B5, S02E01-3
Jan. 29th, 2012 10:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sabotabbyYeah, let's keep going with this. It's increasingly fun.
Points of Departure: Well, that’s a lot more change than I’m used to.
- Sinclair has (as i09.com put it) been recalled to Earth for bad acting. Later we find out that he’s been sent to Minbar to be their ambassador/fulfill his boring destiny that I don’t care about. I suppose putting him on a bus is better than dropping a bridge on him, but for the lead of the show, I’d expect a more dramatic send-off. Oh well. I wasn’t actually attached to him or his storyline, so I’m not going to complain too much.
- The new B5 captain is John Sheridan. He looks like he stepped out of the 50s. Does anyone have hair like that anymore? It’s epic. Anyway, about Sheridan: Like Sinclair, he fought in the Earth-Minbari war; unlike Sheridan, however, the Minbari hate his guts. I already like him. Ivanova served under him and seems happy to see him, and he gives awkward speeches. So, tentative approval.
- The actors who play Garibaldi and Delenn have the easiest gig ever. Garibaldi is still in a coma, Delenn is still in an increasingly grody cocoon. The Minbari are not happy that Delenn is in a cocoon, and no one is happy that Garibaldi is in a coma.
- G’Kar is off doing—actually, no one knows where G’Kar is. I’m going to just guess that he’s discovering all about Londo’s six prehensile dicks, since Londo isn’t in this episode either.
- Na’Toth has apparently been re-cast. I hope the new actor is good; I like Na’Toth a lot.
- Delenn looks weird in the opening credits, like the make-up artist just gave up or something. (Yes, I can guess where this plot point is going.)
- Talia has better hair. Less Ayn Rand-y. I like it.
- Oh, the opening credits are stupid now. I hate them far worse than the first season’s, which I didn’t think was even possible. At least they kept the theme song, which I did like, at the end.
- There is a new guy, I guess because there was not enough fanservice for those who like watching guys. He appears in one scene and everyone seems to know who he is.
So the plot revolves around Sheridan coming to the station, obviously, on orders of the President (which one? Dead No-Chin or Too Many Chins?) and against the wishes of the Minbari. He wants to give an awkward speech but is interrupted by Surprise!Minbari warship that didn’t exactly surrender after the war as disappear for 12 years and is now back for REVENGE. Sheridan handles it with great aplomb, but it’s not enough to make the Minbari like him.
And we find out why the Minbari surrendered just when they were going to kick some Earther ass. The answer disappoints me. The Minbari believe that their souls are reincarnated into new bodies. They are “diminishing”—oh God, they are space elves—both in quantity and quality. The Grey Council finds out that the missing souls are being reincarnated into humans. Sinclair was the first one of the reincarnated Minbari that they encountered. I think I hate this plot on every possible level and hope it goes away now that Sinclair is off the show.
Oh, and Sheridan does get to finish his awkward speech at the end but no one is around to hear it. Heh.
Revelations: OH GOODY A POLITICAL CONSPIRACY!
I totally called it on Too Many Chins being evil. Go me! I mean, it was telegraphed from a mile away but still.
Londo appears, finally, and starts being bitchy to everyone. I love you, Londo, never leave me again. “Investigating new career opportunities as a butterfly,” haha. I want him and Ivanova to have a sarcasm-off.
So, G’Kar is off investigating what happened to the Narn outpost. Conclusion: shadowy enemy from the past, as written in an actual book that is made out of paper. Na’Toth’s new actor is prettier. Doctor Boring uses the Alien Plot Device to revive Garibaldi, who, with the help of Talia, figures out that it was his aide who shot him. Interference from Too Many Chins allows the guy to get away.
Delenn is also back, after some cocoon grossness. She’s now mostly human looking. Called that too. I’d have vastly preferred a butterfly, but oh well.
LONDO STOP TALKING TO MORDEN DON’T YOU SEE HOW CREEPY HE IS?
Sheridan has angst in his past regarding a dead wife that is resolved in a single episode. The dead wife is hilarious looking. Apparently Sheridan married an 80s pop star. Fortunately, they only show her from the shoulders up so we don’t see her acid-washed jeans. Because you know she was wearing acid-washed jeans.
Oh, and G’Kar recites Yeats’ “The Second Coming” to Na’Toth, because ominous. I am excited for this season and the terrifying Shadow ships.
Geometry of Shadows: Speaking of shadows…
Londo is plotting with another Centauri, Refa, to seize control when the Emperor dies. To this effect, he tries to enlist technomages—technomages!—to give him an endorsement. The main technomage is named Elric, because why not? They are spooky and hang out in hallways, conjuring up CGIs. Elric tells Londo not to meddle in the affairs of wizards. Seriously. This is the nerdliest show ever. <3 <3 <3
Er, so after cursing Londo with spam and Narn opera, Elric tells Londo that he will grow up to be Space Hitler. Dun dun dun!
