Season 3 Retrospective
I did not like this season very much.
In fact, I disliked this season so much that I think it ruined the fun of the blog for most of you. It certainly ruined it for me. I watch the stats and comments, and I noticed a distinct drop in engagement right about the time I said that PASSING THROUGH GETHSEMANE was kind of dumb, and it's never really recovered. Because that's not why you're here! You're here for a fun author to say fun things about your favorite show! And you got that for two seasons, but now it's just some random Internet jerk saying mean things about Marcus and failing to recognize serialized genius, and this is not what you signed up for. Sorry. It's not what I wanted, either.
And I think I've identified WHY this is my least favorite season: Seasons 1 and 2 asked a bunch of questions, and now season 3 is answering them, and I don't like most of the answers. What's up with the Nightwatch? Meh, just a flatly evil Big Brother. What's up with Babylon 4? Nothing nearly as interesting as you'd hoped. Who's behind all the bad stuff going on? Just the Shadows, every single time. In the final episode Anna Sheridan says "don't you want to find out what's really going on?" And then we go with her, and we find out, and it's just "war makes people strong, so we're starting a war." There were virtually no reveals in the entire season that lived up to hype--none of them made me more excited about the story, or expanded the scope of the world, they just made everything feel smaller and less mysterious. I write horror, and one of the principles of horror is that audiences are usually more scared by what they think is going to happen than by what is actually happening; they'll be terrified of a monster they can't see or understand, but then as soon as the monster is finally revealed that sense of mystery and danger drains out of the story. The best stories avoid this, by making sure that when the monster is revealed it is still surprising or shocking or fascinating in some way--that it either supersedes whatever horrible thing we were imagining, or subverts it completely. One of my favorite examples is Hannibal Lecter in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS: we're told how dangerous he is, and what he's done and what he can do, and then when we finally see him he's not anything remotely like what we expected. The reveal makes the story bigger, not smaller, by expanding our possibilities and asking a bunch of all-new questions to replace the one it answered. And this principle applies to every reveal in every story--not just monsters, but mysteries and twists and plot turns and payoffs and every cool answer that a story can give. You have to give us more than we expected, or something we never expected at all, but in Season 3 I feel like B5 has consistently given us very small or very obvious answers. There have only been a few times when I felt truly surprised--only a few times my mind was really blown--and the rest has been, while not boring, simply run-of-the-mill.
But let's talk about those good times! I loved the bit in CONVICTIONS, when G'Kar explains that he's ready to let himself die simply so he can murder Londo through inaction. On the flip side, I loved the bit in DUST TO DUST when G'Kar has a vision of G'Kwan and converts himself into a contrite and forgiving religious leader. I loved discovering that the parasites in EXOGENESIS were actually good and wise. I loved watching Babylon 5 secede from Earth--a solution to one problem that created a multitude of new ones. I adored the sequence in INTERLUDES AND EXAMINATIONS where Sheridan convinced Kosh to step up and fight, and Kosh literally gave his life to put his money where his mouth was. I loved the moment when Neroon cedes control of the Rangers to his political enemy, not because it helps him but because it's the right thing to do. And I thought the surprise reveal that Sinclair didn't just go back in time but literally became Valen was incredibly cool, widening the scope of the story in a way I'd never suspected. These were all moments that made the story richer and more alive; they swung for the fences, and told the biggest and best story they could tell. And they're also pretty much my list of favorite episodes:
In order from favorite-est to slightly less favorite:
1) DUST TO DUST
2) INTERLUDES AND EXAMINATIONS
3) CONVICTIONS
4) SEVERED DREAMS
5) WALKABOUT
I had to really struggle to fill that fifth slot. There were only four episodes of this season that I enjoyed unequivocally, but there were a LOT that I loved half of, or even just one scene of. Despite its bad reputation, I almost picked GREY 17 IS MISSING because of the fantastic Neroon stuff. I very nearly chose CEREMONIES OF LIGHT AND DARK, because Marcus fighting the gangsters and then being instantly disabled by Lennier was so great, and because the makeshift ceremony at the end where each character confesses something to Delenn was one of the most perfect scenes in the series. I loved Franklin talking to himself in SHADOW DANCING, and the disgusting yet benevolent parasites in EXOGENESIS, and the absolutely wonderful scene with Sheridan and a visiting pastor in THE ROCK CRIED OUT, NO HIDING PLACE. But each of those episodes also had something that bugged me so much I couldn't bring myself to give it a top slot. Instead I went with WALKABOUT, which shares a lot of traits with my dark horse pick from last season, GROPOS: both are smaller stories, slightly separated from the main plot, in which lead characters spend time with fascinating guest stars, revealing small but powerful details about themselves in the process. I really came to care about Erica Gimpel's character, just like I came to care about the Gropos, and it proves that good, solid, character work is still the most important part of a TV show--even a show about space monsters fighting wars against fascist angels.
