Watching Babylon 5 for the first time... *Spoilers, duh*

[David cgc]

It was really a set of Centauri nailclippers

Or Londo's TV remote.

I can just hear Peter Jurasik's voice right now.

"Seven hundred of the finest channels the Centauri Republic has to offer, alongside the ability to blow up whole islands on a whim. Now that, Vir, that is pay-per-view!"

It always reminded me of a key fob for a car.

Chirp-chirp! "Ah, just like the parking lot at Valesh XII! You will be putting my CD player back in the dash, yes?"

 

[Jan]

P.s I know I'm new so please excuse a mega-long first post. I've had years of sitting on top of my B5 man love, without a any real release for it.

Lovely post. Thanks for writing it. You probably noticed, you're not alone.

B5 not gaining the following that Trek did may be, in part, because it never was syndicated much. This was partly because TNT had the rerun rights for a while and also because the show absolutely has to be shown in order which lots of stations don't (or didn't) like.

Jan

 

[TtotheC]

P.s I know I'm new so please excuse a mega-long first post. I've had years of sitting on top of my B5 man love, without a any real release for it.

Lovely post. Thanks for writing it. You probably noticed, you're not alone.

B5 not gaining the following that Trek did may be, in part, because it never was syndicated much. This was partly because TNT had the rerun rights for a while and also because the show absolutely has to be shown in order which lots of stations don't (or didn't) like.

Jan

Thanks for the welcome. It hasn't been easy getting by these past few years with a bubbling urge to confess my love of B5 when no one in the mainstream tends to remember it.


I think in part the problem was that Star Trek was a true cultural phenomenon that was forward thinking in it's predictions, optimistic and presented a view of the future unlike any other before it. That and it's legendary status carried on into every franchise with it's name attached, bringing along with it a huge fan base every step of the way.

Babylon 5 started without that, any real support from the network that commissioned it, and the belief that there wasn't room for two competing sci-fi shows based on a space station, no matter how far apart they were in tone and style. Although to give it credit Babylon 5 is still held in very high regard for it's plotting, storyline and pioneering CGI by anyone with the common grace to admit it.

It had it's flaws - sometimes ropey acting, poor script moments and a set that you hoped wouldn't blow over in a strong wind, but I've honestly never understood why people don't look beyond that like they do with classic Dr Who. Although ultimately maybe it's because B5 didn't bring revolutionary ideas in the sci-fi itself to a new audience? I'm not talking about in the story itself, but in the ideas or themes within it. Star Trek had the Russians and Americans working together, a white guy kissing a black woman, and humanity in generally a good shape in a period where such subject were taboo, or we were living with the potential of nuclear annihilation.


Ok, so after writing that maybe I do understand a little better. Ah well, as long as there's a few of us to carry the torch till tv executives run out of shows to remake and think "Hey, what about that other 90s sci-fi show? Y'know? The one with the long plot lines and hokey CGI...?".

 

[Neroon]

There's more than a few of us, even if it's not as many as we'd like it to be.

 

[Jan]

We'll never be as numerous as the Trek fans but there are still quite a number and folks still are discovering the show even (shudder) 18 years after the pilot aired for the first time. And when JMS appears at conventions, he still packs the rooms. I think the room he gets at Comic-Con holds about 3,000 and it's always packed. Though quite a number of those are fans of his comics, the questions are probably about 50-50 comics and B5 related.

Jan

 

[Reverend]

I'll say this about B5, it never fails to provoke a reaction out of people and that reaction is rarely one of apathy. Though (in my experience at least) most people who I know who've seen it at least like it, there have been a few that absolutely *hate* it. Which to my mind is great because they stuck around long enough to form a passionate opinion about it. Case in point, a few months back my older brother asked to borrow some DVDs (having exhausted my other brother's 24, Lost & Sopranos sets) and was already about half way through my Farscape DVDs. I offered to give him by B5 sets (as I'd just repurchased them in the ultra compact complete universe box set) and his partner's reaction was shall we say...vigorous and resoundingly negative. Lucky for me I love a good argument. I think I won when I observed that in order to hate the show she must have already watched quite a bit of it.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Hey everyone! Watched a couple more episodes and I'll have reviews posted sometime later but like the lull several days ago I'd been pretty busy for a bit. But don't worry, I'll be back soon.

