A Niner Watches Babylon 5 (NO spoilers, please)

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by TheGodBen, Jan 24, 2010.

  1. Reverend

    Reverend Admiral Admiral

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    We'll just have to disagree on this one. I will however point out that Minbari don't think like you. They think like Minbari. ;)
     
  2. Seven of Five

    Seven of Five Stupid Sexy Flanders! Premium Member

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    I do see where you're coming from. Personally though I really enjoyed the moment after Sinclair had spent the episode really stumped as to how he should portray Earth customs. It was a nice touch. And I'm sure they all had a madcap party after they were all introduced that was too hot for TV.

    Yep. Mind War is a fab episode. It doesn't use the full potential of the Psi Corps, but the introduction of Bester, and Walter Koenig, was very well done.

    :lol: :lol: :lol:

    Rotten to the corps. Core. I'm confused. :D

    Yeah, this drags the episode down I think. It was a nice ending for Talia, but that's about it.

    Ha! I wish on VOY her gift had been something mysterious or questionable. Like melding Neelix's head to the bulkhead or something.

    On my very first run through of B5, the B-plot resonated in my head for the rest of the show. Just a little hint that things aren't what they appear to be.

    Nope. It's still makes me laugh though! :techman:

    :wtf: :guffaw::wtf:

    Stop making me cry! Scottr Bakula is a very talented person, I agree. His presence makes B5 that little bit more sexy. :devil:

    This episode is a step down from Mind War. Ivanova's old flame being the enemy was far too obvious. Again the misery is pored on poor Susan. :(

    Londo's part of the story was a lot better.

    I really enjoyed the mystery in this one. I think I'd really bought into Sinclair's missing 24 hours by this point, so was ready and willing to hoover up any hint of a clue. I was satisfied by this part of the show that answers would be forthcoming, which is the sort of unwavering loyalty I've had with Lost.

    I also enjoyed seeing Judson Scott from Star Trek II, Message in a Bottle from VOY, and of course, that fab episode of TNG, Symbiosis. (Yuck.)

    Oh, er, sorry. Of course I meant to say Bakula.

    Bit late but happy anniversary! So that must mean I've been reading your threads for about the same time. :eek: At least you actually write interesting things!
    Yeah it's all a bit wonky, and a new DVD release with a 4:3 version would do some wonders. The CGI wasn't filmed in widescreen, and so was stretched to 16:9, making some of the scenes look a bit strange. At worst, the scene before a CGI shot looks terrible.

    It gets better as the seasons go on.

    Yeah. :(

    The backstory is hit and miss in this one, and as you note, it's the same reason Soul Hunter fails.

    I enjoy Na'Toth here but that's because I love Na'Toth anyway.

    It's an odd B-plot, which seems to be odd for the sake of being odd. But I like odd, so odd is good here for me.

    As for Kosh, he hardly ever says anything. ;)

    Hee! I used to love QL when he'd play a pregnant woman or whatever.

    :lol:

    I bow at the reverance of Scott Bakula! And if you could pass on a Happy Birthday to old Goddy that'd be good. ;)

    Yep. I like this one a lot, it used Franklin nicely. It shook up the way thos story would have been told on Trek, for example.

    Yeah, good point. Contrivance I know, but then we wouldn't have had the really good part of the episode either.

    :guffaw::guffaw::guffaw:
     
  3. D Man

    D Man Commodore Commodore

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    "Believers" sold me on B5 during my first watch of the series. It was rough getting to it with some of the the iffy acting and zzzzhhhhDUUUM music from a lot of the previous episodes, but the ending of "Believers" in particular just hit me the right way. No one is left off the hook, and everyone is responsible for what happens in a way. Sure it's got a slight "see, Trek would never do this!" feel to it, but that works greatly to its advantage in this case. Kudos to Richard Biggs (RIP) especially for his last scene with Sinclair.

    Oh yeah...the subplot with Ivanova sucks. "LOL RAIDERS!" Booooring.
     
  4. Stevil2001

    Stevil2001 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    LOL RAIDERS was always the subplot during Season 1, and it was always boring. Could JMS not come up with a better way to fill up ten minutes?
     
  5. DWF

    DWF Admiral Admiral

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    The Raiders subplot kind of ended in Signs And Portents.
     
  6. Kegg

    Kegg Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Oh definitely. But like I said, the first good episode of the series, and it's the shocker, downer ending that sells it. Sometimes there are no-win scenarios. It's one of the few honest to god good standalone episodes, also.

    Quite. S1 may have benefited from not being densely arced because if the raiders are the best thing he could come up with for the first season it's best not to focus too much on them.
     
  7. Deranged Nasat

    Deranged Nasat Vice Admiral Admiral

    But that's what they were for. They were set up to end in "Signs and Portents". They were only ever meaningful on the basis of what happens in "Signs and Portents". :)
     
  8. Reverend

    Reverend Admiral Admiral

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    Let's watch the spoilers now. He hasn't gotten that far yet!
     
