Excellent episode.
My favourite line? Ivanova’s reply when Londo catches up with Ivanova in the corridor and demands to know what’s going on. Ivanova: “You want to know what’s really going on down there right now? Boom. Boom boom boom. Boom boom. Boom. Have a nice day.”
Love Ivanova’s “testosterone poisoning” comment when Sinclair and Pierce take turns threatening each other. But Sinclair’s threat about resigning did make me wonder what’s going to happen over the next few episodes.
One of you mentioned that he wouldn’t be around next season, after all, so that means that by the end of this season, something’s going to happen to him. Hm…but with all the “hole in his mind” references, I can’t see him just being killed off. So my theory is that he leaves B5 to help the Minbari somehow. But then why would they place him on B5 in the first place? Or maybe they’re counting on him being promoted?
Anyway, I suspect I’ll find out by the end of the season. DON’T TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS.
I’m starting to notice more details about the inside of the station. Like the weird sign in the picture above, to the left of Sinclair. What the HECK does that mean?
And I like the glimpse into various people’s quarters, with personalization like the “Sinclair Aircraft” memorabilia in the Commander’s quarters:
Cool way to convey a bit of background without having to be explicit about it right away. I wish we could get a closer glimpse of what’s in that display case.
Also interesting to get a peek at Sinclair’s kitchen:
I forgot to snap a shot of Garibaldi’s quarters because I was distracted by his B5 pizza:
Ivanova: “You want to know what’s really going on down there right now? Boom. Boom boom boom. Boom boom. Boom. Have a nice day.”
In case you’re wondering about the sudden appearance of screen shots in my last few episode reports, you can thank Scott Murray for the loan of the DVDs. Now after watching an episode, I can take the DVD down to my office, stick it in my computer, and then fast forward to different scenes. Then I just take a low-res photo with my point-and-shoot before I write my report.
Not the best quality, but it’s low-hassle and quick.
Another thing I’ve started noticing: the PHP (Perfect Hair People). Y’know those crew members that sit in the circular pit below the small raised area where Ivanova paces? Every person in that pit has perfectly sculpted hair. If you don’t believe me, look for yourself:
The woman seemed rather robotic earlier in the season but she seems to be loosening up, along with the rest of the cast.
But back to the episode….
One of the things I love most about Londo is his childlike joy that survives despite other aspects of his life and life history. In the picture above, for example, Londo is piloting that (very) purple ship and obviously enjoying himself. A moment later, he mutters to himself about wondering where the landing thrusters are.
I’m sorry that Draal had to become part of that planet-machine thing. I had been looking forward to hearing more of his lyrical introspective life comments.
Garibaldi: “One thing I’ve discovered: some things are better left buried.”
Though hm…he did mention at the end that the planet was off-limits UNTIL IT WAS “TIME.” Perhaps we’ll see him again after all. Don’t tell me.
Anyway, the moment Draal said that one of the group (Londo, Delenn or Draal) going down to the planet would have to stay behind permanently, Jeff and I knew that his hours were numbered.
I felt for Garibaldi when he found out that Lise was married and pregnant. Too little, too late, dude! Hopefully he’ll smarten up and won’t make the same mistake with Ivanova!
Next episode: Babylon Squared.
[For those who comment below: As the title of my blog indicates, I'm watching B5 for the very first time so PLEASE refrain from posting plot/character spoilers about upcoming episodes, or including links to pages with spoilers (unless you warn readers that they contain spoilers). Thanks so much! - Debbie]
10 comments ↓
I believe that the “weird sign” is supposed to be like some kind of station directory (possibly the icon indicating C&C?) but I never quite figured out how the iconography worked.
Yes, it was kind of obvious who got to stay behind, given the regular/guest status of the characters. It’s one of the very few telegraphed moments of the series (at least, within any single episode).
Here I was thinking you had software where you saved out screenshots (I don’t know what hardware you’re running; Windows Media Player 9 and VLC Media Player can both do it, and there are plenty of small apps designed for the purpose).
