Join Laura and Xhafer, two internet strangers as they get to know each other while making jokes about one of their favorite TV shows from their childhood, Babylon 5.
JMS puts out the call to break the internet in support of the B5 Reboot as Laura and Xhafer discuss their fan-casting for Londo and G'Kar. You don't want to miss a thing as the Narn-Centauri war reaches its devastating conclusion in Babylon 5 Season 2 Episode 19, The Long, Twilight Struggle.
#B5onCWin23
Hello, and welcome to who are you?
Laura:It's a Babylon five watch cast by a couple of former strangers.
Laura:Now friends who are continuing to get to know each other.
Laura:Over one of their favorite shows from their childhood Babylon five.
Laura:I am Laura.
Xhafer:And I'm.
Laura:And today we're doing a little bit different stuff.
Laura:With all the uh, exciting.
Laura:Reboot Twitter that's been happening today.
Xhafer:Today was reboot Twitter, mageddon.
Xhafer:It was crazy.
Xhafer:so we are recording this on September 19th.
Xhafer:This is going to come out a couple days later.
Xhafer:But yesterday, Joseph Sinskey tweeted.
Xhafer:Saying that he's never asked for the help of the Babylon five community
Xhafer:in the 22 years of the show.
Xhafer:It's history and that he was going to be asking today.
Xhafer:And then today around 11:00 AM.
Xhafer:I think it was, he's all like, I need to prove that there's actually
Xhafer:interest in this show to Warner brothers TV, because they don't
Xhafer:believe that there is, we need to make.
Xhafer:Babylon five.
Xhafer:In 2023 on the CW trending, there was a, there's a much
Xhafer:more concise hashtag than that.
Laura:Yeah, hashtag on CW 23, I think.
Xhafer:Yeah.
Xhafer:That's that sounds right.
Xhafer:Which we did it.
Xhafer:A lot of people treated it.
Xhafer:It was the number one thing on Twitter for a number of hours today.
Xhafer:Including beating out.
Xhafer:The Queen's funeral while it was happening.
Laura:Very
Xhafer:blows my mind.
Xhafer:And it was number two in the UK.
Xhafer:To the Queen's funeral, and it was trending in other
Xhafer:parts of the globe as well.
Xhafer:Twitter was crazy.
Xhafer:I was actually on the Twitter for most of Manning the, who are you account?
Xhafer:And besides some conversations with some other Babylon five podcasters.
Xhafer:which we are going to probably be joining some other ones for
Xhafer:a bonus episode of some variety.
Xhafer:I don't really, we don't really have feel like I've got a good
Xhafer:feel what's going on with it, but it will probably be coming out.
Xhafer:Before this knowing turnaround times and some of those guys.
Xhafer:We'll be joining a number of other Babylon, five podcasters
Xhafer:to talk about the reboot.
Xhafer:And what it means and stuff like that.
Xhafer:Literacy.
Xhafer:So that's cool too.
Xhafer:We're going to do that after we record this episode.
Laura:I'm excited.
Xhafer:But with all this reboot news.
Xhafer:We decided it would be fun to do some more recasting cause we
Xhafer:haven't done that in a little while.
Xhafer:And given the episode, head of us season two, episode 19,
Xhafer:the long Twilight struggle.
Xhafer:Which is out of order, he might think that's out of order.
Xhafer:It is.
Xhafer:It is actually out of order.
Xhafer:HBO.
Xhafer:Max has this one in the next one.
Xhafer:Flipped.
Xhafer:There's actual plot implication.
Xhafer:It's not a huge, but it is in
Xhafer:But it's, this is one of the most Alondo in Chicago episodes.
Xhafer:There are.
Laura:this is very heavy on those two.
Xhafer:Yeah, it seems very appropriate to recast those two roles today.
Laura:Yeah, just the two biggest roles in the show.
Laura:No problem.
Laura:We got this.
Xhafer:It's two, definitely two of the most important to
Xhafer:the most endearing characters.
Xhafer:And to have the.
Xhafer:Most important performances like.
Xhafer:It's easy to like.
Xhafer:Look at sometimes I don't say sometimes acting's an easy
Xhafer:job, but they're definitely.
Xhafer:The differently parts that are harder than
Laura:Sure.
Laura:Yeah.
Xhafer:And these are two incredibly nuanced characters.
Xhafer:That you need to bring a lot to, to be able to pull it
Xhafer:off.
Laura:For sure.
Xhafer:So I've got I've got three sets for my dream casting and
Xhafer:they're all absolutely outrageous and will never happen for the CW.
Laura:I only have one set, but it will also never happen.
Xhafer:And the main thing.
Xhafer:I was looking for.
Xhafer:Was on-screen chemistry between the two actors.
Laura:Okay.
Xhafer:I picked.
Xhafer:Three sets of actors that have all worked together in other stuff before.
Laura:Okay.
Xhafer:And had.
Xhafer:A similar.
Xhafer:Antagonistic, but also friendship kind of layer in that relationship
Xhafer:in their previous work.
Xhafer:And sometimes it's more antagonistic than others.
Xhafer:Sometimes it's more friendship than others.
Xhafer:The parts of London and Chicago definitely stretch these boundaries.
Xhafer:For any of these previously existing sets of characters.
