S3E3 - Written Off to Minbar

Xhafer: 00:00:40

and welcome to who are you?

Xhafer: 00:00:41

A Babylon five watch cast hosted by two friends who have gotten to know each

Xhafer: 00:00:44

other while rewatching a favorite show of the childhood Babylon five I'm Dre.

Laura: 00:00:48

And I'm Laura.

Xhafer: 00:00:49

And today, Laura, I get to ask you.

Xhafer: 00:00:52

What do you want?

Laura: 00:01:14

want to show you the cool things I got today.

Xhafer: 00:01:17

Yay.

Laura: 00:01:19

So in case you didn't realize listener, we are

Laura: 00:01:21

going to do more plot poker.

Laura: 00:01:23

Where we use the Babylon five collectible card game to make up a story about

Laura: 00:01:28

LeBel and And the previous packs we had Jeffer, you ordered those.

Laura: 00:01:33

So you could probably tell me.

Xhafer: 00:01:35

They were from the premiere revised set.

Laura: 00:01:38

Okay.

Laura: 00:01:38

So that was like the base.

Xhafer: 00:01:40

It's the base game.

Xhafer: 00:01:41

It was the second edition of the base game that they put out pretty rapidly.

Xhafer: 00:01:45

There was a handful of like spelling errors and

Laura: 00:01:48

Oh, no.

Xhafer: 00:01:49

the first one.

Xhafer: 00:01:50

Because they rushed it.

Xhafer: 00:01:51

And so that's, that's the big difference is they did like a single printing.

Xhafer: 00:01:55

It had these spelling And then they put out the next set and

Xhafer: 00:01:58

then they went back and reprinted.

Xhafer: 00:02:00

The first set again.

Laura: 00:02:01

Yeah.

Laura: 00:02:02

Yeah.

Laura: 00:02:02

So we had the base set and that was very season one slash season two.

Laura: 00:02:07

Right.

Laura: 00:02:08

And.

Laura: 00:02:09

I don't even know if there was much season one in it.

Laura: 00:02:11

It was very seasoned too, is what I feel like it was.

Xhafer: 00:02:15

A lot of the season, one stuff was in the starter decks

Xhafer: 00:02:20

that we did not bother with.

Laura: 00:02:22

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:02:22

So there's a handful of cards.

Xhafer: 00:02:24

The last card in each pack of that set was a random card from the starter decks.

Laura: 00:02:30

Okay.

Xhafer: 00:02:30

But that's where you're like Llanos and Dellenbaugh.

Xhafer: 00:02:33

And captains and Claire's were.

Xhafer: 00:02:36

Those were all locked to the starter decks.

Laura: 00:02:38

It would be nice to have a captain Sinclair.

Laura: 00:02:39

Wouldn't it.

Laura: 00:02:40

Oh, well, Or commander

Xhafer: 00:02:42

an earth starter deck.

Xhafer: 00:02:44

And get one.

Laura: 00:02:45

Yeah, well, so we went ahead and we ordered.

Laura: 00:02:48

The great war.

Laura: 00:02:50

So I got my box of great war.

Laura: 00:02:52

I think.

Laura: 00:02:53

Oh,

Laura: 00:02:53

maybe it was last week.

Laura: 00:02:54

Yeah.

Laura: 00:02:55

And you already have one.

Laura: 00:02:56

I was a little bit behind on the eBay ordering, so I got my great war.

Laura: 00:02:59

I think we paid $40 for great war.

Xhafer: 00:03:02

Yeah, 30, 40 bucks for a box.

Laura: 00:03:04

Yeah, it was the buy it now.

Laura: 00:03:06

So, you know, we didn't have to do the whole bid thing.

Laura: 00:03:09

But I think you opened yours and you weren't sure it seemed a little bit like

Laura: 00:03:12

there was some season 40 stuff in there.

Laura: 00:03:15

Season four.

Xhafer: 00:03:16

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:03:17

So I opened mine up.

Xhafer: 00:03:19

I've had mine for a couple of weeks now.

Xhafer: 00:03:21

And I do like opening packs of cards

Laura: 00:03:24

I mean who

Laura: 00:03:24

doesn't.

Xhafer: 00:03:26

Yeah, it's a good feeling.

Xhafer: 00:03:27

And so uh, in a moment of weakness after a couple.

Xhafer: 00:03:31

Bad hours of work.

Xhafer: 00:03:33

I opened up a couple of packs.

Xhafer: 00:03:35

And just looked at some of the cards and then I shoved them back in the

Xhafer: 00:03:38

pack and put it randomly in there.

Xhafer: 00:03:39

I don't even remember what I pulled But I'll find out.

Xhafer: 00:03:42

So I'll reopen those when we get to them.

Xhafer: 00:03:43

But as very late season three, early season four stuff.

Laura: 00:03:47

Yeah.

Laura: 00:03:48

And so I went ahead and when I was ordering my great war, I saw that

Laura: 00:03:53

the shadows was also out there.

Laura: 00:03:55

And it's got a nice Mr.

Laura: 00:03:56

Morton on the cover.

Laura: 00:03:57

I'll I'll post a picture of this on our Facebook and send it to the discord But I

Laura: 00:04:01

was looking at it, you know, I don't know a lot about the collectible card game.

Laura: 00:04:04

You might know more.

Laura: 00:04:05

It looks like these came out in the same year.

Laura: 00:04:07

In 1998, the shadows in the great So, I don't know if this

Laura: 00:04:11

is gonna, I don't know what this is going to have in store for us.

Xhafer: 00:04:14

It is a bit more season two, season three.

Xhafer: 00:04:20

Late season two, early season three.

Xhafer: 00:04:22

So the shadows expansion.

Xhafer: 00:04:25

Ads and shadow factions to the game.

Laura: 00:04:29

Okay.

Laura: 00:04:30

Okay.

Laura: 00:04:31

But we just went with the shadows marketing.

Xhafer: 00:04:34

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:04:34

Um, Well, I don't know if they had their own starter decks or what?

Xhafer: 00:04:38

I don't think they did.

Xhafer: 00:04:39

Cause there's part of the whole thing in the cards was the shadow marks and the

Xhafer: 00:04:43

Varo on marks for like destiny and stuff.

Xhafer: 00:04:45

And it's, so it leans into that a lot.

Xhafer: 00:04:48

I don't know if you can actually play as the Varroa ones or the shadows

Xhafer: 00:04:51

to be perfectly honest, but it adds a lot of those cards to the game.

Xhafer: 00:04:55

And it is a bit more about the buildup to the war than the war itself.

Xhafer: 00:05:00

Which is what the great war expansion is.

Laura: 00:05:02

Yeah.

Laura: 00:05:03

Okay.

Laura: 00:05:03

So this is going to be great.

Laura: 00:05:05

And we got two boxes of the shadows in our eBay.

Laura: 00:05:09

So this was uh, this was one where we actually were bidding on it

Laura: 00:05:12

and we wound it up with two boxes of the shadows for $50 total.

Laura: 00:05:17

So that seemed like a great deal.

Laura: 00:05:19

Like.

Xhafer: 00:05:20

Yeah, the, the season one, the first set boxes, I think I paid 35 for

Laura: 00:05:25

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:05:26

So about in there.

Laura: 00:05:27

I really expected somebody to have a bot that was

Laura: 00:05:30

going to swoop in and outfit.

Laura: 00:05:32

I said at the last

Xhafer: 00:05:33

I will say of like looked ahead a bit to there's.

Xhafer: 00:05:36

Three more expansions for us, There's shattered dreams, which

Xhafer: 00:05:42

is like the end of season four.

Laura: 00:05:43

Okay.

Laura: 00:05:44

Okay.

Xhafer: 00:05:45

And then there is a real fire, which is just season five.

Xhafer: 00:05:50

Because that one was out limited.

Xhafer: 00:05:52

There were started making the game.

Xhafer: 00:05:53

Season five was starting to air.

Xhafer: 00:05:55

So there's nothing from season five until that set.

Xhafer: 00:05:57

And then there is a Sycor expansion after the show was done.

Laura: 00:06:01

Now that looked expensive on eBay.

Xhafer: 00:06:04

The wheel of fire boxes are like 1 20, 1 30, a pop.

Xhafer: 00:06:07

And the side core boxes are also quite expensive.

Laura: 00:06:10

Yeah.

Laura: 00:06:11

we saw a site core that was up.

Laura: 00:06:12

And I think, I don't know, maybe it was still up for bid,

Laura: 00:06:15

but I think it was around 200.

Xhafer: 00:06:17

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:06:17

Even the shattered dreams, boxes are like

Laura: 00:06:20

Yeah, that's crazy.

