lurkers-guide/guide/096

<!-- TITLE Day of the Dead -->

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

<blockquote><cite>
Some of the crew are caught with the Brakiri as they celebrate their "Day of
the Dead," a remembrance of the recently deceased.  A pair of famous
entertainers visits the station.
</cite>

Harlan Ellison as the voice of Zooty.
<a href="http://us.imdb.com/Name?Flanery,+Bridget">Bridget Flanery</a> as Zoe.
<a href="http://www.ultimatetv.com/news/bn/1107penn.html">Penn and Teller</a> as Rebo and Zooty.
<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Wasser,+Ed">Ed Wasser</a> as Morden.
</blockquote>

<pre><a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/096">8.44</a>

Production number: 511
Original air date: March 11, 1998
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00019071C/thelurkersguidet">DVD release date</a>: April 13, 2004

Written by Neil Gaiman
Directed by Doug Lefler
</pre>

<p>
<hr size=3>

<h2><a name="BP">Plot Points</a></h2>
<ul>

   <li>@@@889724959 Once every 200 years, a comet approaches the Brakiri
	homeworld and signals the Day of the Dead, in which, for one night,
	people can interact with those who've died.

   <li>@@@889724959 In their youth, Lochley and her friend Zoe spent much of
	their time on drugs and lived in squalid conditions.  Lochley's
	father, an EarthForce marine, had no idea where she was.  Zoe eventually
	committed suicide, something which has haunted Lochley her entire
	life.  After the suicide, Lochley's father located her, and shortly
	thereafter, putting her old life behind her, Lochley enrolled in the
	military.

   <li>@@@889724959 Kosh has sent a message to Sheridan via one of the
	visiting deceased: "When the long night comes, return to the end of
	the beginning."

   <li>@@@889724959 According to Morden, Lennier is fated to betray the
	Rangers.  Morden also hinted that Lennier would die soon.

   <li>@@@889724959 Rebo and Zooty have starred in a variety of shows and
	movies.  Zooty speaks via a small handheld device, and both of them
	have studied Minbari, Narn, and other forms of humor.  Minbari humor,
	Rebo says, is based on failure to attain spiritual enlightenment,
	though puns seem to be effective in Minbari humor as well.

</ul>

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

   <li>@@@889724959 What does Kosh's message mean?  Any relation
	to the episode
	<a href="071.html">"The Long Night?"</a>

   <li>@@@889724959 Was Morden's prediction about Lennier correct?  If so,
	how and why will Lennier betray the Rangers?

   <li>@@@889998781 What is Zooty's machine?  What does it tell him to do?

</ul>

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

<p>
   <li>@@@889998781 There are two possible explanations for the visitations.
	First, one of Lochley's suspicions may have been correct, that the
	whole affair was an illusion or a trick of some kind.  A sufficiently
	powerful telepath might have pulled memories of Dodger, Adira, Zoe,
	and Morden from the people in the Brakiri section.  The memories of
	Morden would more likely have come from Londo than from Lennier, of
	course.  Zoe's message from Kosh could have been based on Lennier's
	memories; Lennier almost certainly knew about the close relationship
	between Kosh and Sheridan.

	<p>
	The other possibility, of course, is that what appeared to happen
	really <em>did</em> happen: the dead returned.

	<p>
	If the Day of the Dead can be taken at face value, then given
	Lyta's description of being inside someone's mind at the time of death
	(<a href="091.html">"The Paragon of Animals"</a>)
	and Byron's description of the echoes of a sentient mind persisting in
	nearby objects after death
	(<a href="092.html">"A View from the Gallery"</a>)
	it seems that there's more going on with death in the B5 universe
	than meets the eye.

	<p>
	It's possible that the echoes mentioned by Byron never actually go away,
	and that a powerful enough telepath can pick them up long after the
	fact.  In that case, the Day of the Dead may be the result of group
	telepathy on the part of the Brakiri (several telepaths joining
	together can produce greatly amplified powers, e.g. in
	<a href="030.html">"A Race Through Dark Places."</a>)

	<p>
	Clues to another possibility are found in the Soul Hunters' practice
	of capturing the souls of the dying
	(<a href="002.html">"Soul Hunter."</a>)
	Perhaps the Soul Hunters aren't the only ones doing so -- and whoever
	else is involved does it on a much larger scale and in such a way
	that they aren't noticed.  In that case, the tunnel of light Lyta saw in
	<a href="091.html">"The Paragon of Animals"</a>
	might simply be a representation of the dying person's mind being
	extracted for storage.  And her belief that the living aren't supposed
	to know what's on the other side of that tunnel would be consistent
	with a clandestine Soul Hunter-esque group that wanted its presence to
	remain unknown.  If that's what's happening, a natural question is,
	why?  And why would that group allow some minds to escape on a day of
	significance only to the Brakiri?  Perhaps the Brakiri are involved with
	the group somehow.

