brennen
/
lurkers-guide


								<!-- TITLE Sic Transit Vir -->


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


								<blockquote><cite>

								Londo introduces Vir to a surprising new acquaintance.  A heavy influx of

								Narns to the station raises suspicions.

								</cite>


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

								</blockquote>


								<pre><a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/056">7.53</a>


								Production number: 313

								Original air week: April 15, 1996

								<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00009OOFK/thelurkersguidet">DVD release date</a>: August 12, 2003


								Written by J. Michael Straczynski

								Directed by Jesus Trevino

								</pre>


								<p>

								<hr size=3>


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

								<ul>


								   <li> Ivanova has been in the military for 13 years.


								   <li> The Centauri are attempting to pacify the Narn homeworld's population.

									Among other techniques, they send troops to Narn villages to root out

									aggressive citizens and "put them to sleep."  Sometimes entire villages

									are found to be aggressive and are burned to the ground.


								   <li> Vir, using his power as head of the diplomatic office on Minbar, has

									been running a Schindleresque underground railroad for Narns.  He

									created a fake persona in the Centauri government, "Abrahamo Linconi,"

									and faked death certificates for over two thousand Narn after "Linconi"

									ordered them transferred to work camps on Centauri Prime.


								   <li> The Centauri consider marriage for the sake of love rather than politics

									a radical act.


								   <li> Vir's uncle doesn't think highly of him, claiming that Vir is capable

									of "a well-deserved humility."


								   <li> Vir has an interest in human history.


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li> How was Ivanova able to flesh out Vir's fake official, whose records

									were presumably in the Centauri Republic's private databases?


								   <li> What did Vir and Lyndisty do with the bound Narn?  Obviously Vir didn't

									kill him, but what did he tell Lyndisty?


								   <li> Will Lyndisty's family cancel the

									arrangements now that Vir has been demoted?


								   <li> Does G'Kar know of Vir's efforts?  Will he be able to forgive Vir

									in spite of himself

									(<a href="043.html">"Comes the Inquisitor?"</a>)


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li> If Ivanova and Allen could follow the paper trail to discover that

									Vir apparently sent thousands of Narn to their deaths, others might

									be able to as well.  Vir may find himself a target if any

									Narn who aren't in on his secret manage to access the records in

									question.  Certainly Lyndisty is still in danger; lots of other Narn

									would undoubtedly like to get their hands on someone with her history.


								   <li> Vir can still help the Narn if he chooses, though it'll be riskier.

									He presumably has retained his post as Londo's attache, which should

									have some authority in itself.  And by tempering Londo, however

									slightly, he may do more good than he did on Minbar.


								   <li> Vir isn't alone in wanting to help the Narn; he referred to others

									working with him.  Will those others be able to continue, especially

									with Ivanova's assistance?  The presence of other Centauri might

									explain how she was able to access the Centauri government's files.


								   <li> Given Londo's feelings about bugs, what will his reaction be when he

									sees an arachnoid Shadow warship for the first time?  Perhaps his

									fear of insects (and spiders) stems in part from his dream

									(<a href="045.html">"Matters of Honor."</a>)


								   <li> There may also be a parallel between Londo's insect hunt and the

									typical Centauri attitude toward the Narn, who they regard as little

									more than bugs on two feet.  If that parallel is intentional, Londo's

									line about the insects "evolving before my eyes" might have some

									relation to the Narns' changing position in the universe -- with

									G'Kar's help (and some prodding from Kosh) they're becoming something

									quite different than they were mere months earlier.


								   <li> Evidence of the pressures of independence are starting to appear:

									B5's officers now drink an unidentified liquid instead of morning

									coffee and the ambassador of a major race -- albeit an ally of the

									government the station opposes -- can't get a maintenance crew to

									his quarters.  The loss of Earth funding and support is likely to

									grow worse over time.


								   <li> Vir's smuggled Narn are considered dead by the Centauri -- perhaps

									making one of them the subject of Lady Morella's prophecy to Londo,

									that he "must not kill the one who is already dead"

									(<a href="053.html">"Point of No Return."</a>)


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li> The title is something of a pun; it's Latin for "thus passes the man"

									(roughly speaking.)  It's probably a reference to the saying "sic

									transit gloria mundi" ("thus passes the glory of the world.")


