lurkers-guide/ftp/Guide/064.And-the-Rock-Cried-Out

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

     Londo uses G'Kar and Vir to gain power in the Centauri Royal Court.
     Sheridan is consumed by his analysis of the Shadows' strategies.
     [15]Louis Turenne as Brother Theo. [16]William Forward as Lord
     Refa.
     
[17]P5 Rating: [18]8.71

Production number: 320
Original air week: September 8, 1996 (UK)
                   October 14, 1996 (US)

Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by David Eagle

  Watch For
  
     * A Centauri guard leaving his post.
       
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Backplot

     * The Minbari have been constructing a fleet of warships based on
       the White Star design. They are manned by Rangers.
     * Sheridan has stayed away from Delenn up until now because "she has
       enough problems of her own."
     * There is a thriving underground on Earth opposing President Clark.
     * Na'Toth is believed to have been on Narn at the time of the
       Centauri attack ([19]"The Long, Twilight Struggle.")
       
Unanswered Questions

     * What does the countdown to Z refer to? (See [20]Analysis)
     * Why didn't Delenn inform Sheridan of the fleet of White Star-class
       ships before now?
     * How long have the Minbari been building the ships?
     * How big is the White Star fleet?
     * What will Sheridan use the data crystal given to him by the
       Reverend for?
     * Will Virini use the data crystal that Londo gave him? Will it
       result in Refa's family being discredited?
     * Will G'Kar respect Londo more now that he has freed the Narns, or
       does he see Londo's ploy as purely self-serving?
     * How did Londo get G'Kar to listen to him long enough to describe
       the plot, and how did he convince G'Kar it wasn't a trick?
     * Virini mentions that Londo's house is gathering a lot of funds.
       Where is Londo getting the money?
     * Did Refa's telepath find out about any of the activities Vir has
       been involved in, such as his work to help the Narn?
     * What is the real reason for the Shadows' attack pattern?
     * Is Na'Toth in fact still alive?
       
Analysis

     * It seems likely that the "Z Minus..." times refer to Z'ha'dum, but
       they might also refer to a more specific "Zero Hour." The question
       remains, what happens at Z? A Shadow offensive? An offensive
       against Z'ha'dum? Someone's arrival on or from Z'ha'dum?
     * G'Kar, in cooperating with Londo and killing Refa, has become an
       unwitting help to Londo in serving the Shadows. His desire for
       revenge against Refa and his need to save a small number of his
       people seems to have served the Shadows' greater purposes, at
       least to the extent that Londo's good fortune is part of their
       plans.
     * G'Kar may have been in on Londo's plan even before he left Babylon
       5, possibly even before Vir spoke to him. The story about Na'Toth
       was solely intended to lure Refa to Narn; there was no need for
       Londo to deceive G'Kar about his intentions, since G'Kar would
       almost certainly have been willing to risk a trip to Narn for the
       sake of two thousand prisoners.
     * If the already-poisoned Refa could be considered "one who is
       already dead," Londo may have just passed by one of his
       prophesized chances for redemption.
     * Neroon's statement in "Grey 17 is Missing" that non-Warrior
       Minbari had constructed _ships_ may have been foreshadowing of the
       fleet revelation.
     * Why did Delenn find Sheridan's attempt to think like the Shadows
       so abhorrent? Are there things about them she knows but hasn't
       revealed yet that would cause that reaction?
     * Delenn said that the first wave of White Star-class ships was now
       ready. How many waves are planned?
     * Now that Londo thinks he has avenged Adira's death
       ([21]"Interludes and Examinations") will he be less eager to
       continue dealing with the Shadows? And will he ever discover that
       it was Morden, not Refa, who arranged to have her killed?
     * A few readers have commented that since a replica of the Centauri
       throne room is being built on Narn, perhaps that's where
       Sheridan's flashforward ([22]"War Without End, Part Two") takes
       place. That's unlikely, though, since Londo forces Sheridan to
       look out the window and see the devastated landscape of Centauri
       Prime.
       
Notes

     * The [23]song from which the title is derived, "No Hiding Place,"
       refers to the Book of Revelation, in which man attempts to hide
       from the wrath of God in mountains and rocks. [24]Revelation
       6:15-17.
     * The mass driver attack affected the climate of Narn much as it's
       theorized a nuclear winter or asteroid/comet strike would affect
       Earth: the particles thrown up by the asteroids used in the
       bombardment have created a layer in Narn's atmosphere blocking out
       the sunlight and altering the heating of the atmosphere, which has
       disrupted the wind patterns on the planet.
     * Refa's death scene may be a homage to "Cabaret," one of JMS'
       favorite films. See [25]jms speaks.
       
