This episode gets a spiritual sequel in season 4 when another ISN crew comes aboard. Sadly, that episode is too on-the-nose and lacks the subtlety of "And Now for a Word."
"Torque-a-mad-man." Of course she's named after an inquisitor because, soon enough, another Inquisitor will appear, and he, too, will question Delenn about her transformation. Before that, of course, she'll sit in a room with a thousand dead Markab. I'm pretty sure season 2 puts Delenn through the wringer the most. Not that she won't encounter adversity in later seasons, but season 2 is just unrelenting on her.
IPX gets name checked again just an episode before (in broadcast order, two in the order of this newsletter), we get to IPX investigating Zha'ha'Dum, and three episodes before we find out about Psi-Corp sleepers.
The Narn are losing this war. During the battle in "Word," the two ships seem fairly evenly matched. Do the Centauri have massive numerical superiority (likely as they've been spacefaring for centuries while the Narn have only had maybe 50 years to expand and build), or are the Shadows doing more than we've seen. I think it's probably just having more forces to bring into play, but it's a good question.
How many of the weapons moved in B5 space get used on the Narn Homeworld?
Soon enough we get Knightwatch.
And, of course, later in the season we'll get to see B5's forces slug it out with ANOTHER Centauri cruiser.
JMS is sprinkling a lot of seeds in this episode, all of which are shortly to bloom. We've had the exposition and setup season 1, the "now we have to introduce the new lead" beginning of season 2 is done. Varied factions and conspiracies have all been established. From now until the end of season 4 the show is clicking along in high gear with very few mis-steps. Every episode until the end of the season is going to have some sort of major plot development or character resolution to smack the audience around a bit. Bring it.
I don't think there's going to be a real clunker of an episode until "Grey 17 is Missing," and even that one has a really good Marcus/Neroon bit.
Nothing as lame as TKO, which remains (in my arrogant opinion) the most pointless episode of the series.
TKO still ain’t as bad as ‘The Long Dark’. IMO. :D
And yeah - season 2 starts very strong, especially considering the challenge of introing the new lead, but I think flounders a little bit around the middle with that trilogy of very flimsy episodes.
From ‘There all the honour lies’ onwards, though, it’s pretty much solid bangers all the way from here on.
JMS noted this episode had two purposes, which work against each other. First, the episode is designed as a mid-season jumping on point with lots of exposition. Second, the episode is subversive and format twisting for the long time viewer. It's a level of clever Stephen Moffat dreams of, but JMS knows how to plan things out and resolve them, not write himself into a corner and pull something out of his ass at the end.
And Now for a Word (from our Sponsor). And exactly who is sponsoring this report? IPX, the shady corporation we know does trade in bio weapons, and Psi Corp, which is shady. The agenda of the sponsors is subtle, but the "36 Hours" documentary begins with a discussion on the odds against B5 lasting 6 months (perhaps a jab at those who said the show would not even last a season), and on how public opinion is increasingly negative. We'll also note Senator Hidoshi - who was always on the link with Sinclair in s1 - is gone (mid-term one must assume), while Senator Quantrell - head of the relevant Senate Committee - seems unenthused. There are subtle undertones of propaganda in the entire broadcast. Especially the interview with Delenn.
"Office of Public Information" and the "Ministry for Public Morale" aren't ominous names at all. There's no way the Clarke administration would be doing anything untoward, is there? *cough cough*
For anyone who didn't pause the "subliminal," well... On initial airing I was taping, and my buddy and I went RIGHT back to it. "The Corps is your friend. Trust the Corps." *cough cough*
The writing for Londo and G'Kar is so beautiful. Londo is VERY good at spin. G'Kar, too honest and too passionate to gain sympathy with Earthers on this broadcast. Notice how Londo is in his purple during his interviews and council meetings when bring "reasonable," but his black coat when being a dick (six dicks, he's Centauri) over his warship. Good on costumer Ann Bruice. Londo's darker outfit is a deliberate choice to illustrate his arc.
