B5rewatch: A Voice in the Wilderness 1
I will one day get back on some kind of schedule for these things, but that day is not just yet; not helped by the fact that I didn’t have internet much over the Thanksgiving holiday. But here’s a lot of scattered thoughts on another B5 episode.
1x18: A Voice in the Wilderness (Part I)
Almost forgot to do the promo, which would have been a shame, because it’s a pretty good promo. It’s maybe a bit Star Trek and a lot Forbidden Planet, but then so is the episode. It’s well put together, maybe a touch spoilery but not too bad, and could well have worked to draw in viewers. Good job on this one promo money.
I am not going to call BS at a Minbari being able to walk up looking for directions to the Minbari ambassador and being shown how to get there. It’s not exactly consistent with other instances, but it seems reasonable enough. However, the fact that there aren’t more security guards there seems wrong; as is when this one takes Draal off to Delenn there’s no one else takes his place which doesn’t seem to make much sense.
I’m not sure I’ve ever noticed or if it’s that we don’t very often see the doors open on the side of the docking bay, maybe just an odd animation bit.
Aww, Delenn is starting to hint about beings in the universe much older than the current races, it’s cute.
I actually really enjoy Tasaki as a character, I find his attitude charming; however the acting is not quite in concert with the way he’s written. It’s not so off that it’s glaring, and some of my small issues probably start the writing (for example, he should probably be a little more freaked out after the shuttle is fired on), but 90% what I like about the character is all from the writing instead of the performance.
So there I was considering a point about Delenn seeming much more the character I’m familiar with here than she has the last few times she showed up, but then I had to stop and laugh. Delenn says how the greatest anger fades with time and Londo’s response is that he’s sure that’s true for her but totally not for G’Kar. It gives me another opportunity to point out how Delenn’s anger has done so much more harm that G’Kar’s, but did fade within like an hour or maybe a day. While yes, Delenn’s anger is different from G’Kar’s, trust me Londo she knows what she’s talking about, and it’s quite possible to read her look during that as guilt for her own choices.
Related though, Londo’s speech is pretty prescient about where Narn-Centauri relations are headed. Reactionary and fueled by base emotions that will spell a lot of doom for both cultures, it’s coming on pretty quickly.
I wish they could have put in a little more background chatter in the mess hall, because I think more people would be talking about what going on. I know it’s not very realistic to want that, but I can wish.
The mention of Rathenn is always interesting to me, because he’s never terribly important and won’t even be mentioned again until season 3 (discounting the expanded universe), and yet he gets brought up in this conversation like he’s a real person we might care about. It’s just that in most TV things you wouldn’t expect him to be brought up by name with the kind of emphasis the mention gets here. It’s not big, and I doubt JMS had much in the way of plans for him at the time, but it’s still pretty unusual.
Oh yeah, so much Minbari culture bits to talk about, and not from a plot hole this time. For one, I suspect ‘half a truth is the worst kind of lie’ may be the seeds that will morph into the Minbari do not lie concept that then must make Draal super unhappy, because if they don’t lie they have to be masters of the half-truth (and they are). Then there’s the whole going to the sea idea; while I suspect the Minbari had cultural precedent for that, Valen’s fate (of disappearing into the vastness of space) likely gave it fresh staying power, that when Minbari had done all they could within their culture they go out into the stars looking for the next place they can learn and grow and help. It’s also possible that Draal might be seeing Delenn’s reaction to him going to the sea as another case of younger Minbari thinking selfishly; whether or not it is, if he’s become convinced that’s what’s happening then her reaction could surely be read that way. But also for Delenn, she’s spent much of her adult life among the stars (if primarily aboard the Grey Council ship), maybe Draal’s just ready to go out and see more of the galaxy.
Wait, does Delenn’s costume in this scene have a cape too? Does it usually have a cape and I’m just this slow to notice? How much of a thing for capes did the costume designer have?
I don’t know if it was scripting or directing, but I do enjoy the extras in C&C during the Ivanova is God speech. And of course the speech itself, since it’s the foundation of some many Ivanova love bits.
So Sector 14 on the planet shot the missiles? JMS much have been going through a Sector 14 phase, or he was more brilliant than I thought at subtly linking in the audience’s mind from Epsilon 3 to the Sector 14 shenanigans.
Considering the actual story we eventually get about Londo’s wife #1, I have to wonder a little bit at how it’s treated here; but then I don’t think it’s that hard to assume that Londo has rationalized what happened enough to almost believe the lie. Plus the impression of her that he does sounds a lot like Timov, so make of that what you will.