I'm never trusting a news reporter again. "He lied to us. Execute him. Immediately."

 

[Forbin]

We'll never be as numerous as the Trek fans but there are still quite a number and folks still are discovering the show even (shudder) 18 years after the pilot aired for the first time. And when JMS appears at conventions, he still packs the rooms. I think the room he gets at Comic-Con holds about 3,000 and it's always packed. Though quite a number of those are fans of his comics, the questions are probably about 50-50 comics and B5 related.

Jan

18 years? God, that means that's how old that VHS tape of mine is. I'd better see if it still plays...

 

[Lindley]

*poke*

 

[Mr Light]

Methinks Jeff shares my opinion about the magic being gone after "Into the Fire". The moment he got past that episode he got abruptly silent

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

"I'm better now."

Reviews en route!

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

(For the record, I've had internet troubles for some time now. I'm not meaning to clump these things together, scout's honor.)

"Epiphanies"

Well, I knew the episode after a number like "Into the Fire" would be a lot less momentous; I mean, it just had to be. So I settled in, prepared for the worst and... oh, hey. Bester.

Now that the pesky, third-rate, galaxy-rending Shadows and Vorlons are gone, the true threat doth emergeth: an unassuming chancellor from Naboo by the name of President Clark. Bester continues to play his hand close to his alleged heart, tricking his superiors and aiding the Warriors of Light in their quest for the four crystals. Little does anyone -- including the audience -- realize the depths this man will comb for his preciousss.

Bad jokes aside, there was a lot of heart in this one. Sheridan's quips in particular when Bester was meeting with the council were most excellent, as was the fun, albeit predictable, matter of Lyta being blatantly more powerful than trivial things like numbers and ratings give her credit for. I'm almost inclined to think the fact that everyone still regards her as a P5 despite her obvious strength of quality is derivative of the show's ever-middling ratings despite its powerhouse storytelling. Yes, I do believe so. Oh, JMS, you kidder.

It's a damn crying shame I've already seen the next few episodes, including one in which my suspicions were confirmed, because I would have looked super-rad if I'd managed to post this review in time to note that I figured we'd be seeing those evacuating allies of the Shadows' homeworld sometime soon. Also, exploding Zha'dum is exploding. That was amusing.

Oh, and Garibreakdown over here. I like the guy a lot and I'm sympathetic, but I can't help but notice the message that (clearly) triggered his turnabout bears a striking resemblance to the time portals in Squaresoft's 1995 RPG Chrono Trigger. So I must bring forth an expert prediction: I believe the real Garibaldi has been sucked back in time while replaced with a darker, edgier 'what if' kind of version. That's right, folks -- Battlestar Garibaldilactica.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

"The Illusion of Truth"

God, this show is making me paranoid of every single news anchor in the history of ever.

President Shark over here wants to turn John Sheridan's face a lovely shade of anger red, so he enlists the help of one Dan Rather to be a complete asshole and make the audience shake with anxiety.

This is an interesting spin on the already-done documentary-style episode, and I can see why they'd bring it back in the fourth season. I know people are really mixed on whether or not these things are fun, but I've always been squarely in the camp of 'yes' and I've never actually seen one so slanderous before, so that was exciting. I like how the episode is separated into two distinct acts -- in the first act, we watch the reporter fake his way past people while we see the events in action, and in the second act we watch the reporter fake his way past more people while we see things through a distorted lens and experience the B5 crew's pain firsthand.

For a time I was hoping the reporter would slip the 'truth' in as he promised Sheridan he'd attempt to, but it never happened. The frustration of waiting for that sliver of a chance and the subsequent realization it wouldn't happen is pretty terrifically unique television, or maybe I just haven't watched as much as I've thought. Either way, I can see where some of the complaints for this one have been coming from -- after awhile I began to grow a bit bored with the constant lies -- but there's just too much intriguing exercise in storytelling to be hold it down.

Minbari War Syndrome. Hah. I've got your Minbari War Syndrome right here.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

"Thirdspace"

Yeah, so I went ahead and watched this one here, since the most general consensus seems to be that it takes place around this time. Talk about the most explosive episode of Babylon 5 ever, though. Kind of a shame "Into the Fire" had to work with less than "Thirdspace", all things considered. Still, from a purely visual standpoint, wow, what a fun one.

