The Corps Is Mother, the Corps Is Father

Last updated
"The Corps is Mother,
the Corps is Father"
Babylon 5 episode
Episode no.Season 5
Episode 13
Directed by Stephen Furst
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Production code514
Original air dateApril 15, 1998
Guest appearance(s)
Episode chronology
← Previous
"The Ragged Edge"		Next →
"Meditations on the Abyss"
List of Babylon 5 episodes

"The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father" is an episode from the fifth season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 . Unlike other episodes, it follows the actions of the Psi Corps from the Corps' internal view.

<i>Babylon 5</i> American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski

Babylon 5 is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Television. After the successful airing of a test pilot movie on February 22, 1993, Babylon 5: The Gathering, in May 1993 Warner Bros. commissioned the series for production as part of its Prime Time Entertainment Network (PTEN). The first season premiered in the US on January 26, 1994, and the series ultimately ran for the intended five seasons, costing an estimated $90 million for 110 episodes.

In the fictional universe of Babylon 5, the Psi Corps is an agency of the Earth Alliance responsible for all humans with telepathic or other para-psychological abilities anywhere within Earth-controlled space. All persons with Psi abilities are required to either join the Corps, face lifetime imprisonment, or submit to a lifetime of drug treatments to suppress their abilities. Prolonged treatment with these drugs has a depressing effect. Susan Ivanova's mother committed suicide after ten years under treatment.

Meaning / Background

At PsiCorps' headquarters on Earth, Bester welcomes two new trainees to the PsiCorps, Chen and Lauren. While showing them around, they heard of the murder of another PsiCorps trainee by his roommate, Drake, who has since fled from Earth to Babylon 5. As PsiCorps do not want to alert authorities to any problems within their "family", Bester takes Chen and Lauren to Babylon 5 to track down Drake, expecting him to be looking for additional finances to escape to outside PsiCorps' influence. Bester cautions them how to deal with the "mundanes" on the station that lack telepathic powers.

On the station, Drake has already killed one man, taking his knowledge of gambling to make a great deal of money at a casino. When he leaves the casino, Drake is chased by one of those that lost money to him and accuses him of cheating, but Drake uses powerful psychic abilities to kill him. Jonathan, a criminal on the station, witnesses this, and convinces Drake to work with him to earn more money so both can leave.

Bester arrives, and soon discover the two murders Drake has done. Bester does alert station security about Drake to help with his capture but omits why Drake is wanted. As security is watching one casino, Bester has Chen scout out the other casinos on the station, while he and Lauren review the data about paperwork found in Drake's quarters. In one bar, Chen thinks he sees Drake, and goes to call Bester, but is stabbed and killed before the call can be completed. Footage from the communications term show that it was not Drake that killed Chen but gives an identifying tattoo that helps to track down Jonathan. Further, Bester discovers that Drake likely suffers from multiple personalities; one personality is only a P10, but his roommate inadvertently awakened a latent and violent P12 personality. This makes him even more dangerous.

Bester, Lauren, and station security track down Drake and Jonathan and corner them; eventually the situation is diffused with Drake willingly turning himself in. Bester and Lauren take Drake and Jonathan back to Earth, though en route, they dump Jonathan's body into hyperspace.

Synopsis

Bester pursues a murderous telepath, using the pursuit to train two rookie Psi Cops in the finer points of their new jobs.

Alfred Bester (<i>Babylon 5</i>) fictional character from the television series Babylon 5

Alfred Bester is a Babylon 5 character played by Walter Koenig. He is a senior Psi Cop and a recurring antagonist in the series. J. Michael Straczynski named the character after the science fiction writer Alfred Bester, since telepathy is a recurring theme in his work.

Production details

Walter Koenig American actor

Walter Marvin Koenig is an American actor, writer, teacher and director, known for his roles as Pavel Chekov in Star Trek and Alfred Bester in the Babylon 5 series. He wrote the script for the 2008 science fiction legal thriller InAlienable.

<i>The Lurkers Guide to Babylon 5</i>

The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5 is a fan-run website that includes detailed episode guides and analyses, production history notes, background materials, references and other information related to the science fiction epic, Babylon 5. The name is derived from the term lurker, which Straczynski adopted to refer to the underclass residents on the Babylon 5 station.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

Related Research Articles

Michael Garibaldi fictional character from the television series Babylon 5

Michael Garibaldi is a lead fictional character in the universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Jerry Doyle.

"Mind War" is an episode from the first season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5.

"Eyes" is an episode from the first season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.

"Spider in the Web" is an episode from the second season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.

"A Race Through Dark Places" is an episode from the second season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5. In the episode, the Psi Cop Bester comes to Babylon 5 chasing after a group of rogue telepaths. The station's personnel have to deal with Bester's arrival and the legal and moral issues surrounding the presence of the rogue telepaths on the station.

"All Alone in the Night" is an episode from the second season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.

Dust to Dust (<i>Babylon 5</i>) 6th episode of the third season of Babylon 5

"Dust to Dust" is an episode from the third season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.

"Messages from Earth" is an episode from the third season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.

Ship of Tears is an episode from the third season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5.

"Epiphanies" is an episode from the fourth season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5.

"Moments of Transition" is an episode from the fourth season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5.

"No Compromises" is the first episode of the fifth season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5. This was the first episode of Babylon 5 to air on TNT.

Lyta Alexander character from the fictional universe of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Patricia Tallman

Lyta Alexander is a character from the fictional universe of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Patricia Tallman.

Stephen Franklin (<i>Babylon 5</i>) character in Babylon 5

Stephen Franklin is a lead character in the fictional universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Richard Biggs. He serves as the chief medical officer on the Babylon 5 space station.

Talia Winters character in Babylon 5

Talia Winters is a fictional character appearing on the science fiction television show Babylon 5 during its first two seasons. She was portrayed by actress Andrea Thompson.

The Telepath War is a conflict in the fictional Babylon 5 universe. This conflict occurs a few years after the events of the television series, and before the events of the Crusade television series. Although the war was set up in the last few episodes of Babylon 5, and the after effects shown in Crusade, the events of the Telepath War have not been shown either on screen or in spin-off novels, though there is a flashback episode set towards the end of the war in one episode of Crusade.

Byron (<i>Babylon 5</i>) fictional character from Babylon 5

Byron Gordon, played by Robin Atkin Downes, is a fictional character from the television science fiction drama Babylon 5, introduced in the fifth and final season.