A couple of guest stars called Knight One and Knight Two arrive at the station accompanied by a shady security officer and an even shadier musical cue.
Another Fun Fact, both Patrick McGoohan (of The Prisoner fame) and Walter Koenig were approached about playing Knight One, but the former had to decline due to other commitments and the latter fell ill. For Koenig that worked out pretty well though, since he got cast as Bester in Mind War (which actually filmed a month or two later.)
But we are also treated to some lovely footage of the Battle of the Line. It runs at a curious 7-8 frames per second, but we can't expect the cybernet to deliver 4k 60fps just yet. I made another gaming joke. I should maybe stop that.
4Tran, is it true the term "lurker" started to appear on internet forums thanks to its usage in Babylon 5? You know, like forum lurkers who read stuff but never post. I've seen it said elsewhere. It's an interesting connection if true.
It's actually the opposite. JMS was an avid user of early online services like GEnie and CompuServ (and later Usenet), so that's where he picked up the term.
I figured I'd mention this right away. This was posted to Stephen Furst's personal Facebook page half an hour ago. We may have lost another in the beautiful Babylon 5 family.
Actor and comedian Stephen Furst died on June 16, 2017 due to complications from diabetes.
Steve has a long list of earthly accomplishments. He was known to the world as an brilliant and prolific actor and filmmaker, but to his family and many dear friends he was also a beloved husband, father and kind friend whose memory will always be a blessing.
To truly honor him, do not cry for the loss of Stephen Furst. But rather, enjoy memories of all the times he made you snicker, laugh, or even snort to your own embarrassment. He intensely believed that laugher is the best therapy, and he would want us to practice that now.
If you knew him personally, remember his gift for lighting up a room. And no matter who you are, when you think of Steve, instead of being sad, celebrate his life by watching one of his movies or use one of his bits to make someone else laugh - really, really hard.
I figured I'd mention this right away. This was posted to Stephen Furst's personal Facebook page half an hour ago. We may have lost another in the beautiful Babylon 5 family.
I figured I'd mention this right away. This was posted to Stephen Furst's personal Facebook page half an hour ago. We may have lost another in the beautiful Babylon 5 family.
In honor of Mr. Furst, I immediately found time for another episode. Alas, I don't believe Vir appears here for even a few seconds, but hey.
We begin this frighteningly-titled episode with a close-up of Na'Toth. I want to tell you that my phone's autocorrect tried changing that name to N'Grath. If only, phone. If only. Alas, rather than seeing a man-sized praying mantis leap across a crowded port, we must settle for a Narn -- a very scorned Narn, this Na'Toth -- who shouts the titular "Deathwalker" multiple times as she, uh, burrows into her... prey. Security successfully removes her from the woman she has targeted, but damage has been dealt. Fittingly, Sinclair's credits monologue soon reminds us Babylon 5 can be a dangerous place.
I love these damned posters. I just do.
So Dr. Franklin receives a patient, and she's going by a name that is decidedly less 1980s hair metal, and we learn a metric ton of information on a defining event in the show's backstory. It's something that won't come up terribly often, if memory serves, and I should note that it has been a long time and folks like BlackLagoon and 4Tran and Shoeless may correct me on that front, but anyway, it's important here. And it's important for demonstrating the early days of humanity on the galactic stage. Enough beating around the Kosh: I'm talking about the Dilgar War.
As you can see, the Dilgar were a friendly people.
These folks pounced onto the stage, pulverizing various races into dust. They were aided by some of the council races, too, including -- as we learn when Deathwalker talks to Sinclair about a hole in his mind, hello continuity! -- an extreme branch of the Minbari Warrior Caste. The League of Non-Aligned Worlds are all quite dissatisfied when a certain Senator Hidoshi (hey, where'd the original guy go?) demands Sinclair ship Deathwalker to Earth. See, she's got mad skills, and Earth wants to capitalize on them and perfect veritable immortality. Garibaldi ain't having it, either, and he starts berating Sinclair for believing in God in a world like this one. It's a great character beat for the guy, and it once again sets the show apart from its space opera peers of the day. We aren't even talking Bajoran religion, y'all. We're directly addressing human faiths.
Speaking of Star Trek, Robin Curtis of "replacement Saavik in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" fame is in this episode. She's instrumental in convincing her Non-Aligned peers to stand united against allowing Deathwalker off the station without a trial. Deathwalker did a lot of very bad things, you see. And with Delenn elsewhere, we rely on Lennier to fill Sinclair in on some key details, giving Bill Mumy his first opportunity to do... well, anything, really.
So the pieces are all on the table for a thrilling highly political episode. There are, in fact, a few standout scenes. But it never quite comes together. Unfortunately for its great premise, "Deathwalker" is uneven. Our mad scientist villainess has her moments, but she goes halfway to inadvertent comedy when at one point she cackles so over-the-top fiendishly I thought I was playing Tales of Babylonia.
"Foolish Earth hero! Your love and friendship are no match for my hate! The darkness will overcome you! Kingdom Hearts isn't light, it's crossover corporate greed!"