It's from there that things tend to descend, unfortunately.

First of all, let me make myself clear: I don't believe this was a bad showing. It had all the qualifications of a decent-but-not-stellar episode of the series, boosted by ridiculously good (relatively speaking, of course) visuals. It's just that the whole plot really didn't move me much at all, and that's... a significant problem.

So these aliens, we'll call them Thirdspacians because I can't remember if they were given real names, these Thirdspacians have conquered much of their dimension's galaxy. So the Vorlons, in their Infinite Wisdom, came forth through the just virtues of Goodness and Order, and opened the door for them to obliterate everyone. Thankfully, the Vorlons atoned for their sins by closing the door.

Kind of reminds me of one of the few times I've gone to a D&D game, really. I had to open one of two doors; one promised great wisdom and the other, certain death. I opened the wrong door and a pack of predatory creatures stood before the party on the other end, so I declared 'I close the door'. Everyone looked at me blankly like this was the most out-of-the-box line of thought in the history of fantasy gaming, I had to roll a few times due to lots of obscure reasoning by the guy running the campaign and just in the nick of time, I successfully closed the door.

Had I mentioned the use of a hot telepathic redhead and a brawl for the sake of having a brawl, I might have successfully summarized "Thirdspace" for you. Alas, close but no nuclear cigar.

All the same, there were some good character moments and plenty of eye candy. The alien artifact -- ahem, gate -- was wonderfully-rendered in every shot. The scene on the elevator between Zack and Lyta was fun, although I have a very, very difficult time believing Zack could ramble for that long without noticing something was awry. Great acting, though, which makes up for the terrible acting behind one of the security officers when he reported to the chief in a weird, distracting, 'pay attention to me, I'm a good actor, dammit' kind of way. Oh, and Ivanova wanting to kill people was classic.

On the character of Trent, who keeps making me think of Trent Reznor, which would make things... interesting, well, I thought her actress did a good job with things but nothing about her really called out to me after the first couple of scenes. As the Thirdspacians continued to take advantage of the uglier aspects of her, I found myself increasingly wanting to see Ivanova kick her ass, so I was happy when Ivanova kicked her ass.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

"Atonement"

I'm suddenly really glad Sheridan is Delenn's love interest, and that nothing ever sparked between she and Sinclair.

Boy, this was a good one. I love learning more about Minbari culture and history, and this... yes, I'd say this will do nicely. And it even went so far as to alleviate some of the iffiness I felt toward the whole 'Minbari souls' angle I was never a big fan of when it was brought up in "Points of Departure". The insider scoop here as we learn about Valen's abandonment-of-Saka... -I mean, his fulfilling of prophecy is one of the greatest eye-openers the show has pulled on me so far.

Credit to this episode's success must be given to four key factors, so I'll dedicate the rest of this entry to those four factors.

1.) Dukhat. His actor really brought his A-game, at once resonating with me through his larger-than-life portrayal. Reminded me a bit of Draal, really, except less eccentric and a bit on the wiser side. I loved his 'I cannot have an aide who will not look up' thing with Delenn, especially powerful now that I realize she took that from him upon welcoming Lennier to the station way back in those early days, when dinosaurs still roamed Babylon 5. I grew to enjoy Dukhat quite quickly, which stung true upon his inevitable death.

2.) Delenn. Mira Furlan has always done a good job with her character, from the mysterious seer of season one to the seasoned lover and fighter of season four. Here, fans got a real treat in watching the woman both before the former and amidst some big moments for the latter. I loved seeing the quiet, reserved aide in the days leading up to the Earth-Minbari War and the changes in her Dukhat brings about, just as I loved seeing her present self faced with the dark truth behind her past.

3.) The music. Christopher Franke excelled here, with some haunting stuff for the climactic flashback. It's still buzzing in my head, in fact.

4.) Gilbert, Sullivan and Marcus Cole. 'Nuff said.

 

[Mr Light]

Thirdspace.... it has a freakin' beautiful space battle. And the Lovecraftian aliens are cool. So that gets it a pass. But aside from that, meh. Takes way too long for the aliens to show up. And the telepathic takeover is so silly. It doesn't affect any of the command staff, and the possessed don't try to storm C&C they just riot in the corridors Also, funny how none of the STARSHIP crews were affected either. Would have neat if the ships started fighting each other in the middle of fighting the aliens!

