{"id":38785,"date":"2013-09-21T00:09:39","date_gmt":"2013-09-21T06:09:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/09\/21\/b5-rewatch-1-04-infection.html"},"modified":"2014-05-30T08:48:47","modified_gmt":"2014-05-30T14:48:47","slug":"b5-rewatch-1-04-infection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/09\/21\/b5-rewatch-1-04-infection.html","title":{"rendered":"B5 Rewatch: 1×04 "Infection""},"content":{"rendered":"
This episode is looked down on by a lot of B5 followers, but it does have a few glimmers of goodness to it.<\/p>\n

The down sides are legion. The threat (biological war machine from the past infects someone on the station; hilarity ensues) is telegraphed with a loudspeaker. \u00a0The moral lesson (purity campaigns rarely end well) is delivered with all the subtlety of a sledge hammer. \u00a0The direction favors static, empty-of-all-but-minimum-actors tableaux. There are no ambassadorial hi-jinx.<\/p>\n

The up sides are … harder to find. We learn a bit about Dr Franklin. We get a sense of how both the corporations and the military back home are working.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More importantly, we learn a bit more about Jeffrey Sinclair, who acts (once again) like a hands-on suicidal idiot \/ hero to save the station — and actually gets called on it. \u00a0Yeah, the Commander has a kinda-suicidal streak, owing to his time in the war with the Minbari, which explains why he's Jim Kirking all the various menaces on the station. \u00a0Nice. \u00a0The acting in the scene that confronts it is … less than fluid, but it's a nice plot point.<\/p>\n

The best parts are where Sinclair is taunting the Ikarran war machine. \u00a0Michael O'Hare really gets into it, with a hoarse, powerful dynamism that highlights problems he has in other scenes. \u00a0The lines are annoyingly moralistic, but delivered with a serious punch.<\/p>\n

There's a B-plot about an ISN correspondent trying to get an interview with Sinclair, but she's just annoying (opportunity for a funny Ivanova line notwithstanding) and her final Q&A with Sinclair provides the worst justification for space travel ever.<\/p>\n

Honestly, this would rank high on the "B5 episodes you could skip over" (even with\u00a0David McCallum guest starring). But if you have to watch it, and can get beyond the "monster of the week" aspects of it, the stilted monologuing (it being a JMS episode notwithstanding), and the sparse direction, it's not a bad episode …<\/p>\n

Most dramatic bit:<\/b> Sinclair telling the Ikarran war machine just what happened to Ikarra 7.
Most amusing bit:<\/b> Um … nothing, really. Maybe Ivanova intervening when the reporter wants to chase Sinclair around the bridge.
Most arc-ish bit:<\/b> I guess the idea that biological machinery exists, especially with the Vorlons and maybe with the Minbari. \u00a0But, really, nothing critical here.
Overall rating:<\/b> \u00a02 of 5 (that Joe would rather this episode, which he wrote, never existed, is telling.)<\/p>\n

Guide Page:\u00a0http:\/\/www.midwinter.com\/lurk\/guide\/004.html<\/a>
Wikia Page:\u00a0http:\/\/babylon5.wikia.com\/wiki\/Infection<\/a><\/div>\n

\n

\n \n <\/div>\n

Guide page: “Infection”<\/a>
\n An archaeologist smuggles ancient artifacts onto the station, unleashing a living weapon. David McCallum as Dr. Vance Hendricks. Marshall Teague as Nelson Drake. Sub-genre: Action P5 Rating: 6.33 Production number: 101 Original air date: February 18, 1994 DVD release date: November 5, …\n <\/p>\n

