"Agent Mulder believes we are not alone."
I'm coming off of a major insomnia jag, and after a few nights of more or less regular sleep, I'm starting to feel like a human being again, but for a while there it was all I could do to keep my fingers plugged in my ears so my brains didn't dribble down my neck. I'm behind on a lot of things, including birthdays.
As belated as they are, happy birthday wishes to voleuse, and to thomasina75, awesome roommate extraordinaire.
* * * * *
Babylon 5 3.07 - "Exogenesis"
I really appreciated the way the medical mystery unfolded in the beginning of the episode, and the way the show just sort of laid the information out in pieces and left it to the audience to put them together, at least until it got buried in exposition toward the end. I also liked what a hart time Marcus and Steven had accepting that the hosts could want to share a body, and that the reason was rooted in empty lives and lack of opportunity rather than physical health. We've been through the Downbelow before; we've seen the flotsam and jetsam that washes up there; that yearning for something better fits into this world. However, it struck me that the person who understands that best, and has the best relationship with that world, is actually Garibaldi, and it just didn't work for him to blithely dismiss Marcus's concerns that something was happening Downbelow. Garibaldi would be the first person to understand that it's a breeding ground for problems that can otherwise fly under the station's radar, and he also has the contacts to find out what's going on down there; he's too good a cop to blow off news about something happening down there. Marcus's connection to the old man, on the other hand, was episodic and superficial. So: meh.
I also liked the idea that Ivanova was looking for more recruits for their conspiracy--they do need help--but had to actually watch the slapsticky romantic confusion hijinks between her and Corwin through my hands. I miss Talia; I bet Ivanova does too. I find Marcus's interest in her to be much less organic, and also am very troubled by the potential volume of shiny, shiny hair in that pairing.
Babylon 5 3.08 - "Messages From Earth"
The fact that Mary Kirkish works for an archaeological conglormerate doing planetary explorations is a nice little piece of worldbuilding; and we already know something about Garibaldi's time on Mars, and the Psi Corps facilities there, and we have heard Morden talking to Clark, so all the little pieces are coming together. Kirkish's story about her discovery on Mars, and Garibaldi's admission that he'd seen something similar, something he didn't understand at the time, are chilling: the Shadows were there a long time ago, and their plans and their lives span such spreads of time that they have receded to myth by the time they return. We also learn, by implication, something very important about Clark's plans: like Londo, he doesn't really seem to have understood the beings he was making an alliance with, just welcomed the chance for an advantage; he has dangerous delusions about being able to use the Shadows as tools, when really it will only ever be the other way around; and this has been in the works for at least seven years. There's something thematically significant about the way the White Star swoops in to save the solar system from a disaster of Clark's ambition's making, and gets treated as an enemy for its troubles, and fired on, and in the end used as the pretense for Clark's declaration of martial law. Doing the right thing on this show often means doing the difficult thing, the uncomfortable and unrewarding thing, and getting punished for your efforts. None of the good guys act through official channels, through instutituions; they're on their own.
And even before Clark declares martial law at the end of the episode, we see the fruits of his labor: the way the Night Watch has fostered a climate of fear and suspicion and ideological purity, and has enlisted the help of a lot of not very bright people who want to do the right thing, and is in a position to step in and reinforce that martial law once it's declared. I am extremely glad that Sheridan's four-day absence is an actual plot point; it's noticeable, and suspicious, and gives ammunition to his enemies. It's also a concrete example of the tension between continuing to be a part of ineffective institutions and actually acting in this new situation.
Babylon 5 3.09 - "Point of No Return"
I had a really hard time watching Garibaldi make his case to the members of the security guard, and call on their personal loyalty, knowing that so many of them were going to choose the current path of least resistance. Again here, the show positions heroism as a difficult and isolating choice, one that positions people in opposition to the institutions that have given them meaning, and the people they've served with, and the values (loyalty to a specific ideological vision of Earth, to the commander in chief) that they have been taught to emphasize over other loyalties. Zack continues to not be very smart, but it seems even he has some personal boundaries that he's not willing to cross.
