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   _Contents:_ [9]Overview - [10]Backplot - [11]Questions - [12]Analysis
   - [13]Notes - [14]JMS
   
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Overview

     Ivanova is promoted and given a diplomatic assignment. Londo seeks
     affirmation from an unusual source. [15]Michael Ansara as Elric.
     [16]William Forward as Refa.
     
Sub-genre: Comedy/intrigue
[17]P5 Rating: [18]7.68

Production number:  203
Original air date:  November 16, 1994

Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Mike Vejar

     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Backplot

     * Every five years, the Drazi people divide by random selection into
       two equal groups, green and purple, and fight for supremacy in a
       contest that lasts a full year. The group that wins is the
       dominant one until the next battle. Group membership isn't
       permanent and has no deeper meaning than the color of cloth one
       happens to select randomly from a container.
     * The only son of the Centauri Emperor recently died, leaving no
       clear successor to the throne. This has served to increase the
       scheming among the Centauri nobility. At least one group,
       disgusted with the decay of the Republic, intends to grab for the
       throne when the Emperor dies; Londo has all but pledged to support
       that group.
       
Unanswered Questions

     * Where were the techno-mages going?
     * Will they return or otherwise make their influence felt?
     * How do they know about the upcoming conflict?
     * _What_ do they know about it? Are they aware of the Shadows, for
       instance?
     * What part do Londo's new partners want him to play in their
       machinations?
     * What repercussions will Ivanova's solution to the Drazi problem
       have?
     * Were the winged creatures on Londo's back significant, or just a
       meaningless practical joke?
       
Analysis

     * Londo seems to have made up his mind about following his ambition.
       He appeared to be seeking the techno-mages' endorsement for his
       own political gain, rather than for the good of the Republic. It
       remains to be seen whether he'll have the willpower to follow
       through with his newfound assertiveness when lives are at stake,
       though Elric's statement about the future indicates he will.
     * Londo is willing to trust Vir with other people's secrets ("He can
       be trusted!") but not with his own (e.g., his reluctance to
       discuss Morden in [19]"Chrysalis.") Vir is gradually becoming more
       assertive, more willing to stand up to Londo. Whether this will
       cause Londo to respect or trust him more remains to be seen.
     * The two Drazi leaders were clearly only in charge of the groups on
       Babylon 5, as evidenced by the fact that the decision to up the
       stakes of the contest came from the Drazi homeworld. What happens
       if one group wins in one place and the other wins back home is
       open to debate.
     * Londo's reference to the techno-mages' presence at the founding of
       the Republic, and his recognition of the human mages, suggests
       that the brotherhood of techno-mages is very old, and crosses
       species boundaries. Perhaps they have been around long enough to
       have taken part in the great war recorded in the Book of G'Quan
       (cf. [20]"Revelations") and can see signs of the same thing
       starting again.
     * The techno-mages seem to have found some technological way to
       emulate the prophetic abilities of some of the Centauri, among
       others (cf. [21]"Signs and Portents.") Such abilities are arguably
       related to time travel; perhaps it is the techno-mages who supply
       the technology to bring Babylon 4 forward in time (cf.
       [22]"Babylon Squared.")
     * When Garibaldi was playing with his weapon, it's plausible that he
       was contemplating suicide. He has hit rock bottom. He has been
       betrayed by a trusted member of his own staff and shot in the
       back. The only person he really trusted (Commander Sinclair) is
       gone. And, he is probably feeling that he was somehow responsible
       for the failure to prevent the assassination of the EA President.
       He is a recovering alcoholic, and he has lost the woman he had
       fantasized about marrying. If true, this lends a different meaning
       to Sheridan's comment, "The universe doesn't give us points for
       doing the easy things."
       
