Re-Watching DS9

[Lord Garth]

Sorry I got side-tracked by a bunch of things. Picking up where I left off!

"The Collaborator" (second half)

Kira's determined to prove Bariel's innocence. All she has is hearsay from Kubus that Bariel visited Bek on the day of the Kendra Valley Massacre. Bariel tells Kira that Bek communicated with him before the massacre happened, but only because Bek wanted to confide with him about his distress, like someone would go to a Priest. When Kira and Odo try to find any communication between Bariel and Bek during the week leading up to the Massacre, they find out it's all been erased.

What happens next is a stroke of genius. Odo and Kira going up to Quark and relying on his talents to look up communications from the Vedek Assembly Archives. Another reason why I think they haven't arrested him yet! Sometimes, they need someone who won't stay inside the lines to get them the information they need. Only problem is, even though Quark was able to get into the archives, what they were looking for was erased.

Then there are the forensics. Usually that type of stuff doesn't interest me because it's technobabble and I tune out. Here, O'Brien is able to look at the traces of who erased the date, we see the process, and I can follow how O'Brien was able to figure out it was Bariel who erased the data. Does this have any basis in actual known computer science during the 1990s or even today? I don't know. But it sounded believable enough to me.

Another Orb Experience. Yet another stroke of genius was to wait until the audience was suspicious before showing Bariel's next Orb Experience, where Bek tells Bariel he let him die.

Then Bariel kisses Winn, who says he'll be rewarded? Ummmm... I have no explanation for that one! Or do I?

After that, Bariel is dressed as a Kai. Kira comes up and says, "Accept this gift from the Prophets." Then she stabs him. I'm going to hazard a wild guess that Kira stabbing Bariel is symbolic Kira finding the evidence against Bariel. Winn kissing him earlier was the kiss of death.

Then Opaka catches Bariel as he falls. Does that mean she'll stop him from hitting the ground? This is foreshadowing what will happen at the end of the episode. I can feel it. It works better in this re-watch, since I don't remember the details.

Kira's Visit with Bariel. The set for the Vedek Assembly is both simple and elegant. The oranges and the lighting coming through the windows makes it feel like you're watching something in a real religious establishment. I forgot that it was a set. The blocking is also brilliant when Kira enters, looks right at Bariel, says she knows, and she's visibly upset that Winn will use this information to destroy him. He said he gave the Cardassians information that led to the deaths of 43 Bajorans. He said that if he didn't cooperate, they would've killed 1,200. Bariel was damned if he did, damned if he didn't. (And that's not the end of it, but we'll get to that!) Kira may say that Winn will destroy him, and Bariel may say that he destroyed himself, but I think the Cardassians and the situation they put him in destroyed him. There was no good solution. Only terrible and less terrible.

Then the Real Twist at the End! Kira uncovers that Bariel never gave the Cardassians any information after all. It was Kai Opaka, and he took the fall for her, rather than let anyone know what Opaka did. A truly messed up political situation. Just when I thought I knew what happened, it turned out I didn't!

Bariel dropped out of the race because of something he didn't actually do, and now Winn has become the new Kai. True to Real Life, Kira hates this, but will still pay respect to their new Kai.

Summing Up: I did NOT expect to like this episode so much, but this is Quintessential DS9 Season 2. The intrigue, the cover-ups, the investigations on multiple fronts, the tough choices, finding out harsh truths, the conflicts between the characters and the conflicts within themselves. I'm giving this episode a 10.

To put a button on this, Odo said that from what he's observed of humanoids, "In extreme situations, even the best of you are capable of doing terrible things." And in this case, it turned out to be Kai Opaka.

Next Time: Not B5 but picking up where I left off with the symbolism of the Prophet's visions in the rest of "Emissary" and then onto the symbolism in "The Circle". This is a good opening for me to get caught with those. Then an episode of B5. And then it's on to "Tribunal".

 

[DonIago]

It's very hard not to wonder how the series might have progressed if Bariel had become Kai...hell, there's even multiple different timelines there, one where his secret is revealed and one where it isn't...and one where the real secret is revealed.

 

[Lord Garth]

Mise En Scène Time.

When I was in college, I once had to write a three-page paper about a single shot in a film and what everything in the shot represented. From the characters to the props to the framing to the position to what was in the background to what was in the foreground, how it represented the journey, and on and on and on. That was brutal. I can't even remember what the film was anymore, it's been over 20 years, I think it was something with Ben Affleck from the late-'90s, but I remember the experience of really straining to make it up to those three full pages. We won't be going anyway near that far with...

What the shots from "Emissary" represent when Sisko interacts with the Prophets (so weird going back to the first episode again!):

1. When Sisko and Dax leave the Runabout and step onto whatever it is they stepped on: The storm that Sisko sees represents the intense storm of emotions he's feeling. The darkness he sees represents how he's felt since Jennifer died. The peaceful meadows that Jadzia sees represents her serenity and being at peace with herself and nature. When Sisko is confused over what Jadzia sees, it contrasts his perspective to hers, and how much Sisko doesn't see because he hasn't lived multiple lifetimes and can't see past the moment he's stuck in. As he later says, "It's not linear." The deep, dark valleys that Sisko sees show much worse things can get for him if he lets his grief consume him and take him down into the depths of darkness.

