Good luck with this one guys :rolleyes:

I'm more worried about the other episode this week :)

They're both poor episodes, but I agree. Infection's the kind of show that practically every other show's done at one time or another. Born to the Purple is at least a character piece, even if it is a dull one :rolleyes:

Watched this one tonight before I read the brief comments already put on here.

I found this episode to be both interesting but at the same time extremly dull. Interesting in that it revealed more about some of the regular characters on the space station, in particular Londo, Garibaldi (who is quickly becoming my fav character) and Ivanova (who is becoming less wooden with each episode I watch)

The problem was with the main story, I just couldnt become interested, sure I could understand Londo being attracted to the slave girl etc but I didnt really care what happened next. Also did they find that device that was put on his shoulder that allowed the villan of the piece to hear what was going on? Wouldnt people on the station know Sinclair (who is as wooden or forced I cannot decide which as ever) if he is the commander of the station?

In places the story seemed too slow, yet in others it seemed to be lacking something.

Definately the weakest of the series so far, not enough to put me off watching any more, but I could imagine if that had been the first one I had seen on tv when it was first broadcast, I might not have bothered with any others.

My grade 4/10.

JMS's answer to this was that (in comparison) although he recognises the mayor of LA in photos, he's not so sure he would recognise him undercover, especially if he's dressed completely differently and in a place where he wouldn't usually be found. I'd expect a few people would have said 'Oh, isn't that Sinclair?', but shrugged it off as someone looking similar to him.

Amusingly, one moment planned was for Londo to wake up post-sex with his hair gone limp, but in the end they deicded against it :lol:

An easy point of comparison is the titular monarch wandering around the troops in Henry V.

Don't forget, B5 is home to 250,000 people, it's entirely conceivable that some folks may have 'heard' of Sinclair, but knowing what he looks like ?? Maybe not.

I'll be watching this one Monday night, along with Infection. I haven't seen it in a while now, so I'm hoping it'll prove to be more interesting that I think. To be fair, the others so far have exceeded expectations, so you never know ;)

Incidentally, this was one of two episodes that put me to sleep on the original broadcast, prompting me to check out of the series for a short while :rolleyes:

like I said this is the worst episode of the series I have watched so far. I would put it in comparrison with some of the weaker ENTERPRISE stories.

Oooh, Rogue Planet, which is worst ?? :lol:

I don't get the big problem with this one - certainly not great but I didn't think it was that bad either.

Yes its a bit of a filler and it doesn't have any of the great "seeds" already laid down in the other two but I still think it was okay - perhaps because I really liked Adira.

I agree with the points about people not knowing Sinclair - surely there would be station wide broadcasts featuring him?

I liked the "Ivanova is human" story as well.

Y'know, it's really hard to comment objectively on these episodes now I'm watching them - and the series - for the fifth or sixth time. The knowledge I have of where these characters end up keeps getting in the way, and makes it difficult to find things to say without heading into spoiler territory.

But anyway... ;)

"Born to the Purple" is a typical first season episode for a series. We're still getting to know the characters and the situations they're in, how they're likely to react in a given situation, what makes them tick. If approached in that way it becomes watchable.

This episode further reinforces the enmity between the Narn and Centauri. It gives an insight into how far some Narn are prepared to go to get their revenge. It establishes Mollari as someone very dissatisfied with his life. It demonstrates Talia's status as a by-the-book Psi Corps drone who nonetheless has a streak of humanity.

It also establishes Garibaldi as someone who's quite prepared to go outside the rules if he believes the cause is worthy - which of course can present all sorts of problems if he gets his definitions wrong.

And there are further hints that Ivanova is a person with some severe emotional baggage. IMO, it explains a lot about her.

So character-wise, "Born to the Purple" really works for me. On any other level it's a very run-of-the-mill an episode where nothing happens that hasn't been seen any number of times before. Things can only get better...and they do.

The main plus point in this episode for me was I started to like Londo, with the overacting from the 1st couple of eps being toned down and a bit more substance being added to the character.

The storyline in general was a bit weak, but I took the episode to be more about developing the characters than trying to tell an amazing story.

I'm kind of in two minds about the Garibaldi/Ivanova sub plot. I liked it from Garibaldis point of view but found the Ivanova and her father thing to be a bit heavy handed and in your face. I appreciate that characterisation is usually a bit awkward when a show is starting out but just didn't like the way this was done. Still, from a developing the Garibaldi/Ivanova relationship viewpoint, I guess it was worth while.

All in all, just scrapes in to the watchable catergory for me.

I thought it was alright. Definitely not as bad as I expected after all the falling asleep comments! :lol:

The weakest of the 3 eps so far, but it's still early days, and it's definitely not put me off watching more. :)

Guess it's just me with this one. I'm wondering if I'll still find this one as bad as I have done before now when I watch it tomorrow night.