Delenn's interview is... Becoming half-human and being on the receiving end of racism from human and Minbari alike is obviously wearing her down. This is Delenn who can hold her cool when being kicked out of the Gray Council or being assaulted by GROPOS losing it on TV. It's very upsetting to watch - especially as we, the audience, knows she underwent transformation for noble reasons.
On the journalist, JMS noted, "The Torque- part of her name came from Torquemada, that's correct. Just seemed appropriate since... *SPOILER REDACTED*"
Hey, we got to see our favorite dock rat again!
Hey, after a year and a half on the show Lt. David Corwin gets a name! His little interview is quite funny.
Speaking of funny, the tiny little glance of disgust Claudia Christian whips out when the reporter mispronounces her name is gold. Also, "There must be more to your story." "Yes."
Boxlightner gives his usual solid performance, but, when the Narn cruiser shows up right when he's almost got the situation under control, that, "What... No!" he gives is just a superlative bit of acting. For a fraction of a second Sheridan is rattled to the point of losing it, and has to - very quickly - pull it together. Contrast that with the later, "Get all the civilians to the shelters, and get the defense grid online." That line almost feels TOO slow given situation, but it's the delivery of a Captain who just almost soiled his trousers, and has yanked himself back to calm. It's one of Boxlightner's best moments in the series.
Hey, how about that awesome bit where we get to ride along with Zeta Leader, and Keffer is super-chill while taking out a Centauri! Oh, that's Delta Leader? Never mind. Ok, I get you don't burn one of Robert Russler's contracted episodes on an over-the-shoulder VO, and you give it to a loop group actor, but, still - it's part of why no-one likes Keffer. We'll never see Keffer do anything useful again.
Franklin's story about seeing his buddy blown out the airlock... Man, Richard Biggs is a fine actor.
Yeah, Biggs is great in that scene. Agree on Boxleitner: and the way the situation unravels feels very real, too.
I forgot to mention Quantrell — I thought that actor did political pundit PERFECTLY. Manages to sound reasonable, while slyly undermining. Well written and a clever performance. I can’t remember if we see him again?
And yes, I caught the mention of Senator HIdoshi. Ominous — and a shame, as I always liked the actor.
I don't think we see him again, but you're correct - he's perfect in the role of slimy politico sounding reasonable while, between the lines, letting slip disturbing things.
Sadly, season 4's "The Illusion of Truth" more or less returns to this conceit, but ends up being ham-fisted. Mostly because the B5 crew are too naive to realize they're being set up.
On ISN camera drones (from the "JMS Speaks" section of the Lurker's Guide page on "Illusion of Truth.") "The ISN cameras are not capable of autonomous operation, but they can be progammed within a parameter set. The wand is a control device to change those parameters. Thus, one operator, two cameras (or more!)"
The only way this episode could have been better would be giving it to Mike Vejar. Mario de Leo does well with the episode, with touches like the camera drones pivoting to follow ongoing action, and the crowds in the Zocalo waving to the cameras, but Vejar would have elevated a solidly directed episode to pure art (as a possible example taking the camera above head level in the council chamber scenes so G'Kar would have been ranting without an intrusive camera drone in his face).
Speaking of cameras, Simon noted in the newsletter one scene in the episode felt it broke the feeling of a documentary. We've been discussing it in private messages, and, to save redundant typing, we use copy/paste.
SIMON: there's one scene where it kinda breaks the conceit, in C&C, otherwise, it's very strict with the format.
ME: I don't think it did. There's a shot in C&C where a camera drone flies across the BG. The ISN crew obviously has multiple drones, so the multiple angles can be justified. Where the C&C scene feels off is that so much of the episode uses just one camera, it FEELS like a break to intercut, even though we are shown a second drone. That said, it's possible that second drone was added in post to justify the intercuts, and the director DID screw up on the conceit of a single camera documentary...
SIMON: Yeah, it just feels odd when the rest of the show is single roving camera OR properly setup interviews.
ME: It does feel odd, but it's justified by the multiple cameras. Barely.
