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<!-- TITLE Comes the Inquisitor -->
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<h2><a name="OV">Overview</a></h2>
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<blockquote><cite>
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G'Kar tries to rally the Narn on Babylon 5.
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Kosh tests Delenn's allegiance by summoning an ancient
|
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inquisitor.
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</cite>
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<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Alexander,+Wayne">Wayne
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Alexander</a> as Sebastian.
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<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Kehler,+Jack">Jack Kehler</a>
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as Mr. Chase.
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</blockquote>
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<pre><a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/043">8.47</a>
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Production number: 221
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Original air date: August 8, 1995 (UK)
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October 25, 1995 (US)
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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 J. Michael Straczynski
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Directed by Mike Laurence Vejar
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</pre>
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<p>
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@@@837715831 <em>Emmy nomination</em> for cinematography
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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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|
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<li> The Vorlons have visited Earth in the past, as recently as the
|
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nineteenth century, and have even taken humans to their homeworld.
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<li> Garibaldi maintains friendships with people he knows are dealing in
|
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illegal smuggling operations.
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|
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</ul>
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|
|
<h2><a name="UQ">Unanswered Questions</a></h2>
|
|
<ul>
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|
|
|
<li> How did the Rangers get the message from Narn in 24 hours? (See
|
|
<A href="#AN">Analysis</a>)
|
|
|
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<li> Exactly how long have the Vorlons been visiting Earth, and for what
|
|
purpose?
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<li> How did they discover Sebastian, and what made them choose him as their
|
|
inquisitor?
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</ul>
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<h2><a name="AN">Analysis</a></h2>
|
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<ul>
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|
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<p>
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<li>
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All of the key players on the side of light have now had their commitment and
|
|
loyalty to their cause tested. Sheridan, Garibaldi, Ivanova,
|
|
and Franklin in their battle against the current Earth Alliance
|
|
administration (cf.
|
|
<a href="041.html">"Divided Loyalties."</a>)
|
|
And now Delenn and Sheridan as the
|
|
"spirit" and "warrior," respectively, of the Army of Light.
|
|
The pieces seem to be falling into place on the side of light.
|
|
|
|
<li>
|
|
G'Kar preaching about what the Centauri will do next is somewhat chilling.
|
|
Most people just don't want to believe it. Yet in
|
|
<a href="042.html">"The Long, Twilight Struggle"</a>
|
|
we heard that the Centauri have already annexed several non-Narn
|
|
worlds. JMS has said that G'Kar is his Cassandra character, gifted with
|
|
the power of prophesy yet heeded by none. The fact that it was a human
|
|
who argued against G'Kar may be an indication of things to come.
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|
|
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<li>
|
|
Based on Sebastian's comments, Sheridan determines that he is most likely
|
|
Jack the Ripper. Sebastian's final comment also appears to confirm this.
|
|
The murderer killed five prostitutes between August 7th and November 10th
|
|
of 1888 in the East End of London (Sheridan stated the West End, but got
|
|
the date correct), and was never caught. He stalked the streets at night,
|
|
slitting his victims' throats and then mutilating their bodies. The
|
|
nickname "Jack the Ripper" reportedly came from several letters sent to
|
|
the police, but their authenticity has been questioned.
|
|
|
|
<li>
|
|
The Vorlons have been to Earth on many occasions, and all over the galaxy
|
|
in general. This is quite likely part of the reason why Kosh will be
|
|
recognised by everyone if he(?) steps out of the encounter suit.
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|
|
<li>
|
|
This marks the second time a major, secretive power has sent a human
|
|
representative to Babylon 5 to ask a question: the Shadows with Morden and
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|
"What do you want?" and the Vorlons with Sebastian and "Who are you?"
|
|
Why do the Vorlons, in particular, feel the need to act through a third
|
|
party? Delenn obviously knows about Kosh already, so why couldn't Kosh
|
|
have conducted the interrogation? Perhaps he simply chooses to remain
|
|
aloof and let others do his dirty work, or perhaps for some reason he felt
|
|
he wouldn't have been as effective as Sebastian was.
