B5 S4 Ep21: Rising Star

What becomes of the broken-hearted? Is this the saddest sad luck girl ya ever did see? She just breaks your heart all over again and she's alive no less. This show is killing us!

It's a testament to this amazing series that I have received very little of my G'Kar and Londo fix over the last several episodes and yet the episodes themselves rank as some of my favorites in the entire series. I wouldn't trade some of the wonderful entries that have focused on G'Kar and Londo for anything, but these last few have been simply amazing despite their lack of involvement and input.

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NOT Casper The Friendly Ghost! Rather Clark The Corpse.

How quickly the tide has turned. ISN reports conspirators involved in Clark's "reign of terror" will be brought to justice. Graphic images of Clark with a sheet over his body and a sign indicating "Traitor to Earth!" is posted around his neck. That's tasteful. I mean, you'd think the Justice Department who is in his office dusting the joint might have removed the sign before the media got in there. WTF? I mean, that's a bit strange. Granted, if it was placed there by an angry mob and it's part of the crime scene perhaps not. But then again, what the heck are the media doing in there trampling all over the crime scene?
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Susan is just a mess. It's a very real scene with Dr. Franklin and could be on of her finest acting moments on the series to date.

Franklin races across space to stop Marcus from paying the ultimate price to bring back Ivanova. Don't tell Ivanova that one. Here we are back at Babylon 5 station with Season Four, Episode 21, Rising Star [formerly titled Marcus Gone, Ivanova Lost & Earth Is Saved From Going Straight To Hell]. By God, Ivanova is alive and well and extremely upset, curled up in a near fetal ball and in tears over what Marcus has done for her paying the ultimate price for her to live. Oddly enough, it's good to see her up and about and sort of unnerving at the same time. Boy, she's a mess the poor thing. Ivanova tells Franklin how she's always had trouble with relationships always ending in disappointment. Marcus just had a tough time keeping the other half of his relationships alive. He does it here though. Here's a really solid performance by a sobbing Ivanova.

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That is yet another moving moment among many moving moments along the way. I couldn't help but think of all of Marcus' kind gestures to Ivanova along the way, especially those red roses. What a tragedy to have to lose one of Babylon 5's finest to keep the other breathing. There is certainly great sadness in my heart for Ivanova.
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Ah, speaking of my two boys, G'Kar and Londo together again here. It was interesting to hear Londo and G'Kar both chastise Vir for being tardy in unison. "You're late." Hearing them say it in sync was symbolic of just how far they had come and how they were both very much on the same page for the first time. Londo tells Vir he is developing a "strange relationship" with G'Kar and he is rather enjoying it. Yeah, it's called a civil relationship with a little humor. It's actually normal Londo, but it's been awhile for you so we'll cut you some slack. Vir informs Londo that the Centauri Royal Court has chosen Londo as the next emperor. Londo is less than excited or pleased at the news. Just look at that expression. He has indeed changed for the better. He is no longer driven by that insatiable thirst for power and conquest, but rather enlightened by a spirit of cooperation. Londo is right, that is strange.

Sheridan is on Earth and meets with Bester privately. Sheridan calls Bester on his manipulation of Garibaldi. Bester doesn't take ownership. He also indicates to prove it in an Earth court Garibaldi would need a Psi Corps-certified telepath, which automatically eliminates Lyta from being an "ace in the hole" for Garibaldi since she is not a certified Psi Corps telepath. Sheridan totally has his number as you'll see and he is one of Bester's biggest threats and his greatest nemesis. Sheridan asks where the virus viles are that were taken from Edgars' facility. He also asks for Lise's whereabouts. Bester turns the tables and gets real serious asking if his "lover" was one of the telepaths used against the Earth warships. If she was, Bester insists, Sheridan will not leave the room alive.

Garibaldi is back in business taking names, numbers and crackin' heads. Good to have him back!

Such great stuff! There are so many references to the past in this episode. I like when Sheridan refers indirectly to losing his wife Anna Sheridan twice. Speaking of Garibaldi he is back on Mars looking for Lise. He interrogates one man and asks, "now do you wanna die fast or do you wanna spend the rest of your life eating all your meals through a straw." Garibaldi gets the best lines.

Londo and G'Kar meet with Delenn. She asks for their support and Londo laughs. A meeting of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds has been called. Londo amusingly tells them, "I hope you have brought a change of underwear. You'll need it after you read this." He holds the paper in question. Okay, Londo gets some great material too.
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Back on Earth, Sheridan meets with acting President Susanna Luchenko. She is Russian and played not-so-convincingly by Beata Pozniak. She's too young for the part in my opinion. Earth Force is fairly split on their support of Sheridan. Some feel he should be given a medal while others feel he should be shot. He is given an ultimatum. He must resign and his entire crew will be given amnesty for their actions however justifed they may have been. Consequences must be applied she informs him. It's a "bitch" she says and she might know.

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A couple of geniuses.

On Mars, Garibaldi rescues Lise from a bunch of crumbbums holding her hostage for a price. I loved the little exploding box with the Porky Pig voice "ebity ebity, that's all folks." BA-BOOM!