Sheridan's legalistic maneuvering is interesting here because it's a tool that both he and Sinclair have used to get out of previous tight spots, but in those situations, they had the support of other powerful players and the rule of law on their side. Now, Sheridan's just buying a little time so that one of the factions on Earth can hopefully overpower Clark; he's been forced by circumstances to position the station on one side of the divide. The old institutions have failed, and Zack and Sheridan both make their separate choices, here, about which side to take.
I'm terribly intrigued by what Lady Morella told Londo and Vir about their futures: that one will be Emperor after the death of the other. But I'm also sad, because Vir has always been steadfast in his support of Londo, and Londo has never had any reason to distrust Vir--in fact, Vir is the only person he seems to have any measure of trust in. (I actually think Londo trusts Garibaldi, in the strictest sense of the word, but Garibaldi is an outsider and Vir is not.) In his own way, Londo was mentoring Vir, and took pride and pleasure in his accomplishments. Now that's done. Oh, Londo. It's lonely at the top. And remember: that's what you wanted. Right?
Babylon 5 3.10 - "Severed Dreams"
Although it's been building for a while, it's still rather frightening to see Earth ships flying in to attack the station, all the ships in the battle looking alike. And it's a small part of a bigger civil conflict. I really love that the Mars colony's rebellious streak has been so well-established, that it makes sense at this point for Mars and other colonies to start pulling away. And the humans are fracturing while we learn that the Shadows have been moving by keeping the non-aligned worlds at each other's throats; after we've seen them use the Centauri to crush the Narn and start attacking their neighbors. The Shadows really haven't had to do much work at all, beyond exploiting the fear and ambition they found in others.
And though all of the choosing of sides started in the previous episode, this is where the snowball gains mass and speed as it rolls downhill. Delenn's speech to the Gray Council was magnificent, but it's also notable that she asks the Worker and Warrior castes to act in the face of the Warrior caste's indifference: to abandon an institution that isn't serving them well any more. That mirrors what Sheridan has asked his men to do on the station, and what the colonies are doing with Earth, and makes them all natural allies. The old structures have being tested by this new threat, and have been found wanting; the people who want to win the fight are now in the process of constructing something new--including the station's Narn, cut off from their homeworld, allying themselves with . It really feels, at the end of the episode, like the station has taken its own side, for both good and ill; the crowd cheers, but uneasily.
If I'm not mistaken, the footage of the boarding party trying to take the station, and the battle, strongly echoed some of the flashes of the future in "Babylon Squared." Neat! Also, though I don't find Sheridan very emotionally engaging as a character, I think his goodbye to his father was a good choice on the part of the writers, showing how final he knew his decision was, and the personal relationships it costs him. And I often male characters more intriguing if their attraction to the love interest is rooted in her awesomeness (Exhibit A: John Crichton, who admittedly doesn't need much help in that area), and Sheridan's obvious admiration for Delenn's strength and determination and compassion makes that pairing a lot more interesting to me than it might be otherwise.
I'm really curious what news ISN has been sitting on in order to keep broadcasting. Whatever it was, it didn't keep them from getting shut down anyway, but it might have prevented the declaration of martial law. That's what happens when you try to go along.
* * * * *
I did start The X-Files this weekend, though, and that was pretty exciting.
These are going to be short, because based on y'all's sound advice, I'm resolutely pretending there is no alien conspiracy, and these early episodes seem to be mostly about the alien conspiracy. That does not exist. LALALALALALA. So they're mostly about how Gillian Anderson is very, very pretty.
1.01 - "Pilot"
* Ooooh--inspired by actual documented accounts!
* Well, I'm already frightened and confused--by the gray plaid blazer and tan pants combination Scully is wearing. On this planet, those things don't go together AT ALL.
* Huh--cigarette smoking man is there from the beginning, watching as Scully gets assigned (or kicked downstairs, or put on watchdog duty) to Mulder.
* Gillian Anderson is so pretty!
* Runaway coffin! That was the most hamhanded exhumation ever. I like the creepy seaside town and the insecure and possibly suspicious coroner, though. Aliens, or weird local politics? And is there really any difference?
* I don't know why, but I was expecting Mulder to be a little bit more intense and raving at this point; he's actually very wry, and actively engaged with reality. And charming. Scully's appropriately skeptical and science-oriented, but she also seems to get a huge kick out of him, and that fidelity to evidence and process seems to be at the heart of her willingness to at least entertain his theories when they're the best fit for what she's observed.