Xhafer: 00:06:21

Yeah, there isn't one for crusade or a legend of the

Xhafer: 00:06:26

Rangers or any of that stuff.

Laura: 00:06:28

Oh, there isn't, that's disappointing.

Xhafer: 00:06:30

I'll have to check.

Xhafer: 00:06:31

I know the star wars CCG has a fan community that continued

Xhafer: 00:06:35

to make cards for it after the.

Xhafer: 00:06:37

Business had lost the license.

Laura: 00:06:39

Oh, okay.

Xhafer: 00:06:40

So there might be some diehards out there that made

Xhafer: 00:06:44

crusade cards 15 years ago for the

Laura: 00:06:47

Yeah, that'd be fun.

Laura: 00:06:47

I just like to see the, whatever they came up with.

Laura: 00:06:50

You know, I don't need actual cards.

Laura: 00:06:52

You can just send me a PDF or something.

Laura: 00:06:54

That'd be fun.

Laura: 00:06:55

But I was wondering if I should open any of the shadows today, if you would want.

Laura: 00:06:59

To

Xhafer: 00:07:00

Yeah, open a pack.

Laura: 00:07:01

a pack and see what's

Xhafer: 00:07:02

Open a pack.

Xhafer: 00:07:03

See what we get, see what's in there.

Laura: 00:07:05

All right.

Laura: 00:07:05

Let's see what Mr.

Laura: 00:07:06

Morton has in store for me.

Laura: 00:07:08

This wa this box says.

Laura: 00:07:10

Each pack contains card suitable for any race?

Laura: 00:07:13

It doesn't say there's a rare card.

Laura: 00:07:14

Like the other box

Xhafer: 00:07:15

Yeah.

Laura: 00:07:16

Lame.

Laura: 00:07:17

So you'll see this when you get yours, but it's got a nice, like, Shadowy.

Laura: 00:07:23

Kind of guy on the foil, on the package.

Xhafer: 00:07:27

gold foiling looks

Laura: 00:07:28

Yeah.

Laura: 00:07:29

So this 12 card booster pack.

Laura: 00:07:31

These are 2 75 per pack where the regular, the great war.

Laura: 00:07:34

They're two 50.

Laura: 00:07:36

There's no Mel.

Laura: 00:07:38

A non character.

Laura: 00:07:39

Who's an agent of the car re I think this might be someone we're going to meet.

Laura: 00:07:42

That name doesn't

Xhafer: 00:07:43

Well, the CA the Kyrie aren't around anymore.

Laura: 00:07:46

Oh, yeah, you're right.

Laura: 00:07:48

So.

Laura: 00:07:49

This had to be somebody we already met and.

Laura: 00:07:52

That's funny is the picture on the card.

Laura: 00:07:54

You can't really see, but that big barn there that's Jakarta and the

Laura: 00:07:58

Mel must be on the screen behind

Xhafer: 00:08:01

He's the guy who tells Jakarta the assassin is coming for

Xhafer: 00:08:05

What that scene is.

Xhafer: 00:08:06

I remember that.

Xhafer: 00:08:07

Yeah.

Laura: 00:08:08

All right.

Laura: 00:08:08

We have to predictable, which just looks like some sort of a scenario between.

Laura: 00:08:14

Jakarta and Mondo.

Laura: 00:08:16

Yelling at each other in the council room.

Xhafer: 00:08:19

Predictable.

Laura: 00:08:20

Build infrastructure.

Laura: 00:08:22

And it's a Dzhokhar talking to another NARKN in his quarters.

Laura: 00:08:26

It looks like.

Laura: 00:08:27

So probably trying to.

Laura: 00:08:29

Build things.

Laura: 00:08:31

With the non resistance, maybe.

Laura: 00:08:34

Ooh, we've got heavy resistance and this picture is Garibaldi

Laura: 00:08:37

in that riot gear we saw in.

Xhafer: 00:08:40

Oh, yeah.

Xhafer: 00:08:41

From the dream sequence.

Laura: 00:08:42

Yes.

Laura: 00:08:43

When we were at on Babylon for, and things kept happening.

Xhafer: 00:08:47

Yeah.

Laura: 00:08:47

think, yeah.

Laura: 00:08:48

Looking ahead.

Laura: 00:08:49

We've got this war council room that I don't think we seen yet.

Laura: 00:08:54

Fighters.

Laura: 00:08:56

We have a card about destiny with Dylann on it.

Laura: 00:09:00

A refit fleet enhancement, modern refit.

Laura: 00:09:04

So this Mo this might be inspired by the um, When we refitted the station.

Laura: 00:09:09

And season two with those special cannons

Xhafer: 00:09:12

Got it, all that extra firepower.

Laura: 00:09:14

Yeah.

Laura: 00:09:15

Aiding the shadows.

Laura: 00:09:17

And we've got that iconic shot of Londo on Centauri prime, looking up

Laura: 00:09:21

and seeing the shadows in the sky.

Xhafer: 00:09:23

Hmm.

Laura: 00:09:24

We've got a support fleet, Centauri support fleet.

Laura: 00:09:26

We know who they're supporting at this point in the.

Laura: 00:09:29

The series.

Laura: 00:09:30

Repairs and impasse.

Laura: 00:09:31

So I didn't even get, I got one character.

Laura: 00:09:34

That we don't really remember.

Laura: 00:09:36

So,

Laura: 00:09:37

Hm.

Laura: 00:09:37

Well, look forward to opening more of those.

Xhafer: 00:09:40

Yeah, I think.

Xhafer: 00:09:41

When we go forward, I condensed all of my piles that I had.

Xhafer: 00:09:45

I had like piles down to like 15 or something of like each card type.

Xhafer: 00:09:50

I took it down to like the top four or five of each category that I

Xhafer: 00:09:55

thought would be fun from that set.

Xhafer: 00:09:56

So that way we've got a little bit of space.

Xhafer: 00:09:58

It's a little random when we opened the new stuff, but not as.

Xhafer: 00:10:02

Much stuff from the old cards.

Laura: 00:10:04

Super general with the old guards.

Laura: 00:10:07

Okay.

Laura: 00:10:08

Well, I'm looking forward to that.

Laura: 00:10:09

We're probably going to do plat poker here in a few episodes.

Laura: 00:10:12

So we'll have more of those open then.

Laura: 00:10:14

And we'll get to make up some episodes with new stuff.

Xhafer: 00:10:18

Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

Xhafer: 00:10:19

That's one of my favorite segments to do because I like opening

Xhafer: 00:10:24

packs and I like improv and it's combining two of those things.

Xhafer: 00:10:27

So.

Laura: 00:10:29

All right.

Laura: 00:10:29

Well, what do we have today?

Laura: 00:10:30

We have a scripted episode of Babylon, five to talk about.

Xhafer: 00:10:34

We do a . Season three episode three a day in the strife,

Xhafer: 00:10:38

which is like a day in the life.

Xhafer: 00:10:40

But, but, but bad

Xhafer: 00:10:42

I see you cha.

Xhafer: 00:10:43

JMS.

Xhafer: 00:10:44

We open on the pilot's Guild after a note that they are conducting

Xhafer: 00:10:48

weapons inspections on all ships.

Xhafer: 00:10:50

Ivanova notes that they can raise the docking fees and hire more

Xhafer: 00:10:54

inspectors to decrease the increased wait these weapons inspections.

Xhafer: 00:10:59

But they all hate that.

Laura: 00:11:00

Oh, yeah.

Laura: 00:11:01

We don't want more fees.

Laura: 00:11:03

If it means better service.

Xhafer: 00:11:05

Exactly.

Xhafer: 00:11:05

That's the American way.

Xhafer: 00:11:07

One guy out in the crowd is like

Laura: 00:11:10

That's a very good.

Laura: 00:11:11

For some reason, we let this gentleman into the meeting, holding a giant crowbar.

Xhafer: 00:11:16

Right.

Xhafer: 00:11:16

I don't get it.

Xhafer: 00:11:17

And he's very upset.

Xhafer: 00:11:19

And he's all like, oh, you can't take our weapons.

Xhafer: 00:11:22

And it's all like, dude, this station has single-handedly

Xhafer: 00:11:24

destroyed a centaury heavy cruiser.

Xhafer: 00:11:27

Like they could just blow you the fuck up.

Xhafer: 00:11:28

There's nothing on your ship.

Xhafer: 00:11:30

That is going to be a threat to the station.

Laura: 00:11:33

The station is run by the military.

Xhafer: 00:11:35

Side note, second amendment bros.

Xhafer: 00:11:38

If you think you can actually overthrow the us government, you are delusional.