Surprisingly, the unevenness of the A-Plot isn't the episode's biggest offense, either. While the Deathwalker problem unfolds, we're occasionally sent back to a Talia Winters B-Plot with some highly questionable content. Talia is hired on by an unusually vocal Kosh to stand around and sometimes suffer waves of pain while the mysterious Vorlon and a guy who looks, talks, and carries himself like a Fallout New Vegas NPC spend hours on-end saying the most random things this side of a run-on sentence.
"I'm a low-key pimp joke!"
"Nevermind, I'm a robot!"
"My head hurts."
In the end, we learn that Kosh has essentially saved a hard copy imprint of Talia for unknown purposes.
Purposes which remain, um, forever unknown.
"Deathwalker" comes out of its slump to offer us a strong resolution, though. Ivanova gets creative, the Vorlons get dangerous, Deathwalker gives one last Maleficent monologue and then gets decimated, and your humble author gets the impression this was a mid-tier first-season outing which enriches a captivating world but fails to capitalize on that enrichment.
I figured I'd mention this right away. This was posted to Stephen Furst's personal Facebook page half an hour ago. We may have lost another in the beautiful Babylon 5 family.
Aw, no. What a shame. In addition to being great as Vir, he directed what were probably the three most unique episodes of the show--at least in terms of perspective and storytelling structure.
The Illusion of Truth
The Deconstruction of Falling Stars
The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father
Deathwalker was interesting to me because it showed that the Minbari weren't as united and perfect as they try to appear to the outside galaxy.
The Vorlons kill Deathwalker at the end to stop the other races getting immortality as they are not ready proving that she was right when she said "The superior controls the inferior". She was just mistaken in believing she was part of the superior.
In the end, we learn that Kosh has essentially saved a hard copy imprint of Talia for unknown purposes.
Purposes which remain, um, forever unknown.
"Deathwalker" comes out of its slump to offer us a strong resolution, though. Ivanova gets creative, the Vorlons get dangerous, Deathwalker gives one last Maleficent monologue and then gets decimated, and your humble author gets the impression this was a mid-tier first-season outing which enriches a captivating world but fails to capitalize on that enrichment.
I believe that this was intended as a way to restore Talia after she gets her hidden personality activated later on. They put in several of those fail safes to be able to deal with unforeseen changes in the cast and so on. Of course, Talia was a replacement for Lyta, and the Jason Ironheart episode is essentially a substitute for the Lyta's experience with Kosh.
The thought recording cyborg pimp was a crazy concept. It's been a while since i last watched the show. Were there any other robots or cyborgs in it? Spoilers
RIP. There's a story about how he got the part... It was something along the lines of during the audition he saw other actors in full Centauri costume, and thought he had to fix his hair to be similar to them. And apparently he made a huge mess of it and his clothes in the process, so his introduction to the producers was him being absolutely horrified and constantly apologizing for everything... which jms thought was perfect for the character.
Aw, no. What a shame. In addition to being great as Vir, he directed what were probably the three most unique episodes of the show--at least in terms of perspective and storytelling structure.
The Illusion of Truth
The Deconstruction of Falling Stars
The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father
He also returned to direct two episodes of Crusade. Each Night I Dream of Home, which was the fifth and final grey uniform episode, and the last one filmed before TNT decided to fuck with the show. And Appearances and Other Deceits, which was the last episode filmed before the show was cancelled, and contained a not too subtle commentary on what was happening to the show behind the scenes.
Amusingly both featured returning character from B5.
I believe that this was intended as a way to restore Talia after she gets her hidden personality activated later on. They put in several of those fail safes to be able to deal with unforeseen changes in the cast and so on. Of course, Talia was a replacement for Lyta, and the Jason Ironheart episode is essentially a substitute for the Lyta's experience with Kosh.
Also with the departure of story editor (and writer of Deathwalker) Larry DiTillio at the end of season 2, a several the plots he had been working on (like Bureau 13) just kind of petered out and got handwaved away.
The thought recording cyborg pimp was a crazy concept. It's been a while since i last watched the show. Were there any other robots or cyborgs in it? Spoilers
The biggest example would be the cyborg guy who was brought back from the dead in Spider in the Web. I suppose the Shadow modified telepaths could count if you want.
I think there's a line somewhere about Earth not having a lot of success with cybernetics though, at least as far as the public knows.
The thought recording cyborg pimp was a crazy concept. It's been a while since i last watched the show. Were there any other robots or cyborgs in it? Spoilers
But to try to answer your question, Galactica and B5 have similarities in that they both portray a future where humans are still humans, and still have to deal with politics, power struggles and perception. B5 is less gritty than BG though, and was produced on a lower budget, with very early CGI and no inexpensive Canadian location shooting, so early on it looks a lot cheaper and has some less than spectacular acting.
Where I'd say B5 delivers far more than BG though, is having a cohesive over all plot. BGs writers made it up as they went along, while B5 had story beats and character arcs carefully planned out from the start with episodes seeding hints of what was to come and constantly building upon and expanding what was established before.
One caveat is that the first season can be a bit uneven and not to everyones tastes, so if you do find yourself loosing interest you can come back here and we can give a list of key episodes to watch to get you through it quickly. This is not ideal, since most of the episodes have little details that can become important later, but it's certainly better than someone dropping the show entirely.
