lurkers-guide/guide/043

<!-- TITLE Comes the Inquisitor -->

<h2><a name="OV">Overview</a></h2>

<blockquote><cite>
G'Kar tries to rally the Narn on Babylon 5.
Kosh tests Delenn's allegiance by summoning an ancient
inquisitor.

</cite>
<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Alexander,+Wayne">Wayne
Alexander</a> as Sebastian.
<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Kehler,+Jack">Jack Kehler</a>
as Mr. Chase.
</blockquote>

<pre><a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/043">8.47</a>

Production number: 221
Original air date: August 8, 1995 (UK)
                   October 25, 1995 (US)
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000087EYB/thelurkersguidet">DVD release date</a>: April 29, 2003

Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Mike Laurence Vejar
</pre>

<p>
@@@837715831 <em>Emmy nomination</em> for cinematography

<p>
<hr size=3>
<h2><a name="BP">Backplot</a></h2>
<ul>

   <li> The Vorlons have visited Earth in the past, as recently as the
	nineteenth century, and have even taken humans to their homeworld.

   <li> Garibaldi maintains friendships with people he knows are dealing in
	illegal smuggling operations.

</ul>


<h2><a name="UQ">Unanswered Questions</a></h2>
<ul>

   <li> How did the Rangers get the message from Narn in 24 hours? (See
	<A href="#AN">Analysis</a>)

   <li> Exactly how long have the Vorlons been visiting Earth, and for what
	purpose?

   <li> How did they discover Sebastian, and what made them choose him as their
	inquisitor?

</ul>

<h2><a name="AN">Analysis</a></h2>
<ul>

<p>
<li>
All of the key players on the side of light have now had their commitment and
loyalty to their cause tested.  Sheridan, Garibaldi, Ivanova,
and Franklin in their battle against the current Earth Alliance
administration (cf.
<a href="041.html">"Divided Loyalties."</a>)
And now Delenn and Sheridan as the
"spirit" and "warrior," respectively, of the Army of Light.
The pieces seem to be falling into place on the side of light.

<li>
G'Kar preaching about what the Centauri will do next is somewhat chilling.
Most people just don't want to believe it.  Yet in
<a href="042.html">"The Long, Twilight Struggle"</a>
we heard that the Centauri have already annexed several non-Narn
worlds.  JMS has said that G'Kar is his Cassandra character, gifted with
the power of prophesy yet heeded by none.  The fact that it was a human
who argued against G'Kar may be an indication of things to come.

<li>
Based on Sebastian's comments, Sheridan determines that he is most likely
Jack the Ripper.  Sebastian's final comment also appears to confirm this.
The murderer killed five prostitutes between August 7th and November 10th
of 1888 in the East End of London (Sheridan stated the West End, but got
the date correct), and was never caught.  He stalked the streets at night,
slitting his victims' throats and then mutilating their bodies.  The
nickname "Jack the Ripper" reportedly came from several letters sent to
the police, but their authenticity has been questioned.

<li>
The Vorlons have been to Earth on many occasions, and all over the galaxy
in general.  This is quite likely part of the reason why Kosh will be
recognised by everyone if he(?) steps out of the encounter suit.

<li>
This marks the second time a major, secretive power has sent a human
representative to Babylon 5 to ask a question: the Shadows with Morden and
"What do you want?" and the Vorlons with Sebastian and "Who are you?"
Why do the Vorlons, in particular, feel the need to act through a third
party?  Delenn obviously knows about Kosh already, so why couldn't Kosh
have conducted the interrogation?  Perhaps he simply chooses to remain
aloof and let others do his dirty work, or perhaps for some reason he felt
he wouldn't have been as effective as Sebastian was.

<li>
Sheridan and Garibaldi have given the Rangers their first trial in a
combat zone, on behalf of G'Kar.  They succeeded in the allotted 24 hours
but we are given no information on how.  Perhaps they are able to penetrate
the Centauri communications network.  Or perhaps it involved two "hit
and run" jumps into the Narn homeworld system.  The first to deliver the
message to search for this family (there must already be Rangers on Narn,)
and the second to pick up the required transmission.  This runs the risk
of being detected and caught by Centauri forces patrolling the system (a
jump point presumably has a very bright characteristic energy signature on
scanners).  While the search might have been initiated via telepathic
contact (cf.
<a href="031.html">"The Coming of Shadows,"</a>
specifically the Centuari Emperor's
telepaths, who can communicate over interstellar distances)
this is unlikely, and telepathy almost certainly cannot transmit
the contents of a data crystal.  Another possible explanation is that there
are Centauri Rangers.

