Brent Watches No Compromises - Babylon 5 For the First Time | 05x01 | Reaction

[@Belbecat]

I reckon Lochley did an amazing job threading the needle of being someone who could replace Ivanova without being the same character while still having many of the same traits.

[@Evil0tto]

I have the feeling that that became the president's oath for the next million years. "Do you want to be president? Put your hand on the book and say 'I do.'" Followed by "Fine, done, let's eat."

[@simongiles9749]

Yes, it's a little reminiscent of The Ritual of the Keys in Terry Pratchett's Unseen University.

[@jatkinson85]

@iles9749Makes an overexagerated pat down of robes... "DAMN! I KNEW I HAD THEM A MINUTE AGO!"

[@Karthos1000]

"G'kar, he's so sweet," Did you EVER think you would say that in Season 1?

[@SirMarshalHaig]

Not a chance and that is o great

[@paulholloway7666]

"I already think I got this girl figured out - I really do." I was drinking a cup of coffee when you said that. I snorted it out of my nose.

[@jonjohns8145]

About the Hanging Socks thing: Sheridan doesn't do that ritual every day, He did this before he Launched his campaign to take on President Clark because that was an endeavor that could get him killed. Remember, the point of the Socks is to have something to get back to so that you don't get killed. You would only do that when you embark on an adventure where you might not come back. Thus Delenn would not have seen these socks before because Sheridan has never gone off on a mission he thought he might get killed in before,

[@la_scrittice_vita]

While this is true, it is also basic "how to be told a story" that stories are about _the day something happens,_ and the raised-on-Cinema Sins generation's "why this now" that amounts to ordinary storytelling (or sometines editing) is the most childish bullsh*t that should be smacked down hard whenever it rears its ugly head.

[@suncore598]

The way I see it, Garibaldi's protectiveness of Sheridan is not only out of friendship but a need for atonement for his actions last season as well.

[@AuspexAO]

Delenn walking out of that meeting like, "Ooookay, but whoever kills you I'm gonna genocide their species!"

[@charlesmaurer6214]

Actually Abe was shot before the civil war was fully over. Yes it had been won with Lee's surrender but a Naval fight remained off Alaska and some conflicts continued in areas like TX. Aside a few outlaws it was wrapped up within months.

[@t3amtomahawk]

I enjoy how Brent acknowledged that Sheridan jumps over her head immediately. Great soldier... diplomat/politician? We'll see. 😬

[@loka7783]

On that thought, it makes sense to me that he'd make a few mistakes, especially early on. Heck I'd even wager that he appointed Ivonova to handle the diplomacy simply because he knew he'd make mistakes. At the time those mistake might have undermined his credibility but now he's likely feeling much safer.

[@Baulderstone1]

I really like the management observations Brent makes. One of the great things about Babylon 5 is that underneath the science-fiction elements, it is a solid workplace show. Like original Star Trek, it feels like these are real people doing real job, which grounds things. Something I struggle with in the more recent Star Trek movies and TV shows is that element has been lost.

[@Muck006]

It is a POLITICAL decision though ... to let the telepaths create a colony (although there should be enough habitable planets for some "telepath Amish" to move to, but that would completely eliminate the drama).

[@SteveMND]

Regarding how easy it was for the guy to just walk into the alien sector: the alien sector is just another normal part of the station; the only difference is the base atmosphere. Access isn't restricted or anything that I'm aware of; you don't need a special permit to walk around in it any more than you would to walk around any other public corridor in B5.

[@busdriverbuddha]

Which is curious. You'd think that the alien sector would have a secured area for ambassadors, just like the green sector is secured.

[@SteveMND]

@@busdriverbuddha Well, technically, the so-called 'alien sector' is actually just a sub-division OF Green Sector, which is the ambassadorial 'wing' of B5, so if this guy could get into Green Sector in the first place, he could theoretically get into the alien sector without any further fuss. Given that Green also includes things like the hydroponics and the zen garden, etc., I always kind of saw it as more like a bunch of embassies on a city street as opposed to a cordoned-off area that requires a certain security level to enter. Probably more guards and such keeping an eye on everything, of course, but even if it is somehow restricted, a "professional infiltrator" like this guy would theoretically be able to get in without too much trouble.

[@busdriverbuddha]

​@@SteveMNDBut we know that Green Sector is restricted. Remember when security tried to detain the Minbari captain in "Points of Departure".

[@SteveMND]

@@busdriverbuddha Fair enough. I seem to recall a lot of people milling about near the ambassador rooms in later seasons that didn't seem like they'd fit that sort of profile, but I guess they might have all been pre-screened or something. Regardless, he could still have gotten in using 'professional infiltrator' skills, so it's not a noteworthy oddity as far as I see.

