icepixie: ([B5] Ivanova the Terrible)
[personal profile] icepixie
B5 thoughts, yay! I feel much better after watching four hours of TV tonight.

The Long Night
- Oh, I'm glad Susan served as recapper for this, although that kind of sucks for her to get stuck with the exposition. Still, my brain is so fried, I needed the help.

- Awww, Susan played with dolls! Did she have the Barbie Dream Explorer Class Starship?

- Claudia Christian's freckles are so cute. Too bad they only show up at the beginnings of seasons.

- Hmm. Susan doing self-psychoanalysis is...not entirely believable. I'm not sure if it's merely the wording ("I have just enough trust left..." and whatever the rest of that sentence was didn't sound like something anyone who isn't a psychologist would come up with), or the whole concept that she would be able to analyze herself and then expound in that much elegant detail extemporaneously that bothers me.

- Is Londo actually showing concern for G'Kar? Wow.

- Oh, Vir. You can totally be subversive if you want to. *pats him on the head*

- Centauri have two hearts? Do they also travel around in police boxes?

- ...Weak joke, JMS. I've heard better gallows humor.

- YAY VIR! Although I guess now that he's a murderer, even if it was for a good cause, he's not gonna take it very well...

- Fastest election ever!

- Hmm. Was that a PA in the background of the war room wearing cargo shorts and a T-shirt, checking through a notebook? He definitely didn't appear to be wearing anything regulation.

- Oh, Vir. Your pillow fort was invaded.

- Shouldn't it be "you still have your hearts"? Sorry.

- Yay, Narn's free! Still a nuclear winterized dustbowl, but, you know, baby steps.

- Oooh, maybe the Shadows and the Vorlons will shoot each other instead of the Rag-Tag Fleet! Wouldn't that be convenient!

- "You're not a married man, are you, Erickson?" Holy SHIT. My jaw dropped to the floor at that line, and all that it implied. DAMN.

- People of Narn, have you learned nothing? Obviously, you need a Book of G'Kar to turn you from vengeance.

- ...You couldn't see what he'd endured? The missing eye isn't exactly invisible.

- Oh, Sheridan. Listening to that is a good way to give yourself nightmares. Not that he wouldn't have had them already, I suppose.

- Heh, the moment Sheridan said the name "Tennyson," I knew he was going to quote those lines from "Ulysses." After "In Memoriam" ("'Tis better to have loved and lost..."), that's gotta be his most over-quoted stanza. Well, I guess part of "Charge of the Light Brigade" might give it a run for its money ("Theirs not to reason why"...that's perhaps the most often misquoted...). It is an excellent and very fitting quotation, though.

Into the Fire
- Wow. That's a biiiiig ship. I guess all the First Ones have big-ass ships.

- Is Vir's hair crest bigger nowadays? It's looking more impressive than usual in this episode.

- "My heart and I don't speak anymore." Oh, Susan.

- Huh. So Lorien...is definitely Manwe? Semi-definitely-maybe? It sounds like he might be.

- I'm curious what JMS thinks is out beyond the galactic rim. Is he actually suggesting there's something really interesting out there, and not just barren space?

- Lorien to Ivanova, translated: "You should totally ask Marcus out on a date."

- The idea of eternal love is an illusion, but also the greatest gift humans have--interesting idea. I think I agree with him. But if Susan knows it's an illusion, can she really accept it as reality, as he wants her to?

- I have to admit, I've forgotten why it matters that Morden and not Refa killed Adeera (Adira?). I remember suspecting it was actually Morden all along, but not why that would make a difference to Londo's actions and what eventually goes down on Centuari Prime. Did Londo finish poisoning Refa as revenge for Adeera's death? If so, what did that do to the Centauri power structure--wasn't Cartagia still calling the shots anyway?

- Island go boom.

- ...Why not just let the Shadows and Vorlons fight each other? Hide, you fools! If they blow each other to oblivion, you'll have the galaxy to yourselves!

