Magic is everywhere, Vir is really sacred, not of the Techno-Mages mind you, but of Londo. Can you blame him, a few drinks in Londo and who knows what will happen? For all he knows Vir could wake up the next morning married to a Drazi and be none the wiser for why he’s in that pickle. Sheridan’s a bit pushy, dude back off, I have a dragon in my pocket, and it’s not the puff-puff type. I’m a green guy myself, but I’m all about love, not war, so I know how I would end any color related conflicts.

Written By: J. Michael Straczynski
Directed By: Mike Vejar

Bare Essentials:

A Plot - A group of wizard like travelers, Techno-Mages, have arrived on Babylon 5. They are merely passing through as they attempt to leave known space. Londo Mollari is pestering them for an endorsement while Captain Sheridan is refusing to allow their departure until they have let him know where they are headed. Their leader, Elric, deals with the Londo problem by at first cursing him with spells and then giving him a foreboding message for the future. He then smooth talks Sheridan into allowing them to leave.

B Plot - Security Chief Garibaldi has been cleared to come back to work, but he doesn’t know if he’s worth anything anymore. Amidst contemplating suicide he stumbles upon Ivanova in a bit of trouble and when his first hand knowledge of how Ivanova operates is what leads to her rescue he decides he does have something to offer to the station after all.

C Plot - The Drazi Freehold uses an odd political system, where every five years they randomly choose either a green or purple colored cloth and fight to determine which group will lead the Drazi for the next five years. This time things turn ugly as the green Drazi begin killing the purple Drazi and it’s up to the newly promoted Commander Ivanova to deal with the problem. All of her attempts fail, and she is even kidnapped at one point, but in the end through luck she finds a solution to the problem and the fighting on B5 comes to an end.

More Arc, Less Arch:

The alliance that Refa and Londo form will have big consequences for the Centauri as well as the rest of the universe. The ramifications of their alliance will be felt in The Coming Of Shadows, Knives, will end in Ceremonies Of Light And Dark, reach a boiling point in Interludes And Examinations, and finally come to its ultimate end with a death in And The Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place.

The son of the Centauri Emperor has died, and while it may seem like small matter it will become very important in The Coming Of Shadows, and its impact will most dejectedly be felt in the season four episodes, The Hour Of The Wolf, Whatever Happened To Mr. Garibaldi?, The Summoning, Falling Toward Apotheosis and The Long Night.

The reason for the travels of the Techno-Mages, the fate of Elric and the ultimate fate of the entire Techno-Mage culture as well as some of their back story will be revealed in The Passing Of The Techno-Mages: Book I: Casting Shadows, Book II: Summoning Light, and Book III: Invoking Darkness.

Pay close attention to the opening fight between the Drazi in the Zocalo at the beginning of the episode. The purple Drazi who bumps into the green Drazi to start the fight isn’t exactly who he appears to be, and neither is the purple Drazi that comes flying off the bar in the middle of the fight. To find out who they really are, read The Passing Of The Techno-Mages: Book II: Summoning Light or wait for my review of that book a long, long time from now.

The title of the episode has the word Shadows in it, and at first it may appear to be just a word and not be related at all to the race of the same name. But, the Shadows are all over this episode even if we don’t know it. It will be revealed in small doses in all three novels, The Passing Of The Techno-Mages, what role the Shadows play with the Techno-Mages and why they are instrumental in the Techno-Mages desire to leave known space. It will also be revealed in The Passing Of The Techno-Mages: Book II: Summoning Light that the Shadows may play a part in the political system in use by the Drazi.

Sheridan’s reference to taking B5 back a thousand years will play out, just not with B5, in War Without End, Part 2.

The black and terrible storm Elric mentions is the upcoming Shadow War, or it could also be all the major dark events that will transpire as a result of the Shadows after the Shadow War has ended.

Elric’s statement to Londo about seeing his hand reach out from the stars will later come to Londo in a dream in the episode, The Coming Of Shadows.

Who Are You? What Do Yo… Hey, I’m Asking The Questions Here!:

On what authority is Earth restricting the departure of the Techno-Mages from B5? They have broken no laws, caused no problems and should be allowed to traverse wherever they please.

Did the Drazi stop killing each other outside of Babylon 5?

Did the escalation to killing carry over to future green/purple “elections“?

We know that at the end of this year the Drazi will be at war with the Centauri. The Centauri attack them less than a year after this episode. Are the Drazi still fighting each other, or did the radical actions to end the green/purple conflict on B5 end the conflict between the Drazi all over the universe? Or, was the conflict still going on and it was ended prematurely when the Centauri attacked?

Idiosyncratic Musings:

Garibaldi’s entire plot line is an understated but strong one. It’s the simple story of a man not doing that which he has always done before. Whenever things have gone against him or radical changes have been thrust upon him he runs away. Now, for the first time he stays put and faces that change, challenges his fears and figures out that he is needed. People do count on him and it is necessary for him to accept that change in his life for the betterment of all those around him. There’s also the strong undertone of suicide in this plot line and that makes Garibaldi’s final actions all the stronger. It’s good storytelling and the culmination of over a year of Garibaldi growing to be this person.

A point of contention about The Geometry Of Shadows appears to be the stupidity of green/purple and people like the Drazi making their way to the stars. My response to that is simple, take a gander at Earth why don’t ya? We are a planet full of idiotic, nonsensical governments, institutions, teachings, etc.. Yet we have already reached the stars. The idea behind green/purple appears to function about as efficiently as any election process or government does in the present day. While this may be sad, it does show why green/purple shouldn’t be contentious at all.

I think the Drazi green/purple idea is a rather obvious allegory for a couple of issues. The first issue is addressed in the episode proper and that’s the idea of two groups fighting over a simple difference in cloth, like for instance, a flag. It’s pretty simple, people fight over cloth all the time, although I think Ivanova bangs home the point about fighting over a flag being different. The Drazi aren’t fighting for any ideals or way of life, but most wars fought over a flag involve those tenets in some way. The second allegory in The Geometry Of Shadows is that of racism. The Drazi are fighting each other for no reason other than a difference in color. People the world over do this and they are all idiotic, simple as that.