2. When Sisko is surrounded by pure white, it's not his point of view, it's what we see, but white represents the presence of all colors. So, Sisko is surrounded by his entire life, as the Prophets take him on a tour of it, while trying to understand Humanity in the process. In the Bible, white represents Jesus Christ, purity, innocence and sacrifice. Eventually, Sisko will sacrifice himself in a sense. Since the Prophets are non-linear, "What You Leave Behind" is fair game, even if the writers didn't intend for it when "Emissary" was written. Purity is represented through Sisko's pure feelings. Innocence would be Sisko's innocence during the Battle of Wolf 359. Since the Prophets are responsible for Sisko's birth, that makes him the son of the Bajorans' gods in a way, which makes him an analogue to Jesus Christ, who also suffered. Fortunately, unlike Jesus, Sisko wasn't crucified and savagely beaten endlessly.

3. I'll have to hit pause several times for the next few seconds.

• Sisko receives flashes of Jennifer when he first met her. The beginning of their life together.
• A baseball glove. Sisko and Jake playing baseball. Jake also being the son Sisko and Jennifer had together.
• Kai Opaka feeling Sisko's Pagh, representing that he's the Emissary.
• Locutus represents the end of Sisko and Jennifer's life together.
• Sisko and Jennifer kiss. Repeating representation of their life together.
• Jake's birth, showing the result of Sisko and Jennifer's love.
• Jake fishing on the holodeck, shows that he's growing up.
• A woman, presumably on the Saratoga, and most likely during Wolf 359. Like Locutus, the Saratoga represents the end of Sisko and Jennifer's life together. In conjunction with the previous shot, Jake is growing up without his mother.

4. When Sisko asks, "Who are you?" The representation of Jennifer on Gilgo Beach says, "It is corporeal." Using when Sisko first met Jennifer to say their first words to Sisko is Sisko meeting Jennifer for the first time representing Sisko meeting the Prophets for the first time.

5. When Picard (as Picard) says "It is responding to auditory and visual stimuli," it represents Sisko immediately thinking of Locutus when he saw Picard on the Enterprise. How? Picard has the same voice (auditory) and face (visual) as Locutus. Seeing Picard triggers Sisko into remembering the Battle of Wolf 359 and Jennifer's death (stimuli). The warm lighting represents the boiling over feelings Sisko has about this.

6. When Sisko asks, "Are you capable of communicating with me?" the image turns to Kai Opaka. Earlier, by communicating with Kai Opaka, Sisko was able to collect an Orb, find out about the celestial temple, discovered the Wormhole, and was now able to communicate with The Prophets. In contrast to Opaka, who knew what Sisko was (the Emissary), the Prophets don't know what Sisko is and asks, "What are you?" They ask what instead of who, because they know who Sisko is. The "what" can be open to interpretation. Sisko says that he's Human. I don't think that's the "what" the Prophets have in mind. I think they want to know what Sisko is and what he sees himself as on several more levels than just he's Human.

7. The next shot is of Sisko sitting next to Jake, as Jake fishes. Jake, as someone growing up, learning, and curious about the world represents the Prophets learning about and being curious about Sisko. The Jake avatar asks what time is, and that's another thing the Prophets want to learn about.

Stopping it there for now. I'll do a separate post for every scene where Sisko interacts with the Prophets. That was the first, before it cut back to the station.

EDIT: I've added Observations #1-7 outside of the quote of an earlier post of mine for easier readability. This is my take on the symbolism of each shot while Sisko is interacting with the Prophets in "Emissary".

1. When Sisko and Dax leave the Runabout and step onto whatever it is they stepped on: The storm that Sisko sees represents the intense storm of emotions he's feeling. The darkness he sees represents how he's felt since Jennifer died. The peaceful meadows that Jadzia sees represents her serenity and being at peace with herself and nature. When Sisko is confused over what Jadzia sees, it contrasts his perspective to hers, and how much Sisko doesn't see because he hasn't lived multiple lifetimes and can't see past the moment he's stuck in. As he later says, "It's not linear." The deep, dark valleys that Sisko sees show much worse things can get for him if he lets his grief consume him and take him down into the depths of darkness.

2. When Sisko is surrounded by pure white, it's not his point of view, it's what we see, but white represents the presence of all colors. So, Sisko is surrounded by his entire life, as the Prophets take him on a tour of it, while trying to understand Humanity in the process. In the Bible, white represents Jesus Christ, purity, innocence and sacrifice. Eventually, Sisko will sacrifice himself in a sense. Since the Prophets are non-linear, "What You Leave Behind" is fair game, even if the writers didn't intend for it when "Emissary" was written. Purity is represented through Sisko's pure feelings. Innocence would be Sisko's innocence during the Battle of Wolf 359. Since the Prophets are responsible for Sisko's birth, that makes him the son of the Bajorans' gods in a way, which makes him an analogue to Jesus Christ, who also suffered. Fortunately, unlike Jesus, Sisko wasn't crucified and savagely beaten endlessly.

3. I'll have to hit pause several times for the next few seconds.

• Sisko receives flashes of Jennifer when he first met her. The beginning of their life together.
• A baseball glove. Sisko and Jake playing baseball. Jake also being the son Sisko and Jennifer had together.
• Kai Opaka feeling Sisko's Pagh, representing that he's the Emissary.
• Locutus represents the end of Sisko and Jennifer's life together.
• Sisko and Jennifer kiss. Repeating representation of their life together.
• Jake's birth, showing the result of Sisko and Jennifer's love.
• Jake fishing on the holodeck, shows that he's growing up.
• A woman, presumably on the Saratoga, and most likely during Wolf 359. Like Locutus, the Saratoga represents the end of Sisko and Jennifer's life together. In conjunction with the previous shot, Jake is growing up without his mother.