<li>
Vir's encounter with G'Kar indicates the depth of the hatred that the Narn
feel for their oppressors.  An apology is no longer possible in G'Kar's
eyes, only the release of his people from their occupation and the
destruction of the Centauri along the way.  Something inside Vir might
well give soon; he has already stood up to Morden
(<a href="038.html">"In The Shadow of Z'ha'dum"</a>)
and tried to tell Londo of the consequences of his actions - what next?

<li>
Vir's dismissal of the Centuari businessman, "I have already told you the
Ambassador can do nothing for you."  Is that a polite way of telling the
businessman to go away, or has Londo's sphere of influence been reduced by
his refusal to involve the Shadows again?

<li>
There's an interesting parallel between the main storyline and Garibaldi's
talk with G'Kar.  Both Garibaldi and Sebastian go into their respective
conversations expecting a certain outcome, but allowing room for the other
person to act otherwise.  The difference is that Garibaldi is an optimist --
he expected G'Kar to do the right thing -- while Sebastian expected to be
disappointed as he so often had been in the past.

<li>
This isn't the first reference to Jack the Ripper on the show.  In
<a href="006.html">"Mind War,"</a>
Ivanova accuses Psi Corps of having "all the moral fiber of Jack the Ripper."
Whether that's just a coincidence remains to be seen.

<li>
Given the fact that Delenn was a member of the Grey Council, the
choice of Grey section (by Sheridan) as the place for the inquisition
was rather interesting.  In addition, some elements of the lighting inside
Grey 19 (the circles of light on the floor, arranged in a circular
pattern, with Delenn in a center circle) were reminiscent of the Grey Council,
especially the last time she was in their presence.

<li>
On a more speculative numerological note, the number nineteen (the inquisition
occurred in Grey 19) is composed of the digits "1" and "9."  Taking the
analysis to an extreme, perhaps the "9" represents the Grey Council and the
"1" represents the chosen one.

</ul>

<h2><a name="NO">Notes</a></h2>

<ul>

   <li> One of the Narn in the meeting with G'Kar is played by Dennis
	Michael, a CNN reporter who was doing a story on B5's makeup group,
	Optic Nerve, and was made up as a Narn as part of his news story.

   <li> Was someone named Sebastian an actual suspect in the murders?

   <li> In the original UK broadcast, the scene between G'Kar and Vir was
	edited to not show G'Kar cutting his hand.  The edit is obvious once
	you know it's there.

   <li> One of Sebastian's closing remarks resembled a Biblical quote, John
	15:13: "There is no greater love than this: to lay down one's life for
	one's friends."

</ul>

<h2><a name="JS">jms speaks</a></h2>
<ul>
   <li> "CtI is the only episode in the last four that we know nothing about."

        <p>
        And if I figure out how I happened to achieve that (short of just
        keeping my big yap shut), I'll do it some more.  There should be some
        surprises, yes?

        <p>
        And it's an arc story, yes, but in a very odd way.

<p>
   <li> <em>(Referring to Delenn's actions in
	<a href="040.html">"Confessions and Lamentations"</a>)</em><br>
	Re:  why Delenn would do such a thing . . . hold out for "Comes
	the Inquisitor" . . . it gets into her rationales on such things.

<p>
   <li> "I can't wait to see how you torture us next week!"

	<p>
	Funny line, that, which you'll understand in a few days.

<p>
   <li> The Inquisitor was a great episode to write, and Wayne did a killer
	job with it (so to speak).  That one episode has received more mail than
	most others, particularly from those in the religious community, as well
	as at universities, crisis centers, you name it.  Something there seemed
	to strike a chord.

	<p>
	It's easy in an SF show to cut to the EFX and let it rock; to me, the
	challenge is what's shown in those scenes: two people, locked in a room,
	no (or few) EFX, no car chases, not even much of a set...with explosions
	of dialogue and character.  Ah loves it.

