If you could change one thing about B5...

[Jan]

Uh yeah...and then the other Drakh would have set off the fusion bombs and destroyed his entire planet.

Even though we only 'meet' one Drakh, we saw many of them leave and Shivkala (a name we only learned from the Centauri Trilogy of books) always refers to the Drakh in multiples so you know his people are around, if unseen.

Jan

[calloutdrummer1247]

True, I just really wish it had a different ending for Londo. I was really rooting for that guy!

[Jan]

True, I just really wish it had a different ending for Londo. I was really rooting for that guy!

I think most of us were. But B5 is about choices and consequences. Thing is, though...and this all depends on what you believe...but on this re-watch, pay attention to the predictions that Lady Morella makes. I've always thought that Londo did find redemption in the end...whatever that means.

Jan

[calloutdrummer1247]

Okay, how about this? If I was to change one thing about Babylon 5, I would have Adira come back after a few months, like before the Morden episode. I would want to see how the relationship develops and grows between her and Londo. How would it change him? Would his future be the same or would his conversation with Morden be vastly different?

Would things happen alot differently and have a much happier ending? That's something I like to see.

What do you think? He just seemed so happy with Adira and willing to drop appearances and his mask with her.

[Jan]

What do you think? He just seemed so happy with Adira and willing to drop appearances and his mask with her.

That's an alternate universe story I'd love to see. Like you, I *like* Londo.

Jan

[calloutdrummer1247]

Same here! Someone outta write it!

[cornholio1980]

[*]Call me naive, but I always felt the Ivanova/Talia thing was played very subtle, so much so that I barely (if at all) caught it the first time around. I just thought they were becoming really good friends. Yes, obviously, Ivanova comes out and admits a love for Talia in the Minbari ritual, so I got it eventually, but sometimes I'm dumb.

Same with me. When I saw the episode for the first time, it wasn't uncommon for me to stay overnight at a good friends place. That doesn't necessarily mean that we actually did anything, like sexual . Thus, I also didn't get that, and I'm still split about that. On one hand, its a nice, subtle approach, on the other hand you could (not saying that I do, mind you) interpret it as chickening out. Also, you risk that people don't notice what you're implying.

[*]Robin Atkin Downes was a very nice guy at Phoenix Comicon, and if you look at his IMDb profile, his list of acting & voice work is as long as both my arms. So, he's a nice, talented guy, and he played the role of Byron very well. But, seriously, doesn't everybody hate Byron? Considering how JMS wrote him and why he included the telepath story arc (getting the cult thing out of his system), I don't think we're supposed to like Byron. So, having Talia there instead of Byron would solve that problem.

I'm not sure I hate him, but I don't like him either. For me, he's the least interesting recurring character of B5. He seemed to be there more to save a purpose than actually as a fleshed-out character. And I agree that we probably weren't meant to like him. But I couldn't even like him the way I like Morden, for example, with his sleaziness. Something about Byron just rubbed me the wrong way. And I do believe having Talia in that role, a charater we came to like, would have made for an interesting dynamic once she would have been this little cult leader.

[*]I never liked the idea that Ivanova was going to get mixed up with Byron. In a way, I'm not too happy it happened to Lyta. But, at least Lyta was in need of such a thing, so it makes sense. Ivanova was too smart & independent to get mixed up with Byron, and... Ivanova just deserved better. But, with Ivanova & Talia already having a history, any temptation to return to that in s5 would make more sense.[/LIST]

Well, I can understand why JMS wanted to do it, and I guess it could have worked. I would have seen it this way: She lost Talia, she lost Marcus. In both cases, she was running out of time in the end, losing them very suddenly. I definitely can see how that could bring a person to grab the next chance of love he/she's getting.

But yeah, it would have been tricky to pull off, especially with Ivanova.

So, yeah, having Ivanova in season 5 but with Talia returning for the telepath story arc instead of Byron is brilliant.

Thanks

However, would that require that Talia's original reason for leaving was not the hidden personality, so that when she retuned she would be the more familiar Talia. Or, would even the "bad" Talia somehow succeed in seducing Ivanova into the teep group?

Well, that brings us to another unresolved issue: Koshs crystal of Talia's thoughts, that Garibaldi remembered as soon as the mole was revealed. Since he never picked it up again, I actually would have prefered if JMS wouldn'T have alluded to it. However, I always thought that this crystal could be the key to bringing her back. So, to make it clear: Of course it would have had to be the real Talia, who Ivanova falls in love with again, and who she then has to betray. Otherwise, it wouldn't really be tragic, would it?

About the Lochley debate: I do believe that because of Claudia Christians departure and JMS losing his notes, he didn't have as much time to flesh out the character as with others, and that may very well have affected how she was written. Come to think of it, the same might be true for Byron. JMS might simply have run out of time, and did the best he could; but ultimately, it showed a little bit, especially compared to the great work he did previously. Then again, never forget that by that time, we knew most of the characters for 3-4 seasons already, so anyone coming in that late would have a rough start.

