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Babylon 5 through 3x08
I already talked about 3x06 Dust to Dust here.
Other than the absolute glorious idfest that was 3x06, the middle of the season is kind of a mediocre run of episodes until it gets up to 3x08 - the others are interesting, but really just feel like typical sci-fi alien-of-the-week episodes. (Though with this show's emphasis on continuity, I'm sure there are various aspects that matter to the ongoing plot.)
3x04
It's interesting to see the aftermath of a death-of-personality mindwipe from the perspective of people who don't know the guy's personality is fake. I had absolutely no idea what was going on for the first half of the episode until the sudden "ohhhhh" moment when you realize that the monk is getting bleedthrough memories from a past life. It was interesting to see the monks again; I had assumed when they appeared that they'd just be a one-off joke/bit of station life (the station has a religious experience, religious orders start showing up) but no, they're still around. And the episode had some interesting thinky stuff on the nature of revenge/forgiveness that is important to the show's overall themes. I think it's interesting that the human characters seemed to mostly come down on the side of the mindwipe-style punishment being both terribly cruel to the individual who doesn't know they've been wiped, but not actually cruel enough to satisfy the human urge for revenge after being wronged. Interesting, but not really a favorite.
3x05
Finally an Ivanova-centric ep! I loved her getting to use the planetary computer - as Draal invites her to step into the matrix, I was once again reminded of the era this is from, and that the movie The Matrix is still several years out - and captain the White Star, and most of all out-maneuvering a group of millennia-old aliens by using their hatred of the Vorlons against them! Very nice, very nice. Ivanova showing up holographically just in time to interrupt Sheridan's unwanted tete-a-tete with the subtle-as-a-bag-of-anvils Peace lady was also a nice bit. ("It looks like you're about to go where everyone has gone before.")
Husband's observation as soon as the disco-ball alien ship showed up: "Well, done with the rave, back to normal space." (And then at the end: "Back to the rave, call us when the war starts!") I like that it's so truly alien-looking; it must have been a challenge to create a ship that looks nothing like anything we've seen on the show before *and* like it might have been created by an incomprehensible alien intelligence from before the dawn of time.
Back on B5, G'Kar's continues to try to figure out what's going on with the Rangers across these two episodes. It's interesting that he eventually chooses Garibaldi as the person he's going to hit up with the Book of G'Quon(sp?). Because he found Garibaldi particularly approachable, he thought he'd be more receptive than the rest of the command crew, he recognizes their kinship as fellow warriors, or just because he's gotten turned down by almost everyone else and finally decided not to take no for an answer - idk. Anyway, it's an intriguing dynamic!
3x07
Another alien-of-the-week episode; honestly don't really feel like I have much to say about it. (Though it would have been nice if the recorder aliens had anything useful to contribute to the ongoing Shadow war, BUT NO.)
3x08
Finally a good chunk of ongoing plot! This was really terrific. I can't get over that even when you KNOW you're probably going to spot a Shadow ship, they're so creepy and weird-looking that it's simply a "gasp!" moment. (And I noticed that the "package" from Mars, that turned out to be the lady with the intel, was mentioned in the previous episode; nice continuity nod there!) Interesting that Garibaldi was peripherally involved with the events surrounding the discovery of the Shadow ship on Mars, even if he didn't understand its significance then. And I really enjoyed Sheridan and Delenn's expedition - they've now managed to destroy their second Shadow ship this season (and it was Delenn who came up with the insane idea to escape from the Agamemnon; they really deserve each other).
In general, I appreciate that the show is building up Sheridan and Delenn as friends who truly care for each other first and foremost; you can see a romance on the horizon, but it's clear that romance or not, they're two people who genuinely like and admire each other. The handholding while they sleep was adorable. (Also it just figures that the Minbari have invented the most uncomfortable beds in the known galaxy.)
I've also seen 3x09, and that was certainly a Lot, but I'm probably rewatching it with the husband today or tomorrow (since I've watched farther ahead than he has) and I'll talk about it then.
Other than the absolute glorious idfest that was 3x06, the middle of the season is kind of a mediocre run of episodes until it gets up to 3x08 - the others are interesting, but really just feel like typical sci-fi alien-of-the-week episodes. (Though with this show's emphasis on continuity, I'm sure there are various aspects that matter to the ongoing plot.)