Notes

     * Ivanova's broken foot in this episode wasn't originally planned;
       Claudia Christian broke her foot, and it had to be explained in
       the context of the show somehow.
     * The end credits list Edward Conery as Devereaux (cf.
       [23]"Chrysalis") but he doesn't seem to actually appear in the
       episode anywhere. Since he did appear in the previous episode,
       [24]"Revelations," and wasn't listed in its credits, he may have
       been listed here to make up for the omission.
     * Elric's warning to Vir is almost verbatim from Tolkien's Lord Of
       the Rings, in which Gildor, an elf, tells Frodo (speaking about
       Gandalf,) "But it is said: Do not meddle in the affairs of
       wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger."
     * Elric's name is from Michael Moorcock's series of fantasy novels.
     * When Garibaldi turns up to rescue Ivanova, there is a visual
       gaffe. The Drazi who starts to get up to answer the door is the
       one in a red-accented suit with epaulettes. When Garibaldi is
       admitted, it is by the other Drazi, while the one who had started
       to get up is guarding Ivanova.
     * Michael Ansara, who plays Elric, also played Kang, a Klingon, in
       the original Star Trek episode "Day of the Dove" and the Deep
       Space Nine episode "Blood Oath."
       
jms speaks

     * BTW, having now edited seven episodes, and seen several finished
       ones, I think that of the first three, "The Geometry of Shadows"
       (#3) is my personal favorite. "Revelations" is certainly a biggie,
       a staggering chunk of the arc...but "Geometry" is just an absolute
       hoot, something of a breather from the intensity, and largely for
       fun with some undertones. If you liked "The Parliament of Dreams,"
       you'll probably love "Geometry."
     * There were *substantial* differences made between the first draft
       and the final, based on the fact that a lot of the physical stuff
       I'd written for Claudia -- getting herself out of the problem she
       was in with the Drazi -- had to be dumped because the actress had
       a broken foot. So that aspect has to be remembered. We pushed her
       to the limits, and I didn't want to push further.
     * You hit on the head *precisely*. When Garibaldi was popping the
       energy cap in and out of the PPG, he was on the floor, nominally
       in the dark, thinking of killing himself. I didn't want to play it
       up, didn't want to make it what the story was about...just show
       him doing it, over and over. And from Sheridan's face, seeing the
       last of this, it's clear he got it...and I thought he handled the
       scene *perfectly*, by his whole demeanor, but NOT talking about it
       except indirectly.
     * If I told you what the 14 words were, they wouldn't mean anything
       anymore.
     * I don't feel Sheridan was downplaying her promotion; he was
       sneaking it up on her to surprise her, making it more of an
       unexpected delight.
     * The idea behind the title "The Geometry of Shadows" was in a sense
       a metaphor for the techno-mages; geometry bespeaking the use of
       math and equations, the latter being generally something dark, or
       mysterious, or mystical.
     * "The Geometry of Shadows" seemed to me a good metaphor for the
       technomages; a mix of science with something dark and mysterious.
       How do you work out the geometry of something that in one sense
       doesn't really exist, but is a projection of something else that
       DOES exist? That seemed to me as good a notion of technomagic as
       anything else.
     * Be assured, Vir's position continues to be important, and he moves
       a bit closer to the limelight as he does so...remember, he's the
       one who has to watch Londo's actions like a man watching an
       accident in slow motion, and try to do what he can to stop it.
     * Sheridan wasn't talking to himself, but rather to the tech who
       just seconds before asked if they should let the techno-mages go.
       (I'd trimmed the first part of his speech which made this a little
       clearer, figuring it'd be evident who he was talking to. What can
       I say... sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you.)
     * Excuse me, but has *anyone* here considered that Sheridan just
       might still be talking to the same tech he was speaking to not
       *five seconds earlier*? He wasn't talking to himself, so much, or
       the audience, though the push-in (the only shot we had) worked
       against that. He *was* talking to the tech. Honest.
     * The technomages are from various races and worlds; there are some
       who are Centauri, some who are human, even other races such as the
       Vree and the pak'ma'ra, though these in particular happened to be
       from Earth. (If they were Centauri, why would Sheridan have been
       interfering with their emigration?)
     * Re: the Drazi...yeah, they all look different in that episode. Our
