|
|
|
[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
|
|
|
|
G'Kar tries to rally the Narn on Babylon 5. Kosh tests Delenn's
|
|
allegiance by summoning an ancient inquisitor. [15]Wayne Alexander
|
|
as Sebastian. [16]Jack Kehler as Mr. Chase.
|
|
|
|
[17]P5 Rating: [18]8.47
|
|
|
|
Production number: 221
|
|
Original air date: August 8, 1995 (UK)
|
|
October 25, 1995 (US)
|
|
|
|
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
|
|
Directed by Mike Laurence Vejar
|
|
|
|
_Emmy nomination_ for cinematography
|
|
|
|
_________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
Backplot
|
|
|
|
* The Vorlons have visited Earth in the past, as recently as the
|
|
nineteenth century, and have even taken humans to their homeworld.
|
|
* Garibaldi maintains friendships with people he knows are dealing
|
|
in illegal smuggling operations.
|
|
|
|
Unanswered Questions
|
|
|
|
* How did the Rangers get the message from Narn in 24 hours? (See
|
|
[19]Analysis)
|
|
* Exactly how long have the Vorlons been visiting Earth, and for
|
|
what purpose?
|
|
* How did they discover Sebastian, and what made them choose him as
|
|
their inquisitor?
|
|
|
|
Analysis
|
|
|
|
* All of the key players on the side of light have now had their
|
|
commitment and loyalty to their cause tested. Sheridan, Garibaldi,
|
|
Ivanova, and Franklin in their battle against the current Earth
|
|
Alliance administration (cf. [20]"Divided Loyalties.") And now
|
|
Delenn and Sheridan as the "spirit" and "warrior," respectively,
|
|
of the Army of Light. The pieces seem to be falling into place on
|
|
the side of light.
|
|
* G'Kar preaching about what the Centauri will do next is somewhat
|
|
chilling. Most people just don't want to believe it. Yet in
|
|
[21]"The Long, Twilight Struggle" we heard that the Centauri have
|
|
already annexed several non-Narn worlds. JMS has said that G'Kar
|
|
is his Cassandra character, gifted with the power of prophesy yet
|
|
heeded by none. The fact that it was a human who argued against
|
|
G'Kar may be an indication of things to come.
|
|
* Based on Sebastian's comments, Sheridan determines that he is most
|
|
likely Jack the Ripper. Sebastian's final comment also appears to
|
|
confirm this. The murderer killed five prostitutes between August
|
|
7th and November 10th of 1888 in the East End of London (Sheridan
|
|
stated the West End, but got the date correct), and was never
|
|
caught. He stalked the streets at night, slitting his victims'
|
|
throats and then mutilating their bodies. The nickname "Jack the
|
|
Ripper" reportedly came from several letters sent to the police,
|
|
but their authenticity has been questioned.
|
|
* The Vorlons have been to Earth on many occasions, and all over the
|
|
galaxy in general. This is quite likely part of the reason why
|
|
Kosh will be recognised by everyone if he(?) steps out of the
|
|
encounter suit.
|
|
* This marks the second time a major, secretive power has sent a
|
|
human representative to Babylon 5 to ask a question: the Shadows
|
|
with Morden and "What do you want?" and the Vorlons with Sebastian
|
|
and "Who are you?" Why do the Vorlons, in particular, feel the
|
|
need to act through a third party? Delenn obviously knows about
|
|
Kosh already, so why couldn't Kosh have conducted the
|
|
interrogation? Perhaps he simply chooses to remain aloof and let
|
|
others do his dirty work, or perhaps for some reason he felt he
|
|
wouldn't have been as effective as Sebastian was.
