Which was pretty disappointing for him.
A Niner Watches Babylon 5 (NO spoilers, please)
- Thread starter TheGodBen
- Start date
I remember everyone saying it was going to be a horrible mistake, but then didn't they say the same thing about the musical Buffy episode too?
Wow, season 5 really does sound like a step down in quality. 
Grey 17 is Missing (**½)
Let me get this straight: There's a section of the station that's missing in plain sight, you have to go through a complicated procedure to get there, it's really creepy, some mysterious people live there, it's difficult to escape and there's a monster?
This episode is the precursor to Lost!
I don't buy the Grey 17 plot, in four years somebody was bound to notice the power drain from the lights, air recyclers, steam pipes, and so on. When Garibaldi gets down there what he finds is a cult with a very annoying leader that needed to be punched in the head a couple of dozen times in order to make me feel better. Then there's a monster that's on the station because... oh, who cares any more? The monster gets burned by a steam pipe, then Garibaldi turns it into a gun somehow and the fearsome monster dies. All of this is played for comedy, and nobody cares about the maintenance guy that died, probably because he was black. I'll always remember you maintenance guy whose name didn't even get into the credits.
Meanwhile...
Delenn is promoted to the position of Red Ranger. Neroon doesn't like this, so he threatens to kill her. But look out, because Ron Moorcus isn't about to let that happen, so he fights Neroon in a match to the very-near death. This is a much more interesting story, and it finally addresses the situation with the Minbari leadership that I've been wondering about since Severed Dreams. This plot has its problems, but I mostly enjoyed it.
Scott Bakula: 47
You've got it all wrong, It was in Grey Sector, and Sheridan wasn't there. But it was definitely Scott Bakula in the suit, I could tell by his crotch lunges.
Grey 17 is Missing (**½)
Let me get this straight: There's a section of the station that's missing in plain sight, you have to go through a complicated procedure to get there, it's really creepy, some mysterious people live there, it's difficult to escape and there's a monster?
This episode is the precursor to Lost!
I don't buy the Grey 17 plot, in four years somebody was bound to notice the power drain from the lights, air recyclers, steam pipes, and so on. When Garibaldi gets down there what he finds is a cult with a very annoying leader that needed to be punched in the head a couple of dozen times in order to make me feel better. Then there's a monster that's on the station because... oh, who cares any more? The monster gets burned by a steam pipe, then Garibaldi turns it into a gun somehow and the fearsome monster dies. All of this is played for comedy, and nobody cares about the maintenance guy that died, probably because he was black. I'll always remember you maintenance guy whose name didn't even get into the credits.
Meanwhile...
Delenn is promoted to the position of Red Ranger. Neroon doesn't like this, so he threatens to kill her. But look out, because Ron Moorcus isn't about to let that happen, so he fights Neroon in a match to the very-near death. This is a much more interesting story, and it finally addresses the situation with the Minbari leadership that I've been wondering about since Severed Dreams. This plot has its problems, but I mostly enjoyed it.
Scott Bakula: 47
I usually rewatch this episode just because of the B story.
Yes, the A-plot's the clunker of the season, but the B-plot saves the episode. Neroon's always welcome on my screen, and the Minbari leadership issues TGB acknowledged are of course greatly important to the ongoing arc.
He's in the end credits as "Maintenance Worker".
^Oh that's nothing, the woman featured often in season one was named "Dome Tech", how about that for specific career prediction? 
'Grey 17 Is Missing' is one of those notoriously poor episodes that even JMS recognises as well below par. Why he didn't just dump the A story and make the Delenn/Neroon plot the main story we'll never know.
As for the plausibility of Grey 17 going unnoticed, it's thin as wet tissue paper but it's possible as B5 was made on a tight budget (the actually ran out of cash) and was rushed into finishing. Add to that Grey Sector is essentially uninhabited, consisting mostly of big ass heavy machinery, thick shielding and whole sections that have been sealed off since the station went online, it's possible it was over looked. As for noticing the power, air and water consumption, remember back in season 2 Grey Sector was labelled the "B5 Triangle" with reports of strange lights, weird noises, and people vanishing. One assumes that the Zarg and the eternal cult of fingerless glove wearers are responsible for at least some of this.
'Grey 17 Is Missing' is one of those notoriously poor episodes that even JMS recognises as well below par. Why he didn't just dump the A story and make the Delenn/Neroon plot the main story we'll never know.
As for the plausibility of Grey 17 going unnoticed, it's thin as wet tissue paper but it's possible as B5 was made on a tight budget (the actually ran out of cash) and was rushed into finishing. Add to that Grey Sector is essentially uninhabited, consisting mostly of big ass heavy machinery, thick shielding and whole sections that have been sealed off since the station went online, it's possible it was over looked. As for noticing the power, air and water consumption, remember back in season 2 Grey Sector was labelled the "B5 Triangle" with reports of strange lights, weird noises, and people vanishing. One assumes that the Zarg and the eternal cult of fingerless glove wearers are responsible for at least some of this.
^Oh that's nothing, the woman featured often in season one was named "Dome Tech", how about that for specific career prediction?