On a White Star, Delenn and Lennier head to Earth. She indicates all have voted on their proposal. Now it wasn't until this point I was certain whether Marcus was alive or dead. I thought it was left fairly ambiguous at the beginning when we first see Ivanova with Franklin. I thought perhaps he was in ICU and somehow they were attempting to save him. Of course, that was was simply wishful thinking on my part. So, I suspect it was not to be and that Marcus is indeed gone forever. Gosh, I really grew to like him. The impact of his loss does not hit me here in the same way it did to lose Ivanova initially. Then again, it has been a rollercoaster ride of emotions up til' now and perhaps I'm a touch desensitized to the depressing proceedings. It was interesting to see Delenn reference Marcus' past which is covered extensively in the book To Dream In The City Of Sorrows. Now, what I did not see coming was Lennier informing Delenn of Ivanova's words.

So Lennier has loved Delenn from afar for some time. Wow. I didn't see that moment coming. It was really good though. He really chokes back the emotions here. Honestly he puts on a super brave face. Delenn really is oblivious to many specific things. She is so smart and yet so naive to certain emotional currents around her. It's kind of funny. Still, Lennier has always been her protector and as much as he cared for her I hadn't realized he felt more for her in this way. That was quite touching and I suspect his love will remain, but that he will suppress it accordingly.
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Later, on Earth, President Luchenko stands before the ISN cameras and begins repairing the wounds and bringing together the two sides of the Battle for Earth. Sheridan addresses the people and his love for Earth and being apart of something bigger than himself. He announces his resignation from Earth Force in the hopes of bringing people together. G'Kar, Londo and Delenn are in attendance and request an audience to announce what we don't, as of yet, know. G'Kar announces the dissolution of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds. I knew this might come. He indicates a new alliance. Delenn continues that a group of Minbari and humans, as The Rangers, shall protect and oversee. "Their goal is to create the peace not enforce the peace." They will be the eyes and ears and work equally with all races. The invitation for Earth is open.

Later, the President meets privately with Delenn, Londo and G'Kar and informs them of the skeptics that surround her in Earth Force. Delenn tells the President how the worlds can share technology. Delenn, Londo and G'Kar make up the advisory board. They shall report to an elected intergalactic President. That President will be President John Sheridan. Well, there you go, some doors close and other doors open as they say. "I guess the war finally taught them that we are better together than apart." Sheridan is quite self-satisified with the end result.

I absolutely loved when Sheridan stepped into the halls to find his father there waiting for him. That was a total choke up moment. Always good to see Rance Howard as David Sheridan. He also welcomes his new daughter-in-law to be, Delenn, to the family.



Garibaldi is back in business again in more ways than one.

ISN reports Earth has joined forces with the new Interstellar Alliance. Mars will become a free and independent world. Meanwhile Garibaldi and Lise finally get back together and share an intimate moment in the hay. Things worked out quite well as Garbaldi keeping up the alliance end. ;)

On Babylon 5, Ivanova is back at the helm and has been appointed to full Captain. Ivanova plans to leave the station. I knew she'd be going. I thought perhaps she might be going out horizontally, but it would appear to be vertically. Still, where is she going? I will miss that voluptuous wonder babe! Delenn and Sheridan marry on a White Star. G'Kar and Londo share a drink. This is quite a sentimental moment. It's really good to see them as friends who take joy in the humor of each other's differences and poking fun rather than hating one another for those differences. It's a real lesson to learn and remember for all of us.

I can't believe he did that with his eye. What a peeping G'Kar. Ha! The final moments we see Delenn and Sheridan in bed together. Everybody is boffing in this episode or wishing they had "boffed" in Ivanova's case. Delenn's narration hints of the fact that the creators may not have known whether or not Babylon 5 was moving forward with a Season Five at this point. I'm sure there is a great deal out on the web about this factor and why Claudia Christian was leaving the show. Feel free to share your thoughts. Certainly if it all ended here it would be a fitting end to a terrific story. She mentions several factors over the next twenty years occurring including a Telepath War, a wavering Interstellar Alliance which would indeed hold and a dreaded Drakh War. "What is built endures. What is loved endures. And Babylon 5... Babylon 5 endures." Lovely.
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Rising Star: B+ [there were some exceptional moments]

B5 S4 Ep20: Endgame

Marcus sits by Ivanova’s side and the latest entry kicks things off on an emotional note. Delenn and Marcus make fine points in their concern for Ivanova.



Back on Mars, telepaths are being smuggled quietly into Earth gov warships within their cargo holds. One telepath per vessel is placed inside each ship to make thirty implantations in all. They are being fitted for a reason as part of Sheridan’s plan to reclaim Earth. Dr. Franklin is fairly certain the plan will work.

Some nifty gear and costume design.
Garibaldi is scanning critical Mars locations in a plan to sabotage Earth gov operations. He is scanning with a pair of nifty sci-fi binoculars. They are very cool. Binoculars are always a nice idea, but they never pan out or realize their full potential of coolness. They always seem nice conceptually. If we could get one of these binocular units maybe people would actually use them.

It’s 2261 and the fight to free Mars and Earth is coming to a head like a pimple as we near the end of Babylon 5, Season Four with Episode 20, Endgame [formerly titled War Rages While Ranger Marcus Is Helplessly Lost In Love].

