Babylon 5

[JirinPanthosa]

True for Franklin but the episode could have mentioned it, that they're reporting outbreaks on some Pakmara world and to send them the formula as fast as possible. It could be a failure for Franklin personally while still showing the audience it wasn't a waste.

I'm watching Hunter, Prey and Ivonova used the term 'Five by five'. I thought that was something Buffy made up for Faith to use. Was that a real slang in the 90s?

 

[Kraig]

It isn't slang but terminology used by radio operators. Five by five for an audio signal means signal strength and quality are both the highest. The scale is one to five for each. "Five by five" means the same thing as "loud and clear."

 

[matthunter]

It isn't slang but terminology used by radio operators. Five by five for an audio signal means signal strength and quality are both the highest. The scale is one to five for each. "Five by five" means the same thing as "loud and clear."

Which has been expanded - in fiction if likely not IRL - to encompass a broad "firing on all cylinders/AOK" statement, as also seen in Aliens when the dropship enters the approach vector.

 

[Reverend]

True for Franklin but the episode could have mentioned it, that they're reporting outbreaks on some Pakmara world and to send them the formula as fast as possible. It could be a failure for Franklin personally while still showing the audience it wasn't a waste.

I'm watching Hunter, Prey and Ivonova used the term 'Five by five'. I thought that was something Buffy made up for Faith to use. Was that a real slang in the 90s?

I doubt there's a lot of movement between Markab and pak'ma'ra colonies. Most people tend to avoid pak'ma'ra as a rule, so outside of a neutral hub like Babylon 5, the only real risk of exposure is to the Quantium 40 traders. Those pak'ma'ra could be out in space 90% of the time, never setting down, so even if one would be infected with the mutant strain, the disease could run it's course before they have much of a chance to spread it.

Plus of course if any species is going to develop a natural immunity to any pathogen before anyone else, it's the pak'ma'ra.

I think at most you're just liable to have a small uptick of pak'ma'ra cargo ships going missing in hyperspace, or being found adrift at transfer points.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

You'd still need to make sure any exposed pak'mara are contact traced, that no traders left for the homeworld before any quarantine went into place.

 

[BlueStuff]

"Divided Loyalties"

I watched this one a week ago but didn't get round to posting a review until now - primarily because I found I didn't have a lot to say about it. Was I surprised by Winters' heel-turn? Sure. Did I care much? Not really. The telepath/Psi Corps stuff has never been my favorite side of the show (though it is reasonably fun from time to time) and the revelation that Ivanova is a latent telepath did not thrill me.

I also have to be honest and admit that I'd forgotten all about Lyta Alexander (it's been a while since I saw The Gathering) so I appreciated the flashbacks. I take it she'll be the station's resident telepath from now on? If so, that gets a mostly ambivalent shrug from me.

So, unless I'm reading it very wrong, Winters and Ivanova casually slept together. I appreciated how this was treated, merely giving it the most cursory of attention, no different from any other sexual relationship. For me, this is more progressive than "IT'S OKAY TO BE GAY" after-school specials. Or maybe I'm naive and the reason they didn't show very much was simply that it was the mid-90s and it would've been controversial to make it too obvious.

Overall, the episode did its job and kept the suspense going throughout, even though there was that weird middle part where Lyta hid and refused to come back - until she did. Perhaps this was obvious to most but spending so much time trying to paint Ivanova as the spy/mole/whatever you want to call it is a good way of diverting suspicion AWAY from her - so it wasn't much of a stretch to realise ahead of time that the one they were looking for was the one other person who'd avoided being scanned until the very end.

Rating: ***

-Winters' apparent departure - do I detect off-screen drama with the actress here?
-Butt talk with Delenn.

 

[Jan]

-Winters' apparent departure - do I detect off-screen drama with the actress here?

Not terribly dramatic, no. She wanted more screen time *now*. JMS said *not yet*. Her agent said *My Client's Not Happy And Wants Out Of Her Contract*. JMS said *okay* and gave her a great send-off episode.

There's a persistant urban legend that she wanted to be gone when her relationship soured with Doyle but the timing doesn't add up.

 

[Farscape One]

I do wonder if the Psi Corps was ever able to make use of Talia's telekinetic abilities Ironheart gave her. Or perhaps it shut off when the new personality took over.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Not terribly dramatic, no. She wanted more screen time *now*. JMS said *not yet*. Her agent said *My Client's Not Happy And Wants Out Of Her Contract*. JMS said *okay* and gave her a great send-off episode.

There's a persistant urban legend that she wanted to be gone when her relationship soured with Doyle but the timing doesn't add up.

