episode reviews, etc

[rivendellrose]

How is "Love Lessons from TV Doctors" one of the main headlines on MSN.com today? It must really be a slow news day...

And I hate when people's voice mail messages start out sounding like a real person, so I make a fool of myself by starting to talk to the message and then realizing no, no - it's just another damned machine.

(Ohmigod, my actual degree has come in handy twice in the last two days! ...I really hate that this is a wonderful surprise to me. Being an English major without actual technical training kind of sucks.)

Episode reviews continue below!



A Tragedy of Telepaths:
So... apparently in 200+ years, humans have come up with no better alternative to spray paint. We can travel the stars, put sick people in stasis, and interact on a daily basis with dozens of alien species... we can even run an interstellar alliance of those species. But we can't find a better way to mark walls than aeresol cans of black paint. I weep for the future of humanity.

Oh, and I was happy to see Na'Toth again, even though it couldn't be the real original actress. And I loved how they got her out of the palace.

Phoenix Rising:
This episode made me unreasonably cranky, because I spent the whole slowly realizing that, in a twisted and entirely plot-oriented way, the original plan for Ivanova to fall for Byron would have made a degree of sense. It'd be a handy way of tying up the telepathy plotline that she'd been walking from the beginning, and it would almost make sense for her to attach herself to a guy who wanted to give teeps freedom from the Corps. I can even forgive the romance angle because... okay, she just blew it big time with Marcus. She's aware of that, now. And then this other guy walks in, and maybe she thinks "maybe I should give it a go, give him a chance even if he seems like a creepy worthless bastard." I've done that. It's an almost inevitably stupid thing to do, mind you, but I've done it, and I think a lot of other people probably do it at one or another point in their lives.

(And yes, I finally found JMS's statements on the whole plot - It's no secret that I would've had Ivanova becoming somewhat linked to Byron romantically (she would see him as a character like Marcus, which is why there are certain similarities, and she would take a chance only to find it wrong this time, underlining that she'd missed her one major opportunity thus far for a good relationship). This was expressed to Claudia toward the last part of S4, so she knew at that time that her latent ability would be coming out, and that she'd have a big part in S5.
In this scenario, Lyta would have become a devoted follower of Byron's, much as she has, but it would have been more love from afar: protective, somewhat unrequited but hoping for more...so that when he met his fate, Lyta would end up right where she is now, just by a different road.

In other words, damn you for making sense, JMS. I don't like it when things I disagree with make sense.

I'm still glad it didn't go down that way, though. And I cheered when Byron finally offed himself and his creepy little associates, although he took way too damned long having his melodramatic and sappy little goodbye. Seriously, he's making me dislike Lyta by pure association, and then at the end there she was being almost as wangsty and obnoxious as him. The wangst is contagious. But at least now he's finally dead.

Bester was the only good thing about that whole plotline. Well... Garibaldi desperately trying to shoot Bester was good, too, but as that pertains to Bester I figure it counts. So much love for Walter Koenig. He's such a perky, boyish, adorable incarnation of evil.

(Geek moment of joy for Asimov's laws! ♥)

The Lurker's Guide page wonders whether the bomb at the Psi Corps HQ might be Garibaldi's doing. Considering the newscaster specifically mentions that the words "Remember Byron" were found at the scene, I rather think he's missed the point. Garibaldi did his stupid thing - he started drinking again.

The Ragged Edge:
As much as I like Garibaldi, episodes about him usually put me to sleep. This was no exception. I absolutely loved the opening scene with Delenn and Sheridan, though. Delenn tells him she'd like to start a war with Earth, and Sheridan just kind of nods in frustration and says something like "I'll sign it as soon as I can." And there's that big, brilliant 'you're so dumb sometimes, and I think that's why I love you' grin. :D

...And that's really all I have to say about this episode. I got a lot of knitting done between it and the Byron stuff earlier.

The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father:
More Bester! Yay! More telepaths! Boo!

I'm sorry, I hate the whole ongoing telepath plot - I always have, and I probably always will. But seeing them from the Psi Corps perspective did make things a lot more interesting, so that was nice. And I loved how adorably in awe of Bester little Lauren was. Very cute little creepy girl. ♥ Bester in this episode reminds me of the kind of awesome professor everybody wants in college... except for that whole fascism thing. Ah well - everybody's got their faults... ;)

I'm a big cheat and I like to peek at chapter titles before seeing the episode. The first ep for tonight (Meditations on the Abyss) includes the title "Ambassador Vir" (!) and a lot of Lennier stuff. I have come to fear Lennier episodes. Experience so far in this season indicates that it will not be anything good. In fact, I expect no more good to come for him for the rest of the series. Alas. JMS loves to be mean to exactly the characters that I love.

