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


								     Londo summons his three wives to Babylon 5. A mysterious man from

								     Talia's past reappears. [15]Jane Carr as Timov. [16]Lois Nettleton

								     as Daggair. [17]Blair Valk as Mariel. [18]Keith Szarabajka as

								     Matthew Stoner.


								   (Originally titled "Pestilence, Famine and Death.")

								Sub-genre: Comedy

								[19]P5 Rating: [20]7.68


								Production number:  208

								Original air date:  December 14, 1994


								Written by Peter David

								Directed by John C. Flinn, III


								  Watch For:


								     * G'Kar tossing something to someone at a party.

								     * Daffy Duck.


								     _________________________________________________________________


								Backplot


								   Centauri culture is built largely on family stature, and virtually all

								   of an individual's position and influence derive from the relative

								   standing of the family. Links between families can be very important,

								   and marriages are the primary way of forging these links. Marriages

								   are almost always arranged by the families for the benefit of the

								   families, regardless of the wishes (if any) of the Centauri being

								   married. Londo's marriages are notoriously bad. Indeed, he calls his

								   three wives Pestilence, Famine and Death, and it's been hinted that he

								   took a post to Babylon 5, a post where he knew he'd be forced to

								   concede defeat after defeat to the hated Narn, simply to escape the

								   three of them.


								   The control Psi-Corps maintains over its members is quite pervasive,

								   extending to all levels of their personal lives. In one respect they

								   are similar to the Centauri -- they arrange marriages between their

								   members. This, coupled with the fact that all persons showing any psi

								   talent at all are pressed into the Corps or nullified, makes them a

								   budding closed society. Most importantly, once in Psi-Corps you are

								   theirs forever, and they can do anything with you they want.


								Unanswered Questions


								     * Why do G'Kar and Mariel know each other? What's been going on in

								       the past with the two of them?

								     * Why did Psi-Corps dissolve the marriage between Stoner and Talia?


								Analysis


								     * Stoner is a puzzle. Did he really ever leave Psi-Corps? He is a

								       strong projective empath. He may be a receptive empath as

								       well--but since he treats people rather poorly this doesn't seem

								       very likely...at best it's unproven. Given his talent he could

								       have manipulated the people around him from the very beginning, up

								       to and including letting him leave. His claim that he lost his

								       talent altogether is disproven rather quickly by a group of

								       amateurs. Psi-Corps scientists working on modifying psi talents

								       would have been very difficult to fool. On the whole, it's most

								       likely that Sheridan is right, and Stoner was actively working for

								       Psi-Corps all along.

								     * At first glance, one might wonder why on Earth Stoner would be in

								       on a plot to kill Londo. G'Kar notes to Mariel that Stoner just

								       happened to bring the artifact onboard on the eve of Londo's

								       ascension anniversary, which would be too staggering a

								       coincidence, _if_ it had been booby-trapped from the start.

								       However:

								     * G'Kar may have been behind the plot to kill Londo. In the scene

								       where Mariel notices his boots, just before he walks off, G'Kar

								       tosses something small to her. Perhaps it's just a grape, since he

								       was picking them from the table. Or it could be a set of poison

								       darts to load into the statue. If so, Stoner is even more innocent

								       than he claims to Sheridan and Garibaldi; the statue really was

								       completely harmless when he brought it aboard. However:

								     * G'Kar later says to Mariel, "Mysteries give me a pain." And the

								       only way that he can ease the pain is to decipher the mystery. He

								       then goes on to describe the situation with Mariel and Londo as

								       the mystery that he had to solve. If so, then he was uninvolved in

								       the attempt on Londo -- which again raises the question: What did

								       G'Kar toss to Mariel?

								     * If G'Kar was involved, perhaps G'Kar knows what Londo is up to

								       with the Shadows and wants to assassinate him for that reason, or

								       perhaps it's just the general enmity between the two. Or maybe the

								       whole thing was Mariel's idea and G'Kar merely gave her the means.

								     * Whatever the answer to "who knew what, and when?" the

								       relationships remain. G'Kar knows Mariel well enough to have a

								       private and informal discussion with her, and he may have been

								       involved in the plot to kill Londo. Stoner (and by extension

								       Psi-Corps) may know Mariel, and may also have been involved in the

								       plot to kill Londo -- at least insofar as Stoner delivered the

								       instrument of his (near) death.

