GKarsEye
Regular
Yesterday was one of those rare opportunities I have of catching Babylon 5, and fortunately it was one of my faves: the one where they finally break from Earth and become an independant state. "He is behind me. You are in front. If you value your lives, be somewhere else." (Is it wrong to be in love with a fictional woman?)
Anyways, as I was watching the scene where Clark's troops bust in the station and fight Garibaldi's men and the Narn security squad, I was thinking of the way B5 handles battle sequences. The one yesterday had little or no battle sounds, just music and slow motion, focusing on the pain of the soldiers as they're being shot or punched. The obvious intent was to de-glorify the violence and make us think, "Oh, how terrible all the killing is."
Contrast this to action flicks and most entertainment, where we exclaim, "Cool! Kick-ass!" and cheer with glee (well, at least I do).
In this, for better and for worse, B5 is certainly unique. Even Trek and other genre shows (what little I've seen) relish in violence whenever they portray it. B5 is hardcore drama, where even "action" scenes are more drama than eye candy popcorn fare.
On the one hand, drains the fun out of space battles and fights. But it compensates by adding to the flavor of the shows, and contributes to the bigger picture: the story. Last night's episode was intense, and high-flying action stunts with Kid Rock in the background would have taken away from that. It also made Delenn's dramatic ending of the battle more important emotionally. It also made the scene where Sheridan kisses Delenn's hand, a scene which would normally make me fall asleep, more, I dunno, nice, I guess. It actually meant something.
The battle sequences often fail as much as they work with all the slow motion stuff and overly dramatic music. But the intent is interesting, and all too rare (gasp, action that is actually part of a story, rather than a vehicle for fake stunts and explosions!). Kudos, I say, kudos!
------------------
"You do not make history. You can only hope to survive it."
Anyways, as I was watching the scene where Clark's troops bust in the station and fight Garibaldi's men and the Narn security squad, I was thinking of the way B5 handles battle sequences. The one yesterday had little or no battle sounds, just music and slow motion, focusing on the pain of the soldiers as they're being shot or punched. The obvious intent was to de-glorify the violence and make us think, "Oh, how terrible all the killing is."
Contrast this to action flicks and most entertainment, where we exclaim, "Cool! Kick-ass!" and cheer with glee (well, at least I do).
In this, for better and for worse, B5 is certainly unique. Even Trek and other genre shows (what little I've seen) relish in violence whenever they portray it. B5 is hardcore drama, where even "action" scenes are more drama than eye candy popcorn fare.
On the one hand, drains the fun out of space battles and fights. But it compensates by adding to the flavor of the shows, and contributes to the bigger picture: the story. Last night's episode was intense, and high-flying action stunts with Kid Rock in the background would have taken away from that. It also made Delenn's dramatic ending of the battle more important emotionally. It also made the scene where Sheridan kisses Delenn's hand, a scene which would normally make me fall asleep, more, I dunno, nice, I guess. It actually meant something.
The battle sequences often fail as much as they work with all the slow motion stuff and overly dramatic music. But the intent is interesting, and all too rare (gasp, action that is actually part of a story, rather than a vehicle for fake stunts and explosions!). Kudos, I say, kudos!
------------------
"You do not make history. You can only hope to survive it."
