Centauri Use Mass Drivers Against the Narn

[@fix0the0spade]

I know this is a serious and important scene, but the Centauri flower seller at 1:16 just busting out a flying kick cracks me up every time.

[@johnpauljones9310]

I think the point of showing that the average Centauri could fight so well lent credibility to the much better trained Centauri military could easily whip the Narns in every encounter. At no point in the current war or their history did Narn ever threaten the Republic.

[@kennethfharkin]

@@johnpauljones9310 I think you are reaching a bit there. That the Centauri were much better equipped was never in question. Choosing to have a cool fight scene I doubt was meant to reflect upon the skill of the overall Centauri republic. You just happened to see the one flower seller who did martial arts in his spare time.

[@roguishpaladin]

They have inappropriate jump kicks in other melees, too. I'm pretty sure there was just one B5 stunt coordinator who really, really was proud of his flying kick and busted it out every chance he could get away with it. I call it the "Babylon 5 Jump Kick".

[@florinivan6907]

@@roguishpaladin It was the 90s and everyone knew martial arts. It looks kind of silly today but what can you do. It was the 'style' back then.

[@dadoody]

Random jump kick is pretty damn hilarious

[@lovipoekimo176]

I am still driven to tears by that bombardment scene. The music. The cinematography. Londo's face acting. All of it brilliant.

[@tatianalyulkin410]

2014- Donbass. 2022- Ukraine proper. Life imitating art.

[@fourthofjulygaming3795]

@@tatianalyulkin410 I hope Ukraine loses. 😂

[@matthewcorcoran2891]

@@fourthofjulygaming3795It’s inevitable.

[@Pilvenuga]

@@matthewcorcoran2891 the inevitable is like a clockwork machine. tick tock, the wheel turns. tick tock we wonder how time flies by. tick tock the idiots fall to their own mistakes. since the first day of crimean invasion the russians have shown themselves the idiots when expulsing the crimean tartars, thus turning their very own muslim minority against them. how do you think all these attacks on russian infrastructure are happening? the feeling of superiority that russians wanted when they massacred civilians? cemented the western economies to build a warmachine that will grind russian bones to dust, given a long war. but their greatest mistake was thinking people of russia dont look at this war and make their own, moral conclusions. the greatest weakness russia has in this war is it doesnt even have all the russian people supporting it. noone can fight a war successfully if there is a conflict at home. this is pretty much a historical constant. The inevitable comes closer with every day.

[@ptonpc]

@@fourthofjulygaming3795 Vatnik detected.

[@Brakkart]

As Londo stands there in the window of that battlecruiser watching a world die because of his actions, he's hearing them... millions of voices calling out his name... "My followers?" "Your victims!" Fantastic scene.

[@mackenzieseib8943]

his great hand is reaching out of the stars...and he wishes he could pull it back in

[@AndrewJamesWilliams]

You can see here how ashamed Londo was at bombarding Narn with asteroids. He did after all object to this tactic from the start reminding Refa that every civilized planet had outlawed the use of mass drivers for such a purpose.

[@allenho2778]

Lando wasn't ashamed; he felt helpless. He once said he had all the power and no choices at all. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y4SaiIqIpqp7n8U

[@shmabadu]

Allen Ho his shoes are too tight, but he has forgotten how to dance.

[@stevieboymkii]

@@allenho2778 that was much later. At this point, he was moving away from his original position of no power and all the choices in the world.

[@rizon72]

At this point, Londo has no power and no choice. He is along for the ride.

[@sennin7139]

but yt he said nothing

[@DrownedInExile]

"There are two great tragedies in life. One is not getting what you want. The other is getting it."

[@Ruosteinenknight]

Emperor Londo: What do you want? Luc: Tell me a story! Centauri Woman: Luc! Emperor Londo: No, no, it's alright. He did far better with that question than I did.

[@Karthos1000]

Londo watching what's happening, realizing "I did this"... and his reflection as it drifts into darkness.... Just incredible. The character development on this show was beyond anything we'd seen before. London was probably the most tragic character of the whole show. Everything he did, he did for his people, but in the end, he almost destroyed them and the Narn. When you first meet Londo, he's something of a buffoon. You laugh at him, he's inconsequential. Over the course of two seasons he turns into this. But he regrets it. He realizes he's made bad choices. He tries to turn away, but he can't... like a moth to the flame, he's doomed to circle forever closer and closer to the fire, and in the end, be destroyed by it. But we know he's noble. At the last, he sacrifices himself, knowing it will destroy him, to save his people from the doom he brought to them.

