Babylon 5

And finally, Chrysalis

Waves bye bye to Sinclair and happy Londo too

"Nothing's the same anymore."

Bytes from Chrysalis-

"Vir, how many gods in our pantheon? I lost count after our last emperor was elevated to godhood."

"48... no no, 49... well 50 if you count Zoog, but I never..."

"All right. Let's say 50. Out of that 50, how many gods must I have offended to have ended up with GKar's teeth buried so deeply in my throat that I can barely breathe?"

"All of them?"

"Sounds right."
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"This... this is like being nibbled to death by... What are those Earth creatures called? Feathers, long bill, web feet, go quack?"

"Cats?"

"Cats. Like being nibbled to death by cats."
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"Did you relay my question precisely (to Ambassador Kosh), word for word?"

"Yes."

"His reaction?"

"Just one word. He said 'Yes'."
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"My associates believe you are a person of great potential."
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"Tell your government that you will personally take care of Quadrant 37."

"They'll think I'm drunk, or insane... and you don't want credit for this grand endeavor?"

"No. We're simply here to help."
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"Goodbye. You will not see me again, as I am now."
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"We need you to do a job for us."

"No problem. Gimmie the guy's name and I'll lean on him."
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"... at which time the vice president disembarked Earth Force One. He is currently undergoing medical tests while the president continues en route to Jupiter. Reports indicate that the vice president is suffering from a viral infection, and hopes to catch up with the tour as it returns from Io."
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"And so it begins... you have forgotten something?"
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"Nothing's the same anymore."
-----

And so ends the Earth year 2258. Happy New Year

Cruel Angel wrote:

The Quality of Mercy

Too bad Mumy and Lockhart didn't get to have a scene together...

Great scene at the gambling tables

OMG, Why is that the first time that had ever dawned on me! What a missed chance that was!

Geometry of Shadows.

Purple Drazi vs Green Drazi!
Poor Ivanova

Ronpur wrote:

Geometry of Shadows.

Purple Drazi vs Green Drazi!
Poor Ivanova

Hey, she got promoted. Those are the breaks...

Ronpur wrote:

Cruel Angel wrote:

The Quality of Mercy

Too bad Mumy and Lockhart didn't get to have a scene together...

Great scene at the gambling tables

OMG, Why is that the first time that had ever dawned on me! What a missed chance that was!

Was prolly for the best. Little Will was out cruising the strip clubs and the casinos

Ok, I'm back on rewatching it now and trying to catch up. I got the first 6 watched again last night and I've made a few observations:

Midnight on the Firing Line - I love Londo's "What do you want my moon-faced assassin of joy" barb hurled at Vir. One of my favorites!

Soul Hunter - Very interesting idea for an alien. Glad they came back.

Born to the Purple - Adira Tyree is Centuari for Alotta Fagina.

Infection - B5 is weakest when it has a "monster" for its antogonist. But, love for David McCallum!

Parliament of Dreams - Is it just me, or is Sinclair rollin' in the babes? Oh, and I love Londo's parties.

Mind War - What else can you say about Bester? All I know is that Walter Koenig makes you almost forget he is already an icon as Chekov.

SeaDevil wrote:

Midnight on the Firing Line - I love Londo's "What do you want my moon-faced assassin of joy" barb hurled at Vir. One of my favorites!

I know many people went back to that line after the events of Centauri Prime in Season 3 and wondered if that was very subtle foreshadowing. JMS said that wasn't the case though.

SeaDevil wrote:

Born to the Purple - Adira Tyree is Centuari for Alotta Fagina.

I freaked out later when I realized that the busty Italian foreign exchange student that Chainsaw and Dave kept lusting after in Summer School was her. Found her in another movie of mine- The Unnameable (based off the Lovecraft short story). You get to see the puppies in that one

SeaDevil wrote:

Infection - B5 is weakest when it has a "monster" for its antogonist. But, love for David McCallum!

Yeah, those monster of the week eps were thankfully very rare, and didn't work out too well. Although I did like The Long Dark with the 'Soldier of Darkness'.

SeaDevil wrote:

Parliament of Dreams - Is it just me, or is Sinclair rollin' in the babes? Oh, and I love Londo's parties.