I always found Thompson's desire for more screen time a bit odd because she features prominently in several season two episodes prior to her departure, and is the focal point of a lot of A stories or B stories.

But who am I to second guess what an actor deems best for their career?

 

[Reverend]

Well that's the thing with "more" though, isn't it? I mean why settle for "some", or even "a lot" when "more" is just sitting there asking to be wanted...

 

[Farscape One]

I guess she couldn't telepathically read what JMS had in mind...

 

[Forbin]

The famous story about the Talia/Susan relationship: JMS invited Andrea and Claudia into his office and told them he'd been thinking about getting them involved with each other. He asked if either of them had a problem with a lesbian sub-plot. Claudia and Andrea looked at each other, and starting making out in front of him.

 

[matthunter]

"Divided Loyalties"
So, unless I'm reading it very wrong, Winters and Ivanova casually slept together.

You're reading it very wrong. Not the "slept together" part.

 

[ThreeEdgedSword]

So, unless I'm reading it very wrong, Winters and Ivanova casually slept together. I appreciated how this was treated, merely giving it the most cursory of attention, no different from any other sexual relationship. For me, this is more progressive than "IT'S OKAY TO BE GAY" after-school specials. Or maybe I'm naive and the reason they didn't show very much was simply that it was the mid-90s and it would've been controversial to make it too obvious.

I think it's really both. Have it in there at all - progressive. Treat it casually, not like something abnormal that needs to be discussed - fine.

Have it be *so* casual that many viewers missed it (not just homophobic ones) - a bit frustrating and certainly *not* like any other sexual relationship. t would still be debated if JMS had not confirmed it. That said, it's possible there would have been more, i.e. the relationship would have gone on for a while, had the actress not left. I don't think it was meant to be casual, they had this whole antagonistic buildup that's usually used for romantic couples.

As fo Talia's storyline... remember when Kosh hired her to sit in in on negotiations that didn't make sense? It's speculated that he recorded Winters' personality during that encounter, so her personalty could later be restored. I think he also made a cryptic comment that Talia was the key or something.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I don’t see the fact they’re vague about it as a progressive statement so much as a “It’s 1994, the majority is still against this so let’s avoid the controversy”.

I personally tend to be skeptical in stories when characters established to be heterosexual suddenly have a homosexual romance. Especially since 95% of the time that happens it’s women in a show written by heterosexual men. Is it really being progressive when that happens or is it a male gazey way of turning sexuality into a choice?

 

[Doom Shepherd]

I dunno, I've known bisexual women who never had a homosexual relationship, so you would never have known it, even having watched them go about their lives for years, if it wasn't brought up. I'd known my wife for over 20 years before she told me her first sexual crush was a woman. So "established" is not really established unless it's explicitly stated.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I dunno, I've known bisexual women who never had a homosexual relationship, so you would never have known it, even having watched them go about their lives for years, if it wasn't brought up. I'd known my wife for over 20 years before she told me her first sexual crush was a woman. So "established" is not really established unless it's explicitly stated.

True, my mother came out when she was 62. But in TV it always seems to be women. It's what, 4% of people for both men and women, but I can't think of a single male example.

There's a lot of homophobic heterosexual males out there whose tolerance of homosexuality is contingent on it turning them on, and I think a lot of male writers indulge that.

Imagine how differently the fans would have reacted if it were, say, Franklin and Garibaldi that were paired up.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

True, my mother came out when she was 62. But in TV it always seems to be women. It's what, 4% of people for both men and women, but I can't think of a single male example.

I can think of two, John Constantine and Jack Harkness, but I still can think of more female examples.

 

[Jan]

As fo Talia's storyline... remember when Kosh hired her to sit in in on negotiations that didn't make sense? It's speculated that he recorded Winters' personality during that encounter, so her personalty could later be restored. I think he also made a cryptic comment that Talia was the key or something.

I asked JMS about that a while back and he said it could have been used to either restore or destroy. Seems he was keeping his options open.

@straczynski Can you please settle a fan myth? Many people think the data crystal Abbut made of Talia Winters ("Reflection, surprise, terror.") was meant to restore her. I think it more likely a weapon. Would you be willing to settle the debate? Thanks.

J. Michael Straczynski
@straczynski
Both. It could restore her if, say, she were blanked by someone...or given her amped up abilities that backup could be powerful enough to drive, say, a Shadow vessel version of a Dreadnaught. But Andrea left the show before either possibility could be explored.

 

[valkyrie013]

One of those things of.. Wasn't it explained in broad strokes what the character arc would be and where in the series they would shine?

She really didn't need to wait to much longer for more screen time. Lyta took over her arc for the most part. Owell