[@Realmasterorder]

Indeed So Londo and G'kar are absolutely incredible Characters with amazing development

[@sid2112]

Which is why it must never be rebooted. It needs to remain in all its glory as it was. A testament to late 20th century science fiction cinema.

[@Karthos1000]

@@sid2112 I wouldn't object to a reboot, but it looks unlikely to happen now. I also wouldn't object for more stories from the universe without rebooting. Cover the Dilgar War, or the Telepath War, or something else a hundred years later, or who knows? Maybe a show featuring an explorer-class ship or some other science ship.

[@JnEricsonx]

@@Realmasterorder Glad I met both actors!

[@Realmasterorder]

@@JnEricsonx Really ? thats interesting

[@michelecastellotti9172]

Yet on that day, Londo mollari, proudest of the Centauri, didn't smile in triumph, but frowned in disgust at his own race... My fucking god thos show was amazing

[@EdwardTCBlake]

Shame that the movies don't generally measure up.

[@coalcreekdefense8106]

I thought this would be the moment he started working to redeem himself, and the conflict would come from him facing off against his own government and feeling the disdain of the friends he'd betrayed. But instead, he kept on digging his hole with no sign of slowing down. I've just started Season 3, and I'm fascinated to see what becomes of him.

[@EdwardTCBlake]

@@coalcreekdefense8106 agreed

[@Xiuhtec]

@@coalcreekdefense8106 I envy you being able to watch for the first time. It's still a great rewatch, but there's nothing like that first time experiencing the story. If you haven't finished yet, you're in for a wild ride! Welcome to Babylon 5.

[@biocapsule7311]

@@EdwardTCBlake In the Beginning measured up nicely, but mainly because it's intimately tied to the main plot.

[@Tayvin4042]

Londo: Horrified at what he and his people are doing. Every Stellaris player: "Hey, that's the price for victory... and also forgetting to train assault troops."

[@christopherwall2121]

The difference is when it's Stellaris, it's not real people you're condemning to that fate.

[@Hunpecked]

@@christopherwall2121 In "Sword of the Stars" to take over a planet you have to eliminate the native population (unless it's your own species). Depending on the method of bombardment, you may destroy much of the infrastructure and even ruin the planetary environment to the point that your own species can't even colonize it afterward. I like to do as little damage as possible, colonize the target planet, and have it making a positive contribution as soon as possible.

[@ShannonCarter55]

Says something when the Vorlons spoke out against the attack.

[@hagamapama]

When they say "the Vorlons spoke out against the attack" they almost certainly mean "Kosh spoke out against the attack."

[@travisdavis6778]

I always wondered if kosh knew about the planet killer fleet

[@ShannonCarter55]

@@travisdavis6778 if he did, he would've warned the Minbari.

[@travisdavis6778]

Shannon Carter but would he?

[@ShannonCarter55]

@@travisdavis6778 Kosh always liked the younger races. Ulkesh less so. Rest of the Vorlons, we don't know.

[@Lumpy_Peter]

Oh, Londo! My heart bleeds every time I see him. Londo is probably the most tragic character I know. His shoes were too tight.

[@DonWan47]

It didn’t matter as he’d forgotten how to dance.

[@Pilvenuga]

@@DonWan47 yet his hair was on end and his friends remembered him at the end

[@robbramos2047]

Perhaps hearing the Pak’Mar’a sing would ease his pain.

[@halwakka504]

You should probably go see a doctor if your heart is bleeding.

[@beardedchimp]

@@halwakka504 the Centauri have two hearts, maybe only one of their hearts bleed.

[@sagan1976]

The more i think about Babylon 5, the more i realize. One of the best sci-fi shows ever made.

[@erik1579]

Sure the visual effects are dated. But the ARTISTRY of it all - in that scene with Londo looking on at the planetary bombardment - the acting, shot composition, music and the writing behind it all are timeless.

[@DonXardas]

I watched Babylon 5 for the first time in 2012 or so. I did not care about the effects then and do not care now. The story, characters, philosophy and actors made it a masterpiece. Strazinsky is making a remake of Babylon 5 right now. I think it is in pre-production or early stages of production. I hope it will be as good.

[@lancourt]

The shadow that slowly passes over his horrified face as the he watches the drivers fire

[@DieyoungDiefast]

Made when the story came before FX

[@danieldickson8591]

When Londo told Morden what he wanted, it was a romanticized vision of the past. He never really considered what the cost would be to achieve it.

[@danielharvison7510]

Hey, you want the glory days back? We'll do it, just don't ask HOW. Because no one ever wants to know how it's done.

[@robgraham5697]

The only person that got what he wanted from Mr. Morden was Vir.

