Category: Babylon 5

This pivotal episode – wrapping up the show’s plot threads early at the end of season four in case the series wasn’t renewed for a fifth year – demanded some outstanding music, and got it in spades, though the soundtrack for Endgame isn’t without flaws. Once again, I have to criticize Christopher Franke for reusing material. I cited this gripe with In The Beginning, and here it happens again. The somber theme, first introduced as “Londo And G’Kar In Trouble” on the No Surrender, No Retreat soundtrack, returns no less than three times in the space of this 36-minute CD – it’s the official musical accompaniment of every quietly serious moment in Babylon 5’s fourth season. Building upon themes is one thing – themes that accompany specific situations and characters have made many movie and TV scores immortal to their listeners. But this particular piece of music was haphazardly jammed in wherever it would fit during the latter half of that season (and a large chunk of “Taking Back Earth”, the part which accompanied Sheridan’s ultimatum, was jammed into Delenn’s speech to Earth’s heads of state in the following episode, even though it was barely appropriate to the situation. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, the famous “jump now!” cue didn’t originate with Z’Ha’Dum – it was first heard in part one of War Without End. That cue was used in consistent situations whenever it resurfaced. This cue…isn’t. And I’m not going to mention “Mars Attack”‘s inclusion of a cue from a Franke movie score that predates Babylon 5 altogether!

However, “Taking Back Earth”, heard on Endgame in its first appearance, may well be the best reason to get this CD. That epic 11-minute cue – comprising almost an entire third of the album! – covers Sheridan’s forces’ battle to free Earth from the tyrannical reign of President Clark, and is an extremely intense listening experience, even without the visuals with which it is associated. The 6-minute long “Mars Attack” cue is also excellent, and it was reused heavily on In The Beginning. And last but not least, there’s also the “ISN News Jingle”, a nice little bonus bit of “source” music – meaning that, unlike the underscore, the characters in the show can hear it – that I really didn’t expect to hear on CD anytime soon.

1. Marcus on Death Watch / The Final Strike / Scouting Mars Targets / Main
   Title (6:03)
2. Taking Mars Bunker / Captain’s Final Briefing / Sheridan’s Old Teacher
   (3:02)
3. Battle On Mars (6:20)
4. Awakening Telepath / Babylon 5 Files (3:49)
5. Taking Back Earth (10:59)
6. ISN Jingle / Alien Healing Device / End Title (3:39)

Released by: Sonic Images
Release date: 1998
Total running time: 35:25

Babylon 5 is one of those shows where missing one key episode can leave you clueless when watching future episodes, and Chrysalis – which first aired in October 1994 – was just such a pivotal episode. The final episode of the show’s first season, Chrysalis set plot threads into motion that would affect the series permanently. The music was easily the first season’s most memorable, and firmly set the scoring style for the show on a more percussive path rather than a predominantly new-age-esque tone (which can also be heard clearly on Chrysalis). Chrysalis includes such immortal moments as the injured Garibaldi trying to reach Sinclair to warn him about the attempt on the Earth president’s life, Delenn offering to share the secret of the Battle of the Line, and the first time we see Kosh revealing his true nature to any of the other characters. The early scoring style of Babylon 5 leaned heavily toward new age influences, but in this case – especially those scenes involving the crysalline device that transforms Delenn – it works to the advantage of this episode. There are also two bits of source music here, including the song “Believe Me Now” (a very short, early-80’s-new-wave-style pop song heard in the background of the nightclub where Garibaldi finds Devereaux), and “Cheers”, the little chunk of thumpin’ house music played as the clock strikes midnight on 2258 (actually an excerpt from Franke’s solo album Klemania).

