Anyone can sign, so feel free!

This was pretty easy to do, so I just did it. There’s now a guestbook on CarneyWeb. Please feel free to sign it and let me know what you think of the site.

On this day…

There’s a new set of links at the bottom of the calendar. They point to the current day in previous years and give you a glimpse into the history of this site. You never know what you might find 🙂

OK… so you probably won’t find much. There’s a lot there, but it’s quite scattered. The reason is that it used to be a pain for me to add things to my site, but with Vanila I can do it from anywhere.

This feature was shamelessly stolen from [[Scripting.com]]. I hope they don’t mind!

This is VERY encouraging.

Warning! There are major spoilers ahead!

**Lord Of The Rings** will make its mark in film history. Fans will embrace this film and newcomers will
be in complete awe of one of the most visually entertaining films ever made….and this is only the beginning!

Modified auto-submit for better error handling.

MyManila can now report errors down to the field level of a form insert and still maintain the integrity of the database. Now, the integrity of the entire set of data is checked before any rows in the database are modified.

Fourth season finale. A look back at the impact of Babylon 5 from 100, 500, 1000, and 1000000 years in the future.

##Overview

##Plot Points

Some people on Earth are highly skeptical that the Interstellar Alliance will work, and distrust Sheridan’s motives and ability.

The station will be under the command of a Captain Lochley in 2262.

With Sheridan’s permission, a colony of telepaths will be established on Babylon 5 sometime in 2262. Eventually they will turn against him.

Garibaldi will be held hostage, possibly by the telepaths, in 2262. The hostage situation will end in gunfire.

Babylon 5 will be destroyed (though under what circumstances isn’t clear) in 2282.

Sheridan will die in 2282 under mysterious circumstances that will still be debated 80 years later. Popular opinion will hold that he died on Minbar, but not everyone will agree.

Later legend will hold that he was carried bodily into heaven.

Delenn will live until at least 2362, though she’ll spend many of the intervening years out of public view, leading some to wonder if she’s still alive.

In 2762, Earth will again be divided into two factions, one in favor of breaking away from the Interstellar Alliance and another in favor of remaining. The two sides will launch a

devastating war, rendering the surface of the Earth nearly uninhabitable.

In 3262, the survivors of that war, now known as the “Great Burn,” will largely have lost all records of the time before the war. At least one order of monks, marginally part of

the Roman Catholic Church, will work to gather and preserve historical records. They’ll be aided in secret by agents of the Rangers, who will slowly “discover” pieces of

pre-Burn technology to inch Earth’s people back toward the stars.

The Rangers will still exist in some form a million years hence, and will still consider Sheridan and Delenn to be their founders. They will be involved in the building of something

called “New Earth,” though what that is isn’t clear.

One million years in the future, humans will apparently have evolved into noncorporeal entities (like Lorien, [[Into the Fire]]) and will make use of Vorlon-style encounter suits

and organic ships.

Earth’s sun will go nova in a million years.

##Unanswered Questions

Is Garibaldi back on B5 to stay? What about Lise?

Who were the people holding Garibaldi hostage? The telepaths?

Who, if anyone, did Garibaldi’s captor shoot? Or was the shot fired by someone else?

What was the incident with Sheridan and Delenn’s son?

What happened to Mars and Earth’s other colonies during the Great Burn?

Why did the sun go nova? As the sun isn’t expected to do so naturally for billions of years, if at all (according to 20th-century astrophysics, anyway) did someone or something

cause it to happen?

##Analysis

Among the crowd greeting Sheridan and Delenn as they returned to B5 was a man holding a sign reading, “Sic transit gloria mundis.” That translates approximately to,

“Worldly glory/fame is transitory.” That could be viewed as a negative comment, expressing the opinion that whatever they build will be temporary. On the other hand, that’s

also the Latin phrase spoken to a newly elected Pope after the ballots are burned and the ashes dropped before him, a reminder that a greater purpose is being served and any

individual’s contribution is small in comparison. In any case, it appears at least one human agrees with Londo’s opinion that marriage celebrations should include somber

reflection.

