Grail

Episode 16: Grail (Season 1, Episode 15)

Synopsis: In which a seeker comes to the station on a legendary quest and ends up inspiring others to great deeds. And at the end of the day there is a lack of boom.

David Warner is a goddamn legend. There’s no other way to say it. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001831/?ref_=tt_cl_t12

6:55 - that’s Chris’s cat Max yelling in the background. He does that now and then for absolutely no good reason. The timing was just too perfect to the conversation to edit it out.

The proper pronunciation is “Rahj-al-gool” not “Rayj-al-gool.” I will brook no dissent in this matter, regardless of how wonderful your abs might be, Mr. Amell.

David Icke is a proponent of a theory that an alien race of shape-shifting reptoids (who may or may not be from the center of the earth, I may be conflating my crackpots there) has infiltrated the highest levels of human society, perhaps most notably the British monarchy. I believe the technical term for him is “nutter.”

But this, and the alien abduction court case in the episode, allows me to include this picture of my favorite Centauri:

Jerry Doyle hosted The Jerry Doyle Show on the Talk Radio Network  from 2012 until his death in 2016.

Navratan Korma is a delicious northern Indian curry made with various vegetables, fruits and nuts in a golden sauce, and not an alien species that sucks away life force. Probably.

Third Stage Guild Navigator:

Tor Johnson was one of the stars of Ed Wood’s gloriously terrible Plan 9 from Outer Space.

Much like the Loch Ness Monster and various Bigfoot encounters, the story of the Marie Celeste occupied a huge chunk of my mental real-estate in the 1970s, thanks to too many hours of watching In Search Of. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Celeste

William Sanderson is nearly peak-level character actor. He pops up everywhere, and places that he doesn’t you *think* he’s there. Chris swears he was in Westworld but apparently not. Conflating with Deadwood perhaps?

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0761836/?ref_=tt_cl_t13

Christy Marx (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christy_Marx), the writer of this episode and creator of Jem & the Holograms (the live-action film of Jem apparently came out in 2015,  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3614530/?ref_=nv_sr_1)

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends ran from 1981 to 1983 and inexplicably teamed the wall-crawler with former X-Man Iceman and newly created character Firestar. June Foray was the voice of Aunt May, but despite this the show was somehow really, really terrible.

We had a fairly long discussion about the 2001 Josie and the Pussycats film which had to be cut because of problems with Chris’s mic, but do check it out. Solid fun and an AMAZING soundtrack, with Kay Hanley of Letters to Cleo doing the vocals for the Josie songs, and it should definitely NEVER be confused with Spice World. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0236348/?ref_=nv_sr_1

TKO

Synopsis: In which one of Garibaldi’s old friends visits the station and fights for the dignity of humanity or something. And Ivanova has to come to terms with the death of her father.

“Walker Smith” was the birth-name of famous boxer Sugar Ray Robinson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Ray_Robinson

IMDb gives this episode a 5.6/10 rating. “Infection” got a 6.3. TV.com gives “TKO” a more generous 6.7, but it’s still the lowest rated episode there. It’s all up from here folks!

Rabbi Koslov was portrayed by Theodore Bikel, who had a long career of great performances. We’ll see him again in  Babylon 5: In the Beginning in a different role http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000942/?ref_=tt_cl_t15

Bikel was the voice of Aragorn in the Rankin and Bass animated film Return of the King. Here is the grimly funky “Where There’s A Whip There’s A Way.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdXQJS3Yv0Y

And here’s Bikel as Aragorn in the scene where he faces down the Mouth of Sauron. This is what we had to work with in the 70s/80s kids. And don’t even get me started on Casey kasem as Merry.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3-3hOMsgwI

We talked about One World Government and how we didn’t foresee Americans giving up their sovereignty back in Episode 11: Believers.

Signs and Portents

Synopsis: In which a mysterious stranger asks each ambassador a special question, we learn more about the machinations of the Centauri court, and the all that raider nonsense finally pays off.

Ah, here we go. Halfway through season 1 and the series mythology has just kicked into high gear with the introduction of Mr. Morden.

Ed Wasser’s CV: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0913662/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Lynn “Red” Wiliams, aka American Gladiator’s Sabre (on the left)

1986’s Chopping Mall, is the favorite horror movie of Mack from Agents of SHIELD. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090837/

The KISS movie was, of course, KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077788/). In my defense, in my defense I was very very young in the 70s and my mother never let me listen to KISS. Paul Williams was, and remains, much more in my wheelhouse.

