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845 lines
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[1][ISMAP]-[2][Home]
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### GUIDE ### [3][Background] [4][Synopsis] [5][Credits] [6][Episode
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List] [7][Previous] [8][Next]
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_Contents:_ [9]Overview - [10]Backplot - [11]Questions - [12]Analysis
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- [13]Notes - [14]JMS
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_________________________________________________________________
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Overview
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Third season finale. A face from Sheridan's past takes him on a
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dangerous mission to meet his Shadow counterpart. Londo receives
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important news about his political future. The Shadows mass a fleet
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against Babylon 5. [15]Melissa Gilbert as Anna. [16]Ed Wasser as
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Morden. [17]Jeff Corey as Justin.
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[18]P5 Rating: [19]9.73
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Production number: 322
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Original air week: September 22, 1996 (UK)
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October 28, 1996 (US)
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Written by J. Michael Straczynski
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Directed by Adam Nimoy
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_Warning: This episode reveals a lot of information, and there are
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spoilers below. Think twice before reading on if you haven't seen the
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episode._
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_________________________________________________________________
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Backplot
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* The Shadows claim that the _Icarus_ was sent to Z'ha'dum by Earth
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after Interplanetary Expeditions planted a homing device on the
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Shadow ship discovered on Mars ([20]"Messages from Earth") and
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traced its path through hyperspace.
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* A million years ago there were many immensely powerful species
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roaming the galaxy, but most left for "greener pastures," leaving
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the Vorlons and the Shadows behind.
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* The Shadows claim they and the Vorlons are "shepherds," guiding
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younger races through the evolutionary process, though they have
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different methods: the Vorlons are like parents, trying to get
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their children to play nice and get along, while the Shadows
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believe that only through conflict and death can races become
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stronger and more advanced. They also claim that by enlisting the
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help of the Minbari and others against the Shadows, and by
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manipulating the younger races genetically, the Vorlons haven't
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been playing by the rules.
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* The Shadows claim that the Vorlons' genetic tinkering is
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responsible for the sudden appearance of telepathy in humans, and
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that they got involved with Psi-Corps to try to minimize the
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threat to themselves.
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* The Shadows' own name for themselves is 10000 letters long, and
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unpronounceable.
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* Z'ha'dum is, according to Delenn, the Shadows' homeworld.
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* The Shadows badly want to have Sheridan on their side because he
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has succeeded in uniting the various races into the "Army of
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Light," something that's anathemic to their goal of growth through
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universal conflict. If he unravels the Army of Light, it'll stay
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unravelled, but past experience has shown that killing him would
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simply cause someone else to take his place.
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Unanswered Questions
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* If the future as seen in [21]"War Without End" is unchangeable,
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then how does Sheridan survive?
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* What was left of Anna after she was removed from the Shadow ship
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and sent to Sheridan?
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* Was the entire crew of the Icarus put inside Shadow ships, or were
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some of them killed?
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* What was behind the door Anna wouldn't let Sheridan open? (See
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[22]JMS Speaks)
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* How much truth is there in the Shadows' statements?
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* Why did the Vorlons and Shadows stay behind when the other First
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Ones left?
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* Where exactly did the other First Ones go, and why?
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* Were the Vorlons also responsible for telepathy in Narns and
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Minbari around the time of the last war?
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* If the Vorlons and the Shadows are trying to guide the evolution
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of the younger races, do they have an objective in mind? If so,
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what?
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* Who or what is Justin? Where did he come from? Was he also a
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member of the Icarus crew?
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* What is the pit Sheridan jumped toward? (See [23]Analysis)
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* Anna told Sheridan that time doesn't work the same way on Z'ha'dum
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as elsewhere. How _does_ time work there, and why is it different?
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* Was the destroyed city the only city on Z'ha'dum?
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* How badly have the Shadows been hurt?
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* Did Morden and/or Justin survive?
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* Did Londo get off the station after his warning?
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* Where were the Minbari ships shown at the beginning of the episode
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when the Shadows appeared?
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* Why did the Shadows take Garibaldi? Luck? Their plan? His plan?
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* What ever happened to Mr. Garibaldi?
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Analysis
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* Given that Anna most likely lied about the fate of the Icarus'
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crew, and that they tried to mislead him about what had been done
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to her, much of what Sheridan was told may be lies or
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misrepresentation as well, and it's possible that important
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elements of the relationship between the Vorlons, Shadows, and the
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other First Ones were left unsaid.
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* The Shadows have a similar worldview to that of the Lumati
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([24]"Acts of Sacrifice,") namely that individuals deserve to fall
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by the wayside if they aren't strong enough to fend for
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themselves. The Drazi and others might also come to agree with the
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Shadows' motives if they were explained. Assuming Sheridan has
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survived somehow, what will Delenn and Kosh do to keep the
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Shadows' side of the story from becoming public?
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* Anna told Sheridan, "It was supposed to be an equal balance
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between our side and the Vorlons." According to who? Did both
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sides agree to follow rules of conduct? Are they acting on behalf
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of some other party who wants to see which style of evolutionary
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help will prove more fruitful?
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* Some part of Kosh is definitely in Sheridan's head -- Sheridan
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sees or hears him twice. The first time is just before he leaves
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for Z'ha'dum, when Kosh says, "If you go to Z'ha'dum, you will
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die." The second time is just before the White Star crashes into
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the Shadow city, when he tells Sheridan to jump into the pit.