I See What You Did There:

Ivanova is promoted to the rank of Commander.

Garibaldi’s off hand reference to a changeling net will make sense to my readers when I finally get around to reviewing the pilot, The Gathering, or if I put aside my ego for a second, it will make sense to anyone who reads my reviews and is already a Babylon 5 fan.

Say It Again Mac:

Drazi leader, “Rules of combat older than contact with other races. Did not mention aliens. Rules change caught up in committee. Not come through yet.”

Great exchange here,
Elric, “As I look at you, Ambassador Mollari, I see a great hand reaching out of the stars. The hand is your hand. And I hear sounds. The sounds of billions of people calling your name.
Londo, “My followers?”
Elric, “Your victims.”

Lost In Translation:

Sheridan, “Since you hadn’t, I thought the mountain should visit Mohammed after all.” Way, way too hammy.

It’s Your Cultural Imperative:

This is the first and only appearance of the Techno-Mages on Babylon 5 (at least in TV format, they will be back for Crusade, as well as in numerous novels). They aren’t a race, but rather a group culture. They do, in fact, use science and technology to create the illusion of magic.

Once every five years the Drazi separate into two camps, based on random color draw and fight to see who will be in charge of the Drazi. This conflict lasts for one year. The Drazi have not yet taken into account the existence of aliens and how that relates to their political practice. This, of course, provides some interesting problems.

The Drazi week is six Earth days and the Drazi year is 1.2 Earth years, and cycle is the term for the Drazi year.

I Think This Might Be Based On Something:

Elric’s warning to Vir is an almost exact quote by the character of Gildor in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord Of The Rings novel.

The character of Elric is a nod to the character of the same name from Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melniboné series of novels. It’s also possible that he is a nod to the character of Elrod from Dave Sim’s long running comic book, Cerebus, because that character was also based on Moorcock’s Elric.

There is a definite correlation between Londo seeking the approval of the Techno-Mages and the three witches that Macbeth consults in William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth.

You Look Mighty Familiar:

William Forward, Lord Refa, played the minor character of Dr. Whilhite in the episode Tina, Is That You? Of The Flash. He also played the minor character of Mercer in the Space: Above And Beyond episode, Mutiny. You may recognize him as the doctor that discovers Joyce has cancer in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode, Shadow.

Michael Ansara should be well known for supplying the voice of Dr. Victor Fries, or Mr. Freeze in various episodes of Batman Beyond, The New Batman Adventures and Batman: The Animated Series. He also played Kang in the Star Trek episode, Day Of The Dove and he would later reprise that role in a Star Trek: Voyager episode, Flashback as well as a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode, Blood Oath. He also took on the role of Jeyal in another Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode, The Muse. He was a trio of different characters- Blue Djinn, King Kamehameha and Biff Jellico- for three episodes of I Dream Of Jeanie. However his longest running role was as the Apache Chief Cochise for the entire run of the series, Broken Arrow.

Casting Ahead:

This episode marks the first appearance of Lord Refa, he will be back more than once.

This is the first appearance of Elric, he won’t appear on the show again, but he will feature prominently in The Passing Of The Techno-Mages: Book I: Casting Shadows, Book II: Summoning Light and Book III: Invoking Darkness.

Warren Tabata is back again as a nameless guard.

Kim Strauss is back, this time as the green Drazi leader.

David L. Crowley is back again as Lou Welch.

Jonathan Chapman makes his second appearance on the show, this time as the talkative green Drazi standing guard outside the Drazi lair.

That Wasn’t Supposed To Happen:

I’m not a fan of the supposed window view in Sheridan’s office, it’s too obvious of a painting.

It’s fairly obvious during Elric’s speech in the Zocalo that he’s reading off of cue cards.

The green Drazi used Ivanova’s link to send a message to security, but based on what we know about links being biologically bonded to its wearer and only useable by said wearer that shouldn’t be possible.

When Garibaldi comes to rescue Ivanova there is a mistake with the Drazi. The Drazi with the reddish suit starts to get up to answer the door but when they cut to the door being opened it’s the other Drazi answering while the one in the Reddish suit is guarding Ivanova.

The Ombuds Have Decided:

At its heart The Geometry Of Shadows is about fleshing out the Babylon 5 universe. It presents us with an interesting look at the, up till this point, in the background Drazi and the mysterious and unknown Techno-Mages. Episodes such as this are important to any TV show, but they are extremely vital to science fiction television. Fans of sci-fi don’t want to only know the main characters or be limited to what is happening in the foreground. Sci-fi fans like their universes to be rich and full. They want to be introduced to characters that they know are extremely powerful and important even if we never see that power or importance demonstrated on screen. Sci-fi fans want to know what’s going on in the background while the giant war is being waged in the foreground. By introducing the Techno-Mages and showing the political strife of the Drazi The Geometry Of Shadows does all of the above. But, simply doing all of the above isn’t good enough. The episode itself has to stand on its own, and The Geometry Of Shadows can. It is humorous when it needs to be, features character moments, great acting, great dialogue and a story that draws you in and allows you to forget that this is an episode solely intended to flesh out the greater Babylon 5 universe. The Geometry Of Shadows is quite an underrated episode of Babylon 5 that is well worth your time.

Vir’s reactions to Refa are most telling and a good bit of acting by Stephen Furst. By his smarmy attitude and haughty demeanor Refa is immediately an unlikable character, but, there is still some doubt. Until Vir with his facial expressions and reactions lets us know that Refa isn’t a good guy in any form.

The humor in The Geometry Of Shadows really works. From Ivanova’s various interactions with the Drazi to Vir falling over dead drunk to Garibaldi’s Acme speech to the Techno-Mage’s haunting of Londo. All of it was funny and most importantly it made me laugh.

Sheridan’s tough guys speech to Elric is a bit forced and doesn’t come of that well. Neither does his ending dialogue about the Techno-Mages as he watched their ship depart, it was a bit too over the top and sappy.