The historical origin of the phrase is of note, given Sheridan’s recent victory against Earth. Whenever a Roman general returned from a successful campaign, a great parade or

Triumph would be held for him. The general would ride in a chariot, face painted red and in purple robes. Behind him, a slave would hold a golden crown of laurels and whisper

the phrase into his ear.

Though the implication was that the gunshot at the end of the video clip in 2362 was directed at Garibaldi, that’s not certain. It could as easily have been someone else firing at

one of his captors to prevent his death.

The 2362 historians’ interpretation of the outcome of Sheridan allowing telepaths to set up a colony of Babylon 5 — the worst mistake of his career, they claimed he as much

as said — may have been shaded by their less than charitable views about Sheridan. The actual events may have been much less disastrous than they implied.

It’s possible Delenn’s appearance in 2362 wasn’t entirely a coincidence. The moderator appeared to be sympathetic to her point of view (though he could have just been

playing devil’s advocate to spark discussion) and may have warned her of the upcoming broadcast and its likely tone.

The holographic simulation of Franklin was trying to create alien/human hybrids, the same accusation that was leveled against B5 by the Clark administration’s propagandists

([[The Illusion of Truth]].)

The Ranger said he still had time to join “the celebration” before the sun went nova. What was being celebrated? The Earth’s destruction? New Earth’s creation?

Londo said when he came aboard the station that jubilant celebration was how Centauri celebrated a funeral. Perhaps the humans of a million years hence took up that

custom, and were celebrating the death of their homeworld Centauri-style. If so, it would provide a subtle symmetry between the beginning of the episode and the end.

The Ranger’s rush to send the records to New Earth would seem to imply that the sun going nova wasn’t an expected event, which in turn implies that it was artificially

induced. If the nova were a natural event, there would presumably have been years — more likely centuries — of warning, plenty of time to evacuate people and historical

records.

The Ranger’s effort to preserve Earth’s history echoes Sinclair’s comment in [[Infection]] that all of humanity’s accomplishments would be lost when the sun died unless people

took to the stars.

The Ranger’s parting line, “This is how the world ends. Swallowed in fire, but not in darkness,” echoes Kosh’s reply to Emperor Turhan ([[The Coming of Shadows]]) that the

situation would end in fire.

One other event was predicted to occur in a million years: it’s when Jason Ironheart said he’d see Sinclair again ([[Mind War]].) Coincidence, or does Ironheart (or Sinclair)

play some part in whatever is happening in the distant future? The Ranger appeared to be noncorporeal, implying perhaps that the rest of humanity took a million years to catch

up to Ironheart’s level of development.

##Notes

The 2262 newscast referred to Sheridan’s visit to the Dalai Lama in Tibet. But the picture shown was of a group of Buddhist monks with golden robes, typical of the Golden

Triangle area (Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia.) Tibetan Buddhist monks wear maroon robes. Of course, it’s possible that changed between the 20th and 23rd centuries.

The first question in the 2362 sequence was asked by someone named Ray Winston. This may be a reference to the cartoon “The Real Ghostbusters,” on which JMS served

as producer. Ray and Winston were the names of two of the characters.

The insignia on Daniel’s uniform in 2762 was nearly identical to the logo of the Nazi SS organization.

Daniel’s language (e.g. “realfacts” and “goodfacts”) is a reference to George Orwell’s “1984,” which introduced terms such as “doublespeak” and dealt heavily with the

relation between language and propaganda.

Daniel also made a brief mention of “psychohistory,” which is a reference to Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” novels. In the novels, psychohistory is a science that can predict

large-scale human societal behavior.

It’s possible Garibaldi is responsible for the Great Burn. The war between Earth’s two factions might have proceeded the same way with or without Garibaldi’s subterfuge.

