Speculations of a sleepy Shadow...

[Kribu]

Some more speculations and questions, after viewing the huge full-screen version (and I did catch a lot more details this time).

This new bluish alien - Minister Kafta? - seems to be not of the ancient enemy race itself, right? Because he says "They have left a thousand worlds..." - would this indicate that he's perhaps of a servant/minion race who works for the ancient enemy or at least is on their side?

He doesn't seem to be a "good guy", at least not from the interaction between him and David.

Which leads to another question - does the ship taking fire at second 16 - the one with three protrusions - belong to his race, not to the ancient enemy? Or is that some other race being destroyed by the enemy?

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"It's animal magnetism. What can I say?"
- G'Kar, A Tragedy of Telepaths
The One and Only True Kribu Board

 

[Delenn_is_a_hotty]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Elenopa:
Just downloaded the trailer, so I haven't had time to absorb everything.

One thing I will speculate on. That yawning Ranger at sec 46. I think he is a ghost, one of the crew that were found dead. The reason? He's wearing the original Ranger uniform. Trust me on this, I make my own costumes.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think you're right.
I just thought to put the first trailer under careful scrutiny as well.

So I made a quicktime movie out of it and then started studying it. And sure enough these ghosts are shown in it twice.

They seem to disappear, and possibly appear, in flashes of light and smoke. I converted a few of the frames showing these ghosts to images and will be taking them into photoshop to see if I can clear up some detail concerning their uniforms.

Well after a lot of fiddling all I can really make out are Ranger pins on their uniforms.

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--Never argue with an
idiot. They will drag you
down to their level and
then beat you with
experience.--

[This message has been edited by Delenn_is_a_hotty (edited October 10, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Delenn_is_a_hotty (edited October 10, 2001).]

 

[Delenn_is_a_hotty]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>quote:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oddly enough the rectangular ships swarming around it look like raider fighters.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

If it was the Valen, they may have been shuttles or lifepods (either leaving or being ejected from the ship).<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I don't think so Lennier. You see that ship destroying one of the triangle Raider like vessels at the 27 sec mark.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Which leads to another question - does the ship taking fire at second 16 - the one with three protrusions - belong to his race, not to the ancient enemy? Or is that some other race being destroyed by the enemy?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I still think it is the Valen because of the color of the beam weapons shown at the 27 sec mark. Remember when the Drakh had the Centauri destroying the other races vessels and Franklin brought up the evidence about the different races weapons and why they were certain colors. And green is the color of Minbari weapons including the whitestars. Which raises the question about the similarity between green Minbari weapons and green vorlon weapons. I would wager the Minbari were given some weapon tech by the Vorlons during the last great war. The Minbari's beam weapon does seem a lot more powerful than any of the other races.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>This new bluish alien - Minister Kafta? - seems to be not of the ancient enemy race itself, right? Because he says "They have left a thousand worlds..." - would this indicate that he's perhaps of a servant/minion race who works for the ancient enemy or at least is on their side?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
You may be right here too. The dialog does fit. Perhaps the triangular ships are of his race.

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--Never argue with an
idiot. They will drag you
down to their level and
then beat you with
experience.--

 

[B5_Obsessed]

The ship taking fire is most certainly the Valen. Its design is definitely Minbari, combining elements of the Nial fighters (three protrusions) and the giant Sharlin cruisers (a tail-like structure on the back).

The ships attacking it look like Raiders, albeit with a black paint job. I don't know what the other ship is that gets destroyed, but in the scene where we see it taking off, the front looks a lot like the front of an Omega Destroyer.

So here's one possibility:

COULD BE A SPOILER (if right):


<table bgcolor=black><tr><td bgcolor=black><font size=1 color=white>Spoiler:</font></td></tr><tr><td><font size=2 color=black>
Minister Kafta comes from a primitive spacefaring race that has recently joined the IA. As part of the bargain, they have been the recipient of Earth technology such as Raider-class atmospheric attack fighters - presumably with Command and Control ships, and even components of larger ships like Omegas (that Omega-like ship might even be the C&C ship) to build up their spacefaring trade and defensive capabilities.