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* Sheridan decides he is willing to sacrifice himself in the nuclear
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destruction of the Shadow city for two main reasons -- first, to
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help defeat the Shadows, and second, to try to avoid the
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destruction of the Centauri Homeworld he has foreseeen ([25]"War
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Without End.") His willingness to sacrifice himself also brings to
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mind the judgment of Sebastian ([26]"Comes the Inquisitor") that
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both Sheridan and Delenn can sacrifice themselves for their cause.
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Delenn also told Sebastian the same thing the Shadows told
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Sheridan: that if they were killed, another would come along to
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take their place.
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* Anna claims that the Shadows believe they'll die if anything
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Vorlon touches Z'ha'dum. Is that simply a superstition, or do they
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have some reason to think that's true? Perhaps they foresaw the
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detonation of the White Star in some way -- as it turned out, that
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belief wasn't too far from the truth.
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* Justin is probably "the man in between" from Sheridan's dream
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([27]"All Alone in the Night") -- Sheridan's counterpart. But if
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he's truly equivalent to Sheridan, does that mean he's in control
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of the Shadows? Of course, given the amount of manipulation by the
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Vorlons and the Minbari, it's questionable whether Sheridan is
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really in control of the army of light in any meaningful way; Kosh
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and Delenn have steered him toward their viewpoints from the
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beginning. Still, if Justin is Sheridan's counterpart, he's more
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than a simple spokesman, and if that's the case, it begs the
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question, how did he achieve that position?
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* Another interpretation is that "the man in between" implies that
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there's a third person, a "man on the other side." The presence of
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Garibaldi and two versions of Sheridan in his dream supports that
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interpretation. In that case, who is Sheridan's opposite? Perhaps
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it's Sheridan himself: if Justin had managed to convert him to the
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Shadows' side, he would have become the man on the other side.
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* Both Justin and Sheridan drink tea to help them sleep ([28]"And
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the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place.")
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* Sheridan's first question to Justin is, "Who are you?" That's the
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same question Sebastian asked Delenn and Sheridan ([29]"Comes the
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Inquisitor.") One could plausibly consider it the Vorlon question,
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their version of the Shadows' "What do you want?" ([30]"Signs and
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Portents.") Significantly, Justin refuses to answer the question
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in any direct way, even claims it's not important who he is. That
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probably points to a major philosophical difference between the
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Vorlons and the Shadows.
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* Justin claimed there were two elder races left behind. Does that
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mean the Shadows don't know about the Walkers at Sigma 957
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([31]"Voices of Authority?") Or would they not consider that race
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to be remaining behind?
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* What did Justin mean when he called Sheridan a nexus? Does it
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imply there's something inherently special about Sheridan, or does
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one become a nexus simply by being in the right place at the right
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time? Certainly Sheridan's decisions affect the fates of millions
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of people now, but was that destined to be the case?
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* Delenn said that nobody returns from Z'ha'dum the same as they
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arrived. How does she know, and what does she mean by that,
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exactly? Is it simply a matter of all visitors to Z'ha'dum being
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put inside Shadow warships?
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* The Shadows don't seem to have very good security, given that they
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failed to detect that Sheridan was carrying a second gun. On the
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other hand, it's possible they _did_ detect it, but elected for
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some reason not to do anything about it.
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* Z'ha'dum's defenses are similarly flawed; the White Star was able
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to crash into the surface of the planet intact, apparently with no
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opposition on the way down. Why weren't the Shadows vigorously
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protecting their homeworld? Obviously they left the White Star
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alone while it was in orbit because of their guarantee to
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Sheridan, but once it started plummeting toward one of their
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cities, it's odd that they didn't shoot it out of the sky.
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* The pit Sheridan jumped into was more than a simple depression; as
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he fell, just before the White Star detonated, he appeared to be
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passing through a tunnel of some kind. Perhaps he was transported
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to safety by some means; that would explain Kosh urging him to
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jump. If so, what is the pit, and did the Shadows build it, or are
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they merely taking advantage of something that predates their
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presence on Z'ha'dum? If the latter, was the city surrounding the
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pit a Shadow installation, or was it peopled by someone else?
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It's also odd that, given that they moved their base underground
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"for security purposes," the Shadows would build a large, exposed
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dome above the pit.
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* Perhaps the pit is related to the Shadows' absence. In
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[32]"Chrysalis," Delenn asked Kosh, "Have the Shadows returned to
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Z'ha'dum?" That implies they'd been somewhere else. Perhaps the
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pit is a gateway of some kind, and Sheridan will survive by
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passing through it.
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* Is Sheridan's descent into the pit related to Londo's odd greeting
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in [33]"War Without End, Part One," "Welcome back from the abyss,
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Sheridan?" If so, does that mean he somehow spends the intervening
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seventeen years either in the pit or associated with it in some
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way? The former is unlikely if Sheridan and Delenn already have a
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son seventeen years later.
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A parallel to Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" is possible:
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Gandalf fell into the pit at Khazad-dum with the Balrog, died (as
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Sheridan will, according to Kosh) and was reborn as Gandalf the
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White, an even more powerful figure.
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* Sheridan may also, if he survives in some fashion, qualify as "the
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one who is already dead" from Lady Morella's prophecy ([34]"Point
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of No Return.") It's an even closer fit since Sheridan would be
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The One who is already dead.
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* In [35]"Interludes and Examinations," Kosh said he wouldn't be
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there to help if Sheridan went to Z'ha'dum. But that's not how it
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turned out; Kosh was there, though it's not yet clear how much
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help he was. What would Kosh have done for Sheridan on Z'ha'dum if
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he hadn't been killed?