The Earth forces located on Mars allude to their fleet being the biggest since The Battle Of The Line. I remember that battle way back when. With the element of surprise and the help of an insider, Garibaldi, Lyta, Franklin and Number One ambush the base of Earth operations. Lyta is equipped with telepathic communications equipment and goes outside to connect with her telepaths on board the Earth vessels. She needs a clean line of sight to git-r-done. I'm quite pleased Lyta is on our team. She definitely qualifies as a nominee for MVP [Most Valuable Player]. If she ever fell to the darkside or if Straczynski takes her in an unexpected direction in Season Five our fearless heroes would have their hands full with this powerhouse. She's amazing.

Sheridan wants to take Mars first for them to achieve success. Marcus and Lennier stand by to do exactly that.

At the same time Earth fleet readies for action. Brigadier General Lefcourt has been called upon to lead the charge. He’s been brought in because he was once a mentor to Sheridan and “taught him everything he knows.” He’s a traditionalist loyal to Earth however unjust the government’s directives. He will not fight his own government. “I know how he thinks. I know how he fights… and now I’m going to have to kill him.” He’s not happy about it either. He knows these are terrible days. Lefcourt seems like an honorable gentleman. These are good people all thrust into terrible war-time circumstances. Lefcourt’s sole focus is to crush the rebellion. Earth hopes Lefcourt is their ace in the hole to counter Sheridan's military genius.

Back on Mars Garibaldi checks in with his partners, “Grumpy to Snow White, I’ve got the coordinates for the Wicked Queen’s Castle.” Earlier he called in, "Grumpy to Sneezy, Sleepy and Doc." I know who the Doc is.

Lennier senses Marcus’ thoughts stray from the mission over to the love of his life, Ivanova. He's a man on a mission to love her.



Garibaldi delivers the coordinates for a jump point to open for the arrival of Lennier and Marcus via the White Star. It’s a dangerous move to open a gate this close to the ground and to the targets, but these are risky times.



You’re not sure if Garibaldi's joking or half-serious in that scene. It’s a bit scary really. The White Star arrives and destroys all key targets with precision Minbari navigation. Lefcourt is impressed by Sheridan’s offensive strategy, but he senses he must have some kind of “an ace in the hole.” Damn it! Everyone has an ace in the hole. I’d love to have an ace in the hole just once. You know, say you have to go somewhere with your The One To Be Pitied and you don’t really want to go, but you have no way out of it, unless of course you have your ace in the hole. You see that’s a nice thing to have. Speaking of The One To Be Pitied, she sees Richard Biggs on the screen as she walks through the room with her usual derogatory comments and remembers him from the soaps and says how he’s cute and how sad it is he passed away. I pause until she leaves the room. She is intentionally annoying me and distracting me so I can’t catch the details. Still, it is indeed sad he died so young.

Here's Johnny!
Lyta begins activation of the telepaths to make her connection with them so that they may connect with their respective Earth vessel's on board computer systems in order to completely screw things up for the Earth forces.

A female questions Franklin’s motives in the resistance. You can sense he’s uncomfortable with what he had to do. It harkens back to his discomfort in Season Four, Episode 16, Exercise Of Vital Powers. He looked like he lost his best friend as he moped with Lyta by his side, because damn it! he's a doctor Jim, who is tasked with saving lives and it goes against his very sworn oath. He justifies his actions by indicating, “They are weapons.” If they don’t survive this they will die anyway. He’s right despite seizing the opportunity in defense of his actions and still sounding unjustified. They are living killing machines. It’s ironic. Earth created these telepathic weapons. How fitting they should be used against their creators in the end. The female resistance fighter wins the award for overactor of the episode. She’s horrible and hard to believe. She’s annoying, naive and over-the-top awful. It’s like clam-the-hell-up and just sit there. Since when have you cared about human lives resistance fighter!? You’ve been out blowing people up for quite some time now, you self-righteous jerky. It was too convenient of a device to have her there.

Apart from a teaser in Season One, Babylon Squared, I never did get my hand-to-hand combat episode.
A series of jump points open and Sheridan’s team arrives right on schedule. The part about the telepaths throwing a fly in the ointment is the part that wasn’t expected for Lefcourt. General Lefcourt quickly deducts cargo was brought on board that should not have been. Personally, I find it a little hard to believe he figured it all of that out in a matter of minutes. I don’t care how sharp the guy is how could you see that coming? It’s a bit convenient even for a brilliant General. So, again, that was one of those hurried moments for me. Shoot, I'd have been blown up long before I figured all of that out, but that's why I'm not a General or in this case a SUPER General!

Sheridan orders all weapons systems and engines disabled to minimize casualties. Meanwhile, Lefcourt’s soldiers find their telepathic infiltration aboard the ship all marred in wiring and disable their own problem with very powerful guns.

Marcus and Lennier finish their clean up of Mars and rendezvous with the others. While en route Marcus contacts Babylon 5 to access the station's medical files.



