QWhy did Sinclair leave so suddenly? Was this planned?
ANo, the departure of the character of Commander Sinclair was not part of Straczynski's original plan for the series. However during the filming of the first season Michael O'Hare was battling a case of mental illness and began suffering from paranoid delusions. O'Hare found it increasingly difficult to play Sinclair, a character who was suffering from mental problems of his own and O'Hare's illness caused conflicts with some of the other cast and crew. Straczynski offered to suspend production of the show so that O'Hare could receive treatment but O'Hare did not want the livelihoods or the other cast and crew upended due to his illness. He and Straczynski ultimately decided to write Sinclair out of the show so that O'Hare could receive treatment. O'Hare would return to the show for the two part episode "War Without End" in the third season. In order to protect O'Hare's career from any possible damage, Straczynski kept quiet about the reason for the actor's departure until after O'Hare's death in 2012.
QHow do the various movies fit into the series timeline?
AThere are six Babylon 5 movies, five of which have an impact on the overall story. "The Gathering" is the series pilot; it was filmed and aired before production on the actual show began. As such, it should be viewed first. "Thirdspace" takes place sometime around the ninth or tenth episode of season four, while "River of Souls" fits in between the season five episodes "Objects at Rest" and "Sleeping in Light." Finally, "A Call to Arms" also takes place between these episodes, but should generally be viewed after finishing the series."In the Beginning" is a special case. As a prequel, it takes place before any of the events depicted in the series. However, it is very heavy in spoilers, and thus should not be viewed until after the first three seasons."The Legend of the Rangers" is the sixth movie; it has little effect on the Babylon 5 timeline and is not a fan favorite.
QWhy is Claudia Christian not in season five? Why is she not credited in the season four finale but is credited in the season five finale?
AThe details of what happened are still in dispute. Claudia Christian and J Michael Strazynski claim somewhat different details. However, what is clear is that there was some kind of dispute, or mix up, with the contracts which were offered to the cast for season five. Claudia Christian ended up not having signed a new contract and so was not on the show for season five.As for her not being credited in the season four finale but being credited in the series finale that has to do with the tentative nature of season five. When they were producing season four, the creators of Babylon 5 were not sure whether the show would be picked up by its distributor for a fifth season. They decided to write and film the series finale as part of season four just in case the show got cancelled and they had to wrap things up. When the show was picked up for a final season, the series finale "Sleeping in Light", was moved back to the end of season five. A new finale "Deconstruction of Falling Stars" was made to wrap up season four. However, when Claudia Christian departed the show this caused some problems. She had appeared in "Sleeping in Light" but not in "Deconstruction of Falling Stars". Crediting her for both episodes would have required paying her for an additional episode (credited actors get paid even for episodes in which they do not appear). So Christian's credit was removed from the season four finale but added to the season five finale.
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