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lurkers-guide


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


								<blockquote><cite>

								G'Kar asks Sheridan to intervene militarily on behalf of the Narns; Ivanova

								tries to institute an ambassadorship with a visiting alien.

								</cite>


								<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?Williams,+Paul+%28III%29">Paul Williams</a> as Taq.

								<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Abercrombie,+Ian">Ian Abercrombie</a> as Correlilmerzon.

								</blockquote>


								<pre>

								Sub-genre: Drama

								<a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/034">7.97</a>


								Production number: 212

								Original air date: February 22, 1995

								<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 Jim Johnston

								</pre>


								<p>

								<hr size=3>


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

								<ul>


								   <li> The Narn pushed the Centauri off their world through a war of

									attrition, so it was no longer worth the Centauri's effort to

									stay -- open, direct warfare is new to them.


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li> What <em>was</em> that gift?


								   <li> Will the Lumati's alliance with Earth be significant?


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li> The situation between the Narn and the Centauri on Babylon 5 seems

									destined to explode sooner or later, even if things were quelled

									the first time.  If one side begins to lose badly, revenge will

									be a natural reaction.  Perhaps it will be just such an incident

									that pushes Earth into taking sides, assuming that's going to happen.


								   <li> It also seems like only a matter of time before the Minbari smuggling

									operation is discovered; eventually it's plausible that the Centauri

									will get sick of the Minbari nosing around in the middle of war zones,

									though they may decide they don't want to risk fighting them.

									How much trouble Sheridan will be in if his plan is discovered

									remains to be seen.


								   <li> Given the Lumati's feelings about natural selection, it's unclear how

									desirable they'll be as allies.  If Earth needs help, they might

									well decide that that means humans are inferior, and withhold their aid.


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li> In keeping with his newfound importance, Londo's outfit has changed

									slightly; it is crisper, darker, with a slightly more military look.


								   <li> On a more editorial note, this episode is arguably the first to drive

									home how different the situation is now than it's been in the past.

									The dark undercurrents that have always been present in the series

									begin to surface here, in the form of G'Kar's desperation, Londo's

									casual lack of concern over the killing and his calm assurance that

									the Centauri will defeat the Narn, Sheridan's loss of composure with

									G'Kar, and the general sense of hostility around the station.


								   <li> The Lumati's arrogant attitude toward other species bears some

									resemblance to Star Trek's Prime Directive.


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li> On an unrelated note...just finished another script tonight, "Acts of

									Sacrifice," which despite its rather ominous title is more a slice of

									life episode...and contains probably the funkiest, weirdest sequence

									that I have ever written.  Full tilt whacko.


								<p>

								   <li> [Londo is] a fascinating character to explore, and the most careful

									balancing act of the bunch; part of the character's appeal is that on

									a very fundamental level, you *like* him, and you don't want to see

									him on this terrible slide downward.  So every so often, you have to

									pull him back, go in a different direction, remind us of his basic

									humanity and potential for heroism.  He is, really, any of us caught

									in a web of events spinning more and more out of control every day.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@846703699 At the start of year one, Claudia came to me and said

									she'd love to do more funny stuff in her role; don't change anything in

									the story, just let her have some fun here and there before All Hell

									Breaks Loose in year three.  I let her have that.


								<p>

								   <li> As it happens, I made it a point to be on-set the day we shot what we

									ended up calling "the Ivanova dance."  Wanted to make sure it was done

									correctly.  We only had to shoot it about three times, only in the

									master, no coverage.  The crew was absolutely breathless after the

									first take, from keeping from laughing.  It was very funny.


								<p>

								   <li> Actually, not to split hairs, the idea of sex sealing deals goes

									back a heck of a lot longer than Larry Niven.  It's been part of treaty

									signing and stuff going back to ancient Egypt, other parts of the middle

									east, even parts of medeival europe.


								<p>

								   <li> To the question raised: yes, if Sheridan had shown the Lumati around,

									the request would have been made to him, as it was to Ivanova.


								<p>

								   <li> <em>Is Zathras (cf.

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

									a Lumati?</em><br>

									Zathras is not part of the Lumati species.


								<p>

								   <li> <em>What's the deal with all the fans behind Sheridan's superior?</em>

									<br>

									I will only say that I was as surprised by those fans as anyone

									else (I was in editing all day when that was shot).


									<p>

									Well, we're always saying around here, the more fans the better....


								<p>

								   <li> <em>Was G'Kar laughing or crying?</em>

									<br>

									It's both; laughing at the absurdity, and crying...about as close as

									we've seen to a nervous breakdown.


								<p>

								   <li> I think one need look no further than the latest communiques from

									Dole and Newt to get some idea on the progenitors of the Lumati.


								<p>

								   <li> <em>Was Katsulas actually fighting, or was it a stuntman?</em><br>

									It was a little of both, yes.


								<p>

								   <li> Given that the Narns were agrarian prior to the arrival of the

									Centauri, and were under their heel, and got most of their tech FROM

									the Centauri leftovers, no, they're not more advanced.  It's a lot

									like the Russian situation, seemingly this tremendous power, but once

									you look deep, not as well off as they'd like you to think.


									<p>

									Claudia loved the scene when I first described it to her, prior to

									finishing the script.  She was dying to do it, and kept sort of

									"doing" it around people for some time prior to filming.


								<p>

								   <li> The Narn were not out in space prior to the Centauri arriving.


									<p>

									While Paul Williams was on set for this ep, I had him sign my two

									CDs of the "Phantom of the Paradise" soundtrack.  Ah, power....


								</ul>