4. When Sisko asks, "Who are you?" The representation of Jennifer on Gilgo Beach says, "It is corporeal." Using when Sisko first met Jennifer to say their first words to Sisko is Sisko meeting Jennifer for the first time representing Sisko meeting the Prophets for the first time.

5. When Picard (as Picard) says "It is responding to auditory and visual stimuli," it represents Sisko immediately thinking of Locutus when he saw Picard on the Enterprise. How? Picard has the same voice (auditory) and face (visual) as Locutus. Seeing Picard triggers Sisko into remembering the Battle of Wolf 359 and Jennifer's death (stimuli). The warm lighting represents the boiling over feelings Sisko has about this.

6. When Sisko asks, "Are you capable of communicating with me?" the image turns to Kai Opaka. Earlier, by communicating with Kai Opaka, Sisko was able to collect an Orb, find out about the celestial temple, discovered the Wormhole, and was now able to communicate with The Prophets. In contrast to Opaka, who knew what Sisko was (the Emissary), the Prophets don't know what Sisko is and asks, "What are you?" They ask what instead of who, because they know who Sisko is. The "what" can be open to interpretation. Sisko says that he's Human. I don't think that's the "what" the Prophets have in mind. I think they want to know what Sisko is and what he sees himself as on several more levels than just he's Human.

7. The next shot is of Sisko sitting next to Jake, as Jake fishes. Jake, as someone growing up, learning, and curious about the world represents the Prophets learning about and being curious about Sisko. The Jake avatar asks what time is, and that's another thing the Prophets want to learn about.

Stopping it there for now. I'll do a separate post for every scene where Sisko interacts with the Prophets. That was the first, before it cut back to the station.

EDIT: This is where this post originally began.

Picking up where I left off from two months ago with the symbolism when Sisko is with the Prophets in "Emissary".

8. When Picard says, "The creature must be destroyed before it destroys us," Picard is talking as an enemy because SIsko sees Picard as an enemy. He then becomes Locutus who says, "It is malevolent." Locutus is how Sisko really sees Picard. Picard is facing Sisko in one direction, Locutus is facing Sisko in the other, so Sisko's surrounded by him. Surrounded by the man he blames for the loss of his wife, whether it makes sense or not.

9. On the baseball field, the baseball player says that Sisko is "aggressive, adversarial." Aggressive is how Sisko treated Picard earlier in the episode. Aggressive is when Sisko enters the wormhole. Adversarial is because they see Sisko as being on the other side, and Sisko sees the other said as the Borg, Picard, and the rivalry of another team. All different scales of adversity, but some form of adversity nonetheless.

10. Sisko tries to be professional and says he's not the enemy. He hasn't come to annihilate anyone. He doesn't want the Prophets to look like the people who struggles against, fights against, or competes against.

11. When Sisko is back on the bridge of the Saratoga, he says that his species respects all live above all else. The fact that he's on the bridge of his old ship means that he sees himself as being on a starship making contact with the alien life that's the Prophets. When he turns around and looks at the crew, the represent the audience he needs to convince that he isn't a threat.

12. SIsko asks to allow him to prove he isn't a threat. Sisko is now with Kai Opaka in the her Monastery. I think it's not coincidence that he's with Opaka in this moment because the real Opaka told Sisko that he's the Emissary. Now he has to essentially prove to Opaka's avatar that he's the Emissary. That he's not a threat and they can communicate with each other.

13. Then Sisko is back with Jake on the holodeck. Sisko talks about memories and past experiences. He's with family, namely Jake, where he'd share memories and experiences. When Jake asks about time, Sisko has to teach the Prophets about the past. He should've known he'd have to since they didn't know about time. There's no past, present, or future as we understand. It all exists at the same time for them. "It's one's existence."

14. To prove this point, Sisko's now suddenly standing beside Jennifer at Gilgo Beach. Jennifer, being more family, his wife, and someone else he'd have memories and experiences with, even though she's now gone. Sisko explains that the past is now gone to an avatar of someone who's also gone.

I love when Sisko explained the Prophets what Linear Existence is. I'll leave it here again for now, because it cuts back to the station again. It's still amazing to me how much they managed to pack into DS9's pilot.

 

[Lord Garth]

Continuing where I left off. This is the symbolism in the third set of scenes between Sisko and the Prophets in "Emissary".

15. Now that Sisko's next to Jennifer, the Prophets want to talk about her. Sisko's explaining his life with Jennifer in the same spot that Sisko and Jennifer actually did talk about planning their lives together. Being in the park surrounded by grass and trees, it's like paradise. It's also a homage to TOS's first pilot, "The Cage", where Pike and Vina are in an illusion of having a picnic at a park like a married couple. Where Sisko is now is also an illusion because he's not really there. Also, like Pike, Sisko also has thoughts about leaving his career.

15A. When Sisko tells the Jennifer avatar that each day effects the next, on another level, he's also telling the audience that each episode of Deep Space Nine will effect the next. The series will build on top of previous material and its own new material as well.

16. Then it cuts to the Saratoga at the Battle of Wolf 359. Sisko says he doesn't want to be here, then the avatar of Jennifer (still alive) asks him, "Then why do you exist here?" The Prophets tell Sisko that he exists here. It's where his mind always is. Even when he's other places, part of his mind is really still here.

