Midnight on the Firing Line

"Midnight on the Firing Line" is the first regular episode of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.

Synopsis

Word quickly spreads on Babylon 5 about an attack made by Narn warships on the Centauri agricultural colony at Ragesh 3. Centauri ambassador Londo Mollari, whose nephew Carn is among those at the colony, accosts the Narn ambassador G'Kar. G'Kar claims to have only learned of the attack, but states that it is part of Narn working to reclaim their colonies taken during the Narn-Centauri conflict. Londo attempts to sway the Centauri homeworld to issue a militaristic response, but they refuse, and instead he is forced to issue formal charges against the Narn. Londo's aide, Vir Cotto, asks Londo about his hatred towards G'Kar, and Londo recalls a vision of how he will die, on the Centauri homeworld in twenty years with both he and Narn choking the lives out of each other. Meanwhile, G'Kar reaches out to Commander Jeffrey Sinclair requesting Earth's help to back the Narn, reminding Sinclair that Narn offered to arm Earth during the Mimbari wars. Sinclair wants to call the Babylon 5 Advisory Council and the League of Non-Aligned Worlds to take a stance on the matter, but is told by his government that with the Earth election happening that day, they do not want Sinclair to get Earth involved.

Meanwhile, the station's new telepath from the Psy Corps, Talia Winters, has been attempting to report to Lieutenant Commander Susan Ivanova, but Ivanova has avoided her. Talia makes her first meeting on the bridge, which Ivanova remains cold to. Security chief Michael Garibaldi learns of attacks being made on transport ships by the local raiders, and during one investigation, finds they are using more powerful weapons to disable these ships than in the past. Garibaldi links the attacks to a data theft of the transport ship company, including the schedule they use for the jump gates and thus allowing the raiders to know when and where to attack. Garibaldi debriefs Sinclair, as the only transport not yet attacked will be carrying refugees. Sinclair gets an idea, and instructs Ivanona to take over the meeting while he joins the party to stop the raiders. At the meeting, G'Kar presents a live video with Londo's nephew who is stations at Ragesh 3, stating that the colony has decided to swear loyalty to the Narn government, and thus ending Londo's charges. Later, a furious Londo gathers elements from his quarters that create a gun, and heads towards G'Kar's quarters. Leaving the elevator, he runs into Talia before moving on. Talia senses Londo's motives and warns Garibaldi, who is able to stop Londo in time before he can fire the weapon.

Sinclair and other fighters from Babylon 5 find the last transport in time, destroying several of the raider ships and chasing off the rest. Sinclair follows his hunch and tracks down the command and control ship that the raiders were launched from. Back at Babylon 5, Sinclair shows the gathered staff and G'Kar that the command and control ship was selling Narn weapons, something he had recalled from his earlier conversation with G'Kar, and had data crystals that affirmed that the Narn attack on Ragesh 3 was unprovoked and Carn was coerced into speaking under gunpoint. Sinclair instructs G'Kar to have Narn leave Ragesh 3 or he will formally report his findings to the Council. At the end of the day, Ivanova thanks Talia for her help, and explains her trepidation towards telepaths, as her mother had been an unregistered telepath, and to comply with the law, the Psy Corps had to inject her with chemicals that caused her to lose her sanity, leaving her to resent the Psy Corps. Ivanona hopes she can strike a better friendship with Talia.

Arc significance

• "Midnight on the Firing Line" marks the first mention of Londo's dream foretelling his own death. The fulfillment of this prophecy is seen in "War Without End", although it takes place in a markedly different context than that which Londo anticipates in this episode.
• The Narn conquest of Ragesh III which included the abuse of his nephew to justify it, his own humiliation in council chambers over the issue, and his government's impotent response to the incident, establishes a personal motivation for Londo's dream of restoring Centauri dominance. Although Commander Sinclair managed to resolve the issue in Mollari's favor, this experience would lead to him being open to Morden's temptation, which would drive much of the later events of the series.
• The first part of the episode touches on the Earth presidential election, involving the re-election campaign of President Luis Santiago and Vice President Morgan Clark. Ivanova mentions that she distrusts the pair, a feeling that would be justified later in the season & series.
• The attack by the Narn against the Centauri Republic foreshadows a war that would formally end in the second season episode "The Long, Twilight Struggle".
• Ivanova despises the Psi Corps because of her mother's death.
• Vir Cotto is introduced as the new aide of Ambassador Mollari.
• Ambassador Kosh has a mysterious way of leaving and entering his encounter suit very quickly.
• When Londo approaches G'Kar to confront him about the attacks, G'Kar offers Londo spoo, noting that it is "quite fresh." In the fifth season episode "A Tragedy of Telepaths", we learn that the Centauri consider an offer of fresh spoo an insult.
• A relationship worth exploring is clearly set up between Ivanova and Talia.
• Delenn's confusion over the Daffy Duck cartoon is understandable. As shown in the fifth season episode "Day of the Dead", Minbari have a rather sophisticated sense of humor.

Production details

"Midnight on the Firing Line" was originally titled "Blood and Thunder."

Although The Gathering was filmed as the pilot episode and was intended to be followed immediately with regular episodes, there was actually almost a year between the broadcast of the pilot and the broadcast of the first episode—therefore "Midnight on the Firing Line" functioned in part as a second pilot. As a consequence, several cast members left the series: Tamlyn Tomita (Lt. Cmdr. Laurel Takashima), Patricia Tallman (Lyta Alexander) and Johnny Sekka (Dr. Benjamin Kyle), hence the introduction of Lt. Cmdr. Ivanova and Talia Winters in this episode. For that same reason, the episode also recaps many of the relationships between races touched on in the pilot: the Earth-Minbari War, the occupation of Narn, and the decline of the Centauri Republic. However, "Midnight on the Firing Line" was not the first episode to be filmed; that status belongs to "Infection."

Although aired as the first episode of the season, it was not actually the first produced episode, which was actually 'Soul Hunter', hence the slightly crisper performances, most notably by Claudia Christian (Susan Ivanova).

External links

• Midnight on the Firing Line at The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5