Random questions about B5

[Jan]

There's also the Technomage trilogy and the Telepath War trilogy. I won't say which are the best as that would open a whole can of worms

Typo Alert! Not Telepath WAR trilogy. In fact it completely *skips* the telepath war except for a few flashbacks if I recall correctly.

I think it's safe to say that the Drakh war happened before Sheridan died. That's not really a spoiler.

Jan

[Garibaldi's Hair]

I think it's safe to say that the Drakh war happened before Sheridan died. That's not really a spoiler.

That particular point is even mentioned on screen.

[I, Zathras]

Good points, I engaged my fingers before my brain

[JoeD80]

Are those little red triangle shaped ships supposed to be the fighters? There were no Cobra bays on the original struts I noticed, but they really didn't mention fighters in the story except for Sinclair's recurring memories. I thought they might have been an artifact from the pilot but I saw them again in a 1st season episode, but I can't remember which one, around the 4th one.

Don't remember what this refers to in the pilot, but the Raider fighters were triangles in the first season.

Could that nasty Mimbari been a Windsword? I know it doesn't really matter, but, just a thought.

He was.

Now, help me here please, but Laurel was somehow part of the conspiracy to get rid of Sinclair with G'kar and the assassin?

If you look carefully, you can see her access code being used at one point on a door lock, and she was the one who stopped Sinclair in the tube and edited the logs to remove that information. She likely had an implanted personality like Talia; remember that she was stationed on Mars at one point (that's where Talia was altered as shown in the comics).

When Morden talks to Delenn for the first, only time she puts her hand on her forehead to cover her triangle (?) and you can see her nails. I don't know what the triangle was about, either. It seemed like some of the Grey Council had them.

It is a Grey Council device, to detect Shadows.

As I recall, there's some question about that still open. There's a line somewhere about B5 still being run by EA pending the possibility of the ISA buying it but then it seemed the idea was dropped

Sheridan's the one who mentioned that in No Compromises. It's possible the ISA did buy it and then gave it back when they decided to have headquarters on Minbar; in Sleeping in Light, Nils mentions that the EA only took control of B5 back a few years prior to 2281.

[Marsden]

Thanks JoeD80! I never thought about Laurel having a "Control" personality!


I'm familiar with the season one raiders, they were biege and were wide flat looking triangle, these were red and longer than wide and not too big. They're in the unaltered pilot and I think episode 4 of the first season reused the shot as mostly an exterior view but they streaked past in it.

[Triple F]

If your thinking of these things

http://www.themadgoner.com/B5/B5Scrolls/B5Scrolls.htm#Screen5_07_12

then I don’t believe they were meant to be fighters (at least not attached to the station). *One* idea kicking around at the time of the pilot movie was that B5 could possibly have some sort of defensive ship (bigger than a fighter) berthed somewhere around the ass end of the station.

http://www.jmsnews.com/msg.aspx?id=1-7647&

(I’m guessing the captain/pilot had enough sense not to get involved when the Vorlons turned up in the movie). The use of fighters (Starfuries with the cobra bays) didn’t come into being until after the pilot movie.

http://www.themadgoner.com/B5/B5Scrolls/B5Scrolls.htm#Screen1_01_4

[I, Zathras]

I've never seen that first site you posted Triple F, but thanks for sticking that on there, its hilarious

[Marsden]

I have a question from "Dust to Dust"

G'kar is going through Londo's memories and he's had enough, then hears and sees the image of his father. Was Kosh making him remember his father?
Then G'kar turns around and speaks to another older Narn. Was he a depiction of G'quan?

It really didn't look like his father and G'kar didn't act like it was his father down from the tree. I'm sure this must have been Kosh speaking to him although he doesn't actually seem to see Kosh until right after when he (Kosh) again appears to be G'lan. When Garibaldi offered the Book of G'quan back to G'kar he said he is somewhat closer to the source, so that would seem to me that the second Narn was G'quan, maybe.

Also, I know this is probably in the script books but I don't have them, so, I'm sorry if I'm ignorant.

One aside about the script books: I can't afford them, that's a given, but as much as my curiosity about them is I don't think I want to read them anymore, some of the commentaries on the dvds and websites I've read kind of hurt the story for me. Not much, but after looking at the above website about the ships and then watching "Voices of Authority" I couldn't quite get past that, 1) the ship strongly resembled the Close Encounters ship, which I never noticed before reading it, 2) I could see that they WERE foot bones and couldn't stop noticing it. What went from a really marvelous thing into a so so thing bothered me. I still enjoyed it but I don't want to find anything else out, I don't want too much reality intruding into my story and turning it into just a TV show. I'm sorry if this sounds stupid.

