Not-quite-recurring-enough Characters

[KoshFan]

I was flipping through one of my B5 books, and there was a list of recurring characters with the episodes in which they appeared.

I was reminded of a few things. One, that Catharine Sakai makes appearances in the back-to-back Parliament of Dreams and Mind War, and then vanishes out of the galaxy to return for Chrysalis. If you're gonna marry one of your main characters, shouldn't you have the intended on camera a little more?

Strangely, G'Kar is absent from Signs and Portents to Chrysalis as well -- almost half of season one.

Bester, of course, has his night to howl in Season Four, where he's around almost non-stop, but before Ship of Tears he's barely there. Lise Hampton and the Centauri Regent follow the same pattern, making one appearance apeice in S1 and then vanishing until S4. We could add Neroon to the list as well.

While it's great that they managed to work in as much continuity as they did, wouldn't we all have liked to see a little more of the abovementioned?

 

[Sigma]

How the hell is Bester not the recurring character? He is the definition of the recurring character.

To answer your question: clear NO. Every recurring character had it's own story and purpose.

 

[GKarsEye]

wouldn't we all have liked to see a little more of the abovementioned

Hells no. Wives of main characters are usually annoying. Lise Hampton is the perfect example. Yeesh, what a wet blanket. Sakai wasn't bad, but I could have lived without the melodrama she brought.

A non-B5 example of an obnoxious major chatacter's wife is O'Brien's wife (and daughter) from TNG and DS9.

 

[KoshFan]

But you have to admit it's a bit weird to realize that G'Kar simply vanishes between "Signs and Portents" and "Chrysalis." I mean, he's a main character, in the opening credits and everything.

The strangest part is that I've never noticed his absence in that period.

 

[GaribaldisHair]

The strangest part is that I've never noticed his absence in that period

erm ... exactly!

There is no point putting characters (even title credit characters) in the script just for the sake of it. Besides, why was G'Kar missing?

Was he just unnecessary to the story for that period, or did AK have another project on and JMS wrote around G'Kar for that period of time? We'll never know, but the fact that you didn't notice his absence only goes to show that he was not integral to the story at that point.

 

[RMcD]

I've got to say though - I do like the fact that this, and that even main characters are constantly coming and going and passing through, gives a sense that everyone has lives and stories that progress outside of B5, even when the camera's not on them, and that the station is just somewhere they occasionally meet up during the 5 year arc rather than the centre of their whole universe. Lyta disappears and returns a completely different person because of what's happened to her, for example.. The story of Mars colony from 2258-2262 could almost make up a series in its own right.. Corps is Mother, Corps is Father plays with the concept, although I wish B5 had been kept out of it completely.

The corrolary would be something like Star Trek, where every main character was paid to appear in every episode, and so occasionally the Defiant would inexplicably leave DS9 to catalogue anomalies with the entire station staff aboard (who was left running the place?)..

btw, the Centauri Regent did appear in Season 3, in Sic Transit Vir.. Can't remember if he was ever in Season 2..

 

[darth_librarian]

A non-B5 example of an obnoxious major chatacter's wife is O'Brien's wife (and daughter) from TNG and DS9.

Ah yes, 'Cake-hole O'Brien' as a friend once referd to her. The only episode she was ok in involved her being posessed by an evil alien entitiy and being really nasty to O'Brien.

Quite an improvement really.

 

[KoshN]

wouldn't we all have liked to see a little more of the abovementioned

Hells no. Wives of main characters are usually annoying.

I never found Timov to be annoying. Loved it how she never took any of Londo's crap. She was genuine, and Londo appreciated that as well.

 

[The_One]

wouldn't we all have liked to see a little more of the abovementioned

Hells no. Wives of main characters are usually annoying.

I never found Timov to be annoying. Loved it how she never took any of Londo's crap. She was genuine, and Londo appreciated that as well.

***SLIGHT Centauri Trilogy Spoilers***




Yes, I enjoyed her appearance(s) in the Centauri Trilogy. I guess it was useful to Peter David that he'd written Soul Mates - mind you, he did seem to reference it a bit *too* much, at least I thought.

 

[RW7427]

Yeah, Timov was great! I liked her more than Daggair or Mariel, although I did feel sorry for Mariel because of the fate she met in the Centauri trilogy.