[@danielhaire6677]

@@robgraham5697 "And the I'll wave. Just like this."

[@Archangelglenn]

@@robgraham5697 And the irony is, it was Londo who gave it to him, not Morden, not the Shadows, but Londo.

[@Pinkscales]

The look of sheer horror on Londo's face when they began to bombardment spoke volumes.

[@SirCraigius]

After 4 straight days of a constant bombardment of accelerated asteroids, its hard to imagine there's a single building left standing on the surface of Narn. The atmosphere would probably be choked with ash clouds for decades.

[@JH24821]

Yeah, you're right. From what I once read, at some point in the future the Minbari built massive atmospheric purifiers on the surface of Narn to filter out the ash. After a decade the atmosphere was, for the most part, restored to what it once was.

[@jamesbuchanan4414]

In the ep "The Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place", that was what another Narn told G'Kar when he returned to spring the trap on Rifa.

[@biocapsule7311]

Strictly speaking 1 day should have been an extinction level event. So I am guessing their standard mass drivers aren't actually that big, using small rocks.

[@biocapsule7311]

@Tin Watchman It doesn't really matter how much you 'spread' it. It only matter what size of rocks you use. It's how that type of weapon works.

[@yorneustein7851]

@@biocapsule7311 not rly , the speed matters most , 4 kilometers per sec impact speed va 40.000 are a huge difference in devastation also it matters how the asteroids are aimed , if the angle is right an asteroid can explode (like the big one in Siberia 1908) so you could just nuke large amounts of ground without any radiation or lasting impacts , also smaller asteroids could be used to crack the surface so that volcanos it earthquakes are activated , asteroids are the best weapon you can use for orbital bombardment , just has to have enough iron for magnets to work (raingun)

[@Synthonym]

I remember watching this scene as a child and thinking "they're just rocks? that's not very advanced" Then I got older and learned that it doesn't need to be fancy to be terrifyingly powerful

[@lonelystrategos]

Indeed. Look at Star Wars with all its ridiculous planet killing superweapons. Yet one of the simplest and most efficient ones is the Hutt Planechanga, a giant rail gun that accelerates asteroids to planet-cracking velocities.

[@DavidGarcia-kw4sf]

@@lonelystrategos They don't even have to be very large to do massive damage. There is a video on KZbin showing the effects of the asteroid that impacted in the Yucatan Peninsula 65 million years ago and what the effects would be today. Terrifying. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qKnIg5eQZcyhbs0&t

[@robgraham5697]

One half mass times velocity squared.

[@Daniel-rd6st]

Gunnery Chief: This, recruits, is a 20-kilo ferrous slug. Feel the weight. Every five seconds, the main gun of an Everest-class dreadnought accelerates one to 1.3 percent of light speed. It impacts with the force of a 38-kiloton bomb. That is three times the yield of the city-buster dropped on Hiroshima back on Earth. That means Sir Isaac Newton is the deadliest son-of-a-b*tch in space. Now! Serviceman Burnside! What is Newton's First Law? Serviceman Burnside: Sir! An object in motion stays in motion, sir! Gunnery Chief: No credit for partial answers, maggot! Serviceman Burnside: Sir! Unless acted on by an outside force, sir! Gunnery Chief: Damn straight! I dare to assume you ignorant jackasses know that space is empty. Once you fire this hunk of metal, it keeps going till it hits something. That can be a ship, or the planet behind that ship. It might go off into deep space and hit somebody else in ten thousand years. If you pull the trigger on this, you are ruining someone's day, somewhere and sometime. That is why you check your damn targets! That is why you wait for the computer to give you a damn firing solution! That is why, Serviceman Chung, we do not "eyeball it!" This is a weapon of mass destruction. You are not a cowboy shooting from the hip! Serviceman Chung: Sir, yes sir!

[@robgraham5697]

@@Daniel-rd6st Perfect.

[@warrenreid6109]

"Their being bombed back into the stone age." Shows how the right line at the right time can carry an episode. It came from a background character none the less.

[@SoDakJason]

It's also a reference to an infamous quote from Air Force Gen. Curtis LeMay saying we could bomb North Vietnam back to the Stone Age. (most quotations use the word "should", but the original source material from LeMay uses the word "would" as he explains how he would demand North Vietnam stop its war against South Vietnam)

[@bigbaba1111]

Such a great show. Seeing the mass driver bombardment gives me chills every time.

[@AnonymousBlix]

Great music also

[@getyourgameon1990]

Ikr chilling

[@PackerBronco]

Bad luck for the Narn that they pick a fight when the Centauri Martial Arts team is visiting the bar.

