Discerning Lurkers Portal: A Babylon 5 Podcast

We are finally back with another Babylon 5 episode review, this time taking a look at 1.12 "By All Means Necessary."

Which two characters were the saving grace of this episode?

Did the co-hosts like the main subplot centered around the dock workers?

Did the co-hosts enjoy Sinclair's creative solutions to the workers' issues and/or the diplomatic and interpersonal issues between two ambassadors?

Which guest actor performance did the co-hosts like and which one did they not?

What were the co-hosts' favorite quotes from the episode?

What were the co-hosts' issues with the Eduardo character?

What were some of the flaws in the resolution to the episode?

What did the co-hosts think of the negotiating skills of the Orin Zento character?

What kinds of hoops did JMS's then-wife have to go through to write this episode without there being any sense of nepotism?

What kinds of bizarre subplots and character inclusions were in early drafts of the scripts?

What/who is the Rush Act named after?

What questions did Dave have for Todd in the Spoiler Zone?

Listen now for the answers to these and other questions as we try to negotiate the episode..."By Any Means Necessary."

If you'd like to contact us, our e-mail is [email protected].

We might have separate Facebook & Twitter accounts "soon" (okay, *eventually*), but for now, you can also check us out at the sites for our "parent" podcast, The Discerning Geeks Portal, where we take a discerning look into other geeky topics with an additional co-host and with a frequent focus on movie reviews.

Facebook: Discerning Geeks Portal

Twitter: @DiscerningGeeks

Public domain music used in this episode...

Intro / Transition Into Spoiler Zone / Outro: "P----'s Lullaby" by Alexander Nakarada via FreePD.com (Note: This song sounds perfect for the intro to season 1 of the podcast, but it has an unfortunate name that includes the last name of a war-loving leader of a certain Eurasian country that has recently attacked & invaded another country in 2022. From now on, I'm just going to sensor the P-word in the name of the song.)

This week, we cover the first of Babylon 5's only two-parters, "A Voice in the Wilderness, Parts 1 & 2."

Which co-host(s) wonder how previous survey crews somehow missed the Great Machine and deemed Epsilon 3 a dead world?

Do our co-hosts have bad memories, or are there reasons why portions of this two-parter seem easy to forget?

What did Draal mean being going "to the sea"?

How did the co-hosts feel about the further development of the background Mars subplot? Is Mars too much in the background?

What were the co-hosts' favorite moments?

Which guest actor will return later but playing a different character?

Were Sinclair & Garibaldi wrong for their protectiveness over Ivanova, who's tough enough to take care of herself?

When going through quotes in Green Sector, which co-host loved an exchange between Londo & Garibaldi, and which co-host loved a tirade by a cranky Ivanova?

Which co-host is a little worried Garibaldi might be a creeper?

Which tiny little pause by a cast member led one of the co-hosts to reading a snippet from an interview in which that actor admitted to a certain level of disbelief before doing what he did in that scene?

Which co-host made an unexpected connection between the lyrics of the "Hokey Pokey" and something more serious that was revealed in the episode?

Which character do the co-hosts really miss, and how many episodes have gone without that character in them?

Did the co-hosts have a lot of nitpicks for this episode?

What were the business-related reasons JMS was encourage to write a two-parter like this?

What led JMS to totally re-write the script for this two-parter?

Did the co-hosts have similar or different final grades for these episodes?

And, what spoilers did the co-hosts cover in the Spoiler Zone?

Listen now for the answers to these and other questions as we explore "A Voice in the Wilderness."

If you see a 5-star rating system, remember to click on 5 stars if you love us or 4 stars if you hate us. Don't bother with the other three stars. I really don't understand why they're even there. ;)

If you'd like to contact us, our e-mail is [email protected].

Facebook: Discerning Geeks Portal

Twitter: @DiscerningGeeks

Public domain music used in this episode...

Intro / Transition Into Spoiler Zone / Outro: "P----'s Lullaby" by Alexander Nakarada via FreePD.com (Note: This song sounds perfect for the intro to season 1 of the podcast, but it has an unfortunate name that includes the last name of a war-loving leader of a certain Eurasian country. From now on, I'm just going to sensor the P-word in the name of the song.)

