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

     As the Senate continues to investigate President Clark, an
     archaeologist brings news of a development back home that forces
     Sheridan to act against the Earth government. The Nightwatch
     tightens its grip on the civilian population. [15]Nancy Stafford as
     Dr. Kirkish.
     
[16]P5 Rating: [17]9.06

Production number: 308
Original air week: February 19, 1996

Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Mike Vejar

     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Backplot

     * Seven years ago, an archaeological team working for Interplanetary
       Expeditions (see [18]"Infection") discovered a disabled Shadow
       ship buried 300 feet under the Martian surface, underground for at
       least a thousand years. Another Shadow ship, apparently with the
       cooperation of Earth, finished excavating the first, and both flew
       away. Garibaldi was witness, and recovered a Psi Corps badge from
       the site. See comic issue 8, [19]"Silent Enemies." Most of the
       archaeologists have died or disappeared since.
     * More recently, a second Shadow ship was discovered under the ice
       on Jupiter's moon Ganymede.
     * A Shadow ship requires a living being at its core; the two merge,
       becoming one entity. If the pilot isn't properly prepared, the
       result is a confused, insane ship.
     * Translating the Book of G'Quan is considered sacrilege by the
       Narn. "It must be read in the mother tongue, or not at all," says
       G'Kar.
     * Shadow forces have continued to build up on the edge of Centauri
       space.
       
Unanswered Questions

     * What were Shadow ships doing on Mars and Ganymede a millenium ago?
       Was Earth involved in the last war?
     * How does Delenn know that Shadow ships have sentient beings at
       their core? What else does she know about them that she hasn't
       told Sheridan?
     * What kind of preparation is needed to properly merge with a Shadow
       ship?
       
Analysis

     * Sheridan's unwillingness to fire on the Agamemnon may be a sign of
       trouble to come; he's not ready to think of Earth's military as an
       enemy. How long that loyalty will last is unclear, but at some
       point, if conditions on Earth continue to escalate and Sheridan
       continues to act covertly against the government, he'll be forced
       to choose between firing on his own people and death or capture.
     * The White Star is a Minbari vessel, yet Sheridan believed the
       Agamemnon would be able to track it. (See [20]"Points of
       Departure.") Perhaps that was simply because the White Star was in
       Jupiter's atmosphere; it was thus unable to outrun the Agamemnon,
       and could be tracked via atmospheric disturbances.
     * The White Star is a formidable vessel, in any case; it has as much
       firepower as several Narn heavy cruisers, judging by its attack on
       the Shadow vessel (see [21]"The Long, Twilight Struggle,")
       although this Shadow ship might have been smaller than those faced
       by the Narn. The Agamemnon was able to damage the White Star, but
       only after it had been grazed by a Shadow weapon and subjected to
       atmospheric conditions far outside its safety limits.
     * G'Kar's book should make for interesting reading now that he knows
       what's going on from Londo's point of view as well as his own
       ([22]"Dust to Dust.") Given his visitation by what he believes to
       be G'Lan in that episode, will he consider his writings to be on
       the same level as the Book of G'Quan? More importantly, will other
       Narn feel the same way, and become followers of the Book of G'Kar?
     * Dr. Kirkish says of Earth, regarding the Shadows, "They want us to
       become more like them." What does she mean by that? How can humans
       become more like Shadows, and what would that entail?
     * Someone on Earth wanted to go behind the Shadows' backs; if the
       Shadows discover that (assuming they don't already know,) the
       consequences for Earth could be disastrous. Assuming, of course,
       that the Shadows didn't tell Earth about the second ship for their
       own reasons.
     * The events on Mars make it clear that the Shadows were awake to
       some degree before the Icarus visited Z'ha'dum ([23]"In the Shadow
       of Z'ha'dum.") The Icarus visited Z'ha'dum in 2256, but Kirkish
       saw a functioning Shadow vessel seven years ago, in 2253. The
       Psi-Corps connection also implies that the Shadows were aware of
       humanity at the time.
     * Given Marcus' apparent disregard for secrecy ([24]"Exogenesis")
       Ivanova would be well-advised to make sure his chart is destroyed
       or hidden lest a Nightwatch sympathizer stumble across it.
     * Perhaps the Shadows bury their ships underground intentionally.
       Since the ships are at least partially alive, it's even
       concievable that the Shadows bury an egg or something similar,
       then dig up the fully grown ship later on. In that case, where
       else are such ships buried? Do the Shadows know, or did they lose
       track of their ships in the last war?
     * The Shadows attacked the mining colony where Marcus and his
       brother lived ([25]"Matters of Honor.") Could they have been
       trying to prevent the miners from discovering another buried ship?
     * Now that the Agamemnon has observed the White Star at close
       proximity, Earth Force will presumably treat it as hostile on
       sight in the future. That will probably severely limit Sheridan's
       ability to finesse his way out of another fight.
     * The Shadows are far from alone in requiring living beings to merge
       with their machinery. In fact, it seems to be a staple of advanced
       technologies in the B5 universe:
          + The Ikarran weapon in [26]"Infection."
          + The anti-agathic drug in [27]"Deathwalker," which required an
            extract from another living being.
          + The Great Machine in Epsilon 3, which goes berserk without a
            core ([28]"A Voice in the Wilderness.")
          + Shadow ships, as shown here.
       Are Vorlon ships similarly powered? They show up as living beings
       in scans, though that isn't conclusive one way or the other.
     * Delenn's promise to Sheridan, "I will watch and catch you if you
       should fall," is strikingly similar to the Soul Hunter's comment
       to her when she was being held captive: "You will feel as if you
       are falling; do not be afraid, I will be there to catch you."
       ([29]"Soul Hunter.")
       
