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For better or worse, the cast Star Trek: The Original Series they found their careers associated with science fiction for decades after the series ended. In the end, things turned out well for Walter Koenig, the original Chekhov, who enjoyed a late-career resurgence. Babylon 5 as Albert Bester, the villainous Psi-Cop who became a staple of the show’s five-season run. Chekov was meant to appeal to young fans, while Bester was a villain from his first scene to his last, and throughout it all, Koening took whatever material he was given and knocked it right out of the park.
Albert Bester was the biggest villain of Babylon 5
Walter Koenig first appeared on Babylon 5 in the sixth episode “Mind War”, he introduced viewers to the dark side of the Psi Corps from the very beginning. Albert Bester, representative of the mysterious Psi-Corps, lands on a space station to capture a renegade telepath. Bester doesn’t get along with the station commanders and lies to Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O’Hare) in the first of many times the Psi-Cop obscures his true mission, regardless of 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 in which he appears are among the show’s best.
Walter Koenig has more in common with Khan than Chekov Babylon 5 Psi-Cop was driven by the desire to create a world where telepaths ruled the worlds. He wasn’t subtle about it either, and thankfully none of the other characters held back when discussing their feelings about Bester, leading to some of the show’s best lines. Only a perfect match between actor and character can lead to a corny line like this one, delivered with all seriousness: “Pinata, huh? So you think of me as something bright and cheerful, full of toys and sweets for little children? Thank you! It makes me feel so much better about our relationship.”
No redemption arc anywhere to be found
As the series went on, Walter Koenig became more comfortable playing Babylon 5 A total villain, Bester slowly went from irritating adversary to ally as The Shadow War heated up. Not only did that not last long, but it completely fell apart during season 5 and the telepath war. Sheridan’s (Bruce Boxleitner) job of trying to hide a telepathic colony aboard a space station began with the best of intentions, but nearly broke up the nascent Alliance before Bester got his hands dirty.
The strict rules and strict discipline of the Psi Corps, exemplified by the motto “The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father,” were unreservedly embraced by Besker and his sense of superiority. Even after the fallout of the Telepath War resulted in the Corps being decimated, he helped his convictions, and in fact, the Season 5 storyline wasn’t originally intended to be the end of Psi Cop. Walter Koenig was set to reappear in the series Babylon 5 spin-off, Crusadebut the show was canceled before that could happen, which is a shame because given how deep he fell at the end of the show, there was limitless story potential in his rise from the ashes.
As great as Walter Koenig’s performance as Chekov v Star Trek: The Original Series is if someone says that his real greatest science fiction Albert Bester was in the role Babylon 5it would be hard to argue. We’ve had five seasons of menacing stares, secret mind control, and delightfully feline comebacks, including the delightfully dry, “Anatomically impossible, Mr. Garibaldi. But you can 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 anything to achieve his goals.