<p>
   <li>@@@889998781 All the people who returned suffered untimely
	or violent deaths: Morden was decapitated on Londo's orders
	(<a href="072.html">"Into the Fire,"</a>)
	Adira was poisoned
	(<a href="059.html">"Interludes and Examinations,"</a>)
	Zoe committed suicide, and Dodger was killed in combat
	(<a href="032.html">"GROPOS."</a>)
	Is that significant, or is it simply that people who die in such a
	manner are more likely to have unfinished business with the living?

<p>
   <li>@@@889998781 Lochley's escape from the squalid lifestyle she described
	was a sort of rebirth.  Perhaps that's why she has a phoenix on her
	flight helmet
	(<a href="094.html">"Strange Relations."</a>)

<p>
   <li>@@@889998781 Judging by Garibaldi's interaction with Dodger, he and
	Lise are still together.  Is she still on Mars?  In the past, she
	wasn't willing to tolerate Garibaldi going off to live on Babylon
	5 while she stayed on Mars
	(<a href="020.html">"Babylon Squared."</a>)
	Has her attitude changed now, or is she expecting him to return
	in the near future?

<p>
   <li>@@@890001887 Dodger mentioned "technomancy" as a possible explanation
	for her appearance.  A reference, most likely to the technomages
	(<a href="025.html">"The Geometry of Shadows."</a>)
	How widely-known is the existence of the technomages?

<p>
   <li>@@@889998781 Lennier told Morden that Sheridan hadn't died on Z'ha'dum.
	Did he simply mean that Sheridan didn't die permanently, or does
	he not believe Sheridan died at all?  Given Lennier's jealous
	feelings toward Sheridan (manifested, for instance, by referring
	to him as "your partner" to Delenn rather than by name) it's possible
	he's not inclined to believe in any of the larger-than-life stories
	concerning Sheridan.

	<p>
	Also of note is Morden's surprise that Sheridan wasn't back for the
	Day of the Dead.  Is that a sign that Morden, or what's left of him,
	doesn't know that Sheridan survived?  That's unlikely, given that
	Morden himself survived long enough to hear about Sheridan's return
	to Babylon 5
	(<a href="069.html">"The Summoning."</a>)
	Or does Morden know something Sheridan doesn't about the nature of
	Sheridan's second lease on life?

<p>
   <li>@@@890001887 Morden said to Lennier, "And you want wisdom?"  Lennier
	replied yes.  That marks the first time he's been able to find out what
	a Minbari wants (he failed to get an answer to that question from
	Delenn in
	<a href="013.html">"Signs and Portents."</a>)
	Telling Morden what one wants, and getting it, has usually had
	disastrous consequences in the past.
	Is Lennier's willingness to answer the question further
	foreshadowing of his alleged betrayal of the Rangers?  Will his
	betrayal hinge on acquiring some sort of wisdom?

<p>
   <li>@@@890005628 Morden told Lennier, "One does not go to the dead for
	wisdom."  That's not an opinion shared by the Brakiri, though: the
	greeting for the holiday, judging by the conversation between the
	merchant and Londo, is, "May the Comet bring you wisdom."

<p>
   <li>@@@890001887 Morden told Lennier that the other end of the corridor
	was over 200 million light-years away, while Lochley said to Sheridan
	that she was 27 light-years away.  Who was right?  If Morden was
	right, where was the Brakiri section really taken?  200 million
	light-years is a distance on an intergalactic scale.  The fact that
	Lochley was able to contact Sheridan in real time suggests that Morden
	was exaggerating the distance.

<p>
   <li>@@@889998781 As is often the case with his pronouncements, Kosh's
	message can be taken several ways.  "The long night" may refer to
	Sheridan's death in 19 years.  "The end of the beginning" is more
	ambiguous.  Does it refer to the end of Sheridan's original life?
	If so, it might mean Sheridan should return to Z'ha'dum (odd, since
	Z'ha'dum was destroyed in
	<a href="073.html">"Epiphanies"</a>)
	or perhaps that he should seek out Lorien.  It's even possible Kosh
	was referring to Coriana 6, where, as Sheridan said, the second age
	of mankind ended; what good it would do Sheridan to return there
	isn't clear.

