You can not select more than 25 topics
Topics must start with a letter or number, can include dashes ('-') and can be up to 35 characters long.
558 lines
22 KiB
558 lines
22 KiB
<!-- TITLE Endgame -->
|
|
|
|
<h2><a name="OV">Overview</a></h2>
|
|
|
|
<blockquote><cite>
|
|
Sheridan's forces make their final strike. Marcus weighs a vital decision.
|
|
</cite>
|
|
|
|
<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+McCormack,+J.+Patrick">J. Patrick McCormack</a> as General Lefcourt.
|
|
<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Monaghan,+Marjorie">Marjorie Monaghan</a> as Number One.
|
|
<a href="http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Seymour,+Carolyn">Carolyn Seymour</a> as Senator Crosby.
|
|
</blockquote>
|
|
|
|
<pre><a href="/lurk/p5/intro.html">P5 Rating</a>: <a href="/lurk/p5/086">9.27</a>
|
|
|
|
Production number: 420
|
|
Original air week: October 13, 1997
|
|
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000DGBEY/thelurkersguidet">DVD release date</a>: January 6, 2004
|
|
|
|
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
|
|
Directed by John Copeland
|
|
</pre>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000ADJS/thelurkersguidet">An
|
|
episodic soundtrack is available.</a>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<strong>Warning: This episode resolves several major plot threads.
|
|
Think twice before reading on if you haven't seen the episode.</strong>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<hr size=3>
|
|
|
|
<h2><a name="BP">Plot Points</a></h2>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
<li>@@@876782152 Sheridan's plan for the frozen telepaths
|
|
(<a href="058.html">"Ship of Tears"</a>)
|
|
was to smuggle them onto as many Earth warships as possible and
|
|
activate them. The telepaths would wake up and merge with the ships'
|
|
computer systems, making the ships unable to maneuver or attack and
|
|
thus removing the need for Sheridan's forces to destroy them. The
|
|
plan succeeded in disabling the better part of the Earth fleet at
|
|
the Mars colony.
|
|
|
|
<li>@@@876781979 Sheridan's forces have arrived at Earth, prompting
|
|
President Clark to commit suicide rather than face capture or trial.
|
|
A member of the Earth Senate, apparently friendly to Sheridan, has
|
|
at least temporarily filled in the power vacuum.
|
|
|
|
<li>@@@876781979 Marcus has used the alien healing machine
|
|
(<a href="021.html">"The Quality of Mercy"</a>)
|
|
to give his life to Ivanova, apparently dying in the process.
|
|
|
|
</ul>
|
|
|
|
<h2><a name="UQ">Unanswered Questions</a></h2>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
<li>@@@876781979 What happened to the telepaths on the destroyers?
|
|
|
|
<li>@@@877127172 Was Bester's lover Carolyn
|
|
(<a href="058.html">"Ship of Tears"</a>)
|
|
among the telepaths used against the destroyers? Did she survive?
|
|
|
|
<li>@@@876781979 What was meant by "The ascension of the ordinary man" on
|
|
Clark's suicide note? (See
|
|
<a href="#AN.ordinary">Analysis</a>)
|
|
|
|
<li>@@@876781979 Did Clark have a vice president? Will he or she become
|
|
the new head of the Earth Alliance, and if so, will Earth continue
|
|
the policies of the Clark administration?