Comments

[spazzychic.livejournal.com]

I liked the telepath angle in some ways, because it's just such a fun can of worms and I can see it going down just the way it did...but most of the telepaths on the show DRIVE ME INSANE. So it's a mixed bag.

Congrats, you survived JMSs biggest writing snafus.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

That's exactly it, I guess - the only telepaths I ever liked were Bester (duh), Harriman Grey, and Talia. It's an interesting concept, but the actual characters (and actors, oh god) were often horrendous.

[nolivingman.livejournal.com]

But at least now he's finally dead.

Yay! When I watched B5 for the first time this spring, I tried (and mostly succeeded) to be unspoiled throughout. But when Byron first appeared, I asked a friend who had watched the series already "Just tell me: Is his death painful and/or humiliating?" and she was able to tell me "Yes" and so that kept me going through his episodes.

I like The Ragged Edge because we got to go to the Drazi homeworld. The Drazi are endlessly entertaining and fascinating to me, so I loved that. But the Sheridan/Delenn comedy scene ranks up there too. I just love how dopey he is.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

I... partially succeeded on being unspoiled. Unfortunately, I'd heard about parts of it (Delenn's transformation, Marcus' death...) before I ever thought of watching the show, and I picked up a few other bits through lack of caution while exploring the internet fandom.

I was afraid to ask anyone whether Byron would die - I doubted I could get through the whole season knowing that he lived, if that was the case. So I just became a Bester fangirl, because I figured if he was going to die, it'd be Bester who'd do it. By the end of "Phoenix" I was shouting "JUST DIE ALREADY!" at the screen, and plugging my ears to keep from hearing the singing. ;)

That's true, it was nice to finally see where they're coming from. They're not one of my favorites, but they're definitely intriguing. And of course no episode is complete without Sheridan being a dork at least once. He's such a spaz, and I think his dopey little antics really amuse Delenn.

[eye-of-a-cat.livejournal.com]

Ack, yes, the telepaths. It's funny: I can appreciate that the past five years have established beyond doubt that lots of telepaths get treated very badly, that Psi Corps is evil, that Lyta got screwed over by everybody and can't be blamed for inadvisable relationship choices, and that something about the telepath situation was going to snap very, very soon, and still lose a big chunk of sympathy for any rebellion that has Byron as a figurehead.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly! Out of all the telepaths who are dissatisfied with their lot (and it has to be most of them, because they really do have a bad situation), I find it hard to believe that the best leader they can find is this... whiney little GQ model cult leader with zero charisma. Whether it was the fault of the acting, the writing, the directing, or a horrible combination of all three, we never see the charisma that the teeps are supposedly reacting to. We hear about it, but that is so completely not enough to base a character on. I wouldn't follow Byron on a trip the local grocery store, let alone into rebellion that will probably get me killed.

[eye-of-a-cat.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't follow Byron on a trip the local grocery store, let alone into rebellion that will probably get me killed.

Hee! Yes, exactly. Now, if Lyta started a rebellion - actually started it, rather than picking up Byron's - I could see why people would follow.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

I could see it, but for me... Lyta's a very nice person, and I feel sorry for all that she's been through, but I suspect she'd be a terrible leader. And she has way too much history of being suckered (one way or another) into bad situations for me to be willing to trust her.

[eye-of-a-cat.livejournal.com]

Yeah - I think it would all go very, horribly wrong with Lyta in charge. Unlike Byron, though, she's actually got enough of the history to sound pretty compelling when talking about how telepaths get screwed over by everybody, including the supposedly good guys, and should damn well get a home of their own. (What's Byron's campaign based on? "Help, I Had A Really Cushy Psi-Cop Life And Now People Are Chasing Me?") I just wish people weren't so blinded by the shininess of his hair (since this is the only halfway plausible reason I can work out for why he'd get followers), and the telepath revolution had actually worked out interesting.

What bugs me most about Lyta and Byron's relationship, looking back on it, is that he's kind of a bastard as well as being annoying, and yet I think we're supposed to see him as a good thing to have happened to her. So... Kosh II was supposed to come across like an abusive partner, but Byron can wake her up to how she's been used by him and everyone else by... kicking over a chair and yelling at her? Because it's for her own good? I'm a little uncomfortable with this...