So, which were my least favorite episodes? In order from least worst to most worst:
5) PASSING THROUGH GETHSEMANE
4) VOICES OF AUTHORITY
3) WAR WITHOUT END
2) A LATE DELIVERY FROM AVALON
1) SIC TRANSIT VIR
See what I mean about this blog not being fun anymore? Some of you think WAR WITHOUT END is super great. I have a very good friend who thinks PASSING THROUGH GETHSEMANE is one of the best hours of television ever made. But I liked both of them, and three others, even less than the episode that was so bad JMS said he would go to every fan's house and apologize one by one. And I think that anecdote illustrates a big part of why this show is so uneven: the one JMS wanted to apologize for was GREY 17 IS MISSING, and the part he wanted to apologize for was a special effect. Never mind the ridiculous story about the death cult, the scientific stupidity of shooting bullets out of a tube of steam, or the offensive joke that made my irrational hatred of Marcus fully and completely rational: he apologized for a monster costume. That tells me two things: 1) the creator of the show and I have very, very different ideas about what makes an episode good or bad, and 2) I bet you and I have very different ideas as well. WAR WITHOUT END is a great example: taken out of context, it's a pretty neat story about a sci-fi time-heist, but taken in context it's a painfully disappointing end to a storyline I'd been waiting on for two seasons. Some of you liked it for what it was, and some of you (including me) disliked it for what it wasn't. We all have different opinions, and none of them are wrong, just different. (Unless you like Marcus: he's a jerk and a waste of screen time, and I will never forgive him for being an a-hole to Lennier.)
One quick note about SIC TRANSIT VIR, though, before we move on. That was the episode that very nearly broke me--the first since BORN TO THE PURPLE that seriously made me consider stopping this whole blog. I thought it was boring, and I thought its villain (and therefore its plot) was unbelievable. But then while looking at the Lurker's Guide entry for a completely different episode, I stumbled across a quote from JMS that made me hate the episode even more. He was talking about the wide variety of tones he gets to write for the show, which is true and definitely one of its strengths, but one of his examples was, and I quote, the "fall down funny, broad comedy in "Vir."" If you can write an episode that ideologically nasty, with zero comeuppance for some absolutely horrible villains, and call it "fall down funny, broad comedy," you are speaking a narrative language for which I have no time or understanding. And I say that as a huge fan of some very dark comedies. I disliked this episode enough when I thought it was just boring and gross, but now that I know it was intended as a comedy? It's my new least favorite episode of the entire series.
Anyway. On to happier things! How about a list of my favorite characters? In order from Best to Still Pretty Awesome:
1) G'Kar
2) Lennier
3) That guy who runs the post office
4) Kosh
5) Sheridan6) Bester
7) Garibaldi
8) Franklin
9) That baby-faced kid from CIC
10) Julie Musante
G'Kar is obvious. He's been the best character on the show since the beginning, and aside from A LATE DELIVERY FROM AVALON he hasn't had a single misstep. Lennier has also been one of my perennial favorites, but he had a moment in CEREMONIES OF LIGHT AND DARK that catapulted him into the stratosphere. I literally almost put him higher than G'Kar. Marcus has just easily defeated an entire room full of armed thugs, and starts to go for Lennier, and Lennier STOPS HIM COLD. He lifts Marcus up, one-handed, by the throat, gives an amazingly badass "don't mess with me" face, and says "We may look like you, but we are not you." That sentiment, and that specific phrasing, is so beautifully, perfectly alien, in a way that reminds us instantly and powerfully of the fundamental differences between the humans and the other species on the show, and I love it. If I took the time to assemble a list of my favorite bits of dialogue from the series, it would be at or near the top. Lennier is the best.
