the first, “Nothing’s the same anymore.” Sheridan’s wearing a suit, ...
Episode 89: “Thirdspace”
Creepy Cthulhu aliens from beyond Firstspace and Secondspace! This Untold Tale of Babylon 5 was produced after the fourth season when they had no hint there would be a fifth. Is this a better “...
Episode 88: “In the Beginning”
Four years into BABYLON 5, JMS took a mulligan with a brand new prequel movie that served as a pilot for the series’s relaunch on the TNT network! Is it a better beginning to B5 than the origin...
Episode 87: “The Deconstruction of Falling Stars”
It’s a season finale, and it’s entirely cuckoo bananapants! We look into the distant future of the B5 universe along with our traditional season-ending appearance by our beloved Control Group...
Episode 86: “Rising Star”
Boy howdy, does this feel like the last episode of the entire series! Where could B5 possibly go from here? (We’ll talk about that in spoiler space, of course.) Jason Snell was actually at the ...
Episode 85: “Endgame”
So. Much. Happens. Y’all. All of Sheridan’s planning comes together and the Earth Civil War is at an end. Did it happen too fast, or was the payoff worth the buildup? Join us!
Episode 84: “Between the Darkness and the Light”
It’s a little known fact that American television regulations were changed following the initial broadcast of this episode because it was determined that so. much. stuff. happening in a single ...
Episode 83: “Intersections in Real Time”
Welcome to John Sheridan’s darkest ordeal. Good morning. (Artificial daylight comes on.) Shall we begin?
Episode 82: “The Face of the Enemy”
Steven Schapansky rejoins us because (1) Mike Vejar and (2) Michael Garibaldi–as we find out just exactly WHAT has been going on underneath Steven’s favorite character’s shaved pate. That s...
Episode 81: “The Exercise of Vital Powers”
Two out of three podcasters surveyed loved “(The) Exercise of Vital Powers.” Worldbuilding! One out of three didn’t. Lots of talking! Find out who’s on which side, and where we all stand...
Episode 80: “No Surrender, No Retreat”
Well, Sheridan promised us last episode that things would get super serious. JMS wastes no time; there’s a reason all of Season 4 shares a title with this episode. Too much, too quickly, too so...
Episode 79: “Moments of Transition”
Stuffed to the gills with plot, “Moments of Transition” puts a pin in the Minbari Civil War, puts the screws to Lyta Alexander’s career, puts Michael Garibaldi at odds with both his new emp...
Episode 78: “Rumors, Bargains and Lies”
John “Machiavelli” Sheridan manipulates the alien governments into a fiendish conspiracy against Earth! (Or that’s how ISN might broadcast it these days.) Meanwhile, the Religious Caste is ...
Episode 77: “Conflicts of Interest”
On this episode of Garibaldi, P.I., Michael does NOT don a Hawaiian shirt nor acquire a Ferrari. Instead he picks up a new job opportunity that takes him up against his former security forces. Me...
Episode 76: “Lines of Communication”
We are sorry to report that our Control Group, one Steven Schapansky (not appearing in this episode) had a conniption fit over the lack of descriptiveness in this episode’s title. Wait until he...
Episode 75: “Racing Mars”
Somehow we made it through the whole episode without a John Barrowman reference. Chip considers this a personal failing. But, hey, let’s advance the Earth plot line a bit, spend significant tim...
Episode 74: “Atonement”
OK, did this episode have the best guest casting find ever in B5 history, with Reiner Schone, or did it have the best guest casting find ever? Yeah, the three of us are big fans of Dukhat. Plus, ...
Episode 73: “The Illusion of Truth”
It’s the B5 directorial debut of one Vir Cotto (not appearing on your screen this time) and the flip side to Season 2’s “And Now for a Word.” Call them Alternative Facts, call it Fake Ne...
Episode 72: “Epiphanies”
It feels like the first time, only different! Londo’s happily haggling on the Zocalo. Sheridan’s matching wits with Bester. But Garibaldi’s quit his job, and the certainty of the Shadow War...
Episode 71: “Into the Fire”
There’s a really obvious Hamilton reference that Chip could drop into this podcast, particularly the last half of a certain King George song, but Erika would kill him. Besides, this podcast is...