Xhafer:And my first stop is for Londo.
Xhafer:Orlando bloom.
Xhafer:And for Dzhokhar.
Xhafer:John Rhys-Davies.
Laura:I knew you were going to say that the second you said Orlando bloom.
Laura:I was like, there's only one other person that could possibly be the other one.
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:Okay.
Xhafer:They.
Xhafer:They're there.
Xhafer:They've got excellent chemistry together.
Xhafer:And I feel like they both could do I think John Reese Davis is being
Xhafer:an excellent checar in particular.
Xhafer:Given his body of work and his style of acting.
Xhafer:And then Orlando bloom of the two would be a little bit more worried
Xhafer:about with Alondo, but I still think he could do a pretty good job.
Xhafer:He might be too pretty.
Laura:Well, that's what the, that's what the makeup teams for.
Xhafer:It's true.
Xhafer:All right.
Xhafer:My second pair is Zachary Quinto as Lando.
Xhafer:And Carl urban as Dzhokhar.
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:I mean, I could definitely see Karl urban getting into some of the more ridiculous.
Laura:Aspects, you know, if he gets, if he gets a crawfish seen, for example,
Xhafer:For Carl urban is really good at living in the
Xhafer:moment, but Zachary Quinto Of.
Xhafer:This pair compared to the other pair, I feel a lot better about both actors.
Xhafer:Executor Quinto Sacramento is definitely done
Laura:Oh,
Xhafer:like outright evil before.
Xhafer:And could do a very good job with that, but also that redemption arc.
Xhafer:And what's coming with Alondo is also so important and, you know, being the elder
Xhafer:statesman, and there's a lot of nuance in Zachary Quinto could definitely bring
Laura:Sure.
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:Okay.
Xhafer:And then my final pair is as Alondo Michael Fassbender.
Xhafer:And as Dzhokhar James
Xhafer:McAvoy.
Laura:Okay.
Laura:What for maybe you're less educated.
Laura:Co-host what are they a duo in?
Xhafer:The X men historic X-Men.
Xhafer:So not the.
Xhafer:Not the uh, Patrick Stewart ones, but the ones that are set in the past,
Xhafer:they are Magneto and professor X,
Laura:Oh, okay.
Laura:Yeah, that's a good duo to poll.
Xhafer:Yeah.
Xhafer:There's a lot of overlap between those two characters.
Xhafer:And Londo in checar in weird sorts of ways.
Xhafer:And sometimes its parts are traded.
Xhafer:Like Magneto's kind of got this like tragic oppressed past that Dzhokhar
Xhafer:has a lot more in common with.
Xhafer:But I think.
Xhafer:The character Magneto has more in common with Alondo than
Xhafer:checar.
Xhafer:But it is also a good mirror of their very early relationship in season one.
Xhafer:Where compared to now, their roles are definitely flipped.
Laura:Okay.
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:I like all those combos.
Laura:Those are, especially, you know, when you think The other characters they've played.
Laura:I didn't pick a character.
Laura:Do I'll tell you about my logic.
Laura:Okay.
Laura:So.
Laura:the two actors that I picked.
Laura:Both wound up being in their sixties, which is a little older than.
Laura:Obviously Peter Jurassic and Andreas were.
Laura:Per their roles.
Xhafer:Andreas I think was up
Xhafer:there during this
Laura:okay.
Laura:I know he's since passed away.
Laura:So, you know, he might've been a little farther up there.
Laura:You can't really tell it with all
Xhafer:I think he's in
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:Oh, that makeup on him.
Laura:It's like, no.
Xhafer:Yeah.
Laura:He could be anything.
Laura:But both of these actors are in their sixties.
Laura:I give myself like a justification for that in that.
Laura:I think that there's a real.
Laura:Feeling in the zeitgeists of our current political situation.
Laura:In the United States, at least that.
Laura:Amongst, you know, gen X-ers millennials, gen Z.
Laura:Most of us are being governed by people.
Laura:In their sixties and seventies and.
Laura:We have some different tastes on what we think our government should be like.
Xhafer:That's the nicest way I've ever heard that said.
Laura:We're, we're kind of getting a little tired of some of the ideas
Laura:that are still hanging on and.
Laura:For say the Senate.
Laura:The house.
Laura:All branches of our government, really.
Laura:So.
Xhafer:For sure.
Laura:easily get away with two actors in their sixties in this context.
Laura:Right?
Laura:Cause we're, we're feeling that and you know, the Wando character
Laura:is kind of supposed to be a little bit of a washed up bureaucrat.
Xhafer:Yeah.
Laura:you know, Jakarta is supposed to be experienced in season.
Laura:So I think it makes sense, right.
Laura:So I've, I've talked myself
Xhafer:Okay.
Laura:For Alondo it was important for me to pick somebody
Laura:who was kind of a soft man.
Laura:You know, somebody that you kind of feel that washed just from.
Laura:Their demeanor.
Laura:And so I was thinking about this person.
Xhafer:Did you just pick Mitch McConnell?
Laura:There's our zinger.
Xhafer:Uh,
Laura:Episode
Laura:over.
Laura:We're
Laura:No.
Laura:So.
Laura:I was like, well, Who's an actor that I saw that was kind of soft.