Julie Musante, if you've forgotten the name, is the political officer who serves as the villain in VOICES OF AUTHORITY. It's on my "worst of the season" list, but not because of her--I thought she was a fantastic antagonist, fully believable as a smiling, fascist politburo officer, and I wish she'd stuck around longer. I almost phrased that as "I wish we could see more of her," but then I remembered what she did in her episode and decided to choose some better wording (though clearly I still thought it was funny enough to add as an afterthought).
You'll notice that Ivanova and Vir, two of my long-standing favorites, are not on the list. Sorry. Ivanova didn't really do much this season (the show doesn't use her enough in general), and Vir completely fell apart in the back half, losing all of his character growth for no clear reason that I can find. On the other hand, Bester and Garibaldi are finally on the list! Bester was phenomenal this season, especially in DUST TO DUST, and Garibaldi really came into his own, for reasons I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it's his involvement in the Franklin/stims storyline? Crushing the Nightwatch? Whatever it is, he's there. Just off the list, in slot 11, is Sinclair--WAR WITHOUT END didn't really use him well, but it was a delight to see him back again, and I miss him a lot. At least he got a legitimately incredible sendoff as the Minbari messiah. I love you, Sinclair. Kosh also got an incredible sendoff, along with some amazing scenes that are kind of cheating--I'm counting the two dream sequences where he appeared as Sheridan's and G'Kar's fathers--but he's such a delight, and so well written, I couldn't not put him in there. His angry argument with Sheridan, in which he calls him "disobedient" but then sees his own errors and gives his life to make them right, was phenomenal.
Seasons 1 and 2 were a show trying to find itself. Season 3 has found itself, but it's a self that I only occasionally love. I do tend to like it more often than not, though, so cheers. Time to see what Season 4 has in store.
In fact, I disliked this season so much that I think it ruined the fun of the blog for most of you. It certainly ruined it for me. I watch the stats and comments, and I noticed a distinct drop in engagement right about the time I said that PASSING THROUGH GETHSEMANE was kind of dumb, and it's never really recovered. Because that's not why you're here! You're here for a fun author to say fun things about your favorite show! And you got that for two seasons, but now it's just some random Internet jerk saying mean things about Marcus and failing to recognize serialized genius, and this is not what you signed up for. Sorry. It's not what I wanted, either.
And I think I've identified WHY this is my least favorite season: Seasons 1 and 2 asked a bunch of questions, and now season 3 is answering them, and I don't like most of the answers. What's up with the Nightwatch? Meh, just a flatly evil Big Brother. What's up with Babylon 4? Nothing nearly as interesting as you'd hoped. Who's behind all the bad stuff going on? Just the Shadows, every single time. In the final episode Anna Sheridan says "don't you want to find out what's really going on?" And then we go with her, and we find out, and it's just "war makes people strong, so we're starting a war." There were virtually no reveals in the entire season that lived up to hype--none of them made me more excited about the story, or expanded the scope of the world, they just made everything feel smaller and less mysterious. I write horror, and one of the principles of horror is that audiences are usually more scared by what they think is going to happen than by what is actually happening; they'll be terrified of a monster they can't see or understand, but then as soon as the monster is finally revealed that sense of mystery and danger drains out of the story. The best stories avoid this, by making sure that when the monster is revealed it is still surprising or shocking or fascinating in some way--that it either supersedes whatever horrible thing we were imagining, or subverts it completely. One of my favorite examples is Hannibal Lecter in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS: we're told how dangerous he is, and what he's done and what he can do, and then when we finally see him he's not anything remotely like what we expected. The reveal makes the story bigger, not smaller, by expanding our possibilities and asking a bunch of all-new questions to replace the one it answered. And this principle applies to every reveal in every story--not just monsters, but mysteries and twists and plot turns and payoffs and every cool answer that a story can give. You have to give us more than we expected, or something we never expected at all, but in Season 3 I feel like B5 has consistently given us very small or very obvious answers. There have only been a few times when I felt truly surprised--only a few times my mind was really blown--and the rest has been, while not boring, simply run-of-the-mill.
