Both Babylon 5 and Crusade featured a number of episodes that for various reasons were proposed but never written, re-written in their entirety or written but never filmed. Some episodes never made it to script stage, sometimes only existing as a treatment or as just a rough concept before being abandoned or rejected for various reasons.
A proposed sequel to the 1964 episode ("Demon with a Glass Hand") from The Outer Limits, written by Harlan Ellison. This project had been repeatedly stated by JMS to be on the cards at various points in the series and would have been again written by Ellison. The episode would have featured Robert Culp reprising his role as Trent, an android from the distant future, tired after being on the run for over three hundred years, arriving on the station.[1][2][3][4]
"The World Below"/ "Midnight in the Sunken Cathedral"
"Deep within the darker parts of Babylon 5, where the poorer travellers from other worlds wait jobs or opportunities to start new lives on other worlds, a sub-culture has emerged, with its own rules, regulations, and leaders."[5]
Another proposed Harlan Ellison script that was originally slated for season one, but ultimately went undeveloped.[6][7]
The "A-plot" for the proposed season two episode was to have centred around a new leader in Down-Below while the "B-plot" would have featured Keffer taking a Starfury out on personal leave for his friend's memorial.[9]
An undeveloped script initially intended to have been part of first season before being retitled, put back to the second season and ultimately dropped.[10][11][12]
An undeveloped script initially intended to have been part of first season before being retitled, put back to the second season and ultimately dropped.[10][11][12]
The "A-plot" for the proposed season two episode was to have centered around the outbreak of the Narn-Centauri War, while the "B-plot" would have featured the founder of Babylon 5 visiting the station. There was also a "C-plot" that would have seen Ivanova being ordered by Sheridan to take some time off.
The Shadow attack that led to the declaration of war between the Narn and the Centauri was later moved to ("The Coming of Shadows") while the story of Babylon 5's founder was at one point moved to the season 3 premier episode ("Matters of Honor") but was ultimately dropped.[9][13][8][14] The episode title would later be partially recycled for the season 5 episode ("The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari").
"Anyone who wants to can come and visit, talk about whatever they need to talk about."
This concept would later appear in an early draft of ("The Path of Sorrows") when at one point Gideon remembers how CaptainAlec Ross, late of the EAS Cerberus, had an identical policy and he considers instituting something like that on the Excalibur as a way to remember his former captain.[8]
The "A-plot" for the proposed season two episode was to have centered around a holo-brothel on the station while the "B-plot" would have featured Delenn's removal from the Grey Council. Though the episode was never made, the main plot was at least partly recycled for the ("River of Souls") TV movie, while that part of Delenn's story arc was addressed in ("All Alone in the Night") instead.[9][14]
The "A-plot" for the proposed season two episode was to have centered around Keffer being caught in a war between two alien governments and sentenced to death for being a spy, while the "B-plot" would have featured the death of the CentauriEmperor. There was also a "C-plot" that would have seen Psi Corps assigning Talia a mate and ordered to breed so that they would produce a better telepath for the Corps.
The death of Turhan would ultimately be central to the pivotal episode ("The Coming of Shadows") while the idea of Talia being forced to marry another telepath was later implemented quite differently in ("Soul Mates").[9]
This episode would have featured "Mr. Jones", a proposed recurring character, somewhat in the mould of Mr Morden described as a "Mysterious figure, no one knows his origin, a really DANGEROUS man...but can be on anyone's side, or no one's side. Unpredictable, secretive, tattoos and hat and cloak and scars. Does deals out of the bazaar . . . He doesn't start fights. But he does finish them."[4][8][14] There was a character named Mr Jones that later appeared in the Crusade episode ("The Well of Forever"), but he was conceived as a very different character.[15]
"He is Captain Jack Carr of the Earth Alliance; his female Russian second in command is Commander Dylan (a human version of Delenn, played by Mira without makeup), and his security chief is Len (the human version of Londo, played by Peter without makeup). They don't believe his story that this is a dream...neither do the various ambassadors, Minbari ambassador Sherdinn, Narn ambassador S'san, or Centauri ambassador Garabaldo...The only constant in the real world and the dream world is Kosh, who may hold the secret G'Kar needs to heal himself and break out of his dream existence."
The proposed season two episode would have centered around G'Kar in a "healing coma", a Narn way of dealing with the disease. His dream is populated by people he knows in real life, but all are in very different roles. The episode ultimately went undeveloped as the network felt that viewers would be "too confused."[9]
Scripted but unfilmed, Gut Reactions was a proposed episode for B5's 5th season but ultimately rejected.
Crusade[]
Of the remaining nine episodes of the season, three made it to the production script stage but were left unfilmed, whilst "Tried and True" and "War Story" had completed writer's draft scripts. "The Walls of Hell" had been partially outlined but not scripted. The remaining three episodes of the intended 22 episode order (Darkness of the Soul, the third part of the 'sword trilogy' and episode 122) were due to be scripted by J. Michael Straczynski but did not start the scripting phase.[16]
The Excalibur gives chase to the ship that looks like the one that destroyedGideon's ship, the Cerberus, many years ago. This episode would have seen the Excalibur crew return to using their black uniforms.
