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I skipped the other 58 pages to avoid spoilers. Just finished watching the first episode of Babylon 5. I like it so far, though I can see why there's a longstanding belief that DS9 copied B5 (or vice versa); there are plenty of similarities: a Promenade, a Quark's Bar, changelings. The telepath is something of a Dax analogue and G'kar seems like B5's version of Gul Dukat. The plot was a bit confusing to follow; they threw a lot of characters and exposition at you quickly. I had pretty much figured out the mystery by about three-quarters in but the resolution was tense and satisfying. My nickname for the Vorlon is 'the goatse aliens' because...well...their face is an anus. Really looking forward to the point when Walter Koenig shows up. I've seen a few clips of his character and he seemed to have a lot of fun in his role. The acting is....decent. It's not MST3K level but a bit soap-y at times. I think I'll probably enjoy watching this series. F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 03:16 on Mar 10, 2023 |
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Mar 10, 2023 03:12
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Just random observations after watching episodes 2 and 3: o For the most part, the actor switches between the pilot and the 'regular' episodes have been better. Nothing against Commander Takahara (?) but Ivanova is a better actress, despite being a bit machineike. I do miss the original, older doctor, though. o The fighters in B5 are even more X-wing like than Vipers in BSG. In fact, a lot of the space segments are very reminiscent to me of BSG. o I like how Londo was given a bit more characterization than 'weird alien with crazy hair'. o The Soul Hunters episode is probably my favorite yet, and Soul Hunters themselves might be my favorite alien race so far. They're so delightfully ghoulish: "Someone's about the die; can I come aboard?" o Some intrigue about whatshername is also set up in the Soul Hunters episode. I'm going to guess that she's either a secret cylon spy or somehow disgraced the Mimbari somehow. This is one of those things we're definitely going to get more information on eventually. F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 03:33 on Mar 12, 2023 |
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Mar 12, 2023 03:19
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Not gonna lie: Garibaldi is generating #MeToo incidents across Babylon 5. I don't mind his character overall but his interactions with women are....not great. Bester was a great character; enjoyed watching Koenig stretch his acting muscles a bit and avoid Chekov typecasting. I hope he comes back. Really enjoyed his scenes. F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 02:35 on Mar 16, 2023 |
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Mar 16, 2023 02:21
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Trying not to fill the thread with my observations for each episode, but I just finished the "humans only" episode. It was pretty good; reminded me a lot of 'The Circle' at the beginning of DS9 season 2, just with the roles reversed. The leader immediately believing that Ivanova and Sinclair were genuinely interested in the movement seems a bit too easy to me; you'd think the leader of a xenophobic terrorist organization would be a bit more careful than that. The "My wives: famine, disease, and pestilence" was genuinely one of the funniest lines in the series yet. It elevated what was essentially an alien version of Fiddler On the Roof.
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Mar 18, 2023 15:02
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Well, OK. To be quite honest, I don't really have a problem with Jerry Doyle (even though his real-life politics were questionable), but the more I see of Garibaldi the less I tend to like him. People talk about Odo being fashy, but Garibaldi setting it up so that he has constant video surveillance of a suspect is at least on par with the fashiest stuff Odo did. On the other hand, I'm warming up to Ivanova because she's had a chance to open up a little bit and be less....robotic, I guess?
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Mar 18, 2023 15:20
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Yeah, coming to Babylon 5 after watching DS9 is a bit of a trip because you're used to Sisko having fairly good control of his station and Starfleet generally working on the side of good (Section 31 aside). It's not that Sinclair is incompetent; B5 is such a big station that there are seedy underworld elements that thrive there outside of Garibaldi and Sinclair's awareness. There's also the suggestion that things at Earth Central aren't on the up and up between the psycorps possibly consolidating their power (the Bester episode) and transferring the original doctor and telepath after they gained more information about the Vorlon. Those are the kind of details, like the Dominion in Star Trek, that I fully expect will be expanded upon in the future.