Laura:And had that kind of washed up feeling.
Laura:And I've been watching the new house of the dragons series on HBO.
Laura:And I've been thinking about the old game of Thrones, right?
Laura:So I thought mark Addy, who played Robert Brathen for Orlando.
Xhafer:Ah, yeah, that's a good
Laura:I could see, we know he can do kind of the party boy thing because
Laura:Robert was a notorious drunk.
Laura:Right.
Laura:You know, I maybe take the beard off of him.
Laura:Like no beard for Londo.
Laura:I like the idea of clean, shave and Londo.
Laura:But I thought he could do it.
Laura:And, and you know, of course he's got.
Laura:The chops to do like the pompous and the.
Laura:The Regal and you know, I think mark Addy would be a good choice.
Laura:It'll never happen, but I would like it.
Laura:So then for Dzhokhar, I was thinking, well, there's a couple of things that
Laura:are important to me about Dzhokhar.
Laura:I want him to be a little bit taller than Londo.
Xhafer:Okay.
Laura:so you can get a couple of those scenes where, you know, they're staged at
Laura:least to look like Dzhokhar is towering.
Laura:Want him to be, you know, a broad shoulder kind of person.
Laura:I want him to have a really distinct voice.
Laura:And so a voice actor that I've been in miring lately, I've, I've
Laura:seen his work in adventure time.
Laura:Let's see, he was in an amphibia that we watched with my son.
Laura:Um, Is Keith David.
Xhafer:Okay.
Laura:You know, he was, he was the flame king in adventure time.
Laura:Noble role.
Laura:He was the king, the king of the newts.
Laura:In amphibia he's got a lot of king things under there, so
Laura:very commanding, very Regal.
Laura:Yeah.
Xhafer:Yeah, I'm thinking the same dude.
Xhafer:Okay.
Xhafer:He was someone in deep space, nine wasn't.
Xhafer:He.
Laura:I mean, if they never got this man to play at cling
Laura:on, they just really missed her.
Xhafer:Was, he was not in star Trek.
Xhafer:I'm making this all
Xhafer:up in my head.
Laura:I mean, star Trek really missed out on that, but not casting this man.
Laura:Right?
Laura:I
Laura:Distinctive voice.
Xhafer:Yeah.
Xhafer:A hundred percent should have been cleaned out at some point.
Xhafer:Or a Romulan for
Laura:Yeah, Yeah, he could have been
Xhafer:He's got that.
Xhafer:He's got a Regal aspect.
Xhafer:He definitely could have been.
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:So that's, that's my pair.
Laura:That's my dream.
Laura:Pear.
Laura:But, you know, it's one of the things I'm not sure the CW
Laura:has HBO game of Thrones money.
Laura:So.
Xhafer:Well, I'm honestly the way all the network stuff is happening right now,
Xhafer:this could very easily end up on HBO, max.
Xhafer:Instead.
Xhafer:So who knows?
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:I don't think that would be the worst thing in the world, but
Xhafer:I would, I would much prefer them to have an HBO max budget compared
Xhafer:to a CW The different, I think the main difference though, would be number of
Xhafer:episodes because of the time the CW it's getting a 20-something episode season.
Xhafer:If it's on HBO, max, it's
Laura:Yeah, they better be 10 really good episodes too.
Xhafer:Yeah, and I don't, I would rather have probably have
Xhafer:24 lower budget episodes to be
Laura:Yeah, give me more.
Laura:More Babylon
Xhafer:Babylon five needs the time to breathe, you know?
Laura:true.
Xhafer:That's that's part of what makes it such a good show is
Xhafer:it knows when to take those And you can't do that in 10 episodes.
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:And that's, I mean, some of the problems that get me thrown so
Laura:struggled with Well, what episode are we going to talk about today?
Laura:Joe?
Xhafer:We've we've got season two episode 19, the long Twilight struggle.
Xhafer:As we already mentioned, this is flipped to the next episode,
Xhafer:divided loyalties aired first, and I N comes first in story order.
Xhafer:Very clearly due to an interaction with Sheridan and
Laura:Yes.
Laura:That's where I spotted it.
Xhafer:Yeah, that's when it was like, oh, maybe these could have been.
Xhafer:And then it was like, oh no, this is fucked up.
Xhafer:They fucked this up.
Xhafer:HBO max needs to fix this.
Xhafer:This, this is, this is just actually
Laura:huh.
Xhafer:But I do have one note.
Xhafer:The title does come from a quote from JFK.
Laura:I got this one, too.
Xhafer:I got the whole paragraph it's in my episode guide book,
Xhafer:it's the first thing in the
Xhafer:episode.
Xhafer:it talks about it.
Xhafer:Yeah.
Xhafer:Now the trumpet summons us again, not as a call to bear arms, though.
Xhafer:Arms we need.
Xhafer:Not as a call to battle though in battle we are, but it's a call to
Xhafer:bear the burdens of a long Twilight struggle year in and Rejoicing
Xhafer:and hope patient in tribulation.
Xhafer:A struggle against the common enemies of man tyranny, poverty,
Xhafer:disease, and war itself.
Laura:Yeah, JFK speech.
Laura:One of his inaugural addresses
Laura:So this is another one of those things that I not being a.