...I’m having a thought from this, but I think I’ll wait til the end to discuss it.
I do understand from a writing perspective that you want to have two known characters that can go on this mission; and I will allow that the show had previously set up that in situations of potential first contact command officers need to be present; and I understand that for the rest of this story one of them needs to be Sinclair (thus preventing it from being say Ivanova and Tasaki). But even with all that said, this is why Zack and Corwin and Marcus and the like (and Keffer could have been if JMS had made it work) become important, so that from a writing perspective you don’t have to stick the two highest ranking members of station staff on a shuttle for a dangerous mission.
First, has anyone considered rewriting this episode from Zathrus’ perspective? Could be a funny little thing. Second, I’m going to decide here that the Zathruses (and occasional other friends) left the pile of rocks to be used in passing booby traps, it makes as much sense as anything. (Also the machine nearly shoots Valen and thus invalidates its own point of existing).
As much as I like the Hokey Pokey scene (does Londo have the words wrong or is it a reginal thing and the version he uses is right by some people but sounds wrong to me?) it doesn’t really fit with rest of Londo’s scenes this episode; although it is important for part two that Delenn introduces Londo and Draal.
I guess JMS was just on 14 kick, since Garibaldi says the med team needs to meet them in Bay 14. Also, as most have noted, the better episode break point was when they first get to Varn and his warning; but I’m also not sure how the next couple of scenes would have played if they had been the start of the episode. Really this is a two hour episode somewhat arbitrarily split down the approximate middle. Plus regardless of that question, one has to question how they got out of there, maybe Varn was able to direct them away from the booby traps.
I don’t really have a lot left to say, though I might come part two, as a lot of things are probably simmering under the surface. But I still need to say that this is a pretty good episode, or half an episode. It’s kind of weird in places, on one level explained by having more time to show people’s reactions and daily lives, on another explainable because JMS wrote this when he was sick as a dog. It is shockingly well written on that level as the weirdness is mostly pretty enjoyable and doesn’t feel wrong, just odd.
The acting from the series regulars is solid even if the guest actors aren’t quite the best (I prefer Brother Theo and Draal mark 2 to Draal mark 1; and obviously Tasaki’s not great). I didn’t mention much of the Garibaldi and Talia scenes, but I can’t help feeling there was a lot of Doyle and Thompson in those scenes at this point, which is just a vibe I got and not a bad one. The direction isn’t particularly inspired, but nothing about it jumped out at me as bad, so it was probably just fine as I usually only notice when it’s pretty bad or amazingly good).
Now, I did have a couple of bigger thoughts. As hinted earlier, I had a sudden new reading of why Varn reaches out to the people he does. One thing I’ve always taken issue with is that Varn must know Sinclair’s fate; even if you think JMS didn’t know the Sinclair as Valen twist at this point (imo, if he hadn’t 100% worked it out, he mind was definitely working towards it), it’s already clearly part of the story that Sinclair has an important role to play in events to come that Varn’s observational abilities would have to see coming; and with the Sinclair-as-Valen factor, plus what Zathrus reveals he knows even outside the machine, well there’s no way Varn could have thought Sinclair a candidate to take over the machine.
That said, I’ve also never quite bought Draal’s reading that he, Londo, and Sinclair are the most familiar with the idea self-sacrifice; while I don’t doubt at all the Londo does have a concept for it, I don’t think his concept of it is anything special. No, I think now that what connects them is a feeling of loss, and not as if they’re the only ones on station who know about loss (unless half the lurkers in downbelow are seeing Varn visions too, not to mention poor Susan) and feeling lonely, but at times when people with the capacity to do something are feeling particular loss. I’ll have to see how this holds up in part two when Draal actually starts seeing Varn, but Sinclair sees Varn when he gets the news about the crisis on Mars and Londo sees Varn after jovially talking about his first wife pretending it didn’t matter. Like I said, I’ll have to revisit this in part two.
Lastly, I kind of want to talk a little bit about Free Mars. I feel like Free Mars is a very 90s American perception of terrorism. The script really passes no judgement right or wrong on what’s happening on Mars and down the road our heroes are going to be allied with them with little to no moral quandary about allying themselves with terrorists. I don’t feel that that attitude would fly today; I don’t know whether JMS would still write it that way either - his sympathies usually did seem to be with the Marsies but time has been known to change things - and moreover I think a lot of people would take him to task for it if he gave it the same treatment now as he did then.
