So I started watching "Babylon 5" for the first time.

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Tribble puncher, May 11, 2014.

  1. martok2112

    martok2112 Commodore Commodore

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    Oh, indeed....how could anyone ever forget that sce---

    er.....sorry....mum's the word! :D

    Carry on....nothing to see here. (secretly pops in DVD's and frantically starts searching for that episode again) Damn! What season was that again?!
     
  2. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    What about when that Scooby Doo clone stops President Clarke's ghost from scaring every one off Disney Planet?
     
  3. martok2112

    martok2112 Commodore Commodore

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    SPOILER ALERT: The resolution when President Clarke says: "And I'd have gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids and that damned clone dog!" Riveting!
     
  4. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Sorry to change the mood...but I just read about what happened to Michael O'Hare. That's sad....
     
  5. martok2112

    martok2112 Commodore Commodore

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    Yeah, that was sad.
     
  6. M.A.C.O.

    M.A.C.O. Commodore Commodore

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    Just started Season 5. Season 4 was/would be a grand place to end it. I read Season 5 is a love it or hate it series. Now I will find out for myself.

    Also Lochley is already annoying. Bring back Ivanova. Now if only i had a time machine to transmit this message back to 1998.
     
  7. Marsden

    Marsden Commodore Commodore

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    Marsden is very sad.
    I used to think Robin Downes was terrible, but then I saw him in other things, including as Moran in In The Begining, and he was good.
    It's just Byron being what he was, not a good person. He used "non-violence" as a gimmick to generate sympathy, but he didn't want to peacefully coexist wtih non telepaths any more than Bester.
     
  8. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I really don't think he had a plan.

    There's a line from the new cop drama Battle Creek that they replay in the beginning of every episode to explain the animosity between the buddy cops...

    Byron never considered that everything wouldn't magically work out for him instantly and immediately. He was dumbfounded that the seas did not part for him the second they all got a good look at his hair.
     
  9. Hound of UIster

    Hound of UIster Vice Admiral Admiral

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    He wanted a telepath homeworld. Bottom line he was never about co-existence, but rather telepaths having their own enclave: separate and apart.
     
  10. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

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    I said out, dammit!
    One that I'm aware of is Andrea Thompson - she tried being a CNN news anchor after B5. Now I think she's in real estate or something.

    Not sure if Jerry Doyle has entirely given up acting - he's now a political commentator. Could be counted as the same thing. :lol:
     
  11. Hound of UIster

    Hound of UIster Vice Admiral Admiral

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    It's method acting. :)
     
  12. DonIago

    DonIago Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I didn't care for Lochley at first (possibly TPTB intent), but by the end my opinion had softened somewhat.

    I'd say my opinion on the telepaths went in rather the opposite direction. The more exposure we receive the less reasonable they seem to become.

    Actually, in that regard I suppose my opinions of the telepaths on B5 and the Maquis in Trek aren't entirely dissimilar.
     
  13. tomswift2002

    tomswift2002 Commodore Commodore

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    Well Lochely was the only one to transfer over to Crusade as a "regular", but she was credited more than she appeared.
     
  14. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Lyta did that in 5 minutes.

    It was piss easy.

    I understand that they were trying to pay homage to Masada, but the thing was that Masada had been a city for hundreds of years before the Romans put the place to siege.

    Byron was more like a teenager who commits suicide because his parents won't let him go to a new movie with his friends.
     
  15. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    He's done some good stuff as a voice actor.
     
  16. shivkala

    shivkala Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Where does the fault lie for Byron? Is it Robin Atkins Downes' fault? If a "better" actor was cast in the role, with the same lines, would it have gone better?

    Or was it JMS' fault? Was it the writing that really tanked it and RAD was doing his best with crappy writing?

    In both cases, we've got a body of work to support that it's not RAD nor JMS, as both have done great work outside of this storyline.

    Honestly, I give the benefit of the doubt to RAD here. I think Byron was a poorly thought-out character and the whole Season 5 telepath plot-line is arguably the weakest plot the show had (possibly including the dropped Bureau 13 stuff).

    Now, part of the problem is that it seems the Byron plot-line was supposed to include Ivanova, which would have pulled from her backstory, as well as her intimacy with Talia. This would have played off of the previous four seasons worth of backstory and her falling in love with Byron could have tied in to Marcus' death (giving us a reason for Byron's hair).
     
  17. Shaka Zulu

    Shaka Zulu Commodore Commodore

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    Last edited: Apr 7, 2015
  18. DonIago

    DonIago Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I think the fault lies in the character concept, and possibly whoever decided Byron and the rest of the telepaths should look the way they ended up looking. RAD seemed to be a decent enough actor...he could certainly pull off his speeches well enough. But I just don't know what TPTB were going for making the telepaths look like vagrants and such. I mean, maybe having telepathy really -would- mess someone up that much, but...

    ...maybe I'm being a bit of a politically incorrect elitist snob here, but I think a telepath who wasn't a creep like Bester, wasn't a total oddball as a lot of the telepaths were made out to be, and otherwise just seemed reasonable (earlier Byron appearances) might have helped win the Sympathy Vote a bit more.

    I mean...I'm a gay Jew, and I think I know something about being persecuted, and I get the whole "we shouldn't have to hide who we are" thing, but when it comes to the political arena and the big picture, there's something to be said for trying to put others at ease even if you shouldn't have to and don't really want to.
     
  19. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

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    I said out, dammit!
    Byron's bunch practically proved the Psi Corps right, about all teeps needing to be recruited, controlled or neutered. They were their own worst enemies.
     
  20. DonIago

    DonIago Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Certainly the ones who opted for violence were.

    And while I guess that is human nature, it's also -so- predictable...