Paul Williams’ Phantom of the Paradise, directed by Brian de Palma. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071994/ Wow, we went off on a super tangent here. Buckle in.

The Apple: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080380/?ref_=nv_sr_5 Writer/Dirtector Menahem Golan was also the producer of such classics as Sylvester Stallone’s arm-wrestling master work Over the Top and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, which pretty much singlehandedly killed superhero movies for 20 years.

Xanadu http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081777/?ref_=nv_sr_1  

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078239/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Can’t Stop the Music http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080492/?ref_=nv_sr_1

The “E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial” video game on the Atari 2600 has a special notoriety as one of the worst video games of all time. If there is a hell, and if I end up there, this will be what I see for all eternity:

The Goodfellas Minute podcast: http://goodfellasminute.com/  

My friends Mike and Jenny did a great minute-by-minute podcast on the fantastic film Velvet Goldmine. If you didn’t skip over our musical movie tangent it may well be your kind of thing: http://wholeshebangpod.libsyn.com/

Jon tried to slip a Dead or Alive reference past me, but this isn’t my first rodeo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGNiXGX2nLU

Q and Guinan face off. I somehow remembered it looking more badass. From the season 2 episode “Q Who,” which introduced the Borg.

The Raider jumpship. A very nice, practical design when you need to drop a boatload of fighters very quickly.

By Any Means Necessary

Synopsis: In which a fatal accident in the space-docks leads to a labor dispute on the station. Earthgov sends in their best negotiator, who is actually a really terrible negotiator. And Londo is an ass to G’Kar because, well, Londo.

First off folks, there’s a weird echo in our recording this episode, and we deeply apologize. One of the mission statements of The Name of the Pod is to have decent audio quality. Nothing turns us off a podcast quicker than bad audio. We didn’t notice it at the time of recording and we tried to remove it later on but no luck. It’s not up to our own personal standards, and we hope you will soldier through. It’s still a good discussion.

After watching this episode we had the feeling that this was not an accurate representation of a labor dispute, but our good friend Bill has been involved with unions and organized labor as part of his work for many years so we felt he could provide insights into the workings of protests/strikes/negotiations/whathaveyous. Because we at The Name of the Pod strive for verisimilitude* in all things.

*a word used only by people who have never put in an honest day’s work in their lives.

Bill raises a very good point that there’s no real institutional reaction to a fatal accident on the station. No NTSB, no OSHA.  Very strange on a government funded station that has had its four predecessors tragically lost.

Orin Zento, the EarthGov “negotiator,” was played by John Snyder, who also played “Soul Hunter #2.” That should have been our first warning.

The question of where the line between military and civilian power falls on the station is an excellent one. So far in season 1 it has been murky at best - Sinclair certainly seems to display the authority to arrest people and to do pretty much whatever he wants wherever he wants. Are there limitations to the military staff’s powers, and if so by whom are they set and enforced? Are Garibaldi’s security folks - the ones in the grey-brown uniforms instead of the blue - civilian police or military? We’ll definitely be keeping an eye on future episodes with regards to these questions to see if they’re ever really addressed.

Containers is a great podcast about global trade and transportation. Check it out. https://medium.com/containers/episode-1-welcome-to-global-capitalism-f9f56c92f414

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/containers/id1209559177?mt=2

Guild leader “Neeoma Connally” (totally a space-name) was played by Katy Boyer who I think did a fine job. She’s had a long career including being Tim Robbins and John Cusack’s grouchy flatmate in the fantastic movie Tapeheads.  There’s your IMDB corner, since we couldn’t squeeze one into the episode.

Providence, RI is just over 20 square miles. Babylon 5 is 5 miles long but certainly not 4 miles wide (or even 2 miles high by 2 wide if we want to get all fancy and third dimensional).  The station is probably closer in size to Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Which I’m sure will mean a lot to people who aren’t us.

I’m not even going to try to sort out the whole geometry of Narn light years vs Earth light years and the light getting to the station just now. It’s just not worth it.

Survivors

Synopsis: On a very special episode of The Name of the Pod Garibaldi crawls back into the bottle amidst a Homeguard plot to assassinate President Santiago. Also, did we mention that Garibaldi crawls back into the bottle?