Michael Ansara did a splendid job as Elric, outside of the cue card incident. The way he chose to play Elric is responsible for most of the mystique behind the Techno-Mages. He portrayed Elric as mysterious, aloof and gave the Techno-Mages a very wizard like fantasy quality about them. Without his performance I doubt the Techno-Mages ever would have become quite as popular among Babylon 5 fans as they did.

The Geometry Of Shadows did have one glaring fault, and that was the resolution of the green/purple conflict. It works on the station, but it doesn’t work for the Drazi as a whole. It’s asking an awful lot of the viewer to make the leap that all of the Drazi the galaxy over stopped fighting and killing each other because of something done to a small group of Drazi on Babylon 5. We don’t even know if that was what happened either, because the fighting on the Drazi homeworld is never given any resolution and that does affect later Drazi actions. We don’t even need to see the resolution, a simple line about how Drazi fighting on their home planet has been called off for “insert reason here” would have sufficed. Because that conflict isn’t resolved we are left with an incomplete feeling at the end of the episode. But, it’s a very minor problem in an otherwise fantastic episode.

Rating:

91/100

A-

That’s all for the latest Babylon 5 review, next up we will take a very long and far away look at A Distant Star.

Cheers,
Bill

Previous - 2.02

Next - 2.04

Dragonlance: Chronicles Volume IV: Dragons of Summer Flame

by: Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

Weis & Hickman were brought back from other worlds to write their last Dragonlance book.  The one to finish off the saga.

This time.  Until they were cajoled to come back again.  And again.  And again.

One thing I have to say though is that Summer Flame would have been the perfect send off so for all the other books that took place later on, they seem almost as if they are pretend and somewhat forced…just because it is the perfect ending.  That the saga continued on for years and novels afterwards did cheapen the tale a bit.

Overall the strengths are the usual Weis&Hickman strengths.  A very well defined and explored struggle of good vs. evil with epic arcs and powerful drama.  They manage to top the Queen of Darkness’ attempt to subjugate the world in the War of the Lance and even Raistlin’s attempt to achieve godhood in sheer insanity as the father of the gods returns to destroy his children and their creation in the world of Krynn.

The overlying problem is that this time around unfortunately, the characters just aren’t worth the time and effort to explore them so you care little about what happens to them.  Of course the older, pre-established characters are fine.  Tanis, Tas, Raistlin, and Dalamar.  But newer characters like Palin Majere, and Usha both fall very flat. Both are more important for their relationships (or in some cases non-relationships) on the surface level rather than who they really are.  There is little real explanation for anything they do.

Steel Brightblade is the antithesis of this as he is a new character that is given enough time to explore and feel so that his nobility and honor are strongly felt by the end of the novel.  In a way though he is more the continuation of Tanis than Tanis’ son Gilthas…or Steel’s own parentage of Sturm and Kitiara.  His warring within himself over whether to choose the greed and ambition of his mother or the honor and sacrifice of his father, is handled actually better than the way Weis&Hickman displayed Tanis in the original Chronicles Trilogy.

Another minor gripe I have is that the pacing is somewhat off.  It starts a little too slowly, taking a long time to build even despite beginning in the thick of things and then the ending comes rushing out of nowhere to an explosive climax.

One thing I was unsure of whether I liked or not was the ghosts.  Long dead characters returning from the grave seemed almost (and note I said almost) cheapen their deaths.  And it’s not a new thing in DL to have that happen, but it was less subtle this time around.  Kitiara and Sturm appear Obi-Wan like in a way they never have before, especially considering what Kitiara’s fate was supposed to have been.  Flint, who has always been appearing as Tas’ conscience is more real this time around and I don’t know how I react.

Raistlin’s return, I did like even though I didn’t think I would.  His comeback is treated well and is plausible in a sense.  Caramon and Raistlin’s reunion was a strong scene.

The death of so many characters made it clear that this was intended to be the last novel and it was almost too much.

BIGGER SPOILERS THAN USUAL:

Steel’s death, was almost too quick.  I wanted more novels to explore him, but it was well done.  Tanis’ death was almost cheap for having been the central character of the Chronicles, but his time had been done and the fact that he never got to see his son fight through adds a weight to it.  The best though is Tasslehoff.  Emotional and the epilogue is worth the book alone.  Touching touching scene.

Again his return later on does cheapen his demise here…although I can’t help but want to read about him.

END SPOILERS.

The only other nitpick I have in the book is Weis & HIckman’s overt style.  Usually overt, this time they go above and beyond the call of duty.  There is little subtlety to the novel as conclusions are drawn by astute and even not astute readers long before they are truly revealed.

Overall though, it’s the story and in that Weis & Hickman still have it.

B+

Southland Tales

Starring: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Seann William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Justin Timberlake, Wallace Shawn, Miranda Richardson, Mandy Moore, Kevin Smith, John Laroquette,  Jon Lovitz, Cheri Oteri, Amy Poehler, Beth Grant, Nora Dunn, Will Sasso, Zelda Rubinstein, Christopher Lambert, and Curtis Armstrong

Written and Directed by: Richard Kelly

Southland Tales is a sprawling, manic, almost directionless film coming from Richard Kelly, famous for Donnie Darko.  With a neverending cast of stars from a to d list, the film is directionless only because it has so much it wants to say.  A dark satire of a post 9/11 America and Hollywood the movie is very frustrating at times, yet it is so engrossing, you can’t turn away.

The film follows a couple of vague storylines all based in a post apocalyptic world.  Nuclear attackshave struck Texas and World War III followed, while the Republicans grow in power, there is a rise of neo-marxists looking to thwart them.

One of our protagonists is Boxer Santaros, played by The Rock himself, Dwayne Johnson.  Boxer is the son in law of the Republican candidate for president, Bobby Ross (a very nice subtle knock on ol’ GW).  He is a famous actor/filmmaker who is the pawn of a neo-marxist plot by Saturday Night Live vets Amy Poheler and Cheryl Oteri, as well as Sarah Michelle Gellar who plays a porn star…quite convincingly.  The Rock is phenomenal in the role and really deserves more exposure as an actor.

