The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5
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### 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 Narn-Centauri War reaches a turning point. Sheridan is
contacted by a powerful ally, who offers assistance. [15]John
Schuck. [16]W. Morgan Sheppard as Warleader G'Sten. [17]William
Forward as Refa.
Sub-genre: Action/Intrigue
[18]P5 Rating: [19]9.49
Production number: 219
Original air date: August 1, 1995 (UK)
October 18, 1995 (US)
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Directed by John Flinn
_Note: this episode is more momentous than most. Think twice before
proceeding to the spoilers; it's worth seeing unawares._
Watch For
* A change in the number of candles in G'Kar's quarters.
_________________________________________________________________
Backplot
* The new Centauri emperor, Cartargia, is acting mostly as a
figurehead, a front for Refa and his compatriots.
* A treaty among all the aligned worlds outlawed the use of mass
drivers as a weapon of war, similar to the Earth treaties
outlawing the use of chemical and biological weapons.
* Draal says he has found other beings on Epsilon 3, ones who take
care of the great Machine Draal is at the heart of. One of them is
a fellow named Zathras (cf. [20]"Babylon Squared.")
* Delenn has been in charge of all the Rangers on Babylon 5. She now
shares that command with Sheridan.
* Sheridan does not know that Sinclair is behind the Rangers.
* The Centauri seem to have gravity control technology. Londo
watches as the Centauri bombard the Narn homeworld, standing --
seemingly in gravity -- aboard a motionless ship. (Either that, or
they have magnetic shoes.)
Unanswered Questions
* What's Zathras doing on Epsilon 3, and how did he get there? If
the planet has been undisturbed for at least the past 500 years
([21]"A Voice in the Wilderness, part 2,") is he that old?
* Where was Zathras such that Draal, with sight that extends across
light-years, couldn't find him? Perhaps he wasn't in another
place, but another time (see [22]"Babylon Squared.")
* Will the great machine be involved in pulling Babylon 4 through
time?
* Now that Londo has stated he no longer wishes to associate with
the Shadows, his usefulness to Lord Refa is at an end. How will
Refa handle this?
* What exactly was G'Kar told to do in the Kha'Ri's last message?
Ask for sanctuary, obviously, but anything else?
* What other technology do the Shadows have that we haven't seen
yet?
* Have the Narn unwittingly discovered a weakness of the Shadows?
(see [23]Analysis)
* Now that G'Kar has been stripped of his homeworld and position on
Babylon 5, what can he contribute to the battle against the
Shadows?
Analysis
* Londo is now convinced that his associates are far too powerful
for their motives to be solely for his benefit. He realises that
he has become a pawn in their larger game, and that his personal
quest for more power has lead to the death of esteemed friends and
many innocents. While convinced of this, and that he has allowed
himself to be maneuvered at every turn by the will of others, he
still carries through with his role as a paper tiger
politician/ambassador.
* The Shadows show some new weaponry. It appears that each ship can
"give birth" to a cluster of forty or so of the smaller fighters
G'Kar encountered at Z'ha'dum in [24]"Revelations." We are not
shown that these fighters are re-assimilated at the end of the
confrontation, and it is also unknown how many times each Shadow
can do this.
The second weapon has the ability to disrupt a jump point so that
it is fatal for any ship to attempt to use it. Once an attack
against the Shadows begins it appears you can leave only when they
so allow it.
* The Shadow "wounded" during the battle is thrown off course by the
loss of one of its spines. After the battle is finished, a second
Shadow joins with it as if to assist it. The broken spine is
clearly visible on the ship that does not move during the docking
procedure. It suggests that the damaged Shadow was unable to
function as effectively, perhaps because it was in pain.
* With Draal offering the resources of the highly advanced
technology at his command, it appears that Babylon 5 is one of the
few places that may withstand a Shadow assault. That it can become
the base of operations for the Army of Light is now clear.
Perhaps more importantly, Babylon 5 can probably also withstand a
frontal assault by Earthforce, though they might prefer to destroy
it from within.