								     * Talia's relationship to Psi-Corps is called into question here on

								       both ends. First, it's clear that she is completely disillusioned

								       with the corps. She confesses to Garibaldi that Psi-Corps

								       frightens her. She is presumably deeply conditioned, but her

								       loyalties are wavering despite this. On the other side of the

								       equation, if Stoner is still Corps then his offer to her is also

								       on the behest of Psi-Corps. Did her actions during [21]"A Spider

								       in the Web" bring her to the attention of Bureau 13? And if so,

								       are they trying to unofficially take her out of the picture?

								     * Though it at first glance might appear to be a comedic throwaway

								       line, Delenn's final complaint may actually be the most important

								       revelation of the entire episode. It implies that her

								       transformation has given her a human reproductive system. Possibly

								       that was even the point of the transformation; if indeed the

								       change was made to bring humans and Minbari closer together, a

								       child born of a human father and a Minbari mother might be

								       considered a powerful link by some.

								     * Which, of course, begs the question: who does she intend the

								       father to be, if this is what she has in mind? Sinclair seems an

								       obvious choice, given the evidence that she believes him to be the

								       reincarnation of a great Minbari soul (cf. [22]"Soul Hunter,"

								       among others.)

								     * Psi Corps seems to be big on assigning companions. In addition to

								       Stoner, Talia was assigned a support officer, Abby, during her

								       first year at the Psi Corps center when she was a girl ([23]"A

								       Spider in the Web.")


								Notes


								     * The name of Timov's father, "Alghul," means "The Demon" in Arabic.

								       It may also be connected to the comic book character Ras Al-Ghul

								       ("Head of the Demon") from the Batman series, debatably the

								       Batman's most dangerous foe. Ras' daughter, Talia, has been the

								       Batman's lover, and is the mother of his child. In any case, Londo

								       has remained married to the daughter of "The Demon," appropriate

								       given his recent acquaintances.


								Peter David speaks


								     * Y'know...for the past five years I've been writing Trek novels,

								       and fans kept asking, "When are you going to start doing Trek TV

								       episodes?"

								       So here comes B5, I do an episode...and what do the fans keep

								       asking? When am I going to do a B5 novel.

								       NYAAAARRRRRRRGGGHHHH!!!

								     * [Re: Talia] My feeling was that it was something that had been

								       building slowly within her ever since the Ironheart episode. That

								       although she had been *saying* she was devoted, well...the

								       difference between the reality of a B5 and the frequent unreality

								       of STTNG is that folks don't always say exactly what's on their

								       mind (kind of like the real world.) As it turned out, my own

								       thoughts on Talia dovetailed with future plans for her.

								       Daggair was Pestilence. Timov was Famine. Mariel was Death.

								       Originally I was going to have each of their names reflect their

								       respective "incarnations," but decided that was too cutesy. The

								       only holdover from that idea is Timov's name which is, of course,

								       Vomit spelled backwards.

								     * Daggair is Pestilence, Timov is Famine, and Mariel is Death.

								       At first I was going to have all their names be reflections of the

								       titles "assigned" them by Londo, but I decided that would be too

								       cutesy. The only holdover from that idea is Timov, whose name

								       backwards is, of course, Vomit. (I'll never forget Jane Carr

								       coming over to me the fifth day of shooting and saying in that

								       accented voice of hers, "Peter...did you *know* that my

								       character's name is vomit spelled backwards?" Uhhhh...well,

								       yeah...)

								       You all realize, of course, that Londo is--by process of

								       elimination-- War.

								     * In response to someone who thought JMS wanted a line of dialogue

								       inserted

								       This is a total misinterpretation of a statement I made, and yet

								       another example of how the information age can also be the

								       misinformation age. Incorrect "facts" can make the rounds at light

								       speed and stay there.

								       I did *not* say that Joe wanted one particular line put into the

								       script. What I *said* (in response to a question some time ago of

								       "How much did JMS tell you to put into the script? How much of the

								       events were dictated) was that all I was given was one line of

								       *description* (much like a log line you'd see in TV Guide). The

								       line was something to the effect of, "Londo's wives show up on B5

								       and, in the way that Londo handles the difficulties that ensue, we

								       learn something about the type of man that he is." I explained

								       this in order to make clear how much latitude JMS gives writers on

								       the show, as opposed to the omnipresent smothering hands-on

								       attitude of other programs.

								       And somehow this became mutated into "JMS has a line of dialogue

								       that he wanted inserted."

								     * How funny. Other people who stated flatly that they likewise knew

								       Londo loudly proclaimed (over on Usenet) that he would have chosen

								       Daggair. Maybe he's a kind of tough guy to know.