Notes

     * Narn is written from right to left.
     * "Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom" is a variation on a
       quote from Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United
       States (1801-1809.) The original meaning was that people should
       closely watch their governments to avoid excessive encroachment on
       personal liberty; its use by a Nightwatch member is especially
       ironic.
     * The events on Mars were first revealed in the comic series, issues
       [30]"Survival the Hard Way" and [31]"Silent Enemies," six months
       before this episode's first airing. Garibaldi also made a
       reference to the story contained therein in the first-season
       episode [32]"Infection."
     * In the middle of the White Star's jump to hyperspace, there's a
       single frame of note. The frame takes place as the White Star
       emerges into hyperspace, as it heads toward the camera. The
       hyperspace background changes to what looks like an alien
       cityscape. Apparently it's a shot from [33]Hypernauts, a
       children's sci-fi show whose special effects are being done by
       B5's effects company. (See [34]jms speaks.)
       
jms speaks

     * EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!
       For a couple months now, I've been looking down the road at
       episode #7, because I couldn't quite see the shape of it...I knew
       what I had to do in it, but I couldn't break the spine of the
       story...until ten minutes ago, and it hit me with all the force of
       a meat axe right smack between the eyeballs.
       Hot damn...if I can pull this script off, it may well be the best
       one of the series to date. Granted it'll probably give Ron a
       cardiac infarction, but what the heck, he's had it too easy
       lately.
       Oh, man, is this gonna be cool, assuming I can pull it off.
       Working title: "Messages from Earth."
     * _A bit of a bland title?_
       Whether it's "bland" or not depends on what the messsages might
       be, yes? The only thing I'll say for the episode is that it may be
       one of the biggest whams of the first half of year three, and one
       of our most ambitious episodes of the series. Generally, my
       feeling is that titles should augment the episode, or add
       something, or collapse something into a thematic whole. When you
       see what convictions are at hand, the episode "Convictions" as a
       title works better; ditto for "Messages."
       Besides, a nice, quiet, inoffensive little title gives me a better
       chance to sneak up behind you and whack the heck out of you....
     * "Messages," for my money, is so far the best we've ever done,
       though I'll be more able to lock that down once I've seen the
       final CGI. It and "Dreams" are real CGI blowouts; in the latter,
       there are literally 100 shots -- CGI, live action, and compositing
       -- in *four pages* of action. This is an all time record for us
       (and that doesn't count the stuff earlier in the episode).
       I don't usually go this far, but folks, let me give you my
       personal guarantee: you're in for one hell of a ride come
       mid-season, with these three episodes.
     * Not only did "Messages From Earth" come out as well as I'd hoped
       or thought it would, it came out *better*. It is, potentially,
       either one of the best or the best thing we've ever done in the
       whole series to date. There are some episodes that come close this
       season, like "Point of No Return," "A Late Delivery From Avalon,"
       "Sic Transit Vir" (for absolutely different reasons), and parts of
       "Dust to Dust," but so far -- at least until the CGI for "Severed
       Dreams" is finished, which has at least a shot at knocking
       "Messages" out of the box -- "Messages" is as close to perfect as
       we've ever come.
       Like "The Coming of Shadows" there's a real sense of a *story*
       being told, and major events happening at breakneck speed. It's
       just a joy to watch.
     * I'd suggest, btw, that if there are any folks you've been waiting
       to bring into the fold on B5, you may want to consider 8 and 9 in
       the new cycle, the last of that bunch in February. Eight is
       potentially one of the best, possibly the best episode we've
       produced to date.
     * Here's something that occured to me today. Any time you have
       someone you're trying to convince about the quality of a show, and
       you say, "Here, just watch it next week," that's always the one
       that comes a-cropper.
       "Messages From Earth" airing this coming week is possibly the best
       thing we've done to that point. It's guaranteed to grab anybody