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Lyta has the background to pull it off... Ivanova would've had it, too, and she actually would be a good leader. I still wouldn't have wanted to see her get subsumed by the telepath plotline, though.

Psh. He doesn't even have that great of hair - it's a horrible style for his facial structure. Or possibly I'm just bitter.

I'm so glad I'm not the only person who thinks that! When he was throwing his whole "assert yourself, damn it!" tantrum, I couldn't help wondering why the hell we were supposed to like him any better than anyone else who's abused Lyta. Or, in the end, any different than any of them. To be perfectly honest, Byron struck me as no better than the classic cult leader who manipulates and controls his people with showers of love, closeness, and constant repetition of how special they are, how they're the chosen of God, how they've been abused and misunderstood by the outside world... it was creepy. I would not have been the slightest bit surprised if he'd passed out poisoned kool-aid or something while they were all holed up in Brown Sector. It would've fit his temperament and manner of operation perfectly.

[reve-lucide.livejournal.com]

And I hate when people's voice mail messages start out sounding like a real person, so I make a fool of myself by starting to talk to the message and then realizing no, no - it's just another damned machine.

Oh, that is SO one of my pet peeves.

And can I just say that B5 has some killer episode titles! They're all so intriguing!

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

It's so frustrating! And the guy still hasn't called me back even though my message was kind of important, which also irks me.

They do! And sometimes the episodes are even equally intriguing! Unfortunately some of the last few have been... pretty damned iffy, but I blame total lack of charisma on behalf of a recurring guest character who is now, thank god, dead.

I swear, I love this show, but half the time when I coax someone into watching it I find myself telling them "so... okay, I apologize for the special effects. And the acting of the guest stars. And the dialogue is kind of melodramatic sometimes. And the film quality sucks ass. But I swear, if you can put up with all of that, it's really really awesome!" And I know how horrible that all sounds, but... it's hard to explain. *Sighs*

[reve-lucide.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, I understand completely. Add some apologies for very!bad alien makeup and/or the occasional gaping plot hole, and you could be talking about Farscape. XD

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

The plot for B5 is (for the most part) extremely tight - that's one of the best things about the show as a whole. From day one, I saw things that I thought were just totally random at the time (apparent filler eps, toss-off dialogue, etc) that a season or two (or three, or four...) later I looked back at and thought "wow... so they were setting this up all the way back then? Holy crap!"

...And the alien makeup here is pretty bad sometimes, too. I mean... there's only so much you can do with latex, right? I love effects makeup, but unfortunately that means I've read a lot about it, paid attention to it... and can now usually point out the exact seams on a latex application, how everything's been shaded, where the texture of the makeup doesn't match the actor's skin... And this is early 90s, so there's a lot of that. :P

[reve-lucide.livejournal.com]

Haha, I really need to give B5 a chance, I think, because everything you're saying sounds exactly like things I tell people about Farscape. And I mean EXACTLY.

Like this:
"wow... so they were setting this up all the way back then? Holy crap!"

There is oh so much of that in Farscape. It was all plotted out to only last five seasons, and I'm pretty sure they had to have known where they were going with it the entire time. Unfortunately it got cancelled at the end of s4 and so they had to cram all of s5 into a miniseries (kinda like when Joss crammed six seasons of Firefly into Serenity).

But yeah -- B5's similiarites to Farscape intrigue me.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately it got cancelled at the end of s4 and so they had to cram all of s5 into a miniseries...

The similarities between these shows are getting creepy.

Babylon 5 wasn't actually cancelled... but they thought it was going to be. So they said "screw it" and smushed everything they needed to bring the major plots to a conclusion into S4... and then got renewed. Which was great, except it meant that S5, especially in the beginning, is really rocky. Particularly because one of the main actresses didn't renew her contract, so they had to scramble to find other ways of handling storylines that had been meant for her.

Okay, here's the deal, then - we need to trade shows, and each try to give the other one exactly as much a chance as we hope the other one is giving ours. If that makes sense. I've been meaning to track down Farscape, anyway, once my brain recovers from watching the end of B5. ;)

I still want that drunken internet tell-all that Joss promised us, damn it. I want to know what he had planned!!!

[reve-lucide.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a fair deal to me. XD

How much B5 do you have left, anyway?