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Mar 18, 2023 17:45
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I think the series gets better with every episode. In the one I just watched (feat. budget Sting and "Joachim" from Wrath of Khan), they deftly set up a lot of intrigue about what actually happened to Sinclair in the lead up to the Mimbari surrender. It compares, favorably, to how DS9 amped up interest in the Dominion. Really looking forward to the pay off for all this; I think it'll be good. I don't know what I expected coming into B5 (dollar store DS9, I guess), but it's not that at all. e: "Budget Sting" is not a knock on the actor. He just looked a lot like Sting to me. F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 21:15 on Mar 18, 2023 |
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Mar 18, 2023 21:08
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Having watched MASH, I pretty much knew exactly where Believers, episode 1x11 was going from the start. There was a similar plot in season 6 or so of MASH where Hawkeye removed a healthy appendix from a colonel to stop men in his battalion from being killed, only to find that it didn't stop the influx of wounded; he "treated a symptom". It was handled pretty well, all told. Ethical dilemmas like that are exactly why I never want to be a loving doctor (that and my grades sucked in school). Still, this episode spoiled a little of the great momentum the series had been building up. I liked the differing reactions from the ambassadors, though. e: Added episode title and spoilers as requested. F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 01:04 on Mar 21, 2023 |
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Mar 20, 2023 02:05
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After The War posted:What's great is that's the second time he did that, and it shows how much the show had evolved because the first time (in the wacky sitcom era) it was treated as standard hijinks, but the second was a tense, dramatic scene where BJ accuses Hawkeye of violating basic medical principles by cutting into a healthy body. Yep! The first was Flagg, and no one - including Henry, iirc - gave a poo poo. MASH was a great show.
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Mar 20, 2023 14:21
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josh04 posted:Howdy there, just a heads up that you're supposed to stick spoiler tags Oh, sorry! Will do. e: Survivors. I'm not a huge fan of Garibaldi (he's a cop), but even I thought the case for him being a saboteur was deeply flawed. It's never a good mix when the person leading the investigation is someone who has history and an ax to grind with the suspect. She ended up being an OK person, but it was obvious from the start that Garibaldi was innocent and that the evidence was circumstantial at best.. F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 02:53 on Mar 21, 2023 |
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Mar 20, 2023 14:47
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In that case I'm wondering if I should start keeping track of unanswered questions in B5 so that if something doesn't pay off right away, I can remember what they're referring to. Example: Londo, that "eye" and the Shadow People. When I was working through BSG I kept track of all the known Cylon models for the same reason. e: Mobile typing sucks. F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 15:29 on Mar 21, 2023 |
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Mar 21, 2023 14:36
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Tom Guycot posted:I don't remember this, what in season 1 did they talk about wrt london and an eye? Oh sorry, mobile typing sucks. I meant to say Londo and the Eye jewelry that he obtained in "Signs and Portents".
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Mar 21, 2023 15:28
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1x14: By Any Means Necessary. You know, shows like this are surprisingly insightful about labor issues. Garibaldi is a cop, so of course he would be pretty scornful of the workers' demands. The "Labor Committee", of course, doesn't work on behalf of actual organized labor but really on behalf of management to quash strikes in favor of management. "Illegal" strikes (they would hardly be effective in extracting demands if they weren't illegal) are squashed in the name of "security". It's all pretty much lifted chapter and verse from  101. What's disappointing is that in 240 some years, Earth has apparently failed to transcend beyond such a lovely and outdated economic organization.In any case, the resolution was a bit cheesy but fairly satisfying. If I had been a worker I probably would have wanted all of those promises in writing, because saying whatever it takes to get people to get back to work and never following through is also a pretty well known management tactic, even if Sinclair is a pretty trustworthy guy. F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 21:36 on Mar 21, 2023 |
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Mar 21, 2023 21:23
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1x15: The Quality of Mercy. I really liked this episode. Erasing someone's personality seems far worse than any of the penalties we have in the modern day. I liked the "quack" and the fact that she wrestled with taking a life - even the life of a Stephen Miller-esque sociopath. The C plot (Mollari and Delenn's assistant) was ridiculous but I like how the Mimbari are better able to defend themselves than they first appear. Londo using his....appendage to cheat at cards was funny but pretty gross, honestly. The '90s CGI doesn't really bother me. It's not good by today's standards but like C&C Red Alert 2 cutscenes, it has a retro charm for me. F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 01:56 on Mar 23, 2023 |
