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last_best_hope2010-06-18 09:35 pm
bluefall) wrote in last_best_hope2010-06-18 09:35 pm
Entry tags:
Discussion Post - 1x01 "Midnight on the Firing Line"
It's Friday night, it must be time for a discussion post! This week's offering:
1x01: Midnight on the Firing Line
When the Narn attack a Centauri colony, Londo and G'Kar nearly come to blows. Meanwhile, raiders are attacking transport ships near the station.
Vital Stats
Production number: 103
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Richard Compton
Original air date: January 26, 1994
Arc Notes / Story Points of Interest
- This season's intro narration, along with the emphasis of this story on the Narn/Centauri conflict and the role of the B5 staff in the Council, sets the stage for the primary five-season theme of war and peace among the stars. More subtle is the apparently "flavor" information about the presidential elections back on Earth. Sinclair's waning attention at Santiago's winning platform is an especially sneaky touch.
- The fate of Sophie Ivanova, though rather harder to miss, is likewise subtle in that it seems to be merely a combination of character detail and "this is how telepathy works here" Psi Corps exposition.
- The most deft moment has got to be Sinclair's conversation with Kosh. It's astonishing how much more sense the Vorlons make once the series is over.
Trivia
- The episode title comes from a song by Harry Chapin, specifically the lyrics
and if our future lies on the firing line
are we brave enough to see the signals and the signs
JMS also picked the name for somewhat meta reasons, referring to his belief that the show would come under fire and his decision to be cool with that.
- Part of the purpose of putting Sinclair in a Starfury was to prove that Babylon 5 "isn't Star Trek," since of course you'd never see Picard flying around shooting shit in a fighter craft. You may speculate amongst yourselves as to how JMS factored Kirk into this equation.
- It had been a while since the pilot movie was filmed, and most of the returning actors took a while to get back into character and remember their various motivations and secrets and tics and whatnot. Apparently Peter Jurasik just stood up straight and yelled "MISter GariBALdi!" and boom, just like that he was Londo.
Our story begins here, guys. So exciting! What were your first impressions? Your favorite characters out of the gate? Your questions and speculations? How'd you feel about the sets and costuming and special effects?
A reminder: not everyone playing along has seen the series before, so please be considerate about major spoilers. Vagueness, warnings and/or spoiler tags are appreciated.
1x01: Midnight on the Firing Line
When the Narn attack a Centauri colony, Londo and G'Kar nearly come to blows. Meanwhile, raiders are attacking transport ships near the station.
Vital Stats
Production number: 103
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Richard Compton
Original air date: January 26, 1994
Arc Notes / Story Points of Interest
- This season's intro narration, along with the emphasis of this story on the Narn/Centauri conflict and the role of the B5 staff in the Council, sets the stage for the primary five-season theme of war and peace among the stars. More subtle is the apparently "flavor" information about the presidential elections back on Earth. Sinclair's waning attention at Santiago's winning platform is an especially sneaky touch.
- The fate of Sophie Ivanova, though rather harder to miss, is likewise subtle in that it seems to be merely a combination of character detail and "this is how telepathy works here" Psi Corps exposition.
- The most deft moment has got to be Sinclair's conversation with Kosh. It's astonishing how much more sense the Vorlons make once the series is over.
Trivia
- The episode title comes from a song by Harry Chapin, specifically the lyrics
and if our future lies on the firing line
are we brave enough to see the signals and the signs
JMS also picked the name for somewhat meta reasons, referring to his belief that the show would come under fire and his decision to be cool with that.
- Part of the purpose of putting Sinclair in a Starfury was to prove that Babylon 5 "isn't Star Trek," since of course you'd never see Picard flying around shooting shit in a fighter craft. You may speculate amongst yourselves as to how JMS factored Kirk into this equation.
- It had been a while since the pilot movie was filmed, and most of the returning actors took a while to get back into character and remember their various motivations and secrets and tics and whatnot. Apparently Peter Jurasik just stood up straight and yelled "MISter GariBALdi!" and boom, just like that he was Londo.
Our story begins here, guys. So exciting! What were your first impressions? Your favorite characters out of the gate? Your questions and speculations? How'd you feel about the sets and costuming and special effects?
A reminder: not everyone playing along has seen the series before, so please be considerate about major spoilers. Vagueness, warnings and/or spoiler tags are appreciated.
no subject
Sinclair: wants to keep his jurisdiction safe, and facilitate peace.
Garibaldi: wants to stop the raids.
Londo: wants revenge.
G'Kar: wants revenge, with a side order of respect.
Ivanova: wants her boss to get what he wants.
Talia: wants Ivanova to like her.
Lulz.
In other news, while most of the sets here are pretty good considering the era and the budget - the Zocolo especially really feels like it's on a space station, kind of industrial and cramped but also vaguely futuristic in a fairly timeless way - I think the Council room does a serious disservice to the series. Babylon 5 is supposed to be, like, the UN of outer space; this is a place where a group of ambassadors vote on sanctions that impact multiple species across hundreds of worlds. But visually, it's less impressive than a town meeting on Gilmore Girls. With those few extras, that quiet and that small of a space, there's no real sense that anything that happens there is even that important to the station, much less the galaxy beyond.
When you are more bloodthirsty than an elected government that's just been attacked...
I also felt that these both point to governments that aren't especially invested in not going to war with each other and not at all invested in third parties not going to war with each other.
So basically, exactly like the UN.