But it’s not inconceivable that if Daniel’s superiors had made the first strike, the other side might have capitulated, or the war might have been over more quickly for other

reasons. Of course, it’s also possible that it would have been even worse, perhaps wiping out Earth altogether.

The 3262 sequence may be a nod to Walter Miller’s novel “A Canticle for Leibowitz,” about an order of monks trying to preserve the knowledge of the past after a devastating

war.

During the 3262 sequence, the Roman numerals in the lower left corner appear to be camera numbers; they corresponded to the different angles from which the scene was

shown. Presumably the cameras were all well-hidden.

The caption under the picture of the Ranger in the book Brother Stephen is illuminating appears to say, “Rangers eis nomen est,” which translates to, “Their name is Rangers.”

Although this episode is part of the fifth-season production run, it’s actually the fourth-season finale. The fifth-season finale, [[Sleeping in Light]], was shot during the

fourth-season production run because it wasn’t clear that the show was being renewed; once the renewal was announced, another episode had to be substituted. For some

reason the onscreen credits at the end of the episode don’t reflect that; they list a production number of 422 rather than the more accurate 501.

The title sequence was changed slightly from the regular season four sequence. A clip of the Agamemnon flying through the explosion of the defense platform in [[Endgame]]

was inserted just before the cast credits, and Claudia Christian’s name was removed from the cast list.

The episode’s dedication: “Dedicated to all the people who predicted that the Babylon Project would fail in its mission. Faith manages.” This is probably a dig at pundits on

Usenet and elsewhere who confidently said every year that B5 wouldn’t be renewed for another season.

Shooting began August 18, 1997.

Earthgov decides Sheridan’s fate. Delenn makes a remarkable proposition to the League of Non-Aligned Worlds. Garibaldi searches for Lise. Denise Gentile as Lise.

##Overview

###Guest Stars

Rance Howard as David Sheridan. Beata Pozniak as President Luchenko. Walter Koenig as Bester.

###Lurk

http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/synops/087.html

##Plot Points

Delenn has overseen the coming together of the nonaligned worlds, the Centauri, the Minbari, the Narn, and Earth into a new Interstellar Alliance, and Sheridan has been
elected its first president. The Alliance, which among other things promises to share advanced technologies like artificial gravity with Earth, is a confederation whose members
retain most of their sovereignty, aside from certain rules of conduct. Its armed forces are the Rangers and the White Star fleet, and its temporary headquarters are on Babylon
5 until permanent facilities are built in the Minbari city of Tuzanor (novel “To Dream In the City of Sorrows”.)

Sheridan only used 30 telepaths out of 100 to attack the destroyer fleet ([[Endgame]].) The rest, including Bester’s lover Carolyn Sanderson, remained on Babylon 5.

Clark has been succeeded by President Susanna Luchenko of the Russian Consortium.

Ivanova has been promoted to captain and reassigned to shake down an experimental new Earth military vessel, a Warlock-class destroyer, for one year.

Londo has been asked to return to Centauri Prime; the Regent is ill and after his death the royal court plans to name Londo the next Emperor.

Garibaldi and Lise are together, and she has apparently inherited some or all of William Edgars’ money.

Sheridan and Delenn have been married.

Sheridan’s father has been released; Clark’s forces never captured his mother.

##Unanswered Questions

Did all the nonaligned worlds join the Alliance?

##Analysis

Delenn’s reply to Lennier’s comment about unrequited love can be read either of two ways: that she is indeed oblivious to his feelings for her (“Ceremonies of Light and
Dark”) or, more likely, that she loves him too, albeit not in the same way she does Sheridan. The latter interpretation seems to have been lost on Lennier if true.

Sheridan knew about the telepath virus ([[The Face of the Enemy]], among others.) How many more have been told? Will its existence become common knowledge, and if so,
will the fact that it’s known to be possible prompt enemies of the Corps to start trying to duplicate it?

