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lurkers-guide


								<h2><a name="OV">Overview</a></h2>


								<blockquote><cite>

								Ivanova is promoted and given a diplomatic assignment.  Londo seeks affirmation

								from an unusual source.

								</cite>


								<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Ansara,+Michael">Michael Ansara</a> as Elric.

								<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Forward,+William">William Forward</a> as Refa.

								</blockquote>


								<pre>

								Sub-genre: Comedy/intrigue

								<a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/025">7.68</a>


								Production number: 203

								Original air date: November 16, 1994

								<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000087EYB/thelurkersguidet">DVD release date</a>: April 29, 2003


								Written by J. Michael Straczynski

								Directed by Mike Vejar

								</pre>


								<p>

								<hr size=3>

								<p>


								<h2><a name="BP">Backplot</a></h2>

								<ul>

								   <li> Every five years, the Drazi people divide by random selection into

									two equal groups, green and purple, and fight for supremacy in a

									contest that lasts a full year.  The group that wins is the dominant

									one until the next battle.  Group membership isn't permanent and

									has no deeper meaning than the color of cloth one happens to select

									randomly from a container.


								   <li> The only son of the Centauri Emperor recently died, leaving no clear

									successor to the throne.  This has served to increase the scheming

									among the Centauri nobility.  At least one group, disgusted with the

									decay of the Republic, intends to grab for the throne when the Emperor

									dies; Londo has all but pledged to support that group.


								</ul>


								<h2><a name="UQ">Unanswered Questions</a></h2>

								<ul>

								   <li> Where were the techno-mages going?

								   <li> Will they return or otherwise make their influence felt?

								   <li> How do they know about the upcoming conflict?

								   <li> <em>What</em> do they know about it?  Are they aware of the Shadows,

									for instance?

								   <li> What part do Londo's new partners want him to play in their

									machinations?

								   <li> What repercussions will Ivanova's solution to the Drazi problem have?

								   <li> Were the winged creatures on Londo's back significant, or just a

									meaningless practical joke?

								</ul>


								<h2><a name="AN">Analysis</a></h2>

								<ul>

								   <li> Londo seems to have made up his mind about following his ambition.

									He appeared to be seeking the techno-mages' endorsement for his own

									political gain, rather than for the good of the Republic.  It remains

									to be seen whether he'll have the willpower to follow through with

									his newfound assertiveness when lives are at stake, though Elric's

									statement about the future indicates he will.


								   <li>	Londo is willing to trust Vir with other people's secrets ("He can

									be trusted!") but not with his own (e.g., his reluctance to discuss

									Morden in

									<a href="022.html">"Chrysalis."</a>)  Vir is gradually becoming more

									assertive, more willing to stand up to Londo.  Whether this will

									cause Londo to respect or trust him more remains to be seen.


								   <li> The two Drazi leaders were clearly only in charge of the groups on

									Babylon 5, as evidenced by the fact that the decision to up the stakes

									of the contest came from the Drazi homeworld.  What happens if one

									group wins in one place and the other wins back home is open to

									debate.


								   <li> Londo's reference to the techno-mages' presence at the founding of the

									Republic, and his recognition of the human mages, suggests that the

									brotherhood of techno-mages is very old, and crosses species

									boundaries.  Perhaps they have been around long enough to have

									taken part in the great war recorded in the Book of G'Quan (cf.

									<a href="024.html">"Revelations"</a>)

									and can see signs of the same thing starting again.


								   <li> The techno-mages seem to have found some technological way to emulate

									the prophetic abilities of some of the Centauri, among others (cf.

									<a href="013.html">"Signs and Portents."</a>)

									Such abilities are arguably related to time travel; perhaps it is

									the techno-mages who supply the technology to bring Babylon 4 forward

									in time (cf.

									<a href="020.html">"Babylon Squared."</a>)


								   <li> When Garibaldi was playing with his weapon, it's plausible that he

									was contemplating suicide.  He has hit rock bottom.  He has been

									betrayed by a trusted member of his own staff and shot in the back.  The

									only person he really trusted (Commander Sinclair) is gone.  And, he is

									probably feeling that he was somehow responsible for the failure to

									prevent the assassination of the EA President.  He is a recovering

									alcoholic, and he has lost the woman he had fantasized about marrying.

									If true, this lends a different meaning to Sheridan's comment, "The

									universe doesn't give us points for doing the easy things."


								</ul>


								<h2><a name="NO">Notes</a></h2>

								<ul>

								   <li>	Ivanova's broken foot in this episode wasn't originally planned;

									Claudia Christian broke her foot, and it had to be explained in the

									context of the show somehow.