|
|
* Sheridan and Garibaldi have given the Rangers their first trial in
|
|
a combat zone, on behalf of G'Kar. They succeeded in the allotted
|
|
24 hours but we are given no information on how. Perhaps they are
|
|
able to penetrate the Centauri communications network. Or perhaps
|
|
it involved two "hit and run" jumps into the Narn homeworld
|
|
system. The first to deliver the message to search for this family
|
|
(there must already be Rangers on Narn,) and the second to pick up
|
|
the required transmission. This runs the risk of being detected
|
|
and caught by Centauri forces patrolling the system (a jump point
|
|
presumably has a very bright characteristic energy signature on
|
|
scanners). While the search might have been initiated via
|
|
telepathic contact (cf. [22]"The Coming of Shadows," specifically
|
|
the Centuari Emperor's telepaths, who can communicate over
|
|
interstellar distances) this is unlikely, and telepathy almost
|
|
certainly cannot transmit the contents of a data crystal. Another
|
|
possible explanation is that there are Centauri Rangers.
|
|
* Vir's encounter with G'Kar indicates the depth of the hatred that
|
|
the Narn feel for their oppressors. An apology is no longer
|
|
possible in G'Kar's eyes, only the release of his people from
|
|
their occupation and the destruction of the Centauri along the
|
|
way. Something inside Vir might well give soon; he has already
|
|
stood up to Morden ([23]"In The Shadow of Z'ha'dum") and tried to
|
|
tell Londo of the consequences of his actions - what next?
|
|
* Vir's dismissal of the Centuari businessman, "I have already told
|
|
you the Ambassador can do nothing for you." Is that a polite way
|
|
of telling the businessman to go away, or has Londo's sphere of
|
|
influence been reduced by his refusal to involve the Shadows
|
|
again?
|
|
* There's an interesting parallel between the main storyline and
|
|
Garibaldi's talk with G'Kar. Both Garibaldi and Sebastian go into
|
|
their respective conversations expecting a certain outcome, but
|
|
allowing room for the other person to act otherwise. The
|
|
difference is that Garibaldi is an optimist -- he expected G'Kar
|
|
to do the right thing -- while Sebastian expected to be
|
|
disappointed as he so often had been in the past.
|
|
* This isn't the first reference to Jack the Ripper on the show. In
|
|
[24]"Mind War," Ivanova accuses Psi Corps of having "all the moral
|
|
fiber of Jack the Ripper." Whether that's just a coincidence
|
|
remains to be seen.
|
|
* Given the fact that Delenn was a member of the Grey Council, the
|
|
choice of Grey section (by Sheridan) as the place for the
|
|
inquisition was rather interesting. In addition, some elements of
|
|
the lighting inside Grey 19 (the circles of light on the floor,
|
|
arranged in a circular pattern, with Delenn in a center circle)
|
|
were reminiscent of the Grey Council, especially the last time she
|
|
was in their presence.
|
|
* On a more speculative numerological note, the number nineteen (the
|
|
inquisition occurred in Grey 19) is composed of the digits "1" and
|
|
"9." Taking the analysis to an extreme, perhaps the "9" represents
|
|
the Grey Council and the "1" represents the chosen one.
|
|
|
|
Notes
|
|
|
|
* One of the Narn in the meeting with G'Kar is played by Dennis
|
|
Michael, a CNN reporter who was doing a story on B5's makeup
|
|
group, Optic Nerve, and was made up as a Narn as part of his news
|
|
story.
|
|
* Was someone named Sebastian an actual suspect in the murders?
|
|
* In the original UK broadcast, the scene between G'Kar and Vir was
|
|
edited to not show G'Kar cutting his hand. The edit is obvious
|
|
once you know it's there.
|
|
* One of Sebastian's closing remarks resembled a Biblical quote,
|
|
John 15:13: "There is no greater love than this: to lay down one's
|
|
life for one's friends."
|
|
|
|
jms speaks
|
|
|
|
* "CtI is the only episode in the last four that we know nothing
|
|
about."
|
|
And if I figure out how I happened to achieve that (short of just
|
|
keeping my big yap shut), I'll do it some more. There should be
|
|
some surprises, yes?
|
|
And it's an arc story, yes, but in a very odd way.
