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  1. - Top - End - #61
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    Zombie

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    Default Re: Babylon 5 Group Re-Watch!

    Quote Originally Posted by Darth Ultron View Post
    The Capstone of the ''dominant religion'' of Earth is so Hollywood politically correct. You can just ''feel'' every viewer on the edge of their seat waiting for this so they can rant off a letter to the ''network'' if their religion was not the one picked. So, JMS takes the way safe route and features ''all of them''. Starting with his own: atheist. And as the show fades out, there has to be another...oh...30 or more people in the line. Makes one wonder if after #10 or so, are they really ''dominant religions''? Wonder if Scientology was in the line? Or The Force?

    And..really...does B5 just happen to have at least one human of each religion on the station at all times? Or did Sinclar send a shuttle to Earth to find them all and pick them up? Either way sure sounds improbable or even impossible....
    You missed the point. Earth has many many religions. The other species usually have only one religion. Originally for that scene they had like only 4 or 5 people, then someone one went "well why not...?" and they ended up with the whole big line as they kept on adding religions/people.
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  2. - Top - End - #62
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    I just wanted to say something regarding Takashima's traitor status in the Pilot: she was supposed to be an unwilling traitor. Basically, the whole "Control" storyline with someone being brainwashed by Psi Corp was supposed to be about her.

    And she was the one who was supposed to shoot Garibaldi in the back.

  3. - Top - End - #63
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    By the way, regarding "Infection"

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    its mentionned that the civilization they got the doodad from fell a thousand year ago. And that the biotech cyborg was developped because of the Ikarans were tired of being constantly invaded.

    Do you think its possible the Ikarans were the Shadows' puppets during the war of a thousand years ago? Kind of like the Centauri were during our time? They answered "what do you want" with "Preserving our racial purity" and were thus handed fancy shadowtech technologies to create the cyborgs, who then turned on their master?

  4. - Top - End - #64
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cikomyr View Post
    By the way, regarding "Infection"

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    its mentionned that the civilization they got the doodad from fell a thousand year ago. And that the biotech cyborg was developped because of the Ikarans were tired of being constantly invaded.

    Do you think its possible the Ikarans were the Shadows' puppets during the war of a thousand years ago? Kind of like the Centauri were during our time? They answered "what do you want" with "Preserving our racial purity" and were thus handed fancy shadowtech technologies to create the cyborgs, who then turned on their master?
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    Considering some fo the stuff im seeing in Season 3, i could totally see that.
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  5. - Top - End - #65

    Default Re: Babylon 5 Group Re-Watch!

    Mind War

    A rogue telepath of incredible power threatens the station.


    Blink and you will miss it The Starfuries that attack Ironheart at the start of the episode are painted black with the Greek symbol 'Omega', humm, wounder if they are some special elite unit?

    Poor Talia Winters Much like poor Dr. Franklin her character does not really have much to do with the 'Arc' or even just a normal 'political action adventure....in space', other then a line or two of ''with my mental powers I saw X''. Sure is amazing luck that she has a relationship with the one guy who just happened to get advanced telepathic powers....

    Bester is of course, the shinning jewel of this episode. Sure he does not do all that much, but you do see the seeds of greatness. It does fit his character arc that at this point he is just a 'cop with dreams of being more'. It is even more amazing to think that after the 'Babylon 5 Ironheart incident' he sees how the 'game' is played and starts down the path...

    The Gift So Ironheart makes Talia a telekentic...wounder how often that will come up and be used in the rest of the show....

    The Arc Ironheart goes on about a conspiracy of the Psi Core taking over he government and world...but he is going through a lot and might be crazy....or not...... Ivanova does wonder ''who watches the Psi Cop watchers?''


    Things the don't make Sense:

    *The deep scan is sure dramatic....but, er, knowing that drama, you'd think the Psi Cops would want to do it in private and not in front of an overly emotional audience with a soft stomach.

    *So the Psi Cops are all like ''Talia knows Ironheart so we must scan her...but then they (and Sinclar) forget about her? Odd, you'd think they would watch her...you know encase Ironheart made contact later...

    *Er, so Sinclair wants to get Ironheart off the station and has security ''clear a path'' and somehow thinks that won't be noticed by anyone?

