Yes. There are shows that pretend they know where they are going and then those that actually do. In so far as there are some structural weaknesses to the five season arc, they were not JMS's doing.
You may be noticing the difference in the stoic and guarded Sinclair vs. the very open Sheridan. Sheridan is very approachable and appealing. He wears his heart on his sleeve and discusses his feelings. Susan’s character changes almost instantly once she’s in his orbit, becoming more at ease. Her relationship with Sinclair was very professional but it’s on a more personal level with Sheridan. This is partly due to her previous experience with him but mostly due to his disarming nature.
If you ever get to read the three Trilogies (PsyCorps, Centauri and Technomage) you'll find that Morden, despite his being a dark world-class buttmunch, is actually an incredibly tragic figure .. almost worthy of a Greek tragedy. The story you see in the show is the 10% of the iceberg sticking above the ocean... The 6 books of the 3 Trilogies reveal the remaining 90%. They push the tale beyond Epic.
@KittyPouncer There are ebook versions available though a bit tricky to find but not impossible. I bought all 9 Trilogy books back when I could still get them for close to the cover prices. To keep them in pristine condition the ebooks were useful. 😁 He is still a tragic figure in the Great Story. Re: the Morden revelation I stand corrected... I forgot about that one. Getting a bit chronologically challenged I guess 😂
Fantastic episode. So much is set into motion here. Delenn is changed, G’Kar quotes Yeats, and the video of Anna at the end just about breaks your damn heart. Hold tight, it only gets better from here 👍
A neat little detail - if you go back to season one, there's a few shots where you can freezeframe and see a newspaper headline about the controversy surrounding Vice-President Clarke and the Psi-Corps. A lot of stuff was really well planned in advance.
Sheridan didn't destroy a "whole bunch " of Minbari ships. It was pretty much only one... the Black Star... Which is why they nicknamed him 'Starkiller'. And the name of the ship was Teriyaki 😂. Tasty ship indeed. 😊 ( Trigati )
Yes, a solid episode. Love G'Kar's speeches. Excellent comments and predictions. I can't say how accurate any of them were, ... because - spoilers... Be seeing you!
Actually the original opening when it aired was fine, but when they transferred to DVD they grabbed the final version of the opening credits and used it for all the episodes.
Sheridan killed ONE Sharlin cruiser. And survived to tell the tale. Which is more than any other EA captain could boast at the time. It's easier to remember Sheridan's name if you remember that he shares the same initials with Sinclair: JS. Which, coincidentally, arethe same initials from the show's creator, Joe Michael Straczynski, JMS. All the characters had a trapdoor if the actors couldn't continue. Sinclair was actually the second to use it. Lyta Alexander was the first one to be replaced, by Talia Winters. Remember Mind War? Please notice how many things happened about 1.000 years before the series.
Clark put Sheridan in charge of B5 because he thought Sheridan would be a good soldier boy and follow orders, and/or to undermine B5 and antagonize the Minbari. Also, B5 is not a high priority for Earth, so they don't really care much about it or who's in charge of it. Big mistake.
@@miller-joel Guy met Sheridan literally one episode ago and you're out here explaining his personality and the motivation for his posting by Clarke, all things that unfold throughout the season. Yes I'm right and the fact that you're too proud or too dumb to recognize this speaks volumes. There is more to spoilers than specific plot points. Absolutely ridiculous that you can't grasp this. Just shut the fuck up about things you ONLY know from watching the whole series. It's not complicated.
The original plan was for season 1 Delenn's appearance to be like what we saw in the pilot and for the voice to be altered in post production to sound deeper, making it seem as if Delenn was male. Then Delenn's transition in season 2 would've been from Minbari male to Human/Minbari female. Unfortunately they didn't have the time/money/technology to pull it off so they altered Delenn's appearance for season 1 to be softer and kept Mira Furlan's voice as is.
2 new ships this episode: The Narn G'Quan class heavy cruiser, 450 metres long, 200 crew, capacity for 12 Frazi heavy fighters*. One of my favourite ships. The thing chasing G'Kar, 15.3 metres long and that's all I'm going to tell you. Just so you know, the big scary thing with the pink death ray has it's length listed as variable. Be afraid. * Hanger capacity is not canon info, this is apocrypha taken from a selection of table-top wargames.