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* This is the second time Sheridan has leapt from great heights to
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avoid a bomb ([36]"The Fall of Night.") And both times, Kosh was
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involved, though Sheridan didn't know that when he leapt the first
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time. Will Kosh's presence in Sheridan's mind somehow save him
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once again?
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* Ivanova's plan (or possibly Sheridan's) to plant mines near an
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upcoming Shadow attack is the same strategy Sheridan used to
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defeat the Black Star in the Earth-Minbari War ([37]"There All the
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Honor Lies.") How will the Minbari, who denounced Sheridan's
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tactic as dishonorable then, feel about its use against the
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Shadows? Perhaps they'll have no problem with it, since presumably
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Ivanova won't use a fake distress call to lure the Shadows in as
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Sheridan did to the Minbari.
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* Sheridan has now destroyed both the Black Star and the White Star,
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further justifying the Minbari nickname for him, Starkiller
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([38]"Points of Departure.")
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* If the Shadows were planning to implant Sheridan, as the arrival
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of the Shadow implied, why did they surround the station? Would
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they have attacked? Their warning to Londo implies so. Perhaps
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they came both to attack if necessary and to pick up Garibaldi.
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* Shadow ships seem to have instantaneous communication with
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Z'ha'dum; they left Babylon 5 as soon as the explosion occurred.
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That's perhaps not so remarkable; B5 has near-instantaneous
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contact with Earth, and it's not clear how far Z'ha'dum is from
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B5.
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* The Shadows may have taken Garibaldi to try to alter him and get
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him to work for them. Justin said, "Once you've been inside of one
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of those ships for a while, you're never quite whole again. But
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you do as you're told." Garibaldi may already be altered by virtue
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of his transportation in the belly of the Shadow ship.
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* Ivanova immediately knew that Sheridan was gone. Simple deduction
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based on the missing bombs and White Star and the sudden departure
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of the Shadows, or did she sense something telepathically?
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* If human telepathy is the result of Vorlon genetic tampering, is
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the same also true of Minbari and (former) Narn telepathy, and of
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other races as well? What, then, of the Centauri, who (to judge by
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Londo's failure to see Kosh in [39]"The Fall of Night") haven't
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been altered by Vorlons? Where did they get their telepathy?
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* Again assuming that all human telepaths owe their abilities to
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Vorlon modifications, Ivanova's genes, or rather those of her
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ancestors, have been altered by the Vorlons. What other changes
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did the Vorlons make in addition to granting telepathy? Will
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Ivanova, for instance, be more susceptible than other crewmembers
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to images projected by the new Kosh?
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* The Vorlons may have had more than one motive for creating
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telepathy among the younger races. There's the obvious reason,
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namely that telepaths are useful as weapons against the Shadows.
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But it may also be that the Vorlons' goal of universal
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cooperation, if Justin's representation is to be believed, is
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furthered by widespread telepathy. Presumably people are less
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likely to fight if they can feel their blows landing on an
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opponent's body from the other person's point of view, and
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certainly direct mind-to-mind contact would enable much more
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productive cooperation. The Vorlons may feel that telepathy is
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ultimately most useful as a means of pacification, not as a
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weapon.
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If so, the path to that goal cuts straight through Shadow
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territory; the Psi Corps, as represented by Bester in [40]"Ship of
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Tears," is perhaps internally cohesive, and its members cooperate
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with one another effectively, but its leaders hold the rest of the
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human population in contempt ("Normals are expendable," as Bester
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put it.) It's plausible that eventually that will lead to conflict
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between telepaths and normals, with the winners in charge
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afterwards -- exactly the process the Shadows advocate.
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* Likewise, the Shadows' actions seem to be at odds with their
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stated goal. As Morden said to Sheridan, every time the Shadows
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come out and try to put their plans in motion, someone tries to
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unite all the other races against them. Given that the Shadows
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seem to have been defeated in at least the last two wars, and
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probably many others, it's likely that someone _succeeds_ in
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uniting all the races against them every time. By attempting to
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create conflict, they instead promote unity and cooperation.
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Of course, it could be that the Shadows and Vorlons actually want
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exactly the opposite of what Justin claimed, and they realize that
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if they push in one direction, the younger races will move in the
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other.
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* The Vorlons' tinkering with humans may have been foreshadowed as
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far back as [41]"The War Prayer," in which Kosh told Sinclair, "We
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take no interest in the affairs of others," while he was studying
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images of Earth history. Perhaps he was simply studying the
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effects of Vorlon intervention.
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* Morden seemed disgusted by the thought of the Vorlons tampering
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genetically with humans. Why is that more objectionable to him
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than the Shadows' implantation? Perhaps it's because the Shadows
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aren't aiming to directly modify the species with their tinkering;
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presumably humans who are put inside Shadow ships never return to
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human society.
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Notes
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* The episode's title, originally under wraps as mentioned below,
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was announced by JMS at the San Diego Comicon on July 6, 1996.
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* The concept of someone being a nexus also appeared in the novel
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"The Demolished Man" by Alfred Bester, which also contains the
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inspiration for the Psi Corps. In the novel, the term is "focal
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point," and it's suggested that a focal point can cause tremendous
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changes not only to the lives of other people, but to the very
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structure of the universe.
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* Delenn's rendition of the human saying, "What is past is
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prologue," is from Shakespeare's "The Tempest."