He is a man on a mission. Marcus picks up new knowledge of the alien device that is under tight wraps on Babylon 5. You’ll recall the device from Season One, Episode 21, The Quality Of Mercy. Marcus has no designs to use that device on you know who. Of course he does! He must save Ivanova!

I must say, now more than ever, with his beard fully in place, Sheridan actually looks the part of the grizzled war commander. Back on Lefcourt’s ship they are still attempting to get navigation problems under control following the elimination of their telepathic wrench.

Marcus sends Lennier to Delenn and takes his White Star back to Babylon 5 leaving the heat of battle. The love bug really has a hold of Marcus. My first thought was that Sheridan is going to be pissed he left. When we get to Sheridan he looks pretty unhappy. He wants to contact Babylon 5 to stop Marcus. He can’t reach the station as communications are now being jammed. He apologizes to Delenn, “I’m sorry.” Why is he sorry you ask? I asked the same thing. He’s unable to contend with that matter further as he presses his fleet forward through the jump points to Earth. What gave him pause enough to almost consider dealing with the Marcus issue? Hmmm.

Sheridan contacts the enemy and gives them the speech of a lifetime. It’s quite good, but dissected into too many parts and disruption to put it all together [for a video here on the blog]. He has arrived to take back Earth from Clark. On Earth, Clark is writing feverishly. Defense weapons around the planet fire upon Sheridan’s forces. The revolution is in full effect as it comes knocking on Clark’s office door in the form of an angry mob. The coward commits suicide with a PPG to the temple.

The paper on his desk reads over and over: THE ASCENSION OF THE ORDINARY MAN. Key letters are circled that spell out SCORCHED EARTH. Sheridan is contacted. Clark plans on, um well, scorching the Earth with the defense systems. The defense grid begins taking position to fire upon our Mother Earth. Sheridan’s forces take evasive action to save the planet. Sheridan’s ship, The Agamemnon, is struck and weapons are disabled. They take a ramming posture to knock out one of the defensive units with every intention of dying if necessary. The collision course is in play, but Lefcourt arrives and destroys the defensive satellite saving Sheridan in a nick of time. “Welcome home John,” radios Lefcourt. A convenient change of heart. I suppose when you're planet is in jeopardy of being crushed that can have an impact.

ISN is back on line reporting the real news. This is the real ISN that was banished and placed in exile in favor of Clark's media arm. So it's no longer the lying, deceitful, no good, cheating, agenda-driven propaganda media machine under Clark. Instead, it’s the much more trustworthy lying, deceitful, no good, cheating, agenda-driven ISN of old. In other words, never trust the bastards!

Franklin is heading for Babylon 5 “to stop someone from making a terrible mistake.” We discover what Marcus’ intentions are. He plans on saving Ivanova with the alien device. Unfortunately the alien device feeds the dying individual the life force of another leaving the savior as victim. Marcus is heading back to be with Ivanova to give her his life. He is planning to die. He is going to sacrifice himself out of love. Could it be that Delenn was concerned if Marcus succeeded some sort of prophecy for Marcus would not come to pass?

Talk about devastating.
On the subject at hand, I have to admit, this is an interesting question to pose. What would you do? What is the right thing to do? His intent is undeniably noble. He sits by her side rigged to the equipment and whispers to her, “I love you.” It is significantly moving. There are some real tender moments in this installment all involving Marcus.
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There is some real beauty found in Marcus’ love for her. As much as I am saddened, even heartbroken, by Ivanova’s current condition and would like to see her live, this did not feel right, unnatural even. I mean to say, my feelings have nothing to do with the great writing here, I just didn’t want to see Marcus die. If there was a character I had learned to care for over time, in much the same way I did Ivanova, it would have to be Marcus. I understood what he was doing and I don’t think he was wrong for doing it at all, but some things are meant to be. Ivanova’s passing seems natural and this act by Marcus does not. I hope he does not succeed. Still, mom always did say "where there's a will there's a way" though. Marcus has the will and now the way.

Endgame: A-

Kirk & Bones: The Great Ice Planet Adventure: Part 7: Briefs or Boxers?

Kirk: Apart from that Superbabe there doesn't appear to me of a night life on this planet.

Bones: Perhaps all lifeforms that inhabit the planet live underground due to the harsh conditions.

Kirk: Perhaps Bones. Perhaps.

Bones: Jim! Your blue briefs are showing.

Kirk: It's all part of my plan Bones to lure that Mystery Babe out from the shadows again.

Bones: Hmmm, I see. Well, with all due respect, she didn't seem particularly interested in us.

Kirk: That's because she hasn't gotten up close and personal with big Jim to see the error of her ways.

Bones: Is that it? Well, the winds are breaking cold again and here comes the snow. The temperature and climate is shifting rapidly once again as it did just a few short hours ago. We're going to need to find help. Jim, I think I see something ahead.

Kirk: Bones, more importantly, are you a briefs or boxers man?

Bones: Damn it Jim! This is no time for an undies discussion.

Kirk: What about long johns eh? Those would be quite to our liking right right about now.

Bones: Yes, yes. Long johns are nice. This way.

Kirk: How 'bout the Snuggie?