B5 is interestingly in-between. It feels a bit like Trek in the "90's space opera" sense but also evokes "military sci-fi" more in the vein of BSG. Additionally, it's more of a political show and that puts it close to BSG in some ways.
Aw, no. What a shame. In addition to being great as Vir, he directed what were probably the three most unique episodes of the show--at least in terms of perspective and storytelling structure.
The Illusion of Truth
The Deconstruction of Falling Stars
The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father
Deathwalker was interesting to me because it showed that the Minbari weren't as united and perfect as they try to appear to the outside galaxy.
The Vorlons kill Deathwalker at the end to stop the other races getting immortality as they are not ready proving that she was right when she said "The superior controls the inferior". She was just mistaken in believing she was part of the superior.
Yeah, it's fascinating stuff. For as uneven as I found the episode itself, the themes are really neat. I thought about writing more on the Vorlons' interception at the end, but figured my write-up was already running a bit long as-is. It's a genuine "wow" moment though and it goes a long way toward making the Vorlons look less like a bunch of weird recluses and more like the enigmatic powerhouses the other races perceive them to be.
I believe that this was intended as a way to restore Talia after she gets her hidden personality activated later on. They put in several of those fail safes to be able to deal with unforeseen changes in the cast and so on. Of course, Talia was a replacement for Lyta, and the Jason Ironheart episode is essentially a substitute for the Lyta's experience with Kosh.
RIP. There's a story about how he got the part... It was something along the lines of during the audition he saw other actors in full Centauri costume, and thought he had to fix his hair to be similar to them. And apparently he made a huge mess of it and his clothes in the process, so his introduction to the producers was him being absolutely horrified and constantly apologizing for everything... which jms thought was perfect for the character.[/SPOILER]
!!! I remember this story, and I remember d'awwwing at it when I first read about it. And then I forgot about it and now I'm d'awwwing all over again. It's so wonderful. I'm glad it all worked out; Stephen Furst was a delightful pick for the role.
Also with the departure of story editor (and writer of Deathwalker) Larry DiTillio at the end of season 2, a several the plots he had been working on (like Bureau 13) just kind of petered out and got handwaved away.
Larry's departure but I'd forgotten that multiple little plot strands kind of evaporate alongside it. Well, I guess it's difficult to get too worked-up about that -- Seasons 3 and 4 are so good, after all -- but it's an interesting "what if?" exercise to think about how things might have gone otherwise.
Folks above my post have already done a fine job answering, I think, but I'll add that it rather depends on why you dislike Star Trek, and which portions of Star Trek that you've seen. If it's the at-times preachy messages seen in many iterations of Roddenberry's hit franchise, you'll be in better stead with Babylon 5, which ultimately settles for a kind of relatively positive line of thought which nevertheless does not shy from demonstrating humanity's significant flaws.
If it's a matter of not enjoying what you perceive as a latent cheesiness through much of Trek, take caution that Babylon 5 -- particularly early on -- is not immune to some forms of cheese. But it's purposeful cheese, and it's laying down the brickwork for a ton of worldbuilding, too, which helps.
If you simply prefer more serialized storytelling over episodic, then I definitely recommend Babylon 5, and I'll throw in a plug for my favorite Star Trek, too. Deep Space Nine takes a while to get there, but winds up juggling a dozen major plot threads, too.
And if it's a matter of requiring strong acting and cinematography and soundtrack... ah, well, results will be mixed, to be honest. Early B5 won't win many retrospective awards for it, but as it goes along it really improves.
- BSG was led by Ron Moore.
- Moore also led the Star Trek series Deep Space Nine (although he didn't have complete freedom, and was tied to the ideals of Gene Roddenberry).
- DS9 had a sort of friendly competition/rivalry with Babylon 5.
- Star Trek Voyager was the series that eventually broke Moore, and BSG was created to be the anti-Voyager.
So while Voyager is an important negative example for a BSG fan, something like Babylon 5 could be considered to fall into the category of a positive example.
Most of this worked as a pilot to the series, albeit with a great deal of exposition. Characters are established, rivalries, factions. It's all pretty tidy. Watching it now for the first time in years, I'm struck at how many of the scenes end abruptly, often with a cut to endearingly old-school CGI.
Most of the main cast does a solid job of establishing their characters this early on, especially the ambassadors, Garibaldi and Ivanova. Both Mira Furlan (Delenn) and Michael O'Hare are pretty stiff. Furlan overcomes this eventually but unfortunately, Sinclair remains cardboard to the very end.
Also, I strongly dislike the cheap synthy scores for this series so expect me to bitch about those a LOT.
I figured I'd mention this right away. This was posted to Stephen Furst's personal Facebook page half an hour ago. We may have lost another in the beautiful Babylon 5 family.
Ah, jeez. It's like the Babylon 5 cast is cursed - the show wrapped up only 20 years ago, and so many have already left us.
Stephen Furst was great in his role as Vir. He managed the transition from the bumbling and humble assistant to Londo to what he ended up doing really well. It was an understated role, but he honestly did as good a job with his character as anyone outside of Katsulas and Jurasik. Stephen Furst will be missed.
