Trap Doors

[RMcD]

I ask because maybe that effected the way season 2 was structed? if they knew she was leaving then that might explain the rush of Talia episodes in the middle of the season to fill her contracted number.

Not sure (someone will know), but according to this JMS post: http://www.jmsnews.com/msg.aspx?id=1...#37;20thompson she was guaranteed to be paid for 13 episodes per season but didn't necessarily have to appear in that many. I think that particular block of episodes (I call it the Talia Trilogy - Spider in the Web, A Race through dark places, Soul Mates) was probably there because they had a block of time when she was available and not appearing in other projects. I think if they had known she was leaving at that point, they would have been written differently, and her relationship with Ivanova wouldn't have blossomed so suddenly in Divided Loyalties.

[moreorless]

Or going to Z'ha'dum and actually properly dying instead of that thing he did where he died but was still moving around and breathing for twenty years? But I think to be a proper trapdoor it should leave open the possibility of future guest appearances, as with Sinclair and Talia.

That did seem to be the way JMS liked to do them didnt it, they might also have changed from season to season since he could be more certain of keeping someone for at least that long.

Speaking of that does anyone know exactly what happened with Andrea Thompson leaving? was it a spur of the moment thing or known for sometime?

I ask because maybe that effected the way season 2 was structed? if they knew she was leaving then that might explain the rush of Talia episodes in the middle of the season to fill her contracted number.

[RMcD]

Sheridan I'v less idea about, maybe killed leading an attack on the shadows?

Or going to Z'ha'dum and actually properly dying instead of that thing he did where he died but was still moving around and breathing for twenty years? But I think to be a proper trapdoor it should leave open the possibility of future guest appearances, as with Sinclair and Talia.

[moreorless]

G'kar, Londo, Garabaldi, Franklin and Delenn would not have been that hard I spose as they all had attachments somewhere else and a reason to return to them within the story.

Sheridan I'v less idea about, maybe killed leading an attack on the shadows?

Ivanova perhaps being exposed as a telepath and going underground?

[raw_bean]

Hmm. I don't agree, I think he would have used other, unknown to us, 'trapdoors' had other cast members ducked out.

[vacantlook]

Actually we know it's Talia specific plot (barring the fact that it was originally going to be a Takashima thing, had she carried over from the pilot), because she was the one who Kosh engaged a 'Vicker' (way to date the show there, naming something after a VCR ) to scan and record her true personality. If she hadn't left, Kosh would have used this to restore her personality.

Oh, I don't doubt that jms was working it to use it on her with or without her leaving in order to be sure to use what was a fairly interesting plot twist, ie he didn't want to have had thought it up and never use it. It's just that I don't doubt he could have pulled it out early on should Garibaldi, Ivanova, or Franklin needed to be taken out -- it's kind of a break glass in case of emergency sort deal, but if not needed early on to take out anyone, it would have been solely a plot point instead of a trap door in Talia's arc.

[raw_bean]

I would imagine that the implanted personality plot that was used to take out Talia was somewhat all-purpose in that it could have been used to take out any of the human characters if needed. It just happened that it was needed for Talia. And don't forget that the implanted personality only became a trap door after B5 lost the character of Takashima when contracts had to be renegociated thanks to B5 having to wait for the other shows in PTEN to catch up on production.

Actually we know it's Talia specific plot (barring the fact that it was originally going to be a Takashima thing, had she carried over from the pilot), because she was the one who Kosh engaged a 'Vicker' (way to date the show there, naming something after a VCR ) to scan and record her true personality. If she hadn't left, Kosh would have used this to restore her personality.

Don't forget the Lytra and Dr. Kyle story conveniences of having them reassigned to Earth as the only two people with intimate Vorlon contact after the actors weren't gonna be in the series.

[vacantlook]

I would imagine that the implanted personality plot that was used to take out Talia was somewhat all-purpose in that it could have been used to take out any of the human characters if needed. It just happened that it was needed for Talia. And don't forget that the implanted personality only became a trap door after B5 lost the character of Takashima when contracts had to be renegociated thanks to B5 having to wait for the other shows in PTEN to catch up on production.

[SmileOfTheShadow]

And Vir could die choking on a spoo sandwich....

that fits your model better :P

Jon

[Morden]

Sheridan's trap door was, of course, the discovery that one of Lorien's years is only 5 days long. Kthunk!

Man, you really made me laugh with that one, thanks!

[grumbler]

I am sure we can come up with more interesting trap doors than that!

Susan's trap door was that she was going to go off, rescue talia, and form a special lesbians-only Teep resistance cell.

Garibaldi's trap door was that he was going to discover that he was, in fact, the long-lost great(*X)-grandson of Guiseppe Garibaldi, and would go to Earth's Italy to lead a guerrilla cell against Clarke (dressed just like gramps)


Franklin's trap door was that he would discover that "King Arthur" really was King Arthur, and go off to Narn to play his role as Sir Belvedere (or Sancho Panza, if you prefer).

Sheridan's trap door was, of course, the discovery that one of Lorien's years is only 5 days long. Kthunk!

I leave the rest for y'all.

[SmileOfTheShadow]

Well, we also saw Ivanova's sorta just getting a reassignment, which made sense given her character, I think.

I think maybe Franklin's would have been going off and joining the resistance on an underground level away from B5? Just speculating.

Garibaldi could have moved to Mars to find his true love and reclaim his old life early on....

Londo obviously could have been promoted in some sense to the Centauri royal court.

Those are just my first quick thoughts.

[BabylonRebel]

We all know there were trap doors for the characters, but so far it seems the only ones we know are the ones that happened.

Sinclair's was to be reassigned to Minbar, Talia's to be uncovered as the Psi Corps spy and Marcus' to be to die heroically in battle.

But what would have been the 'ways out' for the others? anyone like to speculate?

I think that Garibaldi's could have been to leave with Sinclair to go back in time with Babylon 4.