								     * _Poster had no trouble guessing; the actress playing Timov "was

								       the most well-known actress of them all"_

								       Oh, I don't know. Lois Nettleton's career goes way further back

								       than Jane Carr's does. Although Jane *is* from the Royal

								       Shakespeare Company (and yes, she did work with Patrick Stewart.

								       She's so pleased that now she too has portrayed a bald SF icon.)

								     * *I* didn't get "bitch" past the censors. I just put it in the

								       script.

								       (What I loved was Daggair's expression on that line. It's the only

								       time she let her facade slip and she looked like she was ready to

								       slug Timov.)

								     * _The second scene between Garibaldi and Stoner was intense_

								       Tension really crackled between the two of them, didn't it? In one

								       of the takes, it was so intense that at the end, the director

								       forgot to yell "Cut." Instead he shouted, "God, that was great!"

								     * _Thanks for showing us another side of Garibaldi_

								       Oh, the side was already there, in my opinion. I think back to

								       previous episodes where Garibaldi was all for spacing that serial

								       killer. When he encounters people he doesn't like, or have done

								       dirt to people who are Garibaldi's friends, he can be pretty

								       ruthless.

								     * As we've seen, Garibaldi doesn't exactly have the easiest time

								       being demonstrative in his feelings for women.


								jms speaks


								     * Originally, "Soul Mates" was intended to be broadcast after "A

								       Race Through Dark Places." ARTDP required a rather substantial

								       amount of post production work and audio design; "Mates" did not.

								       Rather than rush "Race," we decided it was okay to air those two

								       in reverse order. If they have aired with "Race" first in the UK,

								       then yes, it's different than the US order, but it *is* the

								       correct production and story order.

								     * All things considered, the episode went through fairly cleanly,

								       script- wise, not much in the way of revision. Peter has a good

								       ear for dialog (not surprising). So for the most part it was

								       little stuff; for example...Peter came up with, "Either I'm in

								       hell or in medlab," to which I appended, "...either way, the decor

								       needs work." Which is kind of the fun in getting an outside

								       script; you can hear the first part of a line you'd never

								       considered, and knowing the character, you can take it just a

								       little further.

								     * Timov's "WHO IS THIS?!" in that high-pitched voice would also be a

								       great one for an answering machine.

								     * What I love best about this is that given the time of year [of its

								       North American premiere], "Soul Mates" is basically our Christmas

								       episode.

								       I mean, are we perverse or what...?

								     * . . . when you say "why wasn't Mariel arrested on the spot by

								       Garibaldi and her quarters searched," you omit both legal

								       procedure and evidentiary law.

								       You arrest someone AFTER you have reasonable cause and sufficent

								       evidence to justify it. You don't need enough evidence to convict,

								       just to arrest or indict. So the order is reversed for starters.

								       Second, what evidence *was* there to be found if he HAD searched

								       her quarters? She neither brought nor had ANYthing of an

								       incriminating nature. She bought the figurine in the bazaar...and

								       that's all she had, and all she used. There WAS no evidence in her

								       quarters to find.

								       (Believe me, I spent 2 years on MURDER, SHE WROTE, and we learned

								       a lot about how this stuff works. You can't just go around

								       arresting people willy nilly, and the evidence must exist, and be

								       sufficient, and locatable.)

								     * Peter's having the time of his life. He loves where his character

								       is going, loves the range of emotions he gets to play...I saw him

								       for a bit on the set today, shooting "Soul Mates," and he's just

								       tickled (particularly since he's acting opposite Lois Nettleton,

								       Jane Carr and Blair Valk as his three wives).


								     _________________________________________________________________


								   Compiled by Steven Grimm and Dave Zimmerman

								     _________________________________________________________________


								   [29][Next]


								      [30]Last update: February 25, 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/029.shtml

								   4. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/synops/029.html

								   5. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/credits/029.html

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

								   7. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/028.html

								   8. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/030.html

								   9. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/029.html#OV

								  10. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/029.html#BP

								  11. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/029.html#UQ

								  12. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/029.html#AN

								  13. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/029.html#NO

								  14. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/029.html#JS

								  15. http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Carr,+Jane+(II)

								  16. http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Nettleton,+Lois

								  17. http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Valk,+Blair

								  18. http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Szarabajka,+Keith

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

								  20. file://localhost/lurk/p5/029

								  21. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/028.html

								  22. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/002.html

								  23. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/028.html

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

								  25. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/029.html#TOP

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

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

								  28. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/028.html

								  29. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/030.html

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