lurkers-guide/guide/051

<!-- TITLE Exogenesis -->

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

<blockquote><cite>
Marcus and Dr. Franklin combat an invasion by parasitic aliens that attach
themselves to humans.  Ivanova investigates the possibility of bringing a
new member into the conspiracy.
</cite>

<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Cox,+Joshua">Joshua Cox</a> as Corwin.
<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Morris,+Aubrey">Aubrey Morris</a> as Duncan.
<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Warwick,+James">James Warwick</a> as Matthew Duffin.

</blockquote>

<pre><a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/051">7.34</a>

Production number: 307
Original air week: February 12, 1996
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00009OOFK/thelurkersguidet">DVD release date</a>: August 12, 2003

Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by Kevin Cremin
</pre>

<h3>Watch For</h3>

<ul>
   <li> Signs on the wall in the Brown Sector marketplace.
</ul>

<p>
<hr size=3>

<h2><a name="BP">Backplot</a></h2>
<ul>

   <li> A race of symbiotes, the Vindrizi, has existed for half a million
	years.  They were created as
	recorders, observing events all over the galaxy so that others
	can learn about the past when all the books and records have been
	swallowed by the next dark age.  They survive by passing from host
	to host, always seeking volunteers who have nothing left to live for
	and want to live out their lives participating in a grand endeavor.

   <li> The Shadows have been building up forces in sector 800, near the border
	of Centauri space.

</ul>

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

   <li> What is the "package" from Mars that Marcus is waiting for?

   <li> Why are the Shadows building up their forces in sector 800?

   <li> Will Corwin prove problematic for the conspiracy of light?

   <li> Who created the Vindrizi half a million years ago, and what made
	them think such living histories would become necessary?

</ul>

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

   <li> It's never made clear how much time has passed before the Vindrizi's
	departure, but it's odd that Sheridan and company didn't jump at the
	chance to get all the information they could about the Shadows and
	the previous wars while the Vindrizi were still aboard.  Of course,
	it's possible such discussions took place, but they're never mentioned.

   <li> Now that Sheridan and his people know about the Vindrizi, perhaps
	they'll call upon them in the future.

   <li> What came in on the ship at the beginning of the episode?  The two
	people waiting for the ship were quite happy to see it arrive.  Were
	they not yet joined with the Vindrizi, or did the ship simply carry
	more of their kind?

   <li> <a name="marcus">Marcus seems a good deal less concerned with</a>
	secrecy than his
	coconspirators; he was talking to Garibaldi openly, and loudly, about
	his network of contacts in a public place.  By contrast, Ivanova and
	Sheridan didn't even want to be <em>seen</em> with him at the
	Earhart's party for fear of raising questions.

   <li> Why is Ivanova so hostile toward Marcus?  Have her last few romantic
	experiences made her want to discourage any new developments in that
	area?  (For example,
	<a href="007.html">"The War Prayer"</a>
	and
	<a href="041.html">"Divided Loyalties."</a>)

   <li> During the medical staff meeting, Franklin mentions that there's a
	need for Drazi blood.  Is the station being flooded with Drazi refugees,
	much like it was with Narn refugees while the Narn-Centauri War was at
	its peak?  If so, is Babylon 5 becoming a sort of haven for refugees
	of all stripes?

</ul>

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

   <li> Duncan's line, "I don't like being poked by doctors," is also spoken
	by the main character Alex in Stanley Kubrick's
	<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/title-exact?title=A+Clockwork+Orange">"A Clockwork Orange."</a>

<p>
   <li> The ship carrying the Vindrizi is called the Dyson, most likely named
	for physicist Freeman Dyson.

<p>
   <li> <a name="NO.macbeth">Marcus quotes from Dickens'</a>
	"A Christmas Carol" to Garibaldi, and from
	Shakespeare's "Macbeth" when he wakes Duncan up.  Note that Marcus
	refers to Macbeth as "the Scottish play," and replaces "Macbeth" with
	"Marcus" in his quote -- there is a superstition
	among actors that referring to Macbeth by name is bad luck.  (See
	<a href="#JS.macbeth">jms speaks</a>)

	<p>
	The particular Macbeth quotes are from Act II, scene 2:

	<blockquote>
	Methought I heard a voice cry "Sleep no more!<br>
	Macbeth does murder sleep" -- the innocent sleep,<br>
	Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care,<br>
	The death of each day's life, sore labor's bath,<br>
	Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,<br>
	Chief nourisher in life's feast.
	</blockquote>

	<p>
	Then, a moment later:

	<blockquote>
	Still it cried "Sleep no more!" to all the house.<br>
	"Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor<br>
	Shall sleep no more.  Macbeth shall sleep no more."
	</blockquote>

	<p>
	Glamis and Cawdor are two earl titles that Macbeth holds.

