I'm going to start adding some much-needed bold to the episode titles from hereon out. Consider it a bit of a budget increase due to relative popularity with the readers!
That's right, I'm pretending it's all because of you and not because I should have been doing this from the start!
"A Late Delivery from Avalon"
We start with Garibaldi making me hungry for pizza while some guy who I can't help but think I saw in a few episodes of SeaQuest cuts himself in black-and-white. This is looking to be an... interesting episode.
Whoa, SeaQuest guy is Arthur. Alright, this is getting positively TOS.
Except not. In a very Babylon 5 twist, what the man 'Arthur' is dealing with is a pretty serious psychosis. And I can't say as I blame him. What a rut to be in -- firing the shots that ignited the Earth-Minbari War.
The scenes in Down Below are among my favorites for this episode. Sir G'Kar is a riot in particular. The ultimate resolution is one I saw coming from as soon as the great parody was revealed; having Delenn don the role of 'Lady in the Lake' was something I was practically screaming at the television by the time Marcus and Stephen figured it out. Still, it was a worthy end. I liked Marcus and his little roleplaying rant as a finisher, although I'm not sure how I feel about throwing Kosh in for a cameo. It's like JMS wanted us all to wonder if there was, indeed, more to this than met the eye when what met the eye was so completely acceptable.
Meanwhile, Garibaldi challenges the post office and Sheridan and Ivanova hammer out a deal with the Non-Aligned Worlds. Neither of these stories did much for me, but they were great padding. I especially liked the security guard's quip about how they'd be in real trouble if they went up against the postal service.
This is one of those episodes where I like a lot of it but not enough to say it's one I won't soon forget.
"Sic Transit Vir"
Okay, first things first. That establishing shot of Londo, the first time we see him, as he's rising from behind a counter swatting -- that's my nomination for his character flash in the fourth season's opening credits. I know, I know -- I'm really, really late here so it's not going to happen -- but if I were watching this first-time, I'd totally shoot JMS a line. It's so... Londo!
Tongue firmly in cheek, mind. At any rate.
Mr. Cotto becomes a Manny on the next Babylon 5!
This is probably the most quotable episode of the series I haven't actually liked so far. It has a lot of one-liners going for it and I do dig the idea of a nice, specifically-mentioned calm before any further storms on the horizon. I like Stephen Furst getting a great bit of characterization and a full-blown chance to prove his acting chops are ever-present, because I think he really succeeded here.
That brings us to the plot itself. And I have to say, it's a good one... until the denouement. I was left incredibly frustrated by the lack of actually seeing how the fourth act is resolved. After a deliciously monstrous speech, well-recited by the actress behind Vir's wife-to-be, in which Vir is put in such an awkward position... nothing. We skip ahead to an angry Londo, never seeing what becomes of the poor Narn.
I think it's obvious what happens, of course, but this is a missing scene I find vital. Furst was denied the chance to really flex his muscle here because watching Vir decline as his fiancée is torn by his decision, watching Vir untie the Narn and the subsequent fallout, seems to me like the kind of thing I would have ensured made it into the episode. I guess it just boils down to how much I detested the jump to the resolution.
That's right, I'm pretending it's all because of you and not because I should have been doing this from the start!
"A Late Delivery from Avalon"
We start with Garibaldi making me hungry for pizza while some guy who I can't help but think I saw in a few episodes of SeaQuest cuts himself in black-and-white. This is looking to be an... interesting episode.
Whoa, SeaQuest guy is Arthur. Alright, this is getting positively TOS.
Except not. In a very Babylon 5 twist, what the man 'Arthur' is dealing with is a pretty serious psychosis. And I can't say as I blame him. What a rut to be in -- firing the shots that ignited the Earth-Minbari War.
The scenes in Down Below are among my favorites for this episode. Sir G'Kar is a riot in particular. The ultimate resolution is one I saw coming from as soon as the great parody was revealed; having Delenn don the role of 'Lady in the Lake' was something I was practically screaming at the television by the time Marcus and Stephen figured it out. Still, it was a worthy end. I liked Marcus and his little roleplaying rant as a finisher, although I'm not sure how I feel about throwing Kosh in for a cameo. It's like JMS wanted us all to wonder if there was, indeed, more to this than met the eye when what met the eye was so completely acceptable.
Meanwhile, Garibaldi challenges the post office and Sheridan and Ivanova hammer out a deal with the Non-Aligned Worlds. Neither of these stories did much for me, but they were great padding. I especially liked the security guard's quip about how they'd be in real trouble if they went up against the postal service.
This is one of those episodes where I like a lot of it but not enough to say it's one I won't soon forget.
"Sic Transit Vir"
Okay, first things first. That establishing shot of Londo, the first time we see him, as he's rising from behind a counter swatting -- that's my nomination for his character flash in the fourth season's opening credits. I know, I know -- I'm really, really late here so it's not going to happen -- but if I were watching this first-time, I'd totally shoot JMS a line. It's so... Londo!
Tongue firmly in cheek, mind. At any rate.
Mr. Cotto becomes a Manny on the next Babylon 5!
This is probably the most quotable episode of the series I haven't actually liked so far. It has a lot of one-liners going for it and I do dig the idea of a nice, specifically-mentioned calm before any further storms on the horizon. I like Stephen Furst getting a great bit of characterization and a full-blown chance to prove his acting chops are ever-present, because I think he really succeeded here.
That brings us to the plot itself. And I have to say, it's a good one... until the denouement. I was left incredibly frustrated by the lack of actually seeing how the fourth act is resolved. After a deliciously monstrous speech, well-recited by the actress behind Vir's wife-to-be, in which Vir is put in such an awkward position... nothing. We skip ahead to an angry Londo, never seeing what becomes of the poor Narn.
I think it's obvious what happens, of course, but this is a missing scene I find vital. Furst was denied the chance to really flex his muscle here because watching Vir decline as his fiancée is torn by his decision, watching Vir untie the Narn and the subsequent fallout, seems to me like the kind of thing I would have ensured made it into the episode. I guess it just boils down to how much I detested the jump to the resolution.
