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456 lines
18 KiB
456 lines
18 KiB
<!-- TITLE A Late Delivery From Avalon -->
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<h2><a name="OV">Overview</a></h2>
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<blockquote><cite>
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As Sheridan and Ivanova try to gain recognition of the station's new status
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among the alien governments, a traveler arrives with an unbelievable story out
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of distant legend.
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</cite>
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<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+York,+Michael">Michael York</a>.
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</blockquote>
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<pre><a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/057">7.79</a>
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Production number: 312
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Original air week: April 22, 1996
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00009OOFK/thelurkersguidet">DVD release date</a>: August 12, 2003
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Written by J. Michael Straczynski
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Directed by Mike Vejar
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</pre>
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<p>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000002VUV/thelurkersguidet">An
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episodic soundtrack is available.</a>
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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> G'Kar has been using a human courier to get messages back and forth
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between the station's Narn and the homeworld.
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<li> The first Earth vessel to encounter a Minbari warship was the
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Prometheus.
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As the Minbari ship approached with gun ports open, a sign of respect
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(<a href="017.html">"Legacies"</a>)
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the Prometheus' captain ordered its crew to open fire. The resulting
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battle destroyed two Minbari warships and killed the leader of the
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Grey Council, Dukhat.
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<li> 20,000 people were sent to defend Earth in the Battle of the Line.
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Only 200 survived. (Presumably the bulk of the 20,000 were aboard
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large ships, not individual fighters.)
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</ul>
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<h2><a name="UQ">Unanswered Questions</a></h2>
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<ul>
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<li> Given how badly outmatched humans were during the war, how did the
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Prometheus manage to inflict so much damage? Simply a matter of the
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element of surprise?
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<li> How much truth is there in Marcus' joking speculation about the
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Vorlons? Or in his drawing of parallels between the B5 crew and
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Arthurian legend? (If there's a lot of truth there, then who
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<em>is</em> the Morgana Le Fay figure?)
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<li> What is the "dawn of a new age" Marcus referred to when he told
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Franklin about the Ranger pin? Any relation to the Third Age of
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Mankind as mentioned in the opening monologues of seasons one and
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two?
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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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<li> Relying on a large number of races for the station's defense may turn
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out to be a logistical nightmare. Ivanova will have to deal with
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questions like the structure of the chain of command (does she have
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the authority to order a Vree ship to fire?) and what to do about
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races who've agreed to participate but whose enemies haven't, which
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could lead to a situation like the one in
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<a href="044.html">"The Fall of Night."</a>
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Still, as a simple show of force and a deterrent, the arrangement may
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well end up being sufficient.
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<li> How did Marcus know about the events in
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<a href="043.html">"Comes the Inquisitor?"</a>
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He arrived on the station after that was all over. Perhaps Sheridan
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or Delenn told him. Is the fact that the Vorlons have visited Earth
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in the past now common knowledge?
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<li> The Prometheus didn't destroy all the Minbari ships, since Delenn
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held Dukhat in her arms as he died
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(<a href="054.html">"Severed Dreams."</a>)
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<li> At what point did the Soul Hunter
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(<a href="002.html">"Soul Hunter"</a>)
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show up during the battle between the Prometheus and the Minbari ships?
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From Arthur's description, it sounded like the battle didn't last
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long; the Soul Hunter would almost have had to be onboard Dukhat's
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ship before the fighting began.
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<li> The Drazi ambassador now speaks for the League of Non-Aligned Worlds,
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whose membership seems to have gotten much smaller than a year ago.
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Perhaps many of the races have been taken over by their neighbors
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already, with Shadow help
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(<a href="054.html">"Severed Dreams."</a>)
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<li>@@@832096377 Arthur's line about returning "because I am most needed here
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and now" is analogous to Sebastian's description of Delenn and Sheridan
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as "the right people in the right place at the right time"
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(<a href="043.html">"Comes the Inquisitor."</a>)
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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>@@@832007836 For more information about Arthurian legend, see
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<a href="http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jjd23/arthurian.htm">Arthurian Resources
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on the Internet.</a>
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<li>@@@838499380 It should be noted that Arthurian legend is exactly
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that: legend. While there are historical figures who match bits
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and pieces of the legend, there almost certainly was never an actual
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King Arthur.
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<li> The Minbari name for the Ranger pin is Isil'zha.