Seann William Scott plays a dual role of Roland/Ronald Taverner…twin brothers.  One a Neo Marxist, one a cop.  He is surprisingly subtle in the role, but almost too subtle as his role is overshone by the rest of the cast.

Justin Timberlake is as always entertaining.  You can hate the guy, but he is very self deprecating which earns him respect from me anyways.  His highlight is a drug influenced music sequence straight out of the Big Lebowski.

Shining in their minor roles are Lovitz, playing a bad ass neo-marxist and an unrecognizable Kevin Smith playing a legless veteran of the Iraqi war.

The plot is difficult to follow but the film is entertaining enough that if you don’t want to bother, you don’t have to.  It will still take you along for a ride.  But if you commit to it, you will be rewarded with a lot of meaning.

Overall, it certainly isn’t a film for everyone, but it is definitely a worthy piece of filmaking that I enjoyed.

B

That chick has scales all over her body, so not hot! Wait a minute, the scales are gone, she now has hair and she’s pretty good looking, I approve. Garibaldi’s awake, but based on the crap he’s about to go through for the next four years maybe he should have stayed in that coma. What’s the point of having a secret regime signature hand gesture when you go around showing it to people you tried to kill? Don’t go to the rim appears to be the lesson to be learned from this episode.

Written By: J. Michael Straczynski
Directed By: Jim Johnston

Bare Essentials:

A Plot - G’Kar has found that an ancient force in the galaxy is alive once again on the outer rim. He tries to convince the Ambassadors on Babylon 5 of this, and he dispatches a lone G’Quan Class Heavy Cruiser to scout the ancient enemies home planet and prove that they are back. The Shadows are prepared for their arrival because of Londo’s association with Mr. Morden and destroy the vessel the moment it leaves hyperspace. With no proof the Ambassadors shelve G’Kar’s theories on the returning enemy.

B Plot - Franklin and Sheridan use the alien healing device to revive Garibaldi and with the help of Talia he identifies his shooter as his right hand man, Jack. Garibaldi interrogates Jack and Jack reveals that there are forces at work that Garibaldi can’t even hope to understand. President Clark orders Jack and all evidence related to his case to be sent to Earth immediately, but along the way Jack and all the evidence is whisked away to never be seen again on an EarthForce ship that doesn’t appear on any official registries

C Plot - Captain Sheridan’s sister, Elizabeth, is on station to reconnect with her brother. The Captain reveals he is still reeling from the loss of his wife Anna over two years previous. Elizabeth brings with her a message that Anna left for John before she died and that message helps Sheridan to start to move on with his life.

D Plot - Delenn emerges from her cocoon as a half human/half Minbari hybrid.

More Arc, Less Arch:

Morden’s almost throwaway comment about destroying the Narn homeworld will come true less than a year later in The Long, Twilight Struggle.

The alien healing device makes its first appearance since The Quality Of Mercy. It will be back in a big way in Rising Star and has a minor appearance in Clark’s Law.

G’Quan’s delineations on the Shadows will be brought up again in Ship Of Tears.

Anna Sheridan’s last mission was aboard the science vessel Icarus exploring an unknown planet on the rim. What happened with the Icarus and the planet will be revealed in the episodes In The Shadow Of Z’ha’dum and Z’ha’dum.

G’Kar’s theories on the return of an ancient force that everyone else briskly dismisses will be revealed to be true in the episode In The Shadow Of Z’ha’dum. The planet, Z’ha’dum, he sends the G’Quan Class Heavy Cruiser to investigate will play a huge role in the rest of Babylon 5. Most notably in the episodes In The Shadow Of Z’ha’dum and Z’ha’dum, as well as in the books The Shadow Within and The Passing Of The Techno-Mages: Book II: Summoning Light, and Book III: Invoking Darkness. The fact that the Shadows have Morden tell Londo to notify him of any mention of happenings on the rim shows that they want to stay hidden and are not happy that G’Kar has been poking around their area of space.

The new order that Jack refers to isn’t just Psi Corps, but the entire Clark regime and most notably Nightwatch. This new regime becomes very prominent later in season 2, and all the way up till the end of season 4. Jack’s gesture of a tip of a nonexistent cap and the phrase “I’ll be seeing you” is a clear reference to Bester from Mind War. As Garibaldi later points out this signifies Psi Corps possible involvement in the assassination of President Santiago. He also links this very astutely to Vice President Clark being backed by Psi Corps in an election scandal, that was reported on in And The Sky Full Of Stars, and to his getting off of EarthForce One with the flu shortly before its destruction. All of this will be shown in episodes such as Hunter, Prey, Voices Of Authority, Messages From Earth, Point Of No Return and really hit the boiling point in Severed Dreams.

Who Are You? What Do Yo… Hey, I’m Asking The Questions Here!:

Okay, besides Lennier’s one sided conversation with cocooned Delenn being seven different kinds of creepy and giving me the heebie jeebies, it also doesn’t make much sense. The only other Minbari in history that used a cocoon was Sinclair/Valen and Lennier has no idea about that. This is the first exposure he’s ever had to something like this, how the heck does he know its going to be “soon now”?

Isn’t it just a little bit too much of a coincidence that Sheridan wanders in right as Franklin is about to hook himself up to the machine and work on Garibaldi?

Idiosyncratic Musings:

The fact that G’Kar is willing to set aside his hatred of Londo and the Centauri to confide in Londo about what is happening on the outer rim really stresses how dangerous and powerful the Shadows are. We’ve barely seen them at this point, but little moments like this imprint in our minds the idea that they are a terrible power.

I See What You Did There:

We get a flashback to Chrysalis when Garibaldi was shot in the back.

Say It Again Mac:

This exchange between Londo and Lennier is funny, but the incredulous and matter of fact way that Lennier reacts to Londo’s charge is amazing. Lennier, “Ambassador Delenn remains indisposed.”
Londo, “Indisposed. She’s in a cocoon!”
Lennier, “Yes?”

