tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post5094694678959818024..comments2024-03-27T08:49:38.786-03:00Comments on Siskoid's Blog of Geekery: Babylon 5 #9: And the Sky Full of StarsSiskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-52700076127347092812018-11-29T18:25:55.491-04:002018-11-29T18:25:55.491-04:00And it's a much better name!And it's a much better name!Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-56545011889005217512018-11-29T18:20:59.225-04:002018-11-29T18:20:59.225-04:00One thing I just read that I wanted to mention but...One thing I just read that I wanted to mention but didn't know where to put it... There's a lot of B5/Trek animosity that's played up by the fans and JMS to various degrees of fun/anger, but apparently when DS9 were creating the Cardassian secret service they were going to call it "The Grey Order" but then they found out that B5 were introducing "The Grey Council" and so changed their creation to "The Obsidian Order". Which was unneeded but nice of them. Now, I wonder which Dukat/Duhkat came first...LiamKavhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01996095233681105682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-60139515245256058342014-07-31T08:35:39.462-03:002014-07-31T08:35:39.462-03:00That's not just a Trek rule. I might call it a...That's not just a Trek rule. I might call it a mistake, or playing unfair with the audience.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-49725725044326004972014-07-31T07:43:07.497-03:002014-07-31T07:43:07.497-03:00One thing I've noticed while watching this epi...One thing I've noticed while watching this episode... they don't follow the Trek rules for "it's happening in their MINDS!" scenes. So while Sinclair is (apparently) walking around the deserted B5, we get both a CGI shot of the elevator and an external shot of an (unlit) station.LiamKavhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01996095233681105682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-25643774170947933112014-07-19T21:51:58.895-03:002014-07-19T21:51:58.895-03:00Why am I Anon? I'm pretty sure I typed my name...Why am I Anon? I'm pretty sure I typed my name...Cradoknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-62117563087765574352014-07-19T21:50:26.163-03:002014-07-19T21:50:26.163-03:00There's a few places where JMS' intended o...There's a few places where JMS' intended order doesn't work so well, and that's probably the biggest one. In The Beginning is such a product of of when it was made relative to the rest. Between the characters who will vanish, those that stick around acting completely different, a large number of mysteries going all the way up to mid season 4 being spoiled, and all the odd situations and references that only make sense when you already know what they mean, it's always seemed to function much more as a 'cap' to the first four years than as any sort of introduction film.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-61393342365549910612014-07-19T08:54:59.911-03:002014-07-19T08:54:59.911-03:00He compared it to Star Wars, saying if you were go...He compared it to Star Wars, saying if you were going to do prequels, you wouldn't keep the Anakin = Vadar (spoiler warning) studd a secret, because everyone knows it.<br /><br />Might be slightly overestimating the impact of your show on the public conciousness there, Joe. LiamKavhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01996095233681105682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-14613725228874417352014-07-18T09:59:28.388-03:002014-07-18T09:59:28.388-03:00I didn't realise JMS intends for it to be the ...I didn't realise JMS intends for it to be the first episode in retrospect. To my mind it doesn't work very well for that purpose, but that's wholly my opinion, of course.<br /><br />The season 3 titles rock big time.Madeleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-15244538834286253752014-07-18T09:38:36.369-03:002014-07-18T09:38:36.369-03:00(posted on wrong thread. Whoops!)
