lurkers-guide/guide/066

<!-- TITLE Z'ha'dum -->

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

<blockquote><cite>
Third season finale. 
A face from Sheridan's past takes him on a dangerous mission to meet his Shadow counterpart.
Londo receives important news about his political future. The
Shadows mass a fleet against Babylon 5. 
</cite>

<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Gilbert-Boxleitner,+Melissa">Melissa Gilbert</a> as Anna.
<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Wasser,+Ed">Ed Wasser</a> as Morden.
<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Corey,+Jeff">Jeff Corey</a> as Justin.
</blockquote>

<pre><a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/066">9.73</a>

Production number: 322
Original air week: September 22, 1996 (UK)
		   October 28, 1996 (US)
<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 Adam Nimoy
</pre>

<p>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000002VUY/thelurkersguidet">An 
episodic soundtrack is available.</a>

<p>
<strong>Warning: This episode reveals a lot of information, and there are
spoilers below.  Think twice before reading on if you haven't seen
the episode.</strong>

<p>
<hr size=3>

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

<ul>

   <li> The Shadows claim that the <em>Icarus</em> was sent to Z'ha'dum by
	Earth after Interplanetary Expeditions planted a homing device on the
	Shadow ship discovered on Mars
	(<a href="052.html">"Messages from Earth"</a>)
	and traced its path through hyperspace.

   <li> A million years ago there were many immensely powerful species
	roaming the galaxy, but most left for "greener pastures," leaving
	the Vorlons and the Shadows behind.

   <li> The Shadows claim they and the Vorlons are "shepherds," guiding younger
	races through the evolutionary process, though they have different
	methods: the Vorlons are like parents, trying to get their children
	to play nice and get along, while the Shadows believe that only through
	conflict and death can races become stronger and more advanced.
	They also claim that by enlisting the help of the Minbari and others
	against the Shadows, and by manipulating the younger races genetically,
	the Vorlons haven't been playing by the rules.

   <li> The Shadows claim that the Vorlons' genetic tinkering is responsible
	for the sudden appearance of telepathy in humans, and that they
	got involved with Psi-Corps to try to minimize the threat to
	themselves.

   <li> The Shadows' own name for themselves is 10000 letters long, and
	unpronounceable.

   <li> Z'ha'dum is, according to Delenn, the Shadows' homeworld.

   <li> The Shadows badly want to have Sheridan on their side because he has
	succeeded in uniting the various races into the "Army of Light,"
	something that's anathemic to their goal of growth through universal
	conflict.  If he unravels the Army of Light, it'll stay unravelled,
	but past experience has shown that killing him would simply cause
	someone else to take his place.

</ul>

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

<ul>

   <li> If the future as seen in
	<a href="060.html">"War Without End"</a>
	is unchangeable, then how does Sheridan survive?

   <li> What was left of Anna after she was removed from the Shadow ship and
	sent to Sheridan?

   <li>@@@847097295 Was the entire crew of the Icarus put inside Shadow ships,
	or were some of them killed?

   <li>@@@847043767 What was behind the door Anna wouldn't let Sheridan open?
	(See <a href="#JS.door">JMS Speaks</a>)

   <li> How much truth is there in the Shadows' statements?

   <li> Why did the Vorlons and Shadows stay behind when the other First Ones
	left?

   <li> Where exactly did the other First Ones go, and why?

   <li> Were the Vorlons also responsible for telepathy in Narns and Minbari
	around the time of the last war?

   <li>@@@847218922 If the Vorlons and the Shadows are trying to guide the
	evolution of the younger races, do they have an objective in mind?
	If so, what?

   <li> Who or what is Justin? Where did he come from? Was he also a member of
	the Icarus crew?

   <li> What is the pit Sheridan jumped toward?  (See
	<a href="#AN.pit">Analysis</a>)

   <li>@@@846912771 Anna told Sheridan that time doesn't work the same way
	on Z'ha'dum as elsewhere.  How <em>does</em> time work there, and
	why is it different?

   <li> Was the destroyed city the only city on Z'ha'dum?

   <li> How badly have the Shadows been hurt?

   <li> Did Morden and/or Justin survive?

   <li> Did Londo get off the station after his warning?

   <li>@@@847444283 Where were the Minbari ships shown at the beginning of
	the episode when the Shadows appeared?

   <li> Why did the Shadows take Garibaldi? Luck? Their plan? His plan?

   <li> What ever happened to Mr. Garibaldi?

</ul>

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

<ul>

   <li> Given that Anna most likely lied about the fate of the Icarus' crew,
	and that they tried to mislead him about what had been done to her,
	much of what Sheridan was told may be lies or misrepresentation as
	well, and it's possible that important elements of the relationship
	between the Vorlons, Shadows, and the other First Ones were left
	unsaid.

<p>
   <li> The Shadows have a similar worldview to that of the Lumati
	(<a href="034.html">"Acts of Sacrifice,"</a>)
	namely that individuals deserve to fall by the wayside if they aren't
	strong enough to fend for themselves.  The Drazi and others might
	also come to agree with the Shadows' motives if they were explained.
	Assuming Sheridan has survived somehow, what will Delenn and Kosh
	do to keep the Shadows' side of the story from becoming public?

<p>
   <li> Anna told Sheridan, "It was supposed to be an equal balance between
	our side and the Vorlons." According to who?
	Did both sides agree to follow rules of conduct?  Are they
	acting on behalf of some other party who wants to see which
	style of evolutionary help will prove more fruitful?