[@mattwho81]

Londo Mollari the man who got everything he wished for and despised himself for what he did to get it.

[@nelsonchereta816]

2:40 I like to imagine at this moment Mollari is recalling Mr Morden asking him what he wanted, and his answer. He was getting exactly what he claimed he wanted.

[@descendinguniverse]

I like how peacefully the Centauri man is watching news without any idea what`s coming next. Their Martial arts also looks fun

[@christopherofarrell8665]

2:32 - something I genuinely never noticed until right now. As he watches in horror at what he has done, we see his reflection moving. As the Shadows fully engulf him showing he has fully embraced his role. Oh he might have horror at what he has done, he might have regrets ... but HE has none the less taken this course and these steps and fallen from the light. God this show was fantastic.

[@sandal_thong]

I'd watched the scene recently where he expels G'Kar from the Council. He was pretty serious.

[@christopherofarrell8665]

@@sandal_thong Of course he is, he's the Ambassador for the Centuari and always showed he was willing to sell their position pretty much no matter what (so long as it was a position to make them respected and/or feared). Plus, he hated G'Kar and being able to humiliate him in a way he might never get to ever again, was something he had been looking forward to for a long time. But he was still utterly horrified privately by his peoples actions and where his choices led him when he was watching on the front lines Narn being bombed back to the stone age.

[@Yuurei21]

2:20 "Do you really want to know what I want? Do you really want to know the truth? I want my people to reclaim their rightful place in the galaxy. I want to see the Centauri stretch forth their hand again and command the stars. I want a rebirth of glory, a renaissance of power! I want to stop running through my life like a man late for an appointment, afraid to look back or look forward. I want us to be what we used to be! I want... I want it all back the way it was. Does that answer your question?"

[@Bazookatone1]

I love the jump kick the Cantauri gives at 1:17, sure, that's EXACTLY what you do in a bar fight :-)

[@captmoroni]

Given how popular MMA has become, I look at those jump kicks and think: adorable and athletically impressive.

[@jayblakely]

a jump hook like that would certainly do some damage though.

[@robertbusek30]

Well, the Centauri always were a little dramatic...

[@pitmatix1457]

Well they certainly ain't gonna out muscle a Narn so they have to get a bit more acrobatic.

[@davidb2045]

Huh, I think Garibaldi said something about Centari fighter craft doing a kind of jump rotate maneuver in space battles. Wonder if they're at all related?

[@DantesonofSparda85]

Notice how a few Minbari decided to GTFO from the main promenade soon as that news hit...smart move

[@rfletch62]

The Emperor told Londo he was damned. Yet this is just the start of his fall.

[@porpus99]

Londo's greatest shame. Not because he witnessed it happening, but because he said nothing to stop it.

[@Serocco]

Oh he tried to stop Refa, but Refa ignored him.

[@travisdavis6778]

@@Serocco refs was a disaster for londo

[@artmartial350]

@@Serocco Londo could have put his foot down. I thought Londo was the one who had the contact with the Shadows.

[@triandfit1]

@@artmartial350 he did. When he ended his relationship with the Shadows, Morden went to Refa.

[@deathbyirony7035]

"Hundreds of thousands of casualties" Gotta wonder whether that's restraint or a lack of imagination on the part of the writers.

[@ganados0]

It's possible it's a very conservative estimate.

[@florinivan6907]

@@ganados0 More likely the writers have no sense of scale. Lets be honest here few writers are experts in any other field but writing stories. Plus this is early 90s fiction. Few writers had lived through disasters on a massive scale( I'm referring to western writers) so their frames of reference were limited. A similar story writen today with the memory of 9/11 constant fears of Apocalypse since then and now Covid would certainly up the body count quite a bit. For audiences in 1995 hundreds of thousands sounds like a lot. For us its good news.

[@luzifer960]

​@@florinivan6907 in the nuclear explosions of hiroshima and nagazaki 200k people died in total. That would be nothing compared to what was shown in this scene and was well known in the 90s. I think, they deliberately didn't speak of millions or even billions of casualties to keep it somewhat family-friendly.

[@hammer1349]

I don't necessarily know what the population of Narn was like, or how they were spread out across the surface. They could be underground and thus avoiding most of the blast waves of the impacts. After the first day, they probably would have no choice but to go underground as the projectiles penetrative the atmosphere would make weather conditions inhospitable at best and very much so lethal at worst. Its possible that mass evacuation had already taken place or was well underway, possibly having advanced warning of the coming apocalypse. 100s of thousands is definitely low balling it on a planetary scale but there are a few factors that could influence it. Irs possible that the Narn government also has only received a fraction of the casualty reports, with power down almost immediately as well as satellite communications

[@mecurian485]

Or possibly the Narn population is not in the billions like it is on earth. We know before the Centauri arrived the first time they were an agrarian people, living mainly in small communities. It is possible that for most of the population they kept up that tradition with only a minority living in cities.

