There are varied persons who have compiled a chronology of Babylon 5. Jason Davis - who I have described as probably the leading expert on the show - compiled one for B5 books. But that's hardcopy and still in storage. Where there are disagreements, I'd go with his dates, since he's the man whose career for the last 20+ years revolves a lot around Babylon 5 notes.
This one, online, is the most accessible...
FWIW, this chronology actually has "Matters of Honor" (s3 ep1) starting 27, Dec 2259. We can assume the opening narration does cheat a little bit, given the last second re-framing of the entire series at the very end of "Sleeping in Light."
Besides, certain episodes clustering together with the occasional month or two break between televised incidents is more "realistic" than every episode happening 2-2.5 weeks apart.
Lyta mentions in this episode being on the station "a month ago."
This places Divided Loyalties, Long Twilight Struggle, Comes the Inquisitor, Fall of Night, Matters of Honor, Convictions, A Day in the Strife, and Passing Through Gethsemane all within the span of December 2259 and January 2260. Eight episodes, eight weeks. Sure, that could happen, but it IS more than a third of a season's worth of episodes within two months. Since each season is roughly a calender year, it DOES mean at some point the crew get a month or two where nothing happens worth televising. Nice to know life on B5 occasionally quiets down a little bit...
(Non specific spoiler ahead - no plot/character details, just calendar dates)
Passing through Gethsemane is s3, ep4. S3, ep 10, "Severed Dreams" will happen on April 14-15, 2260. It, and the two episodes preceeding all happen back to back to back.
Meaning s3, ep 5-7, Voices of Authority, Dust to Dust, and Exogenesis fill Feb-March, 2260. Possibly into the first week of April. Three episodes in "two months" vs eight episodes in "two/three months?" (It's possible, but unlikely the tag scene of Gethsemane is still Jan, 2260, while Exogenesis could be first week of April) Enjoy the lull, B5 crew.
That caught my ear, too. It’s faintly amusing the way the big dramatic climaxes on B5 fit neatly into the calendar year. Not a problem in season 1, but sticking to the more-or-less one seasons/one story year pacing does get a bit peculiar.
I’ve bumped into this same quirk in Triverse on occasion.
Thus the "everybody uses Lyta" begins. Poor Lyta will be used by the Vorlons and the B5 Command Staff as an errand mule for the next three years. Even Byron, once Lyta's memories of the Vorlon homeworld are broadcast in an unguarded moment uses her as something to rally around. Only Zach sees her as simply a woman. Only Zach will bring her a damn pizza. Lyta has one of the more tragic arcs...
Despite my questions on the topic in Non-Spoiler, I think we can safely assume Lyta received her gills before the episode began, along with her Psi upgrades. That said - she arrives on B5 in this episode alone on Kosh's ship. I think we can assume she does NOT have a piece of Kosh at the top of the episode, but receives him during the episode, before she leaves between Acts V and VI. I also think we can assume she uses her powers to prevent Franklin noticing the gills. The first bit of foreshadowing of 1) Lyta's enhances abilities, 2) willingness to act outside of Psi Corp directives, 3) her potential to be scary as hell. Of course then she threatens Londo (brilliantly), and rips info from a resisting Centauri telepath, so the scary is thrown RIGHT out there.
Side note: I've had a mad crush on Patricia Tallman since the 1990 "Night of the Living Dead," and her amazing turn a Barbara. Tallman, besides her acting work, also had a very busy career as a stunt performer. Her IMDB is worth a look. She's been in a LOT of projects, and some may surprise you. Among her stunt work was Star Trek TNG - where she also occasionally showed up as random bridge crew, making her the only actor in the industry regularly working on both B5 and Star Trek. She was also stunt double for Dr. Crusher (TNG) and Kira Nerys (DS9). Besides her talents as a performer she's also lucky enough to one hell of a beautiful and sexy woman. Even in 2024, now in her 60's, she remains absolutely stunning.
Oh, yes, Valen - Minbari not born of Minbari, who came from nowhere, then appeared and founded the Gray Council... A little setup for the end of War Without End II.
Simon's writeup, and my prior comment pretty much cover everything. There are good ideas at play here, but, yeah, this episode should have hit in its original intended place pre-"Divided Loyalties," and having the utterly-brilliant-in-the-episode Brad Douriff just signposts too much of what's going to happen. As it stands, it just doesn't quite hit as well as it should.