Xhafer: 00:11:42

I'm just going to throw that out there into the ether right

Laura: 00:11:44

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:11:45

I got no problem.

Xhafer: 00:11:46

If we want to talk about the second amendment, we can talk

Xhafer: 00:11:48

about the second amendment.

Xhafer: 00:11:49

I have probably a different opinion than most people expect me to have on this one.

Xhafer: 00:11:54

To be perfectly

Xhafer: 00:11:55

honest.

Xhafer: 00:11:56

Um, So, but.

Xhafer: 00:11:58

The idea that the second amendment is there.

Xhafer: 00:12:01

So that the us citizens can overthrow the government.

Xhafer: 00:12:05

In the drone age.

Xhafer: 00:12:08

Is absolutely absurd.

Xhafer: 00:12:10

It is, it is the single greatest logical fallacy in any pro-second

Xhafer: 00:12:15

amendment argument I've ever heard, because it's just absolutely insane.

Laura: 00:12:20

I mean.

Laura: 00:12:20

It got insane.

Laura: 00:12:21

And the nuclear weapons there, I think, but yeah.

Laura: 00:12:24

Neither here

Xhafer: 00:12:25

yeah.

Xhafer: 00:12:26

Yeah, no, it's been.

Xhafer: 00:12:28

I would say it's been a bad argument for a long time, but.

Xhafer: 00:12:32

it has not become a better argument over time and it continues

Xhafer: 00:12:36

to just to become a worse.

Xhafer: 00:12:39

And worse argument.

Xhafer: 00:12:41

Anyways Guy carrying space, crowbar doesn't care.

Xhafer: 00:12:44

He challenged his, share it into a fight.

Xhafer: 00:12:47

This is when Indiana Jones would just stand up and shoot the guy.

Xhafer: 00:12:50

But Sheridan grabs a guard's gun.

Xhafer: 00:12:52

Sticks it in the dude's pocket and takes the crowbar.

Xhafer: 00:12:55

The dude backs down Ivanova adjourns, the meeting then gives shared

Xhafer: 00:12:59

in the requisite amount of shit.

Xhafer: 00:13:01

And then it's revealed that he actually unloaded the gun

Xhafer: 00:13:04

before he handed it to the guy.

Xhafer: 00:13:05

So he was never concerned.

Laura: 00:13:08

Yeah.

Laura: 00:13:08

I love that little bit that he just palmed the energy cap.

Laura: 00:13:12

And of course the guy's not paying enough attention to notice that that

Laura: 00:13:16

happened or that, you know, this thing doesn't weigh the right amount.

Laura: 00:13:20

He probably hasn't used a PBG

Xhafer: 00:13:22

Yeah.

Laura: 00:13:23

he doesn't really know, but.

Xhafer: 00:13:25

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:13:25

I mean, as far as I know, they are only military issue.

Xhafer: 00:13:29

and I'm sure there's a great variance in the types of guns that are running around.

Xhafer: 00:13:34

So, unless you happen to have experience with that particular pistol and also

Xhafer: 00:13:39

who knows how much those caps way.

Xhafer: 00:13:42

They're not traditional bullets.

Xhafer: 00:13:43

It, it might be like the weight of a AA battery.

Xhafer: 00:13:45

Like we might not be talking about a significant amount of weight

Xhafer: 00:13:48

to detect from one's pocket.

Laura: 00:13:49

True.

Laura: 00:13:50

But this kind of shoots a hole in our theory that we had, I think back in

Laura: 00:13:53

season one where we were like, Hmm, Can you fire somebody else's PPG.

Laura: 00:13:58

Is there maybe a.

Xhafer: 00:13:59

Oh, yeah.

Laura: 00:14:00

Fingerprint thing.

Laura: 00:14:02

Yeah.

Laura: 00:14:02

Yeah.

Laura: 00:14:03

But if he felt

Xhafer: 00:14:04

is the word I was looking for.

Laura: 00:14:05

Yeah.

Laura: 00:14:06

If he felt like he had to Palm that energy cap, I think

Xhafer: 00:14:10

Question answered.

Xhafer: 00:14:12

And another question is immediately answered is what's going on with

Xhafer: 00:14:15

the non seat on the council?

Xhafer: 00:14:17

Has counselor no far.

Xhafer: 00:14:19

Arrives at introduces himself as Dzhokhar's replacement for the council.

Laura: 00:14:24

Yeah, no far.

Laura: 00:14:24

I showed up and, and you know, he kind of feels that Dzhokhar's presence.

Laura: 00:14:30

Perhaps is.

Laura: 00:14:31

For minting, some resistance.

Laura: 00:14:33

They know something's up with Dzhokhar.

Laura: 00:14:36

And that it's just making things worse back So he's ready to take over.

Laura: 00:14:41

But Sheridan refuses to give up that sanctuary that he granted

Laura: 00:14:46

car back at the end of season two.

Xhafer: 00:14:48

And the far stays near Sheridan in his office.

Xhafer: 00:14:50

You know, explaining that he wants to take over the leadership of the

Xhafer: 00:14:53

local NARKN population as well, to try and stop some of the uh, Seditious

Xhafer: 00:14:59

ax Chikara is fermenting back home.

Laura: 00:15:01

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:15:02

Over at Earhart's.

Xhafer: 00:15:04

We have exhausted Franklin working triples.

Xhafer: 00:15:06

And Garibaldi can finds in Ivanova that he trusts shared in to

Xhafer: 00:15:10

get him through the coming war.

Xhafer: 00:15:12

You know, read his personnel file and it's all like, if there's anyone who

Xhafer: 00:15:15

could do it, it's this This is what he does is he takes inferior defensive

Xhafer: 00:15:19

forces and wins wars with them somehow.

Laura: 00:15:23

Ivana was a little, a fronted that Garibaldi has read this personnel

Laura: 00:15:27

file and I'm like, he's security.

Laura: 00:15:30

He

Laura: 00:15:30

should.

Laura: 00:15:31

He should have some access to this sort of thing.

Laura: 00:15:34

He needs to know if somebody is a security risk.

Laura: 00:15:36

Yeah.

Laura: 00:15:36

I was not a fronted at all.

Xhafer: 00:15:38

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:15:39

After this Franklin runs out of the club bathroom with a sudden burst of energy.

Xhafer: 00:15:43

Like bro rule number one is don't do blow in the club bathroom.

Laura: 00:15:48

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:15:49

You broke the rule.

Laura: 00:15:50

Yeah, I was going to equate it to meth, but they're very similar.

Laura: 00:15:55

I think.

Xhafer: 00:15:55

I call it space, blow for the rest of the episodes.

Xhafer: 00:15:58

So.

Laura: 00:15:58

blow.

Laura: 00:15:59

Yeah, that's fine.

Laura: 00:16:00

We can interject space method.

Laura: 00:16:02

You know,

Laura: 00:16:02

sometimes.

Laura: 00:16:04

So, yeah, gear up all these immediately suspicious Garibaldi

Laura: 00:16:07

knows what certain things look like.

Laura: 00:16:09

Certain behaviors.

Laura: 00:16:10

Not only is he security, but it's also a little personal.

Xhafer: 00:16:13

As we find out later.

Laura: 00:16:15

Yeah, and we can kind of see that he is automatically suspicious that.

Laura: 00:16:19

Franklin is somehow ready to dance when he was only gonna get like

Laura: 00:16:23

two hours of sleep or something.

Xhafer: 00:16:25

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:16:25

I mean, he's definitely concerned.

Laura: 00:16:27

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:16:28

It's D.

Xhafer: 00:16:29

It's concern that suspicion, I feel.

Laura: 00:16:32

Okay.

Laura: 00:16:33

I get maybe suspicions, a little dark word, but he's knows something's up.

Xhafer: 00:16:36

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:16:37

Nevara goes to talk to Londo.

Xhafer: 00:16:40

Who's thinking of visiting the non-home world

Xhafer: 00:16:42

since.

Xhafer: 00:16:43

You know, he didn't get a good look at it.

Xhafer: 00:16:45

Last time he was there.

Xhafer: 00:16:46

He was a little far away.

Xhafer: 00:16:48

And the fire is just like, dude.

Laura: 00:16:51

He's such an asshole in this scene.

Xhafer: 00:16:54

Aye.

Xhafer: 00:16:54

I espouse it.

Xhafer: 00:16:55

This is Lando at its absolute

Laura: 00:16:57

Yes.

Laura: 00:16:58

Yes.

Xhafer: 00:16:59

this is, this is him at his worst in the entire I can't re

Xhafer: 00:17:02

there, there may be another moment.