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Mar 23, 2023 01:46
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I daresay that "By Any Means Necessary" is the best labor/management episode since DS9's "Bar Association". 1x16: "Grail". I've said this a few times before, but Garibaldi really rubs me the wrong way. The zeal with which he was ready to knock heads together on the lower levels to catch the Diet Zorg guy made my skin crawl. As soon as Warner said that his shepherd role was passed on and that he was the last, I knew how things were going to be resolved. What I like about the story is that it gives Thomas/Jinxer a chance for rehabilitation. The description for the next episode, "Eyes" ("Sinclair's loyalty is questioned") looks to be pretty spicy. I'm betting it will be a continuation of the questions he's faced over the last 24 hour of the Earth/Mimbari war. F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 01:47 on Mar 24, 2023 |
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Mar 24, 2023 01:40
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1x17: Eyes. The Babylon 5 equivalent of TNG's "The Drumhead", but with some important differences. Most notably, Zayn was so scene-chewingly ridiculous from the start that he lacked the 'iron fist in a velvet glove' nature of Admiral Satie. Whereas Satie losing her cool and revealing too much about her motives was the climax of "The Drumhead", here Zayn started at 9 and by the end of the episode was at 11. He also was a complete buffoon. If you're a sorta-kinda undercover agent looking to sniff around about the commander of a station, it seems like your opening move should not be to walk up to the first civilian and say something along the lines of, "Hey, I'm a normal Earther. What can you tell me about Commander Sinclair?" But credit where it's due: I have grown to really like Ivanova. She started out as a bit too "Beep...boop" for me, but I have immense respect for her resistance to being mind probed. I'd be the same way; a person having the ability to look into your mind and read your thoughts is the epitome of dystopian. I've also grown to really like and respect Sinclair. B5 is almost something of a MASH 4077: a crew of misfits who bend the rules but ultimately make things work for them. Sinclair's ability to recognize his people's abilities while not busting them for poo poo that doesn't matter (e.g: Garibaldi's motorcycle) is the mark of a good commander. This episode wasn't as good as "The Drumhead", but I enjoyed it.
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Mar 24, 2023 22:02
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Fair enough. I don't think it's his acting so much as the writing. They even gave Zayn a Blofeld-esque scar to make him seem especially sinister. It's a good episode but it pales in comparison to "The Drumhead".
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Mar 25, 2023 00:46
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1x18: TKO. I feel like I write too much in these posts, so I'll just make random observations instead: o "Zima"? Really dates this episode quite a bit. The civilian clothing also looks straight out of a 1994 JC Penney catalog, if I'm going to be honest. o Although I'm not Jewish, my sense is that this episode handles the Jewish faith with a lot of sensitivity and respect. The more they expand on Ivanova's character the better I like her. o Smith's story could have been a cliche-ridden mess and it wasn't. I like how some aliens didn't like humans intruding on 'their' cultures; more of that in sci-fi, please! o Soon Tek-Oh is always great in whatever role he plays.
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Mar 25, 2023 20:55
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My favorite character so far is Londo Mollari. He's a lot of fun; I'd hang with him and explain the intricacies of the Hokey Pokey. Also, holy poo poo - it didn't register for me at first that the Minbari have someone named 'Dukat'. That's a really interesting coincidence (no, I don't necessarily buy the theory that the B5 writers stole from DS9 or vice versa). F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 02:26 on Mar 26, 2023 |
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Mar 26, 2023 02:06
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1x19 and 20: A Voice in the Wilderness. I'm not sure where to even begin. Episode reminded me a bit of both Spock's Brain and The Tholian Web, with a dash or two of the "rear end in a top hat admiral" syndrome that Star Trek has across all its series (almost every officer superior to Sinclair, if not every one, has been a power hungry dipshit so far). B5 is an interesting series because elements of it remind me of both BSG and DS9 (as I've said many times before), but it's not really like either one. One thing I've enjoyed in the first season (I'm assuming this continues later) is the implication that while Sinclair tries to keep B5 multicultural and peaceful, Earth is pretty dystopian. Not many details are given about why Mars is in revolt but - and maybe this is my leftism coming out - there seems to be a strong hint that the colony there is a backwater that is underserved by the idiots that are in charge on Earth. There have been other hints that things are not at all as they seem on Earth (Bester, PsyCorp, etc). Although I've grown to like Ivanova, I'm not so much a fan of the way she's written sometimes. The "I'm Russian, btw" stuff is straight out of the Chekov playbook, and the over-the-top "Ivanova is god" speech was a bit much for me. I don't blame Claudia Christian's acting; I think '90s sci-fi writing simply doesn't know how to write a woman too well. Random observation: Babylon 5's handling of labor disputes is a little cheesy but it - and DS9: Bar Association - is far better than the way a similar labor revolt is handled on the remastered BSG. F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 01:05 on Mar 27, 2023 |
