A Niner Watches Babylon 5 (NO spoilers, please)

[TheGodBen]

Comes the Inquisitor (**½)

Wow, my April's Fool review was actually right; great G'Kar plot, boring and silly Sheridan plot involving magic. It's a pity there wasn't a giant cat, that might have made up for things.

Firstly G'Kar, very enjoyable stuff. He wastes no time in plotting a resistance against the Centauri and begins making partnerships with the likes of Garibaldi and Sheridan. The fact that the story became yet another plot where G'Kar had to prove himself to the Narns on the station was a little too standard, but at the same time it was a nice reminder that things people take for granted (regular communication with home) are taken away with war. I really liked the part about Vir apologising to G'Kar, especially since we know that Vir really did try to stop Londo from doing all this, and G'Kar's response was good too. I don't know what's happening because I've run out of painkillers but I'm still liking Vir. Maybe it will take another few days for them to completely exit my system?

Alas, Jack the Ripper shows up for some reason and he tortures Delenn because... well, you have to fill 42 minutes somehow. It was like watching a horrible flashback to Soul Hunter, but this time the droning and repetitive lines are spoken in a British accent. And the point of all this? We learn that Delenn and Sheridan are the right people in the right place at the right time. So they'll win then? That's good to know, now I wont need to watch the rest of the series.

Scott Bakula: 35

 

[RandyS]

^Okay, I have to ask, why do you keep mentioning Scott Bakula, who had nothing whatsoever to do with Babylon 5? Am I missing some stupid joke, or what?

 

[Kegg]

^
There's another for the Scott Bakula?! counter. Been awhile...

And the point of all this? We learn that Delenn and Sheridan are the right people in the right place at the right time. So they'll win then? That's good to know, now I wont need to watch the rest of the series.

It's that they're right conceptually speaking rather than having the actual know-how - that is, they have the Vorlon-approved notion of what true heroism is and so on.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Comes the Inquisitor (**½)

Wow, my April's Fool review was actually right; great G'Kar plot, boring and silly Sheridan plot involving magic. It's a pity there wasn't a giant cat, that might have made up for things.

Firstly G'Kar, very enjoyable stuff. He wastes no time in plotting a resistance against the Centauri and begins making partnerships with the likes of Garibaldi and Sheridan. The fact that the story became yet another plot where G'Kar had to prove himself to the Narns on the station was a little too standard, but at the same time it was a nice reminder that things people take for granted (regular communication with home) are taken away with war. I really liked the part about Vir apologising to G'Kar, especially since we know that Vir really did try to stop Londo from doing all this, and G'Kar's response was good too. I don't know what's happening because I've run out of painkillers but I'm still liking Vir. Maybe it will take another few days for them to completely exit my system?

Alas, Jack the Ripper shows up for some reason and he tortures Delenn because... well, you have to fill 42 minutes somehow. It was like watching a horrible flashback to Soul Hunter, but this time the droning and repetitive lines are spoken in a British accent. And the point of all this? We learn that Delenn and Sheridan are the right people in the right place at the right time. So they'll win then? That's good to know, now I wont need to watch the rest of the series.

Scott Bakula: 35

I think you're spot on. This episode seems to be highly regarded, but I just don't get it. You have this hamfest of an actor who just endlessly prattles on and on about some nonsense or another with badly over-written dialog. If there's one thing I have to say about JMS is he has a really bad habit of over writing.

 

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

Alas, Jack the Ripper shows up for some reason and he tortures Delenn because... well, you have to fill 42 minutes somehow. It was like watching a horrible flashback to Soul Hunter, but this time the droning and repetitive lines are spoken in a British accent. And the point of all this? We learn that Delenn and Sheridan are the right people in the right place at the right time. So they'll win then? That's good to know, now I wont need to watch the rest of the series.