* The Centauri use of mass drivers flauts all previously signed
conventions, and it appears (cf. [25]"And Now for a Word," where
the Centauri are discovered using Babylon 5 to transport mass
drivers and energy weapons) that they have been planning this kind
of assault on the Narn homeworld for some time.
* A mass driver uses a heavy object (such as a small asteroid)
launched from orbit toward a planet's surface at low speed. As it
falls through the planet's gravity well it gains considerable
momentum. On impact the immediate area becomes a crater, and huge
quantities of dust are thrown up into the atmosphere, blocking out
sunlight and causing something like a nuclear winter. E. E. "Doc"
Smith's [26]Lensman series, written from 1937 to 1948, is the
first literary SF work to use mass drivers as weapons for
planetary bombardment as shown in this episode. (If you know of an
earlier work, send me mail!)
* All of the major governments (with the exception of the Vorlons)
are now under serious internal stress. They are either
introspective (Earth,) skeptical of present danger (Minbari,)
overextended (Centauri,) or occupied (Narn). It appears that the
Shadows have achieved, either directly or indirectly, effective
destabilization of every major power that might stand up to their
forces.
* Ambassador Kosh openly lets the Rangers know of his involvement.
* It appears that Garibaldi's friendship with Londo has strained to
the breaking point.
* Sheridan now has access to the Rangers. This appears to be
fulfilling the dream induced by Kosh (cf. [27]"All Alone in the
Night") where he is described as being "The Hand." Presumably this
reference is to his role as someone who will help lead the forces
of light as the right hand man of "The One."
* A fully prepared numerically superior Narn task force is easily
destroyed by the Shadows. Unless more effective combat techniques
are discovered, the battle with darkness will have to involve more
subtle tactics.
* Londo hasn't forgiven Refa for the death of his friend Urza Jaddo
([28]"Knives.")
* Londo's cough in the council chamber scene sounds suspiciously
like the one in his dream in [29]"The Coming of Shadows." Could he
be coming down with something? (See [30]jms speaks)
Notes
* JMS premiered this episode at the Chicago Comicon on July 1, 1995.
* W. Morgan Sheppard also appeared in the first season episode
[31]"Soul Hunter" as the title character.
* The episode's initial airing, in the UK, was 50 years, almost to
the day, after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima during
World War II. Considering the obvious parallels between the
Centauri use of mass drivers and the American use of the atomic
bomb, that's a serindipitous, if unintentional, bit of timing.
* "Now the trumpet summons us again: not as a call to bear arms,
though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though in battle we
are; but as a call to bear the burdens of a long, twilight
struggle--year in and year out, rejoicing in hope, patient in
tribulation--a struggle against the common enemies of
man--tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself." --John Fitzgerald
Kennedy. An [32]audio version of his speech is available. [INLINE]
* In the first Londo-Refa scene, just before Refa sits, what looks
like a wooden duck with its wings outstretched is visible on a
shelf beside the throne. Perhaps it's a Centauri cat (cf.
[33]"Chrysalis.")
* Candles are used subtly to represent hope, here and in previous
episodes (see [34]jms speaks.) At the beginning of G'Kar's prayer
scene, the shelf behind him is filled with burning candles -- but
by the end, as his people's last hope is destroyed by the Shadows,
they've all gone out.
* Likewise, when Londo and Refa are talking, they're both cloaked in
shadow -- until Londo expresses misgivings about his associates
and emerges into the light.
* The battle sequence was directed by Mojo of Foundation Imaging;
the mass-driver sequence was directed by John Teska. The episode
has more effects footage than any previous one, nearly five
minutes' worth. The effects took almost a month to produce.
jms speaks
* "The Long, Twilight Struggle" is probably the biggest episode of
the entire two years to date, story and EFX and character wise,
and will have a profound effect on the series that I'd compare to
a cross between "Signs and Portents" and "Chrysalis".
* I don't want to say anything about "The Long Twilight Struggle" at
this time, to avoid hyping people. Suffice to say it's a very
strong episode.