Love Is Strange

I think Sheridan has done everything but the girl in Babylon 5. Bad joke. This song, Love Is Strange, is really sweet and taken from the recording Acoustic by Everything But The Girl. I recorded the scene to this version and thought it really fit the track like a glove.

Now, here is the classic from Mickey & Sylvia. Quirky but nice.

B5 S4 Ep19: Between The Darkness And The Light

This is simply one of the most devastating episodes of Babylon 5 without question. It was a tough one to swallow.

Sheridan is back on Babylon 5 speaking with Dr. Franklin. The sequence is a clever splicing of reality and fantasy. All of it is occurring within the mind of a weakened John Sheridan. He imagines he is speaking with a friend, but is offered a drug by the interrogator rather than the cup of coffee he envisions offered by Franklin. Sheridan has been brutalized and pressed mentally and physically now for days. “We don’t want cooperation. We want conversion.” Sheridan is now confusing and blurring the lines of reality with his internal desire to find comfort and solace. By the way, we get our first glimpse of a now bearded Boxleitner here. I’ve seen images of him with the beard. We see it here for the first time. I love it. Boxleitner is a handsome fellow and I’m safe enough with my sexuality and my beloved action figures that I can say that.

Elsewhere, Garibaldi reaches out to the Mars resistance. Instead of a warm greeting he is cold-cocked and head-bagged. Ironically both Sheridan and Garibaldi are clearly about to receive more intensive scrutiny and questioning as we launch into Babylon 5, Season Four, Episode 19, Between The Darkness And The Light [formerly titled I Can't Freakin' Believe Hot Lips Ivanova Is Dying And I'm Pretty Sad About It].

Garibaldi is beaten and brought before Number One and Franklin. Number One is prepared to kill him by PPG. After all Garibaldi has been heralded as a hero on ISN [the propaganda arm of Earth gov]. The resistance hates all of the above. Not surprisingly, the good doctor Franklin can’t kill a man who has been a dear friend to him for quite some time. It makes sense too. Straczynski has done such a splendid job of building relationships throughout the series. He has peppered these little connections between characters all along the way including Garibaldi’s efforts to curb Franklin’s past stim use. These building blocks come into play adding conflict into the decision making process for our heroes throughout the story. So Franklin's conundrum is natural and certainly understanding as he needs to hear Garibaldi’s side of the story [lucky for Garibaldi]. Now that Garibaldi is back to normal, he attempts to tell them the long and short of whatever happened to him.

Franklin: “You got any proof?”

Garibaldi: “Yeah, I got a receipt from the Psi Corps certifying that my brain’s been dry-cleaned, pressed and starched. Come on Stephen, this is Bester we’re talkin’ about here. Do you think he’s gonna leave any evidence? Damn it it’s true!”

Garibaldi is desperate for someone to believe in him. 'I want to believe' [nod to The X-Files] ponders Franklin. Garibaldi wants Lyta to scan him. Still, the resistance doesn’t trust telepaths and Number One makes that clear. Amidst the tension of this terrific sequence Lyta goes all High Noon and plasters the joint with laser-driven rifle fire. Wicked cool! Then she goes into a kind of Babylon 5 version of Spock mode as only Lyta can.



YO! That would be Lyta Eastwood to you. Git-r-done!
Lyta’s big black eyes return breaking through to the truth she needs inside Garibaldi’s mind. Number One scoffs at the information. Lyta gets pisses and gives Number One one of her wicked head jerks as Lyta goes all Exorcist-like. She’s pure head-spinning Regan/ Linda Blair. “What do you know about hell?” She forcibly stuffs the bimbo, blonde toughie’s mind with the visuals Garibaldi has had to endure. I thought Lyta and Garibaldi got off the hook a bit easy here. I think this is one of those rare Straczynski missteps. He just attempts to wrap up or move forward with a solution that is a little too easy and illogical. While an argument can be made it's a bit of a push here. I mean if everyone in that room was so down, fearful and distrustful of telepaths why wouldn’t they question what just happened? I mean, if I’m the resistance, I’m thinking ‘well, what did you just do to Number One to get her to believe you?’ Right? Maybe. They could be thinking her little telepathic mind trick was nothing more than a jedi mind trick thingy. It just seemed trusting Number One to speak for everyone and suddenly be a believer within a heartbeat of a nano second was a little too convenient of a story device. I know. I know. She’s Number One bud! There’s no one higher so you just gotta believe. It works enough. It’s the easiest, most sensible way of pardoning Garibaldi, providing his innocence and moving the story forward. I did think he would have a harder time proving his innocence, but Straczynski clearly has other plans for his terrific tale and beloved Garibaldi that I should dare not question. So, Garibaldi is released. I felt like he should have turned to the faceless rabble to say something like, ‘it’s been real dickweeds, thanks for the stay and the beating fellas. I'll be sure to catch up with ya later’.

Meanwhile, Ivanova moves forward. Her fleet takes on The Damocles. The Damocles fires first and then Ivanova unleashes hell on her ass. When the White Star fleet is finished The Damocles is nothing more than a flagging fireball of destruction. Survivors are rescued. Marcus expresses some worry in his eyes here for Ivanova. It is notable, but for what reason I am uncertain.