Laura:Very stellar historian did not catch.
Laura:This I'm just, you know, I hear things like the last best And
Laura:the long Twilight struggle.
Laura:And I think God, what a good writer, John Michael street Sinskey is.
Laura:And then my husband's like, no, that's a presidential speech.
Laura:So, yeah, I mean, I really like how.
Laura:This section, at least of the inaugural address fits with this episode in
Xhafer:For sure.
Laura:Like a very, very nice curated selection.
Xhafer:Yeah, and it fits, I mean, Chicago gives one of the best
Xhafer:speeches of the entire series
Xhafer:in this episode.
Laura:Oh, my God.
Xhafer:it's at the end and
Xhafer:we'll get
Laura:we will.
Xhafer:All right, but we open on centaury prime.
Xhafer:With REFA and Alondo in the emperor's chambers.
Laura:I really thought that we were going to get the emperor here.
Laura:I was like, oh, it's
Xhafer:We don't for awhile
Laura:what a disappointment.
Xhafer:Um, It is.
Laura:Is that the emperor shows up earlier.
Xhafer:Cast car Tasha earlier.
Xhafer:He's absent.
Xhafer:Reefa just sits on the
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:Real fruit.
Xhafer:And Lambda was summoned because the centaury are about to win the war with
Laura:Yeah, they haven't asked for Rondo's help
Xhafer:Nope, not
Laura:Yep.
Laura:They just kind of backed him into a quarter on this one.
Xhafer:Yep.
Xhafer:Over on B Five dilemmas meditating.
Xhafer:Uh, When she greets an old friend, it is drawl who totally forced Ivanova
Xhafer:to work early needlessly, super rude.
Laura:But the number one sin and avant of his book.
Laura:Get me out of bed
Xhafer:Like they forced the CNC crew to freak out and call her
Xhafer:because the planet sending signals.
Xhafer:And then she's got to tell she gets on the phone until Sheridan and he's just
Xhafer:like, yeah, he's in my room right now.
Xhafer:Like, it's
Laura:I love the fake out that happens here because they like.
Laura:Are calling for avant of, I think.
Laura:And it goes to somebody's quarters and there's a nice steamy shower.
Laura:And you're like, oh God, it's a lot of uh, and then it's,
Laura:it's just priests box lighter.
Laura:No
Xhafer:Yeah.
Laura:Get everybody all hot and bothered for Ivanova and then whoops.
Xhafer:Right.
Xhafer:After theme draw who only ever met Sinclair introduces,
Xhafer:this helps to Sheridan.
Xhafer:Sheridan's aware of him.
Xhafer:Draw tells him to come visit ASAP and to bring another hill though,
Xhafer:who, which is more sellable than saying, I already talked to Dylan.
Laura:Yeah, but this way.
Laura:It's way
Laura:more mysterious, Right.
Xhafer:right?
Xhafer:It's gotta be mysterious.
Xhafer:You gotta force.
Xhafer:You gotta like force Deland to hurry to find Instead of just being
Xhafer:all like, oh also bring to LAN.
Xhafer:So that way she's not running around the station.
Xhafer:He's not wondering who the hell it is.
Xhafer:It'd be so much
Laura:Do you think he's shipping these two together really hard and he's
Laura:just trying to make it like a little.
Xhafer:He makes it very clear.
Xhafer:He is witnessing everything that's happening on the station.
Xhafer:In the creepiest way possible.
Xhafer:So yeah, I think a hundred percent he feels they're
Laura:He's taking the dolls and he's going now.
Xhafer:That is exactly what's happening.
Xhafer:Over at Dzhokhar's quarters.
Xhafer:Uh, He's talking to just stem.
Xhafer:And Hey.
Xhafer:We know this guy, this is William Morgan shepherd.
Laura:I like him better in this role.
Laura:Way better.
Xhafer:He's significantly less creepy than he was as the soul hunter.
Laura:Very dignified to.
Xhafer:if you.
Xhafer:didn't listen to our soul hunter episode.
Xhafer:This is mark Shepherd's dad.
Xhafer:Of supernatural fame.
Xhafer:And he's telling checar uh, that the fight does not go well in her price.
Laura:Yeah.
Xhafer:There's one chance that the non have cutting off the
Xhafer:Suntory supply lines before they drive further into Suntory space.
Xhafer:And drag the battle and hence wore out until the Suntory grow distasteful of it.
Xhafer:Now.
Xhafer:Obviously.
Xhafer:It isn't the intention.
Xhafer:But I'm seeing so much of Ukraine and Russia.
Xhafer:Especially at
Xhafer:this bit.
Laura:Oh, my God.
Laura:Right?
Laura:the parallels are uncanny.
Xhafer:Yeah, it's spooky.
Xhafer:How it feels, these, this, this fictional conflict and this real one.
Xhafer:Short of the ending of this episode, where that ends the conflict, which Jesus, fuck.
Xhafer:I hope doesn't happen.
Laura:Yeah.
Xhafer:Because I know what the equivalent there is, and I'm not even,
Xhafer:I don't even want to say it out loud to
Laura:Yeah, no, I think we all have enough imagination here that we can.
Laura:smell, what you're stepping in.
Xhafer:Uh, Justin says goodbye to his favorite nephew.
