lurkers-guide/guide/052

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

<blockquote><cite>
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.
</cite>

<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Stafford,+Nancy">Nancy Stafford</a> as Dr. Kirkish.
</blockquote>

<pre><a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/052">9.06</a>

Production number: 308
Original air week: February 19, 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 Mike Vejar
</pre>

<p>
<hr size=3>

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

   <li> Seven years ago, an archaeological team working for Interplanetary
	Expeditions (see
	<a href="004.html">"Infection"</a>)
	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,
	<a href="/lurk/comic/008.html">"Silent Enemies."</a>
	Most of the archaeologists have died or disappeared since.

   <li> More recently, a second Shadow ship was discovered under the ice on
	Jupiter's moon Ganymede.

   <li> 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.

   <li> 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.

   <li> Shadow forces have continued to build up on the edge of Centauri space.

</ul>

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

   <li> What were Shadow ships doing on Mars and Ganymede a millenium ago?
	Was Earth involved in the last war?

   <li> 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?

   <li> What kind of preparation is needed to properly merge with a Shadow ship?

</ul>

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

   <li> 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.

   <li> The White Star is a Minbari vessel, yet Sheridan believed the Agamemnon
	would be able to track it.  (See
	<a href="023.html">"Points of Departure."</a>)
	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.

   <li> 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
	<a href="042.html">"The Long, Twilight Struggle,"</a>) 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.

   <li> 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
	(<a href="050.html">"Dust to Dust."</a>)
	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?

   <li> 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?

   <li> 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.

   <li> The events on Mars make it clear that the Shadows were awake to some
	degree before the Icarus visited Z'ha'dum
	(<a href="038.html">"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum."</a>)
	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.

   <li> Given Marcus' apparent disregard for secrecy
	(<a href="051.html#marcus">"Exogenesis"</a>)
	Ivanova would be well-advised to make sure his chart is destroyed
	or hidden lest a Nightwatch sympathizer stumble across it.

   <li> 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?

   <li>@@@832018767 The Shadows attacked the mining colony where Marcus and his brother
	lived
	(<a href="045.html">"Matters of Honor."</a>)
	Could they have been trying to prevent the miners from discovering
	another buried ship?

   <li> 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.

   <li> 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:

	<ul>
	   <li> The Ikarran weapon in
		<a href="004.html">"Infection."</a>
	   <li> The anti-agathic drug in
		<a href="009.html">"Deathwalker,"</a>
		which required an extract from another living being.
	   <li> The Great Machine in Epsilon 3, which goes berserk without a
		core
		(<a href="018.html">"A Voice in the Wilderness."</a>)
	   <li> Shadow ships, as shown here.
	</ul>

	<p>
	Are Vorlon ships similarly powered?  They show up as living beings
	in scans, though that isn't conclusive one way or the other.

   <li>@@@884630518 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."
	(<a href="002.html">"Soul Hunter."</a>)

</ul>

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

   <li> Narn is written from right to left.

   <li> "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.

   <li> The events on Mars were first revealed in the comic series, issues
	<a href="/lurk/comic/007.html">"Survival the Hard Way"</a>
	and
	<a href="/lurk/comic/008.html">"Silent Enemies,"</a>
	six months before this episode's first airing.  Garibaldi also made
	a reference to the story contained therein in the first-season
	episode
	<a href="004.html">"Infection."</a>

<br>
<img align=right alt="" width=160 height=120 src="/lurk/gif/052/city.gif"
 hspace=5 vspace=5>
   <li> <a name="NO.city">In the middle</a>
	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
	<a href="http://www.hypernauts.com/">Hypernauts,</a>
	a children's sci-fi show whose special effects are being done by
	B5's effects company.  (See
	<a href="#JS.city">jms speaks.</a>)

</ul>

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

   <li> EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!
 
	<p>
	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.
 
	<p>
	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.
 
	<p>
	Oh, man, is this gonna be cool, assuming I can pull it off.
 
	<p>
	Working title: "Messages from Earth."

<p>
   <li> <em>A bit of a bland title?</em><br>
	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."

	<p>
	Besides, a nice, quiet, inoffensive little title gives me a better
	chance to sneak up behind you and whack the heck out of you....

<p>
   <li> "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).