<p>
   <li> Some part of Kosh is definitely in Sheridan's head -- Sheridan sees
	or hears him twice.  The first time is just before he leaves for
	Z'ha'dum, when Kosh says, "If you go to Z'ha'dum, you will die."  The
	second time is just before the White Star crashes into the Shadow city,
	when he tells Sheridan to jump into the pit.

<p>
   <li> Sheridan decides he is willing to sacrifice himself in the nuclear
	destruction of the Shadow city for two main reasons -- first, to help
	defeat the Shadows, and second, to try to avoid the destruction of the
	Centauri Homeworld he has foreseeen
	(<A HREF="061.html">"War Without End."</A>)
	His willingness to sacrifice himself also brings to mind the judgment
	of Sebastian
	(<A HREF="043.html">"Comes the Inquisitor"</A>)
	that both Sheridan and Delenn can sacrifice themselves for their cause.
	Delenn also told Sebastian the same thing the Shadows told Sheridan:
	that if they were killed, another would come along to take their place.

<p>
   <li>@@@846743775 Anna claims that the Shadows believe they'll die if
	anything Vorlon touches Z'ha'dum.  Is that simply a superstition, or
	do they have some reason to think that's true?  Perhaps they foresaw
	the detonation of the White Star in some way -- as it turned out, that
	belief wasn't too far from the truth.

<p>
   <li> Justin is probably "the man in between" from Sheridan's dream
	(<A HREF="033.html">"All Alone in the Night"</A>)
	-- Sheridan's counterpart.  But if he's truly equivalent to
	Sheridan, does that mean he's in control of the Shadows?  Of
	course, given the amount of manipulation by the Vorlons and the
	Minbari, it's questionable whether Sheridan is really in control
	of the army of light in any meaningful way; Kosh and Delenn have
	steered him toward their viewpoints from the beginning.  Still,
	if Justin is Sheridan's counterpart, he's more than a simple
	spokesman, and if that's the case, it begs the question, how did
	he achieve that position?

<p>
   <li>@@@846746561 Another interpretation is that "the man in between"
	implies that there's a third person, a "man on the other side."
	The presence of Garibaldi and two versions of Sheridan in his dream
	supports that interpretation.  In that case, who is Sheridan's
	opposite?  Perhaps it's Sheridan himself: if Justin had managed to
	convert him to the Shadows' side, he would have become the man on
	the other side.

<p>
   <li> Both Justin and Sheridan drink tea to help them sleep
	(<a href="064.html">"And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place."</a>)

<p>
   <li>@@@847044315 Sheridan's first question to Justin is, "Who are you?"
	That's the same question Sebastian asked Delenn and Sheridan
	(<a href="043.html">"Comes the Inquisitor."</a>)
	One could plausibly consider it the Vorlon question, their version of
	the Shadows' "What do you want?"
	(<a href="013.html">"Signs and Portents."</a>)
	Significantly, Justin refuses to answer the question in any direct
	way, even claims it's not important who he is.  That probably points
	to a major philosophical difference between the Vorlons and the
	Shadows.

<p>
   <li>@@@847134359 Justin claimed there were two elder races left behind.
	Does that mean the Shadows don't know about the Walkers at Sigma 957
	(<a href="049.html">"Voices of Authority?"</a>)
	Or would they not consider that race to be remaining behind?

<p>
   <li>@@@847044425 What did Justin mean when he called Sheridan a nexus?
	Does it imply there's something inherently special about Sheridan,
	or does one become a nexus simply by being in the right place at
	the right time?  Certainly Sheridan's decisions affect the fates of
	millions of people now, but was that destined to be the case?

<p>
   <li>@@@847013287 Delenn said that nobody returns from Z'ha'dum the same
	as they arrived.  How does she know, and what does she mean by that,
	exactly?  Is it simply a matter of all visitors to Z'ha'dum being
	put inside Shadow warships?

<p>
   <li> The Shadows don't seem to have very good security, given that they 
	failed to detect that Sheridan was carrying a second gun.  On the
	other hand, it's possible they <em>did</em> detect it, but elected
	for some reason not to do anything about it.

<p>
   <li>@@@844646097 Z'ha'dum's defenses are similarly flawed; the White
	Star was able to crash into the surface of the planet intact, apparently
	with no opposition on the way down.  Why weren't the Shadows vigorously
	protecting their homeworld?  Obviously they left the White Star alone
	while it was in orbit because of their guarantee to Sheridan, but
	once it started plummeting toward one of their cities, it's odd
	that they didn't shoot it out of the sky.

<p>
   <li> <a name="AN.pit">The pit Sheridan jumped into</a>
	was more than a simple depression; as he fell, just before the
	White Star detonated, he appeared to be passing through a tunnel
	of some kind.  Perhaps he was transported to safety by some means;
	that would explain Kosh urging him to jump.  If so, what is the
	pit, and did the Shadows build it, or are they merely taking
	advantage of something that predates their presence on Z'ha'dum?
	If the latter, was the city surrounding the pit a Shadow installation,
	or was it peopled by someone else?

	<p>@@@844646097 
	It's also odd that, given that they moved their base underground
	"for security purposes," the Shadows would build a large, exposed
	dome above the pit.

<p>
   <li>@@@847013010 Perhaps the pit is related to the Shadows' absence.  In
	<a href="022.html">"Chrysalis,"</a>
	Delenn asked Kosh, "Have the Shadows returned to Z'ha'dum?"  That
	implies they'd been somewhere else.  Perhaps the pit is a gateway
	of some kind, and Sheridan will survive by passing through it.