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jms speaks
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* I'm going to hold the title of 22 confidential as long as
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possible.
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* By the last few episodes, pretty much all of my cards are on the
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table. But by the last episode of this season, we find that the
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game we've assumed we've been playing ain't necessarily the game
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at all. The show takes a fairly subversive direction, and of all
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the seasons so far, the one that follows, year four, represents
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the greatest writing challenge to make this actually work.
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Which is another reason why it's important to get the B4 storyline
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and several other threads out in the open, and clear the decks,
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because this is gonna take every bit of whatever talent I've got
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to pull off.
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Year four is the point in the novel when you're just past the
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halfway mark; you know the reader thinks he or she has got the
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story sussed out. The reader knows all your tricks by now, or
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thinks he/she does. You've been pulling doves out of your hat for
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243 pages.
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Now you'd damned well better be able to pull out an alligator.
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* _February 27, 1996_
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Well, it's done. I have today turned in the first draft of script
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#22 for year three, which I suppose could be called a cliffhanger
|
|
episode. This marks the first time in the 50+ year history of
|
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American television that one person has singlehandedly written an
|
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entire season of a series. (The closest record is Terry Nation,
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who wrote the 13-episode first season of Blake's 7.)
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(I have no plans to do this next season, btw; this was necessary
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|
because of the substantive changes in the B5 universe this season.
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Next season is a very different story...literally as well as
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figuratively.)
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So far the film based on those 1,000+ pages represents some of our
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best work on Babylon 5. There's some nifty stuff coming.
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We are currently filming episode #18. Four more after this, and
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we'll be finished shooting year three, as of April 9th. Not long
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after, we should get the word on year four, probably by late
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April/early May. But the writing is finished...and for the first
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time in 8 months, I will be able to go out, see a movie, play Wing
|
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Commander, find something that vaguely resembles a life. This is
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where I now also become a director's worst nightmare: a
|
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writer-producer who's finished writing and finally has time to
|
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hang out on the set and give lots and lots of helpful advice.
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It was a hideous task; two-thirds through I began to understand
|
|
that there was a *reason* nobody's ever done this before...you'd
|
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have to be outta your ever-loving mind to even try. But as with
|
|
everything else on B5, if we don't know it's impossible, we just
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go ahead and do it.
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The title, as stated elsewhere, is classified, though you may get
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a sense of what's coming in the two eps that precede it.
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Regardless, the writing on year three is now complete. Overall,
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I'm quite pleased, and I think by the time you hit this episode,
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you'll feel the same.
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* Well, there's what one would *prefer*, and there's that which is
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*sensible*. And the sensible answer is that no, once the last S3
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episode airs in the UK, there's no way on earth you're gonna keep
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that out of the public eye, and there ain't much sense to
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protecting it or hitting it with spoiler regs. I'd let it go at
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that point.
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(And, frankly, it'll probably slip out some time before that; when
|
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it hits, it hits, I've decided to let it go at that point...you
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just ain't gonna hear it from ME, that's all.)
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* "Or is it a matter of the title being a spoiler for an episode
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between now and then?"
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Yes, that's my concern.
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While I'm on the subject, an advisory: I gave a short interview to
|
|
Entertainment Weekly the other day for their story about
|
|
cliffhanger endings for various shows. Now, the piece is going to
|
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run in May since that's when most shows (most *sensible* shows)
|
|
will be doing their cliffhangers. Ours won't run until July or
|
|
October, depending on who you talk to.
|
|
There's a point where you have to decide between publicity (good
|
|
for show) and secrecy (good for viewers), in the process of
|
|
keeping the show on the air (also good for viewers). So I let a
|
|
few things out of the bag. If you don't want to be spoiled, then
|
|
you may want to avoid picking up and reading that story.
|
|
* _Why a cliffhanger, if WB is likely to delay the final episode
|
|
until the start of season four?_
|
|
Because the story calls for it. Whether they show the cliffhanger
|
|
three months or two weeks before the fourth season (assuming
|
|
renewal), this is where the story goes. It was constructed like a
|
|
series of novels, a multi-volume saga, and like any good series of
|
|
novels, you end on something big.
|
|
And this year, season three ends on something really honking big.
|
|
* It has some surprises, with teeth....
|
|
* _Why did you reveal the title at the San Diego convention but
|
|
refuse to do so earlier in Chicago?_
|
|
At Chicago, the assumption was still that the UK wouldn't be
|
|
getting the final 5 until the US did. But since now they'll be
|
|
getting new (to the US) episodes starting in August, keeping the
|
|
title quiet now seems kind of a moot issue.
|
|
* _Was Justin's description of himself a reference to anything?_
|
|
No, it's not from anything I'm aware of, though it's a concept
|
|
that seems very natural.
|
|
* I'm definitely looking forward to the reaction. Today, for
|
|
instance, we did the final audio mix of "Z'ha'dum," our third
|
|
season ending episode. All of the EFX were in place, the sound,
|
|
the music...and after we did the piecemeal mix, layering in things
|
|
in a stop-and-go fashion, we did our playback, watching it
|
|
straight through. I don't think anyone was breathing for the
|
|
fourth act. Everyone was just wog-boggled. The emotional impact of
|
|
it all is quite strong.
|
|
When the lights came up, and I looked around to the stunned faces
|
|
in the room, the only thing I could say was, "Welcome to history,
|
|
gentlemen."
