EpDis: The Deconstruction Of Falling Stars

[vacantlook]

The Great Burn began with the Daniel/Garibaldi segment, but I don't think it was the totality of it. I should rewatch the episode.

 

[KoshN]

I like this episode a lot, for several reasons:

1. Delenn putting those academics in their place, especially the woman (who would make a great Herazade <spit>, BTW, because she's got the personality down pat.)

2. Garibaldi tricking Daniel. and "Rest easy, friends."

3. The exodus of the Vorlon/Ranger to new Earth (the Vorlon homeworld).

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

My understanding is that the other humans that were offworld were the ones that those on Earth were going to blow up

I thnk the episode makes it clear that there were two factions on Earth that were fighting, and the bone of contnetion was precisely how much contact/influence "outsiders" should have. The ensuing war was purely intramural.

The result was a radioactive Earth with a primative civilization hostile to science and technology and particularly resentful of off-world Humans and aliens to the extent that they remember such things. How many volunteers to visit that hell hole do you think you're going to get from among the peaceful and prosperous denizens of, say, Mars, or Proxima. Of course everybody would say, "too bad", but a) the folks on Earth had brought it on themselves, and b) until they dug themselves sufficiently out of the rubble and the radiation levels dropped, there wouldn't be a hell ofa lot anybody could do. I'd say the Rangers covert aid is about as much as can be done about as early as it is feasible to try.

Look, it isn't like we haven't had enough analogous situations right here on Earth. Countries have fallen into chaos and civil war many times without the rest of the world intervening, or even knowing very much about it. Stop the average man on the street in York or Strasbourg or Baltimore and ask him if he knows what the word "Darfur" means.

Regards,

Joe

 

[vacantlook]

I thnk the episode makes it clear that there were two factions on Earth that were fighting, and the bone of contnetion was precisely how much contact/influence "outsiders" should have. The ensuing war was purely intramural.

The result was a radioactive Earth....

I knew I wasn't remembering it right, but just couldn't really think of a good enough reason for other human colonies to disregard Earth afterward. Vast radioactivity of the planet works, though.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Vast radioactivity of the planet works, though.

It does tend to discourage casual visitors. I have a radiation hazmat warning on my door for that very reason. Haven't seen a magazine salesman, religious prostelyzer or cookie-bearing Girl Scout in years. Cuts way down on the trick-or-treaters, too. Saves me a fortune.

Joe

 

[Shaal Mayan]

c average

 

[Elipsis]

Looks like I gave this a B and never explained why.

Anyway, It really didn't even give the sense of closure that the previous episode gave.

I liked the premise of the episode but felt vague dissatisfied with the presentation. The first news segment felt well done, capturing the same air of unprofessionalism that we've come to expect from the talking head shows, but the 100 year broadcast seemed like a dry rehashing of the same attitudes and went on for far too long.

The 500 year "Great Burn" sequence was kind of cool and probably my favorite of the bunch... it was cool seeing what they did with all the technology 500 years after B5.

The last sequence with the monks seemed kind of confusing. Having read the lurker's guide I know JMS's responses to the criticisms... but it still didn't do much for me and left a lot of unanswered questions... primarily
"Why the hell is it taking so long, and what are the other worlds / races doing about all of this?"


Loved the touch at the end with the Human-encounter-suit and the organic ships.

 

[Galahad]

I really hated this episode... which is why I took my avatar from it

I enjoyed it a lot... especially the climax (which is viewable on YouTube), but no surprises there.

I do wonder if the colonial humans advanced in terms of evolution, ahead of those on Earth... if the Great Burn slowed down the change that was coming; that would be interesting to discover.

Also, are we ever told that the weapons used in the "Great Burn" are nuclear? I can't remember. The GOD platforms were more than capable of scorching Earth with particle beams.

 

[maneth]

Indeed. It would be interesting to know, because particle beams would probably not make the world dangerous to visit for short periods. That said, the brothers didn't seem to wear any hazmat protection.

 

[FlyingCircus]

I haven't seen the episode in quite a while, but didn't Daniel also say that his party was concerned about the purity of the human race? Does that mean interspecies-coupling was spreading?

One more thing: Why is the poll titled "The Face of the Enemy"?

 

[hypatia]

I think there was a technical glitch a long time ago.

 

[vacantlook]

I think there was a technical glitch a long time ago.

Yup. The board used to be run using different software. It was during that time that most of these episode discusion threads were made. Then the board software was changed and something happened during the conversion of all the old threads into the new software that caused the titles of the polls to get messed up. I don't know if it also impacted any of the previous votes cast for the poll of any given episode or not.