<p>
   <li>@@@845621508 Is Sheridan's descent into the pit related to Londo's odd
	greeting in
	<a href="060.html">"War Without End, Part One,"</a>
	"Welcome back from the abyss, Sheridan?"  If so, does that mean he
	somehow spends the intervening seventeen years either in the pit or
	associated with it in some way?  The former is unlikely if Sheridan
	and Delenn already have a son seventeen years later.

	<p>
	<a name="khazad">
	A parallel to Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" is possible:
	</a>
	Gandalf fell into the pit at Khazad-dum with the Balrog, died (as
	Sheridan will, according to Kosh) and was reborn as Gandalf the White,
	an even more powerful figure.

<p>
   <li>@@@847013010 Sheridan may also, if he survives in some fashion,
	qualify as "the one who is already dead" from Lady Morella's prophecy
	(<a href="053.html">"Point of No Return."</a>)
	It's an even closer fit since Sheridan would be The One who is already
	dead.

<p>
   <li>@@@847134359 In
	<a href="059.html">"Interludes and Examinations,"</a>
	Kosh said he wouldn't be there to help if Sheridan went to Z'ha'dum.
	But that's not how it turned out; Kosh was there, though it's not
	yet clear how much help he was.  What would Kosh have done for
	Sheridan on Z'ha'dum if he hadn't been killed?

<p>
   <li>@@@846887775 This is the second time Sheridan has leapt from great
	heights to avoid a bomb
	(<a href="044.html">"The Fall of Night."</a>)
	And both times, Kosh was involved, though Sheridan didn't know that
	when he leapt the first time.  Will Kosh's presence in Sheridan's
	mind somehow save him once again?

<p>
   <li>@@@847137184 Ivanova's plan (or possibly Sheridan's) to plant mines
	near an upcoming Shadow attack is the same strategy Sheridan used to
	defeat the Black Star in the Earth-Minbari War
	(<a href="036.html">"There All the Honor Lies."</a>)
	How will the Minbari, who denounced Sheridan's tactic as dishonorable
	then, feel about its use against the Shadows?  Perhaps they'll have
	no problem with it, since presumably Ivanova won't use a fake distress
	call to lure the Shadows in as Sheridan did to the Minbari.

<p>
   <li>@@@865727965 Sheridan has now destroyed both the Black Star and the
	White Star, further justifying the Minbari nickname for him, Starkiller
	(<a href="023.html">"Points of Departure."</a>)

<p>
   <li>@@@847217835 If the Shadows were planning to implant Sheridan, as the
	arrival of the Shadow implied, why did they surround the station?
	Would they have attacked?  Their warning to Londo implies so.
	Perhaps they came both to attack if necessary and to pick up
	Garibaldi.

<p>
   <li>@@@847134359 Shadow ships seem to have instantaneous communication
	with Z'ha'dum; they left Babylon 5 as soon as the explosion occurred.
	That's perhaps not so remarkable; B5 has near-instantaneous contact
	with Earth, and it's not clear how far Z'ha'dum is from B5.

<p>
   <li>@@@847013593 The Shadows may have taken Garibaldi to try to alter him
	and get him to work for them.  Justin said, "Once you've been inside of
	one of those ships for a while, you're never quite whole again.  But 
	you do as you're told."  Garibaldi may already be altered by virtue of
	his transportation in the belly of the Shadow ship.

<p>
   <li>@@@847042174 Ivanova immediately knew that Sheridan was gone.  Simple
	deduction based on the missing bombs and White Star and the sudden
	departure of the Shadows, or did she sense something telepathically?

<p>
   <li>@@@845427732 If human telepathy is the result of Vorlon genetic
	tampering, is the same also true of Minbari and (former) Narn
	telepathy, and of other races as well?  What, then, of the Centauri,
	who (to judge by Londo's failure to see Kosh in
	<a href="044.html">"The Fall of Night"</a>)
	haven't been altered by Vorlons?  Where did they get their telepathy?

<p>
   <li>@@@845427732 Again assuming that all human telepaths owe their
	abilities to Vorlon modifications, Ivanova's genes, or rather those of
	her ancestors, have been altered by the Vorlons.  What other changes
	did the Vorlons make in addition to granting telepathy?  Will Ivanova,
	for instance, be more susceptible than other crewmembers to images
	projected by the new Kosh?

<p>
   <li>@@@845427732 The Vorlons may have had more than one motive for
	creating telepathy among the younger races.  There's the obvious reason,
	namely that telepaths are useful as weapons against the Shadows.  But
	it may also be that the Vorlons' goal of universal cooperation, if
	Justin's representation is to be believed, is furthered by widespread
	telepathy.  Presumably people are less likely to fight if they can
	feel their blows landing on an opponent's body from the other person's
	point of view, and certainly direct mind-to-mind contact would enable
	much more productive cooperation.  The Vorlons may feel that telepathy
	is ultimately most useful as a means of pacification, not as a weapon.

	<p>
	If so, the path to that goal cuts straight through Shadow territory;
	the Psi Corps, as represented by Bester in
	<a href="058.html">"Ship of Tears,"</a>
	is perhaps internally cohesive, and its members cooperate with one
	another effectively, but its leaders hold the rest of the human
	population in contempt ("Normals are expendable," as Bester put it.)
	It's plausible that eventually that will lead to conflict between
	telepaths and normals, with the winners in charge afterwards -- exactly
	the process the Shadows advocate.