MIKE: Hey, how about the Maintenance Bot which has been programmed with dramatic sensibility? A chunk gets blown off the Centauri cruiser, and the Bot pans, tilts, and zooms to follow the red-hot tumbling debris. It's a really cool shot, but it's also obviously artfully composed.
Ok, enough on that.
There are a lot of nice touches in the episode, like all the people mugging at the camera in the Zocalo. There's also a LOT of walla/wild lines going on, and it's GOOD walla.
For those who don't know, "walla," or "wild lines" are usually recorded in post by a "loop group" of actors, and refer to crowd chatter, background lines, off-screen lines, and other words that probably aren't in the main script. B5 doesn't use too much walla that often, but this episode has a ton of it - especially in C&C. And it's not just generic walla which was recorded long ago and pulled out of the library, it's situation-specific. As an example, during the incident with the Centauri and Narn cruisers a voice says, "Take securebot 2 up for a wider view," and the next cut is to the POV of securebot 2 as it pulls back from the "cargo forks" to show a wider view!
I've always wondered who wrote the walla - JMS, loop group director, or someone else - so I've asked JMS on Twitter. Should he respond I'll append his answer.
The CG in this episode is very well done, from the moving camera virtual set to all the varied cockpit /camera POVs. One minor thing of note is about Jump Points... Normally when we see a jumpgate or jump point open we're "looking down the tunnel." Well, in this episode - and it's the first time I've noticed it before, and WENT BACK to watch shot again - when the damaged Narn cruiser explodes we see a wide shot. As the Narn explodes one can see the jump point collapse... The jump point does not manifest in real space as a tunnel. Rather, the event manifold manifests as a 2D disc where the "tunnel" can be seen receding on the inside surface. There's a better shot of this in the movie "A Call to Arms," but that's post season 5. I thought the "disc" was new in that movie as part of a minor restyle of some VFX moving into "Crusade," but, nope. It's always been that way. It's a nice touch cementing the idea of a hole in space-time.
Ok, I'll start a new comment and get into story and character...
SPOILERS:
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This episode gets a spiritual sequel in season 4 when another ISN crew comes aboard. Sadly, that episode is too on-the-nose and lacks the subtlety of "And Now for a Word."
"Torque-a-mad-man." Of course she's named after an inquisitor because, soon enough, another Inquisitor will appear, and he, too, will question Delenn about her transformation. Before that, of course, she'll sit in a room with a thousand dead Markab. I'm pretty sure season 2 puts Delenn through the wringer the most. Not that she won't encounter adversity in later seasons, but season 2 is just unrelenting on her.
IPX gets name checked again just an episode before (in broadcast order, two in the order of this newsletter), we get to IPX investigating Zha'ha'Dum, and three episodes before we find out about Psi-Corp sleepers.
The Narn are losing this war. During the battle in "Word," the two ships seem fairly evenly matched. Do the Centauri have massive numerical superiority (likely as they've been spacefaring for centuries while the Narn have only had maybe 50 years to expand and build), or are the Shadows doing more than we've seen. I think it's probably just having more forces to bring into play, but it's a good question.
How many of the weapons moved in B5 space get used on the Narn Homeworld?
Soon enough we get Knightwatch.
And, of course, later in the season we'll get to see B5's forces slug it out with ANOTHER Centauri cruiser.
JMS is sprinkling a lot of seeds in this episode, all of which are shortly to bloom. We've had the exposition and setup season 1, the "now we have to introduce the new lead" beginning of season 2 is done. Varied factions and conspiracies have all been established. From now until the end of season 4 the show is clicking along in high gear with very few mis-steps. Every episode until the end of the season is going to have some sort of major plot development or character resolution to smack the audience around a bit. Bring it.
I don't think there's going to be a real clunker of an episode until "Grey 17 is Missing," and even that one has a really good Marcus/Neroon bit.
Nothing as lame as TKO, which remains (in my arrogant opinion) the most pointless episode of the series.
TKO still ain’t as bad as ‘The Long Dark’. IMO. :D
And yeah - season 2 starts very strong, especially considering the challenge of introing the new lead, but I think flounders a little bit around the middle with that trilogy of very flimsy episodes.
