Niners Unite...around Babylon 5!
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"Ship of Tears" contains one of my favourite scenes in the entire series: Delenn telling G'Kar that the Grey Council knew he was right about the return of the Shadows but chose to say and do nothing. Everything about that short scene is perfect - the dialogue (and the tactical sense of Delenn's going along with the decision, however much she disliked it), the reactions of the characters, the direction, and especially the acting. Whenever those "favourite B5 scenes" threads turned up in the SF&F forum this was always the first scene I'd nominate.
"You have come a long way, G'Kar." Indeed. One of the prime reasons I like the character so much.
The episode itself isn't bad, either - even considering Bester's presence.
Time to get on with this week's offerings.
"You have come a long way, G'Kar." Indeed. One of the prime reasons I like the character so much.
The episode itself isn't bad, either - even considering Bester's presence.
Time to get on with this week's offerings.
Interludes and Examinations
Just when Mollari was returning to some sort of sanity Morden and the Shadows step in to bring him back to their side. Mollari believes Morden's manipulative story without question – never a bright thing to do, whatever one's emotional state or investment (although we all prefer to believe the things and people it suits us to believe, I suppose) – and another die is cast. "Everyone around me dies, Mr. Morden, except those who most deserve it." I know who most deserves death in that scene.
Franklin gets further out of control, to the extent that he's making mistakes that could cost people's lives. Thankfully Garibaldi calls him on it. "Helping" someone by going behind their back is certainly an interesting approach. I'm not sure I care for it. It's good that it didn't reach that point.
Delenn expresses belief in Sheridan, who thus inspired approaches Kosh about achieving a much-needed success against the Shadows. Kosh makes it clear there will be a price for Vorlon involvement. I know when I first came across this episode I hadn't expected the price to be quite so high, and obviously neither did Sheridan. "You do not understand...but you will."
CGI or not, there's something very poignant about the final scene where Kosh's ship flies into the sun....
There's really not much else one can say about this episode. It's another remarkable entry in a season chock-full of them.
Just when Mollari was returning to some sort of sanity Morden and the Shadows step in to bring him back to their side. Mollari believes Morden's manipulative story without question – never a bright thing to do, whatever one's emotional state or investment (although we all prefer to believe the things and people it suits us to believe, I suppose) – and another die is cast. "Everyone around me dies, Mr. Morden, except those who most deserve it." I know who most deserves death in that scene.
Franklin gets further out of control, to the extent that he's making mistakes that could cost people's lives. Thankfully Garibaldi calls him on it. "Helping" someone by going behind their back is certainly an interesting approach. I'm not sure I care for it. It's good that it didn't reach that point.
Delenn expresses belief in Sheridan, who thus inspired approaches Kosh about achieving a much-needed success against the Shadows. Kosh makes it clear there will be a price for Vorlon involvement. I know when I first came across this episode I hadn't expected the price to be quite so high, and obviously neither did Sheridan. "You do not understand...but you will."
CGI or not, there's something very poignant about the final scene where Kosh's ship flies into the sun....There's really not much else one can say about this episode. It's another remarkable entry in a season chock-full of them.
War Without End
There's not a lot to say about something this extraordinary. I might do what I did with "Severed Dreams" and pick out the bits I like best.
Vorlon: "He is the closed circle. He is returning to the beginning."
Rathenn: "The beginning of what?"
[Vorlon walks away]
Typical Vorlon.
"Not good. Definitely not good." There's an understatement.
Delenn explains what happened to Babylon 4. The various reactions are priceless.
Zathras... The whole bit about "the one" - "You never heard that."
Everything (with the possible exception of Mollari's self-serving rant) about Sheridan's visit to Centauri Prime. Especially that scene.
The Sheridan / Delenn / Mollari / G'Kar scene...extraordinary. "We have unfinished business between us, G'Kar." Indeed.
Delenn barrelling past Sinclair to get to Sheridan when he reappears. That tells a tale.
I'll just leave that whole snow globe thing alone. For now. Just in case there's still a newbie around who hasn't skipped ahead.
Delenn's final explanation...and that final scene. "I am called Valen, and we have much work ahead of us." So much falls into place in that scene – things that were set up in the earliest episodes of the series. So many puzzle pieces are cast about here and there, and they all join up neatly over the show's run. It's one of the things I like best about B5.
This episode completely blew me away when I first saw it. It still does.
There's not a lot to say about something this extraordinary. I might do what I did with "Severed Dreams" and pick out the bits I like best.
Vorlon: "He is the closed circle. He is returning to the beginning."
Rathenn: "The beginning of what?"
[Vorlon walks away]
Typical Vorlon."Not good. Definitely not good." There's an understatement.
Delenn explains what happened to Babylon 4. The various reactions are priceless.
Zathras... The whole bit about "the one" - "You never heard that."
Everything (with the possible exception of Mollari's self-serving rant) about Sheridan's visit to Centauri Prime. Especially that scene.
The Sheridan / Delenn / Mollari / G'Kar scene...extraordinary. "We have unfinished business between us, G'Kar." Indeed.
Delenn barrelling past Sinclair to get to Sheridan when he reappears. That tells a tale.
I'll just leave that whole snow globe thing alone. For now. Just in case there's still a newbie around who hasn't skipped ahead.
Delenn's final explanation...and that final scene. "I am called Valen, and we have much work ahead of us." So much falls into place in that scene – things that were set up in the earliest episodes of the series. So many puzzle pieces are cast about here and there, and they all join up neatly over the show's run. It's one of the things I like best about B5.
This episode completely blew me away when I first saw it. It still does.
I know PKTrekGirl said it was okay to multi-post in this thread but I realise this is a bit much. My apologies.
Walkabout
Lyta reappears, freaking out about Kosh. Sheridan goes for a walk – and I'm still curious about what that Vorlon writing says.
"Well, he's a Vorlon, all right." The line has a far greater truth than it may appear....
Sheridan decides to go on the attack and find out if telepaths will be of any help. Lyta certainly is. This sets up still another ongoing plot point, one that will resonate in rather unexpected (and rather unfortunate) ways as the series progresses. It's not very surprising that the other races don't exactly knock themselves out to assist; Garibaldi's rant at G'Kar isn't entirely warranted but he does still have a point. And yet again G'Kar delivers the goods.
As for Franklin...trust him to find someone who needs to be fixed. People have to fix themselves, though, and some things can't be repaired. So he keeps walking.
Nothing startling, but after the previous few episodes a bit of a respite isn't unwelcome.
Walkabout
Lyta reappears, freaking out about Kosh. Sheridan goes for a walk – and I'm still curious about what that Vorlon writing says.
"Well, he's a Vorlon, all right." The line has a far greater truth than it may appear....
Sheridan decides to go on the attack and find out if telepaths will be of any help. Lyta certainly is. This sets up still another ongoing plot point, one that will resonate in rather unexpected (and rather unfortunate) ways as the series progresses. It's not very surprising that the other races don't exactly knock themselves out to assist; Garibaldi's rant at G'Kar isn't entirely warranted but he does still have a point. And yet again G'Kar delivers the goods.
As for Franklin...trust him to find someone who needs to be fixed. People have to fix themselves, though, and some things can't be repaired. So he keeps walking.
Nothing startling, but after the previous few episodes a bit of a respite isn't unwelcome.
Those who know me - knew that I never really cared about Babylon 5. But, I've changed my mind. Anyways, tonight after the footy, I decided to watch the one copy of any B5 I had (being A voice in the wilderness). So far, I like what I see. I probabily like Ivanova and Londo Mollari the best. Good stuff.
I plan on it sometime in the future.
Season 4 Schedule
6/04 - Hour of the Wolf, Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi, The Summoning, Falling Toward Apotheosis
6/11 - The Long Night, Into the Fire, Epiphanes, Illusion of Truth
6/18 - Atonement, Racing Mars, Lines of Communication, Conflicts of Interest
6/25 - Rumors, Bargains, and Lies, Moments of Transition, No Surrender, No Retreat, Exercise of Vital Powers
7/2 - Face of the Enemy, Intersections in Real Time, Between the Darkness and the Light, ENDGAME
7/9 - Rising Star, Deconstruction of Falling Stars
And putting it in simpler terms ... One disc per week. And no switching and all that, so it should be pretty easy.
6/04 - Hour of the Wolf, Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi, The Summoning, Falling Toward Apotheosis
6/11 - The Long Night, Into the Fire, Epiphanes, Illusion of Truth
6/18 - Atonement, Racing Mars, Lines of Communication, Conflicts of Interest
6/25 - Rumors, Bargains, and Lies, Moments of Transition, No Surrender, No Retreat, Exercise of Vital Powers
7/2 - Face of the Enemy, Intersections in Real Time, Between the Darkness and the Light, ENDGAME
7/9 - Rising Star, Deconstruction of Falling Stars
And putting it in simpler terms ... One disc per week. And no switching and all that, so it should be pretty easy.
Season 3 Week 5
Interludes and Examinations
So much going on here ... So I'll just touch on a few points.
1 - Adira Tyree returns to the station. She is, however, murdered along the way, thanks to Mr. Morden.
2 - Sheridan confronts Kosh, and convinces him to bring the Vorlons into the war against the Shadows. They finally get a victory. But the price is Kosh's death.
3 - Kosh appears to Sheridan in a dream, again playing the "father"
4 - Garibaldi confronts Franklin about his Stims addiction. Franklin resigns as Chief of MedLab.
4.5/5
Interludes and Examinations
So much going on here ... So I'll just touch on a few points.
1 - Adira Tyree returns to the station. She is, however, murdered along the way, thanks to Mr. Morden.
2 - Sheridan confronts Kosh, and convinces him to bring the Vorlons into the war against the Shadows. They finally get a victory. But the price is Kosh's death.
3 - Kosh appears to Sheridan in a dream, again playing the "father"
4 - Garibaldi confronts Franklin about his Stims addiction. Franklin resigns as Chief of MedLab.
4.5/5
Re: Season 3 Week 5
War Without End, parts 1 and 2
Sinclair returns. He is on Minbar, and is brought a box that has been sealed for 900 years. Inside is a letter addressed to Sinclair - in his own handwriting, which tells him what is about to happen.
He returns to Babylon 5, joining Delenn, Sheridan, Marcus, Ivanova, Lennier, and Zathras, in stealing Babylon 4.
An accident rips Sheridan out of time, landing him 17 years in the future, on Centauri Prime. Londo, the Emperor, has him and Delenn as prisoners. But soon a drunken Londo lets them free, and then dies alongside G'Kar, killing each other. Vir then comes out of the shadows.
Delenn flashes forward as well, but not quite as far into the future. Only a few weeks, but to a ... tragic moment.
The group manages to get everyone evacuated from Babylon 4 (Major Krantz, etc), and in the end, Sinclair and Zathras are the only ones who take the station back in time.
Sinclair enters a chrysalis, just like Delenn's at the end of season 1. He emerges ... as Valen. Alongside are two Vorlons.
***
Now, knowing the station went back 1,000 years, and knowing the letter was written 900 years ago, by Sinclair/Valen, we therefore know Sinclair/Valen lived at least another hundred years.
***
5/5 stars
War Without End, parts 1 and 2
Sinclair returns. He is on Minbar, and is brought a box that has been sealed for 900 years. Inside is a letter addressed to Sinclair - in his own handwriting, which tells him what is about to happen.
He returns to Babylon 5, joining Delenn, Sheridan, Marcus, Ivanova, Lennier, and Zathras, in stealing Babylon 4.
An accident rips Sheridan out of time, landing him 17 years in the future, on Centauri Prime. Londo, the Emperor, has him and Delenn as prisoners. But soon a drunken Londo lets them free, and then dies alongside G'Kar, killing each other. Vir then comes out of the shadows.
Delenn flashes forward as well, but not quite as far into the future. Only a few weeks, but to a ... tragic moment.
The group manages to get everyone evacuated from Babylon 4 (Major Krantz, etc), and in the end, Sinclair and Zathras are the only ones who take the station back in time.
Sinclair enters a chrysalis, just like Delenn's at the end of season 1. He emerges ... as Valen. Alongside are two Vorlons.
***
Now, knowing the station went back 1,000 years, and knowing the letter was written 900 years ago, by Sinclair/Valen, we therefore know Sinclair/Valen lived at least another hundred years.
***
5/5 stars
Re: Season 3 Week 5
Walkabout
This is one of those love/hate episodes. There's parts I love, and parts I hate.
Love:
Cailyn. She is such a great character, it's a shame she's a one-shot (yeah, she gets a mention later, but still). The actress, Erica Gimpel, was the perfect choice for this character. Loved her.
Garibaldi's guilt-trip to G'Kar. How can you not love it, when he shoves the Book back at G'Kar, and just lays down the best guilt trip ever?
G'Kar showing up at the end, to save the day. Again. Just like at Sigma 957.
Lyta, having learned the Shadows killed Kosh, goes all Psycho-Lyta on them.
