He is the very model of a modern major general

[dragonofmemory]

And he also plays I-spy games while annoying the hell out of Franklin.  XD  As always, all comments taken from The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5.  Sound bytes are from the Down Below Sound Archive.



Epiphanies:

"The rest of the season will actually continue to increase in intensity, not decrease. "Epiphanies" for me is an episode where I can feel the gears changing between war and post-war just a bit, but overall it's not bad. And there's some *mean* stuff coming up very soon."

And some of that mean stuff was very mean.  T_T

"That's one more reason why I wanted to get the war out of the way...because too many people were focusing in on the show as being about the war. It ain't. It's about the changes that happen before, during, and *after* a war. And what's coming up is in some ways stronger because it's more personal."

Yeah, JMS... except you've got what... actually, no.  I'm not even going to try counting the number of wars going on in this show.  I would miss one.

"Sheridan was very sharp with Bester.
Yeah...Sheridan's taking a different tone with a lot of people these days. I guess being dead for a while does that to you...."

Also, he doesn't have to be nice any more.  Well, other than the fact they're working together, but still.  No CO telling him to play nice any more.

"The scene between Sheridan and Delenn on the White Star was edited.
"Was this your intention - to get a response from those of us who follow the Sheridan and Delenn story line closely? Some how, I feel manipulated and very disappointed."

Yes, as I sat in the editing room, I thought, "Hmmm...if I do this, it'll get the Sheridan and Delenn fans' knickers all in a knot...."

Every scene goes through some editing...there is barely a scene we film that doesn't get a line or two or three snipped. Sometimes the edit is noticeable, sometimes it ain't. The only thing you can decide is, "Does this move the story along or not?" I was chasing about another 20 seconds (which was all we're talking about here), and the back-and-forth didn't really add anything to what was already in that scene. I treated it the same as I would treat any other scene."

I... did not even notice?  Also, why is this an issue?  You didn't get 20 seconds of your pairing.  Go cry to someone who cares.  Not that I'm against Delenn and Sheridan cuteness, because Lord knows it makes me melt, but still.  I don't feel 'manipulated' because twenty seconds of it had to be cut.

"Why didn't Londo have guards while he was shopping?
Because Londo wouldn't abide that for more than five minutes; it'd cramp his style."

And we all know about Londo and style.  In purple he is STUNNING.  But yeah, I don't expect Londo to be taking the need for security seriously like that for a while.  Plus, he's Centauri.  I'd assume that by surviving this long, he's pretty good at looking after himself and guards can be bribed.

"The G'Kar/Londo dynamic isn't quite over yet...there's more to come, and that relationship is going to continue having its ups and downs."

There you go, Nar.  Don't take my word for it, take his.  <3

"RE: the regent...well, if you want to do something really nasty, you want to do it to somebody everybody kinda likes, so you feel for the situation.

Ah likes doing that sorta thing...dropping anvils on characters to see what pattern splat they make...."

I'd say that's mean... except I totally do that as well.  So I have no room to talk.

"Disneyplanet?
Give 'em time, and they'll try to buy a planet. It's inevitable.

With Earth now in the present, that'd make two."

Yeeeeeeeeah, I wouldn't question the Mouse. It's inevitable.

"Speaking of visual puns, someone pointed out that in "Epiphanies," you've got Zack leaving customs, saying of whoever comes through next, "it might be the Second Coming and I'm five sins behind on penance," and who walks in...but the Three Kings...."

*snickers* 

Garibaldi.  T_T  Don't goooooooooooooooooo.  *sniffs*  Though we do get some fun Bester moments.  He's a complicated sort of guy.

The Illusion of Truth:

This is from the notes, though JMS will probably have more to say on this:

"The confession of the director bore strong resemblance to the confessions extracted by the House Un-American Activities Commission in the US during the 1950s. In that case it was Communists and homosexuals, not aliens, but the focus on entertainers was the same, as was the practice of demanding lists of collaborators. Those who refused to cooperated were "blacklisted," and found themselves unable to get work in Hollywood.

In fact, the names cited are based on actual people blacklisted in the 1950s. Beth Trumbo is likely a reference to writer Dalton Trumbo, Adrian Mostel to producer Adrian Scott and actor Zero Mostel, and Carleton Jarrico to writer Paul Jarrico."

Mostly putting that out there for the references part, since it's interesting to see who the references were to for those of us who didn't actually live through that era.

"It's a good and creepy episode. I like it when things get creepy."

Yes, we know you do.  Lord knows you've given us more than enough proof on that. 

"Was Garibaldi's flashback shot in advance?
Somtimes, yeah, we'll gang together shots in one location that will spill across several episodes, and definitely did that in Garibaldi's case. I just figure out what's coming, and write those specific additional scenes prior to the rest of the scripts."

Smart.  Not many shows can pull that off.  I mean, think of Lost.  No one knew where that one was going, not even the writers.

"Where did the Starfury model Sheridan was looking at in the war room come from?
Actually, I think the Starfury model was an illegal one we confiscated.

Waste not, want not..."

That works.  Except now I want one...

""In the Delenn/Sheridan interview, there is a change in the vocal acoustics of the journalist for the "new" questions he asked."

And not just in the voice quality...look at the footage again. He's sitting in a different chair, in a different room."

Aka, he's not being subtle.  At all.

"About the names cited in the confession
Yes, they're based on the real names of writers who were blacklisted, Dalton Trumbo and Paul Jarrico.

Parks (the person who's naming names) was also named after one of those who testified before HUAC."

And oh, look.  He does comment.  There's a reason that scene is creepy.  The fact that he's naming them for people this did happen to is one of them.

"It's a period too few people really know much about, and it never hurts to point to the past in order to warn about the future."

Seriously, it's never covered in school.  We're lucky if we can get through to WWI much less WWII and after. >.<  And it really should be covered, since we all learn about all the stuff we can white wash and cover over easily so many times.

"This ep is one that'll be discussed a lot, but not rewatched a lot, because it's just really hard to watch, knowing what's coming. It really does tend to upset people."

Garibaldi.  T_T

"If it's a little close to home...you have to remember I came out of journalism, that was where I cut my teeth as a writer, working for newspapers and magazines. You see a lot of the tricks, some good, some not so good, used for purposes that are sometimes good or not so good, distortions on the left and distortions on the right. So it wasn't hard to just tweak it a bit.

Thing to remember, though, is that this isn't ISN as we've known it in the past, at least not to this extreme. If anything, this ep should point to the difference between journalism, albeit biased, and propaganda, which is all ISN is now, and how only an informed viewership can prevent the one from sliding into the other."

Really, all you have to do is watch Fox and you'll see this.  Well, possibly not that bad... But it's getting there. 

"Aren't there networks besides ISN?
ISN is the one network that can handle *interstellar* broadcasts, which reqire a massive amount of energy, logistics, setup...there are other, local, planetary networks around Earth, and a few specialized channels for military and some commercial use...but ISN is the biggest, and because of that is very much in Earthgov's pocket."

Which is why freedom of press is important. 

"It was most definitely difficult and painful for me to write. I I am as much involved with these characters as anyone else, and doing this kind of thing to them is hard. And you have to put yourself in the minds of those doing this, and that's a dark place to be.

And yeah, I know people who were harmed in the blacklist, and I've seen others, and myself, sometimes harmed by those who like to twist things around to their own benefit."

Okay, I can imagine it being painful to write because of knowing people who had this happen and having things like that hurt you.  But doing it to the characters?  Then again, I'm a heartless bitch at times.  I mean, just look at my Avengers Hamlet.  EVERYONE DIES.  Except Thor, who is apparently Horatio.  Hm, does that make Natasha Ophelia?  That's a bit awkward, actually...  It's a good thing I don't believe in death fics, or long fic would be extremely depressing...

""FWIW, that was your most courageous episode yet, IMHO."

I appreciate the sentiment, so don't take this as lack of gratitude on my part; I'm happy you perceive it that way.

But courageous? No.

Courageous as an apellation belongs to the South American writers who insist on telling the truth about their governments, who risk death on a daily basis for doing so...and to other writers doing similar work in other countries.

Yeah, it was kind of a shot to the midsection for some groups, with a certain element of biting the hand that feeds you, but the truth is, ain't nobody gonna come to my door in the middle of the night with death squads, take me away, and torture me. If you want to hear about real courage, join PEN International, or Amnesty International. They can always use the help."

This makes me think of that girl in Pakistan.  I still cry reading those articles...

""This B5 episode should be required viewing in University media and history classes."

Funny thing is, I've since received several requests from instructors at various colleges asking if they could use the show in their classroom to illustrate the points raised. Kinda nice...."

That would be the most awesome class ever.  But that's just me.  I've also shown episodes of Who to my classes, so.

"I don't make any blanket condemnations of journalists. For one thing, there's a difference between portraying journalism in a relatively free society, and one that's operating under a dictatorship, a la President Clark. It's the difference between journalism and propaganda.

In "Midnight on the Firing Line," we had a reporter there doing a straight-ahead story; in "Point of No Return" we had the Good Journalists fighting to reveal the truth even as Clark was shutting them down.

There have been favorable portrayals; it's just that under the current regime, they don't have access to the media."

I didn't see that as a blanket condemnation either?  Especially knowing the end game...

Garibaldi.  T_T  (And yes, you will be seeing that a lot this season)  Though, you can't go wrong with Sheridan and Ivanova snark.

Atonement:

From the analysis, because I never thought of this and it's slightly disturbing:

"David, Delenn and Sheridan's son ("War Without End, Part Two") will be a direct descendant of all three of The One."

:o

"When I introduce a new character, I just kinda see a sense of the character in my head, an outline...if you take off your glasses, and you're nearsighted, that will give you some sense of it. When an actor comes in and hits it, the character goes into sharp focus."

Hm.  That is interesting.  I always have to picture the character in my head pretty clearly...  Then again, I'm not looking for actors to play them and I'm very physically grounded in my writing, so. 

"Will Delenn appear in flashbacks with her pre-chrysalis appearance?
Yes, Mira got into the original year-one makeup. It's funny...when I walked out onto the set, and saw her in that prosthetic, the first words that came out of my mouth were, "It's *you*! I haven't seen you in almost three years, how've you been?"

I don't think Mira quite knew what to make of me."

lol.  That reminds me of the cons.  I don't think she quite knew what to make of us either.  We were her first con too.  XD  She was really sweet though.

"Actually, though the tougher Delenn is in flashbacks in 2 weeks [referring to this episode], the foreground/contemporary story has her very tough, and very smart. Basically, the next mini-arc sequence focuses a LOT on Delenn...she has many facets, and while part of that is the relationship, there's steel there as well, and we're going to explore that. As she at one point comments to Sheridan, "I appreciate that you have come to care for what I have become... but never forget who I am, or what I can do."

After this arc of hers, nobody's ever going to make that mistake."

Just because she's absolutely adorable while teasing Sheridan, doesn't mean that she can't kick ass too.  That's why we like her.

"How could Dukhat override the Grey Council, if he was simply a member?
There's the One, and the Nine...when Dukhat was alive, there were 9 grey council members and him as the head of it, making ten. (Look at the picture and count the number of people.) 1 and 9.

Valen called together the Grey Council, formed the first one; until then the castes had been in constant competition. He wanted to operate outside of that a bit, so he made sure he was not one of the Nine. That tradition has continued."

Because Sinclair was sneaky like that.  Though this whole bit about the Grey Council never leaving the ship doesn't seem very much like him, granted.  Maybe that came later.

"Won't Sheridan be upset when he finds out Delenn ordered the war?
"Listen, honey, while you were out I went to the store and I bought some new candles, you know how we're always running out, and Lennier took the cat in to be cleaned, and oh, did I mention I was directly responsible for the deaths of two hundred and fifty thousand of your best friends and fellow officers? Pass the sugar."

She'll never tell him.

Because it's over...what would be the point, except to ruin what they have now."

Yeah, that's pretty sound sense.  We've already discovered Delenn is good at keeping secrets.  I'm pretty sure she can keep this one.

"Did the triluminary sense Sinclair?
Yeah, we showed it glowing when Sinclair was catpured. Since it happened with Valen, they assumed it was because he had a Minbari soul, maybe Valen reborn."

This isn't Doctor Who.  They don't automatically assume Sinclair will go back in time to become Valen, after all.  XD

"Dukhat was not descended from Valen; yes, the Grey Council now knows who Sinclair was; and general knowledge of what happened would certainly have an upsetting effect on Minbari society, so they will continue to keep it indefinitely back-roomed...."

Oh, Minbari and their secrets.  They're about as bad as Centauri and their intrigue.

"Some Minbari on the Grey Council think that Sinclair opened up the "soul door," for lack of a better term, and Delenn's actions can be seen as a kind of back-fire, closing the door again. Ain't necessarily what's true, but what they believe.

And yes, they would've had Delenn remain childless, but would be allowed to marry a Minbari. And, again, it's a matter of marrying a non-Minbari with or WITHOUT kids...it's a very inflammatory sort of thing from a cultural perspective."

You're so mean to her.  She should have kids if she wants them.  XP

"Mir is her family; you are generally born into a caste unless you at some point decide that the calling of your heart is elsewhere, at which point you enter training for that other caste (with the permission of your caste leaders) until such time as it's finalized that that's what you want, at which time you're assigned to a clan within that caste. If you choose to stay in the caste you're born into, you automatically are in your familiy's clan."

Nerooooooooooon.  But yes, this makes lots of sense.  One must have a clan, after all.

"How does the dreaming know whose memories to probe? Is it whoever drinks the drug first?
I think the order or dominance of the drug is probably determined by the contents of the script...."

The contents of the script are very important.  XD

"In your comments on "War Without End, Part Two," you said Valen had no children. Is your message right, or is the episode?
What airs is considered canon; in 15 years, nobody's gonna be hauling these messages around. But the show will still be on the air. If it airs, it's canon.

And in another one of those posts, I did mention that on just a couple of small occasions, I have fibbed when asked major story arc questions to protect future storylines from being deflated...."

Lying liar, you lie.  XD

"If you check the archives, when people said, "But what about the relationship between Sinclair and Delenn we see?" (and this is back a long time ago), I said that there is a relationship there, yes, but it isn't what you think it is. Now we see what it was."

And it's awkward.  Majorly.

"Was the song Jason Carter's idea?
The song was in the script; Jason then had to learn it."

Oh, but I love that bit so, so much...  Oh, Marcus...

NO MERCY.  Also, the start of Marcus and Franklin's epic adventures across space.  XD 

Racing Mars:

From the Analysis:

"Garibaldi's rejection of Sheridan parallels Judas' rejection of Jesus. Both were part of their leader's inner circle. Sheridan's warning to Garibaldi to stop undermining him can be read as analogous to Jesus' warning to Judas at the Last Supper (Matthew 26:24: "woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.") John 13:2 says the Devil caused Judas to betray Jesus; Garibaldi has also been influenced in some way, in his case by Psi Corps ("Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?")

Many scholarly analyses ascribe motives similar to Garibaldi's to Judas. Tim Rice's lyrics for Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Jesus Christ Superstar," while perhaps not scholarly, put it succinctly:

My mind is clearer now.
At last all too well I can see where we all soon will be.
If you strip away the myth from the man,
You will see where we all soon will be.
Jesus!
You've started to believe
The things they say of you.
You really do believe
This talk of God is true.
And all the good you've done
Will soon get swept away.
You've begun to matter more than the things you say."

Wow, we really are going for the second coming symbolism here...

"Is B5 about the Shadow War?
Not just that, but events back on Earth, Mars and elsewhere that are either not touched by the shadow war, or barely touched by it. (In one upcoming episode, where a couple of our characters have gone to Mars, they find that very few on Mars know anything even *happened*.)"