Fan favorites such as the music accompanying the assassination of the Earth Alliance president, and Garibaldi’s dying struggle to warn Sinclair about the impending plot, are heard here unedited for the first time (both pieces were included in altered form on the first Babylon 5 compilation CD, released in 1995). My personal favorite here, however, has to be the soft but menacing piece heard as Delenn prepares to reveal her true purpose to Sinclair (which leads into one of the aforementioned Garibaldi cues). Even as I first heard that on TV, that cue sent chills up my spine, and it repeats a musical motif heard elsewhere in higher registers throughout the episode’s score, symbolizing the imminence of Delenn’s change.

Chrysalis has turned out to be one of my favorites of the Babylon 5 episodic CD range, and I hope that, even if the first-season musical scores came up a bit shorter than even 30 minutes, Sonic Images will continue to release them, perhaps opting to pair up shorter scores on a single CD.

1. Into the Conference / Death of the Informant / Main Title (3:27)
2. Medlab / July is Better / See You In An Hour / I Knew Him / Things To Come /
   I Must See (4:06)
3. Believe Me / Send the Message / I Don’t Like Where We Are Going / I Don’t
   Like This / The Attack (5:50)
4. He Wouldn’t / I Do Not Have Much Time / There Is Someone Else / Cheers /
   Time (6:09)
5. Too Late / The Point of the Exercise / She is Changing (3:30)
6. Transmission / Destiny / End Title (2:30)

Released by: Sonic Images
Release date: 1998
Total running time: 24:51

Babylon 5’s first Hugo-winning episode was a winner from the word go, and the people making it knew this. The actors knew they were working with first-rate material, and rose to the occasion. And it’s also likely that Christopher Franke was given directions to make the music for the episode unique, which was not a problem early in the second season, when Franke was consistently generating some of his most innovative material for Babylon 5. The music from The Coming Of Shadows is percussive, aggressive, and helps propel the episode along its juggernaut path of destiny. In many cases, with dialogue and sound effects stripped away, The Coming Of Shadows is one of the most percussive scores in the history of the show, especially in the second season, which was heavier on mood and sinister atmosphere than on pounding war drums. Even seemingly simple scenes as Garibaldi putting a mysterious visitor under arrest for lurking around suspiciously is given a percussive flourish. But there are also less bombastic cues, such as the wistful passage accompanying the scenes of the Centauri Emperor’s lament that he has never made his own decisions – as well as the dark mood of the cue in which Londo realizes he has thwarted the now-dead Emperor’s dying wish for peace.

1. Imperial Palace / Emperor’s Exit / Request Denied / Main Title (3:07)
2. Doing Business / Preparing the Speech / G’Kar Gets Ready (2:52)
3. Greeting the Emperor / Reflection On Life / G’Kar’s Will / Emperor
   Collapses / Londo’s Plan (5:33)
4. Bad Timing / Apologies & Dreams / Shadow Attack / Toast to the Emperor /
   The Message (5:30)
5. Darkness is Coming / Betrayal / G’Kar’s Defeat / Emperor’s Last Wish /
   Emperor Dies / Transition / Now At War (6:46)
6. Takeover Plan / Londo’s Nightmare / Hello, Old Friend / End Title (1:52)

Released by: Sonic Images
Release date: 1998
Total running time: 26:00

I hadn’t actually planned on getting this CD, but two things happened – I spotted it at the local Best Buy at a very low price, and I saw the episode in question run on TNT. Since I was unable to tape a large slice of Babylon 5’s fourth season during its broadcast run, I didn’t remember the music particularly well (hence my panning of this particular soundtrack prior to its release), and so I hadn’t planned on getting this one. And naturally, therefore, it turned out to be one of the better Babylon 5 releases. The solid six minute cue covering the climactic battle between Sheridan’s rebel forces and Earth loyalists is a thumping dose of musical ass-kicking, and though not quite as distinctive as other B5 themes such as the “Requiem For The Line, it’s a very good chunk of music. Another cue, “Londo And G’Kar In Trouble”, is repeated many times in later episodes of Babylon 5, and should be particularly familiar to fans, since it covered subdued and sorrowful moments for the remainder of the fourth season.