The same applies for poor Joshua Cox (Lt. Corwin).
He appeared in 35 episodes and most of the time he was credited as "Tech 1" or "Tech 2".
'Grey 17 Is Missing' God did you have to remind me that particular episode ? A non entitiy / persona monster named "Zarg" ( maybe irony in the lameness of the name ) + Robert Englund ( no other than original Freddy Kruger ! ) and his weido cult + Garibaldi pulling a McGywer and saving the day + a decent Delenn / Neroon / Marcus conflict....
Except ther last addition I do not understand why an episode using this combination was written and aired...
Except ther last addition I do not understand why an episode using this combination was written and aired...
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I think it was one of those "We need to get moving on shooting episode 19 and I don't have time to rewrite" things.
I do think it's interesting that even at this phase of Babylon 5, JMS was still in the mindset that he had to keep the show episodic, maintaining a degree of stand-alone in almost every episode.
Wow, episode 20?! 
Where has this season gone? I thought I was still in the 15/16 region.
And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place (***½)
I've been trying to figure out where I knew Lord Refa from, but I just couldn't place him, and imdb didn't help either. But I finally figured it out! He sounds like Frankie Boyle doing an impersonation of a Silvio Berlusconi. And that's where I thought I knew him from.
I liked Lord Refa, he may have been a genocidal madman with no empathy for other people, but he sure was fun to watch. I'm not too upset about this death, it was his time, though I will miss his conversations with Londo. I admit I didn't see the twist coming, but I'm not too sure what actually happened. Did Londo really strike a secret deal with G'Kar? There's a conversation I would have liked to have seen. I know they couldn't because of the surprise ending, but it still would have been fun. As for Refa's death, I understand what they were going for with the gospel music, but I didn't feel it worked with the slow motion shots of Refa running and being beaten. Maybe it's a personal preference thing.
Meanwhile...
Sheridan needs to get laid. First he doesn't see a pattern to the Shadow attacks, the next second he sees one, and the episode ends with him and Delenn reaching first base. (How come I don't know the rules of baseball at all yet I know about the various bases?) My favourite moment of this story was the scene involving Sheridan and the Reverend (who was not Billy Dee Williams) in the middle of the night, although I still don't know why the Reverend thought it was okay to wander into Sheridan's office in the middle of the night with the excuse that he didn't think anyone was in there.
Scott Bakula: 49
Where has this season gone? I thought I was still in the 15/16 region.And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place (***½)
I've been trying to figure out where I knew Lord Refa from, but I just couldn't place him, and imdb didn't help either. But I finally figured it out! He sounds like Frankie Boyle doing an impersonation of a Silvio Berlusconi. And that's where I thought I knew him from.
I liked Lord Refa, he may have been a genocidal madman with no empathy for other people, but he sure was fun to watch. I'm not too upset about this death, it was his time, though I will miss his conversations with Londo. I admit I didn't see the twist coming, but I'm not too sure what actually happened. Did Londo really strike a secret deal with G'Kar? There's a conversation I would have liked to have seen. I know they couldn't because of the surprise ending, but it still would have been fun. As for Refa's death, I understand what they were going for with the gospel music, but I didn't feel it worked with the slow motion shots of Refa running and being beaten. Maybe it's a personal preference thing.
Meanwhile...
Sheridan needs to get laid. First he doesn't see a pattern to the Shadow attacks, the next second he sees one, and the episode ends with him and Delenn reaching first base. (How come I don't know the rules of baseball at all yet I know about the various bases?) My favourite moment of this story was the scene involving Sheridan and the Reverend (who was not Billy Dee Williams
) in the middle of the night, although I still don't know why the Reverend thought it was okay to wander into Sheridan's office in the middle of the night with the excuse that he didn't think anyone was in there.Scott Bakula: 49
As for Refa's death, I understand what they were going for with the gospel music, but I didn't feel it worked with the slow motion shots of Refa running and being beaten. Maybe it's a personal preference thing.
This is one of my favorite moments in the entire series and it worked perfectly. So awesome with the intercutting of people celebrating and Refa getting what he deserved. Poetic justice indeed.
Wow, episode 20?!
And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place (***½)
I've been trying to figure out where I knew Lord Refa from, but I just couldn't place him, and imdb didn't help either. But I finally figured it out! He sounds like Frankie Boyle doing an impersonation of a Silvio Berlusconi. And that's where I thought I knew him from.
I liked Lord Refa, he may have been a genocidal madman with no empathy for other people, but he sure was fun to watch. I'm not too upset about this death, it was his time, though I will miss his conversations with Londo. I admit I didn't see the twist coming, but I'm not too sure what actually happened. Did Londo really strike a secret deal with G'Kar? There's a conversation I would have liked to have seen. I know they couldn't because of the surprise ending, but it still would have been fun. As for Refa's death, I understand what they were going for with the gospel music, but I didn't feel it worked with the slow motion shots of Refa running and being beaten. Maybe it's a personal preference thing.
Meanwhile...