       who watches it. So this would be a good one to use.
       Pick ten friends who you know haven't yet tried B5, or are
       diffident about it, and give them a call. Tell them to give THIS
       one a look. Then all you have to do is sit back, and wait for the
       jaws to drop.
     * "Messages From Earth" - This begins the three-episode mini-arc
       within the larger arc that, by its conclusion, totally changes the
       structure of the B5 universe. A mega-wham episode. Because so much
       comes to a head so quickly, little can be said about it without
       spoiling stuff. Our characters begin making the final and
       irrevocable steps that will put them on a collision course with
       everything they have believed in until now. There are four or five
       episodes this season that push the limits of our effects and CGI
       to the absolute wall; this is one of the biggest.
     * Re: an "edge" to the show....I suspect you're going to get all the
       edge you could possibly want with episodes 8, 9 and especially 10.
       Be *very* careful what you wish for.
     * "...I didn't think things would start moving this fast so soon!"
       Well, this is what I kinda kept trying to tell people was coming,
       when they said things were moving too slowly....
     * Randy, I honestly don't think, after episodes 8-10 have aired,
       that you're going to have any problems with how fast the main
       story is progressing. And do bear in mind that the "main story"
       isn't just the war; if you wanted to do that, you'd just do Space
       A&B. It's operating on a whole lot of other levels.
       Nonetheless...this entire season is much faster overall in
       developing than the two before. The first two seasons we were
       mainly putting the guns into position. Now we're pulling all the
       triggers.
     * Thanks. Bruce did an excellet job in this episode, I agree. As did
       everyone else. This is, in my opinion, about as flawless an
       episode as we have ever made. It's one of those cases where the
       sum is even greater than the sum of its parts...and the sum of its
       parts ain't bad.
       From here on through the next batch, the intensity level continues
       to crank up.
       We definitely pushed the envelope in terms of EFX this time out;
       mixing and matching, and in sheer amounts of shots, and their
       complexity. But the result, I think, is eminently worth the
       effort.
     * I entirely agree; I think she did a dynamite job as Kirkish.
       Totally convincing. When she walked into the audition, and did the
       part, there was no question...it was her.
     * [35]About the alien city
       The executive producer thinks, "He's mistaken, has to be; it must
       be a series of patterns in the image that look like a city." Being
       a thorough person, however, the executive producer fires up his
       copy of the tape, and fast forwards to the shot in question.
       Pauses, then advances, frame by frame.
       Then stops. The executive producer stares at the screen for a
       very, very long time. Eventually, words form. The executive
       producer knows that if he posts those words here, not only will
       they throw him off the system, they will come to his house, burn
       it down, and sow the ground with salt.
       The executive producer knows what that single frame is, knows that
       it has nothing to do with his show, knows that it's a frame from
       Hypernauts that somehow crossed into the EFX shot in
       double-exposure via a computer glitch while rendering. No one saw
       it. No one noticed it. Until now.
       Tomorrow morning, the executive producer is going to make phone
       calls, and say all the words he can't say here. When he is
       finished, twenty seven miles of telephone coaxial cable are going
       to hang melted from the telephone poles. Shortly thereafter, the
       executive producer is going to put a gun to his head and blow his
       brains out, in the sure knowledge that if he does not do so, he
       will most assuredly do it to someone else.
       The executive producer thanks you for bringing this to his
       attention, and would write further, but is currently modeming from
       a laptop computer on top of his roof, from which he is considering
       jumping, and the wind up here is causing line noise.
     * _The White Star looked different._
       Different camera work, mainly.
     * The Eternal Vigilance line is from history, not Wing Commander.
       Ten Green Drazi points to the person who can name its origin.
     * _Where's the press during all this Nightwatch buildup?_
