Babylon 5 | S5E1 - No Compromises | Reaction

[@medusacascade]

Due to spoilers all comments are now held for review before being approved by a channel moderator. Thank you.

[@sharkdentures3247]

"You want to be President?" "Yes." "Put your hand on the book & say 'I do'." "I do." "Fine. Done. Let's eat." I LOVE that delivery! (Such great comedic timing)

[@jlvfr]

G'Kar truly had a way with words. :D

[@BryanWicks]

I don’t recall which came first (Spaceballs: The Movie, or this episode), but that style of oath taking never gets old! 😁

[@simongiles9749]

I'd like to imagine that this is how the ISA president is sworn in for ever more. (See also Terry Pratchett's "ritual of the keys" at Unseen U.)

[@donaldpaluga]

Spaceballs by at least a decade

[@terpcj]

There is often too much window-dressing, puffery, and speechifying for these things. Just do what you need to do and get on with it. It's like getting married: "Do you want to marry each other?" "We do." "Fine. You're married. Kiss each other so we can party." (It's really just about the party, anyway. Let's be real.)

[@Bucketroo]

"My people are coming." This is what Joe would say to people in charge of booking space for his Babylon 5 panels at conventions. They would opt for rooms that are too small, and Joe would tell them to get bigger rooms because "you don't understand, my people are coming."

[@mayra3277]

'The duration is going to be a lot longer than the war.' JMS understands history.

[@TheGreatGooglyMoogly430]

"At least it was polite!" That's why I love your commentary, MC :D

[@juanitajones6900]

I had forgotten how much I adore Captain Lochley. I just remembered.

[@channelwoodgrange]

The title, "No Compromises," was a subtle dig at the new broadcast situation season five was undergoing. Seasons one through four were in networkless syndication, but season five was under the American cable network TNT. "No Compromises" was JNT telling TNT he wasn't going to sacrifice the quality of the show just to satisfy network interference.

[@davidgipe997]

I love G'kar becoming the Words of Wisdom type compared to his Season one character.

[@Petrosman]

He had words of wisdom is season 1 too. "There are beings in the universe billions years older than either of our races. They are vast. Timeless. And if they even know of our existence, we're not seen as anything more than ants." "That's it? That's all you've got?" "Yes. They are a mystery. And I am both terrified and reassured that there are still wonders in the universe, that we have yet to explain. Whoever they are, they walk near Sigma 957, and they must walk there alone." I might have misquoted a little bit, tried to do it from my head.

[@Nebagram]

The character development on this show is something that all sci-fi shows should use as a guide.

[@dalegleneagles5072]

From warrior to priest, as he said himself

[@philliplozano7587]

I always thought this episode was very intriguing for the political and social complexities of the world that they built. While it's apparent that Lockley remained loyal to the Earthforce, just as not everyone who defected to John's side really defected, not everyone who served under Clarke were actually Pro -Clarke. A lot of them were just soldiers doing their jobs and following orders, which, as we saw, could get pretty complicated when the orders were terrible. But it's apparent that John considers her a person of integrity.

[@mrmedic]

Kosh2 is named Ulkesh

[@Matej_Sojka]

"I was on the side of Earth, Mr. Garibaldi. Weren´t we all?" He should have come back at her with "No, there were plenty of those who were in it for their own self-interest and even more of those who sit on sidelines waiting to cheer for the victor."

[@KBTibbs]

That is very much the sort of thing I could see Garibaldi saying, but I think only under different circumstances. I read his point as not being not about the war really at all. If you remember in "Comes the Inquisitor" Garibaldi gave G'Kar a name of a contact to help him run guns to fight the Centauri and he said, "I never start a conversation unless I know where it's going... but I always leave a little room for someone to disappoint me. Thanks for not doing that." I think he's doing the same thing here. Actually, I think he's doing two things. One, he (like Sheridan) already knows what side Lochley was on and he's using the question to gauge who she is as a person. He doesn't know or trust her. Will she lie or evade or be up front about it? He wants to know who she is. Two, he's warning/threatening her in a very soft and roundabout way, "Look. I have pull, I have authority and I have a sneaky and irritating nature. I can be a huge thorn in your side if we become enemies. Be friends."