[Jan]

The image on the tree is supposed to be G'Kar's father and the 'being of light' is called G'lan in the script. I'm not sure it was ever spelled out but, yes, I've always thought that Kosh was manipulating G'Kar's visions.

I love the scripts and the script books because it gives a lot of insight into the amazing attention to detail that went into making the show and I can appreciate that without it spoiling the story for me. I definitely understand where you're coming from about not wanting them, though, because I've always wondered (not that I'd ever get the chance, mind) if I'd ever really want to visit the set of a TV show I liked because it might spoil the suspension of disbelief for me.

Jan

[Jonas]

I love the scripts and the script books because it gives a lot of insight into the amazing attention to detail that went into making the show and I can appreciate that without it spoiling the story for me. I definitely understand where you're coming from about not wanting them, though, because I've always wondered (not that I'd ever get the chance, mind) if I'd ever really want to visit the set of a TV show I liked because it might spoil the suspension of disbelief for me.

Jan

You know, G'Kar might still be right about being closer to the source. Maybe Kosh meddled in Narn history...

[Marsden]

I'm sorry, Jan, but you named the two that I got, it was the 2nd or middle image that I was asking about, mostly. So it was Dad hanging on the tree, he turns to the voice behind him, that older Narn, who was he?

Kosh knew Valen when he saw him as Sinclair, he might have also known G'quan.


I'd just like to say, I wished there was/will be more about that time period with Valen especially.

[Jan]

I'm sorry, Jan, but you named the two that I got, it was the 2nd or middle image that I was asking about, mostly. So it was Dad hanging on the tree, he turns to the voice behind him, that older Narn, who was he?

It's never spelled out and one morphs into another then another. We know that G'kar's father died tied to a tree and the script designates G'lan but until we hear the wings, the speaker is only designated as 'Narn Image' so it's open to interpretation.

I'd have to see it again but it always seemed to me that the second image that G'Kar had to turn to see was also his father and the script only says:

And the Narn now stands behind him.
G'Kar senses it, turns.

...without describing a different look. The Vorlons never appeared as the primary religious figure that we know of so I don't think that it would have been G'Quan. That's just my feeling, though.

Jan

[Jonas]

I always thought it was his father, both on the tree and behind him.

[Marsden]

The Vorlons never appeared as the primary religious figure that we know of so I don't think that it would have been G'Quan. That's just my feeling, though. Jan

Thank you, I've heard that specifically about Vorlons not being the primary figure. Until this last time, I think I assumed it was his father, but he just seemed different to me this time, like a different Narn. Also, because we know from G'kar's story to the reporter in "Now for a Word" this is a memory, maybe Kosh was causing him to remember and then switched to the Image of G'quon, or kept it his father. I guess I'm thinking too much into it, but it's a very good episode all around and this part really delves into 2 of the best characters ever. And like many have said, I notice things on repeat veiwings.

But thank you both for your answers. I even noticed in the opening credits that the actor was listed as Narn Image, but if JMS had to have a credit that said G'quan I think that would have set tounges wagging.


On a similar note, I was trying to find out some Minbari names of certain ones that appeared from time to time. Especially the one in "Points of Departure" that warns Sheridan about the captain of the Trigati. I'm guessing that's Rathenn, but it only lists him as Minbari.

[JasonDavis]

On a similar note, I was trying to find out some Minbari names of certain ones that appeared from time to time. Especially the one in "Points of Departure" that warns Sheridan about the captain of the Trigati. I'm guessing that's Rathenn, but it only lists him as Minbari.

The Minbari in question was called Hedronn. He was played by Robin Sachs, who also portrayed Satai Coplann in In the Beginning. Coincidentally, Sachs also played two different Narns: N'Kal in "The Fall of Night" and "Walkabout" and Na'Tok in "Movements of Fire and Shadow" and "The Fall of Centauri Prime."

Both pairs--Hedronn and Coplann and N'Kal and Na'Tok--were very similar characters. Given that the same actor was cast, it's a shame that same names weren't used to give a sense of continuity. I like the idea of N'Kal--the only Narn starship captain to survive the war with the Centauri-- being the general who commanded the bombardment of Centauri Prime a few years later.