My Journey through Babylon 5

[Cold Fuzz]

Well if you read my review above, you can see I totally agree with this. Everything definitely gets turned upside down at the end, and we have yet to see the true repercussions of all the events that took place here.

I'm curious to see what season 2 has in store and I hope the fallout from all that has happened is well executed. From what I can tell the key to this show is pacing. Nothing is revealed too quickly. There's lots of build up to specific events. And lots of times you are left scratching your head. But I'm enjoying this type of story telling, definitely different from most other shows.

Season 2 is a very different animal than season 1. By the way, in case you didn't know, JMS (the show's creator) gave specific titles to each season, not just each episode. The season title exemplifies what the season is all about and that title will appear as an episode for one of the episodes of that season.

Season 1 (2258) -- Signs and Portents
Season 2 (2259) -- The Coming of Shadows
Season 3 (2260) -- Point of No Return
Season 4 (2261) -- No Surrender, No Retreat
Season 5 (2262) -- The Wheel of Fire

Season 2 will have a distinctly different feel than season 1. You'll see what I mean by the time you finish episode 2, "Revelations." Everything that you've seen near the end of season one, especially the fallout from the events involving the new aliens appearing in "Signs and Portents" and "Chrysalis" will start to come together and point to a certain direction. We also got a glimpse of those aliens when Morden was talking to them near the end of the episode when he ominously intones, "Destiny is on our side." And yes, those spidery-looking vessels are the warships of those spidery-looking aliens but you probably figured that out already.

I think you'll like the first 3 episodes of season 2. All 3 of them are very different from each other but are a lot of fun in their way. The first half of season 2 is certainly faster-paced than season 1 but it does have its share of stand-alone episodes too. You'll find those episodes lumped near the beginning of the season.

[maneth]

Glad to see you're enjoying the show!

Chrysalis is one of those episodes which was set up very early on. Whenever they showed Delenn in her quarters, she was always fiddling with the colored bits of plastic which turned out to be the support for the triluminary. This from possibly as early on as Parliament of Dreams. It's been a while since I've seen B5 last but I do remember it was very early on.

[magictrick]

2x01 - Points of Departure

So right off the bat we get...casting changes!

The only spoiler I read randomly a while ago was that the Sinclair character would be replaced in season 2 so this came as no surprise.

One small gripe I have is that the opening credits spoiled Delenn's big transformation. The next episode is going to be so anticlimactic now I already know what she will look like.

Moving on, this episode finally answers some questions. It takes all of a few minutes and Lennier explains a bunch of things that I've been wondering about for a while. And what a revelation it is. Menbari souls in human bodies, a new dark force, a united front between Humans and Menbari.

I hope they will better explain the whole souls reborn aspect of it all though. Right now I'm a bit skeptical about it as those types of story lines are usually not as appealing to me. I guess I will wait and find out.

I like the actor playing the new captain of the station. He is definitely able to convey expressions and emotions a lot better than the actor who was playing Sinclair.

[maneth]

Michael O'Hare was a bit wooden, I guess. But Sinclair's story's far from over and there's a logical explanation for the soul migration too.

I agree with you on the credits, IMO they should have switched the clip after the reveal in the show, i.e. for the third episode. I don't think they revealed Delenn's new appearance before the credits rolled in the second ep, but I guess you'll confirm when you watch it.

[magictrick]

Michael O'Hare was a bit wooden, I guess. But Sinclair's story's far from over and there's a logical explanation for the soul migration too.

What is the general consensus on this casting change among B5 fans? Replacing the lead in the show doesn't happen that often so I'm wondering what people think.

Imagine RDA being replaced after 1 season on SG-1.

[SaberBlade]

What is the general consensus on this casting change among B5 fans? Replacing the lead in the show doesn't happen that often so I'm wondering what people think.

Imagine RDA being replaced after 1 season on SG-1.

It was very strange change, but put it down to fantastic series direction and writing by JMS or great acting on the part of Boxleitner but the change works incredibly well. It's hard to really go into how amazing the character development ends up becoming because of this change, for both characters.

[Cold Fuzz]

2x01 - Points of Departure

So right off the bat we get...casting changes!

The only spoiler I read randomly a while ago was that the Sinclair character would be replaced in season 2 so this came as no surprise.

One small gripe I have is that the opening credits spoiled Delenn's big transformation. The next episode is going to be so anticlimactic now I already know what she will look like.

Moving on, this episode finally answers some questions. It takes all of a few minutes and Lennier explains a bunch of things that I've been wondering about for a while. And what a revelation it is. Menbari souls in human bodies, a new dark force, a united front between Humans and Menbari.

