<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Remember how Delenn was surprised to see Marcus' pike when they first met.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Oh my god, how can NOT make a filthy comment?!
MUST RESIST....
Whew, I did it.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Actually, Delenn was surprised that Marcus had such an
old pike (quiet over there, Eye.
) As with Samuarai swords, pikes are still made, but the old ones, the ones with a history, are the most prized. (Another parallel to Japanese society in the Minbari.) That he had one
at all was not as surprising (given that he was a Ranger on detached duty.) But it is true that the Minbari were initially reluctant to give
any human a pike, and that not even all Minbari Rangers
earn one in the course of training. (At least if my rapidly fading recollection of
To Dream in the City of Sorrows is correct.)
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>...when I was reading info on the series and heard of 'The Hand' which was supposed to make the Shadows look like insects...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Wait a second!
The Shadows
did look like insects, so how hard is this
really?
Maybe the Hand are incredibly weak interstellar con men. (Known primarily for running crooked card games, hence their name.) One day they're sitting around on Kafta's world, having a few beers, dealing poker from a marked deck, and talking about old times. One of them says, "Remember the Shadows? Didn't they look like
insects?"
One of Kafta's people imperfectly over-hears this, runs to warn the government and the next thing The Hand know, the entire planet has surrendered to them. Knowing a good scam when they see it, the Hand starts recruiting other races....
This would sure solve the continuity problem. The climax to the Hand saga could come in S2 (2267) when David Martel and Matthew Gideon challenge the Hand to a poker touranment and out-cheat them.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>... if someone has the energy, find out how long B-52s have been flying for the U.S. Air Force.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>The B-52A first flew in 1954, and the B model entered service in 1955. A total of 744 B-52s were built with the last, a B-52H, delivered in October 1962. Only the H model is still in the Air Force inventory and is assigned to Air Combat Command and the Air Force Reserves. source:
www.af.mil<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
In other words, the B-52 is older than many of the pilots flying it. I've heard it referred to (by retired AF types, and with affection) as "a collection of spare parts, flying in loose formation."
In fact the airframe of the B-52 is extremely strong, and if maintained will last for a
very long time. With continuing upgrades to engines and other systems, the AF estimates the B-52, which entered service before I was born, may well be flying after I'm gone:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Updated with modern technology the B-52 will be capable of delivering the full complement of joint developed weapons and will continue into the 21st century as an important element of our nation's defenses. Current engineering analyses show the B-52's life span to extend beyond the year 2045. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Myriam was terrible. She over-acted like crazy, and since my older bro is a talented and educated actor, I do know what to do, and what not to do. It did seem as one reviewer ponted out that she tried to upstage dylan in every scene.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Technically you
can't "upstage" someone on film, unless the director
lets you, in which case it becomes his (or her) decision. I've acted (non-professionaly
) on and off for the better part of 30 years, and I've written and directed for the stage as well. Nearly 50 different shows (some of them more than once) and hundreds of performances. I had no problem with Myriam's performance except for one or two moments in the pod (you all know which ones.)
Whether those moments are
Myriam's fault is highly debatable. If Mike Vejar didn't like what he saw, he could have told her to tone it down and done another take, up to a point. And it may be that her actions were
exactly what JMS called for in the screenplay.
It may also be that the "big scream" (which, if I recall was composed of several intercut shots of FX stuff and different angles) was actually created in the editing room and never really existed, as seen, on the soundstage.
People are entirely to quick to blame certain things on actors, forgetting that they are not free to do whatever they want on screen or on stage. (Though they're considerably freer on stage. There are no retakes in the theater. It isn't like a stage manager or director is going to stop the show in mid-performance because and actor does something contrary to the director's wishes. Believe me, I've been on both sides of such minor mutinies.
)
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>P.S. Anyone want to place bets on whether or not there is a possibility of Marcus still being alive, possibly frozen with the Telepaths on B5, for a time when he could be revived? Heh, that is something that I would love to see in a Rangers TV series, a cameo by Marcus.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Only in flashbacks, if they happen to run into a character who would have known him, as explained in an earlier response.
As for the Teepsicles: (Spoilers for
The Psi Corps Trilogy) -
<table bgcolor=black><tr><td bgcolor=black><font size=1 color=white>Spoiler:</font></td></tr><tr><td><font size=2 color=black>At least some of them, including Bester's lover, are killed in the bombing of a Psi Corps facility during the Teep War. The book doesn't make it clear if all of them were in the same place, but I'm pretty sure all of them at the blast site were killed. Can't remember now if it was on Mars, Earth, or not identified.</font></td></tr></table>
Regards,
Joe
------------------
Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net
[This message has been edited by Joseph DeMartino (edited January 22, 2002).]