Ok, maybe not as bad as I remembered. I stayed awake through this viewing, so bonus marks :thumbsup:

As others have said there's not much to this one, not as far as any particular arcs go. There are little nuggets though. Firstly Londo. Londo's being painted here and earlier episodes as a figure of tragedy. Chris Franke's music helps to this effect, but poor old Londo doesn't seem to get a great deal of luck. Secondly there's the Garibaldi/Ivanova story. Not much in itself but it starts to develop the dynamic between those particular characters. You get the impression that Ivanova doesn't make too many friends, or easily, as witnessed by her dealings thus far with Talia. Aside from that, where the wider story is concerned, the only real thing of note I guess is a little background on Centauri politics. Gotta love Londo's and G'kar's instructions to their respective aides, "Just don't give away the homeworld...." :lol:

A few points of concern; Jerry Doyle's oh so obvious stick-on tufty wig :rolleyes: And how long did it take Garibaldi to twig it was Ivanova. By his own admission only Senior Command staff even know about Gold Channels and then he tracks a call to the Russian Consortium?? Hello Mr Garibaldi ?? Hello ?? :rolleyes: :lol:

Positive points, besides the character development, Sinclair was surprisingly good here, to give the guy credit. The G'kar/Londo stuff is always a delight, especially here where Londo/Sinclair get the better of G'kar to save Londo's career.

Have to agree with an earlier point as well though, doesn't anyone know who Sinclair is ?? Fair enough there's 250,000 people aboard, but this guy's clearly shady, would he not want to know who to avoid, ie. Sinclair ?? :rolleyes:

Not as bad as I feared, but still by far the weakest episode to air so far.

Just watched it, and I loved it :P

What is interesting about this episode is that aside from Sinclair, the Earthforce staff really don't have anything to do in the main plot (Garibaldi's Gold Channel adventure nonwithstanding). Compare this with DS9, where were you to have an Odo-centric story, you'd guarantee that you'd get most of the Starfleet crew involved. Also, Sinclair's involvement seems more of a friend of Londo who knows of B5, as opposed to his role as the commander of Babylon 5.

It's also interesting to see the Londo/G'Kar relationship - what is a bit frustrating is how it seems to keep on changing - in Midnight on the Firing Line they're ready to kill each other; in Born to the Purple they're celebrating women like friends.

A nice thing which makes B5 stand out is the negotiations over the Euphrates Treaty - something to show that unlike the 'perfect' Trek universe, there is still the greed and squabbling over a poxy piece of space.

Speaking of the negotiaations remind me of one of the enduring images of Vir sitting there playing on his Gameboy while everyone else is waiting for Londo, which then subsequently leads into the wonderful image of G'Kar trying to play it himself afterwards... :)

I give you Heart of Stone :P

Sorry couldn't resist, although I do tend to agree with the point ;)

Except, of course, Heart of Stone was made during Season 2 of B5, so by then they had seen these early episodes of B5 and had copied them :)

:lol: :lol: :lol:

You know I'd happily argue that point as well, but I'd wager after seeing some of these early episodes the Trek honchos were p*ssing themselves. Still, all turned out ok in the end; B5 went on to greatness whilst Trek hit the shit at warpspeed :lol:

This episode was always going to be an interesting one, seeing as when I watched it during my big B5 marathon before, I couldn't remember anything that had happened during it. :) It wasn't as if it was a big yawn-fest or anything... I just lost track somewhere and couldn't recall anything that had happened. And after rewatching it just now, I'm not sure why.

The episode wasn't a "bad" one... it's just that nothing really engrossing or intriguing (at least to me) happens. Although the B-story about Ivanova, Garibaldi and the Gold Channels did spring to memory after rewatching it (that and Vir's gameboy :) ).

I always remember this one for the Londo/Adira story, which frankly bored me. The B-story with Garibaldi/Ivanova was much more interesting to me. Still, it wasn't quite as bad as I remembered. It holds the dubious distinction of being an episode to put me asleep not just once but twice :rolleyes:

I'e dozed through this one before now, too, but I'm so into the idea of rewatching the whole thing at the moment that I actually quite enjoyed it. It might also be because the actress who plays Adira (Fabian something?) is astonishingly pretty for a bald bird. :ph43r: :lol:

A very straightforward episode, not much in the way of foreshadowing (bad pun, I know!). I like some of the character moments though (especially the jokes at Vir's expense, like when he's using his "PSP" :lol: ).

Londo has some good moments, such as the scene where his disillusionment takes centre stage:

"We Centauri live our lives for appearances: position, status, title. These are the things by which we define ourselves. But when I look beneath the mask I am forced to wear, I see only emptiness."

I like the double cross within a double cross that Sinclair and Talia play on G'Kar and Trakis.

The subplot with Garibaldi and Ivanova is also quite touching.