So Dr. Franklin receives a patient, and she's going by a name that is decidedly less 1980s hair metal, and we learn a metric ton of information on a defining event in the show's backstory. It's something that won't come up terribly often, if memory serves, and I should note that it has been a long time and folks like BlackLagoon and 4Tran and Shoeless may correct me on that front, but anyway, it's important here. And it's important for demonstrating the early days of humanity on the galactic stage. Enough beating around the Kosh: I'm talking about the Dilgar War.
Other than this episode, I think that the Dilgar War only came up in In the Beginning. And since there aren't any more Dilgar any more, it's a bit hard to work them into the story.
Overall, I can see what this episode was trying to do, but I think it committed a couple of key sins. The first is that this is the first mention of the Dilgar, so it's not easy for the audience to get worked up over them, and Deathwalker's hamminess can't overcome that. The second is that the immortality serum and the cost of making it doesn't have all that much impact either. These would have worked out better if they were fleshed out earlier in the season rather than having them brought up and resolved in the same episode.
What does work though is the resolution. The Vorlons pop out and say "screw you" to everyone else. They're more powerful than everyone else, and they don't give a damn about the rule of law or what anyone else is interested in (it can be argued that the Vorlons have an unofficial veto). It's the first time in the show where the Vorlons do anything, and it's a shock when they're this decisive.
I thought that the B plot was less significant than it was intended to be, but it also reinforces the idea that the Vorlons are up to more than just standing around and acting cryptic.
Great commentary as always, 4Tran. Yeah, the Vorlon finisher was fantastic. I kid of wish it was the first we'd seen of Kosh all episode, though; that would make his appearance all the more stunning. It would also, uh, delete the B-Plot, which I would be A-Okay with, lol.
I watched "Believers" this morning, so when I get a chance later I'll post a new write-up!
Great commentary as always, 4Tran. Yeah, the Vorlon finisher was fantastic. I kid of wish it was the first we'd seen of Kosh all episode, though; that would make his appearance all the more stunning. It would also, uh, delete the B-Plot, which I would be A-Okay with, lol.
Thanks. I sort of like the idea of Kosh showing up because it reminds the viewers that the Vorlons are up to something and that they should be asking themselves what that something is. Also, a problem with episodic TV is that Kosh hasn't shown up for a couple of weeks now, and we never had much idea what he's about. So it'd be easy to lose the viewer if his only appearance in this episode is to blow up Deathwalker.
On a side note, I haven't actually watched any Babylon 5 in about a dozen years so I'm going purely off of memory here.
The last episode i commented on was The War Prayer. i am now done with the first season and its all a blur atm. i knew this would happen if/when i marathoned the show on my day off. Season 1 has been overall pretty good. Probably the episode i liked least was the one with the religious parents who refuse surgery for their child. There are a handful of episodes that were ripped right from the headlines if you lived during the 80s/90s. The reason i found that episode mostly horrible is that is was just expected. The acting from the child and parents was grating but they pulled it off at the end where it counted. The best part of that episode was G'Kar giving the parents his judgemental stare.
edit: i really have to play around with that gif to make it perfectly loopable lol
The last episode i commented on was The War Prayer. i am now done with the first season and its all a blur atm. i knew this would happen if/when i marathoned the show on my day off. Season 1 has been overall pretty good. Probably the episode i liked least was the one with the religious parents who refuse surgery for their child. There are a handful of episodes that were ripped right from the headlines if you lived during the 80s/90s. The reason i found that episode mostly horrible is that is was just expected. The acting from the child and parents was grating but they pulled it off at the end where it counted. The best part of that episode was G'Kar giving the parents his judgemental stare.
edit: i really have to play around with that gif to make it perfectly loopable lol
It's funny that wendi should highlight that episode, because earlier today I totally watched...
I was already excited to say this, but now that wendi has voiced their dissatisfaction, I somehow feel even more excited. I, uh, actually kind of love this episode. Sure, it has some lesser aspects. Yeah, some of the acting on the parents' parts is less than stellar. Some of the melodramatic dialogue between Franklin and the nurse feels shamelessly ripped from throwaway hours of any number of 90s hospital shows, too. But "Believers" is strong medicine.
A couple, grief-stricken because their son is dying, has come to Dr. Franklin for help. This is the catalyst for Stephen's first real A-Plot, and -- probably somewhat controversially -- one of my favorites for him. We get to see the man for who he really is, at least as far as his 2258 self is concerned. Fiercely dedicated to his trade, with unflinching convictions. But also fairly arrogant to the point of self-induced blindness. Thing is, these aliens have a thing about saying no to surgery, and their son requires surgery in order to live. Cutting us open causes us to lose our soul, after all. (There's a recurring line early on where the mother keeps saying surgery is only acceptable for "food animals" and as an animal lover it kind of makes her harder to empathize with but I guess that's the point.)
"Believers" is one of those episodes where I feel like going over the play-by-play is not only inadvisable, it also runs the risk of losing the point. As wendi said, it's mostly pretty predictable until the end, anyway. So why do I like it so much? Rather than summarizing stuff, that's what I'll tackle tonight: a pair of scenes so splendid, and a thematic component I find highly satisfying.
Children of Stephen.
