This post contains an assorted collection of questions and comments centered around Season 1. I'm bringing them to the most illuminated fans of B5.
"Midnight on the Firing Line" - The Centauri's ability to see their death is such an interesting feature. Although it goes against the meek handling of Vir, why weren't we exposed to the vision of his death? Or other Centauri?
"Soul Hunter" - Solid show. Instead of focusing on this species for The River of Souls, it might have been more interesting to see what these jokers were up to during the Great War. With souls spilling left and right, it would have been fascinating to see their agenda at this time of mass death. Furthermore, it would have been interesting to see their relations with the Vorlons and Shadows.
"Born to the Purple" - Is Vir really playing a video game at a diplomatic meeting? I get that B5 deserves credit for how it advanced humor to science fiction, but... oh, and G'Kar is playing the video game a few scenes later. Forget it. Adira's cleavage is the only thing that saves this episode.
And what's with the open-eyed kiss?
"The Parliament of Dreams" - I would love to know what happened to Tu'Pari during and after the Narn-Centauri war.
Is anyone else upset that Ko'Dath didn't stick? Her ferocity might have been watchable. Sure, I liked Na'Toth, but Ko'Dath is Na'Toth on stems. And did we get anything more official in regard to Ko'Dath's demise beyond her airlock incident? Surely there's more to her death than that.
Wonderful that we saw a Narn display of religious services later in "By Any Means Necessary."
"Mind War" - Even if the Ironheart storyline was lost in Andrea Thompson's departure, Bester's introduction was phenomenal.
If it's true that when telepaths make love it's all mirrors, wouldn't Talia have noticed this when she knocked boots with Ivanova? Wouldn't that have given Ivanova's status as a telepath away? You could argue that Talia never made love to a normal person, so she never had a frame of reference to compare with, but I don't buy that. Talia must have had a college phase where she at least experimented with a normal person? Right?
"Deathwalker" - Was there ever an explanation as to what the Vorlon ship was shooting at - or more correctly - missing? I saw this post concerning the topic from way back:
http://www.b5tv.com/showthread.php?t=778&page=2
Still, the commentators never settled on any conclusions. The theory that the Vorlons missed their first shot at the ship carrying Deathwalker because they had just emerged from hyperspace doesn't fit their cold, calculating nature.
Deathwalker's sick adherence to the survival of the fittest outlook raises the question of whether or not the Dilgar were in cahoots with the Shadows. Obviously, the Shadows were far from active at this point, but might the Dilgar have had contact with one of the Shadows' allies?
This makes me wish we some coverage of the Drakh/Streib/Wurt's relationship with the Shadows. Perhaps covered by an episode of Crusade, but some level of description as to how the servants of the Shadows ingratiated themselves would have been wondrous.
"Deathwalker" is a truly fantastic episode. Maybe the best non-JMS script.
"Survivors" - Major Lianna Kemmor? She made Major? This girl can't be older than 25.
"Signs and Portents" - According to JMS in the Lurker's Guide website comments for this episode, "...roughly about one-fourth of this season's episodes are WHAM episodes. That figure will increase in year two to about one-third. Year three (Neilsen willing) will be half-WHAM and half-not. Year four would be three-quarters WHAM. And year five is all WHAM."
Umm... what happened here? I was with him until Season 5 being all wham. I realize that PTEN forced JMS to wrap up the with Earth Civil War well ahead of schedule, and that he planned for Sinclair to finish the Great War and then become Valen, but I still don't understand. What timetable did JMS have in mind with his statement that all S5 would be significant to the arc?
"TKO" - If you can find a more racist hour of TV, I commend/pity you. Walker Smith calling aliens "Snakehead?" Racist. The alien who said Humans need to stay out of the Mutai? Racist. The portrayal of Ivanova's rabbi, the greatest cliche in all B5? Superracist. Yes, one word. Superracist, which can be defined as:
Superracist adj. - An unintentional, subtle racism that is far more offensive than even overt racism, which can be seen in "The War Prayer," because "The War Prayer" carries an offense all on its own.