Back on Mars, the resistance prepares to rescue Sheridan. Number One sends a “skeleton crew” along to accompany Garibaldi, Lyta and Franklin. Now, I’ve heard of skeleton crews, but to me it qualifies as more than one person. Yeah, that’s pretty thin skin and bones all right. Granted, their skeleton escort is an ultra smokin’ hottie. We’ll have more on her old bones in a minute.

The moral of the story is, if these freaks can pull it together why can't we? All in favor?
On Babylon 5, Delenn and Lennier rush to a meeting already in progress and assembled by Londo of the non-aligned worlds. Londo calls for a vote asking for everyone’s support to rescue Sheridan. These races are working together “like never before.” Londo insists, “The humans have become the glue that holds us together” since The Shadows War. Lennier asks why he and Delenn were not summoned to be involved. Londo knows the Minbari might be compromised by their participation thanks to Delenn’s relationship with Sheridan. They are being protected by a selfless Londo act. It is all reassuringly enlightened. My we have come a long, long way indeed. Londo is leading the charge. G’Kar is there in full support. The Gaim, Drazi and others aren’t feuding and bickering selfishly for the first time in memory. It is the dawning of a new age and a new day. Could this be the earliest moment of a League of Aligned Worlds? It is conceivable. I just wanna' start singing We Are Family, I got all the Drazi in me.

On Mars, a voluptuous woman [a.k.a. the skeleton crew] in the form of actress Musetta Vander leads Garibaldi, Lyta and Franklin to their destination. Supple of lip, hot of body and this deliciously gorgeous brunette with a big gun is all that stands between them and death. She is one red, ultra hot skeleton. Did I mention I like skeleton crews? I knew her name looked familiar. She played Shaun’auc on Stargate SG-1. Um, yeah, she was hot in that series too. In fact, she was hotter. You’ll need to see that one for yourself. She also has a meatier guest role in that series with fewer articles of clothing. As the quartet makes their way through the tunnels to get to Sheridan we get the absolutely rare moment of ear-to-ear cheer. This is one of those rare light moments in a science fiction universe that is generally dark in tone more often than not. What a special moment it is and Patricia Tallman is terrific once again.



Lyta is even cute pissed off, kind of sexy even!
I love team-styled guerilla stuff. I wished I had seen a little more of this kind of action throughout the series against The Shadows. I know the story didn’t call for it, but I would have loved just one episode where they attempted to survive them on the ground one on one blasting bug guts all over the walls. I suppose that is one of the things I love about Stargate SG-1 or Stargate Atlantis. That up close and personal, in the trenches, kind of combat is exciting. I suppose they have Starship Troopers for that. Anyway, the sexy scout chickee leaves them to their own devices for the rest of their journey. It’s okay I like this team. You’ve got a balls-to-the-wall brawler, smart and fearless, a medic with guts and a powerhouse telepath unafraid to fire a weapon to boot. Yeah, I think that’s a pretty sweet team. I'd put money on them. Granted a sexy, brunette skeleton would have been a nice distraction taking them a little further.

In space, Damocles Officer Eisensen is brought before Ivanova. He tells her some defectors of Earth are loyally reporting back to Earth on Ivanova’s plans to head to Mars to rescue Sheridan. The moles for Earth are setting a trap for her. They have newly designed ships awaiting their arrival. I love ships. I can’t wait to see new ships. I told you how much I love space ships. Things could be ugly. I was thinking Ivanova should hold back her warships and enter Mars space strictly with her vast, fleet-of-foot White Stars. She should be able to outmaneuver them with their sheer speed.

Back on Mars, our fearless heroes ambush two Mars troopers. My hopes had been slightly optimistic here coupled with my thirst for hand-to-hand excitement and adventure. I was optimistic despite their odds but it all came to a screeching halt as Garibaldi was knifed in the back. I really hate when that happens. There is nothing worse than getting stabbed in the back figuratively or in this case for real. This is not good at all. It hurts just looking at him. Still, we have our doctor and he stitches him up straight away. Garibaldi dresses in an Earth uniform to implement phase two.

Elsewhere, it appears Ivanova heard me and is taking my advice. Ha. She is heading out with White Stars only. So it would appear Earth has the element of surprise waiting for her technologically, while Ivanova and friends have the element of surprise knowing they will surprise the surprisers that think they are the surprisers when they really aren’t going to be surprising anyone and therein lies Ivanova’s surprise for the surprisees. It should be interesting as all parties are converging upon Sheridan. It is all, not surprisingly, very good.

On Mars, Garibaldi and company arrive at Sheridan’s holding area. I never could understand how often people in just about any kind of show can waltz into an area and not be recognized by other troops. They must always be very big armies with soldiers that don't pay each other much mind. Granted, in this case, it’s handled very well. The man on duty recognizes Garibaldi as the hero from ISN. “The one and only,” smiles Garibaldi.

Is there anything this woman can't do? She's a machine!
Season Four has been so complex and so expertly written. Thank God Straczynski wrote all of it. It is impressively woven together as if that is any kind of revelation I suppose. It just never ceases to amaze me how the pieces of his story fall into place and make sense inside the big picture of course. Garibaldi is an intergalactic hero so I’d let him in too. This next scene is hysterical.