								</ul>


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

								<ul>


								   <li>@@@838919868 <em>Why are the command crew still wearing their old

									uniforms in the opening credits?</em><br>

									Because changing one picture, or a credit caption, is a *heck*

									of a lot simpler than changing 4 pictures and redoing the whole thing.


								<p>

								   <li> <em>Why were this episode and

									<a href="057.html">"A Late Delivery From Avalon"</a>

									swapped?</em><br>

									We flipped them around because after "Ceremonies" we NEED something

									lighter, and because York's episode in the new slot now coincides with

									the first week of sweeps.  They were written to play in either order.


								<p>

								   <li> <em>Can you tell us more about Vir's family?</em><br>

									I can, but I'd rather show it; you'll find out a lot more about Vir and

									family relations in "Sic Transit Vir" in mid-april.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@838919868 <em>About the title</em><br>

									thus passes Vir (it's a signal of transition)


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865184132 Re: "...a Vir intensive script."


									<p>

									Just finished one.  Script for episode #13, "Sic Transit Vir."  I

									think it's gonna be a hoot.


								<p>

								   <li> Yes, it's sort of a double pun in that respect...thus passes

									the man, which can have many meanings, also entering manhood, or dying,

									or going away, or the more Vir transitioning, or going...lots of

									variations.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865184132 It's accurate as far as it goes, and a pun on another

									level.


								<p>

								   <li> Just an advisory...I finally saw the trailer for "Sic Transit Vir," and

									I'd suggest anyone who wants to enjoy the show *not* watch the trailer,

									as it gives away stuff that shouldn't be given away.


									<p>@@@882120672 <em>[Spoiler for "The Maltese Falcon"]</em><br>

									I.e., if the trailer for The Maltese Falcon said, "...and see the

									surprise when the black bird is discovered to be an imitation."


								<p>

								   <li>@@@838919868 <em>[Spoiler for "Citizen Kane"]</em><br>

									I wasn't happy with that aspect of the promo either

									(which was the national spot, not cut by the stations).  It's kinda

									like doing a promo for Citizen Kane, "...it all began with a child's

									sled named Rosebud...."


								<p>

								   <li> <em>About Vir</em><br>

									He's a much stronger character than anyone

									might think.  He's sort of the "God's Fool" character, to get literary

									for a second, who somehow manages to make it through it all.


								<p>

								   <li> At this point, with the rethinking going on back home, he's

									bethrothed and promised, the marriage arranged, but not yet fully,

									*formally* married. There's still ritual to go through.  The other

									family could still choose to withdraw the arrangement.


								<p>

								   <li> Even the babble is pretty tightly scripted.  The hesitations and

									occasional stumble-restatements are the actor's delivery.  There's

									occasionally a very tiny bit of improv in that kind of scene, but very

									little.


								<p>

								   <li> Londo is a very sharp, cunning character.  He does what he

									does for sheer patriotism, to serve his people.  *Whatever* that may

									entail.  And Vir gets whipsawed a lot...he's a great character, with a

									wide range of characteristics I can play with, from comic to tragic.


								<p>

								   <li> When Londo goes to Delenn earlier this season to ask about having Vir

									appointed to the Centauri diplomatic mission, he mentions then that the

									mission has been closed for some time, "some trouble I believe with our

									previous liaison."  This just paid that off; those Minbari are just a

									darned bad influence, I guess.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@839749088 <em>What happened to the previous liaison?</em><br>

									Went native.  Bought into the whole Minbari theological system, dropped

									his Centauri citizenship, was last heard of in a distant retreat trying

									to grow a bone.


								<p>

								   <li> <em>What happened to the Narn?  And what were the Narns doing in Vir's

									room?</em><br>

									I could've *sworn* there was a line there about the Narn

									recovering; I'm going to have to check this.  I hope I didn't

									accidentally cut it for time while doing something else.  (It was a

									LONG editing session.)