I loved the child inside Londo (in a good way) in this episode; he’s got enough problems that he so infrequently has that kind of innocent enjoyment. (Not that he doesn’t have fun — although alcohol and gambling have their drawbacks as well, and we won’t even START on politics.) He’s the sort whose fun is infectious, too. (Well, Ivanova certainly had fun with him
I love this side of Londo, too. He so revels in the rebellion, recklessness and danger of the mission, while having good intentions, too. You take joy in seeing him throw himself into the adventure. Londo has such interesting shades of light and dark. He’s still my favorite character in the series.
Screenshots: is this a Windows machine? If so then you simply press ALT+PrintScreen and then paste it into Paint (or whatever).
Ivanova does like ‘boom’…
Yes, I’ve been enjoying the screen shots. I guessed that you figgured out freeze-frame and camera can be quick.
Was the reveal of the cliffhanger moment at the end of part 1 really that much of cliffhanger moment? This two parter was also made to be a theatrical release in Europe (where The Gathering did good as a theatrical release), so what we seen at an episode break was only an act break in that edition. How did you see it as a storyteller?
If old Varn there had a much longer life thanks to Epsilon 3 machine, then maybe Drall knew that by serving, he will be rewarded with living longer and being able to see the way that Varn seen near space (B5) and the universe. Know what I mean?
I’ve been watching along with you, trying to stay ahead. I’m only two ahead of you now. I would encourage others to rewatch from their collection.
My inital viewing habbit was to tape while I was watching the original broadcast, then within the next week, cross-copy the show, taking out the spots. 3 per 160 tape at the standard speed. I think I rewatched the first season within the run of the show, but don’t think I did a rewatch of the entire series until I got the DVD box sets two or three years ago. I probably watched the re-runs during the series run in real time though. The tapes got sent down to a friend in Florida were he was not watching them until he finally started, then soon was into watching 6 episodes a day, for a long series of days. I don’t think I could savor the story going that fast for any show.
So, Epsilon 3 was used because it was in neutral territory, not because there were amounts of natural resources that could be gathered from the planet below. I thought it would have been surveyed for things like ore to make the steel, fuel for before the fusion reactor came on-line, fuel for comfort things, like cooking with gas, or things like soil for the farms or atmosphere to fill the station.
Debbie is using a Mac. And Apple’s DVD player won’t allow screenshots. Fortunately, VLC does, and it can load DVD’s just fine.
So Deb, just use VLC to play the DVD and use the usual cmd-shift-3 cmd-shift-4 to take nice, high-quality screenshots.
“I’m starting to notice more details about the inside of the station. Like the weird sign in the picture above, to the left of Sinclair. What the HECK does that mean?”
If Sinclair is coming out of a Transport Tube there, I’d guess that the odd sign is a stylized representation of where you are in the station and where the tube goes. The red color could mean you are in Red Zone, with the circle representing the B5 inside “surface”, the line to the middle indicating that there is a connection to the tram that goes down the center of B5 as well as how deep below the “surface” it goes in the other direction towards the outer shell (shown in white).
Of course, it might also be the “This Way To The Methane-Atmosphere Rest Rooms” sign (because they REALLY don’t want those methane-breathers to have an accident in oxygen territory…. )
Terence & Hvideo: thanks for the explanation of the sign. Makes sense. To Hvideo re: methane atmosphere signs- HA! I like that theory.
Bruce & Allison: I agree with your observations on Londo. So far he’s still my favourite character in the series.
A_Tim: When we started watching Part 2, I was surprised at their choice of a cliffhanger because (as you pointed out), it’s not really a cliffhanger moment in the story.
Reid: I do have VLC; thanks for the screenshot tip!
Oh, I forgot to mention that I enjoyed the idea of the ship/heavy cruiser that was used by Varn’s outcast cousins in their attempt to reclaim the planet. It came through as one big ship, then appeared as several pieces before and during the battle. Although staying in formation would not seem to be the best tactic after separation.