Babylon 5 (4th trip)

[trentman359]

Well I watched a bunch of episodes recently without posting so I will lump them all together.

"A Voice in the Wilderness Part 1"

"Seismic activity on the planet near the station uncovers what may be signs of an extinct alien civilization. An old mentor pays a visit to Ambassador Delenn. The unrest on the Mars Colony intensifies."

Now I'm not a fan of the two parters in B5. I know there is only two of them but for some reason they both seem unnecessarily drawn out.

"Voice in the Wilderness Part 2"

"Sinclair fights two turf battles at once as alien invaders claim the planet the station orbits, and an Earthforce captain disagrees with him about how to deal with the situation."

The second part was a lot funner. The space battle was great and gave us a taste of whats to come. Londo's inclusion always seemed a waste but his piloting scene was certainly fun.

 

[trentman359]

"Babylon Squared"

"Babylon 4 returns as abruptly as it vanished, but its reappearance may bode ill for the future. Delenn receives a momentous offer."

Amazing episode when you think about it. So much was set in motion. Delenn left the Grey Council and of course we will get to find out what happens to B4 later.

 

[trentman359]

"The Quality of Mercy"

"Talia is involved in carrying out the sentence of a convicted murderer. Dr. Franklin investigates a possible medical scam in Downbelow. Londo takes Lennier for a look at the less savory sections of the station."

I like these episodes that have 3 storylines. The healing machine plays an important role later on as does the brain wipe .

 

[Harvey]

Now I'm not a fan of the two parters in B5. I know there is only two of them but for some reason they both seem unnecessarily drawn out.

This one was drawn out so that the episode could afford the big planetary set pieces. It definitely feels long on DVD, and the cliffhanger is weak, but as one hour it would have been a lot smaller. I thought War Without End was just the right length, though. And, technically, two episodes from late in season five form a two parter, since they mark the only other time the series has used a "previously on" montage in the beginning.

The healing machine plays an important role later on as does the brain wipe .

I remember both of the instances where the healing machine comes back into play, but the memory wipe?

 

[Mr Light]

^^ Passing Through Gethsemane.

 

[Harvey]

Ah, yes. One of the series' best standalone episodes, too. How silly of me.

Thanks.

 

[trentman359]

^^ Passing Through Gethsemane.

Thats what I was thinking.

"Chrysalis"

" A dying man leads Garibaldi to a discovery that could cost him his life. Londo receives help in a dispute with the Narns. Something begins to happen to Delenn."

Fantastic season finale and probably the best episode of the season. So much shit hit the fan, every character went through a change and we are left with tons of questions. I can't wait to start season 2, this is where things get good. I love Sheridan.

 

[trentman359]

"Points of Departure"

As a new commander assumes control of the station, a renegade Minbari warship arrives, threatening trouble.

A great jumping on point for new fans of the show.

 

[trentman359]

"Revelations"

"G'Kar brings news of a terrible new enemy. The arrival of Sheridan's sister opens up old wounds for the new commander. Dr. Franklin employs an unorthodox procedure to try to bring Garibaldi out of his coma. Delenn's mysterious change is completed."

More good stuff. I wish they went back and changed the footage of Anna to include his real wife, and now the name escapes me. The SFX are really stepping up and I remember falling in love with the space battles and all of the races ships. Nothing in this show happens by chance, its really amazing how planned out this thing was. DS9 has got nothing on B5.
​

 

[Jan]

"Revelations"

"G'Kar brings news of a terrible new enemy. The arrival of Sheridan's sister opens up old wounds for the new commander. Dr. Franklin employs an unorthodox procedure to try to bring Garibaldi out of his coma. Delenn's mysterious change is completed."

More good stuff. I wish they went back and changed the footage of Anna to include his real wife, and now the name escapes me.​

Melissa Gilbert. They did film the footage and I seem to recall that they used it in a flashback at one point. Going back and erasing the original actress's performance would have been questionable with the union and could have confused future residual payments to both, though.

Jan
​

 

[David cgc]

I'm not sure how much they have beyond the bit that was in the retconed "Previously..." in "Z'ha'dum." I'm also not sure how well it would match. The video was played on-set, and Sheridan was frequently in-frame, partially covering up the screen. They had a pan-to-Sheridan in the redone version, but while I always wondered, I never checked to see how well that matched the "Revelations" version. I imagine it wouldn't be that well, since Sheridan's haircut changed pretty totally.