    *And even just a 'normal cop' might think it's odd the Security is clearing a huge area of people ''for no reason, everyone move along, nothing to see here''

    *And guess it is a rookie telepath mistake....but you don't tell your entire security force some information that is a secret when a Psi Cop can just scan one of them and learn it....

    *Catherine Sakai is at Sigma-957 like an hour or so before ''something happens''. That is an incredible short time unless the ''something'' is like guarding the planet.

    *Sure is nice and convenient of the ''something'' to just drain the power from Catherine's ship and leave her in a slow, slow sinking death spiral and not just blow up her ship or ''render it all into individual atoms'' or such....

    *Prospecting, alone, far out in the rim of know space sure seems dangerous even without the ''mysterious something'', but guess Catherine is just a fearless rebel?

    *The Narn ships show up just in time to 'save the day'...

    *Guess if Sigma-957 was anywhere other then 'around Narn space' Catherine Sakai would be dead....

    Final thoughts-This episode is fun and exciting for its look at what unleashing powerful telepaths might be like. Who hasn't mused about the benefits of having mental powers like telepathy and telekinesis? Here we see that it's not necessarily all fun and games, but that the same kind of might-makes-right applies to any ability.

  6. - Top - End - #66
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    Quote Originally Posted by Darth Ultron View Post
    *Guess if Sigma-957 was anywhere other then 'around Narn space' Catherine Sakai would be dead....
    I don't think it's necessarily in Narn space, it's just somewhere they've visited in the past that G'Kar knows about. As well as introducing the Walkers of Sigma 957, I think this sideplot was set up the way it was to soften up G'Kar's character and make him more sympathetic; until this point it's really been Londo who's the sympathetic character while G'Kar is the nasty one.

  7. - Top - End - #67

    Default Re: Babylon 5 Group Re-Watch!

    Quote Originally Posted by factotum View Post
    I don't think it's necessarily in Narn space, it's just somewhere they've visited in the past that G'Kar knows about. As well as introducing the Walkers of Sigma 957, I think this sideplot was set up the way it was to soften up G'Kar's character and make him more sympathetic; until this point it's really been Londo who's the sympathetic character while G'Kar is the nasty one.
    It is true they wanted to make G'kar softer , and this was a good chance.....but it's also a convenient chance. Sigma 957 is said to be ''near'' Narn space...that is why G'kar knows about it.

    Like most things, really only a line of added detail could have made it make sense...like saying that there was a ''Hyperspace hurricane'' around the jump gate for the last couple years or such....

  8. - Top - End - #68
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    The Walkers may be guarding the location, and only attack ships that stick around too long. Also, maybe they deliberately only cripple their victims to give them a (small) chance of survival.

    Sigma 597 was said to be far from the Narn territory, so this explains why it took them so long to get there in the first place.

    Ya know, i kept wondering what happened to Ironheart after this episode. You think maybe he

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    joined the Vorlons? Or the Vorlons forced him to join their society since he may pose a threat/disruption if left to his own device?

    Also, we have the first hint here about Earth and Psi Corp getting into some really shady ****. Am i the only only one who thinks that Earth's/Psi Corp backers should not have been the Shadows, but instead the Vorlons?
    After all, who like to boost telepath power? Who like orderly societies who follow orders?

    That would have made a great reveal; going against expectations.

  9. - Top - End - #69
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cikomyr View Post
    Also, maybe they deliberately only cripple their victims to give them a (small) chance of survival.
    I think you're giving them motivations they're not shown to possess in the show. G'Kar's analogy with the ant at the end is appropriate because that's how the Walkers see the other species they encounter. The effect they had on Catherine Sakai's ship wasn't because they deliberately attacked it, it was because their ship was so powerful that it overloaded hers and they simply didn't care if she lived or died because of that. The same was presumably the case with the Narn vessels who visited the place before--they simply got disabled by the backwash from the Walkers' ship and had to be rescued. One hopes the Narn were never stupid enough to actually open fire on the Walkers, or that if they did, the Walkers simply didn't notice and carried on with their business.

