tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post7930681804522641794..comments2024-03-17T20:50:21.456-03:00Comments on Siskoid's Blog of Geekery: Babylon 5 #83: The Exercise of Vital PowersSiskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-64709284949270497862014-09-29T20:58:25.425-03:002014-09-29T20:58:25.425-03:00I think that the show tries to have it both ways w...I think that the show tries to have it both ways with the Garibaldi plot. There are comments at the beginning from Wade saying that Garibaldi is someone who "doesn't like to give up control", and then Michael says in his own log that he "must be out of [his] mind". Which is all cute, but we KNOW that something was done to Garibaldi's mind. This episode alone begins with Garibaldi saying that Sherdian would never have gone against Earth before he went to Z'Ha'dum, even though he was <i>right there</i> when they declared independence and seemed completely behind it. So whether he's changed isn't the mystery. The mystery is WHAT was done to him, so those cute remarks are oddly placed.<br /><br />I don't know if it's a side-effect of the increasing serialistation of season 4, but by this point I've completely lost track of what title belongs to what episode. On the one hand, I applaud JMS for giving each one a slightly elaborate, literate title. On the other hand, "Tattoo" may be a dry title, but at least I know which one it refers to. Maybe B5 episodes should have alternative Friends-style titles. "The one where Garibaldi goes to Mars and meets Alfred"<br /><br />When I was younger, I pretty much hated Lise. On TV, girlfriends and settling down represented a conclusion of a story, which usually involved the person retiring, at least in a TV-sense. And given a choice between having adventures or a family, the first always sounded more exciting. As I got older I wondered if it was my youth talking. But watching the show again... nope, still hate her. She whines, she cries, she doesn't seem like she'd challenge Michael on any sort of mental level. She's someone who says "it's not about the money" whilst being married to someone at least 25 years her senior who also happens to be one of the richest guys in the galaxy. Hell, even her B-Squared flashback had her as someone who was "you can go be loyal to your friends, or you can stay here with me", and we're obviously not going to side with the person coming between our main cast members.<br /><br />Edgars says that "corporations are running things", which is an oft repeated claim both in the present and many sci-fi shows. It's a very easy thing to say, but I think B5 actually makes a nice subtle point... corporations BELIEVE that they are running things. Politicians believe that they are running things. The truth is somewhere in the middle, and rather more complex than that. (In B5's case, you can add the PsiCorp into that mix.)<br /><br /><i>"I'd say the real twist to Edgars is that after so long building him up as a sinister figure who even indirectly drove Lyta back to PsiCorps, he turns out to be a decent guy with a genuine worry, and who doesn't relish at all the pain he has to inflict to fully remove Clark's legacy."</i><br /><br />You say "decent guy", I see someone who's torturing sapient beings because he thinks that they are a threat. The most evil people convince themselves that they are doing bad things for good reasons. (I think that this is all deliberate, and that comparisons can be made to what Sheridan is doing. But still, for every "touch of human kindness" there are presumably tens or more of telepaths he's infected with a lethal disease and then watched die. Sheridan is giving warning before he fires on potential threats. Edgars isn't.)LiamKavhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01996095233681105682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-80442943006311824122014-09-28T12:13:08.865-03:002014-09-28T12:13:08.865-03:00I get the twist, but the show doesn't play fai...I get the twist, but the show doesn't play fair with us. It's anti-climactic at best.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-48813079767210609112014-09-28T11:33:09.310-03:002014-09-28T11:33:09.310-03:00I'd say the real twist to Edgars is that after...I'd say the real twist to Edgars is that after so long building him up as a sinister figure who even indirectly drove Lyta back to PsiCorps, he turns out to be a decent guy with a genuine worry, and who doesn't relish at all the pain he has to inflict to fully remove Clark's legacy. It helps greatly to have an actor as good as Efram Zimbalist Jr. (who besides Alfred was also unrecognizable as the German accented Dr. Octopus on the '90s Spider-Man cartoon at the same time). And JMS deeply regretted saddling him with reams and reams of expository dialogue that all had to be filmed in a row due to using the same set, but he never complained and nailed every take.<br /><br />Another line that gets nasty in retrospect is Edgars talking about the Russians in 1917 and 2013. Given Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it's eerily prophetic.Ryan Lohnernoreply@blogger.com