But let's talk about those good times! I loved the bit in CONVICTIONS, when G'Kar explains that he's ready to let himself die simply so he can murder Londo through inaction. On the flip side, I loved the bit in DUST TO DUST when G'Kar has a vision of G'Kwan and converts himself into a contrite and forgiving religious leader. I loved discovering that the parasites in EXOGENESIS were actually good and wise. I loved watching Babylon 5 secede from Earth--a solution to one problem that created a multitude of new ones. I adored the sequence in INTERLUDES AND EXAMINATIONS where Sheridan convinced Kosh to step up and fight, and Kosh literally gave his life to put his money where his mouth was. I loved the moment when Neroon cedes control of the Rangers to his political enemy, not because it helps him but because it's the right thing to do. And I thought the surprise reveal that Sinclair didn't just go back in time but literally became Valen was incredibly cool, widening the scope of the story in a way I'd never suspected. These were all moments that made the story richer and more alive; they swung for the fences, and told the biggest and best story they could tell. And they're also pretty much my list of favorite episodes:
In order from favorite-est to slightly less favorite:
1) DUST TO DUST
2) INTERLUDES AND EXAMINATIONS
3) CONVICTIONS
4) SEVERED DREAMS
5) WALKABOUT
I had to really struggle to fill that fifth slot. There were only four episodes of this season that I enjoyed unequivocally, but there were a LOT that I loved half of, or even just one scene of. Despite its bad reputation, I almost picked GREY 17 IS MISSING because of the fantastic Neroon stuff. I very nearly chose CEREMONIES OF LIGHT AND DARK, because Marcus fighting the gangsters and then being instantly disabled by Lennier was so great, and because the makeshift ceremony at the end where each character confesses something to Delenn was one of the most perfect scenes in the series. I loved Franklin talking to himself in SHADOW DANCING, and the disgusting yet benevolent parasites in EXOGENESIS, and the absolutely wonderful scene with Sheridan and a visiting pastor in THE ROCK CRIED OUT, NO HIDING PLACE. But each of those episodes also had something that bugged me so much I couldn't bring myself to give it a top slot. Instead I went with WALKABOUT, which shares a lot of traits with my dark horse pick from last season, GROPOS: both are smaller stories, slightly separated from the main plot, in which lead characters spend time with fascinating guest stars, revealing small but powerful details about themselves in the process. I really came to care about Erica Gimpel's character, just like I came to care about the Gropos, and it proves that good, solid, character work is still the most important part of a TV show--even a show about space monsters fighting wars against fascist angels.
So, which were my least favorite episodes? In order from least worst to most worst:
5) PASSING THROUGH GETHSEMANE
4) VOICES OF AUTHORITY
3) WAR WITHOUT END
2) A LATE DELIVERY FROM AVALON
1) SIC TRANSIT VIR
See what I mean about this blog not being fun anymore? Some of you think WAR WITHOUT END is super great. I have a very good friend who thinks PASSING THROUGH GETHSEMANE is one of the best hours of television ever made. But I liked both of them, and three others, even less than the episode that was so bad JMS said he would go to every fan's house and apologize one by one. And I think that anecdote illustrates a big part of why this show is so uneven: the one JMS wanted to apologize for was GREY 17 IS MISSING, and the part he wanted to apologize for was a special effect. Never mind the ridiculous story about the death cult, the scientific stupidity of shooting bullets out of a tube of steam, or the offensive joke that made my irrational hatred of Marcus fully and completely rational: he apologized for a monster costume. That tells me two things: 1) the creator of the show and I have very, very different ideas about what makes an episode good or bad, and 2) I bet you and I have very different ideas as well. WAR WITHOUT END is a great example: taken out of context, it's a pretty neat story about a sci-fi time-heist, but taken in context it's a painfully disappointing end to a storyline I'd been waiting on for two seasons. Some of you liked it for what it was, and some of you (including me) disliked it for what it wasn't. We all have different opinions, and none of them are wrong, just different. (Unless you like Marcus: he's a jerk and a waste of screen time, and I will never forgive him for being an a-hole to Lennier.)
One quick note about SIC TRANSIT VIR, though, before we move on. That was the episode that very nearly broke me--the first since BORN TO THE PURPLE that seriously made me consider stopping this whole blog. I thought it was boring, and I thought its villain (and therefore its plot) was unbelievable. But then while looking at the Lurker's Guide entry for a completely different episode, I stumbled across a quote from JMS that made me hate the episode even more. He was talking about the wide variety of tones he gets to write for the show, which is true and definitely one of its strengths, but one of his examples was, and I quote, the "fall down funny, broad comedy in "Vir."" If you can write an episode that ideologically nasty, with zero comeuppance for some absolutely horrible villains, and call it "fall down funny, broad comedy," you are speaking a narrative language for which I have no time or understanding. And I say that as a huge fan of some very dark comedies. I disliked this episode enough when I thought it was just boring and gross, but now that I know it was intended as a comedy? It's my new least favorite episode of the entire series.