[*]What if we had actually gotten to see the Vorlon homeworld.

Actually, I'm glad that we never did, and hope that we never will. Just like going beyond the rim, that's one vista that IMHO is better left unexplored, and/or left to the imagination of the viewer.

Along these lines I would have liked to see Ivanova in command of the Earth ship in season five - so we could see her dealing with the Shadow tech that was installed.

Well, it would have been better than nothing, but if Claudia Christian would have stayed on, and I could choose between her commanding the station and a starship, I'd go with the former.

I love this. One of my disappointments with the show was how they never got the chance to really establish the love-awakens-the-Shadows story properly. From Sykes to Sakai to Anna #1 to Anna #2, by the time of the big moment, that whole storyline ended up resting on Bruce's acting shoulders to sell a story that we never got to see. How great would it have been if they could have slowly built that story, where the audience lives with them being in love and then has her suddenly ripped from the show, and we feel and adjust to Sheridan's loss only to have her re-appear in "Shadow Dancing". She wouldn't even need to say "I'm Anna Sheridan ... John's wife." We'd know, and our jaws would drop like that snow globe.

So, yeah, that's my answer to the question in this thread. I would have liked the Sinclair/Sheridan transition to dove-tail more cleanly (as if it were planned from the beginning), affording the opportunity to see more of the Agamemnon (I always loved those scenes), more of Sinclair's time on Minbar, and more of the love affair between Sheridan and Catherine Sakai. That's right

I totally agree with this. Easier transition would have been nice. Back in the day I never got why they couldn't bring Michael O'Hare back for the first episode of Season 2; now I know and understand it, of course. It is still a shame, though. And I think those hard transitions are especially hard on a show like B5, that tells a continuing story. Then again, sometimes life simply get's in the way...

[DaveNarn]

I'm not sure I hate him, but I don't like him either. For me, he's the least interesting recurring character of B5. He seemed to be there more to save a purpose than actually as a fleshed-out character. And I agree that we probably weren't meant to like him. But I couldn't even like him the way I like Morden, for example, with his sleaziness. Something about Byron just rubbed me the wrong way. And I do believe having Talia in that role, a charater we came to like, would have made for an interesting dynamic once she would have been this little cult leader.

Byron certainly was a cult leader. The downtrodden telepath story on B5 about a charismatic figure taking advantage a group of disenfranchised people reaffirms what a great actor Robin is at how he sold the role.

I felt the same way toward James Callis's character on Battlestar Galactica as Dr. Gaius Baltar - yuk!

[calloutdrummer1247]

*peeks* THANK YOU!!!!!

[Jan]

Byron certainly was a cult leader. The downtrodden telepath story on B5 about a charismatic figure taking advantage a group of disenfranchised people reaffirms what a great actor Robin is at how he sold the role.

Question...take advantage of them? I honestly think that Byron did want the best for his followers. Trouble is, he had exactly the same prejudices against 'mundanes' as Bester except that he drew the line at killing them. What struck me a lot in the fifth season was the unconscious prejudice pretty much everybody showed. Byron still felt the telepaths were better than normals, Sheridan and Garibaldi used and discarded Lyta as convenient.

On the subject of changing something, I think Sinclair didn't display that prejudice. At least he was genuinely concerned for Talia when she had to excuse herself from the negotiations and (iirc) when they talked about needing her help in 'The Quality of Mercy'.

Jan

[DaveNarn]

Your right, Byron Gordon wasn't leading the telepath's for any personal gain - I stand corrected.

He tried to keep them calm and in line for as long as he could.

Guess it was the communal form of thought interaction that was a little unnerving about him.

[sarthaz]

In Phoenix, when Joe asked the cast what was the most annoying part of being on Babylon 5, was it Robin who immediately starting singing, "And we will all come together in a better place ..."

[Ubik]

In Phoenix, when Joe asked the cast what was the most annoying part of being on Babylon 5, was it Robin who immediately starting singing, "And we will all come together in a better place ..."

That bit always made me want to hurl the remote at the TV. Just... awful.

[JoeD80]

Well, it would have been better than nothing, but if Claudia Christian would have stayed on, and I could choose between her commanding the station and a starship, I'd go with the former.

In the plans for season five, she was supposed to do both.

[calloutdrummer1247]

....I would see what would happen if Londo was put into the heart of the machine instead of Drael. o_O

I think it would be quite amusing if you ask me. Maybe Drael's body couldn't take it for some reason so Londo insists on going in. I think it would have to be a pretty different Alternate Universe for this to happen. LIke I said, would be interesting and amusing especially in the next few seasons.