Babylon 5’s Worst Episode Puts The Spotlight On The Wrong Story
No series can be nothing but banger episodes, even Breaking Bad failed to pull off that trick, but what’s worse than a horrible episode is one that’s filled with missed potential. Babylon 5’s “Grey 17 is Missing,” like most television episodes, has a main story (the “A story”) and a side story (the “B story”), but what it got wrong was making the weaker plot the main focus of the episode. It’s a storyline that wastes the potential of a hidden level on the space station and, worse, the guest star, horror icon Robert Englund.
The New Ranger One Debate
Airing late during Babylon 5 Season 3, “Grey 17 is Missing” deals with the fallout of Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O’Hare) no longer holding the title of Ranger One. Delenn (Mira Furlun) is offered the title, but Neroon (John Vickery) objects, bringing the simmering conflict between the two Minbari, who represent the rival Religious Caste and warrior Caste, respectively, to a head.
It gets to the point that Neroon issues a death threat and engages in an actual fight with Marcus Cole (Jason Carter) over Delenn becoming the new Ranger One.
Minbari Culture
Thanks to nearly three seasons of characterization, the Minbari conflict is filled with subtext, character development, and foreshadowing about later events once war envelops the space station. The dropping of the bloody pike is filled with symbolism, which is why it’s a shame that what should be a fraught, tense plotline with long-lasting ramifications is completely overshadowed by the real story in “Grey 17 is Missing.”
The Story That Dominates The Episode
While everyone else on the station is dealing with the Ranger One ceremony and the Delenn’Neroon conflict, Chief of Security Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle) is tasked with finding a missing technician. During his investigation, Garibaldi hears about a secret floor in the Grey Section between the 16th and 17th floors. Grey 17 is Missing” takes a wild turn at this moment as the Security Officer is abducted and finds himself being held prisoner by a secret cult hiding onboard Babylon 5.
Robert Englund Is A Cult Leader
This might go somewhere interesting if it was related to the encroaching threat of the Shadows, or maybe the Psi Corps, but no, instead it’s just a cult of humans under the sway of Jeremiah (Robert Englund). Garibaldi is forced to listen as Jeremiah explains their belief that the universe is alive, everyone is the universe, and the truth will be revealed when “the door” is opened. It doesn’t make much sense, even if it does echo the Minbari Religious Caste’s belief, which Jeremiah acknowledges, but even that goes nowhere during the course of “Grey 17 is Missing.”
Star Trek’s Arena Did It Better
Instead, Garibaldi is able to take Jeremiah hostage and, on the way out, discovers the monster that killed the technician, a Zarg, which the cult smuggled onto Babylon 5. Thankfully, Garibaldi was playing with an antique gun before getting the assignment and used the old-school lead bullets, combined with heat from a steam pipe, to kill the Zarg. This entire storyline goes nowhere, leads to nothing, and was a waste of everyone’s time when “Grey 17 is Missing” could have bene laser-focused on the much more interesting Minbari conflict.
The People Demanded More Neroon
J. Michael Stracyzsinki, the creator of Babylon 5 and the writer of 90 percent of the show’s episodes, wrote “Grey 17 is Missing” and would later go on to blame the episode on dealing with an illness at the time he put it together. It says something when one of the worst episodes during the show’s run is at least half of a very good episode. Most fans will agree that Neroon getting screentime is never a bad thing.
