Babylon 5: Thirdspace (1998) (TV)

Director:

Jesús Salvador Treviño

Writers:

J. Michael Straczynski (creator)
J. Michael Straczynski (written by)

Release Date:

19 July 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The crew of Babylon 5 discover an ancient artifact floating in hyperspace.

Plot Keywords:

Space | Telepathy | Alien Technology | Spacecraft | Alien Invasion

Cast

Bruce Boxleitner	...	Capt. John J. Sheridan
Claudia Christian	...	Susan Ivanova
Mira Furlan	...	Delenn
Richard Biggs	...	Stephen Franklin, M.D.
Jeff Conaway	...	Zack Allen
Stephen Furst	...	Vir Cotto
Patricia Tallman	...	Lyta Alexander
Clyde Kusatsu	...	Bill Morishi
Shari Belafonte	...	Elizabeth Trent
William Sanderson	...	Deuce
Kip King	...	Leo
Floyd Levine	...	Alex
Jeffrey Anderson-Gunter	...	Merchant
Joshua Cox	...	Lt. David Corwin
Judson Mills	...	Delta Seven

Also Known As:

Babylon 5: Guardians (USA) (working title)
Thirdspace (USA) (short title)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Netherlands:6 | Germany:12 | Finland:S | Iceland:12

Company:

Babylonian Productions

Trivia:

When they finished editing the movie for broadcast, the producers found out that they were actually a few minutes short so the elevator scene with Zack and Lyta was added.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Ivanova says (on Sheridan's link) that the carbon-14 dating puts the artifact at one million years old. But carbon dating can only be done to objects on earth, as the carbon ratios in space would be vastly different and constantly changing.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Sheridan: [voiceover] It was the middle of the Earth year 2261. The year between wars and the beginning of a new age. The Shadow war was over, but there was still a darkness waiting for us at home...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dead Space (2008) (VG)

"Five Million Years to Babylon 5"

Oddly, Thirdspace comes across more as a remake of 5 Million Years to Earth (i.e., Quartermass and the Pit) than anything. There's an ancient alien artifact that turns humans against each other and causes psychic disturbances. Stracynski's attempt at a Lovecraftian tale is okay, but both somewhat at odds with B5, mildly redundant (aren't the Shadows Lovecraftian?), and at the end goes for a big battle/finish (complete with a "blow 'em up" bomb tactic). Within the limits of a 90 minute movie, and with the obligatory bows to the B5 universe, Thirdspace seems oddly truncated.