450, @bizarreabomination ? I usually hear more like 850 to 1400 meters, depending on sites and sources. The spiky fighters, also, are nearly 27 meters, I recall. I suspect the wargames revised data, over time (as did the Into the Fire game, and as Tim Earls did for the size of the W***e S*r, etc)
@@chrissonofpear1384 unfortunately the data is unclear. The information on the G'Quan is taken from the site "The Babylon Project" (No peeking Euan). It lists crew but not length, and only says "hangar" but not capacity. The only given length is from Babylon 5 Wars, but it doesn't state which edition. The other ship's length (same site) cites "Into the Fire - archived website". I'm sceptical after reviewing this, the Frazi fighter is listed as being 17.53 metres, but looks like the smaller ship when they ram. I suspect the 15.3 metre length of the other ship is for the hull only, and does not include the protuberances. I hope this helps, and if you can dig out another source I'm sure the site would appreciate it.
It probably doesn't help your confusion at this point that both of the lead characters in B5 thus far have the initials JS so it's easy to get them mixed up. Sheridan will definitely grow on you. I think it helps that they made him a different kind of character than Sinclair. Sinclair was more of the diplomat who happened to be a decent soldier. Where as Sheridan is the soldier who happens to be a decent diplomat. I won't get into the details of how Sheridan secured the only victory over the Minbari as I'm sure it comes up later. But I personally think that it's pure sour grapes by the Minbari Warrior Caste and that Sheridan did nothing wrong. Have to also say that the new look Delenn is absolutely beautiful.
Sheridan suffers from survivor´s guilt. A nasty habit of humans, blaming yourself for the death of others while you are alive as if you somehow caused the other one´s death, searching for things you could and should have done differently and all would have been fine.
@@MrDdaland I'm going by "In The Beginning" for this as many early episodes have things that are altered later (e.g. Lennier saying there are 2 castes of Minbari in season 1)
@@wrorchestra1 It was once stated, that he took out three other ships (maybe with the one remaining bomb) as well, yeah. When discussing about it with Ivanova, late in season 2.
In the Beginning does show a Minbari ship being rammed by an Nova class destroyer and being destroyed. One would assume that there would be more such cases.
Season 1 gets a lot of criticism but I don't know why. It sets up a lot of later story arcs, some of which don't come to fruition for years. Season 2 is where we start to get hints of answers, and also puts into motion some of the bigger storylines that again don't have a resolution for ages. Where it gets it right is that JMS knew the outline from the beginning. It was flexible enough to take into account problems with actors leaving, but the overall story beats were there from the beginning. He actually filmed the ending years before the show ended so that if it was cancelled prematurely he still had the finale ready to go.
Yeah I've never understood why so many people find Season 1 "lacking" - to me the show hit the ground running right from the beginning and without Season 1 we'd lose a lot of substance and world and character building that helps the impact of later episodes.
Season 2 is a bit all over. Some of the early episodes are not that great. I've watched a few people and some have liked episodes I felt were not that good, or vice versa. I seem to be agreeing with you a lot more, so push through the coming ones, the latter half episodes are the ones people think of more when they think about how good season 2 is, not the ones coming up.
No one did a monologue like Andreas Katsulas (RIP)
You're right, Mira Furlan also played Danielle Rousseau in Lost.
I remember when LOST aired and I heard her voice before she came on screen. I was so excited because I knew exactly who it was.
People getting Sinclair ans Sheridan mixed up during the first half of Season 2 is like writing the wrong year throughout January - inevitable.
JMS isn't like JJ Abrams. He knows what is in the box.
Yes. There are shows that pretend they know where they are going and then those that actually do. In so far as there are some structural weaknesses to the five season arc, they were not JMS's doing.
He also puts everything on the table ... openly ... but you still wont be able to figure out how it belongs together.
You may be noticing the difference in the stoic and guarded Sinclair vs. the very open Sheridan. Sheridan is very approachable and appealing. He wears his heart on his sleeve and discusses his feelings. Susan’s character changes almost instantly once she’s in his orbit, becoming more at ease. Her relationship with Sinclair was very professional but it’s on a more personal level with Sheridan. This is partly due to her previous experience with him but mostly due to his disarming nature.
So well said.
If you ever get to read the three Trilogies (PsyCorps, Centauri and Technomage) you'll find that Morden, despite his being a dark world-class buttmunch, is actually an incredibly tragic figure .. almost worthy of a Greek tragedy. The story you see in the show is the 10% of the iceberg sticking above the ocean... The 6 books of the 3 Trilogies reveal the remaining 90%. They push the tale beyond Epic.
@KittyPouncer There are ebook versions available though a bit tricky to find but not impossible. I bought all 9 Trilogy books back when I could still get them for close to the cover prices. To keep them in pristine condition the ebooks were useful. 😁 He is still a tragic figure in the Great Story.