Jerry Doyle was a corporate pilot and stockbroker before changing over to acting just a few years before B5 launched. And as we have maintained for many years he acted rings around many folks on this show who had been doing it for a long time.

Elaine Thomas who plays Major Kemmer in this episode, has only a handful of credits on IMDB. Sadly since her name is kind of common it’s hard to figure out whatever became of her.

Augusten Burroughs’ memoir “Dry” https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BY5QYA0/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Marc Scott Zicree, writer of this episode, was also the writer of the terrific DS9 episode “Far Beyond the Stars.”

M.A.N.T.I.S. was a terrible, terrible Sam Raimi superhero show of the mid-90s, but at least it starred Carl Lumbly (who I never realized until now was John Parker in Buckaroo Banzai!). William Shatner’s TekWar didn’t even have that.

The Star Trek: New Voyages episode written and directed by Marc Scott Zicree, “World Enough and Time,” featured George Takei and was nominated for a Hugo in 2008. Neat!

Zicree ran a Kickstarter to fund production of a series of Space Command films in 2012. Looks like they are working on post-production and vfx currently.  https://medium.com/film-courage/a-story-told-over-150-years-writing-space-command-by-elaine-zicree-and-marc-zicree-3e7beae63778

Space: Above and Beyond. Such a darn good show. Doesn’t seem to be available for digital purchase anywhere, which is a crime. You’ll have to buy physical media like some kind of damn savage. https://www.amazon.com/Space-Above-Beyond-Enr%C3%ADquez-Alcal%C3%A1/dp/B000BCCAEQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1505254533&sr=1-1

Jonathan Harris and his fabulous mustache.

The shirt of Garibaldi. Chess King 4-eva!

Ed Wasser as Guerra - flouncy and poofy!

The greatest Star Trek uniforms.

Less good...

Colonel T.C. McQueen from "Space: Above and Beyond."

Believers

Episode 11 “Believers” (Season 1, Episode 10)

Synopsis: In which Dr Franklin is a couple’s only hope to save their son, but the treatment is forbidden by their religion. There also may or may not be a B plot involving Ivanova and some raiders, honestly we can’t be sure.

The Sargasso Sea is an area in the Atlantic where the currents form an area of stillness. Due to this lack of driving momentum mariners sailing into this region would often get stuck and find it difficult to escape.

Logen Ninefingers is a character in Joe Abercrombie’s First Law novels (and others), which we both really love. The actual quote is “Once you've got a task to do, it's better to do it than live with the fear of it.” Words to live by.

David Gerrold has a 50-year long career as a sci-fi writer, perhaps his most notable works being “The Trouble with Tribbles,” the novel “When HARLIE Was One,” and the mentioned unfinished “War Against the Chtorr” series (which involves the fight to stop an alien race from terraforming Earth into something more hospitable to themselves, and includes a great deal of discussion of wartime psychology and ethics).

Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2, episode 9 “The Measure of a Man” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Measure_of_a_Man_(Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation)

Law & Order only premiered in 1990 (so it was in its fourth season at the time of B5’s first), but much like dumplings or dragons, every historical culture on record has a Law & Order and it has actually been airing since Enkidu was in short pants. Bum Bum.

http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/010.html - JMS regarding this episode “It's something you've never seen done in ANY SF-TV series, and I don't think has ever been done in TV overall. A very daring little story.”

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0629279/ - A Law & Order episode from 1991 on the same topic. Bum Bum.

Massachusetts has elected the Governor and Lt Governor on the same ticket since 1966.

Yesterday’s Enterprise: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yesterday%27s_Enterprise

Deathwalker

Synopsis: In which a war criminal long thought dead arrives on the station with a tantalizing offer of an immortality serum. The League of Unaligned Worlds wants her tried for her crimes, but the other civilizations trip over themselves racing to prove who can be the most ethically compromised. Then the Vorlons just unilaterally blow her up, so never mind.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0779401/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Sarah Douglas, the titular DEATHWALKER Warmaster Jha’dur: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235243/?ref_=tt_cl_t12

An article from the excellent Lawfare Blog on what the US Code of Military Justice has to say w/r/t disobeying an unlawful order. This article specifically addresses  using certain interrogation methods but is generally of interest to the discussion of what Sinclair should/could do when ordered by Senator Hidoshi to send Jha’dur along to Earth immediately: https://www.lawfareblog.com/can-us-service-members-disobey-order-waterboard-terrorist

Vicar Abbut’s role was apparently originally written for Gilbert Gottfried. That makes a lot of sense.