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<li> Prometheus is a figure from Greek mythology, a Titan who gave fire to
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mankind. For more information see
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<a href="http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/bdodge/scaffold/GG/creationMan.html">The Creation of Man by Prometheus.</a>
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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> Michael York is currently shooting with us in "A Late Delivery From
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Avalon," and doing an amazing job. This may turn into one of our best
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episodes, from a performance and emotion perspective. I had a few
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doubts about the script -- it has a kind of writing style I don't use
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very often, and very stylized in appearance -- but it's coming out
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great.
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<p>
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<li> York finished with us quite some time ago. Great episode, and a nice
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man. Very friendly, very polite, nothing of the "I'm a STAR"
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attitude one often gets with...well, *stars*. He was even very nice
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when I gleepily asked him to sign my laserdisk of CABARET.
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<p>
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<li> York's a major film actor who's starred in many films,
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including one of my personal favorites, "Cabaret." Also in the
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"Logan's Run" movie.
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<p>
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<li>@@@839199590 If you've got someone new to the show, who might not
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know the backstory very well, then probably the Michael York episode,
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"A Late Delivery From Avalon" would be a good one.
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<p>
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<li> I *really* like this episode a lot. The performance,
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the music, everything works; I tried to get a little artsy, try out
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some different kinds of stuff, stretch some muscles I haven't used
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enough, and it came out very nicely. It's just nifty.
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<p>
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<li> I like this one a lot. Not really an arc episode,
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except in going into some backstory elements, but just nicely done.
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I'm quite proud of this one.
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<p>
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<li> The Delenn/Arthur moment played out very well; no
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lines, not a word, just the images, and the emotions under the surface.
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<p>
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<li>@@@865184429 I'll say one thing about one of those eps, but I won't say
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which one; when people hear what it appears to be about, the immediate
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reaction is going to be "Oh, god, they're not doing THAT are they?"
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and there'll be a lot of sarcasm and head shaking...until the
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episode airs, and folks see that what it's about...is *not* what it's
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about...and I think it'll be a very popular episode thereafter.
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<p>
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<li> <em>About the title</em><br>
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I often labor a long time on these
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things, to try and give them many layers, or turn the title in on
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itself, or do a play on words. I can't start work on a script until I
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have a title, because the title sets the mood.
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<p>
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<li> <em>Did Arthurian legends influence the heroic-epic style of B5's
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storyline?</em><br>
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Well, if you're going to look at heroic epic, sure, the
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Arthurian story is a classic...but the earliest and best of these
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remain the Illiad and the Odyssey. Homer was definitely hitting all
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cylinders with that.
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<p>
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If there's an aspect that informed B5's development, it's the
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arc of that heroic epic, which if you look at it dispassionately, is as
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much about the people *around* the hero as the hero himself. And all
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too often, the hero achieves the goal, but falls or falters or is
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changed by the end of it. Much of what passes for contemporary "heroic
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epic" assumes that it means the Good Guys Win. Heroic here as a term
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goes back to its much earlier origins, a "heroic effort" is something
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that takes everything you have, against terrible or impossible odds.
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<p>
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Yes, you achieve the goal...but you fall in battle in the
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fields of Troy. Yes, you create Camelot, but in the end you are
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destroyed and Camelot falls. There's tragedy and mistakes side by side
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with the glory and the gains. The accounts of Arthur's meeting with
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Mordred at Camlan field, and how the final battle began is classic
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ironic drama, a tragedy of great proportions...and an aspect of that
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fed directly into the development of the B5 backstory, as you'll learn
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later this season.
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<p>
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Histories are written about the soldiers who won their battles;
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but songs are sung about the soldiers who fell in battle struggling for
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a greater cause. What inspires us is the unfinished work, the dream of
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picking up the fallen standard and taking it ten more feet up the hill,
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knowing that even if you fall, the next man in line will take it
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another ten feet, until finally the hill is taken. Humans are
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constantly throwing their lives away on causes logic tells us are
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hopeless...but which in time become real for that reason.
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<p>
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It's a dangerous romance with myth, heroism, and death. On the
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one hand, it inspires an Arthur...on another, it inspires a car bomber
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to blow himself and 27 bystanders to bits en route to an appointment
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with Allah.
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<p>
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What makes the heroic epic work is that it taps into all the
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myths and archetypes that have been with us for all of recorded
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history, and much of its oral history. Where B5 gets into this area is
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in trying to look at the kinds of myths and epics that have gone
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before, and finding not the specifics, but the themes which are
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universal, the *sense* and the feel of it, which are intangible, and
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which is what makes doing an epic so hard. Either you feel the
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structure, or you don't; if you try to hammer it down into a formula,
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a step-by-step process, it turns to quicksilver in your hands and slips
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away. You have to take it all in, then listen to the inner voice and
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write accordingly.
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<p>
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I remember a stanza from a poem I read a long time ago; "Love
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will die if held too tightly; love will fly if held too lightly;
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lightly, tightly, how do I know, whether I'm holding or letting love
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go?" This kind of fiction operates on the same basis. Substitute the
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word epic or story for love, and the logic holds.
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<p>
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So the epic hero or story can't be a *model*, to use your
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phrase; it can only be an inspiration for what has gone before...an
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echo in the back of your mind that whispers and guides you through all
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the dark places.
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<p>
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<li>@@@865184429 <em>Was the "who is Morgana Le Fay?" scene a dig at people
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on the net who say B5 is just some other story with different
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trappings?</em><br>
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The references given (he said vaguely, to avoid spoiling anybody) were
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first and foremost intentional to the story and to set up stuff...but
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as I wrote it, the way this stuff has been discussed online did come to
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mind, and on some level it was probably a slight *plink*, yes.
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<p>
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Sort of a "yeah, well, TWO can play at that game, and most of you missed
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THIS particular analogy, so THERE."
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<p>
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I am in serious need of a vacation, I think....
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<p>
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<li> <em>Where did the 515 date for the Battle of Camlan come from?</em><br>
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I dug through a number of recent Arthurian texts, and that date come out
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the most often; I've heard the other date, which was about 20 years
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later, but the one most often used is the 515 date, at least in what
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I researched.
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<p>
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<li>@@@844028193 Virtually all food used is real, for health reasons. The
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liquid drunk
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by G'Kar and Arthur in "Avalon" is Yoo-Hoo; the mountain of stuff
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Garibaldi's eating in the Zocalo in first season is piled meatloaf; the
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spaghetti and bagna cauda was real; the only problem is that no matter
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what you do, it's going to get cold after 18 takes, even with reheating,
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and by the 17th take...well, it's an ugly sight.
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<p>
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<li> <em>Was the Excalibur in the episode a real sword?</em><br>
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Yes, it's a real sword...I'm trying to remember where we got it,
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it may have been a vendor in these things, one of many that frequent
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catalogs and Ren faires.
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<p>
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<li>@@@846742073 <em>What happened to it after Delenn took it?</em><br>
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It went back to our prop department....
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<p>
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<li>@@@846742073 You were being clear, I was just being puckish.
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<p>
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Well, in theory.
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<p>
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I actually haven't worked out what she did with the sword, or who has
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it now. I have several options on this, all of them interesting, and
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never made the final decision. Maybe they used it to make the new
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emblem. Lemme dwell on this.
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<p>
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<li>@@@882037869 <em>Was that the real Excalibur?</em><br>
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Since that wasn't really Arthur, the odds of that really being
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Excalibur are substantially reduced.
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<p>
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<li>@@@890935544 <em>Will we hear more about "Arthur's" exploits with
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the Narn?</em><br>
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It's one of those stories I doubt we'll hear much about.
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<p>
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<li> <em>Was some of the music by Clannad?</em><br>
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No, we can't use any outside music; it all has to be done via our
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composer (unless we purchase the rights, obviously). Here, though, it's
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all Chris. We had a long conversation about the kind of music I wanted,
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I encouraged him to think in terms of Celtic music, natural
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instruments primarily instead of synth or electronic instruments, that
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sort of thing. But no, no Claanad was used.
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<p>
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<li>@@@865184429 I think Chris did a great job on this one (he's done some
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spectacular work overall this season, on Severed, Interludes, Ship and
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others later this season). What I'd told him in this case I wanted was
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as much as possible in the way of natural instruments as opposed to
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synth, so that it fit more with the feel of the episode.