From ‘There all the honour lies’ onwards, though, it’s pretty much solid bangers all the way from here on.
Non Spoiler 2:
JMS noted this episode had two purposes, which work against each other. First, the episode is designed as a mid-season jumping on point with lots of exposition. Second, the episode is subversive and format twisting for the long time viewer. It's a level of clever Stephen Moffat dreams of, but JMS knows how to plan things out and resolve them, not write himself into a corner and pull something out of his ass at the end.
And Now for a Word (from our Sponsor). And exactly who is sponsoring this report? IPX, the shady corporation we know does trade in bio weapons, and Psi Corp, which is shady. The agenda of the sponsors is subtle, but the "36 Hours" documentary begins with a discussion on the odds against B5 lasting 6 months (perhaps a jab at those who said the show would not even last a season), and on how public opinion is increasingly negative. We'll also note Senator Hidoshi - who was always on the link with Sinclair in s1 - is gone (mid-term one must assume), while Senator Quantrell - head of the relevant Senate Committee - seems unenthused. There are subtle undertones of propaganda in the entire broadcast. Especially the interview with Delenn.
"Office of Public Information" and the "Ministry for Public Morale" aren't ominous names at all. There's no way the Clarke administration would be doing anything untoward, is there? *cough cough*
For anyone who didn't pause the "subliminal," well... On initial airing I was taping, and my buddy and I went RIGHT back to it. "The Corps is your friend. Trust the Corps." *cough cough*
The writing for Londo and G'Kar is so beautiful. Londo is VERY good at spin. G'Kar, too honest and too passionate to gain sympathy with Earthers on this broadcast. Notice how Londo is in his purple during his interviews and council meetings when bring "reasonable," but his black coat when being a dick (six dicks, he's Centauri) over his warship. Good on costumer Ann Bruice. Londo's darker outfit is a deliberate choice to illustrate his arc.
Delenn's interview is... Becoming half-human and being on the receiving end of racism from human and Minbari alike is obviously wearing her down. This is Delenn who can hold her cool when being kicked out of the Gray Council or being assaulted by GROPOS losing it on TV. It's very upsetting to watch - especially as we, the audience, knows she underwent transformation for noble reasons.
On the journalist, JMS noted, "The Torque- part of her name came from Torquemada, that's correct. Just seemed appropriate since... *SPOILER REDACTED*"
Hey, we got to see our favorite dock rat again!
Hey, after a year and a half on the show Lt. David Corwin gets a name! His little interview is quite funny.
Speaking of funny, the tiny little glance of disgust Claudia Christian whips out when the reporter mispronounces her name is gold. Also, "There must be more to your story." "Yes."
Boxlightner gives his usual solid performance, but, when the Narn cruiser shows up right when he's almost got the situation under control, that, "What... No!" he gives is just a superlative bit of acting. For a fraction of a second Sheridan is rattled to the point of losing it, and has to - very quickly - pull it together. Contrast that with the later, "Get all the civilians to the shelters, and get the defense grid online." That line almost feels TOO slow given situation, but it's the delivery of a Captain who just almost soiled his trousers, and has yanked himself back to calm. It's one of Boxlightner's best moments in the series.
Hey, how about that awesome bit where we get to ride along with Zeta Leader, and Keffer is super-chill while taking out a Centauri! Oh, that's Delta Leader? Never mind. Ok, I get you don't burn one of Robert Russler's contracted episodes on an over-the-shoulder VO, and you give it to a loop group actor, but, still - it's part of why no-one likes Keffer. We'll never see Keffer do anything useful again.
Franklin's story about seeing his buddy blown out the airlock... Man, Richard Biggs is a fine actor.
Yeah, Biggs is great in that scene. Agree on Boxleitner: and the way the situation unravels feels very real, too.
I forgot to mention Quantrell — I thought that actor did political pundit PERFECTLY. Manages to sound reasonable, while slyly undermining. Well written and a clever performance. I can’t remember if we see him again?