Xhafer: 00:17:04

That is, he is worse.

Xhafer: 00:17:06

And even when he was like actively genocide ING, He was at least.

Xhafer: 00:17:11

Conscious about it.

Laura: 00:17:13

Yeah, he was a little horrified.

Laura: 00:17:15

We saw his expression.

Xhafer: 00:17:16

Yeah, he's reveling in it here.

Laura: 00:17:19

Yes, it is gross and uncomfortable.

Laura: 00:17:21

And it's very strange compared to the Londa we saw in that last episode, that

Laura: 00:17:25

was very tenderly standing over a linear.

Laura: 00:17:28

And wanting to.

Laura: 00:17:31

Talk to him and keep him awake.

Laura: 00:17:33

Or, you know, help him wake up.

Laura: 00:17:34

And here he's just so gross.

Laura: 00:17:38

He's so

Xhafer: 00:17:38

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:17:39

He, I mean, he, he tries to make his reasoning clear.

Xhafer: 00:17:43

He, he, you know, he's like, if we don't break their pride, then this is just

Xhafer: 00:17:46

going to happen again in a hundred years.

Xhafer: 00:17:49

But he is just disgusting

Laura: 00:17:52

Yeah, I've veer immediately.

Laura: 00:17:55

Once Navarro has walked out of the room calls Londo on this bullshit and says

Laura: 00:18:00

something like, was that necessary?

Xhafer: 00:18:02

Yeah.

Laura: 00:18:03

Which is a very, very valid way for veer to try to question him since

Laura: 00:18:08

veer is an underling, you know, he can't just be like, dude, you are gross.

Laura: 00:18:12

But.

Laura: 00:18:12

We can tell here that veer is Starting to grow some spine that he doesn't

Laura: 00:18:17

want to put up with this anymore.

Laura: 00:18:19

He doesn't want to stand idly by and watch Londo.

Laura: 00:18:22

Do and say these things.

Xhafer: 00:18:24

And I have to wonder if.

Xhafer: 00:18:26

This whole scene is just story fodder for being upset at VIR.

Laura: 00:18:32

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:18:33

and, and wanting to be rid of fear.

Laura: 00:18:35

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:18:35

Because that's coming a little bit later in the episode.

Xhafer: 00:18:39

And that was not a story choice.

Laura: 00:18:41

Oh, really?

Laura: 00:18:42

Do

Xhafer: 00:18:42

We'll talk about it when we get there.

Xhafer: 00:18:44

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:18:45

mostly because it's on a different page of my physical handwritten

Xhafer: 00:18:48

notes and I can't read it all right

Xhafer: 00:18:50

So.

Laura: 00:18:51

We'll get there.

Laura: 00:18:53

But.

Laura: 00:18:53

Cutting away from that scene.

Laura: 00:18:55

We go to CNC.

Laura: 00:18:56

And we have, I guess, a B plot.

Laura: 00:18:59

Introduction.

Xhafer: 00:19:00

We do have it.

Xhafer: 00:19:01

It's the B plot.

Laura: 00:19:03

Yeah, this is not the a pod for sure.

Laura: 00:19:06

Well as Lieutenant Corwin.

Laura: 00:19:07

I detect some kind of approaching alien probe that we don't know.

Laura: 00:19:12

We have not met this alien probe before.

Xhafer: 00:19:15

Yeah, it's first contact

Xhafer: 00:19:20

and it's going to take the computer time to decode the message that's being sent.

Xhafer: 00:19:25

It's a very complicated lengthy message that's being sent.

Laura: 00:19:29

very interesting.

Laura: 00:19:30

So put a pin in that.

Xhafer: 00:19:32

Yup.

Xhafer: 00:19:32

Meanwhile Londo goes to DLN.

Xhafer: 00:19:35

Asking to return the favor of piloting the shuttle down to Epsilon three.

Xhafer: 00:19:39

By placing veer as the Suntory ambassador to member.

Laura: 00:19:43

I mean, he is right when he describes this as there is

Laura: 00:19:47

no one better for this job.

Laura: 00:19:48

Veer is absolutely perfect for this job.

Xhafer: 00:19:55

A hundred percent.

Xhafer: 00:19:55

I don't think there's a better Suntory in the Republic.

Xhafer: 00:19:58

To be a better ambassador to minbar then veer a hundred percent.

Xhafer: 00:20:02

He's respectful.

Xhafer: 00:20:04

He's quiet.

Xhafer: 00:20:05

He, he already is linear as a friend.

Xhafer: 00:20:08

Like he he's, he's a Suntory who has friends who Outside

Xhafer: 00:20:12

of necessarily work stuff.

Xhafer: 00:20:14

It feels like he wouldn't even spy on you.

Xhafer: 00:20:17

He'd consider it rude.

Xhafer: 00:20:19

So good.

Laura: 00:20:20

Yeah.

Laura: 00:20:20

And he's so curious, you know, veer has, has shown us his curiosity

Laura: 00:20:24

for other alien races before.

Laura: 00:20:26

And he has a curiosity.

Laura: 00:20:28

This certainly Londo does not.

Laura: 00:20:31

So

Laura: 00:20:32

I

Xhafer: 00:20:32

Dylan sees through this bullshit

Xhafer: 00:20:34

though.

Xhafer: 00:20:35

Dylan's all like you don't want.

Xhafer: 00:20:37

Him there for him.

Xhafer: 00:20:40

Like maybe a little, but what's actually going on,

Xhafer: 00:20:43

like don't

Laura: 00:20:44

really in it for you, right?

Xhafer: 00:20:47

And she calls him out.

Xhafer: 00:20:48

It's like, you know, he says veers going to get in the way of

Xhafer: 00:20:51

the work that needs to be done.

Xhafer: 00:20:52

And Like you just don't want him to be around because he makes you feel guilty.

Laura: 00:20:57

Yeah, he's been your conscience lately and he's, he's actually reminded

Laura: 00:21:01

you that you do have choices every time you've said you don't have a choice.

Laura: 00:21:06

And you're tired of hearing that and.

Laura: 00:21:09

You know, she, she calls it out, but.

Laura: 00:21:11

You know, Dylan ultimately says, she'll think about it.

Laura: 00:21:14

Because ultimately he is right.

Laura: 00:21:16

The best Centauri for the job is vere.

Xhafer: 00:21:18

After this Garibaldi is Franklin over for dinner as a friend to talk

Xhafer: 00:21:21

about addiction, both his and Franklins.

Laura: 00:21:24

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:21:25

I think he goes about this, the correct way.

Xhafer: 00:21:28

I know Franklin gets very defensive and it doesn't go well.

Xhafer: 00:21:31

But I think acknowledging your fault and then aligning it with a

Xhafer: 00:21:36

troubling pattern you see in a friend.

Xhafer: 00:21:39

Is the right way to broach this topic.

Laura: 00:21:42

Yeah, I think that's.

Laura: 00:21:43

The only way I think there's no good way.

Laura: 00:21:45

I don't think.

Laura: 00:21:47

the odds of anyone getting a good reception from someone who

Laura: 00:21:50

is actively in an addiction.

Laura: 00:21:52

Is very high.

Laura: 00:21:54

I don't think that.

Laura: 00:21:55

Your odds of getting a good response are very good at all.

Laura: 00:21:58

But.

Laura: 00:21:59

If you have to do it.

Laura: 00:22:00

I think that's a good way to go about it.

Laura: 00:22:02

Right.

Laura: 00:22:04

I don't know what my, a lot of my knowledge on that sort of subject just

Laura: 00:22:07

comes from shows like intervention.

Xhafer: 00:22:08

Yeah.

Laura: 00:22:09

So, you know, I think, and I think they do have experts that

Laura: 00:22:14

try to frame these things right.

Laura: 00:22:15

For Sort of setting.

Laura: 00:22:17

And that's a good way to go about it is, you know, I am flawed.

Laura: 00:22:21

And.

Laura: 00:22:21

I'm telling you I'm flawed and here's something that worries me.

Laura: 00:22:26

So, but yeah, it was never going to go well with Franklin Franklin.

Laura: 00:22:29

Says, no, I don't have a problem with the space below.

Laura: 00:22:31

You know Garibaldi.

Laura: 00:22:33

Calls him out directly about doing it in the bathroom.

Xhafer: 00:22:36

Yeah.

Laura: 00:22:36

And, you know, here's the problem though, you know, Franklin is a doctor.

Laura: 00:22:40

And.

Laura: 00:22:41

It's legal.

Laura: 00:22:42

If a doctor prescribes it right.

Xhafer: 00:22:46

Yeah, and I mean, Franklin gets the kind of defensive.

