Better than the last episode. I found the SOUL HUNTER as a species fascinating and well acted by W. Morgan Sheppard. The introduction of the new Doctor, who already seems better than the one in the pilot was well handled and even Commander Ivanova already seems slightly less 'wooden'. ("Situation Not a clear and present Danger, will have to reread the rulebook")

Does the SOUL HUNTER species ever return to the series and is it deliberate the affection that there seems to be between Sinclair and Delenn or am I seeing something that isnt actually there?

Overall the best of the two episodes we had to watch this week. 7.5 out of 10.

roll on Next Saturday and the next two. (now thats something I never thought I would say about B5.)

"Soul Hunter" is a better episode IMO than "Midnight on the firing line". It throws up many questions that will be delved into again later.

The sould hunter at first to me seemed too vocal, talked too much. But with the benefit of hindsight I understand why now.

Delenn and Sinclair????? Well that is just another story, waiting to be told ;)

Maybe, maybe not :P

More good stuff here. W. Morgan Sheppard is one of those actors who can make innocuous lines sound like Shakespeare, and he lends the Soul Hunter just the right tone of menace. (Trivia note: he was in the running to play G'Kar, IIRC, and nearly got the gig.)

Delenn - I always liked her. Here we get an insight into her many mysteries, what drives her, what she cares about. And the foreshadowing in this episode is so incredibly blatant for those who know what's coming. :lol: I love that about B5 - all the pieces are scattered about from very early in the piece, and they all fit together superbly in the end... 'Nuff said.

More aspects of Sinclair are revealed here. People matter to him, whoever they are.

Ivanova rules! :D It's odd to see people describe her (and Sinclair) as "wooden" - I can honestly say I never saw that. But one person's great actor can be another's idea of ham, so it's no big deal. ;)

Ivanova/Christian - Definitely not wooden :thumbsup:

Heck, no. Ivanova rocks. :thumbsup:

This time its the Minbari who are "questioned" as to their place in the scheme of things. It slighly grates on me that a race so advanced would still be so wrapped up in religion but I can cope with that to an extent as I don't object to the concept of a soul as much as the other afterlife premises.

The Soulhunter himself was pretty good though its a bit of a slight cliche to have a strong character who almost seems worthy of respect who turns out to be a rogue/outcast.

The introduction of Franlklin was also worthwhile.

I suppose after the depth of analysis I've done of Buffy and Angel since becoming a member of an online community I'm more sensitive to little things that jar. On this occasion it was how many convenient maze type storage areas there are on B5 which over the years provide the backdrop for so much "action". I know the place is big but surely even after 300 years the basic principle of space efficiency in spacecraft can't have been abandoned.

I didn't feel that this ep was any better or worse than the first as some have said - it seemed to be of a general enjoyable standard without rocking the world.

I never thought CC was wooden, but I did originally think that of O'Hare. I've grown to like him more over the years. I think JMS gave all of the actors, at one stage or another, some pretty awful dialogue (or dire-logue :lol: ) and I think O'Hare got the worst of it, which could colour people's perception of him. Not to say he would have otherwise been a great actor, but he definitely looked embarrased to be delivering some of the lines. I won't mention any, cos they might involve spoilers. I'm sure I'll come back to them as we go along, though. :)

I found this episode a bit amusing in an ironic sort of way. - having decided to watch the series mainly as a Trek fan whose listened to James et al lauding B5 (and the odd comment flying around about DS9 ripping off B5) - it was funny to see a nearly stereotypical Trek type of episode being done by B5.

I couldn't remember if we met the Minbari ambassador in the 1st ep :rolleyes: , but whichever it was I like her (and find her strangely attractive :blink: ). Can't say that I really took to the doctor - reminds me a bit of Bashir without the engaging side.

The episode itself was okay but nothing too special. I guess I'd class it as 'watchable'. The main interest in this one for me was seeing how the storyline was done by someone other than Trek.

Thinking of comparisons of how Trek/B5 handle stories, I will be very interested to see reactions to an ep later this season (vets will know the one I mean).

Which ep are we talking about? I'm up to about episode 20 iirc.

Believers

I Believe I know which one you're referring to Paul :lol:

Bugger. Still, at least I was right :lol:

A very good point though Paul.

Ivanova is God :)

Although it doesn't seem so at the time, this is a very significant episode setting up many things that are crucial later on.

There are a couple of pivotal elements to this episode.

In essence, as far as the arc of Jeffrey Sinclair goes, this one pretty much picks up where the Pilot left off.

As stated in the previous episode's thread, Franklin was noticable by his absense, which makes this one more satisfying to this degree. Franklin was IMO one of the better figures in B5, often times out of the loop, just like we, as viewers were. Biggs also makes the character fairly easy to like. Unlike Takashima we get an explanation for the change, which seems fairly inoccuous, but is it ?? Hello ?? The only guy to ever see a Vorlon and he's suddenly recalled ?? Hmm.