|
|
* _(Referring to Delenn's actions in [25]"Confessions and
|
|
Lamentations")_
|
|
Re: why Delenn would do such a thing . . . hold out for "Comes the
|
|
Inquisitor" . . . it gets into her rationales on such things.
|
|
* "I can't wait to see how you torture us next week!"
|
|
Funny line, that, which you'll understand in a few days.
|
|
* The Inquisitor was a great episode to write, and Wayne did a
|
|
killer job with it (so to speak). That one episode has received
|
|
more mail than most others, particularly from those in the
|
|
religious community, as well as at universities, crisis centers,
|
|
you name it. Something there seemed to strike a chord.
|
|
It's easy in an SF show to cut to the EFX and let it rock; to me,
|
|
the challenge is what's shown in those scenes: two people, locked
|
|
in a room, no (or few) EFX, no car chases, not even much of a
|
|
set...with explosions of dialogue and character. Ah loves it.
|
|
* _Emmy nominations_
|
|
John Flinn got a nomination for cinematograhy for "Inquisitor."
|
|
Last year we sent videotapes of our up-for-nomination episodes,
|
|
and got three nominations for it. But WB got upset by this -- they
|
|
don't do this for their other shows, we did it on our own -- and
|
|
ordered us not to do it again. The other shows don't need it
|
|
because they're network shows and get good exposure; most
|
|
syndicated shows (non-Trek) tend not to be Emmy aspirees, so it's
|
|
not a problem there. We're in between, and we were, in effect,
|
|
producing videotapes, and they didn't want that. So we had to sit
|
|
on our hands and not do what we knew would result in getting more
|
|
noms. It's very frustrating.
|
|
* "With Comes The Inquisitor...how obvious was it to you that G'Kar
|
|
was going to be the counterpoint to Delenn and Sebastian. was it
|
|
an immediate connection, or did you have to sit and look, and then
|
|
think "Ah...that's the one?"
|
|
That one was a pretty easy one.
|
|
* As for locale, it was similar to, but not exactly the same as the
|
|
one in which the Marcabs died [in "Confessions and Lamentations"],
|
|
though I did want to somewhat evoke the memory of that when I
|
|
indicated the set I had in mind.
|
|
* Sebastian was played by Wayne Alexander, a British actor of great
|
|
skill who hasn't been seen much on TV before this, but should now,
|
|
with this performance as a calling card. It was a stunning
|
|
performance.
|
|
* I don't think Wayne has done that much TV work before, he's
|
|
primarily a stage actor, but in any event, he's certainly
|
|
brilliant as Sebastian.
|
|
* Why bring up Sebastian's past? Because it's integral to who he is
|
|
now, and what he's doing, and why he's doing it. Also, there's
|
|
something very important here about greying up the Vorlons a
|
|
little; of all the people they could've chosen for this job, why
|
|
THIS kind of person? It makes them a trifle more morally
|
|
ambiguous, which is necessary.
|
|
* "It doesn't fit in with the way the Vorlons have been portrayed.
|
|
It bothered me."
|
|
Good. That was the intended result.
|
|
Part of the reason for the story was to grey up the Vorlons a
|
|
little; one shouldn't fall too easily for what other people *say*
|
|
they are.
|
|
(One might also say much the same of the old testament god who
|
|
would have Job so severely tested, btw.)
|
|
One should always be cautious of taking *anyone* at face value on
|
|
B5.
|
|
"...you could consider them a force for good."
|
|
Ah, but what *is* good? And whose *version* of good are we
|
|
discussing?
|
|
* I'd say there's a very good chance that the Vorlons have more than
|
|
one Inquisitor.
|
|
* _Was Sebastian based on Star Trek's "Q"?_
|
|
No, had nothing to do with Q, it's deciding what kind of person
|
|
our Mr. Sebastian might've been, and working from there. When you
|
|
have a character with as vivid and powerful as his, you don't need
|
|
to look to ST for any ideas on character. And unlike Q, Sebastian
|
|
has no powers of his own, just the force of his personality.