	<p>
	It might also refer to the end of Babylon 5, which was the site of
	the beginning of the Interstellar Alliance.  If Sheridan is to take
	up residence on Minbar as planned
	(<a href="089.html">"No Compromises"</a>)
	but returns to Babylon 5 at the end of his life in 2282, also the
	year of the station's destruction
	(<a href="088.html">"The Deconstruction of Falling Stars"</a>)
	that might account for the ambiguity surrounding his place of death
	(<a href="088.html">"Deconstruction."</a>)

</ul>

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

<p>
   <li>@@@889724959 Morden likes coffee.

<p>
   <li>@@@889998781 Brakiri are nocturnal.

<p>
   <li>@@@889998781 Garibaldi sleeps with a gun under his pillow.

<p>
   <li>@@@889727611 Morden's head is still on the pike outside the
	Centauri Imperial Palace
	(<a href="072.html">"Into the Fire."</a>)

<p>
   <li>@@@889998781 Universe Today front-page headlines:
	<ul>
	   <li> Meet Rebo &amp; Zooty Up Close and Personal
	   <li> Babylon 5 will air Rebo &amp; Zooty Movie Marathon
	   <li> Rebo and Zooty Arrive
	   <li> Interstellar Alliance Talks to Resume
	   <li> Londo Mollari to Become Centauri Emperor (this news story was
		briefly referred to by the Brakiri merchant Londo talked to:
		"You are Centauri emperor-to-be.  Universe Today.")
	   <li> Reclamation of San Diego Wasteland gets Underway (the
		nuking of San Diego was mentioned in
		<a href="001.html">"Midnight on the Firing Line,"</a>
		and the wasteland was shown in
		<a href="028.html">"Spider in the Web."</a>)
	</ul>

	Back page headlines:

	<ul>
	   <li> Stocks: How your credit Rates
	   <li> Narn Consulate Opens on Mars amid Controversy
	   <li> Earth Senate Votes More Money for Titan Terraforming
	</ul>

<p>
   <li>@@@889998781 The poem Dodger recited was actually "A Few Figs from
	Thistles" by Edna St. Vincent Millay, not an Emily Dickinson poem.
	Garibaldi's attempt was by Dickinson, however, a poem titled "Because
	I could not stop for Death."

	<blockquote>
	Because I could not stop for Death--<br>
	He kindly stopped for me--<br>
	The Carriage held but just Ourselves--<br>
	And Immortality. 

	<p>
	We slowly drove--He knew no haste<br>
	And I had put away<br>
	My labor and my leisure too,<br>
	For His Civility--

	<p>
	We passed the School, where Children strove<br>
	At Recess--in the Ring--<br>
	We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain--<br>
	We passed the Setting Sun--

	<p>
	He passed Us--<br>
	The Dews drew quivering and chill--<br>
	For only Gossamer, my Gown--<br>
	My Tippet--only Tulle--Or rather--

	<p>
	We paused before a House that seemed<br>
	A Swelling of the Ground-- <br>
	The Roof was scarcely visible-- <br>
	The Cornice--in the Ground-- 

	<p>
	Since then--'tis Centuries--and yet<br>
	Feels shorter than the Day <br>
	I first surmised the Horses' Heads <br>
	Were toward Eternity--
	</blockquote>

<p>
   <li>@@@890334816 Dodger's parting line, "Parting is all we know of heaven,
	and all we need of hell," is from another Emily Dickinson poem,
	"#1732," published in 1896:

	<blockquote>
	My life closed twice before its close -<br>
	It yet remains to see<br>
	If Immortality unveil<br>
	A third event to me

	<p>
	So huge, so hopless to conceive<br>
	As these that twice befell.<br>
	Parting is all we know of heaven,<br>
	And all we need of hell.
	</blockquote>

<p>
   <li>@@@890346793 Rebo's line upon arriving in customs, "I have nothing to
	declare except my genius," is a quote from Victor Hugo (later quoted
	by Oscar Wilde among others.)