Bester goaded Sheridan about Garibaldi by telling him that only a scan performed by a member of Psi Corps would be admissible in Earth court if Garibaldi’s memory were
used as evidence. The implication was that since Bester controls the Corps to some degree, no Corps telepath would cooperate. But Lyta is now a Corps member, officially
anyway ([[The Exercise of Vital Powers]]) and is certainly no friend of Bester’s. To refute her credentials in court, he’d have to reveal the deep-cover program he’s using to
give her the appearance of Corps membership.

Sheridan told Bester he knew what it was like to lose someone, only to find them again and lose them again, clearly a reference to Anna ([[Z’ha’dum]].) He said he’d never wish
that on anyone. But in a sense, he’s putting Delenn through the same ordeal over a much longer timespan: she lost him at Z’ha’dum, got him back thanks to Lorien, and knows
that in 20 years she’ll lose him again ([[Falling Toward Apotheosis]].)

The Alliance was most likely what Delenn was referring to in [[War Without End part 2]] when she told Sheridan that they’d built something that would endure for a thousand
years. Whether that figure was just a generality on her part or reflected additional knowledge about the future isn’t clear.

Sheridan and Londo have followed similar paths: both of them rose up against their own governments to fight Shadow influence, and both were helped in their quests by
resistance movements working against those governments (the Mars resistance in Sheridan’s case, the Narns in Londo’s.) Both of them arranged to have the captive
populations freed after defeating the old order. Are their fates going to be similar as well? Londo sacrificed himself to kill his Keeper and allow Sheridan and Delenn to escape
([[War Without End part 2]].) Will Sheridan make a similar sacrifice to save someone? One could argue he already has, by dying on Z’ha’dum to save Centauri Prime
([[Z’ha’dum]].)

All the major ambassadors on Babylon 5 have been offered leadership roles of some sort, in fact. In addition to Sheridan and Londo, G’Kar was offered leadership of his people
in [[The Long Night]]. Delenn was elected leader of the Minbari in [[Babylon Squared]]. And Sinclair became leader of the Minbari of 1000 years past in “War Without End part
2”. Kosh is apparently an exception, though for all anyone knows, he already was the leader of the Vorlons.

Perhaps not coincidentally, all the major ambassadors have been willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Delenn was willing to die to stop the Minbari civil war
([[Moments of Transition]].) Londo was ready to give up his life to save Centauri Prime from the Vorlon planetkiller ([[Into the Fire]].) Sheridan ordered a suicide run to stop
Earth from being razed by a defense platform ([[Endgame]].) G’Kar offered to return to Narn and face certain death to save the families of the Narn on Babylon 5 ([[A Day in the Strife]].) Kosh forfeited his life when he arranged for the Vorlon fleet to attack the Shadows ([[Interludes and Examinations]].)

Ivanova apparently only gets promotions when her commanding officers leave: she went from Lt. Commander to Commander when Sinclair left Babylon 5, and from
Commander to Captain when Sheridan resigned Earthforce.

Has Babylon 5 reverted to Earth ownership? If so, who’s in command now that Sheridan is no longer a member of Earthforce? Presumably Corwin is in charge temporarily
until a new commander is assigned.

##Notes

Both Clark and Sheridan were succeeded by Russian women after their deaths (though Sheridan didn’t remain dead.) Both women have similar first names.

President Luchenko’s comment about “the better angels of our nature” was a reference to the last line of Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address, in which he urged the
United States not to lapse into civil war.

Sheridan’s forces make their final strike. Marcus weighs a vital decision.

##Overview

###Guest Stars

J. Patrick McCormack as General Lefcourt. Marjorie Monaghan as Number One. Carolyn
Seymour as Senator Crosby.

###Lurk

http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/synops/086.html

##Plot Points

Sheridan’s plan for the frozen telepaths ([[Ship of Tears]]) was to smuggle them onto as many Earth warships as possible and activate them. The telepaths would wake up and

merge with the ships’ computer systems, making the ships unable to maneuver or attack and thus removing the need for Sheridan’s forces to destroy them. The plan

succeeded in disabling the better part of the Earth fleet at the Mars colony.