Episode 70: “The Long Night”
It’s special guest star Bryan Cranston! OH EM GEE! But maybe in the ’90s that wouldn’t be what held your attention. Maybe it was the sight of a very determined Narn breaking his unweakened ...
Episode 69: “Falling Toward Apotheosis”
How different is Season Four, and how different is John Sheridan now? He sits at the war room table and puts a hit out on a Vorlon. Yeah, things are getting serious in Grid Epsilon. Pull up a cha...
Episode 68: “The Summoning”
Sheridan summons, Garibaldi shrink-wraps, Marcus confesses, Ivanova discovers, Delenn reunites, G’Kar screams, Vir threatens, Cartagia washes, Zack retrieves, Lyta confronts, Kosh abuses, Londo...
Episode 67: “Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?”
OK, so a lot of stuff happens in this not-very-eponymous episode! We find out a bit more about whatever happened to Sheridan, Delenn prepares to go to war, G’Kar trips up, Londo offers a deal,...
Episode 66: “The Hour of the Wolf”
You only just missed a song parody from Chip on this one, but hey, time was short and the songs from Rio aren’t exactly Creative Commons. You will, however, get some excitement over the new t...
Episode 65: “Z’ha’dum”
Season three ends. John Sheridan ends. Anna Sheridan ends…again. The Shadow War…pauses. Michael Garibaldi…vanishes. And Delenn despairs. Welcome to one of the most devastating episodes of B...
Episode 64: “Shadow Dancing”
We present a podcast within a podcast, a new addition to The Incomparable Network: Steven Schapansky’s “Vejar or Not”. (The preceding sentence is a complete lie.) We celebrate the outstandi...
Episode 63: “And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place”
In this episode: we talk about one of the most delicious/creepy comeuppances in science fiction television history, Erika makes a hip-hop reference that is one letter away from being brilliant, a...
Episode 62: “Grey 17 is Missing”
One or more of your co-hosts buck the Received Fan Wisdom about Grey 17, the Zarg, and Freddy Kreuger. One or more of your co-hosts vow to do a Phantom Edit of the episode. Find out who! (There i...
Episode 61: “War Without End”
Epic. Convoluted. “War Without End” answers questions from the dawn of the Third A…er, from the pilot movie and first episode, and sets up new questions for The One Who Will Be. We reach ba...
Episode 60: “Walkabout”
Shannon, Chip and Hugo Award winner Erika take a leisurely saunter with Stephen Franklin down the dark alleys of Downbelow as he goes on “Walkabout” to find himself. Along the way they explor...
Episode 59: “Interludes and Examinations”
Chaos! Loss! Destruction! So much awfulness happens to our poor characters in this episode, so of course Jason “Schadenfreude” Snell is back with us! (Also, he’s sitting in for Shannon, wh...
Episode 58: “Ship of Tears”
Since the station’s secession from the Earth Alliance, it was inevitable that Our Intrepid Heroes’ relationship with perennial antagonist Bester would change. Did you see this coming, however...
Episode 57: “Sic Transit Vir”
It’s that lovable scamp Vir’s turn for a love story, and it’s also time for an exploration of the banality of evil and the horrors of genocide. Plus Ivanova gives sex advice and Delenn seas...
Episode 56: “A Late Delivery from Avalon”
We all find different ways to cope with hardship. David Macintyre grabs some chainmail and a prop sword and becomes King Arthur. Cheesy? A weird departure from the story arc? Thematically relevan...
Episode 55: “Ceremonies of Light and Dark”
After hype, hype and hype again about the Holy Trilogy and especially “Severed Dreams,” is it time for a sudden crash to earth? Or, in the midst of rapidly devolving Nightwatch members and th...
Episode 54: “Severed Dreams”
“Why not? Only one human captain has ever survived battle with a Minbari fleet. He is behind me. You are in front of me. If you value your lives, be somewhere else.” Here to celebrate the gre...
Episode 53: “Point of No Return”
Poor Zack Allan. He just doesn’t know where to turn. Loyalty drives him to stick with Nightwatch, but he sure doesn’t know where to turn. Poor President Clark. A big scary alien ship destroye...