[@chrisfraser5088]

Ah, season 5, here we go. Definitely interested in seeing your reactions!

[@rankosaotome]

Tracy Scoggins Previously played Cat Grant on Lois And Clark the New Adventures of Superman. A very different character Lol.

[@nemo99nemo83]

I guess since the Warlocks are earth alliance battleships she has to change into ea uniform if she wants to command one of those.

[@toddkes5890]

Warlocks are advanced tech warships that were designed to replace the Omega destroyers. They have better systems, artificial gravity, and unfortunately have certain poorly-understood alien tech in them as well.

[@SamGray]

Keep up the solid reactions and thoughtful evaluations. Comment No. 1.

[@BabylonLurker]

Yay! Season 5 begins. Yes! We all love G'Kar. "Do you want to be president?" "Yes!" "Put your hand on the book and say 'I do*!" "I do" "Good, we're done, let's eat!" So, we got a new station commander, well, captain Lochley. Another telepath group on the station ... How will this end? Be seeing you!

[@fakecubed]

Well we know how Kosh likes to answer that question: "In fire."

[@Poss1]

Ah! Good to see you! And with B5. My hero! Thanks. Here we go! :)

[@tulinfirenze1990]

YAY! About five months after I stopped being a subscriber because season four came to an end and there was no more B5 in sight, now, FINALLY the new season starts on here!!!!

[@nemo99nemo83]

@@jaibuilds7566 propably patreon

[@simongiles9749]

She's doing 5.13 this Thursday on Patreon. Chosen One has stalled at the start of S4 on Patreon because of some unpleasantness with a neighbour, but MC has been soldiering on.

[@tulinfirenze1990]

@JaiBuilds No - I'm talking about the Patreon feed. She reached the end of season four MONTHS back.

[@tulinfirenze1990]

@JaiBuilds There actually was a long delay between season four ending and season five starting. MC herself addressed certain issues. I gave up waiting as B5 was the only thing I was paying for. I'll probably wait until she finishes S5 and the movies and then subscribe for a month and binge them all.

[@thomasholden4797]

I think this is gonna be a fun season for you... there are two Babylon 5 movies you will need to watch before and right after the the end of this season. The first movie should be watched right before the last episode is called "A Call to Arms". The final movie is called "River of Soles". enjoy

[@TheSlipperyjimbo]

Hope you had a good Christmas, looking forward to seeing your reactions to the final season. Are you planning on watching the spin off series after this?

[@SierraSierraFoxtrot]

I can't believe Robin Atkin Downes (Byron) is only a year older than me... he does not look 22 here, but the math is straightforward. PS I mean he clearly DOES look 22, but he doesn't come off as 22...

[@Sol3UK]

Once you have watched B5, take a look at "Rowan J Coleman" channel on a Babylon 5 retrospective.

[@chriskelly3481]

Sorry to be a clueless knob, but where are people streaming this? Buggered if I can find it on more popular streaming sites here in Australia. I may have to fire up a VPN and stream it from another country.

[@peterruzak2694]

Medusa Cascade if you were given a chance to appear in a Babylon 5 Remake would you do it

[@emsleywyatt3400]

"What would Susan be wearing?" Brickbat lingerie.

[@petervenkman69]

This series is a little odd, you see the show was cancelled by PTEN, and so it was wrapped up, so season 4 and 5 squashed into one. (This is also probably why the last episode of Season 4 was a bit odd, it was a "how do we finish this now?" type thing.) Then a new station (TNT) said "we'll do the last season and movies and a spin-off" ... so Season 5 is essentially a mixture of stuff that had been cut out because of lack of time, or new stuff they came up with to make up space. So Season 5 does have some great bits, but in other places is probably one of the more disappointing series. Unfortunately Claudia Christian's contract was not renewed for Season 5. The timing of the PTEN cancellation and the TNT last minute extension, while largely made a bit of a mess, did have some positive side effects... but that is all I will say.