[@bthsr7113]

It's a little detail and not the focus, but I like that they show how the Centauri can be a strong threat even on the ground with no support form the Shadows.

[@bthsr7113]

@@saberiandream316 I meant the brawling. Hence, MINOR detail and NOT the focus. The Narn were characterized as a martial and athletic people, so seeing the Centauri hold their own in unarmed combat is actually kind of impressive.

[@girlgarde]

@@bthsr7113 I was surprised too as the Narns are supposed to be quite tough and strong in hand to hand combat. It angered me that the Centari were winning the brawls as I wanted to see the Narns get some measure of revenge on the Centari. It looked to me like the Centari fighting were the ones who're the local troublemakers who cruelly taunt the Narns on a regular basis.

[@londomollari1082]

@@girlgarde Both sides got kicked their asses in the fight we've seen in the video.

[@233Deadman]

I too like a little bit of detail in the fight that the two species use very different styles it seems. Centauri seemed to be more using martial arts style techniques to get the upper hand, whilst the Narns go more for grappling and brawling, possibly hinting that they have the upper hand in terms of absolute strength. Plus, given the fact that conflict between the two go back a lot further than just the war during the actual show, it makes sense they would have an idea of how to fight each other in such situations.

[@DavidKnowles0]

@@bthsr7113 In a way it also sad, some of them show regret at what was happening and yet were still attacked by the Narns.

[@swissdictator]

When even the Vorlons file an official protest you know you’ve really done wrong.

[@davidking6750]

2:22 ... Londo at the window ... there is a part where his reflection in the window shows a reaction of utter disbelief . 2:32 is where you see his reflection which is not the same as how he looked before. That little difference was such a big part of this scene and hints at Londo's hidden feelings!

[@terrywomack694]

The Narns started this fight. They kept poking the bear so to speak and even sold weapons to raiders and trained them to use them against Earth transports. Midnight on the firing line. Later they break a treaty then the shadows step in.

[@pollall2793]

One of my favorite episodes in the whole show, and my favorite in the 2nd season, f*cking phenomenal...

[@Saiyanjohn415]

Babylon 5 is awesome

[@jonasgrumby3378]

The Narn....a bunch of savages and the Klingons of the Babylon 5 universe.....

[@Saiyanjohn415]

@@jonasgrumby3378 The Narn were Savages in the past but technology caught up with them and made them not so much until the Centauri.

[@ankhmorpok1497]

Jonas Grumby the Narn are the way they are because of a century of brutal Centauri occupation and exploitation.

[@sparrowlt]

@@jonasgrumby3378 not really.. if we believe their version they were a rather primitive race that was invaded by the Centauri and then rised agains them developing technology by whatever means.. stealing, buying, spying .. and once they pushed out the Centauri a cold war began in wich they raced to evolve their millitary as fast as posible.. just like the humans would do later after the Minbari war (think that the humans went from Hyperion and Novas to Warlocks in just 15 years)

[@PapaEnoch052]

I loved it when the news came on.....then you see everyone is leaving like they know what will happen next. Then all you see is the Narn and the Centauri.

[@barracuda6900]

Yeah - that Minbari guy knew he had to get the fuck out of there, right now!

[@scorpionx7044]

Yeah I love how all the women and minbari just ran away before the fighting started, LOL

[@kimnice]

Smart ones

[@clairestark9024]

Darkest hour not just the narn but for centarii. The centariis soul burns with the narns homeworld

[@amead78]

They’re both a dying race and death is all they can see.

[@saiyansomething73]

the Centauri in the Zokolo, "I know Kung-Fu."

[@studinthemaking]

I love how JB just takes the complete control of the situation here.

[@Malbeefance]

The Narn thirst for vengeance brought this on themselves.

[@ganados0]

Indeed, they had no allies through their nationalism and foolishness. G'kar said a few too many times he wanted the Centauri wiped from existence and on a place like B5 where the universe was watching, his words would have carried to Lord Refa who came down hard on them.

[@FaxModem1]

You can feel the mood in the bar when they're all watching the news. The humans, Minbari, and women are all feeling the room, and want out. The Narn and Centauri, blood enemies for decades, have been mostly neutral, due to being in neutral territory. But this war has been eating at them, and it just keeps on building. Until finally, they've just been given all the excuse and motivation they need to fight each other, and they just let loose.