[@simongiles9749]

"He's a trained infiltrator", to quote Garibaldi describing Clemens. Maybe he didn't "just walk in"?

[@Psi105]

I would imagine Delenn has seen the socks many many times but never asked John about them out of respect. To not show undue curiosity as the Minbari would put it. But eventually she probably had to ask after seeing them for the 200th time.

[@praiha]

B5 moves to TNT, and the first scene with Sheridan has a wrestlibg reference (Sergeant Slaughter). Never realized this before.

[@duaneswab3420]

Tracy Scoggins, the actress portraying Elizabeth Lochley, memorably played Cat Grant the Gossip Columnist on Season One of Lois & Clark: the New Adventures of Superman in 1994-1995. The question is why does Sheridan trust her implicitly operating the Station, without checking which side of the Civil War she supported?

[@miggymyers66]

You gotta check out Last, Best Babylon 5 Podcast on this episode. The riffing on the cadre of telepaths is top notch.

[@hornorsilk2901]

The actress who played Lochley was one I had seen in many other shows, so I already had a more positive connection to her than some fans; it made it easier for me to adjust to her, especially in her early episodes.

[@Nikioko]

Tracy Scoggins.

[@hornorsilk2901]

@@Nikiokoright. I knew her from Lois and Clark, but also saw her in other things like the A-Team

[@stuartwald2395]

@@hornorsilk2901 And like so many others from B5, she also appeared on DS9.

[@chrisnielsen9885]

@@hornorsilk2901 I think I would have murdered someone if they forced me to sit through an episode of Lois and Clark so for me I had never seen her before and my reactions to her were 100% a result of her performance on here. I quite like her even if she sounds like she's trying a bit hard to be tough when she speaks

[@jonjohns8145]

@@stuartwald2395 I first saw her as a series Regular on "The Colbys" .. a Mid 80s Soap Opera in the style of Dynasty that actually starred Charlton Heston.

[@StephenCole1916]

Claudia's agent had asked for too much money when the show was unexpectedly renewed for season 5. They turned down that request and the agent thought they'd just have to sit and wait for awhile, then when they went back to say, ok, how much will you give us, JMS had already written her out of the show and had written in the new Captain Lochley character and cast Tracy Scoggins in that role. (From what I remember)

[@BabylonLurker]

I love G'Kar. His dedication to everything he does is great. A great piece of art, this declaration. I have a copy of it on the wall of my living room.. 65! Be seeing you!

[@Henrik_Holst]

Sheridan didn't immediately override her, he made it clear that if the question was political or a decision on behalf of the alliance then he would call the shot, deciding to give asylum to telepaths is clearly both political and a matter for the alliance.

[@stephengray1344]

Yes, it's more of a political decision than an administrative one. But Lockley's already said no, so it is - by definition - Sheridan overriding her.

[@Henrik_Holst]

@@stephengray1344 well since it's political perhaps she should have either asked Sheridan or forwarded the task to him.

[@ScreamingDoom]

16:25 - Because JMS absolutely HATED (and probably still does) cute kids and robots in TV. So he resolved to make sure that any time a child appeared on screen, they would die, preferably horribly. Teenagers have the option of just getting badly hurt or mentally scarred (like what happened with those two runaway Centauri in Season 1).

[@edwardhuggins84]

Not true, for example, Alisa Beldon from season 1 episode Legacies

[@simongiles9749]

@@edwardhuggins84 Written by DC Fontana, not JMS.

[@edwardhuggins84]

@simongiles9749 irrelevant as one of the shows Executive producers he would of had to ok the episode

[@ScreamingDoom]

@@edwardhuggins84Alisa Beldon was both: 1) A teenager (Talia mentions specifically that often times the psi talent blooms during puberty) 2) Had been mentally scarred (both by losing her family and ending up as a Lurker and by looking into Na'Toth). Plus, the episode was written by DC Fontana as had been mentioned. ETA: Though there IS one example of a cute kid being seen and not horribly killed in B5; I forget which episode, but when Franklin is in Down Below in the throes of withdrawal, there is a family from Earth touring the station. They have a little girl there who Franklin briefly interacts with. As far as we see, nothing bad happens to the little girl. Of course, she and her family ARE in Down Below, so I like to assume that JMS planned a scene where after they walked away from Franklin they were immediately jumped by Lurkers and brutally murdered. Budget and time just didn't allow for his full vision of child killing to be realized.

[@ericclayton6287]

Looking at Mira’s face during the inauguration I have a feeling that was an improv between Sheridan and G’kar .

