lurkers-guide/ftp/Guide/030.A-Race-Through-Dark-Places

                            [1][ISMAP]-[2][Home]
                                      
    ### GUIDE ### [3][Background] [4][Synopsis] [5][Credits] [6][Episode
                       List] [7][Previous] [8][Next] 
                                      
   _Contents:_ [9]Overview - [10]Backplot - [11]Questions - [12]Analysis
   - [13]Notes - [14]JMS
   
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Overview

     Bester asks Talia to investigate an "underground railroad" of
     unregistered telepaths. [15]Walter Koenig as Bester.
     
Sub-genre: Intrigue
[16]P5 Rating: [17]8.38

Production number:  207
Original air date:  January 25, 1995

Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Jim Johnston

  Watch For
  
   A minor character from a previous episode, who turns out not to be so
   minor after all.
   
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Backplot

   Michael Garibaldi says, "The Corps got started because of our own
   fears." The sudden appearance of real psi abilities in otherwise
   unremarkable people caused so much concern among the general
   population that those showing such talents were gathered together into
   a group that could be more easily controlled -- and Psi-Corps was
   born. Its members are deeply conditioned to prevent any psi from using
   his or her talents to dominate normal people or disrupt society. But
   this conditioning isn't absolute, and attitudes molded early in life
   can still evolve over a persons lifetime.
   
   Given that psis were forced into this essentially closed society,
   shunned by the rest of humanity, it isn't surprising that the
   loyalties of the telepaths turned to the Corps itself. Soon Psi-Corps
   gained control of itself, and eventually the organization began
   pursuing its own goals. The leadership began to exert ever greater
   control over the lives of the members, in an effort to enhance the
   abilities of their people.
   
   The level of control exerted by the Corps over its members grew as
   they began seeking to enhance the abilities of their people, extending
   even to marriage and reproduction. Eventually the onus became too
   great and too pervasive for newly awakened psis to tolerate, and they
   began seeking ways to escape. The Psi-Cops exist to counter this, to
   search for and either capture or eliminate psi talented people who
   escaped early detection or who fled Psi-Corps.
   
   Now the Corps has become a power in its own right. Though the
   organization was intended to keep psis under control, it has itself
   come under the control of those very people. As a group, they _must_
   feel seperate and different if not outright superior to the rest of
   society, and who have long been held in a position of subservience.
   They are organized, ruthless, and determined to pursue their own
   agenda.
   
   "We created our own monster." -- John Sheridan
   
Unanswered Questions

     * Where have all the unregistered psis been going?
     * How long has this "underground railroad" been running?
     * We see Ivanova giving Sheridan his morning briefing, and in it she
       says that B5 has been running in the red for a while because,
       "there's been a lot of Earth Force military transports coming
       through." Where were they going?
     * Has Talia turned completely against the Corps?
     * Why, and by whom, was Bester told that Sheridan would be
       sympathetic to the Psi-Corps?
     * How much did Talia tell Ivanova about the situation, and about
       what's happened to her?
     * "What am I?" "The future." What does that mean? The future of
       telepaths? Of humans in general? Does it refer to Talia's new
       powers, to the fact that she's now likely to work against
       Psi-Corps from within, or something else? Is there even more to
       Ironheart's gift?
     * Will Bester notice that his gun was never actually fired?
       
Analysis

     * The core of Psi-Corps indoctrination was summed up by Bester.
       