	<p>
	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.

<p>
   <li> 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.

	<p>
	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.

<p>
   <li> 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.

<p>
   <li> 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.

	<p>
	"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.

	<p>
	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.

<p>
   <li> "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.

<p>
   <li> 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.

	<p>
	Be *very* careful what you wish for.

<p>
   <li>@@@865183215 "...I didn't think things would start moving this fast so
	soon!"

	<p>
	Well, this is what I kinda kept trying to tell people was
	coming, when they said things were moving too slowly....

<p>
   <li> 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.

<p>
   <li> 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.

	<p>
	From here on through the next batch, the intensity level
	continues to crank up.

	<p>
	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.

<p>
   <li> 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.

<p>
   <li> <a name="JS.city" href="#NO.city"><em>About the alien city</em></a><br>
	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. 

	<p>
	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. 

	<p>
	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.

	<p>
	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.

	<p>
	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.

<p>
   <li>@@@865183215 <em>The White Star looked different.</em><br>
	Different camera work, mainly.

<p>
   <li>@@@865183215 The Eternal Vigilance line is from history, not Wing
	Commander.  Ten Green Drazi points to the person who can name its
	origin.

<p>
   <li> <em>Where's the press during all this Nightwatch buildup?</em><br>
	You'll find more on this in the next three episodes.

<p>
   <li> 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.

<p>
   <li>@@@865183215 <em>Why aren't eggs and bacon available?</em><br>
	Mainly it's the expense involved per volume.  It still costs big bucks,
	and you generally need refrigeration.

<p>
   <li> 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.

	<p>
	And yes, a shadow vessel has one "core" sentient, and once in,
	it's very difficult for that person to ever get out again.

<p>
   <li>@@@865183215 <em>Wouldn't Ivanova's religion keep her from eating
	bacon?</em><br>
	Ivanova's not what you'd call orthodox under any circumstances.

<p>
   <li> <em>What was the blue goop?</em><br>
	Actually, I think it was blueberry yogurt.

<p>
   <li> <em>Any relation to the moment of perfect beauty in
	<a href="036.html">"There All the Honor Lies?"</a></em><br>
	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.

	<p>
	From here on in, things get very interesting....

<p>
   <li> Yes, what he's writing will, in time, become the Book of G'Kar.

	<p>
	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.

	<p>
	This is the second so far to strongly tie into the comic, yes.

<p>
   <li> <em>Does G'Kar consider his book on par with G'Quon's?</em><br>
	No, he hasn't thought of it that far yet...but it will find
	that role.

<p>
   <li> IXP has been in business, in one form or another, for between 50-80
	years.

<p>
   <li> <em>Who was the human in the Shadow ship?</em><br>
	It doesn't really matter in the long run; some poor shlub who
	got conned into it.

<p>
   <li> <em>Would a human be sane after piloting a Shadow ship?</em><br>
	Almost certainly not.

<p>
   <li> <em>Could someone on Sheridan's side "pilot" a Shadow ship, or are
	the ships intrinsically evil?</em><br>
	It's certainly a *very* good question.

<p>
   <li> 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.

<p>
   <li>@@@865183215 <em>What condition was the ship on Mars in?</em><br>
	It was dormant.  The core element was dead, certainly.

<p>
   <li>@@@865183215 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.

<p>
   <li> <em>Is a Shadow ship itself a kind of Shadow?</em><br>
	It's not a kind of shadow, no.

<p>
   <li> <em>Is there an official name for the Shadow ships?</em><br>
	I just call them shadow vessels.  For now.

<p>
   <li> <em>Why didn't Sheridan use the jumpgate trick again?</em><br>
	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.

<p>
   <li>@@@846717165 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.

<p>
   <li> <em>How could the Agamemnon detect the White Star?</em><br>
	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.

<p>
   <li> 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.)

	<p>
	And the minbari know more than they're saying.  But then that's
	generally true of them.

	<p>
	And yes, the shadow ship arrived with a new "core" for the
	buried ship.

<p>
   <li> <em>How does Delenn know so much about Shadow ships?</em><br>
	The info came from the Vorlons, and from the last war the Minbari fought
	against them.

<p>
   <li> The ship was hidden there to avoid it being destroyed during the war.
	May or may not see General Franklin again anytime soon.