Then the Cardassians enter the Wormhole, acting stupid, and it disrupts Sisko's interaction with the Prophets. The Wormhole entrance collapses. Then the episode cuts back to Sisko asking if the Prophets are still there.

17. Jennifer and Sisko are back on the beach. Jennifer explains that other of his kind entered the Wormhole. Even though Humans, Bajorans, and Cardassians view each other as different peoples, the Prophets view them all as the same kind. Sisko explains whoever it was must've entered the through Wormhole. The Prophets ask Sisko what the Wormhole is. He says isn't how others get inside. The Jennifer avatar is inquisitive.

18. Picard tells Sisko the entrance has been terminated. Because it's Picard, it's something that comes across as unfriendly to Sisko. It's a two-shot close-up of Sisko and Picard's profiles where Picard, a.k.a. the Prophets are staring him down right in the face. Sisko has to turn this around.

19. On the bridge of the Saratoga, the crew represent mouthpieces for the Prophets who tell Sisko that his kind have no regard for others or the consequences of their acts. They're on the bridge of a starship because a starship is what encounters new alien life, such as the Prophets. Sisko has the Prophets in front of him and Locutus on the viewscreen by behind him. An enemy behind him, and a potential enemy in front of him. Because Locutus is behind him, Locutus is the past. He can't do anything about what Locutus did. The Prophets are in front of him, they're the future. He can do something about what the Prophets do, if he can open a dialogue with them and create an understanding.

19A. Sisko tells the Prophets that his kind are aware that every choice they make has a consequence. Then the Captain of the Stargazer stands up as says that Sisko claims they're aware there are consequences but he claims they don't know what they'll be. The Captain represents authority, judgement, and he's judging Sisko as reckless and chaotic. The Captain represents the authority taking away the access to the Wormhole.

20. Then Sisko is with Jake on the holodeck in the fishing program. Jake asks Sisko how he can take responsibility for his actions and consequences if they don't know what they'll be. Sisko explains that those in a linear existence use past experience to help guide them. And it prepares them to anticipate what the consequences will be when they take an action. Jake himself represents and is a consequence of Sisko and Jennifer's actions by getting married and starting a family.

21. Jennifer gives birth to Jake. Sisko explains that Jake is the continuation of their family. What this also represents is the beginning of a life.

22. Which brings us to the baseball field, which Sisko says is linear. The game is played one pitch at a time. Much like how life is lived one day at a time. Much like how a series is one episode at a time. One action at a time. Each action has a consequence and, over time, the game takes shape. The life takes shape. The series takes shape. The Prophets figure it out and say, "And have no idea what that shape is until the game is completed." Sisko says, "The game wouldn't be worth playing if we knew what was going to happen." The Prophets are surprised that linear beings value their ignorance of what's to come. Sisko says it's the Unknown that defines them. They want to find answers to their questions and then want answers to new questions.

22A. Sisko explains the concept of Star Trek better than either Kirk or Picard did. They're explorers, he says, but not just of space but also their lives. They explore their lives day-by-day. I think this is also Michael Piller speaking through Sisko, by articulating what he's brought to the table as Showrunner since he joined Star Trek in TNG Season 3, looking closer into the day-to-day lives of the characters in his shows. TNG and now DS9. Then he goes back to what Star Trek traditionally meant by explaining that they also explore the galaxy to gain knowledge. Sisko explains he's in the Wormhole because he wants to reach out the Prophets. He doesn't want to be their enemy. He wants to co-exist and learn from them.

23. Then the Prophets turn things around on Sisko and bring him back to the Saratoga, next to Jennifer's body. They want to know why Sisko still exists there if linear existence is going from one point of the next. They're not talking about Sisko physically, they're talking about Sisko mentally.

Then it cuts back to the station, and we'll stop here for now.

Hot Take: Since the Prophets experience the past, present, and future at the same time, I think while Sisko was reaching out to the Prophets and the Prophets were beginning to understand him, they had Sarah meet Joe Sisko. 2331 and 2369 co-exist at the same time for them. So, by reaching out to the Prophets, Sisko is responsible for his own birth, since the Prophets wanted to make sure he was born.

EDITED TO ADD:
The fourth and final set of shots with Sisko and the Prophets in "Emissary". After this, I'm doing an episode before Babylon 5. Then I'll get into the shots with the Prophets in "The Circle", which will take less time, since DS9 never spends as much time in an episode with the Prophets as they did in Emissary" again.

23A. Not only is Sisko back with Jennifer's body on the Saratoga during the Battle of Wolf 359, the hallways and the walls are also in flames. Sisko's life that he wanted is burning down around him. The Prophets, using Jake, an alive Jennifer, and the Bolian officer to represent them, tell Sisko that he exists here. Sisko brought them there. Sisko says he wants them to give him the power to leave them anywhere else, then Kai Opaka appears and tells Sisko, "We cannot give you what you deny yourself. Look for solutions from within, Commander." Opaka represents a turning point. A fork in the road where he has a choice: Does he stay at the Battle of Wolf 359 or does he move forward with his life?

23B. When Sisko looks at Jennifer's dead body on the ground, the living Jennifer next to him says none of his previous experiences prepared him for this. Here's there all the time. Jennifer says it's not linear. Sisko says it isn't. I think this is the point where Sisko and the Prophets connect. Now they understand each other.

SIsko was ready to die. In a way he did die. Now he's reborn. This metaphorically makes Sisko into what some have called Space Jesus.