  10. - Top - End - #70
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cikomyr View Post
    Ya know, i kept wondering what happened to Ironheart after this episode. You think maybe he

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    joined the Vorlons? Or the Vorlons forced him to join their society since he may pose a threat/disruption if left to his own device?
    Also, we have the first hint here about Earth and Psi Corp getting into some really shady ****. Am i the only only one who thinks that Earth's/Psi Corp backers should not have been the Shadows, but instead the Vorlons?
    After all, who like to boost telepath power? Who like orderly societies who follow orders?

    That would have made a great reveal; going against expectations.
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    Definitely. His point of seeing them again in a million years coincides with humanity moving to the Vorlon Homeworld.

    As for the Shadows, they definitely like orderly societies that follow orders. That's why they designed keepers to control people. It's why they reprogram people with personalities subservient to them. I figured backing the Clark regime was a way to nurse telepath paranoia in the populace and help William Edgars develop his drug to wipe out all human telepaths like the Narn.

    "But we pulled her out as soon as we found out who she was and who you are. But once you've been inside of one of those ships for a while, you're never... quite whole... again. But you do as you're told! And so will you!" -Justin

    I could totally see the Vorlons doing it too. The Vorlons and Shadows aren't that different despite their ideological war, they're both very authoritarian. The Shadows only care about what you want when it benefits them. The same way the Vorlons (sans Kosh) only care about who you are when that benefits them.

  11. - Top - End - #71
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    I rather like that we get to see G'Kar in a different light. I'm fairly certain this is the episode which started my shift to liking him over Londo. I mean Londo is funny and all, but

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    He does such horrible things later. And if it wasn't for the fact that he looked like he wanted to die while watching the Mass Driver bombardment, i would have written him off as unsavable. Frankly i dont know why he didnt hold The Shadows as a bargaining chip against Refa. I mean he could just said, "you either get the Mass Drivers or my associates help, you choose" He was clearly uncomfortable with them.
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  12. - Top - End - #72

    Default Re: Babylon 5 Group Re-Watch!

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    I think it is clear that the Vorlons try to stay out of the way of younger races. They are ''distant shepherds'' that only step in to do things in extreme times. Like when they kill Deathwalker and stop humans from becoming immortal.

    Like the Vorlons alter some DNA to make telepaths in every race....but then just sit back and let them grow on their own....they don't form a massive Tel-Army or anything.

    The Shadows are the manipulators...




  13. - Top - End - #73
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    This sounds like fun!! I'ma jump in in the middle-beginning here, because why not?

    Anyway. Mind War was actually the episode that I was waiting for when my roommate insisted I should watch Babylon 5.
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    And, you know, over time it's become the one point over which I seriously dislike most of the main cast. Even Ivanova, who is wonderful otherwise.

    Like, everyone is all 'omg the Psi-Corps is horrible, they're awful, they're evil' which... maybe so. But the Corps exists solely because of mundane laws. It's run by non-telepaths. And telepaths don't get much of a choice about joining it. A lot of the teep stuff in B5 is incredibly victim-blamey when you drill down into it, and no one is ever called on it that I recall. If you want to be mad at the Corp, your real mad is with Earthgov, not the telepaths who've been pressganged or brainwashed since childhood to be enslaved by it.

    So I kind of unapologetically root for Bester every time he shows up. Crush your oppressors, telepathic man! CRUSH THEM.


    Parliament of Dreams is the episode that I have shown friends as my 'ok, I can only get you to watch one, it'd better be this one' episode. A lot of the time, said friends have wanted to see more.

    PS: I'm not sure what I should mark as spoilers, so I marked my general overall ruminations.

  14. - Top - End - #74
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    I personally think the best story to show someone, even if spoilery, is "And the Rock Cried Out". It has everything: manipulation, misdirection, atmosphere, irony, betrayal, and the story is somewhat self contained.

    A newcomer will forget most of the plot points that were spoiled in this episode if they decide to pick up the series, due to the lack of context. And the entire story does not mention the Shadow War.

  15. - Top - End - #75
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cikomyr View Post
    I personally think the best story to show someone, even if spoilery, is "And the Rock Cried Out". It has everything: manipulation, misdirection, atmosphere, irony, betrayal, and the story is somewhat self contained.

    A newcomer will forget most of the plot points that were spoiled in this episode if they decide to pick up the series, due to the lack of context. And the entire story does not mention the Shadow War.
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    I just watched that episode, and the end is disturbingly funny.