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Awesome! I apologize in advance for S1, it has some of the worst guest actors I've literally ever seen. XD

Eleven episodes (ack!) and, if I decide to hunt it down, one prequel movie with almost all of the cast. I'll probably give it some time on the prequel, if nothing else - no sense rushing around trying to find it when it's not going to tell me anything significantly new.

[reve-lucide.livejournal.com]

Ah, there's nothing quite like coming to the end of your current fandom's source material, is there? *sigh*

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

I know... it's going to be sad. And I've already been told by pretty much all my friends who've seen it already that I Will Almost Certainly Cry at the finale. And, if hints I've been picking up on are correct, also the episode prior to the finale. *Sigh*

...And then there will probably be a lot of fanfic as I try to come to grips with whatever happens.

[maymargaret.livejournal.com]

And I hate when people's voice mail messages start out sounding like a real person, so I make a fool of myself by starting to talk to the message and then realizing no, no - it's just another damned machine.

That's right up there with the telemarketers who use your names and act like they know you. Or junkmail that is hand adressed.

Ohmigod, my actual degree has come in handy twice in the last two days!

W0W, How? You've used yours two more times then I've used mine. And linguistics is supposed to more applicle then English.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Damned telemarketers. They make me wish I had a more complicated name, so that I could pick them out by sheer force of mispronunciations.

W0W, How?

I edit things! Yesterday it was a persona profile for somebody, and today I was making a phone screen appointment for a recruiting candidate, and I noticed a bunch of errors... the guy was applying for technical writing. So I went through for the dev manager and marked all the mistakes I could find. I love that kind of thing. XD

[maymargaret.livejournal.com]

Sounds like more fun than answering phones. Hey, maybe you should try for technical writing, I bet it pays more than office girling

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Technical writing pays plenty, but you need a lot of training and certification for it, and for whatever specializations you're writing for (ie, software, science, etc). I've looked into it, but I'm not qualified at the moment. Hence my gripe about English degrees without technical training.... alas.

[jfrog78.livejournal.com]

I use my degree everyday I work! Also I liked the way the Byron plot lines go just not Byron because he is creepy. I do enjoy that when JMS didn't know there was going to be a fifth season he put in that scene in the 4 final episode with Garibaldi and the telepaths. Then there was a season fifth so he had to work it into one of the shows.

I love Garibaldi episodes but the ones where he is not being a total doodoohead.

The core episode was great. It was nice to see the inside of that operation alittle. Also Lauren was very cute yet creepy. Also it made me like Bester a little more in the like him but hate him category.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

I, unfortunately, am not so lucky. :P

I like Garibaldi when he's being snarky and funny, but the actual plots about him tend to be really... I don't know. I just never seem to like them, it's very strange. I guess I only like him as a foil to Sheridan and the rest.

Exactly. That's the thing about Bester - you just have to love him and hate him at the same time. That's the only way to really accept his full personality.

[oszras.livejournal.com]

Yay! You're finally out of the suckiness of S5 and onto more G'Kar and Londo stuff. :D

A Tradgedy of Telepaths:

My problem was with the scene where they hang up the bloodhound guy in the elevator in a crucifixion pose with the 'free Byron' or something Byron on the walls. The Cult of Zombie Hippies actually think Byron is Christ or Christ like? See that is what worries me about humanity in the future: when Bester, as much as I love him, becomes the sane one in the storyline. :D

Also, that was the real Na'Toth in this episode. Wasn't the actress Julie something? I'm pretty sure that was the same actress but I'm dead tired right now so I could just be hallucinating. XD

Phoenix Rising:

You know I actually could see Ivanova do something like this because I've done the same thing. But I'm really, really glad CC left because I find Byron to be written, acted, whatever, horrible that I just would not be able to stand him near her. I feel like I sound like a crazy fan for saying that... :D

I did find Lyta saying goodbye to Byron kinda sad. Weirdly though it wasn't anything Lyta or Byron did in that scene that made it sad to me. I just kept thinking about how effing sad Lyta's life has been since being back on B5. It just hit me then how sad everyone's life has been since season one.

Bester is love. XD

The Ragged Edge:

God, Sheridan is such a dope and you know I have to think that is why she married him sometimes...he's just so, so loveable that way. And then there are other times I wonder about her sanity in loving Dead-Boy.

