Babylon 5
Rumors, Bargains and Lies
TV Flash files “Rumors, Bargains and Lies” as hour 79 of 110 in the TV Flash guide — Babylon 5 (1994–1998) on PTEN/TNT, season 4, episode 13, aired 1997-05-12, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E13: listed hour 79 of 110 in the Babylon 5 guide, hour 13 of 22 in season 4. It aired 1997-05-12 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Conflicts of Interest” (S04E12). Next is “Moments of Transition” (S04E14).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Sheridan hatches an eccentric plan to convince the League of Non-Aligned Worlds to accept White Star patrols along their borders, while Delenn seeks help from Neroon to end the civil war that has broken out on Minbar.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Rumors, Bargains and Lies sit in the Babylon 5 guide?
S04E13 is listed hour 79 of 110 — hour 13 of 22 in season 4, season 4 episode 13.
When did Babylon 5 S04E13 air?
Rumors, Bargains and Lies aired 1997-05-12 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…
Filed against
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