|
|
* _Who was in the room?_
|
|
The only people in the room are those involved in the mix, this
|
|
isn't a screening, it's part of post-production. It's me, John
|
|
Copeland, co-producer George Johnsen, the sound editors, mixers,
|
|
sound supervisor, a few others on the periphery.
|
|
At one point, one of the mixers was working on putting in the
|
|
sounds as he went, hadn't yet gone through it all...and kept
|
|
telling the sound supervisor (who was asking questions about how
|
|
we wanted to handle some later scenes) "don't let me hear this, I
|
|
don't want to know, I just want to see what happens next, this is
|
|
great." Which in this town, from folks who work on a lot of shows,
|
|
is a good reaction.
|
|
* It's a lovely episode. This is the one where, after we watched the
|
|
final audio mix playback, prompted me to say to the other
|
|
producers working on the show, "gentlemen, we have just entered
|
|
history."
|
|
* One of the things I like about the episode is the emotional
|
|
content, as it builds toward the end of the ep. I've watched it
|
|
(in finished form) a half dozen times or more...but certain
|
|
sequences never stop being interesting.
|
|
* An emotional rollercoaster is a good image for that episode; it
|
|
takes you in every direction and then just drops you.
|
|
Re: the Revelations scene...we actually shot that entire sequence,
|
|
with the notion of possibly re-editing "Revelations" and inserting
|
|
the Melissa piece instead...sort of TV by way of soviet
|
|
revisionism...and of course it was *always* that way...what other
|
|
version was there?
|
|
* It's something we're considering; we had her do the entire
|
|
message, and shot Bruce in those sequences, so we have that
|
|
option. Sort of a Soviet revisionism approach to television....
|
|
* _Was using Melissa Gilbert instead of Beth Toussaint Bruce's idea?_
|
|
No, since it was my idea re: Melissa. It was a scheduling
|
|
situation involving availabilities. If it wasn't her, it would've
|
|
had to be someone else...so I figured, why not?
|
|
* _Were the wedding photos in the episode actually photos from Bruce
|
|
and Melissa's wedding?_
|
|
Yes, we used their actual wedding photos.
|
|
* _The flashforward in "War Without End" seemed to not be quite the
|
|
same as the scene in this episode._
|
|
Sometimes there are practical considerations in the overall
|
|
staging; when we shot the flash-forward, Melissa wasn't there, so
|
|
when she was, there was some interest in restaging things.
|
|
* As for the music, no, it's the same orchestra Chris has always
|
|
used. I've seen times when people assumed he was using synth and
|
|
wasn't. He uses the Berlin Film Symphonic Orchestra for a goodly
|
|
amount of the work for the show.
|
|
* The other crew of the Icarus shown on Z'ha'dum were all done CGI.
|
|
* _Was G'Kar's makeup different, or was it just the lighting?_
|
|
Probably the lighting.
|
|
* "So basically, what I'm asking is does the fact that G'Kar gets
|
|
the last major speech in season 3 mean that he gets to do the
|
|
voiceover for season 4?"
|
|
Not as such, no....
|
|
* Andreas did a terrific job on the end monologue. Very moving.
|
|
* Andreas did two takes on it; I think we used the first of the two.
|
|
The writing of it...this is just an estimate, trying to remember,
|
|
but I think it took me about 10-15 minutes. Which is actually a
|
|
long time for me to stay parked on any part of the page. Obviously
|
|
I already had kind of a sense of what was going to go into it
|
|
before hitting the page, but the actual shape of it had to come in
|
|
the moment.
|
|
* _Is G'Kar's willingness to sacrifice himself a sign that he'd be
|
|
sympathetic to the Shadows?_
|
|
I think that reasoning can be applied to any side.
|
|
* "I hate you." Thank you. I try.
|
|
* _Was the destruction of the vessel in "Walkabout" the catalyst
|
|
that caused them to send Anna?_
|
|
It's certainly gotten their attention...but it's the events in
|
|
"Shadow Dancing" that tipped them into moving directly.
|
|
* _If the Shadows can get to Kosh and kill him, why are Delenn and
|
|
Sheridan still alive?_
|
|
A good question, which we'll answer in the last episode of this
|
|
season.
|
|
* The shadows are *much* older technologically than a thousand
|
|
years...that's just what Anna promised Sheridan we could jump
|
|
ahead, between 1 and 10,000 years. They're profoundly older than
|
|
that.
|
|
* _What was behind the door Anna warned John away from?_
|
|
In a way, I was going more for the visual, the image...the whole
|
|
show is a matter of what door you choose to go through, and the
|
|
door not taken. If you wanted to take the scene *absolutely*
|
|
literally, then since that room adjoined Justin's, the shadows
|
|
were inside. Or you can take it a little more metaphorically.
|
|
* The portrayal of [the Shadows'] motives is somewhat more
|
|
elaborate, but the sense is there, and as you yourself note,
|
|
there's a certain cold logic there which can be agreed with at
|
|
some level.
|
|
* _Is the Shadows' story true?_
|
|
What Sheridan is told, in that episode, by them, concerning their
|
|
motives, is absolutely true, certainly from their point of view.
|
|
* _Does the Shadows' story "explain it all" about this subject?_
|
|
Well, it sorta answers all the questions...it's hard to explain
|
|
until you've seen the episode and the ones that follow.