Scott Bakula: 35

One of the things I like about these reviews is that they break a lot of the 'standard talking points' that the hardcore B5 fans have developed over the years. It's a good show, at times very good, but many times its overrated. This plot is one of those cases. I can think of few plots dumber than Vorlons kidnapping Jack the Ripper, and having him torture our heroes to see if they are the right people to lead a war. Well that Spider-Man story that JMS co-wrote about Peter Parker and the devil with the rewriting history so he was never married was pretty stupid too.

 

[Neroon]

To each their own. What I find to be so good about "Comes the Inquisitor" is the different pace it takes. I find it thoughtful in the examination of the two people who will be the leaders of this fight. In fact, that strikes me as a bit more original than most, given that we usually have "the hero" in so many other similar settings anointed without question. Yeah, using "Jack the Ripper" to conduct that examination is a bit out there alright, but not to the point that it overwhelms the underlying point: that Kosh had to be certain Sheridan and Delenn understood what is being asked of them from all angles. To assign a lower ranking based on the plot device of Jack the Ripper is understandable, because it does seem overly melodramatic... but then he was also apparently embroiled in his own "holy cause" just like our two central leaders. To dismiss that storyline because of the plot device may be understandable, but misses the crux of that story.

 

[Jan]

One thing that JMS likes to do is stick two people in a room and see what happens. In this episode, some of Sebastian's aproach to questioning Delenn is based on something called the Synanon game (not sure I've got that right) where asking the same question repeatedly forces the subject to discover things about themselves.

I thought the episode said a lot about the Vorlons and brought Sheridan & Delenn closer. I liked it a lot.

Jan

 

[Lindley]

You have this hamfest of an actor

Wayne Alexander actually has several additional roles on the series later on, although I think this was his first appearance. You quickly realize that whatever "hamminess" Sebastian had, it must have been a choice, because the later roles are played rather differently.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

You have this hamfest of an actor

Wayne Alexander actually has several additional roles on the series later on, although I think this was his first appearance. You quickly realize that whatever "hamminess" Sebastian had, it must have been a choice, because the later roles are played rather differently.

Plus the whole point of the Sebastian character is that he was a complete fanatic who had a supremely difficult revelation- thanks to the Vorlons- that he was in fact totally mistaken about himself. Now he's dedicated (equally fanatically it seems) to ensuring other people with ideas of their own "destiny" aren't making the same mistakes. So of course the character is played a little over-the-top- he's an over-the-top kind of guy.

 

[stonester1]

Loved this ep. Also love your new sig, Neroon.

 

[JoeD80]

Alas, Jack the Ripper shows up for some reason and he tortures Delenn because... well, you have to fill 42 minutes somehow. It was like watching a horrible flashback to Soul Hunter, but this time the droning and repetitive lines are spoken in a British accent. And the point of all this? We learn that Delenn and Sheridan are the right people in the right place at the right time.

It wasn't just to bring in Jack to fill in the episode; there's also a counterpoint Joe was going for here by showing us the Vorlons' version of Morden.

 

[David cgc]

Would you believe I never noticed that? But that really fits in perfectly with Morden's backstory, revealed in the novels.

Spoiler: Not sure if you were planning on reading these

The Vorlons' servant is a murderer, fanatic and sadist who they kidnapped and forced to serve them, while the Shadows' have a family man, who joined them willingly when they offered to end the suffering of his wife and child who had been trapped in the moment between life and death thanks to being the victims of a terrorist bombing of a jumpgate. I wonder if JMS had it worked out that that was Morden's backstory, and what his necklace meant, or if it was just a random bit of character dressing and Jeanne Cavelos tied it all together with a backstory of her own design later on.

 

[Kegg]

Sebastian as the Vorlon Morden seemed obvious to me from the start, actually. They're both humans who are being used to state the case for very non-human species; intermediaries who, in being allowed to be human, get far more dialogue, but also give us a very good sense as to what the elder races are really all about, in some sense. They're pretty handy narrative tools.

Though Jack, eh. As I spoiler coded earlier upthread, I felt Torquemada would have been a better pick. Or, and let's be obvious, a Crusader! - Peter the Hermit seems an appropriately fervent example.