Sheridan’s forces have arrived at Earth, prompting President Clark to commit suicide rather than face capture or trial. A member of the Earth Senate, apparently friendly to

Sheridan, has at least temporarily filled in the power vacuum.

Marcus has used the alien healing machine ([[The Quality of Mercy]]) to give his life to Ivanova, apparently dying in the process.

##Unanswered Questions

What happened to the telepaths on the destroyers?

Was Bester’s lover Carolyn ([[Ship of Tears]]) among the telepaths used against the destroyers? Did she survive?

What was meant by “The ascension of the ordinary man” on Clark’s suicide note? (See Analysis)

Did Clark have a vice president? Will he or she become the new head of the Earth Alliance, and if so, will Earth continue the policies of the Clark administration?

##Analysis

When General Lefcourt addressed the fleet at Mars, he didn’t bother repeating Clark’s propaganda about Sheridan’s forces being under alien influence. That could be a sign

that few people in Earthforce really believed it anyway, so there was little point maintaining the pretext. Or it could have been a result of his knowledge of Sheridan; that might

lead him to believe that Sheridan would take up arms against Clark of his own free will.

Both Sheridan and Lefcourt were in charge of Omega-class destroyers, and they both displaced the destroyers’ usual captains.

The device Franklin placed on Lyta was most likely the one he mentioned developing in “The Exercise of Vital Powers.” He claimed to be working on a repeater to help

broadcast her thought patterns.

The formation of the assault team on Mars was planned oddly; all the top-ranking people were together in a single group (Garibaldi, Number One, Lyta, and Franklin,) which

would have been disastrous if they’d failed to take over the outpost. However, it’s not an arrangement without merit: Franklin and Lyta obviously had to be together for him to

hook her up to the device, and Number One probably wanted to keep an eye on both Garibaldi and Lyta.

After her bad treatment at the hands of Sheridan and company, treatment which forced her to reassociate herself with the Psi Corps (“The Exercise of Vital Powers,”) Lyta

was surprisingly willing to put herself on the line yet again. Has her arrangement with Bester made her comfortable enough to set aside her past annoyance with Sheridan and

the B5 crew, or does she simply believe so strongly in the cause that she’s willing to disregard personal considerations?

Marcus viewed several log entries from Franklin. The first referred to the death of Cailyn, Franklin’s lover in “Walkabout.”

The second might have referred to Marcus’ recovery from his fight with Neroon in “Grey 17 Is Missing,” although at that time Franklin was on walkabout and thus couldn’t

have recorded the log entry — a possible gaffe. It couldn’t have referred to any event before “Ceremonies of Light and Dark,” since Franklin was wearing his Army of Light

uniform.

The third, of course, was in reference to the use of the alien healing machine on Garibaldi in “Revelations.” Franklin’s flashback recounted [[Revelations]] as well.

These log entries paralleled Marcus’ own dilemma. The first dealt with the death of a woman Franklin cared about. The second (assuming it truly referred to “Grey 17 Is

Missing”) was the last time Marcus was willing to give up his life for a woman he cared for, namely Delenn. And the third message was a warning about the consequences of

what Marcus was contemplating.

The phrase on Clark’s suicide note (“The ascension of the ordinary man”) is a cipher, but it might have some discernable meaning. The theme of death leading to ascension is

common in religion; perhaps the “ordinary man” referred to the innocent civilians who’d be killed by the defense platforms, and Clark believed they’d ascend to heaven.

There’s also an echo of Cartagia’s belief that his involvement with the Shadows would allow him to ascend to godhood; though Cartagia’s belief was rooted in Centauri religion

(other emperors had been elevated to godhood, as noted by Vir in [[Chrysalis]]) it’s possible Clark believed the same was true of himself.

It’s also possible that “ordinary” referred to non-telepaths: by scouring Earth’s surface, a mundane was determining the fate of his evolutionary superiors, thus ascending

above them.