<p>
   <li>@@@845427732 Likewise, the Shadows' actions seem to be at odds with
	their stated goal.  As Morden said to Sheridan, every time the Shadows
	come out and try to put their plans in motion, someone tries to unite
	all the other races against them.  Given that the Shadows seem to have
	been defeated in at least the last two wars, and probably many others,
	it's likely that someone <em>succeeds</em> in uniting all the races
	against them every time.  By attempting to create conflict, they
	instead promote unity and cooperation.

	<p>
	Of course, it could be that the Shadows and Vorlons actually want
	exactly the opposite of what Justin claimed, and they realize that
	if they push in one direction, the younger races will move in the
	other.

<p>
   <li>@@@846186676 The Vorlons' tinkering with humans may have been
	foreshadowed as far back as
	<a href="007.html">"The War Prayer,"</a>
	in which Kosh told Sinclair, "We take no interest in the affairs of
	others," while he was studying images of Earth history.  Perhaps he
	was simply studying the effects of Vorlon intervention.

<p>
   <li>@@@847218922 Morden seemed disgusted by the thought of the Vorlons
	tampering genetically with humans.  Why is that more objectionable
	to him than the Shadows' implantation?  Perhaps it's because the
	Shadows aren't aiming to directly modify the species with their
	tinkering; presumably humans who are put inside Shadow ships never
	return to human society.

</ul>

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

   <li> The episode's title, originally under wraps as mentioned
	below, was announced by JMS at the San Diego Comicon on July 6, 1996.

   <li>@@@847044592 The concept of someone being a nexus also appeared in
	the novel "The Demolished Man" by Alfred Bester, which also contains
	the inspiration for the Psi Corps.  In the novel, the term is "focal
	point," and it's suggested that a focal point can cause tremendous
	changes not only to the lives of other people, but to the very
	structure of the universe.

   <li>@@@852599233 Delenn's rendition of the human saying, "What is past is
	prologue," is from Shakespeare's "The Tempest."

</ul>

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

   <li> I'm going to hold the title of 22 confidential as long as
	possible.

<p>
   <li> By the last few episodes, pretty much all of my cards are on
	the table. But by the last episode of this season, we find that the
	game we've assumed we've been playing ain't necessarily the game at
	all.  The show takes a fairly subversive direction, and of all the
	seasons so far, the one that follows, year four, represents the
	greatest writing challenge to make this actually work.

	<p>
	Which is another reason why it's important to get the B4
	storyline and several other threads out in the open, and clear the
	decks, because this is gonna take every bit of whatever talent I've got
	to pull off.

	<p>
	Year four is the point in the novel when you're just past the
	halfway mark; you know the reader thinks he or she has got the story
	sussed out. The reader knows all your tricks by now, or thinks he/she
	does.  You've been pulling doves out of your hat for 243 pages.

	<p>
	Now you'd damned well better be able to pull out an alligator.

<p>
   <li> <em>February 27, 1996</em><br>
	Well, it's done.  I have today turned in the first draft of
	script #22 for year three, which I suppose could be called a
	cliffhanger episode. This marks the first time in the 50+ year history
	of American television that one person has singlehandedly written an
	entire season of a series. (The closest record is Terry Nation, who
	wrote the 13-episode first season of Blake's 7.)

	<p>
	(I have no plans to do this next season, btw; this was
	necessary because of the substantive changes in the B5 universe this
	season.  Next season is a very different story...literally as well as
	figuratively.)

	<p>
	So far the film based on those 1,000+ pages represents some of
	our best work on Babylon 5.  There's some nifty stuff coming.

	<p>
	We are currently filming episode #18.  Four more after this,
	and we'll be finished shooting year three, as of April 9th.  Not long
	after, we should get the word on year four, probably by late
	April/early May.  But the writing is finished...and for the first time
	in 8 months, I will be able to go out, see a movie, play Wing
	Commander, find something that vaguely resembles a life.  This is where
	I now also become a director's worst nightmare: a writer-producer who's
	finished writing and finally has time to hang out on the set and give
	lots and lots of helpful advice.

	<p>
	It was a hideous task; two-thirds through I began to understand
	that there was a *reason* nobody's ever done this before...you'd have
	to be outta your ever-loving mind to even try.  But as with everything
	else on B5, if we don't know it's impossible, we just go ahead and do
	it.

	<p>
	The title, as stated elsewhere, is classified, though you may
	get a sense of what's coming in the two eps that precede it. 
	Regardless, the writing on year three is now complete.  Overall, I'm
	quite pleased, and I think by the time you hit this episode, you'll
	feel the same.

<p>
   <li> Well, there's what one would *prefer*, and there's that which is
	*sensible*.  And the sensible answer is that no, once the last S3
	episode airs in the UK, there's no way on earth you're gonna keep that
	out of the public eye, and there ain't much sense to protecting it or
	hitting it with spoiler regs.  I'd let it go at that point.  

	<p>
	(And, frankly, it'll probably slip out some time before that; when it
	hits, it hits, I've decided to let it go at that point...you just ain't
	gonna hear it from ME, that's all.)

<p>
   <li> "Or is it a matter of the title being a spoiler for an episode between
	now and then?"

	<p>
	Yes, that's my concern.

	<p>
	While I'm on the subject, an advisory: I gave a short interview to
	Entertainment Weekly the other day for their story about cliffhanger
	endings for various shows.  Now, the piece is going to run in May since
	that's when most shows (most *sensible* shows) will be doing their
	cliffhangers.  Ours won't run until July or October, depending on who
	you talk to.  