|
|
* _What was the last word in Sebastian's "What about" litany?_
|
|
Actually, the last one, since it was going to be drowned out, was
|
|
an adlib, "eternity."
|
|
* "What about eternity?" It was an adlib from the actor just to
|
|
cover the moment when Delenn rises, knowing it would likely never
|
|
get heard over the rest of it.
|
|
* Also, check Sebastian's reaction when he asks Delenn what if she's
|
|
wrong, "have you ever considered that? HAVE YOU?"
|
|
She responds, softly, "....yes."
|
|
Look at his face when she says this. It rattles him. It's not the
|
|
answer he expected, but more important, it's not the answer he
|
|
wanted, needed to hear.
|
|
He needed to hear her say that she had never had the slightest
|
|
*scintilla* of doubt, that as he had been, she was a True
|
|
Believer, a fanatic, incapable of doubt of mistake...and thus
|
|
doomed to failure. He can't even meet her gaze; he turns, looks
|
|
away, and suggests an "intermission" that is more for his benefit
|
|
than hers.
|
|
There's an awful lot going on in this show, a great deal of it sub
|
|
rosa, under the surface, implied in gestures or hesitations or
|
|
looks, some implied, some stated outright. He *hates* the memory
|
|
of Jack; it's not his name, the one thing that is his...remember,
|
|
he is caught up with "who ARE you?" and his answer to that is lost
|
|
in the persona created by history...his true name, is what's
|
|
totally forgotten to history.
|
|
* Sebastian learns quite a bit in the course of that encounter about
|
|
himself...especially when she rubs it in his face as she does.
|
|
* Of course, bear in mind that there *is* no correct answer to
|
|
Sebastian's question...because no matter what answer you give, the
|
|
question will be repeated. It's a process, not a goal, designed to
|
|
tear down the artifices we construct around ourselves until we're
|
|
left facing ourselves, not our roles. At some point the "answer,"
|
|
such as it is, must transcend language.
|
|
Since the episode aired, I've received many notes from philosophy
|
|
teachers and religious instructors and those who ran the Synanon
|
|
game noting that they've used that technique as well, or intend to
|
|
do so from now on.
|
|
* The episode underlines that there are two fundamental questions in
|
|
B5: who are you, and what do you want? The order in which you
|
|
answer those two questions can either make you great...or destroy
|
|
you.
|
|
* _About "Who are you?"_
|
|
Yeah, that's one of the primal questions, isn't it? And one that
|
|
we are too often distracted from considering.
|
|
* The key to the questions is that you generally have to first be
|
|
able to answer "who are you?" before you can intelligently
|
|
determine "what do you want?" To deal right with "what do you
|
|
want" before you know who you are is destructive in almost any
|
|
situation.
|
|
* I think that, in the long run, the vorlons and the shadows will
|
|
answer the questions Who are you and What do you want...in that
|
|
that's kind of what they *are*, if that makes any sense.
|
|
Well, it will. Eventually.
|
|
* It's not that there's a *correct* answer, but that there's an
|
|
*informed* answer. If you decide what you want, before you know
|
|
who you are, you're likely to get something that will destroy you;
|
|
if you know who you are, you can then ask for something that will
|
|
be of greater use to you.
|
|
* The pain is necessary because it's easy to consider laying down
|
|
one's life intellectually; when the pain and the agony bring it
|
|
home, it's no longer as easy.
|
|
And there *is* no correct answer to "Who are you?" The only real
|
|
answer is no answer, because as soon as you apply someone's term
|
|
for it, you have limited yourself, defined yourself in someone
|
|
else's terms.
|
|
Doing things in a refined, gentle, intellectual manner is the sort
|
|
of thing Delenn's used to, she can handle that easily...the goal
|
|
of Sebastian was to try and *break* her. That's not intended to be
|
|
done gently. You don't break someone over a cup of tea discussing
|
|
philosophical concepts and the nature of personal identity. It's
|
|
also not terribly dramatic to watch.