     You were raised by the Corps,
     Clothed by the Corps.
     We are your father,
     And your mother.
       What Psi-Corps has become was also demonstrated by Bester.
       Standing with another Psi-Cop, he looks down at a captured rogue
       telepath who he has just forcibly mind-scanned. "He's dead," the
       other Psi-Cop says. "It doesn't matter," Bester replies,
       apparently assuming she was concerned he wouldn't be able to read
       the man any more. Talia doesn't see this, since it happened on
       Mars Colony, but she does meet a stream of rogues who are on B5,
       in transit through the "underground railroad." From them she
       learns, first hand and with undeniable truth, that the experience
       she has had with the Corps is far from unique. Indeed, her
       experiences were mild compared to the stories she hears.
       Abductions. Experiments. Breeding programs that don't rely on
       volunteers for subjects. And as a telepath speaking _to_
       telepaths, she can't avoid the full truth and force of the events
       she hears.
     * How can a Psi-Corps operative turn against the Corps? The
       impossibility of it is clear: The highest rated, strongest
       telepaths are "turned into" Psi-Cops. When the guardians are
       stronger than everyone else, how do you turn against them? Unless
       you are truly exceptional like Matthew Stoner in [18]"Soul Mates"
       you can only flee, immediately, before someone else scans you and
       reads your intention. Matthew Stoner may or may not have eluded
       the clutches of Psi-Corps for a time, but in the end he was firmly
       returned to them. Talia Winters' whole life experience tells her
       that she _cannot_ turn against the Corps, no matter what her
       opinions may be about the integrity or intentions of the
       organization.
       But several events changed her mind about this -- and it was not
       the tales of woe told by the folks in the underground railroad,
       though they undoubtedly inclined her toward rebellion. What
       allowed her to rebel was the realization that her shields were
       much stronger than she thought they were. A year ago Jason
       Ironheart, a victim of Psi-Corps experimentation, visited the
       station (cf. [19]"Mind War.") He became something vastly powerful,
       and departed. But before he left, he gave his onetime love Talia
       Winters a gift, the very thing that Psi-Corps was trying to induce
       in him: telekinesis. And the strength to keep that gift secret.
     * Talia's telekinetic powers are at least somewhat stronger than
       suggested at the end of [20]"Mind War." She can not only move her
       penny with her thoughts -- she can cause it to fly across the room
       with enough force to embed itself in the wall.
     * Telepaths can combine their powers through physical contact. What
       are the limits to such unions? Would a hundred linked telepaths
       begin to approach some of Ironheart's power, or perhaps become
       greater than just a collection of individuals? Does this perhaps
       have something to do with the Minbari prophecy suggesting that
       humans are destined to walk among the stars? (cf. [21]"Babylon
       Squared")
       Or it could simply be that by touching, the telepaths were able to
       help each other focus their individual energies; that's supported
       by the railroad leader's comment that what they did shouldn't have
       worked.
     * The "Underground Railroad." The timeline of the underground
       railroad stretches back to before B5. There is a group of people
       that have actively been working to keep people with psi ability
       out of Psi-Corps. Dr. Franklin implied that it was mostly doctors,
       and it makes sense that their ability to alter or manipulate
       medical and genetic records would make them logical and necessary
       members. But there is no reason to assume that the organization is
       comprised solely of doctors.
       Dr. Franklin was a member before he came to Babylon 5. When Jason
       Ironheart came to B5 he brought with him another rogue, who
       disappeared into downbelow while Jason went through his
       spectacular confrontation with Bester and his subsequent
       transformation. This unnamed telepath (who we've met before, in
       [22]"Chrysalis") apparently contacted Dr. Franklin. Between them,
       they extended the underground railroad through B5 -- though where
       the rogues were going _after_ B5 is unclear. Nor is it clear that
       Dr. Franklin will actually put a stop to the railroad. Dr.
       Franklin's answers to Captain Sheridan's demand that he put a stop
       to it were quite evasive. The telepaths actually at the station
       agreed to leave, which they intended to do anyway. Dr. Franklin
       admitted that his part in it was over, and that others would have
       to take over -- but he never actually said it would stop.
       Ironically, the person Garibaldi first suspected was aiding the
       railroad was Ivanova. He was wrong. She wasn't connected to it.
       But neither was Talia at the time. Now Talia is talking to
       Ivanova. What did they discuss, alone and late at night in
       Ivanova's quarters?
     * Did Ironheart's unnamed friend have ulterior motives when he put
       Garibaldi onto Devereaux' trail in [23]"Chrysalis?" There's
       evidence the Corps was involved in Santiago's death (cf.
       [24]"Revelations") so it's plausible the man knew something of the
       plot, and wanted to foil it without revealing himself.
     * Along similar lines, Bester's request to Talia that she keep an
       eye on Sheridan and the others for their reactions to President
       Santiago's death implies that he knows something other than an
       accident occurred, even that he (or someone he's associated with)
       was involved. His offhand comment that he'd been told Sheridan
       would be sympathetic to the Psi-Corps also implies that there may
       be more to Sheridan's appointment as head of Babylon 5 than meets
       the eye.
     * "Who'd have thought?" John Sheridan asks Ambassador Delenn. He was
       speaking at the time about the common trait of laughter, shared by
       humans and Minbari, but he could equally have been speaking of the
       whole scene. A human ship captain, commanding a giant station on
       the fringe of human controlled space, having a quiet dinner with
       the Minbari ambassador -- who also happens to be a member of their
       ruling body and who is also, to some degree "half-human."
       Moreover, she has apparently chosen him to teach her about
       humanity on a personal level. How personal this can get... who can
       say?
     * Finally, there is a telepath who can operate on the side of the
       "good guys." True, there are all the telepaths who have passed
       through the "underground railroad," but they are untrained or at
       best, trained but fleeing. Talia is fully trained and Psi-Corps
       doesn't know that she has turned--and she is strong enough to
       maintain her independence. It's likely she will be a very
       important player now, and her personality may develop in new
       directions now that she isn't under the heavy hand of Psi-Corps.
       