One thing of curiousity to mention, why the hell does Sinclair feel the need to pilot the Starfury at the beginning of the episode ?? It's like Picard hopping in a shuttlecraft to take on the Borg :rolleyes: And Ivanova let's him get away with it ?? Nothing like showing confidence in your subordinates, Sinclair, obviously has no faith in them :lol: Although if the Security guys are anything to go by it's hardly surprising. One suckered by the Soul Hunter's 'I'm unconscious' trick, and another one who must have been deaf not to have heard him coming up behind him :rolleyes: Just give them some red shirts and have done with it :lol:

The whole situation regarding the Soul Hunters and their beliefs is pretty much JMS' first swipe at religion in the show, don't worry there are plenty more to follow. One particular thing of note is how well the Soul Hunters are utilised to reflect the Minbari belief system. Again, this is masterfully done. The emphasis is on the Soul Hunters and their belief that the soul ceases to exist at death. In a completely backhanded way Joe then uses this to bring out the Minbari belief in 'rebirth', fascinating stuff.

There's also the first use of the canteen. There are plenty of character moments set there, particularly amonst the Earth Force staffers. There are a couple of cracking scenes featured there later on.

W. Morgan Shepphard excels in the title role. This is highlighted by the performance of JohnSnyder playing the second Soul Hunter that isn't in the same class. Shepphard has a commanding voice that just oozes classical training.

And what about his dialogue ?? "I have been to your world" to Sinclair - red herring or a possible clue perhaps ?? Why was he there, whose soul did he 'save' ?? He also starts Sinclair off on his suspicion of Delenn. It's quite clear from the Soul Hunter's words that Delenn isn't all that she appears to be. This harkens back to the pilot. Why is she there ?? What's the fascination with Sinclair ?? What was she right about ?? How are the Minbari using Sinclair ?? What has Delenn got planned ?? So many questions thrown up, most of which will only get more mysterious before they're answered. If they're answered that is.

It also becomes more apparent during this episode that Garibaldi's going to be a great character. IIRC this was Jerry Doyle's first major gig in the profession. The trademark humour's there already.

The final comment would be about the final scene, which I still find to be a wonderful scene with Delenn releasing the Soul Hunter's charges, in effect killing them, albeit mercy killings, but I thought Mira Furlan played that particular scene perfectly.

I would just say that when I first saw B5 on Channel 4, this is one of those early episodes that put me to sleep. Although that was more down to me being tired than anything else, unlike a certain upcoming episode :lol:

Perhaps an improvement on the previous episode, certainly no less important, and again like that episode there's so much going on that you won't yet appreciate, hindsight again being a wonderful thing.

I used to really like Soul Hunter, but repeated viewings have dimished it somewhat.

I also have to agree with the Sinclair going out - surely someone should have raised an eyebrow when he practically says 'I'll stop it, but if it gets too close, blow it up - although it'll probably take me with it. Oh well' :)

Plus, this episode has the first legendary' Franklin speech', where he goes on and on about some topic (this week: Time and the insignificance of Humanity :))

It's also interesting to see that aside from Delenn, none the ambassadorial characters appear at all - when you've got a main cast in double figures it would be silly to try and shoe-end them into each and every episode :)

The bit with Sinclair going out that amused me most was the "10 seconds to impact", before it takes Sinclair a further 15 seconds to grab the Soul Hunter ship. Who designs the timepieces on B5, Alex Ferguson ?? :lol:

That's still another thing I always liked about B5 as opposed to Trek - none of this ridiculous "every cast member must appear in every episode, no matter how silly or insignificant the part" stuff. That really grated on me at times. Some of those appearances were so forced as to be incredible and/or meaningless.

I also like the way JMS assumed the viewer has an IQ out of single digits, can remember events that took place several episodes - or seasons - ago, and is capable of putting those events together into a coherent whole. Too many TV series are...well, not very good at that.

When I first watched this I thought it was a stand alone. Now, you can see much more how it's taking the story along. Good perormance by Sheppard (though why he was wearing a Ferengi head band I don't know :D ). Bit of a gulp when Richard Biggs made his first appearance though.

As far as the 'every cast memeber in every episode' goes I think that where Trek used to concentrate on three or four leading characters and the rest would not have that much to do. As we shall see, that doesn't happen in B5.

To be fair though, there were certain episodes where not every member of the TNG cast for example featured. These were notably the episodes where had Troi been there, then the episode would have been a lot shorter. Ie. every time someone had a secret that drove the plot forward. Troi would have known instantly, end of story. Can't remember any similar situations on B5, but I could be wrong of course :)

I rewatched SiL a few weeks ago. The episode always gets to me, but this time around Biggs/Franklin's first appearance really made me lose it. :( It's made rewatching episodes a bit bittersweet.