<p>
   <li>@@@837966102 <em>Emmy nominations</em><br>
	John Flinn got a nomination for cinematograhy for "Inquisitor."
	Last year we sent videotapes of our up-for-nomination episodes, and got
	three nominations for it.  But WB got upset by this -- they don't do
	this for their other shows, we did it on our own -- and ordered us not
	to do it again.  The other shows don't need it because they're network
	shows and get good exposure; most syndicated shows (non-Trek) tend not
	to be Emmy aspirees, so it's not a problem there.  We're in between,
	and we were, in effect, producing videotapes, and they didn't want
	that.  So we had to sit on our hands and not do what we knew would
	result in getting more noms. It's very frustrating.

<p>
   <li>@@@832092680 "With Comes The Inquisitor...how obvious was it to you that
	G'Kar  was
	going to be the counterpoint to Delenn and Sebastian.  was it an
	immediate connection, or did you have to sit and look, and then
	think "Ah...that's the one?"

	<p>
	That one was a pretty easy one.

<p>
   <li> As for locale, it was similar to, but not exactly the same as the one
	in which the Marcabs died [in "Confessions and Lamentations"], though
	I did want to somewhat evoke the memory of that when I indicated the 
	set I had in mind.

<p>
   <li> Sebastian was played by Wayne Alexander, a British actor of great 
	skill who hasn't been seen much on TV before this, but should now, 
	with this performance as a calling card.  It was a stunning 
	performance.

<p>
   <li> I don't think Wayne has done that much TV work before, he's primarily
	a stage actor, but in any event, he's certainly brilliant as Sebastian.

<p>
   <li> Why bring up Sebastian's past?  Because it's integral to who he is
	now, and what he's doing, and why he's doing it.  Also, there's 
	something very important here about greying up the Vorlons a little;
	of all the people they could've chosen for this job, why THIS kind 
	of person?  It makes them a trifle more morally ambiguous, which is
	necessary.

<p>
   <li> "It doesn't fit in with the way the Vorlons have been portrayed.  It 
	bothered me."

	<p>
	Good.  That was the intended result.

	<p>
	Part of the reason for the story was to grey up the Vorlons a little; 
	one shouldn't fall too easily for what other people *say* they are.

	<p>
	(One might also say much the same of the old testament god who would 
	have Job so severely tested, btw.)

	<p>
	One should always be cautious of taking *anyone* at face value on B5.

	<p>
	"...you could consider them a force for good."

	<p>
	Ah, but what *is* good?  And whose *version* of good are we 
	discussing?

<p>
   <li> I'd say there's a very good chance that the Vorlons have more than
	one Inquisitor.

<p>
   <li> <em>Was Sebastian based on Star Trek's "Q"?</em><br>
	No, had nothing to do with Q, it's deciding what kind of person our 
	Mr. Sebastian might've been, and working from  there.  When you have 
	a character with as vivid and powerful as his, you don't need 
	to look to ST for any ideas on character.  
	And unlike Q, Sebastian has no powers of his own, just the force of his 
	personality.

<p>
   <li> <em>What was the last word in Sebastian's "What about" litany?</em><br>
	Actually, the last one, since it was going to be drowned out, was an
	adlib, "eternity."

<p>
   <li>@@@846713304 "What about eternity?"  It was an adlib from the actor
	just to cover the moment when Delenn rises, knowing it would likely
	never get heard over the rest of it.

<p>
   <li> Also, check Sebastian's reaction when he asks Delenn what if she's 
	wrong, "have you ever considered that?  HAVE YOU?"

	<p>
	She responds, softly, "....yes."

	<p>
	Look at his face when she says this.  It rattles him.  It's not the
	answer he expected, but more important, it's not the answer he wanted,
	needed to hear.

	<p>
	He needed to hear her say that she had never had the slightest 
	*scintilla* of doubt, that as he had been, she was a True Believer, a 
	fanatic, incapable of doubt of mistake...and thus doomed to failure.
	He can't even meet her gaze; he turns, looks away, and suggests an 
	"intermission" that is more for his benefit than hers.