       prosthetics folks did a great job with that, as did the actors,
       and I think this one should earn Optic Nerve another emmy.
     * And yeah, Garibaldi's "joke" was supposed to be pretty lame; we
       even edited it to widen the awkward pause, to make it more
       difficult. He's trying too hard, and his spirit isn't in it.
     * No, actually, the technomage symbol (all of them, actually,
       including the ones on the wall) are all derivations, specifically
       altered, of old runes and the like. In some cases, we removed
       words and inserted mathematical symbols. The fiery symbol is all
       one piece, and is also an old rune.
     * Actually, Londo has two coats, a cloak, several different colored
       vests (blue, black, others), often wears just his shirt, we've
       seen him in his PJs...he's got a fairly large wardrobe.
     * Also, Londo looks for the blessings of the technomages the same
       way the witches performed that role in "Macbeth." There are other
       parallels one might draw as well, though again they're still two
       different stories.
     * _What happened to the Emperor's son?_
       Ah...a very sad case, that. Turhan's only child, his son, died
       during a boating accident, of all things. He drowned. His personal
       guard, who was apparently unable to find Turhan's son in the murky
       water, was found dead several days after making his report; his
       own death was officially ruled a suicide, out of grief. But there
       are always stories....
     * _How was it written before Claudia Christian injured her ankle?_
       Mainly it was written with Ivanova solving her problem on her own,
       without Garibaldi being there.
     * _Re: Squaring the account of Ivanova's promotion with Comic #1,
       "In Darkness Find Me"_
       The president spoke truthfully; Sheridan could petition for a
       promotion for her, but it's up to Earthforce to grant it, so the
       line still tracks. (Note also there's no pronoun there; "Giving
       her a field promotion." The imperial We still stands, though.)
       Also, Sheridan says he put through the paperwork the day after he
       got there; which is fairly close to the time frame in the story in
       which the President says they'll be giving Ivanova a promotion.
       There's no discontinuity here.
     * Actually, originally, the plan was for President Clark to indeed
       notify Ivanova in "Points of Departure," but introducing a new
       character in the General added some changes when we shot the
       scene. But by then it was too late to modify the comic [#1, "In
       Darkness Find Me"].
       Also, in the comic, Clark doesn't *specify* who's giving Ivanova
       the promotion, just that it's being done. (And Sheridan comments
       that he put through the paperwork the day after he arrived, which
       tracks with this time-wise.)
     * Ivanova did NOT take the kerchief off either of the Drazi leaders
       in the council chambers; she walked PAST them, and signaled for
       two of the regular Drazi to come down out of the cheap seats.
     * Nope, that really was Claudia walking on her broken foot in the
       council chambers. She's a trooper....
     * "A race that speaks in macros" referred to the Drazi constantly
       repeating their stance, Green must fight Purple, Purple must fight
       Green, over and over...macros.
     * Ann Bruice did a great job on the technomage costumes; I agree.
       She found ways to implement what was described in the script that
       were both creative and wore well, and fulfilled the function. I
       wanted black, with fine silver lines, and an almost circuitboard
       look to the patterns in places, but not *obviously* that,
       stylized. She took that and came back with a true niftyness....
     * In order to create more involved alien makeups, and because many
       actors have a hard time with prosthetics, we created what we call
       the Babylon 5 Alien Rep Group; last year about five, and this year
       about 12 actors who we have taken full head and (in some cases)
       body casts, so we can use them in mid-level speaking roles as
       aliens and rotate them in and out. Since we had fewer last year,
       you saw Mark more than you'll see him this year. Green Drazi #1 in
       "Geometry" is one such rep group alien.
       We keep trying to find interesting solutions to interesting
       problems.
     * The techno-mages were not a homage to ShadowRun games, since I've
       never seen the game, and have never heard of it prior to seeing
       this message.
     * Yes, Ivanova's title in the opening credits *will* be changed to
       Commander, to reflect her change in rank. And we'll be adding a
       rank for Lt. Keffer. It's kind of funny; we keep treating the
       opening title this year as a work in progress, reflecting little
       changes here and there...changes in faces, narration, little
       musical changes that will come by about episode five or six.....
       

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