Sci Fi Experience: And So It Begins

I do love Babylon 5. I am going to enjoy rewatching it for the 42 challenge and Carl's Sci-Fi Experience.
 
My last post covered,  episodes 13 through 20. Previous posts: episodes 9-12, episodes 5-8, episodes 1-4. This post will cover episodes 13 through 20. 

Today's post will cover the last two episodes of season one:

• The Quality of Mercy
• Chrysalis

The Quality of Mercy
Two stories--like always, you might say. I'll start with the 'lighter' story. Londo and Lennier hanging out together?! It seems so unlikely! It is indeed strange but at the same time good fun. I am enjoying these episodes with Londo. And Lennier, well, he's just so lovable!!! The more serious story involves Dr. Franklin, Garibaldi, and Talia. A criminal has been sentenced to death of personality. His mind will be wiped. Talia, unfortunately, will have to enter his mind before and after for comparison. Meanwhile, Dr. Franklin is investigating a rival in down below: a woman healer with an alien device. You could say he is interested in the woman--the former doctor, the machine, and the doctor's daughter. Her story is sad. She was a good doctor, a busy one, who allowed addiction to destroy her own life and career. She's changed and wants to prove it. These two stories come together, and, by the end viewers will learn just what it is the machine does and why it was created.
Pay attention to: Dr. Franklin, Lennier, Londo
Quotes:

Sinclair: "I'm still waiting for an explanation, gentlemen."
Londo: "Yes, and I am prepared to give you one, commander, as soon as the room stops spinning...."
Sinclair: "This station creates gravity by rotation. It never stops spinning."
Londo: "Well. I begin to see my problem. Hmm."

Chrysalis
Instead of two stories, there are many, many stories. All of them oh-so-important. This is the finale for the first season. And it is emotional and intense and significant. Big, big changes are coming.
I'll start with the happiest and lightest of the happenings: Sinclair and Catherine become engaged. The two celebrate with Garibaldi and Susan. The episode is set during New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
Problems between the Narn and Centauri escalate. Sinclair tells G'kar that he is at a crossroads. Londo has his own 'crossroad' decision to make.
Delenn makes a big decision, and, it will prove very controversial with other Minbari. But she is following her destiny. And she's sought out advice from Kosh. But before she follows through, she is super-eager to talk to Sinclair. She longs to tell him truths that  could endanger both their lives.
Sinclair, however, never does have that talk with Delenn. For Sinclair has worries of his own. Notably involving Garibaldi.
The show opens with a man dying in Garibaldi's arms. His last words are mysterious. Garibaldi knows that he has to investigate. Where his investigations lead him...well...it's a matter of life and death.
The show closes with three big tragedies. G'Kar has learned that the Narn settlement in Quadrant 37 has been completely destroyed. 10,000 or so Narn dead. The attack was so devastating and absolute. G'Kar fears that they either have a new enemy or a very, very, very, very ancient one. The second tragedy is EarthForce One exploding killing the President. This story connects with the Garibaldi one. The third tragedy is very personal effecting one of their own: Garibaldi.
Pay attention to: every scene, every conversation!
Quotes:

Londo "Now, out of that 50, how many gods do you think I must have offended to have ended up with G'Kar's teeth buried so deeply in my throat that I can barely breathe?"
Vir: "All of them?"
Londo: "Sounds right. And now, I have to go back to the Council and explain to them that in the interest of peace the Centauri government will agree to give quadrant 37 to the Narns. I think I will stick my head in the station's fusion reactor. It would be quicker. And I suspect, after a while, I might even come to enjoy it. But this -- this, this, this is like being nibbled to death by-- what are those Earth creatures called? Feathers... long bill... webbed feet .. go 'quack'...?"
Vir: "Cats."
Londo: "Cats. I'm being nibbled to death by cats."

Londo: There comes a time when you look into the mirror, and you realize that what you see is all that you will ever be. Then you accept it, or you kill yourself. Or you stop looking into mirrors.

Lennier: "But, what if you are wrong?"
Delenn: "Then speak well of me, when I'm gone."

Kosh Naranek: "And so it begins."

© 2015 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Happy New Year! Let's Have a B5 Marathon

I do love Babylon 5. I am going to enjoy rewatching it for the 42 challenge and Carl's Sci-Fi Experience.
 
