Although Babylon 5 did complete its intended five year run, that final renewal didn't come until after filming for the fourth season had concluded. Creator J. Michael Straczynski decided to hedge his bets slightly and wrap up the series' major plot points. This gave the fourth season no end of intense high-stakes conflict, and although a few of those developments wound up feeling a little rushed, No Surrender, No Retreat is a satisfying climax to the Babylon 5 saga.

The first six episodes of the season resolve the Shadow War plot not with a cataclysmic battle but in a conflict of ideas between Sheridan and Delenn on one side, and both the Shadows and Vorlons on the other. While this development was something of a surprise and disappointment to many fans, an ideological victory is really the only kind the Army of Light could hope for - and there are plenty of pyrotechnics to come as both the Minbari and the Earth Alliance resolve their civil wars. My favorite of these six episodes is the second, Whatever Happened To Mr. Garibaldi?, which not-coincidentally parallels my favorite episode of season two, Comes The Inquisitor. Once again, Sheridan, Delenn and G'Kar must look within themselves and decide exactly who they are and how they will fight for what matters most to them. Wayne Alexander is even back, this time under heavy makeup as the enigmatic Lorien.

Season four also had several experimental episodes. Intersections In Real Time is a test of wills between a captured Sheridan and his interrogator, the action entirely verbal and confined to Sheridan's cell. It's a format Straczynski often experimented with, from season one's And The Sky Full Of Stars to the aforementioned Comes The Inquisitor and Whatever Happened. This time there's no b-plot to provide a little action, but that does nothing to diminish the stakes in one of the season's most compelling episodes. The Illusion Of Truth parallels another second season ep, And Now For A Word, as ISN returns to the station for another story. Now, however, ISN is a propaganda machine for the corrupt Earth government, allowing Straczynski to make a commentary on media manipulation. He returns to that theme in The Deconstruction Of Falling Stars, the season finale, which examines the future history of the B5 universe and the way in which history looks back on its pivotal figures and moments. It's a very interesting and worthwhile episode, although as an academic I have one slight quibble with Straczynski's depiction of the academic viewpoint.

Straczynski very fairly argues that individuals do make a difference, and takes issue with the movement of many academics toward a focus on group dynamics over individual action. While I have no doubt that there are some academics that fit the caricature shown in this episode, many of the academics who take this group-focused approach are not saying one has to go along to get along, as Straczynski mentions in his episode commentary. Rather, they argue that individuals do not act in a vacuum. They express and exploit trends in society, and they are supported by many individuals leading their lives in relative anonymity. Martin Luther King, Jr. was an individual who helped change the world, but he could not have done so without the help of the thousands who marched, demonstrated, donated and otherwise supported his cause. Sheridan defeated the Shadows, overthrew President Clark and led the Interstellar Alliance, but without the Lt. Corwins of the B5 universe, all his nobility and courage would have gone for naught.

Given Straczynski's viewpoint, it's not surprising that the best moments in this season are the ones that focus on individual choices. Neroon's sacrifice in Moments Of Transition was a very satisfying conclusion to that supporting character's arc as well as the Minbari civil war subplot. Londo's efforts to find redemption for his actions in No Surrender, No Retreat are portrayed beautifully by Peter Jurasik, and as usual Andreas Katsulas as G'Kar provides a powerful foil. Straczynski's experiments in story structure pay off here, because we know how much - and how little - Londo's efforts will succeed, so even the hopeful moments have a twinge of sadness underlying them. I also appreciated that in both this episode and Endgame, Straczynski let us into the minds of the Earth captains who fought on Clark's side, although since he did such a good job of showing Clark as a monster who needed to be stopped, it's hard to really accept any justification otherwise.

Since Deconstruction was actually filmed early in the series' fifth season to replace the series finale Sleeping In Light, which had been filmed in case the series wasn't renewed, the real endpoint of the fourth season is Rising Star. This episode is probably where the ill effects of the need to wrap up the major points are most felt. Londo and G'Kar, so recently at odds, are now bantering like old friends. Earth's introduction to the Interstellar Alliance and the impending Mars independence have to be handled almost entirely in dialogue, and in a way that strains credibility. After years of anti-alien hysteria, I doubt an Earth president would happily greet the surprise arrival of a fleet of highly advanced warships announcing their intent to form a new galactic order in the middle of a press conference. You can kind of hear the gears shifting in this episode, but given the circumstances there was probably no way around it.

As far as the extras on this set, there are a few changeups from the usual suspects. The cast commentary on Falling Toward Apotheosis once again features Bruce Boxleitner and Jerry Doyle, but this time Patricia Tallman and Peter Jurasik join in. I was happy to hear from those two, but quite frankly I'm about ready for Doyle to take a break. He clearly has little interest in the story or the show itself, and seems intent on just joking around with his friends from the cast and the third time around he's just not that funny anymore. Straczynski comments solo on Deconstruction, which is a nice choice given how dense that episode is with information. And for Face Of The Enemy, he's joined by director Mike Vejar. The result is a much more technical commentary that explores aspects of the series' production previously untouched by any commentary.

Besides the relatively basic introduction to the season, there's only one documentary, a short series of interview clips focused on Christopher Franke's music for the series. Along with that interview, however, is a brand new six-and-a-half-minute suite of new music from Franke that I really enjoyed. There's a piano-driven reinterpretation of the main B5 theme in particular that shows how versatile and rewarding the B5 music can be - but that's a topic that's already been copiously discussed elsewhere on the site.

I'll repeat the technical caveats about the widescreen masters used for these episodes - the quality does in fact get fuzzy in spots. At least the titles are back in Serpentine, although since Warner Bros. only produced one set of remastered credits, poor Zack Allan's promotion is never reflected. (Of course, the DVD booklet still lists Ivanova as a Lt. Commander and leaves off Jason Carter altogether - yet another indignity suffered by poor Marcus Cole.) It's still a very satisfying set.

Reviewed by Dave Thomer
theLogBook.com Assistant Editor