Niners Unite...around Babylon 5! - The Continuing Arc
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Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin
Ok, let's try this again:
Babylon 5: The Lost Tales
Thursday August 16, 2007 at 9:30PM (eastern), 6:30PM (pacific)
SiL was so much fun. I can't wait. I've only seen the The Lost Tales three times so far, so I'll probably watch it at least once between now and then
Ok, let's try this again:
Babylon 5: The Lost Tales
Thursday August 16, 2007 at 9:30PM (eastern), 6:30PM (pacific)
SiL was so much fun. I can't wait. I've only seen the The Lost Tales three times so far, so I'll probably watch it at least once between now and then
Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin
Thursday the 16th works for me.
Thursday the 16th works for me.
Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin
It's ok with me.
It's ok with me.
Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin
Crusade: "Each Night I Dream of Home"
This episode was pretty good, minus a few contrivances. First, Lochley being adrift and the Excalibur being the only ship in range. This is the CO of Babylon 5, which is probably pretty important as an Earth outpost right now. And she's out on her own? Second, the continuity between her and Gideon doesn't quite jive. It's close (a little ADR indicates this is not their first meeting), but the line about their "first date" and just their performances make it seem like this is their first meeting... again. Unavoidable due to TNT interference, but I grumble on. Oh, and third, the panel gives out so Sarah has to infect the guy? This is a dangerous plague here and panels are going out? I'd voice my concerns right about now (not to mention the ones concerning the HIGHLY dangerous sterilization mechanism).
The actor playing the guy who infects himself could have been a little better, but he was still decent. And it was very sad seeing Richard Biggs one last time as Stephen Franklin. What a great intro and exit for him, too.
And despite my general dislike towards the character, and towards the continuity, Lochley (and Tracey Scoggins) is at her best here in Crusade. I like her many times more on this show than I did on Babylon 5, or on the Lost Tales for that matter. She's a better fit with these characters and actors, I think. Too bad there's only one more episode for her.
Grade: B+
Crusade: "Each Night I Dream of Home"
This episode was pretty good, minus a few contrivances. First, Lochley being adrift and the Excalibur being the only ship in range. This is the CO of Babylon 5, which is probably pretty important as an Earth outpost right now. And she's out on her own? Second, the continuity between her and Gideon doesn't quite jive. It's close (a little ADR indicates this is not their first meeting), but the line about their "first date" and just their performances make it seem like this is their first meeting... again. Unavoidable due to TNT interference, but I grumble on. Oh, and third, the panel gives out so Sarah has to infect the guy? This is a dangerous plague here and panels are going out? I'd voice my concerns right about now (not to mention the ones concerning the HIGHLY dangerous sterilization mechanism).
The actor playing the guy who infects himself could have been a little better, but he was still decent. And it was very sad seeing Richard Biggs one last time as Stephen Franklin. What a great intro and exit for him, too.
And despite my general dislike towards the character, and towards the continuity, Lochley (and Tracey Scoggins) is at her best here in Crusade. I like her many times more on this show than I did on Babylon 5, or on the Lost Tales for that matter. She's a better fit with these characters and actors, I think. Too bad there's only one more episode for her.
Grade: B+
Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin
^^"Each Night I Dream of Home" was probably my favorite episode of "Crusade." And mostly b/c it had Dr. Franklin. This perhaps doesn't speak well of the show. Honestly, I just thought that the whole plague storyline was kind of a drag; it would be great to see what JMS would have done with the arc.
^^"Each Night I Dream of Home" was probably my favorite episode of "Crusade." And mostly b/c it had Dr. Franklin. This perhaps doesn't speak well of the show. Honestly, I just thought that the whole plague storyline was kind of a drag; it would be great to see what JMS would have done with the arc.
Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin
"The Long Road"
I enjoyed seeing Peter Woodward's father play his character's father (at least, that's who I assumed he was, from all the lines that insinuated as much) on the show. We got a *few* more details about the technomages (Elric is dead, Alwyn is just as much a troublemaker as Galen). But, that said, the rest of the characters here aren't nearly as interesting. The townspeople are all bland cutouts. The Earthforce Officers are gun-toating cutouts as well. And, for a Galen heavy episode, we don't learn a *whole* lot about him. Also, would the Excalibur really be helping out here? From what I can gather, it's a short term solution for a small number of people on Earth. Shouldn't they be out there, looking for a cure?