  9. TheGodBen

    TheGodBen Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Urgh, I let Scott Bakula use my computer for a few hours and he gets his chest hairs all over the keyboard. :scream: That man really needs to learn to wear a shirt.

    Oh, I must have missed that. Ah well, it doesn't change things too much, it's still awfully convenient, and he should have been able to tell that things were up the moment the father mentioned his son wearing a ceremonial robe for a "great journey". I could tell what was going to happen, and according to Scott Bakula I'm an idiot.

    But many of the best episodes of Trek were anti-Trek episodes; City on the Edge of Forever, In the Pale Moonlight, Damage... maybe I just don't like Trek. :confused:
     
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  10. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

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    I said out, dammit!
    Let's not forget to mentionn that the fanatical alien mother in Believers was Tricia O'Neil, the noble Captain Garrett of the Enterprise-C.
     
  11. Sykonee

    Sykonee Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    It's probably not that they're 'anti-Trek', but rather 'anti-status-quo'. When you buck the trend, you're going to make much more of an impression.
     
  12. Bones2

    Bones2 Commodore Commodore

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    No he doesn't :adore:

    How many seasons did B5 run for anyway? 7?
     
  13. Ryan Thomas Riddle

    Ryan Thomas Riddle Vice Admiral Admiral

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  14. Canadave

    Canadave Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Who?

    OHHH, you mean Scott Bakula!

    Anyway, I rewatched "Believers" last night. Definitely a much better episode than I remembered—I don't know why I'd relegated it to the trash heap of season one. It's worth it just for the scene of watching how the big four ambassadors deal with the parents request for representation. Especially Kosh.
     
  15. TheGodBen

    TheGodBen Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    That was the scene that sold the episode for me as well, it was very enjoyable watching the various ambassadors trying to find excuses so that they didn't get caught in the middle of the dilemma. I reluctantly had to admit that my early impressions were wrong and that there might just be something to the episode after all.
     
  16. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

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    I said out, dammit!
    "The avalanche has begun. It is too late for the pebbles to vote."

    :guffaw:

    Possibley my favorite B5 quote.
     
  17. Deranged Nasat

    Deranged Nasat Vice Admiral Admiral

    It is indeed the finest Koshism in the show, and of course it has some great competition! :)
     
  18. hyzmarca

    hyzmarca Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    The bartender, who was almost certainly some semi-omnipotent anthropomorphic personification (God, Time, whatever) explains to Sam that Sam was always in control of his leaps subconsciously. That everything, it was all Sam's doing. God didn't have any part of it. Sam refuses to believe at first, he might continue to refuse to believe (that's left unclear), but deep down inside he doesn't want to leap home. He's doing too much good in the past, putting right what once went wrong.

    In the end, he uses his newfound ability to leap into the home of Al's first wife before Al is declared dead and she remarries. He then tells her that Al is comming home, an act which improves Al's life dramatically. She never remarries so she and Al live happily ever after and have a couple of daughters together.

    Then he just continues leaping, presumably still assisted by Al, putting right what once went wrong until he dies of old age.
    JMS hates cute things, including kids. It's as simple as that.
     
  19. Lindley

    Lindley Moderator with a Soul Premium Member

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    Well now, there's still some worthwhile stuff to come in season 1.
     
  20. TheGodBen

    TheGodBen Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I'm not giving up, I just didn't watch an episode on Wednesday because it was my birthday and I took that evening off to spend some quality time with my good friend Scott Bakula and his ponies. :) I know the show supposedly only gets really good in season 2, but the same is true for DS9 and I still think it is best to watch that show's first season to make a connection with the characters.

    Yes, even If Wishes Were Horses. If you don't watch that episode you wont know where Sisko's baseball comes from.


    Survivors (**½)

    I had high hopes for this episode at the beginning as Garibaldi and Ivanova talked about the President visiting, I was hoping for some interstellar politics and some sort of exploration of the Earth political system. Even after the bomb went off and it was clear the episode was going to be about an investigation, possibly leading up to an assassination attempt on the Earth president, I was still interested in where the show might be heading. But then Lianna shows up and the episode becomes a film noir detective story taking place on a space station.

    Michael Garibaldi is a lawman on the frontier with a dark past and a drink problem? Check. He's framed for a crime he didn't commit? Check. He goes on the run and has to seek assistance from some shady characters? Check. The new lawman in town has it in for him due to a past situation he's partly to blame for? Check. He gets attacked by the criminals he used to police? Check. He screws up by getting drunk? Check. He pieces the crime together and has to convince the new lawman to believe him? Check. He wears a hat? Check.

    I liked some things in this episode while the rest of it felt like standard guff. I liked the fact that Garibaldi is a recovering alcoholic, it's a bit clichéd because the detective/policeman is a drunk in 96.8257% of detective stories, probably because they have Irish blood and feel they have an excuse. I liked Garibaldi going to Londo for help, that was a good scene. The rest of the episode was okay, not terrible, but not terribly interesting.
     
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