	<p>
	There's an awful lot going on in this show, a great deal of it sub 
	rosa, under the surface, implied in gestures or hesitations or looks, 
	some implied, some stated outright.  He *hates* the memory of Jack; 
	it's not his name, the one thing that is his...remember, he is caught 
	up with "who ARE you?" and his answer to that is lost in the persona 
	created by history...his true name, is what's totally forgotten to
	history.

<p>
   <li> Sebastian learns quite a bit in the 
	course of that encounter about himself...especially when she rubs it
	in his face as she does.

<p>
   <li> Of course, bear in mind that there *is* no correct answer to
	Sebastian's question...because no matter what answer you give, the
	question will be repeated.  It's a process, not a goal, designed to
	tear down the artifices we construct around ourselves until we're left
	facing ourselves, not our roles.  At some point the "answer," such as it
	is, must transcend language.

	<p>
	Since the episode aired, I've received many notes from philosophy
	teachers and religious instructors and those who ran the Synanon game
	noting that they've used that technique as well, or intend to do so from
	now on.

<p>
   <li> The episode underlines that there are two fundamental questions in 
	B5: who are you, and what do you want?  
	The order in which you answer those two questions can either make you 
	great...or destroy you.

<p>
   <li>@@@846713304 <em>About "Who are you?"</em><br>
	Yeah, that's one of the primal questions, isn't it?  And
	one that we are too often  distracted from considering.

<p>
   <li>@@@846713304 The key to the questions is that you generally have to
	first be able to answer "who are you?" before you can intelligently
	determine "what do you want?"  To deal right with "what do you want"
	before you know who you are is destructive in almost any situation.

<p>
   <li> I think that, in the long run, the vorlons and the shadows will answer 
	the questions Who are you and What do you want...in that that's kind of 
	what they *are*, if that makes any sense.

	<p>
	Well, it will.  Eventually.

<p>
   <li> It's not that there's a *correct* answer, but that there's an
	*informed* answer.  If you decide what you want, before you know
	who you are, you're likely to get something that will destroy you;
	if you know who you are, you can then ask for something that will be
	of greater use to you.

<p>
   <li> The pain is necessary because it's easy to consider laying down one's 
	life intellectually; when the pain and the 
	agony bring it home, it's no longer as easy.

	<p>
	And there *is* no correct answer to "Who are you?"  The only real 
	answer is no answer, because as soon as you apply someone's term for it,
	you have limited yourself, defined yourself in someone else's terms.

	<p>
	Doing things in a refined, gentle, intellectual manner is the sort of 
	thing Delenn's used to, she can handle that easily...the goal of
	Sebastian was to try and *break* her.  
	That's not intended to be done gently.  You don't break someone over a
	cup of tea discussing philosophical concepts and the nature of personal 
	identity.  
	It's also not terribly dramatic to watch.

	<p>
	Because of her position, rank and authority, she expected to be 
	treated a certain way...which was why it was important to treat her just
	the opposite.  
	It's easy to put oneself into a grand prophecy, to assume one has a 
	destiny...to pay the price for that is something else again.  
	Anyone can do the former; very few can ever do the latter.

<p>
   <li> Sacrificing oneself happens frequently...but for just one other 
	person, AND in a situation where no one else would ever know about it.  
	Bear in mind that he wasn't testing people randomly; only those who felt
	that they were chosen of god, fulfillers of prophecy...people who
	assumed that they were part of some grand scheme, and thus to whom an
	anonymous death is an intolerable thought.

	<p>
	Also, most probably never *got* that far, unable to stand the real 
	pain of being placed in this position.  Everybody can talk the talk;
	very few can walk the walk.  Most probably just yanked off the bracelets
	and split, on the theory that they weren't being sufficiently coddled or
	glorified...or because being a potential prophet isn't as much fun as
	they'd thought.

<p>
   <li> There have been a great number of films and TV programs with one sort
	of interrogation scene or other; I'd commend "Closetland" for something
	else on this order.

<p>
   <li> Mentioning just the first name may not have been necessary for
	UK viewers, but it was necessary for the rest of the planet.

<p>
   <li> Of course, his real name was never Jack Sebastian; "Jack" is his 
	working name, Sebastian could be a first or last name.

