• The new B5TV.COM is here. We've replaced our 16 year old software with flashy new XenForo install. Registration is open again. Password resets will work again. More info here.

Stand Alone Episodes

G

Granite

Member
What are all the stand-alone episodes in the main B5 series?

By stand-alone I mean no involvement (or extremely little) in the overarching story lines (i.e. Shadow War, Earth Civil War, Interstellar Alliance).

I know S3E2 - "Convictions" is a great example of a stand-alone, but are there others?
 
Part of the problem with this is that even the stand-alones have some tie-in with the major arcs. Infection's a classic example, with all its foreshadowing. Grail's another, but Delenn's conversation with Sinclair about him being a seeker ties into previous conversations about Sinclair looking for answers or putting himself in the line of fire for no reason.

So I guess a better question might be, "which episodes are the most stand-alone?"
 
If you consider Convictions not to have connections to the overarching story, then there are a fair number of episodes that have a similarly low levels of connection. However, I would point out that Convictions does in fact have several connections to the bigger story.

1) We get a taste and feel for the reactions of populations back on people's home worlds to Kosh's appearance out of his encounter suit (though they don't know that that is what it was), and the attitudes toward B5 in relation to it.

2) The bomber's back-story fleshes out what conditions are back on Earth (and the rest of the EA outside the station), and in the process helps lay the ground work for Clarke getting away with imposing martial law later.

3) It is a major beat in the overall arc of the story of the Londo / G'Kar relationship (which could be thought of as a microcosm of much of the show).

4) It introduces Theo and his monks, whose presence keeps coming up periodically including in relation to the resistance to Clarke back on Earth and smuggling info out to B5.
 
What are all the stand-alone episodes in the main B5 series?... I know S3E2 - "Convictions" is a great example of a stand-alone, but are there others?
Click to expand...

Considering the previous comments, I don't think there's a list that won't spur debate. It's true that almost all episodes have at least a smidgen of arc story, significant character development, and/or character history. However, I'll give it my best shot (seasons 1 & 2 will probably be the most off):

Season 1
========
Soul Hunter
Infection
The Parliament of Dreams
The War Prayer
Deathwalker
Believers
Survivors
By Any Means Necessary
Grail
Legacies
The Quality of Mercy

Season 2
========
A Distant Star
The Long Dark
A Spider in the Web
Soul Mates
GROPOS
And Now For a Word
Knives
Confessions and Lamentations
Divided Loyalties

Season 3
========
Convictions
Passing Through Gethsemane
Exogensis
A Late Delivery From Avalon

Season 4
========
(none)

Season 5
========
A View From the Gallery (added later; thanks Almir)
Day of the Dead
The Corps is Mother, The Corps is Father


All of Season 4 is arc, either in terms of the Shadow War, the aftermath of the Shadow War, revelations about the past, Minbari civil war, Earth civil war, or a glimpse of the distant future. Season 5 comes close to being all arc also, thanks to the overlapping Telepath, Alliance, and Centauri storylines, as well as what I call the "goodbye" episodes.

My favorite stand-alone episodes are Deathwalker, Quality of Mercy, Knives, Confessions and Lamentations, and Passing Through Gethsemane. Unfortunately, several of the other stand-alones are the most dominant stinkers of the whole series.
 
I have smaller issues with some others but Spider in The Web, wasn't that the first Wham episode to the Black ops arc (Bureau 13?) that went awry because JMS decided he couldn't use that name? Also Quality of Mercy brought us the Alien Healing device that saved both Garibaldi's and Ivanova's lives.
 
I guess a lot of this depends on what exactly you mean by a "stand alone" episode.

Do you really mean an ep without connection to the larger arc?

Or ...

Do you mean an ep that can watched by someone who knows nothing of the larger arc and have them enjoy and understand (at least in their own minds, even if they are missing some wider implications) it?


The latter yields a much longer list than the former.
 
Also Quality of Mercy brought us the Alien Healing device that saved both Garibaldi's and Ivanova's lives.
Click to expand...

I look at that one this way... The Quality of Mercy was the story of Dr. Laura Rosen (I think that was her name) and the killer Carl Mueller. Their story ended with that episode. The alien healing device was introduced in that episode and used twice later on. However, it was just a device.

When they did use the device later, the stories were not about the device, they were about Garibaldi, Ivanova, and Marcus and the struggles they were facing at the time. The device became just another convenient tool, albeit a special & unique one with a bit of backstory. It's kind of like it was an inanimate recurring character but never had a starring role, just like Corwin was a human recurring character, but only once was the story ever close to being about him, and that was only for one small subplot.

IMHO, I would not consider the healing device a full-fledged arc element (almost, it's borderline, but not quite there).
 
I look at that one this way... The Quality of Mercy was the story of Dr. Laura Rosen (I think that was her name) and the killer Carl Mueller. Their story ended with that episode. The alien healing device was introduced in that episode and used twice later on. However, it was just a device.
Click to expand...

Aaahh, but TQoM introduces more than the device.

It also introduces some stuff about what telepaths can and can't do (both in terms of *can* and *are allowed*), the fact that there are consequences to the teep for doing some of them, and (probably most directly relating to the larger arc) the fact that reprogramming entire personalities *is* a doable thing.