|
|
|
|
<li>
|
|
Sheridan and Garibaldi have given the Rangers their first trial in a
|
|
combat zone, on behalf of G'Kar. They succeeded in the allotted 24 hours
|
|
but we are given no information on how. Perhaps they are able to penetrate
|
|
the Centauri communications network. Or perhaps it involved two "hit
|
|
and run" jumps into the Narn homeworld system. The first to deliver the
|
|
message to search for this family (there must already be Rangers on Narn,)
|
|
and the second to pick up the required transmission. This runs the risk
|
|
of being detected and caught by Centauri forces patrolling the system (a
|
|
jump point presumably has a very bright characteristic energy signature on
|
|
scanners). While the search might have been initiated via telepathic
|
|
contact (cf.
|
|
<a href="031.html">"The Coming of Shadows,"</a>
|
|
specifically the Centuari Emperor's
|
|
telepaths, who can communicate over interstellar distances)
|
|
this is unlikely, and telepathy almost certainly cannot transmit
|
|
the contents of a data crystal. Another possible explanation is that there
|
|
are Centauri Rangers.
|
|
|
|
<li>
|
|
Vir's encounter with G'Kar indicates the depth of the hatred that the Narn
|
|
feel for their oppressors. An apology is no longer possible in G'Kar's
|
|
eyes, only the release of his people from their occupation and the
|
|
destruction of the Centauri along the way. Something inside Vir might
|
|
well give soon; he has already stood up to Morden
|
|
(<a href="038.html">"In The Shadow of Z'ha'dum"</a>)
|
|
and tried to tell Londo of the consequences of his actions - what next?
|
|
|
|
<li>
|
|
Vir's dismissal of the Centuari businessman, "I have already told you the
|
|
Ambassador can do nothing for you." Is that a polite way of telling the
|
|
businessman to go away, or has Londo's sphere of influence been reduced by
|
|
his refusal to involve the Shadows again?
|
|
|
|
<li>
|
|
There's an interesting parallel between the main storyline and Garibaldi's
|
|
talk with G'Kar. Both Garibaldi and Sebastian go into their respective
|
|
conversations expecting a certain outcome, but allowing room for the other
|
|
person to act otherwise. The difference is that Garibaldi is an optimist --
|
|
he expected G'Kar to do the right thing -- while Sebastian expected to be
|
|
disappointed as he so often had been in the past.
|
|
|
|
<li>
|
|
This isn't the first reference to Jack the Ripper on the show. In
|
|
<a href="006.html">"Mind War,"</a>
|
|
Ivanova accuses Psi Corps of having "all the moral fiber of Jack the Ripper."
|
|
Whether that's just a coincidence remains to be seen.
|
|
|
|
<li>
|
|
Given the fact that Delenn was a member of the Grey Council, the
|
|
choice of Grey section (by Sheridan) as the place for the inquisition
|
|
was rather interesting. In addition, some elements of the lighting inside
|
|
Grey 19 (the circles of light on the floor, arranged in a circular
|
|
pattern, with Delenn in a center circle) were reminiscent of the Grey Council,
|
|
especially the last time she was in their presence.
|
|
|
|
<li>
|
|
On a more speculative numerological note, the number nineteen (the inquisition
|
|
occurred in Grey 19) is composed of the digits "1" and "9." Taking the
|
|
analysis to an extreme, perhaps the "9" represents the Grey Council and the
|
|
"1" represents the chosen one.
|
|
|
|
</ul>
|
|
|
|
<h2><a name="NO">Notes</a></h2>
|
|
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
<li> One of the Narn in the meeting with G'Kar is played by Dennis
|
|
Michael, a CNN reporter who was doing a story on B5's makeup group,
|
|
Optic Nerve, and was made up as a Narn as part of his news story.
|
|
|
|
<li> Was someone named Sebastian an actual suspect in the murders?
|
|
|
|
<li> In the original UK broadcast, the scene between G'Kar and Vir was
|
|
edited to not show G'Kar cutting his hand. The edit is obvious once
|
|
you know it's there.
|
|
|
|
<li> One of Sebastian's closing remarks resembled a Biblical quote, John
|
|
15:13: "There is no greater love than this: to lay down one's life for
|
|
one's friends."
|
|
|
|
</ul>
|
|
|
|
<h2><a name="JS">jms speaks</a></h2>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li> "CtI is the only episode in the last four that we know nothing about."
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
And if I figure out how I happened to achieve that (short of just
|
|
keeping my big yap shut), I'll do it some more. There should be some
|
|
surprises, yes?