Another good exchange, Londo, “Why don’t you eliminate the entire Narn homeworld while you’re at it?”
Morden, “One thing at a time, Ambassador. One Thing at a time.”

Lost In Translation:

Elizabeth Sheridan, “She died on a deep space exploration vessel that exploded.” Watch it with that big bad exposition, it’ll poke someone’s eye out.

Lou Welch, “Go ahead, go for it. Make my fraggin’ solar year.” I, uh, I just, there’s really nothing I can say in response to that…

Yes, I Am A Fleet Junkie:

We are introduced to the Shadow’s Spitfire Class Heavy Fighter. The Spitfire is an extremely agile and deadly fighter that is the smallest vessel in known space that is capable of forming its own jump point. The Spitfire can be remote piloted from a Shadow Battle-Crab, but it also can be piloted by a lone internal pilot, although it is unclear whether that pilot is married to its ship like with the Battle-Crab. The Spitfire has the ability to cloak itself and carries an armament of one quantum bolt cannon as well as tractor beams. Like all Shadow vessels it is alive and protected by bio-armor. The Spitfire has the ability to take on any fighter craft from the lesser races and can hold its own with most capital vessels from said races.

The battle between the Frazi and the Spitfire was a bit too melodramatic with the dialogue at the end. But, it did show a Shadow vessel that isn’t indestructible and that can be out run. The Spitfires destroyed the Frazi easily, but we did see a Frazi destroy a lone Spitfire by ramming it and that G’Kar’s Frazi was able to outrun the other Spitfire to the jump gate.

We are treated to the insides of a G’Quan Class Heavy Cruiser. It’s very roomy and large looking. Of course as is the usual it is destroyed after a couple of shots in its “battle” with a Shadow Battle-Crab.

It’s Your Cultural Imperative:

Narn apparently sleep on rock like beds.

I Think This Might Be Based On Something:

When G’Kar tells Na’Toth, “I have looked into the abyss, Na’Toth. You cannot do that and ever be the same again.” he is quoting German philosopher and all around downer Friedrich Nietzsche.

The poem that G’Kar recites to Na’Toth is from The Second Coming by W.B. Yeates. The title Revelations is also taken from the poem.

You Look Mighty Familiar:

Beth Toussaint, Anna Sheridan, portrayed Ishara Yar on the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Legacy.

Beverly Leech, Elizabeth Sheridan played Rita Allen Poe, the wife of a corrupt scientist, on the episode Gimme, Gimme of Alien Nation. She was Catherine Farrington in the episode Sea Bride - June 3, 1954 of Quantum Leap. Finally, she also played Dayla in the Star Trek: Voyager episode Nightingale.

Mary Kay Adams, Na’Toth, appeared as Grilka on a couple of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes.

Casting Ahead:

Mary Kay Adams replaces Julie Caitlin Brown in the role of Na’Toth in this episode. She is a series regular for season 2, but she will only appear a few times.

Mr. Morden is back on Babylon 5.

Garibaldi’s aide, Jack, is back on screen for the final time.

Also on the security front Lou Welch appears again.

President Clark is back on the show, but this is the first time he interacts with anyone on B5, and the only time at that.

Anna Sheridan is seen for the first time, she will be back for a few more eps (with a different actress) and played a prominent role in the novel The Shadows Within.

Michael McKenzie is back again, this time as the navigator on the G’Quan that is destroyed.

James Kiriyama-Lem is back as a nameless med tech in medlab.

That Wasn’t Supposed To Happen:

I’ll discuss this more further down, but the fact that it’s obvious both in the visual and auditory sense that Na’Toth is completely different is a big problem.

The door to G’Kar’s quarters doesn’t close after Na’Toth enters and having to then be ordered shut by Na’Toth for dramatic effect does not jive with how the doors on B5 function. It also makes Na’Toth look like an idiot when she’s straining to read her papers with the light coming in from the open door instead of just turning on a light. Speaking of the doors on B5, the ones where Garibaldi is being held in medlab is quite the magical gaffe. Sometimes they open and close, other times they aren’t even there.

When Sheridan is drinking with his sister in his quarters he finishes his drink, and while he’s walking towards the sink the glass refills and he then has to finish it again.

It doesn’t really affect this episode, but the fact that a different actress plays Anna Sheridan later in the series does hurt the continuity a bit.

The Ombuds Have Decided:

Revelations is an episode that is full of wondrous things. At times it is beautiful in its vision and at other times it is bogged down in errors and clunky dialogue. All the plot points work in Revelations and push the series along as a whole. The acting is superb all around and Revelations delivers enough drama to constitute a well made episode. Revelations does pull you in with its various threads and it holds you tight and makes you care about what is going on. However, there are too many errors and inconsistencies in continuity along with some truly bad dialogue and some things that just didn’t sit right with me (such as the fact that Elizabeth Sheridan is a complete throwaway character) that take you out of the episode. Revelations ends up a good episode, but it could have been so much more.

I’m not a fan of the recasting of Na’Toth. As stated above it is a continuity blunder, the voice is different, the body is different, everything is different about the new Na’Toth. However the main problem with the new Na’Toth is the way Mary Kay Adams chose to play the part. Up until this episode Na’Toth had been strong, assertive and aggressive. But, now she is played as being meek, small and passive. The conversation between Na’Toth and G’Kar in the Zen Garden highlights that distinction perfectly. The old Na’Toth would have stood straight with G’Kar and made it seem like a conversation between peers. The new Na’Toth cowers in the mere presence of G’Kar rending a scared student at the feet of her teacher.

Using big bombastic music that screams “importance and power” to herald the arrival of Sheridan’s sisters shuttle was a very odd choice.

Revelations allows Sheridan to deliver some powerful moments. He shows how blindingly loyal he can be to a man he doesn’t even know when he helps Franklin with Garibaldi. Later he shows how human he is with a scenes full of loss, regret, love and finally acceptance in all of his conversations with his sister, aside from some dodgy exposition from his sister, in their first conversation in his quarters, and his final watching of Anna’s message. Points Of Departure may have been Sheridan’s introduction episode, but Revelations is the episode that brings you closer to him and allows Sheridan to truly become a part of the show.

