What's your rewatching thoughts?

[vorlonlovechild]

Kosh teaching Sheridan before his inevitable trip to Z'ha'dum.

[RW7427]

I see little things that are new or I had forgotten about every time I watch B5.

[dreamer]

I think G'kar became a comedic figure a bit too early on - or at least showed tendencies towards it. Was it the dock workers episode where he and Londo were rushed out from C&C by Sinclair? There were a stint of episodes around these parts where G'kar's earlier established features came down. It works, but as someone who watches through this stuff many times a year, you start to think how it might be improved and expanded even - this, of course, is just me thinking out loud. Also, B5 can be a state of mind, too. To just think nothing and have it rolling on the background, remembering things and appreciating them by hearing even if you're not exactly watching the picture.

I would've liked G'kar to remain a bitter and bloodthirsty creature a bit longer. Even a villain. His journey would've been so much greater and his comedic figure should've emerged actually only after the scholar. I think he must've been the first alien creature in a tv serie who sold me the concept of warrior nation with his line of liking to "walk in the green before battle". They were what they were because of the Centauri, but can be a bit more too. Made me think of the japanese samurai in the feudal days. Savage, but deep in it.

[KoshFan]

JMS intertwined humor and tragedy a lot, to augment both of them -- if you'll recall, G'kar was comedic back in "The Gathering," too, or at least the butt of fun.

And the first sign of decency we see in him comes very early: "Mind War."

[dreamer]

Originally Posted by KoshFan

JMS intertwined humor and tragedy a lot, to augment both of them -- if you'll recall, G'kar was comedic back in "The Gathering," too, or at least the butt of fun.

And the first sign of decency we see in him comes very early: "Mind War."

Yeah, I'm just saying since it's the topic here. I would've really loved G'kar to be a villain - it would've been so easy to justify his constant meddlings, since he is an ambassador and B5 is an political stage also. I believe JMS if anyone could've cooked up a story for the viewers not to question about how the good guys don't simply just get rid of the baddies. Stuff that you generally think with most series where the good guys seem to be incapable of dealing with the baddies once and for all, for no apparent reason other than to stretch things on.

[Lurker_Steve]

I started rewatching B5 about a month ago, and this time around I've started to notice some logic gaps in some of the stories that don't quite make sense.

For example, in "The Gathering" we're suppose to believe that there is a conspiracy to assassinate Kosh involving a human weapons smuggler, the Narn, a Minbari warrior sect, and the Psi Corp (Laurel Takashima was running interference--she was the original "Control"). Okay, I can buy that the human smuggler Del Varner is simply a hired hand. But what about the Narn, the Minbari, and the Psi Corp? What compels these various factions to work together? What did they hope to gain by eliminating the ambassador to a very powerful and mysterious race?

I realize that once the series was launched, this particular plot point was abandoned, but I still wonder how JMS would have explained this conspiracy had he continued it.

[vacantlook]

It's interesting to consider the assassination plot of "The Gathering" with information contained within the Babylon 5 flyer, which was a promotional item from back before the show went into production. In it, about the Vorlons, it says:

The secretive Vorlons are a group not to be trusted. A massive power struggle is going on among their upper echelons where advancement is only accomplished by assassination. They seek to eliminate the Earth Alliance and solidify themselves as heads of the Empire.

[Raw Shark]

Weird, I had not heard of that flyer before. A very early indication that the Vorlons were immortal. I just sort of wrote off the assassination plot as another clunky item from 'The Gathering,' there are so many. If that had been the first thing I'd seen for B5, I don't think I would have watched again, though I enjoy it now. I'm so glad it was considered an experiment, and things improved from there.

When I have considered the plot, I kind of figured the Wind Swords were the only ones with all the pieces of the puzzle, they wanted the Vorlons to annihilate Earth. They would probably have convinced G'kar to come in on it with a vague promise of future alliance. And Varner was a tech runner, doing jobs for the money, no questions asked, he wouldn't be hard. As for Takashima and the Psi Corps, that I cannot explain. They don't seem to like aliens, so I have not yet thought of any reason they would participate. And I imagine it would be hard to gain their cooperation by lying to them.

Most likely it was just one of those things that didn't work well early on and got jettisoned.

Raw Shark

"Can you fly, Bobby?"
Clarence Boddicker, Robocop

[GaribaldisHair]

Originally Posted by Raw Shark

They would probably have convinced G'kar to come in on it with a vague promise of future alliance.

I think the series has demonstrated quite well that he Narns will sell anything to anyone for any reason as long as the price is right. That being the case, I don't really see there is any need to look for other reasons for the Narn involvement.

[vorlonlovechild]

Just Watched Ship of Tears - the part where Gkar confronts Ivanova about being allowed into Sheridans alliance. He refers to Space and Time being circular so that eventually everything comes back on itself. I wondered if that is the very core of B5. Maybe everything does repeat itself. Circular Reasoning I know.

Take for example the Vorlons and the Rangers.

The rangers badge has one silver figure and one gold figure - said to represent the humans and minbari. When Kosh fights Kosh, one silver and one yellow.

Coincidence?