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
And it's an arc story, yes, but in a very odd way.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> <em>(Referring to Delenn's actions in
|
|
<a href="040.html">"Confessions and Lamentations"</a>)</em><br>
|
|
Re: why Delenn would do such a thing . . . hold out for "Comes
|
|
the Inquisitor" . . . it gets into her rationales on such things.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> "I can't wait to see how you torture us next week!"
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Funny line, that, which you'll understand in a few days.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> The Inquisitor was a great episode to write, and Wayne did a killer
|
|
job with it (so to speak). That one episode has received more mail than
|
|
most others, particularly from those in the religious community, as well
|
|
as at universities, crisis centers, you name it. Something there seemed
|
|
to strike a chord.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
It's easy in an SF show to cut to the EFX and let it rock; to me, the
|
|
challenge is what's shown in those scenes: two people, locked in a room,
|
|
no (or few) EFX, no car chases, not even much of a set...with explosions
|
|
of dialogue and character. Ah loves it.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@837966102 <em>Emmy nominations</em><br>
|
|
John Flinn got a nomination for cinematograhy for "Inquisitor."
|
|
Last year we sent videotapes of our up-for-nomination episodes, and got
|
|
three nominations for it. But WB got upset by this -- they don't do
|
|
this for their other shows, we did it on our own -- and ordered us not
|
|
to do it again. The other shows don't need it because they're network
|
|
shows and get good exposure; most syndicated shows (non-Trek) tend not
|
|
to be Emmy aspirees, so it's not a problem there. We're in between,
|
|
and we were, in effect, producing videotapes, and they didn't want
|
|
that. So we had to sit on our hands and not do what we knew would
|
|
result in getting more noms. It's very frustrating.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@832092680 "With Comes The Inquisitor...how obvious was it to you that
|
|
G'Kar was
|
|
going to be the counterpoint to Delenn and Sebastian. was it an
|
|
immediate connection, or did you have to sit and look, and then
|
|
think "Ah...that's the one?"
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
That one was a pretty easy one.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> As for locale, it was similar to, but not exactly the same as the one
|
|
in which the Marcabs died [in "Confessions and Lamentations"], though
|
|
I did want to somewhat evoke the memory of that when I indicated the
|
|
set I had in mind.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> Sebastian was played by Wayne Alexander, a British actor of great
|
|
skill who hasn't been seen much on TV before this, but should now,
|
|
with this performance as a calling card. It was a stunning
|
|
performance.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> I don't think Wayne has done that much TV work before, he's primarily
|
|
a stage actor, but in any event, he's certainly brilliant as Sebastian.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> Why bring up Sebastian's past? Because it's integral to who he is
|
|
now, and what he's doing, and why he's doing it. Also, there's
|
|
something very important here about greying up the Vorlons a little;
|
|
of all the people they could've chosen for this job, why THIS kind
|
|
of person? It makes them a trifle more morally ambiguous, which is
|
|
necessary.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> "It doesn't fit in with the way the Vorlons have been portrayed. It
|
|
bothered me."
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Good. That was the intended result.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Part of the reason for the story was to grey up the Vorlons a little;
|
|
one shouldn't fall too easily for what other people *say* they are.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
(One might also say much the same of the old testament god who would
|
|
have Job so severely tested, btw.)
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
One should always be cautious of taking *anyone* at face value on B5.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
"...you could consider them a force for good."
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Ah, but what *is* good? And whose *version* of good are we
|
|
discussing?
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> I'd say there's a very good chance that the Vorlons have more than
|
|
one Inquisitor.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> <em>Was Sebastian based on Star Trek's "Q"?</em><br>
|
|
No, had nothing to do with Q, it's deciding what kind of person our
|
|
Mr. Sebastian might've been, and working from there. When you have
|
|
a character with as vivid and powerful as his, you don't need
|
|
to look to ST for any ideas on character.
|
|
And unlike Q, Sebastian has no powers of his own, just the force of his
|
|
personality.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> <em>What was the last word in Sebastian's "What about" litany?</em><br>
|
|
Actually, the last one, since it was going to be drowned out, was an
|
|
adlib, "eternity."
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@846713304 "What about eternity?" It was an adlib from the actor
|
|
just to cover the moment when Delenn rises, knowing it would likely
|
|
never get heard over the rest of it.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> Also, check Sebastian's reaction when he asks Delenn what if she's
|
|
wrong, "have you ever considered that? HAVE YOU?"
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
She responds, softly, "....yes."