Xhafer: 00:22:50

That is an admittance of feeling I don't believe that getting this type

Xhafer: 00:22:55

of defensive is an admittance of guilt.

Xhafer: 00:22:58

To be absolutely clear.

Xhafer: 00:23:00

But it is, but he definitely feels guilty.

Xhafer: 00:23:03

I don't think he thinks he's done wrong.

Xhafer: 00:23:06

But he clearly is thinking about his actions a bit more

Laura: 00:23:11

Yeah, definitely.

Laura: 00:23:12

Like he.

Laura: 00:23:13

Has more emotional reaction to it than he would, if he felt

Laura: 00:23:17

perfectly About what he was doing.

Xhafer: 00:23:20

You know, we don't get in this episode that I would've really liked.

Xhafer: 00:23:22

That would have been a very Babylon five thing to

Laura: 00:23:25

What's that.

Xhafer: 00:23:26

And maybe it's coming later because there's more of this storyline

Xhafer: 00:23:29

down the road and I've just forgotten.

Xhafer: 00:23:30

But a letter from that doctor who lost her license from over stemming.

Xhafer: 00:23:36

From season one with the alien healing machine.

Xhafer: 00:23:40

Just like a little like him getting a letter from her, asking about

Xhafer: 00:23:43

the healing machine or something.

Xhafer: 00:23:44

I think.

Xhafer: 00:23:45

In the background, just like a little one or two lines would

Xhafer: 00:23:48

have been a really nice touch.

Laura: 00:23:49

Yeah.

Laura: 00:23:50

If, if there was some kind of communication, especially since he

Laura: 00:23:53

was so interested in her daughter, You know, if she just came back as

Laura: 00:23:57

some sort of reoccurring character had mentioned her mother every now and again.

Laura: 00:24:01

Or had some sort of communication from her mother.

Xhafer: 00:24:04

It's just a little something.

Laura: 00:24:05

And she's not the only doctor we've seen that problem because we had

Laura: 00:24:09

the president's doctor show up and he had been overusing stems a lot in his escape.

Laura: 00:24:15

So, I mean, that was another moment that shadowed towards.

Laura: 00:24:19

This can be a problem in this particular.

Laura: 00:24:21

Workplace

Xhafer: 00:24:22

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:24:23

Meanwhile, we get to remind you that, Hey.

Xhafer: 00:24:25

We know that non hiding in the background.

Laura: 00:24:28

Yeah, I didn't.

Laura: 00:24:29

I needed to remind her.

Laura: 00:24:30

I did not clock it on my own.

Xhafer: 00:24:33

They make a point of kind of hiding them back there.

Xhafer: 00:24:36

For all, but the first scene we see I knew because of my research.

Xhafer: 00:24:42

Um, it's brought up in the episode guide.

Xhafer: 00:24:44

That they got them back.

Xhafer: 00:24:46

But yeah, it's the it's the guy that shared him was on the stream ship

Xhafer: 00:24:50

with the guy that he like threw over his shoulders Fought off daft punk.

Laura: 00:24:55

Yeah, they got to escape together.

Laura: 00:24:58

He has a name, his name is so apparently, you know, he was, was he not on NARKN

Laura: 00:25:05

or had he just come back to non.

Xhafer: 00:25:07

I think he was on NARKN in a hospital healing for a

Xhafer: 00:25:11

while, is what he had said.

Xhafer: 00:25:12

He had

Laura: 00:25:12

Okay.

Laura: 00:25:14

Yeah.

Laura: 00:25:14

He had been pretty banged up by the street.

Xhafer: 00:25:16

I think he missed the war.

Laura: 00:25:18

Right.

Laura: 00:25:19

He was not fighting in the war.

Laura: 00:25:20

And now he's in service to Navarre basically as a body guard.

Laura: 00:25:24

And he's still very appreciative of what Sheridan did for him.

Laura: 00:25:29

There.

Laura: 00:25:29

He wants to take care of Sheridan.

Xhafer: 00:25:32

We get back to our B plot.

Xhafer: 00:25:34

And it's this probe has dropped an IQ test on the station.

Xhafer: 00:25:40

And if they fail, it will explode and vaporize the station.

Xhafer: 00:25:46

I thought I had some bad testing experiences in college.

Xhafer: 00:25:50

Yikes.

Laura: 00:25:53

Yeah, this thing wants to know about physics, quantum

Laura: 00:25:56

mechanics, biology, genetics, whole bunch of stuff, and it's offering.

Laura: 00:26:02

A reward.

Laura: 00:26:02

It's not just all stick.

Laura: 00:26:04

There's some carrot here too.

Laura: 00:26:05

And

Xhafer: 00:26:06

Yeah, a cure for all diseases.

Laura: 00:26:08

And.

Laura: 00:26:08

Technological advances beyond your wildest dreams.

Laura: 00:26:12

you know, if you, if you can answer these, you're going to get Some good stuff.

Laura: 00:26:15

And I guess they have to do it within 24 hours.

Laura: 00:26:17

We have one day.

Xhafer: 00:26:19

Yeah, there's a time limit.

Xhafer: 00:26:20

I didn't write down the time limit, but there's that there was a time limit.

Laura: 00:26:23

Yeah, there's a ticking clock.

Laura: 00:26:24

We have to have a ticking clock in an episode like this.

Laura: 00:26:26

Like this probe is not just going to hang here forever.

Xhafer: 00:26:29

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:26:30

Like, oh yeah, just take 50 years to get the answers to these.

Xhafer: 00:26:33

It's cool.

Xhafer: 00:26:34

I'm a pro I don't give a shit.

Laura: 00:26:35

Right.

Laura: 00:26:37

That would make a lot of sense actually.

Xhafer: 00:26:40

I've been floating through hyperspace for who knows how long?

Xhafer: 00:26:43

Because no, it wasn't even come out the jump

Xhafer: 00:26:45

gate.

Xhafer: 00:26:45

So it's just been

Xhafer: 00:26:46

floating around space.

Xhafer: 00:26:48

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:26:48

So who knows how old this thing is or what it's been doing?

Xhafer: 00:26:51

Don't give a shit.

Xhafer: 00:26:52

It's a probe.

Laura: 00:26:53

The thing that really bothers me about this people at, and I'll go

Laura: 00:26:56

ahead and just throw this in here, even though I'm going to probably

Laura: 00:26:59

come back to it at our ratings.

Laura: 00:27:01

Is that we don't ask a single ambassador about this damn probe.

Xhafer: 00:27:07

The first thing I am doing is sending a picture

Xhafer: 00:27:10

of this damn thing to Dylan.

Laura: 00:27:12

We're cautious.

Laura: 00:27:14

I

Xhafer: 00:27:14

Right.

Xhafer: 00:27:14

It kind of looks for a Lonnie.

Laura: 00:27:16

Uh, Huh.

Xhafer: 00:27:17

Hey cautious.

Xhafer: 00:27:18

One of yours.

Laura: 00:27:19

Right, I'm like, We have all of these aliens and representatives.

Laura: 00:27:24

And ambassadors on this station and we're not going to ask a single

Laura: 00:27:28

one of them to help us out here.

Xhafer: 00:27:30

Now I do think the reason for that, and this is not a good reason to

Xhafer: 00:27:35

be absolutely clear, but I think the reason for that is because it's promised.

Xhafer: 00:27:39

This super advanced technology.

Laura: 00:27:42

Oh, so it'd be like proprietary to earth.

Laura: 00:27:44

Like we don't

Xhafer: 00:27:45

Yeah, they don't want to share it.

Xhafer: 00:27:46

Um, Also like, because none of their peers, none of the other races have

Xhafer: 00:27:51

this, it's kind of an admittance of them not finding the probe.

Laura: 00:27:56

Yeah.

Laura: 00:27:57

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:27:57

So, I guess you could logic it that way, but if that

Xhafer: 00:28:00

was the case, just give us two fucking throwaway lines of dialogue

Xhafer: 00:28:03

to say it.

Laura: 00:28:04

Yeah.

Laura: 00:28:05

It needs something here, because that was the first thought I had was bull shit.

Laura: 00:28:10

Why aren't we asking somebody about this?

Laura: 00:28:11

Well, and see the thing too, going back Lawns is that

Laura: 00:28:16

they might have those things.

Laura: 00:28:17

We don't really know cause we don't know enough about the four laws.

Laura: 00:28:20

So is it for one.

Laura: 00:28:22

It would be worth it to ask.

Laura: 00:28:23

I think.

Xhafer: 00:28:24

Yep.