Xhafer:And heads off reinforcing Dakar's work as being more important to
Xhafer:the war than a fleet of ships.
Laura:Yeah.
Xhafer:That's important bits there because that's going to be what he needs.
Xhafer:Well next
Laura:Yeah.
Xhafer:DLN runs and meet Sheridan and they head down to
Xhafer:the surface of Epsilon three.
Laura:Yeah.
Xhafer:And then REFA and Alondo are back on Suntory prime talking about the
Laura:Now they're backing him in the corner.
Xhafer:Yeah, this is, this is putting baby in the corner over here.
Xhafer:REFA is going to pull all the forces away from Koresh seven before the non attack.
Xhafer:And Alondo was indignant.
Xhafer:What is this reefer
Xhafer:madness?
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:You got to get one in
Laura:there at least.
Xhafer:He explains your secret army will defend while we take the Narin
Xhafer:Homeworld while it's unprotected.
Xhafer:Uh, They won't in vain darn rather than they're just going to flatten
Xhafer:it with those illegal mass drivers.
Laura:Yeah, this is just some really wild logic.
Laura:My opinion.
Xhafer:Yeah, I mean, if you kill everyone on the planet,
Xhafer:you don't need to worry about.
Xhafer:Putting foot soldiers on the
Laura:Yeah, I guess we've already used this planet for a lot of its resources.
Laura:So at this point it's just like revenge, right?
Laura:We're not.
Laura:Going for any more stuff really?
Xhafer:Yeah, there, there infrastructure probably doesn't matter.
Xhafer:You know, when you've got a, a, a nation that doesn't maintain its infrastructure
Xhafer:for so long and it's crumbling anyways.
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:So these mass drivers, like now that I have read the expanse
Xhafer:Yeah.
Xhafer:Are they in there?
Laura:I don't, I don't want to say that they're exactly in there, but you know
Laura:the idea comes up in the books that, Do you really don't need like, A nuclear
Laura:weapon to harm people once you're in space, like you just need a big rock.
Laura:And you need to throw it hard enough.
Laura:And it doesn't even have to be that big really depends on, you know, it's
Laura:all a function of physics, right.
Xhafer:Yeah, it doesn't need to be that big and it doesn't need to be thrown
Xhafer:that hard because terminal velocity is
Laura:Yeah.
Xhafer:And it's going to hit that before it hits the ground anyways.
Xhafer:So it's really more about being accurate when you're trying to
Xhafer:throw But you're throwing asteroids at a planet for four days.
Xhafer:Which is the plan.
Xhafer:Uh, It doesn't really matter where that point.
Laura:The descriptions of like the destruction that this
Laura:would cause that they come up within the expanse Just really.
Xhafer:Oh, It's
Laura:It's hard to.
Laura:It's hard to fathom it without someone giving you that kind of illustration.
Xhafer:Yeah.
Xhafer:It's a, these have been around in Saifai for a long time.
Xhafer:As a concept.
Xhafer:I mean, I think.
Xhafer:Even JMS is like listed some book from the 1950s that has the minute.
Xhafer:When I was reading through his use note stuff.
Xhafer:They are horrifying.
Xhafer:It is a horrifying concept.
Laura:Isn't that also um, Robert Highlands, the moon is a harsh mistress.
Laura:I think the people is a moon.
Laura:Take, well, I don't know that they use mass drivers necessarily.
Laura:I don't know that they call it that, but basically they start flinging rocks.
Laura:At some point, I think, where they threatened to at least
Laura:it's been a while since I read
Xhafer:Ah, man.
Xhafer:I think.
Xhafer:The last time I haven't read the moon is a harsh mistress.
Xhafer:I audio booked it on a family trip.
Xhafer:I think when I was like
Xhafer:15.
Laura:Yeah.
Xhafer:And I remember a bunch of it, but I don't remember that.
Laura:Okay.
Laura:Maybe I'm thinking of a different Heinlein book.
Laura:I don't know, but you know, the idea that, you rock
Laura:from space.
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:Uh, a rock from space is going to be devastating.
Laura:Even we have lots of just accidental rocks from space in Saifai Canon, you know
Xhafer:Yeah.
Xhafer:It's Armageddon, but we pointed it at
Laura:It's Armageddon on purpose.
Xhafer:Oh, you know, they totally do that in Starship troopers.
Xhafer:The bugs launched in asteroid at Buenos Aires.
Xhafer:That's what starts the war and Starship
Laura:God, that's a wild trip.
Laura:That movie.
Laura:The book is interesting too, but the movie is definitely wild.
Xhafer:Yes.
Xhafer:Anyways, back at the station.
Xhafer:Garibaldi is suspicious of draws message.
Xhafer:But Ivanova confirms it as genuine and dilemmas Sheridan decided to head down.
Xhafer:Back on centaury prime reefer tells Londo that they will be on the
Xhafer:bridge of the flagship, overseeing their victory at the NAR and home
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:He's like, not only do you have to call your friends and have
Laura:them come help us let's go see it.
Xhafer:Yeah.
Xhafer:Let's just go watch.
Xhafer:Millions upon millions of people die.
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:God, he's such a Google.
Xhafer:Yeah.
Xhafer:Shakara arrives at MetaLab at Dr.