I hope they will better explain the whole souls reborn aspect of it all though. Right now I'm a bit skeptical about it as those types of story lines are usually not as appealing to me. I guess I will wait and find out.

I like the actor playing the new captain of the station. He is definitely able to convey expressions and emotions a lot better than the actor who was playing Sinclair.

On my initial viewing of Babylon 5 back in the 90s, I ended up regularly watching the show at season 2 not season 1. Why? It was Boxleitner's performance as Sheridan in "Points of Departure" that really won me over. That and the backstory about the link between Minbari and human souls as well as the build-up of the coming darkness pretty much made me want to tune in to every single week to see what was coming next.

I thought he was a much more dynamic and charismatic leader than Sinclair was but it just come down to a vast difference in command styles. I believe that both were very competent.

I appreciated Michael O'Hare's performance as Sinclair a lot more on my second viewing of season 1, ftw. It was only I found out about what his ultimate destiny was that my opinion of his performance changed. His character and performance made so much more sense after that.

It was very strange change, but put it down to fantastic series direction and writing by JMS or great acting on the part of Boxleitner but the change works incredibly well. It's hard to really go into how amazing the character development ends up becoming because of this change, for both characters.

Sheridan has a certain intangible quality as a leader. I don't know if it's something that can be taught or learned. But he has it and it inspires loyalty in his followers. That kind of charisma is what differentiates a good leader from someone who's just another boss.

[LoneStar1836]

What is the general consensus on this casting change among B5 fans? Replacing the lead in the show doesn't happen that often so I'm wondering what people think.

Imagine RDA being replaced after 1 season on SG-1.

Back then I came into B5 late...somewhere in the third season is where I think I started watching...so never saw Michael O'Hare until I finally got to see the first season but by then I already loved the show enough to mostly ignore the acting. I am glad for the change though as I think they did an excellent job with the way they wrote it and how Sinclair fit with the overall story. It's like it was planned to be like that from the beginning. Personally I like Boxleitner much better as I'd already watched him in other things. The other guy was a bit stiff, but I still appreciated the character he played even though I like Sheridan better.


Replacing Jack's another thing though. Not sure I'd have watched SG-1 if RDA hadn't been the lead as he was a big reason I started watching it in the first place.

[Terra Atlantus]

I love the change, Bruce Boxleitner is very well known in Sweden for his role in the show "How the West Was Won" (with James Arness, R.I.P), it's a very iconic show for many of us an it's been shown almost every other years since it's debut.

[magictrick]

2x02 - Revelations

Hey look Delenn looks different, oh wait I already knew that from the intro credits, way to spoil the surprise All those Delenn scenes were so anti-climactic.

This episode is aptly named revelations, because there are quite a few, although the previous episode provided some as well. I can sort of tell the difference in Na'toth as well with the different actress starting this season. I can say so far I like the previous one better.

So an old, powerful race of aliens exists. Now where have I heard this plot before, hmm...

I'm sure the story line will be good though. What are there intentions? Are they bent on galactic domination? Just how powerful are they? All questions I'm sure I'll find the answer to soon enough. I think I'm most interested in finding out how the Vorlons react to this.

The new captain continues to do a decent job running the station and good to see Garibaldi back. I liked that moment between the captain and doc when it came to the healing device.

On a side note, is captain a higher rank than commander?

[Cold Fuzz]

2x02 - Revelations

Hey look Delenn looks different, oh wait I already knew that from the intro credits, way to spoil the surprise All those Delenn scenes were so anti-climactic.

This episode is aptly named revelations, because there are quite a few, although the previous episode provided some as well. I can sort of tell the difference in Na'toth as well with the different actress starting this season. I can say so far I like the previous one better.

So an old, powerful race of aliens exists. Now where have I heard this plot before, hmm...

I'm sure the story line will be good though. What are there intentions? Are they bent on galactic domination? Just how powerful are they? All questions I'm sure I'll find the answer to soon enough. I think I'm most interested in finding out how the Vorlons react to this.

The new captain continues to do a decent job running the station and good to see Garibaldi back. I liked that moment between the captain and doc when it came to the healing device.

On a side note, is captain a higher rank than commander?