[@autoduck]

You got PTEN and TNT the wrong way round.

[@petervenkman69]

@@autoduck thanks for that, corrected.

[@wanderingthedesert5599]

Yeah, the problem with Season 5 is that there seems to be a lot of filler stories going on and I'm also thinking that the VFX budget took a massive hit. I won't go into details because of spoilers, but Season 5 also seems a bit weak on the overall story compared to past seasons, in part because most of the initial story for the first quarter / third of Season 5 got cut and crammed into Season 4 (the resolution to the Earth Civil War took precedence and unfortunately the Shadow War got cut, which I hate because I'm pretty sure that prior to the final battle at Coriana VI, the massive InterStellar Alliance armada being gathered was originally going to Z'Ha'dum to wage a massive battle to drive the Shadows remaining forces to other worlds. Then again, it could be more wishful thinking on my part. Regardless, Season 5 really only has two major story arcs that span multiple episodes, and some of it feels a bit drawn out and others are a bit disappointing, though I suppose that might be better discussed after the Seasons recap.

[@petervenkman69]

@@wanderingthedesert5599 I would concur.

[@stevetheduck1425]

If I could believe that this kind of c**p happens by accident. I just feel so many non-creative functionaries cannot bear to permit someone else's success.

[@erictaylor5462]

I would have written the lines, "Is it always like this?" "No, not at all. Sometimes it's really hectic." I don't agree with Lockley here. It may be true of a military command where everyone is in your direct chain of command, but most of the people on Babylon 5 are not military.

[@sergioaccioly5219]

I'll confessto mixed feelings regarding S5. I don't think it was all there, to be frank. Either JMS rushed the main plot points into S4 because he feared there wouldn't be a 5th, and as a consequence there wasn't enough left for an entire season, or he was too busy planning Crusade? Anyway, it's good in many aspects. In others...

[@Scott_Burton]

Every insight I want to share, every word I want to say, would be a spoiler, so I cannot. As short as these YT reactions are, and with everything cut as it must be, I still see in thee that which was in me, when this show aired originally. TBH this show has very few competitors in my eyes. If I had to declare an absolute #1, I am a brown coat. "I aim to misbehave." but B5 is in my top 3

[@GandalfTheWise0002]

Season 5 started off a bit slow for me. It felt directionless for a time, but then really picked up as it went along.

[@JeshuaSquirrel]

There is a multi-part explanation for that. One, season four was originally supposed to end at "Intersections in Real Time" so there were about four or five extra episodes. Two, the fifth season was green lit when Joe was at a convention. He had his notes for the season on the desk when the hotel changed his room for him, however the employees threw away his note cards. So he had to start from scratch.

[@gehrehmee]

It's kind of a fractal view into seasons 1-4 that way. It takes a while to get its footing and establish the story investments that drive the momentum towards the middle, and the ramp up, climax and resolution of the end. And like any good fractal, that's true of basically each season 😛. But it's especially true of S5 because of the cancellation/renewal JMS dealt with.

[@GandalfTheWise0002]

@@JeshuaSquirrel I watched B5 as it originally aired and was online when JMS was initially interacting with fans in the first season or so. I hadn't heard the note cards story. Given the hand he was dealt at times by various networks, it's amazing it turned out as such a unified story as it did.

[@putinscat1208]

This should be interesting..

[@RetroRobotRadio]

This is the point in Babylon 5 where I totally start to lose interest and never finish the series. I have absolutely no interest in anything to do with Lockley or Byron.

[@FJF1085]

It definitely is the weakest season I think but it does finish the story so for that it’s worth it.