Grade: B
"The Well of Forever"
I expected the telepath plot to show signs of life in this episode, but it hardly has any meaningful screentime. The telepath interrogator (the actor looks REALLY familiar to me) scans Matheson, finds some undefined "gray" areas, and is tricked by Gideon into not doing anything. Galen makes something out of Matheson missing out on his answers, but since we learn nothing about Matheson in this episode, I'm just left confused. The scene with him in hyperspace was nice, but that's about it.
As for Galen's story, we learn that he loved a woman named Isabel. That's also about it. There are some interesting hyperspace lifeforms, but they turn out to be a joke (mating with the ship... okay).
I've read that you can just see an inkling of an arc forming in these 13 episodes. I have four left (IIRC), and so far haven't seen anything that might point to that, except perhaps the idiot box (which hasn't been seen for a number of episodes--and was this the betrayal by Galen it predicted? Not exactly an earth-shattering betrayal in my book). Is there something I've missed?
Grade: B
"The Long Road"
I enjoyed seeing Peter Woodward's father play his character's father (at least, that's who I assumed he was, from all the lines that insinuated as much) on the show. We got a *few* more details about the technomages (Elric is dead, Alwyn is just as much a troublemaker as Galen). But, that said, the rest of the characters here aren't nearly as interesting. The townspeople are all bland cutouts. The Earthforce Officers are gun-toating cutouts as well. And, for a Galen heavy episode, we don't learn a *whole* lot about him. Also, would the Excalibur really be helping out here? From what I can gather, it's a short term solution for a small number of people on Earth. Shouldn't they be out there, looking for a cure?
Grade: B
"The Well of Forever"
I expected the telepath plot to show signs of life in this episode, but it hardly has any meaningful screentime. The telepath interrogator (the actor looks REALLY familiar to me) scans Matheson, finds some undefined "gray" areas, and is tricked by Gideon into not doing anything. Galen makes something out of Matheson missing out on his answers, but since we learn nothing about Matheson in this episode, I'm just left confused. The scene with him in hyperspace was nice, but that's about it.
As for Galen's story, we learn that he loved a woman named Isabel. That's also about it. There are some interesting hyperspace lifeforms, but they turn out to be a joke (mating with the ship... okay).
I've read that you can just see an inkling of an arc forming in these 13 episodes. I have four left (IIRC), and so far haven't seen anything that might point to that, except perhaps the idiot box (which hasn't been seen for a number of episodes--and was this the betrayal by Galen it predicted? Not exactly an earth-shattering betrayal in my book). Is there something I've missed?
Grade: B
Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin
You're not done yet.
You're not done yet.
Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin
Hirogen-
Out of curiosity, now that you've seen 9 episodes, do you have any thoughts on the quality of the "gray uniform episodes" (Racing the Night, Memory of War, Needs of Earth, Visitors from down the Street, Each Night I Dream of Home) vs. the "black uniform episodes" (all the rest). The gray uniform episodes were the first five produced, and that was pre-TNT interference. Then there was the production shutdown, and the black uniform episodes were produced after that. Most fans prefer the gray uniform episodes (on average), but based on your grades, it looks like you might not agree with that. (Granted, you're not done yet, but I was curious as to whether you had any initial impression as far as that goes.)
Hirogen-
Out of curiosity, now that you've seen 9 episodes, do you have any thoughts on the quality of the "gray uniform episodes" (Racing the Night, Memory of War, Needs of Earth, Visitors from down the Street, Each Night I Dream of Home) vs. the "black uniform episodes" (all the rest). The gray uniform episodes were the first five produced, and that was pre-TNT interference. Then there was the production shutdown, and the black uniform episodes were produced after that. Most fans prefer the gray uniform episodes (on average), but based on your grades, it looks like you might not agree with that. (Granted, you're not done yet, but I was curious as to whether you had any initial impression as far as that goes.)
Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin
^^
I'll have to finish first, and look back at the episodes once I'm done. They've both had elements I've liked, and elements I've disliked. I can say, though, that whatever the quality of the episodes, the grey uniforms are quite ugly, and although the black uniforms are better, they still don't ring true to me.
That said, I've just finished...
"The Path of Sorrows"
This is my favorite episode of Crusade thus far. We finally get a glimpse into the character pasts that have been hinted at and then passed upon in this episode. For Gideon, we learn a little more about the destruction of the Cereberus a decade previous, and then how he received the Idiot Box (which finally is named-- The Apocalypse Box-- in this episode). It lies, and has some kind of control over its user. This is an interesting development. For Matheson, we finally learn a little bit about his history with the Psi Corp (a shame Lyta couldn't have been in the episode, but that's RL for you). And for Galen, we get an actual glimpse into his relationship with Isabel and his view of the universe. Plus, the moment in the teaser where he is downright evil towards the thief character is wonderful turn.
Grade: A
^^
I'll have to finish first, and look back at the episodes once I'm done. They've both had elements I've liked, and elements I've disliked. I can say, though, that whatever the quality of the episodes, the grey uniforms are quite ugly, and although the black uniforms are better, they still don't ring true to me.
That said, I've just finished...
"The Path of Sorrows"
This is my favorite episode of Crusade thus far. We finally get a glimpse into the character pasts that have been hinted at and then passed upon in this episode. For Gideon, we learn a little more about the destruction of the Cereberus a decade previous, and then how he received the Idiot Box (which finally is named-- The Apocalypse Box-- in this episode). It lies, and has some kind of control over its user. This is an interesting development. For Matheson, we finally learn a little bit about his history with the Psi Corp (a shame Lyta couldn't have been in the episode, but that's RL for you). And for Galen, we get an actual glimpse into his relationship with Isabel and his view of the universe. Plus, the moment in the teaser where he is downright evil towards the thief character is wonderful turn.
Grade: A
Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin
You had asked about where the arc was, and Path of Sorrows is the episode I had in mind when I said that you should be patient. The destruction of the Cerberus and Galen's first encounter with Gideon had been mentioned several times in the early episodes, but we actually get to see it in Path of Sorrows.
Since this is an event from nearly a decade ago, it doesn't seem like this could have anything to do with a story arc happening in the present, but it actually does, in a way that becomes apparent in "To the Ends of the Earth" (the first of the three episodes that were never produced--due to the show being cancelled--but for which the script was available online back in 2000). Gideon's experience with the Cerberus is the hook that gets you into the story arc, much like the hole in Sinclair's mind was the hook that got us into the B5 arc.
You had asked about where the arc was, and Path of Sorrows is the episode I had in mind when I said that you should be patient. The destruction of the Cerberus and Galen's first encounter with Gideon had been mentioned several times in the early episodes, but we actually get to see it in Path of Sorrows.
Since this is an event from nearly a decade ago, it doesn't seem like this could have anything to do with a story arc happening in the present, but it actually does, in a way that becomes apparent in "To the Ends of the Earth" (the first of the three episodes that were never produced--due to the show being cancelled--but for which the script was available online back in 2000). Gideon's experience with the Cerberus is the hook that gets you into the story arc, much like the hole in Sinclair's mind was the hook that got us into the B5 arc.
Re: First time impressions from the Babylon 5 virgin
^^
Okay, that makes sense. I'd figured that it would play into things somehow, but until this episode it had just been mentioned a few times, and then even it was offered almost as something we were already supposed to know.
Are there summaries of those unfilmed scripts somewhere on the internet? Or should I just wait until the eventual script book release?
^^
Okay, that makes sense. I'd figured that it would play into things somehow, but until this episode it had just been mentioned a few times, and then even it was offered almost as something we were already supposed to know.
Are there summaries of those unfilmed scripts somewhere on the internet? Or should I just wait until the eventual script book release?
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