tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post8052793765367994621..comments2024-03-27T08:49:38.786-03:00Comments on Siskoid's Blog of Geekery: Babylon 5 #29: Spider in the WebSiskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-61138396009203968512014-08-07T18:51:56.729-03:002014-08-07T18:51:56.729-03:00I think this is the first instance of the old seas...I think this is the first instance of the old season 1 standby of "Earth senator give JS grief in the style of a Star Trek Admiral".<br /><br />Personal fact: I watched B5 before I ever saw Grease, so my first thought when I saw it was "Wow, Zack can <i>move</i>!" The point where I realised that I could hear Zack every time the Grease Lightning played in my student union blew my mind. I have no idea if JMS intended him for a bigger role, but he does get a bit "Jeff Conway AS Zack Allen" credit, and since he doesn't do much I have to assume they were planning on using him again. Maybe the actor playing Lou Welch was already asking for more money...<br /><br />Thi story of Mars Independence has extra resonance at the moment, with the Scottish independence vote next month. We should probably be thankful that there isn't a Mars equivalent of Alex Salmond, or I'd have thrown my shoe at the TV.LiamKavhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01996095233681105682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-36301932527639281572014-08-06T20:18:00.623-03:002014-08-06T20:18:00.623-03:00I've seen most of the series once, on a daily ...I've seen most of the series once, on a daily schedule in the late 90s. That's it.<br /><br />But I haven't read any comments that have ruined it for me.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-23986940803368827082014-08-06T19:04:01.639-03:002014-08-06T19:04:01.639-03:00JMS did say that Bureau 13 was probably responsibl...JMS did say that Bureau 13 was probably responsible for the kidnapping of Sinclair back in "The Sky Full Of Stars". And he also points out that super secret organisations probably change their name fairly often. So Bureau 13 isn't said by name again, but the organisation (or what was behind the organisation) does continue to play a part in the story.<br /><br />Also, on that, I get the feeling this is your second viewing and you rememeber some bits more than others. I get the feeling people are trying to be careful with spoilers in that "and, of course, in 10 episodes time Londo grows wings and eats Vir, which is set up in this episode by him liking chicken", but there are some things where we do skirt a bit close to the bone ("Mind War" was possibly an example). So if you want us to tone it back, please shout at us. It's very easy for nerds/fans to gush about "ooh, the forshadowing", but we do need to be told.LiamKavhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01996095233681105682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-67053178293577534912014-08-05T16:45:05.875-03:002014-08-05T16:45:05.875-03:00Bureau 13 is more or less abandoned after this? Ho...Bureau 13 is more or less abandoned after this? How disappointing.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-7689391328994895372014-08-05T10:39:40.214-03:002014-08-05T10:39:40.214-03:00The television medium may provide better opportuni...The television medium may provide better opportunities than any other for telling big, epic, long term stories, but paradoxically there's also an aspect to it that can seriously compromise such a story: once an episode airs, it's out of your control. People have seen it, and it's irreversibly part of your show's canon, even if difficulties arise that prevent you from making proper use of it. Such is the case with Bureau 13, a name Larry DiTillio came up with on his own, not knowing it was also being used in a popular role playing game at the time who promptly accused B5 of ripping them off. Besides the name there was nothing similar between the two Bureau 13s, but as often happens, the mere threat of a lawsuit made JMS back down and the setup here was left as a simple aberration in a mostly sensical story. Though he did eventually fold a lot of what was planned for them into the Psi-Corps story, and the Mars storyline will continue to develop from this point, so it wasn't a total loss.<br /><br />Michael Beck never got the career he deserved. His work here, and in his most famous role in Walter Hill's cult classic The Warriors, definitely show he had the chops to make it big, but for whatever reason he was consigned to cheesy action movies for most of his career and is now barely remembered. Thankfully that wasn't the case for Jessica Walter, then best known for Play Misty for Me but now beloved as Lucille Bluth from Arrested Development.Ryan Lohnernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-35847908868064476702014-08-05T08:49:13.684-03:002014-08-05T08:49:13.684-03:00By now in the series, it's absolutely clear (a...By now in the series, it's absolutely clear (at least in my mind) that we're better off with Sheridan. He's warm, he moves the story along, he is the sort of commander who should have been in place from day one.<br /><br />I don't think JMS necessarily understood from the outset that you need that relatable main character for a show to work. JMS was probably thinking that it's going to be a novel for TV, and in a novel you can more successfully spread it out so that each character is a semi-equal part of the story, and it's the story that holds the reader's attention. Not so with television and dull viewers like ol' Anonymous here: if I don't see someone on the screen who makes me say "oh yeah, I want to see what happens to him or her next", I'll probably change the channel.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com