Claudia Christian

[James TX]

Not sure if any of you are aware, Claudia has a blog and she is currently reviewing the B5 series and commenting on the episodes. Nothing earth shattering, but interesting.

http://claudia-christian.blogspot.com/

[Jonas]

Thanks! That is interesting, even if some of her opinions are a little silly sometimes. (TKO better than By Any Means Necessary? Somehow that makes me giggle.)

[JoeD80]

Well she did have some good scenes in TKO.

[Whyruss]

I've just found an old interview of her @ utube. U can still sense some anger towards JMS IMO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5Lou...eature=related

[Garibaldi's Hair]

Thanks! That is interesting, even if some of her opinions are a little silly sometimes. (TKO better than By Any Means Necessary? Somehow that makes me giggle.)

Whilst I (as a viewer) consider By Any Means Necessary to be a better episode than TKO, I can absolutely understand why CC (as an actor) might prefer TKO given the excellent sub-plot that was given to her for that episode and the fact that she got something more substantial to get her teeth into, and show off a bit more of her acting chops ... such as they are!

[Marsden]

I read these, seems like she puttered out at the end of the first season.

I just don't understand her compaining about Micheal O'Hare as Cmdr. Sinclair. Did I miss yet another thing that most people know about? I didn't know there was any dislike on the set, and I don't think his acting is stiff.

[Jonas]

I read these, seems like she puttered out at the end of the first season.

I just don't understand her compaining about Micheal O'Hare as Cmdr. Sinclair. Did I miss yet another thing that most people know about? I didn't know there was any dislike on the set, and I don't think his acting is stiff.

The complaint about Sinclair is common. I think it has to do with the predominance today of an entirely different type of acting and character; the kind of thoughtful, intellectual, haunted man we see in Sinclair is just not in. His language is often philosophical, influenced by literature and poetry. To people who don't have much exposure to these things, it seems old-fashioned, stiff, or fake.

[Jan]

Perhaps the most common complaint about Michael O'hare's portrayal of Sinclair is that it's 'wooden'. Pointing out to them the stresses that the character is under sometimes causes them to re-evaluate that opinion.

Often the same people who complain about Sinclair are the same ones who complain about the dialogue style, not considering that JMS made a conscious choice to make it more formal than is common today.

Jan

[WorkerCaste]

I just don't understand her compaining about Micheal O'Hare as Cmdr. Sinclair. Did I miss yet another thing that most people know about? I didn't know there was any dislike on the set, and I don't think his acting is stiff.

This is just my speculation, but...

I've heard it said that on a television series the lead often "leads" the tone and environment of the set. Micheal O'Hare had a great theatrical background, as I understand it, but not a lot of experience leading a cast in a TV series. I saw Mr. O'Hare at a convention, and he definitely was more deliberate and focused in his answers. He seemed to like having time to prepare his thoughts before answering -- less comfortable off the cuff. From what I've read, TV is fast paced and I could see the conflict creating some discomfort on the set, although I wouldn't have guessed there was real dislike. For the record, I loved Sinclair and thought Mr. O'Hare did a great job in his portrayal. Seeing him at the con, I thought he was very personable and quite talented, even though he wasn't feeling well that day. :-)

[Jonas]

Often the same people who complain about Sinclair are the same ones who complain about the dialogue style, not considering that JMS made a conscious choice to make it more formal than is common today.

Jan

I've had this conversation many times:

"Who talks like the characters on Babylon 5, anyway?"
"...I do." (but with more swearing)

I'm sure others have had similar experiences.

[babylonlurker]

I've had this conversation many times:

"Who talks like the characters on Babylon 5, anyway?"
"...I do." (but with more swearing)

I'm sure others have had similar experiences.

Very good Jonas, I like that kind of exchanges, I could have done something similar (maybe with a bit less swearing than you

And I never found Sinclair/O'Hare wooden, actually quite a bit alive - he feels quite like a real character to me

[Jonas]

Very good Jonas, I like that kind of exchanges, I could have done something similar (maybe with a bit less swearing than you

And I never found Sinclair/O'Hare wooden, actually quite a bit alive - he feels quite like a real character to me

I'll go even further and say that not only does Sinclair feel real to me, he feels like the most adult of all the characters, the least TV-like. (Which is not a slam on the rest of them, since I love the show and its characters, and think they are very well-written and excellently performed.) That's one reason I love the first season so much.

[Zoltan]

(talk about hijacking a thread!)

Great responses here to Sinclair/O'Hare!

I always liked that you could feel the weight on his shoulders not just commanding Babylon 5, but his past and his future as well, just by seeing his expression. Yet he can joke with his fellow officers and friends, and the close relationship with Garibaldi made him "real" even more.
The way he talks softly in private yet in his official voice he demands respect -- I could well imagine him as a Roman orator.

I missed him dearly in the following seasons.

[Marsden]

Thanks, everyone, for the responses.

I must be really incredibly unobservant. I never noticed any extra formality in the dialogue. It just seemed good. I like it, a lot. And I never had anyone ask me "Who speaks like that?" I thought they were all good. It's rather astonishing to think about how well the whole thing was done. (There are a few duds, the girl from "Legacies" that's the new latent telepath kind of seems sub par) Small parts from Walker Smith to Marcus's friend Malcolm seem full of genuine emotion. (Those are just a few, we could list a lot. Maybe an Idea for a thread, to list all of the "characters", it would be quite a list.)

I always liked Cmdr. Sinclair. If Captain Sheridan wasn't so good, I might have had a serious complaint about Cmdr. Sinclair leaving. It's certainly more realistic, I think, that people come and go. Keeping a "crew" together so they can all "be on the show" is artificial. (Cmdr. Riker, any Star Trek movie, many other shows.)

As for his attitude, let's just reflect on the pressure Cmdr. Sinclair is under: He's got nothing from scorn from many higher ranking officers because of his assignment, he's accused of murder and faces possible deportation to a world "where no one ever returns", there are raiders/pirates/criminals at every turn, he's there to keep the peace with many hostile factions including the building Narn/Centauri war that starts first episode, black ops type guys from his own government are doing strange and illegal things to him just to get him out of the way. Even if he didn't survive "The Battle of the Line" he'd have enough to be positively grumpy and hostile. How else should he act? I'm just saying again, I never thought he sounded wooden or stiff.

Sorry, I get really wordy sometimes, but B5 is quite a dynamic piece of art, I can't discuss it in one or two words.