That's the last of the scenes between Sisko and the Prophets in this episode. Once Sisko and the Prophets understand each other, the Wormhole re-opens.

Unlike with the other sequences between Sisko and the Prophets, this time it stays in one location the entire time. On the Saratoga. It stays here, because this is where Sisko's mind was stuck. This was where it was fixated on when we get to the bottom of it.

 

[kkt]

It hadn't occurred to me before that the illusory picnic scene was an homage to the one in The Cage, but you're absolutely right.

 

[DonIago]

I...have some doubts as to whether it was an intentional homage, but after driving for seven hours I don't have the bandwdith to check at Memory Alpha.

 

[Lord Garth]

One thing I'm still confused about with Babylon 5. No spoiler tags because I'm not spoiling anything in the episodes. I keep meaning to bring this up, then forgetting, so I'll bring it up now.

In the intro it says, "It is the dawn of the Third Age of Mankind." What were the first two ages?

In real life, the history of Humanity is very crudely divided into Ancient (roughly up to 500 AD), Medieval (roughly 500 AD to 1500), and Modern (since roughly 1500). So, arguably, that's three "ages" right there. I'd think a space-faring Humanity would be the beginning of a Fourth Age in this case.

Had to get that thought posted. Feel free to agree, disagree, or bring up an alternative point-of-view I hadn't considered. Thanks!

EDITED TO ADD: Maybe Ancient Times are the First Age, the Renascence marks the beginning of the Second Age (which we'd still be in), and then Space-Faring Society makes the beginning of the Third Age.

 

[Farscape One]

One thing I'm still confused about with Babylon 5. No spoiler tags because I'm not spoiling anything in the episodes. I keep meaning to bring this up, then forgetting, so I'll bring it up now.

In the intro it says, "It is the dawn of the Third Age of Mankind." What were the first two ages?

In real life, the history of Humanity is very crudely divided into Ancient (roughly up to 500 AD), Medieval (roughly 500 AD to 1500), and Modern (since roughly 1500). So, arguably, that's three "ages" right there. I'd think a space-faring Humanity would be the beginning of a Fourth Age in this case.

Had to get that thought posted. Feel free to agree, disagree, or bring up an alternative point-of-view I hadn't considered. Thanks!

I wondered about the 'dawn of the third age' when it first aired, too. I will tell you that it IS explained by a character in an early season 4 episode.

I won't say who or why because it is VERY spoilery.

However, I will say that you are incorrect with your assessment, at least for the series.

 

[Lord Garth]

"By Any Means Necessary" (B5 S1E12)

Spoiler

I actually watched this episode twice. The night before last, but I was distracted and out of it, then again overnight this past night. I like what we saw here: It's the first time we're getting a look at the workers on Babylon 5, labor union contracts, and we're dipping our toes into the politics.

The Players: Sinclair has Senator Hidoshi as an ally, who's basically Sinclair's eyes and ears into the Senate. Orin Zento is an Earth Alliance Negotiator who isn't much of a negotiator at all and as the majority of the Senate's support. Neeoma Connally is a Union Representative for the Docker's Guild on Babylon 5 who thinks workers aren't being compensated enough, they don't have enough people to do their jobs, and they have substandard equipment to their jobs with, which leads to the accidental death of a Narn pilot. Eduardo Delvientos is an everyman worker in the docks, whose brother was also killed in the accident. Those are our guest-characters.

The Dilemma & The Solution: This episode highlights Sinclair's ability to think outside the box. When an illegal strike occurs on Babylon 5 among the dockers, Orin Zento uses the Senate to force Sinclair to deal with the strikers by any means necessary, invoking the Rush Act. Connally and Delvientos think Sinclair will side against them. Zento is hoping Sinclair will have Garabaldi use force to keep the workers in line or arrest them. Instead, the means Sinclair uses is to divert funds from Babylon 5 to the workers, so the dockers can have what they need. The strike ends right there, Zento is furious, and Hidoshi warns Sinclair that he's made enemies in the Senate.

My Take: I thought Sinclair would be stuck in a situation where his hands would be tied. He had a true Kobayashi Maru, seemingly no-win scenario on his hands, and he pulled a rabbit out of the hat, as unconventional as the solution was. For a dozen episodes, I'd been told that I'd see more of the politics in Babylon 5, and now that the Senate has turned on Sinclair, while public opinion supports him, I expect the political body to become far more involved from this point on, rather than just being something in the background.

I love that this episode gave a name and face to people we'd take for granted otherwise. How often do you get to see a show about workers, not part of the same cast, how they keep things moving, and what goes wrong when they aren't able to? Not very.

The B-Plot: Comic gold as Londo tries to prevent G'Kar from being able to observe his holiday, by withholding a plant, the G'Quan Eth, from him. Sinclair obtains the G'Quan Eth for G'Kar and uses science to figure out how long sunlight would take to travel from the Narnian Sun to Babylon 5, so G'Kar can still observe the Holiday in a sense. Another example of Sinclair pulling a rabbit out of the hat.

My Favorite Scene: When G'Kar, Londo, and ISN reporter Mary Ann Cramer are all in C'in'C bugging Sinclair, Sinclair wants them all out of there on the count of 10, and Ivanova starts a countdown, rushing them all out!

Visual Continuity: I know they were trying to make it look like Sinclair hadn't slept in days, so they gave him beard stubble. At one point he looks like he has three-day beard. The only problem is that his beard stubble is inconsistent from shot-to-shot. At one point, I actually thought Sinclair was growing a beard intentionally, then in the next scene he's clean-shaven, and in the scene after that it looks like he hasn't shaved in a day even though the scene takes place right after the previous one. Sloppy continuity there!