To each their own. What I find to be so good about "Comes the Inquisitor" is the different pace it takes. I find it thoughtful in the examination of the two people who will be the leaders of this fight. In fact, that strikes me as a bit more original than most, given that we usually have "the hero" in so many other similar settings anointed without question.

Yeah, like Star Wars, where nobody ever doubts Luke's abilities, and nobody ever challenges his preconceptions, and... wait...

Look, I like "Comes the Inquisitor", a lot, but the mentor -in this case the Vorlons - saying, 'ah-ha, this is the deep inner truth about goodness you must learn!' isn't wonderfully original or even semi-original.

Wayne Alexander actually has several additional roles on the series later on, although I think this was his first appearance. You quickly realize that whatever "hamminess" Sebastian had, it must have been a choice, because the later roles are played rather differently.

Wasn't he

Spoiler: Sheridan's mom

The Drakh, the 'shadow of a shadow'?

That was pretty hammy.

 

[David cgc]

Wayne Alexander actually has several additional roles on the series later on, although I think this was his first appearance. You quickly realize that whatever "hamminess" Sebastian had, it must have been a choice, because the later roles are played rather differently.

Wasn't he

Spoiler: Sheridan's mom

The Drakh, the 'shadow of a shadow'?

That was pretty hammy.

Spoiler: True enough...

...but he was also Lorien and the Drazi con man who tried to guilt Sheridan into signing the false confession in "Intersections in Real Time." And, checking IMDB, he was the voice of the souls in "River of Souls" and a Narn in "And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place," which I have no memory of him being in.

 

[Neroon]

Kegg please read what I posted, again. I said "in so many cases", not "every case". It has happened often enough to establish a strong trend, to the point where this is unusual. Regardless of how unoriginal you think this plot may be, the focus upon examination of and introspection by the heroes makes for an interesting story if handled well. Obviously, I and several others feel it is.


David,

Spoiler: the character you're trying to remember

He was named G'Dan and is the Narn with whom G'Kar first speaks upon his arrival on Narn in that episode. They meet in a bunker of some sort, looking out at the wasteland Narn has become

 

[Kegg]

Kegg please read what I posted, again. I said "in so many cases", not "every case".

Yeah. And I was citing Star Wars to make the point that that isn't even true for many cases, or is at at all typical. Honestly, I can think of more examples of stories where the hero's notions need to be challenged than are accepted uncritically (though then we may wind up arguing a bit over what that means, say, Avatar assumes outright that Jake Sully must take the hero mantle, but he's got a world-redefining arc on par with what Sebastian hammers home.)

the focus upon examination of and introspection by the heroes makes for an interesting story if handled well. Obviously, I and several others feel it is.

I've picked the episode as one of my best for the season, so I think it can be guessed where I fall on this issue. I sure as hell don't credit it originality (this is B5), but I do credit it with working.

 

[TheGodBen]

^Okay, I have to ask, why do you keep mentioning Scott Bakula, who had nothing whatsoever to do with Babylon 5? Am I missing some stupid joke, or what?

I was raised from a young age by a family of vampires, so I like to count things. With Babylon 5 I'm counting the number actors from Star Trek that show up, and I've decided to claim that they're all Scott Bakula. Why Scott Bakula? So that I can count the number of people who ask me what the Scott Bakula counter is about. Speaking of which.

Scott Bakula?!: 4

If there's one thing I have to say about JMS is he has a really bad habit of over writing.

Yes, over-writing! I've had a nagging feeling about some of the scenes in this show but couldn't think of a way to describe it, but over-writing sums it up well. I don't know what it means exactly, but it sounds like it fits the problem, and it was definitely a problem in this episode.

To assign a lower ranking based on the plot device of Jack the Ripper is understandable, because it does seem overly melodramatic... but then he was also apparently embroiled in his own "holy cause" just like our two central leaders. To dismiss that storyline because of the plot device may be understandable, but misses the crux of that story.