[@Mark-xh8md]

Correction: A Narn attacked a random Centauri who defended himself, and it spiralled from there

[@londomollari1082]

@@Mark-xh8md That was the spark in the powder barrel.

[@johnpauljones9310]

@@Mark-xh8md That Centauri was knocked out. Then another Centauri stepped in to fight the Narn-hole who started the whole thing.

[@Mark-xh8md]

@@johnpauljones9310 - That's fair, yes. You're right.

[@qdllc]

They should have locked down the station BEFORE the news broke. Major security failure.

[@Thyinternet]

Feels like watching the news. Greetings from the year 2024

[@MrFaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

sooo who would the centauri be in this metaphor? Which group in modern day parallels the Narn who had their land stolen, were expelled from their homes, and were genocided in retaliation for committing war crimes against the superpower that expelled them?

[@robgraham5697]

It was at this moment that Londo realized, "I've fucked up."

[@studinthemaking]

I love the line. Words on pieces of paper.

[@stephenmartinez8772]

The most underrated Sci-Fi show ever

[@waltermc3906]

Seems you don't know what the word underrated means... the show is and always has been HIGHLY acclaimed as one of the best sci-fi shows ever made for TV, and widely recognized as as key influence on not just sci-fi tv, but in modern TV storytelling in general. in Short, there has never been anything underrated about Babylon 5.

[@stephenmartinez8772]

@@waltermc3906 I'm speaking to what I have heard about the show a lot of people say they don't like it I think it's one of the best shows ever made

[@stephenmartinez8772]

Show has nuances of a lot of other other genres

[@matthewpowell2429]

The bombing and riot scenes inspired a similar turn of events in a fan made continuation of one of my favorite anime.

[@captmoroni]

2:50 Love the visual storytelling of B5. When do we ever see the Zocalo empty?

[@matthewlloyd3255]

Haha probably the episode in season 1 where Sinclair roams an empty dreamed-Babylon5 while under the influence of the agents from Earth.

[@beardedchimp]

It made the scene in the final episode even more poignant, Sheridan arrives at a deserted, silent Zocalo. We'd never seen it like that before and the stillness was striking.

[@Realmasterorder]

He could not even believe the atrocities that they were doing,he did not want this as he wanted the best for his people but the centary pride and days of empire and the Shadows plans and scheeming are what got him dragged him into it and condemed his own world as well or most of it,such an amazing character development and story

[@davidking6750]

Babylon 5 was always fairly realistic!And there's Londo in that window on the ship ... he can't believe what he has become entangled with!

[@sygmarvexarion7891]

Only hundreds of thousands?! Those are very low numbers for a planetary bombardment.

[@usul573]

Cities utterly destroyed does sound like it would be in the millions.

[@pirobot668beta]

The outbreak of fighting in the station reminded me of Cafeteria at Microsoft campus. Lots of Indian and Pakistani developers and testers, so there was a bit of friction at the best of times. Well, it boiled over one day when a football game 'back home' had a turnover that nobody saw coming. Food-fight! It was like something out of a high-school themed movie!

[@laniakea6588]

And when war breaks out between these countrys they don't use food but forks and knifes.

[@TigerofRobare]

Good thing it wasn't Cricket

[@FirstLast-cg2nk]

Elric: Oh, I'm afraid you're going to have to spend the rest of your life paying for your mistakes. Not this one, of course, it's trivial...but there will be others. Londo: What are you talking about? Elric: You are touched by darkness, Ambassador. I see it as a blemish that will grow in time. I could warn you, of course, but you would not listen. I could kill you, but someone would take your place. So I do the only thing I can: I go. Oh, I believe it was an endorsement you wanted, a word or two, a picture to send to the folks back home, confirming that you have a destiny before you...Well, take this for what little it will profit you; As I look at you, Ambassador Mollari, I see a great hand reaching out of the stars. The hand is your hand. And I hear sounds, the sounds of billions of people calling your name. Londo (visibly excited): My followers? Elric: Your victims.

[@hairyrichardson8921]

2:21 ... Londo at that window ... his reflection like a ghost haunting his current reality ... what he has done collides with what he is required to do ... what he wants to do is repressed and stomped down beneath the boot of 'duty' .... what he must eventually do is still far down the road!

[@brav0wing]

Oh, Londo, Londo, what have you done?

[@Fr0st1989]

That Centauri doing that ninja had me dead with laughter

[@kirishima638]

Haha yeah, for a decadent people they know how to fight 😂

[@11viewer77]

I would really like to see this show again with updated special effects.

[@moppypuppy781]

*2:50* I love that optical illusion hallway.