And yes, I caught the mention of Senator HIdoshi. Ominous — and a shame, as I always liked the actor.
I don't think we see him again, but you're correct - he's perfect in the role of slimy politico sounding reasonable while, between the lines, letting slip disturbing things.
Sadly, season 4's "The Illusion of Truth" more or less returns to this conceit, but ends up being ham-fisted. Mostly because the B5 crew are too naive to realize they're being set up.
On ISN camera drones (from the "JMS Speaks" section of the Lurker's Guide page on "Illusion of Truth.") "The ISN cameras are not capable of autonomous operation, but they can be progammed within a parameter set. The wand is a control device to change those parameters. Thus, one operator, two cameras (or more!)"
Non Spoiler.
The only way this episode could have been better would be giving it to Mike Vejar. Mario de Leo does well with the episode, with touches like the camera drones pivoting to follow ongoing action, and the crowds in the Zocalo waving to the cameras, but Vejar would have elevated a solidly directed episode to pure art (as a possible example taking the camera above head level in the council chamber scenes so G'Kar would have been ranting without an intrusive camera drone in his face).
Speaking of cameras, Simon noted in the newsletter one scene in the episode felt it broke the feeling of a documentary. We've been discussing it in private messages, and, to save redundant typing, we use copy/paste.
SIMON: there's one scene where it kinda breaks the conceit, in C&C, otherwise, it's very strict with the format.
ME: I don't think it did. There's a shot in C&C where a camera drone flies across the BG. The ISN crew obviously has multiple drones, so the multiple angles can be justified. Where the C&C scene feels off is that so much of the episode uses just one camera, it FEELS like a break to intercut, even though we are shown a second drone. That said, it's possible that second drone was added in post to justify the intercuts, and the director DID screw up on the conceit of a single camera documentary...
SIMON: Yeah, it just feels odd when the rest of the show is single roving camera OR properly setup interviews.
ME: It does feel odd, but it's justified by the multiple cameras. Barely.
MIKE: Hey, how about the Maintenance Bot which has been programmed with dramatic sensibility? A chunk gets blown off the Centauri cruiser, and the Bot pans, tilts, and zooms to follow the red-hot tumbling debris. It's a really cool shot, but it's also obviously artfully composed.
Ok, enough on that.
There are a lot of nice touches in the episode, like all the people mugging at the camera in the Zocalo. There's also a LOT of walla/wild lines going on, and it's GOOD walla.
For those who don't know, "walla," or "wild lines" are usually recorded in post by a "loop group" of actors, and refer to crowd chatter, background lines, off-screen lines, and other words that probably aren't in the main script. B5 doesn't use too much walla that often, but this episode has a ton of it - especially in C&C. And it's not just generic walla which was recorded long ago and pulled out of the library, it's situation-specific. As an example, during the incident with the Centauri and Narn cruisers a voice says, "Take securebot 2 up for a wider view," and the next cut is to the POV of securebot 2 as it pulls back from the "cargo forks" to show a wider view!
I've always wondered who wrote the walla - JMS, loop group director, or someone else - so I've asked JMS on Twitter. Should he respond I'll append his answer.
The CG in this episode is very well done, from the moving camera virtual set to all the varied cockpit /camera POVs. One minor thing of note is about Jump Points... Normally when we see a jumpgate or jump point open we're "looking down the tunnel." Well, in this episode - and it's the first time I've noticed it before, and WENT BACK to watch shot again - when the damaged Narn cruiser explodes we see a wide shot. As the Narn explodes one can see the jump point collapse... The jump point does not manifest in real space as a tunnel. Rather, the event manifold manifests as a 2D disc where the "tunnel" can be seen receding on the inside surface. There's a better shot of this in the movie "A Call to Arms," but that's post season 5. I thought the "disc" was new in that movie as part of a minor restyle of some VFX moving into "Crusade," but, nope. It's always been that way. It's a nice touch cementing the idea of a hole in space-time.
Ok, I'll start a new comment and get into story and character...