       You'll find more on this in the next three episodes.
     * You need a clear and present danger, and with a population that
       nearly got wiped out by the Minbari, who are skittish to begin
       with, you drag out the possibility of someone else doing the same
       thing and it makes it a lot easier to do what you want to do.
     * _Why aren't eggs and bacon available?_
       Mainly it's the expense involved per volume. It still costs big
       bucks, and you generally need refrigeration.
     * Basically, it's the cost involved in transporting something as
       basically trivial as eggs. Yes, it can be done, but the cost per
       egg would be quite substantial, given limited space in ships.
       Space flight is still very expensive.
       And yes, a shadow vessel has one "core" sentient, and once in,
       it's very difficult for that person to ever get out again.
     * _Wouldn't Ivanova's religion keep her from eating bacon?_
       Ivanova's not what you'd call orthodox under any circumstances.
     * _What was the blue goop?_
       Actually, I think it was blueberry yogurt.
     * _Any relation to the moment of perfect beauty in [36]"There All
       the Honor Lies?"_
       Yes, the way Sheridan removes his EA pin here is an echo, or a
       shadow, so to speak, of his moment in "Honor." The latter is meant
       to sort of indicate what might be ahead for him, what he may have
       to do at some point along the line. He has to give up things that
       mean something to him. (We'll get more of this philosophy in a few
       more eps, I don't want to get too specific here.) Visual
       foreshadowing.
       From here on in, things get very interesting....
     * Yes, what he's writing will, in time, become the Book of G'Kar.
       And correct, I went for a different feel in this episode, on the
       theory that a little change is a good thing, if used to a purpose.
       It's built like a series of waves, with quite moments in between.
       This is the second so far to strongly tie into the comic, yes.
     * _Does G'Kar consider his book on par with G'Quon's?_
       No, he hasn't thought of it that far yet...but it will find that
       role.
     * IXP has been in business, in one form or another, for between
       50-80 years.
     * _Who was the human in the Shadow ship?_
       It doesn't really matter in the long run; some poor shlub who got
       conned into it.
     * _Would a human be sane after piloting a Shadow ship?_
       Almost certainly not.
     * _Could someone on Sheridan's side "pilot" a Shadow ship, or are
       the ships intrinsically evil?_
       It's certainly a *very* good question.
     * No, I wouldn't say there's a corrolation to life force and the
       shadow ships; they need a living organism as the central
       processing unit because an organic unit can think faster than most
       computer systems, and react faster in terms of formulating
       strategy and the like.
     * _What condition was the ship on Mars in?_
       It was dormant. The core element was dead, certainly.
     * Yes, the first batch of eps from season 3, up through 9 or so,
       give a lot more background on the shadow ships, what they are and
       how they work. And as you say, virtually everything in this show
       is here for a reason; there's an offhand remark from Garibaldi in
       "Infection" about his long struggle out of the Martian desert that
       pays off in both the comic, and in a third-season episode. So some
       of the year three stuff was being set up as early as episode 2 of
       year 1, in what was designed to look like just plain old throwaway
       dialogue.
     * _Is a Shadow ship itself a kind of Shadow?_
       It's not a kind of shadow, no.
     * _Is there an official name for the Shadow ships?_
       I just call them shadow vessels. For now.
     * _Why didn't Sheridan use the jumpgate trick again?_
       Because there wasn't a jumpgate he had access to, only a jump
       point created by the White Star. In the prior situation, he blew
       up a standing jump gate. The only one in the vicinity would be at
       the transfer point near Io, which if destroyed would seriously
       harm Earth interests.
     * Three days is the time to the jumpgate off Io. Once you're within
       our solar system, it takes another several days or more to reach
       Earth itself. It's fairly common to keep your jump gate a bit
       removed from your "core" planet so you have warning if any
       aggressors come out of it.
     * _How could the Agamemnon detect the White Star?_
       It can be for a number of reasons. The White Star was moving
       through a highly charged atmosphere, which would leave detectable