|
|
|
|
</ul>
|
|
|
|
<h2><a name="AN">Analysis</a></h2>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
<li>@@@877200229 When General Lefcourt addressed the fleet at Mars, he
|
|
didn't bother repeating Clark's propaganda about Sheridan's forces
|
|
being under alien influence. That could be a sign that few people
|
|
in Earthforce really believed it anyway, so there was little point
|
|
maintaining the pretext. Or it could have been a result of his
|
|
knowledge of Sheridan; that might lead him to believe that Sheridan
|
|
would take up arms against Clark of his own free will.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@877200229 Both Sheridan and Lefcourt were in charge of Omega-class
|
|
destroyers, and they both displaced the destroyers' usual captains.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@884246713 The device Franklin placed on Lyta was most likely the
|
|
one he mentioned developing in
|
|
<a href="082.html">"The Exercise of Vital Powers."</a>
|
|
He claimed to be working on a repeater to help broadcast her thought
|
|
patterns.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@876781979 The formation of the assault team on Mars was planned
|
|
oddly; all the top-ranking people were together in a single
|
|
group (Garibaldi, Number One, Lyta, and Franklin,) which would
|
|
have been disastrous if they'd failed to take over the outpost.
|
|
However, it's not an arrangement without merit: Franklin and
|
|
Lyta obviously had to be together for him to hook her up to the
|
|
device, and Number One probably wanted to keep an eye on both
|
|
Garibaldi and Lyta.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@876781979 After her bad treatment at the hands of Sheridan and
|
|
company, treatment which forced her to reassociate herself with the
|
|
Psi Corps
|
|
(<a href="082.html">"The Exercise of Vital Powers,"</a>)
|
|
Lyta was surprisingly willing to put herself on the line yet again.
|
|
Has her arrangement with Bester made her comfortable enough to set
|
|
aside her past annoyance with Sheridan and the B5 crew, or does she
|
|
simply believe so strongly in the cause that she's willing to
|
|
disregard personal considerations?
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@877286086 Marcus viewed several log entries from Franklin. The
|
|
first referred to the death of Cailyn, Franklin's lover in
|
|
<a href="062.html">"Walkabout."</a>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
The second might have referred to Marcus' recovery from his
|
|
fight with Neroon in
|
|
<a href="063.html">"Grey 17 Is Missing,"</a>
|
|
although at that time Franklin was on walkabout and thus couldn't
|
|
have recorded the log entry -- a possible gaffe. It couldn't have
|
|
referred to any event before
|
|
<a href="055.html">"Ceremonies of Light and Dark,"</a>
|
|
since Franklin was wearing his Army of Light uniform.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
The third, of course, was in reference to the use of the alien
|
|
healing machine on Garibaldi in
|
|
<a href="024.html">"Revelations."</a>
|
|
Franklin's flashback recounted
|
|
<a href="024.html">"Revelations"</a>
|
|
as well.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
These log entries paralleled Marcus' own dilemma. The first dealt
|
|
with the death of a woman Franklin cared about. The second (assuming
|
|
it truly referred to
|
|
<a href="063.html">"Grey 17 Is Missing"</a>)
|
|
was the last time Marcus was willing to give up his life for a woman
|
|
he cared for, namely Delenn. And the third message was a warning about
|
|
the consequences of what Marcus was contemplating.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@876858859 <a name="AN.ordinary">The phrase on Clark's suicide</a>
|
|
note ("The ascension of the ordinary man") is a cipher, but it might
|
|
have some discernable meaning. The theme of death leading to
|
|
ascension is common in religion; perhaps the "ordinary man" referred
|
|
to the innocent civilians who'd be killed by the defense platforms,
|
|
and Clark believed they'd ascend to heaven.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
There's also an echo of Cartagia's belief that his involvement with the
|
|
Shadows would allow him to ascend to godhood; though Cartagia's belief
|
|
was rooted in Centauri religion (other emperors had been elevated to
|
|
godhood, as noted by Vir in
|
|
<a href="022.html">"Chrysalis"</a>)
|
|
it's possible Clark believed the same was true of himself.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
It's also possible that "ordinary" referred to non-telepaths: by
|
|
scouring Earth's surface, a mundane was determining the fate of his
|
|
evolutionary superiors, thus ascending above them.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@876781979 How did the Senator know so quickly what Clark had done,
|
|
and how much damage the particle beams could cause Earth? One
|
|
possible answer to the second question is that the potential
|
|
danger to Earth might have been discussed in the Senate, for
|
|
example while debating funding of the defense platforms. And
|
|
perhaps the control panels on Clark's desk made it obvious
|
|
that he'd turned the defense platforms against Earth, though the
|
|
implication is that she guessed his plan simply from the words
|
|
"scorched earth."
