*****
Didn't say Talia WAS a psi-cop, Talia said she *interned with* the
PsiCops. Bear in mind that you're going to need support staff, lower
level liaisons, and a bunch of other positions as well as the actual cops.

jms
*****
Tritium: you actually believe *anything* in a PsiCorps propaganda
booklet? Only about 10% of what's recorded in that booklet is true, and
even that's distorted. The character in the booklet is totally fictional.

jms
*****
Christian: I quote Mark Twain: "The test of any good fiction is that
you should care something for the characters; the good to succeed, the
bad to fail. The trouble with most fiction is that you want them all to
land in hell, together, as quickly as possible."

jms
*****
(TLTS)

Well....I saw it.

Oh MAN.
OhManohmanohmanohman

Thanks Joe.

Great scene of Londo through the window as he realizes My God, what *have*
I done?
Andreas' burnt out G'kar in the council room with nothing left but his...
embarassment...dignity...his...i dunno...*presence* That powerful
*something*.
Well done.

Sheridan seems to have made some...MAJOR decisions in the last two
episodes. He is making wide ranging *personal* commitments of
both himself *and* the station that will put him in DIRECT
opposition to his superiors in EarthDome. He's somehow going to
keep the Psi Corps off the station. His commitment to the Hague
conspiracy seems to be about to be thrown into the spotlight. He
now has commitments to the Rangers. He also has commitments to the
Narn, and G'kar in particular. He now has commitments to Draal.

And he's not the only one. Delenn has splintered from her government,
virtually her whole *species*. Franklin has *always* been more
interested in ETs than humans. Ivanova is in hiding from the Psi
Corps as a latent telepath. And we *know* that Garibaldi has
more up his sleeve. G'kar is now separated from the rest of his
race under the Centauri heel. Even Londo seems to have broken with
Refa and the New Republic (without the Shadows, he is of no use to
Refa. Of course he may go back on his statement of 'no more', but
he is still, more than any of the others, alone) I wonder if Kosh
is necessarily representative of Vorlon policy as a whole....

If this were a CJ Cherryh novel, I would know what is going to happen.
I still think I do. Babylon 5 is losing support on Earth, as the
isolationists gain power. B5, and its commanding officer are
becoming more and more involved in deals and alliances that are
completely separate from, and in direct conflict with EarthDome.
The station now has the means to defend itself from outside attack,
with its updated defense grid, and God knows what on the planet below.
Something new is forming up around Epsilon 3, and it will soon have to
be independent of those that gave it birth.

(too bad, I kinda liked the EA uniforms....)

-m
*****
Film is shot on the stage, then transferred to video, which is then
digitized onto the Avid computer editing system, which holds every take of
every scene. A scene is shot many times from various angles: wide master
shot, three-shots (3 people), two-shots, singles, raking twos, close
ups, medium shots, extreme closeups and sometimes downshots (as well as
CGI and composite shots).

John Copeland and I then go in and work on the version of the episode
edited by the director to do the producer's cut. We sit down with the
editor, and go scene by scene. The usual construction is as follows: you
get a wide master shot so we know the geography, where we are, and where
everyone is in relation to that. Gradually you go closer, into threes or
twos, then singles or closeups for dramatic emphasis, coming out into the
master from time to time when someone has to move, or to break the sense
of claustrophobia.

When you get in close, you have over-the-shoulder shots, meaning
you're shooting past one character's shoulder to the other. Then you do
the same thing in reverse, so you see both sides of the conversation.
You do these one at a time, for lighting purposes; you light one side of
the room for the scenes looking left-right, then move the camera and the
lighting around for the scenes when you're on the right side looking
left (or, phrased differently, you light for Susan looking at Talia,
then Talia looking at Susan). The actors then do the scene again, with
the camera on the other side.

The actor has to be very careful to always repeat each movement
exactly; if he picks up a teacup on the word "quibble," he has to make
absolutely sure he picks up the cup on exactly that same word, every
time, in every take, in the same way, in the correct hand. If the
actor slips (and this sometimes happens), when you go to show the other
side of the scene, you suddenly find you have a matching problem; in
the shot over Talia's shoulder to Susan, the actor raised a hand; in
the shot over Susan's shoulder to Talia, the actor (generic term that
includes women) *didn't* raise a hand. So when you edit the two, you
have a matching problem. You can sometimes avoid this by just staying
on one side of the shot, but then you can't get the other character's
on-face reaction to what's being said. And in that scene in particular,
we *needed* to see both sides.

jms
*****
Babylon 5 is still needed for their own purposes, as an easy way to
keep an eye on things and get to the people they need to get to, so
there's no need for them to attack B5. They certainly wouldn't do so
just because Morden was busted...that's beneath their concern, as long
as he keeps his mouth shut. Which he did. Doesn't mean, though, that
in fairly short order they won't take steps to be as sure as they can be
that, in fact, the secret *is* still secure....

jms
*****
(TLTS)
I just finished watching The Long, Twilight Struggle and was absolutely blown
away by it. My god, the consequences of this episode is horrifying, to say
the least. Absolute, total, unlimited warfare!

I must say that Andreas Katsulas did a fantastic job. The character of
G'Kar has grown over the course of two seasons. The change that he has
had to go through has been enormous. And to portray that change in a
credible manner is a herculean task, IMHO. Katsulas does not disappoint
us. In fact, he exceeded my expectations. He should RECEIVE an Emmy for
this. If he is not even nominated, there is no justice.

G'Kar, in this one episode, plays many roles. He is a proud ambassador.
He is a concerned nephew. He is the warning voice that is ignored. He
is a fervent prayer. He is a spirit crushed. He is an outcast. He is
the last hope for the Narns. How can he stand it? Because he must.

A couple of questions. Is G'Kar somehow telepathic? He seemed to be
following the battle somehow as he prayed. When the Narn's last ship
is destroyed, he snuffs out the candle. Or was it his uncle's death
that he sensed? Or is it just artistic license?

Two. When will Sheridan and Delenn welcome G'Kar into their folds? He
has an amazing amount of knowledge regarding the Shadows compared to the
average Joe. He has fought them and survived. He has repeatedly warned
about them. He is the prophet that is ignored. Yet, Sheridan and Delenn
and Kosh know the truth. When will they let him know the truth?

no sig yet,
Albert Nakano
*****
: I must say that Andreas Katsulas did a fantastic job. The character of
: G'Kar has grown over the course of two seasons. The change that he has
: had to go through has been enormous. And to portray that change in a
: credible manner is a herculean task, IMHO. Katsulas does not disappoint
: us. In fact, he exceeded my expectations. He should RECEIVE an Emmy for
: this. If he is not even nominated, there is no justice.

: G'Kar, in this one episode, plays many roles. He is a proud ambassador.
: He is a concerned nephew. He is the warning voice that is ignored. He
: is a fervent prayer. He is a spirit crushed. He is an outcast. He is
: the last hope for the Narns. How can he stand it? Because he must.

I wholeheartedly concurr. And he does all that under a ton of make-up and
rubber and coloured contact lenses. His speech, right prior to leaving
the council, still sends shivers down my spine. And during the moment
that follows, when Sheridan offers his support, you want to be there, to
be shaking G'Kar's hand too (never mind that a couple of years ago,
following "The Gathering" and "Midnight in the Firing Line", I was just
ready to throttle him...). And then, following that very special moment,
you can see the entirety of his make-up lighting up with the emotion
which Mr. Katsulas projects. One's entire heart outpours in a standing
ovation for the man.

: A couple of questions. Is G'Kar somehow telepathic? He seemed to be
: following the battle somehow as he prayed. When the Narn's last ship
: is destroyed, he snuffs out the candle. Or was it his uncle's death
: that he sensed? Or is it just artistic license?

I though the whole scene was largely symbollic. But also, the Narns are
one of the races which have no telepathic powers in its genetic makeup.
This is not to say that intuition can not be present to a large degree.
And who knows what the deep concentration of a religious-mystical trance
may do to heighten up the latter in G'Kar's case. Whoever it is he was
praying too, I agree that when he snuffed out the candle, his entire face
was drawn into a fatalistic drawl...as if he had got his answer.

: Two. When will Sheridan and Delenn welcome G'Kar into their folds? He
: has an amazing amount of knowledge regarding the Shadows compared to the
: average Joe. He has fought them and survived. He has repeatedly warned
: about them. He is the prophet that is ignored. Yet, Sheridan and Delenn
: and Kosh know the truth. When will they let him know the truth?

I absolutely concurr. When Kosh first told Sinclair that *they* were a
dying race and hence should be allowed to pass (*my* assumption here
being that he was referring to *both* the Narn and the Centauri), it
seemed ruthless, but we didn't know enough yet to care. But now it feels
like it was said centuries ago, and as though it no longer applies in the
same way.

The Narns have endured, and still endure, and still continue to survive.
As a race, they won't give up, and they will hold their own through mere
perseverance if nothing else (G'Kar: "We are Narns...we will survive." In
the end, I think it is significant that they hold on to hope with every
shred of their conscious will, for hope is the precursor of imagination
and of dreams).

Mere survival is perhaps not enough to convince the Vorlons. A race must
also be capable of growth. Humans, for instance, will rebuild the stuff
of their dreams over and over until it states, and then they will dream
further. When they encounter difference, once they get over their fears,
they will incorporate those differences into their lives, and they will
build larger communities. For some reason, they are the best hope of a
future for the souls of Minbar.

I don't see much evidence of growth in the Centauri. Their perception is
too firmly rooted in the material world, and petty appearances seem to them
more important than reality itself. If Londo is to be taken as a
microcosm and an index for his entire race, then things are sad so far.
Following a period of conquest and domination was a passive state of
gaming (also significant, a game of chance rather than achievement),
drunken stupor and hedonistic concerns, with no growth within or without.
There are some exceptions to this, such as -most notably- Vir and the
deceased emperor Turhan, Timov, and the like. Overall, dominance and
conquest are followed by decadence rather than growth or evolution, and
now into devolution. I think it is significant that Londo should have
found a raison d'etre to trade the dissillusioned passivity that his life
had become for once again an active stance, in the devolution of his race
to a more primitive (IAW my personal beliefs) and predatory state of
conquest and domination. The initial catalyst for this force, of course,
were Londo's dreams of idealized glory, dreams rather out of touch with
the reality that he increasingly faces now, and into which he can only
stare by hardening his soul in fear.

But look at the Narns. Look at G'Kar, their index, and the distance he
has gone in a mere two years (or even in a mere year; remember, at the
height of Narn power immediately prior to the first Shadow strike into
Narn space, he refused to take Sinclair's advice to take a different
course at the crossroads, but not without regrets -and for a moment he
seemed very much tempted to do so). For whatever reasons prior to that, he
saved Catherine Sakai's life. If we trust his words, it brought him or
the Narns no benefit to do so.

When Morden asked him what he wanted, there was no future in his wishes
ahead of the destruction of the Centauri (provided his home planet
remained in safety). But latter he was able to react to the Centauri
emperor's gesture by extending his own hand to Londo (unaware then that
Londo's hand was already only poised out to take). Then he was able to
overcome his personal wrath because *he had to*. He is a Narn who has
suffered and who, like Lear, has learned and grown as a result. He has
also grown wise. His final speech to the council even seems surprisingly
gentle towards the Centauri ("...the Centauri learned this lesson once;
we will teach it to them again."). It is significant because this speech
seems void of G'Kar's usual rhetoric and posturing. At this particular
point in his life, what comes out is what is in, unadorned and unmediated.
Sure, he will be back to plotting latter, and there is a great deal of
hate (mostly regret for the dead), but that is to be expected since there
is a planet to win back, and it is hardly surprising that this should be
his top priority.

The question is, what would he do if he won back his homeworld? Since he
seems highly capable of growth, would he have learned enough to draw on
all the experiences behind him and overcome and leave behind the hate
which would lock him back in a vicious circle which negates evolution? In
this case, Kosh's earlier statement would seem to be right, and perhaps
there is no hope for the Narns.

Or perhaps there is. I would hope so. I really have grown to like G'Kar.
I would really like to see a scene in which Sinclair himself expresses
his support. But I think it all depends on what G'Kar's final smile in
"TLTS" really meant. If he close his fist because he thought he had
somehow gained an added and very valuable resource with which to fight
his war, then that's that. But if on the other hand his closed fist is
taken as a sign of appreciation and respect (as approaching the Narn
gesture of both fists to the chest), and opposite to Londo's hand
stretched out to grasp, then perhaps we should hope for G'Kar, and
perhaps Londo will after all miss his appointment with his own dream of
death (or deathwish), twenty years down the road...
*****
The number of scenes varies depending on the amount of action
required. On balance, the average TV script has about 60-75 scenes or
shots in it. From time to time, in B5, we've gone as high as 130 shots
in episodes like "Twilight" or "Fall." I think we just blew out our
record here with "Severed Dreams," which has close to 140.

Number of scenes shot on any day depends on how long the scene; you
can do 4 really long shots or 8 fairly short scenes. The amount of
rehearsal varies depending on the scene, how many extras or what kind of
action/stunts are required. The more action, the more you rehearse, to
ensure nobody gets hurt.

jms
*****
For starters, I have problem with the auteur term. What most folks
forget is that this term originated with the Cahiers du Cinema (I think I
may have hideously misspelled that) which actually began a series of
screenings/presentations on each aspect of film-making, the writer, the
director, the cinematographer...started with the director...and basically
got so caught up in that aspect that they dropped the rest.

So let's stick with "author" for the moment. To that question, yes,
I do consider myself the author of the B5 story, the creator of itsz
characters and universe. Insofar as we enter other areas, my position is
that of navigator...I point to a spot on the horizon, and say "That's
where we're all going." Each department/artistic aspect of the show,
from props, to costumes, to the director, works to most accurately create
what I see in my head. The most common question is, "Is this what you had
in mind when you wrote it?"

I keep an eye on every aspect of the show, to make sure it's what I
see in my head. If something isn't right, it's redone until it *is*
right. Nonetheless, I try to provide as much latitude as possible to my
people, to let them be as creative as they have the potential to be.

Sometimes there's some irony in the situation; in "And the Sky Full
of Stars," for instance, Janet is noted for the notion of having Sinclair
standing facing these lights that go out, one by one, except for the one
that spotlights him, when he's confronted by Knight Two, people say, "Oh
what a great directorial idea," but that's spelled out to the smallest
detail in the script. Ditto for the intercutting of scenes in the fall
of the emperor in "Coming." That's often attributed to the director, but
it was specifically scripted that way, right down to the use of slow-mo
for some shots, the way in which he falls, all of it.

This is because of that nutty auteur theory that many directors have
wrapped around themselves like a flag. With the obvious exception of
writer/directors, I've never seen any director do much with the auteur
theory and 100 blank pages.

jms
*****
Have not read Rice's "The Adding Machine" or seen it, but from the
apparent time period, it's likely of the school of playwriting that has
most influenced my work in general, mainly in terms of style.

I somewhat tend to moderate my writing style between the fairly
straightforward and simple to slightly more theatrical in nature, more of
the Serling/Chayefsky/Corwin mode. I like playing with language, and
English is a terrific language to play with. There was a time in this
country when literate syntactical construction was something honored; now
everything tends to be more toward the y'know, I was, you know, hanging
around the corner store, y'know, and Bob comes up to me, and he says....

If you look at the original Twilight Zone, some episodes of the
original Star Trek, the Outer Limits...you see a kind of reflective
writing that delights in slamming nouns and verbs together to see what
kind of explosion you get when the syntax hits critical mass.

It saddens me a bit now that anybody who sounds too literate is
often put down as showy or being theatrical. Listen to the speeches of
Kennedy and Churchill and FDR, look to the great orators of our long
history of a nation, from Lincoln to Jefferson. Their use of language,
of an idea well formed and delivered, propelled this nation toward its
current destiny, forged one country out of dozens of squabbling states.
I listen now to politicians, hoping and waiting for the one who
understands that the words have to dig into our souls and take root,
must have power and the purity of language well-used. And I just don't
hear it anymore...which is perhaps why we have consensus takers and not
leaders these days.

It saddens me that literacy has become suspect, and degraded, given
how many millions of years of evolution spent developing the ability to
create language. The quality of our thoughts is bordered on all sides by
our facility with language. The less precise the useage, the less clear
the process of language, the less you can achieve what you want to
achieve when you open you mouth to say something. We have slowly
bastardized and degraded and weakened the language, abetted and abided
by a growing cultural disdain for literacy, a cyclical trend toward
anti-intellectualism.

So I write my characters as sharp, and as witty, and as intelligent,
and as literate as I wish I would be under those sorts of circumstances,
which of course I never am. Maybe to remind people of the power of
language...mainly because I just love the sound of words carefully
stitched together. My dramatic conceit is that in 2259, we have had a
moderate rebirth of formality, and the kind of literacy you would often
see in letters from the turn of the century, and the 1930s. Because it
allows me to write it the way I want.

jms
*****
What's been happening the last few days? Well, we're now shooting
episode #9, "Point of No Return," and today was Majel Barrett's second
day of shooting on the show; she has two more days to shoot. So far the
episode looks very good. We're finishing the last EFX shots on "Voices
of Authority," episode #4, which will air after episode #5, "Passing
Through Gethsemane" because the latter requires almost zip EFX, and is a
better cap to the Novemer sweeps.

I just finished writing episode #12, "A Late Delivery From Avalon,"
and we're in pre-production on #10, "Severed Dreams." I'm currently
breaking out the story for #13 (not titled yet), which I'll probably start
writing this weekend. We should get the director's cut on "Messages From
Earth" (#8) sometime middle of next week.

jms
*****
He is only one of the finest writers this country has ever produced.
Go to your local library and look up his work. Take it home and read it
(or listen to it). In addition to being one of our preeminent essayists,
and a primary influence on such notables as Edward R. Murrow, Charles
Kuralt, Walter Cronkite, Stan Freberg, Rod Serling, and is possibly *the*
primary reason Ray Bradbury decided to become a writer in the first place,
he was this nation's finest and most regarded radio drama writer of his
time, moreso than Arch Oboler or Orson Welles. He write the radio drama
"On A Note of Triumph" aired on *all three* radio networks on VE day,
wrote cantatas for the UN, was a contemporary and friend of Carl
Sandburg, wrote the feature film "Lust For Life" about Van Gogh...look
into any copy of "Who's Who." The listing goes on forever.

Unfortunately, at the height of his career, he was one of many who
ended up grey-listed, because one little creep who owned a chain of
supermarkets published a rag called Red Channels, which one day listed
Norman's name because some of what he'd written struck this jerk as being
maybe sympathetic to the Reds (never mind that this was stuff he had been
commissioned by the government to write during WW 2 to demonstrate
solidarity during the war). Despite this, his niche remains secure, and
he is what's known in the biz as a *writer's writer*. He has been a
friend and a mentor for over 15 years, and I've learned much from him
about what it is to be a writer, and a human being.

I'm serious. Go to your local library and look up his work. Or to
your local bookstore and track down a copy of his latest book, a collection
of his letters (cunningly entitled Norman Corwin's Letters), published in
hardcover by Barricade Books, containing his correspondence to friends,
family, and such notable long-term friends as Ray Bradbury, William
Shatner, Rod Serling, Robert Altman, Ken Burns, Philip Dunne, Charles
Kuralt, Walter Cronkite, Burgess Meredith, Philip Roth, Gregory Peck,
Eric Sevareid, Bill Moyers, Erik Barnouw, Groucho Marx, Carl Sandburg,
Leonard Bernstein, Bette Davis, Edward R. Murrow...well, you get the
idea.

jms
*****
(CTI)
9. Delenn and Sebastian, in Gray 19. I was particularly struck by the use of
lighting in this scene. Circular patches of light on the shadowy floor, echo
ed by a round door which closes on its own. Creepy.
Did Sebastian imitate the lighting in the Grey Council chamber on
purpose, in order to push Delenn's buttons? Is the echo rather a pointer to
the fact that the one (Valen?) who instituted the GC meetings and the one who
called for the inquisition are both Vorlons? I just don't believe that this
setting was accidental (and I'd love to see jms' stage directions on his
script).

Sebastian says, 'The manacles are made for you.' How are they made for her?
I assume that there's a transmitter in the cane which activates some kind of
mechanism in the bracelets. Does all of this seem very Technomage to anyone
else? Remember the Technomages were headed for the Rim, and the Shadows and
Vorlons are supposed to be associated with that area as well.
He continues, 'You can remove them at any time but if you do so, you
admit failure and defeat and will stand before the Vorlon <singular> as
inadequate for the task ahead. (The Vorlon as in Kosh? The Vorlon,
collectively, as the race of Vorlons? ...For newbies, we -know- there's more
than one Vorlon and that Kosh is a Vorlon: JMS has said so.)