* Hell, in some ways, when compared with "Struggle," "The Coming of
Shadows" is a light comedy in which nothing much happens.
* Without spoiling anything...yes, in this regard, I've always noted
that there are some echoes of WW II in the overall storyline, and
some applies here. Also, again, the purpose of a large measure of
the show is to elicit discussion of such issues as this...where
are the mora, (moral) responsibilities in such a situation? What
are the ethics of mass warfare? Where does expediency begin and
compassion end? *Should* compassion have to end for the greater
good?
If we can start some bar fights, I'll have done my job.
Fact is, I don't have one single damned good answer. But I've got
a whole LOTTA questions...
* Thanks. Yes, there's a WW II parallel, not in terms of justifying
one or the other -- one can make compelling arguments for and
against the use of atomic weapons to close the war, but I leave it
to those who were there to have made the right decision, because
they had to live with it -- but in terms of strategy and wartime
logic.
* Thank you. I'm quite frankly thrilled beyond words at the
preliminary reactions from the UK to this episode; we worked
*really* hard on it, and I can't tell you what the reactions mean
to us.
* Thanks. It's definitely one of my favorite episodes. The intensity
is terrific.
* Yes, "They're being bombed back to the stone age" is a Vietnam era
quote.
* Re: what you could see of the planet's surface...one of the side
effects of the technology used is that, realistically, it would
throw up a *hideous* amount of smoke, dust and debris, and you
wouldn't see much of anything.
* _Why isn't Londo floating weightless?_
Some races, like the Centauri and the Minbari, use drive systems
built to varying degrees on magnetic and gravitational forces;
some of them don't so much go to a planet as create a situation
where they are drawn toward it. One of the side effects of this is
a field allowing for artificial gravity. Earth doesn't have this
level of technology, however.
* Re: your note about 500 Narns for every 1 Centauri...you may want
to check our own history. During the occupation of some parts of
Europe during WW II, similar tactics were used. In some cases the
threat rose as high as 100-200 Jews or Russians executed for every
Nazi killed; much the same has been done in earlier history. Five
hundred to one is a figure relatively consistent with what humans
have done from time to time when we wish to instill terror. So I
find this a curious quibble.
* Actually, Londo *specifies* that the 500 will include "the
perpetrator's own family."
* _Was Draal's voice dubbed?_
No, his voice wasn't dubbed, or changed, by anyone; might've been
a glitch in local audio or something.
* Thanks. Draal's played by John Shuck, who did a great job. And
yes, we'll definitely be seeing him again. (We first met him in "A
Voice in the Wilderness.")
* _I loved the part with Draal calling out for Zathras_
Yeah, that was a rather Draal bit of humor, wasn't it?
* In part it's John's take on the character, but what I indicated to
him was that Draal's gone through some considerable changes by
entering the heart of the machine; it's given him greater
understanding, and the freeing aspects of greater humor. It's
almost like -- and I hate to even use the reference because
somebody'll say "Oh, that's what he's doing," and I ain't, it's
just a point of comparison -- Tom Bombadil in LoTR...quite funny,
but also someone not to be trifled with.
* It wasn't intended that Delenn should touch Draal; it sorta
happened on the set, and no one really noticed, and it wasn't
worth going back and reshooting the whole thing. My sense is that
if it's like a virtual reality situation, she would "feel" it even
though it's not there, if the image was impinging correctly on the
brain.
But in either event, the image is not and should not be considered
to be solid.
As for Londo's shot...the director called "cut" I think a bit too
soon, we used every frame we had to extend that shot (and, in
fact, we even went so far as to freeze the final frame and extend
the shot by a smidge, if you look at it carefully). Nonetheless, I
think it works pretty spiffily.
As for the mass drivers, the amount of energy required to move
something that big would generate huge amounts of heat, possibly
making them even white-hot hence the glow.
* _An actor's job is to physicalize the script. Can you give an
example?_
Yes, I think that's accurate. The most obvious place where it
worked was where Londo looks through the window to Narn being
bombed below. There's no dialogue, and he has to convey a range of
emotions just through his face....which is a terribly difficult
thing to do, and he did a superb job of it.