       trails; it was being fired at by the shadow vessel, which would've
       attracted considerable attention from the flares; diving at that
       speed and coming back up there would be considerble heat on the
       surface of the ship (not normally a problem in space); and it was
       pretty much shaken up/partially damaged during the fight. Also, at
       that range, once you're near enough, you can pick it up visually
       as it gets close; it's not a cloaking system, only a stealth
       system.
     * Neither situation relied on introducing new technology, only on
       taking advantage of what's known currently. It's a simple
       equation: ship A is more powerful than ship B. In a head-to-head
       situation, ship A (shadow) will destroy ship B (white star). If
       you can't directly confront a stronger enemy, you have to find
       some way to work around it, outsmart it. (And fortunately, this
       one was flawed, "insane," as Delenn put it.)
       And the minbari know more than they're saying. But then that's
       generally true of them.
       And yes, the shadow ship arrived with a new "core" for the buried
       ship.
     * _How does Delenn know so much about Shadow ships?_
       The info came from the Vorlons, and from the last war the Minbari
       fought against them.
     * The ship was hidden there to avoid it being destroyed during the
       war. May or may not see General Franklin again anytime soon.
     * The shadows had allies, who watched over their cities, maintained
       their machines, waited for their awakening...one of their tasks
       was to send out one of the few dormant shadow vessels whenever one
       was discovered or unearthed. This way, slowly, over centuries, the
       fleet would be built back up in strength.
     * There are no shadow vessels buried on Narn, no. The shadow
       influence on the Psi Corps has been growing for about 7 years now.
     * _Who sent the second ship to Mars?_
       They had some of their servants and allies taking care of things;
       whenever a signal was sent, and a ship found, they'd dispatch one
       of the standby ships to go and pick it up, slowly regathering
       their forces.
     * _How is Sheridan going to defeat a Shadow ship head-to-head?_
       Exactly. The goal would seem to be impossible. So how do we do it?
       Is there a vulnerability that's been laid out but not picked up
       yet? Is there an advantage we don't necessarily see yet?
       We have to be smarter. Humans are at our best when against the
       wall. And we have to do it ourselves, in the final analysis,
       nobody else can do it for us.
     * _Was the spine that the White Star shot off the Shadow vessel
       recovered?_
       Nope.
     * The shadow vessel was still a little wobbly from its long
       hibernation and the improper melding.
     * Given that we're looking at a high-energy weapon capable of
       burning through a four-mile wide Narn orbital base as though it
       were made of butter, it's putting out enough energy, I figured, to
       lead to a reaction with the hydrogen, whether it's a fusion
       reaction of some other.
       We're talking a concentrated level of energy equal to a
       thermonuclear reaction on a controlled level, or a fusion weapons
       system with an energy output well beyond contemporary science to
       calculate (particularly since this system is capable of delivering
       the energy, undiluted, to targets tens or dozens of miles
       distant).
     * Yeah, perhaps a better word than ignite could've been used. But
       hey, the guy was being shot at...I'd be sitting in a corner going
       bibble-bibble...
     * _About the massing Shadow forces_
       The forces will continue to build over the course of this season.
       The White Star would be detected because it was inside the
       atmosphere, where it could be picked up by its emissions, the
       disruption caused in the air by the engines, and frankly by plain
       sight.
     * _What's the symbol at the front of the White Star bridge?_
       The symbol on the WS isn't on the floor, it's the top of a console
       that can be used for holographic tactical displays.
     * _The shot of G'Kar writing was flipped!_
       Not a gaffe; we flopped the shot because the writing was done left
       to right, instead of right to left, which is Narnish script.
     * Thanks. We've featured Minbari script going straight up and down
       like Japanese, right to left with Narns, and other variations.
       Because they would naturally occur.
     * Also, bear in mind that Sheridan went into Earth-space knowing the
       risks. For him to fire on the Aggy would be selfish, and wrong; he
