Earth has declared virtual war against the rebellious B5. So, what makes absolutely perfect sense? Allowing a crew from ISN that sneaks aboard the station to do an “investigative piece” on what exactly is going on there. Sure, the head reporter talks a good talk, but the prospect for the whole thing to go really poorly is incredibly high — something that straight-flyer Sheridan just doesn’t seem to realize, or realize enough to not just kinda-sorta watch what is said, but really-truly do so.
When all is said and done, the crew tune in on the finished product, broadcast from home. There they get to see, after some creative editing, a damning portrayal of Sheridan as a shell-shocked human seduced by a Minbari temptress, engaging in harvesting of “disappeared” folk from Down-Below, thrown into cryogenics and used for inhuman experiments to bring Humans and Minbari into some sort of unholy union. A helpful psychiatrist blends Stockholm Syndrome with PTSD to come up with “Minbari War Syndrome,” where vets of the Minbari war feel that the aliens are so superior to Humans that they are in awe of and want to become more like them.
Oh, and Garibaldi (who’s set up shop down on the Zocalo doing PI and salvage work) gets some screen time talking about how Sheridan’s not the same any more and is suffering from delusions of grandeur. Sure, he’s running on PsiCorps programming, but it’s still kind of shocking how unguarded he is in contrast to his normal paranoid self.
Thanks, Michael.
More in sorrow than anger, the ISN reporter wraps up the story story.
RANDALL: Our job is to report the news, not to make it or guide it. But from this reporter’s perspective the situation on Babylon 5 is deteriorating quickly and must be dealt with. The quarantine order will help prevent more humans from falling prey to this genetics program, but it’s only a short-term solution. As for Sheridan, he does not deserve our scorn, our anger or our contempt. He is a war veteran, and that should at least earn him our sympathy. We here at ISN hope he receives the best care possible so he can someday come back to us. This is Dan Randall for ISN. Good night.
And, yes, really, it’s all about that simple of an episode, an indictment of every agenda-twisted news story you’ve ever seen (no matter where you are on the ideological spectrum), striking at not just B5 but at the relationship between Sheridan and Delenn.
Overall: The clipping of footage is neatly done. A visit to and medical emergency encountered Down-Below becomes something sinister. Delenn and Sheridan being interviewed gets clipped and cropped to turn simple pride in accomplishment and obvious growing affection for one another into something sinister and perverted. And the discovery of all those cryo tubes where the Shadow-infected telepaths reside creates the final piece of the puzzle for the intrepid ISN propagandists.
The final scene is beautiful; a camera is mounted next to the screen that the command crew is watching from. Afterwards, we see their reactions, quietly, within the room, distant, silent, and seemingly unrehearsed in their anger and grief over the betrayal. One after another they leave, and Sheridan steps back in to turn off the TV, switching us to black. Powerful stuff.
(As an in-passing further blow to Sheridan, it’s mentioned in the broadcast that his family’s farm has been burned down, and his father is missing.)
Also of note are the articles leading up to the B5 expose on ISN, including steady (and patriotically supported) retaking of Martian territory from the rebels, and (clearly forced) confessions from a media personality about others who have been conspiring to weaken Earth culture and resolve (all of them not-coincidentally sharing names with HUACC victims from the Red Scare in Hollywood).
Looking at reviews, there are a lot of folk who see the episode as too didactic, too obviously setting up a media hack job on B5. But there’s little done here that is without precedent in governments, whether Soviet or Chinese or, in fact, our own. Much of what it does is make it clear (albeit in a clear fashion) who the real bad guys are, and how bad things actually are back on Earth. This isn’t just a hiccup in relations, but an authoritarian government that will not hesitate to do whatever is necessary, including character assassination to get its way, or, at the very least, to influence its citizenry.
A much better criticism is that the command staff are, after being so suspicious as to joke about spacing the reporters, way too naive about letting these guys do their thing on B5, especially after having been warned by Bester about Clark’s demonstrated animus toward the rebel station. That they do so is convenient plot-wise, but kind of dumb character-wise.
Most Dramatic Moment: Sheridan going over to the window in his office, after the broadcast, Delenn beside him for a moment, then turning away and leaving.
Most Amusing Moment: Londo complaining to Sheridan about the a/c in his quarters, though that’s turned (as broadcast) into Sheridan being ordered about by aliens.
MOLLARI: When I said my quarters were cold, I did not mean, ‘Oh, I think it’s a little chilly in here, perhaps I’ll throw a blanket on the bed.’ No, I said it was cold, as in, ‘Oh, my left arm has snapped off like an icicle and shattered on the floor’! This is highly inappropriate, Captain!
SHERIDAN: You’re right. There are several other parts of your body I’d much rather see snapped off.
Yeah, folk are still a bit torqued off at Londo.
A close second is Sheridan’s initial reactions to reporters sneaking on board.
SHERIDAN: Commander! Did you threaten to grab hold of this man by the collar and throw him out an airlock?
IVANOVA: Yes I did.
SHERIDAN: Well, I’m shocked. Shocked and dismayed. I’d remind you that we are short on supplies here. We can’t afford to take perfectly good clothing and throw it out into space. Always take the jacket off first, I’ve told you that before. Sorry, she meant to say: “Stripped naked and thrown out an airlock.” I apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
Which would be a lot funnier, if Sheridan didn’t then turn around and give said reporters free rein on the station (including not having Security escort them around, so that they wouldn’t be able to find all those corpsicles down in MedLab).
Most Arc-ish Moment: Garibaldi’s still under some sort of external influence. In this instance, the normally paranoid guy gets taken in to speak openly to a camera crew about his thoughts regarding Sheridan. That’s going to have some repercussions down the line.
Overall Rating: 4.1 / 5 — Good, solid stuff, quite in keeping with modern media perceptions twenty years later. Hurt mostly by plot-driven naivete on the part of Sheridan & Co. (Rating History).
Other Resources for this episode:
- Lurker’s Guide
- Babylon Project Wiki
- IMDb
- AV Club (covers eps 7-9 of the season, plus “Thirdspace”)
- TV Tropes
- Sci-Fi Musings
- Sundry Thoughts
Next episode: In the overall timeline, the next episode is actually one of the TV movies, “Thirdspace”. In case you thought the Shadows were too scary, let’s come up with something scarier.
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