If they had the raw footage of Gilbert doing the entire message, it's conceivably possible that they could composite it in on top of the original actresses video in the original footage as part of a TOS-R-style enhancement, but that'd be pretty tough. (And if they're willing to put that kind of work into it, I wouldn't say no to throwing in a rotating starfield outside the CIC windows).

 

[Jan]

If they had the raw footage of Gilbert doing the entire message, it's conceivably possible that they could composite it in on top of the original actresses video in the original footage as part of a TOS-R-style enhancement, but that'd be pretty tough. (And if they're willing to put that kind of work into it, I wouldn't say no to throwing in a rotating starfield outside the CIC windows).

We're talking WB here. There's no doubt that they're not spending anything to enhance anything. (and it's C&C on B5, CIC on BSG )

Jan

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

"Babylon Squared"

"Babylon 4 returns as abruptly as it vanished, but its reappearance may bode ill for the future. Delenn receives a momentous offer."

Amazing episode when you think about it. So much was set in motion. Delenn left the Grey Council and of course we will get to find out what happens to B4 later.

Oh, I remember the Comic Con where JMS screened this episode for the first time, before it aired on PTEN.

 

[Elemental]

I'm not sure how much they have beyond the bit that was in the retconed "Previously..." in "Z'ha'dum." I'm also not sure how well it would match. The video was played on-set, and Sheridan was frequently in-frame, partially covering up the screen. They had a pan-to-Sheridan in the redone version, but while I always wondered, I never checked to see how well that matched the "Revelations" version. I imagine it wouldn't be that well, since Sheridan's haircut changed pretty totally.

If they had the raw footage of Gilbert doing the entire message, it's conceivably possible that they could composite it in on top of the original actresses video in the original footage as part of a TOS-R-style enhancement, but that'd be pretty tough. (And if they're willing to put that kind of work into it, I wouldn't say no to throwing in a rotating starfield outside the CIC windows).

I thought Gilbert was great in the role even for the brief sequence we see her in. Boxleitner's wife just seems so much more evil, it seems difficult to imagine her being nice. I guess that's just a testament to how well she played the part.

As for replacing the actress, there are other scenes where character actors are played by different people (Sheridan's pop was different from who played him later in the eppy where he goes delusional and starts seeing things). I agree though that it always feels a bit unfortunate when new actors take on an old role.

 

[The Evil Dead]

Lost has a similar situation, a character introduced in early season 2 carries around a photograph of himself and his girlfriend who is clearly played by a different actress when we finally meet her at the end of the season.

 

[Mr Light]

And they didn't fix it on the DVD either as I recall.

 

[Reverend]

Melissa Gilbert. They did film the footage and I seem to recall that they used it in a flashback at one point. Going back and erasing the original actress's performance would have been questionable with the union and could have confused future residual payments to both, though.

Jan
​

It's a shame they didn't include the re-shot footage as a DVD extra, either on the 2nd or 3rd season set. In fact I noticed an overall lack of deleted scenes in general. Is that because there wasn't that many significant cuts or that the footage wasn't/isn't available? I remember a few deleted/extended scenes from SiL, but that's about it.

 

[Jan]

In fact I noticed an overall lack of deleted scenes in general. Is that because there wasn't that many significant cuts or that the footage wasn't/isn't available? I remember a few deleted/extended scenes from SiL, but that's about it.

Speaking as the one who did the Joe Cuts comparison of changed, extended and deleted scenes between the DVD and scripts (as seen in the script books) there really weren't a whole lot of full scenes deleted. What JMS and the editing crew would do is literally shave seconds off of almost every scene in order to bring the episode down to the time allotted. I learned a whole lot about TV making from that project.

Jan

 

[Mysterion]

Lost has a similar situation, a character introduced in early season 2 carries around a photograph of himself and his girlfriend who is clearly played by a different actress when we finally meet her at the end of the season.

Of course on Lost that sort of thing is usually a plot point of some sort. Or could be.

 

[Forbin]

Londo's inclusion always seemed a waste but his piloting scene was certainly fun.

I assume you've seen the gag reel clip from that scene, with Londo trying to read a map as he flies?