I love that Garibaldi’s first remark upon meeting Sheridan is, “I don’t know you.” That shows how guarded and defensive Garibaldi is. It also contrasts nicely with Garibaldi’s later interaction with Talia. Garibaldi hates Psi Corp and he doesn’t trust telepaths at all, but he’s willing to allow Talia in his head because he trusts her. For Garibaldi it’s all about trust and those two scenes do a great job of showcasing that fact.

The scenes with reptile Delenn are weird and so out there that they allow you to be completely sideswiped when you find out what she has actually become. No one was expecting a beautiful half human/half Minbari to emerge. We were all expecting some sort of monster, and while some people within the universe think we did get a monster, those of us outside are able to recognize the wonderful job they did of distracting us from what Delenn was actually going to become when she was in reptile mode. This leads into when Delenn is actually revealed, and that scene is handled masterfully as well. The grace that Mira Furlan puts into that moment and the reactions of the other actors when they first see her and the music used give it an aura of being a truly awe inspiring moment.

As much as I love the intensity in the Garibaldi/Jack interrogation scene, what really makes that scene is how it’s shot. The extreme close-ups from odd angles give it a claustrophobic feel while at the same time giving off an old 1950’s crime drama vibe. A wonderful bit of camera work and direction in a scene that is quite masterful.

I don’t like President Clark directly contacting Sheridan about Jack. It’s a bit heavy handed in forcing down the fact that Clark is up to no good and shouldn’t be trusted. An underling of some sort (senate or military) should have been the one to contact Sheridan. As it is it’s a little too obvious in regards to the nature of President Clark when you have him sounding very fake and nervous when talking to Sheridan. Garibaldi’s musings about Clark as well as the later disappearance of Jack and all the evidence were more than enough to let us know that maybe there’s more to Clark than meets the eye, all of that makes his appearance very heavy handed.

I am completely enamored with the fact that in one instant G’Kar has it all figured out. He knows Londo is the leak and he knows the Centauri are in collusion with the ancient force. But, just as quickly as he figures it all out he dismisses it as pure fancy. A brilliant little nugget.

Rating:

81/100

B

Revelations is all done with. Next up we’ll partake in a little wizardry with our purple, or green if that’s your style, in The Geometry Of Shadows.

Cheers,
Bill

Previous - 2.01

Next - 2.03

Everything is going straight to hell! Why is that lady in a cocoon and why is it oozing mysterious fluids? I want to see Keffer die right now, he’s a completely useless character, him and his annoying frock of hair. Just how many inquisitive looks can Ivanova flash at the camera, tune in to find out! As a friendly reminder, if you are a fan of the way the show is progressing and are watching it on DVD, then skip the opening credits for this episode or you will be spoiled, terribly!

Written By: J. Michael Straczynski
Directed By: Janet Greek

Bare Essentials:

A Plot - An exiled Minbari war leader, Kalain, is on board Babylon 5. He sets in motion a plan that brings his ship, the Trigati, to B5 space where they hope to induce another war with the humans. Their plan fails however and the Triagti is destroyed when their fusion reactor explodes following a hit by a fellow Sharlin Class War Cruiser.

B Plot - Commander Sinclair is no more, and Captain John Sheridan has been chosen to take his place as commanding officer on Babylon 5. The Minbari harbor a deep hatred for Sheridan and this hatred is what causes Kalain and the Trigati to move their plan into action. Sheridan diffuses the situation and survives a very interesting first day in charge.

C Plot - The mystery of why the Minbari surrendered at the Battle of the Line is finally revealed. The Minbari captured Jeffrey Sinclair and through the process of torturing him discovered he had a Minbari soul. They examined more humans and found more humans with Minbari souls. Based on this the Minbari now believed their souls were being reborn into human bodies and as such they could not kill any more humans. They surrendered, but they decided not to let anyone outside of the Grey Council know why they were surrendering and this led to the war leader Sineval killing himself while his crew on the Trigati took the ship into exile instead of surrendering.

More Arc, Less Arch:

A very minor arc point, and not even an arc point really, but the crew of the Trigati and their leader Sineval taking his life was first introduced back in the episode Legacies.

Minbari souls being reborn into every generation was touched upon in Soul Hunter. However this is the first time that we are told exactly where those lose souls are going. The revelation that those souls are now being reborn as humans, and specifically Sinclair, was hinted at in And The Sky Full Of Stars as well as the aforementioned Soul Hunter and will be further played out in War Without End, Part 2 and In The Beginning.

The Minbari’s hatred towards Captain Sheridan is prominent throughout the show and is featured heavily in There All The Honor Lies and is only silenced following season 4.

Lennier is talking about the Shadows when he mentions a great enemy that is returning. He’s also referring to Delenn’s transformation that began in Chrysalis and will end in Revelations when he mentions the prophecy about the uniting of the two sides of their spirit.

Idiosyncratic Musings:

Hedronn’s statement to Sheridan about a man “like him” being in power truly showcases the hypocrisy and frankly, the idiocy of the Minbari. Sheridan did what warriors, or soldiers do, he killed in battle. He didn’t slaughter innocents, he didn’t rape or pillage, he killed the enemy before they could kill him. Countless Minbari did the same to humans, and they are undoubtedly in important positions of power. Hedronn’s statement is a combination of xenophobia, hypocrisy and stupidity, traits that are far too common in Minbari and continually show how they are an extremely flawed race.

Sheridan is a drastic change of pace from Sinclair, and acting wise Bruce Boxleitner is a drastic change from Michael O’ Hare. In the show Sheridan is far more straight forward and by the book, he is a classic military leader. He brings more stability to the station, more firmness in his actions, but at the same time he brings more rigidity to the role nor is he anywhere as open to the suggestions of others as Sinclair was. Possibly the biggest difference on screen comes in how the actors decided to portray their respective characters. Sinclair came across as very introspective because O’ Hare played him very laid back, he was more of a thinker. Boxleitner plays Sheridan as a much harder man, he doesn’t think, he acts. Both approaches are valid and it’s interesting to see how both men will handle certain situations the same and other situations completely the opposite.