|
|
Because of her position, rank and authority, she expected to be
|
|
treated a certain way...which was why it was important to treat
|
|
her just the opposite. It's easy to put oneself into a grand
|
|
prophecy, to assume one has a destiny...to pay the price for that
|
|
is something else again. Anyone can do the former; very few can
|
|
ever do the latter.
|
|
* Sacrificing oneself happens frequently...but for just one other
|
|
person, AND in a situation where no one else would ever know about
|
|
it. Bear in mind that he wasn't testing people randomly; only
|
|
those who felt that they were chosen of god, fulfillers of
|
|
prophecy...people who assumed that they were part of some grand
|
|
scheme, and thus to whom an anonymous death is an intolerable
|
|
thought.
|
|
Also, most probably never *got* that far, unable to stand the real
|
|
pain of being placed in this position. Everybody can talk the
|
|
talk; very few can walk the walk. Most probably just yanked off
|
|
the bracelets and split, on the theory that they weren't being
|
|
sufficiently coddled or glorified...or because being a potential
|
|
prophet isn't as much fun as they'd thought.
|
|
* There have been a great number of films and TV programs with one
|
|
sort of interrogation scene or other; I'd commend "Closetland" for
|
|
something else on this order.
|
|
* Mentioning just the first name may not have been necessary for UK
|
|
viewers, but it was necessary for the rest of the planet.
|
|
* Of course, his real name was never Jack Sebastian; "Jack" is his
|
|
working name, Sebastian could be a first or last name.
|
|
* I tied him [Sebastian] to a specific person because in writing,
|
|
you *always* try to go for specifics, because generalities don't
|
|
really work. It's the difference, in prose, between, "The room
|
|
smelled good," and "The room smelled of cinnamon and fresh
|
|
coffee." Also, the specific connotations to who and what Jack was
|
|
were essential and integral to the storyline.
|
|
* "Jack" was the media appellation; whether Sebastian is a first or
|
|
last name is left open.
|
|
I looked at who this historical figure could be, but no one else
|
|
fit into the area I wanted. It was a decision born of necessity,
|
|
not whim. I needed someone far enough removed not to have any
|
|
current victims' families still alive; someone known to a
|
|
worldwide population (anonymous wouldn't have worked because why
|
|
would Sheridan have known about him, why should we care, why
|
|
should it resonate, and we'd spend time explaining what he did
|
|
that would have meant cutting out other material in the episode);
|
|
the other serial killers tend to have clear fates, whereas Jack
|
|
vanished and is thus "available" to us; visually that period makes
|
|
for a striking contrast to 2259.
|
|
And, again, you have to look at who he *was*...a fanatic, trying
|
|
to clean up Spittlefields (good cause) by hatred (wrong reason)
|
|
and murder (wrong means), the EXACT thing Delenn warns against at
|
|
the very start of the show. (Did you know there's a letter in the
|
|
London Times for that period that tries to explain the Ripper's
|
|
motives as a cry ofr (for) understanding about conditions in that
|
|
part of London?) He felt he was a divine messenger, learned he was
|
|
not, and in bitterness has become the single best inquisitor you
|
|
could've had in that job.
|
|
Every single thing about Jack made him *perfect* for that role, as
|
|
mirror, menace and warning sign. So I used him. And I'd do it
|
|
again. You have to find what works best for the story, and do it.
|
|
* I used Jack because he was perfect for that particular job, which
|
|
was what the Vorlons had decided as well. Simple as that.
|
|
* _Jack the Ripper has been used too much in SF._
|
|
So, in other words, if a historical, real character has been used
|
|
in some other venue, if the use of that same character in another,
|
|
wholly different world/series/show/universe is absolutely, totally
|
|
and completely the right thing for that story, one should instead
|
|
do what's *wrong* for the story and leave it out?
|
|
Sorry. Don't buy it.
