The Death of the Incredible Hulk (1990)

The final outing for the Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno incarnation of the troubled character(s) has Banner working as a nighttime cleaner at a lab, so that he can slip in after hours and work on the development of a new gamma formula. All goes well, until tragedy rears its head and the green fury is unleashed.
The theme of family is central. So too is change, which connects to the other at various points along the way with varying degrees of success. But best of all, unlike the previous two TV movies it has no backdoor pilot aspirations, which means there's no extra Marvel character, and it's all the better for it.
The blunt title could be suggestive of deeper meanings, at least to people that think beyond the obvious, because every time the human side of the character selflessly leaves a friend or loved one behind he dies a little inside.

3 growth factors out of 5

Babylon 5: In the Beginning (1998)

The first and the best of the B5 TV movies. Set ten years before the TV Series, it tells the full story behind the Earth/Minbari war. Much of it has been revealed in snippets before, but seeing it like this, in flashback, told from the last days of [spoiler], makes it extra special. Fans will know what happens seconds after the credits roll; the narrator knows... he's always known.
Why is there no Mr Garibaldi? They could've made him a wig.

NOTE: Despite what the title suggests, this should NOT be watched before the series, it should be watched after the 5 years have finished.

5 minor continuity discrepancies out of 5

Babylon 5: The Gathering (1993)

A feature–length pilot that's notable mostly for setting up large chunks of a story arc that would develop in subsequent years, although no one but series creator J. Michael Straczynski and the producers really knew back then because such long-running continuity wasn't the norm at the time.

If you know Babylon 5 already, then The Gathering is worth hunting down, despite its flaws. If you're new to the station, however, or not sure if a plot-heavy sci-fi show is really for you, it might be better to start with Season 1 of the TV series instead, even though it means missing out on some crucial back-story for certain characters. You can fill in the gaps later, but be aware that there are a number of notable differences between what was planned and what eventually came to pass.

3 changing faces out of 5

Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers: To Live and Die in Starlight (2002)

LotR should've been great. It’s a feature-length pilot movie that takes place within the existing B5 universe (the year 2265), acknowledging all that has passed but taking its arc in a new direction. The focus was on the Rangers, aka the Anla'Shok, as they seek out and combat a threat intent on destabilising the Interstellar Alliance headed by Sheridan. He doesn't feature, but G'Kar does and he’s as perfect as ever. Unfortunately, the remainder of it isn’t. Even allowing for what I call 'pilot error', the teething troubles that a new series tends to suffer from, it’s still a load of hokum and hairy balls.
B5 fans will want to see it for themselves, but be prepared for disappointment and being witness to what's perhaps the single worst weapons system ever conceived by man in the history of television.

2½ imperfect reflections out of 5