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    So i just watched that episode and i heard the Shadows side of the story. I understand why they are pissed but im still with the Vorlons. True they are manipulative bastards, but they don't wipe out races and set the galaxy aflame with war.
    Last edited by Blackhawk748; 2017-05-04 at 10:37 PM.
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  16. - Top - End - #76

    Default Re: Babylon 5 Group Re-Watch!

    The War Prayer

    Sinclair must stop human vigilantes from attacking non-humans on the station.

    The B story is a bit of focus on Ivanova as Malcolm Biggs her old flame comes onto the station.

    The C story gives us some further softening of Londo. I thought it was rather ironic that he scoffed so much at love, given his recent passionate affair with Adira, but I think he needed to realize that just because he has suffered doesn't mean that the youngsters also have to suffer. And Vir has become bolder, telling Londo that he's wrong!

    Fantasy Racism is something few fantasy/sci fi shows want to touch, but Babylon 5 goes there. Even better they have have it as a theme both in the background and foreground for much of the show.

    Leader G'Kar This might be the first show where we see G'Kar as a leader, as he rallies all the non-humans together. It's nice foreshadowing.

    Technology Weirdness-the ''Predator'' cloaks are nice...wonder if we will ever see them again? So is the ''security camera jammer''. Wonder why only the bad guys get all this advanced tech?

    Anachronisms when the jammer blocks the ancient picture tube TV screen in security...it fades to static! Static! Oh, now sure Static was a thing back in the '90's, but really...has anyone seen 'static' on a TV or computer monitor in say the last ten years....lol.

    A nice, but twisted touch Both G'kar and Delenn sure take a stand against the idea of Racism....but they both are not immune to it.

    Things that don't make Sense

    *Sinclair lists all the things that did not make sense during the assassination attempt on Kosh (back during the Gathering). He does not have any answers, but he sure notes that it all does not make sense. It's a nice shout out from the writer of ''yes, we know that all did not make sense'', but also ''it does not make sense in-universe too, so it is a real confusing mystery.''

    *It sure was nice for Malcom to be right over Ivanova's shoulder when she made the odd video call so Sincalr could see him and go ''hey'' a couple minutes later.

    *Er, does Malcom not think there is a camera or twenty in the ''Babylon 5 security police area''? Or is he just so crazy of a racist that he does not care?

    *So Sincalr is mean to the new ambassador...for real, right? It's not like a fake thing, it's real. So, how does he explain that afterwards? Will he just say ''oh, had a bad day'' or will he tell her and Delean all about ''the sting''?

    *The whole Sincar becomes a racist is a bit wooden and rushed.

    Final Score C
    Last edited by Darth Ultron; 2017-05-04 at 11:00 PM.

  17. - Top - End - #77
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    Sure, Sinclair's rascist act was a bit.. off. But its clear they were having trouble writing his character in a way that fit the actor. He came off way better in the late season...

    One thing that i found hilarious on rewatch.

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    Oh you want to assassinate all four Alien diplomats? Sure mister. Start by killing Kosh and then we will talk. If you pull it off, you are clearly worth paying attention to XD

  18. - Top - End - #78
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cikomyr View Post
    Sure, Sinclair's rascist act was a bit.. off. But its clear they were having trouble writing his character in a way that fit the actor. He came off way better in the late season...

    One thing that i found hilarious on rewatch.

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    Oh you want to assassinate all four Alien diplomats? Sure mister. Start by killing Kosh and then we will talk. If you pull it off, you are clearly worth paying attention to XD
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    It would have been hilarious if the episode had actually ended that way. They get the clue that he's headed to Kosh's quarters first, and when they arrive they find out he's just been vaporized.

    Actually, that could have been some cool foreshadowing. Show the suit closing as they arrive, like happens a little bit later.

  19. - Top - End - #79

    Default Re: Babylon 5 Group Re-Watch!

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    What would have made a nice mini story would be:

    The Ambassador Assassins gather and you have a Slan, big, overconfident one who is all like ''I'll kill the Vorlon, Hammamamamama!''. And he has a super duper energy ''poison that almost killed Kosh in the Gathering'' cannon and a big blade made out of the same poison.

    So Slan and two other 'red shirts' attack Kosh. The energy weapon has no effect....amazingly. The other two get 'zapped to atoms', And Slan does the desperate stab with the blade...that just breaks and does no harm.