Finally got round to watching it. I prefered it to the previous ep, there seemed to be more going on, and we also had the mystery posed of what Delenn's true purpose is, and whether it's for the good or for the bad... :unsure:

At first the Soul Hunter's voice was putting me to sleep, but he grew on me as the ep progressed. I was also a little bemused by the fact they sent the commander out to do the dangerous job of grappling the ship. WTF?! :lol: And I laughed at that ant/fly creature. Although it kinda reminded me of something out of Star Fleet. :D

I much prefer Franklin to Kyle. The fact that he can actually act makes a big difference! :lol: But the actor who played him died, you say? :(

Can't think of any more for now. Onto the next ep which I'm a bit dubious about after all I've heard from James. <_<

:lol:

Yep, N'Grath was a little bit like that Insectoid bloke who knocked off Doctor Benn. The b*stard !! :lol:

I'm afraid you're quite correct, Rick Biggs died a few months ago :(

One thing that really struck me in this story was the complete lack of B-Story. And seeing as the A-Story was one that worked as filling up 40 minutes, that's a some good work. :) Better story than MOTFL, though seems to me to be more stand-alone than adding anything to any story arcs (at least anything major, that is).

Another thing that seemed odd was how Sinclair chose to go out in a fighter and rescue the pod, rather than have one of the regular pilots do it... surely the station commander's not the only one skilled in recovering pods on collision courses? Or maybe it happened to be a really slow day on B5 (thus noting lack of B-Story :) )? Or maybe he takes his piloting a little too seriously?

PILOT: "Sir, I'm all set to go."
SINCLAIR: "Stand down, pilot. I'm taking this one."
PILOT: "But sir, I'm more than capable..."
SINCLAIR: "I said STAND DOWN!"
PILOT: *gulp* "Yes sir..."


Once again, Ivanova gets the good lines, including one of my all time favourites in all of B5: :)

FRANKLIN: "You're a pessimist!"
IVANOVA: "I am Russian, Doctor. We understand these things."

Sinclair obviously has confidence issues about his staff :lol:

Oooh, I'm so late to the party :lol:

I confess that when I have rewatched this episode previously I've had a tendency to nod off, but not this time :)

So Dr Stephen Franklin arrives and he's instantly likeable, down to the late Richard Biggs :(

I liked the line that about him seeing Dr Kyle, and Sinclair commenting that Kyle had been looking forward to w**king with the president. That's going to sound rude with the word filter :lmao:

They do a nice job of building up an ominous aura around the Soul Hunter, especially in Delenn's reaction, and her mentioning the tales Minbari children are told about them. Probably doesn't help that this particular Soul Hunter is a couple of cans short of a six pack, either :lol:

I liked what he said about Dukat, in that "We came, I, others. They made a wall of bodies to stop us! He died. And his dreams, his ideas - all that he was, all that he could ever be - gone... wasted... jealous..."

It would have been interesting to see that during In The Beginning :ponder:

I liked the tantalising hints towards the end of this season, too, when he's trying to steal Delenn's soul "You would do such a thing? Incredible!"

The final scene where she releases his captured souls is good, too, even if the look on her face and the sound she makes as she does it is a little, well, naughty :naughty: :lol:

Glad it wasn't just me with this one Steve. I remember snoozing at this one the first two times I tried to watch it.

In fact, when the serie first aired, it was due to this one, Born to the Purple and Infection that I eventually decided to stop watching for a while. Thankfully not for long though :)

This one's good largely for the interaction between Delenn/Sinclair and the Soul Hunter towards the end of the episode. Lots of foreboding and tantalisation. :thumbsup:

I actually enjoyed all of those this time around, didn't doze off once. Well, okay, maybe once, but only for a few seconds :ph43r: :lol:

All I can say is, if I've enjoyed these early eps this much this time around, I can't wait for seasons 2, 3 and 4 :yahoo: :lol:

You never know Steve, you might single handedly rekick our rather stalled :ph43r: rewatch back into gear in S4 :whistling:

:whip:


:lol: :ph43r:

I have to admit, I usually skip Born to the Purple. It's just incredibly bad IMO. I know other people like it, but for me it just does absolutely nothing :(

Infection, is poor in anyone's book, but once you get past that and the fact that it's a guy in a rubber suit, it's not as bad as it could have been.

Actually, yes, I think that's a decent idea Paul. Where abouts did we actually get to in the end, was it the end of season 4 ?

We got to ->Sheriden telling the Shadows and Vorlons to "get the hell out of our galaxy" :)

Ah, yes. A most appropriate place to stop then :lol:

Well if Steve let's us know when he's got up to season 4 then we could always kick back in now :)

Will do :)

Might be a while, though - I can't imagine I'll have another weekend where I'll watch that many episodes again :unsure:

Yeah, yeah right Steve :lol: :lol: :lol:

Yeah, I was thinking that. By the time you get up to mid season 4, Steve, I may actually have time to start watching it again. :lol: Cos I do want to finish it at some point. :)

I may even watch some of early S4 again to refresh my memory.