Babylonia!

Patrick

Patrick is a mid-40 year old geek with an undergraduate degree in mathematics and a master's degree in Information Systems. Nothing he says here has anything to do with the official position of his employer or any other institution.

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14 Responses

  1. Patrick says:

    Notables this episode: A couple of nice little physics-correct maneuvers in the fight (not perfect, a couple of swooping turns too, but still nice to see). We now know that the Centauri have precog, reliable or no, and some level of telepathy since at least the precogs can share their visions with others.Report

  2. Dman says:

    This is really the start of the show. I love the G’Kar and Londo monologs with Morden. I Also like that the question Morden used was the same question Kosh called dangerous in an earlier episode (I forget which one).

    I have always liked the Star Fury because it was designed as a real space ship that has similar tech to what we have today. Thrusters everywhere so they can spin and move in all directions. Very few hardcore Sci-Fi shows do this.Report

    • NoPublic in reply to Dman says:

      I have always liked the Star Fury because it was designed as a real space ship that has similar tech to what we have today. Thrusters everywhere so they can spin and move in all directions. Very few hardcore Sci-Fi shows do this.

      JMS went to a lot of trouble to model the flight dynamics of each class of ships. The Earth Force doesn’t have artificial gravity or reactionless thrusters, The Centauri and Narn have varying capabilities with gravity and differing thrust and acceleration curves but still use reaction drive. The Minbari have massive gravity tech, up to and including gravity incline drives (which basically warp space so the ship moves where they want it to) and run everything off of captive black (or later white) holes. The Vorlons have forgotten more than the Minbari have ever known and grow their ships in stellar nurseries. The Shadows break the rules and the Technomages ignore them. The First Ones make new rules.Report

  3. Damon says:

    Yes, this is a good episode. You see the beginning of the sides in the coming war, the begining of the “fall from grace” of one of the characters, and the backstory of the Mimbari surrender at the battle of the line come into focus a bit. And we know that there are some bad asses in the universe that are causing trouble and wheeling and dealing. Who are they? This is the first episode where the story arcs really start to gel and get going.

    Stay tuned.Report

  4. Jaybird says:

    Morden is the first thing (other than some of the CGI graphics, I suppose) that really dates the show.

    You think you’re watching a timeless story and then, WHAM. Look at that volume! Look at that hold! He must have used half a can of mousse!

    Try to pay attention to the question: “What do you want?”

    The Narn and the Centauri are the only two races that understand the question, it seems. I wonder what would have happened if he asked that question of the humans…

    Which is interesting because we know (well, suspect anyway) that Sinclair, Ivanova, and Girabaldi would have given three different answers… I mean, would Vir have given a different answer than Londo or Ko D’Ath a different answer than G’Kar? I mean, I’m sure that the big guys would have phrased their wants more succinctly (if not bloodthirstily) but the humans would have talked about different stuff. Sinclair would have talked about Babylon 5 and its mission. Ivanova would have talked about Earth and PsiCorps. Girabaldi would have talked about Mars, I reckon.

    Ah, woulda coulda shoulda.Report

    • Dman in reply to Jaybird says:

      I always felt there was more behind the question than what was spoken. I always felt that Morden and his associates mentally prodded the people for an answer. There really is not much in the show to support this, but just the way he was able to get Londo and G’Kar to explode as they did makes me think this.

      It would have been interesting to see what Sinclair would have done and I do wonder why they did not have a scene with him and Morden.Report

      • Jaybird in reply to Dman says:

        I always felt that Morden and his associates mentally prodded the people for an answer.

        That would explain Delenn’s triangle showing up. I imagine that her answer is intimately related to her job as triangle-wearer.Report

      • Pinky in reply to Dman says:

        I remember the show’s creator talking about this question. It’s not merely the question; it’s the repetition of the question. It tears you down. You get past the surface answers and eventually state what you really want.Report

    • James K in reply to Jaybird says:

      would Vir have given a different answer than Londo

      No spoilers, but that will lead into one of the more epic pieces of dialogue in this show.Report

    • Reformed Republican in reply to Jaybird says:

      Morden says he has been on the rim for a while, maybe he has been stuck there since the 90s. Something to do with relativity, FTL travel, etc.Report

    • Damon in reply to Jaybird says:

      I don’t think it’s a question of understanding the question. It obviously is a test to feel out the desires of the various races. Only those races that answer the question in the right way become “someone we can use”. I think this becomes clearer farther along the story arc. The Mimbari have greater “experience” with these issues than the Centari. Even the Narn have some “experience”. (I’m trying to avoid spoilers here) with Mr. Morden’s associates.

      I am curious as to why the Humans were never asked the question, but given future developments, maybe it’s because the key human character has not made his appearance yet. Of couse this is all looking back at the story arc, so who knows….Report

  5. Reformed Republican says:

    One of my favorite aspects of this episode is that, throughout the season we hear about The Raiders. They seem to be a pretty big deal, and maybe they are about to become a bigger deal. Then bam, something bigger and badder comes along and blasts them out of the sky without breaking a sweat.

    The interaction with with Molari and G’Kar is such a nice little summary of the dispute between the two races. They fight back and forth, and in the end, their fighting keeps them from having what they want.

    I wonder what Delenn is building in her quarters. Could it be important?Report