 

[JoeD80]

Does that mean interspecies-coupling was spreading?

Don't think that's what he meant. The species of Babylon 5 can't create hybrid children without genetic manipulation, which is why Delenn had to go through the Chrysalis to conceive a child with a human.

 

[Boredom]

I haven't seen the episode in quite a while, but didn't Daniel also say that his party was concerned about the purity of the human race? Does that mean interspecies-coupling was spreading?

At which, Sheridan retorted that it's just PR. The real reason was the Alliance restriction of outright unprovoked wars, especially that of expansion.

Indeed. It would be interesting to know, because particle beams would probably not make the world dangerous to visit for short periods. That said, the brothers didn't seem to wear any hazmat protection.

I don't know whether the war at 500 was the Great Burn, but if it was, then the reason for other races (and human colonies) abandonment of Earth was in line with what the monks discussed, their xenophobic attitude.

Does that mean interspecies-coupling was spreading?

Don't think that's what he meant. The species of Babylon 5 can't create hybrid children without genetic manipulation, which is why Delenn had to go through the Chrysalis to conceive a child with a human.

And they had different sets of genitals too (not that THAT can't be overcome, knowing that people will fuck their hands, doorknob, bicycle, cat, and whatnot). Londo was shown to have his "penis" slammed during a card game. And a species (Drazi?) in Call to Arms had his genitals somewhere around his elbow.


Oh, and one thing that nagged me a bit was the nova. Why the sun would went nova within 1 million years? The way the story goes, it's a natural occurrence. But the sun, barring injury and illness, may live for another 5 billion years.

 

[vacantlook]

Oh, and one thing that nagged me a bit was the nova. Why the sun would went nova within 1 million years? The way the story goes, it's a natural occurrence. But the sun, barring injury and illness, may live for another 5 billion years.

Sol going nova in the episode is not natural, or at least not normal. The future-human's computer specifically notes that there are "atypical solar emissions". Something very unusual was going on with the sun, whether that be some unusual natural phenomenon or if it was the result of someone purposefully doing something to the sun.

 

[JoeD80]

As jms said, "And what if you, say, interfered substantially with the mass of the sun by, say, causing a series of jump points to open up *inside* the sun across several days?"

 

[Galahad]

As jms said, "And what if you, say, interfered substantially with the mass of the sun by, say, causing a series of jump points to open up *inside* the sun across several days?"

I agree with that analysis of course... but it always made me wonder why in any of the wars, the younger races didn't use that as a means of taking out their enemies.

Sure it would be outlawed because destroying an entire star system is by definition a weapon of mass destruction... but surely somebody out there would be xenophobic enough to consider it. While jump coordinates need to be accurate enough for actual transition when a ship is entering a planetary body's atmosphere (Endgame), the mass of a star is pretty big and provided someone had a large enough fleet mobilised, they could probably do some serious damage to their enemy's star.

It's very possible of course that someone did exactly that to the Dilgar.

 

[Lennier's Tears]

Meh. I'm going to be dissenter here and say I'm not crazy about this episode. There are bits in it that I love, but I am mostly unimpressed.

I like the non-corporeal, Vorlon-like future human collecting some Earth history. I love the encounter suit, seen in Galahad's avatar It makes me happy.

I like Delenn showing up to that news broadcast just to say that Sheridan was a good man. In general, I like the idea and setup of that segment, but I don't love the execution. Also, I'd kind of hope that that TV format isn't in use anymore by the 24th century. How unbelievably boring.

The Great Burn is kind of a cool idea, but I'm not on board with the long slow recovery. Even with Rangers helping out, it's taken 500 years for humankind to even come close to re-inventing the gasoline engine? While the rest of the galaxy just goes about their business? Mehh.

It's possible I'm just bitter that the fourth season is over

 

[JonFrain]

Not a fan.

 

[Mororless]

The Great Burn is kind of a cool idea, but I'm not on board with the long slow recovery. Even with Rangers helping out, it's taken 500 years for humankind to even come close to re-inventing the gasoline engine? While the rest of the galaxy just goes about their business? Mehh.

The impression I got wasn't just that Earth was "sent back to the stone age" by a nuclear war but that the war itself created a reaction against technology and outside influence that's taken along time to fall away.

You could argue as well that we don't know that nobody did anything to help, maybe they did and maybe the non xenophobic population that survived moved off world with those who remained being from Daniels side thus unwilling to accept help or leave.