|
|
* _If that's really their goal, why are they attacking the younger
|
|
races directly?_
|
|
Well, look what happened when the shadows came out and attacked a
|
|
couple of places...first they did so without anyone knowing it was
|
|
them doing it, as we've shown. So now everyone's running around
|
|
like ants, scurrying for cover and trying to figure out what the
|
|
hell's going on, accusing one another...then the Centauri got the
|
|
credit/blame for it, causing further conflict...then they came out
|
|
and sent everyone scurrying again, some to make alliances they
|
|
thought would protect themselves (and thus enable them to make war
|
|
on their neighbors, as shown), only to have that fall apart and
|
|
they turn on themselves/each other.
|
|
* The First Ones, Vorlons and Shadows aren't parents in any sense of
|
|
the word...we all evolved on our own, there's no common genetics,
|
|
and they didn't seed life here or elsewhere.
|
|
* _What do the Vorlons and Shadows get out of this game? Why did the
|
|
other First Ones leave?_
|
|
All those get answered in the first part of season four, so I'd
|
|
rather leave it to that.
|
|
* _The Vorlons and Shadows don't seem to know who they are or what
|
|
they want._
|
|
That's an extremely good and cogent analysis. And you hit the
|
|
theme right on the head, one we'll explore in year four with the
|
|
Vorlon/Shadow situation...and which was presaged in "Infection,"
|
|
right in the first season, the first episode shot. Sinclair says,
|
|
in the ultimate moment in that conflict, "You forgot the first
|
|
rule of the fanatic: When you become obsessed with the enemy, you
|
|
*become* the enemy." That is what is happening here, with these
|
|
two and other parties.
|
|
It all comes together....
|
|
* _Did either side foresee Sheridan's leap?_
|
|
I think the two sides have been too caught up in their own agendas
|
|
to realize what was happening right under their noses until it was
|
|
too late... except for Kosh, whose last traces did what they
|
|
did...for a number of reasons.
|
|
* _I thought I heard Kosh say, "If you go to Z'ha'dum, will you
|
|
die?"_
|
|
No, he says "you will die." Very odd...check it again. We used the
|
|
same audio track from before.
|
|
* I've checked it, and I think it was just the actor sliding a vowel
|
|
to make it clearer; "if you go to Z'ha'dum (ah) you will die."
|
|
* _Did Justin go to Z'ha'dum on the Icarus?_
|
|
No, he was assigned there later.
|
|
* _Was Justin's description of who he worked for a reference to
|
|
anything?_
|
|
No, it's not from anything I'm aware of, though it's a concept
|
|
that seems very natural.
|
|
* _What influence did Justin have over the Shadows?_
|
|
Justin thought he had some influence...but perception and reality
|
|
are often at odds.
|
|
* Justin is the man in-between...the "middle man," as he describes
|
|
himself.
|
|
* _Why weren't there ships guarding B5?_
|
|
Most would've been getting repaired from their recent engagement.
|
|
And the shadows phased in too close to B5 for either ship to ship
|
|
combat, or anything from Epsilon 3. Any attack on them would've
|
|
also destroyed B5.
|
|
* One thing to also note is that when the shadows appeared, they
|
|
swarmed all OVER B5 as fast as they could, circling it without
|
|
slowing down much. So if Draal *did* launch an offensive, it'd
|
|
take out B5 in doing so.
|
|
* The props department found the teapot, and found it very suiting
|
|
to the environment, so they went with it.
|
|
* _Why didn't the door make a sound as it opened to let the Shadow
|
|
in?_
|
|
The shadows entered through a different door/entrance; it was to
|
|
the right of the room, which would've adjoined the room next door.
|
|
Anna and John came through the door on camera left.
|
|
* It's just a sound of stone grinding on stone. With a slight animal
|
|
like sound, as though entering someone's maw. Which is what I
|
|
wanted.
|
|
* _How did Sheridan get bloodied?_
|
|
Basically, my thought was that it was just the one shadow in the
|
|
room, and there was a tussle with some others, and he started
|
|
running, made a break for it...didn't seem worth the time to show
|
|
what would've been only a few minutes of hit 'em and run.
|
|
* He was in close quarters with a small group, and fought his way
|
|
out. This picks up right after that.
|
|
* The PPG bursts would've wounded the shadow, allowing him time to
|
|
scramble out of there before Morden could draw. He then had to
|
|
fight some other humans in the area, scramble down some ridges
|
|
into the cave areas, and then walk out.
|
|
* _Were the creatures chasing Sheridan actual Shadows, or just their
|
|
servants?_
|
|
No, those were definitely shadows.
|
|
* The final fate of the first White Star is very moving, like some
|
|
great silver bird plunging on fire out of the sky, bringing
|
|
retribution and striking one last time. That kind of image is a
|
|
very powerful one to me, and it works very well here.
|
|
As for what Morden and Justin told Sheridan...I'd say it was
|
|
pretty much the truth.
|
|
* _Do you agree with the Shadows?_
|
|
Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Motives are one thing; the
|
|
means to achieving that motive, however, are a different issue.
|
|
And those means I do not agree with. But on some level, their
|
|
motives can make sense...as can the Vorlons' motives....
|
|
* It's...not that easy. Can I make a pretty good argument for some
|
|
elements of what they're about? Yes. (And did, in the ep.) It's a
|
|
matter of extremes...their notion is fine, taken in small
|
|
doses...in larger doses, no.
|
|
* _Why didn't the Vorlons reveal the Shadows' motives?_
|
|
Because they don't trust us. They know what's best for us, and
|
|
would rather make the decisions for us. That means controlling
|
|
information.