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Look at his face when she says this. It rattles him. It's not the
|
|
answer he expected, but more important, it's not the answer he wanted,
|
|
needed to hear.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
He needed to hear her say that she had never had the slightest
|
|
*scintilla* of doubt, that as he had been, she was a True Believer, a
|
|
fanatic, incapable of doubt of mistake...and thus doomed to failure.
|
|
He can't even meet her gaze; he turns, looks away, and suggests an
|
|
"intermission" that is more for his benefit than hers.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
There's an awful lot going on in this show, a great deal of it sub
|
|
rosa, under the surface, implied in gestures or hesitations or looks,
|
|
some implied, some stated outright. He *hates* the memory of Jack;
|
|
it's not his name, the one thing that is his...remember, he is caught
|
|
up with "who ARE you?" and his answer to that is lost in the persona
|
|
created by history...his true name, is what's totally forgotten to
|
|
history.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> Sebastian learns quite a bit in the
|
|
course of that encounter about himself...especially when she rubs it
|
|
in his face as she does.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> Of course, bear in mind that there *is* no correct answer to
|
|
Sebastian's question...because no matter what answer you give, the
|
|
question will be repeated. It's a process, not a goal, designed to
|
|
tear down the artifices we construct around ourselves until we're left
|
|
facing ourselves, not our roles. At some point the "answer," such as it
|
|
is, must transcend language.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Since the episode aired, I've received many notes from philosophy
|
|
teachers and religious instructors and those who ran the Synanon game
|
|
noting that they've used that technique as well, or intend to do so from
|
|
now on.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> The episode underlines that there are two fundamental questions in
|
|
B5: who are you, and what do you want?
|
|
The order in which you answer those two questions can either make you
|
|
great...or destroy you.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@846713304 <em>About "Who are you?"</em><br>
|
|
Yeah, that's one of the primal questions, isn't it? And
|
|
one that we are too often distracted from considering.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@846713304 The key to the questions is that you generally have to
|
|
first be able to answer "who are you?" before you can intelligently
|
|
determine "what do you want?" To deal right with "what do you want"
|
|
before you know who you are is destructive in almost any situation.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> I think that, in the long run, the vorlons and the shadows will answer
|
|
the questions Who are you and What do you want...in that that's kind of
|
|
what they *are*, if that makes any sense.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Well, it will. Eventually.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> It's not that there's a *correct* answer, but that there's an
|
|
*informed* answer. If you decide what you want, before you know
|
|
who you are, you're likely to get something that will destroy you;
|
|
if you know who you are, you can then ask for something that will be
|
|
of greater use to you.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> The pain is necessary because it's easy to consider laying down one's
|
|
life intellectually; when the pain and the
|
|
agony bring it home, it's no longer as easy.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
And there *is* no correct answer to "Who are you?" The only real
|
|
answer is no answer, because as soon as you apply someone's term for it,
|
|
you have limited yourself, defined yourself in someone else's terms.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Doing things in a refined, gentle, intellectual manner is the sort of
|
|
thing Delenn's used to, she can handle that easily...the goal of
|
|
Sebastian was to try and *break* her.
|
|
That's not intended to be done gently. You don't break someone over a
|
|
cup of tea discussing philosophical concepts and the nature of personal
|
|
identity.
|
|
It's also not terribly dramatic to watch.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Because of her position, rank and authority, she expected to be
|
|
treated a certain way...which was why it was important to treat her just
|
|
the opposite.
|
|
It's easy to put oneself into a grand prophecy, to assume one has a
|
|
destiny...to pay the price for that is something else again.
|
|
Anyone can do the former; very few can ever do the latter.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> Sacrificing oneself happens frequently...but for just one other
|
|
person, AND in a situation where no one else would ever know about it.
|
|
Bear in mind that he wasn't testing people randomly; only those who felt
|
|
that they were chosen of god, fulfillers of prophecy...people who
|
|
assumed that they were part of some grand scheme, and thus to whom an
|
|
anonymous death is an intolerable thought.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Also, most probably never *got* that far, unable to stand the real
|
|
pain of being placed in this position. Everybody can talk the talk;
|
|
very few can walk the walk. Most probably just yanked off the bracelets
|
|
and split, on the theory that they weren't being sufficiently coddled or
|
|
glorified...or because being a potential prophet isn't as much fun as
|
|
they'd thought.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> There have been a great number of films and TV programs with one sort
|
|
of interrogation scene or other; I'd commend "Closetland" for something
|
|
else on this order.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> Mentioning just the first name may not have been necessary for
|
|
UK viewers, but it was necessary for the rest of the planet.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> Of course, his real name was never Jack Sebastian; "Jack" is his
|
|
working name, Sebastian could be a first or last name.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> I tied him [Sebastian] to a specific person because
|
|
in writing, you *always* try to go for specifics, because generalities
|
|
don't really work. It's the difference, in prose, between, "The room
|
|
smelled good," and "The room smelled of cinnamon and fresh coffee."
