Babylon 5: Reboot and Zooty

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > TV IV > Babylon 5: Reboot and Zooty

Milkfred E. Moore: Aug 27, 2006; 'It's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.'

And the thing is, if you can find and check out JMS' original-original idea, which the series was seemingly on track for as far as the end of Season 1, what we got seems to be so much better than what was intended.

Like, Babylon Prime? Come on...

# ? Feb 28, 2017 03:39

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Apr 23, 2024 22:10

neongrey: Feb 28, 2007; Plaguing your posts with incidental music.

Eh, redrafting improves all writing, the original concepts might have been crap but it's a little hard to gauge what a produced show based on that would have been.

# ? Feb 28, 2017 03:53

Shbobdb: Dec 16, 2010; by Reene

But redraftings forced by conflict as opposed to enabled by extension makes a better product. That's what I love about B5. It thrives in adversity, that is what makes it strong.

quote:

His coveralls were blue and silk and tight and stitched with thread of gold and broidered all about with black braid.

He waved the cape and it was torn from his hands. If he had not thrown himself over backward, he would have been struck.

1
Auto-da-F�
by Roger Zelazny

Still do I remember the hot sun upon the sands of the Plaza de Autos, the cries of the soft-drink hawkers, the tiers of humanity stacked across from me on the sunny side of the arena, sunglasses like cavities in their gleaming faces.

Still do I remember the smells and the colors: the reds and the blues and the yellows, the ever present tang of petroleum fumes upon the air.

Still do I remember that day, that day with its sun in the middle of the sky and the sign of Aries, burning in the blooming of the year. I recall the mincing steps of the pumpers, heads thrown back, arms waving, the white dazzles of their teeth framed with smiling lips, cloths like colorful tails protruding from the rear pockets of their coveralls; and the horns�I remember the blare of a thousand horns over the loudspeakers, on and off, off and on, over and over, and again, and then one shimmering, final note, sustained, to break the ear and the heart with its infinite power, its pathos.

Then there was silence.

I see it now as I did on that day so long ago.�

He entered the arena, and the cry that went up shook blue heaven upon its pillars of white marble.

"Viva! El mechador! Viva! El mechador!"

I remember his face, dark and sad and wise.

Long of jaw and nose was he, and his laughter was as the roaring of the wind, and his movements were as the music of the theramin and the drum. His coveralls were blue and silk and tight and stitched with thread of gold and broidered all about with black braid. His jacket was beaded and there were flashing scales upon his breast, his shoulders, his back.

His lips curled into the smile of a man who has known much glory and has hold upon the power that will bring him into more.

He moved, turning in a circle, not shielding his eyes against the sun.

He was above the sun. He was Manolo Stillete Dos Muertos, the mightiest mechador the world has ever seen, black boots upon his feet, pistons in his thighs, fingers with the discretion of micrometers, halo of dark locks about his head and the angel of death in his right arm, there, in the center of the grease-stained circle of truth.

He waved, and a cry went up once more.

"Manolo! Manolo! Dos Muertos! Dos Muertos!"

After two years� absence from the ring, he had chosen this, the anniversary of his death and retirement to return�for there was gasoline and methyl in his blood and his heart was a burnished pump ringed 'bout with desire and courage. He had died twice within the ring, and twice had the medics restored him. After his second death, he had retired, and some said that it was because he had known fear. This could not be true.

He waved his hand and his name rolled back upon him.

The horns sounded once more: three long blasts.

Then again there was silence, and a pumper wearing red and yellow brought him the cape, removed his jacket.

The tinfoil backing of the cape flashed in the sun as Dos Muertos swirled it.

Then there came the final, beeping notes.

The big door rolled upward and back into the wall.

He draped his cape over his arm and faced the gateway.

The light above was red and from within the darkness there came the sound of an engine.

The light turned yellow, then green, and there was the sound of cautiously engaged gears.

The car moved slowly into the ring, paused, crept forward, paused again.

It was a red Pontiac, its hood stripped away, its engine like a nest of snakes, coiling and engendering behind the circular shimmer of its invisible fan. The wings of its aerial spun round and round, then fixed upon Manolo and his cape.

He had chosen a heavy one for his first, slow on turning, to give him a chance to limber up.

The drums of its brain, which had never before recorded a man, were spinning.

Then the consciousness of its kind swept over it and it moved forward.

Manolo swirled his cape and kicked its fender as it roared past.

The door of the great garage closed.

When it reached the opposite side of the ring the car stopped, parked.

Cries of disgust, booing and hissing arose from the crowd.

Still the Pontiac remained parked.

Two pumpers, bearing buckets, emerged from behind the fence and threw mud upon its windshield.

It roared then and pursued the nearest, banging into the fence. Then it turned suddenly, sighted Dos Muertos and charged.

His veronica transformed him into a statue with a skirt of silver. The enthusiasm of the crowd was mighty.

It turned and charged once more, and I wondered at Manolo�s skill, for it would seem that his buttons had scraped cherry paint from the side panels.

Then it paused, spun its wheels, ran in a circle about the ring.

The crowd roared as it moved past him and recircled.

Then it stopped again, perhaps fifty feet away.

Manolo turned his back upon it and waved to the crowd.

�Again, the cheering and the calling of his name.

He gestured to someone behind the fence.

A pumper emerged and bore to him, upon a velvet cushion, his chrome-plated monkey wrench.

He turned then again to the Pontiac and strode toward it.

It stood there shivering and he knocked off its radiator cap.

A jet of steaming water shot into the air and the crowd bellowed. Then he struck the front of the radiator and banged upon each fender.

He turned his back upon it again and stood there.

When he heard the engagement of the gears he turned once more, and with one clean pass it was by him, but not before he had banged twice upon the trunk with his wrench.

It moved to the other end of the ring and parked.

Manolo raised his hand to the pumper behind the fence.

The man with the cushion emerged and bore to him the long-handled screwdriver and the short cape. He took the monkey wrench away with him, as well as the long cape.

Another silence came over the Plaza del Autos.

The Pontiac, as if sensing all this, turned once more and blew its horn twice. Then it charged.

There were dark spots upon the sand from where its radiator had leaked water. Its exhaust arose like a ghost behind it. It bore down upon him at a terrible speed.

Dos Muertos raised the cape before him and rested the blade of the screwdriver upon his left forearm.

When it seemed he would surely be run down, his hand shot forward, so fast the eye could barely follow it, and he stepped to the side as the engine began to cough.

Still the Pontiac continued on with a deadly momentum, turned sharply without braking, rolled over, slid into the fence, and began to burn. Its engine coughed and died.

The Plaza shook with the cheering. They awarded Dos Muertos both headlights and the tailpipe. He held them high and moved in slow promenade about the perimeter of the ring. The horns sounded. A lady threw him a plastic flower and he sent for a pumper to bear her the tailpipe and ask her to dine with him. The crowd cheered more loudly, for he was known to be a great layer of women, and it was not such an unusual thing in the days of my youth as it is now.

The next was the blue Chevrolet, and he played with it as a child plays with a kitten, tormenting it into striking, then stopping it forever. He received both headlights. The sky had clouded over by then and there was a tentative mumbling of thunder.

The third was a black Jaguar XKE, which calls for the highest skill possible and makes for a very brief moment of truth. There was blood as well as gasoline upon the sand before he dispatched it, for its side mirrors extended further than one would think, and there was a red furrow across his rib cage before he had done with it. But he tore out its ignition system with such grace and artistry that the crowd boiled over into the ring, and the guards were called forth to beat them with clubs and herd them with cattle prods back into their seats.

Surely, after all of this, none could say that Dos Muertos had ever known fear.

A cool breeze arose and I bought a soft drink and waited for the last.

His final car sped forth while the light was still yellow. It was a mustard-colored Ford convertible. As it went past him the first time, it blew its horn and turned on its windshield wipers. Everyone cheered, for they could see it had spirit.

Then it came to a dead halt, shifted into reverse, and backed toward him at about forty miles an hour.

He got out of the way, sacrificing grace to expediency, and it braked sharply, shifted into low gear, and sped forward again.

He waved the cape and it was torn from his hands. If he had not thrown himself over backward, he would have been struck.

Then someone cried: "It�s out of alignment!"

But he got to his feet, recovered his cape and faced it once more.

They still tell of those five passes that followed. Never has there been such a flirting with bumper and grill! Never in all of the Earth has there been such an encounter between mechador and machine! The convertible roared like ten centuries of streamlined death, and the spirit of St. Detroit sat in its driver�s seat, grinning, while Dos Muertos faced it with his tinfoil cape, cowed it and called for his wrench. It nursed its overheated engine and rolled its windows up and down, up and down, clearing its muffler the while with lavatory noises and much black smoke.

By then it was raining, softly, gently, and the thunder still came about us. I finished my soft drink.

Dos Muertos had never used his monkey wrench on the engine before, only upon the body. But this time he threw it. Some experts say he was aiming at the distributor; others say he was trying to break its fuel pump.

The crowd booed him.

Something gooey was dripping from the Ford onto the sand. The red streak brightened on Manolo�s stomach. The rain came down.

He did not look at the crowd. He did not take his eyes from the car. He held out his right hand, palm upward, and waited.

A panting pumper placed the screwdriver in his hand and ran back toward the fence.

Manolo moved to the side and waited.

It leaped at him and he struck.

There was more booing.

He had missed the kill.

No one left, though. The Ford swept around him in a tight circle, smoke now emerging from its engine. Manolo rubbed his arm and picked up the screwdriver and cape he had dropped. There was more booing as he did so.

By the time the car was upon him, flames were leaping forth from its engine.

Now some say that he struck and missed again, going off balance. Others say that he began to strike, grew afraid and drew back. Still others say that, perhaps for an instant, he knew a fatal pity for his spirited adversary, and that this had stayed his hand. I say that the smoke was too thick for any of them to say for certain what had happened.

But it swerved and he fell forward, and he was borne upon that engine, blazing like a god�s catafalque, to meet with his third death as they crashed into the fence together and went up into flames.

There was much dispute over the final corrida, but what remained of the tailpipe and both headlights were buried with what remained of him, beneath the sands of the Plaza, and there was much weeping among women he had known. I say that he could not have been afraid or known pity, for his strength was as a river of rockets, his thighs were pistons and the fingers of his hands had the discretion of micrometers; his hair was a black halo and the angel of death rode on his right arm. Such a man, a man who has known truth, is mightier than any machine. Such a man is above anything but the holding of power and the wearing of glory.

Now he is dead though, this one, for the third and final time. He is as dead as all the dead who have ever died before the bumper, under the grill, beneath the wheels. It is well that he cannot rise again, for I say that his final car was his apotheosis, and anything else would be anticlimactic. Once I saw a blade of grass growing up between the metal sheets of the world in a place where they had become loose, and I destroyed it because I felt it must be lonesome. Often have I regretted doing this, for I took away the glory of its aloneness. Thus does life the machine, I feel, consider man, sternly, then with regret, and the heavens do weep upon him through eyes that grief has opened in the sky.

All the way home I thought of this thing, and the hoofs of my mount clicked upon the floor of the city as I rode through the rain toward evening, that spring.

The End

1

� 1967 by Roger Zelazny. Originally published in Dangerous Visions.

# ? Feb 28, 2017 05:33

Data Graham: Dec 28, 2009; 📈📊🍪😋

Grand Fromage posted:

Was it ever explicit in the novels or anything what happened to Babylons 1-3 or are we supposed to assume the Shadows blew all of them up like they were going to do to Babylon 4?

The first one sank into the swamp.

# ? Feb 28, 2017 05:39

neongrey: Feb 28, 2007; Plaguing your posts with incidental music.

Shbobdb posted:

But redraftings forced by conflict as opposed to enabled by extension makes a better product. That's what I love about B5. It thrives in adversity, that is what makes it strong.

Oh yeah, I think the result sounds better than the original concept stuff, I just think going straight from 'the original concept sounds bad' straight to 'if they'd used that as a basis it would be bad' is just not something very knowable.

# ? Feb 28, 2017 05:51

kaynorr: Dec 31, 2003

hangedman1984 posted:

Yeah, I've always been pretty impressed at how well they were able to deal with unplanned stuff and usually managing to make them seem like they were the plan the entire time..

I'd say there were two exceptions to this: first was losing Ivanova because, well, you can't replace Ivanova. Tracy Scoggins did fine work but there simply was no comparison.

Second was Michael O'Hare's departure - which obviously had to happen but there was simply so much of the initial story that wrapped around Sinclair and I kind of wish I could have seen that show. The human-minbari connection was eventually revealed anyway and while they tried to make it a powerful moment I always felt that it fell flat. Sinclair was the lynchpin of all of that and trying to transfer much of that storyline over to Delenn and the rest to Sheridan was an admirable bit of making lemonade at best.

# ? Feb 28, 2017 17:27

FairGame: Jul 24, 2001; Der Kommander

Delenn (and Lennier) were much better than Sinclair's ex-girlfriend (ex-wife?) that was going to play the role that eventually went to Boxleitner's IRL wife.

And I can't see Sinclair giving a speech anywhere near as good as "Get the hell out of our galaxy."

# ? Feb 28, 2017 17:59

kaynorr: Dec 31, 2003

FairGame posted:

And I can't see Sinclair giving a speech anywhere near as good as "Get the hell out of our galaxy."

Well that's the thing, Sinclair was all zen and disarming calm whereas Sheridan was charisma and fire. Unfortunately Sinclair is only in the freshman season where the writing is still finding its legs and there are fewer moments to tell people to get the hell out of the nearest stellar cluster.

I would be equally happy with a Babylon 5 where Sheridan is the commander from day one and there is a more refined version of the Earth conspiracy story arc (anyone remember Bureau 13? The convoluted infighting between Clark & Bester?)

# ? Feb 28, 2017 18:12

Winifred Madgers: Feb 12, 2002

We watched "The Illusion of Truth" in season 4 last night and my girls HATED it, as they ought. I got to talk with them about not just unreflectively trusting what you see on the news or the internet.

# ? Feb 28, 2017 18:39

mojo1701a: Oct 9, 2008; Oh, yeah. Loud and clear. Emphasis on LOUD!
~ David Lee Roth

kaynorr posted:

I would be equally happy with a Babylon 5 where Sheridan is the commander from day one and there is a more refined version of the Earth conspiracy story arc (anyone remember Bureau 13? The convoluted infighting between Clark & Bester?)

I totally forgot about Bureau 13. Was there any information about what that was supposed to be? Or did they retcon it to be as stupid as Quantum being a part of Spectre in Spectre?

# ? Feb 28, 2017 21:24

MrL_JaKiri: Sep 23, 2003; A bracing glass of carrot juice!

mojo1701a posted:

I totally forgot about Bureau 13. Was there any information about what that was supposed to be? Or did they retcon it to be as stupid as Quantum being a part of Spectre in Spectre?

The Bester books have an essentially identical department of a different name, so it's fair to assume they're the same thing. Or that the Psi Corps is just so full of conspiracies that they can't move without finding five more, which is also possible.

In general the psi corps has been involved in so much shady poo poo that any of it could be explained as being part of B13

# ? Feb 28, 2017 22:47

kaynorr: Dec 31, 2003

MrL_JaKiri posted:

The Bester books have an essentially identical department of a different name, so it's fair to assume they're the same thing. Or that the Psi Corps is just so full of conspiracies that they can't move without finding five more, which is also possible.

In general the psi corps has been involved in so much shady poo poo that any of it could be explained as being part of B13

There was a really murky ASCII diagram that explained it back in the day - what I remember is that there were multiple conspiracies all running around trying to undermine President Santiago from various angles. I think B13 was one of the Clark-backing cells, the same overall set of guys who sent Knight One and Knight Two and who were running Laurel Takashima (speaking of people who don't compare favorably to Ivanova).

The name itself had to go IIRC, because of a trademark held by the Bureau 13 roleplaying game. And by the time it became relevant again all those conspiracy cells had become Nightwatch or just the official Earth Alliance, and everything else was a Psi Corps subproject.

Like I said, there's a lot to dig into here but the show started off on the other foot with the human-minbari mystery instead of the What's Wrong With Earthgov mystery.

# ? Feb 28, 2017 23:29

MonsieurChoc: Oct 12, 2013; Every species can smell its own extinction.

FInished Season 2. Hahaha, "peace in our times" and ministry of peace this is so over the top. You'd never see stuff like that in the real world!

...oh. :smith:

# ? Mar 2, 2017 21:18

MrL_JaKiri: Sep 23, 2003; A bracing glass of carrot juice!

MonsieurChoc posted:

FInished Season 2. Hahaha, "peace in our times" and ministry of peace this is so over the top. You'd never see stuff like that in the real world!

...oh.

Are you posting this in 1938

# ? Mar 2, 2017 23:38

MonsieurChoc: Oct 12, 2013; Every species can smell its own extinction.

MrL_JaKiri posted:

Are you posting this in 1938

Yeah, I'm not saying this is new. If anything, the US has been living in a propaganda bubble while conducting a global campaign of terror and making alliances with tyrants for a century or so.

Oh, it's happened before, and it'll happen again.

# ? Mar 3, 2017 04:11

Angry Lobster: May 16, 2011; Served with honor
and some clarified butter.

MonsieurChoc posted:

Yeah, I'm not saying this is new. If anything, the US has been living in a propaganda bubble while conducting a global campaign of terror and making alliances with tyrants for a century or so.

Oh, it's happened before, and it'll happen again.

Your disloyal opinons have been noted and Nightwatch has been informed. Expect a visit from the Ministry of Peace soon.

# ? Mar 3, 2017 12:04

SlothfulCobra: Mar 27, 2011

I remember Nightwatch seeming really ham-handed at the time, but now if anything they're only ham-handed because they're too subtle, especially considering how far gone Earth was already supposed to be.

# ? Mar 3, 2017 16:16

MrL_JaKiri: Sep 23, 2003; A bracing glass of carrot juice!

MonsieurChoc posted:

Yeah, I'm not saying this is new. If anything, the US has been living in a propaganda bubble while conducting a global campaign of terror and making alliances with tyrants for a century or so.

Oh, it's happened before, and it'll happen again.

"Peace in our time" is specifically a quote from Chamberlain returning from his meeting with Hitler; it's specifically evoking that I think as well as the general concept.

# ? Mar 3, 2017 18:34

MonsieurChoc: Oct 12, 2013; Every species can smell its own extinction.

MrL_JaKiri posted:

"Peace in our time" is specifically a quote from Chamberlain returning from his meeting with Hitler; it's specifically evoking that I think as well as the general concept.

I got that, thanks.

# ? Mar 4, 2017 00:18

MrL_JaKiri: Sep 23, 2003; A bracing glass of carrot juice!

MonsieurChoc posted:

I got that, thanks.

Just making sure, I have no idea how much that part of British/European history is known in America

# ? Mar 4, 2017 00:55

SlothfulCobra: Mar 27, 2011

Babylon 5 is such a mix of things. The show is sometimes shallow and twee and other times deep and meaningful. There's genuine drama and genuinely bad acting. Sometimes simplistic morals, and sometimes elaborate and complex showings of genuine conflicts between differing philosophies.

It's weird how much it shines through all of the bad bits. The military bits sometimes feel like the writers and actors act like the military is just some scaled up version of football. It makes me keep thinking that a scene is going to end with "AND WE'RE GONNA WIN THAT GAME FOR THE HOME TEAM!"

# ? Mar 5, 2017 01:12

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

SlothfulCobra posted:

Babylon 5 is such a mix of things. The show is sometimes shallow and twee and other times deep and meaningful. There's genuine drama and genuinely bad acting. Sometimes simplistic morals, and sometimes elaborate and complex showings of genuine conflicts between differing philosophies.

It's weird how much it shines through all of the bad bits. The military bits sometimes feel like the writers and actors act like the military is just some scaled up version of football. It makes me keep thinking that a scene is going to end with "AND WE'RE GONNA WIN THAT GAME FOR THE HOME TEAM!"

The unspoken second half of that being "BECAUSE IF WE DON'T WE ARE ALL DEEPLY hosed!"

# ? Mar 5, 2017 02:27

MonsieurChoc: Oct 12, 2013; Every species can smell its own extinction.

Holy poo poo, Shang Tsung! I love this guy!

Edit: And it's the episode with G'Kar and Londo in the elevator! Amazing!

MonsieurChoc fucked around with this message at 08:33 on Mar 5, 2017

# ? Mar 5, 2017 08:19

Luigi Thirty: Apr 30, 2006; Emergency confection port.

From the bowels of YouTube I present a camcorder copy of a one-hour Q&A with Michael O'Hare - after he left B5 but before they shot War Without End. "I'm running around in the jungle shooting Shadowmen!"

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0pR5IuVptRw

He's really funny and really smart, going into the psychology of acting and his role as Sinclair more than you usually get out of convention talks. It's amazing stuff.

# ? Mar 5, 2017 08:41

Chubby Henparty: Aug 13, 2007

Shbobdb posted:

But redraftings forced by conflict as opposed to enabled by extension makes a better product. That's what I love about B5. It thrives in adversity, that is what makes it strong.

Shadows were right?

# ? Mar 5, 2017 09:30

Panzeh: Nov 27, 2006; "..The high ground"

SlothfulCobra posted:

Babylon 5 is such a mix of things. The show is sometimes shallow and twee and other times deep and meaningful. There's genuine drama and genuinely bad acting. Sometimes simplistic morals, and sometimes elaborate and complex showings of genuine conflicts between differing philosophies.

It's weird how much it shines through all of the bad bits. The military bits sometimes feel like the writers and actors act like the military is just some scaled up version of football. It makes me keep thinking that a scene is going to end with "AND WE'RE GONNA WIN THAT GAME FOR THE HOME TEAM!"

The weird thing to me is how mixed babylon 5 is as a show- it didn't really work all that well for me, though there were absolutely parts where it did.

While Londo and G'kar were wonderful, I thought Delenn was profoundly uninteresting and she got a lot more airtime than those two. The human characters were uneven and poorly acted, and the rangers just seemed a bit over the top to me. I found it really hard to buy the Delenn/captain stuff.

# ? Mar 5, 2017 12:23

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Panzeh posted:

The weird thing to me is how mixed babylon 5 is as a show- it didn't really work all that well for me, though there were absolutely parts where it did.

While Londo and G'kar were wonderful, I thought Delenn was profoundly uninteresting and she got a lot more airtime than those two. The human characters were uneven and poorly acted, and the rangers just seemed a bit over the top to me. I found it really hard to buy the Delenn/captain stuff.

I'd say they're one of the better TV couples, just for being an actual relationship growing over time through multiple seasons instead of going from zero to "oh, they're in love now" with a single episode.

# ? Mar 5, 2017 13:16

happyhippy: Feb 21, 2005; Playing games, watching movies, owning goons. 'sup; Pillbug

Delenn is the main character in B5.
She's pivotal in EVERYTHING apart from the crappy parts of season 5.

# ? Mar 5, 2017 15:56

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

happyhippy posted:

Delenn is the main character in B5.
She's pivotal in EVERYTHING apart from the crappy parts of season 5.

If you listen carefully during season 5, I swear you can hear the show's plot grinding its way from Idle to High-Gear the moment Byron drops dead.

# ? Mar 5, 2017 16:04

Panzeh: Nov 27, 2006; "..The high ground"

Neddy Seagoon posted:

I'd say they're one of the better TV couples, just for being an actual relationship growing over time through multiple seasons instead of going from zero to "oh, they're in love now" with a single episode.

I know, but I didn't find it believable that the relationship would be anything more than professional.

happyhippy posted:

Delenn is the main character in B5.
She's pivotal in EVERYTHING apart from the crappy parts of season 5.

Her acting is really not there and she's definitely a feature character which is kinda the problem with the show.

# ? Mar 5, 2017 16:04

Data Graham: Dec 28, 2009; 📈📊🍪😋

I wish she'd stayed androgynous like in the pilot.

And I'm sorry, but her hair/skullpiece interaction is just so distracting I can't loving focus on anything else when she's around. :spergin:

# ? Mar 5, 2017 16:23

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Data Graham posted:

I wish she'd stayed androgynous like in the pilot.

And I'm sorry, but her hair/skullpiece interaction is just so distracting I can't loving focus on anything else when she's around.

It also changes randomly between her hair going under the headpiece and threading through it from episode to episode.

# ? Mar 5, 2017 16:25

Winifred Madgers: Feb 12, 2002

Panzeh posted:

I know, but I didn't find it believable that the relationship would be anything more than professional.

Her acting is really not there and she's definitely a feature character which is kinda the problem with the show.

I don't know what to say other than I completely disagree. Her accent is a little tough sometimes but she's great with her eyes and facial expressions / body language.

# ? Mar 5, 2017 16:26

Data Graham: Dec 28, 2009; 📈📊🍪😋

I was gonna say I do like her accent. It's unplaceable and one of the things that really sells her as an alien.

Too bad none of the other Minbari had similar accents, and too bad the rest of the Centauri didn't talk like Romanian counts.

# ? Mar 5, 2017 16:28

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Data Graham posted:

I was gonna say I do like her accent. It's unplaceable and one of the things that really sells her as an alien.

Too bad none of the other Minbari had similar accents, and too bad the rest of the Centauri didn't talk like Romanian counts.

The Centauri needed a good thick Russian accent. Everything's gone downhill since ~~the fall of the Tsars~~ the Good Old Days :corsair:

# ? Mar 5, 2017 16:30

happyhippy: Feb 21, 2005; Playing games, watching movies, owning goons. 'sup; Pillbug

Data Graham posted:

I was gonna say I do like her accent. It's unplaceable and one of the things that really sells her as an alien.

Too bad none of the other Minbari had similar accents, and too bad the rest of the Centauri didn't talk like Romanian counts.

Reefer (sp) had a good Centauri accent.

And his death scene is still one of the best ever moments in TV history imo

# ? Mar 5, 2017 16:32

Data Graham: Dec 28, 2009; 📈📊🍪😋

happyhippy posted:

Reefer (sp) had a good Centauri accent.

And his death scene is still one of the best ever moments in TV history imo

Hell yeah. I commented on that in my recent watchthrough; running it in slow-motion and setting it in counterpoint to "No Hiding Place" being belted out by gospel singers was one of those "Yep, we've arrived in the modern era of TV drama" moments, akin to the Miami Vice "In the Air Tonight" scene.

# ? Mar 5, 2017 16:36

Bieeanshee: Aug 21, 2000; Not keen on keening.; Grimey Drawer

I don't think it helps that the basic personality trait of the Religious Caste is a kind of knockoff-Vulcan refined befuddlement. The Warrior Caste gets to barely kettle their anger all the time, but it's rare to see one of the priestly types really take up any emotional space.

Friends and I watched Refa's death scene a couple of months ago. I don't think I'd seen the episode since it aired originally, and spent the entire time giggling and rubbing my hands, just waiting for it.

# ? Mar 5, 2017 16:53

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Data Graham posted:

Hell yeah. I commented on that in my recent watchthrough; running it in slow-motion and setting it in counterpoint to "No Hiding Place" being belted out by gospel singers was one of those "Yep, we've arrived in the modern era of TV drama" moments, akin to the Miami Vice "In the Air Tonight" scene.

What makes that scene so good is the entire time Londo's parading around as a hologram they have G'Kar and Reefa actively responding to his actions instead of passively watching, whether it's Londo walking through them or just waving his finger under Reefa's nose.

# ? Mar 5, 2017 17:18

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Apr 23, 2024 22:10

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

Panzeh posted:

Her acting is really not there and she's definitely a feature character which is kinda the problem with the show.

"Acting is really not there" is definitely the show's biggest problem (O'Hare, Jurasik and Katsula were really the only ones who ever stood out), but as KHS said, Furlan's ability to emote is better than most of her colleagues. Her biggest problem is having to deliver some really, really rough dialogue while still tripping over her accent.

# ? Mar 5, 2017 20:28

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > TV IV > Babylon 5: Reboot and Zooty

«‹›291 »