Written by J. Michael Straczynski and Larry DiTillio
Directed by Mario DiLeo

This episode takes on a different format by showing a news broadcast from the future about events on Babylon 5. Cynthia Torqueman (Kim Zimmer) is a reporter who spent 36 hours on Babylon 5 and has brought back footage as well as her own observations. Ostensibly, this is to counteract the poor public image the station has among those on Earth.

It appears a Narn vessel attacked a Centauri transport outside of the Station. The survivors are brought aboard the Station in chaos. Dr. Franklin (Richard Biggs) attempts to triage the wounded. Cynthia Torquemon asks Commander Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) about the incident but he simply states it is under investigation.

Centauri Ambassador Londo Mollari (Peter Jurasik) is interviewed and states that the attack threatens everything Babylon 5 stands for, When she interviews Narn Ambassador G’Kar (Andreas Katsulas), he denies any wrongdoing by the Narn.

Torquemon interviews many of the people who we don’t see on a daily basis, but who keep Babylon 5 operating. It gives a bit of insight into what’s happening behind the scenes while the series mainly focuses on the leadership of the station.

At one point, Sheridan counters a Senator’s (Christopher Curry) observations that the station looked like a good idea immediately after the Earth-Minbari War. The Senator thinks the war would have gone differently had it been fought at this point in time. Sheridan states that after a few years, people start armchair quarterbacking and being sure they would have won if only they were in charge or did the fighting. Cynthia points out that the Minbari did surMrender to end the War. I think this is a subtle point that Sheridan knows that if the Minbari hadn’t surrendered they would not have won the war, yet others try to paint quite a different picture.

Cynthia interviews Commander Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian) and describes her as “perky.” I’m surprised there wasn’t a reaction to that. When Cynthia interviews Security Chief Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle), he says he would like to go for 24 hours with nothing happening, and that someday what they are trying to do on Babylon 5 will make a difference.

After a brief glimpse of Ambassador Kosh, Cynthia interviews Minbari Ambassador Delenn (Mira Furlan). Delenn gets emotional when Cynthia asks what she would say to all of the relatives of people killed in the Earth-Minbari war. I give her credit, because I think if the situation were reversed and a Minbari representative were asking the same question of humans, the answer would be a shrug and “that’s war.”

The diplomatic mission is also presented as an investigation of the destruction of the Centauri transport revealing that the Narn were correct in their assertion that it was carrying weapons of mass destruction, against the laws of the Station. Londo defends it as the right of the Centauri to move the weapons around and they haven’t brought them onto the Station. During the arguing, a battle breaks out between the Centauri and Narn outside of the Station.

Both Londo and G’Kar state that if Babylon 5 opens fire on the ships they will consider it an act of war. However, Sheridan must defend the Station and all the beings on it. He is determined to keep the Station as neutral as possible and demands the two ambassadors meet with him.

G’Kar gives Cynthia an interview where he gives the history of the Narn-Centauri War. It’s quite a sad story, and gives an opportunity for the acting talents of Andreas Katsulas. He is behind all of the makeup with red lenses in his eyes, but manages to convey both a great sadness as well as determination. When Cynthia interviews Londo, he paints the Centauri as benevolent occupiers who just wanted to help the Narn.

Just as things seem to be calming down, a Centauri battle cruiser arrives. Londo states this is the consequence of seizing Centauri ships. If the seized ships are not returned to the Centauri, intact and unopened, they will open fire on Babylon 5. Sheridan will not give in to the Centauri demands. He reasons that firing on the Station would end up bringing Earth into the War on the side of the Narn, which is something they do not want.

However, just when it appears things might be calming down, a Narn cruiser appears. The Narna and Centauri do battle right outside the Station. The Narn cruiser destroys the Centauri cruiser, but in the process of trying to leave the area, the Narn cruiser is also destroyed due to the damage it took.

Cynthia then asks all of the people she interviewed previously if it’s worth it. All give affirmation to diplomacy, except G’Kar. Sheridan sees Babylon 5 as a tool of creating peace, not enforcing peace.

Much of this episode has the feel of filler, but it isn’t. It’s one of the many things that makes Babylon 5 so great. The audience gets to know a bit more about all of the characters while at the same time it furthers the narrative of the Narn-Centauri War. The insight into a number of the characters is also important. We get to see Sheridan’s perspective as a war hero who has a very different perception of the Eart-Minbari War than what the narrative back home sees to be. It’s Dr. Franklin’s story about how dangerous space actually is that delivers the most impact. Watching this series (and others), you take for granted that they are “safe” on board the Station, while a simple childhood game and an error in judgment leaves a lasting impact.

Sheridan also gets to showcase his ability to make decisions under pressure as the Narn and Centauri are both threatening the safety of the Station. It’s a typical plot point of creating a situation that looks like there’s no way out and then the hero (Sheridan) gets creative and puts an end to the danger. However, between that and his diatribe about the end of the Eart-Minbari War, it hints quite strongly that Sheridan is not what people think of when they see a military commander. He values peace more than war; he’s not a warhawk.

That’s not to say there isn’t some humor here. While Cynthia is interviewing David Corwin (Joshua Cox) in C&C, Ivanova is standing right behind him, listening to what he is saying, From the perspective of regular viewers, we know he is afraid of her and watching what he says. There’s also a bit of ironic humor when what is supposed to be an advertisement during the broadcast is shown. It’s actually propaganda for Psi Corps.

And Now For a Word seems to be filler but it’s a solid episode that presents a lot of information for viewers. Like many episodes of Babylon 5, there’s information doled out that I didn’t realize it was important until after I watched the whole series then went back to the beginning. There are moments that seem a bit forced, but overall it does a great job of delivering necessary information without it feeling like an information dump.

Previous episode of the series:

Next episode of the series: