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Hey thread, I watched the series before, but the point I've gotten to in the rewatch with my mom, we got to the end of season 4, and I figured, might as well check out some of the movies that I never watched the first time around. In the Beginning
Thirdspace
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Apr 28, 2022 03:39
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SlothfulCobra posted:Thirdspace Thirdspace/Signs and Portents (So late S1): The raiders got mashed by the Shadows to recover the Eye
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Apr 29, 2022 10:54
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A Voice in the Wilderness Babylon 5: Season 1, Episode 18 - The mystery of the alien planet is cool. The mars stuff seems too distant for me to care but I like the storyline of Garaboldy dealing with his alcoholism - The hockey pokey joke was funny - The defence tech from the planet looked a bit too human, the rockets, compared to when they were inside the alien structure - To be continued! Lascivious Sloth fucked around with this message at 14:59 on May 3, 2022 |
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May 3, 2022 13:45
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A Voice in the Wilderness Part 1 Babylon 5: Season 1, Episode 19 - Ivanova really loves mentioning she is Russian.. - The dickhead ship commander that came to take over is a bit cliche instead of working together with Sinclair - Was a bit boring conlusion to a two-parter. - I hope the quality of CGI gets better - Just seemed anticlimatic like nothing changed in the end - It was obvious alcoholic was going to get cucked after all this time
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May 3, 2022 14:58
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Lascivious Sloth posted:A Voice in the Wilderness Part 1 
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May 3, 2022 16:08
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Re: the cgi, the phrase "leaps and bounds" comes to mind.
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May 3, 2022 17:16
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Yup. It's still the 90s, don't expect modern quality, but oh boy does it improve.
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May 3, 2022 18:12
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I'm the one currently working through season 5; my watch-through is stalled again for the moment, due to my viewing partner being out of town. But I've just remembered we watched two more episodes like a week ago that I never wrote my reactions to. So I'm using the plot summaries on the wiki to jog my memory while writing these: s05e06 - Strange Relations
s05e07 - Secrets of the Soul
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May 3, 2022 18:41
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Also started watching for first time and am about eight episodes in. Been hearing forever how it's good and DS9 is one of my favorite shows so wanted to give it a shot. So far liking it a lot, the captain is well cast and the different alien species are interesting. Some thoughts (sorry if these have already been pointed out I haven't read through the thread as trying to avoid spoilers): -I like Garibaldi reading a paper newspaper for baseball scores -I think they said the station has 250k people but the security force appears to be ten guys. Would explain why a space station has slums. -Neat that the aliens have depth and none of them are all evil all the time. Also good that earth isn't the powerhouse and can't impose peace on anyone without diplomacy. -I see Harlan Ellison is mentioned in the opening credits, did he actually do anything or was it a terminator situation where paying him was cheaper than a lawsuit? So yeah definitely gonna keep going.
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May 3, 2022 18:51
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Hyrax Attack! posted:
Ellison and JMS were lifelong friend, and provided input and feedback throughout the show. He has actual writing credits on a few episodes and 'appears' in three of them (in voice only for two of them). Chevy Slyme fucked around with this message at 20:06 on May 3, 2022 |
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May 3, 2022 18:56
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Ellison was involved in the series (he co-writes an episode in the final season) - it’s definitely not a paying him off situation. JMS (the creator and writer of Babylon 5) has been long involved with Ellison and I believe he’s in charge of his creative estate or something like that.
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May 3, 2022 18:57
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Chevy Slyme posted:Ellison and JMS were lifelong friend, and provided input and feedback throughout the show. He has actual writing credits on yet episodes and 'appears' in three of them (in voice only for two of them). Zaroff posted:Ellison was involved in the series (he co-writes an episode in the final season) - it’s definitely not a paying him off situation. Ah that's good to know he was adding to the show. When I see stuff like "Rod Roddenberry" being an executive producer on Lower Decks it puts me in a suspicious mindset about who needed a check to not fight them for rights, glad to know that doesn't apply to all sci-fi. I also like how it feels comfortable in the setting and isn't trying to mimic star trek or star wars.
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May 3, 2022 19:05
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Zaroff posted:Ellison was involved in the series (he co-writes an episode in the final season) - it’s definitely not a paying him off situation. Yep, he's the executor of the estate and does everything involving the use of his work.
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May 3, 2022 19:20
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Babylon Squared Babylon 5: Season 1, Episode 20 Quite boring time travel ep that will be broken later on I think, was a very weak episode The Quality of Mercy Babylon 5: Season 1, Episode 21 - I like the doctor - It's stupid they run a space station like this but there is a cast system and people can't get free healthcare lol - Comparing alien tech to faith healers or psedo science is stupid, it should be assumed there is alien tech that can heal - "stroke off" is an insult lol - the same good doctor is willing to setup a kind of mind wipe machine, hypocrit - I really like the hair up Quark ambassador - The Betty White looking doctor was cool - Good standalone episode
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May 3, 2022 20:29
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Oh I never started with "the gathering". Should I bother going back to watch it after season 1 ending?
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May 3, 2022 20:42
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If you're already sold on the show, go ahead. It's often suggested people skip it because it sucks so bad it could put you off the whole series, but if you're in then get a few beers and enjoy. There are bits in it that come up later in the series.
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May 3, 2022 20:45
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Grand Fromage posted:If you're already sold on the show, go ahead. It's often suggested people skip it because it sucks so bad it could put you off the whole series, but if you're in then get a few beers and enjoy. There are bits in it that come up later in the series. Woah really? I didn't know that and just watched it first as it was the first thing listed on HBO Max. I thought it was fine although went too long and I was confused about why so many characters were recast in the next episode. Is there anything else critical to know for a first time watch? Like if someone were watching Simpsons for the first time letting them know the clip shows could be skipped?
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May 3, 2022 20:55
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Just that the first season is kind of adorably ropey in parts but it improves. There's like two eps in s1 that you could probably skip, but nearly everything has some kind of payoff so I reckon watch the lot. This is a zero spoiler zone but it is full of people who will be delighted to read your impressions, so post as you go!
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May 3, 2022 21:01
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Nah. There are a couple eps that were broadcast out of order but they don't really matter. The people with weird watch lists and inserting movies and poo poo are dumb, just watch the show and then the movies. Don't watch In the Beginning first, that's a popular idea among dumbasses. Every movie is worse than the one before so best not to have that interrupting the good stuff. The Gathering is a special case because a) it's really bad and b) the series kind of assumes you didn't see it and explains the bits that are important later. E: Yeah the first season is rough. Coming to that extreme low budget and unevenness from 2022 can be a tough sell and not everyone believes you that it quickly becomes the best thing ever. The show does reward a rewatch (there is a LOT of foreshadowing and stuff you don't see the first time) and the first season is much more enjoyable the second time through. Grand Fromage fucked around with this message at 21:08 on May 3, 2022 |
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May 3, 2022 21:01
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Chrysalis Babylon 5: Season 1, Episode 22 - I'm halfway in and I don't even understand what this episode is about - Synclaine has someone he's gonna marry now? where did this come from? not much character development there - Oh cool some battle scenes with terrible CGI. At least DS9 CGI was decent and fun. Even TNG was better than this. They are using new computer tech but it sucks worse than using props. - How could the jamming devices get through customs scanners so easily lol - Oh no the presidents lovely CGI ship blew up. Did we even meet him/her? Ive seen the ship a few times - Oh ambassador got suckered in, I like him. He doesn't seem as upset as I would think considering he gets along with them all quite well now. - Kosh is pretty cool - Pretty anti-climactic. oh cool some invisible spider aliens. - where da gently caress this crsalisk come from apart from being mentioned last episodes I need to pay more attention, I don't know what is going on. Season 1 was about a 4/10 rating. Pretty weak. quote:It's often suggested people skip it because it sucks so bad it could put you off the whole series, but if you're in then get a few beers and enjoy. In that case I won't bother. I'm not completely sold on the show and I'd rather move on to a better season.
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May 3, 2022 21:17
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Lascivious Sloth posted:Chrysalis She appeared in a couple of other episodes this season, and had her own major subplot in one. She's introduced as an on again off again old flame, and in the first ep she appears they decide it's on again. S2 is a lot stronger than S1 in basically every way (acting, direction, CGI, writing...) so see how you get on. Re: CGI, B5 was the pioneer for TV CGI. Noone else was doing it at the time beyond the odd shot (there's basically no CGI in TNG, it's all exceptionally expensive large models, which is why there's so little ship to ship movement), and B5 was a big part of CGI and in particular Lightwave becoming a TV sci fi standard. MrL_JaKiri fucked around with this message at 21:29 on May 3, 2022 |
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May 3, 2022 21:20
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Lascivious Sloth posted:I need to pay more attention, I don't know what is going on. B5 is not a laundry folding show, it needs full attention.
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May 3, 2022 21:22
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Grand Fromage posted:Don't watch In the Beginning first, that's a popular idea among dumbasses. Why would people say to do this? It spoils a bunch of the show, doesn't it?
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May 3, 2022 23:33
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Lascivious Sloth posted:Oh I never started with "the gathering". Should I bother going back to watch it after season 1 ending? I have watched the show multiple times and never felt I missed anything from The Gathering. Anything that you need to know gets covered again.
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May 3, 2022 23:41
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Dr. Stab posted:Why would people say to do this? It spoils a bunch of the show, doesn't it? yeah it's from the viewpoint of someone who's seen up to, uh, end of s3? i wanna say? Probably wrong, but it's clearly situated in the timeline as in it assumes you already know a bunch of stuff that happened.
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May 3, 2022 23:47
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Dr. Stab posted:Why would people say to do this? It spoils a bunch of the show, doesn't it? They dumb.
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May 3, 2022 23:54
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In the Beginning was explicitly designed to appeal to new viewers during season 4. Some of the people who watched it first even went on to become fans of the series. It might not be the ideal way to start, and it might not be your recommendation, but it's a possibility.
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May 3, 2022 23:57
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ultrafilter posted:In the Beginning was explicitly designed to appeal to new viewers during season 4. Some of the people who watched it first even went on to become fans of the series. It might not be the ideal way to start, and it might not be your recommendation, but it's a possibility. i have personally decided that mostly not caring about spoilers is a way more relaxing way to live and doesn't meaningfully interfere with my appreciation of a work so yeah for sure, but b5 does a Lot with plot developments, and seeing it from the beginning for the first time is much more doable now than it was back then.
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May 4, 2022 00:27
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As long as it's a personal position. I hate the people who decided I don't care about spoilers, therefore no one should and I'm going to be a giant rear end in a top hat. B5 has a ton of really interesting twists and turns (instead of mystery box bullshit) that I think it's best not to know about ahead of time.
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May 4, 2022 01:17
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Oh yeah, I mean I moderate this thread after all.
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May 4, 2022 01:23
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No mods no masters.
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May 4, 2022 01:27
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Powered Descent posted:s05e06 - Strange Relations It's not a great moment. Sheridan and Sinclair pulled their own loopholes, but this weird "kicking the can down the road" loophole doesn't seem like it'd play out well. It's also...redundant? Bester and Sheridan had an understanding, and I don't see why Sheridan can't pull out the fact that B5 is sheltering his comatose girlfriend to get him to back off. I feel like the whole point of this episode is because the show is kinda just touching on everything they've done in the past to work up some momentum after season 4 was so conclusive. Powered Descent posted:s05e07 - Secrets of the Soul I can't really track down the specifics, but JMS may have some weird sympathy for cults from his time being in one. He's led a weird life. I think Franklin is right to criticize them for lying about their history, because unless they properly reckon with what they did, they can't really even begin to properly feel that they've made amends. Covering things up is like doubling down on what they've done. But he's not like condemned them for it. He straight-up told them that he probably didn't have the resources to fix it himself, and they'd have to go broader to other league worlds for help, and that's probably an honest assessment. I feel like his subplot in this episode reminds me of the Drafa plague (where an entire species went extinct, and couldn't get help for it in time because they kept it secret), and in that case, Franklin didn't manage to find a cure even after working as hard as he could. Earth doesn't know anything about genetic engineering, the psi corps are still doing manual breeding programs to maintain their numbers. SlothfulCobra fucked around with this message at 02:46 on May 4, 2022 |
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May 4, 2022 02:34
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Theoretically there's no spoilers here except for JMS' autobiography, but the quoted post was responding to Secrets of the Soul and you should probably skip if you haven't seen much of S5 yet.SlothfulCobra posted:I can't really track down the specifics, but JMS may have some weird sympathy for cults from his time being in one. He's led a weird life.. JMS spoiler not recommended before S5: JMS has several chapters in his autobiography about his time in a Christian cult. He was raised in an amazingly abusive household (his mother, the victim most of the time, tried to kill him once when he was a little kid, and his father was far worse), and in San Diego in high school in the early 70s he got lovebombed by a local cult. When he returned to San Diego during his college years, he ended up moving into one of their communes, partly to escape his home and partly because he had the hots for a cult member (who he almost married). The Elders of the church controlled everything about those in the communes: they handed over their money and received $5 a week allowance, and they couldn't make life choices. JMS needed Elder permission to continue attending college, and permission to marry. Then one day, he discovered the preacher at the head of the cult had shifted from doing one-on-one Christian cult therapy sessions with female members into full-on sexual affairs with many of them. He reported that to one of the Elders, who refused to believe him and basically threatened to expel him from the cult unless he changed his story. He refused, he got booted from the cult and ended up having to return home. It evidently took some years before the scandal finally blew up, eventually taking the commune down entirely. JMS' treatment in his autobiography is fascinating. He's an avowed atheist now, and it's clear he was already mostly there during his cult period (he tells a hilarious story about trying to start a commune in Illinois when they moved away from the first one, meeting the "big boss" of the Chicago Christian cults, and essentially establishing that the guy was using "inspiration from God" as an excuse to control people, which, yup). But he'd had essentially zero affection growing up from any of his family: he tells another story about holding a stray dog up so his mother could pet it, and her accidentally brushing his hand while doing so was the only affectionate touch he received from any of his immediate family. So the cult's tendency for lovebomb group hugs and the Elders' disdain for his father's threats must have made it seem appealing for a while. I wouldn't say he has any weird sympathy for cults, but I think he has plenty of sympathy for the people who get caught up in them, especially the ones who truly believe instead of exploiting the cult for their own power trips.
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May 4, 2022 03:40
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Narsham posted:JMS spoiler not recommended before S5:  I should track down that autobiography. I bet it's an interesting read.
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May 4, 2022 04:15
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Powered Descent posted:
Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood, came out in 2019. It's easy to find.
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May 4, 2022 06:01
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Dr. Stab posted:Why would people say to do this? It spoils a bunch of the show, doesn't it? I'm convinced some people get In The Beginning confused with The Gathering and think ITB is the pilot. The rest of them probably just think you have to watch it first because it's the first chronologically. 
