JMS should be hailed for brilliantly constructing a story arc that has pulled Babylon 5 through the hard times and shady reviews. Babylonian Productions’ ability to meld brilliant special effects with a strong story arc has brought Babylon 5 into the light from the shadows of Star Trek. Babylon 5 now stands on her own as a new icon of science fiction. It has built itself up relying on quality, not quantity. Thirdspace was a departure from this formula.

Thirdspace had brilliant and breathtaking special effects, but I found the story far less than I expected from the dazzling storylines I have come to expect from JMS. Without the strong plot, Thirdspace is simply a flashy effects movie.

The adversary in this movie were mindless destroyers of life. It was a departure from the proven formula of Babylon 5, where there are no clear lines to define good and evil. In the series there are no real bad guys. Like in real life, on Babylon 5 there are people who take action on what they believe. They have goals, and make decisions based on those goals. Occasionally they are wrong. But the opponent in this made for t.v. movie was nothing more than a mindless, faceless enemy who’s only goal seemed to be to obliterate life. There is no example in nature of a species that does nothing but destroy.

I could nit pick about the antagonist, but the truth is that I would have accepted that a single nuclear device could destroy an object the protagonists could not even scratch with lazers, ppg’s and a whorde of 23^rd century weapons, if the story were not so slow and detached. I could accept the meaningless fight scenes and mindless trashing of the station (yet again), if there were a clear purpose to it. Yet, the mass fight scenes seemed nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to involve the Security Chief and the Doctor in the plot.

I did enjoy the brief wit delivered by Jeff Conaway as Zack Allen. His exchange with Lyta Allexander (Pat Tallman) was priceless, and worth seeing again. There were a few stand out scenes, several moments of good acting, several strikingly beautiful sets and whordes of CGI effects that make this movie worth seeing….the first time.

If you are a CGI fan, this movie is for you. Don’t expect a brilliant story to knit the effects together. It’s not there. It does not stand on it’s own as In the Beginning did. And if you just happen to miss seeing Thirdspace you won’t miss any vital information lost between Season 4 and 5. Thirdspace is little more than eye candy. It has little "nutritional" value and is a little hollow in the middle. It serves as a passable but rather forgetable addition to the Babylon 5 universe.