|
|
Also, the specific connotations to who and what Jack was were essential
|
|
and integral to the storyline.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> "Jack" was the media appellation; whether Sebastian is a first or
|
|
last name is left open.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
I looked at who this historical figure could be, but no one else fit
|
|
into the area I wanted. It was a decision born of necessity, not
|
|
whim. I needed someone far enough removed not to have any current
|
|
victims' families still alive; someone known to a worldwide population
|
|
(anonymous wouldn't have worked because why would Sheridan have known
|
|
about him, why should we care, why should it resonate, and we'd spend
|
|
time explaining what he did that would have meant cutting out other
|
|
material in the episode); the other serial killers tend to have clear
|
|
fates, whereas Jack vanished and is thus "available" to us; visually
|
|
that period makes for a striking contrast to 2259.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
And, again, you have to look at who he *was*...a fanatic, trying to
|
|
clean up Spittlefields (good cause) by hatred (wrong reason) and
|
|
murder (wrong means), the EXACT thing Delenn warns against at the
|
|
very start of the show. (Did you know there's a letter in the London
|
|
Times for that period that tries to explain the Ripper's motives as a
|
|
cry ofr (for) understanding about conditions in that part of London?)
|
|
He felt he was a divine messenger, learned he was not, and in
|
|
bitterness has become the single best inquisitor you could've had in
|
|
that job.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Every single thing about Jack made him *perfect* for that role, as
|
|
mirror, menace and warning sign. So I used him. And I'd do it again.
|
|
You have to find what works best for the story, and do it.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@865282699 I used Jack because he was perfect for that particular job,
|
|
which was what the Vorlons had decided as well. Simple as that.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> <em>Jack the Ripper has been used too much in SF.</em><br>
|
|
So, in other words, if a historical, real character has been used in
|
|
some other venue, if the use of that same character in another,
|
|
wholly different world/series/show/universe is absolutely, totally and
|
|
completely the right thing for that story,
|
|
one should instead do what's *wrong* for the story and leave it out?
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Sorry. Don't buy it.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@846713304 You can't exclude or include anything in your story
|
|
just because a character or concept has been used by others. If we
|
|
were to do that, then we might as well never make the show, because
|
|
others have shown starships and hyperspace and aliens. Okay, yes,
|
|
others have used Jack. But not in the same way. It was *right* for
|
|
this show...should it not be used because oths have also used this
|
|
character? I think that the moment you begin constantly
|
|
course-correcting your show in reaction to other shows, you're dead in
|
|
the water. You have to do what's right for *this* story, in *this*
|
|
episode. And I think we showed a very different aspect of the
|
|
character and the situation than has been shown before. If we just
|
|
did the same old gag -- Jack comes to B5 and begin murdring people
|
|
again -- then I'd agree. But we didn't. I think you have to judge a
|
|
show by what's IN the show, and how well it's done, not against what
|
|
has been done in other places.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Otherwise we might as well throw out starships and beam weapons and
|
|
aliens and all the rest, since those have ALL been done a lot more
|
|
than Jack.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<li>@@@846713304 <em>The original Star Trek episode "Wolf in the Fold"
|
|
also centered around Jack the Ripper.</em><br>
|
|
In the TOS show, that revelation was the whole *point* of the episode,
|
|
where here it's a filligree, dropped in at the last. It also *has* to
|
|
be that character, as the flip side of the story, to contrast with
|
|
Sheridan's "holy cause" as warning, and because of his own reflection
|
|
of what Delenn might have been if she went the wrong way for the right
|
|
reasons.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<Li> On the "Jack sucks" threads, phrased various ways...doesn't really
|
|
bother me. I knew going in that some folks would react well to that, and
|
|
some wouldn't, for an assortment of reasons, some valid, some less so.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> I guess also that the key to avoid something becoming cliche is to
|
|
turn it on its head. Which was the case with Sebastian. One thing
|
|
I neglected to mention was the need to have an absolute
|
|
mirror-counterpoint to Morden. Here you've got the smiling,
|
|
pleasant, utterly charming and good looking fellow who is our
|
|
"mirror" if you will in which we see the Shadows reflected. So now
|
|
you need something dark and ominous and terrible as the mirror
|
|
through which we briefly glimpse the Vorlons, which has to be done
|
|
all in one episode, you can't develop it gradually as with Morden.
