brennen
/
lurkers-guide



								                            [1][ISMAP]-[2][Home]


								    ### GUIDE ### [3][Background] [4][Synopsis] [5][Credits] [6][Episode

								                       List] [7][Previous] [8][Next]


								   _Contents:_ [9]Overview - [10]Backplot - [11]Questions - [12]Analysis

								   - [13]Notes - [14]JMS


								     _________________________________________________________________


								Overview


								     The station becomes a hotbed of galactic controversy when Sinclair

								     is forced to protect a notorious war criminal -- a scientist who's

								     invented an immortality serum. Ambassador Kosh hires telepath Talia

								     Winters to oversee a very unusual negotiation. [15]Sarah Douglas as

								     Deathwalker/Jha'Dur. [16]Robin Curtis as Ambassador Kalika.

								     [17]Cosie Costa as Abbut. [18]Aki Aleong as Senator Hidoshi.


								Sub-genre: Intrigue

								[19]P5 Rating: [20]8.21


								Production number:  113

								Original air date:  April 20, 1994


								Written by Larry DiTillio

								Directed by Bruce Seth Green


								     _________________________________________________________________


								Backplot


								     * The League of Non-Aligned Worlds and the Earth Alliance are

								       allies, thanks in large part to Earth's intervention while the

								       League was being devastated by the Dilgar thirty years earlier.

								       JMS says, "The Dilgar War was one of the first conflicts that the

								       EA got into, soon after establishing a presence in space. We

								       mainly entered it to try and make a 'rep' for ourselves, then got

								       more morally involved when we saw what was going on. That and the

								       Minbari War are the only real major conflicts Earth has been

								       involved with, and Earth was not directly at risk in the Dilgar

								       war, though if they hadn't been stopped, that might have changed

								       eventually."

								     * The Vorlons have a strong distrust of telepaths.

								     * The Minbari warrior castes know about the hole in Sinclair's mind.


								Unanswered Questions


								     * What do the Vorlons know about immortality?

								     * Why don't they like (non-Vorlon) telepaths?

								     * Is this the last we'll hear about the immortality serum, or did

								       Dr. Franklin keep the sample he was testing? (JMS has hinted that

								       it's not a simple plot device which'll never be mentioned again.)

								     * Why do the Wind Swords speak often of Sinclair? What do they know

								       about what happened to him?


								Analysis


								     * Na'Toth's grandfather had the misfortune to be on a planet that

								       Jha'dur took, and her misuse of him is the source of Na'Toth's

								       feud, yet the Narn seem to give the incident no particular weight.

								       What world this was is not disclosed, but either it wasn't a Narn

								       colony, and Na'Toth's grandfather was simply in the wrong place at

								       the wrong time, or it was a Narn colony and the incident was

								       smoothed over at the time. Evidence seems to point to the former,

								       but it's unclear.

								     * Jha'dur is a specialist in, "biochemical, biogenetic, and

								       cyber-organic weaponry." During the Dilgar invasion of the

								       "non-aligned sectors" she decimated whole planets to further her

								       own research. Presumably the other Dilgar were equally vicious and

								       callous. She seems to be especially notorious though, known by

								       name 30 years after the event, perhaps because her biological

								       experiments seem especially horrible.

								     * At the time of the Dilgar war humanity was fresh on the

								       interstellar political scene, having been discovered and given

								       jumpgate/hyperspace technology by the Centauri. The non-aligned

								       worlds seem to be relatively low-tech, and they were being overrun

								       by the Dilgar in a particularly ruthless bid for an empire.

								       Earth's entry into the conflict turned the tide against the

								       Dilgar, leading to the race's confinement to their own system and

								       their ultimate destruction when their sun went nova.

								     * Jha'dur was shielded and hidden by the Minbari Wind Swords,

								       members of their warrior caste, at the close of the Dilgar war 30

								       years ago. The Minbari didn't encounter humans until about 20

								       years later, at which time the first contact went bad and

								       initiated the Earth-Minbari war. Up until now it seemed that

								       neither side knew of the other, but how could the Minbari have

								       aided and supported Jha-dur for 20 years without learning of

								       Earth? Moreover, when the Minbari are debating their response to

								       the loss of their leader the Wind Swords arrive on the scene with

								       new, very powerful weapons. Presumably much of the Minbari arsenal

								       of weapons and ships derives from designs given them by Jha'dur.