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@876781979 It's odd that the Agamemnon was the only ship available
|
|
to destroy the last defense platform, since only moments earlier it
|
|
was in the midst of a swarm of other friendly vessels. Obviously
|
|
this was a matter of artistic license, but why couldn't one of the
|
|
Minbari cruisers, for example, have fired a beam weapon at the
|
|
platform from a distance?
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@876783815 Now that Sheridan's forces have removed Earth's defenses
|
|
to a large extent -- the orbital platforms are all gone, many ships
|
|
have been destroyed, and the advanced destroyer group is no more --
|
|
an aggressive alien government, perhaps the Drakh
|
|
(<a href="076.html">"Lines of Communication"</a>)
|
|
might consider this an ideal time to try to attack Earth or some of
|
|
its colonies. Sheridan may have to station some of the White Star
|
|
fleet and/or the League ships at Earth to help make up for the damage
|
|
his campaign has done and ensure Earth's security.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@876783815 On the other hand, after Earth has had a chance to build
|
|
up its forces again, it may be far in advance of the rest of the galaxy,
|
|
even the Minbari. Assuming Sheridan relinquishes command of his
|
|
fleet to Earthgov now that Clark is out of the picture, Earth will
|
|
have both Vorlon and Shadow technology at its disposal. Given that
|
|
some progress has obviously been made in integrating Shadow technology
|
|
into Earth's
|
|
(<a href="085.html">"Between the Darkness and the Light"</a>)
|
|
it's not implausible that the Vorlon technology in the White Stars --
|
|
not to mention their Minbari components -- could be analyzed by the
|
|
same researchers. Will the Minbari stand for that if it's attempted?
|
|
How much do they value their current technological edge over the other
|
|
major races?
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@877072454 <a name="AN.iphigenia" href="085.html#AN.agamemnon">The
|
|
parallel between Greek myth and Sheridan's command of the Agamemnon</a>
|
|
has further resonance here, especially the variant in which Agamemnon's
|
|
daughter Iphigenia is saved from death by Artemis. Marcus, a
|
|
self-described virgin
|
|
(<a href="069.html">"The Summoning"</a>)
|
|
has brought Ivanova back from the dead (assuming the alien device
|
|
does in fact successfully revive her.) What parallel, if any, there
|
|
will be with the rest of the myth -- Iphigenia living the rest of her
|
|
life in a distant temple, far from her family -- remains to be seen.
|
|
|
|
</ul>
|
|
|
|
<h2><a name="NO">Notes</a></h2>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@877912167 The design of the rocket launching from Mars just before
|
|
and after the opening credits may be a visual homage to the
|
|
<a href="http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/x-33/dcx_menu.htm">DC-X,</a>
|
|
a prototype of a reusable lightweight space vehicle. DC-X performed
|
|
eight test flights between 1993 and 1995.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@876786524 Effects glitch: One of the destroyers attacked by the White
|
|
Stars at Mars was the Nemesis. Unfortunately, the Nemesis defected
|
|
to Sheridan's side in
|
|
<a href="081.html">"No Surrender, No Retreat."</a>
|
|
Of course, it could have been one of the fake defectors
|
|
(<a href="085.html">"Between the Darkness and the Light"</a>)
|
|
and gone back to Clark's side after gathering information about the
|
|
rebel fleet.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@877199937 Effects glitch: When the fleet first approaches Earth,
|
|
it's daytime in east Africa, Asia, and the Indian Ocean. But when
|
|
the Agamemnon is about to ram the defense platform, North America
|
|
is in sunlight.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@877110295 Clark's suicide and note are similar to a scene in the
|
|
film "Dr. Strangelove." In the movie, a base commander launches a
|
|
nuclear strike against the Soviet Union. As troops try to break in
|
|
to capture him and get the abort code, he shoots himself. They
|
|
discover on his desk a sheet of paper with mad ramblings and a number
|
|
of circled letters.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
And of course, many real despots in history have committed suicide
|
|
rather than be captured by the enemy, such as Adolf Hitler.