I dunno. I thin...(posted on wrong thread. Whoops!)<br /><br />I dunno. I think I read JMS saying that In the Beginning IS designed to be watched first. Any potential spoilers (such as Delenn speaking at the beginning, or the flash forward at the end) would most likely be forgotten once you then started on season 1 and were busy wondering where your leading man had just gone.<br /><br />This episode also introduces the "Battle for the Line" music, which is one of the best pieces composed for this show. It's so good that it was retroactively inserted into The Gathering when they did the SE of it, at the point where Sinclair is reminiscing about this battle. And, of course, it's also used for the AMAZING season 3 title sequence.<br /><br />I love that title sequence so much.LiamKavhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01996095233681105682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-50677880615828635952014-07-18T07:22:32.586-03:002014-07-18T07:22:32.586-03:00I loved this episode when I first saw it. It was t...I loved this episode when I first saw it. It was the first one, for me, that hammered home that there was an arc, that mysteries were there to be revealed, and that this show wasn't going to be anything like a one-story-per-episode series. And of course, the X-Files was doing something similar in terms of arc-stories round about the same time, and that was another show I was obsessed with.<br /><br />Agree totally with Ryan re. The Gathering. I'm not sure I even realised there had been a pilot that hadn't been shown in Britain at this point, which I think helps in terms of feeling there was more progression in this episode than there actually was.<br /><br />At the time, I remember being desperate to know exactly what had gone on at the Battle of the Line, and feeling this was the mystery at the heart of the show. It was odd to look back at this plot point a few years down the line, once the mystery was solved and other, bigger mysteries had taken its place.<br /><br />In particular, I remember feeling, not disappointment, but maybe a little disengagement when In The Beginning was released, because there was nothing really new to show us, while thinking at the same time that had I watched it circa Series 1 it would have been a revelation (not, of course, that it was intended to be seen that way).Madeleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-56001313136533535782014-07-16T14:04:53.171-03:002014-07-16T14:04:53.171-03:00It doesn't because Canada is another Worrrrrrr...It doesn't because Canada is another Worrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrld.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-76872891914347346312014-07-16T11:04:20.104-03:002014-07-16T11:04:20.104-03:00Ryan: I've got to try that fisheye trick! As f...Ryan: I've got to try that fisheye trick! As for the waiting game, it's often a byproduct of watching something daily. It's not the same experience as watching it weekly (at the time) or back to back (as you might with DVD TV).<br /><br />Alexander: I FEEL SO BLIND AND STUPID!<br /><br />Radagast: No idea. It possibly aired, I just know I saw it later.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-63590560581065391652014-07-16T10:48:42.840-03:002014-07-16T10:48:42.840-03:00Note that TNT was not the regular broadcaster unti...Note that TNT was not the regular broadcaster until season 5 - the first four aired in syndication like TNG and DS9. I'm not sure which broadcaster (if any) in your area would have picked it up.Radagasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03422101417730536911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-90374228601035590362014-07-16T10:10:28.382-03:002014-07-16T10:10:28.382-03:00This episode also visually seeds a TriLuminary. Ca...This episode also visually seeds a TriLuminary. Can't say more or it's a spoiler.Alex Osiashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-34482487250344902832014-07-16T09:35:52.159-03:002014-07-16T09:35:52.159-03:00The role of Knight Two (who oddly enough is the on...The role of Knight Two (who oddly enough is the one with the bigger role, and even appears first in the credits) was originally offered to Patrick McGoohan. He had to decline as he was going through health issues at the time, so it was then offered to Walter Koenig. He couldn't fit it into his schedule, but that of course ended up working out very well for him as he was able to take the much larger role of Bester. We ended up with Christopher Neame, who's always had a steady career but never become a recognizable name. Though I do really like the thing he does where he seems to be an awful ham while interrogating Sinclair, but is much more subtle in other scenes, giving the impression that the character is deliberately putting on this performance to put Sinclair off his game.<br /><br />The POV shots with the weird fisheye effect were going to be shot with a special camera lens, but somehow it got lost. So the cameraman pulled an empty punch bowl off the craft table and shot through it, and it worked perfectly. This has been your daily dose of the uses of regular household things.<br /><br />The first time I watched the show, I skipped The Gathering, so my impression of this episode was that it actually did show some real forward progress. With the pilot added I can definitely see where it could be frustrating, but I'm still fine with it, as simply knowing there's a plan in place for all this would make me confident that answers were coming, and not mind waiting for them. Unlike, say, Lost, where this kind of thing definitely got on my nerves.Ryan Lohnernoreply@blogger.com