I See What You Did There:

Jeffrey Sinclair is the first Earth ambassador to be allowed permanent residence on Minbar.

Ivanova previously served with Sheridan on Io.

Sheridan’s fascination with oranges is a character quirk that is very prominent for a few episodes and will then be dropped summarily.

The executive suites and command quarters on Babylon 5 all have functioning water showers, whereas the rest of the quarters use sonic vibe showers.

Sheridan was former President Santiago’s first choice to replace Jeffrey Sinclair if anything ever happened to him.

Sheridan earned the nickname “Starkiller” from the Minbari for his actions in the Earth-Minbari War. His ship was disabled, but he mined the asteroid field between Mars and Jupiter with fusion bombs, sent out a distress signal and destroyed the Minbari flagship the Black Star when it returned to finish Sheridan’s ship off.

At the Battle Of The Line the crew of the Trigati refused to surrender when ordered to do so by the Grey Council. Instead they retreated into exile.

Garibaldi is revealed to be an agnostic, this a very appropriate character trait for him.

Say It Again Mac:

Ivanova, “And as far as I’m concerned, the transports can wait until the sun explodes! And if you’re not happy with the seating arrangements, I will personally order your seats to be moved outside, down the hall, across the station and into the fusion reactor. Am I absolutely, perfectly clear on this?”

Lost In Translation:

Sheridan, “General, with all due respect the last time I made personal contact with a Minbari warship I sent it straight to hell.” Whoa, there tiger, settle down with the 1940’s style bravado why don’t ya.

Yes, I Am A Fleet Junkie:

Points Of Departure offers the first glimpse at an EA Omega Class Destroyer, the Agamemnon in this case. As the show progresses the Omega Class will be the most widely used ship by the EA and will be its real work force. It is in all actuality quite the capital ship, it maintains a crew of 850 and can carry up to 18,000 troops if need be. It has an armament of 6 heavy particle lasers, six heavy pulse cannons, 12 particle lasers, 12 pulse cannons, an array of fusion missiles, and around 18 Mk. II energy projectors. An Omega Class Destroyer houses 36 Starfuries, and it has the ability to carry either Aurora Class Starfury Heavy Fighters or Thunderbolt Class Starfury Heavy Fighters. The Omega can form its own jump point and unlike other EA capital vessels prior to its creation the Omega has the ability to create artificial gravity on board due to its rotating middle section. The Omega Class Destroyer is a very powerful vessel, able to hold its own against any vessel not belonging to a First One or a Minbari Sharlin Class War Cruiser and far more powerful than any war ship found in the secondary races.

This episode features yet another flashback to the Battle of the Line, and as with every instance where we are shown that battle the Minbari forces wax the EA forces all over the screen.

We get to see the Trigati and another unnamed Sharlin Class War Cruiser, but this time they are in action against each other, sort of. The unnamed Sharlin slices through the Trigati with ease and the Trigati is destroyed when it’s fusion reactor explodes. However this really isn’t a good indicator of how this type of battle would go since the Trigati didn’t offer up any fight and wanted to be destroyed.

Babylon 5 uses the EA standard XB7 tracking systems.

It’s Your Cultural Imperative:

One of the aliens yelling at Ivanova in the pre-title sequence is a yet to be described race, the Hyach. The Hyach are a biped humanoid like species that lay claim to the planet of Shir-shraba as their homeworld. The Hyach have tan, bordering on reddish, skin complexion and are easily recognizable by their most prominent feature, their cranium. They have rather normal faces, but they feature a hairless cranium that appears to be two separated bulbous protrusions. The Hyach are a peaceful member of The League Of Non-Aligned Worlds. Despite their peaceful nature the Hyach are considered one of the more advanced and powerful races of the League.

I Think This Might Be Based On Something:

Agamemnon was a Greek King during the Trojan War who was later murdered by his wife. This is a very interesting parallel with B5’s captain and the travails he will endure with his former wife in later episodes. But, the Agamemnon was also a ship in the British Royal Navy that participated in the Battle of Trafalgar.

The speech that Sheridan gives is an abridged version of the speech that US President Abraham Lincoln gave in the annual State of the Union address in 1862.

The lunge club that Ivanova, Franklin and Keffer are in at the end of the episode is Earhart’s. This is of course a homage to famed aviator Amelia Earhart, who was one of the first female aviators to gain any sort of notoriety.

An interesting anecdote is that Captain John Sheridan is a descendant of the real life Union General Philip John Sheridan from the American Civil War.

You Look Mighty Familiar:

Robin Sachs, Hedronn, is a pretty well known genre actor. He voiced the Silver Surfer for a trio of episodes of the mid 1990’s Fantastic Four. He was the dastardly Sarris in the hilarious classic Galaxy Quest. He was also everyone’s favorite evil wizard Ethan Rayne in various episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He portrayed General Valen in the episode The Void of Star Trek: Voyager. He played Hans Dietrich in the episode Nightingale of Alias.

Richard Grove, Kalain, played Colonel Cash in a couple of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman episodes. Fans of the cult classic Army Of Darkness will remember him as Duke Henry the Red.

Robert Foxworth, General Hague, voiced Ratchet in the live action Transformers. He also voiced Professor Emil Hamilton for a bunch of episodes of Justice League. He was Administrator V’Las for a bunch of episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise. He worked with JMS again when he played the role of President Emerson for a couple of episodes of Jeremiah. He was Admiral Leyton for a couple of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes. He played Royce Shelton in the Sympathy For The Deep episode of SeaQuest DSV.

Robert Rusler, Lt. Warren Keffer, hasn’t appeared in anything of note, and there is a reason for that more than likely. Genre wise he’s only had two other roles worth mentioning. He played Ron Grady in A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge. He also played Orgoth in the episode Anomaly of Star Trek: Enterprise.