Note, however, that they didn't give them the top of the line stuff (although they may have been given artificial gravity).

Now comes the imminent return of the enemy known as "The Hand". Whether for religious purposes (they may be their gods) or in the pursuit of faster wealth and power, Kafta plots against the IA to have the Valen, and all the dignitaries on it, destroyed. The Raider ships are somehow successful, which would suggest that he or his people may have internally sabotaged the Valen as well.

The Liandra intercedes and rescues at least some of the people from the Valen. Eventually, Kafta's plot is discovered and Martell introduces his ugly-ass head to the nearest bulkhead.

If that Omega-like ship is from Kafta's race, then at some point "The Hand" turns on them, because one of the "space amoeba snowflakes" ends up destroying it.

I may have to concur on the Ranger ghost theory too. when the first trailer came out, I mentioned that we did indeed have a ghost sighting. I noticed yesterday that the "yawning man" was wearing an original Ranger uniform, but didn't get to wrtie about it. So the chances are high.

Still, with a Changeling net onboard and the similarity of the effect to the malfunctioning net in "The Gathering" I won't completely discount the possibility that we are seeing another net in use. The Valen may be staffed with Rangers in traditional uniforms, and Bridges may be disguising himself to covertly snoop on the people they've brought onboard.

I figure the ghost thing will be a tease. I don't think we'll see more than a few glimpses of them in this film just to plant the seeds for events in Season 1 (we hope).
</font></td></tr></table>



Happy speculating.




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"When something we value is destroyed, we rebuild it. If it's destroyed again we rebuild it again. And again, and again, and again. Until it stays. "
~Jeffrey Sinclair

 

[Kribu]

Or freaking because we're picking one minute of footage apart second-by-second, looking for clues in the most minute details...

Heck, I'm starting to scare myself by doing that!

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"It's animal magnetism. What can I say?"
- G'Kar, A Tragedy of Telepaths
The One and Only True Kribu Board

 

[B5_Obsessed]

I imagine they're probably beginning to feel very sorry for us....

..and getting new deadlocks installed.



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"When something we value is destroyed, we rebuild it. If it's destroyed again we rebuild it again. And again, and again, and again. Until it stays. "
~Jeffrey Sinclair

 

[Quagmire]

Probably wondering if there is someone hiding in the bushes too.

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"Yeah, we could start our own game where people throw ducks at balloons and nothing's the way it seems."-Homer

 

[Nukemall]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR> Probably wondering if there is someone hiding in the bushes too. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks... now I've got to find somewhere else to hide. ;-)

Regards

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You still say there's nothing to chaos theory?

 

[Galahad]

I was just wondering about the ghost thing! By the way I have not as yet seen the trailer!

<table bgcolor=black><tr><td bgcolor=black><font size=1 color=white>Spoiler:</font></td></tr><tr><td><font size=2 color=black>If there is a mystery about what happened to the Liandra's original crew, and the suspicion of haunting, maybe the vessel is related in some way to the events leading up to the trapping of the Hand in alternate dimensions. Or perhaps they have had a brush with them through some abnormality in space. The point I'm getting at is, maybe they aren't dead at all, maybe they are trapped in the other dimension too, yet somehow bound to the Liandra. In fact, what if some inner circle Ranger, knows of the Liandra's past in detail, and sent it on the mission purposefully </font></td></tr></table>

All mad musings but see what you make of them!

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"We Live for the One. We die for the One!"

 

[bakana]

Now, if we REALLY want to frighten the actors, I could relate the story of author "James Tiptree Jr."

When Tiptree began writing, her stories so impressed fans that Convention organizers began sending invitations to be a Guest. Tiptree always responded with polite refusals.

After a while, people began to realize that No One had ever actually SEEN Tiptree in person. Her editors had only a Post Office box as an address.