									<p>

									I figured the Narns were there to discuss the fates of their

									families back home, but yeah, to a certain degree it was there as a

									great end for the teaser.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@838919868 <em>Was the door to Vir's room computer-generated?</em><br>

									The door was quite real.


								<p>

								   <li> <em>Who said the line that was cut?</em><br>

									It was in the observation dome scene with Ivanova; I realized

									that we'd cut a small piece for time that was expendable, but in the

									back and forth went one line too far without realizing it.  Sigh....


								<p>

								   <li> <em>What was the line?</em><br>

									The only line was that "the Narn is recovering in Medlab,"

									something to that effect.  Sigh....


								<p>

								   <li>@@@838919868 Basically, after seeing what he's done for the Narns, and

									knowing who Vir is all this time, and seeing his reaction of horror to

									what Lyndisty was suggesting, anybody who thinks he offed the Narn

									isn't paying attention.


								<p>

								   <li> <em>Did the Centauri politician know Vir's secret?</em><br>

									No, he didn't know, and would've been horrified if he had.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@838919868 <em>About different Centauri speaking with different

									accents</em><br>

									We've just always assumed that not everyone on any given

									planet is going to speak with the same accent as everybody else from

									that planet. Seems more realistic.


									<p>

									Certainly, among Centauri, a certain accent is more associated

									with the "old school" of court nobility and the like.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@833443367 "Did Sheridan and Ivanova really think that Vir was

									killing off thousands of Narn while he was on Minbar. Hey, this

									is Vir, not Josef Mengele we are talking about. Did they really

									think it was necessary to drag this all out in front of Londo

									instead of privately."


									<p>

									No, they didn't think he was doing it personally, only that he

									was expediting the transfer of Narns offworld for this

									purpose.  You think someone like Vir could not do this.  But

									most of the Nazis who send Jews to die weren't Josef Mengele,

									carving into bodies...they processed numbers from behind

									wire-framed glasses, and were quiet, sometimes even cheerful

									individuals with wonderful wives and children.  The greatest

									evil can often wear a benign, smiling, affable face.  And

									remember, people can change on this show.  You look at Londo in

									season one, is this someone you could buy taking part in the

									bombing of the Narn homeworld and the death of millions of

									Narns?  Yet that's what happened.  And their belief was that it

									was probably Londo who was behind it all...it's Londo to whom

									Ivanova expressed her outrage, not Vir, who she figured was

									probably being pushed into it at his behest, so logically she

									*would* take this right to Londo.  She figured, as you did,

									that Vir certainly wouldn't think of this on his own, but Londo

									could (and says so in the episode).


								<p>

								   <li>@@@838919868 "Londo is a hell of a leader."


									<p>

									Perfect fodder for an Emperor, no...?


								<p>

								   <li>@@@838919868 I love the Ivanova/Vir scenes; I fall down laughing every

									time.


									<p>

									"the wife is always right."  Hmm...I must convey this to Ivanova

									for her reaction the next time she pops out of my subconscious.


								<p>

								   <li> <em>What was the saucer-shaped ship outside the station?</em><br>

									It's a Vree ship, which we've seen before.


								<p>

								   <li> <em>About the patches on the sleeves of the new uniforms</em><br>

									One of the patches is a Ranger patch; the other is the new B5

									sword and shield logo.


								<p>

								   <li> It's been established that Minbari can and do lie when it's done to save

									the honor of another.  Here, Delenn saved face for Sheridan at dinner.


								<p>

								   <li>@@@865184132 <em>When will Delenn and Sheridan kiss?</em><br>

									Me?  A tease?  Moi?  I just report the news, I don't make it.


									<p>

									The kiss is coming.  But I wanted to do it in such a way that it

									somewhat unexpected, in a way that would have even more weight than

									under any other possible conditions.  How do you turn a kiss into a

									wham?  (Aside from kissing the right person, natch.)  Stay tuned....


								<p>

								   <li> Londo and the bugs had nothing to do with any notions about the Shadows.


									<p>

									Sheridan is a war historian, with his main interests in the civil war,

									where one of his ancestors fought.  He's very big on Lincoln.


								</ul>