I didn't assign a lower score because he was Jack the Ripper, if Sebastian had struck me as a good, charismatic character then he could have been Mother Teresa for all I cared, I still would have enjoyed his presence. But the problem I had was that all he did was talk and talk and shout and talk and shock and expel magic fire from his pimp stick. Oh, and then he gave a very boring revelation. Most hero characters in genre shows are the type that would sacrifice themselves for one other, the fact that Delenn and Sheridan fit this mould too does not justify the time I felt was wasted on electro-shocks. Making him Jack the Ripper only compounded the problem because it was supposed to be an interesting revelation and all I could think was "Get off the screen, you wanker!"


Oh, I just watched the season finale. I'll talk about it tomorrow.

 

[RandyS]

^Okay, I have to ask, why do you keep mentioning Scott Bakula, who had nothing whatsoever to do with Babylon 5? Am I missing some stupid joke, or what?

I was raised from a young age by a family of vampires, so I like to count things. With Babylon 5 I'm counting the number actors from Star Trek that show up, and I've decided to claim that they're all Scott Bakula. Why Scott Bakula? So that I can count the number of people who ask me what the Scott Bakula counter is about. Speaking of which.

Scott Bakula?!: 4

So my guess was right, stupid joke.

Gotcha

 

[stonester1]

I sure as hell don't credit it originality (this is B5), but I do credit it with working.

I do. Originality is not just in plot elements (B5 does have originality there), but in how those elements are used and how the story unspools. Does it play like everything else that has come along, or does it definitely establish it's own identity and character?

Babylon 5 is chock FULL of originality, especially in that regard.

It would not have made the impact it did, if it was just another retread space opera.

 

[TheGodBen]

So my guess was right, stupid joke.

Gotcha

You only think it's stupid because you fell for it. It's not really stupid, it's esoteric.


The Fall of Night (***)

Where to begin? Well, how about the beginning? The episode starts off interestingly enough with the Centauri deciding to push into space controlled by non-aligned worlds, an event which forces Earth to respond. This causes Sheridan to be optimistic about the Earth government for the first time in months, so clearly this is going to end is huge disappointment for him. Oh, and look, it does! Earth doesn't want to stop the Centauri, they just want to stop the Centauri from attacking them, so they're willing to sell out the non-aligned worlds. It's an understandable position for a race which was almost wiped out in their last major conflict, but it's a pity that Sheridan so overplayed his optimism that this reveal became so inevitable.

Things are complicated when a Narn ship shows up asking for aid so they can get back to fighting the Centauri, and Sheridan decides to help them for obvious reasons. This is the best part of the show, the stand-off between Sheridan and Minister Lantz is good, but even better is the stand-off between Sheridan and the Centauri ship, you really get the sense that these two powers are on the precipice of war, an event which seems inevitable once the Centauri ship explodes. Once again, Sheridan is forced to choose between his principles and his government when he is forced to give an apology.

But on the way to the apology ceremony, a disgruntled Centauri decides to blow Sheridan up real good, which must have been very hastily planned considering it was only, what, 2 or 3 hours since the event? Luckily, Sheridan does his best action hero move and jumps out of the moving train leaving the explosion behind him, but now he is going to very slowly "fall" to his death. But before that can happen Kosh decides to intervene and reveals that he is... an angel!



































































A frickin angel?! Not a hot blonde chick in a skimpy red dress, but an actual angel, with wings and everything. This is one of the silliest things I've ever seen.

SHERIDAN: Are you Kosh?
KOSH: *smiles and nods*
SHERIDAN: What does God need with a space station?
KOSH: *laser-beam-eyes Sheridan*

Talk about your deus ex machina. Did the apology ceremony not happen because an angel showed up? Did EarthGov say "Sorry Mr Centauri Emperor sir, Sheridan can't apologise today because he was touched by an angel. lol." Did the Centauri say "Even though our ambassador didn't see an angel, we have decided to cancel the apology ceremony because our Joint Military Staff told us to. lol."

A frickin angel.

Oh, and now there is video footage of a Shadow ship, so I guess they're going to act soon? I just hope those guys don't end up being demons.