<p>
   <li> Marcus refers to his fighting staff as a "Copeland J5000" while trying
	to convince the Vindrizi it's a medical instrument.  That's most likely
	a reference to producer John Copeland.

<p>
   <li> The Vindrizi's musing about what they've experienced is reminiscent of
	Batty's dying words at the end of the movie
	<a href="http://kzsu.stanford.edu/uwi/br/off-world.html">"Blade Runner."</a>

</ul>

<h2><a name="JS">jms speaks</a></h2>
<ul>

   <li> "Exogenesis," which we just started filming this week, is probably our
	most "ordinary" story of the batch, though it puts a new spin on
	several traditional story elements.

<p>
   <li>@@@865182196 Sometimes I do like to take stories that have always
	been done one way, and turn them on their heads to see what new
	possibilities tumble out. It's fun....

<p>
   <li> "Exogenesis" - The last non-arc episode for some time.  Puts Dr.
	Franklin and Marcus together investigating some odd happenings in
	DownBelow that may indicate some kind of alien influence.  Does,
	however, introduce a thread that will play out over time.

<p>
   <li> Another "oh, yeah, I nearly forgot"...for those out there who have
	young kids, or if you're a bit on the squeamish side yourself...there's
	one EFX shot at the end of the teaser for "Exogenesis" that you may want
	to avoid. When it was finished, John Copeland brought it into my office,
	fired it up on my TV, and looked away, saying, "You look, it creeps me
	out too much to look at it again."  It's...pretty strong. So you'll miss
	the minimum possible, here's the sequence: first there's the Screaming
	Man (a), then a cutaway to two people (b), then back at the Man for the
	first part of the shot (c), the two people again (d), the man (e), and
	finally the two people.  What you want to avoid, if there are real young
	kids in the room, are shots c and e.  That's it for the whole episode.
	For non-netted folks, it'll go by pretty fast, but I figured it'd be
	worth mentioning as an added piece of info for the netted amongst us.

<p>
   <li>@@@865182196 <em>How is your mental image of the arc holding
	up?</em><br>
	The overview still holds up pretty well, I think.  Toward the end of
	season two, I think things got just a *tad* too convoluted in places, so
	that's being cleared up a bit, the dry brush trimmed back, the red
	herrings cleared away, because we've got to start focusing on the real
	story, not the misdirections.  That's probably the one thing I'd go back
	and revise, because in general, you can't just bring something up and
	walk away form (from) it later; it's got to either fit, or be
	reasonably, logically explained away.  So some time has to be spent on
	that now.  But that's been done pretty effectively in this first batch
	of episodes, and now we're down to really cranking on the shadow war.

	<p>
	In four more episodes (writing-wise), I'll be at the exact midpoint
	in the story, which on one level is a little hard to believe; it's gont
	(gone) by so fast.  Seems like yesterday that we just got started. 
	Which is why the overview is very helpful; by constantly reminding me
	where we should be, it doesn't let me get lost in the neverwhere of TV
	production.

	<p>
	All things considered...we've had some bumps on the ride, a detour
	here and there, the occasional flat tire, but doggone it if the old
	thing seems to have a mind of its own; I started writing #7 the other
	day, and I'm well past halfway finished writing it, it's coming out
	almost as though it already existed, and I've just managed to "tune
	into" it, like the sculpter who knows that inside a block of wood is a
	horse, he just has to start chopping and cutting until he finds and
	relases it.

	<p>
	So long answer to a short question...we're still on course, and I'm
	still quite pleased with where we're going, and how we're getting there.

<p>
   <li> Thanks.  Yeah, Exo is the last non-arc episode for a long time,
	and the last chance to catch one's breath before the big fall.