Xhafer:Franklin's request who warns at the invasion of the non-home
Xhafer:world appears to be eminent.
Laura:Yes.
Xhafer:He had overheard some refugees talking about strange.
Xhafer:Centaury behavior.
Xhafer:And passes it along to checar because the soldier died before
Laura:Yeah, Jakarta is very thankful and he gets on the horn right away.
Laura:To tell just Stan, but it's too late.
Laura:Everything's rolling.
Laura:And just in, will not abort this assault, even if it looks like.
Laura:Something else is going.
Laura:Going to happen.
Xhafer:Sheridan and Dillon make and they are uh, traversing the
Xhafer:catacombs of the great machine.
Xhafer:When she casually curses, noting that she's been studying the human languages.
Xhafer:This is in direct reference and she actually quotes Next episode.
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:Yeah, this
Laura:is where yep.
Laura:Continuity is all wrong.
Laura:It's broken.
Laura:I wouldn't call this a casual curse.
Laura:I call this an emphatic
Xhafer:That's fair.
Xhafer:They eventually find the big CG hallway of you're almost
Laura:Yeah, we saw this big CG hallway before.
Xhafer:Checar calls his uncle to get them to cancel the attack.
Xhafer:He refuses and offers the famous last words of we'll talk about this
Xhafer:after this very dangerous and deadly battle with our enemy who completely
Xhafer:overwhelms us in every such a trope.
Laura:Yup.
Xhafer:Sheridan and Dylan.
Xhafer:Make it over to draw.
Xhafer:Who holograms in and reveals he could have guided them through
Xhafer:the catacombs, but just chose not
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:But a draw move.
Xhafer:Also he comments on Dylan's transformation.
Xhafer:Like he didn't just see her 10 minutes ago.
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:Also, he sees everything.
Laura:I mean,
Xhafer:Yeah.
Xhafer:gets real creepy in here.
Xhafer:Before speaking for the audience Really when he talks about Sheridan.
Xhafer:Uh, We weren't sure about you at first, but it's all worked out.
Xhafer:Kind of very much felt like a on purpose proxy.
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:Do you think he's the network executives here?
Xhafer:He
Xhafer:might well be.
Laura:All right, you can
Xhafer:He knows about all the earth shit that's happening.
Xhafer:And offers his and the great machines assistance in the future.
Laura:Someday.
Xhafer:And man, this is the whole thing because you would just immediately like,
Xhafer:okay, I've got literally the best spy satellite that's ever been invented.
Xhafer:At my Beck and call.
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:Hey, tell me what's going on with the, with the Senator Cantrell.
Laura:And president
Xhafer:Right.
Xhafer:Yeah.
Xhafer:Can you just record Clark for like three days?
Xhafer:And just to let me know when he fucks up and gets it on camera, that'd be
Laura:Hey, you know what?
Laura:I'll also be great to know what's going on with Sycor at the same time.
Laura:Okay.
Laura:Thanks.
Xhafer:Just tell me before Buster gets
Laura:Yeah.
Xhafer:That's all I wanted them.
Xhafer:Did I say
Laura:You did, but I kinda like Buster let's call him Buster now.
Xhafer:Buster.
Xhafer:Buster the sidekick from the Seminole.
Xhafer:classic jingle all the way.
Xhafer:That's right.
Xhafer:Babylon five takes place in the jingle.
Xhafer:All the waivers spend.
Xhafer:I know you're laughing right now.
Xhafer:Just A Can that that's a button.
Laura:Don't worry.
Laura:got to keep Ben happy.
Laura:Yeah.
Xhafer:Got to keep Uh, then arrive at garage to find no Centauri,
Xhafer:but five saddo ships, D cloak.
Xhafer:And we get some great music.
Xhafer:This is actually worked into the season three theme.
Xhafer:This piece here, it's worked into the
Laura:It definitely
Laura:sounded familiar.
Xhafer:Yeah.
Xhafer:The shadows destroy the NARKN forces with one of their ships being slightly damaged.
Xhafer:And your car sits in.
Xhafer:The shadows has all of the candles in this quarters have gone out.
Laura:Yeah, I liked the towing, the little shadow
Laura:ship away with the other ship.
Xhafer:That was a
Laura:The CGI really, they put some effort and time and money into.
Laura:And, you know, to have those little sequences, like it's not just
Laura:the shadows completely MOAs over.
Laura:I mean, obviously they do, but you know, we did have some little damage and we
Laura:got to tow it and it's, you know, that's.
Laura:A nice creative
Xhafer:Yeah.
Xhafer:It just latches on and grabs it.
Xhafer:Draw census, some distress calls and send Sheridan and DLN back to Babylon
Xhafer:And then we get a little A shout
Laura:Uh, No.
Laura:We don't get to see our friends at risk, but we find out he's running the great
Laura:machine or he's the, he's the maintenance
Xhafer:Well Zafris is running the great machine, but what about
Xhafer:Zathura's?
Xhafer:Or maybe it will be
Laura:Hm.
Laura:it could be satirists.
Xhafer:A hundred percent.
Xhafer:We just
Xhafer:don't know.
Xhafer:We don't know which one.