[@yumyumpodcast]

Lochley is good, actually! Love her being this uptight lady that cannot tolerate Garibaldi and it's very funny that she tells him to go get a job.

[@katieprice4989]

Lochley is the best

[@dalesharp9953]

Tracey played a Cardassian in an episode of DS9

[@babybalrog]

You can know what season a B5 episode is from just by Garibaldi's hair. At this point he's given up and is just shaving it.

[@la_scrittice_vita]

To address why children don't fare well, it comes down to JMS's rule in relation to the rest of TV Sci-fi at the time: No kids or cute robots (that are child surrogates). No "Junior Ghostbusters" that consultants wanted to add to any show that would take a meeting. JMS was writing a show _for adults_ when networks did not understand what that actually meant. So when a child does appear it a) is there to serve the story only and b) the door closes behind them to head off that junior ghostbusters idea.

[@lennyvalentin6485]

I always did like Lochley, she's a straight shooter, and fundamentally, her heart is in the right place. I feel a lot of the negativity from certain people towards her was misdirected because Claudia Christian left the show and they didn't like someone coming in to take her place - personally I find reasoning like that irrational. Claudia/Ivanova was awesome, you can like her/them just as much while still enjoying Lochley also. I mean, you can love Star Trek AND Babylon 5, and you can love pie AND cake; there's no inherent contradictions here. Lochley will have an interesting arch during this season and like with Ezri Dax on Deep Space Nine we get to learn stuff about her, and she also gets room to grow. It will be great. :)

[@TheRobertLcollins]

Glad to hear you're liking Lockley. Tracy Scoggins got a lot of hate back in the day. I warmed to the character more after my second rewatch several years ago.

[@SSGranor]

It's a similar thing to how the fan reaction to Nicole de Boer was pretty hostile at the time. Coming in in the last season of a long-running show and replacing a very loved character is a tough gig. And, I think, both Captain Lochley and Ezri Dax have ended up better appreciated in retrospect, once fans were able to separate them from the emotions around the losses of Ivanova and Jadzia.

[@Babylon5FortheFirstTime]

Ezri staying on DS9 never made sense to me. I like the character, but I think it would have made much more sense for her to decide to not stay on the station. She needed to forge her own new path and new life with the new host. It made all the sense in the world why she would seek out Ben Sisko snd be part of his journey in those first bunch of episodes. She could have easily been recurring. But staying on the station never sat well with me. Less is more in this case. We’ll see how Lochley does.

[@Babylon5FortheFirstTime]

Also, I’m not sure they were using Ivanova very well in recent seasons. So we’ll see

[@daveofyorkshire301]

Delenn never stayed in his quarters, only hers. That way she never saw his regiment of hanging socks in the bath... The missed canon was his quarters had a shower not a bath, his first episode on board Babylon 5 - no vibro-shower, real water... Why would they allow a bath onboard when water recycling was so important. If a shower was so rare, a bath would be unheard of.

[@Nikioko]

Here comes Gary Baldy.

[@Jennifer_Elliott]

😂😂😂

[@Nikioko]

Funnily, Mega called Lochley “Discount Ivanova” and Byron “Discount Marcus”. I think that is so true. 🤣

[@sharkdentures3247]

"Good. Done. Let's eat!" - One of my all-time FAVORITE G'kar lines ever! (such great comedic delivery) And yeah, I never much liked Lochley (nor the actress that plays her). I don't "hate" her, just not "fond" of her either.

[@neilbiggs1353]

Any thoughts on the new theme music for the show? Not sure if you'll save it for the season 5 wrap up, but a discussion on the favourite B5 opening music might be fun. Lochley does have a fairly unique voice. I don't think it gets grating though

[@kirishima638]

I believe they skip all the intros because someone told them they contain spoilers.

[@SirMarshalHaig]

I wonder, why not get the telepaths to Minbar? The Minbari have a relaxed relationship with their telepaths, so maybe it would be the perfect path to introduce humans to.

[@loka7783]

A game I like to think about during this season is Lochley's reaction similar to what Ivonova would have done? The hostility towards Garabaldi for instance. I think Ivonova wouldn't likely have let the man into the room without a word from Sherridan.

[@stephengray1344]

The same here. I suspect the biggest differences would have been in the telepath colony arc. I think that would have worked much better if she was still there.

[@sdfried4877]

@@stephengray1344 If Ivanova had stayed, she would have been the one to allow the teeps to stay.