Next time: AVITW2 obviously
1x18: A Voice in the Wilderness (Part I)
Almost forgot to do the promo, which would have been a shame, because it’s a pretty good promo. It’s maybe a bit Star Trek and a lot Forbidden Planet, but then so is the episode. It’s well put together, maybe a touch spoilery but not too bad, and could well have worked to draw in viewers. Good job on this one promo money.
I am not going to call BS at a Minbari being able to walk up looking for directions to the Minbari ambassador and being shown how to get there. It’s not exactly consistent with other instances, but it seems reasonable enough. However, the fact that there aren’t more security guards there seems wrong; as is when this one takes Draal off to Delenn there’s no one else takes his place which doesn’t seem to make much sense.
I’m not sure I’ve ever noticed or if it’s that we don’t very often see the doors open on the side of the docking bay, maybe just an odd animation bit.
Aww, Delenn is starting to hint about beings in the universe much older than the current races, it’s cute.
I actually really enjoy Tasaki as a character, I find his attitude charming; however the acting is not quite in concert with the way he’s written. It’s not so off that it’s glaring, and some of my small issues probably start the writing (for example, he should probably be a little more freaked out after the shuttle is fired on), but 90% what I like about the character is all from the writing instead of the performance.
So there I was considering a point about Delenn seeming much more the character I’m familiar with here than she has the last few times she showed up, but then I had to stop and laugh. Delenn says how the greatest anger fades with time and Londo’s response is that he’s sure that’s true for her but totally not for G’Kar. It gives me another opportunity to point out how Delenn’s anger has done so much more harm that G’Kar’s, but did fade within like an hour or maybe a day. While yes, Delenn’s anger is different from G’Kar’s, trust me Londo she knows what she’s talking about, and it’s quite possible to read her look during that as guilt for her own choices.
Related though, Londo’s speech is pretty prescient about where Narn-Centauri relations are headed. Reactionary and fueled by base emotions that will spell a lot of doom for both cultures, it’s coming on pretty quickly.
I wish they could have put in a little more background chatter in the mess hall, because I think more people would be talking about what going on. I know it’s not very realistic to want that, but I can wish.
The mention of Rathenn is always interesting to me, because he’s never terribly important and won’t even be mentioned again until season 3 (discounting the expanded universe), and yet he gets brought up in this conversation like he’s a real person we might care about. It’s just that in most TV things you wouldn’t expect him to be brought up by name with the kind of emphasis the mention gets here. It’s not big, and I doubt JMS had much in the way of plans for him at the time, but it’s still pretty unusual.
Oh yeah, so much Minbari culture bits to talk about, and not from a plot hole this time. For one, I suspect ‘half a truth is the worst kind of lie’ may be the seeds that will morph into the Minbari do not lie concept that then must make Draal super unhappy, because if they don’t lie they have to be masters of the half-truth (and they are). Then there’s the whole going to the sea idea; while I suspect the Minbari had cultural precedent for that, Valen’s fate (of disappearing into the vastness of space) likely gave it fresh staying power, that when Minbari had done all they could within their culture they go out into the stars looking for the next place they can learn and grow and help. It’s also possible that Draal might be seeing Delenn’s reaction to him going to the sea as another case of younger Minbari thinking selfishly; whether or not it is, if he’s become convinced that’s what’s happening then her reaction could surely be read that way. But also for Delenn, she’s spent much of her adult life among the stars (if primarily aboard the Grey Council ship), maybe Draal’s just ready to go out and see more of the galaxy.
Wait, does Delenn’s costume in this scene have a cape too? Does it usually have a cape and I’m just this slow to notice? How much of a thing for capes did the costume designer have?
I don’t know if it was scripting or directing, but I do enjoy the extras in C&C during the Ivanova is God speech. And of course the speech itself, since it’s the foundation of some many Ivanova love bits.
So Sector 14 on the planet shot the missiles? JMS much have been going through a Sector 14 phase, or he was more brilliant than I thought at subtly linking in the audience’s mind from Epsilon 3 to the Sector 14 shenanigans.
Considering the actual story we eventually get about Londo’s wife #1, I have to wonder a little bit at how it’s treated here; but then I don’t think it’s that hard to assume that Londo has rationalized what happened enough to almost believe the lie. Plus the impression of her that he does sounds a lot like Timov, so make of that what you will.