								       The circumstances of the first contact problem between the Minbari

								       and the Humans may also indicate that it was the result of a plot

								       by Jha'dur for revenge on those who (at least indirectly)

								       destroyed her race.

								     * The serum designed by Jha'dur is insidious, requiring something

								       critical from living beings to make. It's unclear whether this

								       same process would be applicable to every species, or whether the

								       same serum could be used across species. But in any case it was

								       designed, perhaps intentionally, to cause a great deal of harm

								       when used.

								     * Just what benefit the Wind Swords derived from her research is

								       unstated. Note, however, that she has (a) been permitted by the

								       Wind Swords to use up enough living entities to pursue her

								       research, and (b) used at least one dose on herself with some

								       amount left over. She has also been permitted to leave to

								       negotiate with the Narn, her first entry into public view since

								       the war.

								     * Senator Hidoshi calls Sinclair while Jha'dur is still in medlab.

								       He insists that Jha'dur cannot be Deathwalker, but also insists

								       that she be sent to Earth immediately. Still, he clearly knows all

								       about the situation, which implies that he has sources of

								       information both on B5 and perhaps among the Minbari or the Narn.

								     * Talia Winters has an interesting time with Kosh during this

								       episode. Here we see the first of a known class of people called

								       "vicars," short for "VCRs." These people are human recorders,

								       capable of recording sensory and environmental information for

								       later playback through devices directly implanted in their brains.

								       This demonstrates a very high degree of possible integration

								       between people and computers at the time of B5. How common this is

								       and how sophisticated it can be has yet to be seen.

								     * Is Kosh a telepath? During the interviews between Kosh and Abbut

								       (the vicar) Talia is occasionally goaded with an image dredged up

								       from her mind. Clearly these are not her own thoughts, and clearly

								       Abbut cannot be the source since human telepaths are regulated.

								       That only leaves Kosh him(it?)self. Yet Talia doesn't seem to have

								       any hint that Kosh is doing this to her. If Kosh is a telepath,

								       what other abilities does he have? And if he is a telepath, and

								       the cause of Talia's distress, what did he need the vicar for? It

								       seems clear that the byplay between Kosh and Abbut was intended as

								       misdirection, to divert, bore and confuse her leaving her open for

								       Kosh to penetrate her shields and stimulate the images he

								       collected.

								     * Kosh collects from Talia, in his words, "Reflection. Surprise.

								       Terror. For the future." He may intend the data as a lever or

								       weapon against her.


								jms speaks


								     * The Hour of Scampering is usually around tea-time, according to

								       the Vorlon/Human Translation Dictionary.

								     * _How do Vorlons scamper?_

								       The Vorlons do not scamper terribly well, but no one has yet told

								       them this.

								     * _"Understanding is a three-edged sword."_

								       The three edges: your side, my side, and the truth in between.

								     * Your statement about the serum being a means of getting to the

								       truth or her truth at the very least is quite correct. And

								       appropos to current reality. We look back at the Nazis, and

								       others, and say, "Well, WE could never do that." But of course we

								       could. Fine tune your attention to the frequency of misery and

								       inhumanity, and in short order you'll pick up Rwanda, and Bosnia

								       and a host of others. Our capacity for greatness is as substantial

								       as our capacity for evil. And we must constantly be reminded of

								       that duality; to pretend it simply isn't there, or is somebody

								       else's problem, inevitably leads to tragedy. (For those

								       interested, btw, I would encourage you to check out a short story

								       by Mark Twain, called "The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg." I think

								       you will find it *most* illuminating.)

								     * Abbut was not - repeat, NOTan imitation of Harlan, as some have

								       suggested. It was originally written for Gilbert Gottfried, who we

								       later learned was unavailable.

								     * The Babylon 5 Advisory Council and the League of Non-Aligned

								       Worlds functions in much the same fashion as the Security Council

								       and the General Assembly in the U.N. The smaller worlds and

								       alliances can't weild as much power as any of the Big Five.

