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By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
For better or worse, the cast of Star Trek: The Original Series found their careers tied to science fiction for decades after the series ended. It worked well for Walter Koenig, the original Chekov, who found a revival late in his career. Babylon 5 as Albert Bester, the villainous Psi-Cop who became an integral part of the series’ five-season run. Chekov was supposed to appeal to young fans, while Bester was a villain from his first scene to his last, and throughout, Koening took whatever material he was given and knocked it out of the park.
Albert Bester was Babylon 5’s Biggest Villain
Walter Koenig’s first appearance on Babylon 5 in “Mind War,” the show’s sixth episode introduced the audience to the dark side of the Psi Corps right from the start. Albert Bester, a representative of the mysterious Psi-Corps, lands on the space station to capture a renegade telepath. Bester doesn’t get along with station management, lying to Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O’Hare) in the first of many, many times the Psi-Cop will get in the way of his true mission no matter who might get hurt. along the way. Koening’s performance was praised by fans immediately after the episode aired, and to this day, the 12 episodes she appears in are among the show’s best.
With more in common with Khan than Chekov, Walter Koenig Babylon 5 Psi-Cop was motivated by a desire to create a world where telepaths ruled the world. He wasn’t subtle about it either, and thankfully, none of the other characters held back when discussing their feelings for Bester, leading to some of the show’s best lines. Only the perfect match between actor and character could lead to a line as corny as this being delivered seriously: “A pinata, huh? So, you think of me as bright and cheerful, full of toys and candy for young children? Thank you! That makes me feel a lot better about our relationship.”
No Arc Of Salvation Anywhere To Be Found
As the series went on, Walter Koenig became more comfortable playing Babylon 5’s a complete villain, Bester slowly moved from irritating adversary to ally as The Shadow War heated up. Not only did that last long but it completely fell apart during Season 5 and the Telepath War. Sheridan’s (Bruce Boxleitner) job to try and shelter a telepathic colony aboard the space station was started with the best of intentions, but he nearly brought down the nascent Alliance even before Bester got his hands dirty.
The strict rules and rigid discipline of the Psi Corps, exemplified by the motto, “The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father,” were fully embraced by Besker and his sense of superiority. Even after the Telepath War led to the destruction of the Corps, it helped his beliefs, and in fact, originally, the story of Season 5 was not going to be the end of the Psi Cop. Walter Koenig slates to appear again in the Babylon 5 derive, Crusadebut the show was canceled before it could happen, which is a shame, because considering how far he fell by the end of the show, there was unlimited story potential in his rise from the ashes.
As good as Walter Koenig’s performance as Chekov is Star Trek: The Original Series that is, if anyone says it’s true most sci-fi Albert Bester’s role in Babylon 5it would be hard to argue. We’ve had five seasons of menacing glimpses, raw mind control, and gloriously brilliant comebacks, including the delightfully dry: “Anatomically impossible, Mr. Garibaldi. But feel free to give it a try.” Not once in any episode was there an attempt to give Bester a redemption arc or paint him as anything other than an egotistical villain willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals.
