Babylon 5 (TV Series) And the Sky Full of Stars (1994) User Reviews

What happened to Commander Sinclair at the Battle of the Line?

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 6 June 2018]

As this episode opens we see that two men have travelled to Babylon 5 and they are targeting Commander Sinclair. We also see a security guard, who has been suspended for running up gambling debts give a power unit to the two men. The next night Sinclair wakes from a dream about the 'Battle of the Line'; the final battle in the Earth-Minbari war to find the station apparently abandoned... Actually he is the prisoner of the two strangers and everything going on is within his head. They are determined to find out what happened in the commander's missing twenty four hour during which the war ended with the shock surrender of the Minbari. They clearly believe that Sinclair is part of a Minbari plot to undermine Earth from within. While this is going on Sinclair's colleagues are searching for him.

This was a really impressive episode even though most of it took place in Sinclair's mind. We see further evidence of people on Earth being paranoid about the motives of aliens; what makes it interesting is that there are hints that they may be right to be concerned. The Minbari surrender still remains unexplained and it is stated again that if Sinclair discovers what happened to him the Minbari will have him killed... this is almost certainly a subject that will take centre stage in future episode. The episode provides a fair amount of action; both during flashbacks to the battle and a shootout towards the end of the episode. Michael O'Hare is on good form as the commander and guest stars Christopher Neame and Judson Scott are solid as his captors. Overall this was a really impressive episode; not just because of the questions it answers but also for those it raises.

A Deliberate Start

[Pennant · 8/10 · 27 June 2007]

There are always comments on the slow start to Season 1 but JMS deliberately held back a lot of the arc stuff in the beginning of the series, allowing people to move gradually into the B5 universe, learn more about it and its characters, before going into the arc. It isn't until "Mind War" and this episode in particular "And the Sky Full of Stars" that we really see the main story arc developing.

After this there a several 'quieter' episodes to again give some depth to the characters before the season ends with a run of Wham episodes , leading into the much more exciting Season 2. I really would recommend sticking with Season 1

Yeah! This episode is exceptional and compelling

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 2 January 2007]

Unlike so many of the season one shows, this episode is great and fits in very well with the overall plots unfolding in the series. Unfortunately, too many early episodes are rather "self-contained" and don't relate so well to the evil machinations later seen on Babylon 5. This one, however, exposes the depths to which some at Earth Central will go to meet their agendas. In this case, some over-zealous Earthers are determined to understand what this "hole in Sinclair's mind" is as well as how he miraculously survived a head-on collision with a Minbari warship. I loved how the main writer of the series kept all these plot threads going for season after season and gave the audience tiny clues here and there about what was REALLY occurring. And so, part of the audience is hoping that Sinclair will be rescued, but also dying to know exactly what the kidnappers want to know!! Now this is a great example of exceptional writing and top-notch entertainment. For season one, this is one of the best episodes and not one to miss.

And the Sky Full of Stars

[Scarecrow-88 · 10/10 · 3 June 2012]

Significant episode of the first season of Babylon 5 raises questions about the Minbari as a 24-hour period of black out occurred to Commander Sinclair during the Battle at the Line, the last space fight between Earth and the Minbari. Christopher Neame and Judson Scott guest star as mysterious covert agents, their loyalties to a group of paranoids out to prove that the Minbari are behind a conspiracy to "invade Earth from within". They want to know what happened during Sinclair's "lost hours" when he lost an entire Earth squadron, yet the Minbari still surrendered. While completely "off the grid", his location unknown, Neame and Scott desire to locate the events buried somewhere in Sinclair's memory. We have an enigmatic scene at the end where a superior on the Minbari's "Grey Council" tells Delenn that if Sinclair remembers anything of those blanked out memories he must be killed…the question is why? And what other memories of that lost period are still yet to be uncovered? Neame and Scott use a mind cybernetic machine to "reach into Sinclair's brain" to uncover suppressed information vital to their cause. Much more to come in future episodes that will be certain to further elaborate on just what the Minbari are hiding… The clever use of a newspaper Garibaldi is reading speaks about future episodes and story lines; I'm sure "And the Sky Full of Stars" will be an episode to return to if just for this newspaper scene alone. Essential episode of the first season as it relates to the future of the series.