 

[Jan]

"Atonement"

Been a little while since there was a trivia bit and I've always thought this one was a doozy. Way back in "Comes the Inquisitor in the script, Sebastion tells Sheridan about Delenn's part in the beginning of the Earth/Minbari war. That line was edited out, though, which left a bit of surprise when"Atonement" came along.

Jan

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

"Racing Mars"

When Franklin and Marcus go stir-crazy on their dingy little loveboat, a fun-filled gent with a bit of a bug problem and a strange disposition tags along to make things interesting. Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. Jonathan Frakes as Number One. Scott Bakula as TheGodBen. (60 minutes; PG-13)

Since it's so remiss of me to have forgotten mentioning the 'oh shit' moment behind the arrival of the 'keepers' to Centauri Prime a few episodes ago, I'm going to pretend that didn't happen and carry on diligently.

It's good to see the so-called keepers in action, since I'm assuming that's what's going on here because the whole Jack-control situation would have been a pretty pointless excursion otherwise. Even still, this episode, for all its high points, doesn't quite match the brilliance of 'last week'. Franklin and Marcus being two of my favorite characters (okay, I say that about two-thirds of the cast, but still) really helps move things along on the red planet, and the joke of them getting married really helps move things along for my facial contortion exercise routine. See? I got to do that a few times. Then I went and and and I did again and I capped it off with a little just before bedtime.

Captain Jack, on the other hand, didn't really do much for me. I felt bad for him in the end, though, so that's worth noting. Also, what is with the drop-dead gorgeous Number One? If it weren't for a little thing called 'she's a television character', I'd be putting the moves on her in a heartbeat. (Which, for the record, consists of a healthy dose of , , and then either or , depending on how the evening progresses.)

Meanwhile, Garibaldi continues to disappoint. In a good way, of course; the arc itself really serves to shake things up and I like that. I've read on The Lurker's Guide that 'scholarly analysis' has compared his going against Sheridan to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. Well, if Sheridan thinks he's Jesus then Garibaldi might have a point. The thing of it is, though, I don't think he does. Not really. So hence the disappointment -- that Garibaldi has been messed with and time-warped (if my not-real theory holds up!) and now he's picking fights with his former commanding officer and joining a heavy metal band... I mean, a group of disgruntled gentlemen.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Thirdspace.... it has a freakin' beautiful space battle. And the Lovecraftian aliens are cool. So that gets it a pass. But aside from that, meh. Takes way too long for the aliens to show up. And the telepathic takeover is so silly. It doesn't affect any of the command staff, and the possessed don't try to storm C&C they just riot in the corridors Also, funny how none of the STARSHIP crews were affected either. Would have neat if the ships started fighting each other in the middle of fighting the aliens!

All good points. Also, Ivanova has a whole dream sequence and nothing comes of her being 'touched' by the creatures like the others. Of course, I came to terms with that by arriving at the conclusion that the creatures sensed she was too loyal to her cause... or something. Hence the 'dying' bit.

"Atonement"

Been a little while since there was a trivia bit and I've always thought this one was a doozy. Way back in "Comes the Inquisitor in the script, Sebastion tells Sheridan about Delenn's part in the beginning of the Earth/Minbari war. That line was edited out, though, which left a bit of surprise when"Atonement" came along.

Jan

Heh. Wow. I never would have imagined Sheridan almost already knew, and us along with him.

 

[Hyperspace05]

"The Illusion of Truth"

This is an interesting spin on the already-done documentary-style episode, and I can see why they'd bring it back in the fourth season. I know people are really mixed on whether or not these things are fun, but I've always been squarely in the camp of 'yes' and I've never actually seen one so slanderous before, so that was exciting.

I have to say that I am solidly in the *hate* camp for this episode. And I *loved* "And Now For a Word". Loved it.

But where ANFAW is subtle, TIOT is just hitting you over the head with an iron hammer. Gone is all the interesting details, and instead of venturing into some interesting journalistic issues, all we get is the theme of "JOURNALISTS ARE SLIMEBALLS AND EVIL" rammed into our heads over and over.

ANFAW is a 9/10 episode for me.
TIOT is a 1/10 episode for me. Seriously. This and Season 1's "TKO" are my least favorite B5 episodes.