[@Daniel-rd6st]

Well those Centauri did amazingly well in that barfight, considering how strong an angry Narn is!

[@johnpauljones9310]

I think the point of showing that the average Centauri could fight so well lent credibility to the much better trained Centauri military could so easily whip the Narns in every encounter. At no point in the current war or their history did Narn ever threaten the Republic.

[@florinivan6907]

What?You mean to tell me a civilization capable of interstellar travel would simply bomb from orbit not risking their ships in attacks close to ground level?All those alien invasion movies lied to me.

[@londomollari1082]

Well, in some cases they don't want to destroy the infrastructure. When you conquer a planet with totally destroyed infrastructure, you have to rebuild it, and that costs lots of money.

[@florinivan6907]

@@londomollari1082 That might have some logic to it but in most alien invasion stories the goal seems to be total extermination with little if any thought given to reusing infrastructure for anything. Plus in the case of Earth alien invaders far more advanced than us would have little use for our infrastructure except as a curiosity.

[@ThePilot3332]

@@florinivan6907 they’d just leave Iceland as a little museum and destroy the rest.

[@dalefrink7244]

@@florinivan6907 Possession of natural resources that could be destroyed in a bombardment however, has been a pretty consistent theme.

[@florinivan6907]

@@dalefrink7244 Most human infrastructure is located some distance from natural resources. You rarely have major cities right next to a mine. Also nuclear airbursts do little against buried iron ore for example. You could nuke LA 5 times over with airbursts but there would be little impact on most natural resources. If they can reach the stars they can configure their strikes to mostly leave whatever resources of interest we have largely untouched.Its not that hard to determine where our human concentrations are and its not that hard to determine our means of transport.Aliens would quickly realise that we use ships and planes to move around and where the largest numbers seem to be located. They might have some trouble distinguishing military vs civilian infrastructure although they'd probably wipe out anything that has ships or planes around just to be safe.They'd certainly be able to differentiate between large airports like JFK and a small airport. Although realistically we don't know what kind of resources would be of interest to aliens. Its likely such a civilisation could find most of what it needs on uninhabited planets. Still once they wiped out all major human settlements and every port or airport plus every place where they detected at least reactor grade uranium we'd be screwed.

[@-0rbital-]

This was an awesome show. Best sci-fi tv show ever imo.

[@Fr0st1989]

Narns just can't catch a break... they couldn't even win a bar fight

[@jamieolberding7731]

To quote Senator Ronald Quantrell: "They're being bombed back into the Stone Age."

[@spencesanders7879]

I just realized that I usually think B5 looks dated. But it actually looks better than some of the recent sci-fi I've seen. But the story and acting has always been better than most shows on TV.

[@superleetmegapunx]

Some fans touched up the effects a few years ago.

[@remliqa]

I'm surprised that continuous orbital bombardment using mass driver only resulted with hundreds of thousand of casualties. I means Earth in The Expanse go hit by 3 meteor strike and that caused tens of billions of casualties.

[@florinivan6907]

Writer mistake but also this is pre-9/11. For pre-9/11 sci-fi the moment you introduced 'millions of dead' it was a clear metaphor for WW2 and the moustache dude. The narn while not nice are not supposed to be irrememiably evil. So they kept it kind of low. Post-9/11 audiences were no longer impressed with such casualties so sci-fi upped the ante. Sci-fi takes the real world and ups the ante. In the 90s especially for a US audience you didn't have this level of casualties. Once 9/11 happened they had to increase the body count to still seem relevant.

[@remliqa]

@@florinivan6907 I think you're confusing the Centauri with the Narn. The Narn are the one that is having their homeworld be bombarded with mass driver by the Centauri.

[@jonathancurran5366]

Yes, it's a Hiroshima and Nagasaki metaphor. JMS was obviously thinking of these bombings when he wrote this and got the casualty numbers from there rather than applying the logic that this is a whole planet of such wipeouts.

[@lvlc6023]

Personally I like the Narn people and civilization.

[@HorusHeresy1982]

HD, man I was not expecting that. Also "You said nothing."

[@Zeithri]

Feels more relevant than ever..

[@Roycesraphim1]

Bruh......

[@ziggymcdougal]

ngl i always thought that the whole "bombed back into the stone age" quote was kinda stupid but then again this is from senator Quantrell lol

[@davidsumner7604]

That exact phrase has been used repeatedly since WWII.

[@ziggymcdougal]

yes Curtis LeMay to be specific but being said and repeatedly used since ww2 isn't some qualifier preventing it from being a stupid phrase

[@davidsumner7604]

@@ziggymcdougal Better phrase: Imma pound that ass back to the Stone Age!