Xhafer: 00:28:25

There is actually a very interesting inspiration for this plot

Laura: 00:28:30

Do you tell.

Xhafer: 00:28:30

We'll get to it at the end.

Xhafer: 00:28:31

Cause that's when it comes

Laura: 00:28:32

Just fair.

Laura: 00:28:33

Why do you keep doing

Xhafer: 00:28:34

Because my notes are spread out over four pages because that's

Xhafer: 00:28:38

the size of my pages of my notebook.

Xhafer: 00:28:40

I'll buy a bigger notebook next time.

Laura: 00:28:43

Okay.

Laura: 00:28:44

Okay, well, keep us hanging.

Laura: 00:28:45

We'll we'll stay.

Xhafer: 00:28:47

We got to make sure everyone stays listening for a reason.

Laura: 00:28:50

I mean, I got to

Laura: 00:28:51

stay at this podcast

Xhafer: 00:28:53

Otherwise, how will you know who we think.

Xhafer: 00:28:56

Navarro talks to your car who is done with this shit.

Xhafer: 00:28:59

But Navarro has bad news Jakarta.

Xhafer: 00:29:01

Doesn't go home.

Xhafer: 00:29:01

Then the families of the non remaining on beef.

Xhafer: 00:29:04

We'll become targets for the occupiers.

Laura: 00:29:07

Yeah.

Laura: 00:29:08

I really see both the far and Dzhokhar's points of view.

Laura: 00:29:13

I really do like, you I guess we're in a forest kind of coming from is.

Laura: 00:29:19

We need some time to get our shit together.

Laura: 00:29:23

You're formenting this resistance right now.

Laura: 00:29:26

People are dying.

Laura: 00:29:28

People have died.

Laura: 00:29:29

We need some time to recover.

Laura: 00:29:32

Get back on our feet.

Laura: 00:29:33

And then we can think about resisting, but right now we got

Laura: 00:29:36

to stop the people dying Dzhokhar.

Laura: 00:29:38

And I think that's a very valid point to, you know, Dzhokhar's

Laura: 00:29:41

point is that, you know, we've, we should be fighting for our freedom.

Laura: 00:29:45

And Navarro is just kind of arguing for, we need to be doing it differently

Laura: 00:29:48

and they both can't, they don't agree on a point of view about that.

Xhafer: 00:29:53

Yup.

Xhafer: 00:29:54

We cut to MetaLab and Franklin is just frustrated as all.

Xhafer: 00:29:57

Hell.

Xhafer: 00:29:58

But he doesn't stem.

Xhafer: 00:29:59

He looks at them.

Xhafer: 00:30:01

Closes the drawer.

Laura: 00:30:02

Yeah, he he's gonna get through this.

Laura: 00:30:05

The right way.

Xhafer: 00:30:06

He's going to try.

Laura: 00:30:07

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:30:08

After this Londo tells veer, he's going to memoir and he's not happy Now.

Xhafer: 00:30:15

This is where it's at in my notes.

Xhafer: 00:30:17

The real reason for this with Steven first was cast on the

Xhafer: 00:30:20

sitcom misery loves company.

Laura: 00:30:22

Okay.

Xhafer: 00:30:23

I know nothing about this sitcom.

Laura: 00:30:25

I've know the name, I guess.

Xhafer: 00:30:27

It ran for four episodes.

Xhafer: 00:30:31

They filmed eight.

Xhafer: 00:30:33

I know that Christopher Maloney of, I think it's law and order

Xhafer: 00:30:36

fame or SVU or CSI, one of those.

Xhafer: 00:30:39

He was in the principal cast.

Xhafer: 00:30:42

And Dennis Rodman was in the first episode.

Xhafer: 00:30:45

That's all I found out about this show.

Xhafer: 00:30:47

Uh, Steven first is not even like when you Google the show and you

Xhafer: 00:30:51

see like the top eight cast members, you don't even see Steven first.

Laura: 00:30:55

Okay.

Xhafer: 00:30:57

But he'd been cast on the show.

Xhafer: 00:30:58

They wanted to keep him on But still let him go do this thing that

Xhafer: 00:31:02

was going to pay him more and be better for his career and stuff.

Xhafer: 00:31:06

So they kind of were just like, oh, you can be around when you can be

Xhafer: 00:31:09

around when, you know, You've got a couple of weeks in your schedule,

Xhafer: 00:31:12

a couple of weeks in advance.

Xhafer: 00:31:13

Let us know.

Xhafer: 00:31:14

We'll put veer in the episode.

Laura: 00:31:16

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:31:16

know, like we'll make it work with you.

Laura: 00:31:18

I mean, this show needs fear.

Laura: 00:31:20

Fear is

Laura: 00:31:20

very important and I appreciate that they did that.

Laura: 00:31:24

And I think it's very funny that he's the second Casperson

Laura: 00:31:27

we've written off to minbar.

Xhafer: 00:31:30

It's a good place because it's a place we

Laura: 00:31:33

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:31:33

Well, we do, but by the time we get

Laura: 00:31:36

But it is kind of a utopian ideal sort of sounding place with

Laura: 00:31:40

all its crystals and whatever.

Laura: 00:31:41

So it's

Xhafer: 00:31:42

Yeah, minbar, everything's perfect.

Laura: 00:31:44

Yeah,

Laura: 00:31:45

except for.

Xhafer: 00:31:46

earth is saying.

Xhafer: 00:31:46

It is.

Laura: 00:31:47

Right, right.

Laura: 00:31:49

So it's nice that it's nice that he gets to go there.

Xhafer: 00:31:52

Meanwhile, the local Northern population to be five, get ready to

Xhafer: 00:31:56

jump into far because fuck that guy.

Laura: 00:31:58

Yeah.

Laura: 00:31:59

Yeah.

Laura: 00:32:00

I see their point of view too.

Xhafer: 00:32:02

Do you have the episode pulled up?

Laura: 00:32:03

I can.

Xhafer: 00:32:04

Oh, you don't need it.

Xhafer: 00:32:05

I can describe it.

Xhafer: 00:32:06

But if you're, if you have the episode in front of you listener.

Xhafer: 00:32:09

With a 1320 left in the episode.

Xhafer: 00:32:12

One of these NARKN has brass knuckles that shoot laser beams.

Laura: 00:32:18

Laser targeted brass knuckles.

Xhafer: 00:32:20

It's like brass knuckle gun, laser What.

Xhafer: 00:32:26

We, we never see anything like this again.

Xhafer: 00:32:29

When it's completely out of the blue and I it's just so bizarre and so

Xhafer: 00:32:35

weird, it's looked like someone glued a Lego brick with like four knobs

Xhafer: 00:32:40

on it to a pair of brass knuckles.

Xhafer: 00:32:43

And then we get like a weird little glowing, special

Xhafer: 00:32:45

effect as it shoots stuff.

Laura: 00:32:47

Man, these Naren are always jumping their leaders in hallways.

Laura: 00:32:51

Right.

Xhafer: 00:32:52

These NARKN don't know how to respect authority.

Xhafer: 00:32:56

I had a whole thing about taser knocks, but the threat is gone.

Xhafer: 00:32:59

This is a real thing.

Xhafer: 00:33:00

Taser nuts.

Xhafer: 00:33:01

You know what listener get on the discord and ask Ben to tell

Xhafer: 00:33:05

the story about laser taser Knox.

Xhafer: 00:33:08

There we go.

Xhafer: 00:33:09

Just get under discord.

Xhafer: 00:33:10

If you never make it to the end of the episode, we've got

Xhafer: 00:33:12

a discord get on our discord.

Xhafer: 00:33:14

Go there.

Xhafer: 00:33:15

Ask Ben for the story about taser knocks, he'll be thrilled.

Xhafer: 00:33:22

It's one of his great regrets in life is not buying those taser knocks.

Laura: 00:33:27

Oh man.

Laura: 00:33:28

That does sound like a regret.

Xhafer: 00:33:30

Anyways, checar breaks that shit up and is like, fine.

Xhafer: 00:33:33

Let's just get this over with, I'll go to Homeworld and they'll

Xhafer: 00:33:36

fucking kill If that's what we got to do, we're going to fucking do it.

Laura: 00:33:40

Yeah, he's, he's ready to lay down his life for other

Laura: 00:33:43

people to stop dying, which

Laura: 00:33:45

I think, you know, is a noble, noble sentiment at least.

Xhafer: 00:33:49

It's very Dzhokhar as he's come into the character that he is.

Laura: 00:33:53

Yes.

Laura: 00:33:54

For sure.

Xhafer: 00:33:54

back in CNC Ivanova is checking for spelling errors for the probe.

