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Speculation on the future arc (Spoiler)

D

**DONOTDELETE**

Guest
My initial response was that I generally liked it, but I would rather have seen Crusade started up again. I was fine with the VR weapons pod, generally liked most of the characters, and had a few concerns about series continuity (the Hand, the ships, the way the rangers were acting, etc.). However, the more I read discussions about it, the more I'd like to see it become a series to see what else develops.

If the show goes to a series, my thoughts:
- I think everything that was said at the naming of names will be important to the individual character arcs ("In my dreams, I never see my own face?", "I come to the Rangers by a difficult road", "I carry heavy things").

- As far as the crew that died on the Liandra, they said that the survivor was the traitor. May I point out that the SHIP survived whatever happened, not that I know what that means. We may not see this ship for long ...

- Somebody on-line discovered that there was a historical figure named Martel that held off an advancing army by holding a bridge (similar to Horatius in the Roman myths). I think the "no retreat" theme of the pilot will culminate some part of his arc, where the ship has to "hold the line" against insurmountable odds (the hand?), but this time he stays and sacrifices the ship.

- I don't think the Hand will amount to much. May I point out in the B5 episode "Deconstruction of Falling Stars" (the one where they skip a million years into the future), Delenn mentions the telepath war, the Drakh war, etc. Never mentions the Hand. I have several theories on why this is:
*** Theory A: The Hand is a ruse. It's some former shadow ally or something else that's trying to make people think the Hand is all-powerful, but they really aren't. They are uncovered without much of a fuss.
*** Theory B: The Hand is an extradimensional power (related to the Thirdspace aliens???), that are prevented from entering our galaxy by David Martel and crew. This might be something tragic, where the ship is destroyed and most of the crew killed, hence adding to the "Legend of the Rangers" in the title.
*** Theory C: The Hand will be held in the background until the Crusade timeline picks up, then introduced to the story.
*** Theory D: JMS is getting senile, and pulled this stuff out of his arse.

My theory B makes me think that there's no reason to assume the ship and characters in the pilot will be around for the entire series. "Legend" sure sounds like it would lend itself to an anthology type show, or maybe feature a different group of rangers each season. Remember JMS said he had plans to resolve Crusade in LOTR in the second or third season if it wasn't picked up. One way to do this is to destroy the Liandra and some of the crew members, and reassign the survivors to the Excalibur (i.e. picking up the best actors from both shows). JMS has been known to have a sadistic side ...

- I think it's likely we might see a flashback or a couple of episodes that show Valen in the past, forming the grey council and the rangers. Maybe even his return??? Given my statement above about an "anthology" by season, you could have an entire season set in the past. Alternatively, you could have an entire season set in the distant future, around the time of the "Deconstruction" B5 episode.

- Hopefully we get some frequent cameos from Sheridan, Delenn, and Garibaldi. G'kar is supposed to be a recurring character, but Andreas Katsulas said he would prefer a more consistant role (i.e. weekly). Londo is pretty limited based on his future history, but the others should be available.

Either way, I'm stoked to be talking B5 again.


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I too think that if there is a new series, they will lose the Liandra, say late first season, or in the second, probably in the manner you describe. In my "Why did The Hand" thread I speculate that The Hand may have planted surveilance devices,or a spy on the Liandra. This would probably involve the dissappearance of the previous crew, and resolve that thread when discovered. I think you're right about the things said in the naming ceremony turning out to be important, probably hidden meanings. And I wonder if by "Heavy things" Tirk may NOT have meant physically heavy things!

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You're speaking treason! Olivia De Havilland as Maid Marian
Fluently! Errol Flynn as Robin Hood
You're talking treason! Olivia De Havilland as Arabella Bishop
I trust I'm not obscure. Errol Flynn as Dr. Peter Blood

Pallindromes of the month: Snug was I, ere I saw guns.
Doom an evil deed, liven a mood.
 
In an article in Dreamwatch describing the Liandra it was mentioned that JMS wanted a ship that would be around for five years. I was surprised because I thought the crew would get a bigger and better ship after the pilot.

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I always seem to be diagonally parked in a parallel universe.
 
The Liandra was actually much bigger than I thought it would be -- cargo bays and all...

Being "old" isn't that big a deal, as the innards can certainly be upgraded, and the hull can be repaired.

Besides, having a "clunker" helps give the crew that "rebel / rogue" characterization. Perhaps like Han Solo...

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"What's up, Drakh?"

Michael Garibaldi
 
I definitely think the Hand is a "Red Herring."
They would be quickly dealt with, as the series progresses.
But before disappearing, they will bring a certain element into the story arc that will effect the rest of the series...Probably some complication to the Rangers origional goal of rebuilding the galactic comunity...probably in the form of a conspiracy group tied to the Hand or those exploiting a *secret* affiliation with the hand for thier own gain (much like Clarke's administration in B5).

