I thought I recognized the actor above from somewhere. As I browsed the credits, I came across the actor’s name: Russ Tamblyn was in one of my favourite movies, West Side Story (”When you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the way, from your first cigarette to your last dyin’ day…”).
I enjoyed finding out more about Sheridan, seeing his restlessness about being desk-bound and his envy of his friend Jack. Too bad he briefly took his resentment out on Garibaldi; that can’t really help their new relationship on B5. I’m glad Ivanova stood up to him when he got all crabby about his job! You go, girl.
I don’t understand the usefulness of clear paper (as pictured above); it must be hard to read.
Delenn: Then I will tell you a great secret, Captain. Perhaps the greatest of all time. The molecules of your body are the same molecules that make up this station and the nebula outside, that burn inside the stars themselves. We are starstuff, we are the universe made manifest, trying to figure itself out. As we have both learned, sometimes the universe requires a change of perspective.
Meanwhile, we find out that Delenn’s own people are wondering if she’s still one of them. Can’t blame them, really. But she wasn’t Minbari, wouldn’t the doctor have noticed when he gave her the physical examination? Or did I miss something in the previous episode?
Delenn’s quote about us all being made of “starstuff” reminded me of a beautiful B5 song my friend Lloyd Landa wrote years ago, “I Am Stardust,” and I’m wondering now if this is the episode that inspired the song.
My music group fell in love with the song and after Lloyd’s untimely death, Karen Linsley gave us permission to cover this song. You can hear an excerpt of the song by clicking on the “I Am Stardust” track on our Sushi And High Tea page.
I didn’t like the doctor in the beginning, but he’s starting to grow on me. He’s still not nearly as interesting as some of the other characters, but I appreciate his sense of humour, plus the food scene at the end with Garibaldi was fun.
Ivanova: Figures. All my life I’ve fought against imperialism. Now suddenly, I -am- the expanding Russian frontier.
Doctor: But with very nice borders.
So the spider ships interfered with the rescue of the Cortez — but why? And if they wanted to stop the attempt, why didn’t they just destroy the Cortez? Don’t answer that.
The name of the next episode sounds rather ominous…
Next episode: The Long Dark.
[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/hints about upcoming episodes, or including links to pages with spoilers (unless you warn readers that they contain spoilers). More info about spoilers here. Thanks so much! - Debbie]
11 comments ↓
Carl Sagan was very well know for his ‘we are starstuff’ talk, from Cosmos the book, contract and the TV show.
Perhaps that inspired the song you refer to. Maybe this show woke up that need to write about it.
Karen and Lloyd said several times that “I Am Stardust” was inspired by “Babylon 5″. I think this episode does seem to most directly have inspired the lyrics, though there are other scenes of Minbari philosophy in future episodes.
Either way, the first time I saw that scene and recognized “I Am Stardust” in the sentiments it made me cry.
I think the Sagan comment was an inspiration for the “starstuff” comments in the show, and the song got the imagery by way of the show.
From the Lurkers Guide:
“Unanswered Questions
Is something living in hyperspace? (This isn’t a new question; it was the subject of a front-page Universe Today story in “And the Sky Full of Stars.”) ”
Just one more of those little touches they can put in when you have a 5-year story arc from the beginning.
And yes, they do like their food stories on B5.
Garibaldi’s special dinner:
Bagna Cauda (from Jeff Smith’s -The Frugal Gourmet-)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 lb. butter (1 stick) – not margarine!
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 anchovy fillets, mashed
black pepper
Heat oil and butter together in top of double boiler. In a small skillet cook the garlic in a bit of this oil until soft. Add the anchovies, and cook till the fish turns into a paste, about 5 min. Mix this paste with the hot oil and butter. Transfer to a chafing dish or fondue pot to keep warm on the table (it congeals as it cools.)
Carl Sagan said that we are star stuff several times. pointing out, like Delenn does here, that the molecules in our bodies found their birth in the hearts of suns. One formulation was, “We are the local embodiment of a cosmos grown to self-awareness. We have begun to contemplate our origins: star stuff pondering the stars.”
That’s where the first two lines in my lament for the space program, “Once We Were Eagles” comes from: “Once we were voyagers roaming the darkness
Starstuff that pondered the stars.”
It’s a powerful image.
As for the “spider ships” interfering with the Cortez… I didn’t get that impression. I believe it was just pure coincidence that they collided with Galus’s Starfury and screwed up the rescue attempt.
I agree with Terence Chua. Remember how G’kar said to Ms. Sakai that we don’t notice the actions of ants and we just blindly step on them without a moment’s notice?
I seem to remember having read in an interview that JMS’ wife worked with Carl Sagan on “Cosmos”.
About Delenn – I think for the Minbari (or at least a part of them, mostly the warrior caste) it’s more a question of whether Delenn is still a Minbari *at heart*. She has declined leadership and has instead chosen to go through this transformation without the approval of the Grey Council (contrary to what she told Sheridan in “Revelations”, we know that it wasn’t “with the blessing of her government), they are starting to wonder whether she is acting in the interest of her people, or if she is having ulterior motives. Remember only the Grey Council knows why they surrendered at the battle of the line. The people was denied the knowledge because the Council thought that “they were not ready for this information”. As a result, they fail to understand the choice made by Delenn.
“Stardust/starstuff” doesn’t make me think back to Cosmos — it always brings Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock” to mind: “We are stardust, we are golden. And we have to get ourselves back to the garden.” Which may be where Sagan got it, too.
Other places you may have seen Russ Tamblyn:
He is youngest brother Gideon in _Seven Brides for Seven Brothers._
He is Amber Tamblyn’s father, and he had a guest appearance as one of the versions of “God” in her series, “Joan of Arcadia.”
He had lots of other dancing roles, which I’ve forgotten, and I’m too lazy to go to IMDB.
I totally missed him as Sheridan’s friend in this episode. I’d only seen him as the *young* Russ Tamblyn. I only recognized him in “Arcadia” because his guest appearance was heavily advertised.
Now, of course, I can indeed see that “God” role was played by the same actor as “Jack” here.
Hvideo: Thanks for the recipe for Bagna Cauda!
Terence: Thanks for the link and MP3 for “Once We Were Eagles” – gorgeous words and music!
Terence & mandragora: Ah, ok…so the spider ships didn’t interfere with the rescue mission on purpose. Thanks for that clarification.
Carol: I -loved- Seven Brides & Seven Brothers – thanks for the reminder!