Hate:
Doctor Franklin. Gods, I'm not sure what this is all about. I love the actor, but I just can't stand the character. He just grates on my nerves, the whole "I'm superior, I'm better than you. Oh and I have a problem" ... just so fucking smug. Episodes like "Believers" are supposed to make you see how great the doc is. It's just the opposite for me. And once again, he goes about just being so damned whiney. For a little while, at least, Cailyn was able to put an end to that, and bring out another side to him. Huh. Maybe the character just needed to get laid more often?
3/5
Walkabout
This is one of those love/hate episodes. There's parts I love, and parts I hate.
Love:
Cailyn. She is such a great character, it's a shame she's a one-shot (yeah, she gets a mention later, but still). The actress, Erica Gimpel, was the perfect choice for this character. Loved her.
Garibaldi's guilt-trip to G'Kar. How can you not love it, when he shoves the Book back at G'Kar, and just lays down the best guilt trip ever?
G'Kar showing up at the end, to save the day. Again. Just like at Sigma 957.
Lyta, having learned the Shadows killed Kosh, goes all Psycho-Lyta on them.
Hate:
Doctor Franklin. Gods, I'm not sure what this is all about. I love the actor, but I just can't stand the character. He just grates on my nerves, the whole "I'm superior, I'm better than you. Oh and I have a problem" ... just so fucking smug. Episodes like "Believers" are supposed to make you see how great the doc is. It's just the opposite for me. And once again, he goes about just being so damned whiney. For a little while, at least, Cailyn was able to put an end to that, and bring out another side to him. Huh. Maybe the character just needed to get laid more often?
3/5
I just watched A Late Delivery From Avalon and I loved it. For some reason I didn't really like this ep the last time I watched it. But today, it just really worked for me. And the bit where G'Kar was saying how all those bad guys made a thump when they hit the ground was priceless
Season 3 Week 6
Grey 17 is Missing
Ugh. Another love half, hate half episode.
Loved the whole Ranger/Delenn/Marcus/Neroon plot. Hated the Garibaldi plot.
And naturally, it ties in to the first season bomb "Infection". Seriously.
A maintenance man goes missing. In the search for him, Garibaldi discovers an entire level of the station had been closed off, and everyone assumed it never existed.
Right. Three years plus, and nobody bothered to check? I don't think so. During all those episodes like "GROPOS" where they're so crunched for space, and in all those times they had to scan for missing people like in "Hunter, Prey", nobody - even the outsiders looking in DownTown - noticed?
I don't think so.
And these people are idiots. Yet they have the ability to reroute Lifts, reprogram the computer, and remain hidden (where do they get their food and water, if they can't leave the level?)?
And they even have a great beast hidden there. A Zarg. Now, the tie-in to "Infection". The Zarg is the same costume used in "Infection" - a man in a rubber suit, yes - just slightly modified.
JMS was seriously high when he wrote that part. He had to be.
The other half of the episode, where Delenn becomes the leader of the Rangers (aka Entil'Zha or Anla'Shok'Na) was delightful. We even have an almost-death scene, and a reminder about the search for telepaths to fight the Shadows.
This is one of those eps where I wish I could go in and re-edit the episode, taking out an entire plot and replacing it with ... well .. anything.
2/5.
Grey 17 is Missing
Ugh. Another love half, hate half episode.
Loved the whole Ranger/Delenn/Marcus/Neroon plot. Hated the Garibaldi plot.
And naturally, it ties in to the first season bomb "Infection". Seriously.
A maintenance man goes missing. In the search for him, Garibaldi discovers an entire level of the station had been closed off, and everyone assumed it never existed.
Right. Three years plus, and nobody bothered to check? I don't think so. During all those episodes like "GROPOS" where they're so crunched for space, and in all those times they had to scan for missing people like in "Hunter, Prey", nobody - even the outsiders looking in DownTown - noticed?
I don't think so.
And these people are idiots. Yet they have the ability to reroute Lifts, reprogram the computer, and remain hidden (where do they get their food and water, if they can't leave the level?)?
And they even have a great beast hidden there. A Zarg. Now, the tie-in to "Infection". The Zarg is the same costume used in "Infection" - a man in a rubber suit, yes - just slightly modified.
JMS was seriously high when he wrote that part. He had to be.
The other half of the episode, where Delenn becomes the leader of the Rangers (aka Entil'Zha or Anla'Shok'Na) was delightful. We even have an almost-death scene, and a reminder about the search for telepaths to fight the Shadows.
This is one of those eps where I wish I could go in and re-edit the episode, taking out an entire plot and replacing it with ... well .. anything.
2/5.
Might be an idea for me to pay attention occasionally. - Status
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