Babylon 5

[Sprite Machine]

S02E03 - 'The Geometry of Shadows'.
TECHNO-MAGES!
A very entertaining guest star in Elric (the 'wizard'), some fun shenanigans with Londo, Vir and a literal CGI monster. All the business with Ivanova (now promoted to Commander) and the Drazi aliens with the green and purple scarves wanting to kill each other was very silly yet also quite... thoughtful.

No Delenn or G'Kar in this one, nor any sign of that other bloke in the credits (Keffer?) who hasn't been seen since S02E01. Bit weird having all these main billed cast in the title sequence when most of them aren't in it!

 

Random thought: is Londo the only Centauri who actually has a slightly alien look to him, with his bald patch and spots? All the others seem to be just regular people with slightly bushy eyebrows and their hair spiked up. At least Refa in this episode also had a similar accent!

[Benny]

Ah, the Drazi football hooligan subplot. I actually really enjoy that one

[Eighthours]

12 hours ago, Sprite Machine said:

S02E03 - 'The Geometry of Shadows'.
TECHNO-MAGES!
A very entertaining guest star in Elric (the 'wizard'), some fun shenanigans with Londo, Vir and a literal CGI monster. All the business with Ivanova (now promoted to Commander) and the Drazi aliens with the green and purple scarves wanting to kill each other was very silly yet also quite... thoughtful.

No Delenn or G'Kar in this one, nor any sign of that other bloke in the credits (Keffer?) who hasn't been seen since S02E01. Bit weird having all these main billed cast in the title sequence when most of them aren't in it!

 

Random thought: is Londo the only Centauri who actually has a slightly alien look to him, with his bald patch and spots? All the others seem to be just regular people with slightly bushy eyebrows and their hair spiked up. At least Refa in this episode also had a similar accent!

 

At the time, the shot of the CGI monster coming down the dark corridor was amazing! Also, a great bit of trivia in this one - Claudia Christian broke her foot in real life, so JMS wrote it into the episode. There's at least one shot where she's limping heavily before the event actually happens on screen!

[Sprite Machine]

Also the guy playing Elric the techno-mage was Kang the Klingon in Star Trek the original series (and DS9). I thought he looked familiar!

I'm loving the Lurkers Guide, by the way. Non-spoilery trivia to read through after each episode.

[monkeydog]

The JMS speaks section on Lurker's guide was a real novelty at the time, for me at least.  I don't know if cotemporally series to B5 had their showrunners posting on newgroups etc?  

[Pob]

10 minutes ago, monkeydog said:

The JMS speaks section on Lurker's guide was a real novelty at the time, for me at least.  I don't know if cotemporally series to B5 had their showrunners posting on newgroups etc?  

 

From the FAQ:

Quote

The "JMS Speaks" sections of the episode guide pages are culled from executive producer J. Michael Straczynski's messages on various online services and the rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5 newsgroup.

 

 

I remember following B5 chat on newsgroups, probably uk.media.tv.sf.babylon5 rather than that rec one listed above. In fact, I can find my old posts here! https://groups.google.com/g/uk.media.tv.sf.babylon5?pli=1. They were absolute nutcases about spoilers.

[FishyFish]

2 hours ago, Pob said:

 

From the FAQ:

 

I remember following B5 chat on newsgroups, probably uk.media.tv.sf.babylon5 rather than that rec one listed above. In fact, I can find my old posts here! https://groups.google.com/g/uk.media.tv.sf.babylon5?pli=1. They were absolute nutcases about spoilers.

I was on uk.media.tv.sf.babylon5 a lot too. I've just clicked your link and all those posters names have suddenly lifted from the mire of my memories!

[Vespa Alex]

6 minutes ago, FishyFish said:

I was on uk.media.tv.sf.babylon5 a lot too. I've just clicked your link and all those posters names have suddenly lifted from the mire of my memories!

Oddly, I never posted there much, but was on the Star Trek group which had some crossover of members. I spotted Paul Harper’s name straight away. 

[Pob]

1 hour ago, Vespa Alex said:

Oddly, I never posted there much, but was on the Star Trek group which had some crossover of members. I spotted Paul Harper’s name straight away. 

uk.media.tv.sf.startrek (umtss) by any chance?

[Vespa Alex]

15 minutes ago, Pob said:

uk.media.tv.sf.startrek (umtss) by any chance?

Yep. That was my main home online for quite a few years. Were you in there as well?

[Pob]

7 minutes ago, Vespa Alex said:

Yep. That was my main home online for quite a few years. Were you in there as well?

Yeah, for a good couple of years around the time First Contact came out. Met up with them a few times, back when I was about 17! Was quite pally with a bloke called Gulplum, who was like the Graham S of umtss. 

[Vespa Alex]

17 minutes ago, Pob said:

Yeah, for a good couple of years around the time First Contact came out. Met up with them a few times, back when I was about 17! Was quite impressed pally with a bloke called Gulplum, who was like the Graham S of umtss. 