	<p>
	There's a point where you have to decide between publicity (good for
	show) and secrecy (good for viewers), in the process of keeping the show
	on the air (also good for viewers).  So I let a few things out of the
	bag.  If you don't want to be spoiled, then you may want to avoid
	picking up and reading that story.

<p>
   <li> <em>Why a cliffhanger, if WB is likely to delay the final episode
	until the start of season four?</em><br>
	Because the story calls for it.  Whether they show the cliffhanger three
	months or two weeks before the fourth season (assuming renewal), this is
	where the story goes.  It was constructed like a series of novels, a
	multi-volume saga, and like any good series of novels, you end on
	something big.

	<p>
	And this year, season three ends on something really honking big.

<p>
   <li> It has some surprises, with teeth....

<p>
   <li> <em>Why did you reveal the title at the San Diego
	convention but refuse to do so earlier in Chicago?</em><br>
	At Chicago, the assumption was still that the UK wouldn't be
	getting the final 5 until the US did.  But since now they'll be getting
	new (to the US) episodes starting in August, keeping the title quiet
	now seems kind of a moot issue.

<p>
   <li> I'm definitely looking forward to the reaction.  
	Today, for
	instance, we did the final audio mix of "Z'ha'dum," our third season
	ending episode. All of the EFX were in place, the sound, the
	music...and after we did the piecemeal mix, layering in things in a
	stop-and-go fashion, we did our playback, watching it straight through.
	I don't think anyone was breathing for the fourth act.  Everyone was
	just wog-boggled.  The emotional impact of it all is quite strong.

	<p>
	When the lights came up, and I looked around to the stunned
	faces in the room, the only thing I could say was, "Welcome to history,
	gentlemen."

<P>
   <li> <em>Who was in the room?</em><br>
	The only people in the room are those involved in the mix,
	this isn't a screening, it's part of post-production.  It's me, John
	Copeland, co-producer George Johnsen, the sound editors, mixers, sound
	supervisor, a few others on the periphery.

	<p>
	At one point, one of the mixers was working on putting in the
	sounds as he went, hadn't yet gone through it all...and kept telling
	the sound supervisor (who was asking questions about how we wanted to
	handle some later scenes) "don't let me hear this, I don't want to
	know, I just want to see what happens next, this is great."  Which in
	this town, from folks who work on a lot of shows, is a good reaction.

<p>
   <li> It's a lovely episode.  This is the one where, after we 
	watched the final audio mix playback, prompted me to say to the other 
	producers working on the show, "gentlemen, we have just entered
	history."

<p>
   <li> One of the things I like about the episode is the emotional
	content, as it builds toward the end of the ep.  I've watched it (in
	finished form) a half dozen times or more...but certain sequences never
	stop being interesting.

<p>
   <li> An emotional rollercoaster is a good image for that episode; 
	it takes you in every direction and then just drops you.

	<p>
	Re: the Revelations scene...we actually shot that entire sequence, 
	with the notion of possibly re-editing "Revelations" and inserting the 
	Melissa piece instead...sort of TV by way of soviet revisionism...and of
	course it was *always* that way...what other version was there?

<p>
   <li>@@@865283090 It's something we're considering; we had her do the entire
	message, and shot Bruce in those sequences, so we have that option. 
	Sort of a Soviet revisionism approach to television....

<p>
   <li>@@@844381404 <em>Was using Melissa Gilbert instead of Beth Toussaint
	Bruce's idea?</em><br>
	No, since it was my idea re: Melissa.  It was a scheduling
	situation involving availabilities.  If it wasn't her, it would've had
	to be someone else...so I figured, why not?

<p>
   <li>@@@847444370 <em>Were the wedding photos in the episode actually photos
	from Bruce and Melissa's wedding?</em><br>
	Yes, we used their actual wedding photos.

<p>
   <li> <em>The flashforward in "War Without End" seemed to not be quite the
	same as the scene in this episode.</em><br>
	Sometimes there are practical considerations in the overall
	staging; when we shot the flash-forward, Melissa wasn't there, so when
	she was, there was some interest in restaging things.

<p>
   <li>@@@844028475 As for the music, no, it's the same orchestra Chris
	has always used. I've seen times when people assumed he was using synth
	and wasn't.  He uses the Berlin Film Symphonic Orchestra for a goodly
	amount of the work for the show.

<p>
   <li> The other crew of the Icarus shown on Z'ha'dum were all done CGI.

<p>
   <li> <em>Was G'Kar's makeup different, or was it just the lighting?</em><br>
	Probably the lighting.

<p>
   <li> "So basically, what I'm asking is does the fact that
	G'Kar gets the last major speech in season 3 mean that he gets to do
	the voiceover for season 4?"

	<p>
	Not as such, no....

<p>
   <li> Andreas did a terrific job on the end monologue.  Very
	moving.

<p>
   <li>@@@852060283 Andreas did two takes on it; I think we used the first of
	the two.

	<p>
	The writing of it...this is just an estimate, trying to
	remember, but I think it took me about 10-15 minutes.  Which is
	actually a long time for me to stay parked on any part of the page. 
	Obviously I already had kind of a sense of what was going to go into it
	before hitting the page, but the actual shape of it had to come in the
	moment.

<p>
   <li> <em>Is G'Kar's willingness to sacrifice himself a sign that he'd be
	sympathetic to the Shadows?</em><br>
	I think that reasoning can be applied to any side.

<p>
   <li> "I hate you."

	Thank you.  I try.