|
|
* _Aren't the Shadows defeating themselves by giving everyone a
|
|
common enemy?_
|
|
Nope. First they attacked careful to not let anyone know who was
|
|
doing it, so they'd accuse each other. Then they'd let another
|
|
take the credit/blame for it, the Centauri in this case. That'd
|
|
spin off new alliances and new...wars, and everyone's scurrying
|
|
for cover. THEN they reveal themselves, and now you've got
|
|
re-scurrying, some who try to make deals, and then attack others
|
|
(as stated) thinking they have an unbeatable ally....most of the
|
|
killing up until this point was done by the others, not the
|
|
shadows. This current campaign would also lead to scattering the
|
|
pins, and watching as they restructure, and they'd pull out again
|
|
to let them scurry...and keep chewing at each other, only coming
|
|
out when necessary to tip things over, then recede again into
|
|
the....shadows.
|
|
* _Did the White Star have a Vorlon consciousness, and if so, did it
|
|
eject before the ship exploded?_
|
|
No, the White Star didn't have any substantial consciousness to
|
|
eject before impact. It's gone.
|
|
And thanks, on it all... G'Kar's final litany is very moving, and
|
|
the music throughout works so well...as you say, it's going to be
|
|
hard to beat.
|
|
But that's what we do around here. Because if we ain't pushing it
|
|
every day to get better, what's the point of living?
|
|
Having now seen the first two finishedS4 episodes...I think people
|
|
are going to be pleased. What strikes me about the new season is
|
|
that it seems suddenly very mature, more filmic...everyone's very
|
|
excited about it here.
|
|
* _Who programmed the White Star?_
|
|
Garibaldi programmed it from the intructions given him by
|
|
Sheridan; it would've been set to explode at a certain point. He
|
|
[Sheridan] gave it final detonation instructions when he signaled
|
|
it via his link.
|
|
* _Was the talking bomb a nod to the movie "Dark Star?"_
|
|
No.
|
|
* _Why were the bombs speaking English?_
|
|
Who said they were speaking English? In a WW II movie, when you go
|
|
to the Germans, you can understand what they're saying on the
|
|
premise that yes, it's German, but we're hearing it as English. On
|
|
the other hand, if Garibaldi programmed them, then they may have
|
|
been in English...there's no way to tell exactly.
|
|
* The White Star blowed up real good, so it couldn't save Sheridan.
|
|
* _Refering to the shot of Sheridan above the city_
|
|
The parapet shot was one I was very particular about, I really
|
|
wanted it to feel *high*, and impressive. That whole sequence is
|
|
one I run again and again, it's very moving.
|
|
* _Why build an easily penetrable dome over an underground city?_
|
|
It's an efficient way of lighting an underground city several
|
|
miles across; you can open or close it to allow the big vessels in
|
|
for construction purposes, and so on. If you build something that
|
|
big, you need some way of getting stuff IN there, then lighting it
|
|
without consuming vast amounts of energy.
|
|
* Yes, you're right, and the first one to pick up on that aspect,
|
|
that with Anna, he never had the chance to say goodbye. Finally,
|
|
here...he did, with Delenn. Also, the look on his face as he turns
|
|
to her at the parapet...you feel every inch of his loss, being
|
|
trapped, the end of the road. He did a great job.
|
|
* _About Delenn and Sheridan's relationship_
|
|
I don't think Minbari galvanize in quite the same way...with them,
|
|
I think it's more a gradual, growing relationship, and as many do,
|
|
there's just one day when the closeness crosses a point without
|
|
you almost being aware of it...and there it is.
|
|
* _Whose voice told Sheridan to jump?_
|
|
That was Kosh's voice, treated the same as always.
|
|
* Well, it was either jump or get vaporized....
|
|
In that sense, as someone else once pointed out, Sheridan is a
|
|
hero in the Heinleinian tradition. He does the logical thing,
|
|
whatever that is, to survive. "Okay, I'm about to get
|
|
vaporized...but if that hole is several miles deep, it might
|
|
shield me and keep me alive for another 10 seconds. Yes, there's
|
|
the *splat* at the end problem, but I'll have 10 seconds in which
|
|
to figure out that problem...."
|
|
* _Is the hole a jump gate?_
|
|
Nope.
|
|
* How deep is it? Several miles deep, maybe a lot more.
|
|
* _Was Sheridan's line in [42]"In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum," "I won't
|
|
go down easily and I will not go down alone," foreshadowing of his
|
|
leap here?_
|
|
The leap was always in mind, yes, but that line always kinda stood
|
|
on its own.
|
|
* _Sheridan murdered a city full of Shadows!_
|
|
If someone pointed to an aggressor city (and for the shadows
|
|
there's no distinction between civilian and military, it's all the
|
|
same, the only thing that drives them on), which was unified by
|
|
its desire to wreak havoc and commit massive warfare, and said,
|
|
"By eliminating that city of 100,000 agressors you will save the
|
|
lives of 8 billion innocent bystanders," I'd push that button in a
|
|
hot second, and never regret it.
|
|
* _The city didn't look very alien. Was that meant to imply it was
|
|
inhabited by humanoids?_
|
|
That wasn't the intent, no. I think it's more the way it ended up.
|
|
And it does have some nice elements, but it could've been
|
|
stranger...if we'd had more time and more money.
|
|
* _What happened to Anna?_
|
|
She's an ex-Sheridan.
|
|
* What about Morden? Oh, wait about 7 days, you'll find out.
