"GROPOS" For some reason, I went into this one expecting it to be a weak episode - but came away pleasantly surprised. Was it the most subtle showing? No way. Still, for such a blunt examination of its themes, it did its job by building up colourful characters before killing them off for decent effect. I think one of you mentioned before that Paul Winfield was yelled at by Jerry Doyle for his lack of work ethic. If so, it doesn't show by his performance. He brought a lot of depth to the role, and his dynamic with Dr Franklin allowed us to view the latter in a much different light. Elsewhere, everything held my attention and more, hitting what it was going for with the ending. War is bad, yes, and there's going to be plenty more going forward. As an aside, I was totally expecting General Franklin to be the one to bite the dust in the end, but then, that would've been too easy, wouldn't it? The biggest flaw I could think of, and it's a relatively minor one, was some of that dialogue. First, the drill sergeant; he actually said things like "move your space butt, Astro brain!" Second, some of the stuff Garibaldi was spouting with Dodger. "I just want for once in my life to think things through! Maybe we have something, maybe we don't... I just have to be sure!" Pretty smooth, dude. She just wanted to get laid! Rating: **** -Damn, Garibaldi and Dodger had some smoking chemistry. -I forgot to mention this last time, but Sinclair warning Garibaldi (and Delenn) to "stay close to the Vorlon" surely indicates an expanded role for Kosh moving forward? -I wonder what might've happened in the way of ramifications if that dullard soldier had managed to lay a hand on Delenn?
The EarthForce bribe to get use of the station for as a military staging place for this mission was to heavily upgrade the station's weapons array. Prior to this the weapons could take on raider fighters and maybe a small armed ship, but was hopeless again any warships. The weapons on Babylon 5 wouldn't have been enough against the one Minbari warcruiser that wanted die in battle against Sheridan when he took over the station. But now? Babylon 5 could take on a cruiser or destroyer with every possible chance of success. But still probably not take on a Minbari warcruiser. The Diplomatic Station is now armed to the teeth. That's likely going to bite somebody someday.
Jerry Doyle had been pushing for some romance for Garibaldi behind-the-scenes, so he got a fling written in to "GROPOS," at which point Doyle clarified that he wanted Garibaldi and Talia to get together (this may or may not have to do with the two actors getting married in real life around that time), not just a random one-episode romance like the ones Franklin kept getting. So his fling was written right back out of the episode again.
The writer, Larry DiTillio, knew that Richard Biggs' father was a colonel in Vietnam. The terrible waiting after hearing on the TV news about a battle that his real father was in was what the story was written around. Jerry Doyle wanted to have a romance on the show and was miffed when Peter (Londo) had the first on screen encounter. The writer promised him he would fit one in for Garibaldi when the story was right. This episode was supposed to be that story. At the time Jerry Doyle was actually in a relationship with Andrea Thompson (Talia), and unknown to the writer, and casting, the character they hired to play Dodger (Marie Marshall) was Jerry's former girl friend. Talk about awkward. At Jerry Doyle's request they dropped the sex with Dodger from the script.
CaptRobau has posted a comparison of the 1080p remaster on HBO Max versus DVD and iTunes: HBO Max is not available to me so I guess I'll have to wait for a Blu-ray release. The quality looks similar to my efforts after AI upscaling the PAL DVDs except I get occasional artefacts due to poor deinterlacing in the source. ETA: A new video showing what combined 4K AI upscale and new CGI could achieve:
The thing with the remaster, which looks gorgeous overall, is the original CGI almost looks more hokey than it did on TV. I realize it was done with some fairly early tech, and it would be a lot of $$$ to redo a LOT of CGI. Still, if it comes out on blu-ray, I may finally have to own it.
The original CGI is definitely showing its age but that's part of its charm. Physical models used in other shows before CGI became available tend not to age as badly when remastered. The models used on UFO and Space 1999 are probably the best from the pre-CGI era on TV and hold up very well on Blu-ray. However, some of the ships on Blakes 7 always did look like cheap kit bashes - I remember having fun spotting Airfix parts and kitchen utensils. I doubt they'd look better in HD.
Well, as I always like to point out, B5's early CGI was the pathfinder, the ground-breaker, for prime-time TV-budget CGI effects. Making fun of them is like making fun of a Model T because it doesn't have a V-8 hemi, GPS, a good sound system and a spoiler. They should be looked upon with respect, like an honored ancestor. Also, they got much better, and by seasons 4 and 5 they were as good as anyone else was doing at the time.
^I mean, it can be both. Give it props for being pioneering but also acknowledge that it looks understandably primitive by today's standards. One fun part of watching the commentary tracks at least for earlier Simpsons episodes is listening to the folks who created them laugh and/or express dismay at the quality of their own work.
"All Alone in the Night" Checking in for some time with Delenn (FIRED from Grey Council) who had the indignity of being replaced by Neroon. I love that she was more outraged by the fact that the Warrior Caste now has the most influence on the Council than actually getting dismissed herself. Sheridan's plot reminded me of TNG - Allegiance (let's abduct this ship's captain and put him in a room with aliens and get them all to fight); in other words, not a particularly original sci-fi plot. The main problem? As far as I was aware, this was the work of a totally new race, and I'm a little more interested in seeing what's going on with the Centauri/Narn war along with the Shadows right now. If nothing else, the final scene with Ivanova and Garibaldi pledging to aid Sheridan in his mission to find out what's REALLY going on around here promised to get that particular story rolling fairly soon. Rating: *** -Lennier's one of those smaller characters who really manages to shine whenever he appears. I liked his undying loyalty to Delenn at a time when she needed it most. -I have to admit I didn't remember that General Hague had already appeared on the show (I mostly know the actor from Six Feet Under).
One of the important parts of the episode is Sheridan's waking dream sequence with Ivanova with a raven on her shoulder, then wearing a veil, Garibaldi with a dove on his shoulder, Sheridan standing on an elevated walkway, and Kosh. Sheridan is dressed sometimes in his Earth Force Uniform and sometimes as a Psi Cop. It is a foreshadowing of future events in the series.
I completely forgot to mention that part (I need to stop writing these a week after watching the episode). Very much reminded me of the Prophets on DS9.
I started a new viewing on HBO Max. The episode where Spoiler Adira is introduced is difficult to watch knowing what I know now.