* Mass drivers use asteroids freely available in space, accelerated
and fired into a planetary atmosphere. EA non-rotational ships
have zero g. EA tech is generally much lower in weapons tech and
other areas than the Minbari and Vorlons, among others.
* Actually, what Delenn said was, "...the Rangers *in this area* are
under my direct command." So Sinclair's post as Ranger One remains
back on Minbar.
And yes, Sinclair has apparently been described as the One...but
you must ask...the one *what*?
Expect final answers to this one late this coming season.
* _On each season's music for the opening credits reflecting the
mood of the season_
What do I have in mind for season three? What I indicated to Chris
Franke was to look at a piece of music he did in "The Long,
Twilight Struggle" and interpolate some elements of that into the
main theme, with a very hard sound. The piece in question is about
the middle of the first really...um...busy scene after the act
break.
* Until "The Long Twilight Struggle," nothing else has come close to
that scene [the attack on the Narn outpost in "Coming of Shadows"]
for me. But there's some stuff in there that finally manages to to
surpass it. Just gorgeous and scary and awe-inspiring.
* _These Narn heavy cruisers were different than the ones in
[35]"Midnight on the Firing Line."_
There are various kinds of ships the Narns have, some older than
others; the ones in the first ep were older ones.
* _About the Narn/Shadow battle_
Thanks. Yeah, that scene is one of my favorites; a lot of work
went into it, and I think it shows.
* _Secret of Narn success in injuring a Shadow ship?_
Not much to the secret...they coordinated their firepower on one
of the ships, in hopes of doing damage.
* G'Kar's prayers would have been unrelated to the wounding of the
shadow vessel.
* _Was the Shadow ship permanently disabled?_
It was in shock, but it would've recovered in a bit more time.
* _Were there four Shadow ships stacked together after the battle?_
Actually, what's probably confusing is that the shadow vessels are
bi-level, so when two come together it looks like four or so; but
it's just the two.
* Thanks. One of the things I wanted to try was to find a way to
stage long-range combat. One of the things everyone says is that
even though real aerial combat tends to be at great distance --
and space combat would be conducted over thousands of kilometers,
you probably wouldn't be able to even SEE your opponent at that
range, just pick up the enemy ships on your scanners -- you can't
do that for TV because you need to have both in frame, hammering
each other short-range, to make it work for viewers.
But I've always liked a challenge, so I thought I'd see if I could
make it work. The two sides are, as noted, thousands of kilometers
apart, and take most of that sequences just to catch up with each
other. And frankly, I think it's probably one of the most dynamic
battle sequences we've ever done, so you can expect more in the
future, now that I've kind of got the hang of how to do this.
* Agreed. The use of different tactics and weapons at different
distances gives a sense that there is a *strategy* behind what's
going on, that it's not just two ships coming with city blocks of
one another and clobbering each other. Strategy implies
intelligence, and to see intelligence in the shadow vessels is
scary indeed.....
* The reason for the placement of the jump points is *very* straight
forward.
By virtue of their size and the tremendous forces unleashed by
punching a hole into hyperspace, you want to form it a little
distance away or risk being severely damaged. If they formed the
points between them and the enemy, which was quite capable of
avoiding them, it would be entirely possible for the shadows to
get in front of the point and cut off their sole means of escape.
Usually, better to form them behind you, so the enemy can't block
your way out, and take a possible hit or two to your aft sections
than be totally cut off. They didn't anticipate the extra weapons
the shadows had.
* _Were those Narn cruisers especially big?_
The cruiser is the same size as that sent to look into Z'ha'dum;
it's just a matter of perspective and how close the camera gets.
* _Did the shadow ships phase out to avoid the energy mines?_
No, they didn't phase out so much as absorb the energy, at cost of
great pain.
* Well, they're organic technology, so they can feel, but only after
a fashion.
* "Why didn't the fighters do anything?"