[@hyloguy6847]

Before Babylon 5 even started, JMS promised that one rule on the show would be "No kids or cute robots - ever!" He knew fans wanted to hear that, because in those days, science fiction on American television did not get a lot of respect from studios or networks, and would invariably feature annoying cute robots and/or insufferably precocious kids, because they viewed both the material and the audience as juvenile. It was a wasteland compared to today. B5 was revolutionary in its respect for its audience. We later learned that the collorary to this rule was that if there ever *was* a kid character on the show, that kid would be dead by the end of the episode; hence preserving the integrity of JMS' promise. 😆

[@GeneralDingo]

Have fun with season 5, lol. Not gonna sugar coat it, you're in for some rough times.

[@stuartriddell2461]

It takes half a season to get in gear, but when it does: oh yes. I do love the parts dealing with a certain aide though.

[@wanderingthedesert5599]

I'm not sure what to make of how you guys will react going forward in Season 5. I really want to comment more, but I feel like anything, and I mean anything, like giving my overall take on the season, would be tantamount to a soft spoiler because I have to remember back when I was 14 years old watching this, I had no idea what to expect outside of what was given as possible foreshadowing at the end of Season 4.

[@Babylon5FortheFirstTime]

It would be. Sit back and join us over the next bunch of episodes. Let them happen as they do. Tell us your first experience as you did each episode

[@wanderingthedesert5599]

@@Babylon5FortheFirstTime That's fair enough. I think that if I were to analyze this episode ONLY in the context of what was seen from the perspective of air date, this is certainly a tough episode to write, and what I mean by that is consider that since S4 was written to be a series finale, we're almost dealing with a soft reboot, a reintroduction as to what Babylon 5 is, along with a new station commander, the difference being from S2E1 is that it was continuing plot threads from S1 while introducing a new lead actor as the station commander. While I don't think that this is my favorite season opener (in fact it's probably my least favorite), I have to give JMS some kudos for the continuity established as for keeping the aftermath of the Earth Civil War very much at the forefront and that not everybody is onboard. Captain Lockley does take some getting used to, though I don't think that is Tracy Scoggins' fault. It's kind of a weird start to bring on a major new character and have to establish them... while in the Final Act of a Five Part Play. With that said, I think that she is very much a part of the Babylon 5 cast family and a worthy addition.

[@JamesC1981]

lol cool you have the complete opposite reaction from Mega towards Lochley

[@Babylon5FortheFirstTime]

Not the first time that’s happened

[@hemmojito]

Alright I've been silent about this for months now. I didn't wanna say anything but I gotta finally come out and say it. It bugs me too much: What is this wet sock thing about; John?

[@skumleren]

S5 has a bit lesser overall storyline imo, but it has some of the best episodes here and there, and ofc, plenty of gkar and londo!

[@Smileybeeblevrox]

TSO is great! Trans-Siberian Orchestra should be respected. Lol!

[@Babylon5FortheFirstTime]

Love, but TSO is just 80’s hair rockers playing Christmas music. And they’re awesome!

[@Gregory11811]

I have a feeling Jeff will not like this episode. A bit of a spoiler: an upcoming episode of this season was written by Neil Gaiman, author of “The Sandman” and “Coraline”.

[@Macilmoyle]

And also where JMS got the name for the Gaim.

[@dargron7614]

@@Macilmoyle And the design of their helmets.

[@ryhanon7]

I really liked Lochley's introduction in this episode but she began to grate on my nerves pretty quickly as the season progressed. She'll never be as bad as Byron and his telepaths though - that entire thing is hokey beyond belief.

[@busdriverbuddha]

Please delete this comment. This is a spoiler.

[@ryhanon7]

@@busdriverbuddha No. It's not a spoiler at all. You need to relax. There's literally *nothing* I revealed in my comment that they don't already know from watching this episode - except that I don't particularly like the storyline that will unfold - and my personal opinion about it is not only not a spoiler but really doesn't even matter.

[@busdriverbuddha]

It's been FOUR SEASONS. They say every episode that they don't want to know ANYTHING ABOUT ANYTHING moving forward. I have no idea why it's so difficult for you people to understand and respect that.

[@ryhanon7]

@@busdriverbuddha yeah yeah. Get over it. I didn't reveal anything. Relax.

[@busdriverbuddha]

@@ryhanon7 no, you just set expectations for an entire story arc of season 5. How can you be so fucking dense.

[@KillaWizardry]

Only good thing about this season is Captain Lockley. She is fine!!

[@TheMerovingienne]

Not a girl

[@kirishima638]

I hate the Lochley character. I feel like she was added for sex appeal on the new network and she could never replace Ivonova. As a character she doesn’t work, and the actress’s monotone delivery is annoying. It makes no sense to me that she would be brought in to run a still-independent Babylon 5. She’s literally the only Earth Force officer on board: you’ll notice the staff haven’t reverted their old uniforms.