Episode 52: “Messages from Earth”
Chicago Sun-Times technology columnist and renaissance geek Andy Ihnatko rejoins us as various stuff hits the fan. Shadow ships on Mars? Shadow ships on Ganymede? A desperate mission into the sol...
Episode 51: “Exogenesis”
We read the comments. We know that many of you question the worth of “Exogenesis.” But perhaps there’s another perspective out there, perhaps shared by some of your co-hosts, revolving arou...
Episode 50: “Dust to Dust”
Bester’s back! Just in time for a thrilling police procedural…er, no. Because the telepathic drug plot is just the means to an end: a wholly unexpected and powerful confrontation between Lond...
Episode 49: “Voices of Authority”
In which Tiki Gods are real, not-Aragorn REALLY gets on Susan’s nerves, a PR consultant has extreme ideas about transparency and exposure, and an intercepted phone call brings the two major plo...
Extra: “The Whovian Guide to Babylon 5” from Long Island Who
From the Long Island Who convention on, well, Long Island: here’s the audio of Chip and Erika’s panel, “The Whovian Guide to Babylon 5.” Mild spoilers for the series are ahead as a roomfu...
Episode 48: “Passing Through Gethsemane”
This is possibly one of the best done-in-one episodes of B5: meaty, great sci-fi concept, cultural commentary, well directed and (mostly) acted, psychological drama, and a surprising amount of fo...
Episode 47: “A Day in the Strife”
This is the trail mix of Babylon 5 episodes: a little chunk of plot here, a chewy nugget of insight here, a scattering of tasty character development, and an A-plot that doesn’t really hold ev...
Episode 46: “Convictions”
THESE ARE CHAOTIC TIMES, CAPTAIN! This is NYPD BLUE in Space, listeners! And it turned out better than we expected–although we were all looking forward to watching the famous Elevator Scene aga...
Episode 45: “Matters of Honor”
New season! New ship! New title sequence! New characters! Babylon 5 takes an assured step forward as Captain Sheridan and Delenn take the fight to the Shadows, while Morden’s malign influence s...
Episode 44: “The Fall of Night”
The second season finale ends with a bang (alas, Centauri warship; alas, core shuttle) and a whimper (alas, kind of, Keffer). How does “The Fall of Night” do in wrapping up a season and whett...
Episode 43: “Comes the Inquisitor”
The Audio Guide to Babylon 5 welcomes Lynne and Michael Damian Thomas of Uncanny Magazine and numerous SF podcasts to talk about “Comes the Inquisitor”! As you might expect, the five of us go...
Episode 42: “The Long, Twilight Struggle”
The Narn-Centauri war comes to a shocking end, Draal gets a makeover, and John Sheridan takes a shower. Pretty routine episode, if you ask me.
Episode 41: “Divided Loyalties”
For a couple of years now, those of us who have seen the entire run of the series have waited for this moment: “What did Steven think of what happened to Talia Winters?” Sadly, Steven couldn�...
Episode 40: “Confessions and Lamentations”
Jason Snell rejoins us, which means we have a better than 50-50 chance of this being a really depressing episode. Many Markab died to bring you this podcast. Plus, in the spoiler section, Chip us...
Episode 39: “In the Shadow of Z’ha’dum”
So perhaps you’d like to know what a good chunk of this TV series is all about. RELEASE THE FLOODGATES. (Apologies for a few audio glitches in Shannon’s track.)
Episode 38: “Knives”
Well, we didn’t hate it. “Knives” is a return to the A-plot/B-plot style of which we saw so much in Season 1. Could either plot have carried an episode on its own? How stunningly effective ...
Episode 37: “And Now for a Word”
We interrupt this program to bring you a show within a show! How novel! But does “And Now for a Word” hold up as a projection of future journalism? Does it advance the story arc? Is it a good...
Episode 36: “There All the Honor Lies”
Sheridan’s framed for murder, Londo’s symbolically cast…in a bad light, Vir’s about to be cast from the station, a new Deep Space Franchise is born, and Lennier’s got family trouble. Ju...