An ancient, powerful race. You'll see the extent of their power soon enough. You've already gotten glimpses of it in "Signs and Portents" and "Chrysalis." Here's some food for thought about these aliens: Of the major governments (not counting the Vorlons), the oldest would be the Minbari Federation and the youngest would be the Narn Regime. If I were to rank the major governments (again not counting the Vorlons) technologically speaking, we'd get the following:

Minbari Federation
Centauri Republic
Earth Alliance
Narn Regime
League of Non-Aligned Worlds

Now keep in mind that the Narns are only nominally above the League as their have similar technologies with the Drazi and other factions. We've seen one major engagement and one minor engagement between the Narns and these aliens, with the former being the massacre at Quadrant 37 and the latter being G'Kar in addition to two Narn fighters contending with a small group of aliens fighters near the area of Z'ha'dum. (You'll eventually find it impossible to forget that name). Even though the Narns were numerically superior, they couldn't even make a dent in the aliens' defenses. That should give you a hint as to the strengths of their defensive powers. You have yet to see the true strength of their offensive power.

As for your point about how the Vorlons would react to all this: I won't reveal anything you haven't already seen. I will only point out how Kosh confronted Morden in that corridor in "Signs and Portents"... and how at the end of the episode, Kosh was requesting the command staff for materials to help repair his encounter suit.


Is a captain a higher rank than a commander? Yes. Here's the chain of command on EarthForce officers

General
Colonel
Major
Captain
Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Full Lieutenant
Lieutenant Jr. Grade

It's kind of a strange fusion between traditional naval and army ranks.

[magictrick]

As for your point about how the Vorlons would react to all this: I won't reveal anything you haven't already seen. I will only point out how Kosh confronted Morden in that corridor in "Signs and Portents"... and how at the end of the episode, Kosh was requesting the command staff for materials to help repair his encounter suit.

I had totally forgotten about that encounter. I noticed there are A LOT of these brief yet important events throughout this series so I'm not surprised this one slipped my mind. I think these types of things are crucial to a saga though. There are shows where lots of these events happen and then we never hear about them again. Its great to see a show where almost every little detail plays a role in a future episode.

Is a captain a higher rank than a commander? Yes. Here's the chain of command on EarthForce officers

General
Colonel
Major
Captain
Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Full Lieutenant
Lieutenant Jr. Grade

It's kind of a strange fusion between traditional naval and army ranks.

Yea I figured as much. The titles I was hearing didn't seem to belong to just one order.

How does Garibaldi get classified in all this as Chief of Security? Is he part of the EarthForce officers?

[Cold Fuzz]

I had totally forgotten about that encounter. I noticed there are A LOT of these brief yet important events throughout this series so I'm not surprised this one slipped my mind. I think these types of things are crucial to a saga though. There are shows where lots of these events happen and then we never hear about them again. Its great to see a show where almost every little detail plays a role in a future episode.

Babylon 5 has its share of stand-alone episodes. However, the bulk of its storytelling is in its very tightly constructed arc. That incident in "Signs and Portents" implies certain things about Kosh and Morden. Think about what those may be... and then think about the larger implications. I won't spell it out for you but just from that one scene alone, you can actually deduce a lot.

Yea I figured as much. The titles I was hearing didn't seem to belong to just one order.

How does Garibaldi get classified in all this as Chief of Security? Is he part of the EarthForce officers?

According to JMS, Garibaldi's official rank is Chief Warrant Officer. As technically an NCO, he's higher in rank than a sergeant and all other enlisted ranks but below the lowest commissioned officer rank, which is lieutenant JG.

[magictrick]

Babylon 5 has its share of stand-alone episodes. However, the bulk of its storytelling is in its very tightly constructed arc. That incident in "Signs and Portents" implies certain things about Kosh and Morden. Think about what those may be... and then think about the larger implications. I won't spell it out for you but just from that one scene alone, you can actually deduce a lot.

It seems a lot of things tie back to that episode. I don't remember all the details either, except the major events. That encounter between the two of them was so brief too and seemed so insignificant (obviously the opposite now that I look at it) at the time. The best way to find out would be to continue watching I have a lot of shows to watch at the moment and not a lot of free time to do it

[magictrick]

2x03 - The Geometry of Shadows

I don't know what to think about some of these episodes. There's the dark, serious tones that are part of one story line and then there's the more light-hearted, SG-1 style plot lines as well. I'm of course talking about the techno-mage vs the Drazi.

I think B5 just has its own unique style that I can't quite compare to anything else. Its not as light as SG-1 but not as dark as BSG. Its not as weird as Farscape either. I guess for now it is in its own league

Now back to the episode. A well-deserved promotion for Ivanova. Garibaldi saves the day. And techno-mages just look plain awesome.

There are also more subtle hints from the mages about the darkness that is coming. I wonder if we will see them again and what role, if any, they will play in what is to come? I really liked Elric though. That's the type of guy you don't want to mess with, and Londo found out the hard way (Narn opera ftw!) Hope to see him again.

I thought Ivanova's interaction with the Drazi was well done. Especially at the end when she takes the green ribbon. Did a good job on putting a comic relief spin on a serious conflict.