Robin Curtis: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0193495/?ref_=tt_cl_t13  Jon and Chris have a long-standing feud over the relative merits of Stars Trek II and III. The Robin Curtis/Kirstie Alley divide is a new angle here. But as this is the internet, such disagreements are not new ground: https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/the-best-saavik-kirstie-alley-vs-robin-curtis.142324/

“Oh, Kim Cattrall”is from the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode “City Limits.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVMb5QN9TS8

And the Sky Full of Stars

Episode 9 “And the Sky Full of Stars” (Season 1 Episode 8)

Synopsis: In which Commander Sinclair is abducted by anti-alien “enhanced interrogation technique” enthusiasts who prove to be staggeringly incompetent at their job. But despite their efforts, the commander begins to recall some surprising details about what happened to him at the final battle of the Earth-Minbari War.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0517629/?ref_=tt_ep_nx

The title of the episode is a reference back to a painful soliloquy Commander Sinclair made in “The Gathering” about the Battle of the Line.

The Prisoner was a British tv series that ran in 1967-1968, starring Patrick McGoohan (who was also the co-creator) as “Number Six” - a secret agent who had resigned from his agency and was then kidnapped and swept away to the mysterious “Village.” Over the course of 17 episodes a series of handlers known only as “Number Two” attempt to break Number Six and get him to reveal the real reason why he resigned. The show bounces around from traditional espionage to trippy 1960s sci-fi to anti-war counterculture. Really, if you haven’t ever seen it you should check it out. I don’t think it’s on any of the streaming services currently but it’s only $30 on Amazon/iTunes and it well worth the money.

There was a 2009 remake by AMC that...isn’t very good.

Patrick McGoohan was only in four episodes of Columbo? Seems like a lot more. For all your Columbo-related podcast needs check out “Just One More Thing”

Mind control techniques used by Jim Jones and other cult and cult-adjacent groups: http://www.cultwatch.com/howcultswork.html

The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Chain of Command” (with Picard’s classic “THERE...ARE...FOUR...LIGHTS!”) aired in December 1992. All Picard must do is admit that there are five lights, despite what he knows to be true. That one little admission - that was all that was needed. The theory being that once you have extracted one simple, seemingly irrelevant concession from the victim the camel’s nose is under the tent if you will, and it makes it easier for the victim to make further concessions.

The Prisoner episode “Living in Harmony” is an homage to Western films, including a twist on the opening credits where Number Six rides into town and slams down his sheriff's  badge and gun. In the episode Number Six refuses to carry a gun, which was seen as too anti-war by executives at CBS, and the episode was not aired in the US during the initial run of the series.

The Earth-Minbari war lasted from 2245-2248.

All the headlines seen in Garibaldi’s “Universe Today” newspaper are transcribed at the always essential Lurker’s Guide: http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/008.html

Judson Scott, star of the short-lived 1980s show The Phoenix. While it only got 5 episodes (and the pilot was shown almost a full year before the second episode - sound familiar?) I [Chris] remember watching and really loving it. Scott, as “Bennu of the Golden Light,” was some ancient alien type dude with an amulet that amplified his psychic powers.  I guess he was also in some Star War film or something, I dunno.

The War Prayer

Episode 8 “The War Prayer” (Season 1, Episode 7)

Synopsis: In which an “Earth First” terrorist movement spills over to the station, tensions rise between humans and aliens, and we learn that Ivanova has terrible taste in men.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0517716/?ref_=tt_ep_nx

Stormfront was founded in 1995, after season 1 of B5, but organized “us first, screw you people who are different” groups are as old as humanity itself, sadly. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/stormfront

The racial issues underpinning Brexit are well documented. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/29/frenzy-hatred-brexit-racism-abuse-referendum-celebratory-lasting-damage

They took our jobs! http://southpark.cc.com/clips/104259/they-took-our-jobs

Irish immigration to the United States in the 1840s-1850s, and the following anti-Irish sentiment. http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/famine/america.htm Can you imagine the kinds of invectives directed at various immigrant and refugee groups being aimed at the Irish today? It seems absurd. How will history judge us 150 years down the road?

