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ery--i liked sinclair's speech but frankly i think we need a better reason for space travel than preserving images of marilyn monroe. i mean, what about really important human acheivements, like silly putty, and the slinky?
most b5 episodes are redeemed by a subplot that pushes forward the greater story arc. this one is among the weakest. no londo, no g'kar, no delenn, we haven't even seen lennier or na'toth yet, even through the actors are credited, and some of the hints dropped in this script never get followed up--like the fact that the icarians developed their biological tech 1,000 years ago during the shadow war (10 to 1 they got it from the shadows) and like the role IPX has played and will play in getting earthlings into trouble.
more than anything, i think this ep was a showcase for the character of dr. franklin, bringing him from the sidelines into the main storyline. the fact that earth gov hijacks the icarian technology at the end is great, but i don't think it is ever referred to again.
iz
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speaking of Lennier.....
(grins)
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Ah, yes...Lennier. So, so...innocent.
I guess it's ok to leave your seatbelts loose for the time being. Show the place, introduce the participants, let the audience get comfortable, etc. Ah, yes.
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I love Parliment of Dreams, there is so much there.
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I'm with PC. All the pieces are on the chessboard now we watch as the heat slowly begins to get cranked up.
Ery this episode ties in with Book 3 Blood Oath.
Next up is Mind War. This episode is a pretty big one, although we still haven't gotten to the "Big" episodes yet. Another one I've only seen once and can't wait to finally see it a second time.
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B5 is not in orbit but is stationed above the plaent. No idea about the distance but it is far enough that it is out of the gravitational well. The planet looks pretty big behind it, so it is close but not that close. (shrugs) I say this based on comments made in the comic book, In Valens Name. Sheridan talks about how B4 had the ability to move if needed but B5 did not. Also, we never see B5 using any type of device, like really strong thrusters to keep it in orbit.
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Part of whatr I like about Parliment of Dreams is that we see Ivanova and Sinclair lighten up a bit. I love having Catherine on the station, she brings out a side of Sinclair I am sure we would not see otherwise. Ivanova seems to be having a blast at the Centauri ritua. Then again, she is the only one who is drinking.....
I have always been fascinated with the re-birth ritual. Delenn's "And so it begins" after Sinclair eats the fruit is great.
The G'Kar sub plot is fun as well. "Pink is your color" has me rolling. I love Garibaldi (grins) And Na'toth's arrival is sooo well timed.
Lennier when he steps onto the station for the first time looks overwhelmed. I find it interesting that the Minbari find it disrespectful to look at someone stationed above you. Delenn's "I cannot have an aide bumping into things" was a nice touch.
Lennier's lack of training in the area of diplomacy and his never leaving Minbar before makes you wonder why he was choosen to work with Delenn.
So now all the players are int he picture and we are begining to get a feel for who they are and what they are about. This is my favorite episode from Season 1, mainly for that reason.
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Here's an interesting thing. I always thought B5 was located at an L5 point, which is what the Babylon 5 Security Manual says.
According to the book Creating Babylon 5 by David Bassom (with a forward by JMS), on page 9 it says that the station orbits Epsilon 3. It sure doesn't look like it's orbiting anything in any of the scenes of the station I've watched. http://www.hostboard.com/ubb/confused.gif
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Color me baffeled (shrugs)
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Then it must be in a synchronous orbit, so that it remains above the same spot on the planet at all times. Kinda like communications satelites that orbit the Earth.
If it's in orbit, it has to be in the gravitational well, Crash. Otherwise it would fly off into space. That's how orbits work. The object keeps enough angular motion to prevent it from crashing into the planet, but not enough to allow it to escape the gravity well. Mostly, if the orbit is high enough, effectively free from atmospheric drag, you don't need thrusters to keep the station in orbit. Theoretically, in a perfect vacuum, it will do that on its own forever. And does Epsilon 3 even have an atmosphere? If not, then no orbit around that planet would ever decay. At least not quickly. That crap on Star Trek about orbits decaying when the Galileo ran out of fuel was just that: crap. From the standpoint of physics anyway.
B5 has attitudinal thrusters, as we saw in The Gathering.