       knew full well that this could be a one-way ride.
       If you're going to have a situation where Sheridan fires on EA
       ships, it has to be the ONLY way of dealing with the situation,
       and it has to be SUPREMELY motivated, so that it's not just him or
       one of our guys who's at stake. It has to be a big situation to
       merit taking the lives of fellow officers, in the same service.
     * _Nobody seemed to be translating Sheridan's orders to the White
       Star's crew._
       Lennier was muttering his translations off-screen.
       That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
     * I think they know the White Star (aka the unidentified ship) got
       away, but they put the best face on it back home. Which is one
       more reason why Clark's declared martial law. Things are spinning
       out of control, he's in increasingly hot water back home, and he
       has to seize control. Whoever was in that alien ship knows too
       much about his operations...if that were to come out, he's
       finished.
     * _Are rights suspended during Clark's martial law?_
       Yes, right to assemble, free speech rights, they're all open to
       abridgement. Travel can also be restricted.
     * _What happened to Ivanova's discovery in [37]"Voices of
       Authority?"_
       That information was sent to Earth, where it's led directly to the
       series of current investigations that were launched...and which
       forced Clark's hand into declaring martial law to distract from
       all that.
     * _Are we near the end of the Nightwatch plot thread?_
       The thread will diminish for a while, then return down the road in
       later seasons, after the story takes its third major turn.
     * _Why does anyone on Earth believe Clark?_
       It all depends on how you frame the issue...i.e., the attacks are
       groundless, baseless, and part of a campaign to destroy the
       government, he's the attacked innocent....
     * _Sheridan's conspiracy should be falling apart about now._
       Of course it can't hold. And they're going to go through plenty of
       fire. Remember, this is the first of three that accomplish that.
       Each escalates upon what went before. Don't worry...you'll get
       your wish.
     * Yes, the current mini-arc (8-10) is the second major turn in the
       storyline. The third starts with the last episode of this season,
       going into the fourth year. Then you've got one more big turn
       about the last quarter or one-third of year four, and then a bit
       of a flip at the end.
     * _We already knew everything this episode revealed._
       If I can, let me address one aspect of this, for your
       consideration.
       Back when I was working on MURDER, SHE WROTE, we'd sometimes get
       letters saying, "This wasn't a good episode because I figured out
       the ending. It wasn't a surprise." (Which is, to some extent, your
       point here.)
       The problem we had with that particular letter was this: of COURSE
       you figured it out. Because you were paying attention to all the
       clues we had put out there in the episode.
       There seems to be this notion that nobody should be able to jump
       ahead, or else something's wrong or bad about the episode.
       Absolutely not true. If you're going to play fair with the
       audience, whether it's B5 or M,SW, you've got to put enough bits
       of information out on the table so that the person who's really
       following it can figure it out...so that at the end, those who
       *didn't* figure it out can back up the tape, watch for the clues
       or leads, and see where it all came from. That's playing fair.
       If NObody gets it, you haven't done your job right.
       If EVERYbody gets it, you haven't done your job right.
       The best case scenario is a bell-shaped curve. Some don't have a
       clue what's coming, some manage to figure it out, and the majority
       have a kind of vague sense where it's going, but there are still
       surprises along the way. If the bell-curve shifts one direction or
       the other, then you're in trouble.
       So far, B5 seems to be hewing right to the bell-curve. For every
       person who says "okay, this was expected," there's been another
       saying, "I had no *idea* this was going to happen here, or so
       fast." (Many of these have been right on this forum, in fact.)
       Finally, do bear in mind that you have an advantage here that 99%
       of all the viewers don't: the discussion here on CIS, and direct
       comments from me. For instance, I just noted elsewhere that we've
       got major turns at the end of this season, and one 2/3rds into