    Kosh then says ''How sharper then a serpents tooth, if you know the candle is a flame then that means the meal was cooked long ago"

    Slan wildly and desperately punches and kicks Kosh, until Kosh opens his eye hole and grabs him with a telekentic grab. Slan screams and Kosh says ''You think you are right and the Universe is wrong. You are wrong!''

    Zoom in on Slan and he screams and fade away.

    Then maybe for a nice capstone, later see Kosh loading a large, long crate onto his ship and flying off through the gate. Maybe have someone ask Kosh ''what is in the crate?'' so he can say something like ''A Souvenir, End of Line."

    It would be some nice foreshadowing...

  20. - Top - End - #80
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    Sheridan says "Giants in the Playground" is that where the name for this site came from?
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  21. - Top - End - #81
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    The War Prayer

    This is a good Londo and Vir episode as has been previously mentioned, and I enjoy the establishment that youthful emotion and idealism around him is what makes Londo break out of the cynical shell his life has crusted around him. So it's a really good thing that Vir is basically a perfect cinnamon roll.

    But I agree with previous posters; I think the 'Sinclair is suddenly racist!!' thing was... heavy-handed, and weird, and weirdly cruel given how caring and even warm Sinclair is at nearly every other point. Like, I can see that maybe he didn't know any other way to do it, and it had to be over the top and fast to save lives, but... a quick word to Delenn 'hey, this is happening, please either warn the new ambassador or offer my apologies to her or both, I don't want anyone else to die.' You cannot tell me that Delenn wouldn't be on board for either or both of those things, and even by this early point Sinclair has had enough experience of her personality (and beliefs!) that he'd have good reason to trust that she'd have his back where preserving life is concerned.

    Given the importance of racism and its effects on the overall show, though, I can't be unhappy about it getting really introduced with a bang.

    Also, poor Ivanova. We begin to see her terrible, terrible taste/luck in romantic attachments.

  22. - Top - End - #82
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    Oh yhea. This episode starts the series theme that "Ivanova will never, ever be happy in love"

  23. - Top - End - #83
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    Quote Originally Posted by Blackhawk748 View Post
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    Sheridan says "Giants in the Playground" is that where the name for this site came from?
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    Yes as explained in the FAQ:

    Q: What is 'Giant in the Playground'?

    A: Well, I picked the name when I first signed on to the Wizards.com message boards in April 2001. As memory serves, I had been reading the boards but not posting for a few weeks when I saw a topic in which everyone who had replied thus far was a complete moron. In a fit of snippiness, I registered and decided to pick a name that would have a connotation of intellectual superiority. Now, I am also a lifelong fan of the Babylon 5 television show, and at one point during the early 4th season, Sheridan refers to the ultra-powerful Vorlons and Shadows as "giants in the playground, unaware of whom they are stepping on." The quote later made it into the 5th season opening credits. So I decided it had the right level of implication for the bozos to which I was about to respond.

    After that, I started posting a LOT on the WOTC boards. I never thought I had built a reputation or anything, but in 2002 when I was announced as the finalist in the Fantasy Setting Search, a lot of people said, "Oh! I've read your posts. You know what you're talking about." At this time I realized that the screen name "Giant in the Playground" had as much brand recognition as my real name, so I decided to keep it for my website and future web activities. Top


  24. - Top - End - #84

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    And The Sky Full Of Stars

    Sinclair's memories are probed so that he finally remembers what happened to him at the Battle of the Line. Later, he visits Delenn to thank her for bringning him to his senses. She asks him if he remembers anything, but he denies it. Lucky for him, since Delenn has another Minbari hiding in her quarters who says Sinclair must be killed if he remembers what happened. We know Sinclair does remember, because he dictates it into his personal log, along with the vow to figure out why the Minbari did those things to him, and what Delenn's involvement was.

    Although this episode was overwhelmingly focused on the plot involving Sinclair, we did get a few nice tidbits on other characters. Franklin described to Delenn how he traveled extensively before the Earth-Minbari war, trading his services for passage. We also learn how seriously he takes his profession, since he said that during the war he destroyed his notes on Minbari physiology rather than turn them over to the government. Delenn is grateful to hear this, but nicely sidesteps the question of what she did during the war

    Note: This episode makes a lot more sense if you watch ''In the Beginning''.