DS9 Parallels: I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that DS9 will have a similar episode in the fourth season, where Rom begins a strike. "Bar Association". If I had to guess, some people on the Internet in the '90s used this as another excuse to say "DS9 is a rip-off of Babylon 5!", but other than there being a strike, the two episodes couldn't be any more different. The execution is different, how the characters go about things is different, and the dynamics the episodes focus on are different. More on this when I get to "Bar Assocation".

Overall: It's not a heavy-hitter (except when there actually is hitting!), but the story is effective, I like the continued world-building, I loved Sinclair's solutions, and I look forward to what this episode promises will be coming. I give it an 8.

 

[Lord Garth]

***** ODDS & ENDS (DS9, B5 and More!) *****

I like Babylon 5 enough that I've decided to buy the entire series on DVD.

"What do you mean DVD? Why not Blu-Ray?" I want the Commentary Tracks. JMS put enough thought into the series that they'd be worth listening to. They're not in the Blu-Rays, from what I read on Amazon, and I'm not going to sacrifice valuable insight just to look at a prettier picture. One of my favorite things about the Mad Men and Battlestar Galactica discs was that every episode had a commentary track. Mad Men episodes normally had two commentary tracks!

I wish the Star Trek DVDs and Blu-Rays had more Commentary Tracks. And speaking of Trek...

A Shot-By-Shot look at Kira's Orb Experience from "The Circle". With that, I'll have closed the gap, since I went over the ones in "The Collaborator" within the episode review itself.

I'm cooking a pizza I put together myself. Once that's ready, onto the Orb Experience!

Pizza's ready...

Orb Experience from "The Circle"
1. Kira's in the Chamber of Ministers. Dax is dressed liked a Vedek. This foreshadows that Kira and Dax will have to dress up as Vedeks in "The Siege" in order to warn the Chamber of Ministers about Jaro's connection to The Circle and where they're getting their weapons from. Dax tells her to listen to the Chamber.

2. Winn and Jaro try to mislead Kira, they say the Chamber speaks to them, not her.

3. Bariel approaches and says not to listen to Winn or Jaro. Bariel is dressed in the same uniform as Kira, visually showing that Bariel is on Kira's side. He tells Kira to allow herself to hear what the Chamber is saying.

4. Winn says, "Blasphemy!" The Chamber doesn't speak to Kira, they speak to Winn, as far as Winn is concerned. Kira's naked now. She feels vulnerable to Winn.

5. Bariel appears. Kira says she doesn't know how to listen to the words she can't make out. Bariel says that she does know. Then Bariel is naked. Where Kira feels vulnerable with Winn, she feels intimate with Bariel. The nakedness can also be interpreted as trying to get to the naked truth. Kira and Bariel are about to kiss and then that's the end of the Orb Experience!

And now I'm caught up with all of them up to this point!

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Coming up next is "Tribunal". I thought about re-watching (but not review) "Chain of Command" beforehand only because of seeing how Cardassians treat their prisoners, but "Tribunal" will cover that just fine.

And I don't feel like seeing Picard get tortured by Gul Madred. Great two-parter, but not in the mood for it. The thing I do want to bring up about "Chain of Command" is that it was interesting to note that Cardassian propaganda paints an inaccurate picture of Humans, and probably an inaccurate picture of anyone who's been their enemies. From what I remember, Madred says terrible things about Humans to his daughter, right in front Picard, who's been tortured and brutalized.

In "Emissary", when O'Brien tells Kira, "You know what [the Cardassians] do to their prisoners," it makes you immediately think back to "Chain of Command". And in "Tribunal", we get to see what they do to him!

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

Sadly there aren't many commentary tracks on the B5 DVDs either, though you do get some special feature videos as well. Also the episodes are widescreen instead of 4:3, so it looks a little more cinematic... except for the scenes where everyone's crowded together in the middle of the frame.

Oh, don't listen to the commentaries until you've seen the whole series! And don't watch J. Michael Straczynski's newer episode commentaries on YouTube either.

 

[Lord Garth]

Okay, I'll hold off on purchasing it on DVD until after I've finished the series.

 

[DonIago]

The thing I do want to bring up about "Chain of Command" is that it was interesting to note that Cardassian propaganda paints an inaccurate picture of Humans, and probably an inaccurate picture of anyone who's been their enemies. From what I remember, Madred says terrible things about Humans to his daughter, right in front Picard, who's been tortured and brutalized.

I don't think this is in any way limited to fictional civilizations, unfortunately.

 

[Lord Garth]

"Tribunal"

Let me start this off with an anecdote. One time in my 20s, I had to go to court to appeal a traffic violation, and I got it appealed (happy ending!), but let me just say: Thank God I wasn't in a Cardassian Court!

Wow. Where to begin? First O'Brien is stripped. Then his molar is extracted. I looked away from the camera when that happened. The only other time I've done that with Star Trek was with Picard when Icheb's eye was removed. This wasn't as bad as that, but still...

I truly believe this is the first Torture O'Brien Episode. I don't consider "Whispers" a Torture O'Brien Episode. I'll tell you why: It wasn't the real O'Brien for one thing, and for another, "Whispers" is more about who we thought was O'Brien until the end thinking he's being toyed with at every turn. It's more of a mind game than actual torture. In "Tribunal", O'Brien is tortured full-stop.