Kind of like how Crusade was going to find the cure to the plague by the second season.  EXCEPT YOU CANCELED IT, TNT.  >.>

"Not everyone back home even knows there *was* a war. Which our characters will find rather annoying...."

Yeah, I can imagine so.  "Hey, remember that time when we totally saved all of your butts along with the rest of the galaxy?  ... Aw, mittens."

"From some extremist Catholics...and also got some flack from Born Again Rightists over my comments in TV Guide about being an atheist."

*snickers*

"I don't think Earthforce cares about sexual orientation; the reason we just set it out there without comment is that, having come through the realization of other non-human races...a little thing like sexual orientation, nobody even cares about anymore. It ain't an issue."

That'd be nice, to be honest...

Wow, that one's short.  Also, the episode in which Franklin and Marcus are married.  XD 

Lines of Communication:

From the Notes:

"The real reason the Drakh shimmered, according to special effects technician Ken Busick, was that the costume didn't look convincing enough. So to give the Drakh an otherworldly appearance, the scene was digitally manipulated in postproduction."

So that's why we never see the effect again...

Um... Actually, JMS doesn't say a heck of a lot in this episode.  Mostly just comments towards nitpickers that weren't that interesting.  So.  Have some Ivanova snark instead.



And the ball gets rolling once again.  I am looking forward to Nar's reaction to the second half of season 4.  <3

Comments

[narwhale-callin.livejournal.com]

Yeah, JMS... except you've got what... actually, no. I'm not even going to try counting the number of wars going on in this show. I would miss one.

lol, good point, Mem. XD

I...didn't notice a line edit either?

Disneyplanet?
Give 'em time, and they'll try to buy a planet. It's inevitable.

It really IS inevitable.

It's a period too few people really know much about, and it never hurts to point to the past in order to warn about the future."
Seriously, it's never covered in school.

My Canadian skepticism also often wonders if the government is trying to brush over that black mark in history...can't have such a great and powerful and patriotic nation post-WWII be all, you know, IMPERFRECT.

All this blacklisting of writers and journalists during the age of McCarthyism is just making me have a lot of The Lives of Others feels. T_T Such a good movieeeeeeee.

Yeah, we showed it glowing when Sinclair was catpured.

Catpured? XD SINCLAIR WAS CAT-PURRED!

I think the order or dominance of the drug is probably determined by the contents of the script...."

LOL! XD

**amused that the analysis quotes Jesus Christ Superstar**

[dragonofmemory]

Well, I know a lot of teachers who would like to teach it. There's just no time. Literally, we rush through WWII just to make sure they can answer the questions on the tests. One day, we should just teach the course backwards.

lol, yeah. I'm under the impression JMS was typing a lot of these responses late at night, and this was before everything had spell checks. Still, it amuses me.

Who doesn't love Jesus Christ Superstar? Even the priests did, when my mother brought in the record of it so that she could shock them. Sadly, it backfired because the priest knew all the words.

[narwhale-callin.livejournal.com]

One day, we should just teach the course backwards.

lol, or they can do what my high school did, and teach US History in two parts: one semester up to Reconstruction, and the other semester from then onwards. Cause I did have some decent learning in the modern era, at least.

Who doesn't love Jesus Christ Superstar? Even the priests did

This does not surprise me. XD For some reason, Catholics seem to universally love that musical. Well, the majority of them anyway. I remember going to see it and just being majorly confused the whole time because the apostles were wearing jeans and Jesus was in white khakis. And also the Mary Magdalen arc; that confused me (granted, I was somewhere between the ages of 10-15 when I saw it, so my worldview was a bit more rigid then).

[dragonofmemory]

Yeah, but backwards would be more fun. It would also make sense to have two years of US... instead of one year of US and several of Texas history, but that's just me.

Yup, that one and Godspell are my mother's two favorites. I remember listening to them a lot when I was younger. Godspell also messes with you having everyone in jeans. XD Actually, I was always confused on the fact they were crucifying him on a chain link fence, but hey.