My last post covered, episodes 9-12, episodes 5-8, episodes 1-4. This post will cover episodes 13 through 20. Yes, I had a bit of a marathon yesterday!

The episodes:

• Signs & Portents
• TKO
• Grail
• Eyes
• Legacies
• A Voice in the Wilderness, Part 1
• A Voice in the Wilderness, Part 2
• Babylon Squared

Some of the best, BEST episodes of season 1 are among these episodes.

Signs and Portents
Premise/Plot: Each season of Babylon 5 has a name. The name of Season one is "Signs and Portents" so you KNOW this episode is crucial! The two stories are mostly connected to one another. The first story involves Londo Mollari purchasing the "Eye" a Centauri artifact/relic. He'll be giving the Eye to Lord Kiro, who will then return the Eye to the Centauri Emperor. Londo doesn't really want to give up the Eye. Lord Kiro really, really doesn't want to give up the Eye. Accompanying Lord Kiro is his aunt, a seer. She has visions; she has several visions while on B5. She shares one with Commander Sinclair. The second story is THE BIG STORY. Mr. Morden arrives at Babylon 5. He makes appointments with all the various ambassadors. He asks one question of each. It is a question that proves frustrating and irritating to almost all the ambassadors. Mr. Morden doesn't make a very good first impression, it seems. Everyone thinks he's a pest! The question he asks: WHAT DO YOU WANT? Viewers get the idea that he is waiting for a certain answer or response to that question. One ambassador answers the question in such a way that Mr. Morden is quite satisfied!!!! That ambassador is....Londo.
Pay attention to: Londo's ambition, the prophecy about the shadows killing Lord Kiro, and Delenn and Kosh's response to Mr. Morden
Quotes:

Morden: "What do you want?"
G'Kar: "What do I want? The Centauri stripped my world. I want Justice."
Morden: "But what do you want?"
G'kar: "To suck the morrow from their bones and grind their skulls to powder."
Morden: "What do you want?"
G'kar: "To tear down their cities, blacken their skies, sow their ground with salt, to completely utterly erase."
Morden: "And then what?"
G'kar: "I don't know. As long as my home world safety is guaranteed, I don't know that it matters."
Morden: "I see."

Morden: "The question is its own purpose, ambassador Delenn. What do you want?"
Delenn: "I'm informed that you have just seen Ambassador G'kar. Are you asking each of us this question?"
Morden: "Perhaps. Does that invalidate the question?"
Delenn: "No. But it makes me wonder."

Morden: "What do you want?"
Londo: "I want my people to reclaim their rightful place in the galaxy. I want to see the Centauri stretch forth their hand again and command the stars. I want a rebirth of glory, a renaissance of power. I want to stop running through my life, like a man late for an appointment, afraid to look back or to look forward. I want us to be what we used to be. I want ... I want it all back, the way that it was. Does that answer your question ?"

Lady Ladira: "The Shadows have come for Lord Kiro. The Shadows have come for us all."

TKO
Premise/Plot: Two stories in this one. The first story is EXCELLENT. The second story is less so. I'll start with the story I love. Rabbi Koslov, Susan's father's friend, comes to B5. He has come to spend time with Susan, and, to help her sit shiva for her father. He senses--and rightly so--that she's not allowed herself to grieve and mourn. Susan is reluctant to open up, but, it's a healing story for her. Well worth watching. The second story involves Garibaldi's friend, Walker Smith, visiting the station. He is a boxer. Half this episode is about boxing.
Pay attention to: Susan, Commander Sinclair, and Rabbi Koslov
Quotes:

Ivanova "So, how are things back home?"
Rabbi Koslov: "They change, they stay the same. Russia is Russia. Your father used to say: 'If regret could be harvested, Russia would be the world's fruit-basket.'"

Rabbi Yossel Koslov: Without forgiveness, you cannot mourn. And without mourning, you can never let go of the pain.