    Anachronisms Garibaldi reads a paper version of Universe Today. A paper! Now, back in the '90's the daily paper was a thing....but by 2017, they are not so much of a thing anymore. And by 2258? Well, I doubt papers will be around too much past 2025. You'd think in 2258 the people on Babylon 5 would just have Babapads where they could just download and read the online version of Universe Today on the stations wi-fi...

    Paper Exposition Note that if you read the headlines of the paper it includes a couple interesting stories....

    No Privacy? Is future ''Babylon 5'' Earth some type of fascist society with no privacy? Everyone checks poor security officer Benson's bank account, payments and credit history in seconds. Or do you sign over your rights to privacy when you join Earthforce or Security?

    Building a Mystery Exactly who or what organization was behind the Knights' attack on Sinclair? Knight Two seemed to believe the conspiracy theory he was pushing, but for all we know Knight One was a hired mercenary for the job. Just how many people back on Earth doubt Sinclair's report on blacking out and are suspicious of him?


    Things that Don't Make Sense

    *Er, how did the Knights kidnap Sinclar in the first place?

    *Did not the Knights not think that stealing the commander of Babylon 5 would not be a big deal? Like no one would notice? Or did they somehow think they could do their mind probe quick enough...even though it's about the slowest mind probe ever. Too bad the Knights did not like grab Sinclar when he went on vacation or something...

    *So the Knights kill Benson and toss him out an air lock? Um, that was like a dumb move even if they did not know Babylon 5 was on ''watch for people sent out airlocks alert''. Why not just toss the dead body in a closet for a couple hours?

    *How did the Knights envision their mission ending? Did they have some plan to wipe Sinclair's memory of the incident and release him? Were they hoping to really find some evidence of treason and take him back to Earth (covertly or not)? Were they planning on killing him?

    *Er, so Delenn has an evil, killer Minbari in her quarters why again?

    *And just who is the mysterious evil, killer Minbari? And if he knows enough to know '' Sinclair must be killed if he remembers what happened'', does he not know ''why''? And if he does know ''why'', wouldn't he know he ''can't'' kill Sinclair?
    Spoiler: Big Future Spoiler
    Show

    Ok, we and the Gray council know that not only is Sinclair ''part'' Minbari, but he also has the reincarnated soul of Valen(at least that is what they think they know in season 1). And we also know ''only the Gray Council '' (in the first season) knows this Big Secret. So...this makes evil, killer Minbari one of the Warrior Case members of the Gray Council, right? So he knows the whole Sinclar with Valen's soul (or so they think in season 1), right? Yet, he is still all like ''he must be killed if he remembers?'' What about ''Minbari don't kill Minbari''? Or does not Sinclar count as ''a Minbari'', even though that is the one and only reason the Minbari surrendered at the Battle of the Line: they did not want to kill Humans with Minbari souls....


    Final Score-Eh, C, like after a bunch of episodes where Sinclar ''forgets to remember '' about the hole in his mind, two guys pop up out of nowhere and are like ''remember this plot''? The revelations and memories are nice, but a lot of time is wasted in the episode.

  25. - Top - End - #85
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    Default Re: Babylon 5 Group Re-Watch!

    Quote Originally Posted by Darth Ultron View Post
    Anachronisms Garibaldi reads a paper version of Universe Today. A paper! Now, back in the '90's the daily paper was a thing....but by 2017, they are not so much of a thing anymore. And by 2258? Well, I doubt papers will be around too much past 2025. You'd think in 2258 the people on Babylon 5 would just have Babapads where they could just download and read the online version of Universe Today on the stations wi-fi...
    This is actually a worldbuilding tibbit that:

    1- Make sense for your to highlight
    2- is addressed in a futute episode ("Passing Through Gethsemane")
    3- The Way is addressed is not only a- believable but b- i could see becoming a real thing for certain people

    Behind thr spoilers is a discussion of this thing. Its TOTALLY NOT SERIES SPOILER, i swear. Its just that maybe some people want the surprise/dont care

    Spoiler: Newspaper in B5
    Show
    In the episode, we see Garibaldi returning his previous day's newspaper edition to the Newspaper Machine, where the ink is removed, and a new edition of the next day's paper is printed on the paper.

    The Machine even asks Garibaldi what preferences he wants. So you get a Newspaper that has the content that you specifically tailored to your own tastes ("More focused sports section" for Garibaldi, "An Eye on Minbar") for Delenn)

    Now, the concept is cool.

    - Customizable newspaper. This is something people now are clamoring to be awesome when they discussing the new digital media
    - Yet it is still a newspaper. Some people (me included) will always tell you its always more pleasant to read on a real book/newspaper than on an electronic tablet.

    I suppose you get to pay a penalty if you lose your newspaper cavenas or get it damaged. Kind of when i lose my programmed bus card for Montreal's bus/metro: i have to pay 13 bucks to have it replaced. In that casez maybe you get to pay 1 credit per 100 cm square of reparation, and a whole new newspaper canvas is 20 credit per sheet.

  26. - Top - End - #86
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    The problem is, if they'd had Garibaldi reading the newspaper from an electronic tablet, everyone would have just accused them of ripping off the PADDs from Star Trek. Also, the rise of the tablet computer wasn't really foreseen back in 1994--there had been attempts to produce tablet PCs back then (I actually had one, a Compaq Concerto), but they weren't successes. It wasn't until the iPad came along 16 years later that the things became ubiquitous.

  27. - Top - End - #87

    Default Re: Babylon 5 Group Re-Watch!

    Quote Originally Posted by factotum View Post
    The problem is, if they'd had Garibaldi reading the newspaper from an electronic tablet, everyone would have just accused them of ripping off the PADDs from Star Trek. Also, the rise of the tablet computer wasn't really foreseen back in 1994--there had been attempts to produce tablet PCs back then (I actually had one, a Compaq Concerto), but they weren't successes. It wasn't until the iPad came along 16 years later that the things became ubiquitous.
    The vast majority of writers have a hard time predicting the future, but they are only human. They are trapped in the present, and think ''the present'' will still be the same in the future. So someone in 1990 something that reads say two papers a day, would think they would be around in the future. But then there was no internet, online news, wi-fi, blogs, social media, cell phones, or digital technology to say the least. Though sure we..um..had the World Wide Web...back in the 90's lol. Remember when you'd plug your computer into your land line phone and call the 'net on dial up.

    Though I doubt they will have 'pads' in 2258. My prediction is more for a neural net in each persons head so they can down load ''the news'' and ''all human knowledge'' in the blink of an eye. With a sense chip to send the images, sounds ans such directly to the brain (amazingly a lot more like the Knight Mind Probe).

  28. - Top - End - #88
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cikomyr View Post
    Oh yhea. This episode starts the series theme that "Ivanova will never, ever be happy in love"
    It's her own fault this time.

    I mean seriously, she was with this guy previously and she didn't have any idea he was a crazy enough racist to organize a group and murder aliens? That's her fault for being too dumb to know who she's with.
    Last edited by Olinser; 2017-05-06 at 06:09 PM.

    ALL HAIL THE GREAT RAK!!

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  29. - Top - End - #89
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    Quote Originally Posted by Olinser View Post
    It's her own fault this time.

    I mean seriously, she was with this guy previously and she didn't have any idea he was a crazy enough racist to organize a group and murder aliens? That's her fault for being too dumb to know who she's with.
    Maybe the man changed in 8 years. People change.

  30. - Top - End - #90

    Default Re: Babylon 5 Group Re-Watch!

    Quote Originally Posted by Olinser View Post
    It's her own fault this time.

    I mean seriously, she was with this guy previously and she didn't have any idea he was a crazy enough racist to organize a group and murder aliens? That's her fault for being too dumb to know who she's with.
    I don't think he was a crazy racist eight years ago. Susan Ivanova was only 20 at the time of their relationship. We don't know Malcolm Biggs age, but he was likely 20 something too. So eight years later Ivanova is 28, and Malcom is 30 ish.

    It's a long time in both years and ''growing up'' and ''changing''.

    Though, too, back in 2250 there were not a ''lot'' of aliens on Earth, the aliens did not ''come in and start buying up the place'' until a bit later. So you have poor Malcom all heart broken and he sees a pak'ma'ra buy the local Quick-E-Mart and then goes all anti-alien.

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