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Mar 26, 2023 20:58
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1x21: Babylon Squared. Expectation: A scenario similar to the reappearance of Battlestar Pegasus, where the commander is a dickhead (continuing with the 'rear end in a top hat admiral' trope) and fights Sinclair over jurisdictional matters. Reality:  I kind of thought something like that was coming, but holy loving poo poo! I would almost bet real money that Sinclair and Delenn's stories here are intertwined; especially since there's a lot more to the 'last 24 hours of the Earth-Minbari War' stuff than we yet know.However, a minor quibble: It would be great if there was a science fiction show where humans weren't the center of the universe. We're hairless apes who are only a few thousand years removed from dragging our knuckles on the ground; how "important" and "special" could we idiots actually be to anyone? I'm really looking forward to seeing where this goes now. It's really getting good. F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 19:55 on Mar 27, 2023 |
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Mar 27, 2023 19:53
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I wasn't going to watch another episode today, but today's news sucks so much poo poo that I needed an escape. So.... 1x22: Legacies. (To Tom Guycot's post) There has been a pretty steady increase in quality throughout the season. The pilot was not bad but a little on the cheesy side; especially the acting. The actor quality in particular has generally gotten better (a notable exception was the commander of B4, who I thought was a tad over the top). The fact that there doesn't seem to be a lot of distrust and bigotry between humans and Minbari, even a mere ten years after the war, is a really interesting facet of Babylon 5. Even in Star Trek, Miles O'Brien was dealing with his feelings about the Cardassians years after the Federation had waged war against them (TNG: The Wounded). It's a bit overly optimistic to think that all "Earthers" (aside from the xeophobes) are accepting of the Minbari, but it's nice to see that some bad blood still remains. Parading the body of someone the commander of the station fought against in the war is an ultimate 'gently caress you' move. Although I like Sinclair I have to give props to the Minbari for having the balls to do something like that. In a series that depicts uneasy situations and resolutions, I thought the solution to Alisa's dilemma was a bit easy. The thing is, I tend to agree with Ivanova that the Psi Corp is real 1984 poo poo. However, she was very clearly letting her (understandable) baggage about her mom color the information she was feeding to Alisa. That's not to say that Talia was any 'better', but 2258 Earth's treatment of telepaths sucks. I thought this was the final episode of the season, but Tubi TV tells me that Chrysalis is next, so I suppose I'll find out the hidden meaning that Delenn was trying to keep hidden in her mind. F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 15:50 on Mar 28, 2023 |
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Mar 28, 2023 02:01
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1x23: Chrysalis. Danger, Will Robinson! When a main character proposes, you know poo poo is about to go down. It's already been spoiled that Sinclair won't be with the series much longer (not how; I just made the mistake of reading Michael O'Hare's Wikipedia entry). I'm guessing this is where a few story lines from S1 are going to converge). Oh holy gently caress....this is getting pretty BSG. You can definitely tell that someone crafted the 'Vice President being sworn in' scene with an eye toward making it very much like the famous 'LBJ being sworn in next to Jackie Kennedy' photo. Very good work. I don't think it's going to be any coincidence that the new president is talking about "taking care of our own people". Uh...wow. That's quite a cliffhanger. This show is really getting good now....
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Mar 29, 2023 17:19
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2x01: Points of Departure General Haig, huh? Definitely no historical parallels being made there. I don't remember where but I've seen the actor playing that general before, and I believe he was a villain.  (not a bad reaction) "Minbari souls are reborn in humans"? The entire revelation feels a bit....anti-climactic to me. I can't help but wonder if O'Hare's mental health issues forced them to show their cards a bit earlier than they expected. Intriguing, though.I like the different dynamic between the Captain and the Minbari. Is it just me or do a lot of the Minbari feel more assholish than they did in the first season (where they felt a bit more "Vulcan" and above it all)? I also still feel like there's more to Sinclair being transferred off the station than they're letting on, even if the Minbari trust him. I don't think it's any coincidence that this is all happening after Santiago was killed, since Senator whatshisname told Sinclair that he had made powerful enemies. I also suspect that Home Team or whatever the name of the xenophobes are involved somehow.
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Mar 30, 2023 02:19
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Oh yeah! He was (spoilered just in case) the rear end in a top hat admiral who was Sisko's immediate superior officer in Homefront. That's probably why I immediately distrusted him.
