Pilot Movie: The Gathering

Before the TV show aired, the production company produced a TV movie that served as a pilot to the show, setting up the world and the characters. I watched the first seven episodes over the course of the last week, and only just found the pilot this weekend, so I actually watched it out of order, which was a weird experience. I like THE GATHERING way more than any of the episodes I’ve seen thus far, which is weird because for the most part the characters in the show are better. Only a handful of the characters are the same: A bunch of them, like the doctor and the XO and the telepath, are completely replaced with new characters, and I actually thought Delenn had been recast but it turns out it was just some differences in the Minbari makeup, and in the way she was played.

I like the series characters almost universally better than the movie characters, especially the telepath and the doctor; the movie CO is great, but it’s hard to beat Ivanova, and the later portrayal of Delenn is better than what we get here. So why did I like the movie so much more if most of the characters are weaker? Because the two movie characters who matter most are so much better here: Captain Sinclair, and Londo Mollari. Londo is an annoying caricature in the early episodes of season 1; I hear he’s many people’s favorite character, but that must come later because he’s pretty grating early on. In THE GATHERING, though, he’s an absolute standout: he’s simultaneously regal and venal in a balance the series hasn’t achieved yet, and his speech about his species losing their glory and becoming a gift shop is immensely powerful. You can tell that some of the early episodes are trying to reproduce the force of this monologue, like in episode 3 when he talks about his father forgetting to dance, but the magic isn’t there. Here in the movie, though, he takes a relatively small supporting role and kills it.

Then there’s the captain. Movie Sinclair is dynamic and charismatic and authoritative in a way that series Sinclair is only just starting to achieve by episode 7. He acts like he’s in command, and he really feels like he’s in command, and it’s great. He’s still kind of a cipher—I don’t feel like I really know him or understand him—but I like him, and that’s what matters. One weird thing about Sinclair, while we’re on the subject, is that it keeps bothering me how hands on he is. Why does he keep getting into brawls and piloting Starfighters and all this stuff, when he should just be sending a staff member to do this for him? And I feel guilty for how much this bothers me, because I don’t think he’s any more hands-on than any given captain on Star Trek—I think I must be comparing him to Captain Adama on BSG, who delegated almost every action scene to someone else. It’s not really a problem, it’s just something that stands out to me, though I suppose it’s kind of a problem because it means Garibaldi doesn’t get to do anything cool. Garibaldi is immensely likable, and while he gets a lot of screen time all his big Security Officer Hero Moments are stolen by Sinclair, who has to be the hero of Every Scene.

The other character who warrants mention is G’Kar, who shines brightly as a sympathetic villain in both the movie and the series. THE GATHERING kind of sets him up as a major villain, if not THE major villain, but in the series he’s more of a self-interested wild card, ready to help or screw over anyone as long as it benefits the Narn in the long run. I like him a lot, and you’ve really got to hand it to Katsulas, the actor, who manages to emote so amazingly well through such a stiff-looking alien costume. Take note, Star Trek Discovery: this is how you do a frickin’ alien. Dude can barely move his face, but his dialogue is in English and he delivers it with real connection, and it works. Your new Klingons are a failure on virtually every level, but especially on this one.

As for the story...meh. It’s fine. It’s a murder mystery that has no murder, and the stakes feel too low to get really torn up about. Even when the Vorlons are threatening to blow up the station, you never believe they’ll actually do it. But the characters are great, the political situation is fascinating, and the production design is incredible. The CG is super dated now, but the interior shots give a better sense of “crowded spaceport” than DS9 ever did, and I say that as a rabid DS9 fanboy. Babylon 5 looks dirty and lived-in and overflowing with actual people. I really dig it. I don’t think we ever see the big farmland interior shots again, though, or at least not in the first seven episodes. Those were kind of a shock to see, but I dig ‘em.

Anyway. I liked THE GATHERING a lot. I’m not grading these as I watch them, but I’d give it a solid [high but undefined grade].

I’ll try to bang out some reactions to the first seven eps as quick as I can, so I can get back to watching new ones.