Episode 35: “Hunter, Prey”
Hunter, comma, Prey. Your humble hosts pretty much agree that this is not only a good episode, it’s the first episode of Babylon 5 that is purely arc-driven: it’s all about what came befo...
Episode 34: “Acts of Sacrifice”
The long-awaited Ivanova Dance edition of B5AG is here! Did anything else happen in this episode? As a matter of fact, quite a lot. Weep for G’Kar. Curse Londo. Snicker with Taq. Boom. Shubba-...
Episode 33: “All Alone in the Night”
This is possibly a first in Babylon 5 history: the B5AG crew cites Ross Perot in an otherwise serious critical analysis. Meanwhile, Captain Sheridan is all alone in the night, Delenn is all alon...
Episode 32: “GROPOS”
Paul Winfield comes onto the station as General Richard Franklin (no relation to the Doctor Who actor, sorry) and brings 25,000 ground pounders with him as, one episode after the Narn-Centauri w...
Episode 31: “The Coming of Shadows”
In every story worth its salt, there’s at least one pivot point. We’ve already had a couple in Babylon 5. This one won a Hugo. That made it a perfect time for our Control Group, Steven Schapa...
Episode 30: “Soul Mates”
Does the love quadrangle drive your three co-hosts to delight or delirium? Talia is given a chance to escape her destiny with the Psi-Corps, but is her reunion with her ex a dream or a date with ...
Episode 29: “A Race Through Dark Places”
It’s the most pivotal turning point (wait, that’s redundant) yet for Talia Winters, as an underground band of telepaths forces her to face the truth about PsiCorps. All this, a dinner date, I...
Episode 28: “A Spider in the Web”
Talia Winters…is back! San Diego…is a wasteland! John Sheridan is…a truther? (Absolutely not!) And there’s something sinister lurking within the station–an eponymous spider…in the web...
Episode 27: “The Long Dark”
Guest actor Dwight Schultz is more tortured than “Howlin'” in his turn as a former soldier grappling with ghosts in his head and an invisible stalker who likes to snack on human organs. Meanw...
Episode 26: “A Distant Star”
Does Babylon 5 have a footwear agenda? Does Delenn need to pick up a copy of Leadership Lessons for the Newly Follicled? And how about that happy-go-lucky Captain Sheridan who has taken to gnaw...
Episode 25: “The Geometry of Shadows”
The most bitter, vividly remembered conflict in all of Babylon 5 history is barely contained in “The Geometry of Shadows”! But in the cold light of reason, are the Drazi color wars actually ...
Episode 24: “Revelations”
Revealed! The fate of G’Kar! Revealed! The fate of Delenn! Revealed! The fate of Garibaldi! Revealed! The fate of the Guy What Shot Garibaldi! Yeah, not much happens in this one.
EXTRA: B5 Animator “Mojo” Interviewed
For our first Extra edition of The Audio Guide to Babylon 5, Chip welcomes “Mojo,” senior computer animator during B5’s first three seasons and pilot, working with Ron Thornton’s Founda...
Episode 23: “Points of Departure”
“It’s the end. But the moment has been prepared for.” In this pop culture-poaching edition of B5AG (seriously, we apologize for the Scarecrow and Mrs. King theme) we bring The Incomparable...
Episode 22: “Chrysalis”
The first-season finale is upon us! Joining Chip, Erika and Shannon to tackle “Chrysalis” in a bumper edition of The Audio Guide to Babylon 5 are B5 newcomer Steven Schapansky and longtime fa...
Episode 21: “Legacies”
It’s the penultimate episode of Season 1, the calm before the storm, in which the worlds of the Minbari warrior caste and Earth’s Psi Corps collide in the presence of a human teenager. We’r...
Episode 20: “TKO”
Erika, Shannon and Chip debate the finer points of mixed martial arts and wonder aloud what happens when you have an episode without a discernable “A” plot. Grab a Zima and sit back!
Episode 19: “The Quality of Mercy”
Danger, Will Robinson! OK, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s enjoy a nice little reunion between two Lost in Space veterans (except they never actually share the screen) and lear...
Episode 18: “Babylon Squared”
Just a little, inconsequential story about that predecessor station to B5 that disappeared without a trace, right? Presenting “Babylon Squared,” with all of the signs and portents it entails....