|
|
* You can't exclude or include anything in your story just because a
|
|
character or concept has been used by others. If we were to do
|
|
that, then we might as well never make the show, because others
|
|
have shown starships and hyperspace and aliens. Okay, yes, others
|
|
have used Jack. But not in the same way. It was *right* for this
|
|
show...should it not be used because oths have also used this
|
|
character? I think that the moment you begin constantly
|
|
course-correcting your show in reaction to other shows, you're
|
|
dead in the water. You have to do what's right for *this* story,
|
|
in *this* episode. And I think we showed a very different aspect
|
|
of the character and the situation than has been shown before. If
|
|
we just did the same old gag -- Jack comes to B5 and begin
|
|
murdring people again -- then I'd agree. But we didn't. I think
|
|
you have to judge a show by what's IN the show, and how well it's
|
|
done, not against what has been done in other places.
|
|
Otherwise we might as well throw out starships and beam weapons
|
|
and aliens and all the rest, since those have ALL been done a lot
|
|
more than Jack.
|
|
* _The original Star Trek episode "Wolf in the Fold" also centered
|
|
around Jack the Ripper._
|
|
In the TOS show, that revelation was the whole *point* of the
|
|
episode, where here it's a filligree, dropped in at the last. It
|
|
also *has* to be that character, as the flip side of the story, to
|
|
contrast with Sheridan's "holy cause" as warning, and because of
|
|
his own reflection of what Delenn might have been if she went the
|
|
wrong way for the right reasons.
|
|
* On the "Jack sucks" threads, phrased various ways...doesn't really
|
|
bother me. I knew going in that some folks would react well to
|
|
that, and some wouldn't, for an assortment of reasons, some valid,
|
|
some less so.
|
|
* I guess also that the key to avoid something becoming cliche is to
|
|
turn it on its head. Which was the case with Sebastian. One thing
|
|
I neglected to mention was the need to have an absolute
|
|
mirror-counterpoint to Morden. Here you've got the smiling,
|
|
pleasant, utterly charming and good looking fellow who is our
|
|
"mirror" if you will in which we see the Shadows reflected. So now
|
|
you need something dark and ominous and terrible as the mirror
|
|
through which we briefly glimpse the Vorlons, which has to be done
|
|
all in one episode, you can't develop it gradually as with Morden.
|
|
So everything about Sebastian was the opposite of Morden...and
|
|
each is the opposite of what they represent. As it appears to us
|
|
now, anyway.
|
|
* "it just didn't pay off in the long run." For you. For others it
|
|
did. Let's not start getting grandiose. You feel this way, that's
|
|
fine, but it's not the ultimate truth. Otherwise you're totally
|
|
dismissing the opinions of others who liked it a lot.
|
|
"Jack...has become a real cliche." So because others have used
|
|
that figure in their work, well or poorly, no one should ever use
|
|
this historical figure ever again in the next thousand years of
|
|
human history. One should not do what one thinks is right for a
|
|
story because of what someone else did in a different story.
|
|
Sorry. I don't work that way. By your logic, I should not be using
|
|
starships or hyperspace or aliens, either, because they've been
|
|
used a LOT more than Jack.
|
|
* Actually, I think I saw more *annoyance* at Jack being used from
|
|
the UK folks than the US folks, that's the main difference, I
|
|
think. Probably because it's a peaceful, wonderful country which
|
|
is *still* paying off, in the public eye, one particularly nasty
|
|
creature in their recent history. They're probably tired of
|
|
hearing about him, and to some extent, correctly so.
|
|
* Will: thanks, and you're quite right; it does say something about
|
|
the Vorlons that they'd use Jack for this purpose. Now we just
|
|
have to further define what that is.
|
|
BTW, just to append it here, not strictly appropos of your
|
|
message... I've noted a number of people say, in essence, "Boy,
|
|
was I disappointed that he said Jack at the end, what does he
|
|
think we are, morons?" And I've seen plenty of comments from
|
|
people who didn't know it was Jack until that very last moment,
|
|
for whom it was a revelation.
|
|
It's pretty clear, to lots of folks, that the test was in some
|
|
ways (most, actually) more for Delenn's benefit than Kosh's...lots
|
|
of folks got this...and then others have said, "Well, if that's
|
|
what he meant, why didn't he just have one of them come out and
|
|
SAY this, say what was learned or that this was for THEIR
|
|
benefit?"