I like Garibaldi (he does have some wonderful one-liners) but I'm like you I just sorta get distracted by other things. Mostly I ruminate on plotlines and characterization and how to kill Byron in a better way than just having him torch his self. Because really? that was such a lame way to go. I would have used a flame-thrower toting Pak'mara or Londo choking Byron with one of his tenticles, you know something really creative. XD

The Corps is Mother, The Corps is Father:

Loved it. Even though Bester's views are twisted I could at least see where he was coming from. I also got this vibe that he really was astonished that Franklin actually cared about telepaths it made me want to hug him. I loved seeing a different side of the Corps as well. JMS did a lot of that in this season View from the Galley, this one and a one or two more, I think. This season felt different to me as well, a little off until I got into the second half of it. Even then though it still felt different from all the other seasons and I can't really pin down why either...

And that Lauren girl was creepy, in the sick creepy way. She gave me the heebie jeebies. The was she sounded so...reverent...about spacing the normal guy at the end...*shudders*

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

Also, that was the real Na'Toth in this episode. Wasn't the actress Julie something? I'm pretty sure that was the same actress but I'm dead tired right now so I could just be hallucinating. XD

Caitlin Brown, and yes, that was the original S1 Na'Toth. You can tell from the glare. Mary Kay Adams, bless her little Klingon heart, couldn't glare.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Okay, I had totally screwed up which name went with which actress at some point. I knew I recognized Mary Kay Adams' name, so even though my memory of her face didn't seem to fit, I assumed she'd been the original actress. I'm so glad they were able to get the original back for a while!

[oszras.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you! I had been trying to think of her name and just couldn't figure out why the name Julie felt wrong. But Caitlin Brown played Sheridan's lawyer in S2 and I think her name was Julie or something. Or maybe not....either way thanks I would have had to go through my dvds looking for a Julie and I wouldn't have found her. XD

I didn't know Mary Kay Adams played Klingons. In TNG or the other ST shows?

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

She played one on DS9, a recurring character named Grilka.

www.imdb.com is always the answer to these questions. XD

[oszras.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay. I thought she might have been on TNG, they had a lot of female Klingon's I think.

I love imdb but with my faulty memory I'm lucky I can remember the name to type in to search for. XD

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

Heh. Guenivere Corey was the lawyer, in There All the Honor Lies. And I get all my information from the Lurker's Guide. I can't remember the reference, but JMS brought Mary Kay Adams in as Na'Toth's replacement because she'd played a Klingon on one of the Trek serieses, and he wanted that kind of intensity... which she didn't wind up bringing.

[oszras.livejournal.com]

That's weird in one of JMS's commentaries in S5 he talks about Na'Toth and the actress, I think he said she played the lawyer in S2. But I'm probably mixing commentaries up again. XD I do that a lot I have such a horrible memory.

Yeah MKA, she made the character for me really flat, not much emotion at all.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Yes! I adored Day of the Dead and View from the Galley, but I'm glad to be back into B5 as it should be. And moreso with the episodes I saw last night. XD

About Na'Toth: Apparently, despite totally adoring the original actress, I'm not quite clever enough to recognize her when I'm not expecting it to actually be her! How embarassing. In my defense, I recall thinking "huh, this woman is better than the interim girl they had before... More like the original voice and all." *Headdesk* Thank you for catching me out on that one....

Sheridan is lovably, adorably dopey. And yes, I really think that is a big part of why Delenn loves him. Besides, she knows she can totally own him in arguments.

I would have used a flame-thrower toting Pak'mara or Londo choking Byron with one of his tenticles

I'm both delighted and horrified by both of these thoughts. :D

That's the cute thing about Bester - he really does think that he's doing the right thing, that mundanes don't actually give a damn about teeps, and whenever he gets shown that it isn't quite that way, he gets kind of... thrown for a loop. Not enough to actually change him, mind you, but just enough that you can see a little of why he is the way he is. And his nattering little conversations are so very charming. ♥

[oszras.livejournal.com]

I really liked seeing things from a different perspective, like the ISN episodes in S2 and S4 those were great. Although they gave me chills, seeing how the media can turn anything into something you want to hear or change the content so drastically...it's fascinating and scary to me.

Yes, I couldn't for the life of me remember the actress's name but aris told me it was Caitlin Brown. XD

She pwnds everyone in an argument.

Heh. My mind is a sick yet fun place to be sometimes. XD

Exactly. I just love how he can make everything happy and cheerful even when he's planning to make everyone but teeps into slaves. :D
But Delenn could still own him in an coversation...XD