Xhafer:Avant of awards, Garibaldi, the Suntory are attacking the Narin
Xhafer:Homeworld ISN reports and violence breaks out immediately in the
Laura:Oh my God.
Laura:So this bar You're telling me all these people would just be hanging
Laura:out together before they find out, you know, like, like nothing's
Laura:been going wrong this whole time.
Laura:Like we just have a bar full of just Narins and Sentara.
Laura:Like mixed and it's like, You're telling me
Xhafer:No drowsy.
Laura:like place.
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:This is.
Xhafer:Yeah, no, I agree.
Xhafer:A hundred percent.
Xhafer:The wars have been going on for six months at this point, per
Xhafer:REFA you would be separated.
Laura:You would, there would be, this is the place the center I go,
Laura:this is the place than our and go.
Xhafer:And we've seen bits of that too.
Xhafer:We've seen Centauri places in Northern places.
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:And then you, you see those people hearing about it and their own
Laura:places and going out into those Oakwood rumble, you know, but.
Laura:Not just all hearing about it in the same bar.
Xhafer:I don't know what it is about the word rumble that makes me
Xhafer:think it's a west side story style
Laura:Nope.
Laura:that's
Xhafer:how it's playing out in
Xhafer:my head right now.
Laura:That'd be a good fight.
Xhafer:their fingers.
Xhafer:All right, well enough with the comedy.
Xhafer:Let's talk about tragedy.
Xhafer:Sheridan, Dylan, get back in already word of the use of mass drivers.
Xhafer:Londo looks on helpless as the weight of his machinations is brought to fruition.
Laura:Yeah, he's made some very bad choices.
Laura:Uh, When all these times he said he had no choice to.
Laura:He's he said that it was all beyond his control.
Laura:And yet.
Laura:Here we are.
Xhafer:he is.
Laura:Yeah.
Xhafer:That scene with him in the reflection.
Xhafer:Is just iconic.
Laura:It is.
Laura:Classic screenshot.
Xhafer:Yup.
Xhafer:It's the cover of my season two guidebook.
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:It's like the most pivotal moment of the season.
Laura:I'd say.
Xhafer:would argue that it's probably one of the most pivotal moments of the show.
Xhafer:Um, It's, it's one of the, definitely one of the most iconic scenes of the show.
Laura:Yeah.
Xhafer:Apparently they almost didn't get the reflection working.
Xhafer:It was the whole thing.
Xhafer:They managed it with a sheet of plexiglass on the green They were not
Xhafer:sure how this was going to happen.
Xhafer:It was apparently a minor miracle that they got that
Xhafer:shot.
Laura:Hey, it was worth it.
Xhafer:A hundred percent.
Xhafer:The non Homeworld is sieged for four days without surrender,
Xhafer:but there's nothing they can do.
Laura:Yeah.
Xhafer:plan on surrendering, but before they do the Curry sends Jakarta, talk
Xhafer:to Sheridan to ask for political asylum.
Laura:God, this is so hard.
Laura:Like the defeat in this man that he projects.
Laura:Too.
Laura:Share it and about, you know, you can tell that it hurts him.
Laura:To ask for sanctuary, but he's.
Laura:Presumably the last of the car re I mean, I don't know if the others
Laura:are dead or just all imprisoned.
Xhafer:We'll be soon enough.
Laura:Yeah.
Xhafer:As we find out in the next
Xhafer:scene.
Laura:They want a man on the outside.
Laura:And so they instruct him to beg earth for.
Laura:Sympathy.
Xhafer:Lando arrives back on Babylon five and immediately
Xhafer:arranges for council meeting.
Xhafer:He announces the non surrender again.
Xhafer:And then he goes over the terms of surrender in front of the
Xhafer:Babylon five advisory council and the league of not aligned
Xhafer:worlds.
Laura:just horrible.
Xhafer:The first is the disbanding of the Kyrie.
Xhafer:They're all war criminals now.
Xhafer:Earth asked to send observers to their trials and to just immediately
Laura:I thought that was just terribly rude.
Laura:Sheridan.
Laura:Sheridan's request was.
Laura:Very reasonable and this interior not having it.
Xhafer:Yep.
Xhafer:To any nurse who kills a centaury will lead to the execution of 500
Xhafer:Narins including their family.
Laura:This is a very Roman sounding punishment.
Laura:I feel like ancient Rome would do this.
Xhafer:This, there is historical precedent for these kinds of things.
Xhafer:You kill one of our people.
Xhafer:We're going to kill a hundred of
Xhafer:yours or 200
Laura:own country, right.
Xhafer:yeah.
Laura:the civil war.
Xhafer:Yeah.
Xhafer:It is there's historical precedent for this kind of mass murder.
Xhafer:And that's just fucking terrible.
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:Nothing changes.
Xhafer:three, A new neuron.
Xhafer:Government's going to be put in place by the Suntory as a colony of the Republic.
Xhafer:And finally Jakarta loses his spot on the council.
Xhafer:Both earth and minbar stand up for Dzhokhar and protect him for,
Xhafer:with their offer of sanctuary.
Xhafer:Londo insists.
Xhafer:He leaves the council chamber immediately.
Xhafer:He gets up and delivers a hell of a few lines.
Xhafer:Just, just cut it in.
Xhafer:There's there's no talking about it.