* I like that in amongst the strange phenomenon, there are bits and pieces that are rational and explainable--the lights in the woods being sheriff's vehicles, mosquite bites. But how did they make looking at mosquito bites so sexy?!?
1.02 - "Deep Throat"
* I am going to pretend that Mulder did not just use the words "paranormal bouquet." It doesn't help that here, he has the sculpted hair of a game show host. At least David Duchovney can more or less work it.
* Heh. Although they're ostensibly investigating what happened to the pilot, Mulder makes a beeline for the local UFO nuts while Scully rolls her eyes. I sense the beginnings of a pattern.
* Seth Green! He's so young, and his hair is so long, and he looks like he's having a ball playing a stoned teenager.
* What do you know, Dana Scully does run in heels.
* Mulder really does want to believe. It can't just be experimental aircraft (Scully's offering, the solution dictated by Occam's Razor); it has to be UFO technology gleaned from the Roswell landing.
* Of course, when one is hot on the heels of experimental UFO aircraft technology, one might not want to STAND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RUNWAY while the thing hovers overhead, because the subsequent capture is a fairly predictable outcome of that strategy. Oh Mulder.
* Gillian Anderson: so pretty!
* Wow, Scully absolutely ruled in about fifteen different ways within the space of two minutes of screentime: twigging to the fact that the reporter wasn't a reporter, getting in his car, figuring out who he was, turning his own gun on him, and trading him for Mulder. Who, BTW, looks like ten miles of bad road coming out of that base. Aw, poor Mulder.
* * * * *
Some day I will get caught up on other TV, like The Office. One thing I have accomplished, though: travel planning! It looks like asta77 and I will be coming to Burbank for the Farscape convention after all. There will also be road-tripping. And it only took us five months to figure out WTF we're doing. WOO?
And apropos of nothing, except that the crisp fall weather has made me think of both pumpkins and baking--as it does--The Kitchn's tie-in post for the season premiere of Pushing Daisies has a bunch of honey-themed recipe links, and I would be lying if I didn't admit to being tempted to make the honey pumpkin creme brulee. Of course, I don't have a teeny kitchen blow torch, and my broiler only has one setting--nuclear--and there is a strong possibility that making them will involve setting something on fire. But sometimes a small kitchen fire is the price you have to pay for a fabulous dessert, right?
As belated as they are, happy birthday wishes to voleuse, and to thomasina75, awesome roommate extraordinaire.
* * * * *
Babylon 5 3.07 - "Exogenesis"
I really appreciated the way the medical mystery unfolded in the beginning of the episode, and the way the show just sort of laid the information out in pieces and left it to the audience to put them together, at least until it got buried in exposition toward the end. I also liked what a hart time Marcus and Steven had accepting that the hosts could want to share a body, and that the reason was rooted in empty lives and lack of opportunity rather than physical health. We've been through the Downbelow before; we've seen the flotsam and jetsam that washes up there; that yearning for something better fits into this world. However, it struck me that the person who understands that best, and has the best relationship with that world, is actually Garibaldi, and it just didn't work for him to blithely dismiss Marcus's concerns that something was happening Downbelow. Garibaldi would be the first person to understand that it's a breeding ground for problems that can otherwise fly under the station's radar, and he also has the contacts to find out what's going on down there; he's too good a cop to blow off news about something happening down there. Marcus's connection to the old man, on the other hand, was episodic and superficial. So: meh.
I also liked the idea that Ivanova was looking for more recruits for their conspiracy--they do need help--but had to actually watch the slapsticky romantic confusion hijinks between her and Corwin through my hands. I miss Talia; I bet Ivanova does too. I find Marcus's interest in her to be much less organic, and also am very troubled by the potential volume of shiny, shiny hair in that pairing.