This week, our shoes are too tight, and we have forgotten how to podcast. Just kidding, we remember, as we review the Babylon 5 episode 1.07 "The War Prayer."

What real-world social issues did the co-hosts feel this episode held up a mirror to?

What elements of the pilot TV movie got a mention in this episode?

What physical trait of the Minbari did one co-host notice for the first time? Is it a natural feature, or do Minbari women wear this type of make-up too?

Which co-host went through a weird phase of watching soap operas during high school and college?

What else is Danica McKellar known for?

What are the interesting nicknames Londo gives his wives behind their backs?

What kind of plant life gets mentioned in both Green Sector and Brown Sector?

What line of dialogue did one co-host appreciate for being funny & aggressive at the same time.

What complaint did one co-host have about the tone of the episode?

What line of dialogue was not delivered in the best way?

Which character is not nearly as good an actor as the actual actor playing that main character?

What kind of details did one co-host have about the preparation & process that went in to D.C. Fontana writing this episode?

And, which episode coming soon is one co-host particularly looking forward to reviewing?

Listen now for the answers to these & other discerning questions as we speak about "The War Prayer."

Personal Note: Please bear with us if the release schedule of this podcast or our other podcast, the Discerning Geeks Portal, is affected by a profound loss we have experienced recently. David T., a founding co-host of Discerning Geeks Portal, and our friend & brother for far longer than we have been podcasting, passed away recently after his eight-year battle with cancer. At the time I'm posting this, his funeral was three days ago, and we are still settling in to a "new normal" without him. We hope to somehow honor & memorialize him after discussing the best time & method. Prayers & positive thoughts are appreciated as we process this loss privately for now. In the meantime, reviews of "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" and "Spider-Man: No Way Home" were both recorded before his passing...but still without him, sadly. The first of those may be coming soon, but I don't know when. Dave and I hoped to start a weekly schedule for the B5 reviews going forward, but we now need to catch up on recording those too. Thank you for understanding.

If you'd like to contact us, our e-mail is [email protected].

We might have separate Facebook & Twitter accounts soon, but for now, you can also check us out at the sites for our "parent" podcast, The Discerning Geeks Portal, where we take a discerning look into other geeky topics with two additional co-hosts and with a frequent focus on movie reviews.

Facebook: Discerning Geeks Portal

Twitter: @DiscerningGeeks

Public domain music used in this episode...

Intro / Transition Into Spoiler Zone / Outro: "Putin's Lullaby" by Alexander Nakarada via FreePD.com (Note: I know with current events going on around Ukraine in March 2022, a song with "Putin" in the title is unfortunate, but I can't help it. That's the name of the song, and the song was picked out weeks ago when the first half of it sounded perfect for a Babylon 5 intro...with a few "swoosh" sound effects added to the end of the intro for added punch.)

Greetings, Discerning Listeners, and thank you for stepping through the portal with us for the very first episode of The Discerning Lurkers Portal: A Babylon 5 Podcast. Also, Happy Anniversary, as we release this episode on the 29th anniversary of the premiere of "The Gathering," the pilot TV movie, starting it all on 22 February 1993. Apparently, the modern gift for 29th anniversaries is furniture. I'll take a new bedroom suite, if anyone's buying.

We will be taking a discerning look, episode by episode, of Babylon 5, one of the best sci-fi TV shows ever and a favorite of the hosts, Dave & Todd. In our first episode, we'll talk a little about what drew us to Babylon 5 and about the structure & content of each of our episodes before diving in to our review of "The Gathering" itself.

We'll explain a little of that structure here...

Blue Sector: We start with a brief episode summary & logistical info like episode order, writer, and director.

Red Sector: This is open discussion about the episode's subplots, world-building, and things we generally liked.

Green Sector: This is a deeper focus into characters, performances, and quotable dialogue (three of the best aspects of Babylon 5).

Brown Sector: Even the best things in life aren't perfect. Here, we'll highlight flaws & nitpicks.

