Production Details
"Midnight on the Firing Line" was originally titled "Blood and Thunder."
Although The Gathering was filmed as the pilot episode and was intended to be followed immediately with regular episodes, there was actually almost a year between the broadcast of the pilot and the broadcast of the first episode -- therefore "Midnight on the Firing Line" functioned in part as a second pilot. As a consequence, several cast members left the series: Tamlyn Tomita (Lt. Cmdr. Laurel Takashima), Patricia Tallman (Lyta Alexander) and Johnny Sekka (Dr. Benjamin Kyle), hence the introduction of Lt. Cmdr. Ivanova and Talia Winters in this episode. For that same reason, the episode also recaps many of the relationships between races touched on in the pilot: the Earth-Minbari War, the occupation of Narn, and the decline of the Centauri Republic. However, "Midnight on the Firing Line" was not the first episode to be filmed; that status belongs to "Infection."
Although aired as the first episode of the season, it was not actually the first produced episode, which was actually 'Soul Hunter', hence the slightly crisper performances, most notably by Claudia Christian.
Read more about this topic: Midnight On The Firing Line
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