'...Unacceptable!. What a sad thing you are. Unable to answer such a
simple question without falling back on references, and genealogies and what
other people call you. Have you nothing of your own? Nothing to stand on
that is not provided, defined, delineated, stamped, sanctioned, numbered and
approved by others. How can you be expected to fight for someone else when
you haven't the fairest idea -who- -you- -are-?'
And here is the central point of the issue, IMHO. We've watched as
Delenn has fallen from her former (pre-Chrysalis) confidence to the woman who
cried on camera for ISN and let a little Minbari weasel chew her out (TAtHL).
She has become dependent on the references of others, 'what other people call
you', for her opinion of her self-worth. As I said in the earlier sections of
this Analysis, Kosh knows perfectly well that Delenn is the right one for the
task ahead. But he's seeing this knowledge slip away from -her-. And he
can't let this crisis of confidence happen at a critical moment in the
struggle ahead. She must be convinced, now, in her own mind, that she's doing
the right thing for the right reason, before the true trial happens. Hence
the need of torture: this was a dress-rehearsal for a future happening, IMHO.
It would not amaze me if, singly or together, Delenn and Sheridan face such a
trial of confidence in the future, at a moment when they're actually dealing
with the Shadows, perhaps. When that happens, they will be able to draw on
the self-knowledge gained form this experience to help them in that one.
Yes, Kosh is being shockingly ruthless here, but perhaps from his point
of view, he needs to be ruthless. He's not telling them the truth about the
reason for the inquisition. But how can he say that he really does have
every confidence in them? The point is to develop their own confidence.

BTW, I think the next words from Sebastian are very revealing. They
indicate to me that Sebastian doesn't really realize why the test is being
done, and they say volumes more about his own thinking than they do about
Delenn:
'Do you know how many have stood before me as you do now? Proud,
defiant, full of their own bloated self-importance, confident that they are
chosen, special, favored of God? All of them have broken. And better that
they did, better to spare others the illusion of false hope. You have the
audacity to presume that you are on a mission from God, embarked upon a holy
cause. I don't believe it...'
Sebastian's description bears no resemblance to the Delenn we've come to
know at all. That's why I believe the Vorlons never clued Sebastian in on the
true nature of the test, in this case. So he's taking a kind of a flyer,
here, and naturally assumes the workings of her mind are the same as the
workings of his own. Much of the following dialogue in later scenes reflects
this: all the allusions to pride, banners, etc.
'If you believe you are the chosen, then you must risk everything on the
premise that the universe will not let you die.' Contrast this with Delenn's
later answer, 'If I fall, another will take my place. And another and
another.'

10. Vir and G'Kar in the elevator. I could say WOW and damn with faint
praise, but I won't. You all have seen it. What praise is high enough for
the premise or the execution? None I know how to write here.
I -do- have a few comments and questions, however. Would G'Kar have said
anything on his own, if Vir hadn't spoken? Would he have cut his hand?
G'Kar's impassive face is stronger than any words. Did anyone hear a faint
sound in the background (the elevator machinery?) which sounded like a faint
heart beat? It was almost like hearing Vir's heart beating desperately with
terror. Vir doesn't know where to look and actually inches away from G'Kar
(fortunately, for him, that elevator must be -huge-). And at this point, Vir
passes his own test: He musters enough courage to turn and say,
'I'm sorry. I wish there was something that I could do, but... I tried
telling them but they wouldn't listen. They... they never listen. I'm
sorry.'
<G'Kar cuts his hand. With his ritual knife, from CoS?> He says,
'Dead... dead...' <eleven times, I believe> 'How do you apologize to them?'
'I can't.'
'Then I cannot forgive.'

(one last comment: Why did Vir three times say 'they'? '...I tried telling
them but they wouldn't listen. They...they never listen.' Who is they?
Hasn't he only attempted repeatedly to warn Londo? Or is this deliberate
vagueness, in a poor attempt to protect Londo? Very strange.)

The scene ends with G'Kar closing his fist on the wound and getting off
the elevator, leaving Vir huddled against its wall, looking like he's going to
cry. And then a curious thing happens: we get the voice-over leading into
the next scene...
11. 'You don't like it, here, do you? <with Vir still on the screen!> Very
clever: Vir doesn't like it here (i.e. on the station) either...
But back to Delenn and Sebastian.
Notice again how it's Sebastian who speaks of '...dreaming dreams of
glory...' and 'At a word from you, all the hosts of heaven would descend and
carry you off... because you have a destiny.' Once again, IMHO, addressing
his own demons more than he is hers.
Her response is very interesting. 'We all have a destiny. ...sometimes
we do not see it, because we have been taught to believe that we are not
important.' As Delenn herself has recently been 'taught' by the reactions of
other Minbari and that of people like the ISN reporter? It's at this point
that I see Delenn starting to get it, when it comes to the test.

'Perhaps the world is right and Delenn is wrong. Have you ever considered
that? Have you?'
'Yes. Sometimes.'
I suspect she's considered little else, for the last few months, actually.
Look at Sebastian's reaction to her answer. His eyes and his sigh. I think
the answer was unexpected, and perhaps even unwanted. He doesn't want to
think that there is someone who sees themselves as chosen who isn't tragically
mistaken yet clinging to the illusion, because of pride. Now, for the first
time in 400 years, he may have met such a person. That ten minute break is
for him not her.

12. Where does G'Kar meet with his people? Why does the scene begin with
G'Kar at an angle (tilted to the right)? Why do we have lights and fans,
again? Beats me.
Near the end of the scene, G'Kar says, 'We cannot afford the luxury of
conflict.' Yet he was one of the proponents of the conflict between the Narn
and Centauri. Suppose, instead of planning the assassination of the Centauri
emperor, he'd chosen to meet him at the airlock with the captain and all?
But, in any case, his words are also prophetic for the future: there's still
the conflicts of the various factions on Earth (and Mars), the conflict within
the Minbari Grey Council, etc. No one on the side of light can afford any of
these conflicts.

13. Delenn and Sebastian, contnued.
'...You're being a fool.'
'Then I am a fool. It's better to be what -I- am than what -you- are.'
'And what ...am I? Please, tell me.'
<This isn't in the usual inquisitor handbook
I suspect but after Delenn's last, surprising
answer, Sebastian probably couldn't resist..>
'You are a creature who has received pain and given pain, and taken too
much joy in its application. You have aspired to dreams and been disappointed
because you are not strong enough, or worthy enough, or right (?) enough, so
you lash out at anyone who believes they can make a difference, because it
reminds you of your own failure. You have to prove they're just as bad, just
as flawed as you are. Am I close, Mr. Sebastian?'
'Bang. Bang. Bang. ...'
And Sebastian's only reaction is to inflict more pain. Because, of
course, Delenn's words are deadly accurate, and consequently were probably
painful themselves. This is a remarkable scene! Delenn has gotten inside
Sebastian's head through all the pain and terror, just from the way he's been
questioning her. She describes the essence of a serial killer, without ever
knowing that he is one, including divining that he himself had received pain.
Notice how she says, '...a creature who has received pain and given pain...'
in that order. Many theories see serial killers as evolving in exactly this
way.

'...I can feel your heart, Delenn. I can hold it here in my hand. I can
close my fist around it. I can stop it. Another inch and I will.'
'I can hold it here in my hand' ...And has been known to do so. <shudder>

Well, on that grim note, I'm stopping for now. See anyone who's interested in
part four. BTW, as always, if you're lacking a part of this Analysis (and
could care less) feel free to e-mail me.
Sherry

GOOD SF IS NOT A MALFUNCTION.
NUMBER 'FIVE' IS ALIVE!
*****
Will: thanks, and you're quite right; it does say something about the
Vorlons that they'd use Jack for this purpose. Now we just have to further
define what that is.

BTW, just to append it here, not strictly appropos of your message...
I've noted a number of people say, in essence, "Boy, was I disappointed
that he said Jack at the end, what does he think we are, morons?" And I've
seen plenty of comments from people who didn't know it was Jack until that
very last moment, for whom it was a revelation.

It's pretty clear, to lots of folks, that the test was in some ways
(most, actually) more for Delenn's benefit than Kosh's...lots of folks got
this...and then others have said, "Well, if that's what he meant, why
didn't he just have one of them come out and SAY this, say what was learned
or that this was for THEIR benefit?"

So frankly, whether one comes out and says something, or does not come
out and say something, someone on one side or the other is going to give
you a hard time about it.

jms
*****
Actually, it was pointed out to me recently that as far as can be
determined (and if there's any solid info to the contrary, I'll gladly
take it) that no one has ever single-handedly written a full season of
a dramatic, one-hour series. Even David Kelley often uses co-writers on
many of his episodes of ER and Picket Fences. I have not yet set this out
as a personal challenge, because I think you have to be open to what may
come your way from other places. But it's something I'm keeping a vaguely
interested eye on....

jms
*****
Without going on overlong, as some of this has already been covered,
it wasn't terrific as a kid. We moved every 6 months to a year, blowing
from town to town (economic reasons), always the new kid, hence very few
friends at any time. None that lasted more than that 6-12 months. No
one town that constituted a home town. So I read a lot...novels, comics,
you name it.

Wasn't a nerd in high school; I just passed through their ranks
unnoticed, like some kind of translucent Eisenglass figurine at the back
of the room. I went back to the 20th reunion...to find that only one
person sorta kinda remembered me. No one else.

As for writing...I always knew that I'd be a writer, for as long as
I can remember. Even as a kid I collected pens, had an interest in all
things writing. The second that I was old enough to take typing classes,
I did. Ended up taking 4 semesters of it, until by the time I left I was
the fastest typist they'd ever produced, 'cause I knew full well I'd need
that skill when I got going. In my senior year, having studied the style
and structure of most of my favorite writers (I can do a lethal imitation
of just about any writer's style), I decided, at 17, that I'd prepared
enough...time to start Writing, and selling. And I did, right then.

And I've never looked back.

jms
*****
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 187 Thu Oct 12, 1995
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 23:31 EDT

Mike: my first, truest and only possible reaction to your note was to
instantly look around and wonder who the heck you were talking about.

"...you're starting to become an SF superstar, perhaps the biggest since
Gene Roddenberry."

I wish I could take this as having anything whatsoever to do with me, as
far as B5 goes, but I can't. I don't see myself or my position any different
now than 5 or 10 years ago. I look in the mirror and half the time I see a
doofus. The other half of the time I see someone trying desperately not to
*be* a doofus.

The other day, I was interviwed by a reporter with a major newspaper
syndicate, and kind of the same question was asked. What I told her, and I'll
say here, is...I just can't apply it to me. When I go up on stage at a
convention, and there's this mass of applause...the terrible thing is, I don't
hear it. I'm worrying about what the first thing I should say ought to be,
will it be entertaining, why on earth do these people want to see *me* fer
chrissakes...one feels like a fraud. Because the story kinda lives outside me
somehow...it's like the sculpter who look at a block of stone and knows
there's a sculpture of a horse in there somewhere, that it was *always* there,
he just has to get a hammer and chisel and *find* it.

There's a difference between the talent, the story, and the vessel;
sometimes the vessel thinks it *is* the talent, that it *is* the story, and
that way, I think, lies madness and an ego of monstrous proportion. I can't
think in those terms. I wouldn't mind, I'd probably enjoy it, I just *can't*.
When I hear applause -- and on one level, like I said, I really can't -- it's
not for me, it's for the story, for the show, for the performances, for
Christopher's terrific music. I'm sitting here on a writing break, in a torn
up pair of jeans, a superman t-shirt, with a barely adequate cafe mocha in a
Daffy Duck mug in front of me; how seriously can I take this person?

The guys at the local comic store know who I am -- I come in every
Wednesnday night for my weekly fix -- and it ain't no big thing. I'm just one
more customer. The only perk is that they set aside the comics about to sell
out so I don't miss one. But when I walk in the door, those who might
recognize me don't seem to pay much notice, and the majority just *don't*
recognize me, because my face isn't plastered all over the place. Which is as
it should be; the actors deserve that honor. (This is something else the
reporter bugged me about, "The ST creators have their faces all over the
place, where in the press kit are your photos, why aren't *you* out there
visibley?" To which the only answer is, "That ain't why I'm here." As
Meatloaf said, "I ain't in it for the power, and I ain't in it for the wealth,
I ain't in it for the glory of anything at all, and I sure ain't in it for my
health. But I'm in it till it's over.")

So there's no need for any awkwardness or hesitancy, Mike. I'm a fan,
same as you and most of the other folks around here. Ain't nothing around
here to be intimidated by; it's just me.

jms
*****
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 233 Sat Oct 14, 1995
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:15 EDT

Okay, here's What Joe Believes: I don't believe in deities, heavens,
hells, spirit guides, leprechauns, or any continuance of the individual after
death. Consciousness is an abstract, but it is finite. When the game is
finally called on account of darkness, you don't get to come back tomorrow and
finish the game. The work we must do, must be done today, now, or not at all.

What I believe in is the power of the human being singular to rise above
every challenge, obstacle, tyrant and misfortune. We are where we are because
in the evolutionary crap shoot, we were smarter, and faster, and *thought*
ourselves out of the mud (with a little help from the opposable thumb, natch).
The brass ring of consciousness has made us not only aware of our environment,
and how to control it, but has made us, when we are at our best, self-
reflective, aware of the struggle of those around us, made us conscious of the
fact that we work at our best when we work together, when individuals can
reach for the stars and pull the rest of us along with them...for company, for
pleasure, and to help the next guy leapfrog to the next star. Given nurturing
and direction and purpose, it makes us compassionate.

Stunted, hindered, corrupted by circumstance or hopelessness, it makes us
into monsters.

I believe that we can touch greatness *now*, and that if we remove the
notion of second chances, lifes after this one, no backsies, there is the
added impetus to *achieve* it now. (Witness those who think there's no point
in saving the redwoods because Christ is going to come back soon and the point
will be moot. Remember James Watt's statement on that one?) This, I
believe, is *it*. And so we must do all we can. For those who are raised
well, directed well, that means doing all they can to the good; for those who
fall between the cracks, that may mean something quite different.

But that's the way it is now anyway, really. Religion can be used as
justification to murder, or not to murder, depending on how you approach it.
Religion has been used to rationalize, and attack, slavery.

For my money, religion and science came out of the same impulse, the
desire to understand who we are, and where we came from, and where we're
going, and what we're supposed to do when we get there. Before we had the
tools to grasp the mechanics of sunlight and solstice, we cobbled up pantheons
and spirits and deities who watched over the functioning of the universe like
benign watchmakers. With time and codification, religions began, warred,
absorbed, schism'd and sunk their hooks deep into the world around us. Those
hooks are too deep and tied to too much of our language, our culture, ever to
be removed; they are part and parcel of our human heritage, I accept that and
welcome that element.

But from this side of the modem...it's still just myth. Myth with
billion dollar empires on the one hand, and myth that lives in little steepled
whiteframe churches in the Appalachias, but myth nonetheless.

It can be myth that elevates, myth that ennobles, myth that destroys,
myth that causes war and myth that heals after war...but myth it remains. Just
like the myth of language, of art, of politics and polemics and philosophy.
They are all the constructs we have made, the lenses we have cobbled together
through which we can see the world around us.

That is what I think, that is what I believe. Your mileage may vary. I
have no desire to propagandize my personal beliefs; if you do that, they're
not personal anymore, and my job is to entertain, and to ask questions, not
to persuade anyone to my own perspective. In the pursuit of this story, I
will use myth and math interchangeably, whichever tool best serves the task
most effectively.

If anything, I believe closest to what Delenn said, my one moment of
slippage, of letting my own attitudes creep in, that we are better than we
think, and nobler than we know; that we have the seeds of greatness within us,
and our greatest flaw is that we do not always know this as well as we should.

jms
*****
Category 18, Topic 1
Message 258 Sun Oct 15, 1995
STRACZYNSKI [Joe] at 19:34 EDT

Kwicker: then in the two options you present, assume the latter, that I'm
"an exceedingly better writer than I had even expected," since the other
doesn't parse for me. I don't believe. Not even cellularly, or
subconsciously. If one can write Narns well, that doesn't mean one believes
they exist; why should this change for writing about beliefs?

Tom: not a "recovering Catholic," but an ex-catholic who was never really
much of a practitioner at all...one of these twice-a-year church family types.
I had no choice going in, being born into that, and as soon as I hit
confirmation and was told it was the sacrament of free choice, I was out of
the room so fast I doppler'd.

Not sure there was any one particular thing that led me to where I am,
just sort of the preponderance of things. I've read a lot of varying
scriptures -- the Bible cover-to-cover twice, the Gita, a number of Egyptian
and Judaic religious texts, less of the Koran than I'd like (some tough
slogging in there), I'm quite charmed by much of what I've read in Zen
Buddhism, I've looked into Native American, South American and African myths
and religious beliefs...and to be honest, in all of this, I've never yet "met"
a Deity that was really much nobler or better than the average person.
They're all prone to eccentricities, fits of anger, flaws, jealousies,
illogic, pettiness, violence, inconsistency and a thousand other traits we'd
be ashamed to see in ourselves. And I've never seen much of anything outside
to convince me that there's order in the universe...so here I am.

Do not, btw, take this as an invitation to debate, convert, or try to
convince. I've come to this by long and difficult roads, there's nothing you
can say to me that hasn't been said before, by others, and if I respect the
beliefs of othres enough not to try and change them, I'd ask that this same
respect be returned.

jms
*****
Normally the purple coat is associated with a more benign Londo from
earlier; the dark coat marks a later time.

Who's my alter-ego on the show? All of them, to one extent or
another. They're pieces I've kind of sliced off and deposited into one
part of the story or another. The theory is that, once sliced away, they
are the free to go off and grow into something larger on their own, and
hopefully become something greater than the source.

jms
*****

Well, it was such a big hit last year, I just had to do it again!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everything I ever needed to know I learned
from watching the second season of Babylon 5.

Put the emphasis on Pleasure.
Love knows no borders.
There's enough guilt in the world to go around without grabbing for more.
Laughter is better than pills for what ails you.
Express your feelings.
Confess your love, now, while you still have a chance.
Do it Human Style whenever possible.
It is good to have friends, if even for a little while.
Similarity is not required to express compassion.
Enjoy your first hangover, while you still remember it.
We shall be remembered in spite of ourselves.
You are destined to spent the rest of your life paying for your mistakes.
Sometimes the adventure comes to you.
Wherever we are, we are in the right place at the right time.
It takes more than 100 years to evolve a better human.
The future; Some assembly required.
Those that do not listen to history will repeat it.
Don't make promises life won't let you keep.
There's nothing wrong with getting a good head start.
Say a prayer for the dying; say half a prayer for the agnostics.
Life is life, whether it's wrapped in skin, scales, or feathers.
Never fear answers; Fear running out of questions.
There is beauty in the dark.
Look up and wave (like this!) the day they chop off the devil's head and stick
it on a pike.
Faith manages.
Wait just little while and the wheel turns.
Learn the more colorful aspects of culture.
Some things come with too high a price; Always ask for the price.
Follow your dreams; but don't chase the nightmares.
The impossible is possible.
Beauty and the Beast are in the eye of the beholder.
Women; one day they're shooting at you and the next they're taking you
out to dinner.
Look to the past and give your ancestors lives meaning; Look to the future and
create the world your decendants will live in.
Triumph in the face of adversity; You have no other choice.
The universe doesn't give you any points for doing things easy.
We learn by doing, and in the process fall on our faces occasionally.
Do not try the patience of wizards; They are subtle and quick to anger.
Don't give Mr. Wizard a chance; He is incompetent and quick to reprogram
your doors.
Money and Power don't always matter.
The first casualty of war is always the truth.
Governments deal with matters of convience, not conviction; It's up to us
to handle the rest.
Never leave a man behind.
It's good to be the Captain.
There is no greater power in the universe than the need for freedom.
Sometimes "peace" is another word for surrender.
Secrets have a way of getting out.
Compliment your enemies; It gives them headaches.
You cannot serve larger ideals by compromising smaller ones.
Always leave a little room for people to disappoint you.
Save a cake for your friends.
Sincere apologies work.
If you can't put a bag over his head, then just pull the wool over his eyes.
Calling it a "food plan" doesn't help.
The future isn't what it used to be.
Try and cut down on food that crawls from your plate.
Listen to the Lurkers.
Try to act as human as possible.
Keep your elbow up.
Try to be only slightly insane.
There's never a good time to sing Kum-by-yah.
Look before you leap to your death.