I had a whole bunch of "what-if," but, nah. No point.
Adam Nimoy - son of Leonard - makes his B5 directing debut here. JMS has written that Nimoy took a lot of extra time with the actors here. I would say that paid off. While I agree given Brother Edward's newness to the narrative, Sheridan, Ivanova, Lyta, and Garibaldi are way too invested in the situation, one cannot deny that the actors are all excellent - even if the emotional heights they need to reach are too much. Louis Turenne, and Brad Douriff are amazing. They ALMOST make the episode work. The actor playing Malcolm also does a wonderful job. He has a disturbing intensity.
Another shout-out to Nimoy. He's not Mike Vejar in terms of framing and camera movement, but Nimoy does pick his shots with care, and his LIGHTING choices were amazing. Nimoy pulled a lot of the neon tubes used in a lot of the quarters and used them as wall/edge lights in Downbelow, breaking the top-down lighting scheme, with moving lights typically used for Downbelow, and he also took the lighting in the security room right down to let that lit table panel be the key light. Even the Zen Garden is using more subdued lighting and more gobos than usual. It gives these familiar sets a different feel. Kudos for changing up the look of the show. I wonder if he had to argue with DP John Flynn III* on lighting choices, or if Flinn just said "Wow! I like it! Let's do this!"
*Incidentally, I always specify John Flynn III, because his son, John Flynn IV was a camera assistant on the show.
Never mentioned in the script - did Malcolm's accomplices get away? Sure, Malcolm has the whole, "they don't have the courage" line, but these other people were in on the plan, travelled to B5 from Orion, and walked in on Edward to show their faces before Malcolm committed murder - at minimum the other family of Charles' victims took part in conspiracy to commit murder...
Since Malcom proudly proclaimed his guilt, and Edward was dead, I suspect Malcolm kept his mouth shut about his accomplices and took all credit/blame upon his shoulders.
There is some nice worldbuilding in the episode - particularly about Minbari religion, and Valen.
Dr. Franklin failed to comment on the gills. Were those implanted at the end of the episode while Lyta was on her errand, did Lyta use her powers to prevent Franklin from noticing them, or did Franklin just not find them worthy of notice? Remember from "The Gathering," G'Kar ALSO has gill implants, so, while not common, they've already been established as a thing that's done.
An issue with this episode is it was intended for season 2, and was already in development, when a fan, on a forum where JMS was active dropped a, "Wouldn't it be cool if there was some cool guy on the station, but he was a mind wiped former criminal?"
So, took a year to get everything straightened out with the fan and lawyers so the episode could be made without a possible "JMS STOLE MY STORY!" lawsuit.
This plot would have fit much better into season 2, which was really more about conspiracies and factions, and generating growing unease about Earth before the shit gets flung towards the fan by introducing Nightwatch.
Imagine if this episode had come up a few before "Divided Loyalties" blew up Talia.
As a season 3 episode, it's JMS exploring the theme he wanted to explore, but too late to make a true impact. Also, as we discussed a couple weeks ago, we have JMS throwing Louis Turriene work after this year of bad health.
So we have an episode which could have been a nice bit of foreshadowing. Instead, it's revisiting a concept that had already reached its ultimate moment - Talia's sleeper personality.
Of course, as good as Brad Douriff is - and he's spectacular in the episode (memory says) - he does suffer from "big name guest-itis." Simon, you're right we should have seen Brother Edward earlier, but the budget didn't stretch to bringing Brad in a couple more times as a day player. If Brother Edward had been played by a very talented unknown - like Garibaldi's aide in season one, Mr. Morden, or Lt. Corwin - he could have been around to make the proper impact.
My memory has this as an interesting, but flawed episode for the reasons Simon describes, but I've not done my re-watch yet, so I'll come back to this in the next couple of days. I do think the BTS story adds important context to why the episode, ultimately, falls flat.
Also, between the monks which gave Sheridan a "Moment of Perfect Beauty" in s2, and Theo's group of, how many Catholic Orders are floating around B5?