								       Together, they as a group get a vote equal to one of the Big Five;

								       they can deputize one of their number to speak for them and cast

								       that vote, which can often break ties or create ties. It is not a

								       terribly equitible situation, but it was the only workable

								       solution that would be accepted by the other Ambassadors. We'll

								       see them chafing at this in "Deathwalker."

								     * The prosthetics on our background aliens and the League started

								       out okay, but we felt we could do better, and began a series of

								       improvements, which can be seen most clearly in "Deathwalker,"

								       where they're all proper prosthetics rather than masks.

								     * We didn't have the League of Non-Aligned Worlds up and running for

								       the pilot. They get one vote, determined by majority decision.

								       EAch mamber of the main Advisory Council gets one vote, equal to

								       that. In "Deathwalker," you had one abstention (Kosh), two to try

								       her (EA and League), and three against the trial (Narns, Centauri

								       and Minbari). Abstentions don't count either way in such a vote;

								       it's the negatives vs. the positives, and there were more no's

								       than yes's.

								     * You assume the crowd meeting Sinclair could be placated. They make

								       it clear, in dialogue: "You will have to kill us all." They could

								       not BE placated. Your assumption has nothing to do with what

								       happened, or what was said. Maybe in the ST universe, Picard can

								       turn on the charm and just talk people out of things. That doesn't

								       happen here, not easily at any rate. It was turn back or kill

								       them. Those were the choices.

								     * As far as we knew, Lennier was going to vote with Sinclair and the

								       League. So you hold off his change of vote for the end. You get a

								       few no votes, annoy the League, Sinclair raises their hope, and

								       then Lennier, much as he hates it, dashes that hope. It's an arc

								       that way, rather than a descending staircase.

								     * Except of course that Sinclair said that the non-aligned worlds

								       would have observers there at all times...there are no other

								       Dilgar to help break her out...the Narns have no desire to attack

								       Earth installations to break her out as long as they get their

								       share of the serum...and there really was no other alternative

								       short of war.

								     * There's no one escaping Deathwalker's ship; it's just debris

								       spinning away. She's dead as a mackeral.

								     * Just to clarify...the Vorlon ship destroyed only Deathwalker's

								       ship, not an EA vessel. And the Vorlon ship waited until

								       Deathwalker's ship was far from B5, just before entering the gate,

								       before coming out to strike. At that range, it couldn't miss, and

								       at that distance, B5 couldn't react fast enough.

								     * The EA escort got her as far as the gate. Then peeled away. And

								       then the Vorlon ship came out. That's what Sinlair said: "They

								       will escort you as far as the gate." And even if they had stayed

								       with her THROUGH the gate, it would've made no difference. Vorlon

								       ship comes through. Fires at Deathwalker's ship. EA ships fire

								       back. No visible effect, the cruiser shrugs it off and goes back

								       the way it came. Single Starfuries wouldn't even *dent* a Vorlon

								       cruiser. So same result.

								     * Sinclair was taught by Jesuits...and as far as Kosh goes, better

								       to have him where you can see him, than not. They *are* a powerful

								       group, and it wouldn't serve to ignore them. We courted them for

								       10 years for a first contact...and now we're stuck with them.

								     * Jim, your thesis comes from the underlying assumption that, as in

								       the Trek universe, All Things Must Be Done Fairly, the government

								       must in the end be wise and fair and sensible.

								       That ain't our universe. That ain't even *this* universe.

								       Sinclair must follow orders. He didn't want to escort Deathwalker

								       off and on to Earth, those were his marching orders. *The same

								       marching orders would be given to an ambassador representing

								       Earth*. So your career diplomat would be in exactly the same

								       position. What, do you think that career diplomats are independent

								       agents of goodness? They all work for SOMEone, representing their

								       interests.

								       Earth put in the majority of the money required to build and

								       operate B5. They have the right, as such, to appoint a provisional

								       governor, nad (and) that is the function that Sinclair mainly

								       serves. He runs this place, AND he is responsible for maintaining

								       good relations with other representatives. He is also on a short

								       leash. And in some cases, as in "By Any Means Necessary," other

								       people are sent in to handle certain kinds of negotiations.