Anyway. On to happier things! How about a list of my favorite characters? In order from Best to Still Pretty Awesome:
1) G'Kar
2) Lennier
3) That guy who runs the post office
4) Kosh
5) Sheridan6) Bester
7) Garibaldi
8) Franklin
9) That baby-faced kid from CIC
10) Julie Musante
G'Kar is obvious. He's been the best character on the show since the beginning, and aside from A LATE DELIVERY FROM AVALON he hasn't had a single misstep. Lennier has also been one of my perennial favorites, but he had a moment in CEREMONIES OF LIGHT AND DARK that catapulted him into the stratosphere. I literally almost put him higher than G'Kar. Marcus has just easily defeated an entire room full of armed thugs, and starts to go for Lennier, and Lennier STOPS HIM COLD. He lifts Marcus up, one-handed, by the throat, gives an amazingly badass "don't mess with me" face, and says "We may look like you, but we are not you." That sentiment, and that specific phrasing, is so beautifully, perfectly alien, in a way that reminds us instantly and powerfully of the fundamental differences between the humans and the other species on the show, and I love it. If I took the time to assemble a list of my favorite bits of dialogue from the series, it would be at or near the top. Lennier is the best.
Julie Musante, if you've forgotten the name, is the political officer who serves as the villain in VOICES OF AUTHORITY. It's on my "worst of the season" list, but not because of her--I thought she was a fantastic antagonist, fully believable as a smiling, fascist politburo officer, and I wish she'd stuck around longer. I almost phrased that as "I wish we could see more of her," but then I remembered what she did in her episode and decided to choose some better wording (though clearly I still thought it was funny enough to add as an afterthought).
You'll notice that Ivanova and Vir, two of my long-standing favorites, are not on the list. Sorry. Ivanova didn't really do much this season (the show doesn't use her enough in general), and Vir completely fell apart in the back half, losing all of his character growth for no clear reason that I can find. On the other hand, Bester and Garibaldi are finally on the list! Bester was phenomenal this season, especially in DUST TO DUST, and Garibaldi really came into his own, for reasons I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it's his involvement in the Franklin/stims storyline? Crushing the Nightwatch? Whatever it is, he's there. Just off the list, in slot 11, is Sinclair--WAR WITHOUT END didn't really use him well, but it was a delight to see him back again, and I miss him a lot. At least he got a legitimately incredible sendoff as the Minbari messiah. I love you, Sinclair. Kosh also got an incredible sendoff, along with some amazing scenes that are kind of cheating--I'm counting the two dream sequences where he appeared as Sheridan's and G'Kar's fathers--but he's such a delight, and so well written, I couldn't not put him in there. His angry argument with Sheridan, in which he calls him "disobedient" but then sees his own errors and gives his life to make them right, was phenomenal.
Seasons 1 and 2 were a show trying to find itself. Season 3 has found itself, but it's a self that I only occasionally love. I do tend to like it more often than not, though, so cheers. Time to see what Season 4 has in store.
It's been a long time since I've watched the show all the way through, but I remember that the Shadow War played out without a lot of surprises. Some of that was the storytelling, some of it was reading spoilers on the Internet (that was stupid and I don't recommend it). But then I managed to stay unspoiled for what comes next and it was so much more fun for me. Maybe it's because I didn't know what was coming, or maybe what I got was just better than the Shadow War. I don't know. In the end, Season 4 is my favorite of the 5 seasons.
ReplyDeleteI’m looking forward to it
DeleteStill very much enjoying your posts. I also remember S4 to be the one I enjoyed the most so looking forward to your take on it, particularly where our views differ! I do especially enjoy reading your comments on Marcus, but that's because I found him irritating also.
ReplyDeleteGkar, thankfully, has tons of awesomeness to come. Every time the show says or does something so great that it is remembered now, 25 years later, most likely he was the centerpiece. He started slightly silly, but he grew into one of the best characters in tv science fiction.
ReplyDelete