Xhafer: 00:33:59

Which if it's running through a translator to their language anyways,

Laura: 00:34:03

Yeah, I mean,

Xhafer: 00:34:07

But whatever Sheridan.

Xhafer: 00:34:09

Wants to power on the weapons very slowly so that the probe doesn't notice.

Xhafer: 00:34:13

Uh, We got a little bit about scheduling the shitty meeting for after the station.

Xhafer: 00:34:17

Explodes,

Laura: 00:34:18

Yeah.

Laura: 00:34:19

That's that's definitely shared and that's our guy.

Xhafer: 00:34:23

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:34:23

Before some shade that Ivanova.

Xhafer: 00:34:25

Does not handle well.

Xhafer: 00:34:27

Uh, I don't think it's particularly, well-deserved

Laura: 00:34:29

Yeah, I don't think so either.

Xhafer: 00:34:31

Garibaldi goes to CJ car who is packing.

Xhafer: 00:34:34

Did he tries to talk him out of going and is genuinely kind of touched by it

Xhafer: 00:34:39

and Tracy acts the hell out of the scene.

Xhafer: 00:34:42

And he asked the hell out of every scene.

Xhafer: 00:34:45

Because it's in trays,

Laura: 00:34:46

Yes.

Laura: 00:34:47

Yeah, no, he's, he's touched.

Laura: 00:34:49

He doesn't, you know, Garibaldi doesn't want him to go.

Xhafer: 00:34:52

Yeah.

Laura: 00:34:53

And they've just sort of had this burgeoning friendship,

Laura: 00:34:56

you know, where we found out that Garibaldi really respected your car.

Laura: 00:35:01

And he's.

Laura: 00:35:02

Once more time.

Laura: 00:35:03

And he doesn't want another person in his life to die.

Laura: 00:35:06

You know, he says that.

Laura: 00:35:07

Modeling thing.

Laura: 00:35:09

But Dzhokhar is a person of faith and he's okay with his fate being in the hands

Laura: 00:35:14

of So he, he doesn't change his mind, even though Garibaldi is this nice plea.

Xhafer: 00:35:20

Franklin is a complete asshole.

Xhafer: 00:35:23

And I'm guessing the implication here.

Xhafer: 00:35:24

They don't say it is that he's going through stim, withdrawal.

Laura: 00:35:27

Oh, yeah.

Laura: 00:35:28

I thought it was just general stress is how I read it.

Laura: 00:35:31

But no, that is a good call that, you know, he put that vial away earlier.

Laura: 00:35:37

And now he's acting like a cranky jerk.

Xhafer: 00:35:39

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:35:39

I mean, he's kind of sweaty and stuff too.

Xhafer: 00:35:41

There's a little bit more to it than just him being upset.

Xhafer: 00:35:44

Um, which is what makes me think that it's more than just stress

Xhafer: 00:35:48

and that it's a withdrawal.

Xhafer: 00:35:50

But it's never set.

Xhafer: 00:35:51

I don't know how you would get away with saying it besides maybe a note

Xhafer: 00:35:56

from him saying it like, oh, I think I'm going through stem withdrawal

Xhafer: 00:36:00

and lake his log or something.

Xhafer: 00:36:01

But that would be acknowledging that he has a problem, which he's

Xhafer: 00:36:05

also not ready to do.

Xhafer: 00:36:07

So, I don't think you can say it.

Xhafer: 00:36:11

Logically in the story.

Xhafer: 00:36:12

I don't think there's a way to, cause if anyone sees him going

Xhafer: 00:36:15

through withdrawals, they're going to call him out on the bullshit

Xhafer: 00:36:17

and the storyline ends real quick.

Laura: 00:36:18

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:36:19

So.

Laura: 00:36:20

I do think he is right to be a little cranky with this

Laura: 00:36:24

doctor because, you Surely when they sent all these questions.

Laura: 00:36:29

To earth to help answer them.

Laura: 00:36:31

They

Laura: 00:36:31

said,

Xhafer: 00:36:32

was explained.

Xhafer: 00:36:33

I hope.

Laura: 00:36:34

But there's a 500,000 mega ton explosion that will go off if

Laura: 00:36:38

we don't answer these questions.

Laura: 00:36:40

And she tells him that there's two, that they haven't gotten answered because

Laura: 00:36:44

there's only one scientist we know that can answer them and he's on vacation

Laura: 00:36:49

and we can't bother him on vacation.

Laura: 00:36:51

And it's like,

Xhafer: 00:36:52

Mother fucker.

Laura: 00:36:53

Yeah, I.

Xhafer: 00:36:54

him.

Laura: 00:36:55

That is a feeble, excuse you get him on the pager and you get

Laura: 00:36:59

him to look at these now because people's lives are on the line.

Laura: 00:37:03

I, I think that Franklin has a right to be a little bit bitchy about it.

Xhafer: 00:37:07

He finally gives in though.

Xhafer: 00:37:08

And

Laura: 00:37:09

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:37:09

another stem here?

Xhafer: 00:37:10

The Naren on the station gather for a soap box speech by an afar.

Xhafer: 00:37:15

And then we cut back up to CNC.

Xhafer: 00:37:17

We're Sheridan cancels the transmit to the probe.

Xhafer: 00:37:20

Fearing it's an attack.

Xhafer: 00:37:22

And he's

Laura: 00:37:23

He's he's very suspicious.

Laura: 00:37:24

He has a bad feeling about this whole thing.

Xhafer: 00:37:27

He calls it a Terminator A couple of times.

Xhafer: 00:37:30

and then uh, he proves this point by the drone starts to fly away.

Xhafer: 00:37:35

So they have one of their little security bots go and transmit the stuff, and

Xhafer: 00:37:41

then it explodes off in the distance.

Laura: 00:37:43

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:37:44

Now.

Xhafer: 00:37:45

This is actually the official position of the U S government.

Xhafer: 00:37:49

And how to handle this situation.

Laura: 00:37:51

Oh, really?

Xhafer: 00:37:53

So the inspiration for this plot was JMS was doing research

Xhafer: 00:37:58

into the congressional committee that would eventually form SETI.

Laura: 00:38:04

Okay.

Xhafer: 00:38:05

And when this credit and threshold committee was like, okay, we're going

Xhafer: 00:38:08

to look for extra terrestrial life.

Xhafer: 00:38:09

Well, before we do this, we need a set of rules for how the

Xhafer: 00:38:13

government is going to handle.

Xhafer: 00:38:15

Anything we find out there.

Laura: 00:38:16

Sure.

Laura: 00:38:17

We got to have rules for

Laura: 00:38:18

everything.

Xhafer: 00:38:18

Right.

Xhafer: 00:38:19

So.

Xhafer: 00:38:20

So we have to go through and set up all these protocols for how we're going

Xhafer: 00:38:23

to handle first contact with aliens.

Xhafer: 00:38:26

Should it happen?

Xhafer: 00:38:27

Because we don't know what this is.

Xhafer: 00:38:30

We're turning on the satellites and looking for stuff, or Brent

Xhafer: 00:38:32

will broadcasting at first.

Xhafer: 00:38:34

And then they stopped broadcasting because they realized that was a bad

Xhafer: 00:38:36

idea and started looking for stuff.

Xhafer: 00:38:38

So there came up with all these things and one of the things was like, okay, so

Xhafer: 00:38:43

we get a contact from an alien and they.

Xhafer: 00:38:47

Like we find a message and it's this list of super advanced

Xhafer: 00:38:50

science questions and stuff.

Xhafer: 00:38:53

How do we handle that?

Xhafer: 00:38:54

And they're like, okay, well, if they're asking these they're checking, not just

Xhafer: 00:38:57

to see a society, but they're checking to see its technological development.

Laura: 00:39:02

Right.

Laura: 00:39:03

Where are you?

Xhafer: 00:39:04

Which means they're not inherently altruistic.

Xhafer: 00:39:08

And because of that, they feared that any answer to these that was sufficient

Xhafer: 00:39:14

would show that the planet was a threat.

Xhafer: 00:39:16

And would be treated as such and wiped out before they had a chance to counter

Xhafer: 00:39:21

attack or find out who they were talking

Laura: 00:39:23

Yeah, it's a very easy logical leap, right from we're asking all

Laura: 00:39:28

these questions and the offer, the probe makes us suspicious.

Laura: 00:39:32

Like, we're going to give you all these things.

Laura: 00:39:34

If you can answer these questions, it's like, well, if we can answer

Laura: 00:39:37

those questions, how close are we to these things on our own, like,

Laura: 00:39:42

yeah, it, it is a very devious little test.

Xhafer: 00:39:46

Yep.