I love how Straczynski can place his own thoughts into the mouths of these characters and it just works. Funny moment number two.

Garibaldi: "I'm the one who turned him in. Maybe you saw me on ISN."

Guard: "I don't watch TV. It's a cultural wasteland filled with inappropriate metaphors and an unrealistic portrayal of life created by the liberal media elite."

Garibaldi: "I couldn't agree more." Amen! The guard has a point.

That is a Lyta Eastwood Right Hook Special! She is out of fucking control! I love her! Even Biggs is frightened by her here.
Do you just love this team? I am a little surprised the stabbing didn’t inhibit Garibaldi’s movement a bit more. Still he’s a tough guy who can suppress pain so you can definitely buy into it. You can see the detail they give the situation though with the blood permeating through Garibaldi’s shirt. His entrance wound is a mess.

On the White Star Marcus waves his hand over a resting Ivanova as he speaks to her “You’ll never know.” Apparently she does Marcus. This is a sweet moment. He really confirms his love for her here.



Yeah, she knows.

On Mars, the escape of Sheridan is in progress. I should think Sheridan has slight anger issues as he shoots one of the guards over 8 times. It’s understandable.

Dr. Franklin is a pretty fine shot too! He's good with stims AND PPGs. Ouch!
WHOA! They're baaaack, kinda sorta. I never saw that ship design coming. That is so sinister cool. In space, the White Star fleet encounters the new Earth warships. So this is what Earth gov was up to all those episodes ago first prompted in Season Three, Episode 8, Messages From Earth as the Shadows vessel was being unearthed and utilized for the weapons division. It was essentially a military industrial complex initiative. Now, pure evil is a reality. Those ships are friggin’ scary and hideous. The lighting is what gives them such menace. Ivanova’s reaction is priceless too. So it would appear we are about to see the Vorlons battling the Shadows all over again. We have Earth with its Shadows-technology versus the White Star fleet with its Vorlon-heavy build. Both have inherited “semi-organic hull designs” from the First Ones who are now gone. Their legacies live on. The battle of light versus dark begins again indeed.

She looks a bit like The Grinch here.
This is one of the best bridge identifications I’ve ever seen. It ranks up there with the best of “Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise.” These are people with whom not to mess.



Those nasty looking vessels look like Earth warships with a bad skin problem. It’s notable they even have laser-styled firepower compliments of the Shadows. Now if I'm not mistaken there is a significant connection here in what she says to those strange black and white segments envisioned by Sheridan in Season Two, Episode 11, All Alone In The Night and referenced again in Season Three, Episode 21, Shadow Dancing.

Ivanova: "I am the right hand of vengeance and the boot that is gonna kick your sorry ass all the way back to Earth."

I must admit up until Intersections In Real Time I was slightly [and I do emphasize slightly friends] disengaged at times getting through some of the episodes. It was feeling a bit like a chore in some aspects of watching [for the writing part of this], but this entry and the last have really made me wake up. I was addicted all over again. They had the kind of energy and excitement that I recalled from Season Two, Episode 9, The Coming Of Shadows or Episode 16, In The Shadow Of Z'Ha'Dum. In some ways the episodes that have preceded this have been a build to this moment. This is a crescendo of excitement. The battle sequence is excellent. I love how those White Stars can swing and turn on a dime instantly. Their like horseflies. They give the Vorlon-derived ships a huge advantage over the lumbering Earth warships. No matter what you do to those warships or how you dress them up they still lumber around like giant Earth warships. I suppose they were better defensively and offensively, but in the end it didn’t seem to matter. Admittedly I was expecting a little more out of them. I'm a tough customer.

Ivanova really lets them have it with both barrels. The White Stars hammer away. It is undeniably one of the premiere battle events of the season and the best since Delenn’s encounter with the Drakh emissary in Season Four, Episode 11, Lines Of Communication. Just seeing those spidery tendrils sticking out from the Earth ships is just plain creepy. They give me the heebie jeebies all over again. But now…

HOLY TOLEDO! The Shadows debris in the exploding fireball hits Susan Ivanova’s ship and they are slammed hard. She goes down and the ship is devastated internally. Marcus runs to her aid as fast as he can. This was the holy good shit heartbreaker of heartbreaker moments.



Damn! If that doesn't give you goosebumps I'm not sure what will.

Later, on Delenn’s White Star Sheridan is reunited with his lady love. They give each other a big old desperate smoocheroo of joy. Their chemistry and their relationship has been one that has left me confused or awkwardly watching and questioning along the way. It has been a fascinating love affair. I have not been fully on board at times, but its’ complexity makes sense and it is all the more genuine for it. They have grown on me. Let’s face it, Mickey & Sylvia once sang the song Love Is Strange and it is. It is a weird animal and Straczynski never once spoon-fed us a tailor made love story. It has been every bit the complicated beast real love is and every bit the puzzle Straczynski's tale has been. I can respect that.

HOLY DOUBLE TAKE BATMAN! Now Susan is also on Delenn’s White Star being cared for after the devastating blow to her White Star. She is in a bad, bad way and in a neck brace. She completed her mission as promised. But the good guys have paid a terrible price as I learn for the first time Ivanova is dying. This is tough to watch and really tugs at the heartstrings.