F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 02:39 on Mar 30, 2023 |
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Mar 30, 2023 02:27
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2x02: Revelations. I'm surprised that Sheridan went through with that prison transfer. Yeah, it's a presidential order but when you're in deep space like Babylon 5, unexplained "accidents" something tend to happen. This is not meant as a criticism of the writing (which I think is excellent so far this season), but the transfer being a ruse to let the guy go was telegraphed from a few miles away. If I were Sheridan I 100% would not trust the new president or his government. I also kinda saw Delenn becoming more human-like coming. It's great because the actress who played Delenn was a very attractive lady. The intrigue between Mollari, G'kar and the shadow aliens (?) is great; reminds me of the best of 'who is a hidden cylon?' content from BSG. You can feel that poo poo's about to hit the fan, and I'm here for it. F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 21:47 on Mar 30, 2023 |
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Mar 30, 2023 21:41
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Today's gonna be a twofer because it's my birthday. To avoid cluttering up the thread with my posting, I'll just put it all here. 2x03: The Geometry of Shadows Interesting episode. I like Mollari but the end of the last season into this one is showing more of the dark side of his ambition. That he is "touched by darkness" is a good way to put it because absolute power does seem to be corrupting absolutely. I'm only familiar with Ansara through his work as Commander Kang, but he's always recognizable in whatever role he plays. I enjoyed his character here. At first, the Darzi thing felt like a rehash of "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield", but I really enjoyed the green sash that compared it to humans rallying around a flag. Yes, the "purple" and "green" thing is just as silly as rallying around a rag and a point on a map (not to get too C-Spam here). 2x04: A Distant Star. Not gonna lie, the "food plan" B plot for this episode was kinda dumb. I will say, though, that I've warmed up to Garibaldi a bit. Getting shot in the back has seemed to....humble him a bit, maybe? Franklin was a lot more "beep boop" in this episode than he's ever been, and it didn't really fit his character. The A plot was pretty interesting. I don't mean the Cortez so much as 'getting lost in hyperspace' and the return of the Shadow Aliens. I'm really looking forward to seeing where this plot leads. I could be reading too much here, but might there be a transgender interpretation of Delenn's transformation and the Minbari's distrust of her?
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Apr 1, 2023 01:57
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2x05: The Long Dark This episode started off almost exactly like "Space Seed" - the ancient Earth ship, the cryogenic gizmos failing and having to perform emergency triage to save the human still living. But then it took a few twists and turns I wasn't expecting, and I like how it tied together with the ongoing plot arc of the 'Shadow Aliens' in the Rim. Franklin got way too close to his patient way too quickly. However, I have to hand it to him over Julian Bashir: a) he recognized the inappropriateness of his relationship with Moriah right away, and b) it wasn't just Franklin; Moriah seemed to need the intimacy as well (though you could easily make the counterpoint that he was operating on the 'rebound' and manipulating the feelings of a woman who just spent 100 years in cryofreeze and lost her husband). Also, that cop - "drat lurkers...we ought to space all of 'em!". gently caress you, pig. Garibaldi at least took the time to hear out not-Reg Barclay, though that might be more because he was a fellow veteran than anything else.
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Apr 2, 2023 20:39
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2x06: Spider in the Web. One man's "terrorist" is another man's freedom fighter. It seems to me that 'Free Mars' has a legitimate grievance against Earth Alliance, due in large part to the contempt with which lovely 23rd century politicians seem to hold Martian colonists. I 100% support Mars independence. gently caress the Earthers. gently caress Earth Alliance too. Pretty much everything we've learned about them thus far suggests that Earth is a terrible, dystopian place. They used Abel as a weapon against his own government, and it was only because of Sheridan "collecting secrets" and dumb luck (Abel running into Talia) that they were able to stop it. "Giro 13" is far worse than Section 31 (interesting that '13' and '31' are anagrams) or any of the darkest poo poo from DS9. This is really getting good....
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Apr 4, 2023 01:52
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Slamhound posted:Giro 13 drat...I misheard what they said. I'm too afraid of spoilers to look it up; what is the organization's name for real?