"Grail" - The Na'Ka'Leen Feeder's tentacles looks identical to Londo's cock. Wouldn't that be a twist if, in the teaser the dude tied to the chair was just getting a giant mushroom stamp?
I love the continuity with Delenn and her devotional reverence toward "true seekers." I appreciate her warmth toward Alduous Gajic, as the same warmth is seen when King Arthur delivers Excalibur to her.
Maybe we're due for a story entailing a teamup between King Arthur and Thomas. Not Jinxo, who carries that goofy, clownish smile throughout each scene, but a serious, true-seeking Thomas.
"Eyes" - At one point, Ivanova calls out telepath Gray because he's scanning her. He is surprised at how swiftly and surely she recognizes his scan. What great continuity with Ivanova being able to detect when she's being scanned.
Anyone else picking up a gay vibe between Harriman Gray and Col. Ari Ben Zayn? 50 Shades of Gray, indeed.
The threat of Internal Affairs in finding a loyal command staff came a season too early. The timing of this episode invites no tension whatsoever, because the loyalty to Earth Alliance had never been questioned to this point. Imagine a telepath and a EarthForce colonel arrived after Sheridan had declared the "conspiracy of light" to the command staff.
Now you have an interesting story.
Imagine they had arrived in "Divided Loyalties" to provide a counterpoint to Lyta Alexander.
Now you have a very interesting story.
"A Voice in the Wilderness pt. 2" - The Hyperion could easily have showed itself in Earth's Civil War. With Captain Ellis Pierce's forceful, authoritative behavior there's little question as to which side he served.
The unanswered questions concerning Epsilon III are unending. Was there ever a greater arc in mind for the planet? Or was it always meant to be an underutilized world with awkward usage made unavailable during each major battle?
"Babylon Squared" - Tim Choate's acting in the scene where he initially meets Sinclair is fantastic. The expression on his face after he stands is astounding. He has an incredible tone in his voice when he hits the cold realization that Sinclair is, "Not the one."
"Midnight on the Firing Line" - The Centauri's ability to see their death is such an interesting feature. Although it goes against the meek handling of Vir, why weren't we exposed to the vision of his death? Or other Centauri?
"Soul Hunter" - Solid show. Instead of focusing on this species for The River of Souls, it might have been more interesting to see what these jokers were up to during the Great War. With souls spilling left and right, it would have been fascinating to see their agenda at this time of mass death. Furthermore, it would have been interesting to see their relations with the Vorlons and Shadows.
"Born to the Purple" - Is Vir really playing a video game at a diplomatic meeting? I get that B5 deserves credit for how it advanced humor to science fiction, but... oh, and G'Kar is playing the video game a few scenes later. Forget it. Adira's cleavage is the only thing that saves this episode.
And what's with the open-eyed kiss?
"The Parliament of Dreams" - I would love to know what happened to Tu'Pari during and after the Narn-Centauri war.
Is anyone else upset that Ko'Dath didn't stick? Her ferocity might have been watchable. Sure, I liked Na'Toth, but Ko'Dath is Na'Toth on stems. And did we get anything more official in regard to Ko'Dath's demise beyond her airlock incident? Surely there's more to her death than that.
Wonderful that we saw a Narn display of religious services later in "By Any Means Necessary."
"Mind War" - Even if the Ironheart storyline was lost in Andrea Thompson's departure, Bester's introduction was phenomenal.
If it's true that when telepaths make love it's all mirrors, wouldn't Talia have noticed this when she knocked boots with Ivanova? Wouldn't that have given Ivanova's status as a telepath away? You could argue that Talia never made love to a normal person, so she never had a frame of reference to compare with, but I don't buy that. Talia must have had a college phase where she at least experimented with a normal person? Right?