The rise of the Know-Nothing party has definite echoes in our current political climate. This passage from Abraham Lincoln is interesting:

“Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid,” Lincoln continued. (I have retained his spelling and capitalization.) “As a nation, we begin by declaring that ‘all men are created equal.’ We now practically read it ‘all men are created equal, except negroes.’ When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read ‘all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and catholics.’ When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretence of loving liberty -- to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/02/18/immigration_and_the_rise__fall_of_the_know-nothing_party_125649.html

The dinner scene from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. The dialogue is quite forced to generate the conflict, but note that it is Walter Koenig’s Chekov who really puts his foot in it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2TDf9XU09k

The constantly referenced Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5: http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/007.html

A Journey to Babel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_Babel  For a B5 podcast, we sure do talk a lot about Star Trek...

Removal of the prohibition against main characters being in conflict with one another in Star Trek: Discovery (there we go again…) http://ew.com/tv/2017/06/23/star-trek-discovery-rules/

The Ruby Ridge standoff was in August 1992.

The World Trade Center bombing happened on February 26, 1993.

The siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco happened in February-April 1993.

The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was on April 19, 1995.

“The War Prayer” first aired on March 9, 1994, so definitely all of these events except the Murrah Building bombing were in the zeitgeist at the time of its writing and production. (Chris mistakenly said the Ruby Ridge standoff contributed to the Branch Davidian situation - he meant that it was a motivating factor behind the Oklahoma City bombing. The perils of googling while podcasting, one’s tongue is often faster than one’s brain).

Tristan Rogers, who plays the unfortunately named “Malcolm Biggs,” veteran of a thousand soap operas, also played a character named “Manly Biggs” on an early 1990s show called “Super Force.” It ran for 48 episodes. Maybe that’s where Jon knows him from? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098917/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_29

When Jon mentions an actor who has shown up in The Dark Knight, Gotham, Arrow, and Supergirl he may be referring to David Dastmalchian, who was not in Gotham or Arrow but was on The Flash (who can keep track these days?) and was also in Ant-Man and Twin Peaks: The Return. A modern genre film/tv “That Guy” for sure! http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2810287/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t47

Mind War

Episode 7 “Mind War” (Season 1, Episode 6)

Synopsis: In which a powerful telepath is pursued by other powerful telepaths, and decides the station is a great place to hide.  We learn more than we bargained for about how telepaths operate in the B5 universe. And G’Kar demonstrates his skill at the long game.

Thanks to special guest Bill Lynch!

[Chris] Okay, time to get nerdy here (says the man with a Babylon 5 podcast) - I’ve been doing tabletop roleplaying games for about 37 years now. Bill and Jon are two of the best story tellers and world-builders I’ve ever known. They excel at long-term stories with a slow build and lots of deep character development. So of course Bill was a natural to invite in as a guest host at some point. But I had no idea he was also a huge B5 fan until we started this project! Great to have you on, Bill!

Jason Ironheart was played by William Allen Young, and while he may not be a character actor with credits stretching back to the 60s, he was on an episode of Renegade in the 90s and that’s just as good. He’s currently on the CBS show Code Black.

Watchmen was a 12 issue comic book series written by Alan Moore, released in 1986-1987. It was later made into an acceptable movie by Zach Snyder. In it one of the characters, Jon Osterman/Doctor Manhattan, is in an accident with an “Intrinsic Field Subtractor” which gives him godlike powers, including being able to manipulate matter at the atomic level, while distancing him from his humanity. At the end of the story he leaves Earth to explore the universe and perhaps create new life. Am I crazy here?

Psychic abilities in media: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PsychicPowers. What Jason has developed may be closer to the Reality Warper level (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RealityWarper), which was in fact pretty prevalent before 1993. How did I forget Charlie X!

My “elbow sex” joke didn’t get nearly the laughs it deserved. https://m.popkey.co/6ea98a/pJbav.gif

The Psi Corps were definitely inspired by the novel The Demolished Man by (wait for it) Alfred Bester.

The Zhodani from Traveller: http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Zhodani

The episode Bill references where technology is used to mind probe Sinclair is “And the Sky Full of Stars,” two episodes from now. Stay tuned!

The aliens of SIgma-957, who are completely NOT Shadows. In related news, I am an idiot. http://babylon5.wikia.com/wiki/Walkers_of_Sigma-957

The NSA’s PRISM project, intercepting and collecting internet data. Note the ominous eye logo (“Be seeing you!”) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_(surveillance_program)

Can’t go a week without referring to the Lurker’s Guide: http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/006.html This was where I read that JMS wanted Patrick MacGoohan for “And the Sky Full of Stars.”

