Babylon 5 - I'm finally going to do it

Except that there was far more organized religion in "The Parliament of Dreams" than in Believers where there was simply faith.

Jan

 

funny that it's been my experience that people despise organized religions that they disagree with. good call, Jan

 

The thing is that B5 doesn't shy away from featuring, even exploring spirituality/religion even though JMS is an atheist. He knows that religion has been around for a long time and isn't going to go away any time soon. There may be other things that will upset tomalak301 but I'd be willing to bet that there'll be at least one entire episode that he'll like a lot when it comes to religion.

Jan

 

Personally I just didn't care for "Believers", not because it was offensive or moving, it was just... there. I did find the alien of the week culture and religion to come off a little silly, and their stilted dialogue and makeup didn't help.

 

My thoughts exactly. As much as I hate the episode and movie featuring the Soul Hunters, BELIEVERS was ten times worse.

 

Jan,

I did know Katsulas played both Tomalak and G'Kar. It's so sad that he passed away so soon.

As for organized religion, I think the thing I liked about Dreams was that it featured religion in a way that didn't feel like a lecture. Believers talked about the right and wrongs and it just didn't sit well with me. That's why I found it a bit insulting. If we get more episodes like Dreams dealing with religion, than I'll be fine with it.

 

One thing came from Believers that lives on in fan memories: "The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote." That one's definitely in the upper tiers of quoted B5-isms.

Jan

 

While Believers wasn't my favorite episode, I think what may have gotten lost was that Steven was a "believer" too---in medicine---and in his own way just as certain of the rightness of his faith as the parents.

 

Fair enough. Maybe I shoukld have said dogma. People fixated on following dogma. I actually have nothing against people with faith (unless they try to evangelize in my face), only those who ignorantly allow dogma to rule their lives.

I don't express myself well on the subject.

 

I use it often. I love the looks I get.

 

^^ Is this to strangers on the street?

 

I quite liked how, in one of the novels, Londo quoted that to someone else. He prefaced by saying that he wasn't there, but everyone always talked whenever the Vorlon said anything, so he heard it through the grapevine as, "The blizzard has already started, it is too late for the snowflakes to vote."

 

I think my favorite B5 quote is one of Londo's as well....

"Vir...! Intelligence has nothing to do with politics!"

 

Also one of my favourite quotes, well, ever...

 

I also like that the ending isn't the usual Star Trek type stuff. You know, Crusher would have saved the kid, and she and Picard would sit around being all smug and crap even though they'd totally crapped all over another species' belief system.

 

Funny, I didn't see any of that watching TNG but that's neither here nor there.

 

I used it as my New Year's dinner toast one year. And yes, I got a lot of the looks.

 

That's it, I now officially think you're awesome.

 

Well, at least someone appreciates my work.

 

By Any Means Necessary

Now this was an episode that had some religious aspects but didn't piss me off. Probably because those aspects were between G'Kar and Londo and, well, those two characters rock. Loved the interplay between them and actually that plot was a bit better than the A-Plot. As for the workers rebellion, this episode is timely in a sense of the whole recession thing and lacking a budget. It was your typical workers rebellion episode, with an easy solution but the character having the solution being all badass about it. In that sense it wasn't bad. Not my favorite episode of the season, nor am I really jumping up and down, but it was pretty good anyway.