"Dureena 'graduates' as a thief. But will her patron, Mafeek, let her continue aboard the Excalibur?"
Intended as a coming of age story, this would have given a closer look at the mysterious Thieves Guild and featured an appearance by Mafeek, who had previously been mentioned in ("A Call to Arms").[17]
Episode hadn't reached scripting stage when the series was cancelled.
19
"War Story"
Richard Mueller
Jeff Woolnough(assigned)
N/A
119
The first of a trilogy of loosely connected episodes that would have seen Dureena disappear for a time after being captured by a "huge, ethereal-looking ship" and taken away at the episode's climax. Richard Mueller finished a draft of the script after the show was cancelled.[18][19]
The second part of the planned "sword trilogy" would have been a very contained story, mostly featuring Gideon and Matheson in a room, talking (Trace was also going to be involved until TNT decided they didn't want him on the show anymore.) DiTillio only completed a few pages before being informed of Crusade's cancellation and did not even get to finish drafting out the basic story. According to DiTillio the overall theme of the episode would have been that "everything we do has consequence."
Carrying on from where "War Story" had left off, Dureena is still missing and all efforts to find her through conventional means have failed. At Matheson's urging, Gideon tries asking the Apocalypse Box; at first the box responds simply "Dureena is unimportant", but when pressed it says "Bring me Matheson". Though neither are happy at the prospect, Matheson feels responsible for Dureen's capture and agrees to be alone with the box as it requests. The box, or the entity within, joins with Matheson's mind, making his eyes glow and drasically enhancing his psi ability. Knowing it won't last and unable to block out the thoughts of those near him, Matheson has Gideon clear the crew off the bridge and takes telepathic control of the ship's systems, essentially becoming the Excalibur.
With his new abilities he takes the ship to "Dark Space", a strange region of Hyperspace left over by the Shadows. However the longer he has his powers the more crazed and egomaniacal he becomes. When Gideon realises that the Box has corrupted him, he tries to throw Matheson in the brig. Matheson senses his thoughts and locks down the ship, turns the intruder systems against the marines and refuses to relinquish his control — and that is as far as DiTillio got. The rest of the story would have featured Gideon and Matheson experiencing surreal telepathically induced flashbacks: Matheson to an incident in his childhood where he accidentally hurt somebody with his psi ability and Gideon to a gambling incident that saved a friend but cost his opponent her life. There would also have been a new sub-plot in which the ship's medical telepath expert (Marjean Holden was expected to be unavailable for this episode) asserting that if Matheson's abilities continued as they were, he'd be dead within an hour.[18][20]
The Excalibur finally tracks the Shadow Hybrid's signal back to its home base and uncovers some shocking secrets about Earthforce, the techno-mages and their connection to the Shadows. This episode would have been the season finale, ending with a cliffhanger leaving a question mark of whether Gideon is alive or dead.
According to the book, Crusade: Other Voices, Volume 1 Peter Woodward asked JMS if he could write an episode. JMS agreed, and the resulting script was called Little Bugs Have Lesser Bugs. Originally it was going to be placed during the first season and assigned production number 118, but due to some of the cast being unavailable for the projected recording dates, JMS decided it fit better after the End of the Line arc and the script was replaced in the production schedule with Tried and True.
The Lost Tales[]
"Voices in the Dark: Part III"[]
The originally intended third part to ("Voices in the Dark") would have shown Garibaldi dealing with some situation on Mars. Though the episode was dropped in pre-production due to an insufficient budget, the events are briefly alluded to by Lochley in the second episode.[21]
DC Comics[]
"The Book Of War"[]
The unpublished twelfth issue of the first DC Comics Babylon 5 series and was partially completed before being cancelled with several pages fully pencilled and inked by artist John Ridgway.
The issue would have featured the origin story of Marcus Cole, including the death of his brother, the destruction of the Arisia Mining Colony and the revelation that Marcus was the Ranger sent to the Narn Homeworld to obtain the "family messages" for G'Kar, as seen in ("Comes the Inquisitor"). Much of this material was later used in Kathryn M. Drennan's novel ("To Dream in the City of Sorrows"). The story would also have made some very strong clues regarding Sinclair and Valen that would have gone out prior to the airing of ("War Without End, Part II"). The issue would have ended with Marcus' ship crash landing and meeting some "very unfriendly Narns."[22]
Intended as the first Babylon 5 feature film, "The Memory of Shadows", (abbreviated as: B5:TMoS) was to have featured a mixture of both established and new characters in a story centring on Galen and an EF intelligence officer attempting to thwart a rogue techno-mage unleashing Shadow Technology on an unsuspecting galaxy.