Grail
Premise/Plot: I don't know why, but there are things about this episode that I just love. Aldous Gajic is an 'honored seeker' of the Holy Grail. He has come to speak with the different ambassadors, notably Delenn. While there, "Jinxo" pickpockets his credits. He's caught seconds after his crime. Gajic pleads with the judge for mercy, suggesting that he be released into his custody. He learns Jinxo's story, how he thinks he's a curse, how he blames himself for the destruction/disappearance of the previous babylon stations. Gajic is all kindness and goodness. He tells Jinxo that he should see himself differently. Jinxo is, in a way, reborn into Thomas. The other story is closely connected with this one. Criminals from "Down Below" have brought a Na'ka'leen Feeder to the station. They have the feeder in a Kosh-like encounter suit. They are saying it is a Vorlon. And they are getting rid of people they don't like, don't want around, by feeding it to this alien creature.
Pay attention to: Thomas, Londo's reaction to learning there is a feeder on the station.
Quotes:

"And then I met a man. He said he was the last of his kind. He told me that I was a man of infinite promise and goodness. When he was dying, he gave me this staff. Now I am the last. The numbers add up again, Thomas. The numbers do add up." -- Aldous Gajic to Jinxo in Babylon 5:"Grail"
"Hey, can I learn to do that?"
"You can learn whatever you want to learn, because you are a man of infinite promise and goodness." -- Jinxo and Aldous Gajic in Babylon 5:"Grail"
"See yourself for what you are, not what others try to make you." -- Aldous Gajic to

"It's a hard thing to live your life searching for something and never find it."
"Are you speaking of Aldous .. or someone else?"
".. Aldous."
"But there you are wrong. He found what he was looking for. What we're all looking for: a reason."
"For what?"
"Everything, Commander. Everything." -- Sinclair and Delenn in Babylon 5:"Grail"

Eyes
Premise/Plot: Two stories. In one story, Lennier builds Garibaldi's 1992 motorcycle. In the other story, Sinclair comes under investigation by man hungry for power.
Pay attention to: Lennier!

Legacies
Premise/Plot: Two stories. The corpse of a Minbari warrior is stolen from display while on B5. Garibaldi is trying hard to find out who did it. He never would have guessed the person responsible. But a young girl recently come into her telepathic powers accidentally discovers who took it and where it is now. Susan and Talia argue over what is best for the girl.
Pay attention to: Susan, Talia, and Delenn
Quotes:

Ivanova: "There's nothing more annoying then Mr.Garibaldi when he's right."

A Voice in the Wilderness, Part One and Two
Premise/Plot: I love, love, love, love, LOVE these two episodes. Draal, Delenn's friend, comes to visit. During his visit, the nearby planet near them/below them becomes dangerous and unstable. They send explorers/scientists, but, if anything, that only proves to be a mistake. Susan and Sinclair go down to the planet's surface, and discover the man in the heart of the machine. He is obviously in need of care, he's dying. They take him back to B5. The problems on the planet escalate. Meanwhile, another ship--from Earthforce--arrives to take control of the situation. I must agree with Susan who sums it up like this, "Worst case of testosterone poisoning I have every seen." That is after yet another ship--an alien ship this time--arrives to "claim" the planet and power. Something must be done, and it is up to Londo, Draal, and Delenn to do it. In a secondary story, there is an uprising on Mars, a revolution has begun. Garibaldi is worried about his ex-girlfriend. I must admit these episodes viewers see Londo at his absolute best!!!!
Pay attention to: Susan, Delenn, Londo, Garibaldi, Sinclair
Quotes:

Londo (sings): "'You put your right hand in, you put your right hand out, you put your whole self in, and you turn yourself about. You do the Hokey Pokey, you give a little shout. And that's what it's all about!' -- It doesn't *mean* anything. I have been studying it for seven days! I had the computer analyse it! I swear to you, It does not mean a thing!!"
Delenn: "We've come at a bad time, haven't we..."
Londo: "No, not at all. Here sit, I'll make some hot Jalla..."
Draal: "I rather enjoyed the song--"
Delenn: "Don't tell him."
Draal: "You're sure?"
Delenn: "Trust me."

Ivanova to pilot: "And just one more thing. On the trip back, I would like you to take the time to learn the Babylon 5 mantra: Ivanova is always right. I will listen to Ivanova. I will not ignore Ivanova recommendations. Ivanova is god. And: If this ever happens again, Ivanova will personally rip your lungs out. Babylon control out. ... Civilians... [Looking up] Just kidding about that god part. No offense."