Meanwhile, Sheridan scores another point with me by promoting Ivanova to commander. There’s a catch, though, which is that she has to settle a hilarious subplot that I love. It involves aliens called the Drazi. Every five years, the Drazi hold a draw—half draw green sashes, half draw purple sashes. Then the Green Drazi and the Purple Drazi beat the shit out of each other until one side wins and becomes the dominant culture. This seems like a good system to me, but the Drazi fights are inconveniencing everyone else at the station, so Ivanova has to find a peaceful solution. To me, the peaceful solution would be to sell tickets to whomever wants to watch them duke it out, but no one is promoting me to commander. Anyway, her first attempt results in a riot, wherein she breaks her foot. Her second attempt results in her being held hostage. Her third attempt gets her promoted to Green Drazi leader. They don’t pay this woman enough. Nice political commentary on the arbitrary silliness of nationalism, though. It's a little more subtle than the Star Trek episode with the half-black, half-white guys, and about a gazillion times funnier.
Oh, and Garibaldi gets his game back, finally, after rescuing Ivanova from the Drazi. Incidentally, I hope they do something about his hair soon. He somehow developed an enormous bald spot, I guess while in a coma. When that happens one should just shave one’s head or get a fetching hat, or both.
Reading this over, a disproportionate amount of my commentary seems to be about unfortunate haircuts. I guess I'm not that good a nerd.
Points of Departure: Well, that’s a lot more change than I’m used to.
- Sinclair has (as i09.com put it) been recalled to Earth for bad acting. Later we find out that he’s been sent to Minbar to be their ambassador/fulfill his boring destiny that I don’t care about. I suppose putting him on a bus is better than dropping a bridge on him, but for the lead of the show, I’d expect a more dramatic send-off. Oh well. I wasn’t actually attached to him or his storyline, so I’m not going to complain too much.
- The new B5 captain is John Sheridan. He looks like he stepped out of the 50s. Does anyone have hair like that anymore? It’s epic. Anyway, about Sheridan: Like Sinclair, he fought in the Earth-Minbari war; unlike Sheridan, however, the Minbari hate his guts. I already like him. Ivanova served under him and seems happy to see him, and he gives awkward speeches. So, tentative approval.
- The actors who play Garibaldi and Delenn have the easiest gig ever. Garibaldi is still in a coma, Delenn is still in an increasingly grody cocoon. The Minbari are not happy that Delenn is in a cocoon, and no one is happy that Garibaldi is in a coma.
- G’Kar is off doing—actually, no one knows where G’Kar is. I’m going to just guess that he’s discovering all about Londo’s six prehensile dicks, since Londo isn’t in this episode either.
- Na’Toth has apparently been re-cast. I hope the new actor is good; I like Na’Toth a lot.
- Delenn looks weird in the opening credits, like the make-up artist just gave up or something. (Yes, I can guess where this plot point is going.)
- Talia has better hair. Less Ayn Rand-y. I like it.
- Oh, the opening credits are stupid now. I hate them far worse than the first season’s, which I didn’t think was even possible. At least they kept the theme song, which I did like, at the end.
- There is a new guy, I guess because there was not enough fanservice for those who like watching guys. He appears in one scene and everyone seems to know who he is.
So the plot revolves around Sheridan coming to the station, obviously, on orders of the President (which one? Dead No-Chin or Too Many Chins?) and against the wishes of the Minbari. He wants to give an awkward speech but is interrupted by Surprise!Minbari warship that didn’t exactly surrender after the war as disappear for 12 years and is now back for REVENGE. Sheridan handles it with great aplomb, but it’s not enough to make the Minbari like him.
And we find out why the Minbari surrendered just when they were going to kick some Earther ass. The answer disappoints me. The Minbari believe that their souls are reincarnated into new bodies. They are “diminishing”—oh God, they are space elves—both in quantity and quality. The Grey Council finds out that the missing souls are being reincarnated into humans. Sinclair was the first one of the reincarnated Minbari that they encountered. I think I hate this plot on every possible level and hope it goes away now that Sinclair is off the show.
Oh, and Sheridan does get to finish his awkward speech at the end but no one is around to hear it. Heh.
Revelations: OH GOODY A POLITICAL CONSPIRACY!
I totally called it on Too Many Chins being evil. Go me! I mean, it was telegraphed from a mile away but still.
Londo appears, finally, and starts being bitchy to everyone. I love you, Londo, never leave me again. “Investigating new career opportunities as a butterfly,” haha. I want him and Ivanova to have a sarcasm-off.
So, G’Kar is off investigating what happened to the Narn outpost. Conclusion: shadowy enemy from the past, as written in an actual book that is made out of paper. Na’Toth’s new actor is prettier. Doctor Boring uses the Alien Plot Device to revive Garibaldi, who, with the help of Talia, figures out that it was his aide who shot him. Interference from Too Many Chins allows the guy to get away.