Xhafer: 00:39:46

So that's where this plot came from, was JMS reading.

Xhafer: 00:39:50

And hearing listening about documentation from a congressional committee in

Xhafer: 00:39:54

the seventies about extra terrestrial

Laura: 00:39:57

Who would have thought that something useful would

Laura: 00:39:59

have come out of that?

Laura: 00:40:02

Wonderful.

Xhafer: 00:40:03

Dzhokhar gets stopped on his way to space TSA.

Xhafer: 00:40:07

And they prevent him from going.

Xhafer: 00:40:09

Freedom is more important and all of their families understand that he has to

Xhafer: 00:40:13

stay and continue weeding the resistance.

Laura: 00:40:15

Yeah, several nine step in his way with the final one being to Juan.

Laura: 00:40:20

To Juan has.

Laura: 00:40:21

Presumably flipped from being nefarious body guard.

Laura: 00:40:25

And wants to join the effort on the station

Xhafer: 00:40:28

At the end here, Franklin lays to Garibaldi about not

Xhafer: 00:40:32

using stems during the episode.

Laura: 00:40:34

Yeah, what's up with that Franklin.

Xhafer: 00:40:38

Not cool.

Laura: 00:40:39

Yeah, that's.

Xhafer: 00:40:40

Because it wasn't even like Garibaldi Garibaldi didn't ask him if

Xhafer: 00:40:43

he used stems during this ridiculous crisis, they just went through.

Xhafer: 00:40:47

He just said that he didn't.

Laura: 00:40:49

Yeah, he just out now it made this claim.

Laura: 00:40:52

Which is not something, a person who didn't feel guilty about it would do.

Xhafer: 00:40:56

For and then the episode.

Xhafer: 00:40:58

Fades to black as veer departs from embargoed space TSA with Londo looking on.

Laura: 00:41:03

Yeah, by fear.

Laura: 00:41:05

Enjoyment bar.

Laura: 00:41:07

We know

Xhafer: 00:41:08

he

Xhafer: 00:41:08

will

Xhafer: 00:41:08

for four episodes.

Xhafer: 00:41:10

All right.

Xhafer: 00:41:11

Well, how'd you feel about this

Laura: 00:41:14

So.

Laura: 00:41:15

not sure I can call this average.

Laura: 00:41:17

I really like the plot about J car.

Laura: 00:41:21

But it does kind of wrap up in a weird way for me.

Laura: 00:41:24

Like there's no Defining moment that changes Dakar's mind.

Laura: 00:41:28

Mind other than these people ask him not to go.

Laura: 00:41:31

but he'd already, you know, committed to.

Laura: 00:41:34

I would rather save lives than continue this resistance right now.

Laura: 00:41:38

So that's that turn for me, wasn't quite as earned as it could have been.

Laura: 00:41:44

And then the whole alien probe B plot.

Laura: 00:41:48

Just does not work for me.

Laura: 00:41:51

I kind of gave that away earlier in the episode when I

Xhafer: 00:41:53

Yeah.

Laura: 00:41:54

Uh, this doesn't.

Laura: 00:41:55

Why, why aren't we talking to anybody else about this?

Xhafer: 00:41:58

That's fair.

Laura: 00:41:59

So.

Laura: 00:42:00

I don't think.

Laura: 00:42:01

I don't know if I want to go with two.

Laura: 00:42:03

But for me, it didn't hit average Babylon five level.

Laura: 00:42:06

It's better than bad, but it does seem a little things are rushed.

Laura: 00:42:10

Things aren't fully explained.

Laura: 00:42:12

I think we would have been better off, honestly, without

Laura: 00:42:14

the alien probe plot in this one.

Laura: 00:42:17

I know that that kind of changes your title entirely because the thing that

Laura: 00:42:22

we were going for here was we have one day and here's the crazy things

Laura: 00:42:25

that are happening in this one day.

Xhafer: 00:42:27

Yeah.

Laura: 00:42:27

We kind of already did that for me back in season two.

Laura: 00:42:31

When we had the And now for a word episode.

Xhafer: 00:42:34

ISN episode.

Laura: 00:42:35

Right.

Laura: 00:42:36

So.

Laura: 00:42:37

I don't know this, this seems to me to be trying to do the

Laura: 00:42:39

same thing as that episode.

Laura: 00:42:41

Just in a regular episode style and not as

Xhafer: 00:42:47

I also wrote down two and a half for this one.

Xhafer: 00:42:49

It's pretty middle of the road.

Xhafer: 00:42:51

It's not bad.

Xhafer: 00:42:52

It's not great.

Xhafer: 00:42:53

I consider it a little bit below average because I had multiple points

Xhafer: 00:42:58

where I thought just a single line of dialogue would improve the episode.

Laura: 00:43:03

Right,

Xhafer: 00:43:03

And that is not something that I commonly feel

Xhafer: 00:43:07

about Babylon five as a show.

Xhafer: 00:43:10

And I feel that about a lot of media very often.

Laura: 00:43:13

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:43:14

like one of my number one complaints is all like, you could

Xhafer: 00:43:16

just thrown in a line of dialogue here that would have handled that issue.

Xhafer: 00:43:20

Or, you know, it would have made this whole, you know, like one room in 1984.

Xhafer: 00:43:24

Skip's all over the place.

Xhafer: 00:43:25

Just throwing a line about kids, wishing it was Christmas and then new

Xhafer: 00:43:28

year's and then July 4th or something.

Xhafer: 00:43:30

And it makes the plot instantly more tolerable because it's very incoherent.

Xhafer: 00:43:36

And so if you just lean into that and make it incoherent on purpose

Xhafer: 00:43:39

with a single line of dialogue, it's instantly a better movie.

Laura: 00:43:42

Yeah.

Xhafer: 00:43:43

And so I don't often say that about Babylon five, maybe one, every

Xhafer: 00:43:48

couple of episodes, but to have multiple points in an episode where I thought a

Xhafer: 00:43:52

single line of dialogue would improve it.

Xhafer: 00:43:54

He tells me that it was not as carefully As most

Laura: 00:43:59

Yeah, I think almost every single plot.

Laura: 00:44:01

And this one has a spot where it's like, oh, if you just said this to you, Then

Laura: 00:44:06

I would feel better, but you didn't.

Laura: 00:44:08

And so I don't.

Laura: 00:44:10

So, yeah.

Xhafer: 00:44:11

Well, that's the episode.

Xhafer: 00:44:12

Next up, we have season three, episode four, passing through jus enemy.

Xhafer: 00:44:17

We'll leave.

Xhafer: 00:44:17

The Alexander returns has cautious aid.

Xhafer: 00:44:20

Uh, monk onboard the station experiences, terrifying visions.

Laura: 00:44:25

Yeah, I think this'll be a markedly different episode.

Xhafer: 00:44:28

I love this next episode.

Laura: 00:44:31

It is memorable for sure.

Xhafer: 00:44:34

It was.

Xhafer: 00:44:35

Before every watched It was on my top five episodes in the series.

Xhafer: 00:44:39

I have already done my rewatch for next episode.

Xhafer: 00:44:42

So I will not spoil my current feelings on it, which are admittedly a lot

Xhafer: 00:44:46

more nuance than my normal watch.

Xhafer: 00:44:47

There's a Babylon five.

Xhafer: 00:44:48

But I'm real excited to talk about this next episode.

Laura: 00:44:51

Me too.

Laura: 00:44:52

A very good

Xhafer: 00:44:53

But before we're going to do that.

Xhafer: 00:44:55

We're going to go ahead and shout out some thank Thank you, Jeremy Siegel

Xhafer: 00:44:58

for our lovely theme music, you can find more of his work at Jeremy Siegel.

Xhafer: 00:45:02

40 two.bandcamp.com.

Laura: 00:45:04

And thank you to angry deck time machine on Instagram

Laura: 00:45:07

for our podcast artwork.

Xhafer: 00:45:09

And once again, discord hit us up on there.

Xhafer: 00:45:12

We've got a wonderful community memes and conversations.

Xhafer: 00:45:16

There's a lot of talk about the reboot lately, which has been really fun.

Xhafer: 00:45:19

And then, you know, just, it's a cool place to be.

Xhafer: 00:45:21

Shoot us an email.

Xhafer: 00:45:22

Who are you?

Xhafer: 00:45:23

five@gmail.com.

Xhafer: 00:45:24

We do mailbag segments.

Xhafer: 00:45:26

We're going to do one next Uh, so it will be too late by the time

Xhafer: 00:45:30

this airs to get on that one, but send us mail for the next Yep.

Xhafer: 00:45:35

We'll see you next week, internet.