jms speaks

     * _Where does the title come from?_
       It's from an old gospel song/spiritual.
     * _Did Harlan Ellison suggest it?_
       No, as a rule, Harlan doesn't suggest titles; "Rock" came from the
       quote from the Bible, which was later made into a gospel song,
       used in the show. So it's a real song, though I did write 2 for
       "Walkabout."
     * Why's it called that? Because it's quite appropos. How do we fit
       it? Not a big deal. Longest title up to now was one I did for
       MURDER, SHE WROTE, a quote from Moby Dick, "To The Last Shall I
       Grapple With Thee."
     * The song in "Rock" is an old gospel song. I've always had a soft
       spot for old gospel songs and spirituals because of their
       wonderful use of language and imagery, and you can dance to 'em.
       Not that I dance, but the theory is there, at least.
     * My own take on "And The Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place," which
       airs tomorrow in the UK...I like it. The Brother Theo stuff is a
       tad stilted in a couple of places, but it's only a couple of
       minutes, and the rest works real well. It's a very subversive
       episode in its way, and a part of it still creeps me out.
     * I like symmetry...both as a word, and as a concept. It plays into
       the show a lot, showing the balance that the universe tends to
       impose whether we like it or not. What goes around, comes around.
     * _Some of the Narn buildings looked like Hiroshima after the atomic
       bomb. Intentional?_
       Yes, there was some element of that. It's not a moral judgment
       thing, but a referential point. As for Narn architecture overall,
       I told them I wanted sort of an alien culture as the Soviet Union
       might've designed it.... everything tending toward the blocky, the
       functional, less aesthetic than you would find on Minbar. This is
       a culture that has crawled up from war, and functionality is more
       important.
     * _Was there a Narn standing in the queue of telepaths?_
       Not in the queue, but providing security within the station...
       remember, many of the Narns have joined B5 security.
     * We're generally very careful about what aliens show up in what
       scenes.
     * _Was the fact that the countdown started at 14 days an intentional
       reference to the season finale being two weeks later?_
       Somewhat intentional; in the long run, the show will end up either
       aired daily, or stripped weekly, so either way the 14 days until
       climax works well, as it does now for the UK.
     * The countdown aspect does add a lot to this, gives it a forward
       momentum and a kind of subliminal ominousness. And as for the Refa
       situation presented in counterpoint...I love how that came out.
       It's almost subversive in a way...just gives me the quiet chills.
     * Re: the rabbi singing the gospel song...a couple of points. First,
       if you're visiting someone's church, it's only considered polite
       behavior to go along with what's there. I have a number of
       Catholic friends who would sometimes go to temple with Jewish
       friends...and when it came time to sing, would do so. Why should
       it not work the other way around?
       Second, as I seem to recall, the line about "no hiding place" is
       taken from the Old Testament, which forms a substantial portion of
       Judaic teachings (but not the whole of it, a mistake many make).
       Yes, there's some later stuff worked in, but the heart of it is
       from a common ground.
     * Waitaminnit...I retract part two of my reply...I think I just
       stooged the origins of that song.
       (whaddyawant from me, I just spent 12 hours putting my hard drive
       back together....)
     * _About the juxtaposition of Refa's fate with the song_
       It's comical...and it ain't comical...it's designed to elicit
       conflicting emotions, between what you *are* feeling, what you
       *should* be feeling, and so on. I like uneasy laughter....
     * That was one of those scenes which, when you do it, you know it's
       gonna stay around for a while....
     * When I thought of that one, I just sat there and grinned. It's so
       perverse, but yet so appropriate, all at the same time. Just to
       further add a bit of creepiness to it, in the sound mix I had the
       editors verb up the music toward the fade out, so it had a
       slightly distorted edge to it. The details are everything in a
       scene like that.
     * Vir has to be *very* careful...he's on the razor's edge these
       days. The higher up you go, the more you know, the higher the
       stakes and the greater the risk of choosing badly.
       Re: "funny yet chilling," those are the scenes I love most...the
       ones where you're utterly conflicted, it's grotesque or
       frightening on the one hand, and comic or absurd on the other. It
       leaves you uncertain which way to jump emotionally, and I love
       that feeling...caught betwixt and between.
     * _Originally in response to [26]"Severed Dreams." "Cabaret" is one
       of JMS' favorite movies._
       In a sense, it's going from one emotion or thematic element to a
       very different, but equally strong one, either as bookends or
       through intercutting. Going from the high of the victory, to the
       sudden shot of the dead troops, is thematic counterpoint.
       Here's another...in "Cabaret" you've got a scene where the
       performers in the Cabaret are doing the sort of German dance where
       you slap your knees and thighs and chest...and they take it a bit
       further, slapping one another, it's all for comic effect...but
       during this, you're intercutting the owner of the cabaret being
       beaten to within an inch of his life by some Brownshirts outside.
       You go from comic to brutal and back, with the result that the
       happy little dance suddenly takes on ugly characteristics, and the
       beating takes on the sense that the participants are having a sick
       kind of fun, that it's all just another kind of dance, a ritual.
       That's what you have to look at as a writer...how this scene
       works, and how it interacts with the scenes in front, behind and
       "beside" it (for things happening simultaneously). Sometimes, with
       the proper counterpoint, you can add whole new levels of meaning
       to a scene, or make the scene much stronger than it would've been
       on its own.