Other than "In the Hands of the Prophets", this is Keiko's best DS9 episode so far. She's there for her husband and doesn't waver. Neither does the rest of the crew, who wants to help O'Brien. Sisko doesn't give up. And neither does Odo, who becomes O'Brien's Nestor, advising him.

Kovat, the conservator (meaning O'Brien's lawyer) is something else. His not wanting to hear any new evidence and talking over Odo, "You flatter me sir, you flatter me!" reminds me of Planet of the Apes (the 1968 version) when the apes assume a "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" posture. They just stone-wall up. Fritz Weaver plays Kovat in such a way that I could easily see him as an Orangutan in Planet of the Apes. He wants O'Brien to see why he's guilty, won't tell him what he's guilty of, and says, "Winning isn't everything." His meek attempts at trying to inquire O'Brien are a joke too. "Were you abused as a child?" "No!" "Has your wife caused you distress?" "No!" "Oh well, I tried!"

Makbar, the Chief Arkon (the judge), is something else as well. As soon as there's any type of evidence to prove O'Brien's innocent, she puts up a smokescreen and says, "I was sure the Federation would create all kinds of new evidence to exonerate you!" I'm paraphrasing, but it gets to the point. And then she's frustrated that the trial is taking so long. In stark contrast to America where trials take forever.

Since this episode came out in 1994, I might as well mention the OJ Simpson trial. The OJ Simpson case didn't start until about a week after this episode aired, but then it lasted for well over a year. I was just finishing my freshman year of high school when it started. It was during my junior year that the TVs were on in all the classrooms at my school and we finally saw the verdict live. Then classes were cancelled for the rest of the school day as everyone was talking about it. They thought it was that big of a deal. Shows how much of a different world we lived in back then.

The mockery that was O'Brien's trial is brought to an end when Sisko reveals who framed O'Brien, and Makbar realizes Sisko has the goods to embarrass Cardassia. The person who framed O'Brien, Raymond Boone (or rather a Cardassian posing as him) seemed shady from the beginning. The porn 'stache didn't help either. My favorite shot of the episode was in the Infirmary when the lights were turned off and a member of the Maquis tells Bashir that Boone isn't one of them, before disappearing as the lights turn back on.

The more I type about this episode, the more I realize how much I like it. I give it a 9.

Shout out to Avery Brooks directing and the Enterprise mention!

 

[Farscape One]

Avery Brooks was a fantastic director. He definitely had a great eye for the camera.

Fritz Weaver had a somewhat similar role in one of my favorite episodes of THE TWILIGHT ZONE (1959)... "THE OBSOLETE MAN". In there, he was also very much 'only for the state' as he was a judge that sentenced Burgess Meredith's character to death. (I definitely recommend this episode to anyone... one of the very best of that great show.)

 

[Lord Garth]

Avery Brooks was a fantastic director. He definitely had a great eye for the camera.

Fritz Weaver had a somewhat similar role in one of my favorite episodes of THE TWILIGHT ZONE (1959)... "THE OBSOLETE MAN". In there, he was also very much 'only for the state' as he was a judge that sentenced Burgess Meredith's character to death. (I definitely recommend this episode to anyone... one of the very best of that great show.)

The Twilight Zone is another show I have to cycle through. At least the '60s and '80s versions. I've seen some episodes, but definitely not all of them. I saw some episodes on the Sci-Fi Channel here and there, and whenever TBS had marathons during the holidays way back when. That's pretty much it.

Add to the list Dark Shadows. I've seen some of it, not all of it, but I love what I've seen. The production values are hokey, but I don't care. The best part is it's on Tubi, just like Babylon 5.

 

[Lord Garth]

"Signs and Portents" (B5 S1E13)

Spoiler

This feels like a major turning point for Babylon 5's first season. Sinclair finally has Garabaldi begin to secretly investigate the 10-hour gap in his mind and what happened.

Then there's the plot with not a single, not a double, but a triple-twist. Londo wants an ancient Centauri artifact called The Eye that went missing 100 years ago. Fellow Centauri, Lord Kilo, wants The Eye for himself. First twist: a Raider kidnaps Kilo and takes The Eye with him. Second twist: The Raider's ship ends up destroyed. Third twist: The Shadow (is it singular or plural?) destroyed the Raider's ship and Morden, one of the Shadows, returns The Eye to Londo. I love writing that keeps us on our toes. I can tell we'll definitely be seeing Morden again. Looks like the Shadow is a friend to at least the Centauri. How about anyone else?

Morden is interesting. He wants to get to the heart of what people want and keeps asking, "What do you want?" until he finds out what someone really wants. And then gives them what they want. This is stepping outside of the sci-fi genre, but Morden reminds me of Bob Benson from Mad Men. If you know what I'm talking about, you know. But if you don't, Bob Benson was always wanting to know more about people, trying to serve them, but he's a complete and total mystery. Very cryptic too. Sound familiar? And also, if they'd done a TOS reboot in the '90s: Ed Wasser, the actor who played Morden, could've been Kirk. I thought he looked enough like him, anyway.

The action sequences were top-notch. The effects of all the ships looked great for mid-'90s CGI, and the ship choreography was very well orchestrated. Very colorful, lots of fluid movements, and all the visuals spark the imagination. They put the budget into this one. Then there's the Raiders attempt to escape Babylon 5, which also felt very exciting and was visceral.