<p>
   <li> I tied him [Sebastian] to a specific person because
	in writing, you *always* try to go for specifics, because generalities
	don't really work.  It's the difference, in prose, between, "The room
	smelled good," and "The room smelled of cinnamon and fresh coffee."  
	Also, the specific connotations to who and what Jack was were essential
	and integral to the storyline.

<p>
   <li> "Jack" was the media appellation; whether Sebastian is a first or
	last name is left open.

	<p>
	I looked at who this historical figure could be, but no one else fit
	into the area I wanted.  It was a decision born of necessity, not 
	whim.  I needed someone far enough removed not to have any current 
	victims' families still alive; someone known to a worldwide population
	(anonymous wouldn't have worked because why would Sheridan have known 
	about him, why should we care, why should it resonate, and we'd spend 
	time explaining what he did that would have meant cutting out other 
	material in the episode); the other serial killers tend to have clear
	fates, whereas Jack vanished and is thus "available" to us; visually 
	that period makes for a striking contrast to 2259.

	<p>
	And, again, you have to look at who he *was*...a fanatic, trying to
	clean up Spittlefields (good cause) by hatred (wrong reason) and 
	murder (wrong means), the EXACT thing Delenn warns against at the 
	very start of the show.  (Did you know there's a letter in the London
	Times for that period that tries to explain the Ripper's motives as a
	cry ofr (for) understanding about conditions in that part of London?)
	He felt he was a divine messenger, learned he was not, and in 
	bitterness has become the single best inquisitor you could've had in 
	that job.

	<p>
	Every single thing about Jack made him *perfect* for that role, as
	mirror, menace and warning sign.  So I used him.  And I'd do it again.
	You have to find what works best for the story, and do it.

<p>
   <li>@@@865282699 I used Jack because he was perfect for that particular job,
	which was what the Vorlons had decided as well.  Simple as that.

<p>
   <li> <em>Jack the Ripper has been used too much in SF.</em><br>
	So, in other words, if a historical, real character has been used in 
	some other venue, if the use of that same character in another, 
	wholly different world/series/show/universe is absolutely, totally and 
	completely the right thing for that story, 
	one should instead do what's *wrong* for the story and leave it out?

	<p>
	Sorry.  Don't buy it.

<p>
   <li>@@@846713304 You can't exclude or include anything in your story
	just because a character or concept has been used by others.  If we
	were to do that, then we might as well never make the show, because
	others have shown starships and hyperspace and aliens.  Okay, yes,
	others have used Jack.  But not in the same way.  It was *right* for
	this show...should it not be used because oths have also used this
	character?  I think that the moment you begin constantly
	course-correcting your show in reaction to other shows, you're dead in
	the water.  You have to do what's right for *this* story, in *this*
	episode.  And I think we showed a very different aspect of the
	character and the situation than has been shown before.  If we just
	did the same old gag -- Jack comes to B5 and begin murdring people
	again -- then I'd agree.  But we didn't.  I think you have to judge a
	show by what's IN the show, and how well it's done, not against what
	has been done in other places.

	<p>
	Otherwise we might as well throw out starships and beam weapons and
	aliens and all the rest, since those have ALL been done a lot more
	than Jack.

<P>
   <li>@@@846713304 <em>The original Star Trek episode "Wolf in the Fold"
	also centered around Jack the Ripper.</em><br>
	In the TOS show, that revelation was the whole *point* of the episode,
	where here it's a filligree, dropped in at the last.  It also *has* to
	be that character, as the flip side of the story, to contrast with
	Sheridan's "holy cause" as warning, and because of his own reflection
	of what Delenn might have been if she went the wrong way for the right
	reasons.

<p>
   <Li> On the "Jack sucks" threads, phrased various ways...doesn't really 
	bother me. I knew going in that some folks would react well to that, and
	some wouldn't, for an assortment of reasons, some valid, some less so.

<p>
   <li> I guess also that the key to avoid something becoming cliche is to
	turn it on its head.  Which was the case with Sebastian.  One thing
	I neglected to mention was the need to have an absolute
	mirror-counterpoint to Morden.  Here you've got the smiling,
	pleasant, utterly charming and good looking fellow who is our
	"mirror" if you will in which we see the Shadows reflected.  So now
	you need something dark and ominous and terrible as the mirror
	through which we briefly glimpse the Vorlons, which has to be done
	all in one episode, you can't develop it gradually as with Morden.
	So everything about Sebastian was the opposite of Morden...and each
	is the opposite of what they represent.  As it appears to us now,
	anyway.

