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108 lines
3.7 KiB
108 lines
3.7 KiB
<h2><a name="OV">Overview</a></h2>
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<blockquote><cite>
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Dr. Franklin's father arrives, leading 25,000
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ground pounding soldiers on the station. The troops' arrival elicits fear from
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both humans and non-humans that the troops may be going on a secret mission
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that will involve the station becoming an armed camp.
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</cite>
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<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Winfield,+Paul">Paul Winfield</a> as Gen. Richard Franklin.
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</blockquote>
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<pre>
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Sub-genre: Drama
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<a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/032">7.49</a>
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Production number: 210
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Original air date: February 8, 1995
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000087EYB/thelurkersguidet">DVD release date</a>: April 29, 2003
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Written by Larry DiTillio
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Directed by Jim Johnston
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</pre>
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<p>
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<hr size=3>
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<h2><a name="BP">Backplot</a></h2>
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<ul>
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<li> Dr. Franklin's father is an Earth Alliance military hero, a veteran
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of the Dilgar war and several internal conflicts on Earth. He was
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rarely around for his children when they were growing up; when he
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<em>was</em> around, he tried to run the family like a boot camp.
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<li> With the advent of the Narn-Centauri war, the Earth Alliance is
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trying to solidify its hold on several strategic sectors near both,
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in anticipation of the day when Earth will have to choose sides.
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<li> Sheridan served a tour of duty on the planet Akdor, in a system
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bordering on both Narn and Centauri space.
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<li> Garibaldi's father, Alfredo, served under General Franklin in the
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Dilgar war, and was a well-regarded soldier.
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</ul>
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<h2><a name="UQ">Unanswered Questions</a></h2>
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<h2><a name="AN">Analysis</a></h2>
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<ul>
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<li> Babylon 5 is now heavily armed, ready to take on a warship. Which
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raises the question: why wasn't it <em>before</em>? Mere
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shortsightedness on the part of the designers -- a station like
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Babylon 5 seems a natural target -- or something else? Even if
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there originally didn't seem any need to heavily arm the station,
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the attacks on the station in
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<a href="013.html">"Signs and Portents"</a>
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and
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<a href="019.html">"A Voice in the Wilderness, part 2"</a>
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should have demonstrated that B5 <em>will</em> come under attack
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from time to time.
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<p>
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On the other hand, Franklin did say that the station was being
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upgraded with the latest from Earth Force R&D, so maybe its previous
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weapons were simply the best the previous generation of technology
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had to offer. Budget constraints may have also played a role.
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<p>
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<li> The tail end of the news broadcast mentions that more divisions
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of Earth troops will join the 356th on Akdor. That implies some
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sort of permanent presence on the planet itself, as opposed to
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just "in the system" as General Franklin mentioned.
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<p>
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<li> Delenn's transformation doesn't appear to be getting the widespread
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publicity one might expect; the troops didn't seem to recognize her
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at all. Perhaps they simply don't follow the news.
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</ul>
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<h2><a name="NO">Notes</a></h2>
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<ul>
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<li> "GROPOS" stands for "ground pounders" and refers to the Earth
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Alliance's equivalent of the U.S. Marines. In fact, the term
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"Earth Force Marine Corps" was contained in the Gropos' marching
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song.
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</ul>
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<h2><a name="JS">jms speaks</a></h2>
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<ul>
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<li>@@@844403594 As for GROPOS, that one episode was so far over budget
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that I had to write 2 smaller ones to make up for it, and the many
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people you saw were really just one small group that took forever to
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digitally composite into looking like a much bigger group.
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<li>@@@846703642 <em>Who was the woman Garibaldi referred to, the one he
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doesn't normally have a chance with?</em><br>
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That would be Talia.
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<li> Everything in the battle sequence at the end of Gropos is CGI; no
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models, despite the shadows. Real fire was sampled for the flames,
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though.
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</ul>
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