       year 4. Now, if at those points, somebody says, "Well, I knew this
       was coming, that's bad," I intend to whap them, because the reason
       they likely knew it was coming was because I *said so* right here.
       But that same 99% doesn't have this advantage.
       This is the main difference I've noted in the mail that's come in:
       the net-folks are constantly trying to figure out what's coming up
       next, treating it like a mystery story (which, really, it's not,
       any more than ANY novel is a mystery in that you don't necessarily
       know its turns and twists as you're reading it), whereas the
       non-netted folks tend to just take it as it comes.
       See, that's the other part of this. People on the nets tend to
       treat it as though it's a mystery novel, and when it doesn't hit
       that aspect, say it's flawed as a result...when it was never
       INTENDED to function as a mystery novel. It's a novel period. A
       mystery novel depends absolutely on the riddle at the center of
       it. This is a saga, which uses a different structure. It isn't a
       mystery any more than Lord of the Rings is a mystery, even though
       when I first read it I was wondering what was going to happen
       next.
       Also, a mystery novel is done when the mystery is finally
       unraveled. Not so the B5 story. By the end of this season, most of
       the mysteries will be unraveled, and the pieces laid on the table
       for all to see. It then becomes a matter of what the characters
       *do* about it thereafter.
       If I'm doing my job right, and setting up things to come properly,
       and giving all the clues to it, then by definition a certain
       number of people HAVE to figure out what's coming. As long as it's
       the smaller portion, that's as it *should* be. So you'll
       understand why I tend to get in here for a moment when that's held
       up as something bad or poorly done. (And, again, even you note
       that the only reason you knew about the shadows on Mars was via
       reading it here, or others read it via the comics. Again, that's a
       very small portion of the audience; most I've heard from had NO
       idea about that aspect of it. If you hadn't read it here, you
       likely would have been surprised by it.)
       Anyway, just something to consider in all of this....
     * "Was the "package" mentioned in Exo the blonde woman giving us the
       Mars Shadow info? Or was it the eggs and bacon? Or have we not
       seen it yet?"
       Yes, the package referred to Kirkish.
       "It seems Sheridan is destroying his Shadow ships by using tricks
       - not a straight up battle. At some point won't he be one on one
       with a Shadow and have to deal with it?"
       Sooner or later. Right now he's outgunned hideously. He'll have to
       find a way.
       "At some point won't Sheridan have to fight Earth? (I really don't
       expect an answer to this one)"
       Stick around.
     * _Why didn't Kirkish notice the huge Psi-Corps installation as
       shown in the comic?_
       The building was a lot bigger in the book than it should've been,
       more like a quonset hut arrangment hastily erected.
     * I don't know if the shadow pilot was aware of the Psi Corps
       research installation...they're not really aware of much of
       *anything*, except their orders...I'd just suggest that there may
       be something beneath that particular installation, and a reason
       they built it there.
     * _Why didn't Garibaldi mention he was with Sinclair?_
       There was an outsider, Kirkish, in the room. Yes, she's helped
       him, but he's still going to hold back some info because he
       doesn't know what impact it might have on Sinclair. He's
       protective of him.
     * _Didn't Sheridan already know about the badge, from the comic
       issue [38]"Silent Enemies?"_
       I believe Sheridan wasn't shown the badge in the comic; and
       Garibaldi is always cautious about what he says in front of
       others, like Kirkish.
     * Yes, Kosh should've been there. Kosh wasn't. Kosh hasn't been
       carrying his weight, if you ask me. I hope this doesn't cause a
       problem somewhere....
     * Don't have the shadow dimensions offhand; and yes, you'd think
       Sheridan might begin to wonder about Kosh's level of involvement.
     * _Weren't the cameras at Ganymede recording?_
       Of course. But who controls those cameras? Answer: the very folks
       who wouldn't want it to get out what they had there.
       

   [44][Next] 
   
      [45]Last update: January 12, 1998

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