<p>
   <li>@@@851545490 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.

<p>
   <li> There are no shadow vessels buried on Narn, no.  The shadow influence
	on the Psi Corps has been growing for about 7 years now.

<p>
   <li>@@@844381189 <em>Who sent the second ship to Mars?</em><br>
	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.

<p>
   <li> <em>How is Sheridan going to defeat a Shadow ship head-to-head?</em><br>
	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?

	<p>
	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.

<p>
   <li> <em>Was the spine that the White Star shot off the Shadow vessel
	recovered?</em><br>
	Nope.

<p>
   <li>@@@865183215 The shadow vessel was still a little wobbly
	from its long hibernation and the improper melding.  

<p>
   <li> 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.

	<p>
	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).

<p>
   <li> 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...

<p>
   <li> <em>About the massing Shadow forces</em><br>
	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.

<p>
   <li> <em>What's the symbol at the front of the White Star bridge?</em><br>
	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.

<p>
   <li> <em>The shot of G'Kar writing was flipped!</em><br>
	Not a gaffe; we flopped the shot because the writing was done
	left to right, instead of right to left, which is Narnish script.

<p>
   <li> 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.

<p>
   <li> 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.

	<p>
	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.

<p>
   <li>@@@865183215 <em>Nobody seemed to be translating Sheridan's orders
	to the White Star's crew.</em><br>
	Lennier was muttering his translations off-screen.

	<p>
	That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

<p>
   <li> 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.

<p>
   <li>@@@865183215 <em>Are rights suspended during Clark's martial
	law?</em><br>
	Yes, right to assemble, free speech rights, they're all open to
	abridgement.  Travel can also be restricted.

<p>
   <li>@@@865183215 <em>What happened to Ivanova's discovery in
	<a href="049.html">"Voices of Authority?"</a></em><br>
	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.

<p>
   <li> <em>Are we near the end of the Nightwatch plot thread?</em><br>
	The thread will diminish for a while, then return down the road
	in later seasons, after the story takes its third major turn.

<p>
   <li> <em>Why does anyone on Earth believe Clark?</em><br>
	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....

<p>
   <li> <em>Sheridan's conspiracy should be falling apart about now.</em><br>
	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.

<p>
   <li> 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.

<p>
   <li> <em>We already knew everything this episode revealed.</em><br>
	If I can, let me address one aspect of this, for your
	consideration.

	<p>
	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.)

	<p>
	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.

	<p>
	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.

	<p>
	If NObody gets it, you haven't done your job right.

	<p>
	If EVERYbody gets it, you haven't done your job right.

	<p>
	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.

	<p>
	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.)

	<p>
	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.

	<p>
	But that same 99% doesn't have this advantage.

	<p>
	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.

	<p>
	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.

	<p>
	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.

	<p>
	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.)

	<p>
	Anyway, just something to consider in all of this....

<p>
   <li>@@@865183215 "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?"

	<p>
	Yes, the package referred to Kirkish.

	<p>
	"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?"

	<p>
	Sooner or later.  Right now he's outgunned hideously.  He'll have to
	find a way.

	<p>
	"At some point won't Sheridan have to fight Earth? (I really don't
	expect an answer to this one)"

	<p>
	Stick around.

<p>
   <li>@@@843956012 <em>Why didn't Kirkish notice the huge Psi-Corps
	installation as shown in the comic?</em><br>
	The building was a lot bigger in the book than it should've been, more
	like a quonset hut arrangment hastily erected.

<p>
   <li>@@@843956063 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.

<p>
   <li> <em>Why didn't Garibaldi mention he was with Sinclair?</em><br>
	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.

<p>
   <li>@@@865183215 <em>Didn't Sheridan already know about the badge, from the
	comic issue
	<a href="/lurk/comic/008.html">"Silent Enemies?"</a></em><br>
	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.

<p>
   <li> 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....

<p>
   <li> Don't have the shadow dimensions offhand; and yes, you'd think Sheridan
	might begin to wonder about Kosh's level of involvement.

<p>
   <li> <em>Weren't the cameras at Ganymede recording?</em><br>
	Of course.  But who controls those cameras?  Answer: the very
	folks who wouldn't want it to get out what they had there.

</ul>