Xhafer:That will recreate the emotion that That is summoned here.
Laura:and this speech I've seen quoted a lot.
Laura:Lately with the current events going on and.
Laura:versus Russia.
Xhafer:Yes.
Xhafer:I remember after the invasion started, one of the first
Xhafer:things I saw was a picture of a.
Xhafer:Ukrainian.
Xhafer:Uh, Pre is it president or prime
Xhafer:minister?
Laura:the president there.
Laura:Yeah.
Xhafer:Zelinsky with this quote attached to it.
Laura:Yeah, how.
Laura:How strange must that feel for.
Laura:J Michael Stravinsky you know, he's seen these memes.
Laura:He has to have he's all over Twitter.
Xhafer:I'm sure he has.
Xhafer:And honestly, if I were to see him at a convention, I would probably
Xhafer:get in line and ask him that.
Laura:I think that's a great question You know, it has to be.
Laura:Impactful.
Xhafer:Yeah.
Xhafer:We cut to Londa watching ISN uh, who announced week
Xhafer:long celebration of victory.
Xhafer:Shared a meats at your car and reinforces that he personally will do what he can of
Xhafer:course it's too little too late, really.
Xhafer:You know, Sheridan never really got as involved as we should have an earth.
Xhafer:Definitely.
Xhafer:Didn't.
Laura:Yeah, sure.
Laura:It and tried, you know, he had the, what was it?
Laura:Um, Some supply ships with old food.
Laura:That.
Laura:Did your car broke down about.
Laura:In a previous episode.
Xhafer:If earth and Sorry had stepped in and stopped this conflict from
Xhafer:happening in the first Like the first attack happens, NARKN declares war
Xhafer:and they both are just like, no.
Laura:Yeah.
Laura:It makes the
Laura:lens words very hollow.
Laura:Doesn't it.
Xhafer:Yeah.
Xhafer:Dylan calls for Sheridan.
Xhafer:He arrives to a gathering of the Rangers and cosh.
Xhafer:She plays a Sheridan is co-head of the Rangers in the area to help protect With
Xhafer:the Narin Centauri conflict over the next phase of the great war will start soon.
Xhafer:And shared and draws a line in the sand against the darkness.
Laura:Yeah.
Xhafer:And that's the episode.
Laura:A big, big episode.
Xhafer:Huge episode.
Xhafer:And just.
Xhafer:The acting in this episode.
Xhafer:I will say this.
Xhafer:Beth has watched like one episode of Babylon five with me before this, I think.
Laura:Hm.
Laura:Okay.
Xhafer:And not really paid attention.
Laura:Depending on the episode.
Laura:Totally fair.
Xhafer:A hundred percent this episode.
Xhafer:Pulled her attention demanded her attention.
Xhafer:And she even told me I'm emotionally invested in this show now.
Xhafer:Is how powerful.
Xhafer:The acting in this episode is.
. Laura:Yeah.
Xhafer:and this is a Babylon five out of five
Xhafer:A hundred percent.
Xhafer:One of the best episodes of the series.
Xhafer:Just.
Xhafer:The weight of everything.
Xhafer:Is felt and carried.
Xhafer:And this episode reverberates through of the show.
Laura:Yeah, I forgot that I needed even put a rating on this episode.
Laura:And I mean, it's, it's obviously a five out of five.
Laura:I mean, this is.
Laura:Where we start getting the real And this long simmering conflict.
Laura:Comes to a real turn, a dark turn.
Laura:And we're going into like, The long night of Dzhokhar, Dzhokhar is going
Laura:to go through some really crazy shit.
Laura:It doesn't end here just because his planet is.
Laura:Now subjugated and taken over like, His story is just beginning.
Xhafer:Yup.
Xhafer:All right.
Laura:Well, that was a heavy
Laura:episode.
Xhafer:It was a very heavy episode and the next episode is
Xhafer:not exactly light watching either.
Xhafer:We have season two episode 20 divided loyalties.
Xhafer:Rita Alexander returns to Babylon five.
Xhafer:Convincers a trader on board.
Xhafer:Ivanova makes a startling revelation.
Laura:Yeah, very vague.
Laura:I'm excited to see Lita again.
Laura:I thought she was
Xhafer:Yes.
Laura:Ready to have her back.
Xhafer:All right.
Xhafer:Well thank you to Jeremy Siegel for our lovely theme Music, you can find
Xhafer:more of his work at Jeremy Siegel.
Xhafer:40 two.bandcamp.com.
Laura:And thank you to angry duck time machine on Instagram
Laura:for our podcast artwork.
Xhafer:And go ahead and join the community.
Xhafer:And our discord where we'll be chatting about this.
Xhafer:We were chatting about all the Twitter stuff, chatting about all kinds of things.
Xhafer:And then also, who are you?
Xhafer:At gmail.com.
Xhafer:Shoot us an email with your thoughts on season two for our
Xhafer:season two recap episode, that will be coming out in a number of
Xhafer:weeks.
Laura:looking forward to it.
Laura:I can't believe we're almost to the end of season two.
Xhafer:Right.
Xhafer:We're almost at episode 50.
Laura:Yeah, it's
Xhafer:right, we'll see you next weekend or not.
Laura:All right.