He loves those female pilots. Thing is, my impression was that he knew both of them from flight school. Sinclair never struck me as someone that was outgoing and was the type that would be completely happy 1- flying on his own and 2- reading and watching vids at home.

I loved how they didn't tell Mira what Peter was going to do at the end of the scene. They definitely got a genuine reaction out of her.

SeaDevil wrote:

Mind War - What else can you say about Bester? All I know is that Walter Koenig makes you almost forget he is already an icon as Chekov.

Yup. Walter was excellent. I met him before B5 came out, then later during season 4. After I got him to sign a Bester photo, I never have displayed his ST pic again. He just owned that role.

Season 2- "The Coming of Shadows"

Points of Departure

Bytes from Points of Departure-

"General, with all due respect, the last time I made personal contact with a Minbari warship, I sent it straight to Hades."
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"What's our status?"

"Chief of Security is in critical condition in MedLab. He thinks there is a conspiracy concerning the President's death. Ambassador GKar has mysteriously vanished. After two years, we still don't know what Ambassador Kosh looks like inside his encounter suit, and Ambassador Delenn is in a cocoon."

"A cocoon? As in a moth or butterfly?"

"Yes sir. About yay high."

"Interesting place you have here."
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"The Minbari aren't going to be thrilled to find out you are running Babylon 5. I hear they still call you Star Killer..."
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"Ambassador Delenn is indisposed at the moment."
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"All that remains now is honor, and death."
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"It was an early Earth president, Abraham Lincoln, who best described our situation: The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise to the occasion. We can not escape history. We will be remembered in spite of ourselves. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor, to the last generation. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose... our last, best hope of Earth.'

Five minutes to spare..."
-----

Cruel Angel wrote:

Yeah, those monster of the week eps were thankfully very rare, and didn't work out too well. Although I did like The Long Dark with the 'Soldier of Darkness'.

I always was under the impression that the 'Soldier of Darkness' was a Shadow, like the bodyguards that surround Morden at all times.


And one thing I do love about B5 that these little bytes from the episodes has reminded me of: The Humor. Every episode, no matter how dark and depressing the overall storyline got, had at least one moment of tension relieving, often side-splitting humor. I think it serves the show well in that it never becomes a chore to watch due to how serious its taking itself, like the New BSG, Lost, or even later seasons of the West Wing. You always knew that there was going to be that little "Pause to Breathe" moment.

I am so glad that CA started this thread. I am so enjoying watching these again! It was such an amazing show.

The thread itself, SeaDevil started it... he beat me to it by one evening. I was gonna call it The Babylon Project. But Sea practically started it going too.

After we had gotten talking about B5 in chat for a few days, the idea came up of going through them again. Since I was inspired by finally having my B5 and Buffy figures out on display, those were my two choices. Sea had wanted to get to some other stuff first that he hadn't watched yet first, so he told me to go through Buffy, then he would hit B5 once I was finished.

Then the day before I was about to begin, he told me the draw to return to B5 was too much, and to switch to B5.

And so, there you are... as Londo would say.

Well, thanks to Seadevil then!!

You're welcome! But I want to thank CA for collecting the "bytes" for each episode and keeping this topic thread active. This thread is just as much his as it is mine. He's turned this into so much more than just folks talking about the show and why they love it. It's great fun to remember all the great lines of dialogue in each episode. Well done, my friend! I just couldn't believe there wasn't already a B5 appreciation thread! And yeah, the draw was too much, so I had to go back to B5.

"Sooner or later, everyone goes to Babylon 5."

Cruel Angel wrote:

I was gonna call it The Babylon Project.

"The Babylon Project" was a dream given form. It's goal: to create a place where fans of B5 can talk about their show peacefully. A port of call - home away from home for Whovians, Trekkies, Browncoats, Jedis, and wanderers. This is the thread for one of the greatest space sagas ever produced. The year is now. The name of the show is Babylon 5.

Bytes from Revelations-

"One deserts his post without any explanation, and the other one picks the most breathtakingly, inconvenient moment possible to explore new career options- like becoming a butterfly!!!"
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"THe destruction of the Narn base in Quadrant 37 is drawing quite a lot of attention... and you are absolutely certain that it can't be traced back to me?"

"Oh, beyond a shadow of a doubt."

*My favorite Morden line *
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"What happens if I ask for another one of these... little demonstrations?"