Grey Sector: We'll wrap up with trivia, behind-the-scenes info, and our scores for the episode (based on the Psi Corps P-rating system of P1 to P12). Then, we'll say a preliminary goodbye to newer viewers before delving into spoilers for future episodes as our very last item. Note: One of the co-hosts has not seen quite all of Babylon 5 himself, so even in the Spoiler Zone, our other co-host will be cautious of revealing certain big spoilers too much or too soon.

Thank you for joining us on this journey as we review one of our favorite shows. "The Gathering," a story of an assassination plot against the space station's most recently arrived alien ambassador, is just the beginning of our adventure. If all goes according to plan (and, there's no guarantee it will), we hope to commemorate the importance of the numbers 3 (among the Minbari) and 5 (for Babylon 5 itself) by releasing subsequent episodes on the 25th of February and the 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, and 30th of March. Starting in April, we'll probably settle into a less nutty, weekly schedule.

If you'd like to contact us, our e-mail is [email protected].

We might have separate Facebook & Twitter accounts soon, but for now, you can also check us out at the sites for our "parent" podcast, The Discerning Geeks Portal, where we take a discerning look into other geeky topics with two additional co-hosts and with a frequent focus on movie reviews.

Facebook: Discerning Geeks Portal

Twitter: @DiscerningGeeks

(With this episode being released on 02/22/2022, I was tempted to schedule it to publish at 02:22 AM Eastern. But, I'll settle for midnight because I want to make sure it uploads okay before I settle down for the night.)

Public domain music used in this episode...

Intro / Transition Into Spoiler Zone / Outro: "Putin's Lullaby" by Alexander Nakarada via FreePD.com (Note: I know with current events going on around Ukraine in February 2022, a song with "Putin" in the title is unfortunate, but I can't help it. That's the name of the song, and the song was picked out weeks ago when the first half of it sounded perfect for a Babylon 5 intro (with a few "swoosh" sound effects added to the end of the intro for added punch).

This week, we review "Signs & Portents," the Babylon 5 episode so important that J. Michael Straczynski named all of season 1 "Signs & Portents" as well.

Why is Dave slurring his words?

How far did Todd get in editing before the file failed to save and proved to be corrupted, such that Todd had to start the editing over from scratch?

What did Dave & Todd think about this episode? What category is this episode starting to fall under for Todd?

What were the various subplots of this episode, and which ones worked better than others?

What is it about the damage to Kosh's encounter suit that Todd questioned?

Is there a greater importance to Lord Kiro, or is he just another noble?

When & where did Ed Wasser, the actor played Mr. Morden, show up on Babylon 5 previously as a different character? What off-screen role did Ed Wasser also have on the Babylon 5 set before being cast as Mr. Morden?

What did Dave & Todd like so much about the scene with Londo & G'Kar waiting on the lift?

What did Todd think was so significant about Kosh's demand to Morden?

What aspect of the space battle didn't quite work for either co-host?

What natural catastrophe occurred during the filming of this episode, and how much -- or how little -- did it affect the filming schedule of this episode?

Which cast member got stuck on set during one of several frequent evacuations?

And, what topics did the co-hosts cover in the spoiler zone?

We see the "Signs & Portents." We predict you're going to listen to this episode.

If you'd like to contact us, our e-mail is [email protected].

'We might have separate Facebook & Twitter accounts "soon" (okay, *eventually*), but for now, you can also check us out at the sites for our "parent" podcast, The Discerning Geeks Portal, where we take a discerning look into other geeky topics with an additional co-host and with a frequent focus on movie reviews.

Facebook: Discerning Geeks Portal

Twitter: @DiscerningGeeks

Public domain music used in this episode...

Intro / Transition Into Spoiler Zone / Outro: "P----'s Lullaby" by Alexander Nakarada via FreePD.com (Note: This song sounds perfect for the intro to season 1 of the podcast, but it has an unfortunate name that includes the last name of a war-loving leader of a certain Eurasian country that has recently attacked & invaded another country in 2022. From now on, I'm just going to sensor the P-word in the name of the song.)