|
|
So everything about Sebastian was the opposite of Morden...and each
|
|
is the opposite of what they represent. As it appears to us now,
|
|
anyway.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> "it just didn't pay off in the long run." For you. For others it
|
|
did. Let's not start getting grandiose. You feel this way, that's fine,
|
|
but it's not the ultimate truth. Otherwise you're totally dismissing
|
|
the opinions of others who liked it a lot.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
"Jack...has become a real cliche." So because others have used that
|
|
figure in their work, well or poorly, no one should ever use this
|
|
historical figure ever again in the next thousand years of human
|
|
history. One should not do what one thinks is right for a story because
|
|
of what someone else did in a different story.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Sorry. I don't work that way. By your logic, I should not be using
|
|
starships or hyperspace or aliens, either, because they've been used a
|
|
LOT more than Jack.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> Actually, I think I saw more *annoyance* at Jack being used from the
|
|
UK folks than the US folks, that's the main difference, I think.
|
|
Probably because it's a peaceful, wonderful country which is *still*
|
|
paying off, in the public eye, one particularly nasty creature in their
|
|
recent history. They're probably tired of hearing about him, and to
|
|
some extent, correctly so.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> Will: thanks, and you're quite right; it does say something about the
|
|
Vorlons that they'd use Jack for this purpose. Now we just have to
|
|
further define what that is.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
BTW, just to append it here, not strictly appropos of your message...
|
|
I've noted a number of people say, in essence, "Boy, was I disappointed
|
|
that he said Jack at the end, what does he think we are, morons?" And
|
|
I've seen plenty of comments from people who didn't know it was Jack
|
|
until that very last moment, for whom it was a revelation.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
It's pretty clear, to lots of folks, that the test was in some ways
|
|
(most, actually) more for Delenn's benefit than Kosh's...lots of folks
|
|
got this...and then others have said, "Well, if that's what he meant,
|
|
why didn't he just have one of them come out and SAY this, say what
|
|
was learned or that this was for THEIR benefit?"
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
So frankly, whether one comes out and says something, or does not come
|
|
out and say something, someone on one side or the other is going to give
|
|
you a hard time about it.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> <em>Jack's murders took place in the East End of London, not the
|
|
West End</em>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
What happened is...basically...Joe is a moron.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
I did my research. I called up the info on the encyclopedia, got
|
|
all the dates right, and my eyes saw East End and for whatever
|
|
stupid, idiotic reason, my fingers typed West instead of East, and
|
|
nobody, NObody, caught it until now. I'd loop it, but alas the line
|
|
is on his face, and it'd look real stupid, and the delivery is *so*
|
|
perfect as it is; if we looped it, we'd destroy it.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
So I content myself with the notion that it's west...of B5.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go shoot myself.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> <em>Maybe the West End fell into the ocean and the East End is now
|
|
West.</em>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
No, no, it's hopeless...I'll have to turn in my writer's card.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> Unfortunately (yes, we discussed this), he says the line *on camera*,
|
|
and the shape of the mouth for West is very different than for East;
|
|
also the performance wouldn't be nearly as good. So there it is....
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> Thanks. Though I knew about the gaff a LONG time before it was to
|
|
air here in the US, I let the east/west thing go through as shot for
|
|
the very first broadcast because I was afraid that the loop might
|
|
hurt the scene, and it was *so* perfectly done. That over, I decided
|
|
it was worth taking a shot at it. If your friend didn't notice, then
|
|
we did it right. So now those who taped the first broadcast have
|
|
something that'll never be seen again (if I have anything to say
|
|
about it).