- "They're pissed." Thank you, Counselor Lyta. *headdesk*

- Yay, Ivanova and Marcus get to work together!

- Hah. Vir gets to wave at Morden's head on a pike. YES.

- Tell me I misheard and space did not just get colder. Were the Shadows or Vorlons actually messing with life support? That must have been it.

- They're really pushing the "All of this has happened before..." theme, aren't they? At least here I see why they wanted to do something like "Comes the Inquisitor" way back in S2 (though that episode still infuriates me).

- Making order and chaos both go away is an interesting way of resolving the conflict between them...

- Lorien is kind of like Jesus, isn't he? JMS is at any rate using considerable Christian reference--or at any rate paternalistic imagery, which combined with his immortality and ability to bring Sheridan back to life tend to make me think Jesus--to characterize him (such as when he tells the Vorlons and Shadows that they'll never be alone, he'll look after them, and he'll be with them beyond the rim).

- Wait, it's over? Just like that? REALLY?

- The phrasing of the way Lorien leaves the galaxy to the younger races reminds me of something, but I don't remember what. Hmm.

- Again with the BSG mantra! Haha, wouldn't it be AWESOME if this was the basis for the BSG religion (with the names changed) and that particular tenet of their faith?

- Sheridan and Delenn's philosophizing at the end didn't sit right with me either. I thought we'd gotten over the stilted speeches back in S1.

- So that wasn't anticlimactic, exactly--far from it; and I really liked the resolution--but...it's awfully early in the season to be ending the big war that's been building since the beginning! I know they had to compress, but...wow.

Epiphanies
- Space fireworks! Awesome! Well, not fireworks, since fire can't burn in space, but, you know. Colored lasers or whatever it was.

- Oh. EARTH is what's going to bedevil them for the rest of the season. I, ah, may have forgotten that they were aligned with the Shadows, and won't take the victory too well. It's been a long two weeks.

- "I'm thinking...pastels!" *snerk*

- Oh, Garibaldi. Your hidden personality's just been turned on, hasn't it?

- Hmm. So did he resign because that was what his mind control told him to do, or did he resign in order to keep himself out of the command loop and thus prevent the mind control from doing too much damage?

- Disney Planet! Oh, lord, the Mouse Empire has colonized!

- *snerk* Zack is having a crazy day.

- And then Elvis impersonators walk through customs!

- So this episode is where the whole Zack/Lyta thing I've seen on the internets comes from. I had been wondering what canon basis that had.

- "And the picture always ends with your head imploding." Hee.

- Uh-oh. What is Bester planning? (And does it have to do with Garibaldi? I'm guessing yes.)

- Aw, Zack did come by with pizza. (This relationship won't end well either, will it?)

The Illusion of Truth
- So...this was an excuse for JMS to get up on a big ol' soapbox and rant about bias in journalism and the evils of the House Unamerican Activities Committee as reincarnated in the "Committee on Anti-Earth Activities," yes? Uh-huh. I gotta see, I didn't see the point of devoting an entire episode to this, but oh well. (Did anyone not immediately figure out exactly how they were going to re-jigger the footage to tell an entirely different story, even down to what lines of dialogue they would use where? And then the reporter got all sanctimonious about just reporting the news, not making it, and YEAH, WE GET IT. *rolls eyes*)

- Did enjoy Ivanova's antagonism. "And an open airlock policy." *snerk* Back to the good old days! Lennier headbutting the camera was also hilarious.

- There's a quote from someone involved with the WHO that's been bandied about in the news recently in regards to swine flu, and it mentions something about viruses not recognizing political borders, just hosts. So when Delenn said pretty much the same thing about the heart not recognizing species or political alliances, guess where my mind went. Love is obviously a virus!

- "An interestingly curious puzzle"? Wow, ISN was scraping the bottom of the barrel when they hired him.