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<p>
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<li> <em>How is the station supporting itself now that it's seceded?</em><br>
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We'll establish in coming episodes that they have to become more
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self sufficient; the Minbari will help some, others will also have a
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reason to help support the station for the advantages it gives them,
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the services it provides, and eventually docking fees will have to rise
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if they can make a go of it.
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<p>
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<li> Marcus and Franklin make a good team, it's a
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nice balance. And Marcus did fit in well with the whole Arthur
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storyline (it's kind of an obvious but well-fitting match).
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<p>
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As for Marcus' line...sometimes offhand remarks are only offhand
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remarks...and sometimes they aint....
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<p>
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<li> Because we've played back and forth with this
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stuff before, a la the Inquisitor, it *could've* been him, which made
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it all the more interesting. Certainly Marcus *wanted* it to be
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him....
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<p>
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<li>@@@837191770 <em>What was Delenn told before she went to
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Medlab?</em><br>
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She was told the whole background...including who David really
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was. She was in a way taking the pain from someone who had attacked the
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very ship she and the other Grey council members had been aboard.
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<p>
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<li>@@@839199590 <em>Is there anyone among the humans from whom Delenn
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could receive absolution?</em><br>
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You're right, that's a good question.
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<p>
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<li>@@@865184429 The ability to forgive is certainly one of the foremost
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principles of sentient life, even Draal would agree with that.
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<p>
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<li>@@@837967627 The Earth/Minbari war ended in 2247, and there were several
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ships in the initial contact convoy, the Amundsen and the Prometheus.
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<p>
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<li> You basically had two large convoys meeting one another. Two Minbari
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ships were hit and destroyed, a third damaged badly; this was the one
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carrying Dukhat and the Grey Council, including Delenn.
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<p>
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Just for the record, what happened after that...the Minbari ships opened
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fire, and a number of the Earth ships were fragged. The rest fled as
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the Minbari ships hesitated, waiting to see what happened to Dukhat.
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When it
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was learned that he was killed, they took off and pursued the ships back
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to an Earth base. Initially, one of the Earth captains explained that
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they had encountered hostiles (trying to cover his ass), and when the
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Minbari ships appeared, all hell broke loose.
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<p>
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It was shortly after this "cowardly attack" on their ships, and the
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assassination of their leader, that the Minbari declared what is in
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essence a jihad, a holy war, against Earth. The worker class went along
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with it, even though the religious caste was unsure...but divided, they
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couldn't raise sufficient objections to the war to stop it initially.
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<p>
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<Li> The contact was made late in the year, and while that was the
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first blow, it takes a while for any war to really get going; you
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aren't at war instantly. The Minbari had to pull their forces
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together, make the open declaration of war, establish supply lines and
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all the other elements needed for warfare.
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<p>
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<li>@@@839199590 <em>Open gun ports as a sign of respect?</em><br>
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It goes back a long time...if you look at certain members of the
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animal kingdom, they will often flash their teeth or growl to establish
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their identity, to show equality with someone else. You have to step
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outside a human perspective and ask how an alien would show respect,
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which may not be how we would logically do so. (Heck, in many cultures
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here on earth, a perfectly normal habit -- crossing your legs and the
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bottom of your foot showing -- is taken as a grave insult in some
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cultures. Certain customs are deeply rooted in cultural backgrounds or
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incidents that are often incomprehensible to us.)
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<p>
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<li>@@@839199590 "Different (alien) doesn't mean illogical in my book."
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<p>
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I can think of a number of Zen schools of thought that you would
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consider vastly illogical...but quite human. There are many things we
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would consider illogical to a western mind that are perfectly
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reasonable elsewhere.
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<p>
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<li>@@@839199590 "However, neither is it appropriate to view all alien behavior as
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acceptable just because it is different....."
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<p>
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Never implied it was. In general, on the B5 station, though, if
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an alien acts toward one of its own kind in a cultural oddity (to us),
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we tend not to interfere unless so requested; if, however, an alien
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turns that cultural oddity toward one not of its own species, then the
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B5 staff would definitely intervene.
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<p>
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<li> There's a small clue about the third age in the discussion
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between Marcus and Franklin about the ranger pin. I mean, it's really
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pretty blatant.
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<p>
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<li> The name of the Ranger pin is spelled Isil'zha.
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<p>
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The Minbari term for Ranger One, btw, is Entil'zha.
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<p>
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Z'ha'dum is where the shadows live. Odd, that reversal....
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</ul>
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