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EpDis: A Voice In The Wilderness Part 1
- Thread starter vacantlook
- Start date
KoshFan
Regular
I never thought much about this episode -- until I'd finished the series and then watched it again. A lot of foreshadowing and character development there....
Overall I liked it mostly because it started out slow and only gradually built, giving us a bit of a sense of how the station worked on the, oh, four or five weeks total that the world wasn't falling apart.
Overall I liked it mostly because it started out slow and only gradually built, giving us a bit of a sense of how the station worked on the, oh, four or five weeks total that the world wasn't falling apart.
It's weird that B5 only produced two 2-parters in five years. I suppose that once the episodes became so heavily serialised, it just wasn't necessary..
A Voice in the Wilderness is a little slow, I think, especially towards the end - there isn't quite enough plot to spread it out. A couple of random thoughts: I like the way that the Mars revolt is slipped into the background, though it's actually a major blip on the B5 timeline - it helps give a sense that there's a big universe out beyond the station. And Lise Hampton - who'd have thought from this that she'd be making appearances right up to the end of S5?
It seems strange that G'Kar is absent, though there are some neat moments for the other characters.
Also, I'd never fully appreciated the extent to which this episode pays homage to the film Forbidden Planet until I saw it recently - everything from the Great Machine to certain CGI background shots.
I always laugh at the alien at the end who manages to learn English in the course of issuing an ultimatum - must have been tough on the actor.
This episode gets a B+ from me.
A Voice in the Wilderness is a little slow, I think, especially towards the end - there isn't quite enough plot to spread it out. A couple of random thoughts: I like the way that the Mars revolt is slipped into the background, though it's actually a major blip on the B5 timeline - it helps give a sense that there's a big universe out beyond the station. And Lise Hampton - who'd have thought from this that she'd be making appearances right up to the end of S5?
It seems strange that G'Kar is absent, though there are some neat moments for the other characters.
Also, I'd never fully appreciated the extent to which this episode pays homage to the film Forbidden Planet until I saw it recently - everything from the Great Machine to certain CGI background shots.
I always laugh at the alien at the end who manages to learn English in the course of issuing an ultimatum - must have been tough on the actor.
This episode gets a B+ from me.
Shaal Mayan
Regular
I give this on a C grade average nice setup for future story lines but the whole episode could have done in one .
KoshFan
Regular
I've always seen Messages From Earth/Point of No Return/Severed Dreams as a three-parter, since there's next to no intervening time between them.
Ah, Babylon 5 -- where even insignificant extras can be catapulted into importance. Lise Hampton, Lt. Corwin, and best of all, Ta'Lon.
I was just noticing this myself. See my new thread....
GKarsEye
Regular
I like Draal, this one much more than the blustering, slapstick one we see later.
The first thing I think of when I look at this episode is Londo. It's his last hurrah, last noble and "fun" adventure before entering the darkness that would consume the rest of his life. Once you've seen the series straight through, Londo in this episode takes on a whole new meaning- the first viewing, it's comical or silly. The second one, it's bittersweet.
Delenn continues to be pious and arrogant and annoying. I really don't like her as a person those first couple of seasons. After she hits bottom and claws her way on top and starts to kick ass, I'm in love with her.
What really bothers me about the Great Machine is that they didn't know it was there. There just happened to be one of the most powerful and mysterious devices in the galaxy sitting little right under the station and- oops- no one had the foggiest notion. Ok.
The first thing I think of when I look at this episode is Londo. It's his last hurrah, last noble and "fun" adventure before entering the darkness that would consume the rest of his life. Once you've seen the series straight through, Londo in this episode takes on a whole new meaning- the first viewing, it's comical or silly. The second one, it's bittersweet.
Delenn continues to be pious and arrogant and annoying. I really don't like her as a person those first couple of seasons. After she hits bottom and claws her way on top and starts to kick ass, I'm in love with her.
What really bothers me about the Great Machine is that they didn't know it was there. There just happened to be one of the most powerful and mysterious devices in the galaxy sitting little right under the station and- oops- no one had the foggiest notion. Ok.
A_M_Swallow
Regular
What really bothers me about the Great Machine is that they didn't know it was there. There just happened to be one of the most powerful and mysterious devices in the galaxy sitting little right under the station and- oops- no one had the foggiest notion. Ok.
That is simply good camouflage. If the Great Machine does not transmit and keeps its doors closed only a detailed survey would find it several miles underground.