I was thinking I might see a little more emotion from Sheridan. He has indeed hardened over the years. I suppose he is hurting inside and didn’t want to express his pain in front of her, but show me a little pain after you leave the room. Marcus’ tear was brutal. He tried to warn Susan to back off in that fight but she wouldn’t relent. I think he also senses something about her resolve earlier when I mentioned his reaction to her on the bridge. He knew something bad was going to happen. That tear is for her and for his loss and what might have been between them. This poor bastard is like a bad luck charm. He loses everybody around him. His family, his brother, Sakai, Sinclair and now Susan are all gone. Folks, if you see Marcus coming you need to run the other way and fast. You will die. Poor son of a gun.

When Ivanova injected her classic sense of humor to make her friends at ease, this big softy got all choked up. I got the lump in my throat. Honest to God people I did not know Susan Ivanova was going to die. I knew based on photographs and the appearance of Tracey Scoggins she was not around for Season Five. Is it me or does Scoggins and Ivanova have that kind of Playboy playmate quality? It could be me. I digress. But seriously I have isolated myself in such a way that I just did not see this coming. I don’t know the story of Babylon 5. I didn’t know the characters or what it was about but this was a big blow for me. I was really bummed to see this happen. It was a shocking surprise. It was killing me to see her go this way. It was completely believable that in war there are real casualties. Big names die. Our friends die. People we love die. I like it for that reason, but I don’t like it if you know what I mean? Still, it wouldn’t be Babylon 5 without something believable occurring, something unexpected unfolding, something ultimately bad happening. These are the realities of war. Why not? It’s brilliant and deliciously tragic.

Ivanova’s last dying wish is for Sheridan to see the battle through unless there was something else to her wish that I missed. Sheridan resumes command of the fleet to take the fight to Earth in her name. All the while I kept thinking, ‘Will I get to see Susan again? This can’t be the last time I see her. This can’t be it. Damn, where is that bastard Lorien when you need him?’ I so want to see her one last time. In fact, I don’t think I wanted to see her character go at all. I kept wishing her life. I had so grown to enjoy Ivanova like family watching the show I just didn’t want her to die. It’s just too sad to take.

The title for this entry is just perfect. Our heroes are all somewhere in the middle. This continues a powerful run to the end of the season.

Between The Darkness And The Light: A

Top 10 Science Fiction Films For The Thinking Person

We all appreciate top ten lists here and I stumbled across this one over at Rotten Tomatoes labelled Top 10 Science Fiction Films For The Thinking Man, but considering we have loads of thinking females here I thought I'd change the title. I had just finished singing the praises of Planet Of The Apes with my own personal thoughts regarding that classic film and here we are kicking it off with their picks for the ten best.

10. Planet Of The Apes. "Planet Of The Apes is an amazing film," Variety Magazine.
*
9. Dark City. "If you don't fall in love with it, you've probably never fallen in love with a movie, and never will," Washington Post.
*
8. Sleeper. "Pound for pound and minute for minute, Sleeper may just have more laughs in it than any other Woody Allen movie," Filmcritic.
*
7. Gattaca. "There's a window on a possible future, a warning about the wages of sin, and enough beauty to make this a lasting classic of modern science fiction," Looking Closer.
*
6. Primer. "This film imagines its viewers to be smart, possessed of a decent attention span and game for a challenge. It doesn't happen all that often," Time Out.
*
5. Children Of Men. "An apocalyptic thrill ride that is as gritty as it is gripping, with a dark terror outgunned only by its daring humanity," St. George Spectrum.
*
4. Solaris. "There was so much to think about afterward, and so much that remained in my memory," Roger Ebert.
*
3. Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. "A work that borrows its narrative shape and its concerns from those earlier films, but enhances them with what looks like the latest developments in movie and space technology," New York Times.
*
2. Blade Runner. "The most remarkably and densely imagined and visualized SF film since 2001: A Space Odyssey, a hauntingly erotic meditation on the difference between the human and the nonhuman," Chicago Reader.
*
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey. "Its triumph lies in its scope of cinematic splendour and the attempt to marry some of man's most beautiful music to the infinite mystery of space," BBC.

This really wasn't in a particular order. I cannot comment on everything listed here, but I thought it was an interesting list of films that might make us consider expanding our science fiction palettes. I can certainly say Dark City is a film to behold. Gattaca really grabbed my attention and led me to view it several times. I never could make my way through Children Of Men. Perhaps I need to give that another chance. Blade Runner just keeps growing on you like a fungus. It's such an amazing work visually. Edward James Olmos is in it and we all knew he was destined for classic status.

Anyone have strong feelings about these films? I'm sure there are films missing from this obviously pensive list. My personal pick worthy of submission would be Steven Spielberg's Minority Report. The film was loaded with moral questions surrounding society and human nature. Its depiction of the future was visually stunning and reminiscent of a film like Blade Runner. Some nice action. Some fine acting. I think Minority Report enters into this realm, despite what you might think of Tom Cruise. Even if you don't agree with this list it is solid and does indeed make you think.