|
|
So frankly, whether one comes out and says something, or does not
|
|
come out and say something, someone on one side or the other is
|
|
going to give you a hard time about it.
|
|
* _Jack's murders took place in the East End of London, not the West
|
|
End_
|
|
What happened is...basically...Joe is a moron.
|
|
I did my research. I called up the info on the encyclopedia, got
|
|
all the dates right, and my eyes saw East End and for whatever
|
|
stupid, idiotic reason, my fingers typed West instead of East, and
|
|
nobody, NObody, caught it until now. I'd loop it, but alas the
|
|
line is on his face, and it'd look real stupid, and the delivery
|
|
is *so* perfect as it is; if we looped it, we'd destroy it.
|
|
So I content myself with the notion that it's west...of B5.
|
|
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go shoot myself.
|
|
* _Maybe the West End fell into the ocean and the East End is now
|
|
West._
|
|
No, no, it's hopeless...I'll have to turn in my writer's card.
|
|
* Unfortunately (yes, we discussed this), he says the line *on
|
|
camera*, and the shape of the mouth for West is very different
|
|
than for East; also the performance wouldn't be nearly as good. So
|
|
there it is....
|
|
* Thanks. Though I knew about the gaff a LONG time before it was to
|
|
air here in the US, I let the east/west thing go through as shot
|
|
for the very first broadcast because I was afraid that the loop
|
|
might hurt the scene, and it was *so* perfectly done. That over, I
|
|
decided it was worth taking a shot at it. If your friend didn't
|
|
notice, then we did it right. So now those who taped the first
|
|
broadcast have something that'll never be seen again (if I have
|
|
anything to say about it).
|
|
* Yes, I *know* it's the East End not the West End; I looked right
|
|
at my notes when I was writing the script, and they said East and
|
|
I typed West and nobody noticed it until it went out. I could've
|
|
replaced it with a looped line prior to first airing here, as this
|
|
was found during the UK airings, but looping never improves only
|
|
diminishes the performance, and he's on-camera and the words
|
|
wouldn't match his mouth. So I decided to let it go out this way
|
|
once for performance, and we'll correct this aspect with a loop in
|
|
later airings, even though that will somewhat lessen the
|
|
performance aspect.
|
|
* What I'd said, and maybe I wasn't sufficiently clear, but my sense
|
|
was that I wasn't going to change it *prior to the first US
|
|
airing.* I found out about the mistake -- it was a typo, I knew
|
|
the difference, I just became momentarily stupid and wrote west
|
|
when I meant to type east -- after the show aired in the UK, and
|
|
had a couple of months in which I could've chosen to make the
|
|
change. But I was concerned that the dub wouldn't have the same
|
|
power as the original performance, so I was willing to let it go
|
|
until after it aired, so it would've had that impact, then make
|
|
the change later. Happily, the loop came out *very* well, so it
|
|
worked out.
|
|
* _Even in the fixed version, the closed captions still say West._
|
|
Y'know, I'd totally forgotten about the captions.
|
|
Nuts.
|
|
* Yeah, it's always the dopey, small stuff that slips past, and
|
|
nobody notices until it jumps out at you when it's too late.
|
|
* Sebastian's final words were part of the same sentence he began
|
|
while speaking directly to Sheridan's face...insofar as I have
|
|
ever considered the scene, he IS talking to Sheridan.
|
|
* Actually, yes, I do have a pet theory about who the Ripper was,
|
|
but I'm so embarrassed over the west end/east end typo in one of
|
|
our episodes that I don't know if I'll ever have enough courage to
|
|
broach it to anyone.
|
|
* Okay, here's one clue for any would-be Ripperologists out there.