The odd thing is that one of the Zathras brothers did not take Draal to Babylon 5.
vacantlook
Super Moderator
I don't understand this statement. Why would a Zathras brother transport Draal to B5 from the Minbari homeworld? Do you mean why didn't a Zathras brother transport the dying Varn from the planet to the station instead of leaving it up to Ivanova and Sinclair to go down to the planet and bring him back?
A_M_Swallow
Regular
Yes I meant the old keeper.
KoshFan
Regular
Maybe the Zathras brothers had their hands full keeping the Machine together as Varn fell apart. But even still I have to admit it's a little hard to explain.
Best answer? JMS had Zathras's first appearance in Babylon Squared already mapped out and didn't want to spoil the surprise.
Best answer? JMS had Zathras's first appearance in Babylon Squared already mapped out and didn't want to spoil the surprise.
2aMageing
Regular
Ah, that's right. That might be my favorite Londo sequence.......up there with teaching bugs not to triffle with a Centauri.
"Landing thruster.......landing thruster.......let's see, if I were a landing thruster, where would I be????"
It kind of feels like we are getting a glimpse into who he was before he came to B5 and ended up being "touched by darkness". I can see the swashbuckling Paso Leati flying fearlessly through the storm of battle for the glory of the old republic. But, given the coming darkness, it is quite accurate to describe it as bittersweet to see him free of his station, even if only for a little while.
I thought part 1 was a bit better than part 2, mostly because I found the attacking aliens to be more rediculous than fearsome. The presence of Earthforce was a mildly amusing sideline player in the story. Really, the best of it was seeing Draal find a place for himself just shy of leaving entirely. It feels alot like when Sinclair describes himself as having found his place, like the arrow that springs forth from the bow, no doubt, no hesitation. Draal's place with the great machine felt very similar.
Altogether I would give it a B, probably B+. Kind of rough, but very worthwhile and easily entertaining.
vacantlook
Super Moderator
It was kinda built to be similar, I think. Draal said that Varn chose to appear to him, Londo, and Sinclair because of their being so aquainted with the "3rd Principal of Sentient Life" -- the whole sacrificing oneself for another or others. Draal does it in going to the planet to take the position at the heart of the Great Machine, Sinclair does it in going back into the past to become Valen and take the Minbari Babylon 4 to help win in that struggle against the Shadows, and Londo does it in asking G'Kar to kill him to save Delenn and Sheridan.
GKarsEye
Regular
If a Zathras was shuttling people around during these episodes, both the sense of urgency and sacrifice created by the situation would have been lost.
"Great pardonings, but machine needing guardian. Old one dying... need new center. You being replacement, yes?" isn't as effective as having Draal see the consequences of inaction, feel the sense of wonder and sacrifice directly from Varn or Flarn or whatever that dude's name was.
And, of course, the machine was acting haywire- maybe the Zathrases couldn't fly away.
"Great pardonings, but machine needing guardian. Old one dying... need new center. You being replacement, yes?" isn't as effective as having Draal see the consequences of inaction, feel the sense of wonder and sacrifice directly from Varn or Flarn or whatever that dude's name was.
And, of course, the machine was acting haywire- maybe the Zathrases couldn't fly away.
Yes, in retrospect it is sad to see that this, the Londo as Londo thought of himself (noble, self-sacrificing, carefree) was not the Londo that fate had decreed. The best feature of this episode was telling us that about Londo - and explaining why Delenn continued to feel it worth her time to try to draw him into the Conspiracy of Light.
2aMageing
Regular
That's a good point. Being able to glimpse something of Londo's virtue at this point does provide more viewer confidence that Delenn's efforts are more than just a general atempt to save as many people as possible, but rather a capability to see some positive potential in the heart of Londo. I like that Londo does manage to start doing some good things in late season 4 and early season 5 when he becomes "married" to Gkar, though his fate has already been sealed by his past actions and this window of virtue is also far too short lived.
deaded
Regular
Yeah, I know, LOL!! It was like, "Oh, wow, the biggest most powerful in the machine in the world? Right here? And we have access to it? BRILLIANT!!"
The way I reconciled this was that either 1) Zathras took care of the machine as was pretty much unaware of the Keeper, or, being able to travel through time Zathras knew that Susan and Sinclair would remove him and that Draal would take his place. Besides, the keeper was burnt out. There was nothing they could have done for him on B5 even if Zathras did bring him up there.
Yeah, that bummed me out. You really did see that he was a good guy and I so wanted him to stay that way.
(sorry to bring up yet another old thread. Last one, I promise. Probably.)