They did. Look more closely. They engaged the Narn fighters in
dogfights all over the place. They're hardly more than specks
against the huge ships, but they're definitely there.
* _One Shadow ship in "Signs and Portents," two in "Chrysalis,"
three in "The Coming of Shadows," four here?_
Give Tim Lynch a ceegar. Yes, more ships are starting to appear,
as more ships become available.
* _They only have four ships?_
Never said you're seeing their entire fleet, you're seeing what
they can afford to send out at any given moment on relatively
low-priority jobs.
* Dave: yup. Londo's never coughed before, and this was very
deliberately placed. He's on the path, like it or not.
* _The Vorlons lodged an official protest! Is this the first time
they've taken an action like that?_
Yeah, that's pretty much the first time since the pilot where the
Vorlons got involved with the Sinclair situation.
* Bingo. As I mentioned before, the "long twilight struggle" title
is a quote; you correctly identified the source in the [36]JFK
quote.
* _About Sheridan's closing speech_
Certainly, Sheridan is slowly growing more into a leader who must
be able to step to the front in this kind of way, yes.
* _What does "the balloon is going up" mean?_
There have been many explanations for where this phrase comes
from. Most of them are obviously spook etymology, but the first
one I heard -- and who knows if this is right -- comes from WW I,
where just before one side would go into battle, they'd send one
man up in a hot air balloon to scout the enemy's location. If you
saw the balloon going up, you knew combat wasn't far behind.
Wherever it comes from, though, that's the general meaning of the
phrase.
_Editor's note: Apparently the term dates back to the American
Civil War, during which balloons were deployed by the Signal Corps
before battles._
* Candles are, I think, wonderfully emblematic of life, and of being
a single ray of light, or hope, in a dark place. The Grey Council
stands between the candle and the star; watch G'Kar's action re: a
candle in his quarters...and in that scene (for those who've seen
TLTS) note how many candles are in the room in the beginning, and
at the end.
We are the candle that burns brightly, stubbornly,
effectively...but briefly.
* [37]The candles in G'Kar's quarters
Sherry...thank you. The level of attention to detail is the *only*
way that this story will be told properly. It means you sit down
with the director, and others, and you make totally clear --
there, and in the script -- what you saw in your head when you
wrote it. As well as repeatd verbal themes, cues, phraseologies,
it's important (since this is a visual medium) to incorporate
visual cues that add to the thematic thrust of the piece, that
create a mood, or convey an emotion or a thought on an almost
cellular level. The hardest part is being careful not to OVER use
them, because then they lose all meaning and impact.
* Re: G'Kar's position on the council...Sheridan could have carried
on, but it would've been basically useless. The Centauri now
occupy and run Narn, and thanks to the surrender and agreement to
the Centauri terms, call the shots as far as who can legitimately
speak for Narn. Sheridan could've kept G'Kar *in the room*, but
he'd still be powerless, without portfolio, and the whole concept
of the council would be shot. He is now simply Citizen G'Kar, same
as any other Narn. No, Londo isn't of higher rank in the council
than Sheridan, but he speaks for the Centauri, and the Centauri
speak for Narn.
* Re: Earth's attitude toward the Centauri...stick around for 2 more
episodes.
Re: not recognizing the Centauri rule...on what basis would or
could Earth do this? If the Narns had not agreed to total and
unconditional surrender, sure, there might be a case you could
make...otherwise, one doesn't have a leg to stand on.
Vampyr...okay, (poink), I've now made you Babylon 5 Person here.
So how could Sheridan "take Londo down a peg" in any manner
consistent with reality? Yell at him? Sure, but to what effect? He
had nothing to back it up. Before, in "Shadows," he had a bluff he
could run; now that's not relevant because the actions have all
been taken, and there is nothing that can be done to stop it.
Sometimes, things happen in the real world, and we'd love to see
the person taken down a peg, as you say...but sometimes actually
*doing* that in a real world situation, or a fairly rigorous
fictional situation, is a different matter.
[43][Next]
[44]Last update: January 28, 1998
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