So the crux of "Believers" is that Franklin appeals to Sinclair for authorization to operate on the sickly boy and the boy's parents appeal to ensure he's stopped. There's a lot of really good material between Sinclair and Franklin as a result, but little of it is as strong as what we get when the parents appeal to the various ambassadors. The scene begins with them speaking with G'Kar, but clever camera cuts shift us in media res to Londo, then Delenn, then Kosh. This is beautiful. Each of the ambassadors reveal key bits to the audience, and they do so by way of dialogue with a couple of completely one-off guest stars. Kosh's typical non-answers, in fact, foreshadow the heck out of future plot points, whilst Londo and G'Kar reveal facets of themselves. Londo in particular shows severe signs of helplessness for a moment. And Delenn? Well, she sure seems unsettled. The quick cuts to the characters reminds me of Tyrion Lannister grilling Small Council members in Season 2 of Game of Thrones, and I enjoy this scene even more for it.
The other standout scene essentially belongs to the late Richard Biggs himself. See, Franklin decides to perform the operation despite Sinclair ruling in favor of the parents, and when the boy recovers, his smugness becomes overbearing. It's enough to want to punch the guy, and I have every confidence the writers intended for us to feel this way. But so blinded is he that he does not realize the parents have taken their son away only to slay him. After all, they believe his soul was gutted. There was nothing but a shell. Franklin's shock, horror, self-loathing, all of it -- it's all brilliantly realized by his actor. I tear up, just a moment or two after wanting to deck the guy, and it's all thanks to Biggs. A painful lesson in humility.
While this is going on, Ivanova gets a B-Plot involving protecting a ship (the Asimov; nice name) from raiders. There's really not much to comment on here. Claudia Christian gets to have some fun hamming it up when she begs Sinclair to let her go on the escort mission, and then she does so, and... she's successful. They make a bit of a big deal over her technically breaking regulation during the ordeal, but we don't even get any hot early CG dogfighting; we skip to the resolution once she's made the decision to break protocol a little bit. It's a harmless fluff piece, but it gives Ivanova some screentime, so who's complaining?
Sinclair and Franklin have a make-up chat that doesn't tie itself up in a Star Trek: The Next Generation bow because that's not really Babylon 5's M.O. Instead, they converse on the nature of God, and belief, and instead of feeling preachy, it feels natural. This is what I meant when I mentioned a satisfying thematic component: Babylon 5 doesn't shy away from 23rd-century human interfaith examination. Sinclair and Franklin believe in God, if nebulously. Ivanova is Jewish. Garibaldi's an atheist. On occasion, these roles actively help define the characters. It's nice, it's refreshing, it makes for some interesting nuances. It's believable. And it's particularly well-handled here.
Sinclair and Franklin have a make-up chat that doesn't tie itself up in a Star Trek: The Next Generation bow because that's not really Babylon 5's M.O. Instead, they converse on the nature of God, and belief, and instead of feeling preachy, it feels natural. This is what I meant when I mentioned a satisfying thematic component: Babylon 5 doesn't shy away from 23rd-century human interfaith examination.
Yeah, this episode was pitched as the sort of thing that would never be done on Star Trek . Especially since it was written by David Gerrold, who is perhaps best known for writing the Star Trek TOS episode The Trouble With Tribbles, and sadly far less known for doing most of the initial development work on The Next Generation (creating the characters, writing the series bible) without getting any credit for it.
Yeah, this episode was pitched as the sort of thing that would never be done on Star Trek . Especially since it was written by David Gerrold, who is perhaps best known for writing the Star Trek TOS episode The Trouble With Tribbles, and sadly far less known for doing most of the initial development work on The Next Generation (creating the characters, writing the series bible) without getting any credit for it.
To be honest my memory of specific Trek episodes isn't anywhere near as good as with B5, but as I recall, letting the kid die, especially in that manner, was seen as fairly unique for a science fiction TV show at the time.
I'm not really a fan of "monster of the week" type episodes and this episode didn't really do a lot to subvert the trope, despite an entertaining performance by the always equally entertaining W. Morgan Sheppard. Genre fans know him quite well. He's in one of my favorite goofy Star Trek: Voyager episodes, "Bliss" where he's hunting down a space creature that consumes starships. As I said, goofy. Is it as goofy as being a dude who collects souls? That's up for debate, I'm sure.
So what's here to like? Well, some decent Delenn background (and a mystery). And the new doctor makes an immediate impression. I also liked the quiet moment where the dead dude is shot into space (after Ivanova says his next of kin couldn't afford to send the body home, which says a lot about this universe and its economy). The rest of the episode is pretty disposable.
(I also missed Londo and G'Kar, who are MIA. The show suffers when they're absent.)
Watched the first episode of the second season last night. Was a pretty good episode but it feels like the actor that played Sinclair leaving the show really threw a monkeywrench into things. Felt like the episode was moving at a breakneck pace to include everything as well as essentially wrapping up the Sinclair abduction mystery. i know its not all revealed from what Lennier said but still. Also the leap in budget S1->S2 seems to be as great as the one from The Gathering->S1.
Watched the first episode of the second season last night. Was a pretty good episode but it feels like the actor that played Sinclair leaving the show really threw a monkeywrench into things. Felt like the episode was moving at a breakneck pace to include everything as well as essentially wrapping up the Sinclair abduction mystery. i know its not all revealed from what Lennier said but still. Also the leap in budget S1->S2 seems to be as great as the one from The Gathering->S1.