The death of personality is most directly brought back in Gethsemane, which is tangental to the arc. However, the concept that a personality can be reprogrammed counter to the original personalities inclinations and wishes also comes up with respect to both Talia and Garibaldi. Both of those are more directly related to the arc.

In this respect TQoM is a bit like Infection. Infection introduces the idea that "organic tech" with a human stuck in the middle of it as a living component of the machine is an achievable technology. That turns out to be a major bit of foundation laying for later arc elements. TQoM introducing personality reprogramming as being achievable is similar foundation work for later.
 
I think the challenge of this debate is that everyone is going to have a different concept of what arc is, since arc material is what could disqualify an episode from stand-alone status.

To me, something like death-of-personality as a punishment is not arc. It's a piece of the Babylon 5 universe, and it can be used more than once, but it doesn't progress, it doesn't grow, it just *is*.

Same with organic tech, aspects of telepathy, and the alien healing device. They *serve* the stories, but they are not *the* story.

I keep trying to think how I would define "arc", but it's tough to do and very subjective. Think of Babylon 5 as a tapestry. Telepathy, death of personality, organic tech, the alien healing device, etc. are the way in which the threads are weaved to make the tapestry. They're the foundation; they define the bounds and the extent of what can come about in the Babylon 5 universe. They're the "stuff".

The Shadow War, the Narn/Centauri rivalries, the Earth & Minbari civil wars, the Sheridan/Delenn/Sinclair trinity, the fall of Londo, the ascension of G'Kar, the rough lives of Ivanova & Garibaldi, the latter fifth season "goodbye" episodes, and yes, even Byron and his ratty band of psycho-hippies :rolleyes: are the dye in the threads of the tapestry. They define the color and the pattern of the tapestry. They're the reason you want or don't want to buy the "stuff". The color and pattern are the arc.

More material, less color & pattern... That's a stand-alone episode. :confused:

Eh, sucky analogy. :LOL: My apologies. :( And I'll admit, the alien healing device is still borderline. For a cheap prop with huge potential to be a one-hit wonder, it does have pivotal importance in the lives/death of three main characters. :eek:
 
I guess the reason that the introduction of things such as organic tech and personality reprogramming count as "arc" in my mind is that they *must* be introduced for the arc story to work. If you don't do those introductions well ahead of the time when the elements are used in the big arc actions then the arc falls apart because the whole thing feels like a half-assed "cheat" by the writer.


To rephrase the two-way question that I asked before:

When you say "stand alone ep" do you mean:

1) An ep that can watched apart from the arc without confusion.

Or

2) An ep without which the arc suffers noticably.


I tend to think of it in terms of choice 2). Going according to choice 1) leads to a *much* longer list of episodes being called "stand alone".
 
You've included Byron's Telepaths in the Arc elements, but you've eliminated the PsiCorps elements. the struggle of The Teeps against the Mundanes and the struggles within the Teep comunity at large. In my mind the growth of the knowledge of the workings and politics of the PsiCorp (And the death of personality, etc) is a thread of the arc. Telepaths and all the struggles, politics, personalities is just as important a thread in the arc as anything else, and Byron's merry band is the culmination (at least in the B5 Series, proper) of that thread.
 
The problem with defining a "stand-alone" episode is that B5 does not have A story arc, it has a number of arcs that interweave and overlap to form the whole.

IMO it is almost impossible to nail down a single episode that does not contain some material directly related to one or more of the interweaving story arc.

I prefer to think of a stand-alone ep as one which can be watched and enjoyed on its own merits without reference to previous episodes. Many of those episodes do, however, contain hints at the wider story arcs, or just good, old-fashioned seed-sowing.

A good example might be The Long Dark (always want to add tea-time of the soul after that :D ), which can be watched and understood without reference to any earlier stuff ... but includes some solid hints that something bigger is happening beneath the surface.

[/waffle]

:cool:
 
I guess a lot of this depends on what exactly you mean by a "stand alone" episode.

Do you really mean an ep without connection to the larger arc?

Or ...

Do you mean an ep that can watched by someone who knows nothing of the larger arc and have them enjoy and understand (at least in their own minds, even if they are missing some wider implications) it?


The latter yields a much longer list than the former.
Click to expand...

I used the example of convictions because I've actually heard it called a stand-alone during the b5 run. A stand-alone has little if any connection to the series arcs, and can be watched freely with little confusion from newbies.

Let's see if I can come up with a few more... (remember my definition - note: elements may pop up which introduce character elements or universe elements)

Season 1:

Infection
Believers
By Any Means Necessary
TKO

Season 2:

GROPOS

Season 3:

Convictions
Passing through Gethsemane
Exogenesis

Season 4: All episodes require story-arcs

Season 5:

A View from the Gallery


---There may be others, but these episodes stand as example of the definition of stand-alone (
 
I was thinking that deathwalker does have an arc, but wasnt used, the talia situation with her alter ego and kosh knowing about it. Possibly anyway. Also on the day of the dead S5, there is a message from Kosh to return to the beginning of the end, which obviously is why sheridan went where he went on teh final episode. These are small but i thought i would mention they had an impact.
 
Don't forget "A View From The Gallery"
What a "pain in the ass" episode.
Click to expand...

Seriously? One of my favorite episodes of the season! Great to see what goes on the station from the point of view of maintenance guys like Bo and Mack. Great CGI battle too even though the enemy came out of nowhere and never returned.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 348 (members: 1, guests: 347)

Share this page

Back
Top