There are varied persons who have compiled a chronology of Babylon 5. Jason Davis - who I have described as probably the leading expert on the show - compiled one for B5 books. But that's hardcopy and still in storage. Where there are disagreements, I'd go with his dates, since he's the man whose career for the last 20+ years revolves a lot around Babylon 5 notes.
This one, online, is the most accessible...
FWIW, this chronology actually has "Matters of Honor" (s3 ep1) starting 27, Dec 2259. We can assume the opening narration does cheat a little bit, given the last second re-framing of the entire series at the very end of "Sleeping in Light."
Besides, certain episodes clustering together with the occasional month or two break between televised incidents is more "realistic" than every episode happening 2-2.5 weeks apart.
Helps to leave the link, doesn't it?
https://babylon5.fandom.com/wiki/Chronology
Non Spoiler 3 - one last observation.
Lyta mentions in this episode being on the station "a month ago."
This places Divided Loyalties, Long Twilight Struggle, Comes the Inquisitor, Fall of Night, Matters of Honor, Convictions, A Day in the Strife, and Passing Through Gethsemane all within the span of December 2259 and January 2260. Eight episodes, eight weeks. Sure, that could happen, but it IS more than a third of a season's worth of episodes within two months. Since each season is roughly a calender year, it DOES mean at some point the crew get a month or two where nothing happens worth televising. Nice to know life on B5 occasionally quiets down a little bit...
(Non specific spoiler ahead - no plot/character details, just calendar dates)
Passing through Gethsemane is s3, ep4. S3, ep 10, "Severed Dreams" will happen on April 14-15, 2260. It, and the two episodes preceeding all happen back to back to back.
Meaning s3, ep 5-7, Voices of Authority, Dust to Dust, and Exogenesis fill Feb-March, 2260. Possibly into the first week of April. Three episodes in "two months" vs eight episodes in "two/three months?" (It's possible, but unlikely the tag scene of Gethsemane is still Jan, 2260, while Exogenesis could be first week of April) Enjoy the lull, B5 crew.
That caught my ear, too. It’s faintly amusing the way the big dramatic climaxes on B5 fit neatly into the calendar year. Not a problem in season 1, but sticking to the more-or-less one seasons/one story year pacing does get a bit peculiar.
I’ve bumped into this same quirk in Triverse on occasion.
SPOILERS
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Thus the "everybody uses Lyta" begins. Poor Lyta will be used by the Vorlons and the B5 Command Staff as an errand mule for the next three years. Even Byron, once Lyta's memories of the Vorlon homeworld are broadcast in an unguarded moment uses her as something to rally around. Only Zach sees her as simply a woman. Only Zach will bring her a damn pizza. Lyta has one of the more tragic arcs...
Despite my questions on the topic in Non-Spoiler, I think we can safely assume Lyta received her gills before the episode began, along with her Psi upgrades. That said - she arrives on B5 in this episode alone on Kosh's ship. I think we can assume she does NOT have a piece of Kosh at the top of the episode, but receives him during the episode, before she leaves between Acts V and VI. I also think we can assume she uses her powers to prevent Franklin noticing the gills. The first bit of foreshadowing of 1) Lyta's enhances abilities, 2) willingness to act outside of Psi Corp directives, 3) her potential to be scary as hell. Of course then she threatens Londo (brilliantly), and rips info from a resisting Centauri telepath, so the scary is thrown RIGHT out there.
Side note: I've had a mad crush on Patricia Tallman since the 1990 "Night of the Living Dead," and her amazing turn a Barbara. Tallman, besides her acting work, also had a very busy career as a stunt performer. Her IMDB is worth a look. She's been in a LOT of projects, and some may surprise you. Among her stunt work was Star Trek TNG - where she also occasionally showed up as random bridge crew, making her the only actor in the industry regularly working on both B5 and Star Trek. She was also stunt double for Dr. Crusher (TNG) and Kira Nerys (DS9). Besides her talents as a performer she's also lucky enough to one hell of a beautiful and sexy woman. Even in 2024, now in her 60's, she remains absolutely stunning.
Oh, yes, Valen - Minbari not born of Minbari, who came from nowhere, then appeared and founded the Gray Council... A little setup for the end of War Without End II.
Non Spoilers - post watch.