	<p>
	My personal evaluation of the episode is that it's okay.  The
	second half, I think, isn't as strong as the first half.  Halfway
	through writing the episode, we had a problem come up in production
	that unexpectedly took me away from the script for about a week. 
	(Nothing major, but it had to be dealt with and it took time.) 
	Usually, I write copious notes on a script before I begin writing it. 
	In this case, the story was so crystalline clear in my head that I just
	dived in, and was blasting away terrific when the hit came midway 
	through.  By the time I got back, I'd lost some of the fingerprints of
	the story, and had to kind of re-find them again.  Mainly, I think the
	expository sequence at the end could've been done better.

	<p>
	Needless to say, that's the last time I trusted myself without
	notes, no matter how well I "see" the episode in my head.  It'd be a
	great script for second or first season, but we have to keep raising
	the bar, every aspect has to be better than the last thing we did, so
	for my money it's not quite up to that standard.  Happily, it's the
	*only* episode this season that I feel that way about...the rest are
	all just nifty.

	<p>
	That said, I think it has some great moments for Marcus, Franklin
	and others...and yes, there's a lot more planned with Franklin coming
	up this season, particularly toward the latter third of the season.

<p>
   <li> Thanks (I think).  Yeah, I've said from the git-go that in my
	view the second half of Exo isn't up to the first half.  It is, in my
	view, the weakest of this season's 22.  On the flip side, that means
	the other 21 are pretty nifty.

	<p>
	Agree with you on Marcus.  I'm finding I have the same problem
	with him I have with Londo...getting him to shut up once I wire him up
	and let him go. He's a lot of fun to write, in that he can do the
	physical action stuff very well, he can do comedy, more dramatic
	emotional stuff...the whole range.  I can take him places and do things
	with him that I can't in some ways for the other characters, in that he
	has only one responsibility, whereas the others have larger
	responsibilities to more people.

<p>
   <li>@@@865182196 <em>What did Joshua Cox think of Corwin getting to leave
	C&amp;C for a change?</em><br>
	He loved it.

<p>
   <li> <em><a href="#NO.macbeth">About the avoidance of the name "Macbeth"</a>
	</em><br>
	<a name="JS.macbeth">Just figured I'd use that description of it</a>
	rather than Macbeth, to make it a bit more obscure, but also some
	actors do have a problem saying the name Macbeth or being around it
	when it's said (note: Jason isn't one of them). so it was also a
	courtesy.  (Later on, while shooting "A Late Delivery From Avalon,"
	one of the hair dressers made the error of referring to Macbeth out
	loud in front of Michael York, and had to go through the whole
	undo-the-curse routine, walking around the stages three times, etc.)

<p>
   <li> I like Marcus quoting literature, Shakespeare included.  So
	it's something I've peppered through his character, though trying to
	avoid too much of it.

<p>
   <li> Yes, Marcus and Ivanova should get along
	well...assuming one doesn't kill the other first....

<p>
   <li>@@@865182197 <em>Why doesn't Marcus wear a link?</em><br>
	I just summoned up Marcus in my head.  Here's what he said: "Because I
	won't wear the bloody thing, that's why.  Bad enough you've got those
	pagers you wear in 1996, no privacy, no chance to get away, always at
	somebody's beck and call.  Why not just put a leash around your neck and
	get it over with? It'd be faster and a good deal more honest.  I'm down
	in the bar trying to be inconspicuous, dangerous characters on all
	sides, trying not to be noticed...and the link goes off, and I'm dead.
	Or at minimum seriously thumped.  No, absolutely not.  You'll never get
	me to wear one of those."

	<p>
	(This is btw the reason why I absolutely *refuse* to wear a pager
	myself.)

<p>
   <li> <em>Was that Sean Connery's voice at the beginning?</em><br>
	It was a voice in the walla group that basically came out
	sounding that way.

<p>
   <li>@@@869590206 <em>Response to the above from producer George
	Johnsen</em><br>
	No, it is Doug Cook, one of our Walla people doing a fair Sean
	imitation which was not his intention.

<p>
   <li> <em>Where did Franklin's stim abuse problem go?</em><br>
	It hasn't come to a head yet.  Any abuser of substances has moments
	when he's up, and moments when he's down, moments when he seems fine,
	moments when he's not.

</ul>