<p>
   <li> <em>Was the destruction of the vessel in "Walkabout" the catalyst that
	caused them to send Anna?</em><br>
	It's certainly gotten their attention...but it's the events in 
	"Shadow Dancing" that tipped them into moving directly.

<p>
   <li> <em>If the Shadows can get to Kosh and kill him, why
	are Delenn and Sheridan still alive?</em><br>
	A good question, which we'll answer in the last episode of this
	season.

<p>
   <li>@@@847613747 The shadows are *much* older technologically than a
	thousand years...that's just what Anna promised Sheridan we could jump
	ahead, between 1 and 10,000 years.  They're profoundly older than that.

<p>
   <li>@@@851907372 <em><a name="JS.door">What was behind the door</a>
	Anna warned John away from?</em><br>
	In a way, I was going more for the visual, the image...the whole show
	is a matter of what door you choose to go through, and the door not
	taken.  If you wanted to take the scene *absolutely* literally, then
	since that room adjoined Justin's, the shadows were inside.  Or you can
	take it a little more metaphorically.

<p>
   <li> The portrayal of [the Shadows'] motives is somewhat more elaborate, but
	the sense is there, and as you yourself note, there's a certain cold
	logic there which can be agreed with at some level.

<p>
   <li> <em>Is the Shadows' story true?</em><br>
	What Sheridan is told, in that episode, by them, concerning their
	motives, is absolutely true, certainly from their point of view.

<p>
   <li> <em>Does the Shadows' story "explain it all" about this
	subject?</em><br>
	Well, it sorta answers all the questions...it's hard to explain until
	you've seen the episode and the ones that follow.

<p>
   <li>@@@847081639 <em>If that's really their goal, why are they attacking
	the younger races directly?</em><br>
	Well, look what happened when the shadows came out and attacked
	a couple of places...first they did so without anyone knowing it was
	them doing it, as we've shown.  So now everyone's running around like
	ants, scurrying for cover and trying to figure out what the hell's
	going on, accusing one another...then the Centauri got the credit/blame
	for it, causing further conflict...then they came out and sent everyone
	scurrying again, some to make alliances they thought would protect
	themselves (and thus enable them to make war on their neighbors, as
	shown), only to have that fall apart and they turn on themselves/each
	other.

<p>
   <li> The First Ones, Vorlons and Shadows aren't parents in any sense of
	the word...we all evolved on our own, there's no common genetics, and
	they didn't seed life here or elsewhere.

<p>
   <li> <em>What do the Vorlons and Shadows get out of this game?  Why did
	the other First Ones leave?</em><br>
	All those get answered in the first part of season four, so I'd rather
	leave it to that.

<p>
   <li>@@@864690715 <em>The Vorlons and Shadows don't seem to know who they
	are or what they want.</em><br>
	That's an extremely good and cogent analysis.  And you hit the
	theme right on the head, one we'll explore in year four with the
	Vorlon/Shadow situation...and which was presaged in "Infection," right
	in the first season, the first episode shot.  Sinclair says, in the
	ultimate moment in that conflict, "You forgot the first rule of the
	fanatic: When you become obsessed with the enemy, you *become* the
	enemy."  That is what is happening here, with these two and other
	parties.

	<p>
	It all comes together....

<p>
   <li>@@@864690715 <em>Did either side foresee Sheridan's leap?</em><br>
	I think the two sides have been too caught up in their own
	agendas to realize what was happening right under their noses until it
	was too late... except for Kosh, whose last traces did what they
	did...for a number of reasons.

<p>
   <li>@@@844393914 <em>I thought I heard Kosh say, "If you go to Z'ha'dum,
	will you die?"</em><br>
	No, he says "you will die."  Very odd...check it again.  We used
	the same audio track from before.

<p>
   <li>@@@844381405 I've checked it, and I think it was just the actor sliding a
	vowel to make it clearer; "if you go to Z'ha'dum (ah) you will die."

<p>
   <li>@@@844394086 <em>Did Justin go to Z'ha'dum on the Icarus?</em><br>
	No, he was assigned there later.

<p>
   <li>@@@846737717 <em>Was Justin's description of who he was and who he
	worked for a reference to anything?</em><br>
	No, it's not from anything I'm aware of, though it's a concept that
	seems very natural.

<p>
   <li>@@@846745468 <em>What influence did Justin have over the Shadows?</em>
	<br>
	Justin thought he had some influence...but perception and reality are
	often at odds.

<p>
   <li>@@@846746561 Justin is the man in-between...the "middle man," as he
	describes himself.

<p>
   <li> <em>Why weren't there ships guarding B5?</em><br>
	Most would've been getting repaired from their recent
	engagement. And the shadows phased in too close to B5 for either ship
	to ship combat, or anything from Epsilon 3.  Any attack on them
	would've also destroyed B5.

<p>
   <li> One thing to also note is that when the shadows appeared, they swarmed
	all OVER B5 as fast as they could, circling it without slowing down
	much.  So if Draal *did* launch an offensive, it'd take out B5 in doing
	so.

<p>
   <li>@@@847070040 The props department found the teapot, and found it very
	suiting to the environment, so they went with it.

<p>
   <li> <em>Why didn't the door make a sound as it opened to let the Shadow
	in?</em><br>
	The shadows entered through a different door/entrance; it was to the
	right of the room, which would've adjoined the room next door.  Anna and
	John came through the door on camera left.

<p>
   <li> It's just a sound of stone grinding on stone.  With a slight animal 
	like sound, as though entering someone's maw.  Which is what I wanted.

