Babylon 5
The Coming of Shadows
TV Flash files “The Coming of Shadows” as hour 31 of 110 in the TV Flash guide — Babylon 5 (1994–1998) on PTEN/TNT, season 2, episode 9, aired 1995-02-01, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S02E09: listed hour 31 of 110 in the Babylon 5 guide, hour 9 of 22 in season 2. It aired 1995-02-01 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “A Race Through Dark Places” (S02E08). Next is “GROPOS” (S02E10).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
The Emperor of the Centauri Republic comes to Babylon 5, but his failing health results in his peaceful mission being transformed into an opportunity to ignite all out war between the Centauri Republic and the Narn Regime. Meanwhile, Garibaldi confronts a mysterious man who has been following him around the station.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Coming of Shadows sit in the Babylon 5 guide?
S02E09 is listed hour 31 of 110 — hour 9 of 22 in season 2, season 2 episode 9.
When did Babylon 5 S02E09 air?
The Coming of Shadows aired 1995-02-01 and is listed at 60 minutes.
What is distinctive about its structure?
It was planned as a multi-year novel-like arc rather than mostly standalone episodes — five seasons designed as one composition.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Diplomats and soldiers on a massive station, plotted as a five-year novel when American sci-fi TV still defaulted to reset buttons. J. Michael Straczynski wrote the bulk himself: foreshadowing, payoffs, fascism, faith, and the forever DS9 comparison. Neutral ground until history refuses neutrality. Serialization with actual architecture.
The first useful thing *Babylon 5* does is refuse the reset button. Diplomats and soldiers aboard a massive space station navigate wars, prophecies, and alliances across a deliberately planned multi-year arc. J. Michael Straczynski wrote the vast majority of the series (1994–1998 on PTEN, later TNT association for continuation) as a novel for television — foreshadowing, payoffs, political sci-fi with unusual long-range architecture for 1990s American TV. Humanity's place among alien powers becomes a stage for…
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