Ivanova: Commander, we don't have a lot of time. We're cut off from the way we came in, we don't know if we can find another way back to the ship before we run out of air…
Sinclair: We can't leave him like this!
Ivanova: I know, I know. It's a Russian thing. When we're about to do something stupid, we like to catalog the full extent of our stupidity for future reference.

Londo [trying to land a space ship]: "Landing thrusters... landing thrusters... Hmm. Now - if I were a landing thruster, which one of these would I be?"

Ivanova: "Worst case of testosterone poisoning I have every seen."

Babylon Squared
Premise/Plot: This episode is all mystery! In a good way!!! Babylon 4--the station that disappeared or vanished several years before--suddenly reappears. B5 begins a rescue mission to get the crew/staff off the station before it disappears again. The station and everyone on it has become "unstuck in time." Viewers meet Zathras. This episode is a teasing episode, in a way, it might leave you incredibly curious the first time around. But give it time, and, all will become clear.
Pay attention to: all the talk about 'the one'
Quotes:

Sinclair: "Why do you need Babylon 4??"
Zathras: "Zathras tell, you let Zathras go? Finish what Zathras came for?"
Garibaldi: "Zathras tells, maybe we don't break Zathras scrawny little neck!"

Zathras: "Need place, place to gather, to fight, to organize."
Sinclair: "You need Babylon 4 as a base of operations in a war. Is that it?"
Zathras: "To help save galaxy on the side of light."

Zathras: "Zathras die, but Zathras die for cause. Maybe stop great war. Maybe Zathras great hero. Maybe build statue to Zathras and others come, remember Zathras."
Major Louis Krantz: "What if we take you with us, put you on trial?"
Zathras: "Zathras not of this time. You take, Zathras die. You leave, Zathras die. Either way, it is bad for Zathras."

© 2015 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Sci-Fi Experience, B5 episodes 9-12

I do love Babylon 5. I am going to enjoy rewatching it for the 42 challenge and Carl's Sci-Fi Experience.


 The third disc has four episodes:

• Deathwalker
• Believers
• Survivors
• By Any Means Necessary

One way to better appreciate the episodes on this particular disc is to use G'Kar's words as a frame of reference. In Mind War, he says:

Let me pass on to you the one thing I've learned about this place. No one here is exactly what he appears. Not Mollari, not Delenn, not Sinclair, and not me.

Each episode tends to focus on a different character. "Deathwalker" might be the exception. The 'moral' of it--if moral is the right word--seems to be that all races have a dark side. I tend to think that even "Deathwalker" focuses in on one character. And. It's a character that up until this point hasn't really gotten much attention. Kosh. "Believers" focuses on Dr. Franklin. And to a lesser degree on Commander Sinclair. "Survivors" focuses on Michael Garibaldi. Now that I think of it, "By Any Means Necessary" is another exception. A handful of characters are put into stressful, intense situations. We learn more about G'Kar and Sinclair. What viewers get in these episodes is a chance to see some layers revealed in all the characters.

 Deathwalker
Premise/Plot: First story: Kosh hires Talia (the telepath) for his 'business' deal. It's a puzzling story, not only to viewers but to Talia herself. The man Kosh is doing business with is a "walking VCR." Second story: Jha'dur--a Dilgar war criminal--stops over at Babylon 5. Everyone reacts. Some want to kill her...now. Some want to put her on trial and then kill her. Some want the trial to be on Babylon 5. Some want the trial to take place on their own planet. Some want to make a deal with her, and, are willing to "overlook" the past because they are greedy and power-hungry and too curious for their own good. So many people have an idea of what to do--what's right to do, what justice looks like--how will Sinclair please everyone?!
Pay attention to: Kosh...and also Lennier
Quotes:

Kosh: Ahh. You seek meaning.
Talia: Yes.
Kosh: Then listen to the music, not the song.

Susan Ivanova: Well, I've managed to get the ship captains engaged in a debate over who has the best claim to Jha'dur. The winner will be the first to attack.
Jeffrey Sinclair: Creative.