Delenn is also back, after some cocoon grossness. She’s now mostly human looking. Called that too. I’d have vastly preferred a butterfly, but oh well.
LONDO STOP TALKING TO MORDEN DON’T YOU SEE HOW CREEPY HE IS?
Sheridan has angst in his past regarding a dead wife that is resolved in a single episode. The dead wife is hilarious looking. Apparently Sheridan married an 80s pop star. Fortunately, they only show her from the shoulders up so we don’t see her acid-washed jeans. Because you know she was wearing acid-washed jeans.
Oh, and G’Kar recites Yeats’ “The Second Coming” to Na’Toth, because ominous. I am excited for this season and the terrifying Shadow ships.
Geometry of Shadows: Speaking of shadows…
Londo is plotting with another Centauri, Refa, to seize control when the Emperor dies. To this effect, he tries to enlist technomages—technomages!—to give him an endorsement. The main technomage is named Elric, because why not? They are spooky and hang out in hallways, conjuring up CGIs. Elric tells Londo not to meddle in the affairs of wizards. Seriously. This is the nerdliest show ever. <3 <3 <3
Er, so after cursing Londo with spam and Narn opera, Elric tells Londo that he will grow up to be Space Hitler. Dun dun dun!
Meanwhile, Sheridan scores another point with me by promoting Ivanova to commander. There’s a catch, though, which is that she has to settle a hilarious subplot that I love. It involves aliens called the Drazi. Every five years, the Drazi hold a draw—half draw green sashes, half draw purple sashes. Then the Green Drazi and the Purple Drazi beat the shit out of each other until one side wins and becomes the dominant culture. This seems like a good system to me, but the Drazi fights are inconveniencing everyone else at the station, so Ivanova has to find a peaceful solution. To me, the peaceful solution would be to sell tickets to whomever wants to watch them duke it out, but no one is promoting me to commander. Anyway, her first attempt results in a riot, wherein she breaks her foot. Her second attempt results in her being held hostage. Her third attempt gets her promoted to Green Drazi leader. They don’t pay this woman enough. Nice political commentary on the arbitrary silliness of nationalism, though. It's a little more subtle than the Star Trek episode with the half-black, half-white guys, and about a gazillion times funnier.
Oh, and Garibaldi gets his game back, finally, after rescuing Ivanova from the Drazi. Incidentally, I hope they do something about his hair soon. He somehow developed an enormous bald spot, I guess while in a coma. When that happens one should just shave one’s head or get a fetching hat, or both.
Reading this over, a disproportionate amount of my commentary seems to be about unfortunate haircuts. I guess I'm not that good a nerd.
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no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 03:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 03:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 04:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 06:58 am (UTC)It seems more like they gave him notes and he told them to fuck off and they kept trying to give him notes until he really told them to fuck off and closed up shop for good.
However, the Technomage books aren't bad. The last nine B5 books actually deepened the canon and told the stories that happened in between series.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 12:49 pm (UTC)WHAT
no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 03:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 12:50 pm (UTC)I may be a terrible person.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 03:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 04:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 04:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 12:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 03:51 am (UTC)Heh. Just wait.
When these episodes first aired, the credits sequence showed season 1 Delenn for the first two episodes, so that her transformation was a bit more of a surprise. It seems like they only worked up one version of the credits for the DVDs.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 12:52 pm (UTC)Yeah, I was like, "Oh, she looks human in the credits, won't this be fun."
no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 12:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 04:56 am (UTC)And I think the first Na'Toth actress was prettier personally. She comes back at some point w/o makeup to play a lawyer. (she also comes back as Na'Toth in season 5 briefly. Basically, JMS liked her acting better.)
Anyhow, I agree with all the lulz above me. :-D
Is the new guy Jeff Conaway? (R.I.P. :( )
no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 07:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 12:55 pm (UTC)I should clarify that I called it when I saw the S2 credits, not at the end of S1.
JMS liked the second Na'Toth's acting better? If not, why the recast?
Is the new guy Jeff Conaway? (R.I.P. :( )
Umm, could be? It's hard to tell because the wiki picture is obviously much older.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 02:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-31 03:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 09:49 pm (UTC)In short, makeup issues.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 04:56 am (UTC)GREEN!!!!!
no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 12:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 05:35 am (UTC)I will, however, give teasers to pre-prove to you how much you will love this show. Last time was the Drazi and the fact that Ivanova is God (and her star fury's markings). Today's is the mere fact that there is a Day of the Dead episode in season five. I shall say no more.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 12:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-31 05:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-31 11:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-31 05:50 am (UTC)Episode had to be reworked because Claudia Christian had broken her foot in real life.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-31 11:37 am (UTC)