... and my favorite ...

Even if your choices are limited to Pestilance, Famine, or Death, it is always
possible to make a wise decision.

Thomas Foote
tfoote@vlsi.gsfc.nasa.gov
******
(FON)
This was a great episode, though not my favorite of the final four.
MOJO: the CGI was breath-taking. Get any better and we'll start believing
you're using Vorlon tech! And JMS, masterful foreshadowing - you just keep
twisting those screws a little tighter, week after week. The acting was great
as always and, for the first time, I rank Boxleitner's performance the best of
the lot. I still miss MOH, but I really enjoyed watching BB do Sheridan this
week. I -like- the Sheridan we see here: giving rock-solid support to the Narn
commander, rehearsing a truly from-the-heart 'apology' to the Centauri and
showing conflicting emotions when rescued by Kosh. CC was great too,
especially when dealing with the Welles character and giving Sheridan the
Hannukah gift. And back to you, Joe. You -are- a sneaky devil: You show us
what Kosh looks like, yet make it perfectly clear in the same breath that
we're not really seeing what Kosh truly looks like. That's sadistic. <stop
that grinning: you're having entirely too much fun at our expense>

But on to the scene-by-scene...
1. Ok, I fell for it. I was convinced that the Star Furies really were in
combat when the story started. 'Course I fell for the same type scene at the
beginning of Star Trek the movie, too, so what do I know.
Sheridan says, 'Good shooting, Delta 7.' I'm curious: is the hot-shot
pilot who clips Keffer's wings in this scene the same one we see later in the
locker room? You know, it wouldn't hurt to have another strong female
character on the show, now that Talia is an ex-Talia. Just a thought.
Sheridan continues, 'Some aliens can handle G-forces better than we can
and the Centauri are willing to put their fighters on auto-pilot and risk
blacking out if it gives them the optimum firing position when they come out.'
All right, I'm confused: when they come out of what? Their faint? The
maneuvar? How is there time to get into and out of auto-pilot, in the middle
of a dogfight? For that matter, wouldn't it take an -extremely- sophisticated
auto-pilot to make a combat pilot willing to trust it to pick the best
maneuvar will he'she's at risk of losing consciousness?

2. Lennier and Vir in the Zocalo. Didn't someone post the other day that
there hasn't been much humor in recent episodes? I guess they hadn't seen
this show, yet.
'Sometimes I get so close, and yet it seems I'm shut out of the important
things.' <Lennier says it, but maybe he's reading Vir's mind :) >
'It's a useless feeling. The ambassador is definitely going through some
changes. He even looks different.' <True... but wouldn't you swear that
should be Lennier speaking and saying 'she' ? >
'Indeed, and now with the military starting to stampede over everyone and
everything...' <take your pick: half the characters on the show could say
this line>
'People coming and going and secret meetings...'
'You never know what it's all about, until later, when it's too late.'
"And they never listen to us.' <Hah! Someone's been taping conversations
from my office...>
'It makes me nervous.'
'Same time tomorrow?'
'Sure.'

But seriously, I wonder if this developing friendship is going to go anywhere?
After last week in particular, Vir needs a way to make his own difference in
the struggle ahead. It would be very interesting if he were to, oh, get a bit
more detailed about what's been going on with Londo recently.

3. Ivanova is in fine form, as she suggests in the hearing of several Fury
pilots that live ammo might be used in their next wargames. The glance about
the room and the accompanying smile in particular are very Ivanova.

4. Sheridan and Londo.
Sheridan: 'You call it a buffer zone. The Drazi call it an invasion.'
Londo: 'They are exagerating. <winner writes the history> We are merely
establishing a presence. <Was that establishing a presence or a -precedent-
ambassador? --once you've started this kind of agression & no one's protested
too strongly, it's ever so much easier to keep on doing it>
Sheridan: 'Well, where does that presence end? Tell me that ambassador. Show
me on the map where it's going to end. ...Londo, everything is falling apart
and the Centauri are at the center of it all. Can't your people see that?
Can't you see that?
<Londo's eyes drop for a second and his expression changes, before he speaks:
part of him knows they're in the wrong. Good acting. ..And then the
blustering begins again. Almost, but he's not quite there yet. Still,
there's hope.> 'I do not have to listen to this. Your authority ends at
Babylon 5. Do not start getting delusions of grandeur. You will not survive
them.'

'...Londo, everything is falling apart and the Centauri are at the center of
it all. ...'
Just a gentle reminder of a poem read by G'Kar to Na'Toth, a long time ago.
"Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of -Spiritus Mundi- <soul of the universe>
Troubles my sight; somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?"
---W.B. Yeats

'Weep for the future, Na'Toth. Weep for us all.'

5. Garibaldi and Sheridan, re Londo.
Sheridan: 'You're the closest thing he has to a friend, here. Is there any
way to get through to him?'
Garibaldi: 'Not as long as he's afraid.'
'As long as -he's- afraid?'
'Yeah. Look at his eyes, sometime. You can see how fast things are moving.
for Londo, it's like being stuck on a wild horse. You don't want to get
thrown, so you hang on all the harder. He's trapped.
'You know, half the time I'm so furious with the guy I could break his neck.
The other half, I feel sorry for him.'

Garibaldi is right. But it's even worse than he realizes. Sheridan said that
the Centauri are at the center of it all,but it's -Londo- who is truly at the
center. And that wild horse is the 'rough beast' of which G'Kar has warned.

6. Is the woman who speaks about the ghost to Keffer is the locker room, the
pilot of Delta 7? Notice that she refers to its appearance in Sector 14.
Isn't that B4's location?

7. Sheridan and Ivanova go to meet Lantze and Welles. I suppose the fighting
couple were just there to lend verisimilitude, but I kept expecting the man to
turn up in a later scene.
Welles says, 'just want to be sure we're doing the right thing...'
Alas, and he honestly means that too. That's what's so frightening about him,
and especially about Lantze.

8. Mitch and Keffer (at the Eclipse?)
There's been too little of this inter-squad rivalry, IMHO. I'd like to see
more of the pilots during their off-duty time talking like this.
Keffer describes the 'ghost', 'It was jet black. Jet black so deep, your eye
just kind of slides off it. And it shimmered when you looked at it. A spider
big as death and twice as ugly. When it flies past it's like you hear a
scream in your mind. ...I saw it, too. ...
'I swore I'd prove something was out there, like nothing you've ever seen
before. I tried looking for it on my own but the captain told me to lay off.
I gotta find it ...prove what happened.'

'...When it flies past, it's like you hear a scream in your mind.'
-That- sounds telepathic, to me. That just can't be a throw-away line,
because it sounds good. But what are the ramifications of this? Was Keffer
telepathic? Are Shadow ships telepathic? Do Shadows affect humans and other
sentient life-forms on some kind of instinctive, mental level? Is the scream
in the mind something everyone experiences, not just these two pilots? Can it
be equated in any way to the visual image each person sees when they look at a
Vorlon? And a million other questions...
...Whew...
Ok, one more and then I stop for now...

9. Ivanova and Lantze.
He's such a nice, sweet guy: the perfect patsy for the likes of Clarke. A
brilliant choice, and a personal appointment I would think since the Ministry
of Peace is presumably an agency under presidential authority.
And about that 'legacy' Lantze is hoping to give his grandchildren. When
it all goes awry, I wonder if he'll commit suicide at the knowledge of the
kind of legacy he was instrumental in actually providing them, He just strikes
me as the kind of person who, when they realize they've made a hideous
mistake, self-destruct inside. Unlike Londo, whom I'm convinced will make
some effort before the five years are up, trying to set things right (not to
say he won't fail).

Ok, that's it for now. See you in part two.
Sherry

GOOD SF IS NOT A MALFUNCTION.
NUMBER 'FIVE' IS ALIVE!
*****
10. The Narn cruiser opens a jump point on the other side of Epsilon E.
I'm curious: would it be possible for anyone else besides those in C&C to
detect this happening? What I mean is, for all the Narn commander knew, there
could have been a Centauri warship docked at the station.
The Narn commander says, 'We were alone on deep patrol... when the
Centauri struck homeworld. Since then, we have been fighting for our lives.
Alone, without reinforcements, we will eventually be hunted down and
destroyed. But with the support of others, we may one day help liberate
homeworld. To achieve that end, we must remain free and Babylon 5 is our only
hope. We've expended the last of our energy in getting here. We request
sanctuary.'
'...since then, we have been fighting for our lives...' Against whom?
I mean, obviously against the Centauri. But if so, why is it such a surprise
to everyone that there's still Narn warships in existence. If the Centauri
are still trying to neutralize Narn warships, wouldn't Londo et al be using
that as an excuse for their continued aggression? So wouldn't Sheridan and
G'Kar know about it?
'...we've expended the last of our energy..." Have we ever established
what form that energy takes? Later, Sheridan refers to sending the ship
'equipment'. Did he also send them fuel? Or is this resource naturally
replenished somehow, when the engines are taken offline?

11. Welles and Ivanova.
Welles says, 'Commander? I hope I'm not disturbing you?'
Ivanova looks down regretfully at her tray and sighs. 'No.' This was
probably one of her few breaks all day long. After all, between the Narn
cruiser's presence and the fact that she was assigned as liason with Lantze
and Welles, she couldn't have gotten much down time so far that day. BTW, I
like her teapot. And I'd like to know what happened to the samovar. Has
anyone spotted it in her quarters?

Welles continues, '...Are you happy here?' 'You see I like to know as much as
I possibly can about the people I work with and your record is exemplary.'
<notice that this is -before- Welles tries to recruit her. To me, this means
he was -that- sure that he was going to convince her to join the NightWatch,
that he was already including her amoungst 'the people I work with'

Later, he says, 'Well, the NightWatch is becoming more important back home.
We have considerable support within Earthdome... <hmmm... Earthdome in
general? just Clarke in particular? others at Earthdome through fear and
blackmail...? >
'... Why not shave a year or two off that. We could do that for you.'
Ivanova: 'In exchange for?' <note the look on Susan's face; she's way ahead
of him>

'...Does Mr. Lantze know about this conversation?'
'No. ...No.' <Welles' smile indicates he's familiar with Lantze's naivete.>

Ivanova: '...What I saw worried me, and now I see that my worries were
justified.' <I wonder what Ivanova thinks of Zack Allen's membership in the
NightWatch, then? As executive officer, has she been keeping tabs on its
local members amoungst the crew?>
Welles: '...You really don't understand. <laughs> but that's all right. The
offer will remain open indefinitely.' <This is so condescending! Does he
truly think she can be made a dupe, like Lantze? BTW, I like the way Susan
says, 'open' and boots him out immediately thereafter.>

12. Sheridan tells G'Kar about the Narn cruiser.
G'Kar: 'This is the first good news I've had since the occupation began.
-Will- you give them sanctuary?'
Sheridan: 'I can't see any reason why not.'
<Their shared smiles warmed my heart. It's great seeing Sheridan follow
through on his pledge, and seeing G'Kar find he's got a friend he can count
on. Especially since Na'Toth,marks one and two, are no more. :( >
Sheridan continues, 'Right now, we're giving them equipment to make
repairs. After that's done, I'll formally notify Mr. Lantze.' Actually, I
think the proper procedure would have been for Sheridan to do both things
simultaneously. I can only think that his instincts and common sense kept him
from telling Lantze at once. I approve. What he did is what I would have
done ...but then he's military and I'm not...>

Poor G'Kar! He's so excited here, thinking that he's going to get a
chance to talk to an Earth representative, and that Earth naturally will take
sides with the Narn. ...Speaking of naivete!

13. Our busy Mr. Welles holds his NW meeting.
'I'm glad to see we're adding new members ...even though I haven't seen any
reports from -you- Mr. Allen.' <That makes Zack a new member? Oosh! If so,
how long have some of the people in that room been wreking quiet havoc?>
<Why is Welles targeting that particular shopkeeper, with regard to Zack? Do
they need that particular 'conviction'? Did one of the others in the room
observe Zack talking to the shopkeeper?>

'There, you see? That wasn't so bad. ...You learn. You're flexible. You
show great promise, great promise indeed.' <Was anyone reminded of Morden's
description of Londo, to his Shadow companions, back in first season, here?>

BTW, whom did Zack turn and look at when he was being cross-examined by
Welles? A fellow security guard?

14. Mitch and Keffer. Mitch brings the data crystal and mentions about the
neutrino emissions. Could some techie-type out there help this poor
non-techie type and explain what neutrino emissions would be?

Keffer: 'Thanks.'
Mitch: 'Don't thank me. You go out looking for that thing - you're looking
for Death. From now on I've got no part in this."
I wonder if he's sticking to that, now that Keffer's dead. Will we see
more of Mitch? Once the film ends up on ISN, would he feel obligated to say
something? And, do any of the NightWatch know about Mitch's experience?

15. What ambassador does Lantze talk to last? His back is turned toward us.

Why does Lantze refuse to talk to G'Kar? He looks almost frightened. Is it
just that he doesn't want to have to think about the victims? Or is the key
within his words to G'Kar, '...within certain guidelines...' Does Clarke have
him on such a short leash that he -dare- not speak to the former Narn
ambassador for five minutes? Surely Earthdome hasn't already severred
diplomatic relations with Narn, at least not until the Centauri-Earth treaty
is signed?
BTW, I wonder how you 'sign a treaty' in the twenty-third century.
Conventional pen and ink seems kind of passe, for the purpose.

16. The Narn commander and Sheridan talk about the needs of his ship.
Amoungst other things, the commander says that with their energy at a minimum,
they can't use their medical facilities to their full capabilities to aid
their injured. Were they in engagements -that- recently? If Sheridan is
sending them equipment, why don't they shuttle the worst-injured cases to the
station at the same time? IMHO, a few 'fury pilots could use the shuttles
that were used in BabSq for the purpose. After all, it's become rather
commonplace for the station to see incoming Narn refugees.

Sheridan: 'As long as you're in B5 space, we'll protect you. You have my
word. Take care of your people.'
Narn commander: 'We'll take the engines off line now.'
<Now -that- is trust! Personally, I'd've queried the advisability of doing
that for a minute or two, before agreeing!>

When Lantze walked in a moment later, and said, '...I've heard some disturbing
reports...' my heart skipped a beat. I thought he'd heard about the Narn
cruiser.
I guess we can safely assume that it's the brunette tech who told Welles about
Sheridan using Centauri combat models.

'We will at last know peace in our time.'
How does it go? Those who don't learn from history are bound to repeat it.

17. We see the C&C technician meet Welles with additional information. Do
our people ever figure out who the spy in their midst is? I hope our little
Hague conspiracy gives this high priority -real soon now-. However, I'm not
sure what they're going to do about it, even once they know who's the security
leak.

18. When Sheridan says that he doesn't know what his uniform means any more,
Ivanova's answer seems prophetic. '...maybe 2260 is the year we redefine it,
make it mean something again.'
Hmmm. 'redefine it', huh? Gosh, this wouldn't have anything to do with JMS
saying that a radical change is coming to the B5 universe part way through
year three, would it? ...Nah. ;)

'Merry Christmas. Happy Hannukah. ...Whatever.'
'I can't...'
'Yeah, ya can.' <grin> <Gee, sounds like pretty realistic dialogue, to me.>
<grin>

Ok, next time, things go ka-boom. Forget Zathras... Where's Jinxo when you
need him? ;)

Sherry

GOOD SF IS NOT A MALFUNCTION.
NUMBER 'FIVE' IS ALIVE!
*****
What would I say to one of my characters if asked to justify what I
had done to them?

"I figured it'd make things a *lot* more interesting. To see what
(and if) you'd learn. Because it makes for good drama, and I like to be
entertained at this end. Because I can. And because I felt like it."

jms

(Where were you when I brought forth the whale....)
*****
(MOH)
Well, being a lucky resident of the Philadelphia viewing area, I get
to see B5 Mondays at 9:00. :)= Here are some of my thoughts on "Matters
of Honor."

First, some non-spoiler comments: I liked it. A bunch. It wasn't as
grand or intense as, say, "TLTS" or "CtI," but what it did it did well,
with a strong main plot and two (or so) fascinating subplots. The new
opening was just about perfect--it set a new mood immediately, made it
seem we'd just turned the page to a new chapter. And it gave me the
feeling that the clutch had just been popped, and the show had begun
screaming into motion--events are moving from the word go, and a lot of
things are happening sooner than I'd've thought.

I also feel lost again, in a good way. Throughout the last half of
season 2, I felt I more or less knew where the show was going, thanks in
part to JMS' hints, and in part to a certain inevitability events had.
Now, to some extent, I'm clueless. Some things in "MoH" just frazzled me.

(The only problem? The acronym for "Matters of Honor" looks a lot
like the acronym for "Michael O'Hare," and I've already gotten
confused... And then there were the problems with the sound in my area...
*sigh*)

Anyway, on to the SPOILERS for Michael O'Hare:

Regarding the intro: Ivanova's narration is much shorter than earlier
ones, and more powerful than her similar narration in "TFoN." The new
music is ominous and martial, and it and the voiceover mesh nicely with
the images we see. In particular, the first shot: Ivanova saying "Babylon
5 was our last, best hope for peace," as two Starfuries cruise peaceably
by, looking like a zillion other shots we've seen. Then, as she says "It
failed," one opens fire on the other, just as her words hit home. Wow.

Many hinted-at things were stated flat-out in this episode: that Kosh
gets tired when people are looking at him, that the Minbari have
artificial gravity and the EA doesn't, that the Shadows occupied Narn
1,000 years ago, that few knew Kosh was Kosh in "TFoN," that Londo was
probably standing on Centauri Prime in his dream. Stating these things
rather than implying them tidies the Arc, and guides the speculation in
more useful directions. After this episode, things felt very coherent;
the war council in the tag helped with this as well, by bringing just
about everybody to the same level.

The characters also seemed more well-defined, perhaps because they
weren't being overshadowed (ha, ha!) by events, and by the
larger-than-life Londo and G'Kar. Garibaldi was good old Garibaldi, with
his quotable speech about not telling himself everything; Kosh was Kosh,
cryptic again; Lennier was adorable Lennier; Ivanova was capable and
omniscient Ivanova; Sheridan came into his own as his military experience
finally came to the fore and his gung-ho attitude was finally allowed
out. Everyone was...distinct...in this episode, and it worked very well.

I like Marcus, btw. B5 needed a brooder. :)=

There were some bits which stand out in my mind...the Drazi who gave
his life for Marcus...Londo's honest reaction to the video...G'Kar's
interview...the luscious CGI in the teaser, and the tag...the Shadow-noise
just as Morden left Londo...the "bonehead" line...the fact that the crew
of the White Star don't speak English...deftly working in the Markab
system...and, of course, that chilling penultimate scene, with Morden (who
I was sort of expecting) and a Psi Cop (who I wasn't) chatting with the
senator, revealing that Endawi's whole mission was to spy for the Shadows,
and that they may soon be "leaking" some info to the public...

Then, there were quite a few bits that just hit the "Cool!" button:
Marcus vanishing from MedLab...that Ranger pin...everything about the
White Star...the galactic map Morden had...the hooker tugging the
Pak'Ma'Ra tentacle, and the Tom Cruise alien juggling bottles...the lovely
sound effects for the Earthdome exterior. These all made the ten-year-old
inside me very happy. :)=

"MoH" also raised a whole lotta nagging questions...at the forefront,
WHAT THE HELL ARE THE SHADOWS DOING? Are they manipulating Earth? Did
Morden manipulate the Psi Cop into making his suggestion? What's this
about wanting 80% of the galaxy, and dealing with Refa? Where does Earth
lie on that map? What's Londo's price REALLY going to be? And, who does
Sheridan "hope to add" to the war coucil? Draal? G'Kar? Kosh? What
else can the White Star do? What was Kosh talking about in the teaser?
What is a Ranger base doing on a Drazi world? Yeesh. Lots of interesting
points raised, and I have very few ideas. It's a nice feeling.

Most importantly, I think, I felt something which I hadn't felt
before, regarding the Shadows: triumph. With the line "With all due
respect, Ambassador, I've heard that before," Sheridan stepped firmly into
his area of expertise--soldiering--and once again succeeded where others
failed. "Babylon 5" is wonderfully grim at times, but this episode lit a
spark of defiance, something I could latch onto, even as it darkened the
world a bit more with the scene in Earthdome.