<p>
   <li> <em>How did Sheridan get bloodied?</em><br>
	Basically, my thought was that it was just the one shadow in the room,
	and there was a tussle with some others, and he started running, made a 
	break for it...didn't seem worth the time to show what would've been
	only a few minutes of hit 'em and run.

<p>
   <li>@@@844381405 He was in close quarters with a small group, and fought
	his way out. This picks up right after that.

<p>
   <li>@@@850938149 The PPG bursts would've wounded the shadow, allowing him
	time to scramble out of there before Morden could draw.  He then had
	to fight some other humans in the area, scramble down some ridges into
	the cave areas, and then walk out.

<p>
   <li>@@@844393863 <em>Were the creatures chasing Sheridan actual Shadows,
	or just their servants?</em><br>
	No, those were definitely shadows.

<p>
   <li>@@@844028475 The final fate of the first White Star is very moving,
	like some great silver bird plunging on fire out of the sky, bringing
	retribution and striking one last time.  That kind of image is a very
	powerful one to me, and it works very well here.

	<p>
	As for what Morden and Justin told Sheridan...I'd say it was pretty 
	much the truth.

<p>
   <li>@@@864690715 <em>Do you agree with the Shadows?</em><br>
	Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.  Motives are one thing; the means to
	achieving that motive, however, are a different issue.  And those means
	I do not agree with.  But on some level, their motives can make
	sense...as can the Vorlons' motives....

<p>
   <li>@@@864690715 It's...not that easy.  Can I make a pretty good argument
	for some elements of what they're about?  Yes.  (And did, in the ep.)
	It's a matter of extremes...their notion is fine, taken in small
	doses...in larger doses, no.

<p>
   <li>@@@864690715 <em>Why didn't the Vorlons reveal the Shadows'
	motives?</em><br>
	Because they don't trust us.  They know what's best for us, and would
	rather make the decisions for us.  That means controlling information.

<p>
   <li>@@@864690715 <em>Aren't the Shadows defeating themselves by giving
	everyone a common enemy?</em><br>
	Nope.  First they attacked careful to not let anyone know who was doing
	it, so they'd accuse each other.  Then they'd let another take the 
	credit/blame for it, the Centauri in this case.  That'd spin off new 
	alliances and new...wars, and everyone's scurrying for cover.  THEN they
	reveal themselves, and now you've got re-scurrying, some who try to make
	deals, and then attack others (as stated) thinking they have an
	unbeatable ally....most of the killing up until this point was done by
	the others, not the shadows.  This current campaign would also lead to
	scattering the pins,
	and watching as they restructure, and they'd pull out again to let them
	scurry...and keep chewing at each other, only coming out when necessary
	to tip things over, then recede again into the....shadows.

<p>
   <li>@@@844028475 <em>Did the White Star have a Vorlon consciousness, and
	if so, did it eject before the ship exploded?</em><br>
	No, the White Star didn't have any substantial consciousness to eject
	before impact.  It's gone.

	<p>
	And thanks, on it all...  G'Kar's final litany is very moving, and the
	music throughout works so well...as you say, it's going to be hard to
	beat.

	<p>
	But that's what we do around here.  Because if we ain't pushing it 
	every day to get better, what's the point of living?

	<p>
	Having now seen the first two finishedS4 episodes...I think people 
	are going to be pleased.  What strikes me about the new season is that
	it seems suddenly very mature, more filmic...everyone's very excited
	about it here.

<p>
   <li> <em>Who programmed the White Star?</em><br>
	Garibaldi programmed it from the intructions given him by Sheridan; it
	would've been set to explode at a certain point.  He [Sheridan]
	gave it final
	detonation instructions when he signaled it via his link.

<p>
   <li> <em>Was the talking bomb a nod to the movie "Dark Star?"</em><br>
	No.

<p>
   <li> <em>Why were the bombs speaking English?</em><br>
	Who said they were speaking English?  In a WW II movie, when you go 
	to the Germans, you can understand what they're saying on the premise
	that yes, it's German, but we're hearing it as English.  On the other
	hand, if Garibaldi programmed them, then they may have been in
	English...there's no way to tell exactly.

<p>
   <li>@@@846748272 The White Star blowed up real good, so it couldn't save
	Sheridan.

<p>
   <li> <em>Refering to the shot of Sheridan above the city</em><br>
	The parapet shot was one I was very particular about, I 
	really wanted it to feel *high*, and impressive.  That whole sequence is
	one I run again and again, it's very moving.

<p>
   <li>@@@850550019 <em>Why build an easily penetrable dome over an underground
	city?</em><br>
	It's an efficient way of lighting an underground city several
	miles across; you can open or close it to allow the big vessels in for
	construction purposes, and so on.  If you build something that big, you
	need some way of getting stuff IN there, then lighting it without
	consuming vast amounts of energy.

<p>
   <li> Yes, you're right, and the first one to pick up on that aspect, that
	with Anna, he never had the chance to say goodbye.  Finally, here...he
	did, with Delenn.  Also, the look on his face as he turns to her at the
	parapet...you feel every inch of his loss, being trapped, the end of the
	road.  He did a great job.

<p>
   <li>@@@848311263 <em>About Delenn and Sheridan's relationship</em><br>
	I don't think Minbari galvanize in quite the same way...with
	them, I think it's more a gradual, growing relationship, and as many
	do, there's just one day when the closeness crosses a point without you
	almost being aware of it...and there it is.

<p>
   <li> <em>Whose voice told Sheridan to jump?</em><br>
	That was Kosh's voice, treated the same as always.

<p>
   <li> Well, it was either jump or get vaporized....

	<p>
	In that sense, as someone else once pointed out, Sheridan is a hero 
	in the Heinleinian tradition.  He does the logical thing, whatever that
	is, to survive.  "Okay, I'm about to get vaporized...but if that hole is
	several miles deep, it might shield me and keep me alive for another 10
	seconds. Yes, there's the *splat* at the end problem, but I'll have 10
	seconds in which to figure out that problem...."

<p>
   <li>@@@844381405 <em>Is the hole a jump gate?</em><br>
	Nope.

<p>
   <li>@@@864690715 How deep is it?
	Several miles deep, maybe a lot more.

<p>
   <li> <em>Was Sheridan's line in
	<a href="038.html">"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum,"</a>
	"I won't go down easily and I will not go down alone," foreshadowing
	of his leap here?</em><br>
	The leap was always in mind, yes, but that line always kinda stood on
	its own.

<p>
   <li>@@@844795579 <em>Sheridan murdered a city full of Shadows!</em><br>
	If someone pointed to an aggressor city (and for the shadows there's no
	distinction between civilian and military, it's all the same, the only
	thing that drives them on), which was unified by its desire to wreak
	havoc and commit massive warfare, and said, "By eliminating that city of
	100,000 agressors you will save the lives of 8 billion innocent
	bystanders," I'd push that button in a hot second, and never regret it.

<p>
   <li>@@@864690715 <em>The city didn't look very alien.  Was that meant to
	imply it was inhabited by humanoids?</em><br>
	That wasn't the intent, no.  I think it's more the way it ended up. And
	it does have some nice elements, but it could've been stranger...if we'd
	had more time and more money.

<p>
   <li> <em>What happened to Anna?</em><br>
	She's an ex-Sheridan.

<p>
   <li>@@@847081639 What about Morden?  Oh, wait about 7 days, you'll find out.

<p>
   <li> "Was he [Garibaldi] captured, or did he volunteer?"

	<p>
	We'll have to see....

<p>
   <li>@@@844394086 There was a very specific reason why Garibaldi was picked
	up, and there's a suggestion of it in what Justin says at one point to
	Sheridan.

<p>
   <li>@@@844945885 Nope, I never identified Garibaldi as the support
	mechanism, only B5.

<p>
   <li> <em>Was Garibaldi going with the Shadows to rescue Sheridan?</em><br>
	Well, given that Garibaldi is any number of light years away at the
	moment at which Sheridan is dropping, I'd say any attempt to arrive
	before Sheridan would hit bottom would be less than useless.

<p>
   <li> <em>If the Shadows were in league with EarthGov, why did IPX send a
	ship to Z'ha'dum?</em><br>
	Two different things...the allies of the shadows can know about us,
	can have used influence to start infiltrating the Psi Corps, long before
	we found out about them.  And bear in mind that Earth is not monolithic;
	the FBI may not know what the CIA is doing.  That some in the Psi Corps
	may have had something going on there doesn't mean anyone from IPX knew
	about it.

<p>
   <li>@@@846737717 <em>Then why didn't the Corps notice the big building
	next to the dig site, 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>@@@846716619 "1) Why has Z'ha'dum not been destroyed by the Vorlons et
	al in one of the previous wars to prevent the Shadows return?"

	<p>
	Funny, that...you'd think maybe there was something of interest there.

	<p>
	"2) If the planet has been there for so long, would not the star that it
	orbits have died quite some time ago, given that the Shadows are so
	old?"

	<p>
	I don't think so.  Stars live an awfully long time.  

<p>
   <li>@@@846742028 Oh, be assured, the interesting times for
	Londo haven't even *started* yet.

	<p>
	But they will, real soon.

<p>
   <li> <em>Would the Hugo people make an exception to their usual rules of
	nomination for dramatic presentations and allow all of season 3 to
	be nominated as a unit, since you wrote the whole thing?</em><br>
	But is it really an exception?  You have two books as potential
	nominees.  One is 100,000 words long, the other is a huge 300,000 word 
	potboiler.  But they're both written by one author, so they're both 
	eligible.  If a two-part episode can be considered a dramatic unit
	because it has one author, and a single episode can be considered
	because it has one author, then why not a 22-parter with only one
	author?  Just because the unit has more pages shouldn't mitigate against
	it any more than the 300,000 word novel should be disqualified.

	<p>
	If you stop and think about it dispassionately for a moment, the
	exception would be in NOT allowing a whole one-author season be
	nominated.  The committee has already allowed the notion of
	multiple-part nominees by accepting two-parters.  You've crossed the
	one-episode barrier already.  So logically if you've accepted that, why
	suddenly change it to just one episode?

	<p>
	Conceivably, I could take all 22 scripts, put a huge binder on it, and
	slap a cover page on it reading SEASON THREE, WRITTEN BY J. MICHAEL
	STRACZYNSKI, and drop that one single unit on the desk of the committee
	and say, "Here, here's one dramatic unit."

	<p>
	On one level, it's really kind of an intellectual exercise; I like to
	feather around the rules and see what things mean when little things get
	changed, and what the *sense* of the rule is vs. how it's applied
	sometimes.

<p>
   <li> <em>What about the entire 5-year run?</em><br>
	Actually, I'd mitigate *against* the 5-year story being considered as 
	a whole dramatic unit because it has multiple writers.  I think that
	would tend to violate the spirit of the Hugos.

</ul>

<p>
Originally compiled by Jason Snell.