16 votes

Babylon 5 S01E02: "Midnight On The Firing Line" - Episode Discussion

25 comments

  1. [4]
    DefinitelyNotAFae
    (edited )
    Link
    I may still be able to quote the entire theme. It's so fun seeing them all so young. I really appreciate Sinclair's contemplative style and Ivanova will grow to be one of my absolute favorite...

    I may still be able to quote the entire theme. It's so fun seeing them all so young. I really appreciate Sinclair's contemplative style and Ivanova will grow to be one of my absolute favorite characters.

    It's very cool to see so many threads set up for future episodes here, not even A plot things, side comments made off handedly that mean so much later.

    Edit: Also "Enhance" (⁠ ⁠´⁠◡⁠‿⁠ゝ⁠◡⁠`⁠)

    Edit again as I got interrupted watching: I forgot how this episode resolved, though I knew the Raiders were involved somehow. But I also forgot Santiago's platform being mentioned this early. Now I want to know more about Marie Crane.

    Did anyone else read the novels? The Psi Corps ones stuck with me but the others were a bit more sporadic (and selectively canon)

    5 votes
    1. [3]
      myrrh
      Link Parent
      ...i read the first batch of paperbacks, yes, although i can't remember much off the top of my head besides that they were terribly formulatic and perennially plagued by writers unfamiliar with...

      ...i read the first batch of paperbacks, yes, although i can't remember much off the top of my head besides that they were terribly formulatic and perennially plagued by writers unfamiliar with the source material simply phoning-in genre filler...

      2 votes
      1. [2]
        DefinitelyNotAFae
        Link Parent
        Interesting I had always thought they were really well done with the selective canon status JMS gave them. But it's been a long time at this point and maybe I'm being overly generous to them

        Interesting I had always thought they were really well done with the selective canon status JMS gave them. But it's been a long time at this point and maybe I'm being overly generous to them

        1 vote
        1. myrrh
          Link Parent
          ...i don't think they were universally awful, but definitely produced on-the-cheap and for the most part their pulp heritage shows through...the whole selective-canon thing was mostly JMS being...

          ...i don't think they were universally awful, but definitely produced on-the-cheap and for the most part their pulp heritage shows through...the whole selective-canon thing was mostly JMS being JMS, although as he became more involved in production of the later books i think they grew a measure of editorial veracity alongside reputable authorship...

          1 vote
  2. myrrh
    (edited )
    Link
    ...holy exposition, kosh!.. ...i haven't watched this episode in over twenty years but tonight it feels like thirty: how evocative is christopher franke's score!..how sumptuous is peter jurasik's...

    ...holy exposition, kosh!..

    ...i haven't watched this episode in over twenty years but tonight it feels like thirty: how evocative is christopher franke's score!..how sumptuous is peter jurasik's performance!..how thick is claudia christian's hair!..

    ...i'm sure i'll have more thoughts this weekend after a full night's sleep but at first blush, so many little teases woven throughout; loved seeing the grand diplomatic stage of the advisory council + league of non-aligned worlds; still don't feel character swaps after the pilot constitute a spoiler; should be labelled S1E01; what a fantastic sortie of fighters sallying-out to meet the threat of the week; costume designs are tremendously emotive; kosh's voice is so much more lush than my memory carries it and did you know that ardwright chamberlain was also a writer for robotech, true fact!..

    ...so, i used to head our university babylon 5 group (before moderating usenet) and besides facilitating tape-trading and printed VHS sleeves amongst fans, we also screened an episode each week on the big library projection-screen, which after blowing up the youtube presentation to properly fill my 4:3 ipad display just a couple inches from my face, i had total flashbacks of similarly-immersive presentation consuming my field of view, albeit at much-greater resolution than my staid S-video DVD collection ever offered...

    (might be a little-bit drunk at the moment; best way to enjoy vintage video)

    5 votes
  3. [2]
    moocow1452
    Link
    aka B5 pilot frfr A question I'd like to bring up is do we want topics for individual episodes, or do we want to break them into monthly or seasonal topics with individual threads for each...

    aka B5 pilot frfr

    A question I'd like to bring up is do we want topics for individual episodes, or do we want to break them into monthly or seasonal topics with individual threads for each episode? (Or just stuff them in TV club?)

    4 votes
    1. myrrh
      Link Parent
      ...i think individual topics work best so folks can pick through them at their own pace, especially if we're only doing one episode per week...

      ...i think individual topics work best so folks can pick through them at their own pace, especially if we're only doing one episode per week...

      4 votes
  4. [7]
    kingofsnake
    Link
    Did Harlan Ellison become an old crank during his tenure on the series or was he always a turd?

    Did Harlan Ellison become an old crank during his tenure on the series or was he always a turd?

    1 vote
    1. [6]
      DefinitelyNotAFae
      Link Parent
      He's never been considered a congenial guy, but iirc JMS got him to seek help for his MH leading to him being diagnosed with bipolar. So probably he was pretty consistent.

      He's never been considered a congenial guy, but iirc JMS got him to seek help for his MH leading to him being diagnosed with bipolar.

      So probably he was pretty consistent.