Any way it hashes out...
I hope like hell it goes to series so that I can see how it hashes out!!...
I'm sure JMS won't let us down!!
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jade Jaguar:
And I wonder if by "Heavy things" Tirk may NOT have meant physically heavy things!
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm not sure Tirk is that introspective...
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"We are (not) all Kosh."
 
Could be that JMS doesn't want you to realize that he could be. JMS is that devious.
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You're speaking treason! Olivia De Havilland as Maid Marian
Fluently! Errol Flynn as Robin Hood
You're talking treason! Olivia De Havilland as Arabella Bishop
I trust I'm not obscure. Errol Flynn as Dr. Peter Blood

Pallindromes of the month: Snug was I, ere I saw guns.
Doom an evil deed, liven a mood.
 
maybe "the hand" is just something cooked up by that new race that entered the IA, sizing them up by spying on them, then claiming they were just serving "the hand" when it was really them attacking.

and i bet tirk has plenty up his large sleeves
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[This message has been edited by Daave (edited January 29, 2002).]
 
This is actually a reply a friend of mine e-mailed to me, which I am crossposting here.

Len

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Now, down to business.

I did not like B5: LotR. I absolutely LOVED it. Hands down. No reservations. I thought that it was quite an excellent pilot movie to kick off a potential series. Very good indeed. My wife agreed whole-heartedly.

At the core of my enjoyment of LotR was not the cool VR Weapons Pod, not the haunted, old, beat-up Liandra, not even getting to see G'Kar in his element again... it was the characters JMS designed for this foray into B5's future history. I instantly like David Martel in a way that reminded oh-so much of my original appreciation of Sheridan, but not in a bad or repititous way at all. He was able, in a few scenes, to register in my mind as the type of leader and hero-to-be that Sheridan appeared to be Late Season 3 and Season 4 - having a certain 'gravitas' and world-weariness to him, yet still being in his prime mentally and physically. I found him extremely likeable, but more over, extremely REAL.

My enjoyment of his personality spread immediately to the two others of highest note on the Liandra, Sarah and Du'Lann. (sp?) Sarah was also an instant hit for me. I just love her feisty-ness and attitude, and her relationship with David. Du'Lann even more so... seeing an old friend-like relationship between him and David was so cool... the humor he displayed was so genuine and Minbari-like, just like a Minbari who has befriended a human like Martel. Again, I found their banter original and very appropriate... very much on target.

Now, another thing I REALLY liked was the Liandra itself. I found myself really, really liking how it looks, how it acted, and its position in the story as a character in and of itself. Haunted ships are always pretty cool to me, so my bias is showing, but I loved the twist that offered to our pseudo-telepathic first officer's storyline. But back to the Liandra, JMS wasn't kidding in saying that we were going to see a ship unlike any we've known in the B5 world. Very refreshing, and again very 'real', very fitting for what it was and when it was. I immedately took it for granted that the reason this technology hadn't been seen before was because we've never seen a Ranger ship before. The White Stars were built for the Alliance, and I remember Delenn saying (when introducing the fleet to Sheridan) "They will be manned by the Rangers...". Idea being that they could've been manned by some other group, but the rangers are ideally suited for the task against the Shadows. !
But a vey fitting, personal-combat-like weapons system for a dedicated ranger vessel. The effects were simply AWESOME. the look of her firing sequences was spectacular... I really wanted to see a lot more of that.

That's what it comes down to... in the end, I kept listing over and over how many many things there were in "to live and die in starlight' that I really want to see more of.

I really want to see more of the Liandra, including her haunted past (you just know there's more to the betrayal than meets the eye), more of David single-handedly challenging some basic Ranger philosophies, more of Sarah and David interacting, and more of the rangers of the post B5 series era doing what they do best.

I have no opinion yet about "The Hand", because I know better. JMS doesn't plop down ideas like that and ever intend for them to really be what it seems they are. He's way to sneaky for that. I had my susppicions that perhaps they are the banished race from Thirdspace, but that almost seems to easy. I had my doubts that they exist at all... that would be fitting. But again, the show is about the Legend of the Rangers, not any particular foe, so I didn't try to read all too much into the Hand or their servants in the crystal-looking ships.

Having G'Kar present for the pilot was just plan fun. I enjoyed him again TREMENDOUSLY. And in his oh-so-frequent role as Ad Hoc Ambassador and friend of the Alliance, his presence was fitting in the plot. He stole every scene he was in, frankly, and had me laughing outloud. If this becomes a series, his presence would be awesome... as would the occasional cameo by any and all of the others.

So all in all, it did exactly what it was supposed to do. Make me want to see more. A LOT more.

~Kevin


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Hmmm....Interesting thoughts Iberkoski.
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Dulann: You don't solve your problems by hitting them.
David Martel: Yeah, well, it made me feel better.
 

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