View this post on Google+<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This episode is looked down on by a lot of B5 followers, but it does have a few glimmers of goodness to it. The down sides are legion. The threat (biological war machine from the past infects someone on the station; hilarity ensues) is telegraphed with a loudspeaker. \u00a0The moral lesson (purity campaigns rarely end … Continue reading “B5 Rewatch: 1×04 "Infection"”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[106,362],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-plusposts","category-media-tv-babylon-5"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38786,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/09\/21\/b5-rewatch-1-05-parliament-of-dreams.html","url_meta":{"origin":38785,"position":0},"title":"B5 Rewatch: 1×05 "Parliament of Dreams"","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 21-Sep-13 12:37am","format":false,"excerpt":"Ah, now this is what B5 is about -- a chewy, cross-cultural, multi-plotted episode with aspects that will echo into the future ... A-Plot: G'kar is under threat of assassination from an old political rival! B-Plot: An old flame of Sinclair's visits the station! C-Plot: The different alien races on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40786,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/12\/b5-rewatch-s1e20-babylon-squared.html","url_meta":{"origin":38785,"position":1},"title":"B5 Rewatch: 1×20 "Babylon Squared"","author":"***Dave","date":"Sun 12-Jan-14 10:53pm","format":false,"excerpt":"The second-from-last episode of the season, written by JMS, is one of the big WHAM eps, wherein we learn (more) of the fate of Babylon 4, and get metric tons of foreshadowing as to the future in the series -- and the past ...Some spoilers probably follow.The A Plot here\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":159993,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2023\/01\/05\/b5-rewatch-5x08-day-of-the-dead.html","url_meta":{"origin":38785,"position":2},"title":"B5 Rewatch: 5\u00d708 “Day of the Dead”","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 5-Jan-23 6:32pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Neil Gaiman works some magic ... as do Penn and Teller","rel":"","context":"In "Babylon 5"","block_context":{"text":"Babylon 5","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/media\/franchises\/media-tv-babylon-5"},"img":{"alt_text":"Babylon 5 5x08 Day of the Dead - Morden and Lennier","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Babylon-5-5x08-Day-of-the-Dead-Morden-and-Lennier.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Babylon-5-5x08-Day-of-the-Dead-Morden-and-Lennier.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Babylon-5-5x08-Day-of-the-Dead-Morden-and-Lennier.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Babylon-5-5x08-Day-of-the-Dead-Morden-and-Lennier.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Babylon-5-5x08-Day-of-the-Dead-Morden-and-Lennier.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":43692,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/07\/20\/b5-rewatch-3x10-severed-dreams.html","url_meta":{"origin":38785,"position":3},"title":"B5 Rewatch: 3×10 "Severed Dreams"","author":"***Dave","date":"Sun 20-Jul-14 3:18pm","format":false,"excerpt":"\"The Babylon Project was a dream given form.\" -- Jeffrey Sinclair, Season 1 intro\"It failed.\" -- Susan Ivanova, Season 3 introThis episode is touted by some as the best of the series, combining various plot lines colliding and realigning, as well as some great (especially for the time, but even\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43621,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/07\/16\/b5-rewatch-3x08-messages-from-earth.html","url_meta":{"origin":38785,"position":4},"title":"B5 Rewatch: 3×08 "Messages from Earth"","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 16-Jul-14 11:53pm","format":false,"excerpt":"So far, the B5 team have just been quiet conspirators regarding the problems back on Earth. Now they find themselves having to take action ... A-Plot: \u00a0Our Heroes learn (http:\/\/goo.gl\/jOqLHz) that an abandoned Shadow vessel was found on Mars (http:\/\/goo.gl\/urQGxN) several years back, and that Earth Gov and Psi Corps\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":155862,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2022\/01\/10\/b5-rewatch-5x05-learning-curve.html","url_meta":{"origin":38785,"position":5},"title":"B5 Rewatch: 5×05 “Learning Curve”","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 10-Jan-22 6:53pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Wherein we learn more about being a Ranger, none of which is pleasant","rel":"","context":"In "Babylon 5"","block_context":{"text":"Babylon 5","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/media\/franchises\/media-tv-babylon-5"},"img":{"alt_text":"Babylon 5 5x05 Learning Curve - pike fight","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Babylon-5-5x05-Learning-Curve-pike-fight.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38785"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42306,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38785\/revisions\/42306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}