*

I did in fact watch both Castle and Cupid this week, but don't have much to say. Castle was still good by virtue of being Castle, but not as good as last week. Cupid was probably the best of the four that have aired so far, but that's not saying much given the other three. I really want to like the UST they're forcing between Trevor and Claire, because my god, it's TREVOR AND CLAIRE, and they're supposed to have UST like burning, but something's just wrong here. I think it might be mostly Sarah Paulson, but the writing takes some of the blame as well. (Also, randomly: what's with the baby mohawk-thing Trevor is sporting? Having his hair stand up in the middle of his head like that is not really a good look for anybody.)

Date: 2009-05-02 02:15 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] alto2.livejournal.com
Did anyone not immediately figure out exactly how they were going to re-jigger the footage to tell an entirely different story, even down to what lines of dialogue they would use where? And then the reporter got all sanctimonious about just reporting the news, not making it, and YEAH, WE GET IT. *rolls eyes*)

Remember, this was all on TV before a stolen election, eight years of secrecy and war, and a news network devoted to the continuation of same. It wasn't all that long ago that people still believed what they saw on the news without needing a heavy dose of cynicism to get through it all.

Date: 2009-05-02 05:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mylittleredgirl.livejournal.com
*laffs*

I don't think Lorien is Jesus so much as Sheridan is Jesus?

The Zack/Lyta thing made me all hyper all the time because I was all "THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN TALIA AND GARIBALDI!" because I luv them foreva. However, I adore Lyta like CRAZY, so it's all okay. :) Lyta's life SUCKS. And I love whenever she points that out to people.

Date: 2009-05-03 02:59 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] alto2.livejournal.com
But it didn't exist like it's come to in the last eight years, between the Bush White House threatening to take access from any reporter who didn't toe the line and Fox News. Whole different animal than anything we've seen before.

Date: 2009-05-03 03:43 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mylittleredgirl.livejournal.com
You know, my love for Talia/Garibaldi really pretty much defies explanation. Because, zomg, Talia is irritating, but I love her. And Garibaldi chases after her kind of ineffectively, but OMG OTP. I don't know. "Soul Mates" just made me scream and flail and freak out as a young thing when I saw it the first time, and every time I (or my mom!) sees them on screen, there is hopefully flailing. Seriously. OTP UNEXPLAINED, y'all. (Perhaps I was reading sekrit chemistry because the actors were Doing It And Married in real life? Mebbe? DUNNO, but I shrieked for like an hour when I found that out many years later.)

And your question if there are people out there who like Talia/Garibaldi? THE ANSWER IS NO. It's just me, and my mom, and my neverending hope that I'll stumble across a den of sekrit fanfic somewhere. Srsly, it's a hard life.

In general, in B5, I can appreciate pretty much any pairing. :) Especially if it involves Sheridan. Because come on. Sheridan. I maybe wrote him one time crossover pairing with Elizabeth Weir. Also, Talia/anyone makes me happy, but I know that won't really appeal to you. ;)

Date: 2009-05-03 04:33 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mylittleredgirl.livejournal.com
*SIGH* I think it may have less to do with sekrit chemistry and more to do with... well... I was only 12, and not really that sophisticated, and so I appreciated the OBVIOUSNESS of it all (He's all "I LIKE U CUZ UR PRETTY!" and she's all "OH SCREW OFF"). Also, telepaths! Yay. I hadn't seen "The Gathering" so did not know that there was a redheaded telepath out there that I should love even more.

Aw, that's annoying. Even if I don't like the pairing, I sympathize. I had a hard enough time hunting down the nine Ivanova/Garibaldi fics out there. (None of them are any good. Sigh.)

Yeah. :( You know, I actually FOUND a mirror universe fic that was totally insane but had mirror-universe Talia/Garibaldi? I FREAKED OUT. And [livejournal.com profile] medie wrote it for me once because I begged and groveled. Srsly. I could swear I've seen Susan/Michael running around out there (maybe by [livejournal.com profile] leyenn or her frenz?) but maybe it was just "Susan and Talia hook up, and Michael kind of wants them both."