Babylon 5 3.08 - "Messages From Earth"
The fact that Mary Kirkish works for an archaeological conglormerate doing planetary explorations is a nice little piece of worldbuilding; and we already know something about Garibaldi's time on Mars, and the Psi Corps facilities there, and we have heard Morden talking to Clark, so all the little pieces are coming together. Kirkish's story about her discovery on Mars, and Garibaldi's admission that he'd seen something similar, something he didn't understand at the time, are chilling: the Shadows were there a long time ago, and their plans and their lives span such spreads of time that they have receded to myth by the time they return. We also learn, by implication, something very important about Clark's plans: like Londo, he doesn't really seem to have understood the beings he was making an alliance with, just welcomed the chance for an advantage; he has dangerous delusions about being able to use the Shadows as tools, when really it will only ever be the other way around; and this has been in the works for at least seven years. There's something thematically significant about the way the White Star swoops in to save the solar system from a disaster of Clark's ambition's making, and gets treated as an enemy for its troubles, and fired on, and in the end used as the pretense for Clark's declaration of martial law. Doing the right thing on this show often means doing the difficult thing, the uncomfortable and unrewarding thing, and getting punished for your efforts. None of the good guys act through official channels, through instutituions; they're on their own.
And even before Clark declares martial law at the end of the episode, we see the fruits of his labor: the way the Night Watch has fostered a climate of fear and suspicion and ideological purity, and has enlisted the help of a lot of not very bright people who want to do the right thing, and is in a position to step in and reinforce that martial law once it's declared. I am extremely glad that Sheridan's four-day absence is an actual plot point; it's noticeable, and suspicious, and gives ammunition to his enemies. It's also a concrete example of the tension between continuing to be a part of ineffective institutions and actually acting in this new situation.
Babylon 5 3.09 - "Point of No Return"
I had a really hard time watching Garibaldi make his case to the members of the security guard, and call on their personal loyalty, knowing that so many of them were going to choose the current path of least resistance. Again here, the show positions heroism as a difficult and isolating choice, one that positions people in opposition to the institutions that have given them meaning, and the people they've served with, and the values (loyalty to a specific ideological vision of Earth, to the commander in chief) that they have been taught to emphasize over other loyalties. Zack continues to not be very smart, but it seems even he has some personal boundaries that he's not willing to cross.
Sheridan's legalistic maneuvering is interesting here because it's a tool that both he and Sinclair have used to get out of previous tight spots, but in those situations, they had the support of other powerful players and the rule of law on their side. Now, Sheridan's just buying a little time so that one of the factions on Earth can hopefully overpower Clark; he's been forced by circumstances to position the station on one side of the divide. The old institutions have failed, and Zack and Sheridan both make their separate choices, here, about which side to take.
I'm terribly intrigued by what Lady Morella told Londo and Vir about their futures: that one will be Emperor after the death of the other. But I'm also sad, because Vir has always been steadfast in his support of Londo, and Londo has never had any reason to distrust Vir--in fact, Vir is the only person he seems to have any measure of trust in. (I actually think Londo trusts Garibaldi, in the strictest sense of the word, but Garibaldi is an outsider and Vir is not.) In his own way, Londo was mentoring Vir, and took pride and pleasure in his accomplishments. Now that's done. Oh, Londo. It's lonely at the top. And remember: that's what you wanted. Right?
Babylon 5 3.10 - "Severed Dreams"
Although it's been building for a while, it's still rather frightening to see Earth ships flying in to attack the station, all the ships in the battle looking alike. And it's a small part of a bigger civil conflict. I really love that the Mars colony's rebellious streak has been so well-established, that it makes sense at this point for Mars and other colonies to start pulling away. And the humans are fracturing while we learn that the Shadows have been moving by keeping the non-aligned worlds at each other's throats; after we've seen them use the Centauri to crush the Narn and start attacking their neighbors. The Shadows really haven't had to do much work at all, beyond exploiting the fear and ambition they found in others.
And though all of the choosing of sides started in the previous episode, this is where the snowball gains mass and speed as it rolls downhill. Delenn's speech to the Gray Council was magnificent, but it's also notable that she asks the Worker and Warrior castes to act in the face of the Warrior caste's indifference: to abandon an institution that isn't serving them well any more. That mirrors what Sheridan has asked his men to do on the station, and what the colonies are doing with Earth, and makes them all natural allies. The old structures have being tested by this new threat, and have been found wanting; the people who want to win the fight are now in the process of constructing something new--including the station's Narn, cut off from their homeworld, allying themselves with . It really feels, at the end of the episode, like the station has taken its own side, for both good and ill; the crowd cheers, but uneasily.