In the mix of all of this is Lady Ladira, a Centauri psychic who's able to provide Sinclair a glimpse into a possible future where Babylon 5 is destroyed. Something Sinclair has to prevent. To add to this, Garabaldi finds out that the Minbari had a final say on who commanded Babylon 5 and they wanted Sinclair there. Between these two reveals, the introduction of the Shadow, and the main Babylon 5 theme swelling in the background, you can tell this is a pivotal episode.

Pivotal but not a knock-out. I'm going with an 8. For now. We'll see how this plays out.

And with that out of the way, a short break for an hour (or so), then I'm putting on "The Jem'Hadar"!

 

[Farscape One]

The Twilight Zone is another show I have to cycle through. At least the '60s and '80s versions. I've seen some episodes, but definitely not all of them. I saw some episodes on the Sci-Fi Channel here and there, and whenever TBS had marathons during the holidays way back when. That's pretty much it.

Add to the list Dark Shadows. I've seen some of it, not all of it, but I love what I've seen. The production values are hokey, but I don't care. The best part is it's on Tubi, just like Babylon 5.

I think Pluto TV also has THE TWILIGHT ZONE (1959). I don't know where you can find the 80s one, outside of the dvd sets. (Which is a shame, because that was pretty damn good, too. Far better than the other two versions.)

 

[Farscape One]

"Signs and Portents" (B5 S1E13)

Spoiler

This feels like a major turning point for Babylon 5's first season. Sinclair finally has Garabaldi begin to secretly investigate the 10-hour gap in his mind and what happened.

Then there's the plot with not a single, not a double, but a triple-twist. Londo wants an ancient Centauri artifact called The Eye that went missing 100 years ago. Fellow Centauri, Lord Kilo, wants The Eye for himself. First twist: a Raider kidnaps Kilo and takes The Eye with him. Second twist: The Raider's ship ends up destroyed. Third twist: The Shadow (is it singular or plural?) destroyed the Raider's ship and Morden, one of the Shadows, returns The Eye to Londo. I love writing that keeps us on our toes. I can tell we'll definitely be seeing Morden again. Looks like the Shadow is a friend to at least the Centauri. How about anyone else?

Morden is interesting. He wants to get to the heart of what people want and keeps asking, "What do you want?" until he finds out what someone really wants. And then gives them what they want. This is stepping outside of the sci-fi genre, but Morden reminds me of Bob Benson from Mad Men. If you know what I'm talking about, you know. But if you don't, Bob Benson was always wanting to know more about people, trying to serve them, but he's a complete and total mystery. Very cryptic too. Sound familiar? And also, if they'd done a TOS reboot in the '90s: Ed Wasser, the actor who played Morden, could've been Kirk. I thought he looked enough like him, anyway.

The action sequences were top-notch. The effects of all the ships looked great for mid-'90s CGI, and the ship choreography was very well orchestrated. Very colorful, lots of fluid movements, and all the visuals spark the imagination. They put the budget into this one. Then there's the Raiders attempt to escape Babylon 5, which also felt very exciting and was visceral.

In the mix of all of this is Lady Ladira, a Centauri psychic who's able to provide Sinclair a glimpse into a possible future where Babylon 5 is destroyed. Something Sinclair has to prevent. To add to this, Garabaldi finds out that the Minbari had a final say on who commanded Babylon 5 and they wanted Sinclair there. Between these two reveals, the introduction of the Shadow, and the main Babylon 5 theme swelling in the background, you can tell this is a pivotal episode.

Pivotal but not a knock-out. I'm going with an 8. For now. We'll see how this plays out.

And with that out of the way, a short break for an hour (or so), then I'm putting on "The Jem'Hadar"!

The title of season 1 overall is the same as this episode, "SIGNS AND PORTENTS". Each season uses one of the episode titles for the season overall, and tends to be the one around the midpoint of the season.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

Signs and Portents followed by The Jem'Hadar is a pretty solid sci-fi double bill!

Spoiler: Signs and Portents

The Shadows aren't the Dominion and Morden isn't a Vorta but the two episodes are both pretty pivotal and they do have their similarities, like the surprising destruction of a starship near the end. It was a bit of a shame though that the vision of Babylon 5's fiery end was immediately undermined by Ladira saying it's only a possible future. Still, at least it tells us something about Centauri precognition: it's actually real, but not 100% reliable or useful.

Also, I think the episode may have featured the biggest space battle in anything since Return of the Jedi. Relying on CGI left Babylon 5 looking less realistic than the Star Treks, but it also gave the show more complicated and dynamic action scenes. And the experience that Foundation Imaging got here probably helped a lot when they eventually moved over to Star Trek to do CGI work for DS9 episodes like Sacrifice of Angels and most of Star Trek: Voyager!

The live-action work was pretty good too, at least when the Raider leader wasn't on screen. Morden makes a great first impression, coming across like an evil genie trying to find the person who will cause the most harm with their wishes, and everyone's reactions to him reveal something about themselves. I've never seen a resemblance between Ed Wasser and William Shatner, though he would've been great if they needed someone to play Rod Serling in a Twilight Zone documentary.

Speaking of Twilight Zone, I recently marathoned the entire '50s show with a friend and that turned out to be the correct choice as I really needed their help to get me through it. I don't regret watching the show at all, I've always been curious about it, but man it has some low points! I'd almost suggest finding a list and just watching the good episodes, but somehow I doubt fans have come to a consensus on what those actually are. I know that my own favourites weren't the obvious classics, possibly because I already knew all of their twists.