								   <li> The end credits list Edward Conery as Devereaux (cf.

									<a href="022.html">"Chrysalis"</a>)

									but he doesn't seem to actually appear in the episode anywhere.

									Since he did appear in the previous episode,

									<a href="024.html">"Revelations,"</a>

									and wasn't listed in its credits, he may have been listed here to make

									up for the omission.


								   <li> Elric's warning to Vir is almost verbatim from Tolkien's <cite>Lord

									Of the Rings</cite>, in which Gildor, an elf, tells Frodo (speaking

									about Gandalf,) "But it is said: Do not meddle in the affairs of

									wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger."


								   <li> Elric's name is from Michael Moorcock's series of fantasy novels.


								   <li> When Garibaldi turns up to rescue

									Ivanova, there is a visual gaffe. The Drazi who starts to

									get up to answer the door is the one in a red-accented suit

									with epaulettes. When Garibaldi is admitted, it is by the

									other Drazi, while the one who had started to get up is

									guarding Ivanova.


								   <li> Michael Ansara, who plays Elric, also played Kang, a Klingon, in the

									original Star Trek episode "Day of the Dove" and the Deep Space Nine

									episode "Blood Oath."


								</ul>


								<h2><a name="JS">jms speaks</a></h2>

								<ul>


								<p>

								   <li> BTW, having now edited seven episodes, and seen several finished ones,

									I think that of the first three, "The Geometry of Shadows" (#3) is my

									personal favorite.  "Revelations" is certainly a biggie, a staggering

									chunk of the arc...but "Geometry" is just an absolute hoot, something

									of a breather from the intensity, and largely for fun with some

									undertones.   If you liked "The Parliament of Dreams," you'll probably

									love "Geometry."


								<p>

								   <li> There were *substantial* differences made between the first draft

									and the final, based on the fact that a lot of the physical stuff I'd

									written for Claudia -- getting herself out of the problem she was in

									with the Drazi -- had to be dumped because the actress had a broken

									foot.  So that aspect has to be remembered.  We pushed her to the

									limits, and I didn't want to push further.


								<p>

								   <li> You hit on the head *precisely*.  When Garibaldi was popping the

									energy cap in and out of the PPG, he was on the floor, nominally in the

									dark, thinking of killing himself.  I didn't want to play it up, didn't

									want to make it what the story was about...just show him doing it, over

									and

									over.  And from Sheridan's face, seeing the last of this, it's clear he

									got it...and I thought he handled the scene *perfectly*, by his whole

									demeanor, but NOT talking about it except indirectly.


								<p>

								   <li> If I told you what the 14 words were, they wouldn't mean anything

									anymore.


								<p>

								   <li> I don't feel Sheridan was downplaying her promotion; he was sneaking

									it up on her to surprise her, making it more of an unexpected delight.


								<p>

								   <li> The idea behind the title "The Geometry of Shadows" was in a sense

									a metaphor for the techno-mages; geometry bespeaking the use of math and

									equations, the latter being generally something dark, or mysterious, or

									mystical.


								<p>

								   <li> "The Geometry of Shadows" seemed to me a good metaphor for the

									technomages; a mix of science with something dark and mysterious.

									How do you work out the geometry of something that in one sense

									doesn't really exist, but is a projection of something else that

									DOES exist?  That seemed to me as good a notion of technomagic as

									anything else.


								<p>

								   <li> Be assured, Vir's position continues to be important, and he moves a

									bit closer to the limelight as he does so...remember, he's the one

									who has to watch Londo's actions like a man watching an accident in

									slow motion, and try to do what he can to stop it.


								<p>

								   <li> Sheridan wasn't talking to himself, but rather to the tech who just

									seconds before asked if they should let the techno-mages go.  (I'd

									trimmed the first part of his speech which made this a little clearer,

									figuring it'd be evident who he was talking to.  What can I say...

									sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you.)


								<p>

								   <li> Excuse me, but has *anyone* here considered that Sheridan just might

									still be talking to the same tech he was speaking to not *five

									seconds earlier*?  He wasn't talking to himself, so much, or the

									audience, though the push-in (the only shot we had) worked against

									that.  He *was* talking to the tech.  Honest.


								<p>

								   <li> The technomages are from various races and worlds; there are some who

									are Centauri, some who are human, even other races such as the Vree

									and the pak'ma'ra, though these in particular happened to be from

									Earth.   (If they were Centauri, why would Sheridan have been

									interfering with their emigration?)