By the end of S2 you won't be missing Sinclair much, and in a behind the scenes the new commander actor said he was told to act smiley all the time(before some major events in S2)
By the end of S2 you won't be missing Sinclair much, and in a behind the scenes the new commander actor said he was told to act smiley all the time(before some major events in S2)
i like Sinclair but im not exactly missing him. i was just commenting that the departure of their main actor seemingly mucked things up but the show seems to have adjusted accordingly. After looking at the wiki its come back to me that the actor had mental problems.
The smiling thing wasnt directed at just new guy but both him and Sinclair. Its not even a nitpick i had just an observation.
sadly far less known for doing most of the initial development work on The Next Generation (creating the characters, writing the series bible) without getting any credit for it.
I've always found it odd how seldomly anyone mentions Gerrold's considerable contribution to the TNG era. He created the 24th century's first, most well-known cast, and people tend to mention his famous TOS script and then forget he exisrs.
Genre fans know him quite well. He's in one of my favorite goofy Star Trek: Voyager episodes, "Bliss" where he's hunting down a space creature that consumes starships. As I said, goofy. Is it as goofy as being a dude who collects souls? That's up for debate, I'm sure.
Heh, yeah. W. Morgan Sheppard is aces. I also love him as the Klingon warden in The Undiscovered Country. He's the Vulcan science minister in Star Trek (2009) too which is a nice connection. Did you know he was a frontrunner for the role of G'Kar?
I also liked the quiet moment where the dead dude is shot into space (after Ivanova says his next of kin couldn't afford to send the body home, which says a lot about this universe and its economy).
Watched the first episode of the second season last night. Was a pretty good episode but it feels like the actor that played Sinclair leaving the show really threw a monkeywrench into things. Felt like the episode was moving at a breakneck pace to include everything as well as essentially wrapping up the Sinclair abduction mystery. i know its not all revealed from what Lennier said but still.
I recall feeling similarly the last time around. I was kind of disappointed it wasn't handled more smoothly and that prompted me to fidget a bit at some of the early Sheridan scenes. Sheridan grows on most folks fast, though, and for good reason. And for what it's worth, there's some content as the series continues which retroactively helps smooth over the S1->S2 transition, in fun and unusual ways.
i like Sinclair but im not exactly missing him. i was just commenting that the departure of their main actor seemingly mucked things up but the show seems to have adjusted accordingly. After looking at the wiki its come back to me that the actor had mental problems.
Note that the part of about O'Hare's mental problems weren't known until after his death a few years ago. At the time it was pitched as jms feeling that there were issues with his original plan that needed to be addressed, that he had piled to many plot threads onto Sinclair and that he wanted to move some of it onto a new character. This wasn't necessarily untrue though, and a Sheridan-type character would probably been introduced regardless, but in a more gradual fashion.
As usual fandom was filled with conspiracy theories, a lot of people believed WB execs had forced the change because they wanted a more charismatic, straight-laced hero type main character.
I've always found it odd how seldomly anyone mentions Gerrold's considerable contribution to the TNG era. He created the 24th century's first, most well-known cast, and people tend to mention his famous TOS script and then forget he exisrs.
It was inevitable I guess, since his contribution was never officially acknowledged, and he himself was bound by a out of court settlement not to discuss it.
He's only recently started talking about it in interviews (I guess Majel's passing makes it unlikely the Roddenberry estate will go after him.) Surprisingly he was still willing to work on TNG even after it was clear he wasn't getting credit, the final straw that lead him to leave and take action was Gene reneging on a promise to let him write an episode with a gay couple in it (Gerrold is gay himself, so it was pretty important to him).
Heh, yeah. W. Morgan Sheppard is aces. I also love him as the Klingon warden in The Undiscovered Country. He's the Vulcan science minister in Star Trek (2009) too which is a nice connection. Did you know he was a frontrunner for the role of G'Kar?
Like David Warner, Sheppard was one of those solid actors that appeared in just about anything in the 90s. Heck, he did a fair bit voice acting too, even a few anime dubs in 2000s. Always nice to see him in something new.
The other standout scene essentially belongs to the late Richard Biggs himself. See, Franklin decides to perform the operation despite Sinclair ruling in favor of the parents, and when the boy recovers, his smugness becomes overbearing. It's enough to want to punch the guy, and I have every confidence the writers intended for us to feel this way. But so blinded is he that he does not realize the parents have taken their son away only to slay him. After all, they believe his soul was gutted. There was nothing but a shell. Franklin's shock, horror, self-loathing, all of it -- it's all brilliantly realized by his actor. I tear up, just a moment or two after wanting to deck the guy, and it's all thanks to Biggs. A painful lesson in humility.
It's easy to see this episode as a reflection of faith healing and the debate around it, but I don't think that that's really what this episode is really about. Sure, we can see how the arguments in the episode are very similar to the ones of the real world, but the real story is how it subverts expectations.