     * _That was an elaborate scheme if the goal was simply to have Refa
       killed._
       Londo points out that he could easily have killed Refa
       elsewhere...as he says, the point was to do it on Narn so that he
       could dishonor his house back home.
     * _Was William Forward the one who said, "Why me?" as mentioned in
       one of your Usenet messages?_
       Yes, it was with the actor who plays Refa that I had that
       conversation. He was initially bummed out, figured I was doing
       what I was doing in "Rock" because I wasn't happy with his
       performance or something. So I pulled him aside and explained the
       situation, and indicated that we'd likely use him again as an
       alien character, under prosthetics. If he hadn't done such a good
       job, this wouldn't have happened, because no one would've cared
       about the character.
     * _You said a major character would die in season 3. Refa wasn't
       major._
       Well, given that Refa has been around for two years, and Keffer
       was only in a few in one season, I'd hardly put them in the same
       league. Part of all this is how you define "major." Usually, I've
       refrained from using that term...I would say someone you've seen
       since the first year, for instance, or an important character.
       Certainly I was primarily referring to Kosh in my original note
       about all this...but a lot of folks took that and extended it past
       that point, which I just let go rather than correct, because the
       show should do any correcting.
     * I think the message of mine you're referring to are the ones I
       wrote with Kosh in mind, not Refa. But since I obviously couldn't
       say that at the time, some of it sloshed over into how folks
       viewed later episodes.
     * _Will 500 Narns die in retaliation?_
       Except, of course, that going on at length about the death of Refa
       would require revealing what he was doing there...and I doubt very
       much that the Royal Court would like even the suspicion that one
       of its own was making deals with the Narns to become public
       knowledge...so it's extremely unlikely that there would be any
       retribution. This is one the Centauri would prefer to sweep under
       the rug, I think.
     * _Why didn't Refa's allies help him?_
       Bear in mind that all of Refa's people were *back on Centauri
       Prime*. He didn't bring them with him; to send word to Centauri
       Prime to bring them all the way out here, then on to Narn, would
       double the time required to get there, and by then the "rescue"
       would've been over. That was part of Londo's scheme...he wouldn't
       have much time, he had to get in and get out. Refa only brought a
       few with him, and they were needed to watch Londo and guard Vir.
       As for the Centauri back home...you proceed from the assumption
       that all Centauri act as one. I'm basing this somewhat on the
       early Roman civilization and government, where one side would sell
       out the other, arrange for deaths and murders, turn people over to
       their hated enemies as long as it advanced their position, or if
       they were allied with persons of power on a particular side. Why
       did the Roman guards escorting Tiberius (a much less worthy
       emperor) kill the heir to the throne in "I, Claudius" (a much
       better leader, and well liked among the military)? Because they
       were told to do so.
       SF in TV has the tendency to portray aliens as monolithic...they
       put the good of their species as a whole above everything else.
       Some do that; some do not. Just as with humans.
     * Refa had a flashlight, not a gun.
     * Refa was his last name/family name.
     * _Minister Virini looked disappointed by the outcome._
       Not sure it was so much a look of disappointment as..."Okay, I
       know something here isn't on the level...but he's got it very well
       surrounded...and is it worth sticking out my neck to get into
       this?"
     * _Why wasn't Na'Toth replaced?_
       I briefly considered giving G'Kar a second, after the revolving
       door Na'Toths, but as I looked at it...as you say, the others all
       DO have one like that, and I figured it might be good to have
       someone *without* that...especially after the fall of Narn, when
       the staff would be canceled. And there's something I like about
       G'Kar being alone in all this. Anyway, it varies the mix a bit.
     * _Why did G'Kar help Londo?_
       Well, you combine the release of 2,000 prisoners, many of whom
       were likely resistance fighters, and the payback to one who
       orchestrated the bombing of Narn, and that adds up to a pretty
       good incentive to get Refa even WITHOUT Londo's presence in the
       deal.
     * I wouldn't say they hate one another any less now than before; and
       yes, he would've sent word to G'Kar and arranged a private
       meeting, just the two of them.
     * These two characters, Londo and G'Kar, are linked at the hips.
       That is their beauty and their tragedy. And you will see some new
       colors to this in the first part of season 4. This story is as
       much about them as anyone else.
     * I think that if Londo sent word via the Babcom unit that he wanted
       a one-to-one with G'Kar, and that thousands of Narn lives were on
       the line, he would come. G'Kar has nothing to fear from Londo as
       long as he's on B5...and if anything, I think he'd be amused if
       Londo did try anything.
     * _Wayne Alexander was listed as playing G'Dan. Which one was he?_
       He was the Narn who first met G'Kar on their homeworld; the only
       one with any lines.
       Wayne has a considerably larger role in year 4 as an alien named
       Lorien.
     * _Why doesn't Vir leave Londo now?_
       I don't know if Vir really has anywhere else to go....
     * _John and Delenn kissing in front of a big group of warships
       seemed a little odd._
       I guess it's really a matter of perspective. It depends on what
       the fleet is *there* for, as well.
     * _Why didn't Delenn mention the fleet before?_
       Well, as she indicates, she didn't *have* them before.
     * I don't think she was so much withholding the information, as they
       just weren't ready yet, and the need for them wasn't there yet.
       
   Originally compiled by Jason Snell.

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      [33]Last update: June 1, 1997

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