Babylon 5, "By Any Means Necessary", S01E12, OAD 5/11/94 *spoilers*

[gchance]

Guide page: http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/012.html

No comments from me yet. I wanted to get this up so people could comment, but I haven't rewatched yet and my memory from even a few months back is bad. :)

One thing though, Orin Zento is played by the guy who was the 2nd Soul Hunter in the early S1 episode. I don't think he acting got much better in that time.

Anyway, I'll comment this evening after some cardio.

Greg

[rorrim]

It was a good episode and I enjoyed it. There was certainly some foreshadowing with Sinclair and how he decided to resolve the crisis. This is the best interaction between G'Kar and Londo we have seen yet and really shows how much they despise each other.

I started watching the series a few weeks earlier than the rest of the group and am a bit ahead. How many episodes are we doing per week, and when should we watch each one?

[gchance]

It was a good episode and I enjoyed it. There was certainly some foreshadowing with Sinclair and how he decided to resolve the crisis. This is the best interaction between G'Kar and Londo we have seen yet and really shows how much they despise each other.

I started watching the series a few weeks earlier than the rest of the group and am a bit ahead. How many episodes are we doing per week, and when should we watch each one?

We're now doing three per week. I post the threads Monday, Wednesday, & Friday. It seems to be zooming right along.

Greg

[Fleegle]

I thought doing a story about the blue collar workers of the station was a very brave move on Joe's part. I don't think we're ever seen a scifi series spotlight the unsung no-names who work on ship/stations. The closest thing I can think of is Mott the barber on NextGen.

[gchance]

The closest thing I can think of is Mott the barber on NextGen.

Don't forget the TNG episode, "Lower Decks (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708745/)". But this is pretty unique. Not only does it show lower level workers, but the episode is mostly from THEIR point of view. There's another episode VERY late in B5's run that's very similar.

I just finished watching. I don't know if it's my age now, my youth when it aired, or just my tastes changing, but I enjoyed this episode MUCH more than I did when it originally aired. In the past it was one of the episodes I didn't much care for in S1, but I was wrong. :)

I also completely forgot that this is the episode that contains one of my favorite sequences in all of B5, the end ceremony with the Narn. Once again, it turns our heads on what we expect. Until now the Narn are portrayed mostly as savage, and even in this episode, Londo describes them as "barbaric". Yet there's that peaceful ceremony in the end. This is just one layer that makes Babylon 5 great.

Things are really tightening down on the station, and Sinclair. The budget's strained. His direct boss, Senator Hiroshi, likes him, but he's about the only one in government who does. Then Sinclair goes and takes a big dump on the Senate. Public opinion is on his side, but now the Senate's looking for an excuse.

Then there's Londo & G'Kar! CHILDREN in this episode. Someone earlier said they really despise each other, but in this episode they're bickering kids on the playground.

"It's mine!"
"No, it's mine!"
"But you stole it!"
"Still, it's mine!"
"Then I'll steal yours!"

The relationship between Londo & G'Kar is just one more layer. Man, I love this show, thanks for watching along with me.

Greg

[gchance]

Interestingly, Lower Decks aired only 3 months before this one did (looking it up, OAD was 2/5/94).

Greg

[Fleegle]

I also completely forgot that this is the episode that contains one of my favorite sequences in all of B5, the end ceremony with the Narn. Once again, it turns our heads on what we expect. Until now the Narn are portrayed mostly as savage, and even in this episode, Londo describes them as "barbaric". Yet there's that peaceful ceremony in the end. This is just one layer that makes Babylon 5 great.

Agreed. I also remembered Sinclair's solution and the ending scene as soon as they mentioned the G'Kwon Eth plant. I remember being surprised at how it reminded me of a Jewish service, what with teh singing prayers.

This show epitomizes the concept of the multi-layered character.

[JYoung]

One thing though, Orin Zento is played by the guy who was the 2nd Soul Hunter in the early S1 episode. I don't think he acting got much better in that time.


He also sucked as Troi's lover.

The A story with the dockers chiefly shows how things are changing on Earth (and not necessarily for the better).

The B story with Londo and G'Kar is quite interesting. These two are a pair to watch.

[gchance]

I don't think he acting got much better in that time.

Holy cow. I think me English is as bad as he acting.

Greg

[gchance]

One other thing I forgot to bring up, which I'm sure everyone knows... this is another callback to Ragesh 3 from the first episode. Londo is getting retribution over the treatment of his nephew & the attack.

Greg

[Craigbob]

Its funny, I just finished reading Kathryn Drennan's (JMS' spousal overunit) intro to her script. This went through a lot of drafts and in the end they made some minor changes to the 1st draft and used that. I love reading the writer's comments on how these things came to be.

Some of the stuff that showed up in here shows up for the 1st time and really adds layers to the characters. Some examples Garabaldi's Granny being a Boston Cop, also shows up later in a most unusual way. G'Kar's Spirituality is another. In Parliament of Dreams we did not see anything about the Narns religion(s) this ep. helped to make amends for that.

[Mars Rocket]

It was a fine episode. Comments:

1. More candles!

2. Ms. Connally looks like she's about to graduate from high school.

3. Garibaldi does accident investigations as well as security?

4. That Zento guy is doing the most overacting I've seen since, well, ever. The scene with him, Sinclair and Connally was hysterical as he chewed through his lines.

5. The resolution to everything was a little to easy, but oh well.

6. I liked the ending scene. It brought a little reality to the character.

[gchance]

5. The resolution to everything was a little to easy, but oh well.

The resolution was easy but Sinclair's got all but one guy in the senate pissed off at him. That can't be good.

Greg

[Hunter Green]

I think Hidoshi's probably also pissed off, but he's a very politic person, playing whichever side gives him the benefit -- usually both.

This just feels more timely now, with the economy here doing the same thing as on B5 and the results feeling much the same, than it did when it first aired. Sinclair's solution seems pat if you don't consider the cost to him -- and if the Ragesh 3 stuff hasn't convinced you by now that this is the kind of show where stuff like that isn't swept under the rug, just keep watching.

However, his solution on the Narn ceremony always struck me as a bit hollow. It's clever, to be sure, and clearly the Narn go along with it primarily because they're desperate for a solution, but it's also patently obvious that the religion already chose an answer to the question of "how do we adapt this tradition to space travel" and just choosing a different answer is not kosher. (I also found it a bit convenient that, of all the times in a year it could be, it happened to be less than one day from an integral multiple of Narn-years, but really that doesn't change anything; if it had been three months off, they would just have done it three months later.)

For as over-the-top as Zento was, the actual conflict and its resolution were very satisfying. Here's an engaging science-fiction story that doesn't involve anyone shooting anyone, no spaceship dogfighs, no chase scenes, no crazy robots, no space-time anomalies, etc. but that's still suspenseful, interesting, and has high stakes. Plus it shines some light on the balancing act B5 has to do between being military, commercial, and diplomatic.

Nice to see our favorite ISN reporter back. And a little reminder of how the government works.

And yes, the Rush Act was named for Rush Limbaugh.

[DLiquid]

He also sucked as Troi's lover.Thank you. I knew I recognized him from somewhere. I never did like that TNG episode.

This episode gave me the warm fuzzies. I loved how Sinclair fixed the problem with the strike while at the same time scoring points with the workers. I thought they did a good job showing big crowds of people, considering the low budget they were on. I think what I liked most about this episode is that it expands on the community of B5, making it seem more real and alive.

[aintnosin]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned, is that this episode was written by Kathryn Drennan, whom JMS describes as his "spousal overunit."