The Parliament of Dreams

Episode 6 “The Parliament of Dreams” (Season 1, Episode 5)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0517711/?ref_=tt_ep_nx

Synopsis: In which the station hosts a religious trade show of sorts, an assassin stalks Ambassador G’Kar, the Commander’s old flame returns, and we at last meet Na’toth and Lenir.

Roman gods of the hearth: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lares May all the Classics professors that Jon and Chris have had over the years forgive us for linking to wikipedia here.

The Centauri gods on Londo’s table are:Ben-Zan, the god of food; Li, the goddess of passion; and Mo-Goth, god of the underworld and protector of front doors (who looks more than a little like a garden gargoyle purchased at Home Goods). Clearly we have seen the importance of passion to Londo, and based on his dimensions one would assume food is also important (note to self - how many scenes with Londo involve him eating? My gut, pun quite intended, says there are a LOT of them, like Brad Pitt in Ocean’s 11 level. Something to watch for). The underworld is a surprising one. We know about the Centauri death visions but not about their afterlife. Londo is a shrewd political player, and I suppose hedging your bets by claiming the god of the afterlife as one of your household patrons is never a bad idea. Not sure where the front doors bit fits.

I’ve been trying to find a clip of G’Kar’s song to insert here, but without success. Just go back to your tapes, dvds, or files and watch the episode again. It’s a good one.

Wikipedia (again. I know, I know) tells us there are approximately 4,200 religions on Earth today.  That would be one heck of a lineup.

Infection

Episode 5 “Infection” (Season 1, episode 4)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0517658/?ref_=tt_ep_pr

Synopsis: In which an ethically challenged archaeologist accidentally unleashes a living weapon on the station, we get to know Dr Franklin, and a reporter hounds the reluctant Commander Sinclair for an interview.

A note on Richard Biggs: until researching for these show notes I hadn’t been aware that he was almost entirely deaf. We slag a bit on his tendency to over-act, but I now wonder how much of that may be overcompensation for the fact that he couldn’t really hear regular conversation. Worth keeping in mind.

The eternal David McCallum: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0564724/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t12

The lackey who becomes the monster in this episode is named “Drake Nelson.” Seriously?

http://io9.gizmodo.com/5217560/15-evil-corporations-in-science-fiction - Every character in science fiction who has to deal with megacorporations acts as if they’ve never seen or read anything about megacorporations in science fiction before. It’s maddening.

Jon Pertwee is the best Doctor Who. The matter is not open for discussion. Well, maybe William Hartnell. 

We’re not fancy scientists, but it seems (https://www.space.com/22382-spiral-galaxy.html) that the core of a galaxy would be where you would find the densest population of stars/systems. So when you’re talking about planets “on the outer rim” you’d be talking about stuff out in the arms, like where Earth is. We’re the backwater here, not the core.

Dune Messiah is the best Dune novel. The matter is not open for discussion. This is solely here to see if Jon reads these notes before posting them to the site. [Dune Messiah is most certainly NOT the best Dune novel. -J]

Born to the Purple

Episode 4 “Born to the Purple” (Season 1, Episode 3) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0517634/?ref_=tt_ep_nx

Synopsis: In which we see a softer side of Ambassador Londo Mollari, learn that IT security in the 23rd century is TERRIBLE, and Commander Sinclair goes undercover in full action-hero guy mode.

The great Dr. Carlin Barton, speaking on honor and masculinity in Rome (from her book Roman Honor: Fire in the Bones) http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/06/28/art-of-manliness-podcast-74-ancient-roman-honor-with-dr-carlin-barton/

https://www.amazon.com/Roman-Honor-Bones-Carlin-Barton/dp/0520225252

The Centauri Republic: http://babylon5.wikia.com/wiki/Centauri_Republic

Meat Loaf I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That): http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x337wb_meat-loaf-i-d-do-anything-for-love_music

Clive Revill: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0720890/?ref_=tt_cl_t13

VR.5: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VR.5

Profit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profit_(TV_series)

The location of Babylon 5, 10.5 light years from Earth: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epsilon_Eridani_in_fiction

http://teeherivar.com/product/what-do-you-want-you-moon-faced-assassin-of-joy

Soul Hunter

Episode 3 “Soul Hunter” (Season 1, Episode 2) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0517692/?ref_=ttep_ep2

Synopsis: In which a mysterious alien, a hunter of souls if you will, comes aboard the station. We are introduced to Doctor Stephen Franklin, gain some insights into Mimbari religious doctrine and learn that Ambassador Delenn may not be what she seems.

