Babylon 5: Reboot and Zooty

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Agronox: Feb 4, 2005

Hey Josh how will this end?

*rips giant bong hit*

IN FIRE

# ? Jun 17, 2020 19:22

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# ? May 31, 2024 17:52

Iron Crowned: May 6, 2003; by Hand Knit

*Another rip from the bong*

I have always been here.

# ? Jun 17, 2020 19:31

Anonymouse Mook: Jul 12, 2006; Showing Vettel the way since 1979

Babylon 5: Joshing around

# ? Jun 17, 2020 19:40

CainFortea: Oct 15, 2004

We will meet at the circle K at the hour of scampering.

# ? Jun 17, 2020 19:41

CainFortea: Oct 15, 2004

*Josh steals your lighter you lent him to light his smoke*
You: I really hate it when you do that.
Josh: Good.

# ? Jun 17, 2020 19:47

Jedit: Dec 10, 2011; Proudly supporting vanilla legends 1994-2014

Iron Crowned posted:

*Another rip from the bong*

I have always been high.

# ? Jun 17, 2020 20:08

MonsieurChoc: Oct 12, 2013; Every species can smell its own extinction.

Josh the Zorlon is my new favourite character. :allears:

# ? Jun 17, 2020 21:26

Grand Fromage: Jan 30, 2006; L-l-look at you bar-bartender, a-a pa-pathetic creature of meat and bone, un-underestimating my l-l-liver's ability to metab-meTABolize t-toxins. How can you p-poison a perfect, immortal alcohOLIC?

One moment of perfect bro-ty.

# ? Jun 17, 2020 21:30

Jedit: Dec 10, 2011; Proudly supporting vanilla legends 1994-2014

I'm starting to wonder if The Doctor hasn't seen the show before. It's not just that his observation is on point - he spelled Z'Ha'Dum correctly.

# ? Jun 17, 2020 22:42

TraderStav: May 19, 2006; It feels like I was standing my entire life and I just sat down

I've thought about that as well with how astute many of his observations are. His hate for Garabialdi seems real though. Maybe he googled the spelling?

# ? Jun 17, 2020 22:47

Grand Fromage: Jan 30, 2006; L-l-look at you bar-bartender, a-a pa-pathetic creature of meat and bone, un-underestimating my l-l-liver's ability to metab-meTABolize t-toxins. How can you p-poison a perfect, immortal alcohOLIC?

I think it's more likely he googled the spelling than he's doing an elaborate roleplay of pretending he's never seen the show before.

# ? Jun 17, 2020 22:55

CainFortea: Oct 15, 2004

Or they watch with captions.

# ? Jun 17, 2020 22:58

Doctor Zero: Sep 21, 2002; Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

He�s The Doctor. It�s his TARDIS� psychic field that translates for him.

# ? Jun 17, 2020 23:30

Absurd Alhazred: Mar 27, 2010; by Athanatos

I was going to beat the Shadows, but then I got high

# ? Jun 18, 2020 00:04

CainFortea: Oct 15, 2004

The_Doctor posted:

Londo leaving with the imps on his back reminded me of this shot/jokefrom the Real Ghostbusters cartoon, which coincidentally JMS wrote a bunch of episodes for:

I'd forgotten about this. I wonder if this intentional foreshadowing or not.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 01:55

CatHorse: Jan 5, 2008

CainFortea posted:

I'd forgotten about this. I wonder if this intentional foreshadowing or not.

I don't know how intentional, but Straczynski was a story editor (something closer to a showrunner)

# ? Jun 18, 2020 06:08

Milkfred E. Moore: Aug 27, 2006; 'It's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.'

I just really don't like the Technomages. They feel like they don't fit in Babylon 5's world, and they're one of the more... obvious examples of how JMS thought Lord of the Rings was extremely cool. In the show, they're fine as a one-off, I guess. But the fact that the lore loves them (and expanded on them in so many bad ways) and they showed up in spinoffs and all that. The episode they're in is fine and I like 'space magic' but they're just not a great concept.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 08:20

Jedit: Dec 10, 2011; Proudly supporting vanilla legends 1994-2014

Milkfred E. Moore posted:

I just really don't like the Technomages. They feel like they don't fit in Babylon 5's world, and they're one of the more... obvious examples of how JMS thought Lord of the Rings was extremely cool. In the show, they're fine as a one-off, I guess. But the fact that the lore loves them (and expanded on them in so many bad ways) and they showed up in spinoffs and all that. The episode they're in is fine and I like 'space magic' but they're just not a great concept.

The Technomages in the show rose above their expected level because they were all excellent actors. In addition to Michael Ansara you got Peter and Edward Woodward, who were both great. With a lesser cast they would not be as fondly thought of.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 09:23

Polaron: Oct 13, 2010; The Oncoming Storm

Jedit posted:

I'm starting to wonder if The Doctor hasn't seen the show before. It's not just that his observation is on point - he spelled Z'Ha'Dum correctly.

Yeah, but he also thinks that Z'Ha'Dum is within Starfury range of B5, which it extremely explicitly isn't.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 14:12

Gnome de plume: Sep 5, 2006; Hell.
Fucking.
Yes.