...I’m having a thought from this, but I think I’ll wait til the end to discuss it.
I do understand from a writing perspective that you want to have two known characters that can go on this mission; and I will allow that the show had previously set up that in situations of potential first contact command officers need to be present; and I understand that for the rest of this story one of them needs to be Sinclair (thus preventing it from being say Ivanova and Tasaki). But even with all that said, this is why Zack and Corwin and Marcus and the like (and Keffer could have been if JMS had made it work) become important, so that from a writing perspective you don’t have to stick the two highest ranking members of station staff on a shuttle for a dangerous mission.
First, has anyone considered rewriting this episode from Zathrus’ perspective? Could be a funny little thing. Second, I’m going to decide here that the Zathruses (and occasional other friends) left the pile of rocks to be used in passing booby traps, it makes as much sense as anything. (Also the machine nearly shoots Valen and thus invalidates its own point of existing).
As much as I like the Hokey Pokey scene (does Londo have the words wrong or is it a reginal thing and the version he uses is right by some people but sounds wrong to me?) it doesn’t really fit with rest of Londo’s scenes this episode; although it is important for part two that Delenn introduces Londo and Draal.
I guess JMS was just on 14 kick, since Garibaldi says the med team needs to meet them in Bay 14. Also, as most have noted, the better episode break point was when they first get to Varn and his warning; but I’m also not sure how the next couple of scenes would have played if they had been the start of the episode. Really this is a two hour episode somewhat arbitrarily split down the approximate middle. Plus regardless of that question, one has to question how they got out of there, maybe Varn was able to direct them away from the booby traps.
I don’t really have a lot left to say, though I might come part two, as a lot of things are probably simmering under the surface. But I still need to say that this is a pretty good episode, or half an episode. It’s kind of weird in places, on one level explained by having more time to show people’s reactions and daily lives, on another explainable because JMS wrote this when he was sick as a dog. It is shockingly well written on that level as the weirdness is mostly pretty enjoyable and doesn’t feel wrong, just odd.
The acting from the series regulars is solid even if the guest actors aren’t quite the best (I prefer Brother Theo and Draal mark 2 to Draal mark 1; and obviously Tasaki’s not great). I didn’t mention much of the Garibaldi and Talia scenes, but I can’t help feeling there was a lot of Doyle and Thompson in those scenes at this point, which is just a vibe I got and not a bad one. The direction isn’t particularly inspired, but nothing about it jumped out at me as bad, so it was probably just fine as I usually only notice when it’s pretty bad or amazingly good).
Now, I did have a couple of bigger thoughts. As hinted earlier, I had a sudden new reading of why Varn reaches out to the people he does. One thing I’ve always taken issue with is that Varn must know Sinclair’s fate; even if you think JMS didn’t know the Sinclair as Valen twist at this point (imo, if he hadn’t 100% worked it out, he mind was definitely working towards it), it’s already clearly part of the story that Sinclair has an important role to play in events to come that Varn’s observational abilities would have to see coming; and with the Sinclair-as-Valen factor, plus what Zathrus reveals he knows even outside the machine, well there’s no way Varn could have thought Sinclair a candidate to take over the machine.
That said, I’ve also never quite bought Draal’s reading that he, Londo, and Sinclair are the most familiar with the idea self-sacrifice; while I don’t doubt at all the Londo does have a concept for it, I don’t think his concept of it is anything special. No, I think now that what connects them is a feeling of loss, and not as if they’re the only ones on station who know about loss (unless half the lurkers in downbelow are seeing Varn visions too, not to mention poor Susan) and feeling lonely, but at times when people with the capacity to do something are feeling particular loss. I’ll have to see how this holds up in part two when Draal actually starts seeing Varn, but Sinclair sees Varn when he gets the news about the crisis on Mars and Londo sees Varn after jovially talking about his first wife pretending it didn’t matter. Like I said, I’ll have to revisit this in part two.
Lastly, I kind of want to talk a little bit about Free Mars. I feel like Free Mars is a very 90s American perception of terrorism. The script really passes no judgement right or wrong on what’s happening on Mars and down the road our heroes are going to be allied with them with little to no moral quandary about allying themselves with terrorists. I don’t feel that that attitude would fly today; I don’t know whether JMS would still write it that way either - his sympathies usually did seem to be with the Marsies but time has been known to change things - and moreover I think a lot of people would take him to task for it if he gave it the same treatment now as he did then.
Next time: AVITW2 obviously