|
|
|
|
</ul>
|
|
|
|
<h2><a name="JS">jms speaks</a></h2>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@876965010 <em>The episode seemed rushed.</em><br>
|
|
Okay, one general response here...people are seeing rush where in many
|
|
cases there is NOT a rush. Look, pay attention here: WE'RE IN THE
|
|
FOURTH ACT OF THE EARTH CYCLE. Like the fourth act of an episode, you
|
|
have to really start cranking. You want it to be at white-heat once
|
|
you hit the ground.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
What's in Endgame, and most of Between... was always going to be there,
|
|
with or without a 5th season. I made my trims in the period PRIOR
|
|
TO these episodes, for the most part.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
This is the culmination of something we've been building now for three
|
|
years, and I'm going to make it as damned fast-paced as I can.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
So don't go into this assuming it was rushed...it's *fast*, and that's
|
|
the difference here.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
People complain when we do character stories that the arc isn't moving
|
|
fast enough...people complain that it's moving too fast when the arc is
|
|
in full gear...sombody get a concensus going here, okay?
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@879013222 <em>How did you fit so much into one hour?</em><br>
|
|
It's one of those things I don't know if I can explain adequately,
|
|
or sensibly. A lot of it is totally instinctive, I don't sit down
|
|
and think about it, I just do it. But to dissect...part of it is
|
|
the intensity of the scenes, I think. Strong emotion extends
|
|
time, stretches it; if you've ever been in a major traumatic
|
|
situation, a few minutes can seem like hours. The more you can
|
|
put your character into a situation of intense emotions, and
|
|
create those same emotions in the viewer, you will in effect slow
|
|
down perceived time.
|
|
|
|
Also, there's the matter of context here. If you've set something
|
|
up in prior episodes, in something like "Endgame" there's no
|
|
set-up which means exposition and chews up time; you go right for
|
|
the high point in the story bell-curve, and you stay there. So
|
|
the part you're used to seeing take only a few minutes at the end
|
|
of an episode becomes almost the entirety of the episode; same
|
|
result.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@877629093 <em>What is Earth Standard Time? GMT?</em><br>
|
|
Yes, EST = GMT.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
And this episode wasn't rushed; it's what you do when you're
|
|
bringing any story to its climax. It's like watching Aliens, going
|
|
away before the last 20 minutes, coming back and saying, "Well, it
|
|
moved awfully fast." It has to, you're in the big moment. No, there
|
|
isn't time for everything, there is NEVER time for everything, there's
|
|
always stuff we might want to see...but what's in Endgame is what was
|
|
always going to be in Endgame. If I'd known there would be a 5th
|
|
season at the time, I still would've written it exactly the way it was
|
|
written.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
The collapsing was done for the most part *long* before we ever
|
|
got to this part of the season.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
It's just fast because that's what you need to do at this point.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@878327267 A hideous amount of rendering power and time went into
|
|
that episode, and the result is all there on-screen. The only bigger
|
|
CGI feast is in the prequel, which is approximately 21% EFX, most of it
|
|
pure CGI and composites.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@877023683 <em>The Mars surface effects looked different.</em><br>
|
|
Actually, most of the prior mars shots were done by an outside
|
|
contractor, who's been doing such shots for the history of the show.