Jha'dur: You and the rest of your kind take blind comfort in the belief that we are monsters, that you could never do what we did. The key ingredient in the anti-agapic cannot be synthesized. It must be taken from living beings. For one to live forever, another one must die. You will fall upon one another like wolves. It will make what we did pale by comparison. The billions who live forever will be a testimony to my work. And the billions who are murdered to buy that immortality will be the continuance of my work. Not like us? You will become us.

 Believers
Premise/Plot: Perhaps with the exception of Infection, Believers is one of the episodes I like least. I'll keep to the facts. A couple brings their young son to Dr. Franklin. They're wanting him to live, of course, but are adamant that surgery is not an option. Even if surgery is the only thing in the world that will save their son. No surgery. End of story. But it isn't the end of the story, for, Dr. Franklin--for better or worse--won't let it be the end of the matter. He relentlessly works to save a life. And the boys' parents end up pleading with all the show regulars to explain their side of the story and why they need help and representation. Poor Sinclair is put in the middle of it. This is a heavy episode no doubt about it.
Pay attention to: Sinclair and Dr. Franklin
Quotes:

Jeffrey Sinclair: Who asked you to play God?
Franklin: Every damn patient who comes through that door, that's who. People come to doctors because they want us to be gods. They want us to make it better…or make it not so. They want to be healed and they come to me when their prayers aren't enough. Well, if I have to take the responsibility, then I claim the authority too. I did good. And we both know it. And no one is going to take that away.

Sinclair: Sometimes doing the right thing doesn't change anything.

Survivors
Premise/Plot: Homeguard again. Garibaldi is framed for a crime. Someone from his past has it in for him. Viewers really get a chance to know more about Garibaldi and his past. No matter how many times I watch the show, no matter how many times I rewatch season one, SEEING Garibaldi contemplating drinking the drink in front of him. I never actually remember that he does it, that he loses control.
Pay attention to: Sinclair and Garibaldi
Quotes:

G'Kar: The Universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements: energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest.

Sinclair to Garibaldi: You're more trouble than a toilet full of snakes, but I couldn't run this station without you.

 By Any Means Necessary
Premise/Plot: First story: Laborers on strike. A guild refuses to work until negotiations go their way. Sinclair is sympathetic but powerless. Until someone invokes "the Rush Act." The powers that be think they've got it, that they've done it. But. Sinclair finds a loophole and a way to end things peacefully giving them exactly what they want and need. Second story: G'Kar has plenty of fits in this episode. He stays flustered! G'Kar desperately needs a G'Quan Eth plant for a religious ceremony. The one he'd ordered imported blew up in an accident in the docking bay. Londo, he learns, is the only person on the station who has that plant. And G'Kar is forced to beg and plead with an all-too-smug and oh-so-arrogant Londo. G'Kar does get a little tricksy in this one. But so does Sinclair. Sinclair is not particularly happy to have to be the go-between in this situation. But Sinclair proves himself yet again.
Pay attention to: Sinclair and G'Kar
Quotes:

Jeffrey Sinclair: You should never hand someone a gun unless you're sure where they'll point it.

© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Sci-Fi Experience, B5 Episode 5-8

I do love Babylon 5. I am going to enjoy rewatching it for the 42 challenge and Carl's Sci-Fi Experience.

The second disc has four episodes:

• The Parliament of Dreams
• Mind War
• The War Prayer
• And the Sky Full of Stars

Compared to the first four episodes, these four episodes are so much better, so much stronger. It was watching the fifth episode that convinced me that, yes, I need to watch the series. The "trial" period was over. What convinced me? Well, I'm not so sure it wasn't G'Kar singing "So Many Fishies"!!!

The Parliament of Dreams:
Premise/plot: There are three main stories to this episode. One, an assassin has been hired to kill G'Kar. Two, Sinclair's ex-girlfriend, Catherine, arrives on the station. Will they reunite? Three, there is a weeklong festival celebrating every alien species' "dominant" religion. So viewers learn more about various cultures on the show Centauri, Minbari, etc. Usually, the shows have multiple stories per episodes, and I end up liking some more than others. In some cases, I may hate one story, and love the other. So there's always a reason to watch. This is a strong episode. I love so many things about it. It does introduce three new characters to the show. (Na'Toth, G'Kar's aide, Lennier, Delenn's aide, and Catherine, Sinclair's true love. Of the three, I love, love, LOVE Lennier.)
Pay Attention To: Minbari "rebirth" ceremony
Favorite Quotes:

Delenn to Lennier "I can't have an aid who will not look up. You will be forever walking into things!" 