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@846713304 Yes, I *know* it's the East End not the West End; I
|
|
looked right at my notes when I was writing the script, and they said
|
|
East and I typed West and nobody noticed it until it went out. I
|
|
could've replaced it with a looped line prior to first airing here, as
|
|
this was found during the UK airings, but looping never improves only
|
|
diminishes the performance, and he's on-camera and the words wouldn't
|
|
match his mouth. So I decided to let it go out this way once for
|
|
performance, and we'll correct this aspect with a loop in later
|
|
airings, even though that will somewhat lessen the performance aspect.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@846713304 What I'd said, and maybe I wasn't sufficiently clear, but
|
|
my sense was that I wasn't going to change it *prior to the first US
|
|
airing.* I found out about the mistake -- it was a typo, I knew the
|
|
difference, I just became momentarily stupid and wrote west when I meant
|
|
to type east -- after the show aired in the UK, and had a couple of
|
|
months in which I could've chosen to make the change. But I was
|
|
concerned that the dub wouldn't have the same power as the original
|
|
performance, so I was willing to let it go until after it aired, so
|
|
it would've had that impact, then make the change later. Happily, the
|
|
loop came out *very* well, so it worked out.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@846713304 <em>Even in the fixed version, the closed captions still
|
|
say West.</em><br>
|
|
Y'know, I'd totally forgotten about the captions.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Nuts.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> Yeah, it's always the dopey, small stuff that slips past, and nobody
|
|
notices until it jumps out at you when it's too late.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> Sebastian's final words were part of the same sentence he began
|
|
while speaking directly to Sheridan's face...insofar as I have ever
|
|
considered the scene, he IS talking to Sheridan.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> Actually, yes, I do have a pet theory about who the Ripper was, but
|
|
I'm so embarrassed over the west end/east end typo in one of our
|
|
episodes that I don't know if I'll ever have enough courage to broach it
|
|
to anyone.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> Okay, here's one clue for any would-be Ripperologists out there.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
In all the long story of Jack, when he was out doing his nightly work,
|
|
only one person, a woman, wrote an actual letter, published in the
|
|
London Times, offering an *explanation* for the Ripper's work,
|
|
arguing that he was trying to send a message, that maybe people should
|
|
listen to that message. It was as close as anyone's ever come to an
|
|
actual *defense* of what he was doing.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Note the woman's name, and who her husband was...a man who was twice
|
|
interviewed by Scotland Yard, and interviewed by many Church officials,
|
|
the transcripts of which have been *sealed* by the Church ever since,
|
|
at the request of the family...a person who was the last man to see at
|
|
least one of the victims alive...and who was a direct blood relative of
|
|
the man who was living with the final victim (who was killed indoors,
|
|
leading to the speculation that she knew her assailant)...who suffered a
|
|
breakdown just before the murders began, was obsessed with cleaning up
|
|
the Whitechapel area, and after whose sudden, hasty transfer, the
|
|
murders stopped...and whose profession is tied *directly* to the only
|
|
thing the Ripper was overheard to say to one of his victims.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@846713304 The mistake everyone makes is in going for somebody
|
|
famous, a celebrity. I've done a lot of looking into this, and have
|
|
spoken with a number of other Ripperologists, and the single most likely
|
|
person is one who's name you've never heard mentioned as a suspect, but
|
|
if you read the record, his name keeps coming up again and again and
|
|
again.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@846713304 Nope, Sebastian wasn't the name of the one I'm thinking of.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
And from what I've read, a lot of folks *did* need to hear the name to
|
|
get it....
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> <em>How did Lennier know where Delenn was?</em><br>
|
|
Well, given Delenn's position, I think she'd have let Lennier know
|
|
where she was, or that he'd heard Sheridan tell Delenn in the scene we
|
|
played the voice-over.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> Actually, there *was* a scene where Lennier, concerned, tracks down Kosh
|
|
to inquire after Delenn's situation, which report alarms him and sends
|
|
him after Sheridan. It was filmed...but cut for time.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> <em>Censorship by C4 in Great Britain</em>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
They SNIPPED the shot of G'Kar slicing his hand? You're kidding! I
|
|
find that quite astonishing; it was done discreetly. I'm dumbfounded.
|
|
No wonder there was confusion about that scene.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> You're right, btw; I was informed in another message here that they
|
|
did snip that piece of G'Kar's action. Suffice to say I had *no*
|
|
idea, and now that I *do* have an idea...I'm simply wog-boggled.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li> Can G'Kar grow to forgive? I don't think so...and yet in a way he must
|
|
come to something more than rage, and other than forgiveness. There is
|
|
an important step in his development yet to come. And he will have to
|
|
go there by a very hard road.
|
|
|
|
</ul>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Originally compiled by Jason Snell.
|