Sheridan needs to get laid. First he doesn't see a pattern to the Shadow attacks, the next second he sees one, and the episode ends with him and Delenn reaching first base. (How come I don't know the rules of baseball at all yet I know about the various bases?) My favourite moment of this story was the scene involving Sheridan and the Reverend (who was not Billy Dee Williams
Scott Bakula: 49
Z minus 14 baby !
When Londo grrrr'd to Vir at first I assumed that he really must have gone to dark side to be that harsh to only friend he had. In fact he had but complately for wrong reasons. He made an eleborate plan to eliminate Refa in a treacherous Centauri way. And final kissing scene between Sheridan and Delenn behind a fleet of White Stars supposed to be emotional ? I don't know...
Refa's death is one of my favourite scenes. The first time I saw it, I had no idea what to think- which was partly why I loved it. 
I was grinning like an idiot, but I wasn't sure how I felt. I knew only that I loved this scene and that it was great- I knew it just worked for me, and I'd work out how I felt later.
Poor Lord Refa! No, seriously! I feel really bad for him yet I laugh every time too! And quite dark of G'Kar, as well- interesting, though, and it shows that his epiphany and related character development haven't made him willing to forgive or work things through all the time- in some extreme cases he's still the ruthless G'Kar from Season One.
I always wonder if Refa dreamt his death like Londo, and if he always had a feeling Narns would kill him, perhaps a contributing factor in his eagerness to crush them?
And the Reverend Dexter was good- particularly his relationship with Brother Theo. Theo's "oh, Rapture" when he hears that there'll be singing makes me laugh every time.
I was grinning like an idiot, but I wasn't sure how I felt. I knew only that I loved this scene and that it was great- I knew it just worked for me, and I'd work out how I felt later. Poor Lord Refa! No, seriously! I feel really bad for him yet I laugh every time too!
And quite dark of G'Kar, as well- interesting, though, and it shows that his epiphany and related character development haven't made him willing to forgive or work things through all the time- in some extreme cases he's still the ruthless G'Kar from Season One. I always wonder if Refa dreamt his death like Londo, and if he always had a feeling Narns would kill him, perhaps a contributing factor in his eagerness to crush them?
And the Reverend Dexter was good- particularly his relationship with Brother Theo. Theo's "oh, Rapture" when he hears that there'll be singing makes me laugh every time
.
Get used to hearing this word about nine billion times.
Shadow Dancing (***½)
This is a very difficult episode to rate once again, part of me thinks it deserves 8/10, while another part of me is worried about the nature of the Shadows. You see, while watching the big fleet battle I realised I was not emotionally engaged by it, I didn't feel the same tension or excitement that I felt back in Severed Dreams. I felt that I knew something about the Evil Earth Alliance back then and I wanted the rebels to win the battle because they were fighting against a force I knew was wrong. With the Shadows I have no understanding of their motivation, they just have big black ships that are blowing things up for some reason. It's possible I'll finally get that revelation in the next episode, I guess I'll find out tonight.
On a side note, I think my brother showed me this battle a few years ago as an attempt to entice me, although he kept the sound down so that I couldn't understand what was being said. But I do remember ships being blowed up real good in that nebula while Sheridan and Delenn walked around. Of course, I was thinking "Sacrifice of Angels looks cooler than this" but that's because SoA came two years later, and I'm an insufferable little runt.
Meanwhile...
Dr Franklin meets himself and realises that he's a horrible person. I can identify with that.
Okay, Franklin literally meeting himself while dying was a bit much, but I have to admit that I enjoyed the scene, and Franklin's realisation that he has been running away from things all his life was worth the hour I spent watching the episode. It's a pity they kept cutting away to that battle though. Whatever happened to Franklin's dad anyway, does he still work for the Evil Earth Alliance? Or did he rebel? Or did he die? I guess I'm not supposed to know.
Z minus 3 hours.
This is a very difficult episode to rate once again, part of me thinks it deserves 8/10, while another part of me is worried about the nature of the Shadows. You see, while watching the big fleet battle I realised I was not emotionally engaged by it, I didn't feel the same tension or excitement that I felt back in Severed Dreams. I felt that I knew something about the Evil Earth Alliance back then and I wanted the rebels to win the battle because they were fighting against a force I knew was wrong. With the Shadows I have no understanding of their motivation, they just have big black ships that are blowing things up for some reason. It's possible I'll finally get that revelation in the next episode, I guess I'll find out tonight.
On a side note, I think my brother showed me this battle a few years ago as an attempt to entice me, although he kept the sound down so that I couldn't understand what was being said. But I do remember ships being blowed up real good in that nebula while Sheridan and Delenn walked around. Of course, I was thinking "Sacrifice of Angels looks cooler than this" but that's because SoA came two years later, and I'm an insufferable little runt.
Meanwhile...
Dr Franklin meets himself and realises that he's a horrible person. I can identify with that.
Okay, Franklin literally meeting himself while dying was a bit much, but I have to admit that I enjoyed the scene, and Franklin's realisation that he has been running away from things all his life was worth the hour I spent watching the episode. It's a pity they kept cutting away to that battle though. Whatever happened to Franklin's dad anyway, does he still work for the Evil Earth Alliance? Or did he rebel? Or did he die? I guess I'm not supposed to know.Z minus 3 hours.
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