Vir: "Ah! He has become one with his inner self!"
Garibaldi: "He's passed out."
Vir: "That, too."

Delenn: "Will you follow me into fire, into storm, into darkness, into death? And the Nine said Yes. Then do this in testimony to the one who will follow, who will bring death couched in the promise of new life and renewal disguised as defeat. From birth through death and renewal, you most put aside old things, old fears, old lives. This is your death, the death of flesh, the death of pain, the death of yesterday. Taste of it, and be not afraid. For I am with you until the end of time. Taste of it. And so, it begins" 

Mind War
Premise/Plot: There are two main stories in this episode. The first involving telepaths and psi-corps. The second involving Catherine and G'Kar. I love, love, LOVE the second part. Why? G'Kar may not have come across as likeable or lovable on the first disc. But in Parliament of Dreams and Mind War, his charm is too strong to be resisted. He does seem to get the best lines!!! What I did love about the first story, however, is the introduction of Alfred Bester (played by Walter Koenig!!!). We'll be seeing him, but NOT his assistant, again!
Pay Attention To: G'Kar!
Favorite Quotes:

Bester: It was a calculated risk!
Susan Ivanova: Good old Psi Corps. You guys never cease to amaze me. All the moral fiber of Jack the Ripper! What do you do in your spare time, juggle babies over a fire pit? Oops, there goes another calculated risk!
Psi Cop Kelsey: You're not helping the situation.
Ivanova: Lady, you are the situation!

G'Kar: Let me pass on to you the one thing I've learned about this place. No one here is exactly what he appears. Not Mollari, not Delenn, not Sinclair, and not me.

Catherine Sakai: "Why?"
G'kar: "Why not."
Catherine Sakai: "Not an answer!"
G'kar: "Oh, yes it is. It simply not an answer you like, or an answer you expected. There is a difference. Narns, Humans, Centauri: We all do what we do for the same reason - because it seemed like a good idea at the time."

G'Kar: "There are things in the universe billions of years older than either of our races. They are vast, timeless, and if they are aware of us at all, it is as little more than ants, and we have as much chance of communicated with them as an ant has with us. We know, we've tried. And we've learned that you can either stay out from under the foot, or be stepped on."
Catherine Sakai: "That's it? That's all you know?"
G'Kar: "Yes, they are a mystery. And I am both terrified and reassured to know that there are still wonders in the universe, that we have not yet explained everything. Whatever they are, Ms. Sakai, they walk near sigma 957, and they must walk there alone."

The War Prayer
Premise/Plot: Two stories. First. Young Centauri couple wanting to marry, seek help and/or pemission from an unlikely source. Second. Readers are introduced to the Homeguard group--a racist, pro-Earth, anti-alien terrorist group that is ever-gaining popularity on Earth. Homeguard is attacking aliens on the Babylon 5 station.
Pay Attention To: Londo. He has some *great* quotes in this one. Also, did you notice that Danica McKellar played the young Centauri runaway?! Also, we get a hint that Susan has had bad luck in her love life.
Favorite Quotes:

Londo: "My shoes are too tight."
Vir: "Excuse me?"
Londo: "Something my father said. He was old, very old at the time. I went into his room and he was, sitting alone in the dark, crying. So I asked him what was wrong and he said, My shoes are too tight, but it doesn't matter, because I have forgotten have to dance. I never understood what that meant until now. My shoes are too tight and I have forgotten how to dance."

And The Sky Full of Stars
Premise/Plot: Sinclair is kidnapped. Why? Someone wants to find clues within his mind to explain why the Minbari surrendered when they were winning the war. Does his subconscious hold the answers? This episode really only has the one story.
Pay Attention To: Delenn and Sinclair
Favorite Quotes:

Garibaldi: "He lying, I can tell!"
Sinclair: "Everyone lies Michael. The innocent lie because they don't want to be blamed for something they did not do. The guilty lie because they don't have any other choice. Find out *why* he is lying, and the rest will take care of itself."

Ivanova: "Mister Garibaldi, there're days I'm very glad I don't have to think like you do."

© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews