We're Going To Be Friends

The sincerity of their friendship and Lennier's loyalty to Delenn is always impressive.

B5 S4 Ep9: Atonement

G'Kar is fitted with a SUPER BIONIC EYE and Minbari fit new Babylon 5 head of security Zack Allen with a new station uniform....

Zack's uniform is sewn with a Minbari fabric called Zirca [sp?]. The fabric is a gift from Delenn and is made from rare Minbari plants. Zack worries about Garibaldi despite his promotion to the position.

Speaking of Delenn, she is returning to Minbar for a process referred to as The Dreaming. If it doesn't go well she will be unable to return to Babylon 5. What precisely would cause that to happen we shall see.

Can I party with Ivanova?
Meanwhile Ivanova heads off to party with the Drazi. She is apparently going to party with the green sect. The Drazi have never struck me as the partying types [the brawling types maybe]. I mean, I just can’t see myself looking at a Drazi and saying, “man, I wanna party with you.” But judging from Ivanova’s exit from the elevator and what amounts to a falling down drunk Drazi inside of it, it does appear they had a fairly good time, oddly enough, with those Drazi festivities. Hopefully none of the purple-scarved Drazi had to die to have a good time. You’ll recall Season Two, Episode 3, The Geometry Of Shadows where it was purple versus green to the death.

So here we go with Babylon 5, Season Four, Episode 9, Atonement. G’Kar is being fitted with his new supersonic eyeball. Dr. Franklin gives him this new extremely advanced prosthetic eye. It can apparently send images to his brain even if he pulls it out of his socket. It’s like a bloody camera. G’Kar exhibits his goofy, silly side when he starts waving to his own eyeball. Rediculous but classic!

Sheridan visits Delenn in her quarters and she looks absolutely ravishing in black. She looks lovely. The two discuss their courting ritual. They must spend three nights together [clearly not consecutive]. The 1st night was on the White Star. The 2nd night was in Sheridan’s quarters. The final of three nights will resume in Delenn’s bedroom. Delenn is overly anxious and eager to make it happen. She is exhibiting signs of desperation given her impending return to Minbar may affect her relationship with Sheridan long-term somehow. That happens should she be unable to return to the station. That's right, long term relationships rarely ever work. Sheridan worries for her and inquires if anything is wrong. Delenn kind of weirds me out with her body language at times. She’s certainly sexy, but Mira Furlan definitely brings her own unique, sort-of-strange style and personality into play. Anyway, her kind of sexy is a bit odd but intriguing. In fact, I think Sheridan gets weirded out too. Delenn departs Sheridan and Lennier is waiting outside. He is concerned she would leave the station without him. Loyally, he extends his hand to remain by her side. He is a faithful companion to the end. “They’re waiting for us.” She accepts his hand and it is a sweet moment of true friendship.

Sheridan holds a meeting with Franklin and Marcus tasking them with a mission to meet with the Mars resistance. To do that, they will need to traverse blockades and dangers by travelling a long, 2.5-week route to get to Mars. It will take over one month to return to Babylon 5. WOW! WTF? That’s a long bloody time. Time makes big leaps on Babylon 5. Franklin kindly offers to look into what happened to Sheridan’s parents on Earth, but Sheridan declines his offer. He fears the climate is too dangerous and the investigation might warrant undesired exposure to their mission due to the possibility it could be a trap.

On Minbar, all Minbari are in virginal white. The “calling of my heart” troubles her peers. Her choice to connect with “the human” disturbs them. Whatever will be she tells the clan she will abide by their decision. Clearly they will decide what is right for their people. Love will not be enough. The Dreaming will purify her thoughts; distill them to get to the truth. The dreamer is allowed one companion to shadow them. Lennier will be her protector and guide. The two sip anxiously from a chalice. Their hearts race with anticipation knowing what awaits them. They were looking at each other so intensely I half expected them to start making out.

'If you weren't like my sister I would kiss you.'
We receive loads of Delenn backstory in this entry and much of the information is interesting. I’ll be honest. I’m not a huge fan of the Minbari arc/stuff and sometimes much of what surrounds that culture isn’t of great interest to me. In fact, I might like to know more about the Narn. Having said that, this installment fleshes out some great new information and I enjoyed it all the more for it. Through flashbacks we learn Delenn once entered The Dreaming chamber as the acolyte to Dukhat. Reiner Shore offers a nice performance as the late, revered Dukhat. She was terrified. Taking us back we get to see Delenn in her pre-chrysalis state with the complete Minbari bonehead. We witness flashes of war and suffering in the chamber through her memories.

Back in the day, Delenn was taken before the Grey Council at Dukhat’s side. The flashback: the Grey Council is in agreement NOT to contact the humans pre the Earth-Minbari War. Delenn is informed of the reasons. Each caste is worried about the influence of the humans on their culture. It’s interesting how insecure the Minbari appear at times. Granted they did allegedly war intensely with one another at one time and perhaps that plays into their psychology. Delenn is asked to speak her opinion before the council. She feels unworthy to respond and answer, but Dukhat insists. Delenn steps into the circle to answer. She quotes Valen and tells them “the greatest enemy is the one you do not know. You can predict the actions of those who are familiar to you. The one you cannot predict is the one who can harm you.” Well said. The philosophy subscribes a bit to the old adage, “better the devil you know” or “keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” I bet if I went back to read the classic book, you might find a bit of the Machiavellian here, a la The Prince. Dukhat is disgusted by the Grey Council’s narrow view and inability to think bigger. He is impressed that even his acolyte Delenn demonstrates greater wisdom than even they have to offer. Dukhat uses Delenn for his own ends. He does apologize to her for placing her in that position, but her challenge is met with a promotion from acolyte to aid by Dukhat. He will train his apprentice. It is all very Star Wars here, but much more cerebral.

The props department must have had fun and about five minutes to make this little dandy.
Eventually we discover she becomes one of the Grey Council. Some shudder in her presence. Is it prophecy they see? Her hand passes over a triluminary. It glows. We learn it is sensitive to the DNA of Sinclair. This will have greater significance later. Her fellow council members tremble. Her appointment was not by accident. Dukhat has a plan and she is the instrument. She has purpose.

An alarm sounds and Earth vessels appear on screen. We learned in Season Three, Episode 13, A Late Delivery From Avalon it is customary for Minbari to approach with gun ports open. This is certainly not a wise decision in my opinion, but heck it’s a cultural thing and they asked for it. The warrior caste is comprised of warriors and not necessarily the brightest bones on the planet. Also on screen and bearing in at 12:00 are four soul hunter vessels. This is clearly a sign things are going to get ugly and Minbari WILL die. Those soul hunters have a particular taste for Minbari. You might recall how Delenn almost became a Soul Hunter tatste treat way back in Season One, Episode 2, Soul Hunter. The open ports understandably provoke the Earthers to attack. You see Grey Council, just like Delenn said; if you made contact with the humans this could have been avoided. The rest of the Earth-Minbari War is, as they say, history.

I thought the lighting and the blue tones within The Dreaming chamber was a nice touch.
Dukhat is killed in the carnage and the chaos aboard the Minbari ship. We see him saying something but we can’t make it out. This is on purpose of course so that we can discover precisely what it is he had to say via The Dreaming. Delenn is asked if the Minbari should strike back. The council is split. Her vote is the deciding factor. In her rage and anger over Dukhat’s death she gives the order to avenge her master. She implores the humans to be struck down and killed. They are “animals!” “They deserve no mercy! NO MERCY!” She’s extremely emotional and very unglued. A good rule to follow, when time permits, is to step back and breath before making that decision. I have to do it myself from time to time. Otherwise I might be yelling like a moonbat too. It’s a pretty big WOW moment as we determine it was Delenn who, maybe didn’t start the war, but certainly engaged and continued to see it through. So it was her move that was the deciding factor in the Earth-Minbari War. Her rage overwhelmed her rational thinking.

This girl can scream. I should think Sheridan could be in big trouble in the hay if these rituals ever come to a close.

Later, in another flashback, stepping back from the carnage and death, Delenn speaks with great wisdom. “I was enraged. Grief stricken. I didn’t consider my words.” Rethinking it, she definitely wishes she could change her decision. She wishes she could have avoided further loss, but the war had begun. Her fellow Minbari credit Dukhat for his wisdom in desiring to contact the humans, but it's all too little too late.

Perhaps the bloodshed could have been avoided. As a result, Delenn carries a great burden in the knowledge she was instrumental in carrying out the war. Her life’s work, in part, has been to atone for her ill-fated decision. She is seeking vindication. Lennier feels her wish to join with Sheridan is an extension of that self-guilt initially as part of her atonement. Delenn insists there is more to her connection with Sheridan than that.



She has tried to make up for that singular “moment of rage” for ten years. Could her grief cause sympathy to factor into her decision to love Sheridan? I think it has, but it certainly has grown into something more. Some of you out there alluded to that not long ago. This certainly gives us a substantive layer to Delenn’s character.

There's a lot of hand-reaching in this one!
The Dreaming is concluded. Delenn rests and considers what she has witnessed. She focuses in on the dying words of Dukhat. Suddenly, she races to Calenn and Lennier. They drink from the chalice again [anything to get another sup from the cup for a little Minbari proof] and head back into the dry ice smoke-filled Dreaming chamber. She begs them to listen to the truth of her discovery.



As Dukhat dies we hear those profound, fateful words. “You are a child of Valen.” This is why the triluminary glowed. More WOW moments. Cool.

Are those monsters or is that truth I see in the mist?
There is much that enters our minds with all of the information Straczynski provides for us with this episode. I am most acutely aware of Delenn’s relationship to Jeffrey Sinclair in Season One. In essence he would indirectly be the father of her bloodline. That is just crazy! This is why the triluminary glowed, because a piece of Sinclair [human DNA] is within her. She is obviously not a direct child of Valen, but she is part of that lineage. I’m also especially sensitive to all of those moments throughout the first two seasons where Delenn avoided eye contact. She often hesitated to engage in direct eye contact over specific situations. There was a sense of shame to her responses and this illustrates why that was the case. She has carried a great burden for a very long time and this episode speaks volumes about why this was happening. Delenn has often been a sounding board for many of the characters on Babylon 5 on many of the issues and yet she is central to the resulting consequences that directly impact current events on and outside of the station that have resulted from the Earth-Minbari War she approved. How's that for irony? Fascinating!

These are both moments from Season One, Episode 8, And The Sky Full Of Stars, whereby Delenn shows her evasive side. She's always been quirky, but she's had many moments if I recall where she couldn't even make direct eye contact as well.


*

Delenn recaps many of these important facts that have come to light and she does it with her fiery best. There are loads of details that she delivers best.

*

So Delenn gives her Minbari brethren a reason to retain her love for Sheridan. We are essentially impure and imperfect so stick that in your pipe and smoke it! Straczynski has also scratched the surface of another segment of Minbari society by alluding to the Minbari Civil War. It is fast becoming apparent there was much trouble on Minbar historically and the caste system is fragile. We assume this based upon Calenn’s input regarding the exchange of individuals from one caste to another for marriage in the interests of keeping the peace. We've seen from time to time the tightrope being walked between the castes. It's becoming more and more evident.

Delenn returns to Babylon 5. Sheridan greets Delenn, but YES John - she will continue to keep you in the dark on much of her mysterious past and keep your ass guessing because that's what Delenn does. Someone really has to tell Delenn that building a relationship founded on secrets isn’t the healthiest of routes to take. Does all of this amount to atonement? I don't know.

The final moments see Marcus and Franklin on their long journey across space buddy-style.

Atonement: B

SciFiNow: Why Captain James T. Kirk Is God

I thought I'd share with you this amusing article compliments of SciFiNow #20.

SciFiNow is not the best sci-fi magazine of the bunch. Monthly publications like Starlog and what appears to be the now defunct print version of Starburst were a bit more exhaustive in their research and writing.

The Top 20 Reasons Why Kirk Is A Science-Fiction Legend (more humorously referenced on the cover of the issue as Why Kirk Is God) is good, goofy fun by James Rundle. My reflections are in parentheses.

1. Free Spirits (Kirk knows how to show that bare chest for the ladies).

2. Superman (Kirk is a bit of a super guy).

3. "I'm A Soldier...Not A Diplomat" (puts a spin on the classic phrase coining of Leonard Bones McCoy. In other words, Kirk kicks ass).

4. David And Goliath (Kirk takes on some big, bad enemies and apparently God too).

5. Love Is In The Air (Kirk gets every babe across the galaxy with a heartbeat. He rocks it and he rocks them. I think this should be number one. Be sure to check out Captain Kirk's Guide To Women).

6. The Chain Of Command (Kirk gives orders like no other. He openly wacks people who are out of line. He's a throwback to the man's man. There's no political correctness here. If he calls you on it, you're getting the business squarely between the eyes in front of all to see. He will embarrass you. He's a dying breed).

7. Pub? (Why am I not surprised the Brits would include Kirk in a pub in their Top 20? Yes, he can enjoy a drink).

8. Cultural Diversity (He welcomes it in his crew and the women he beds).

9. Double Dumbass! (Kirk swears with colorful phrases. I guess).

10. Good With Kids (This references Kirk's many encounters with children like Charlie X and Miri).

11. Environmentally Friendly (He saved the whales and had a way with Tribbles).

12. "Let's Get The Hell Out Of Here" (Kirk's not averse to cutting his losses).

13. Peacemaker (Kirk is apparently not a good enough diplomat as mentioned earlier, but rather a peacemaker. Contradiction?).

14. "I Don't Like Mysteries. They Give Me A Bellyache, And I've Got A Beauty Right Now!" (I'm not sure what to make of this one).

15. "KHAAAAANNNNN!!!!" (Nuff said I guess).

16. Finishing The Fight (Kirk is fearless and he will FIGHT YOU!).

17. Doin' Time (Kirk was always captured so he could break out and kick ass!)

18. Survivor (Yup!).

19. Loyalty (This is one to live by).

20. A Sharp Mind (Kirk is a brilliant tactician and strategist).

The Sci-Fi Fanatic adds a bonus:
21. William Shatner IS James T. Kirk. What more can you say? The man made Kirk and Kirk made the man! I added this last one.
 

So there you have it. The Top 20 bloody reasons by the Brits in typically British style plus one by The Fanatic!

B5 S4 Ep8: The Illusion Of Truth

One of the coolest camera shots thoughout the episode was the TV's eye view shot.

One of the first things I noticed about Babylon 5, Season 4, Episode 8, The Illusion Of Truth, was that actor Stephen Furst, a.k.a. our man Vir, was at the helm directing it. How does he stack up? Let’s find out.

The entry opens with repairs being made to one of the White Star vessels. It’s a pretty nifty CGI shot and one we haven’t seen yet. I thought it was impressive to see a little more in the way of detail surrounding the activity outside of Babylon 5.

Sheridan sits quietly in the empty War Room with the war now ended. The eerie quiet is a little freaky. It’s a bit like the calm before another storm. I’m always waiting for the proverbial ‘shit to hit the fan' as they say [not sure who 'they' is but they have been rumored to say it]. Ivanova arrives and they discuss the hard times affecting Babylon 5 since the Earth quarantine/embargo of the station. Sheridan describes the station as the “old girl” and tells Ivanova wisely, “This place has been declared dead more times than Lazarus. We keep coming back.” That’s a classic. Still, Ivanova knows Sheridan is troubled and asks him what’s bothering him. He relents letting down his personal walls and tells her he’s worried about his dad and his family being targeted by Earth back home. They've been questioned about their son Sheridan in the past and the enemy knows how to get at him. He’s hoping they got outta there.

How about that Babylon 5 font? It’s all around the War Room and just has that whole digitized space-age look. I love that font for the show. Four seasons into it and you still notice the details and how thoughtful some of those touches really are.

Meanwhile, Security Chief Zack Allan has his hands completely full with the station check-in points. He arrives on the scene to go toe-to-toe with an ISN reporter. I thought it was a pretty good moment for Conaway. Jeff Conway has made the most of his run on this series and never ceases to keep things entertaining. I never really expected much from him at the outset, but he’s always been consistently notable in the role.



By the way Zack was completely within his rights to check that cargo. Babylon 5 cannot afford a security problem. Why didn’t the reporter just identify who he was properly and cooperate? Was he planning on doing his piece under the radar? I don’t think so. What a dick! The dick reporter, Dan Randall, is played with a kind of sleazy-smooth by Jeff Griggs.

Meanwhile, Dr. Franklin, with Sheridan’s blessing, is doing his darndest and making every effort to keep the cryogenic freezers functioning. The units have been a bit dicey of late and are essentially keeping the potentially volatile telepaths alive. Sheridan is hopeful he can help them. Until that time comes they are to remain human Popsicles.

Deep down Sheridan knows they’ll be dealing with the legacy of The Shadows for a “long, long time.” Sheridan admits to Franklin there's something far more sinister than The Shadows and that’s “reporters.” Amen brother. I’ll drink to that.



It would seem the future of television news is now. It never ceases to disappointment today along with "reality" television. Supposedly Randall wants to get at the truth surrounding Babylon 5. Randall assures them there is a way to shoehorn truth into the piece carefully despite ISN being a propaganda arm of President Clark’s Earth government. Randall is allegedly one of those “real” reporters who cares about the truth over spin. There’s your first mistake. Never trust a reporter that tells you to trust them.

Elsewhere, Garibaldi is hot to implement his new investigative service as he discuses his first job with a client. Garibaldi exemplifies why he truly is such a terrific gumshoe.



Sheridan asks Lennier to escort Mr. Randall on a tour of the station. He will be Mr. Randall’s liaison. Lennier is a solid, neutral party. Sheridan and Garibaldi make eye contact and the air is clearly not cleared between these two men. Sheridan illustrates major disappointment in Garibaldi over his decision and looks stone cold into his eyes. There’s a sense of disappointment within Garibaldi too as he looks down and away knowingly. Later, Garibaldi looks at a photo of a Drazi statue and immediately flashes back to his Psi Corps holding cell. He is programmed as the words repeat again and again. “You work for no one but us.”

While on the station tour Lennier has a typical Lennier moment of comedy when he head butts one of the roving, hovering ISN cameras. Randall is taken to the depressing conditions of the Down Below to see how the other half is doing. Photos are acquired of the various players on the station as part of ISN’s report. In a scene between Sheridan and Londo we are reminded of just how annoying Londo can be. He makes petty demands concerning his accomodations as only the spoiled ambassador can.

Randall interviews Sheridan and Delenn and the discussion gets personal about their relationship. Sheridan also admits Clark should step down. Delenn and Sheridan are close and Delenn refers to their connection as natural. “The heart does as the heart does.” I was thinking ‘what the hell are you two doing?’ This is the freakin’ media. Take that stuff to the bedroom. You don’t want them hearing that. I thought the two unwisely divulged too much personal information. Keep it professional. With all of the cameras watching your every move it was a scene like this and others where you were feeling very exposed and violated. I don't know how they could have felt comfortable with Randall.

Randall later interviews Garibaldi. Randall pushes Garibaldi for information but we don't learn what it is they discussed until later.

Randall: “Can I sit?”

Garibaldi [always with a quick retort]: “That’s between you and your chiropractor- I don’t get involved.”

Later, with ISN shipped back to Earth and the ISN newscast about to air, Ivanova, Delenn and Sheridan sit to view the findings. They are prejudiced by the questionable news agency. The results are a study in editing and how things aren't always what they seem. All are skeptical, as one would expect. Sheridan believes they were careful in their release of information [not quite]. Logically he feels they will come off okay given there was no crisis in play at the station. He feels they edited themselves appropriately. “What can they do to us?” Oh boy, plenty. Famous last words. It’s the media. They can destroy you. Also, your little session of ‘cozy with Delenn’ wasn’t exactly wise in front of the cameras brother. For God’s sake they’ll crucify you. Take a look at how they handled the primaries and the election in the USA.

So here it comes. ISN special report [otherwise referred to as the Big Bend Over].

We learn Earth Force has reclaimed 75% of Mars since the rebellion. All is not well on Earth as curfew is normally 7:00 pm. The celebrations have extended the curfew until 9:00 pm. Special.

We are treated to a clip of an alien sympathizer as he confesses to his crimes of sedition and names names from the entertainment industry across the globe that are working against Earth. This was indeed an allusion to the House UnAmerican Activities Committee [1930s-1970s], which investigated potential communist infiltrators within the USA particularly in 1947 Hollywood when actors and directors were blacklisted for those alleged ties.

Straczynski, in a rather cool move, steeps his mythology with a little reality by mentioning former President Bill Clinton. No he doesn’t mention Monica Lewinski in the oval office. It does give his news thread a nice touch of genuine politics. We also learn that Psi Corps was created in 2161, one hundred years ago.

Dan “the hatchet man” Randall really does a number on Sheridan and crew and our “old girl” with his piece of good, old-fashioned masterful editing creating a perception that just doesn't exist. Humans are living in squalor and disease in the Down Below don’t you know. Sure it’s rough down there, but none of it was this bad. Talk about spin. Randall proves once again how successful the media can be in spinning its agenda and narrative based upon selective, precision editing. Any shot taken on Babylon 5 can and will be used against you. It's all being sold out of context to the TV viewing public with slow motion and proper voiceovers. The finsihed product is, to put it mildly, misleading. Randall sells alien fears to Earth with a big fat spoon. “The alien governments are calling the shots.” Wow. He really is a d-bag!

Next, Randall turns to the radical-leaning, Harvard University, to speak with the Dean of Psychiatry, a doctor who is also a leading specialist on xeno-psychology no less. Does this guy look like the mad scientist or what? He places his own special analysis squarely within the report. His unique take includes his input on Minbari War Syndrome. Excellent. The good doctor compares it to the Helsinki Syndrome. To prove the doctor is equally screwed up he is actually referring to Stockholm Syndrome. Stockholm Syndrome is a psychological response referring to the loyalty of a hostage to his/her hostage-taker or kidnapper and refers to an actual bank robbery incident that took place in Stockholm, Sweden in 1973. It did not happen in Helsinki, Finland. The syndrome has been mistakenly referenced as Helsinki Syndrome through the years. I wonder why Straczynski referred to it as such or if it was on purpose. You know Straczynski likes to make us think. He’s a very smart writer. My guess is that it fit within the context of The Illusion Of Truth. It makes complete sense anyway. So Randall inquires with the doctor if Earthers could essentially become traitors and turn against their own people. Sure, hint, hint, wink, wink, nudge, nudge, giving the suggestion we’ve got ourselves a station full of turncoats here people.

As the whole thing unfolds you begin to realize the reporter is every bit the scumbag media whore one would expect. There’s no doubt about it, ISN’s future is now. There isn’t a bit of objectivity to the piece anywhere to be found. Is there objective journalism anywhere anymore? Perhaps Sheridan should have trusted his instincts on this one and thrown’em out the airlock. As funny and off the cuff as that remark may have seemed earlier there’s more truth than fiction concerning reporters being more evil than The Shadows. That’s not unfair. There’s just as much damage exacted by media outlets on a wide psychological scale that can be analogous to the massive physical destruction employed by a Shadows attack.

Randall reports the “cryo” units are being used to freeze unconscious humans. He reports their status in such a way to give the illusion these people spoke out. You too will be dealt with accordingly via cryogenic refrigeration a.k.a. the human Popsicle treatment if you go up against the "old girl.".

Oh and those Minbari warships outside Babylon 5 merely point to the alien influence over the station and how the Minabari has established control over its resources. As we expected, Randall applies the Delenn/ Sheridan interview against them. We knew it was unprofessional and they were going to get screwed. It certainly seemed naïve and fairly unguarded of them at the time of filming. About the only thing missing for the two of them was a bowl of popcorn. Maybe it wasn’t out of character. Sheridan certainly tried to put up a good front and use the opportunity to give Babylon 5 a positive review. Alas, it has backfired. Randall has done a bang up job of creating a frightening portrait of an Earth betrayed by Sheridan and his crew and their co-mingling alliance with an old nemesis, the Minbari.

Remember, we never did see what Garibaldi had to say to Randall, but his frustrations with Sheridan concerning his return from Z’Ha’Dum were shared with the newsman. The alien influences he references in frustration Sheridan was exposed to on that planet are taken out of context and once again things don’t look good for the captain. I also thought Garibaldi looked extremely disloyal.



Randall sneaks around the station and somehow slithers his way into the cryogenics unit as if he’s breaking a big story. “Where do these people come from?” Ironically they come from the Earth government that is using its own people as guinea pigs, but you wouldn’t want people to know that would you? How the hell did they get near that unit? Where’s security when you need them? Someone should have been riding their asses!

Meanwhile, Randall has the folks down in Down Below pegged as guinea pigs, downtrodden, poor, and homeless and essentially fodder for experiments to be utilized for Babylon 5 purposes. Alien ships are amassing outside the station as a fleet is prepped for something big. Could it be war with Earth? No, but it could be that they are being repaired following the war that just ended without Earth’s help.
The final interview is with Franklin who denies patients are being placed in cryo-stasis. Randall paints a picture of something far more nefarious. Certainly Franklin is keeping the telepath issue under wraps for good reason.

Our good Harvard doctor warns the folks at home via Randall’s broadcast that Babylon 5 exhibits signs of becoming an alien-occupied force. It would appear they even desire to become alien. He points out even Sheridan displays signs of being mentally unstable and disturbed. He is under the influence.

Missing part of his head.
I would love to have seen Sheridan and company’s reaction shots, but the entire segment definitely runs in an almost documentary news style. Still, Straczynski nails it in the end with the way he closes the episode. It’s powerful. Stephen Furst does a serviceable job as director and it makes sense for him to step into this episode for a first on the series. Directing is certainly not his strength based upon the evidence we have presented here. I think he flounders a bit. Bad joke. There are loads and loads of stationary shots and he certainly didn’t have to work too hard to capture those. In fact, earlier in the entry when Sheridan and Ivanova are in the War Room I thought his camera shots weren’t very sharp as he cut off the top of Sheridan’s head as he walked around. It was really noticeable and kind of annoyed me. Still, the material makes for a okay story and to be honest I’m not a huge fan of these news-based ISN stories much.

Randall’s conclusion is that Sheridan is indeed susceptible to Minbari influence and is possibly poised to strike Earth with a massive alien fleet. Meanwhile, a genetics program could be in play on the station mixing Earth humans with Minbari. Ahh yes, the power of the media is always significant. These final moments reference Sheridan’s father, which are easy to miss within the dialogue-intensive newscast. It would appear all is not well at home. Silence is golden and it speaks volumes, as the final shot is a TV-eye view of our fearless threesome agonizing with disgust within their viewing room. Sheridan is livid and his silence speaks volumes. I thought this final shot was staged really well by Furst.



Following the scathing attack by the ISN arm of Earth government there is a new rage brewing under the surface for Sheridan. What’s next will be interesting. It leaves you thinking, always a trademark for the series. It's fitting this entry makes its appearance on election day in the USA given the media played such a significant role in influencing its viewership good or bad.

The moral of the story: Never Trust The Media. Be sure to take everything and dissect it.

The Illusion Of Truth: C+/ B-