If I'm not mistaken, the footage of the boarding party trying to take the station, and the battle, strongly echoed some of the flashes of the future in "Babylon Squared." Neat! Also, though I don't find Sheridan very emotionally engaging as a character, I think his goodbye to his father was a good choice on the part of the writers, showing how final he knew his decision was, and the personal relationships it costs him. And I often male characters more intriguing if their attraction to the love interest is rooted in her awesomeness (Exhibit A: John Crichton, who admittedly doesn't need much help in that area), and Sheridan's obvious admiration for Delenn's strength and determination and compassion makes that pairing a lot more interesting to me than it might be otherwise.
I'm really curious what news ISN has been sitting on in order to keep broadcasting. Whatever it was, it didn't keep them from getting shut down anyway, but it might have prevented the declaration of martial law. That's what happens when you try to go along.
* * * * *
I did start The X-Files this weekend, though, and that was pretty exciting.
These are going to be short, because based on y'all's sound advice, I'm resolutely pretending there is no alien conspiracy, and these early episodes seem to be mostly about the alien conspiracy. That does not exist. LALALALALALA. So they're mostly about how Gillian Anderson is very, very pretty.
1.01 - "Pilot"
* Ooooh--inspired by actual documented accounts!
* Well, I'm already frightened and confused--by the gray plaid blazer and tan pants combination Scully is wearing. On this planet, those things don't go together AT ALL.
* Huh--cigarette smoking man is there from the beginning, watching as Scully gets assigned (or kicked downstairs, or put on watchdog duty) to Mulder.
* Gillian Anderson is so pretty!
* Runaway coffin! That was the most hamhanded exhumation ever. I like the creepy seaside town and the insecure and possibly suspicious coroner, though. Aliens, or weird local politics? And is there really any difference?
* I don't know why, but I was expecting Mulder to be a little bit more intense and raving at this point; he's actually very wry, and actively engaged with reality. And charming. Scully's appropriately skeptical and science-oriented, but she also seems to get a huge kick out of him, and that fidelity to evidence and process seems to be at the heart of her willingness to at least entertain his theories when they're the best fit for what she's observed.
* I like that in amongst the strange phenomenon, there are bits and pieces that are rational and explainable--the lights in the woods being sheriff's vehicles, mosquite bites. But how did they make looking at mosquito bites so sexy?!?
1.02 - "Deep Throat"
* I am going to pretend that Mulder did not just use the words "paranormal bouquet." It doesn't help that here, he has the sculpted hair of a game show host. At least David Duchovney can more or less work it.
* Heh. Although they're ostensibly investigating what happened to the pilot, Mulder makes a beeline for the local UFO nuts while Scully rolls her eyes. I sense the beginnings of a pattern.
* Seth Green! He's so young, and his hair is so long, and he looks like he's having a ball playing a stoned teenager.
* What do you know, Dana Scully does run in heels.
* Mulder really does want to believe. It can't just be experimental aircraft (Scully's offering, the solution dictated by Occam's Razor); it has to be UFO technology gleaned from the Roswell landing.
* Of course, when one is hot on the heels of experimental UFO aircraft technology, one might not want to STAND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RUNWAY while the thing hovers overhead, because the subsequent capture is a fairly predictable outcome of that strategy. Oh Mulder.
* Gillian Anderson: so pretty!
* Wow, Scully absolutely ruled in about fifteen different ways within the space of two minutes of screentime: twigging to the fact that the reporter wasn't a reporter, getting in his car, figuring out who he was, turning his own gun on him, and trading him for Mulder. Who, BTW, looks like ten miles of bad road coming out of that base. Aw, poor Mulder.
* * * * *
Some day I will get caught up on other TV, like The Office. One thing I have accomplished, though: travel planning! It looks like asta77 and I will be coming to Burbank for the Farscape convention after all. There will also be road-tripping. And it only took us five months to figure out WTF we're doing. WOO?
And apropos of nothing, except that the crisp fall weather has made me think of both pumpkins and baking--as it does--The Kitchn's tie-in post for the season premiere of Pushing Daisies has a bunch of honey-themed recipe links, and I would be lying if I didn't admit to being tempted to make the honey pumpkin creme brulee. Of course, I don't have a teeny kitchen blow torch, and my broiler only has one setting--nuclear--and there is a strong possibility that making them will involve setting something on fire. But sometimes a small kitchen fire is the price you have to pay for a fabulous dessert, right?