Normally, it'd go:
1. Parents bring in child with operable disease.
2. Doctor proposes cure but the parents reject it.
3. Doctor and parents fight it out with the authorities.
4. Parents gain legal recognition and the surgery is refused.
5. Doctor bucks the rules and performs surgery anyways.
6. Child is saved and parents learn the error of their ways.
7. Everyone laughs over irrational beliefs.
"Believers" breaks this pattern by making Franklin's actions into an act of hubris, and points out that he's the ignorant one because he never realized the ramifications of his actions. It's very possible to argue that the parents' actions were formed out of irrationality, but that doesn't really serve anyone. You have to understand the potential consequences of what you're doing even if you feel that you're in the right.
The other thing the episode does is to say that there isn't always a good solution. Sometimes all the possible choices lead to bad results, and there isn't a hero that will save the day. JMS often talks about "Believers" along with the story "the Cold Equations" because they stem from this same conceit.
Sinclair and Franklin have a make-up chat that doesn't tie itself up in a Star Trek: The Next Generation bow because that's not really Babylon 5's M.O. Instead, they converse on the nature of God, and belief, and instead of feeling preachy, it feels natural. This is what I meant when I mentioned a satisfying thematic component: Babylon 5 doesn't shy away from 23rd-century human interfaith examination. Sinclair and Franklin believe in God, if nebulously. Ivanova is Jewish. Garibaldi's an atheist. On occasion, these roles actively help define the characters. It's nice, it's refreshing, it makes for some interesting nuances. It's believable. And it's particularly well-handled here.
It's neat how JMS, despite being an atheist, still thought that religion was an important subject to have in his show. Heck, I'd even say that it gets more and more important as the show goes on.
Maybe they did so later, but it was pretty unique when "Believers" first aired. Moreover, it's not common for any show to introduce a cute kid for the express purpose of killing him off. I can't remember if this was the only child in the whole show or if there was one other, but they are extremely rare in Babylon 5 because JMS hated how kids were usually handled in science fiction shows.
Maybe they did so later, but it was pretty unique when "Believers" first aired. Moreover, it's not common for any show to introduce a cute kid for the express purpose of killing him off. I can't remember if this was the only child in the whole show or if there was one other, but they are extremely rare in Babylon 5 because JMS hated how kids were usually handled in science fiction shows.
There was a Markab child in Confessions and Lamentations.
Of course it dies along with the rest.
And there's the two kids Londo tells his story to in In the Beginning.
Anyway, I just noticed that the old official convention music videos made by John Hudgens are now on YouTube. Heard a lot about them back in the day, but they were only shown at cons where jms or castmembers attended, so I'd never seen them until now. There's also a wonderful little tribute to the cast and crew that had passed away, made for the 10th anniversary of the show in 2013. Naturally, these have a fair number of spoilers so those of you who are just watching it now should be cautious.
As a general rule, I'm not very sympathetic towards "romance of the week" episodes, especially after the various Star Trek shows thoroughly trashed the concept.
(Does anyone else remember the Voyager episode "Unforgettable?" The joke is there in the episode title.)
It's virtually impossible to establish a convincing romantic connection between two characters in so little screen time. Even worse if they have no chemistry, as is the case between Londo and Adira. JMS makes things a little easier on us by revealing Adira is compromised before the ten minute mark is over but I still found it hard to care about either character in this situation, even though both actors tried their hardest.
The genuine emotion is reserved for the Garibaldi/Ivanova B-story, which does a great deal with very little time dedicated to it. Man, I had forgotten just how much of a slog these early season 1 episodes are. And the worst one is next. :|
I started "Survivors" last night but it was very late and I'd already watched 1.) The Avengers; 2.) an episode of Attack on Titan; 3.) an episode of Kanon; 4.) an episode of Eureka Seven; 5.) an episode of Psycho-Pass. So I think I was dazed beyond TV capability. I'll wrap it up soon and type a new write-up sometime today. <3
Note that the part of about O'Hare's mental problems weren't known until after his death a few years ago. At the time it was pitched as jms feeling that there were issues with his original plan that needed to be addressed, that he had piled to many plot threads onto Sinclair and that he wanted to move some of it onto a new character. This wasn't necessarily untrue though, and a Sheridan-type character would probably been introduced regardless, but in a more gradual fashion.
As usual fandom was filled with conspiracy theories, a lot of people believed WB execs had forced the change because they wanted a more charismatic, straight-laced hero type main character.
Yeah, I actually had a conversation with a big Babylon 5 diehard friend of mine just recently about this. The true story is really sad and I can only hope Mr. O'Hare had a wonderful time of his life going forward.
He's only recently started talking about it in interviews (I guess Majel's passing makes it unlikely the Roddenberry estate will go after him.) Surprisingly he was still willing to work on TNG even after it was clear he wasn't getting credit, the final straw that lead him to leave and take action was Gene reneging on a promise to let him write an episode with a gay couple in it (Gerrold is gay himself, so it was pretty important to him).
This is interesting stuff. I'm not sure I'd read it before. It's a shame Gerrold didn't get what he wanted. That's kinda lame. :/
Like David Warner, Sheppard was one of those solid actors that appeared in just about anything in the 90s. Heck, he did a fair bit voice acting too, even a few anime dubs in 2000s. Always nice to see him in something new.
It's easy to see this episode as a reflection of faith healing and the debate around it, but I don't think that that's really what this episode is really about. Sure, we can see how the arguments in the episode are very similar to the ones of the real world, but the real story is how it subverts expectations.
