The Long Dark (Babylon 5 episode)

For the video game, see The Long Dark (video game).

"The Long Dark"
Babylon 5 episode
Ivanova and Garibaldi
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 5
Directed by	Mario Di Leo
Written by	Scott Frost
Production code	205
Original air date	30 November 1994
Guest appearance(s)
Anne-Marie Johnson (Mariah Cirrus) Dwight Schultz (Amis)
Episode chronology

"The Long Dark" is the fifth episode in the second season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5. It originally aired on November 30, 1994, in the United States. The DVD brochure included with season two teases the episode by saying "A drifting, century-old spacecraft carries a crewperson (Anne-Marie Johnson) in hybernetic sleep. And something else: a phantom-like spaceling that a self-styled prophet (Dwight Schultz) calls a Soldier of Darkness."^[1]

Synopsis

A cryonic exploration vessel from a hundred years ago approaches Babylon 5, bringing with it a deadly creature and a human from the past. The vessel's name is the Copernicus and it is broadcasting a signal in English. The vessel is brought aboard Babylon 5 and boarded. On the vessel, Sheridan, Ivanova, and Dr. Franklin find two cryonic chambers. One chamber contains only a corpse, while the other contains Mariah Cirrus (played by actress Anne-Marie Johnson), who begins waking up. An investigation reveals that the corpse is the body of Cirrus' husband Will and that he did not die of an accident.

Meanwhile, a man named Amis (Dwight Schultz) begins making grand assertions of doom, paraphrasing scripture, and shouting in the Zocalo. Garibaldi pulls him aside for creating a disturbance and unlicensed proselytizing and he is placed in the brig. When Garibaldi investigates his past, he discovers that Amis was a decorated combat veteran of the Earth–Minbari War. Garibaldi takes an interest in Amis, and asks him to explain his story. Amis explains that when his unit was attacking a remote enemy base, they came across a ghostlike alien that began feeding on his men.

The unexplained death of Will Cirrus and the pronouncements of Amis cause distress to the residents of the station. The two story lines merge when it is revealed that the creature that killed Amis' men and attacked him (leading to his current pronouncements) is the same creature who ate Will Cirrus. The creature is then destroyed by station personnel.

Cast

Regular

Guest

Anne-Marie Johnson as Mariah Cirrus^[2]
Dwight Schultz as Amis^[2]

Arc significance

Z'ha'dum is mentioned as being a possible destination for the creature that attacked the station. A stylized depiction of the creature is also shown to be in the Book of G'Quan at the end of the episode.
Jumpgate technology was given to humans by the Centauri, in exchange for trade.
Garibaldi was a ground-pounder "Gropo" (see episode "Gropos") during the war.

Series themes

One of the major themes in Babylon 5 is the significance of dreams and visions. In this episode, several characters experience significant dreams. Amis dreams about the mission where his men were killed by the creature. Garibaldi reveals that he still has dreams about his time in the Earth-Minbari War. Mariah Cirrus has a dream about the creature aboard the ship.

Historical references

The Lord's Prayer - Amis tries to recite the Lord's Prayer, a significant prayer in Christianity, but fails to remember all of the words
Hail Mary - Amis also tries to recite a Hail Mary, a type of intercessional prayer
Matthew 7:17 - Amis paraphrases this verse, which reads "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit."
Air and Space Museum - Ivanova remarks that she first saw a cryogenic chamber in the Air and Space Museum, but does not specify which one
Sheridan references an "old Earth" saying that "where there's smoke, there's fire."
The exploration vessel the Copernicus is possibly named after Nicolaus Copernicus, the famous Renaissance mathematician and astronomer who formulated a heliocentric model of the universe which placed the Sun, rather than the Earth, at the center.

External links

References

↑ Babylon 5: The Complete Sectond Season: The Coming of Shadows (2003 ed.). Warner Home Video. p. 5.
1 2 ""Babylon 5" The Long Dark (TV Episode 1994)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 4 May 2014.