<p>
   <li> "it just didn't pay off in the long run."  For you.  For others it 
	did. Let's not start getting grandiose.  You feel this way, that's fine,
	but it's not the ultimate truth.  Otherwise you're totally dismissing
	the opinions of others who liked it a lot.

	<p>
	"Jack...has become a real cliche."  So because others have used that 
	figure in their work, well or poorly, no one should ever use this 
	historical figure ever again in the next thousand years of human
	history.  One should not do what one thinks is right for a story because
	of what someone else did in a different story.

	<p>
	Sorry.  I don't work that way.  By your logic, I should not be using 
	starships or hyperspace or aliens, either, because they've been used a
	LOT more than Jack.

<p>
   <li> Actually, I think I saw more *annoyance* at Jack being used from the 
	UK folks than the US folks, that's the main difference, I think.  
	Probably because it's a peaceful, wonderful country which is *still*
	paying off, in the public eye, one particularly nasty creature in their
	recent history. They're probably tired of hearing about him, and to
	some extent, correctly so.

<p>
   <li> Will: thanks, and you're quite right; it does say something about the
	Vorlons that they'd use Jack for this purpose.  Now we just have to
	further define what that is.

	<p>
	BTW, just to append it here, not strictly appropos of your message...
	I've noted a number of people say, in essence, "Boy, was I disappointed
	that he said Jack at the end, what does he think we are, morons?"  And
	I've seen plenty of comments from people who didn't know it was Jack
	until that very last moment, for whom it was a revelation.

	<p>
	It's pretty clear, to lots of folks, that the test was in some ways
	(most, actually) more for Delenn's benefit than Kosh's...lots of folks
	got this...and then others have said, "Well, if that's what he meant,
	why didn't he just have one of them come out and SAY this, say what
	was learned or that this was for THEIR benefit?"

	<p>
	So frankly, whether one comes out and says something, or does not come
	out and say something, someone on one side or the other is going to give
	you a hard time about it.

<p>
   <li> <em>Jack's murders took place in the East End of London, not the
	West End</em>

	<p>
	What happened is...basically...Joe is a moron.

	<p>
	I did my research. I called up the info on the encyclopedia, got 
	all the dates right, and my eyes saw East End and for whatever 
	stupid, idiotic reason, my fingers typed West instead of East, and
	nobody, NObody, caught it until now.  I'd loop it, but alas the line
	is on his face, and it'd look real stupid, and the delivery is *so* 
	perfect as it is; if we looped it, we'd destroy it.

	<p>
	So I content myself with the notion that it's west...of B5.

	<p>
	Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go shoot myself.

<p>
   <li> <em>Maybe the West End fell into the ocean and the East End is now
	West.</em>

	<p>
	No, no, it's hopeless...I'll have to turn in my writer's card.

<p>
   <li> Unfortunately (yes, we discussed this), he says the line *on camera*,
	and the shape of the mouth for West is very different than for East;
	also the performance wouldn't be nearly as good.  So there it is....

<p>
   <li> Thanks.  Though I knew about the gaff a LONG time before it was to
	air here in the US, I let the east/west thing go through as shot for
	the very first broadcast because I was afraid that the loop might
	hurt the scene, and it was *so* perfectly done.  That over, I decided
	it was worth taking a shot at it.  If your friend didn't notice, then
	we did it right.   So now those who taped the first broadcast have
	something that'll never be seen again (if I have anything to say
	about it).

<p>
   <li>@@@846713304 Yes, I *know* it's the East End not the West End; I
	looked right at my notes when I was writing the script, and they said
	East and I typed West and nobody noticed it until it went out.  I
	could've replaced it with a looped line prior to first airing here, as
	this was found during the UK airings, but looping never improves only
	diminishes the performance, and he's on-camera and the words wouldn't
	match his mouth.  So I decided to let it go out this way once for
	performance, and we'll correct this aspect with a loop in later
	airings, even though that will somewhat lessen the performance aspect.