When I think of the technomages I think of early Geocities websites filled with spinning 3d gifs

# ? Jun 18, 2020 14:47

Iron Crowned: May 6, 2003; by Hand Knit

I feel like for better or worse the Technomages were an idea intended to play a much bigger part that got left by the wayside when the outline changed after Sinclair was replaced with Sheridan.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 15:06

Anonymouse Mook: Jul 12, 2006; Showing Vettel the way since 1979

I quite liked the concept of the Technomages being the Shadow equivalent of Vorlons creating Telepaths, it just never really came up and they just seemed to be a nerdier version of the Exogenesis symbiotes

Ansara and the Woodwards definitely carried the concept. It's a crying shame Ansara and Katsulas never shared a scene.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 15:13

Narsham: Jun 5, 2008

Anonymouse Mook posted:

I quite liked the concept of the Technomages being the Shadow equivalent of Vorlons creating Telepaths, it just never really came up and they just seemed to be a nerdier version of the Exogenesis symbiotes

Ansara and the Woodwards definitely carried the concept. It's a crying shame Ansara and Katsulas never shared a scene.

Precisely; the problem with the Technomages is that you either need them out of the story or central to it. B5 exiled them when it introduced them. Crusade, if it had completed, was going to do interesting things with them.

I am still deeply disappointed about Crusade being sabotaged. I was fully anticipating an episode in S2 or 3 of Crusade where the crew ended up communicating with the Shadow plague in an attempt to negotiate with it.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 15:31

Lemniscate Blue: Apr 21, 2006; Here we go again.

Narsham posted:

Precisely; the problem with the Technomages is that you either need them out of the story or central to it. B5 exiled them when it introduced them. Crusade, if it had completed, was going to do interesting things with them.

Maybe that's why I enjoy the Technomage Trilogy of novels more than I should.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 15:46

Zaroff: Nov 10, 2009; Nothing in the world can stop me now!

I'm enjoying this theory in the newbie thread that Keffer was taken over by the Shadows - shame in reality he never got anything so interesting in the series!

# ? Jun 18, 2020 22:15

jng2058: Jul 17, 2010; We have the tools, we have the talent!

Zaroff posted:

I'm enjoying this theory in the newbie thread that Keffer was taken over by the Shadows - shame in reality he never got anything so interesting in the series!

I was just coming here to say that! Poor Keffer, the only interesting thing he ever did was die.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 22:25

Midjack: Dec 24, 2007

Good job, atomicpile is the newest �can�t help myself from talking about poo poo later in the series� poster. :thumbsup:

# ? Jun 18, 2020 22:28

Jedit: Dec 10, 2011; Proudly supporting vanilla legends 1994-2014

I just got to the end of S1 and spotted something in Chrysalis that I hadn't noticed before. A lurker tells Garibaldi that his contact was worried - not looked worried, was worried. That lurker is of course the unnamed character played by Gianin Loffler, who turns out to be a telepath when he reappears in S2. It's likely just a choice of words, but it can be read as foreshadowing.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 22:41

Timby: Dec 23, 2006; Your mother!

jng2058 posted:

Poor Keffer, the only interesting thing he ever did was slit Captain Paulsen's throat

# ? Jun 18, 2020 22:53

SlothfulCobra: Mar 27, 2011

I don't think I can really see the concept of a Technomage working unless it involved ages old technology that nobody knew how it worked. That or technology that actually has something supernaturally involved like magic or ghosts. Otherwise, it's just hackers, who don't in the real world seem to feel the need for all the extra hocus pocus when exploiting security holes and vulnerabilities.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 23:06

The Unlife Aquatic: Jun 17, 2009; Here in my car
I feel safest of all
I can lock all my doors
It's the only way to live
In cars

I think they work best in the capacity they're given in the show. They're an unexplained one-off, another mystery of a universe far vaster than the protagonists could hope to know in their lifetime. A wonder briefly glimpsed, and then fading into the darkness.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 23:24

CainFortea: Oct 15, 2004

They're just campy sci fi things. Sure, I'm not in love with them and salivating to hear more about them but they were fine the one time I saw them.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 23:26

McSpanky: Jan 16, 2005

SlothfulCobra posted:

I don't think I can really see the concept of a Technomage working unless it involved ages old technology that nobody knew how it worked.

Well that's what is, so. The whole deal with cloaking themselves in the trappings of Ye Olde Earth Magicke is definitely JMS being a little too in love with Tolkein though.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 23:42

Doctor Zero: Sep 21, 2002; Would you like a jelly baby?
It's been in my pocket through 4 regenerations,
but it's still good.

You guys seriously don't think that ren fest geeks given the technology would be like that?

# ? Jun 18, 2020 23:47

Absurd Alhazred: Mar 27, 2010; by Athanatos

Technomages are just the natural end-state of steampunks.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 23:50

Lemniscate Blue: Apr 21, 2006; Here we go again.

SlothfulCobra posted:

I don't think I can really see the concept of a Technomage working unless it involved ages old technology that nobody knew how it worked. That or technology that actually has something supernaturally involved like magic or ghosts. Otherwise, it's just hackers, who don't in the real world seem to feel the need for all the extra hocus pocus when exploiting security holes and vulnerabilities.

In the novel trilogy, it's eventually revealed that

the "tech" that lets the mages do their thing is (unbeknownst to them):

a) ancient Shadow technology given to the mages by Shadow agents,

b) grown from living sentients which kills them gruesomely in the process, and

c) designed to turn its user into an uncontrollable engine of destruction and chaos, so the earliest technomages developed "spells" to divorce their use from the influence of the tech as much as possible and use it in a way that minimizes the drive-you-crazy effect.

When they find this out the mages generally accept that the best thing to happen is they just let the order die out, because ew.

# ? Jun 18, 2020 23:52