Text 17031, 56 rader
Skriven 2007-08-11 10:59:45 av Jeffrey Kaplan (3508.babylon5)
     Kommentar till en text av rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated
Ärende: TLT: Disappointed
=========================
I'll try to avoid spoilers.

I hate to say it, but I was disappointed by TLT.  And contrary to what
some others said, I thought the first story was stronger.

"Over Here" felt like "Third Space" or "River of Souls", in that it's a
story that could have been told by almost anyone and just merely
happens to take place on B5 with a B5 character.  It didn't really
"fit" in the story universe and I've come to know and love it.  But it
was a solidly written story with a beginning, a middle, and end and a
bit of epilog.  And I was able to find +one+ place where it would
naturally break for a commercial. :)  But the story itself... doesn't
fit well for me.

"Over There" left me flat, too, but for completely different reasons.
This one was definitely a "Babylon 5" story, using twice as many
established B5 characters in prime roles and building off of the
established plot of the story.  It had a beginning and a rather long
middle, but it didn't end, it merely stopped.  As much as I like seeing
Terryl Rothary on screen, I have to ask, what was the point of that
scene?  It would have been much better, IMO, if instead of making a
Pak'ma'ra style joke about liking reporters, Sheridan instead
referenced his last shown encounter with an ISN reporter during S4, Dan
Randal, even if obliquely.  I know Galen can be cruel, vindictive and
capricious, but using Sheridan like that, for this, feels wrong.  If
Galen's words can be taken at face value, then he'd be better served
not by Sheridan, but someone on Centauri Prime who already wants to do
that.  And if Galen wanted what actually happened, he put a lot of
faith that Sheridan would not do "what is necessary".

The worst thing about this story is that the story is unfinished, and
there hasn't been any indication of any other TLT releases, never mind
if we're going to be checking in on +this+ story again.

And with both stories, they just felt empty.  Lots of large spaces with
practically no one in them.  A large dark room with two people.  A
large cell with only one occupant.  A long corridor in a busy area with
only four people in it.  An heir to a throne with no retainers or
guards.  They were both, to a large extent, "two people in a room"
stories.  It worked in "Intersections in Real Time" because the story
was compelling, with a character we loved in mental jeopardy, and as a
break in the break-neck pace of the episodes surrounding it.

If these were expanded stories because a third one was dropped, I would
have hated to see what was originally planned for them.

-- 
Jeffrey Kaplan                                         www.gordol.org
The from userid is killfiled             Send personal mail to gordol

Peter's Top 100 Things I'd Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord, #83.
If I'm eating dinner with the hero, put poison in his goblet, then have
to leave the table for any reason, I will order new drinks for both of
us instead of trying to decide whether or not to switch with him.
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