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Apr 4, 2023 21:55
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Dr. Gargunza posted:It's Bureau 13. (he said, after wondering if "Giro" is some obscure reference that would've worked better in JMS' head)  Thanks. I can't believe how wrong I got that.2x07: A Race Through Dark Places Sheridan was so correct with his protest against Earth Alliance charging him rent for his own quarters (housing is 100% a human right), and so wrong with that "But there are laws! I'm duty-bound to follow them!". Bullshit. Bad laws are made to be treated with contempt and broken. Nothing about the Psy Corp or how it treats its own is deserving of his respect - or anyone else's. The solution to this crisis was really interesting and I love how Bester half turned back at the end of the episode, suggesting that he may have indeed seen the truth about the "Underground Railroad" in Talia's mind. I'm really enjoying this darker role for Koenig. It suits him. Aside from a slightly elevated role in the latter TOS movies, Koenig never really got to do all that much as Chekov. He's so loathsome as Bester that he's quickly becoming one of my favorite characters. I also really like the burgeoning relationship between Talia and Ivanova and the slow chipping away at Talia's confidence in the Corp. That's going to be an interesting thread to watch over the next couple of seasons. The next episode looks far less serious than these past couple, but any episodes where Londo is a main character is welcome.
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Apr 5, 2023 01:26
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The irony about Chekov is that it was groundbreaking in the 1960s to have a proud Russian man in your crew, but Chekov was always such a comic book version of what Russian people actually sound and act like. I haven't watched any interviews from Koenig about B5 (again, to avoid spoilers) but I'd bet that he leaped at the chance to break away from the "goofy Russian man" typecast he had been playing for thirty years by that point.
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Apr 5, 2023 15:12
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2x08: Soul Mates "A bitch like you would know about breeding" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJLSZfpwgFs&t=35s Jokes aside, my thoughts on each of the three plot lines here: 1. Londo and his three wives (sounds like the title to a folkloric story). Making your wives - plural - bow and scrape so that they aren't the one dumped is gross as hell. But I think Londo actually made the right choice here. I respected the fact that Timov was the least interested of the three in playing the 'game' to stay married, and yet she proved to be the most loyal. 2. Talia's rear end in a top hat ex. Yeah, I called it. From the word go I didn't think there was any coincidence that this guy showed up right after Bester had been on the station. The magic macguffin that "cured" Talia's telepathic abilities had 'trap' written all over it in big red letters. I suspect that Talia may not have kept the truth hidden from Bester as completely as she had thought, as I said in my previous recap. 3. Delenn learning to be human. Not much to say about it except that it was endearing. I figured that the next crisis would be Delenn experiencing her period for the first time. The more this character arc continues the more it seems like a transgender allegory - unintentional or not. What initially seemed like a 'fun' episode actually tied together a couple of ongoing themes together pretty well. e: The spoiler tag doesn't seem to work for Youtube links. If that video is too spoiler-y for someone who hasn't gotten to this point, I'll remove it. F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 21:24 on Apr 5, 2023 |
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Apr 5, 2023 19:19
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^ Cool! 2x09: The Coming of Shadows. I really am enjoying this ongoing character arc for Mollari. I don't like or approve of what he's doing; no amount of power is worth thousands (or more) Narn lives. But that's the enticing thing about evil; it starts small but slowly begins to ensnare you, make you a prisoner to it. Londo's story is the story of untold millions of others whose ambition outweighed their personal morality. Vir is a good man, and Mollari should listen to him. Despite what G'kar had been prepared to do at the beginning of the episode, I really felt for him in this episode. You all were right: he is not the Gul Dukat of B5 (that dubious honor looks like it should go to Londo Mollari). Mollari probably hosed himself and the Centauri, and they probably deserve it for the suffering and death they've already visited upon the Narn. I like how initial impressions at the beginning of the series, that the Narn were warlike and the Centauri peaceful, has been turned on its head. The Narn are warlike, but only because they've been pushed that way by the Centauri. This episode made me sad because it didn't have to be this way. F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 18:23 on Apr 7, 2023 |
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Apr 7, 2023 18:05
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There's only so much you can say about being overshadowed by Shatner and saying "Keptin!" for 30+ years. I think Koenig did good work, particularly in Wrath of Khan, but Bester's a far more interesting character than Chekov.