Re: the Morden revelation I stand corrected... I forgot about that one. Getting a bit chronologically challenged I guess 😂
Fantastic episode. So much is set into motion here. Delenn is changed, G’Kar quotes Yeats, and the video of Anna at the end just about breaks your damn heart. Hold tight, it only gets better from here 👍
A neat little detail - if you go back to season one, there's a few shots where you can freezeframe and see a newspaper headline about the controversy surrounding Vice-President Clarke and the Psi-Corps. A lot of stuff was really well planned in advance.
Yes,Everytime I rewatch the series,I catch someting I missed. I've learned to be aware of newspapers,news clips in the background,etc...
Oh,and watching others watching,find they see things with fresh eyes that I've missed.
Sheridan wasn't at the battle of the line. The destruction of the Black Star happened earlier in the war.
Glad to see you so excited about this show. Its easily one of the best Sci Fi shows ever. Hope you enjoy the adventure!
Sheridan didn't destroy a "whole bunch " of Minbari ships. It was pretty much only one... the Black Star... Which is why they nicknamed him 'Starkiller'.
And the name of the ship was Teriyaki 😂. Tasty ship indeed. 😊 ( Trigati )
When Sheridan explains the encounter to Susan in S2E1 he says he took out the Black Star and three heavy cruisers
@@ciaranirvine Agreed.... But the important one was the Drala Fi (Black Star), which is why they hung the 'Starkiller' moniker on him.
The second in command of the Tragati was called Kallain.
Yes, but I’m calling him Kallai or the Teriyaki from now on
@@txheadshots Yes, it sounds better as it's funnier.
This season always reminds me of Sauron coming back in LOTR & how everyone was oblivious until was almost to late.
Don't feel bad about Sinclair/ Sheridan - several scenes in the "blooper reel" where Sheridan answers "Sinclair"
Teriyaki. Great. Now I am hungry. 😂
You will get to know Sheridan. But many early on forget his name.
Yes, a solid episode. Love G'Kar's speeches.
Excellent comments and predictions. I can't say how accurate any of them were, ... because - spoilers...
Be seeing you!
One thing at a time, Ambassador. One thing at a time.
I am pleased that they changed the opening,the. Original opening gave away an important scene!
Actually the original opening when it aired was fine, but when they transferred to DVD they grabbed the final version of the opening credits and used it for all the episodes.
@Elaine_of_Shalott explanes a lot, I have the DVD set but it has been along time since I saw it on tv(do not have HBO).
Sheridan killed ONE Sharlin cruiser. And survived to tell the tale. Which is more than any other EA captain could boast at the time.
It's easier to remember Sheridan's name if you remember that he shares the same initials with Sinclair: JS. Which, coincidentally, arethe same initials from the show's creator, Joe Michael Straczynski, JMS.
All the characters had a trapdoor if the actors couldn't continue. Sinclair was actually the second to use it. Lyta Alexander was the first one to be replaced, by Talia Winters. Remember Mind War?
Please notice how many things happened about 1.000 years before the series.
One of the things that I have noticed is when a prediction about the future is made it is always true. Just not the way you think.
Spacing is the go to strategy for Mr. Garibaldi
Clark put Sheridan in charge of B5 because he thought Sheridan would be a good soldier boy and follow orders, and/or to undermine B5 and antagonize the Minbari. Also, B5 is not a high priority for Earth, so they don't really care much about it or who's in charge of it. Big mistake.
Sheridan is definitely not a pushover that's for sure!
@@JonesReactions You haven't seen the half of it! Sheridan is going to ... and then ...!
You’re saying way too much. The show said nothing about why Clark did anything or the kind of person Sheridan is. Quit spoiling.
@@WarKrieg Wrong.
@@miller-joel Guy met Sheridan literally one episode ago and you're out here explaining his personality and the motivation for his posting by Clarke, all things that unfold throughout the season. Yes I'm right and the fact that you're too proud or too dumb to recognize this speaks volumes.
There is more to spoilers than specific plot points. Absolutely ridiculous that you can't grasp this. Just shut the fuck up about things you ONLY know from watching the whole series. It's not complicated.
The original plan was for season 1 Delenn's appearance to be like what we saw in the pilot and for the voice to be altered in post production to sound deeper, making it seem as if Delenn was male. Then Delenn's transition in season 2 would've been from Minbari male to Human/Minbari female.
Unfortunately they didn't have the time/money/technology to pull it off so they altered Delenn's appearance for season 1 to be softer and kept Mira Furlan's voice as is.