"Then we provide it. Simply choose your target. A colony, an outpost..."

"Why don't you eliminate the entire Narn homeworld while you're at it?"

"One thing at a time, Ambassador. One thing at a time...."
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"I don't think losing my head of security two weeks into the job will look good on my resume."
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"I have looked into the darkness, NaToth. You can't do that and never be quite the same again. When you told me about the destruction of our base in Quadrant 37, I knew that only a major power could attempt an assault of that magnitude. But none of the governments here could have done it, which left only two possibilities: A new race... or an old race. A very old race.

GQuan spoke of a great war, long ago, against an enemy so terrible it nearly overwhelmed the stars themselves. GQuan said that before the enemy was thrown down, it dwelled in a system at the Rim of known space. I searched for days, going from one system to another. Then, on dark, deserted worlds, where there should be no life... where no living thing has walked in over a thousand years, something is moving... gathering it's forces quietly. Quietly. Hoping to go unnoticed. We must warn the others, NaToth. After a thousand years, the Darkness has come again."
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"Well, right after I cancelled, she took that science officer's job on the Icarus. Just a two week survey. Said she'd be back before I even noticed she was gone."
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"Ambassador Delenn's out of that weird cocoon, and she'd got wings, just like a butterfly! You gotta come see!"
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"He's all yours, Sir. Unless you want to walk around the block a few times and leave him to us."

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, Officer Welch..."
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"Hey, Garibaldi. Be seeing you."
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During the time I served as vice president under Santiago I grew to admire and appreciate the man. I owe it to his memory to personally oversee any inquiry."
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If I may address the council? Ambassador Delenn has been unavailable as of late, but she has now returned, and wishes to know if she may take back her seat on the Council."
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"I am really excited about signing on board the Icarus next week. John and I were supposed to spend time together, but Dr Chang thinks he's found the ruins to an ancient civilization nobody's heard of before. The chance to be there when the discovery is confirmed is just too good an opportunity to pass up."
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On a hunch, I checked on the ship taking the prisoner back to Earth. He was transferred to another ship a half an hour ago. It had Earthforce security markings. It knew all the right access and identification codes. Had papers authorizing the transfer, but I just backtracked with Earth Central- the ID codes don't match any ship registered to Earthforce."

"Great, so he's gone and all the evidence with him?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Have you notified President Clark?"

"He's not taking any calls."

"Gets cold up here sometimes, doesn't it, Lt Cmdr.?"

"Yes, Sir. It does indeed."
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Cruel Angel wrote:

"THe destruction of the Narn base in Quadrant 37 is drawing quite a lot of attention... and you are absolutely certain that it can't be traced back to me?"

"Oh, beyond a shadow of a doubt."

*My favorite Morden line *

yeah, that's a classic...

The Geometry of Shadows

Great ep... love for Elric, Refa, and the Drazi

Bytes from The Geometry of Shadows-

"You're being cranky and difficult."

"You try getting shot in the back sometime and see what it does for your disposition."
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"What you are asking could be considered treason."

"...or the first step in restoring our people to their rightful place in the galaxy, depending on who writes the history books."
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"To even see one of them (technomage) is a rare thing. To see more of one of them at a time is considered a very bad omen. Three... this is definitely not good."
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"The universe doesn't give you any points for doing anything easy."
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"Green. Purple."
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"You do not frighten easily."

"I work for Ambassador Mollari. After a while, nothing bothers you."
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"I can give you something for the pain."

"Oh great... now you can give me something for the pain. Where were you when I was going through puberty?"
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"We are dreamers, shapers, singers and makers. We study the mysteries of laser and circuit, crystal and scanner, holographic demons and invocations of equations. These are the tools we employ. We know many things- the true secrets, the important things- 14 words to make someone fall in love with you forever, 7 words to make them go without pain, how to say goodbye to a friend that is dying, how to be poor, how to be rich, how to rediscover dreams when the world has stolen them from you. That is why we are going away, to preserve that knowledge."

"From what?"

"There is a storm coming. A black and terrible storm...."
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"I have solution to our problem. You tell Purple Drazi to gather in Brown 29. Not used by others. Will not be disturbed. Talk peace talk. Find solution. If you tell, they will trust. Then, when all Purple Drazi in one place, open hatch to space. Flush oxygen. Vacuum. Purple Drazi cannot breathe. All Purple Drazi, all Purple Drazi die. Station is quiet again. No more fighting. Green Drazi win. You win. Everybody win."