And then, some things were just awkward. The fight scene seemed a
bit unnecessary, just a showcase for Marcus' abilities (and that cool
quarterstaff he's got). The stumbling aboard the White Star didn't quite
work, and the engine room shot was obviously CGI. I didn't quite buy into
some of the conversations aboard the White Star--they smelled of
exposition.

But, all in all, I found the episode proceeded logically and quickly,
while at the same time neatening things up for us. My interest was held
throughout, sometimes breathlessly, and the negatives were easy to
ignore. Certainly a thumbs up from me, and an auspicious start to season
3. Here's waiting for next week...

----j7y
*****
I've been holding back because I wanted to really see the shape of
this season, the color and texture of it, the overall theme put into
effect...and frankly, the only really apt title, much as I like the other
quote, is the #9 title, "Point of No Return," because that sums up so
much of what happens in year three to everyone.

jms
*****
What I do is this: I get a pad of legal-sized paper, and divide it
into six quadrants, all on the same page, standing for teaser, four acts
and tag. I drop the beats of the story into the relevant places where I
think they'd logically fall (the big moments always go at act breaks).
This way I can see the entire flow of the story at one glance, which is
important for getting a feel for the episode. If one act gets over
burdened, I just draw a line moving one beat to another act.

jms
*****
Okay, first a disclaimer: no one method of creating a story is
intrinsically better or worse than any other...it depends on what works
for you. Telling someone how to make their story is like telling someone
how to have sex; sometimes the suggestion is well received, but generally
you just piss the other person off.

To the heart of your question now....

As you note, the ST shows use a process called "breaking" a story;
in which you get everybody in a room, they all begin kicking around ideas,
picking at the story, while someone writes down on a board what the group
comes up with.

I don't use that, and frankly, I hate it. What happens, I feel, is
that a group dynamic comes into the picture and you get something that
has been committee-ized, and there's no longer any one distinctive
voice. It goes through so many diverse hands that by the end all of the
corners have been knocked off. When I look at most committee-ized
stories, regardless of show, my usual reaction is, "It took TEN of you to
write THIS?"

I sit down, I come up with a story I like, I pull it apart to make
sure it makes sense, and I write it. When a freelancer works with me, I
assign the notion, or listen to the pitch, and then send the writer away
to work up the story into an outline. Then we discuss it, one on one.
Then it gets written, and sometimes I rewrite it afterwards if needed.
There are no creative committees in B5; that's why you never see more than
one name on a script. Whether it's a freelancer or an in-house script,
we respect the original voice of the individual writer.

jms
*****
(MOH)
This was a wonderful way to begin the third season, an engrossing
tension-filled episode that also managed to clear up various questions which
had been raised during the Final Four, and even before that. Not of course
that all matters have become clear at last. :) The CGI was great, the new
music superb (and it's great to hear the Battle of the Line theme in the
credits), the acting solid, the new ship hot and the new character (Marcus)
even hotter! JMS, MOJO, etc. keep to this level all season and -I'll- be
delighted and excited (Jason Carter's going to be a very regularly-occurring
regular, right? hmm?)

1. Station repairs. Well, it was great seeing such continuity right off the
bat. We have welding being done on the exterior of the station as the episode
begins, followed immediately by an eye-popping view of the shuttle and the
gardens, with low-gravity repair 'bots doing their thing. I was impressed
seeing repairs still under way after only 10 days and the scene did great
double-duty as an establishing shot to indicate where Sheridan and Kosh were
meeting.

2. Sheridan and Kosh.
To begin with, is this a greenhouse behind them? If so, would it actually
work in a space station setting? Also, I noticed for the first time that the
door to the garden seems to be round like a spacelock. Is there a logical
reason for this, not that it needs one. It's a very attractive doorway.
Sheridan: 'Ambassador, I've been looking for you. Last week after
you saved my life, I didn't really get a chance to thank you properly. I've
tried to reach you since then, but you haven't answered my calls. Is
everything all right?'
Kosh: 'Being seen by so many at once was a great strain. I returned to
my ship to rest. You have a question?'
Sheridan: 'Nobody knows it was you. Everyone saw something different,
something from the ...the legends of their own world. But it was still a
terrible risk. After taking such ...such care to hide what you really are,
why take that chance?'
Kosh: 'It was ...necessary.'
S: 'Well, as answers go, short, to the point, utterly useless and totally
consistant with what I've come to expect from a Vorlon. <laughs>
K; 'Good.' <starts to walk away>
S: 'You know ...I just had a thought. You've been back and forth to your
homeworld so many times since you got here, how do I know you're the same
Vorlon? Inside that encounter suit, you could be anyone.'
K: 'I have always been here.'
S: 'Oh, yeah. You said that about me, too.'
K: 'Yes.' <walks away again>
S: 'I really hate it when you do that.'
K: 'Good.'

'Being seen by so many at once was a great strain.'
Not to start yet another one of -those- threads, but I was reminded here of
the Martian in Bradbury's Martian Chronicles. Didn't one die at one point
from having too many people look at him, with each seeing different things? I
wonder if Kosh had any other option at that moment. If the Vorlons are
capable of making us each see what the Vorlons have conditioned our races to
see, are they also limited to us seeing that particular sight? To put it
another way, is Kosh limited to showing Delenn either the sight of Valeria or
his own 'true' appearance, or could he appear as a generic ball of light.
...Uh, rather like the ball of light which we all observed in the first season
episode when Sinclair went to visit Kosh. Wouldn't it have been less
stressful to Kosh to appear like that to everyone? And wouldn't it have been
less dangerous for this whole mysterious Vorlon secrecy thing for him to have
appeared that way. People would still talk, of course. But it one thing
having Narns talk about G'Lan, etc. and another to have an unexplained ball of
light go zipping up toward the damaged shuttle and a minute later have
Sheridan come floating down accompanied by the ball of light to land out of
general view. The latter could almost be explained as some kind of Earther
rescue tech. I know Kosh didn't have much time to make a decision about what
to do, but I really feel like this latter option wasn't open to him or he
would have done it. Based on that assumption, then it appears that while the
Vorlons may have been programming us to see what we see when we look at them,
they have in the process been limiting themselves in their relations with us.
Hence the need of encounter suits.

'It was ...necessary.' That seems fair since it was just established that
Sheridan is one of those 'right people in the right place at the right time.'
...Which, of course, begs the question about what if anything Kosh would have
done if that had been Garibaldi or Vir floating to their doom. Does 'nada'
spring to mind?

Did anyone else notice how Kosh seems to try to put Sheridan off, twice in
this brief scene. See the transcript above. 'Good' -he tries to leave.
'Yes' -he turns and walks away. What ever became of the lessons? Remember,
after the lessons started, how Kosh actually came and got Sheridan for his
Moment of Perfect Beauty?

2. Drozak and Marcus, fleeing Zagros.
Drozak: 'Here it comes. ...Almost there.'
Marcus: 'Eject me. Don't take the chance.'
D: 'Not yet. Get you all the way outside the barrier.'
M: 'Now...'

Now I'm all for heroes being heroic (especially this one, :))but Marcus should
have let Drozak get on with it. He didn't need the distractions of being
repeatedly told to eject him. He had enough on his mind. And presumably, his
mission was specifically to get Marcus' dropship beyond the barrier of mines.
What would have been accomplished by ejecting him prematurely, before the
worst of the danger was past? It seems to me that Marcus' dropship would have
been an even greater target than its mother ship during those crucial first
couple of seconds, until Marcus could accelerate and initiate some kind of
evasive maneuvar. He would be at his most vulnerable then, so it was
extremely important that Drozak got him beyond the last mine before ejecting.
I was sorry to see the Drazi go, but he seems to have done exactly what he
needed to do. Opinions?

Now about those 'mines'. Those were one of the CGI high points of the show,
for me. Purely functionary, deadly, no nonsense little critters. One nasty
piece of work.

3. Opening credits. W-O-W !!! -Everything- was great! I loved the ominous,
stirring, dissonant music. I love hearing this arrangement of the Battle of
the Line theme! The CGI was mind-boggling, particularly the space shots, and
there were just enough teasers interspersed to get us all wondering about
future developments.
Ivanova says,
'The Babylon Project was our last, best hope for peace. It failed. ...'
We cut to the following scenes (corrections solicited, with thanks):
a. Fury getting blown up, followed by another flying by, all in the midst of
a fire fight.
b. scene of station being damaged, from FoN
c. explosion in interior, someone falling ( based on end of MoH episode
teaser, does this refer to the 'mad bomber' next week?)
d. close up of the station gun firing (but not from the FoN battle?)
e. large ship (Agamemnon?) and 'furies, against a bright blue backdrop. Any
clues, anyone?
f. Sheridan ejecting (scene from AAitN?)
g. Susan looking 'astonished' in a Starfury
h. Centauri Fighters and a Narn cruiser (not FoN ?)
i. Michael in a Starfury (he looks kind of astonished, too -what's going on,
here?)
j. Londo watching the Narn bombardment (tLTS)
k. Marcus in the fight, using his staff :)
l. two Shadow ships in very close proximity, firing on a station (is this
that scene from their second bombardment of a Narn installation? -episode and
planet both escape me, right now)
m. Sheridan and Delenn embracing (C&L?)
n. close up of a Shadow creature (ItSoZ) opening its eyes <shiver>
o. the White Star

Ivanova continues,
'In the year of the Shadow War, it became something greater. Our last, best
hope of victory. The year is 2260. the place...is Bablyon 5.'

Views of the main cast, each overlaid on a jump point opening?
The order is Boxleitner, Christian, Doyle, Furlan, Biggs, Mumy, Carter, Furst,
Conaway, Jurasik, and Katsulis.
These, in turn, are shown against a backdrop of a slow fly-by of the station.

As the opening credits end, we fly into the docking bay, lit in red ...which
looks remarkably like a great, red maw opening, especially since it seems to
lead to blackness. Very ominous ending for opening credits!

One quick comment before we move on: Notice that Ivanova says 'the year of
the Shadow War' Year ... singular.

4. Marcus, in transit to B5. For those of you keeping track, his computer
says that it will take seven standard hours to reach B5 in hyperspace.
Therefore it's seven hours from the edge of Drazi space to the station. Most
of the Drazi territory is supposed to be in the part that the Centauri get,
rather than the Shadows. Narn is in Centauri territory now. How far away is
it, or Centauri Prime for that matter, from the station? Is anyone working on
a strategy to calculate how close we are to the frontier between the two
(Shadows/Centauri)?

5. Susan and Sheridan, wating for Mr. Endawi. Funny scene and, again,
Ivanova is back to her old form.
Sheridan: '...not tell us why they're coming or what they're going to do when
they get here.'
Ivanova: 'Leave it to you to try and take all the fun out of life. I mean,
come on. Where's your sense of mystery, of adventure?'
S: 'Are you trying to cheer me up?'
I: 'No, -sir-. I wouldn't dream of it.'
S: 'Good. I hate being cheered up. It's ...depressing.'
I: 'Well, in that case. We're all going to die horrible, painful, lingering
deaths.'
S: 'Thank you. I feel so much better, now.'

'Where's you're sense of mystery, of adventure?' (The sarcasm just -drips-)

'We're all going to die horrible, painful, lingering deaths.'
(No boom. No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow.)

I love it when Ivanova's being 'Russian'.

6. Garibaldi brings Marcus to Franklin's new Medlab.
Garibaldi: 'Well, he just got off his ship, when he collapsed.'
(and why was Garibaldi called in? Or had he already been notified that a
Ranger was on his way? If so, why didn't he stay, knowing the injuries
weren't serious and Marcus should be waking up soon?)
I'm confused: Franklin seems to know enough to look for the Ranger pin,
but he doesn't know anything about the Shadows? Why did Garibaldi leave the
pin in plain view? What test did Franklin do on it? Did he read a message
stored inside it, somehow? Was he authorized to do that? Was it he, rather
than Garibaldi, which sent the message to Delenn? Why does Franklin call for
a different doctor, Sanchez, to treat Marcus? Why did Marcus get up and
leave? Didn't he want to be around Franklin? Exaclty, how does the broach get
from Franklin's table to Lennier? Even knowing Marcus to be a Ranger, why did
Garibaldi feel it necessary to check out Marcus' ship's logs?
...Why have I again run out of time, before I wanted to stop posting? Uh...
oh, sorry. More later tonight.

Sherry

GOOD SF IS NOT A MALFUNCTION.
NUMBER 'FIVE' IS ALIVE!
*****
7. Morden and Londo, in the Zocalo.
Morden: 'Good morning, ambassador. I hear you've been looking for me.'
Londo: 'Yes. Please. <indicates chair> I have been doing a great deal of
thinking lately. With the Narn war over, I think it's time we ...reconsidered
our relationship.'
M: 'Oh?'
L: 'My people have a manifest destiny. They can achieve it just as well
without the help of your associates. Perhaps better.'
M: 'So we're no longer necessary?'
L: 'That's right.'
M: 'And now that we've done everything that you asked, you'd like us to
disappear.'
L: 'I do believe you have got it surrounded, Mr. Morden.'
M: 'Aren't you being a little premature? After all, your people are still
moving on several other worlds. You might still need us.'
L: 'No, I don't think so. We have danced our last little dance, Mr. Morden.
Now it is time for you to go away.'
M: 'OK.'
<as Morden starts to leave, we hear his shadowy companions>
M: 'There's one small detail, ambassador. A little bookkeeping to close out.
I have to meet with my associates, but let's say we reconvene in your
quarters later this afternoon to discuss it.'
L: 'And then you will go away?'
'For as long as you want.'
<Morden leaves. Londo smiles, and drains his drink.>

Excellent scene. Such an unexpected treat to get Morden in one of the first
scenes of the first episode of the new season!

It's interesting, isn't it, that Morden finds Londo in the Zocalo drinking,
and wishes him 'good morning'? Was Londo there all night, thinking about
severing connections? Does he habitually get up and go straight to a bar,
now? (not that he doesn't have more reason than most other people)

'I have been doing a great deal of thinking, lately.' Presumably this
'thinking' is as a result of both the Narn bombardment (he told Refa it would
be the last time), as much or more than what he saw (i.e. didn't see) in the
Zen Garden. It's interesting that it took Londo this long to stop the
relationship, if he were going to do it at all. I would have guessed
consulting with Morden the moment he got back from Narn, or else holding unto
that wild horse he was riding until he was trodden to death. So... maybe the
events in the garden really are the turning point, here. Other opinions?

'And now that we've done everything you asked, you'd like us to disappear?'
...
'We have danced our last dance, Mr. Morden. Now it is time for you to go
away.'
This seems unbelievably naive of Londo! Or forgetful. Has he forgotten
already that Morden said, some day we'll come and ask you for a favor?
Surely, Londo doesn't believe that reporting G'Kar's suspicions and the Narn
cruiser coming to investigate was complete and final payment!?!?! Let's
presume for a moment that the Shadows are neither more nor less evil than the
Ferengi (sorry, but there's a method in my madness). If you were Londo, would
you expect an unknown world to use that much fuel, time and ordnance without
expecting some kind of serious repayment? And this isn't even getting into
the possible loss of life or ships. If I were Londo, I would be wondering
when he or his empire would be paying for that piper, at his last little
dance. I know people will read this and say, Of course, he's worried.
Garibaldi even said so. We've seen the expressions on his face, etc. And
yes, this is all true: Londo knows he's in over his head and that these folks
are powerful and unpleasant in the extreme and that's why he's trying to back
out, here. But what I don't understand is how he could pretend as if there's
no repayment needed for services rendered. He was -surprised- when Morden
came back to him and suggested they reconvene to balance the books. Didn't it
occur to him that Morden's friends might want a world or two out of that
empire they'd helped the Centauri conquer? Or, maybe, that they'd want
Centauri Prime as a client in their own empire, or would want a representative
from their world to well, ...confer on Centauri empire matters from time to
time?

L: 'And then you'll go away?'
M: 'For as long as you want.'

Hmm. And for exactly how long will -that- be? Remember, later on Londo finds
out that Refa's made his own contact with the Shadows. (thanks jere7my, for
the missing dialogue in the WPHL-17 listening area :) ) It looks like the
Shadow's plan all along was to foment civil war within the ranks of the
victors of the war they would help win.

8. Sheridan, Ivanova, Delenn and Endawi.
Endawi says, 'I wanted to see you first because of our current, good relations
with Minbar, and because as one of the older races, you might have some
knowledge of the subject at hand.'
This makes a certain degree of sense, but I'm still have certain difficulties
with this scene. Why would Mr. Endawi choose to see Delenn in the company of
the station staff? He sees all the other ambassadors alone. Is there some
particular reason why EA believes the owners of the strange ship to be an
older race? Granted the ship seems sophisticated and powerful but, since no
evidence of its prior existence has turned up after ten days study by the
'Research Division', wouldn't it be more likely from EA point of view to
believe that this was a new race from a different part of the galaxy, or even
from a different galaxy? BTW, does anyone remember offhand whether the
Ikarran organic tech went to this division for study, during first season?
Endawi says elsewhere that he was three days in transit, so he must have
left Earth after the division was only seven days into their study, and been
updated on their continued non-progress in transit or else when he arrived on
the station. We know from the scene near the end of the show that Endawi is
not part of the conspiracy. I wonder exactly what he was told about the
situation. After all, he is Intelligence: there's nothing saying that what
he says to Sheridan et al is what he was told back home. (BTW, this is a
character I'd like to see again. He seems intelligent, has integrity & a
killer accent. :) And we could use a 'good guy' on the show who's part of the
Earth government, just for dramatic balance, IMHO.)

8B. Delenn and Sheridan after Endawi leaves.
Delenn says, '...only chance is in allowing the Shadows to think that we're
unaware of their return, while we prepare our own forces... Those ships, once
they target you they never stop, never slow down, never give up until they
have destroyed you. They're nearly invincible.'
<It's interesting that JMS makes a point of saying this here since, if he'd
left it out, he would draw less heat from the scene later in the same show
when the White Star survives a brush with the Shadows. He has his reasons
...wonder what they are?>
But I'm interrupting again,
Delenn: '...They're nearly invincible.'
Sheridan: 'I don't believe that. Every ship has its weakness.'
Delenn: 'Believe what you will til experience changes your mind. ...Take a
good look, John, and remember it well. That is the face of our enemy.'

'Every ship has its weakness.' And Starkiller would know if anyone would.

As others have pointed out, Sheridan's attitude is very Earther. It stems
from the same outlook on life as that which produced five space stations
dedicated to peace, one after another.

It's interesting that Delenn of all Minbari would speak the way she does about
the invincibility of the Shadow ships. After all, she's been educated in the
events of the Shadow/VorlonMinbari scrap a thousand years ago. Did no one
take out Shadow ships then?

9. Lennier finds Delenn in the corridor.
Lennier: 'Delenn. Good. There you are. I was just informed someone is
looking for you.'
Delenn: 'This is not a good time.'
Lennier: 'Uh ...He sent this.'

OK, I'm back to an earlier point here. So Franklin informed Lennier, based on
what was on the broach when he 'tested' it? After all, Lennier ends up with
the broach. If so, did Marcus take off in the meantime until Delenn was
availible to talk to? But why would he do the disappearing act if Franklin
was the contact person? And if Marcus disappeared when he seemed to, how did
Franklin know what location to tell Lennier to tell Delenn?
On the other hand if Garibaldi was the contact person that Lennier spoke with,
then how did Lennier end up with the broach? The last we saw, it was in the
good doctor's hands.

10. Endawi meets with Londo.
Notice how Londo is in an expansive mood at the beginning of this scene. He's
obviosly celebrating, relieved that he's thrown off the yoke of his mysterious
helpers. Watch as his mood changes and note where the change occurs.

'...And so we have made the practice of joy another duty, which must be
pursued as vigorously as the others.' <so very first season Molari! Right
now, Londo's shoes are definitely not too tight>

Endawi shows him the Shadow ship tape.
E: 'Can you tell me if you've seen this before?'
L: 'Yes, in a dream.'
E: 'A dream?'
L: 'I'm standing ...somewhere ...on Centauri Prime, I thihk. And I am
looking up. And there are ships just like this, passing overhead. First a
few and then more... a thousand, two thousand. So many that they blot out the
sun. A terrible sight Terrible.' <his mood falters and slips, even as he's
describing the dream. It's safe to assume that's he's already seen the ISN
broadcast withlittle effect. But here, he's making the connection for the
first time. A penny has definitely dropped.>
E: 'That's all?'
L: 'That is enough.' ...'No that is all I know. I'm sorry I could not be of
more assistance. Perhaps one of the others... <gestures>'
E: 'Yes, of course. Thank you for your time, Ambassador Molari.'