|
|
NDEI's boys wanted a chance to do them, and did so.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
They're not bad...we still need to improve a bit on the movements, and
|
|
the camera still moves a bit too fast, which gives it that computer-y
|
|
feel...but overall, not bad.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<em>How long did those shots take to render?</em><br>
|
|
Quite a lot, I understand.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@877629418 <em>Has Mars' air pressure been increased so pressure
|
|
suits are no longer needed?</em><br>
|
|
My feeling is that there's been some small terraforming, which
|
|
has helped a little, but there's still a long way to go.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@877708577 One thing we've noted is that there's been some minor
|
|
terraforming on Mars over the 175 or so years we've been there. It's
|
|
still a hostile climate, but not as bad as it is right now.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@877629093 <em>Shouldn't moving around the surface of Mars look
|
|
odd due to its lower gravity? Or has its gravity been increased
|
|
somehow?</em><br>
|
|
No, there was no change to the gravity...what should we see to
|
|
show that the gravity was still less? Someone like Garibaldi is still
|
|
going to weight about 75 pounds, so he's not about to go around
|
|
floating or bouncing, that's pretty solid. I don't see many
|
|
13-year-olds walking around like they're on the moon....
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@877941352 "If you had time to spare in the episode (ho ho), you
|
|
might have
|
|
suggested the different ratio of inertial mass to weight by having
|
|
character's feet skid out from under them when stopping, bouncing off
|
|
walls while turning corners, overbalancing on turns, or catching things
|
|
they had dropped two seconds after dropping them. Maybe tossing a CGI
|
|
grenade."
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Except, of course, this would've looked awfully silly on camera.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
BTW, remember that Number One and Garibaldi, as well as Lyta,
|
|
have experience with living on Mars, so they would automatically
|
|
compensate.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@876965010 <em>Wouldn't the ship's quartermaster notice a frozen
|
|
telepath arriving?</em><br>
|
|
In something like this, you don't move unless you have the main
|
|
quartermaster at the Mars base ON YOUR SIDE. You stuff it all into
|
|
cargo loaders and crates, and ship it up. Have you ever seen military
|
|
shipments? I looked into this, and security for big crates like this
|
|
is done *at the point of shipping*.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@880879145 "What was needed was at least talk of a major Mars
|
|
resistance attack occuring at the same time to draw off the security."
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
There was. Go back to the scene on the Apollo when the first
|
|
word of attacks comes in...it says specifically that they're hitting a
|
|
number of places *including* a White Star hitting that particular base.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@877629418 <em>How did Marcus contact B5 through the
|
|
jammers?</em><br>
|
|
Because Marcus sent the signal to B5 before the fleet jumped
|
|
into hyperspace, leaving Mars, toward Earth. We in hyperspace for the
|
|
result, the search being concluded based on what was downloaded.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@876965010 <em>Why didn't Sheridan send another ship after
|
|
Marcus?</em><br>
|
|
You don't send a ship away to chase one person when you're
|
|
going into a battle. You don't KNOW what ships you are and
|
|
aren't going to need. In theory you took everything you had
|
|
because you thought you needed it. Yeah, Marcus was a friend,
|
|
but a lot of friends would die this day. You think he would
|
|
put Marcus's situation ahead of the fleet? Isolate one ship
|
|
and risk it to go after him? Ever been in the military? You
|
|
talk about it, but what you propose doesn't make sense. Would
|
|
Patton have sent back a tank because somebody fell behind? No.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@876017761 <em>Garibaldi's betrayal didn't have any lasting
|
|
consequences.</em><br>
|
|
You're right in terms of what Garibaldi did and didn't do, and we've
|
|
avoided the ultimate repercussions in other places for other things
|
|
(he said vaguely, not wanting to post spoilers)...but you can only do
|
|
that so far, and if you go further you start cheating. You also
|
|
remove the dramatic impact of the actions of your characters if they
|
|
do not have consequences.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<em>Why did Marcus have to do what he did?</em><br>
|
|
In this case, it ties very much into this
|
|
character's background...and would, in another universe in which CC
|
|
decided to stay, have spun out into some rather interesting
|
|
developments.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@877971306 "Well, unless its a coincidence, the "circled doodled
|
|
message left by
|
|
madman after he commits suicide" is VERY similar to what happens in Dr.
|
|
Strangelove. Again, maybe its JMS's homage to Kubrick (like the "2001"
|
|
style spacesuit that appeared in a second or third season episode, I
|
|
forget which, of B5)."
