So it turns out I haven’t seen the pilot (”The Gathering”) after all. I’ve adjusted the episode titles I’ve covered so far to adjust. I’ll have to try to get a copy of that pilot sometime soon.
Jeff and I watched “Infection” today. Have to say; it’s been my least favourite so far. I found the message (Holocaust comparison) heavy-handed, and the plot seemed tired to me…but maybe that’s because I’ve seen so many versions of it already in various sf shows. I remind myself over and over again that the original Star Trek series had a similar soundtrack (much more emotionally exaggerated than what would be common in today’s television fare).
I’m also not crazy about the captain. The whole chase scene with him in the corridors going after the Nomad-Norman-Borg-alien guy struck me as almost comical, especially with the over-wrought music in the background and the captain’s odd non-blinking glazed expression as he pulls a Kirk and outlogics the alien guy into self-destructing.
Garibaldi, on the other hand, gets more and more interesting with each episode. I also wish there had been more Ivanova. And Londo!
The station doctor (Dr. Franklin) doesn’t seem all that interesting yet. I found myself hoping that the alien guy would succeed in killing him off so he could be replaced by someone else. It looks like Dr. Franklin survived this episode, however. Ah well.
The actor that played Dr. Vance looked so familiar to both Jeff and me that we had to look him up afterward because it was driving us nuts. I found out where I had seen him before: in the 1963 movie, The Great Escape!
Hopefully there won’t be too many episodes in a row like this one.
Thanks to Phil for pointing out another B5 episode list.
For those on Livejournal, Joseph Abbott has set up an LJ feed for this blog.
Also, Allison has reminded me that one the songs that Urban Tapestry has sung in the past was a B5 song: Jodi’s “Dark Places.” How embarrassing; I completely forgot that. It’s been ages since we’ve sung that song, but now I at least know what Talia Winters looks like.
Next episode: “The Parliament Of Dreams.”
I’m going to start posting the following, by the way, because I realize that people may occasionally arrive at these posts without understanding that I’m watching these episodes for the first time, and am not just re-visiting the series. This has nothing to do with any comments that have been made so far…
[For those who comment below: Please DON'T post spoilers about episodes after this one, or including links to pages with spoilers (unless you warn readers that they contain spoilers). Thanks so much.]
11 comments ↓
Concerning songs…. One of the first filk songs to really grab my attention was “Annie’s Luck” by Echo’s Children. It’s not about a specific B5 show, but it’s set in that universe and will probably have extra meaning for you after you’ve seen the “Mind War” episode (coming soon).
Yeah, even Straczynski says this one’s pretty weak. Even the weakest ones have their moments, and for me that moment in this one was Sinclair’s interview, at the end. It’s the most succinct statement of the case for space I’ve come across…
Gee, didn’t expect you to get to this one today. See my last post about this ep and re-watching eps 1-4.
Yes, I think you will do fine not watching “The Gathering” and the pre-history movie until sometime later.
Re the speach.
We used to joke about “The Big Stick”.
{thawp} It’s another *message*, listen up!
I’m really going to have to rewatch the series. So many good parts and good *characters*.
One of the reasons I liked Heroes so much was the same thing — characters who grow and change as the series progresses.
But I won’t tell you who
“Infection” was always my least favourite episode (though I still haven’t finished watching Season 5!) When the series first aired, this episode was still to scary for me; when I re-watched the first few seasons during undergrad (my brother had taped the whole series, and edited out the commercials, on BETA tapes; my roommates and I borrowed the tapes when he upgraded to DVD), it was just too heavy-handed.
In spite of the cheesy special effects (which, I had to keep reminding myself, were cutting-edge for their time) I did find that this series aged better than TNG did. I still enjoy watching TNG, but I find that the merit of several of the episodes these days doesn’t go much beyond nostalgia. When B5 premiered I was eleven; when i re-watched a few years ago, I found I could appreciate new and different aspects of the story, often aspects that I didn’t understand or didn’t enjoy as a young teen with a low tolerance for “scary.”
All this to say I hope you enjoy the ride, or as much of it as you get through. I really should watch the whole series some day!
Yes, don’t worry too much about the pilot - there were largescale changes between that and Midnight on the Firing Line, enough that it’s almost a second pilot. Different music, different characters (no Ivanova or Franklin) and a plot that even now I’m not entirely sure makes sense given what we later learn about the Vorlons. Whilst I think the prequel movie works much better if viewed rather later - otherwise you’ll be spoiling yourself so to speak.
You’re past Infection - I don’t offhand recall any other real stinkers in Season One and there’s a couple of good ones coming up.
Now when I saw McCallum I thought “Man from UNCLE”, “Colditz” or “Sapphire and Steel” (though of course he was in Great Escape as well). I think you’ll recognise and enjoy the main (and recurring) guest star in Mind War when you get there too…
So far, we’re pretty much on the same page. Infection is one of the weakest episodes. And I never warmed all that much to Michael O’Hare - Bruce Boxleitner, who took over in the second season, was a big improvement.
I’ll be curious to see your reaction to the next episode, “The Parliament of Dreams”, which is one of my earliest favorites, and the first one I can recall making me laugh out loud.
Oh, and Dr. Franklin is there for quite a while, and he does get somewhat more interesting with time.
As others have mentioned, the entire 5-year story outline was complete before the program began, so it plays more like a novel in many ways. There is a introductory period with hints of things to come, then the action begins to get a bit faster, then starts building and building, heads to a climax, and then goes into the aftermath. If you were reading THE LORD OF THE RINGS you would still be in The Birthday party section. Not nearly enough to get a good idea of the entire novel.
Yes, this episode was weak for the reasons you mention. We’ve “Been there, done that” and discussed the fallacies involved in similar books, movies and TV shows. There will be other weak episodes here and there - that’s inevitable on any TV show. But I think overall you will find a LOT to enjoy with the whole show.
Oh, and Mark - please remember that she asked that there be no spoilers.
We have a copy of “the Gathering” if you want to borrow it.
I keep thinking about episodes you have coming up — we should get together sometime for B5 watching sessions, because I want to see your face during some of them!
We rewatched the entire series after Simon was born — Peter gave me the season 1 dvds while I was in labour (the other seasons followed soon after), and television shows on dvd are ideal while nursing a new baby. We also saw Buffy, a lot of Danger Man and Rome that way…