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May 4, 2022 11:33
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Oh man, this is the thread for me. I'm in my first watch through and finished 3x02 last night. G'Kar laughing at Londo in the elevator was great. They have a fun frenemies type of relationship up to this point that I wonder how much was intended in the script and how much was actor chemistry. Not really spoiler-y, but man the Psi Corps stuff has been my least favorite subplot. Does it ever get to the Section 31 type of deal that the intention seems to be? holefoods fucked around with this message at 19:40 on May 9, 2022 |
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May 9, 2022 19:38
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I have also started watching B5. I normally watch shows at a pretty glacial pace but I'm currently about to finish Season 1. Here is a list of things I vaguely knew about the series going in, potential spoilers idk: -it's a space station in space -one of the actors leaves after the first season? i think the captain but that's going to be weird given he clearly appears in the future in Babylon Squared but -somebody has a great character arc i forget who but a bunch of nerds were talking about it once. g'kar maybe? probably a bunch of people do -bad CGI. i mean it might be good for the time -I had the impression of it as a zero-budget show that got by on the writing and had people in awful sets the whole time. i mean it's not high-glamour megabucks tv but it's not as janky as I thought it was -i saw some clips on youtube a while back but i don't remember what was happening. at one point g'kar is making a good speech but i don't remember what it was about. at one point the station is in danger and an alien ship suddenly appears to defend them. i think it's probably the minbari lady. why did i watch isolated clips of a tv show with an ongoing plot I can't tell you. yeah that's about it. thoughts on season 1 in the next post so you can avoid quoting these very substantive spoilers
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May 14, 2022 23:53
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Thoughts on season 1 except the last episode which I haven't got round to watching yet and a couple of episodes the internet told me to skip which I might end up going back to. apologies for probably misspelling all the character names/species over and over I'm having a pretty good time with it so far! I mean it's a bit rough around the edges, but generally in the same way that say, the middle-grade star trek episodes in the same era could be. I just finished watching all of deep space nine so i'm always tempted to compare the two, though I don't know how fair that comparison really is. I guess a big difference here is the role of humanity here, in star trek it's a leader in the dominant power of utopian ideals that sometimes get mildly challenged by this week's Planet Of Philosophical Thought Experiments With Forehead Ridges but still ends the episode in control of it's own chunk of the galaxy. But here humanity is just another weird species that has just about managed to get the other planets to stop trying to kill it for a bit, with a society still full of gaping flaws. I don't know if there have been any massive stand-out episodes so far. I liked By Any Means Necessary because I always love the "people go on strike" episodes. I don't think there have been any I'd call really bad either, though. I wrote down to skip Infection, Believers and TKO from a half-assed "what episodes should I skip" google search because I wasn't sure if I was actually going to want to watch the whole show but I might go back to those. I did go back and watch TKO the other day, because a Jewish friend of mine mentioned how she liked how the episode depicted Judaism, and yeah I think it was worth watching, particularly because Ivanova is one of my favourite characters so far so it's nice to get some more backstory. Yeah, the dull other plot about the guy wanting to fight and then he fights and then he wins the fight was a bit... pointless, but it wasn't bad or anything. But then I thought DS9's Move Along Home was merely a bit silly as opposed to the sin against television some fans think it was, so take my opinion of what's good enough science fiction for what you will. But yeah so far it's a good time and seems to be the kind of combination of space diplomacy and sci fi technononsense that I'm into. Here's my thoughts on S1 E21, The Quality Of Mercy, that I just watched: -Love the assistant Minbari's utterly dull life. I was raised in a temple and have done nothing but read and assemble a motorcycle this one time. -the doctor ilegally giving people free healthcare. i did actually think ivanova was going to try to shut it down for a second. i am sorry i doubted you -garibaldi real gung-ho about the death penalty. what a cop -old lady's found a random bit of space junk and is using it for medicine without being able to read the instructions. i'm sure this will go well -oh and they just routinely wipe people's brains instead of the death penalty apparently? garibaldi's a big fan so it must be fine -"and in my eleventy-fifth year at the temple..." i love this nerd -murderer guy doing his best hannibal lecter impression. not a good one but his best -gets defeated by the healing machine being put into reverse. healer lady Did Nothing Wrong -an important lesson is learned about centauri genitalia -Also wait, haven't we seen that tentacle before? wasn't it on that creature that was eating people's minds a few episodes back. i guess it came from a centauri world so it might make some sense for them to evolve a similar penis. or the props department only had so many tentacles to make use of The Centauri are a bit like the Ferengi in that they straddle the line between "silly fun comic relief" and "actively irritating terrible people", so I'm not sure yet what I think of them. Also not sure how I feel about Garibaldi, like I get how he's this morally grey damaged rear end in a top hat but he's also such a loving cop sometimes, like in this episode and the strike episode where he just jumps straight into brutalising civilians that it's hard to have much sympathy for him sometimes.
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May 15, 2022 00:36
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You should watch the episodes you skipped at some point, and probably soon.
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May 15, 2022 00:44
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