								       Yes, it is a conflict of interest. So what? Do you think Earth

								       cares much about that? Is it awkward? Yes, of course. It *should*

								       put him in moral quandries. The Earth Government is constantly

								       getting him into binds. What they wanted him to do in

								       "Deathwalker" was more or less of a dubious nature. But in the

								       end, he found a fairly moral solution to the problem. That's what

								       he does. He finds anhonorable way out of very difficult and

								       morally ambiguous situations. What you suggest is that we remove

								       the moral ambiguities. Ehhh. I find that boring as hell.

								       Do the other species like it? Of course not. Okay, so what're they

								       going to do? Boycott B5? And let other species take advantage of

								       all the economic and political benefits the station provides? Let

								       others grow in familiarity and form alliances that might in time

								       turn against them? Not a chance. Fair or not, it's the only game

								       in town.

								       So I don't buy your solution because I don't think it's a problem.

								       You do. That's life. Political situations are rarely fair, or

								       logical, or ethical. If politics were based on ethics this would

								       be a MUCH better world. But politics are generally based on who

								       has the power, and the money, and the guts.

								     * The Dilgar War was one of the first conflicts that the EA got

								       into, soon after establishing a presence in space. We mainly

								       entered it to try and make a "rep" for ourselves, then got more

								       morally involved when we saw what was going on. That and the

								       Minbari War are the only real major conflicts Earth has been

								       involved with, and Earth was not directly at risk in the Dilgar

								       war, though if they hadn't been stopped, that might have changed

								       eventually.

								     * _Have we seen the last of the Dilgar?_

								       They're dead as doornails.

								     * And yes, the Windswords were the warrior clan involved in the

								       events in "The Gathering."

								     * Talia, like all Psi Corps members, wears gloves because she has

								       to, when in public, to minimize physical contact and accidental

								       scans. As for others wearing gloves...sometimes it's a fashion

								       statement ... and other times, well, space is very very cold....

								     * Abbut was screwing around when he said "I'm a 23 myself," just

								       messing with her.

								     * "Kosh's voice-the rumblings and bells and stuff, not the

								       translation- seemed to be missing a lot of the lower tones and

								       bass that I remembered hearing previously."

								       He had a cold.

								     * "It also adds another piece of miracle tech never to be seen

								       again."

								       Wrong.

								       In point of fact, virtually *none* of the new tech stuff is just

								       gone...you'd be surprised what'll be showing up again down the

								       road a piece....

								     * Re: B5's roster of strong women characters...this is something of

								       a bugaboo/obsession with me. I *love* writing strong women. (For

								       that matter, I love strong-willed, independent, smart women in

								       real life as well; I love being outsmarted, love it when someone

								       can go toe-to- toe with me on something.) Generally, and this

								       isn't entirely intentional, women on shows I work on tend to get

								       some of the best lines, as is often the case with Ivanova. It's

								       not a case of being "one of the boys," but being one of the

								       *people*. There's a subtle difference.

								       The women I write are often very close to many of the women I've

								       been involved with over the years. So far, no one's sued....


								     _________________________________________________________________


								   Compiled by Dave Zimmerman and Steven Grimm.


								   [26][Next]


								      [27]Last update: August 8, 1997


								References


								   1. file://localhost/cgi-bin/imagemap/titlebar

								   2. LYNXIMGMAP:file://localhost/lurk/maps/maps.html#titlebar

								   3. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/background/009.shtml

								   4. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/synops/009.html

								   5. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/credits/009.html

								   6. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/episodes.php

								   7. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/008.html

								   8. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/010.html

								   9. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/009.html#OV

								  10. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/009.html#BP

								  11. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/009.html#UQ

								  12. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/009.html#AN

								  13. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/009.html#NO

								  14. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/009.html#JS

								  15. http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Douglas,+Sarah

								  16. http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Curtis,+Robin

								  17. http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Costa,+Cosie

								  18. http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Aleong,+Aki

								  19. file://localhost/lurk/p5/intro.html

								  20. file://localhost/lurk/p5/009

								  21. file://localhost/lurk/lurker.html

								  22. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/009.html#TOP

								  23. file://localhost/cgi-bin/uncgi/lgmail

								  24. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/episodes.php

								  25. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/008.html

								  26. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/010.html

								  27. file://localhost/lurk/lastmod.html