"Deathwalker" - Was there ever an explanation as to what the Vorlon ship was shooting at - or more correctly - missing? I saw this post concerning the topic from way back:
http://www.b5tv.com/showthread.php?t=778&page=2
Still, the commentators never settled on any conclusions. The theory that the Vorlons missed their first shot at the ship carrying Deathwalker because they had just emerged from hyperspace doesn't fit their cold, calculating nature.
Deathwalker's sick adherence to the survival of the fittest outlook raises the question of whether or not the Dilgar were in cahoots with the Shadows. Obviously, the Shadows were far from active at this point, but might the Dilgar have had contact with one of the Shadows' allies?
This makes me wish we some coverage of the Drakh/Streib/Wurt's relationship with the Shadows. Perhaps covered by an episode of Crusade, but some level of description as to how the servants of the Shadows ingratiated themselves would have been wondrous.
"Deathwalker" is a truly fantastic episode. Maybe the best non-JMS script.
"Survivors" - Major Lianna Kemmor? She made Major? This girl can't be older than 25.
"Signs and Portents" - According to JMS in the Lurker's Guide website comments for this episode, "...roughly about one-fourth of this season's episodes are WHAM episodes. That figure will increase in year two to about one-third. Year three (Neilsen willing) will be half-WHAM and half-not. Year four would be three-quarters WHAM. And year five is all WHAM."
Umm... what happened here? I was with him until Season 5 being all wham. I realize that PTEN forced JMS to wrap up the with Earth Civil War well ahead of schedule, and that he planned for Sinclair to finish the Great War and then become Valen, but I still don't understand. What timetable did JMS have in mind with his statement that all S5 would be significant to the arc?
"TKO" - If you can find a more racist hour of TV, I commend/pity you. Walker Smith calling aliens "Snakehead?" Racist. The alien who said Humans need to stay out of the Mutai? Racist. The portrayal of Ivanova's rabbi, the greatest cliche in all B5? Superracist. Yes, one word. Superracist, which can be defined as:
Superracist adj. - An unintentional, subtle racism that is far more offensive than even overt racism, which can be seen in "The War Prayer," because "The War Prayer" carries an offense all on its own.
"Grail" - The Na'Ka'Leen Feeder's tentacles looks identical to Londo's cock. Wouldn't that be a twist if, in the teaser the dude tied to the chair was just getting a giant mushroom stamp?
I love the continuity with Delenn and her devotional reverence toward "true seekers." I appreciate her warmth toward Alduous Gajic, as the same warmth is seen when King Arthur delivers Excalibur to her.
Maybe we're due for a story entailing a teamup between King Arthur and Thomas. Not Jinxo, who carries that goofy, clownish smile throughout each scene, but a serious, true-seeking Thomas.
"Eyes" - At one point, Ivanova calls out telepath Gray because he's scanning her. He is surprised at how swiftly and surely she recognizes his scan. What great continuity with Ivanova being able to detect when she's being scanned.
Anyone else picking up a gay vibe between Harriman Gray and Col. Ari Ben Zayn? 50 Shades of Gray, indeed.
The threat of Internal Affairs in finding a loyal command staff came a season too early. The timing of this episode invites no tension whatsoever, because the loyalty to Earth Alliance had never been questioned to this point. Imagine a telepath and a EarthForce colonel arrived after Sheridan had declared the "conspiracy of light" to the command staff.
Now you have an interesting story.
Imagine they had arrived in "Divided Loyalties" to provide a counterpoint to Lyta Alexander.
Now you have a very interesting story.
"A Voice in the Wilderness pt. 2" - The Hyperion could easily have showed itself in Earth's Civil War. With Captain Ellis Pierce's forceful, authoritative behavior there's little question as to which side he served.
The unanswered questions concerning Epsilon III are unending. Was there ever a greater arc in mind for the planet? Or was it always meant to be an underutilized world with awkward usage made unavailable during each major battle?
"Babylon Squared" - Tim Choate's acting in the scene where he initially meets Sinclair is fantastic. The expression on his face after he stands is astounding. He has an incredible tone in his voice when he hits the cold realization that Sinclair is, "Not the one."