<p>
   <li>@@@898570635 Morden's comment that he could see the future, but not the
	past, may be a reference to Dante's "Inferno."  In Canto X, Farinata
	degli Uberti, a heretic, prophesizes Dante's banishment from Florence.
	When Farinata is asked how the dead can know the future, but not the
	present, he replies that according to the Divine Plan, the damned can
	see far into the future, but nothing of what is present or what has
	happened.  After Judgement, when there is no longer any future,
	the intellects of the damned will be void.

	<blockquote>
	"Ah, so may your soul sometime have rest,"<br>
	I [Dante] begged him [Farinata], "solve the riddle that pursues me<br>
	through this dark place and leaves my mind perplexed:

	<p>
	you seem to see in advance all time's intent,<br>
	if I have heard and understood correctly;<br>
	but you seem to lack all knowledge of the present."

	<p>
	"We see asquint, like those whose twisted sight<br>
	can make out only the far-off," he said,<br>
	"for all the King of All still grants us that much light.

	<p>
	When things draw near, or happen, we perceive<br>
	nothing of them.  Except what others bring us<br>
	we have no news of those who are alive.

	<p>
	So may you understand that all we know<br>
	will be dead forever from that day and hour<br>
	when the portal of the Future is swung to."
	</blockquote>

<p>
   <li>@@@889727611 Dodger was a visiting ground-pounder in
	<a href="032.html">"GROPOS;"</a>
	she died in battle.  Adira met Londo in
	<a href="003.html">"Born to the Purple"</a>
	and was killed in
	<a href="059.html">"Interludes and Examinations."</a>

<p>
   <li>@@@889727228 The comet as a symbol of death among the Brakiri was
	first mentioned in
	<a href="047.html">"A Day in the Strife,"</a>
	which, by coincidence, aired in reruns on TNT the same day this episode
	premiered.

<p>
   <li>@@@877307266 Rebo and Zooty were previously mentioned in
	<a href="079.html">"Rumors, Bargains and Lies"</a>
	and
	<a href="087.html">"Rising Star."</a>
	In the former episode Londo complained that he didn't find them funny,
	an opinion he no longer holds.

<p>
   <li>@@@889727611 Another coincidence: On the day the episode premiered,
	news organizations reported that an asteroid was expected to make a
	close pass by Earth in 2028.  The Brakiri comet's close approach,
	of course, is what signals the start of the Day of the Dead.

<p>
   <li>@@@889724959 The Day of the Dead has an Earthly equivalent; there's a
	<a href="http://www.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Mexico/Society_and_Culture/Holidays/D_a_de_los_Muertos/">Mexican holiday</a>
	of the same name on November 2 (it's celebrated elsewhere in Latin
	America too.)  It's based partially on the Roman Catholic day of
	remembrance for the deceased, All Souls Day.
	Candy skulls are a common feature of Mexican Day of the
	Dead celebrations.

<p>
   <li>@@@889998781 One of Rebo and Zooty's movies was called "Sons of the New
	Desert."  That's a reference to a 1933 Laurel and Hardy film,
	<a href="http://us.imdb.com/Title?Sons+of+the+Desert+(1933)">"Sons of
	the Desert."</a>

<p>
   <li>@@@890717909 "Zoe" means "life" in Greek.

<p>
   <li>@@@890000343 This episode was the first one not written by JMS since
	<a href="039.html">"Knives"</a>
	in season two.

<p>
   <li>@@@877307266 According to Neil Gaiman on
	<a href="http://www.holycow.com/dreaming/">The Dreaming,</a>
	"It's a ghost story about religion, or a drama about comedy and the
	nature of metaphor, or something like that."

<p>
   <li>@@@879115474 Production start date: November 13, 1997.

<p>
   <li>@@@889998781 Harlan Ellison, who played the voice of Zooty's machine,
	played another machine voice previously: Sparky the computer
	(<a href="055.html">"Ceremonies of Light and Dark."</a>)

<p>
   <li>@@@889474479 This episode was originally supposed to be three slots
	later in the airing sequence, but was pulled back due to the spring
	hiatus on TNT (see
	<a href="#JS.nba">JMS Speaks.</a>)

<p>
   <li>@@@909426451 TNT used the intended the airing sequence when the
	episode was rebroadcast, putting it between
	<a href="099.html">"Phoenix Rising"</a>
	and
	<a href="100.html">"The Ragged Edge,"</a>
	but that causes a continuity problem: Londo and G'Kar are featured in
	this episode, and neither of them is on the station between
	<a href="099.html">"Phoenix Rising"</a>
	and
	<a href="100.html">"The Ragged Edge."</a>

<p>
   <li>@@@889998781 Continuity glitch, possibly due to the aforementioned
	schedule shuffling: at the end of
	<a href="094.html">"Strange Relations,"</a>
	Londo and G'Kar left for the Centauri homeworld, yet they were on
	the station again in this episode.  Not necessarily a glitch, since
	they could have been to Centauri Prime and back again, but that
	wasn't mentioned.

<p>
   <li>@@@896989466 Londo's comment, "If Vir can be emperor, an Earth cat
	can be emperor," may be a reference to
	<a href="022.html">"Chrysalis,"</a>
	in which Londo and Vir confused cats and ducks.

</ul>

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

   <li>@@@879297730 <em>About the casting of Rebo and Zooty</em><br>
	Their name came up in discussions, and they just seemed a
	perfect match.

<p>
   <li>@@@890000626 Neil wrote for R&amp;Z, and we looked around for
	casting...it occured to someone -- may have been me, maybe casting, I
	don't remember -- that it might be better to use a real comedy team
	than create one. B5 called P&amp;T, and they said yes.

<p>
   <li>@@@879357255 Do both characters have lines?

	<p>
	Yes and no.

<p>
   <li>@@@890333127 "Was it always part of the script for Zooty to speak
	through a machine, or was that something added so that Teller won't
	have to speak on camera?"

	<p>
	The latter.

<p>
   <li>@@@890000626 <em>Was the audience's laughter genuine or just
	acting?</em><br>
	Depending on which take was being shot...half and half.

<p>
   <li>@@@881861257 <em>Why was this episode shot after
	<a href="099.html">"Phoenix Rising,"</a>
	which was originally scheduled to air first?</em><br>
	We shot it out of story-sequence to give us more time to prep
	512, which was a big episode.  So it'll actually be aired as 513.

<p>
   <li>@@@895440619 It was originally intended to be set after "Phoenix Rising."

<p>
   <li>@@@889474479 <a name="JS.nba">We felt it wise to adjust the airing</a>
	order so we could ramp up the following episodes prior to the NBA delay
	without having any interruption in the tone of the episodes (i.e., 2
	tense, 1 funny, 2 tense vs 1 funny and 4 tense in a row).

<p>
   <li>@@@889474479 We suggested moving up DotD because the NBA playoffs
	will hit after #12, and better to have 3-4 intense episodes in a row,
	culminating in 12, than to break up the middle, which would've been okay
	as a respite if there wasn't going to be a break, but since there is a
	break now, I want to slam the last few before it hits for more impact.

<p>
   <li>@@@889815646 <em>How much do you have to get involved in outside
	scripts?</em><br>
	It varies, I get involved to different degrees with different
	writers; with Neil, it was more "What do you want to write?"  He
	noodled around with some ideas, ran one past me that he liked, and I
	liked it...he asked for a truckload of scripts for reference, picked
	the characters he wanted to use, researched them, we talked on the
	phone and via email a number of times as he refined his ideas further,
	then wrote the script.  I tucked and nipped a little here and there,
	but pretty much left it alone.

<p>
   <li>@@@889815646 Neil kept the humor sort of off-base...operating on the
	assumption that there are some things that become au courant or funny
	because of context: Steve Martin's "excuuuuse me," for instance.  Now,
	it ain't funny, it's just annoying...at the time, EVERYbody was saying
	it and laughing.  R&amp;Z are similar cultural phenomena...their "with a
	machine" catchphrase, for instance, which the crowd new and reacted to.
	To us, and Lochely, it didn't mean anything. Lochley's reaction was
	tailored to be EXACTLY the same as most women's (and some guy's)
	reaction to the Three Stooges: either it's funny, or you can't figure
	out why people are laughing.

<p>
   <li>@@@890000626 <em>Why didn't you have Marcus visit Lennier?</em><br>
	I didn't write it.  It's Neil's script.  The characters he chose are
	the ones he wanted to play with.

<p>
   <li>@@@912190517 <em>How did Neil know what Kosh's message should
	be?</em><br>
	Actually, in that scene, Neil didn't write Kosh's message.  He asked
	what it would be, and I gave him that, knowing that I'd been looking
	for a way to slip that in as early as season 4.

</ul>