How did the Senator know so quickly what Clark had done, and how much damage the particle beams could cause Earth? One possible answer to the second question is that

the potential danger to Earth might have been discussed in the Senate, for example while debating funding of the defense platforms. And perhaps the control panels on Clark’s

desk made it obvious that he’d turned the defense platforms against Earth, though the implication is that she guessed his plan simply from the words “scorched earth.”

It’s odd that the Agamemnon was the only ship available to destroy the last defense platform, since only moments earlier it was in the midst of a swarm of other friendly

vessels. Obviously this was a matter of artistic license, but why couldn’t one of the Minbari cruisers, for example, have fired a beam weapon at the platform from a distance?

Now that Sheridan’s forces have removed Earth’s defenses to a large extent — the orbital platforms are all gone, many ships have been destroyed, and the advanced

destroyer group is no more — an aggressive alien government, perhaps the Drakh ([[Lines of Communication]]) might consider this an ideal time to try to attack Earth or some

of its colonies. Sheridan may have to station some of the White Star fleet and/or the League ships at Earth to help make up for the damage his campaign has done and ensure

Earth’s security.

On the other hand, after Earth has had a chance to build up its forces again, it may be far in advance of the rest of the galaxy, even the Minbari. Assuming Sheridan relinquishes

command of his fleet to Earthgov now that Clark is out of the picture, Earth will have both Vorlon and Shadow technology at its disposal. Given that some progress has

obviously been made in integrating Shadow technology into Earth’s ([[Between the Darkness and the Light]]) it’s not implausible that the Vorlon technology in the White Stars

***”***- not to mention their Minbari components — could be analyzed by the same researchers. Will the Minbari stand for that if it’s attempted? How much do they value their

current technological edge over the other major races?

The parallel between Greek myth and Sheridan’s command of the Agamemnon has further resonance here, especially the variant in which Agamemnon’s daughter Iphigenia

is saved from death by Artemis. Marcus, a self-described virgin ([[The Summoning]]) has brought Ivanova back from the dead (assuming the alien device does in fact

successfully revive her.) What parallel, if any, there will be with the rest of the myth — Iphigenia living the rest of her life in a distant temple, far from her family — remains to

be seen.

##Notes

The design of the rocket launching from Mars just before and after the opening credits may be a visual homage to the DC-X, a prototype of a reusable lightweight space

vehicle. DC-X performed eight test flights between 1993 and 1995.

Effects glitch: One of the destroyers attacked by the White Stars at Mars was the Nemesis. Unfortunately, the Nemesis defected to Sheridan’s side in “No Surrender, No

Retreat.” Of course, it could have been one of the fake defectors ([[Between the Darkness and the Light]]) and gone back to Clark’s side after gathering information about the

rebel fleet.

Effects glitch: When the fleet first approaches Earth, it’s daytime in east Africa, Asia, and the Indian Ocean. But when the Agamemnon is about to ram the defense platform,

North America is in sunlight.

Clark’s suicide and note are similar to a scene in the film “Dr. Strangelove.” In the movie, a base commander launches a nuclear strike against the Soviet Union. As troops try

to break in to capture him and get the abort code, he shoots himself. They discover on his desk a sheet of paper with mad ramblings and a number of circled letters.

And of course, many real despots in history have committed suicide rather than be captured by the enemy, such as Adolf Hitler.

A very interesting discussion on the distinction between truth and fact and how each apply to Lord of the Rings.

Tolkien believed that a myth should not be allegorical but that it should be *applicable.* In other words, the truth that emerges in the story can be applied to the truth that emerges in life.

Yet Another Video Game Engine. Well, there is still a thing called a book, and [[George Will]] seems to think that Harry Potter will win out over the new X-Box. I sure hope you’re right George!

Not Harry Potter… Harry over at Ain’t it Cool News!

The Fellowship of the Ring is just plain blowing everything else out in this poll for *Which of these Holiday Films are you most looking forward to*.

How would you answer that question?