The mood's gone: Londo is almost rude compared to his earlier joviality.
When he gestures and says 'Perhaps one of the others' he's practically showing
Endawi the door. Note the grave, worried look on his face as he returns to
his drink and his solitude.

One last, irrelevant comment here: I loved the duelling accents in this scene!

11. Delenn and Lennier meet Marcus, down below.
'Are you sure this is the place?'
'Reasonably.'
'A most unreasonable place, for reasonable asumptions.'
<Very good: it's indeed not the kind of place where one dare assume
anything.>

I don't know why Delenn did the hood and cape bit. As far as I was concerned,
it only served to draw attention to her. Garibaldi's hat would have covered
the combination Minbari bone/hair just fine. ;) But seriously, Delenn needs
to get used to this kind of activity if she's to survive being the Chosen.
She looked like a kid playing at cloak and dagger. (Though she handled
herself very well,later on!)

Marcus describes the broach-making process is almost mythic in style. He
says, '...when these are made, they're forged in white hot flame, then cooled
in three bowls. The first is some kind of ancient holy water, the second
Minbari blood, the third human blood. they say that when a Ranger dies, the
figures on either side shed three tears, one of water, and two of blood.'
Delenn responds, 'And you,do you believe this?'
'I stopped believing in miracles a long time ago, ambassador. when part of
the heart dies, it's best to leave it that way.'

When Delenn asks Marcus if he believes the tale, she seems to be partly
curious and partly hoping that he, like her, is a believer in miracles and
prophecies. When he answers her, she looks not only sad but a bit chagrined.
I think, maybe, she felt like she'd infringed on his privacy which is a
serious no-no for Minbari if I remember correctly. In the meantime, I believe
that Marcus is really touched by the old tale or he wouldn't repeat it like
that. He may not believe it, but something inside him is holding unto it,
probably because of the death of his brother. Somehow, I got the impression
that the tale comforts him, though he would be the last to admit it, even to
himself.

Note that there are people sitting at a table who follow Delenn et al out of
the bar. Are we to assume that they're working with the thugs in the hallway?
I didn't really get a good look at anyone's face durng the fight sequence, so
I could really use some help here. If the people at the bar didn't seem to be
helping the hallway thugs, then it's possible that Delenn et al were being
followed for other reasons than their credit chits. And that could point to
some kind of informant, who leaked Marcus presence.

I liked Marcus' expandable quarterstaff, though I'd dearly love to know how it
shrinks back up to carrying size so swiftly. I can easily envision the
mechanism that would permit its rapid expansion but wouldn't it take the devil
of an effort to telescope the thing? Delenn got in some good blows with the
thing, too! Did anyone notice when it changed hands?
Finally, what does Delenn say about the staff at the end of the fight? I
thought I could make out 'A very fine ...' Anyone?
Marcus answers ,'A gift from a friend.' Wouldn't be Sinclair, would it? Nah,
guess that's carrying coincidence a bit far. Besides, he's his commanding
officer.

One last thing, which I'm sure will be done to death by others: is there
some reason which escapes me why everyone risked life and limb to have a
secret meeting in a Down Below bar, only to go strolling in the back alley on
the way to a private place? Come on, folks!

12. Sheridan, Delenn, Marcus and Ivanova.
Sheridan says, '...This is Marcus. He's a...'

Ivanova interrupts, '...a Ranger...'

'When did you ...-how- did you...?'
Ivanova: 'Captain, the day something happens around here and I don't know
about it, worry. ...So what's up?'

Hmmm. Yes. Which doesn't answer the question at all. So everyone, I guess
it's up to us. ;) Did Ivanova pull off this feat with her telepathy, with
her computer skills or with her contacts (probably Garibaldi)? Anyone?

Marcus, says, 'I came here from Zagros 7. It's a Drazi colony on the edge of
their territory. It's also the base for one of our biggest training camps.
...Two weeks ago, we were surrounded by Centauri blockademines. ...It's a
small colony with very little of value so our guess is we're the target.'

Delenn adds something about '...little strategic value...'

I'm really out of time here, so I'm going to cover this in depth in the
Londo-Morden scene in a later part of the Analysis, but I just had to say a
few words before I close. Something here is extremely 'not right'. Notice
how the Centauri put up their blockade two weeks ago, on an isolated colony
when they were encroaching on the far side of Drazi space. Notice that this
planet has little strategic value. Note that this is only one of the biggest
Ranger training camps, not the biggest or most important. And note that the
Shadows made it the most serious point of the negotiation, yet haven't
bothered in all this time to blow the camp to hell, if that was all they
wanted from the planet. Very suspicious.

Sherry

GOOD SF IS NOT A MALFUNCTION.
NUMBER 'FIVE' IS ALIVE!
*****
12A. Sheridan, Ivanova, Delenn, Lennier, Garibaldi and Marcus confer, re
Zagros 7.
Ok, picking up where we left off, we have Ivanova interrupting the captain and
proceeding to explain that Marcus is a Ranger and then detailing the functions
of the Rangers and who commands them.
Garibaldi's expression is priceless throughout Ivanova's speech. He either
told her all this on the QT and didn't expect her to spill her guts about it,
or he's frantically wondering where the 'leak' is in what he thought was his
ironclad security re the Rangers. :) At one point, he even strolls away from
the group and pours himself a cup of coffee (?), kind of blending himself into
the wallpaper.

12B. To repeat and enlarge or something I said in the second part of this
analysis, what is really going on at Zagros 7?
Here, Delenn says, '..The Centauri have captured much larger targets on the
other side of their <Drazi> territory. They do not have the resources to
protect a colony with so few people and of such limited strategic value.'

Marcus says, 'We're boxed in on all sides. We need your help -now- before
anyone else is killed or the camp is invaded. All you have to do is break the
blockade long enough for the other Rangers to escape.'
<Garibaldi objects, citing lack of a ship etc.>
Marcus answers, 'We have the means. If you have the will. There'll be
nothing left behind that'll be linked back to you.'

Why would the Centauri bother to capture such a nonstrategic target, on the
far side of their current front? Because Refa told them to, because Morden
told -him- to. And he told him this at least two weeks earlier. Marcus
specifically says, 'Two weeks ago, we were surrounded by Centauri blockade
mines.' If the planet has been neutralized for two weeks, why haven't the
Centauri or the Shadows acted to neutralize the camp itself, if that indeed is
the target? How big can the camp be? Until the events in this episode, the
Centauri already had warships in orbit over the planet. The Shadows could
have made a strike at any time and even the Centauri might have been none the
wiser if the attack were done right. After all, it only takes them a few
seconds to destroy a colony. I don't buy Marcus' concern about getting out
before 'anyone else is killed or the camp is invaded.' Aside from some
sensitive material that might be found, what of value would be gotten from
invading the camp? If the camp -were- invaded, surely someone would clear the
data banks before the invaders got as far as the computer ...assuming of
course that there's anything of value stored there. The Centauri or the
Shadows could try torturing any captives for information, I suppose, but that
doesn't seem a very efficient way to get any important information.
More on this issue, when we reach #14, below.

Sheridan says, 'When I agreed to share command of the Rangers with Delenn, I
became responsible for their well-being. I'm not going to abandon them now.'
Ntoice how Delenn's expression slowly changes from anxiety to a smile of
approval as Sheridan speaks. It seems evident that she wasn't sure how he'd
react.
'Fire up the shuttle, commander. We've got work to do.' (there's a bit of a
gleam in Sheridan's eyes at those words. I guess it's nice to be back in
harness. There's just one problem with this scene: Sheridan still doesn't
know about the existence of the White Star at this point. All he has is
Marcus' vague assurances, 'We have the means.' I would like to have seen
Sheridan try to nail down exactly where they were going to take that shuttle
and what exactly those 'means' were before leaving the room, even if the
answer would have been Delenn saying, 'Wait and see.' with an anticipatory
smile.>

13. Departing the station.
Ivanova says, 'I just sent a fake destination to the station files.'

Which Mr. Endawi proceeds to break into, in his spare time and discover is
false. Quite a hacker our Mr. Endawi, considering Ivanova's own skills. I'm
impressed.

14. Morden and Londo, in Londo's quarters.
Morden brings up a holographic image of our galaxy, and says,
'Ah. Here we are. This area over here is for the Centauri. Conquer all the
worlds you like. We won't bother you, as long as it's understood that this
area is ours. You can take anything you want over here, and we'll take
everything we want over there.'
Notice how the graphic Morden uses for the border is a flame? Very
demonic. <shudder> BTW, after viewing this several times now, I'm convinced
that the Shadows left a buffer zone or neutral territory between the two
portions of the galaxy. The two portions just don't have exactly the same
border shape. (alas, too many jigsaw puzzles in my misspent youth ;) ) It's
also interesting (and eerie!) that the Shadows choose to shade their territory
in red, and that what I assume are prominent star systems are lighlighted with
fire. Notice that Zagros 7 is also higlighted in Centauri territory. (sort of
a yin-yang pattern, but lopsided).

Morden continues, '...Oh, one small exception, hardly worth mentioning. This
world? It's on the border of your space, and we have a vested interest in it.
I took the liberty of asking Lord Refa to secure it for us.'
Londo: 'Refa?'
Morden: Well, you said you wanted nothing more to do with us, and he was
quite open to my advice. He secured the planet for us, and now my associates
will take custody of it. The rest is yours. Good day, ambassador.'
But again, there's something not right about this! The Centauri put up
that blockade, lightyears away from their Drazi front, two weeks ago! Yet,
here, Morden would have Londo believe that he made a call the Refa some time
since Morden and Londo talked that morning, and asked him to secure the
planet. ('Well, you said you wanted nothing more to do with us...' so I
contacted Refa). What is the true value of that planet to the Shadows?
(BTW, why did Morden bother Refa about securing the planet to begin with? Why
not just send a Shadow ship there while the Centauri were busy elsewhere, two
weeks ago, and just blow it up?)

Londo: 'Mr. Morden, I was thinking. I have never really seen the ships that
you and your associates have used in ...in helping us. Perhaps, one of these
days...'
Morden: 'Perhaps. Meanwhile, as I said, tell your forces to leave the
blockade mines but to move their ships out of that area. You don't want them
or anyone else hanging around when my associates come for Zagros 7.'
Notice that Morden smiles, when Londo says'I have never really seen the
ships...'
Well, Londo's apparently rid of Morden, but he looks less than thrilled
as Morden leaves. Wonder why? It wouldn't have anything to do with that bomb
about Refa, would it? I believe Londo is already thinking that he'd like that
power back, well, just long enough to get rid of Refa.

15. The White Star makes its entrance.
Ivanova says, 'Scanning area. I'm not seeing anything but ...wait ...I've
gotta ...What the hell is that? (Minbari ECM is still up to its old
standards)

This is truly beautiful CGI! I loved the gleam of the distant sun (a white
star) on the hull of the craft! The lines are fluid but utterly alien, but
exquisite ...What does one say? Wow, I guess. Notice that the White Star has
Vorlon-ship-like markings on its upper hull in the second shot. Unfortunately
the shot is too short to see if the markings move and change - but it wouldn't
surprise me. :)

Sheridan: My God, it's beautiful.'
Marcus: 'Her name is the White Star. And she's yours, captain.'
Sheridan looks positively exhilarated. First, during his old command, he
destroyed the Black Star - the high point of that command. He reached the
nadir emotionally of his command of the station when Maynard came calling, in
A Distant Star. And now the White Star gives him back what he's been pining
for, a warship of his own again. Black Star, Distant Star, White Star.
Beautiful symmetry!

16. Endawi and Garibaldi.
Funny stuff! ROTFL funny stuff! Thanks, jms.
'I'm not authorized for that kind of information.'
'But you're the head of security.'
'And what kind of head of security would I be if I let people like -me- know
things that I'm not supposed to know? I know what I know because I have to
know it. And if I don't have to know it, I don't tell me and I don't let
anyone else tell me either...'
For some reason, this makes me think of some Abbott and Costello. I just keep
getting this feeling that Garibaldi is drawing on some kind of nonsense from
an ancient tv skit of the 2010 Earth decade. Garibaldi's a clever guy and
he's shown some wit in previous episodes, but this just rolls off his tongue
so glibly!
Garibaldi: '...And I can give you reasonable assurances tha tthe head of
security will not report you for doing so.'
Endawi: 'Becasue you won't tell yourself about it.'
Garibaldi: 'I try never to get involved in my own life. Too much trouble.'
Endawi: 'This is a very strange place you have here, Mr. Garibaldi.'
Garibaldi: 'Thank you.'
:) :) :) :)

17. Delenn, Sheridan et al aboard the White Star.
Delenn: The White Star is a new breed of Minbari warship. Smaller than our
other fleet ships and faster than anything else her size. It uses both
Minbari and Vorlon technology.' ('new breed' ..Vorlon ...Hmmm. This
Vorlon involvement also helps explain how such a project was able to be
carried out in secret. But, where is the ship at this point? In solar orbit
around that sun? Which one? Is this where it's going to be 'docked' when
Sheridan and the Rangers don't need it? They can hardly keep it docked at the
Station... of course, there -is- Epsilon Eridani' s own landing strip but I
suspect that this thing's too big, and besides shipping would spot it coming
and going eventually).

Ivanova: 'Very nice. And it looks just different enough so that it won't be
recognized as a Minbari ship.' < Isn't this a bit of an understatement?
I thought the White Star looked like more of a Vorlon ship than a Minbari
ship, if anything. Not that it really looks like anything we've ever seen
before.>

Notice the chiming sound as they enter the bridge. You can hear this
throughout all the remaining bridge scenes. You -don't- hear it back in the
corrider where the drive is. Is the chiming part of the computer system? Or
is the core crew tuned into their favorite Minbari radio station? ;)

Delenn says, 'Because we've had some problems recently with the warrior caste,
we've chosen a crew from the religious caste. Many of them helped design this
ship, working in secret. Even some in the Gray Council don't know about this.
<Neroon? Who is 'we' here? Did the worker caste help with the planning and
construction of the White Star? Do the White Star conspirators know that
Sheridan, Starkiller, will be its captain and what do they think about it? Is
is the 'we' in Delenn's sentance in reference to the Vorlons or the Rangers?

Sheridan: '...Who do I ...uh?'
Lennier: 'The others are not yet familiar with your language but I will be
happy to relay your orders to the crew, captain.'
This helps explain why Delenn and Lennier are present. However, I
suspect that Delenn's presence was needed due to the fact that Starkiller was
taking command: her presence might help to balance out his presence to the
crew.
The female Minbari looks to me like she might be one of the designers. I
can't explain why, except to say that she looks more sharp-witted and less
passive than the others present. I hope that at some future point in time,
there's room for interaction between the Minbari core crew and 'our heroes'.
It would be unfortunate if we have the same gulf we've seen on other shows.
And interaction seems particularlyimportant here since half the people are the
designers who know the ship's capabilities and the other half are
battle-trained.

BTW, that is one strange bridge! Notice that the room appears to be
trtiangular a tleast when one looks forward. Does anyone want to hazard a
guess about the pink, upholstered looking stuff? I'm assuming they're the
control panels and that they're organic (so possibly Vorlon?) Could the
chiming we hear be the ship singing to itself and the crew, in true Vorlon
tradition? As others have posted, the lack of seats (if not harness) is very
strange. Maybe it stems from the fact that Minbari ECM is so good, the
designers never thought to plan for impact? Maybe it's a religious thing?
(A stand-up fight? No sitting down on the job, there... Sorry, I'm getting
silly. More later.)

Sherry

GOOD SF IS NOT A MALFUNCTION.
NUMBER 'FIVE' IS ALIVE!
*****
18. Endawi and G'Kar.
G'Kar says, 'Finally. ..They came to our world over a thousand years ago,
long before we went to the stars ourselves. They set up a base on one of our
southern continents. They took little interest in us. G'Quan believed they
were engaged in a war far outside our own world.' And later, 'To all things,
there is a time, Mr. Endawi. Perhaps this is theirs.'

To begin with, I love the music used for this scene. Does anyone
remember where it was used before? (I don't think it's new.) It's very
haunting and seems to invoke the past in some way I can't really describe
...perhaps, just by its style and simplicity.
With regard to style and simplicity, I would -love- to own a copy of the
Book of G-Quan! The writing and the artwork are beautiful and really look
authentic. I wonder who designed the prop, and how much input jms had in the
details. Did everyone notice that the writing seems to be in columns of a few
characters each, and that parts are gilded? Such loving attention to detail!
'They set up base on one of our southern continents. ...G'Quan believed
they were engaged in a war far outside our own world.' <But surely not
-that- far outside or there would have been no point to using Narn as a base.
Which brings up the usual, intriguing question of stellar geography. If the
Shadow's objectives this time resemble in any way their objectives the last
time, they may be trying to get staging areas in more or less the same
locations this time as they did last time. They now have a kind of staging
site at Narn in a manner of speaking, by virtue of cooperating with Londo and
Refa. Morden also made a point of his associates wanting Zagros 7. For the 10
millionth time, if we only knew what was where! Where are these two planets
in relation to Z'Ha'Dum, to Vorlon space and to Earth?>
'To all things, there is a time... Perhaps, this is theirs.' <Shudder.
I wouldn't mind the wording so much, if we hadn't seen how often G'Kar's words
are prophetic.>

19. On board the White Star.
Listen to the sound of chimes at the beginning of this scene. As Ivanova
leaves her post (weapons?), the Minbari who takes over the watch passes a hand
over the crystalline controls (?) and the chiming sound grows louder. Is this
how you sign on to your station? And again, does this sound bear any
resemblance to the singing done by Kosh's ship to the maintenance crew and to
the fleeing doctor (H/P)?
Marcus says, 'My brother joined six months before I did. I said he was being
a fool. Chasing legends. Being a hero. He came back to warn me about a
Shadow attack on a mining colony I was working at. I didn't listen. I got
back just in time to see him die.'
<This is very confusing. What mining colony was Marcus working at six months
ago that would have been attacked by the Shadows? The only possibility seems
to be a Narn installation, probably one of the ones we saw attacked in season
two. Were any of those described as mining operations?
'He came back to warn me about a Shadow attack... I got back just in time to
see him die.' I don't know how to resolve these two facts. I suppose the two
brothers rendezvoused (sp?) somehwere near the mining colony, Marcus' brother
went to it to help fight the Shadows when they attacked, while Marcus himself
went off somewhere and didn't get back to the colony himself, until after the
attack in which his brother was mortally wounded? >
It's interesting to see the mutual attraction here. Susan strolls over
to Marcus with no other purpose than to engage him in conversation, yet says
herself that she's not one for idle chatter. Later, Marcus watches her walk
away with ...a certain amount of attention. :)

20A. The White Star, at Zagros 7.
Marcus says, 'I sent them a message as soon as we came on board.' <Not to try
to squeeze The White Star into the Trek mold, but is it safe to assume that
Marcus is serving as Communications Officer, here? It would make sense, since
the core Minbari crew on board don't speak English and the main need for
communications on this mission would be to contact the Ranger training camp.
I wonder if in future episodes this is where we'll see Marcus posted?>

Sheridan: '...There's bound to be a Centauri warship hanging around to keep
an eye on things and I do not want to get caught in a crossfire. Let's go.'
<This is the first of several times in this scene where Delenn looks
apprehensive. Notice how she takes a deep breath and the expression on her
face? Sheridan: 'Fire!' <Ivanova uses the crystalline buttons on the panel
in front of her to comply with the order>
I've read several posts where people are concerned that Ivanova is placed in
the position of Weapons Officer when there are Minbari onboard who helped
design the ship. I'd like to point out two things in favor of Sheridan
positioning her there, however. First and most importantly, she's
combat-trained and the Minbari religious caste scientists on board are not.
Second, don't forget that it's been established that the trip through
hyperspace takes seven hours between the station and Zagros 7. We saw only a
few minutes of those seven hours. It's reasonable to assume that Ivanova took
in a little target practice, perhaps with drone targets of some kind, while
they were in transit. Sheridan himself may even have fired a shot or two, to
help familiarize himself with the capabilities of the ship and, hell, for the
fun of it.