1. Enough Is Enough (1:21)
   Earth Stands Alone (2:17)
   Main title / fourth season (1:29)
2. Marcus En Route (0:46)
   Vir’s Wake-Up Call (0:46)
   Preparations For Battle (1:24)
3. Sheridan’s Plan (0:36)
   Proxima III (0:49)
   Start Ground Attack (0:27)
   Londo & G’Kar In Trouble (2:50)
   Departure of the Fleet (1:14)
4. Tensions Rising (4:43)
   The Battle Begins (1:15)
   Bester Unlocks Garibaldi (0:28)
5. No Surrender, No Retreat (5:59)
6. Aftermath Moments (3:01)
   Winners and Losers (0:58)
   End Title (0:42)

Released by: Sonic Images
Release date: 1998
Total running time: 30:33

A pivotal hour in the B5 legend, this one features nothing less than the Shadow War engulfing the entire galaxy, the death of a major hero, and a painful return to the darkness for another major character. The music reflects this very well (especially the last cue, as the deceased’s remains are disposed of in space), though a lot of it reappears in slightly different form on the previously released Walkabout CD. Though there are some interesting and enjoyable stretches of music on this album, you may wish to consider carefully if you want to duplicate some music that is already on Walkabout.

1. Diary Entry (1:59)
   Nothing Else Goes Wrong (0:31)
   Main title (1:30)
2. We Cannot Defend Ourselves (0:28)
   Crisis In Medlab (3:32)
   Mr. Morden (0:22)
3. Londo Meets With Morden (0:36)
   Changing Plans (0:57)
   Reports of Shadow Attacks (0:38)
   In Need of a Victory (1:17)
   Garibaldi & Hobbs (1:11)
4. Vir on a Shopping Spree (1:17)
   Garibaldi Confronts Franklin (1:27)
   Sheridan Confronts Kosh (3:48)
5. Vorlons Attack Shadows (1:47)
   The Face of Death (5:06)
6. The Day After (0:36)
   Londo Seeks Revenge (1:19)
   Final Departure (1:27)
   End Title (0:38)

Released by: Sonic Images
Release date: 1998
Total running time: 22:45

Another pivotal chapter in the Babylon 5 saga, this explosive episode also featured quite a bit of memorable music, particularly long stretches of doomsday dirges that accompanied the battle of the aeon which took up most of the hour. As is often the case, the series’ most important installments were imbued with the best music, making this another good investment for Babylon 5 fans.

However, as always, this recommendation comes with one major complaint attached. Many fans were struck silent by the episode’s final moments, in which the Babylon 5 theme song resolved atypically to a major key – a lovely, haunting musical moment. On this CD, that moment is destroyed because it is faded out quickly, as if Franke is saving that same piece of music so everyone will have to buy the inevitable Rising Star soundtrack (a later episode which ended on the same musical theme).

It’s bad enough that fans are being charged at least ten bucks a pop for no more than 30 or 35 minutes of music which arrives without a booklet, the most inexpensive part of CD manufacturing. It’s bad enough that half a dozen discs are being turned out at once, aimed at the collectors’ market like a bunch of hideously overpriced trading cards. But when some of that very same music which is supposedly included in its original form fades out abruptly, I start to wonder if the fans are being done a great service by these CDs – or if they’re being taken for a ride.

1. A Human Strategy (3:15)
   Main title / fourth season (1:29)
2. Two Cents For Chance (0:58)
   Bad News For Morden (0:33)
   An Undignified Position (0:24)
   First Ones Philosophy (1:34)
   Londo’s Temper (1:52)
3. The Weapon of Patience (1:09)
   Blowing Up the Island (3:37)
4. A Wake-Up Call (2:28)
   Calling In the First Ones (2:16)
   Vorlons Spare Minbari (2:37)
5. The Cycle of History (6:33)
   Beyond the Rim (3:33)
6. The Dawning of the Third Age (2:09)
   End Title (0:42)

Released by: Sonic Images
Release date: 1998
Total running time: 35:05

Easily my favorite of the Babylon 5 episodic CDs to date, this is the soundtrack to the pivotal second season finale in which, as typically happens on Babylon 5’s season finales, the fictional stakes are raised beyond all belief. The crowning glory of this particular score is the cue which accompanies the unveiling of Ambassador Kosh, heralded with sampled choir, appropriate to Kosh’s appearance as an angelic being.