      3 votes
      1. [5]
        kingofsnake
        Link Parent
        Didn't know it was a MH thing. I have No Mouth and I Must Scream now has autobiographical undertones.

        Didn't know it was a MH thing. I have No Mouth and I Must Scream now has autobiographical undertones.

        1 vote
        1. [4]
          DefinitelyNotAFae
          Link Parent
          Oh I mean I'm not gonna say he wasn't also an asshole. Both things can be true.

          Oh I mean I'm not gonna say he wasn't also an asshole. Both things can be true.

          2 votes
          1. [3]
            kingofsnake
            Link Parent
            He's got this great interview where he describes the time that he, L Rob Hubbard and another guy were sitting around and thought it would be a lark to invent a religion then see how far they could...

            He's got this great interview where he describes the time that he, L Rob Hubbard and another guy were sitting around and thought it would be a lark to invent a religion then see how far they could take it.

            1 vote
            1. [2]
              myrrh
              Link Parent
              frank herbert

              frank herbert

              3 votes
              1. DefinitelyNotAFae
                Link Parent
                I'd always heard Heinlein. I suspect it's a bit of a myth at this point. Ellison said that Hubbard had said the real money was in religion but who was present and whether there was a bet or...

                I'd always heard Heinlein. I suspect it's a bit of a myth at this point.

                Ellison said that Hubbard had said the real money was in religion but who was present and whether there was a bet or something about actually doing it is all a bit mythologized

                3 votes
  5. [5]
    winther
    Link
    While there is a plot that both starts and wraps up - sort of, it is still very evident that everything is part of a greater worldbuilding. It properly feels like we are just thrown into the...

    While there is a plot that both starts and wraps up - sort of, it is still very evident that everything is part of a greater worldbuilding. It properly feels like we are just thrown into the middle of things, with plenty of alliances, previous wars and people with interesting back stories we get glimpses off. The political aspects is what really gets established here, with the conflict between orders from Earth and the difficult diplomatic problems needing to be dealt with far away from home. It has been so many years that I can't remember many specifics, but it all feels very familiar.

    1 vote
    1. [3]
      DefinitelyNotAFae
      Link Parent
      I love the "oh noooo I left before I could give you orders, oops" Mixed with several twists that make that decision less relevant, it still tells you who Sinclair is.

      I love the "oh noooo I left before I could give you orders, oops"

      Mixed with several twists that make that decision less relevant, it still tells you who Sinclair is.

      3 votes
      1. [2]
        winther
        Link Parent
        Yeah that strategy seems to be a stable among spacefaring commanding officers.

        Yeah that strategy seems to be a stable among spacefaring commanding officers.

        1 vote
        1. DefinitelyNotAFae
          Link Parent
          But on B5

          "I recognize the Council has made a decision. But given that it's a stupid-ass decision, I have elected to ignore it"

          But on B5

          4 votes
    2. KapteinB
      Link Parent
      I'm greatly enjoying the worldbuilding. And I really hope we get to see Londo and G'kar strangle each other to death in the epilogue of the final episode.

      I'm greatly enjoying the worldbuilding.

      And I really hope we get to see Londo and G'kar strangle each other to death in the epilogue of the final episode.

      2 votes
  6. [2]
    KapteinB
    Link
    Fun episode with good worldbuilding. G'kar really is a grade A asshole, isn't he. I feel like the line delivery is better in this episode than in the first one. My guess would be they had more...

    Fun episode with good worldbuilding. G'kar really is a grade A asshole, isn't he.

    I feel like the line delivery is better in this episode than in the first one. My guess would be they had more time for shooting so they could do more takes and use the best ones.

    The CGI space fight scene was surprisingly cool.

    I think I prefer the Minbari makeup the way it was in the first episode. Delenn looked a lot more alien in that one.

    Londo has the best haircut in television history. Post your dissenting opinions in the replies. If there are better haircuts out there, I want to see them.

    1 vote
    1. myrrh
      Link Parent
      ...in the pilot, of course; they toned it down a bit for the ongoing series...

      Londo has the best haircut in television history.

      ...in the pilot, of course; they toned it down a bit for the ongoing series...

      1 vote
  7. [4]
    KapteinB
    Link
    Someone want to create the discussion threat for episode 3? I's do it myself, if it wasn't for the whole region lock thing.

    Someone want to create the discussion threat for episode 3? I's do it myself, if it wasn't for the whole region lock thing.

    1. [3]
      moocow1452
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Issue is that Clipzone hasn’t put up the full episode, rather they mislabeled a clip as the full episode. https://youtu.be/5FkQRtSbmiA I was waiting for that to be fixed, but I could post the...

      Issue is that Clipzone hasn’t put up the full episode, rather they mislabeled a clip as the full episode.

      https://youtu.be/5FkQRtSbmiA

      I was waiting for that to be fixed, but I could post the thread without an episode or a link to the Roku Channel copy.

      2 votes
      1. [2]
        KapteinB
        Link Parent
        Thanks for the update! Have they put up episode 4 yet? If so, it may be unlikely that they'll fix episode 3.

        Thanks for the update! Have they put up episode 4 yet? If so, it may be unlikely that they'll fix episode 3.

        2 votes