Niners Unite...around Babylon 5! - The Lost Threads

[Angel4576]

Couple of points I'd make re The Gathering.

First, The Gathering is always better in hindsight as it makes more sense. The Gathering kicks off a number of the arcs that run throughout the series, and certain things which just appear random in the pilot, have greater significance if you know what to look for.

Second, O'Hare fares better in The Gathering than he does in season one, IMO because the actors playing Kyle and Takashima are really poor themselves. In season one, you have Claudia Christian as Ivanova and Rick Biggs as Frankling. All of a sudden, the bar's raised, and O'Hare doesn't seem quite as good. It's his lack of charisma that always deterred me from liking the character too much. Boxleitner is completely the oppositve, coming across as extremely charismatic/enigmatic. It's hard to imagine O'Hare carrying the story as successfully as Boxleitner did in later seasons.

 

[Mal]

Angel4576 said:
Second, O'Hare fares better in The Gathering than he does in season one, IMO because the actors playing Kyle and Takashima are really poor themselves.

see, i always thought it was his hair. watch them again and tell me i'm not onto something...

 

[Neroon]

My daughter & I were watching "Severed Dreams" the other night. Hey, it's nice to have something else to focus on while you're folding laundry. Anyhow, she felt that the call home which Sheridan makes to his father, right before all Hell breaks loose, is one of the most moving in the series ...... but people don't seem to mention it very often.

Are there others that you feel the same way about, particularly effective and moving, but not often brought up in conversation with other fans of the show?

 

[Jan]

I'm fond of the scene where Sheridan is reunited with his Dad in 'Rising Star'. When Mr. Sheridan is introduced to Delenn he's so warm and welcoming it's just a great moment that had to have meant a lot to Delenn.

Jan

 

[Angel4576]

Neroon said:
the call home which Sheridan makes to his father, right before all Hell breaks loose, is one of the most moving in the series ...... but people don't seem to mention it very often.

Spot on, absolutely love that scene, the contrast between taht scene and what follows is technically brilliant.

I don't know how others perceive them, but the other couple of non-obvious scenes (to my mind) that tend to stick in my mind are;

Sheridan's salute before he disembarks for Minbar in Objects at Rest, always brings a lump to the throat, and the other one is from the end of Confessions & Lamentations when they open up the seal and discover that everyone's dead bar Delenn and Lennier.

 

[Neroon]

Jan said:
I'm fond of the scene where Sheridan is reunited with his Dad in 'Rising Star'. When Mr. Sheridan is introduced to Delenn he's so warm and welcoming it's just a great moment that had to have meant a lot to Delenn.

Jan

Yeah, Rance Howard comes across nicely in that scene for just that very reason.

I think what creates the impact, the "oompf" in the scene I mentioned is the very idea that Sheridan has but one call to make, and he makes it to home. Here's a character who is shown talking to his father in a loving and respectful manner - even with the history they have had. You don't see that portrayed very often.... and I can understand why. Drama tends to be more interesting.

But the scene is powerful to me because it is underplayed, with just a hint of emotion in John's voice. His father, one more time, plays the strong role for his son. One more time, he knows he is still needed to be strong for his son who is facing the most terrible decision of his life.

Good, good, GOOD stuff!!

 

[AJBryant]

Neroon said:
But the scene is powerful to me because it is underplayed, with just a hint of emotion in John's voice. His father, one more time, plays the strong role for his son. One more time, he knows he is still needed to be strong for his son who is facing the most terrible decision of his life.

Good, good, GOOD stuff!!

I really like your take on that scene.

Tony

 

[Neroon]

Very often the scenes that hold the most significance for me, are those to which I can strongly identify through personal experience. Then again, I suppose that's true for a great many fans.

 

[Stanley]

I watched the episode "Eyes" again, and discovered to my pleasure that one of the actors was Jeffrey Combs. I recognized his voice; I remember him from the roles he played on Enterprise and Deep Space Nine.

 

[Neroon]

Combs seems to be right up there with Vaughn Armstrong in the "hardest working actor" category! And of crruse both had roles in B5.

 

[Phily B]

Still haven't watched season 5

Enjoying The Wire season 2 though.

 

[od0_ital]

Okay, this is a messed up YouTube video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHpMAubwfQg

...spoilers abound in the Barenaked Ladies parody video!

 

[Harvey]

^^
You know, that video's been shared around these parts at least a half dozen times, but it never stops being funny.

Even managed to fit boom-shock-a-locka into it.

 

[Mal]

od0_ital said:
Okay, this is a messed up YouTube video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHpMAubwfQg

...spoilers abound in the Barenaked Ladies parody video!

i got a history of taking off my gloves

 

[od0_ital]

Hey!

Did y'all know that Claudia Christian is guest starrin' in this week's episode of Nip / Tuck? FX promoted the hell out of Rosie O'Donnell comin' back, they didn't even mention Commander Ivanova, though they have been showin' her in the promos (she's the one who has had her back to the camera while takin' off a black bra).

 

[tundra04]

Babylon 5. Definitely one of my favourite sci-fi series ever. Although I don't remember any specific quotes right now, I have to say that Londo's cynicism was the best thing. If you compare it to any of the current sci-fi series, it does not even come close to B5. The storyline was complex, full of surprises, heartbreak and of course moments of pure satire. Unfortunately, today's series play it safe, they embody that whole "Hollywood profit making" crap with no wit or character

 

[Neroon]

Hirogen Alpha said:
^^
You know, that video's been shared around these parts at least a half dozen times, but it never stops being funny.

Even managed to fit boom-shock-a-locka into it.

And as I always like to point out, here are the lyrics. In special fanboy annotated form: Link

Tom Smith is one of THE best filk artists in the star system. A few years ago we attended a con where he was a guest of honor. I dressed up in my Army of Light uniform, and my wife went as "bad hair day Delenn". When Smith saw is in the audience, he said "you guys wore that just so I'd sing this song, right?"

 

[HyperionReborn]

Ahh... a thread about my favorite show in the forum dedicated to my other favorite show. Nirvana.

And that Barenaked Ladies parody video... I'd never seen it before, but it was absolutely priceless. "I have a history of lopping off heads..." I totally cracked up.

 

[Phily B]

I rewatched Season 4. Apart from the dated look of the show (not the CGI, just the sets), I can't help but feel it would've been a lot better if the guy behind it, Michael J something, got a better script writer in to improve the dialogue.

Great show otherwise.

 

[Harvey]

J. Michael Straczynski is the writer's name, Joe to his friends, and JMS on the internet for those too lazy to look up the spelling of his name (I'm one of those people).

Agree with you on the part of the dialogue. JMS can write great monologues--but monologues are not always appropriate, and it would have been helpful to the series (IMHO) to have somebody onboard to help him revise scripts and, in addition, to have him bounce ideas off of in order for JMS to realize they were crap (certain portions of season five, which JMS owns up to in the script books, for example).