If you ever get really super desperate, I'll totally trade you. ;)

Heh. I can't even manage to appreciate Sheridan with Delenn.

HA. Well. Okay, I really went for that, too, because as a young teen I went for things that were very inyourface. (Seriously -- what young teenage girl doesn't want a romance like that?? He's all lovey-dovey and shmoopy at her. It's like he took lessons from Clark Kent.) I remember at the beginning of the show being all "Sinclair/Delenn, y/y?" because they had that "haha, you guys totally got married by accident with that red fruit thing!" and they had INTRIGUE, and then HE IS HER GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER.

Oh. Yeah. I also LOVED Catherine Sakai. So clearly, I didn't have high standards for acting ability, or non-ridiculous dialogue. OH, B5. How I love you in spite of yourself!

On the other hand, this sounds awesome. Link?

It's v. short, and not exactly explained: discontinuity (http://sachi.arrr.net/discontinuity.html).

Date: 2009-05-04 02:16 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mylittleredgirl.livejournal.com
I still haven't quite managed to see that. Oops?

It's weird. And really, they sum it up for you quite nicely in Season 1 (vorlons, encounter suit, THERE IS A HOLE IN YOUR MIND).

Even though I hate Talia as a character, I don't entirely mind Susan/Talia (although I like both Susan/Michael and Susan/Marcus better). I think the only time I actually thought Talia was interesting was once the alternate personality took over. Um.

Noooooooooooooooo!! Talia's just the epic victim. She's more victimy than Lyta, really, because she's so much less aware of what's happening to her. If Lyta had been around in "Spider in the Web" she would have, at some point, gone "OKAY, EFF THIS ISH" and started trying to kill people off herself, which would have rocked.

I, uh, recently characterized him as "like an underwear model--very bland."

Okay, I don't usually watch special features, but on one of the season 2 episodes there's a hilarious commentary by [Sheridan], [Ivanova] and [Garibaldi], done 10 years later. It's the episode with the technomages, I think. Anyway, they basically say that Sheridan's like a golden retriever, just bounding around grinning at everything trying to get everyone to like him. Also, obsessed with oranges, lol.

Wait, what? He IS? Is that later in the series, or did I just totally miss it in WWE?

Errr... *makes horrified face of did-i-spoil-you-inappropriately?* I thought it was earlier? The whole "You are... a child... OF VALEN!" ? Um, if not, then NEVER MIND. *whistles*

Wooooow. (Actually, I didn't think she was so bad. She was better than Sinclair, anyway.)

Allow me to drive the ridiculousness home. "I don't mean to alarm you, but your pants are talking to you." JUST. WHUT. LOL.

Why do you like Michael/Susan? I'm always down for the alterna-ship though, you know, I would probably write it as them sexing out their angst over Talia, BUT MAYBE NOT.

Date: 2009-09-06 12:45 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] alto2.livejournal.com
I have to admit, I've forgotten why it matters that Morden and not Refa killed Adeera (Adira?). I remember suspecting it was actually Morden all along, but not why that would make a difference to Londo's actions and what eventually goes down on Centuari Prime. Did Londo finish poisoning Refa as revenge for Adeera's death? If so, what did that do to the Centauri power structure--wasn't Cartagia still calling the shots anyway?

Morden killed Adira because Londo wanted to break off his alliance with the Shadows. Killing Adira and making it look like Refa did it is all that's necessary to re-activate Londo's desire for revenge, since Adira is the one thing Londo actually loves. If Londo thought Morden did it, it would just cement his desire to be rid of him and the Shadows. It's not about Centauri Prime as such, or about Cartagia--it's about keeping Londo in the fold by upsetting him to the point where his moment of rational sense is blown out of the water.

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