Normally, it'd go:
1. Parents bring in child with operable disease.
2. Doctor proposes cure but the parents reject it.
3. Doctor and parents fight it out with the authorities.
4. Parents gain legal recognition and the surgery is refused.
5. Doctor bucks the rules and performs surgery anyways.
6. Child is saved and parents learn the error of their ways.
7. Everyone laughs over irrational beliefs.
"Believers" breaks this pattern by making Franklin's actions into an act of hubris, and points out that he's the ignorant one because he never realized the ramifications of his actions. It's very possible to argue that the parents' actions were formed out of irrationality, but that doesn't really serve anyone. You have to understand the potential consequences of what you're doing even if you feel that you're in the right.
The other thing the episode does is to say that there isn't always a good solution. Sometimes all the possible choices lead to bad results, and there isn't a hero that will save the day. JMS often talks about "Believers" along with the story "the Cold Equations" because they stem from this same conceit.
This is precisely what makes the episode tick for me, yeah. It breaks the norm, it shows us an unwinnable scenario, and it grows Franklin as a character for it. I confess I'm not a big fan of no-win scenarios in broader, overarching plot themes (call me Kirk if you like) but for a one-off I think it's a fantastic thing to do once in a while. Especially with medical stories. That one always hits me for some reason. Kind of reminds me of Bashir's development in DS9's "The Quickening".
It's neat how JMS, despite being an atheist, still thought that religion was an important subject to have in his show. Heck, I'd even say that it gets more and more important as the show goes on.
Exactly. He's a well-versed atheist with a strong commitment to strong worldwide representation and thus a more realistic (IMO) view of a possible 23rd century humanity.
As a general rule, I'm not very sympathetic towards "romance of the week" episodes, especially after the various Star Trek shows thoroughly trashed the concept.
(Does anyone else remember the Voyager episode "Unforgettable?" The joke is there in the episode title.)
It's virtually impossible to establish a convincing romantic connection between two characters in so little screen time. Even worse if they have no chemistry, as is the case between Londo and Adira. JMS makes things a little easier on us by revealing Adira is compromised before the ten minute mark is over but I still found it hard to care about either character in this situation, even though both actors tried their hardest.
The genuine emotion is reserved for the Garibaldi/Ivanova B-story, which does a great deal with very little time dedicated to it. Man, I had forgotten just how much of a slog these early season 1 episodes are. And the worst one is next. :|
Heh, man, I'm with you on episodic romance fare but I actually do find Londo's chemistry with Adira convincing. I agree with you that the plot's better-stomached with the relatively early revelation of Adira's double-crossing, though.
The Voyager joke... oh, yeah. I hear ya. I'm in a Facebook chat group with a couple of friends (including the aforementioned B5 diehard) and she was recently watching through Voyager for the first time. By the time "Unforgettable" was en route, she was not digging Chakotay at all -- who can blame her? -- and she was as baffled as I am that Robert Beltran cited that ep as a rare example of solid Chakotay development.
This is precisely what makes the episode tick for me, yeah. It breaks the norm, it shows us an unwinnable scenario, and it grows Franklin as a character for it. I confess I'm not a big fan of no-win scenarios in broader, overarching plot themes (call me Kirk if you like) but for a one-off I think it's a fantastic thing to do once in a while. Especially with medical stories. That one always hits me for some reason. Kind of reminds me of Bashir's development in DS9's "The Quickening".
Yeah, it's a story concept that can work pretty well in episodic TV shows or one-offs. That sort of reminds me, "Believers" has the Kosh quote "The avalanche has already started", right? I love that quote; I just forgot that it was in this episode.
There are a lot of other episodes it could fit in.
Speaking of forgetting, I don't remember what "Survivors" is about at all, and I can remember "TKO" and "By Any Means Necessary". I guess it doesn't help that it comes right after another one word title that works similarly.
Exactly. He's a well-versed atheist with a strong commitment to strong worldwide representation and thus a more realistic (IMO) view of a possible 23rd century humanity.
religion plays a pretty big role as well. Of the major races, only the Centauri one is more or less ignorable. And even that distinction holds some meaning.
The only other major science fiction TV shows that have religion play such a big role are Battlestar Galactica and DS9. I hated religion in the former, and the latter one falls pretty flat.
As a general rule, I'm not very sympathetic towards "romance of the week" episodes, especially after the various Star Trek shows thoroughly trashed the concept.
(Does anyone else remember the Voyager episode "Unforgettable?" The joke is there in the episode title.)
It's virtually impossible to establish a convincing romantic connection between two characters in so little screen time. Even worse if they have no chemistry, as is the case between Londo and Adira. JMS makes things a little easier on us by revealing Adira is compromised before the ten minute mark is over but I still found it hard to care about either character in this situation, even though both actors tried their hardest.
I agree. Even though Londo's relationships will come into play a bit later, these kinds of episodes are really hard to pull off. Thankfully Babylon 5 doesn't have much room for these kinds of stories.
I always thought when I first watched season one on Netflix that there was something wrong with Sinclair's actor. The exact cause might have been a secret but it was pretty obvious the man was suffering.
<3 Vir.