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Just to clarify this....
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Re: the note...the script as written calls only for the finding
|
|
of a note with the words "scorched earth" on it. It was John
|
|
Copeland's idea to do the note as shown, and yes, he's said quite
|
|
openly over on AOL that it was his nod to Strangelove. (John directed
|
|
that episode.)
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Re: the suit...that wasn't an intentional 2001 nod...we went to
|
|
Modern Props to get a space suit for Babylon Squared, and the only one
|
|
they had on hand that would work for us was one left-over from 2010,
|
|
which I asked the folks in costume to change as much as
|
|
possible...though it was pretty much what it was regardless. So that
|
|
one wasn't intentional.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@877026658 <em>What did Sheridan mean by "ramming speed?"</em><br>
|
|
You are in a space ship, in a vacuum, heading toward target X. You
|
|
understand that it takes time to transfer energy and movement toward
|
|
another plane, so you go at X-speed toward that object if you want the
|
|
option of applying thrusters and angling away from the object before
|
|
you slam into it.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
If, on the other hand, you *want* to hit the object, and you have no
|
|
interest in holding back your thrusters to allow you to diverge from
|
|
the target in the amount of space remaining between you and it, you
|
|
proceed at Y speed, with your thrusters putting out their maximum
|
|
amount of fuel.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Y = ramming speed.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@877368135 "...the symmetry and symbolism in how you structured that
|
|
final battle. The story of Babylon 5 basically started with the Minbari
|
|
fleet coming to Earth to destroy it at the Battle of the Line. To
|
|
have the Minbari fleet return to Earth, not to destroy humanity, but to
|
|
save it, especially along side Earth fighters and capital ships was
|
|
stunning."
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Noticed that little touch, did you....?
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
What goes around, comes around.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@876965010 <em>How did the Apollo monitor Sheridan's situation if
|
|
communications were being jammed?</em><br>
|
|
The jammers are set up to cut off communication OUTSIDE MARS
|
|
ORBIT. That's what was said, that the jammers cut in once they
|
|
were past Mars (for security purposes). The same thing was
|
|
said in Lines Of..., where Franklin was having a hard time
|
|
getting word to B5 *past the Mars jammers*. Further, if all
|
|
communications were cut off in Hyperspace, inside Mars orbit,
|
|
then you couldn't have had ship-to-ship communications to tell
|
|
Sheridan ABOUT Marcus, could you?
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@877629418 Lefcourt does not think that his job is to set policy
|
|
or overthrow presidents. The military executes orders that emanate
|
|
from the head of the government, through the chain of command. Once
|
|
that chain of command was changed, the orders were no longer valid.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@876858996 <em>Why wasn't Clark allowed to present his point of
|
|
view, even at the end?</em><br>
|
|
I tried to do it through his lieutenants and plenepotentiaries (hope I
|
|
spelled that right, I'm too tired to get the dictionary down). ISN
|
|
gives you his point of view, ditto for Nightwatch, MiniPax, others. I
|
|
think if I had him just saying it out loud, it would diminish him much
|
|
the way that repeated exposure to the shadow vessels gradually removed
|
|
their mystery and menace. Less is more.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<li>@@@877629093 <em>About the return of the old ISN anchor</em><br>
|
|
"I've been thinking about the rapidity of her return to ISN. I agree
|
|
that there wasn't time to break her out of prison and get her old
|
|
dressing room back for the morning news"
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
When the Soviet Union fell, and the prison doors were thrown
|
|
open, a number of reporters who had fallen out of favor with the Party
|
|
and were sitting in cells walked out, went across the street, and went
|
|
on the air within a matter of hours.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Humans are resilient and determined sorts.
|
|
|
|
</ul>
|