3x04
It's interesting to see the aftermath of a death-of-personality mindwipe from the perspective of people who don't know the guy's personality is fake. I had absolutely no idea what was going on for the first half of the episode until the sudden "ohhhhh" moment when you realize that the monk is getting bleedthrough memories from a past life. It was interesting to see the monks again; I had assumed when they appeared that they'd just be a one-off joke/bit of station life (the station has a religious experience, religious orders start showing up) but no, they're still around. And the episode had some interesting thinky stuff on the nature of revenge/forgiveness that is important to the show's overall themes. I think it's interesting that the human characters seemed to mostly come down on the side of the mindwipe-style punishment being both terribly cruel to the individual who doesn't know they've been wiped, but not actually cruel enough to satisfy the human urge for revenge after being wronged. Interesting, but not really a favorite.
3x05
Finally an Ivanova-centric ep! I loved her getting to use the planetary computer - as Draal invites her to step into the matrix, I was once again reminded of the era this is from, and that the movie The Matrix is still several years out - and captain the White Star, and most of all out-maneuvering a group of millennia-old aliens by using their hatred of the Vorlons against them! Very nice, very nice. Ivanova showing up holographically just in time to interrupt Sheridan's unwanted tete-a-tete with the subtle-as-a-bag-of-anvils Peace lady was also a nice bit. ("It looks like you're about to go where everyone has gone before.")
Husband's observation as soon as the disco-ball alien ship showed up: "Well, done with the rave, back to normal space." (And then at the end: "Back to the rave, call us when the war starts!") I like that it's so truly alien-looking; it must have been a challenge to create a ship that looks nothing like anything we've seen on the show before *and* like it might have been created by an incomprehensible alien intelligence from before the dawn of time.
Back on B5, G'Kar's continues to try to figure out what's going on with the Rangers across these two episodes. It's interesting that he eventually chooses Garibaldi as the person he's going to hit up with the Book of G'Quon(sp?). Because he found Garibaldi particularly approachable, he thought he'd be more receptive than the rest of the command crew, he recognizes their kinship as fellow warriors, or just because he's gotten turned down by almost everyone else and finally decided not to take no for an answer - idk. Anyway, it's an intriguing dynamic!
3x07
Another alien-of-the-week episode; honestly don't really feel like I have much to say about it. (Though it would have been nice if the recorder aliens had anything useful to contribute to the ongoing Shadow war, BUT NO.)
3x08
Finally a good chunk of ongoing plot! This was really terrific. I can't get over that even when you KNOW you're probably going to spot a Shadow ship, they're so creepy and weird-looking that it's simply a "gasp!" moment. (And I noticed that the "package" from Mars, that turned out to be the lady with the intel, was mentioned in the previous episode; nice continuity nod there!) Interesting that Garibaldi was peripherally involved with the events surrounding the discovery of the Shadow ship on Mars, even if he didn't understand its significance then. And I really enjoyed Sheridan and Delenn's expedition - they've now managed to destroy their second Shadow ship this season (and it was Delenn who came up with the insane idea to escape from the Agamemnon; they really deserve each other).
In general, I appreciate that the show is building up Sheridan and Delenn as friends who truly care for each other first and foremost; you can see a romance on the horizon, but it's clear that romance or not, they're two people who genuinely like and admire each other. The handholding while they sleep was adorable. (Also it just figures that the Minbari have invented the most uncomfortable beds in the known galaxy.)
I've also seen 3x09, and that was certainly a Lot, but I'm probably rewatching it with the husband today or tomorrow (since I've watched farther ahead than he has) and I'll talk about it then.
no subject
Agreed! I really did not watch enough television over the last quarter-century to tell when the shift occurred—I assume it had a lot to do with streaming and the ability to drop an entire season at once which made everything much more like a miniseries—but I like the tonal range available to the longer season and the more discursive format and I like how much more it feels like hanging out in a world rather than being told one specific story about it. Babylon 5 has some completely, randomly disposable episodes about which I remember nothing and it also has some completely, randomly transfixing episodes which aren't the hinges of the metaplot. Except in the sense of character development, "Dust to Dust" is not an especially plot-relevant episode! Half of it is a mystery of the week and the other half is pure vibes! But there's room for it in this style of show.
I remember noticing even in the earliest episodes that he's one of the people who most readily makes friends with the nonhumans on the station (he invites Delenn over to watch movies with him, even not really knowing her yet!).
I completely forgot about movie night with Delenn! Yes. And of course he's one of Londo's original friends on the station. I just realized this is one of the reasons that his dislike of Bester doesn't come across as bigotry, either. Garibaldi gets along with so many different sorts of people, alien or not, the telepathy isn't going to make a difference. The Psi Corps ethos and Bester's personality, however, are a bit of an impediment.