Sheridan: '...Are you sure all your scanners are working properly?'
Lennier: 'Would you like to see for yourself?' <a little disgusted?>
Sheridan: 'Yes.'
<A holographic display appears on the wall in front of them, overlaid with a
hexagonal grid. Very, ...-very- nice! Oh, but I have one bone to pick with
you Mr. JMS: Now you're ripping off Dungeons and Dragons. Using hexagonal
grids, indeed! ...Sherry cringes and looks for cover, at the sound of the
Narn bat squad approaching... Sorry, folks! :) >

Sheridan: '...Delenn, what else can this ship do?'
Delenn: 'All in good time, Captain. All in good time.'
<Hmm. All in the Vorlons' good time? I suspect we haven't even scratched the
surface of the Vorlon aspects of this ship yet. Neat.>

Ivanova: 'We're picking up a disturbance. One ship. Unknown configuration.'
Sheridan: 'Show me.'
<The screen shows a Shadow ship over the rings, with Minbari lettering at the
lower left of the screen. ..a very nice touch.>
Delenn: 'Shadows! ...In Valen's name...'
<The Shadow ship heads right toward us on the screen. Oh, ack!!! Commercial.
Whew! ...Cool!>

I have a theory which really has very little to do with this scene but it
seems like as good a place as any to present it. Is it possible to enter
hyperspace at the exact same instant as another ship is exitting hyperspace,
with the result that neither ship is aware of how close they came to the other
ship? Maybe I'm envisioning all this incorrectly, but wouldn't the situation
be rather like two people at two entrances of a building. One enters the
building by one door while the other exits it by the other door. If these
activities occur simultaneously, neither might be aware that the other was
only a few feet away. Does this make sense?

20B. The White Star, at Zagros 7 (continued).
Delenn: 'We're not ready for this yet. <this was probably echoed in thought
by all the other non-combatants on the bridge. OTOH, there's also a broader
implication to Delenn's words. We're not ready for direct Shadow-Light
battles. To have one now that might be reported back to Z'Ha'Dum would be
against Vorlon policy.>
Sheridan: 'Then we'd better get ready and fast! ...Continue attack.'
Ivanova: 'Aye, sir. <very military>
Lennier: <words in Minbari> <He looks rattled. Not that I blame him. But
notice the difference in the reactions of a person trained for combat and one
who isn't. -This- is why they need Sheridan et al on the bridge of the White
Star. Those Minbari religious caste people and designers couldn't do what
they're doing in this scene, and it's reasonable to assume that no one is sure
which members of the Minbari warrior caste with command grade experience they
would dare trust with this secret at the present time.>

Sheridan: Evasive action but keep firing.'
Delenn: 'They missed. They never miss.' <Not even -Minbari- ships with
their advanced stealth in the previous conflict? Ouch. Notice how Sheridan
looks concerned at her words, but then he smooths the concern off his face and
walks about the bridge addressing them all with his explanation of the
mystery. This is a good commander in action, as someone else said in a recent
post. He knows he needs to instill confidence here, or the jig is up.>

Sheridan: '...Head for the jump gate.'
Lennier: 'Would it not be faster to open a jump point?'
Sheridan: 'I don't want them to know we have that potential. Now hit it!'
<Just a touch of impatience. I don't think he's used to having his orders
questioned in the midst of a battle. And if anyone would have that right at
this moment, it would fall on Ivanova as second in command.>

Delenn: 'We cannot hope to destroy a ship like that alone.'
Sheridan: 'With all due respect, ambassador, ...I've heard that before.'
<Yes! This is perfect delivery. There's just a touch of remembered triumph
in Sheridan's glance. I only wish we could have seen Delenn's reaction but
her back is to the camera.>

Ivanova: '...Because it's suicide! Forming a jump point inside a jump gate
releases a staggering amount of energy. None of our ships could clear the
blast range before being blown to bits.'
Sheridan: 'This isn't one of our ships. Mr. Lennier, what do you think? Is
this ship fast enough to get out before the gate blows?'
Lennier: 'I have no idea.'
Sheridan: <impatient> 'Well, it'll do. We should just about be to sector 45
by now. Tell them to head to the local jump gate, best speed.'
Delenn: 'Why this jump gate?'
Sheridan: 'It's expendable. ...' etc. ...

'None of our ships could clear the blast range before being blown to bits...'
Ouch. Tell me this was based on calculations and not actual trial and error!
I know they were desperate during the Earth-Minbari War, but really!

'Mr. Lennier, what do you think?' Huh? I'm sorry, but this is really
stupid. Why not ask the designers, a couple of whom are standing right there,
just how fast this ship can fly? The worst possible person to ask on that
bridge would be Lennier (well, maybe Marcus...)

By the time Sheridan finishes explaining what he plans to do and why this
particular gate is expendable, Delenn looks like she's having palpitations.
Not that I blame her! I'd be checking out recessed panels looking for a wet
bar by now, even if I were Minbari ;) But seriously, notice how she presses
her palm to her chest, and then starts fidgeting with her hair. She's holding
it together, but not by much.

20C. The White Star at the Jump Gate.
Sheridan: 'Activate jump gate sequence -now-. ...Aft jump engines on line,
-now-. ...Punch it!'
Ok, I've got another theory. Notice that since they're exitting the
gate, the jump point behind them is blue. Then as Sheridan says to activate
the jump engines, we see a point of yellow forming inside the blue. In other
words we have an entrance forming on top of an exit, so to speak. To me, this
is reminiscent of a matter-anti-matter explosion in another universe. I
suspect this is the reason why so much power is released when you perform the
Bonehead Maneuvar. (Ready to be shot down, of course)
The effects here are astounding. Notice the surges of power from each of
the jump gate struts (?) toward the center of the jump point! The whitening
of the Shadow ship as it's enveloped with all that energy. And the bits of
molten fragments that pursue the White Star along the lead edge of the shock
wave. Bits of gate? Or bits of Shadow ship kabob?

Lennier: 'I was just thinking that, uh, ...in all my years in temple, nothing
ever prepared me for this sort of experience. Perhaps, that when this is all
over, that I will submit a proposal to revise the program. I think that would
be a very good idea.' <Well, Lennier's lost it. The expression on his face
is hysterical!>

21. Sheridan et al return to the station.
I'm running out of time so let me just make one quick comment about this
scene. Well, two.
First, the way Sheridan, Delenn and Ivanova make up their cover story on the
spot reminds me of the very best of M*A*S*H. And lest the Narn bat squad
returns, I mean that in only the very best sense. It occurs to me that these
people are going to need to get very good at covering their asses like this in
the future. Well, they're off to a great start.
Second, Garibaldi's range of expressions in this scene is absolutely
priceless! If you've got it on tape, replay the bit where Endawi gives his
last speech. It's hilarious.

22. Earthdome.
Hmm. To paraphrase, from the ridiculous to the truly menacing.
Senator: 'I told you to wait outside. You could have been seen.'
Morden: 'No harm. No one knows who I am.'
Senator: 'It's all here. They don't have much to go on. A little from the
Narns.'
Morden: 'Well,that's to be expected. But I think we've neutralized that
problem. Nothing else then?'
Senator: 'Not that I can see.. The ship's a complete mystery to all of
them.'
Morden: 'Good. My associates will be very happy to hear that. There's no
need to rush things. Your government can dismiss this as an isolated
incident.'
PsiCop: 'I don't know. There's something about this idea, the threat to
planetary security, I find very appealing. As long as we keep the real truth
to ourselves, there's no reason we can't use this situation to speed up the
program here at home.'
Morden: 'Interesting. What exactly did you have in mind?'

(Damn that JMS! You couldn't just let us hear just one more line, could you?
Sadistic as always. ;) )

A few quick points about this scene:
a. When Morden says that no one knows who he is, I was wondering just what
that senator knows about that.
b. The Senator says, they don't have much to go on. Meaning the people at
the station, all those of the army of the light, Earth Force ?
c. Morden casually mentions neutralizing the Narn problem, and the reference
is obvious of course. But having just seen the teaser for next week's show of
that scene where G'Kar and maybe Londo have been hurt by a bomb, I -do- wonder
if a little more specific neutralizing was in the works, even as Morden says
these words. Well, a few more days, and we may know if I'm right. Or,
knowing jms, I guess we won't.
d. Someone stated in their post that the PsiCop looks an awful lot like that
senator from ANFAW. I agree. JMS, care to comment? The PsiCop says, There's
something about this idea, the threat to planetary security, I find very
appealing. ...there's no reason we can't use this situation to speed up the
program here at home. Does this sound to anyone else like the NightWatch and
the PsiCorps' secret agenda are just two faces of the same operation?

23. The War Council.
Sheridan says, 'First thing I learned at the academy was that a lack of
information can kill you.'

I get this mental image of some kind of military exercise foisted on the new
cadets the very first week to teach them just that! Somehow, I believe that
Cadet Sheridan was declared 'dead' and never forgot the experience.

But as far as everyone pooling their information is concerned, to echo G'Kar,
Finally! Maybe all of our talk about this in the group somehow found its way
through a wormhole in cyberspace and entered Sheridan's mind in a Koshian
dream? Or is that too much technobabble or magic for some of you? ;)

Looking forward to the -next- new show! BTW, when's the date of the last new
one, for now. We're all going to be basket cases by the time it arrives.
Sherry

GOOD SF IS NOT A MALFUNCTION.
NUMBER 'FIVE' IS ALIVE!
*****
Without character development, no one really cares about the science
aspect, because it doesn't affect anyone we care about. Science fiction
is composed of two parts: the science, which we deal with where we can,
and where it's appropriate to the story, and the fiction, which must hew
to the rules of any fiction...characters you care about. To skew the show
toward techie and away from plot or character is just to engage in mental
exercises about what effect component X might have on tachyon B...and I
tend not to find that terribly interesting.

jms
*****
Several items:

1) For those in the LA area, I'm going to be at LosCon at the Burbank
Airport Hilton on Thanksgiving Sunday, I think it's around 1:00 for a 2
hour B5 presentation. Don't know yet if any cast will attend, but there
should be some interesting stuff.

2) Normally I don't flog the merchandise, but I gotta tell you, today
I saw the pennultimate version of the B5 screensaver from Sound Sources,
and it's *gorgeous*. There are 150 still images, each with .wav sounds,
including music in many places, PLUS technical files, PLU
video/sound/music sections where you can see a Vorlon ship dock, see the
Cortez come out of the gate, see the Streib attack, see Starfuries dropping
and jumping...I was just knocked out by it. They've done a *great* job
on it. (These are the same folks who did the recent Terminator screen
saver.) Apparently it'll be out in time for Christmas, but it's going to
be a *limited edition*, so you may have to act quickly when it hits the
stands if you want one. (I'm definitely going to be using it.)

3) If you've been abused by Ford A. Thaxton, I suggest you drop a
line to postmaster@aol.com and let them know about it; do it soonish, btw.
(I *think* that's the correct address for the AOL administration folks;
if not, somebody can correct it.) Given that this abuse has been going on
now for nearly a year, and shows no sign of relenting, and some have asked
privately and publicly what can be done, I see no reason why this should
not be pointed out here.

4) There's a B5 magazine out now, which (although I still don't have
a finished copy in hand yet) (he said pointedly) (or a copy of the issue
of Foundation that printed my article, hello, editor Edward James, can
you hear me?)...anyway, it's a pretty nifty little magazine. When I met
with the editor working on it, I specifically noted that they should not
turn the magazine into a puff piece...let there be some rough edges, and
hard questions. (So I kind of dropped my face into my hands when I read
some of the stuff about how Claudia spends her off-time...and a few other
choice items...but still, it's best to have it absolutely straight.)

5) To the questions about ratings that have arisen of late...the key
to any discussion of ratings is real simple: Is the show getting the
ratings it needs to stay on the air? If it is, then it does; if it
doesn't...it's gone. Where Time Trax and Pointman and Space Rangers are
gone...we're still here. Because the numbers crunch. It sure as hell
ain't because of my sterling personality and good looks. Studios and
networks aren't in the charity business; they're here to make successful
programs.

The problem with B5 is the unusual situation that we're in, in terms
of stations, times, and number-crunching. So I thought I'd take a moment
to explain some of this. There are three elements to the ratings: the
ratings numbers (where you are in the rankings overall), of which one
component is the hourly rating; the shares; and the demographics. The
latter two are the more important figures. The share is the actual
percentage of people watching television who are watching your show; so
a 10 share means 10% of everyone watching TV at that moment is watching
your program. The demographics tells the studio/network what kind of
people are watching...WHO, as opposed to how many.

For instance...here are two hypothetical shows. One gets a high
rating, the other a medium or low rating? Which is more profitable for
the studio/network? It can very easily be the *lower rated* show, IF
that program delivers the choice demographics that advertisers want to
reach. Which is why many lower-rated Fox shows are more profitable to
that network than many CBS shows, which skew toward an older audience
with less disposable income. (Ick, TeeVee numbers talk....) The relative
costs of the show are also a factor.

The final thing to factor in is that B5 is in the positino of being
on a number of stations that are primarily either Fox or UPN stations.
Meaning we get bumped a lot, or we get the 3 a.m. slot. This is primarily
true in the smaller markets; in the big markets, the show generally gets a
better berth. You live or die by the ratings in the big markets, because
those are the areas the advertisers want.

(And if you've stayed with me this far, you're far more patient than
I would be...this stuff gives me a headache on the best of days.)

Now that we've established the language, we proceed....

The demographics for B5 are among the best around in syndication,
which is why we have generally attracted leading national sponsors to the
show. So virtually all of the commercial spots are now sold out for the
third season, at a rate that PTEN is *very* happy about. (Some of the Big
Guns from WB/PTEN have come out to the stage over the last week, simply
to congratulate us on how the show is doing.)

On the national numbers, we get hit a little because of the problem
with the smaller markets/Fox and UPN stations noted above. I'll walk you
through an example.

Take "Comes the Inquisitor." Here are some of the individual market
ratings. (And by way of comparison, anything above a 3 rating and a 6
share is golden for advertisers on this show.) St. Louis, a 3.5 rating
and an *11* share; Portland OR, a 6.7 rating and a 10 share; Kansas City,
a 7.0 rating and an 11 share; Orlando a 2.5 and a *13* share (you now see
how the ratings/share issue can get confusing; you can be in a small
market, so your rating is small, but the *share*, the percentage of actual
people watching your show, can be extremely high). For the next couple
of episodes, you find Kansas City with *another* 7 rating/13 share;
Portland OR with an 8.4/13; Minneapolis with a 4.7/8; Baltimore with a
5.0/7...on and on and on.

Then you factor in the smaller stations, over three periods. First
you get the Combined Overnight Average, which for Inquisitor was 3.6 and
a 5 share (very good). The second figure is the Monday-Wednesday average
of the stations playing it during that period, which jumps to a 4.4 and a
7 share (*extremely* good). The rest of the days, Thurs-Sun, are mainly
in the smaller markets, where we're on weird hours, or get pre-empted a
lot. Now you finally factor in *those* numbers, and you come out to a
national average figure of 3.4 (no shares are given in national averages,
btw). Which is fine, and in any event, the main numbers that matter are
the major markets in any event. But even if the majors were far less than
they are, the national average is still enough to give advertisers what
they want.

All that matters to these folks is cold, hard math...and the math
supports Babylon 5. So we stay on the air. It's really about that
simple. That's the ultimate response to anyone casting doubts on what
we're getting. If we weren't getting good numbers, we wouldn't be here.
Period. (And our ratings are increasing, btw....taking the last batch
in order, the Monday-Wednesday average for B5 went from a 4.1 rating and
a 6 share, to a 4.3 rating and a 6 share, to a 4.4 rating and a 7 share,
to a 4.6 rating and a 7 share. We're adding viewers in a slow, but very
steady fashion. Those are the kinds of numbers studios and networks LOVE
to see...a nice, straight, upward incline.

(Here in LA, this week we again beat DS9 in the local ratings,
with B5 getting a 5.8 rating and a 9 share, and DS9 getting a 5.9 rating
and an 8 share; again, the share being the critical number.)

This is, overall, more than I have ever wanted to write or even think
about the ratings. But a lot of folks have asked lately, so I thought I'd
take a moment, since the numbers have started coming in, to go over the
facts and figures, and try -- as best I can -- to explain them. The
formulae used to compute profitability and ratings and shares and rankings
is somewhere just short of alchemy and a bit further than necromancy; I
barely follow them (mathematics not Zathras' skill)...all I know is that
WB is happy, and if WB is happy, and PTEN is happy, we're happy, because
that means we get to stay on the air and continue telling our story.

6) I may not have mentioned it here, but Michael York will be guest
starring in "A Late Delivery from Avalon," episode #12. And Walter Koenig
is slated to be in #14, "Ship of Tears," as well as in "Dust to Dust"
(whose number I've just forgotten...I think it's
#7).

7) If you haven't done so yet, check out the Wallace and Grommitt
tapes and/or laserdisks. I'm going to keep after you until you do; they
are just terrific. Best and funnkiest stop motion I've ever seen.

8) We're nearly finished shooting episode #10, "Severed Dreams,"
which forms the final part of a kind of three-pronged arc right in the
middle of the season, inclusive of episodes 8 and 9, "Messages From
Earth" and "Point of No Return."

"Messages," for my money, is so far the best we've ever done, though
I'll be more able to lock that down once I've seen the final CGI. It and
"Dreams" are real CGI blowouts; in the latter, there are literally 100
shots -- CGI, live action, and compositing -- in *four pages* of action.
This is an all time record for us (and that doesn't count the stuff earlier
in the episode).

I don't usually go this far, but folks, let me give you my personal
guarantee: you're in for one hell of a ride come mid-season, with these
three episodes.

jms
*****
(MOH)
Like "Midnight on the Firing Line" and "Points of Departure," "Matters
of Honor" bore the burden of being a season opener, with the attendant
need to provide more back-story than usual for new viewers joining the
series at the beginning of a new season. Thanks to the Epsilon Minus
Semi-Morons at Warner Brothers, that effort was wasted in the North
American market (only one week since "The Fall of Night"), but it will
probably be useful when Season Three begins in other nations. To its
credit, "Matters" didn't seem as cumbersome with its exposition as
"Points of Departure" did last season, although the gears did grind a
bit in the course of establishing Marcus Cole as a recurring character
(more on that below).

Herewith, a miscellany of reactions, quibbles, and speculations prompted
by aspects of this episode . . .

THERE'S A VORLON IN THE GARDEN

It was good to see another aerial view of The Garden--in all the
reaction to Kosh's appearance in "The Fall of Night" last week,
insufficient attention was paid to the handsome CGI rendering of
The Garden itself, complete with fountains and other waterworks.

If manipulating the perception of his appearance in "TFoN" was a
strain on Kosh, why did retreat to his yacht after the rescue? Two
possibilities come to mind:

1. His exhaustion was *severe* and his yacht contains some
form of organic medical technology that the yacht itself
can activate when it senses that Kosh is in distress.
(Wouldn't it be ironic if Kosh could have been restored
to health in "The Gathering" simply by dragging him back
to the loading bay where he had debarked and letting the
yacht take him back on board?)

2. Given that Shadows come and go on Babylon 5, Kosh might
have retired to his yacht so that it could protect him
from attack while he was in a weakened state. We know
from "Signs and Portents" that Shadows can do enough
damage to an unimpaired Kosh that he would need to borrow
tools to repair his encounter suit, and we know from
"Hunter, Prey" that his ship has an effective defensive
capability. Of course, ever since "The Gathering," Kosh
has known that his life is at risk while he is on board
the station.

Am I just being paranoid, or am I justified in thinking that when
Kosh seems to be funny, we should be worried? (Folks thought his
off-the-wall aphorisms in "Deathwalker" were odd, but look how
significant that episode has become after "Divided Loyalties.")
Part of the problem understanding Kosh is that he shifts back and
forth between literal and metaphorical speech, and his statements
are so terse that he omits any indication when he is transferring
from one mode to the other. I think that when he told Sheridan,
"I have always been here," he was in his Literal Mode--that is, he
was saying that he was the only Vorlon to have represented the
Vorlons on Babylon 5. On the other hand, his "You have always been
here" to Sheridan (from way back in "All Alone in the Night") was
probably in Metaphorical Mode. It's clear the Vorlons have made
contributions to the development of Minbari theology, and the
notion that some part of Sheridan has always been around might
relate in some way to what the Minbari believe about the recycling
of souls that survive the mortality of the bodies they inhabit.