"I can't believe this. You're talking about the cold blooded slaughter of almost 2000 Drazi! These are your own people!"

"No, purple. Purple!"
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"I'm here to sell you something to make your life easier, cleaner, and all around happier. Yes, Sir, the ACME Handy Dandy Micro Helper right here in this box. If you just allow me to demonstrate, this will... only take a moment. Well, well, I can see this is gonna be a hard sell. This is just my little way of helping, so trust me, ok? As a matter of fact, if there's anybody here who needs a little help, just say the word, and I'm here."

"Garibaldi!"
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"A holo demon. It has possessed my data system, consuming records, personal files, everything. 20 minutes ago it gathered the pieces of my personal financial account and cast an equation spell. I now own 200,000 shares in a Spoo ranch. "

"And that sound. That hideous sound!"

"Narn opera." Our friend the technomage has an especially perverse sense of humor."
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"It doesn't make any sense to go around killing each other for a piece of cloth!"

"You do same. For flag. For honor."
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"Rules of combat older than contact with other races. Did not mention aliens. Rules' change caught up in committee. Not come through yet."

"Bureaucracy, tell me about it. Greens follow Green Leader? Well Green Leader says-You're all coming with us down to the Quartermaster's Office. I'm sure there will be some dye hanging around. Those of you planning not to spend the next 2 months in the brig for assaulting an Earth Alliance officer are gonna look absolutely gorgeous in purple."
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***and you knew this exchange was gonna be here...***

"Does this torment end when you leave, or am I going to have to spend the rest of my life paying for one little mistake?"

"Oh, I'm afraid you're going to spend the rest of your life paying for your mistakes. Not this one of course, it's trivial. I have withdrawn the spell. But there will be others."

"What are you talking about?"

"You are touched by darkness, Ambassador. I see it as a blemish that will grow with time. I could warn you, of course, but you would not listen. I could kill you, but someone would take your place. So I do the only thing I can. I go.

Oh, I believe it was an endorsement you wanted. A word or two, a picture, to send to the folks back home, confirming you have a destiny before you. "

"It was just a thought, nothing more."

"Well, take this for what little it will profit you:

As I look at you, Ambassador Mollari, I see a great hand, reaching out of the stars. The hand is your hand. And I hear sounds. The sounds of billions of people calling your name."

"My followers?"

"Your victims."


-----

more observations:

The War Prayer - Good for Londo. He does the right thing and honors tradition. I'm glad his shoes have loosened.

And the Sky Full of Stars - Sinclair's story from The Battle of the Line is explored for the first time - and BIG time! It just gets better from here, Jeff...

Deathwalker - It's a shame Julie Caitlin Brown didn't stay on as a regular cast member playing Na'Toth past the 5 epi's she did this year. She was outstanding. "DEATHWALKERRRR!!!!!"

Believers - B5 was never a program to shy away from taking on subject matters that are not usually seen on TV. Ususally they are political in nature here, but here it's all about one's personal beliefs and who's is "right." Truth is, they both are right in their own way, however, ultimately Franklin is wrong. There is no avoiding how this episode ends. Powerful stuff.

SeaDevil wrote:

more observations:



Believers - B5 was never a program to shy away from taking on subject matters that are not usually seen on TV. Ususally they are political in nature here, but here it's all about one's personal beliefs and who's is "right." Truth is, they both are right in their own way, however, ultimately Franklin is wrong. There is no avoiding how this episode ends. Powerful stuff.

The horror that Franklin shows when he realizes what the parents did, and the matter of factness that they show when they say he as dead already...awesome stuff!

Ronpur wrote:

SeaDevil wrote:

more observations:



Believers - B5 was never a program to shy away from taking on subject matters that are not usually seen on TV. Ususally they are political in nature here, but here it's all about one's personal beliefs and who's is "right." Truth is, they both are right in their own way, however, ultimately Franklin is wrong. There is no avoiding how this episode ends. Powerful stuff.

The horror that Franklin shows when he realizes what the parents did, and the matter of factness that they show when they say he as dead already...awesome stuff!

...Not to mention the horror on my face the first time I saw it! Bravo to JMS for not backing down.