B5: Centauri makeup

[RoJoHen]

One of my biggest nitpicks with B5 (I have very few) is the Centauri makeup. Mainly how Londo and Vir have more defined features from the rest of the Centuari. I think it was Garibaldi who mentioned in the first episode that physical similarities between humans and Centauri, but there was always something about Londo and Vir that made them look at least a little bit alien.

The bushy, yet defined eyebrows. The pointy teeth. The skin discoloration on his forehead.

Aside from the obvious haircut, the rest of the Centuari shown don't seem to have any of these other features. I first noticed it in "The Coming of Shadows" with the Emperor, who doesn't even have the Centuari haircut. There is absolutely nothing about him that distinguishes him from the humans (other than wardrobe, I suppose).

So what's the deal here?

 

[misskim86]

Budget, money etc I'm sure.

 

[Jan]

I've always wondered about the teeth, myself. I've always thought the discolorations on Londo's head were the Centauri equivalent of liver spots. His hairline is much receded when compared to Vir or Refa.

One thing I know about the hair, though, is that the height Londo wore his hair tended to cause trouble when it came to visiting Centauri because the height was supposed to denote status and Londo was far from the highest ranking of the Centauri. That was one reason why Lord Kiro's hair looked so horrid. Also the reason why the Centauri emperor didn't go along with that fashion since he'd've needed a crane to deal with his hair if he had.

Jan

 

[Christopher]

Budget, money etc I'm sure.

Yeah. It's easier to do an elaborate makeup job on one or two actors than a dozen. No doubt Londo's look -- the hairline, the spots, the teeth, etc. -- was originally intended to be characteristic of his species, but as more Centauri showed up, it was easier to simplify the makeup.

 

[grabmygoblin]

not to mention, if every guest star had to wear fangs, the Centauri scenes would likely quickly become noteworthy for spittle.

 

[Orintho]

The bushy, yet defined eyebrows. The pointy teeth. The skin discoloration on his forehead.

Aside from the obvious haircut, the rest of the Centuari shown don't seem to have any of these other features.

Scifi TV shows that do not take the cheap route (set on present-day Earth or something very similar) often have to cut corners here and there to meet their limited budgets. However, I think you are being a little unfair to B5 (which probably did not even have a Trek type show budget). Sure some Centauri did not look all that alien, but others had detail given to their characters. Lord Refa seemed to have the bushy eyebrows if memory serves. The female Centauri always had lots of detail given to their characters.

 

[RoJoHen]

Yes, you are right about the females.

It don't have a problem with them cutting corners, but it's just weird that the majority (there are always exceptions) of Centauri outside of our two main characters are completely missing features, the teeth especially.

 

[Hyperspace05]

I didn't see the differences in makeup as bad - or that notable... I guess I just chalked it up to them trying to represent the Centauri as less homogeneous, with individual/group differences. I think it added to the realism as much as it detracted.

But I do agree with others that they were at least pretty consistent with the bushy eyebrows. It was also made pretty clear that the male hair arrangement was largely symbolic - witness the Centauri soldiers/guards who if I recall correctly had helmets with symbolic hair ridges.

Also, Londo with his boasting and general character was not exactly a good representation of the average Centauri male, I would think. The Centauri emperor in "The Coming of Shadows" was also quite different from the norm.

 

[Orintho]

The Centauri emperor in "The Coming of Shadows" was also quite different from the norm.

Cartagia? Well he was mad and purposefully 'decadent' which is why he had short hair.

 

[Hermiod]

The Centauri emperor in "The Coming of Shadows" was also quite different from the norm.

Cartagia? Well he was mad and purposefully 'decadent' which is why he had short hair.

Male hair length was supposed to be a symbol of social status, wasn't it ? That's why an Emperor with short hair caused such a stir.

 

[RoJoHen]

The Centauri emperor in "The Coming of Shadows" was also quite different from the norm.

Cartagia? Well he was mad and purposefully 'decadent' which is why he had short hair.

No, not Cartagia. The Emperor in "The Coming of Shadows" was in the beginning of Season 2. He was an old guy and had almost no hair, which would have been fine, but he had absolutely no other makeup to distinguish him as Centauri.

 

[Pilot Ace]

The Centauri emperor in "The Coming of Shadows" was also quite different from the norm.

Cartagia? Well he was mad and purposefully 'decadent' which is why he had short hair.

No, the bald one.

 

[Philo]

One thing I know about the hair, though, is that the height Londo wore his hair tended to cause trouble when it came to visiting Centauri because the height was supposed to denote status and Londo was far from the highest ranking of the Centauri.

Was the reason behind the hair length ever explained in the show though? Because if not, we can easily dismiss any inconsistencies about that if it's not necessary to be constrained by it.

I'd put the hair thing more in the category of style and decadence rather than any actual formal social status. Actually, the whole concept behind Centauri style reminds me quite a bit of France in the era between Louis XIV and XVI.

And of course, it would certainly fit with Londo's character (at least the earlier Londo) that he would exaggerate his seeming status that way.

 

[misskim86]

One thing I know about the hair, though, is that the height Londo wore his hair tended to cause trouble when it came to visiting Centauri because the height was supposed to denote status and Londo was far from the highest ranking of the Centauri.

Was the reason behind the hair length ever explained in the show though? Because if not, we can easily dismiss any inconsistencies about that if it's not necessary to be constrained by it.

I'd put the hair thing more in the category of style and decadence rather than any actual formal social status. Actually, the whole concept behind Centauri style reminds me quite a bit of France in the era between Louis XIV and XVI.

And of course, it would certainly fit with Londo's character (at least the earlier Londo) that he would exaggerate his seeming status that way.

As I remember it, the bigger the hair the males had the more powerful they were in society

 

[RoJoHen]

^But I don't think it was ever actually spoken onscreen.

 

[Sean_McCormick]

I think you are right. But i do remember a short bit of dialog from "The Coming of Shadows" in which prime minister Malachi discusses with emperor Turhan the wigs for the emperors' visit to B5, and the emperor remarks, that he is much to old to be vain and that the women are much wiser than the men in shaving their hair; which does hint at a connection between hair crest size and status.

 

[misskim86]

^But I don't think it was ever actually spoken onscreen.

I'm almost positive they said it somewhere because I must have gotten it somewhere and I don't read fanfic or so

 

[RoJoHen]

I watched the whole series straight through a few months ago, and the only place I ever heard anyone say it...was here.

 

[Reverend]

I'm pretty sure Turhan had the freaky eyebrow treatment.
Regardless, part of the Centauri back story is that when they first found Earth they tried to con us into believing that we were some lost colony. Appearances aside Centauri anatomy is quite different from humans. For instance, the average human can't cheat at cards with their...uh...attributes.

As for the link between hair and status, as I recall, when Cartagia asks Londo what he thinks of his hair, he responds something to the affect of "it is shorter than is customary for one of your position". Haircuts as status symbols dose have it's precedents in earth culture, the Samurai top knot for example. In the Edo period I belive it was very significant to one's status.

Plus I think JMS says one one of the commentaries about the importance of Centauri hair in relation to status. Of course it all started as an onset joke.

 

[Lindley]

At the very start of Coming of Shadows, when Turhan mentions women shaving their heads, I think he says something about status in the same sentence.