<p>
   <li>@@@846713304 What I'd said, and maybe I wasn't sufficiently clear, but
	my sense was that I wasn't going to change it *prior to the first US
	airing.*  I found out about the mistake -- it was a typo, I knew the
	difference, I just became momentarily stupid and wrote west when I meant
	to type east -- after the show aired in the UK, and had a couple of
	months in which I could've chosen to make the change.  But I was
	concerned that the dub wouldn't have the same power as the original
	performance, so I was willing to let it go until after it aired, so
	it would've had that impact, then make the change later.  Happily, the
	loop came out *very* well, so it worked out.

<p>
   <li>@@@846713304 <em>Even in the fixed version, the closed captions still
	say West.</em><br>
	Y'know, I'd totally forgotten about the captions.

	<p>
	Nuts.

<p>
   <li> Yeah, it's always the dopey, small stuff that slips past, and nobody
	notices until it jumps out at you when it's too late.

<p>
   <li> Sebastian's final words were part of the same sentence he began
	while speaking directly to Sheridan's face...insofar as I have ever
	considered the scene, he IS talking to Sheridan.

<p>
   <li> Actually, yes, I do have a pet theory about who the Ripper was, but
	I'm so embarrassed over the west end/east end typo in one of our
	episodes that I don't know if I'll ever have enough courage to broach it
	to anyone.

<p>
   <li> Okay, here's one clue for any would-be Ripperologists out there.
	
	<p>
	In all the long story of Jack, when he was out doing his nightly work, 
	only one person, a woman, wrote an actual letter, published in the
	London Times, offering an *explanation* for the Ripper's work, 
	arguing that he was trying to send a message, that maybe people should 
	listen to that message. It was as close as anyone's ever come to an 
	actual *defense* of what he was doing.

	<p>
	Note the woman's name, and who her husband was...a man who was twice 
	interviewed by Scotland Yard, and interviewed by many Church officials,
	the transcripts of which have been *sealed* by the Church ever since, 
	at the request of the family...a person who was the last man to see at 
	least one of the victims alive...and who was a direct blood relative of
	the man who was living with the final victim (who was killed indoors, 
	leading to the speculation that she knew her assailant)...who suffered a
	breakdown just before the murders began, was obsessed with cleaning up 
	the Whitechapel area, and after whose sudden, hasty transfer, the
	murders stopped...and whose profession is tied *directly* to the only
	thing the Ripper was overheard to say to one of his victims.

<p>
   <li>@@@846713304 The mistake everyone makes is in going for somebody
	famous, a celebrity.  I've done a lot of looking into this, and have
	spoken with a number of other Ripperologists, and the single most likely
	person is one who's name you've never heard mentioned as a suspect, but
	if you read the record, his name keeps coming up again and again and
	again.

<p>
   <li>@@@846713304 Nope, Sebastian wasn't the name of the one I'm thinking of.

	<p>
	And from what I've read, a lot of folks *did* need to hear the name to
	get it....

<p>
   <li> <em>How did Lennier know where Delenn was?</em><br>
	Well, given Delenn's position, I think she'd have let Lennier know 
	where she was, or that he'd heard Sheridan tell Delenn in the scene we 
	played the voice-over.

<p>
   <li> Actually, there *was* a scene where Lennier, concerned, tracks down Kosh
	to inquire after Delenn's situation, which report alarms him and sends
	him after Sheridan.  It was filmed...but cut for time.

<p>
   <li> <em>Censorship by C4 in Great Britain</em>

	<p>
	They SNIPPED the shot of G'Kar slicing his hand?  You're kidding!  I
	find that quite astonishing; it was done discreetly.  I'm dumbfounded.
	No wonder there was confusion about that scene.

<p>
   <li> You're right, btw; I was informed in another message here that they 
	did snip that piece of G'Kar's action.  Suffice to say I had *no* 
	idea, and now that I *do* have an idea...I'm simply wog-boggled.

<p>
   <li> Can G'Kar grow to forgive?  I don't think so...and yet in a way he must
	come to something more than rage, and other than forgiveness.  There is
	an important step in his development yet to come.  And he will have to
	go there by a very hard road.

</ul>

<p>
Originally compiled by Jason Snell.