You make a lot of shrewd guesses. My wife and I were more in the dark when we first watched when it initially aired.
2 new ships this episode:
The Narn G'Quan class heavy cruiser, 450 metres long, 200 crew, capacity for 12 Frazi heavy fighters*. One of my favourite ships.
The thing chasing G'Kar, 15.3 metres long and that's all I'm going to tell you.
Just so you know, the big scary thing with the pink death ray has it's length listed as variable. Be afraid.
* Hanger capacity is not canon info, this is apocrypha taken from a selection of table-top wargames.
450, @bizarreabomination ? I usually hear more like 850 to 1400 meters, depending on sites and sources.
The spiky fighters, also, are nearly 27 meters, I recall.
I suspect the wargames revised data, over time (as did the Into the Fire game, and as Tim Earls did for the size of the W***e S*r, etc)
@@chrissonofpear1384 unfortunately the data is unclear. The information on the G'Quan is taken from the site "The Babylon Project" (No peeking Euan). It lists crew but not length, and only says "hangar" but not capacity.
The only given length is from Babylon 5 Wars, but it doesn't state which edition.
The other ship's length (same site) cites "Into the Fire - archived website". I'm sceptical after reviewing this, the Frazi fighter is listed as being 17.53 metres, but looks like the smaller ship when they ram. I suspect the 15.3 metre length of the other ship is for the hull only, and does not include the protuberances.
I hope this helps, and if you can dig out another source I'm sure the site would appreciate it.
It probably doesn't help your confusion at this point that both of the lead characters in B5 thus far have the initials JS so it's easy to get them mixed up.
Sheridan will definitely grow on you. I think it helps that they made him a different kind of character than Sinclair.
Sinclair was more of the diplomat who happened to be a decent soldier. Where as Sheridan is the soldier who happens to be a decent diplomat.
I won't get into the details of how Sheridan secured the only victory over the Minbari as I'm sure it comes up later.
But I personally think that it's pure sour grapes by the Minbari Warrior Caste and that Sheridan did nothing wrong.
Have to also say that the new look Delenn is absolutely beautiful.
Sheridan suffers from survivor´s guilt. A nasty habit of humans, blaming yourself for the death of others while you are alive as if you somehow caused the other one´s death, searching for things you could and should have done differently and all would have been fine.
Sheridan destroyed 1 ship, only 1. The Black Star (Dralaphi) was the flagship of the Minbari Fleet. That's why they call him "Star Killer".
Some disparity here and later episodes, but definitely killed the "Black Star"
@@MrDdaland I'm going by "In The Beginning" for this as many early episodes have things that are altered later (e.g. Lennier saying there are 2 castes of Minbari in season 1)
@@wrorchestra1 It was once stated, that he took out three other ships (maybe with the one remaining bomb) as well, yeah. When discussing about it with Ivanova, late in season 2.
@@chrissonofpear1384 I believe that was in the season 2 finale. The scene in "In the Beginning" plays differently.
"He destroyed the most Minbari ships out of any human" This is sort of true, but he only killed one!
The account varies. In the dialogue he says he destroyed the Black Star and three cruisers.
In the Beginning does show a Minbari ship being rammed by an Nova class destroyer and being destroyed. One would assume that there would be more such cases.
@@Karle94 JMS says that technically doesn’t count as a victory since everyone died.
Season 1 gets a lot of criticism but I don't know why. It sets up a lot of later story arcs, some of which don't come to fruition for years. Season 2 is where we start to get hints of answers, and also puts into motion some of the bigger storylines that again don't have a resolution for ages. Where it gets it right is that JMS knew the outline from the beginning. It was flexible enough to take into account problems with actors leaving, but the overall story beats were there from the beginning. He actually filmed the ending years before the show ended so that if it was cancelled prematurely he still had the finale ready to go.
Yeah I've never understood why so many people find Season 1 "lacking" - to me the show hit the ground running right from the beginning and without Season 1 we'd lose a lot of substance and world and character building that helps the impact of later episodes.
Actually, the finale was filmed *ONE* year (not "years") before airing. But it was actually the first episode WRITTEN.
Actually you didn't learn everything about Sinclair. You do later.
Will say, you are starting to figure a few things out, but not quite
You do not understand..but you will
He's actually doing VERY well.
Season 2 is a bit all over. Some of the early episodes are not that great. I've watched a few people and some have liked episodes I felt were not that good, or vice versa. I seem to be agreeing with you a lot more, so push through the coming ones, the latter half episodes are the ones people think of more when they think about how good season 2 is, not the ones coming up.
"reaching" ...