Prior to Babylon 5 Bruce Boxleitner, Captain John Sheridan, was most known for his role as Lee Stetson for the entire run of The Scarecrow And Mrs. King. But, he was most famous for playing Tron in the cult classic futuristic TRON. Other than those roles Boxleitner has built a career out of B movies and westerns and hasn’t done many mainstream projects until recently when he returned to the screen for a couple of episodes of Heroes as Robert Malden.

Casting Ahead:

Captain John Sheridan makes his first appearance, he will remain with the show until the very end.

General Hague makes his first appearance, he will appear in at least one more episode.

This is the first episode for Warren Keffer, he will be a regular cast member for all of season 2.

Kim Strauss first appears in Points of Departure as an unnamed ensign in C&C, he will be back many more times as many different characters.

Robin Sachs plays Hedronn in this episode and he will back quite a few times in different roles.

Michael McKenzie is back again, this time as the Minbari Captain Vastor of the unnamed Minbari Sharlin.

Mark Hendrickson appears once more in the series, this time as one of the Ambassadors hounding Ivanova in the beginning of the episode.

Jonathan Chapman is one of the ambassadors arguing with Ivanova through the Zocalo, and he will be back numerous times as a bunch of different characters.

Jennifer Anglin, who played Deroon in this episode will make a few more appearances on the show.

That Wasn’t Supposed To Happen:

When Sheridan enters Command & Control to give his good luck speech the door stays open behind him. This doesn’t jive with the doors always automatically closing behind people once they’ve entered C&C.

Hedronn’s statement to Kalain that “we don’t harm our own kind, we never have” is seventy different kinds of wrong. We know that the Minbarui fought and killed each other before Valen arrived, and being a Minbari and a member of the Grey Council, Hedronn knows this as well.

Sheridan says that he destroyed the Black Star along with three other Minbari war cruisers. This contradicts In The Beginning where it is shown on screen that only one Minbari war vessel was present, the Black Star, and that is all that Sheridan destroyed.

The Ombuds Have Decided:

Points Of Departure does a great job of introducing Sheridan, but it is nothing more than an introductory episode. There’s no real drama in the episode because you know the Trigati will be thwarted and that they will deliver nothing but idle threats. Still, Points Of Departure does flow nicely, features a very big revelation, the intro of an important character and despite being clunky in spots it is good for what it is, a rather mundane character introduction episode.

Claudia Christian does a tremendous job of acting in the scene where Ivanova’s discussing the impact the death of President Santiago has had on her and the crew with Sheridan. You can feel how distraught she is and her emotion is very real and evident to the viewer. Christian draws you into that scene with her terrific display of vulnerability and at the stoic nature she brings forth at the end.

On the flip side of that is Ivanova’s conversations with Sheridan regarding his destruction of the Black Star. The acting isn’t bad, but it’s a clunky bit of obvious exposition that doesn’t make much sense. Ivanova was stationed with Sheridan before, his destruction of the Black Star was public knowledge and it was documented and shown on video in the military. Ivanova should have known the method he used to destroy them either as a civvie before she joined the military if they did make Sheridan’s method of victory public knowledge. If his method of victory wasn’t public knowledge, then she should have found out when she did join the military, and especially when she was stationed on IO, where old vets would certainly tell the tale and the military itself would make sure its ranks were knowledgeable about their only victory in the war. I’m not willing to say it’s an accident and place it in That Wasn’t Supposed To Happen, but it’s not a part of the show that made sense in any way.

Continuing that thought, there are times in Points Of Departure where the dialogue is quite choice, but there are too many instances where the dialogue is clunky or doesn’t make any sense. Hedronn telling Sheridan that the crew of the Triagti believe they have been betrayed by their own world and by the humans is an example of this. How can someone feel like they have been betrayed by a group of people that were never loyal to them in the first place. Take the humans out of that statement and it works perfectly fine, but with them in it that statement is a mess of nonsense. In the same conversation Hedronn tells Sheridan that he would answer one of his questions if he recognized Sheridan’s authority. Hedronn has gone to Sheridan to get him to use his authority to capture and detain Kalain, so clearly he recognizes his authority. There are far too many cases of this type of bad, illogical and downright bad dialogue in Points Of Departure.

The huge revelation scene about Minbari souls is hurt somewhat by the awkwardness in the acting. Ivanova and Sheridan provide facial expressions and mannerisms that don’t fit with what they are being told. They are almost blasé about it, not showing any emotion at all and treating this news like it’s old hat. That ruins the effect the big revelation is supposed to have on the audience, because we are experiencing it through Sheridan and Ivanova. They should have either been shocked or acted like it was the most ridiculous thing they’ve ever heard, but instead we were given two people acting like they were in the middle of a boring conference meeting.

I find it incredulous that Babylon 5 would use the same tracking system ten years after the Earth-Minbari War. When you combine the general progression of technology with the boom that war gives to technological innovation it is completely implausible that ten years after the war a high level military station like Babylon 5 would still be using such an antiquated tracking system. It’s not even an issue of them now being technologically advanced enough to track the Minbari, they shouldn’t be, but they should be using more advanced tracking systems than what they used in the war.

I’m not a fan in any way of Keffer being buddy buddy with Ivanova and Franklin right off the bat. It’s been established that Ivanova, Garibaldi and now Franklin are a very tight knit group. People aren’t immediately introduced into their group, you have to work in order to gain their trust and gain entry, as was seen last season with Franklin and will be seen with Zack Allen when he joins the show. I understand that Keffer was a character foisted upon the show by the network, but they could have introduced him to the show without having to include a scene where he appears to be part of the inner group. This will never be touched upon again, because he is a character that isn’t relevant to the core group, and that’s why he should have been introduced as a periphery character instead of shown hanging out with Ivanova and Franklin.

Rating:

79/100

B-

That’s all for the first episode of season 2, my next entry will be all about Revelations.

Cheers,
Bill

Previous - Season 1 (1994)

Next - 2.02

Confirming he had been approached for the role, the Quantum of Solace star joked it would have been too much being both Bond and Thor:

“I would have been on some stupid power trip. Blonde hair and a big hammer? I can’t do it.”

Thor, reportedly to be directed by Kenneth Branagh, is set for release in July 2010.