|
|
In all the long story of Jack, when he was out doing his nightly
|
|
work, only one person, a woman, wrote an actual letter, published
|
|
in the London Times, offering an *explanation* for the Ripper's
|
|
work, arguing that he was trying to send a message, that maybe
|
|
people should listen to that message. It was as close as anyone's
|
|
ever come to an actual *defense* of what he was doing.
|
|
Note the woman's name, and who her husband was...a man who was
|
|
twice interviewed by Scotland Yard, and interviewed by many Church
|
|
officials, the transcripts of which have been *sealed* by the
|
|
Church ever since, at the request of the family...a person who was
|
|
the last man to see at least one of the victims alive...and who
|
|
was a direct blood relative of the man who was living with the
|
|
final victim (who was killed indoors, leading to the speculation
|
|
that she knew her assailant)...who suffered a breakdown just
|
|
before the murders began, was obsessed with cleaning up the
|
|
Whitechapel area, and after whose sudden, hasty transfer, the
|
|
murders stopped...and whose profession is tied *directly* to the
|
|
only thing the Ripper was overheard to say to one of his victims.
|
|
* The mistake everyone makes is in going for somebody famous, a
|
|
celebrity. I've done a lot of looking into this, and have spoken
|
|
with a number of other Ripperologists, and the single most likely
|
|
person is one who's name you've never heard mentioned as a
|
|
suspect, but if you read the record, his name keeps coming up
|
|
again and again and again.
|
|
* Nope, Sebastian wasn't the name of the one I'm thinking of.
|
|
And from what I've read, a lot of folks *did* need to hear the
|
|
name to get it....
|
|
* _How did Lennier know where Delenn was?_
|
|
Well, given Delenn's position, I think she'd have let Lennier know
|
|
where she was, or that he'd heard Sheridan tell Delenn in the
|
|
scene we played the voice-over.
|
|
* Actually, there *was* a scene where Lennier, concerned, tracks
|
|
down Kosh to inquire after Delenn's situation, which report alarms
|
|
him and sends him after Sheridan. It was filmed...but cut for
|
|
time.
|
|
* _Censorship by C4 in Great Britain_
|
|
They SNIPPED the shot of G'Kar slicing his hand? You're kidding! I
|
|
find that quite astonishing; it was done discreetly. I'm
|
|
dumbfounded. No wonder there was confusion about that scene.
|
|
* You're right, btw; I was informed in another message here that
|
|
they did snip that piece of G'Kar's action. Suffice to say I had
|
|
*no* idea, and now that I *do* have an idea...I'm simply
|
|
wog-boggled.
|
|
* Can G'Kar grow to forgive? I don't think so...and yet in a way he
|
|
must come to something more than rage, and other than forgiveness.
|
|
There is an important step in his development yet to come. And he
|
|
will have to go there by a very hard road.
|
|
|
|
Originally compiled by Jason Snell.
|
|
|
|
[31][Next]
|
|
|
|
[32]Last update: January 12, 1998
|
|
|
|
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/043.shtml
|
|
4. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/synops/043.html
|
|
5. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/credits/043.html
|
|
6. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/episodes.php
|
|
7. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/042.html
|
|
8. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/044.html
|
|
9. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/043.html#OV
|
|
10. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/043.html#BP
|
|
11. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/043.html#UQ
|
|
12. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/043.html#AN
|
|
13. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/043.html#NO
|
|
14. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/043.html#JS
|
|
15. http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Alexander,+Wayne
|
|
16. http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Kehler,+Jack
|
|
17. file://localhost/lurk/p5/intro.html
|
|
18. file://localhost/lurk/p5/043
|
|
19. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/043.html#AN
|
|
20. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/041.html
|
|
21. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/042.html
|
|
22. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/031.html
|
|
23. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/038.html
|
|
24. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/006.html
|
|
25. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/040.html
|
|
26. file://localhost/lurk/lurker.html
|
|
27. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/043.html#TOP
|
|
28. file://localhost/cgi-bin/uncgi/lgmail
|
|
29. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/episodes.php
|
|
30. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/042.html
|
|
31. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/044.html
|
|
32. file://localhost/lurk/lastmod.html
|