The Fall Of Night is the first in Sonic Images’ second line of Babylon 5 episodic soundtracks, and opens up a couple of new problems with this series of CDs. More often than not, the first series of Babylon 5 episodic discs arrived without the customary liner notes booklets, forcing listeners to send e-mail to Sonic Images for free copies of the booklets. The six discs comprising the second lineup of episodic soundtracks eliminate that problem in a rather unsatisfactory way – by squishing the entire text of both pages of the booklet into a “ring” printed on the inside of the tray card, which can be read through the clear plastic of the disc tray. Read, that is, if one has a microscope. Fortunately, the same liner notes are also available on Sonic Images’ web site, where they can be printed out much more legibly. My continuing gripes with Sonic Images’ packaging aside, the music alone makes The Fall Of Night the most worthwhile purchase of Babylon 5’s episodic soundtracks.

1. Good Shooting (0:35)
   Warning Signs (0:32)
   Main Title (1:30)
2. Big Space Introduction (0:17)
   Keffer On Bridge (0:35)
   Keffer & Mitch (1:02)
   Narn Ship Contact (0:33)
3. Silent Mysteries (0:29)
   G’Kar On His Way (0:31)
   The Nightwatch (1:24)
   Mission Explained (0:55)
4. On Location (0:28)
   History Unfolding (3:26)
5. Keffer Breaks Away (0:46)
   Kosh Unveiled (5:17)

Ivanova’s Closing Statement (2:18)
End Title (0:46)

Released by: Sonic Images
Release date: 1998
Total running time: 22:45

Yet another pivotal episode of Babylon 5, this tale of Sheridan’s betrayal by one of his own allies is remembered chiefly for the bizarre bit of custom-crafted rock music that accompanied that exact moment in the story. Unlike the Walkabout CD, Face Of The Enemy squeezes that song into one of the multi-cue tracks, as has come to be the norm for the Babylon 5 CDs, and furthermore, Sonic Images’ new practice of squeezing the liner and story notes into a ring of illegible text in the bottom of the clear CD tray leaves no room to credit the song’s performers – and they certainly deserve credit, for the song (ignominiously titled “Bar Background Music”) has much more depth than could readily be heard when the episode in question was broadcast. Two other cues, “Bester’s Whole Truth” and “Garibaldi Comes To His Senses”, are also worthy of your time; the latter cue accompanied the bizarre montage of Garibaldi coming to the realization that he has spent nearly a year under Bester’s mind control. As is the case with most of the new Babylon 5 CDs, good music and lousy packaging.

1. The War Continues (1:35)
   Thirty Pieces of Silver (0:28)
   Main title / fourth season (1:29)
2. Meet The Agamemnon (2:55)
   Telepath Cargo (0:49)
   Garibaldi’s Message to Sheridan (1:00)
3. Ivanova Warns Sheridan (0:27)
   Sheridan Departs for Earth (1:03)
   Lyta’s History on Mars (2:28)
   Bar Background Music (3:27)
4. Sheridan’s Arrest (1:11)
   Edgar’s Whole Truth (4:16)
   Bester Unlocks Garibaldi (0:28)
5. Garibaldi Downloaded (1:13)
   Bester’s Whole Truth (4:45)
   Garibaldi Coming To His Senses (0:48)
6. The Future Looming Ahead (3:23)
   End Title (0:40)

Released by: Sonic Images
Release date: 1998
Total running time: 32:20