Babylon 5

Series	Episodes The Gathering In the Beginning Thirdspace The River of Souls A Call to Arms The Legend of the Rangers The Lost Tales Crusade Episodes

Characters	Lyta Alexander Zack Allan Alfred Bester Byron Marcus Cole Vir Cotto Delenn Dukhat Stephen Franklin G'Kar Michael Garibaldi Susan Ivanova Kosh Naranek Lennier Elizabeth Lochley Lorien Londo Mollari Morden Na'Toth Lord Refa John Sheridan Jeffrey Sinclair Ulkesh Talia Winters Zathras

Species	List of civilizations Centauri Drakh First One Human Minbari Narn Pak'ma'ra Vorlon Shadow

Ships	Agamemnon Black Star Excalibur Explorer class starship Frazi heavy fighter G'Quan class heavy cruiser Hyperion class heavy cruiser Liandra Nial class heavy fighter Nova class dreadnought Olympus class corvette Omega class destroyer Primus class battlecruiser Raider Fighter Sentri medium fighter Shadow Planet Killer Sharlin Class Warcruiser Starfury Sun Hawk class gunship T'Loth class cruiser Trigati Valen class cruiser Vorchan White Star

Wars	Centauri-Narn War Dilgar War Earth Alliance Civil War Earth–Minbari War Shadow War Telepath War

Locations	Babylon 4 Babylon 5 Z'ha'dum

Organizations	Earth Alliance EarthForce Grey Council Interstellar Alliance League of Non-Aligned Worlds Minbari Warrior Caste Nightwatch Psi Corps Rangers Technomages

Miscellanea	Novels, short stories and comic books List of people involved with Babylon 5 List of people involved with Crusade Babylon 5 influences Babylon 5's use of the Internet Babylon 5 Wars Collectible Card Game Babylon 5 Roleplaying Game Babylon Park Battle of the Line The Be Five Book of G'Kar Foundationism Great Machine Lurker's Guide Mythology PPG Shon'Kar Spoo Triluminary Index of Babylon 5 articles

Category:Babylon 5

Babylon 5 episodes

Season 1	Midnight on the Firing Line Soul Hunter Born to the Purple Infection The Parliament of Dreams Mind War The War Prayer And the Sky Full of Stars Deathwalker Believers Survivors By Any Means Necessary Signs and Portents TKO Grail Eyes Legacies A Voice in the Wilderness (Parts 1 & 2) Babylon Squared The Quality of Mercy Chrysalis

Season 2	Points of Departure Revelations The Geometry of Shadows A Distant Star The Long Dark Spider in the Web Soul Mates A Race Through Dark Places The Coming of Shadows Gropos All Alone in the Night Acts of Sacrifice Hunter, Prey There All the Honor Lies And Now for a Word In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum Knives Confessions and Lamentations Divided Loyalties The Long, Twilight Struggle Comes the Inquisitor The Fall of Night

Season 3	Matters of Honor Convictions A Day in the Strife Passing Through Gethsemane Voices of Authority Dust to Dust Exogenesis Messages from Earth Point of No Return Severed Dreams Ceremonies of Light and Dark Sic Transit Vir A Late Delivery from Avalon Ship of Tears Interludes and Examinations War Without End (Parts 1 & 2) Walkabout Grey 17 Is Missing And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place Shadow Dancing Z'ha'dum

Season 4	The Hour of the Wolf Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi? The Summoning Falling Toward Apotheosis The Long Night Into the Fire Epiphanies The Illusion of Truth Atonement Racing Mars Lines of Communication Conflicts of Interest Rumors, Bargains and Lies Moments of Transition No Surrender, No Retreat The Exercise of Vital Powers The Face of the Enemy Intersections in Real Time Between the Darkness and the Light Endgame Rising Star The Deconstruction of Falling Stars

Season 5	No Compromises The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari The Paragon of Animals A View from the Gallery Learning Curve Strange Relations Secrets of the Soul Day of the Dead In the Kingdom of the Blind A Tragedy of Telepaths Phoenix Rising The Ragged Edge The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father Meditations on the Abyss Darkness Ascending And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder Movements of Fire and Shadow The Fall of Centauri Prime The Wheel of Fire Objects in Motion Objects at Rest Sleeping in Light

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