|
|
* "Was he [Garibaldi] captured, or did he volunteer?"
|
|
We'll have to see....
|
|
* There was a very specific reason why Garibaldi was picked up, and
|
|
there's a suggestion of it in what Justin says at one point to
|
|
Sheridan.
|
|
* Nope, I never identified Garibaldi as the support mechanism, only
|
|
B5.
|
|
* _Was Garibaldi going with the Shadows to rescue Sheridan?_
|
|
Well, given that Garibaldi is any number of light years away at
|
|
the moment at which Sheridan is dropping, I'd say any attempt to
|
|
arrive before Sheridan would hit bottom would be less than
|
|
useless.
|
|
* _If the Shadows were in league with EarthGov, why did IPX send a
|
|
ship to Z'ha'dum?_
|
|
Two different things...the allies of the shadows can know about
|
|
us, can have used influence to start infiltrating the Psi Corps,
|
|
long before we found out about them. And bear in mind that Earth
|
|
is not monolithic; the FBI may not know what the CIA is doing.
|
|
That some in the Psi Corps may have had something going on there
|
|
doesn't mean anyone from IPX knew about it.
|
|
* _Then why didn't the Corps notice the big building next to the dig
|
|
site, as shown in the comic?_
|
|
The building was a lot bigger in the book than it should've been,
|
|
more like a quonset hut arrangment hastily erected.
|
|
* "1) Why has Z'ha'dum not been destroyed by the Vorlons et al in
|
|
one of the previous wars to prevent the Shadows return?"
|
|
Funny, that...you'd think maybe there was something of interest
|
|
there.
|
|
"2) If the planet has been there for so long, would not the star
|
|
that it orbits have died quite some time ago, given that the
|
|
Shadows are so old?"
|
|
I don't think so. Stars live an awfully long time.
|
|
* Oh, be assured, the interesting times for Londo haven't even
|
|
*started* yet.
|
|
But they will, real soon.
|
|
* _Would the Hugo people make an exception to their usual rules of
|
|
nomination for dramatic presentations and allow all of season 3 to
|
|
be nominated as a unit, since you wrote the whole thing?_
|
|
But is it really an exception? You have two books as potential
|
|
nominees. One is 100,000 words long, the other is a huge 300,000
|
|
word potboiler. But they're both written by one author, so they're
|
|
both eligible. If a two-part episode can be considered a dramatic
|
|
unit because it has one author, and a single episode can be
|
|
considered because it has one author, then why not a 22-parter
|
|
with only one author? Just because the unit has more pages
|
|
shouldn't mitigate against it any more than the 300,000 word novel
|
|
should be disqualified.
|
|
If you stop and think about it dispassionately for a moment, the
|
|
exception would be in NOT allowing a whole one-author season be
|
|
nominated. The committee has already allowed the notion of
|
|
multiple-part nominees by accepting two-parters. You've crossed
|
|
the one-episode barrier already. So logically if you've accepted
|
|
that, why suddenly change it to just one episode?
|
|
Conceivably, I could take all 22 scripts, put a huge binder on it,
|
|
and slap a cover page on it reading SEASON THREE, WRITTEN BY J.
|
|
MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI, and drop that one single unit on the desk of
|
|
the committee and say, "Here, here's one dramatic unit."
|
|
On one level, it's really kind of an intellectual exercise; I like
|
|
to feather around the rules and see what things mean when little
|
|
things get changed, and what the *sense* of the rule is vs. how
|
|
it's applied sometimes.
|
|
* _What about the entire 5-year run?_
|
|
Actually, I'd mitigate *against* the 5-year story being considered
|
|
as a whole dramatic unit because it has multiple writers. I think
|
|
that would tend to violate the spirit of the Hugos.
|
|
|
|
Originally compiled by Jason Snell.
|
|
|
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[48][Next]
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[49]Last update: August 8, 1997
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References
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1. file://localhost/cgi-bin/imagemap/titlebar
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2. LYNXIMGMAP:file://localhost/lurk/maps/maps.html#titlebar
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3. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/background/066.shtml
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4. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/synops/066.html
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5. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/credits/066.html
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6. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/episodes.php
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7. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/065.html
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8. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/067.html
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9. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/066.html#OV
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10. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/066.html#BP
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11. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/066.html#UQ
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12. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/066.html#AN
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13. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/066.html#NO
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14. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/066.html#JS
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15. http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Gilbert,+Melissa
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16. http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Wasser,+Ed
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17. http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Corey,+Jeff
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18. file://localhost/lurk/p5/intro.html
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19. file://localhost/lurk/p5/066
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20. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/052.html
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21. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/060.html
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22. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/066.html#JS.door
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23. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/066.html#AN.pit
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24. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/034.html
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25. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/061.html
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26. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/043.html
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27. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/033.html
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28. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/064.html
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29. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/043.html
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30. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/013.html
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31. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/049.html
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32. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/022.html
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33. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/060.html
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34. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/053.html
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35. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/059.html
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36. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/044.html
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37. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/036.html
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38. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/023.html
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39. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/044.html
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40. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/058.html
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41. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/007.html
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42. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/038.html
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43. file://localhost/lurk/lurker.html
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44. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/066.html#TOP
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45. file://localhost/cgi-bin/uncgi/lgmail
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46. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/episodes.php
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47. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/065.html
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48. file://localhost/home/woodstock/hyperion/docs/lurk/guide/067.html
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49. file://localhost/lurk/lastmod.html
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