Notes

     * This episode takes place in March, 2259, three months into
       Sheridan's tour of duty with B5.
     * There is a subthread in this episode about lack of sleep. Bester
       gets Talia out of bed, Talia gets Ivanova out of bed, and Ivanova
       and Sheridan spend a night sacked out in his office (he in his
       chair, she on the couch). Coincidence?
     * "Knock Knock" (who's there) "Kosh" (Kosh who?) "Gesundheit!" --
       Sheridan
     * Judy Levitt, who plays the Psi Cop opposite Bester in the scene on
       Mars, is Walter Koenig's wife.
     * Production gaffe: In the scene outside Earhart's, when Delenn is
       asking Sheridan to dinner, a boom microphone is visible for an
       instant at the top of the screen.
       
jms speaks

     * Favorite line in the next new episode, from Sheridan: "I'm not
       saying what I'm saying. I'm not saying what I'm *thinking*. For
       that matter, I'm not even *thinking* what I'm thinking."
     * BTW, just to note a little something you might not notice in the
       show...we've adopted the tradition of putting the symbol for a
       given ship onto the bar in Earhart's, as many real contemporary
       officers' clubs and airforce/naval base clubs put the logos or
       markings of big planes or ships that come through there. The
       Cortez symbol is the most visible among the various emblems you
       can see in a shot of the bar in "A Race Through Dark Places." It
       comes at the moment we follow *another* old military tradition.
     * As for the sound mix...yeah, we put a great deal of work into that
       aspect, for the surround effect. If you fire up "Race" there's a
       LOT going on in that one. It takes a great deal of time, but it's
       worth it.
     * Yes, originally, "Soul Mates" was to air after "Race." At that
       time, PTEN was initially going to show just 6 new episodes, and we
       would have come in after the rerun break with "Race," then "Soul."
       When the ratings came in and looked good, they didn't want to
       interfere with the growth, and indicated they wanted to show 7 new
       eps in the first batch. "Race," as you can see, was a very complex
       episode visually, and the only way to get it ready to run #7 in
       the first batch would've been to compromise the integrity of the
       show, and we simply won't do that for ANY reason. "Soul Mates," on
       the other hand, required very little in the way of post
       production, so that was moved forward into the #7 slot.
     * Q: How many telepaths does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
       A:
     * I always have to have a title before I begin writing, since the
       title always influences the feel of the show. I try to design one
       that is literary, or refers to a literary influence; it should
       have a certain rhythm, and avoid coming at the subject of the
       episode too dead-on. For instance, one could call the recent Psi
       Cop episode with Bester, "Capture" or "Chase." But I wanted it to
       be evocative, to conjure up the image of people slipping through
       the shadows, pursued by others, and to continue this season's
       trend toward titles that indicate a coming night. Hence, "A Race
       Through Dark Places."
     * _No repeat of Bester's salute from "Mind War"_
       Also, bear in mind that Bester's parting shot in "Mind War" was
       exactly that, in essence an "Up yours" but subtle. There was no
       reason for that to be given to anyone in "Race."
     * Correct, the penny was/is a keepsake.
     * _Where did Ivanova's outfit in the last scene come from?_
       I think it came out of the Victoria's Secrets catalog....
       
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
   Originally compiled by Dave Zimmerman
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      

   [30][Next] 
   
      [31]Last update: October 13, 1997

References

   1. file://localhost/cgi-bin/imagemap/titlebar
   2. LYNXIMGMAP:file://localhost/lurk/maps/maps.html#titlebar
   3. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/background/030.shtml
   4. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/synops/030.html
   5. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/credits/030.html
   6. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/episodes.php
   7. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/029.html
   8. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/031.html
   9. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/030.html#OV
  10. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/030.html#BP
  11. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/030.html#UQ
  12. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/030.html#AN
  13. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/030.html#NO
  14. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/030.html#JS
  15. http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Koenig,+Walter
  16. file://localhost/lurk/p5/intro.html
  17. file://localhost/lurk/p5/030
  18. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/029.html
  19. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/006.html
  20. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/006.html
  21. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/020.html
  22. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/022.html
  23. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/022.html
  24. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/024.html
  25. file://localhost/lurk/lurker.html
  26. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/030.html#TOP
  27. file://localhost/cgi-bin/uncgi/lgmail
  28. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/episodes.php
  29. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/029.html
  30. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/031.html
  31. file://localhost/lurk/lastmod.html