Babylon 5: The River of Souls

1998
Babylon 5: The River of Souls
6.5| 1h34m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 20 December 1998 Released
Producted By: Turner Network Television
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

A group of Soul Hunters come to Babylon 5 demanding the return of something that was stolen from them.

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bpeck13 You can buy the first two movies (In the Beginning, The Gathering) separately, but in order to get all five B5 movies (the first two plus Thirdspace, The River of Souls, and A Call to Arms), you have to buy them in a box set. The first two movies are out of order—they should be In the Beginning and then The Gathering. These movies are GREAT for background information. They really should be watched before watching the series. Thirdspace is a detached from the rest of the movies and series. It comes after the end of the Shadow War (season 4, episode 6), but then there is no mention of it again. If you never saw this movie, you wouldn't miss any continuity. The only thing it clears up is why Lyta Alexander and Zack Allen never got together. The River of Souls occurs in apx. Year 2263 and is less detached because B5 has encountered Soul Hunters before. This just gives more insight to them. It is like an extra episode in Season 5.A Call to Arms (Year 2267) is a prequel to the Crusade series. If you aren't planning to watch the Crusade series, there is no reason to watch this movie. Season 5 should go like this: 1. Season 5 Episode 21 "Objects at Rest" (Year 2262) 2. The River of Souls movie (Year 2263) 3. A Call to Arms and the Crusade Series (Year 2267)—optional. I suggest these be watched separately from B5 series as they really don't enhance or expand on the B5 series. 4. The Lost Tales—Voices in the Dark movie (Year 2271) 5. Season 5 Episode 22 "Sleeping in Light." (Year 2280)6. The Legend of The Rangers: To Live and Die in Starlight (after the Year 2280)—optional. Does not add nor detract from the series.
MartinHafer Before this made for TV movie began, I had relatively low expectations. That's because it was made after the final episode of the series had aired and many of the series originals were gone. There is no President Sheridan, Delenn, Lennier, Londo, Vir, G'kar or Lyta. If you remember, on the second to last episode of the series, all the regulars except Zack, Vir and Captain Lockley left B-5 permanently. Now for this film they did bring back Garibaldi (who was not in the last B-5 movie) to join Zack and the Captain and the Doctor makes a brief and irrelevant appearance. But because so much is gone of the old chemistry, this film already is severely handicapped.The movie is about a Soul Hunter (Martin Sheen) who is led to Babylon 5 in search of a globe filled with souls that had been stolen from a hidden repository by an archaeologist (Ian McShane). A lot of spooky mumbo-jumbo stuff occurs but frankly it was all pretty silly and pointless. Yeah, yeah, the station nearly blew up but was saved and all, but frankly I felt like it was a case of "been there done that--and done that a lot better in the past".The secondary plot, provided more for comic relief, was much more interesting, as an entrepreneur installed a holo-brothel and those in command weren't sure what to do about it and when they tried to pressure them to close, they were slapped with a lawsuit. This was fluff, but it did provide a few laughs--something the other dreary plot was surely lacking.By the way, Sheen at first did a good job playing the Should Hunter--with his wild eyes and bizarre delivery. However, repeatedly throughout the episode he fell out of character. This should have been spotted and corrected.So the final verdict is this is only for total die-hard B-5 nuts (like myself). Others seeing it might assume the series sucked--which is a great injustice. This is a great example of a show not knowing when to quit.
Op_Prime The Soul Hunter plot to this movie was excellent. That brothel sub plot was a little funny, but totally unnecessary. Martin Sheen gives an excellent performance. I also like how they make good use of Garabaldi. The special effects were great as usual. This an okay entry to the B5 story.
Leeandkate I wonder whether Ian McShane's long-running role as antiques dealer Lovejoy on BBC TV influenced in any way his casting here. You'd think he'd be a bit more comfortable in the role, anyway.However, the one role that always seems to get overlooked is Richard Biggs' near-cameo as Dr. Stephen Franklin - or at least someone who looks like him. Speaking in a bizarre "Kobayashi-from-The-Usual-Suspects" accent, and with a completely different set of mannerisms, you feel the hair on the back of your neck rise as you realise this isn't the Dr. Franklin we all know and love.For me, that is the most memorable scene of this film, it beats Tracy Scoggins in lingerie anytime. This IS the Internet, remember - it's possible to see her with a lot less on!