Lurker’s Guide page on the episode: http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/002.html

JMS on Delenn’s originally intended gender ambiguity:

“We'd originally planned to go for a more vague sexuality for Delenn; a male physically and primarily in the voice, on top of the natural female movements one gets from an actress. In post-production, however, we couldn't get the voice to sound as good and male as we'd wanted. In addition, a couple of convention showing of a rough cut saw people responding VERY strongly to her voice as it was, so we finally decided to let it stand and change the one reference to "he" to "she," and that was the end of it.” http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/000.html

Chris, discussing the theory of soul-vat recycling, referenced “Richard Bachman” but meant “Richard Bach.” Bachman is, of course, a pseudonym used by Stephen King to write such works as “Thinner” and “The Running Man.” It would have been much more interesting to see King’s take on the migration of souls, so perhaps this was just wishful thinking.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One:_A_Novel

Claudia Christian and Walter Koenig were at GenCon in Milwaukee in 1999.  

The Shell Game scam: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_game

The Babylon 5 station is listed as 5 miles long and 2.5 million tons. An Imperial Star Destroyer is approximately ⅛ the size. https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2016/01/25/how-much-would-it-realistically-cost-to-build-an-imperial-i-class-star-destroyer/#1f3b3c44390d

Commander Sisko’s conversation with Quark:

Commander Benjamin Sisko: My officers, Bajoran engineers, all their families depend on the shops and services of this promenade. If people like you abandon it, this is going to become a ghost town. We need someone to step forward and say "I'm staying. I'm rebuilding". We need a community leader, and it's going to be - you, Quark!

Quark: [guffaws] Community leader!

William Morgan Sheppard: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0792003/?ref_=tt_cl_t12

Ave Atque Vale, Vir

Sometimes I have to wonder, and I know I’m not alone in this, if this show is cursed.

As everyone probably knows, we lost Stephen Furst last week. A very good actor, a huge presence in Babylon 5, and by all accounts I’ve seen a very good person.

Furst, as Vir Cotto, comes on seeming to be the bumbling comic relief sidekick to the comic relief main character. It would have been easy to leave him in that role, largely inconsequential to the bigger story. But Babylon 5 never went for easy.

Jon suggested I write something about Furst and Vir this week, but I’m having a problem with that. I’ve never seen Animal House for whatever reason. Never really watched St. Elsewhere. And while I watched Babylon 5 in its initial run my memory is terrible. I can remember general themes and vague impressions but not many details. I’m almost seeing the series for the first time after having dreamt it or had someone describe it to be in vague detail on a long train ride.

But I do remember one bit, the one everyone remembers. Vir was the one who actually stood up to Morden, when no one else would. From this awkward, nerdy fellow, this was a triumph.

Vir was the conscience of the show, the everyperson with a heart of gold and the best intentions, even if he didn’t always know how to achieve them. I may not remember many specific details about the show but I know that Vir was a good man in a very complicated and difficult situation. I look forward to getting to know him again.

Thumbnail image from: [https://www.pinterest.com/pin/519251032012521949/]

Midnight on the Firing Line

Episode 2 “Midnight on the Firing Line” (Season 1, Episode 1) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0517669/?ref_=tt_ep_pr

Synopsis: In which a Narn sneak-attack on a Centauri outpost bring the powers to the brink of war. Earth elects a new President!  Also we meet the new station telepath Talia Winters, the new first officer Lt. Commander Susan Ivanova, let us never speak of Laurel Takashima again, and there’s some nonsense about space pirates.

Season 1 Opening Narration:

Jeffrey Sinclair: It was the dawn of the third age of mankind, ten years after the Earth/Minbari war. The Babylon Project was a dream given form. Its goal: to prevent another war by creating a place where humans and aliens could work out their differences peacefully. It's a port of call, home away from home for diplomats, hustlers, entrepreneurs, and wanderers. Humans and aliens wrapped in two million, five hundred thousand tons of spinning metal, all alone in the night. It can be a dangerous place, but it's our last best hope for peace. This is the story of the last of the Babylon stations. The year is 2258. The name of the place is Babylon 5.