Just trying to work out if we overlapped. Recognise any of these?

https://youtu.be/lGmdrWLVOX0

 

[Pob]

15 minutes ago, Vespa Alex said:

Just trying to work out if we overlapped. 
 

 

 That’s like umtss The Next Generation to me. Can’t say I recognise anyone in that video, but it was a long time ago! I posted there in 96 and 97 but then I started uni which would have been the end of it, and indeed the end of me watching B5 and DS9, because I had no means to (I still haven’t seen the final season of each). I did go to Dublin for a meet in late 97 though. 

[Vespa Alex]

4 minutes ago, Pob said:

 That’s like umtss The Next Generation to me. Can’t see I recognise anyone in that video, but it was a long time ago! I posted there in 96 and 97 but then I started uni which would have been the end of it, and indeed the end of me watching B5 and DS9, because I had no means to (I still haven’t seen the final season of each).  I did go to Dublin for a meet in late 97 though. 

The chap with the tattoo was Gothae Obscuram (Paul R) who I think would have posted at the same time as you. It looks like there was a mass exodus from the group around 99 which was just before I arrived. 

[Pob]

Just now, Vespa Alex said:

The chap with the tattoo was Gothae Obscuram (Paul R) who I think would have posted at the same time as you. It looks like there was a mass exodus from the group around 99 which was just before I arrived. 

Hmm, wonder what happened? I’d genuinely love to know! The two most prominent members when I was there were Dave Wythe and Richard Sliwa (the aforementioned Gulplum), who together ran a site called Star Trek in Sound and Vision which had a huge archive of wav files. 
 

I was casting around for a new internet home worthy of umtss in the early noughties when I found the Edge forum and then this place. 

[Vespa Alex]

8 minutes ago, Pob said:

Hmm, wonder what happened? I’d genuinely love to know! The two most prominent members when I was there were Dave Wythe and Richard Sliwa (the aforementioned Gulplum), who together ran a site called Star Trek in Sound and Vision which had a huge archive of wav files. 
 

I was casting around for a new internet home worthy of umtss in the early noughties when I found the Edge forum and then this place. 

He was there when I joined though I never met him in person. I’m still in contact with half the people in that video and a few more, 20 years on. 

[Sprite Machine]

S02E04 - 'A Distant Star'

A massive Explorer vessel, captained by an old friend of Sheridan's (and played by Twin Peaks' Dr. Jacobi), gets into trouble in hyperspace and has to be rescued. Meanwhile, Dr. Franklin puts the senior staff on a diet.

The bits with the doctor are the comedy subplot. There was a line where Ivanova, having been put on a weight-increasing meal plan, makes a pun about Russian expansion and Franklin mentions something about her great borders. I can't remember the exact line but it's completely ridiculous. 

 

The depiction of hyperspace is interesting, as I don't think we've seen it properly before. You can get lost in there, adrift, like it's a subspace layer beyond the physical universe but it has space and volume and direction. The 'Shadow' ship that passes through seemed in a hurry and left witnesses. More people are seeing these things now.

 

S02E05 - 'The Long Dark'

Another great guest star, Dwight Schultz (aka Barclay from TNG) as a war veteran turned mad by the presence of a shadowy predator aboard the station. An old Earth ship auto-navigates to B5 and Franklin tries it on with its one surviving cryofrozen human occupant.

If this was a Star Trek episode, the invisible alien stowaway would be a one-off and never mentioned again, but in the B5 universe, everything is connected and this monster seemed to be one of those shadow creatures, trying to get back to its home in the outer rim. If that is the case, at least it's possible to kill them (though by no means easy).

[Vespa Alex]

Dr Franklin doing “inappropriate sex pest” in that one. 

[Sprite Machine]

S02E06 - 'Spider in the Web'. A cybernetically enhanced assassin attacks an old friend and mentor of Talia Winters, threatening peace on Mars, and opening up theories of vast conspiracies at the heart of Earth's government.

 

I gotta say, as soon as I saw Ms. Winters and her old friend walking cheerily down that corridor, I knew he was about to be attacked. Babylon 5 never seems like a place I'd want to live - it's ridiculously unsafe, all those dark corners and obscured sightlines. I mean, why aren't there security cameras in literally every single corridor? Star Trek can get away with this shit, because it's a hippy-dippy utopia where crime doesn't happen, but sheesh!

 

I gotta say, this stuff with secret bureaus and conspiracies is not all that interesting because it seems so... distant? Like, sinister shit is happening within the inner workings of a planet we never go to, and their effects on on the characters we do know is so abstract that it's hard to care right now. There's only so much you can tease before it starts washing over me.

 

Special mention to briefly seeing the post-apocalyptic ruins of San Diego, for... some reason.
(Nice model work, but... why?)

[Benny]

Well that's just background lore that they finally dealt with Comic Con.

[monkeydog]

On 10/01/2023 at 22:05, Sprite Machine said:

Babylon 5 never seems like a place I'd want to live - it's ridiculously unsafe, all those dark corners and obscured sightlines. I mean, why aren't there security cameras in literally every single corridor?

 

It's 5 miles long with multiple levels.  It's a city essentially. JMS's is doing a very safe version of a city based on his personal experiences (pimping his autobiography again for after you've finished the series).

[davidcotton]

On 10/01/2023 at 18:45, Vespa Alex said:

Dr Franklin doing “inappropriate sex pest” in that one. 

One of the YouTubers reactors describes s1/ early season 2 Franklin as a creepier version of La Forge when it comes to women!

[Sprite Machine]

S02E07 - 'Soul Mates'.

A light-hearted episode this one, as Londo's three wives come to Babylon 5 so he can divorce one of them for his Ascension Day. Meanwhile, Talia's ex-husband arrives looking for trouble. Somehow the two seemingly separate storylines are connected as telepath-husband's artefact is used in an apparent plot to kill Londo, but the hows and whys are vague even by the end.

A third plot see Delenn struggling with her human characteristics and getting Susan to brush her hair and explain periods. Righto!

 

This was clearly an episode where everyone was having great fun, lots of over-the-top acting from Peter Jurasik (Londo) and intense dramatic acting from Jerry Doyle (Garibaldi).

 

Also good guest stars including ST:TNG's 'Mr. Homn' playing the marketplace dealer.

 

I didn't hate it but, you know, it's a bit Season One-ish.

[Benny]

38 minutes ago, Sprite Machine said:

A third plot see Delenn struggling with her human characteristics and getting Susan to brush her hair and explain periods. Righto!

 

Sometimes Babylon 5 just does a proper Babylon 5.

[Vespa Alex]

7 hours ago, davidcotton said:

One of the YouTubers reactors describes s1/ early season 2 Franklin as a creepier version of La Forge when it comes to women!

McCoy was written the same in Star Trek. Everyone thinks Kirk was the shagger, but he was just as bad. 

[Sprite Machine]

S02E08 - 'A Race Through Dark Places'.

 

Chekhov's back as the psi cop! 😁

This episode ties back into Mind War from season 1, but now the Psi-Corps is looking for an underground railroad smuggling rogue telepaths through B5.

In this episode, we get a deeper dive into the horrible things the Psi-Corps does, and some indication that Talia's gift is stronger than even she knows. The shooting/lighting style is moody and dramatic and it's a gripping story with a surprising ending.

A subplot shows us the jokier side of Sheridan and Ivanova as they wrestle with the bean-counters of Earthforce to get their large quarters back, and perhaps there's a romantic development with Delenn?

I liked this one.

[Sprite Machine]

S02E09 - 'The Coming of Shadows'

Well now, things have suddenly picked up! The balance of power on Centauri Prime is shifting, G'Kar and Londo's relationship is forever changed, and the great war with the Shadows seems closer than ever. Moments of hope, moments of tragedy, and lots of thrilling drama and action, while teasing lots more for the future. Plus a totally unexpected guest appearance. Nice.

 

(EDIT: Most importantly of all: this episode finally confirms that Centauri hair, even women's, is just a fashion choice, not a genetic trait.)

Edited January 18 by Sprite Machine

[Mogster]

20 minutes ago, Sprite Machine said:

S02E09 - 'The Coming of Shadows'

Well now, things have suddenly picked up! The balance of power on Centauri Prime is shifting, G'Kar and Londo's relationship is forever changed, and the great war with the Shadows seems closer than ever. Moments of hope, moments of tragedy, and lots of thrilling drama and action, while teasing lots more for the future. Plus a totally unexpected guest appearance. Nice.

 

(EDIT: Most importantly of all: this episode finally confirms that Centauri hair, even women's, is just a fashion choice, not a genetic trait.)

It's a great episode, and also shares Season 2's season title.  

[monkeydog]

The Coming of Shadows was probably the point where I was all in on B5. I'd been enjoying the vfx, stories and background ark snippets well enough to keep tuning in.

 

This episode though! At 16 I'd never seen two TV characters been thrown into dilemma/conflict so hard.  I was on the edge of my seat.  It set my tastes for what I really want out of drama for years to come.

 

I had to reign in my excitement that the episode was coming up for Sprite Machine, knowing it's not going to have anywhere near the impact on someone watching it as a grown up 30 years later. 😁

[Sprite Machine]

S02E10 - 'GROPOS'

Which is short for 'ground pounders', as I realised five minutes into the episode.

 

Back to your regular run-of-the-mill story this week, as an Earthforce military ship temporarily stations 25,000 troops on B5, en route to helping an alien world in its civil war. Dr. Franklin has a heart-to-heart with his dad, the General in charge of the operation, and we end with a very sombre and downbeat conclusion, showing us the reality/futility of war and so on.

 

An impressive quantity of extras occupying every square inch of the sets, and some nice bar fight choreography to enjoy, I suppose. Shrug.