Episode 17: “A Voice in the Wilderness”
It’s two, two B5 episodes for the price of one, as Erika, Shannon and the convalescing Chip tackle both parts of “A Voice in the Wilderness.” What did they think of the mystery of Epsilon 3...
Episode 16: “Eyes”
Erika and Shannon are joined once more by Steven Schapansky of Radio Free Skaro to talk about an episode in which all of Sinclair’s chickens come home to roost. If you were one of those fans wh...
Episode 15: “Grail”
Erika and Chip are on opposite ends of the spectrum. One only has eyes for David Warner. The other would prefer a date with a na’ka’leen feeder than to watch “Grail” again. How does Shann...
Episode 14: “Signs and Portents”
J. Michael Stracynski once described certain B5 episodes as “WHAM” episodes, episodes that kicked the series arc forward or had otherwise momentous events. “And the Sky Full of Stars” was...
Episode 13: “By Any Means Necessary”
Union-busting and horticulture come together in a surprisingly good mixture, as the Dockworkers’ Guild, an officious Senate negotiator, Londo and G’Kar combine to give Sinclair his worst 48 h...
Episode 12: “Survivors”
“Podcasting again, Uncle Mike?” Garibaldi has a Really Bad Day, but that’s peanuts compared to what almost happens to the Earth Alliance President. We reflect on what happens when Ivanova a...
Episode 11: “Believers”
Chip: “This is such a depressing (but good!) episode, I’m thinking about editing in a medley into the podcast somewhere to sort of lift our spirits. You know, The Partridge Family theme, Pha...
Episode 10: “Deathwalker”
Na’Toth goes nuts. Earth makes a deal for immortality. A genocidal maniac plots her greatest revenge. And a good cigar is a Cuban. It’s “Deathwalker,” wherein one of the quieter races o...
Episode 9: “And the Sky Full of Stars”
Radio Free Skaro‘s Steven Schapansky joins Shannon, Chip and Erika as we explore what someone new to Babylon 5 makes of “And the Sky Full of Stars,” probably the first “WHAM!” episode o...
Episode 8: “The War Prayer”
Like the Mark Twain short story itself (included as bonus audio at the end of the podcast), its namesake B5 episode “The War Prayer” is in no way, shape or form subtle. Find out what Erika, S...
Episode 7: “Mind War”
We’ve got our first guest co-host, and he’s a doozy: please welcome Chicago Sun-Times columnist and podcaster Andy Ihnatko to the B5AG Advisory Council, as we tackle “Mind War.” The telep...
Episode 6: “The Parliament of Dreams”
So many fishies, gods by the bushel, curiously attached spectacles and little red fruit: it’s an episode that Shannon and Chip thought would be a perfect jumping-on point and Erika kinda dread...
Episode 5: “Infection”
We’ll come right out and say it: “Infection” ain’t exactly high art. There’s some stuff that works, some stuff that REALLY doesn’t, and more than a few allusions to the future of the ...
Episode 4: “Born to the Purple”
Babylon 5‘s first proper love story revolves around the most unlikely subject, Londo Mollari, while security chief Garibaldi tracks down someone who’s making clandestine phone calls over the ...
Episode 3: “Soul Hunter”
Babylon 5 takes a dip into the metaphysical as a stealer/liberator/preserver/destroyer of souls causes havoc on the station, threatens an ambassador, reveals secrets and chants annoyingly. We’l...
Episode 2: “Midnight on the Firing Line”
Now we’re cookin’ with phased plasma! The first season of B5 opens with “Midnight on the Firing Line,” which moves like a Ferrari compared to “The Gathering.” (Totally a Volvo: depend...
Episode 1: “The Gathering” (pilot movie)
And so it REALLY begins! Erika watched BOTH the original edit and the TNT-funded producer’s cut! Shannon mourned the Gravity Rings! (She wasn’t alone.) That’s right, we’re officially star...
Episode 0: “And So It Begins”
Welcome to The Audio Guide to Babylon 5! Herewith our manifesto: this is a book club without books, an episode-by-episode walkthrough of one of the most influential and important modern SF series...