Babylon 5: The Quality of Mercy

[Morgaine]

The actor playing the deranged killer who's sick mind haunts a telepath here surely must've felt contrasted with his role in Star Trek, where he played a deranged killer who's sick mind haunts a telepath.
Much like the other death of personality episode, where the guy playing a psychopathic killer who's personality was changed by telepathy was also on Star Trek where he played a psychopathic killer who's personality was changed by telepathy.

[Deledrius]

Just goes to show's JMS's long term consideration and great consistency in world building.

I think this is something that bothers me most about Babylon 5. It's a wonderful idea in theory, but the execution isn't so great. I feel like people enjoy where it goes enough that they overlook this, and of course it's all subjective, but I think it was very amateur.

He knew he wanted to use some plot point later, so he decided to drop it into an episode up front. When done well this can be very satisfying. The trouble is, especially during the first season, the episodes seem to exist just as treading water. They are plots to wrap around the one (or few) things that will be needed later. They don't really serve a purpose on their own, which is reflected very heavily in how the first season is commonly regarded by the fanbase.

If you find yourself saying "this is a boring/terrible/stupid episode, but you can't skip it because it establishes X which will be crucial later" then maybe this storytelling wasn't so hot. It's all part of the whole, so if "it gets good later" but also depends on those parts when it wasn't good, you can't really separate it.

[Fipse]

It is kinda funny how "dated" B5 feels with its death sentence and not free healthcare these days.

[Morgaine]

I'm not sure that's "dated". Would Babylon 5 have free healthcare if the Earth Alliance does?
I mean it's a frontier colony with a military governor, it probably doesn't have the same rules as say Earth itself.

[G-Man]

It is kinda funny how "dated" B5 feels with its death sentence and not free healthcare these days.

We still have executions in the United States, and we still do not have universal coverage - indeed, some people have found health care less affordable after the ACA was passed than beforehand.

I do not really think those issues that B5 is dealing with in 1994 have really gone away in 2017.

[J!!]

[CareerKnight]

If you find yourself saying "this is a boring/terrible/stupid episode, but you can't skip it because it establishes X which will be crucial later" then maybe this storytelling wasn't so hot. It's all part of the whole, so if "it gets good later" but also depends on those parts when it wasn't good, you can't really separate it.

I don't think there is anything in any of the less impressive episodes of season one that you need to see to get something later on. Just some occasional foreshadowing which adds to what happens later on but is in no way required viewing. To use this episode for example, (which I think is ok) the big payoff with the healing device is in season 4 and it is brought up again in season 2 so even if you hate this episode you don't need to see it to get what happens later (hell I would argue that there is enough setup in the s4 episode that you don't even really need to see the s2 episode to get whats going on).

The healing device can be (unintentionally I believe or at least not the main reason it was done) viewed as a dig at Star Trek's tech of the week, that never shows up again no matter how useful it would be, by showing up again in B5 when it would be relevant.

[Fixer]

I don't think there is anything in any of the less impressive episodes of season one that you need to see to get something later on. Just some occasional foreshadowing which adds to what happens later on but is no way required viewing. To use this episode for example, (which I think is ok) the big payoff with the healing device is in season 4 and it is brought up again in season 2 so even if you hate this episode you don't need to see it to get what happens later (hell I would argue that there is enough setup in the s4 episode that you don't even really need to see the s2 episode to get whats going on).

The healing device can be (unintentionally I believe or at least not the main reason it was done) viewed as a dig at Star Trek's tech of the week, that never shows up again no matter how useful it would be, by showing up again in B5 when it would be relevant.

Indeed. You didn't have to watch the previous episodes to understand what was going on. They described what I had mentioned perfectly in character "Who said the Minbari don't lie? A certain Minbari once lied to save a certain Centauri Ambassador from embarrassment. Apparently, there is honor in helping another save face."

It's not essential to have seen the episode but it's a great little piece of continuity for those that saw it.

Likewise, they always described the alien healing device when they brought it out.

[G-Man]

Okay, now I feel really stupid.

[Beastro]

Sinclair has way less charisma than Sheridan

It's apples and oranges to me.

Sheridan has more conventional charisma and is what you'd expect of someone that was able to be a famous leader of men. Sinclair is more like what you'd expect of a commanding officer that had gone through a war and possessed a quiet, taciturn charisma, somthinge that appeals more to the British way I was raised.

Still waters run deep and all that jazz.

It brings to mind Curtis LeMay, despite the legend built around the man saying he'd often raise his voice, and how much he stood in contrast to Hyman Rickover, both of whom were some of the most influential military figures in the US during the Cold War that were noted for their ability to motivate and inspire the men under them.

Rickover would throw a fuss, hector people and really chew them out to the point that people sucked it up and did better in order to spite the bastard. In contrast, all Lemay would be would stare intently before quietly saying "You could do better".

As for the first season in and of itself. I enjoy it and it does a decent job to establishging the setting before the shows main plot lines begin to dominate the show. It very much is the epitome of a show finding its footing, however.

It is kinda funny how "dated" B5 feels with its death sentence and not free healthcare these days.

Why?

It annoys me greatly when a show presents the future and that future has to accord with some linear progressive idea that people in the future HAVE to do things in accordance with their political ideology because that is what is supposed to happen to a society as it advances through time as if on rails. It reeks of worst facets of Modern arrogance and presumption.

The neat thing for me is Downbelow and how the bums in it are effectively trapped on B5 unable/unwilling to scrounge the money up to get off the station. What's appealing to it is that it shows little bits of imperfection in a world not obsessed with social perfection in the Star Trek/Post-WWII popular Sci-Fi mentality. Earth Alliance is trying to get by as are all other races and nations and doing what they can without holding all the cards.