JMS's Comments in 'Deconstruction'

[SpooRancher]

Peculiar?

I was responding to an earlier post. Check back and learn.

[jal]

Deconstruction was an interruption?

Day of the Dead was boring?

what a very peculear thing to say.

[SpooRancher]

Interruptions and borings

Deconstruction was an interruption?

Day of the Dead was boring?

Whew! I did not know that.

I found Deconstruction of Falling Stars to be as much of an interruption as, say, And Now for a Word, A Day in the Strife or View from the Gallery. I thought it worked well, a moment for us to, to quote the broadcast anchor from that very episode, pause and reflect. The entire 5th season was about the consequences of the previous four, and that episode was the long-range consequences. Not an interruption, merely a moment to "pause and reflect".

Day of the Dead was written by Neil Gaiman, who, along with Peter David and JMS, is VERY well known in the comic trade. Neil is a very good author, and wrote an EXCELLENT episode with VERY little knowledge beforehand of the series and it's characters. In fact, with little preparation, he wrote some of the BEST character moments of the season.

I guess it's just a case of "I say poe-tay-toe you say poh-tah-toe".

[Leto II]

Originally posted by Jan
JMS said that something not natural was affecting Sol (atypical emissions iirc) but he didn't say it was being attacked. In addition, Lyta said that humans couldn't go to the Vorlon Homeworld until they'd earned it, "...in a million years". So we don't know why the sun is going nova but it seems that transferring to the Vorlon homeworld is a reward, not punishment.

Jan

Here's what JMS himself says about this particular subject:

Actually, the computer voice specifies that it is continuing to note atypical solar emissions...atypical meaning something unusual is going on.

And what if you, say, interfered substantially with the mass of the sun by, say, causing a series of jump points to open up *inside* the sun across several days?

You'd also substantially decrease the mass of Sol, which as I understand it, would result in the sun going nova.

jms

So, we have the "how," but not necessarily the "who" or the "why."

[Kevin]

Day of the Dead is one of my favourite episodes in Season 5, but it is a character piece, utterly and completely.

Still, my favourite episodes do tend to be character pieces, so I gotta agree with Stunaep on this one

[grumbler]

Originally posted by RCmodeler
And instead, the season 4 finale could introduce Lochley... or maybe review the destruction on Earth, Mars, et cetera.

Lockley wasn't cast when DoFS was written, so JMS put together some ideas floating around in his head and put out an episode that would work no matter what happened to the Ivanova/Lochley charactor. Remember that the ep couldn't feature much in the way of FX because it had to be shot and produced quichkly enough to air at the end of season 4, and lots of FX would make that impossible.

[RCmodeler]

It was boring from my point-of-view. Virtually no plot and boring conversations.

[Stunaep]

Don't you dare call Day of the Dead boring. It was good, and it was a welcome break from the less-interesting-than-usual-yet-not-as-bad-as-people-make-it-sound-though-quite-close Byron episodes.

[RCmodeler]

Originally posted by Radhil
Because how it ends is only one part of the story. The middle and the beginning are just as important.

Yes, but as I said: "As it stands now, it feels like an interruption to the story. The story would have flowed better with Deconstruction as the second-to-last episode."



Deconstruction was actually a season 5 episode (501), paid by TNT, but it was used to provide a year 4 finale.

Sleeping in Light was actually a season 4 episode (422), but it was held until the very end.

Anyway, I would have preferred deleting one of the dumb episodes (like Day of the Dead or Byron Gives a Boring Speech), and put Deconstruction in its place... just prior to the last episode. And instead, the season 4 finale could introduce Lochley... or maybe review the destruction on Earth, Mars, et cetera.

[grumbler]

Deconstruction was filmed and shown when it was because Ivanova was gone and Lockley not yet cast and they had to have a 22nd ep for the 4th season. I think it doesn't fit in all that well, and shows signs of hasty writing, but still its better than watching a blank screen (interrupted by commercials) for an hour.

[Kevin]

Originally posted by nyranger66
He put it at the end of Season 4 because he didnt know if there was going to be a Season 5.

Incorrect. Deconstruction was filmed *because* he knew he had a Season 4. It's actually filmed as the first Season 5 episode (thus it's production number 501), and was used to replace Sleeping in Light, which was filmed in the Season 4 run to be ran if there was no Season 5.

[nyranger66]

Originally posted by RCmodeler


ASIDE: I wish JMS had put episode 501/"Deconstruction" at the END of the series...just prior to Sleeping in Light. IMHO, it would have made more sense to have John/Delenn in bed on their new homeworld pondering the future.

He put it at the end of Season 4 because he didnt know if there was going to be a Season 5.

[circularREASON]

the sun went nova ( in b5 ) a million years after the events of year 4.

Something was accelerating the suns demise.

But was not the end of B5 the story. It was part of a completely different story which related to B5 through historical references.

p.s. Wouldn't it be wonderful if that was David Sheridan standing there watching the suns demise. ( note the goaty )

[Radhil]

Or as one person put it, "Now that I've seen the future, seen humans become Vorlon-like, why do I need to watch season 5? I already saw how it all ends."

Because how it ends is only one part of the story. The middle and the beginning are just as important.

Did Londo suddenly become unimportant because you knew he and G'Kar would strangle each other in the end? Even after you find out they strangle each other as friends at the end, does that make the slow train wreck of Centauri Prime and Londo being sealed to his Emperorship any less moving? Hell, knowing the ending lends it greater strength. Or for a reverse example - Sheridan's final fate would not have nearly the impact had you not seen him go through what he did over the course of the series.

Not to mention - you only saw Earth's end in Deconstruction. You didn't see B5's end, Sheridan's end, or any other meaningful end to the story. You didn't even see humanity's end - who knows what we're up to know that we've become shiny glow-things.

So two things, really. First, the point of any story is not just in it's end, it's in the duration, the full detail of it. Second, endings are hardly ever ends to the whole story.

[RCmodeler]

Perhaps the reason the Sun died prematurely (5 million instead of 5 billion years) is because the Humans had mined it for fuel? That would clearly shorten its lifetime. It's not natural, but it's not an attack either. It was self-induced.

.

ASIDE: I wish JMS had put episode 501/"Deconstruction" at the END of the series...just prior to Sleeping in Light. IMHO, it would have made more sense to have John/Delenn in bed on their new homeworld pondering the future.

As it stands now, it feels like an interruption to the story. One minute you're fighting the Earth Civil War, the next you're millions of years into the future, and then suddenly you meet Captain Lochley/Byron. It's jarring.

Or as one person put it, "Now that I've seen the future, seen humans become Vorlon-like, why do I need to watch season 5? I already saw how it all ends."

The story would have flowed better with Deconstruction as the second-to-last episode.
Troy