Simon's writeup, and my prior comment pretty much cover everything. There are good ideas at play here, but, yeah, this episode should have hit in its original intended place pre-"Divided Loyalties," and having the utterly-brilliant-in-the-episode Brad Douriff just signposts too much of what's going to happen. As it stands, it just doesn't quite hit as well as it should.
I had a whole bunch of "what-if," but, nah. No point.
Adam Nimoy - son of Leonard - makes his B5 directing debut here. JMS has written that Nimoy took a lot of extra time with the actors here. I would say that paid off. While I agree given Brother Edward's newness to the narrative, Sheridan, Ivanova, Lyta, and Garibaldi are way too invested in the situation, one cannot deny that the actors are all excellent - even if the emotional heights they need to reach are too much. Louis Turenne, and Brad Douriff are amazing. They ALMOST make the episode work. The actor playing Malcolm also does a wonderful job. He has a disturbing intensity.
Another shout-out to Nimoy. He's not Mike Vejar in terms of framing and camera movement, but Nimoy does pick his shots with care, and his LIGHTING choices were amazing. Nimoy pulled a lot of the neon tubes used in a lot of the quarters and used them as wall/edge lights in Downbelow, breaking the top-down lighting scheme, with moving lights typically used for Downbelow, and he also took the lighting in the security room right down to let that lit table panel be the key light. Even the Zen Garden is using more subdued lighting and more gobos than usual. It gives these familiar sets a different feel. Kudos for changing up the look of the show. I wonder if he had to argue with DP John Flynn III* on lighting choices, or if Flinn just said "Wow! I like it! Let's do this!"
*Incidentally, I always specify John Flynn III, because his son, John Flynn IV was a camera assistant on the show.
Never mentioned in the script - did Malcolm's accomplices get away? Sure, Malcolm has the whole, "they don't have the courage" line, but these other people were in on the plan, travelled to B5 from Orion, and walked in on Edward to show their faces before Malcolm committed murder - at minimum the other family of Charles' victims took part in conspiracy to commit murder...
Since Malcom proudly proclaimed his guilt, and Edward was dead, I suspect Malcolm kept his mouth shut about his accomplices and took all credit/blame upon his shoulders.
There is some nice worldbuilding in the episode - particularly about Minbari religion, and Valen.
Dr. Franklin failed to comment on the gills. Were those implanted at the end of the episode while Lyta was on her errand, did Lyta use her powers to prevent Franklin from noticing them, or did Franklin just not find them worthy of notice? Remember from "The Gathering," G'Kar ALSO has gill implants, so, while not common, they've already been established as a thing that's done.
This is a pre-re-watch Non Spoiler comment.
An issue with this episode is it was intended for season 2, and was already in development, when a fan, on a forum where JMS was active dropped a, "Wouldn't it be cool if there was some cool guy on the station, but he was a mind wiped former criminal?"
So, took a year to get everything straightened out with the fan and lawyers so the episode could be made without a possible "JMS STOLE MY STORY!" lawsuit.
This plot would have fit much better into season 2, which was really more about conspiracies and factions, and generating growing unease about Earth before the shit gets flung towards the fan by introducing Nightwatch.
Imagine if this episode had come up a few before "Divided Loyalties" blew up Talia.
As a season 3 episode, it's JMS exploring the theme he wanted to explore, but too late to make a true impact. Also, as we discussed a couple weeks ago, we have JMS throwing Louis Turriene work after this year of bad health.
So we have an episode which could have been a nice bit of foreshadowing. Instead, it's revisiting a concept that had already reached its ultimate moment - Talia's sleeper personality.
Of course, as good as Brad Douriff is - and he's spectacular in the episode (memory says) - he does suffer from "big name guest-itis." Simon, you're right we should have seen Brother Edward earlier, but the budget didn't stretch to bringing Brad in a couple more times as a day player. If Brother Edward had been played by a very talented unknown - like Garibaldi's aide in season one, Mr. Morden, or Lt. Corwin - he could have been around to make the proper impact.
My memory has this as an interesting, but flawed episode for the reasons Simon describes, but I've not done my re-watch yet, so I'll come back to this in the next couple of days. I do think the BTS story adds important context to why the episode, ultimately, falls flat.
Also, between the monks which gave Sheridan a "Moment of Perfect Beauty" in s2, and Theo's group of, how many Catholic Orders are floating around B5?