brennen
/
lurkers-guide


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


								<blockquote><cite>

								An old acquaintance requests Londo's help.  Sheridan is plagued by visions

								nobody else can see.

								</cite>


								<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Argenziano,+Carmen">Carmen Argenziano</a> as Urza Jaddo.

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

								</blockquote>


								<pre>

								Sub-genre: Drama/Intrigue

								<a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/039">7.21</a>


								Production number: 216

								Original air date: May 17, 1995

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


								Written by Larry DiTillio

								Directed by Stephen Posey

								</pre>


								<p>

								<hr size=3>


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

								<ul>


								   <li> In his youth, Londo was a swordfighter of no small repute, and House

									Mollari was one of the most well-respected in the Republic.


								   <li> Earth Force has confiscated all the files on the Babylon 4 incident (cf.

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

									but Garibaldi had the foresight to make a copy first.


								   <li> Refa and his associates on Centauri Prime are consolidating their

									power by having their political opponents declared traitors.  Some

									of those opponents are well aware of his involvement in the

									assassination of the Prime Minister (cf.

									<a href="031.html">"The Coming of Shadows."</a>)


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li> What was the creature?  Was it involved somehow in Babylon 4's

									movement through time, or did it just happen by Sector 14 after the

									fact?


								   <li> Will Londo's support of Urza have an effect on Refa's plans?


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li> The fact that there's still a spacetime rift of some sort in Sector

									14 suggests that it may be possible to travel freely back and forth

									between 2259 and whenever the creature came from.  Unless, of course,

									the creature was involved in Babylon 4's time travel; in that case,

									its presence may have caused the rift to reopen.


								   <li> Londo believes he has a destiny to fulfill.  What exactly does he

									think it is?  Is it based in part on his dream? (cf.

									<a href="031.html">"The Coming of Shadows"</a>)

									Or is it a more general notion of bringing the Centauri back to power

									with the help of Morden, without any specific role for himself?


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li> The names of the last Centauri Emperor and Prime Minister, Turhan and

									Malachi respectively, just happen to be the first names of the

									actors who played those roles in

									<a href="031.html">"The Coming of Shadows."</a>


								   <li> Garibaldi and Sheridan were getting a large number of foul balls on

									the baseball diamond.  Since the station is spinning,

									the Coriolis effect would make playing baseball an interesting

									proposition, to say the least, especially near the center of

									rotation -- a high enough ball would pass beyond the axis and

									land on some other section of the interior, perhaps even the

									"ceiling!"


								   <li> Visual gaffe: When Londo was knocked down and he dropped his

									sword, the sword fell and skidded on Londo's left.  But when

									he reached for the sword to deliver the fatal blow, it

									appeared that he reached to his right.


								   <li>@@@890036592 Effects glitch: In the closing shot of the station,

									the background starfield and part of Epsilon 3 are briefly visible

									through the docking bay, as if part of the station has just turned

									transparent.


								   <li> The Centauri method of dealing with traitors -- execution followed by

									confiscation of property -- is similar to what the Romans used to do,

									and it apparently has the same effect.  Romans who knew they were about

									to be convicted of treason often committed suicide to prevent their

									families' inheritances from being seized.


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li> <a name="JS:foul">Actually,</a>

									Sheridan WAS hitting fair and home run balls in the front

									of the show; later, though, when he was more rattled, they were all

									foul.


								   <li> Actually, the chronological order was *supposed* to be "Knives," THEN

									"Z'ha'dum."  In "Knives" you get the reminder about Anna, then in

									"Z'ha'dum" you get the payoff.  That was originally how they were

									intended to be aired, but there was *so much* CGI work and rotoscope

									work and creature animation involved in "Knives" that it got flopped

									to second in that order.  So while it works *best* the way it was

									intended, it still works okay in this order.


								   <li> Correct, the critter in "Knives" was most *definitely* not a

									Vorlon.

								</ul>