								<p>

								   <li> Re: the Drazi...yeah, they all look different in that episode.  Our

									prosthetics folks did a great job with that, as did the actors, and I

									think this one should earn Optic Nerve another emmy.


								<p>

								   <li> And yeah, Garibaldi's "joke" was supposed to be pretty lame; we even

									edited it to widen the awkward pause, to make it more difficult.  He's

									trying too hard, and his spirit isn't in it.


								<p>

								   <li> No, actually, the technomage symbol (all of them, actually, including

									the ones on the wall) are all derivations, specifically altered, of old

									runes and the like.  In some cases, we removed words and inserted

									mathematical symbols.  The fiery symbol is all one piece, and is also an

									old rune.


								<p>

								   <li> Actually, Londo has two coats, a cloak, several different colored

									vests (blue, black, others), often wears just his shirt, we've seen

									him in his PJs...he's got a fairly large wardrobe.


								<p>

								   <li> Also, Londo looks for the blessings of the technomages the same way

									the witches performed that role in "Macbeth."  There are other parallels

									one might draw as well, though again they're still two different

									stories.


								<P>

								   <li>@@@842211102 <em>What happened to the Emperor's son?</em><br>

									Ah...a very sad case, that.  Turhan's only child, his son, died during a

									boating accident, of all things.  He drowned.  His personal guard, who

									was apparently unable to find Turhan's son in the murky water, was found

									dead several days after making his report; his own death was officially

									ruled a suicide, out of grief.  But there are always stories....


								<p>

								   <li> <em>How was it written before Claudia Christian injured her ankle?</em>

									<br>

									Mainly it was written with Ivanova solving her problem on her own,

									without Garibaldi being there.


								<p>

								   <li> <em>Re:  Squaring the account of Ivanova's promotion with Comic #1,

									"In Darkness Find Me"</em><br>

									The president spoke truthfully; Sheridan could petition for a

									promotion for her, but it's up to Earthforce to grant it, so the line

									still tracks.  (Note also there's no pronoun there; "Giving her a

									field promotion."  The imperial We still stands, though.)  Also,

									Sheridan says he put through the paperwork the day after he got there;

									which is fairly close to the time frame in the story in which the

									President says they'll be giving Ivanova a promotion.  There's no

									discontinuity here.


								<p>

								   <li> Actually, originally, the plan was for President Clark to indeed

									notify Ivanova in "Points of Departure," but introducing a new

									character in the General added some changes when we shot the scene.

									But by then it was too late to modify the comic [#1, "In Darkness

									Find Me"].


									<p>

									Also, in the comic, Clark doesn't *specify* who's giving Ivanova the

									promotion, just that it's being done.  (And Sheridan comments that he

									put through the paperwork the day after he arrived, which tracks with

									this time-wise.)


								<p>

								   <li> Ivanova did NOT take the kerchief off either of the Drazi leaders in

									the council chambers; she walked PAST them, and signaled for two of

									the regular Drazi to come down out of the cheap seats.


								<p>

								   <li> Nope, that really was Claudia walking on her broken foot in the

									council chambers.  She's a trooper....


								<p>

								   <li> "A race that speaks in macros" referred to the Drazi constantly

									repeating their stance, Green must fight Purple, Purple must fight

									Green, over and over...macros.


								<p>

								   <li> Ann Bruice did a great job on the technomage costumes; I agree.  She

									found ways to implement what was described in the script that were

									both creative and wore well, and fulfilled the function.  I wanted

									black, with fine silver lines, and an almost circuitboard look to the

									patterns in places, but not *obviously* that, stylized.  She took that

									and came back with a true niftyness....


								<p>

								   <li> In order to create more involved alien makeups, and because many

									actors have a hard time with prosthetics, we created what we call the

									Babylon 5 Alien Rep Group; last year about five, and this year about

									12 actors who we have taken full head and (in some cases) body casts,

									so we can use them in mid-level speaking roles as aliens and rotate

									them in and out.  Since we had fewer last year, you saw Mark more than

									you'll see him this year.  Green Drazi #1 in "Geometry" is one such

									rep group alien.


									<p>

									We keep trying to find interesting solutions to interesting problems.


								<p>

								   <li> The techno-mages were not a homage to ShadowRun games, since I've

									never seen the game, and have never heard of it prior to seeing this

									message.


								<p>

								   <li> Yes, Ivanova's title in the opening credits *will* be changed to

									Commander, to reflect her change in rank.  And we'll be adding a rank

									for Lt. Keffer.  It's kind of funny; we keep treating the opening

									title this year as a work in progress, reflecting little changes here

									and there...changes in faces, narration, little musical changes that

									will come by about episode five or six.....


								</ul>