Fans being fans, a group of them decided to Track Down this shy person. They located the PO Box and began watching it. At first, only Casually. Then, when they realized that letters which they had Seen in the box had Disappeared while they were watching, they got Serious. Reports are that they staked out the Post Office and kept the box under 24 hour surveilance for two WEEKS.

Unsuccessfully. Letters were mailed, appeared in the box and later Disappeared without them ever seeing Anyone open the box.

After two weeks, they admitted that Tiptree was either smarter, sneakier or Both than they were and gave up.


Several years later, it was finally revealed that "James Tiptree Jr." was, in reality the pseudonym of Alice B. Sheldon, a writer who spent most of her life working for the Central Intelligence Agency and other secret agencies of the U.S. Government.

http://www.Catch22.com/SF/ARB/SFT/Tiptree,James.php3

contains a list of her fiction and links to other sites about her.

She's a fascinating woman. Daughter of Missionary parents, she once wrote that, at the age of 4, her babysitter was a practicing Cannibal. Traveled widely, worked for the CIA, Doctorate in Psychology, Wrote some of the Best SF of the last 50 years.

When she & her husband were in their 70s, he became terminally ill and they comitted suicide together.



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Yes, I like cats too.
Shall we exchange Recipes?

 

[Elenopa]

A thought has just occured to me.

Here we are speculating on the movie, in a place where we know the actors are lurking.

I wonder if they are laughing because we are completely wrong;

Or are they freaking because we are right?

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Ranger Elenopa

"You can get more with a kind word and a two by four, than you can with just a kind word"

 

[An'la_Shok_Neo]

Hello All,

Facinating speculation, facinating. I think it would be wonderful to see if B5:LotR spawns a series, or even a really good novel trilogy like the Psi-corps and Londo/Centari Prime books (I forget there names ^__^.


I'm probably the only B5 afficianado that likes Japanese Animation like Princess Monoke, Vampire Hunter D:Bloodlust, Spriggan, Hakkenden, Ghost in the Shell, Techi Muyo, and Inu Yasha, Record of Lodoss War, Gundam Wing. Not all Anime is dumbed down, dubbed crud mainstreamed and brightly packege junk. Sorry for getting off topic. Well Viva B5, Viva Legend of the Rangers. Peace.


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...Reflection, Surprise, Terror, For the Future.

 

[crazybillyo]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR> I'm probably the only B5 afficianado that likes Japanese Animation like Princess Monoke, Vampire Hunter D:Bloodlust, Spriggan, Hakkenden, Ghost in the Shell, Techi Muyo, and Inu Yasha, Record of Lodoss War, Gundam Wing. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Nope. There are a few others around. Heard others talking about it now and then.

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Sheridan: Are you trying to cheer me up?
Ivanova: No sir, wouldn't dream of it.
Sheridan: Good, I hate being cheered up. It's depressing.
Ivanova: So in that case we're all going to die horrible, painful, lingering deaths.
Sheridan: Thank you, I feel so much better now.

 

[drakh]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by An'la_Shok_Neo:
I'm probably the only B5 afficianado that likes Japanese Animation<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I'm not that "into" anime, though I did enjoy Ghost in the Shell and Princess Monoke quite a bit.

I've also been checking out Ranma 1/2 due to the presence of a certain Myriam Sirois in the English dub, and have to say damn funny. It seems like early Ally McBeal... on drugs. Lots of complex relationships, wierd characters, and really strange plots.

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You are not entitled to your own opinion. You are only entitled to your own informed opinion.
-- Harlan Ellison qouting Gustave Flaubert

 

[bakana]

Personally, My favorite Anime are: most of Miyazaki's works, Kenshin, Lupin III and "Graveyard of the Fireflies".



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Yes, I like cats too.
Shall we exchange Recipes?

 

[Galahad]

I loved Star Fleet: X Bomber, that was a mad puppet series made by Japanese anime producers, it really rocked and the production values were high for what it was. Everyone use to pretend to be the big robot Dai X at school. It had absolutely nothing to do with Star Trek, and if the rangers flew X Bomber they'd have some serious ammo on their side, but it's another universe entirely!

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"We Live for the One. We die for the One!"