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Apr 7, 2023 18:34
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Well deserved. It's one of the best episodes I've seen so far. 2x10: Gropos. Oh cool - Paul Winfield! Yet another Star Trek connection to this show. It initially seemed like he was going to live up to his "Dick" name, but he didn't...exactly. He was mostly a hardass to Dr. Franklin, though I definitely didn't miss that "heal people of your own 'kind'" comment he made. War never changes, does it? Invading some planet somewhere has less to do with actual concern over "democracy" or whatever other propaganda we're fed, and more because of 'strategery'. The cheering at the end over Earth Alliance's "victory" on Matok gave me "shock and awe" vibes. We saw the effects of that "victory" and I'm glad that it focused on the lives of these disposable grunts instead of higher ups. You know, there's an original Star Trek episode ("Errand of Mercy") where a planet is seen as "strategic" by the Federation. Kirk and Spock go there to open up negotiations with the native population with promises of improving their agricultural practices, poo poo like that. As it turns out, the Federation and the Klingon Empire are just two sides of the same colonialist coin: one's the "good cop" that promises assistance in return for using their planet as a base of operations; the other's a "bad cop" that enslaves the population. I was thinking a lot about that episode during this one. F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 22:25 on Apr 7, 2023 |
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Apr 7, 2023 22:22
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2x11: All Alone in the Night. Sorry for the double post; I don't want to monopolize the thread. By all means, anyone else working through the series should post. gently caress the Gray Council. They did Delenn dirty. That is all. No, actually I really like the "Seven Days In May" plot they're setting up here. To my surprise, Hague actually seems trustworthy. But one never knows, does one? F_Shit_Fitzgerald fucked around with this message at 19:50 on Apr 8, 2023 |
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Apr 8, 2023 19:36
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2x12: Acts of Sacrifice I'm really liking the parallel stories here: Londo has pretty much gotten what he wants. He's powerful and has a lot of "friends", but it's ultimately empty. He traded his soul for millions of Narn lives and it wasn't really worth it. G'kar, by contrast (who is not Gul Dukat as I originally thought) is put in the ironic position of going to Delenn and Sheridan with his hands out, agitating for peace. It's not at all what he wants and he's sacrificing what seems like a fair amount of his authority/pull to do it. G'kar is a man on the edge and I dread the time when he finally breaks. I said I felt sorry for him before and I still do; Katsulas did an excellent job with this role. In comparison to the complexities of the Londo/G'kar parallel character arcs, the Ivanova story line was ridiculous. It reminded me of a particular 7th season TNG episode where an ambassador deliberately tried to piss off Worf just to experience the emotion of anger and rage. Not that Claudia Christian is a bad actress at all, but her silly "Earth sex" pantomime was so over the top it really wasn't all that funny, in my opinion. Mostly, the writing on B5 is excellent but they sometimes stumbled a bit with the 'funny' bits.
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Apr 9, 2023 20:53
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2x13: Hunter, Prey I generally like the costuming in this show (the civvie clothing, though, looks very '90s JC Penney catalog), but why is the Maquis security guy wearing a tuxedo?  There's an episode near the end of the second season of MASH where Colonel Flagg (a spook very much like the tuxedoed guy in this episode) competes against a fellow spook to gather information, and Hawkeye and Trapper are caught in the middle. That's what this reminds me of, even though Sheridan is more cooperative with one particular side of this spook battle than Hawkeye and Trapper were in MASH. The resolution of this crisis, though, was quite clever. "You scored one for the 'good guys'. You should be proud". Did he? I'm not sure if there even is a "good guy" here.... The Kosh scenes reminded me less of DS9 or even Star Trek than Star Wars. The "teach you about yourself so you can fight legends" line sounded like something Yoda might have said to Luke.
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Apr 11, 2023 16:49
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2x13: And Now for a Word. This is very reminiscent of the Clete Roberts episode of MASH. They were clearly influenced by that here. One difference is that where Roberts' questions were penetrating but allowed the actors on MASH to talk through their characters, the questions here were smarmier. That smug line about Vegas odds about B5's survival, or throwing statistics about the war in Delenn's face, were just as bad as some of the crap I've seen from corporate news outlets. That is not meant as a criticism of the actress playing the reporter. I'm not familiar with her so I don't know if she has actual journalism training, but she had the "sound" of someone who might be reporting a story on NBC Nightly News. She played her part well. And holy poo poo does this episode very cleverly suggest to us that the Centauri are much worse than I expected. Londo's statements reeked of an arrogant colonizer who had not only not reckoned with his past but had lied to himself about his motives. In fact, if you want to compare this series to DS9, the Narn are much more like the Bajorans and the Centauri a more foppish and less fascist version of the Cardassians. "PROC ISP EHT NIOJ". B5 is a pretty serious show, but I really enjoy its Starship Troopers moments.
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Apr 13, 2023 21:41
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