Lurker’s Guide page on the episode: http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/001.html

Claudia Christian: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0160004/?ref_=nv_sr_6

Our Thesis - Why We Think Babylon 5 Matters, Even in 2017

Why are you making a podcast about a show that's more than 20 years old? Particularly one that hasn't even been given a glossy (or gritty) remake yet? Chris and I asked ourselves that very question before we got to work and we came to the conclusion that without Babylon 5, you simply don't have the fundamental reinvention of science fiction television that came after it. You don't have Lost. You don't have the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica in all its glory. You don't have Firefly. You don't have the serialized science fiction, as evidenced by programs like Orphan Black, 3%, Sense8 or Stranger Things. Babylon 5 helped turn us into different kinds of science fiction television viewers by virtue of its long-running narrative arcs that required a commitment to follow. In short, what is it about this program that made this practice possible, how did it work, what did its creator do to sustain it and what were the themes that made the show effective?

Our objective is not to give a blow-by-blow recounting of each episode's events. Rather, through our conversation, we hope to better understand what made B5 one of the seminal programs in science fiction television history. It was great and dreadful, sometimes in equal measure, sometimes in the same episode. Usually programs this uneven don't get made. We hope over the course of this series to better understand B5 as a phenomenon, as a cultural relic of its time and despite its problems, worthy of its place in the canon of science fiction television. We're going to riff a lot as we take the show episode by episode. There will be regular features, like the most Straczynskiest line of the episode, and we'll certainly be making fun of some of the more over the top aspects of the show. But each episode will, we hope, take us with ever greater confidence into understanding the show, its influence and its context...now, join us in the year 2257, at the dawn of the third age of mankind, as we begin to decipher the legacy of this often great, sometimes dreadful but always intriguing television touchstone.

Cover image from: [http://io9.gizmodo.com/5985727/the-strange-secret-evolution-of-babylon-5]

The Gathering

Episode 1 - “The Gathering” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106336/?ref_=nv_sr_2

Synopsis: In which we meet the crew of the space station, for better or worse. Representatives from each of the alien powers gather, and someone tries to kill the enigmatic Vorlon ambassador. The plot thickens when the station commander, Jeffrey Sinclair, is the prime suspect!

Opening narration

Londo Mollari: I was there at the dawn of the Third Age of Mankind. It began in the Earth year 2257, with the founding of the last of the Babylon stations, located deep in neutral space. It was a port of call for refugees, smugglers, businessmen, diplomats and travelers from a hundred worlds. It could be a dangerous place, but we accepted the risk because Babylon 5 was our last, best hope for peace. Babylon 5 was a dream given form, a dream of a galaxy without war where species from different worlds could live side by side in mutual respect. Babylon 5 was the last of the Babylon stations. This is its story.

On the comparisons between Babylon 5 and Deep Space 9: http://www.tor.com/2013/02/26/is-this-the-smoking-gun-proving-deep-space-nine-ripped-off-babylon-5/

The changes made to the show between The Gathering and the start of season 1: http://io9.gizmodo.com/5985727/the-strange-secret-evolution-of-babylon-5

In the discussion of the Earth Alliance, we note that the Earth Alliance appears to be a”humans only club” and that the various other “miscellaneous” aliens we see around the station don’t seem to have representation among the command staff or in the tribunal. We will see in “Midnight on the Firing Line” that these other aliens are part of the “League of Non-Aligned Worlds” and not part of the Earth Alliance.

Opening sequence from the original version of The Gathering, as it aired in 1993, including the original theme music by Stewart Copeland:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc9KM9YQ-WQ

In sharing this extraordinary music with this audience, we make no copyright claims to it and use it only to ensure that those many fans who have never encountered it might learn of it.

Tamlyn Tomita’s credits. And Jon calls himself a Glee fan... http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000674/?ref_=nv_sr_1

The Instance, a World of Warcraft podcast so you don’t have to:

http://frogpants.com/instance

The indispensable Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5, entry on The Gathering. See the “Analysis’ section for discussion of  Lt. Commander Takashima’s role in the conspiracy:

http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/000.html

Michael Garibaldi’s second favorite thing in the universe: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1ym9b7_daffy-duck-ep-70-duck-dodgers-in-the-24%C2%BDth-century_fun