[@paperclip9558]

2:32 one of the best shot ever in a sci-fi tv show.

[@robertoaguirrematurana6419]

Sheridan leadership skills are so strong that he can even stop KZbin videos.

[@bigpoppa5059]

Let’s never forget that Centauri jump kick.

[@Ama-hi5kn]

This was the point of no return for Londo IMO. It sealed his fate.

[@sandal_thong]

He didn't "save the eye that does not see" so the Shadows got it and Mr. Morden sold it back to him for his alliance. His next chance would have been to "not kill the man who is already dead," Mr. Morden. But how would he have called off the Drakh to not take him and his world for their purposes? But instead, he gave in to his greatest fear: the vision of dying by G'Kar's hands. Somehow that helped liberate Centauri Prime.

[@Jagent]

00:38 Not to take away the gravity of the scene, but I always giggle when all the Minbari nope out there at the same time before the broadcast even finishes.

[@tomaszwitkowski9507]

Remaster Babylon 5, don't touch story, only visual, CGI

[@aaronp8678]

Centauri's are good to have on your side in a bar fight. Sort of defied expectations, but they took those Narn out.

[@mrgoober6320]

The random jump kick at 1:17 sort of undermines the drama of the moment...

[@sandal_thong]

Shows that Centauri know how to fight and aren't just pompous like Londo, or effete.

[@GriggsC123]

Anyone else noticed the other races quietly left the room....

[@janjoska2549]

Have you noticed that his fingers are sunken into the frame of the ship?

[@Worldtimes1]

It's like Israel and Palestine

[@johnbradshaw2347]

I think the centauri and the romulans would get along quite well.

[@hairyrichardson8921]

0:16 "word's going to be hitting the station any time now and when that happens, it's going to be riots and blood in the streets! Babylon 5 ... the most realistic sci-fi show!

[@jos.1839]

Dat kick at 1:16 😂😂😂 this show was like a comic con expo 😂😂😂

[@admthrawnuru]

You normally think of narn as stronger than centauri and better and hand to hand, but that one centauri dude has some kicks.

[@ljtegmark]

The most dramatic moment of the whole series

[@lordhoot1]

I stan the blouse-wearing ninja at 1:17

[@jackstevens9519]

The real reason the Narn lost the War

[@Enkarashaddam]

I love that one centauri that does the spinning kick

[@OptimusWombat]

Why does Londo look like CGI?

[@gdkopinionator4356]

1:17 - The Kick. Is this a space station riot, or a Centauri Ballet?

[@Revenante_of_Asylum]

If I'm a Centauri and I'm getting this news in a bar with Narn watchers, I'm turning to my friend and saying, "We should leave."

[@tatianalyulkin410]

I have to wonder about my mentor's psychic abilities. Did JMS forsee our little civil war?

[@NixonRules963]

"You really want to know what I want? You really want to know the truth? I want my people to reclaim their rightful place in the galaxy. I want to see the Centauri stretch forth their hand again, and command the stars! I-I want a rebirth of glory, a renaissance of power. I want to stop running through my life like a man late for an appointment, afraid to- to look back, or to look forward. I want us to be what we used to BE! I want…I want it all back, the way that it was!" Be careful what you wish for...

[@joemagnus5085]

I find it odd that right before the announcement there's Narn & Centauri just casually drinking in the same bar😅

[@stevangucu522]

Sheridan's "off" is so strongly stated that it ended the video.

[@marcelosadasilva1973]

Its like watching ds9 meets yamato. They turned Narn into Arrakis Dune.

[@F40PH-2CAT]

This is my favorite episode.....tragic

[@Awwscrewit]

A great hand reached out from the sky and Londos victims cried out his name.

[@phillipchappell6013]

Ever sinceI first watch this espiode that in 90s. I told my friends. If I was a EF Ship Captain I would til my crew I intend to go help the Narn. I would anyone who didnt want to go get off. I put out a call for more ship to join. I wouldn't care what race they were. I wouldn't even tell Centauri I was Coming just go in weapons blazin. I know it probably be a one way mission or I'd be Court Martialled If i survived. Rather stand up when it needed it. Then wait a couple years and have to do it.

[@sandal_thong]

But prior to this the Narn were angry and aggressive. It looked like they were the expansionist ones.

[@phillipchappell6013]

@@sandal_thong while agree they did. That excuse what the Centeauris did to them

[@aaronmicalowe]

It's like The Centauri are Israel and the Narn are Palestine. Very reflective of real life.

[@jpCps01]

Zann Consortium?

[@xaenon9849]

The look of horror and guilt on Mollari's face.