Several folks have noted that "I hate it when you do that" was
probably a JMS nod to r.a.s.t.b5, but what about the matter (red
herring?) Sheridan raised of not knowing whether different Vorlons
in encounter suits were coming and going? Was that another nod to
the myriad speculations that have appeared on this newsgroup?

THERE'S A DRAZI IN THE TEASER

What is the nature of the call that summons beings to become
Rangers? The design of the Ranger badge (Minbari and Human faces,
forged in Minbari and Human blood--Valen only knows where the
"holy water" comes from) suggests that The Call is restricted to
two races. Why, then, was a Drazi risking his life to assist the
Rangers in the teaser (especially when one would assume that Drazi
warriors would be on the other side of Drazi space, fighting the
Centauri)?

He's done it again, by the way. JMS set up this series so that
we initially had a negative view of the Narns--then he kicked over
the furniture in *Chrysalis,* the last episode of Season One, and
made us begin to sympathize with them (a process that accelerated
through Season Two). And in the last episode of Season Two, JMS
kicked over the furniture, and the Drazi, who had hitherto been a
rather unpleasant, pugnacious species, suddenly began to appear in
a more positive light as victims of Centauri aggression.

CREDITS WHERE CREDITS ARE DUE

In the various posts I've seen that have commented on the new
opening credits, the tendency has been to relate the accompanying
music to the "Requiem for the Line." It seems to me, however, that
the musical leitmotif that matters most is from "The Long, Twilight
Struggle"--in particular, a motif of two discordant chords repeated
several times, one after the other. In "TLTS" I believe they were
heard during the Shadow ambush of the Narn fleet and during the
Centauri bombardment of Narn. In the new credits, the chords are
repeated at a faster tempo during the first part of the opening,
before the headshots of cast members, but the derivation is clear.
(Listening to those chords repeated during the bombardment of Narn
in "TLTS," I imagined a Greek chorus wailing "Lon-do! Lon-do!" to
those chords--a chorus of vengeful Furies, perhaps?)

The continuous pan over the Babylon 5 station during the headshots
in the opening credits was striking. It would be interesting to see
it used without competition from the cast members' faces at some
point--though it is difficult to imagine in what context such a shot
could be employed.

As for the headshots: IN VALEN'S NAME, WHY WAS EVERYONE SMILING?
You just heard Susan Ivanova announce the failure of Babylon 5's
mission and the "year of the Shadow War," you just saw frightening
scenes of Shadows, combat, and turmoil, and then all of a sudden
you get all those cast members smiling straight into the camera as
if theyre trying to pick up one-night stands at a yuppie singles
bar! (Franklin's smirk was the worst, but at least we didn't see
Sheridan's full-toothed grin.) It came as a relief to get to
Vir's dour expression, and after that, both Londo and G'Kar were
plausibly grim. Why is it that when a show is a couple seasons
old, so many well-defined characters suddenly go soft and smiley
in the show's opening credits? (The same thing happened in the
opening credits to "Hill Street Blues," a program JMS has cited as
the kind of breakthrough show he hoped *Babylon 5* would become.)

ILLUMINATING FORESHADOWINGS

In addition to all the overt exposition/recapitulation that the
episode provided as the season opener, there were some wonderful
back-references that were much more subtle. Now that we're well
into the story, the character traits, plot cues, and incidentals
that JMS planted earlier in his epic are popping up in the most
delightful way. Several posters have noted the reference to the
extreme reaction that Minbari have to alcohol, which we first heard
about in "Grail." Another poster has pointed out the similarity
between Delenn's closing speech and G'Kar's "ant" speech in "Mind
War." Might that reflect parallel teachings introduced into
Minbari and Narn cultures by Vorlons in the guise of Valeria and
G'Lon?

There was also another illustration of the complex attitudes that
Minbari have toward lying. When Endawi first met with Delenn and
referred to Earth's current "good relations" with the Minbari,
she was immediately discomforted (and suspicious)--after all, she
had seen ample evidence in Season Two that Earth-Minbari relations
leave much to be desired. Her carefully-worded reply to Endawi's
question was truthful, but not revealing. As I've remarked before,
you can always tell when Delenn is withholding information--her
lips move. (Cf. "All in good time, Captain," later in the episode.)
On the other hand, in her second meeting with Endawi, at the end of
the episode, she had no hesitation in lying to Endawi about Sheridan
and Ivanova's absence from the station--because that was a lie that
preserved others' honor. It's a complicated attitude toward
truthfulness, but it's consistent.

But what might prove to be the most elegant foreshadowing of all
may have been in the scene in which G'Kar flips through the pages of
the Book of G'Quon to find its illustration of a Shadow ship. We
briefly see an illustration on a following page of a leaf or plant.
If that image doesn't turn out to be an illustration of a G'Quon Eth
plant ("By Any Means Necessary"), I shall be severely disappointed.

MY NAME IS COLE. MARCUS COLE.

Well, heck, it's exposition for a new character, so I suppose we
have to cut JMS some slack . . .

Let's see: Marcus simulates oxygen deprivation well enough to fool
a doctor and MedLab scanners, or else he has exceptional powers of
recovery; he knows how to disappear from MedLab without a sound, and
yet he manages to convey to Dr. Franklin that the good doctor has
to deliver his Ranger badge to Lennier AND set up a clandestine
meeting with Lennier and Delenn in a disreputable dive (did a scene
get cut or what?); and he has an unnamed friend (an Old Friend, do
you suppose?) who provided him with a Minbari fighting staff. Yeah,
I'd say there's more to Marcus's back-story than we have yet heard.

I agree with those who felt the melodramatic fashion in which Marcus
met with Delenn and Lennier was gratuitous. I would have thought
the desperate measures taken to get Marcus safely past the Zagros 7
blockade would have sufficed to establish his warrior credentials.
And did they have to meet in a bar? How many Rough-Bar-with-Aliens
scenes have there been since the original *Star Wars*? Just once,
how about a clandestine meeting in a *really* unexpected place,
like a lending library or a grocery store? (On the other hand, we
did have the pleasure of seeing Delenn's fighting skills--nice to
know that both males and females in the Minbari priest caste get
that kind of training.)

Oh, yes, like Ivanova, Marcus doesn't talk when he doesn't have
anything to say. And like Ivanova, Marcus has survived a dead
brother who was killed . . . well, you get the picture. Of
course, when you consider what happens to folks whom Ivanova loves,
and when you consider that Cole gave the speech about what happens
to a Ranger's badge when the Ranger dies . . . well, let's hope the
premiums on his Mutual of Omahadome life-insurance policy have been
paid in full. (*Three* tears when a Ranger dies? Those badges are
*definitely* Minbari in design.)

LET THE SUN SHINE IN

When we saw Londo's dream in "The Coming of Shadows," we saw
Shadow ships against a blue sky, but we didn't see so many that
they blotted out the sun--which is what Londo described to Mr.
Endawi. Londo's dream in "TCoS" also showed a hand reaching out
from an orange sun that, if memory serves, was alive with solar
flares. Are those flares the "fire" in which Kosh told Emperor
Turhan things would end? Lots of speculative possibilities here,
in part because of the uncertainty whether the hand emerging from
the sun is Londo's (as per Elric in "The Geometry of Shadows") or
Sheridan's (as per one of the dream-Ivanovas in "All Alone in the
Night"). But suppose you get all the Shadows on Centauri Prime, and
have the Centauri Prime sun go nova (as per the Dilgar home world,
as reported in "Deathwalker") . . . . Well, it's the thought that
counts.

LAYING A FOUNDATION

Explaining why there was a Ranger training facility in Drazi space,
Lennier cited the old adage about not putting all one's eggs in one
basket. I wonder if, in addition to Valeria, Valen and the Minbari
were guided by a Vorlon named Asimov:

Take my advice, Hari! If the time comes when you are able
to set up some device that may act to prevent the worst
from happening, see if you can think of two devices, so
that if one fails, the other will carry on.

--R. Daneel Olivaw, *Prelude to Foundation*

PUTTIN' ON THE FRATZ!

Obviously, the White Star has an important part to play, not only
in this episode but in more to come--how else to account for the
sets aboard the vessel that we saw the characters walk through on
their way to its bridge? And the ship has enough going for it,
that I'm not going to worry about the lack of seat belts, even
if its artificial gravity wasn't sufficient to keep the crew in
place when the Markab jumpgate went boom. Other posters have
already divagated on that. No, there's something else about that
ship that's bothering me.

Sparks.

Yes, sparks. For this one, we go to the "JMS Speaks" section of
the Lurker's Guide episode page for "A Distant Star":

To be filed under the heading of, "What I does, I takes the
rap for; what I does not, I doesn't take the rap for," when
we discussed the hyperspace accident in our production
meetings, Jim-- our director -- asked if he could so some
fratzing and sparking, some fire...I said I did not *want*
huge gouts of flame, just a few small sparks, fine, a bit of
smoke from components burned out, fine...and that day I was
over in the other facility overseeing a mixdown of the audio
...and guess what he did in my absence? Yup.

Enough said.

THE SHADOW-PSI CORPS "PROJECT"

Forgive me for the following, but after seeing a Senator and a Psi
Cop meeting with Morden, there's something I need to say . . .

<Engage Macauley Culkin Mode>

YES!!!!!!!!

<Disengage Macauley Culkin Mode>

Sorry about that, but as the original proponent of the "Unified Field
Theory of Conspiracies" (posted to the newsgroup last June, when the
Comics 5-8 revelations about Garibaldi and Sinclair's activities on
Mars were under way), I've been waiting for this. (Now if we can
get to see Morden or some other Shadow rep chatting with some Minbari
Windswords, the essentials of the UFTC will be fully documented.)

***************************************************************************
***** sorso@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu *****

*****

After watching "Convictions", I couldn't decide if I hated it or not. Sure, the
whole story with Londo and G'Kar was *great*. I'm so happy JMS didn't fall in
the "Let's get out together and become friends" cliche'. Marvelous! Also, I
loved the fact Londo seemed to be back to his old self, now that he cut his ties
with Morden... He seems more enjoyable and happy now... The lightbulb joke was a
nice way to show how he's come to laugh a bit at himself and his ambition.

However...

I was a bit confused by the bombing... I expected Free Mars or better, the Home
Guard to be behind it, but it turns out it's a desperate engineer who lost his
job. Now, what's wrong with the picture?

Well. I think that, as science-fiction fans, we are somewhat sheltered by what's
going on. This is the major difference between Star Trek and ST: The Next Gen.,
for instance... While TOS focused on weaving metaphors for the human condition,
ST: TNG was presenting cool gadgets, and interstellar plots. "Why worry about
racism and hunger in our world when the Klingons are bordering civil war?"
It's my opinion Science Fiction's goal is to provide a metaphor for the human
condition: this is when it is the most powerful.

But like I said, we are some times sheltered by cool effects and interstellar
wars. We, as sci-fi fans, don't expect sci-fi to bring us closer to our
condition, and poke our noses in just what we *are*.

Well, this was my initial problem with "Convictions", and now I'm glad for it.
The bomber wasn't an evil racist. He wasn't some alien trying to make a point
in a war that doesn't concern *us* in the present.

He was a lonely, desperate man. Lost his job. Just like you may read in the
newspapers.

I wasn't happy when Sheridan knocked him down. I wasn't happy either when they
announced he'd pass in trial.

And you want to know the scariest thing? The way Franklin talked about the
situation... It was *exactly* the way the barman talked about the Markabs at the
end of Confessions and Lamentations! A little biaised comment, and a joke.
Nothing changes, indeed.

Damn you, JMS, for giving me more than cool ships and spiffy aliens. :)

Elijah

--
"The brain the size of a planet, and they ask me to
pick up a piece of paper..."
Marvin, "The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy"
*****
Very funny first scene. I love how everyone keeps
mispronouncing the Drahzi angel name. :) The arrival of so many
religious missionaries on B5 after the appearance of an 'angel'
makes perfect sense. I especially like brother Theo, from Earth.
He's got a nice guy face. His order has applied for permanent
residence on B5, so with luck we'll be seeing more of them. Look
at the very first appearance of brother Theo. He turns around to
face the camera, and takes off his hood. Does this move remind
anyone almost precisely of the first appearance of Ben Kinobi in
Star Wars?
As usual, the opening is gorgeous.
Oh yes! I like this episode already. It has Cary-Hiyuki
Tagawa as a guest actor. Everybody remember him? He played the
Japanese playboy is Rising Sun, and Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat,
among other things that slip my mind at the moment. He's one of
my favorite Japanese actors. Too bad he was only a security
guard. Means he'll probably disappear and never be heard from
again. I would have liked to see him as a regular.
Very interesting scene between Ivanova and brother Theo with
Theo asking for permanent residance. Ivanova can't bring herself
to believe in the 'belief' that led them there. Ivanova has had
trouble buying into religious orders before. Anyone remember her
initial refusal to sit in um...Shiva, I think it is. Not sure of
the speeling. Anyway, it means grief, and she didn't want to do
it for her father when he died. She eventually did, but never
really believed in the religious part of it.
They really put a whole lot of effort into the 'blown up
sections'. The MAD BOMBER theme has been used before, but it is
always viable. And this episode does it pretty well.
Haha!!! I LOVE this scene with Lennier sitting in debarking
with the super-annoying human. His calm ruse to get rid of the
guy is hysterical!!! And his words "I will do penance...later."
Had me rolling. Too bad 5 seconds later he got buried in a ton of
metal rubble as the second bomb went off. I'd be interested to
know why on Earth Delenn and Londo were coming out at the same
time, meaning from the same ship. Just a subtle deux ex machina
plot device. Didn't bother me though. Lennier saved them both,
and that set up the wonderful scenes with Londo later. But I'm
getting ahead of myself.
A couple more scenes of blown up sections and a typical yet
exciting medical emergency carry off of injured Lennier.
Sheridans ideas to break up groups larger than ten to avoid
giving the bomber easy targets seemed a bit dumb to me. How do
you do that on such a crowded space station?
The next two scenes are very well done. First G'Kar raving
that the Centauri are responsible, then Londo raving that the
Narns are responsible. Also how Londo referred to the Centauri
military as their 'forces of liberation'. Very subtle, and
perfectly typical euphamistic double speak. Trying to warp a
harsh truth with a soft phrase.
What disturbed me was just HOW raving G'Kar is throughout
this entire episode. It is becoming clear that G'Kar is slowly
unravelling, mentally. He's crumbling slowly under the
unbelievable heartache and stress he is under. You can hardly
blame him. The weight on him is staggering.
The scene here with Londo waiting over Lennier's unconscious
form in medlab is very well acted. Londo is trying to be
meaningful and compassionate, but he is reduced to babbling
nonsensically. The words he spouts are very funny, but it
represents a deeper wounding in Londo's heart. He's cracking TOO.
Just like G'Kar.
Also, the joke Londo told was REALLY pitiful, as it was
meant to be. I love Londo's line as he's waiting over Lennier, 'I
will wait for you talk, and if you don't, I will just have to
start talking again. And we wouldn't want that, would we?" It
would appear that Londo DOES have a heart, after all. Or at
least, he WANTS to have one. He's trying to be honorable and kind
in somehow repaying Lennier for saving his life, but he doesn't
know HOW to be honorable and kind. Of course, this spot of
decency is a flea fart in a hurricane. Too little, too late.
Londo is WAY beyond redemption, well, maybe not redemption, but
he'll never be forgiven. He may come to his senses, pay in guilt
for his crimes. But his REpayment to those who have suffered
because of him will cost him his head. Too bad, really.
Ivanova getting brother Theo and his monks to go through the
vids searching for common faces (the most common being the bomber
coming back to inspect his ART) was a neat solution. I like
Garibaldi's line to Ivanova "This is the screwiest idea you've
ever had." To which she of course responds "Thank you." :)
WHOA!!! The reactions on G'Kar's and Londo's faces as the
lift doors open and they are face to face are incredible. So many
angers and fears and everything else all at once, that all they
can do is freeze. The fact that Londo didn't try to lord over
G'Kar, and that his only words were "I'll wait for the next one",
is another point in his favor, but his behavior after the bomb
explodes and traps them both in the damaged elevator is typical
cruddy. He can't bring himself to admit that anything he has done
to G'Kar was wrong. They have to bicker.
G'Kar's laughing during this danger is SCARY. He is
definitely breaking. He'd much rather see Londo dead at the cost
of his own life than help him get out. The way he outlined it was
haunting. Londo was out for two hours in the lift, and G'Kar
didn't do anything to him because the penalty for the death of
any Centauri by any Narn was the execution of 500 Narns. Yet
because of the fire and the fact that they would both suffocate
in time, G'Kar could watch him die anyway, and spare the Narns
the executions. All the time he's outlining these facts he keeps
laughing harder, and harder. VERY scary. G'Kar has been reduced
to a single live nerve, tensed beyond all imagination. yet he
can't crack because of all those depending on him. Does anyone
remember the episode where G'Kar is scratched by a poison blade
weilded by another Narn, yet he doesn't seek any medical
treatment for it? Because it would show weakness if front of the
others? G'Kar has had to be a pillar of indomitable strength for
SO long, and since the occupation of homeward the burden has
become SO great, that it is crushing his mind. He has been
reduced to nothing but pain, and revenge. Terribly sad.
Although I couldn't help laughing when G'Kar says "As the
humans say...Up yours, DIE!" to Londo.
Anyway, with the help of Brother Theo and his monks, the mad
bomber is located. Some exciting fighting, the thrilling last
minute location of the bomb on the fusion reactor, the cleared by
seconds removal/explosion of the bomb away from the station. All
standard, but well done. The CGI effects inside the fusion
reactor were pretty neat. No need to say much about all this.
None of it has very much to do with anything. Just villian of the
week stuff.
There WAS one particularly funny thing I liked. When the
bomber tells sheridan to leave his link outside, and Sheridan
starts to hide it in his shirt, and then Garibaldi tells him if
he puts it there, the bomber will find it. Then Sheridan asks him
for a suggestion on where he SHOULD put it. With just a LOOK,
Garibaldi tells him, and us, PERFECTLY. And of course Sheridan
then stuffs it down his pants. :) Very funny.
The most significant thing at the end of the episode is
Londo and G'Kar in the elevator shaft. The smoke has seeped in,
they are barely conscious, and are laid out stricken on the
floor. Then the station guys break through ceiling to save them.
Yet they are STILL complaining and bickering. G'Kar whining about
being rescued, which means Londo will live. And Londo whining
about his life in general. Londo's line "Go be the abassador to
Babylon 5 they say, it'll be an easy assignment," was a riot.
Of course, then they say the most important lines in the
episode. Londo says "I hate my life." and G'Kar says "So do I."
It is right here that we see just what war and hatred has done to
them both. It has made them PITIFUL. Totally PATHETIC. I believe
this is a very significant point.
Funny followup\tie-in at the end when Doc Franklin starts
telling the same lame joke Londo told him, then Lennier wakes up
and finishes the joke. Even funnier was Delenn telling Lennier
that the Centaurum would probably give him a medal, then Lennier
saying "I should have stayed in the coma."

Well, basically this was a villian of the week episode. It
was GOOD villian of the week episode, but still. I liked it
anyway. Particularly because of the scenes with Londo and G'Kar.
The stresses and strifes of the war have taken two more
casualties, and they don't even know it.
What is to become of our two bickering ambassadors? They
have already begun being swallowed by the darkness they have
created. I wonder if there will be anything left of either of
them when all is said and done.
2260 is just beginning. But things are already getting
messy. What new catastrophe will develop next week?
We shall surely see.

SHADE
******
Na'Toth was back on Narn during the attack; the actor who plays Lou
has gone on to other projects, and we haven't heard the last of General
Hague....

jms
*****
The rim, and the "veil" beyond which the bulk of the First Ones
passed, is the Galactic rim. As for why the shadows are doing what
they're doing...that's kind of the key to the whole thing, which we
haven't turned yet.

jms
*****
Although I really liked "MoH", I was also a bit dissapointed. I only
blame for this the fact that I had very high expectations for it.
Consequently, I didn't expect much from "Convictions" and it blew me
right out of the water.

Certain episodes of B5 leave me with the heightened feeling of pleasure
that I usually derive only from an extremely well-written book, or from a
great movie, or from an amazing piece of music. "Convictions" was one of
these. From the very first moment (the great scene in which Zack directs
the visiting Drazi priests to a potted plant) until the gripping end of
the amazing scene with Londo and G'Kar it seems they got everything
right, down to the priceless scene where Sheridan sticks his link where
Garibaldi's wicked grin suggests...which in turn leads to the priceless
blend of humour and suspense where Sheridan ends on his butt and the fate
of the entire station hangs from a thread. "Convictions" is one of those
perfect titles which reflects everything that happens in this episode,
from G'Kar's choices, to the religious beliefs of Brother Theo, his crew
and the Drazis, and to the the final conviction of the creep who set off
all the bombs (which could himself conceivable be a dissatisfied victim
of the Nightwatch tactics).

