Cast

Bruce Boxleitner as John Sheridan.
Claudia Christian as Susan Ivanova.
Jerry Doyle as Michael Garibaldi.
Richard Biggs as Stephen Franklin.
Andrea Thompson as Talia Winters.
Mira Furlan as Delenn.
Bill Mumy as Lennier.
Peter Jurasik as Londo Mollari.
Stephen Furst as Vir.
Andreas Katsulas as G'Kar.
Jeff Conaway as Zack Allen.
Jason Carter as Marcus Cole.

Written by J. Michael Straczynski. (Well, at least 21 of the 22 are. I missed the writing credits on that last one, but JMS is a pretty safe bet.)
Directed by various individuals. Full information is available from this IMDB page.

Past TV reviews can be found here.

Original Airdate

This, the third season, originally aired in 1996.

Synopsis

In this year, the Shadow War begins in full swing, with the introduction of Marcus, a ranger.

High Point

The War Without End has a little bit of everything this series was so good at, particularly the deeply intertwined continuity.

Low Point

The probe from A Day In The Strife. It just wasn't the mystery that it was obviously intended to be, with a cheap out. Of course, I find it difficult to believe this show would have something meanlingless this far along, so I suspect that it'll have some impact in a later season that I haven't seen yet, in which case I might change my mind.

The Review

Once again, originality credit is due for writing like this. Every episode moves the larger story along, but the majority of them also contain completely contained storylines. That's something that I don't remember seeing anywhere else at this level of integration. Either every episode is disconnected, as in most sitcoms, or they are so tightly packed together than an individual episode doesn't have a complete story within it, or the continuing and contained storylines are so independent that there's no need to put them in the same episode. I give it 6 out of 6.

The effects show signs of budget limitations. In cases with live action and special effects mixed together, the picture quality drastically reduces enough to act as an indication that effects are coming, which takes away from some of Draal's appearances. I give it 4 out of 6.

The story is the driving force of the show without question. The level of interconnection, as well as the naturally interesting nature of the story itself makes for a very rewarding show for long-time viewers or DVD owners. I give it 6 out of 6.

The acting is generally good. Most actors are convincing, and some (such as Peter Jurasik and Andreas Katsulas in particular) are excellent. I give it 5 out of 6.

The emotional response is very effective. In fact, that's why I waited so long to write this review; I remembered how addictive the first two seasons were, so I left the third and fourth seasons sealed until I knew I'd have all five and not have to wait for resolutions. This one was more effective than the first two seasons. I give it 6 out of 6.

The production gives the impression of being the result of giving very talented people half of their requested budgets. The job gets done, with no ugly moments, but with few great moments. I give it 5 out of 6.

Overall, it's an excellent series. I'm sorry I missed it the first time around, but I'm very glad that it made it to DVD. I give it 6 out of 6.

In total, Babylon 5: Point Of No Return receives 38 out of 42.