Ninja_Squirrel
Regular
One thing about TKO that doesn't make sense...
Humans are not allowed in the Mutai, but why? There are references in the episode to some kind of suffering and bloodshed that is shared among the races of the Mutari. That makes me wonder which races are Mutari and which ones aren't Murati.
Can the Centauri participate, or the Minbari? Is it mostly just a League of Non-Aligned Worlds thing, and if so, why didn't they just say that? Let's just say that all non-Human races--even the Minbari & Centauri--can participate, then what is the one thing that makes Humans unworthy.
If it has to do with strength or fighting skill, that's pretty weak. It's an old sci-fi cliche that aliens are usually stronger than Humans, but it would be going too far to say Humans are the weakest of them all. And as far as fighting skills, the alien fighting methods don't seem that different from Humans, and most of the races still have two feet, two fists, and two eyes to work with, just like Humans.
On the other hand, if the Mutai is for the League (or the younger, less widespread races, in general), shouldn't they have more respect for Humans since it was Earth that helped the League survive the Dilgar War? I would say that the Dilgar War would count as common bloodshed that might qualify Humans for the honor of being Mutari.
I guess I'm just looking for deeper meaning behind something that looks kind of cliche. It just seems too easy, in terms of making the story sympathetic to the viewer, to make the issue a Human vs. non-Human thing. If it were explained that some other races are also not allowed, or if there were some specific reason given that Humans are out, then I could deal with that.
Think about it this way... If we were all Drazi, on the Drazi homeworld, watching a Drazi-written episode of a Drazi-produced TV show about a Drazi space station of peace in neutral territory, would this same episode have been about Drazi not being allowed in the Mutari, or would it still be about some alien race known as Humans not being allowed in?
That's one thing that sets B5 apart from a lot of sci-fi shows, especially Star Trek. In Trek, humans are the mack-daddies and the story is all about us; the aliens are just thrown in as oddities that make Humans look that much more normal, righteous, and well-rounded. However, B5 really is about Minbari, Centauri, Narns, Vorlons, and Shadows almost as much as it is about Humans, and all those races are treated seriously. Humans are just a part of the tapestry, and we're not the most powerful things around (even if, thanks to our main characters, we do end up being pretty important in the grand scheme of things).
The story about the Mutai just kind of falls short of that vision. It's portrayed as an all-alien thing, Humans being wrongly and apparantly singularly prohibited, and no real reason is given. If Humans were allowed in, but the Llort or Hyach weren't, we as Humans watching the episode probably wouldn't care about the discrimination. That's a good justification for how we, as Humans, should feel watching the episode as it is written but not good enough justification for writing it that way in the first place.
The Mutai still ended up being somewhat interesting, but I just wish there were details on who's in, who's out, and why.
Humans are not allowed in the Mutai, but why? There are references in the episode to some kind of suffering and bloodshed that is shared among the races of the Mutari. That makes me wonder which races are Mutari and which ones aren't Murati.
Can the Centauri participate, or the Minbari? Is it mostly just a League of Non-Aligned Worlds thing, and if so, why didn't they just say that? Let's just say that all non-Human races--even the Minbari & Centauri--can participate, then what is the one thing that makes Humans unworthy.
If it has to do with strength or fighting skill, that's pretty weak. It's an old sci-fi cliche that aliens are usually stronger than Humans, but it would be going too far to say Humans are the weakest of them all. And as far as fighting skills, the alien fighting methods don't seem that different from Humans, and most of the races still have two feet, two fists, and two eyes to work with, just like Humans.
On the other hand, if the Mutai is for the League (or the younger, less widespread races, in general), shouldn't they have more respect for Humans since it was Earth that helped the League survive the Dilgar War? I would say that the Dilgar War would count as common bloodshed that might qualify Humans for the honor of being Mutari.
I guess I'm just looking for deeper meaning behind something that looks kind of cliche. It just seems too easy, in terms of making the story sympathetic to the viewer, to make the issue a Human vs. non-Human thing. If it were explained that some other races are also not allowed, or if there were some specific reason given that Humans are out, then I could deal with that.
Think about it this way... If we were all Drazi, on the Drazi homeworld, watching a Drazi-written episode of a Drazi-produced TV show about a Drazi space station of peace in neutral territory, would this same episode have been about Drazi not being allowed in the Mutari, or would it still be about some alien race known as Humans not being allowed in?
That's one thing that sets B5 apart from a lot of sci-fi shows, especially Star Trek. In Trek, humans are the mack-daddies and the story is all about us; the aliens are just thrown in as oddities that make Humans look that much more normal, righteous, and well-rounded. However, B5 really is about Minbari, Centauri, Narns, Vorlons, and Shadows almost as much as it is about Humans, and all those races are treated seriously. Humans are just a part of the tapestry, and we're not the most powerful things around (even if, thanks to our main characters, we do end up being pretty important in the grand scheme of things).
The story about the Mutai just kind of falls short of that vision. It's portrayed as an all-alien thing, Humans being wrongly and apparantly singularly prohibited, and no real reason is given. If Humans were allowed in, but the Llort or Hyach weren't, we as Humans watching the episode probably wouldn't care about the discrimination. That's a good justification for how we, as Humans, should feel watching the episode as it is written but not good enough justification for writing it that way in the first place.
The Mutai still ended up being somewhat interesting, but I just wish there were details on who's in, who's out, and why.