Leaving aside the suspense of the situation in the station, for me the
real winner was the situation involving Londo and G'Kar.

I would suggest that the desired ending of Babylon 5 does not merely
depend upon which side triumphs in the conflict between light and dark,
or even upon whether B5 gets destroyed or who dies and who lives.

The battle rages within the soul of each of these characters we have come
to know and deeply care for. Some will triumph, and some will fall. Each
of the former will become a candle of hope, and a happy ending regardless
of whether they live or they die. Each of the latter will be a personal
loss to each one of us, a tragic ending for the entire series. And so the
war will be both won and lost a number of times by the time the final
credits of the last episode scroll by.

The conflict between G'Kar and Londo is an example of this, and yet even
know I think that it is not without a glimmer of hope. In their present
course, they will meet eighteen years from now and destroy one another.
If they cannot transcend this fate, their tragedy and sad loss will
become a reality. But the future is always in motion. The one driven by a
false sense of racial superiority and manifest destiny, and the other
consumed by hate. Both, hating what their life has now become.

It was never easy for G'Kar not to hate Londo. But in "Chrysalys" a way
was open for him to take anew direction. He failed to take it, and the
universe consequently made it most challenging the next time. Now it
seems all but impossible that he will, but until the end we can never
tell. Up to the moment when the last breath may be squeezed out of
Londo's throat, there is a hope that G'Kar will find a reason to live
that is more important that the hate which keeps him alive in order
to destroy him. If at some point down the road he can suddenly realize
that the hate...does not really matter or mean anything anymore, he will
have transcended his hate (for he became a child and follower of that
hate from the moment when he killed his first Centauri after his father's
death). Then a new hope will open for G'Kar, and for the entire race
which he represents.

As for Londo, now he is increasingly realizing that the dream of glory
and importance which he held is only a dream, if not a nightmare. Whether
this realization can take him anywhere is far from certain. In "MoH", we
saw glimpses of the old vulnerable and humorous Londo which we had all
come to like...but there is also something hard and cold, supremacist
about him. Caught in this whirlwind of horror, it will take impossible
strains to renounce his dream of Centauri superiority, as it will take
impossible strains for G'Kar to overcome the weight of his hate. If they
don't, the entire meaning of each's existence will end with the utter
futility of their mutual self-destruction. If they can accomplish what
now seems impossible, then perhaps they will redeem our
never-surrendering hopes for them...whether or not they die. They too are
joined together at the waist.

For us, each single character in the show will constitute either a
triumph or a defeat, and a reflection of our own in either case.

I am deeply grateful for this show. Probably like many others out there,
I wonder what did I do to deserve such moments of utterly undescribable
and moving beauty. I think it reflects the best of our own joy al being
alive such as we are.

Episodes like "Convictions" defeat any possible argument that anyone
could make against Babylon 5. IMO, anyways.

Wish you all immense enjoyment out of it

Jaime
*****
I've been debating this step for, quite literally, months now.
What has finally tipped the balance is seeing the extent to which
rastb5 has been virtually taken hostage by a very few people
who have no interest in this forum except to tear down this show
in general, and me in particular.
To that effect, they lie, manufacture facts, speculate based on
premises that have no basis whatsoever in reality, engage in smear
campaigns, insult and abuse users of this area, drop innuendo when
they have nothing else to grab onto...they leap into threads that
should by all rights be reasonably safe from flame and turn them
into referendums on whether or not jms is a liar, in the kind of
logic that stems from "are you still beating your wife?" premises.

The progression is always the same: a smear message, or an outright
fabrication, gets posted; it generates heated replies from other
users; those users are then attacked for being unthinking followers
or sycophants (when the reality is that the original message was
bone-headed and simply *wrong), thus ensuring that the conversation
is not about the subject anymore, but rather the conversation becomes
about the conversation...and in that form, it can go on forever,
spreading out into more and more threads until all you see after a
while are flames in every direction.

I try to stay out of it as much as I can...but sooner or later
something so odious, so despicable, such an obvious, irredeemable lie
gets posted that I lose my temper and have to respond. I sit here,
and take sucker punches to the face, every single time I sign on from
some of the outrageous stuff that goes on here; I take it quietly,
but after you're punched in the face three, four, five times a day,
for weeks at a time, damn it sooner or later you're going to hit back,
and hard. And that's when the same cadre of imbeciles comes back and
says, "Gee, look at that, see how badly he behaves?"

More and more lately, I have been signing on here, and by the time I
log off, I'm furious. Furious for the unsubstantiated character
assassination directed against me...and over the course of the year
plus I've been here, not one -- not ONE -- of the allegations from
Fuller, Fuller or Thaxton have *ever* been proven out, but they just
forget that and move on to the next attack...as well as the attacks
on other users here who have chosen to defend me against these
baseless attacks.

In the past, where it's been just a few threads here and there, and
I knew what they were, I could just avoid them. But in their
ceaseless attacks, designed to provoke a response from me, they
have begun throwing their nets consistently wider, so that they're
all over the place; I can't avoid the hassles and the grief. And
if I see some of this crap, which is untrue and unfair and designed
for no other reason than to cause me grief...I get angry, and when
I get angry, I can't write, and that hurts the show.

And I will not allow the show to be hurt. When it crosses that
line...it stops. One way or another.

I've tried reasonable appeals; those were taken as signs of weakness,
turned into further attacks, and ultimately failed. I've asked
people here *not* to respond to these abusive individuals, because
if they get only silence for their efforts, they will go away; they
live for the echo of pain caused by their words; find validation and
reason to live in that echo. That failed. And now the level of
toxicity has risen to a level that can no longer be tolerated.

And before anyone even *tries* to turn this into "oh, joe just doesn't
want to hear negative stuff about his show, he doesn't want to hear
any criticism, he just wants to be god" (and you know who you are,
and fuck you too), it's got *nothing* to do with criticism of the
show, positive or negative, made from having genuinly thought out
the problems. I've always responded well to any kind of criticism
that is well-considered, and always will.

This has to do with a small handful of people who have, through
their incessant, stalking, compulsive behavior ruined this forum for
not only me but a great deal of other people who've emailed me to
say that they don't post here any more, because they've gotten
tired of being attacked, tired of reading the endless tirades and
smears and assaults on me and other users. The good people get
driven away, and the bad people refuse to go, or to moderate their
behavior, and there is no mechanism currently in place for others
here to moderate their behavior.

I have become, in many ways, the football used to pull others on
either side of the line into an ugly and destructive game. And
the only way to stop it is to remove the football.

So I am posting this as notice that I will be resigning from
rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5 effective the end of the month. To Ron
and the Rangers...stop sending me the list at that time.

Because the simple reality is that once I'm gone, the prime lure for
those who've turned this place into a constant flame zone for the
last year will have left. And in time, so will they. It's sad
when a handful of people can take something that is of value to
thousands, potentially tens of thousands, of users worldwide, and
chew away at it until there's nothing left, simply because of their
own twisted obsession.

I cannot go to bed, or get up in the morning, furious over the
latest offense committed here by the tyrannical few; I've lost
endless hours sitting here angry over the falsehoods and the
smears and the innuendo. I can't afford to do that anymore.

And just so they cannot weasel their way out of it later, cannot
say "well, it wasn't me, it was just the climate, it was the
fault of those guys over there...look, a comet...." I point the
finger squarely at the Theron Fuller, Deborah Fuller, and Ford
Thaxton, with a couple of other accomplices not worthy of comment.
I hope you enjoy seeing your names in a post by me, folks, since
that's what seems to excite you, because this particular message
is likely to be the last. You've finally succeeded in driving
me off rastb5, which was clearly your intent from the start.

I will continue to be present on CIS, Genie, AOL and a few other
places, which have more than their share of critical commentaries,
but are moderated to prevent this kind of abusive behavior. When
the rastb5-info group is open, I will post to that area, and take
questions via that forum. But I will no longer post to, or read
the main rastb5 area any longer. I simply can't afford the
heartache anymore.

The experiment in interaction between viewers and the makers of
B5 will continue; they just will continue in other places.

People ask why more producers don't come on-line. This is the
reason. Because there are some people out there who are obsessed
with anyone who has even the smallest celebrity (and there ain't
much smaller celebrity than being a producer); people who feel it
is their god-given obligation to tear down the other person, and
to make sure that there cannot *possibly* be anyone in their
universe more important than they themselves. They do not sow,
neither do they reap; they only shred and tear and abuse.

If you're ever going to see more producers on-line, you're going
to have to look seriously into ways to keep the least reputable
elements from turning it into a bloodbath. Because when some say,
as has been said here, "it's my right to say this, and you have to
take it," the response is, "No, I don't." If you stay, you become
an enabler, a co-dependent, who allows the abuse to continue by the
conscious decision to remain where you can be hit.

To the rest of you: I apologize for having to take this step.
Some of you know how difficult this decision has been for me, the
long months I've spent debating it back and forth with friends,
family and other netters. I have enjoyed the exchange, have learned
much from the commentaries, and the discussion, have made many
friends and acquaintances. Were there any way I could stay, be
sure that I would. But when I have to stare at a monitor, when
a script deadline is upon me, and all I can think of is, "That
goddamned liar is spreading the same old crap *again*," then
something has got to go. In this case, that's me.

Because sure as hell, they won't. Not until their punching bag

With the obvious exceptions, I will miss you greatly. As stated
above, I'll be here through the end of the month, just to finish
clearing out stuff, and ease this transition, though probably in
somewhat reduced capacity. I hope to see many of you via the new
info group. Though the discussion will not be quite so free
wheeling as it is here, because of the moderated structure there,
it will be good to look upon your faces (well, your pixels) in
the months to come there.

Again, my apologies. I wish this could be handled in some other
way, but that doesn't seem likely. You cannot know how your
words, and your efforts, on behalf of B5, have been appreciated
not just by me, but by everyone involved with the show. It's
been a great experience, a chance to learn, and a hell of a ride.
See you on the flip side.

With great affection,

J. Michael Straczynski
*****
Tonight is the last night of my feed from rastb5, and I wanted to
send along a quick note to resolve the few last things remaining to be
discussed or addressed before that happens.

Since my note went up -- raggedly, here and there, due to some
problems with the server, apparently -- I have now logged slightly over
900 private email messages in my GEnie mailbox. This in addition to the
rest of the feed per se. I'm slogging through them as fast as I can,
trying to give personal responses to as many as I humanly can; if over
the course of the next week or so, if you've sent me a note, and don't
get a response, assume that either got crunched by the often cranky
GEnie newsreader system, or it didn't specifically seem to require a
response...or my hands fell off and rolled under the table.

Nonetheless, a general thank you to everyone who's sent in mail on
this. It's disturbing to realize that about 75% of all of the notes thus
far received begin with a variation on "I used to post on rastb5 (or I
just lurk on rastb5) but don't post because the atmosphere just got too
poisoned by the deranged few you mentioned." Literally hundreds of
people seem to have been driven from rastb5 by the rampage of a few
others who don't want to be attacked or abused by those few. This is
terribly saddening to realize. That they have been driven off is more of
a real issue than my being now in this position.

Anyway...to all those who wrote, I am moved and touched by your
words, and if there were any way around this, I'd take it. I know that
some are working behind the scenes to put together a moderated newsgroup,
but I don't know if that will happen or not. The goal of any such should
not be to eliminate criticism -- heck, there's never been a lack for that
here or on any of the other systems -- but just to keep out the truly
dysfunctional. That may be a very promising route, but I'm not holding
out much hope that it'll happen.

Surprisingly, the #1 comment that has come in is, "What on earth
TOOK you so long? If I were in your shoes I'd've been out of here MONTHS
ago." Glutton for punishment, I guess. Kept thinking we could work a
way around this. But as has been pointed out by others, I guess it was
inevitable. I didn't see that because I suppose I didn't really want to
see it, or cop to it, or realize that this was running out on me. I have
vastly enjoyed the open lines of communication, have met a great number of
interesting people both on-line exclusively and even in person in many
cases.

Anyway, I wish it could be otherwise. For the most part, you're a
cute bunch, and I won't even space you for being cute.

(Oh, and speaking of "for the most part," a sidelong glance in the
direction of Robert Holland is in order, whose latest poison pen letters
are wonderfully emblematic of the problem here from the start. He has
implied since this all came out that in leaving here, I'm somehow "getting
away with something," that it's nothing to do with him or his ilk here on
the system, nononononono, can't be that...it's just that I'm on AOL now
leaving tons of messages by his reckoning, and it'd happen regardless.
Which is so obviously boneheaded and stupid that it almost doesn't merit
response...but what the hell....

(The AOL B5 page has, maybe, 1/1,000th the number of users as rastb5;
I log on maybe every two-three days, and leave maybe a total of 5-10
messages in the course of a week. So much for his claim about the total
number of messages left. AOL is confined just to the US, and doesn't have
even a *fraction* of the coverage of rastb5. But Mr. Holland, in his usual
subliminal sleazosity, tries to find some subterfuge, some hidden agenda,
something he can point to in vague terms and wonder what I'm getting away
with. This is the game he and the others here play constantly; there is
nothing they can go after in reality, so they come up with vaguely worded
allegations with no real core to them, just designed to somehow cast a
shadow on this show or myself, specifically to get people, myself included,
to respond, defending when no real charge has been made. It's the oldest
trick in the book; get the other person to defend themselves against a
non-existent charge, in the hope of creating the illusion of smoke and
the perception of fire...and, of course, getting everyone upset in the
process. I fell for it too many times; we all did. This is the last time
I will do so. Mr. Holland belongs in the same company as the rest of his
associates. They will *always* find something to complain about, even if
it means manufacturing it themselves.)

But it's no longer my problem. Just as it's no longer the problem of
several hundred others who've logged off here in the last year due to the
hassles, and the others who have either left, or are about to leave for the
same reason: the tyranny of the petty dysfunctional.

So we turn back toward the light, and happier topics. This is, after
all, a benediction, not a jeremiad.

I'm told that the info area doesn't quite function as I'd thought,
so we'll see what can be done here. From time to time, I will try to put
together a letter from home, as it were, to send here to rastb5; I won't
see any of the responses to it that aren't emailed directly to me, but
the intent would be to send along information that might be useful from
time to time for folks to have. I'm not expecting to do this very often,
but will try to do it here and there as I'm able.

In other news...since this I guess kinda counts as such a letter...
I'm happy to note that the paperwork for the B5 fan club has finally,
FINALLY, come in in finished form. Once it's vetted by our people, we
hope to get it signed and get this long-overdue baby going. We've had
a number of discussions about this, and how to handle it, maybe a survey
of folks to see what kinds of limited-edition items they'd like to see us
make, maybe a web-page for the club, other options. (If we should start
selling limiteds on the EA pins, patches and stuff, what we'll probably
do is have them made by the same companies that supply us with the real
props used in the show, so they're absolutely identical in every way, not
just knockoffs. It's a little more expensive that way to make, and we
won't make much of anything off them because we'll keep the prices at a
reasonable level, but I think that's the way to go. Neither Doug nor I
are looking to make this into a profit center; if it can more or less pay
for itself, and help organize folks, give them something nifty from the
show, then that's sufficient.)

Oh...and we're investigating the possibility of licensing the damned
videotapes ourselves, producing them pretty much at cost. Don't know if
we can pull this off or not, but we're going to try.

Michael York is currently shooting with us in "A Late Delivery From
Avalon," and doing an amazing job. This may turn into one of our best
episodes, from a performance and emotion perspective. I had a few doubts
about the script -- it has a kind of writing style I don't use very often,
and very stylized in appearance -- but it's coming out great.

Script 15 is entitled "Interludes and Examinations," and has a plot
turn I hadn't seen coming, but which fits perfectly into the arc; I think
you're going to be stunned. (I was.) As I write this, I've just started
writing "War Without End, Part One," #316, the first part of the two
episodes that bring Sinclair to Babylon 5, which we'll shoot sometime
after the first of the year. It's been touch and go, but we've finally
been able to schedule all of the guest cast members from "Babylon Squared"
for this one, which is the flip side of that episode. It's probably going
to be the most expensive show we've done yet, due to the hideous production
requirements for this one. It's also the one I'm most nervous about
writing, even more than "Fall of Night," because an awful lot happens here,
and it has to be done just right. It's going to be probably the toughest
writing job of the series to date.

I'll be putting Sinclair and Sheridan together a lot, which is
shaping up to be an interesting combination. We're also going to see
Minbar for the first time.

(We just now got the finished copy of "Voices of Authority" in; man,
do I wish we'd had this early enough to run in place of PTG, great as that
one is. The EFX are terrific, eye-popping.)

Oh...speaking of eye-popping, I've gotten a copy of the B5 Screen
Saver/Limited Edition Entertainment CD Rom, and it's nifty. I suggest it
to everyone, with a caveat: if you're not a computer neep-neep kind of
person, have someone help you install the thing. It took me several
passes to figure everything out. And once you DO install it, even though
it says "do you want all the images?" and you say yes, it doesn't put them
all on. Once you've finished -- and I'm putting this here because as far
as I can tell this isn't documented *anywhere* -- go to the setup menu,
and hit install. Make sure your CDrom is in the drive. Go to the
Images subdirectory on the CDrom, and you'll suddenly see 150 or so
images that were *not* installed. Highlight all of them, copy them over
to the pdesk/images subdirectory on your hard disk, then add them, and
select them. Most neeps out there could probably figure this out, but I
couldn't, so I pass this along for those who are as computerchip
challenged as I am. Once it's all *there*, and actually even before that,
it's gorgeous...the images are crisp and brilliant, the full-motion video
stuff is terrific, there's music and sounds and other stuff...I can't
commend it highly enough. (Oh, yeah, I think it sometimes bumps up
against Norton Desktop, but it's only happening on one of my two Dell
machines running ND, so it may be something I'm doing wrong.)

For those who asked about books...there's going to be a Creating
Babylon 5 book out from Boxtree Books in the UK this summer. I just
finished proofing it, and it's pretty good. I think the photo selection
could be better, but the actual text is quite good.

(A pause while jms tries desperately to remember if there's any
other real hard news to pass along here...and the brain goes blank.)

We're going to be shooting through December 14th, at which point
we break for the Christmas hiatus through January 2nd. I hope to take
some of that time and catch up on scripts a bit. We'll probably debut
the first season 3 gag reel at the party. (Then run like hell.)

OH...yeah, and before I forget (again), to those who asked about
the Stephen Furst item in TV Guide...he's doing the Chicago Hope show in
a two-parter, he's not joining the cast of regulars. The piece in TV
Guide is ambiguous and can be read that way, much to Stephen's chagrin.
He'll be doing more shows for us this season.

There's a conference in the Compuserve Convention Center on Saturday
from 2-3 p.m. Pacific time. Just me at this point.

Knowing this is the last note I'll be sending for a while, I'm
tempted to keep shoving stuff in here. I just realized that I wish this
didn't have to stop. But it kinda does, doesn't it?

So...to those of you who have been terrifically helpful to me over
the term of this long experiment...to the Rangers for filtering out the
feed and protecting me from story ideas...to Sherry for the great analyses
of episodes, and Orso for his cogent thoughts...actually, I shouldn't be
singling people out because I've been forever astonished and gratified at
some of the brilliant and insightful observations that have floated across
my monitor in the last year or so. I've been delighted, amused, impressed,
floored, dumbfounded, intrigued, awakened, and occasionally horrified
(usually in a good way).

It is my abiding hope that in return, I've given something of use
here. I feel strongly that we cannot hope to control or influence o
improve a dragon with as many heads as TV until and unless we understand it
first. I hope that I've helped a little to demystify how it all works, so
that folks have a better chance of getting what they *want* rather than
what some producers or studios want to shove down your throats. If it has
served that purpose to any degree, then the exercise has been worthwhile.

My best to all of you. When I can, I'll try to post messages in a
bottle and send them along to the group as occasional updates. Meanwhile,
take care, don't fight, and remember: if you do not choose to lead, you
will forever be led by others. Find what scares you, and do it. And
you *can* make a difference, if you choose to do so.

Babylon Control, clear.

jms
*****