A very interesting episode and very funny from the pre-title sequence to Londo's ceremony with for the most part Garibaldi again getting the best lines.

Although not the most action packed hour your ever likely to see it developed each of the main characters and carried on putting questions into your head especially about Delann.

Commander Ivanova finally seemed to have lightened up in this episode and even Sinclair, whilst still appearing slightly wooden is growing on me.

(Oh and the actress who played Catherine Sakai is gorgeous but that is a side issue.)

Better than the last couple of episodes put together,

That would be Julia Nickson, who may look familiar, she appeared in TNG's first season episode The Arsenal of Freedom. An improvement over Sinclair's squeeze in The Gathering.

Haven't rewatched this one just yet, tomorrow evening, but from all the ceremonies I remember liking Sinclair's solution to the "showing them Earth's multitude of tradition' problem. And Londo's was great as well :thumbsup:

Thought I recognized her from somewhere. For some reason I thought it was an episode of QUANTUM LEAP but never mind.

Lovely any way.



I too enjoyed all the ceramonies.

She did appear in an episode of QL as well Ken, thought you might be more familiar with TNG though ;)

She was also in RAMBO FIRST BLOOD PART 2 if memory serves.

Like I said dosent matter Lovely anyway.

I take it I am right and she dosent appear after season 1?

I think this was the episode I watched whilst somewhat under the influence, so my memory is even sketchier than usual :rolleyes:

Can't remember too many specifics about the episode, Londo's religious thing involved him being drunk and laying on the table?

An okayish episode but not one I got too excited about. Certainly better than the last 2 and had a more accomplished feel to it if you see what I mean :unsure:

Yep, she was in Rambo as well :thumbsup:

Is she there post season 1 ?? I can neither confirm nor deny at this point ;)

Sounds to me that you were just getting into the spirit of things Dave. If you take a look at Londo's Centauri ceremony that you can certainly take that view :lol:

now that is just being evil!!!

Hardly. I wouldn't want my answer spoiling your enjoyment of the show either way :lol:

an excuse, a good one but still an excuse!!

Not at all Ken, B5 and spoilers just don't go ;)

I remember this episode as the one where despite doing sod all, Londo gets the best moment (I love his drunked posturing during the ceremony, culmiating in Vir's comment of 'He has become one with himself!' :)

Of course, G'Kar becomes the centre of attention this time, and he and his new adie get all the great lines - they come across very well as a pair and pull off a wonderful double act (the 'you will know pain, you will know fear and then you will die - pleasent flight!') moment at the end was one of the first real memories of G'Kar I remember!

However, despite this I get the feeling nothing really happens - I noticed the episode was two-thirds of the way through, and apart from the G'Kar assassin plot, everything else didn't seem to be going anywhere (the whole Sinclair/Sakai story, for one), while the religious ceremony festival provided an interesting backdrop, but played nothing more (apart from hints to the future! :))

However, the final end seems pretentious - why is it that humans are the wonderful diverse society with lots and lots of religions, while all the other aliens seem to only have the one?

Just another thought - I believe with Na'Toth and Lennier's arrival in this episode that now all the characters credited in the opening credits have finally appeared on screen.

It's strange to see this happen, when usually in a series you would get all the main cast to appear in the pilot episode to introduce them! :)

Watched this one earlier.

A definite improvement over the previous couple of installments, and whilst there's not much here to propel the arc along, it's the first really standalone episode that's worked for me.

It's more the personal arcs of the characters that are in focus here, and we get to see a good number of those characters. For me, one of the highlights of the show is where you get all the Ambassadors together, this is just one example of why.

The scene of the Centauri ceremony is superb. Londo's an absolute riot, and all look like they're having fun to varying degrees. Although Delenn does look somewhat dumbstruck for the most part :lol: Londo's table-topping/crawling antics cap off a great scene.

The Minbari ceremony was certainly different, more intense shall we say, and did Sinclair get married or not ?? Delenn sure did seem pretty focused on Sinclair during parts of it. Important parts.

I love the Human contribution. It plays perfectly as well, both in tone and sentiment. Star Trek's always shied away from making reference to religion so as not being seen to promote one religion over another. Here's not only a creative way around that particular problem, but it also highlights an important concept of B5 in itself; that despite humanity's technological advancement, much of what man is today still makes man tomorrow. Our technological path is increasing at a faster rate than our sociological/psychological paths. The same could be argued even now, today.

We also get to meet the rest of the principle cast in Lennier and Na'Toth. One little anecdote about Lennier's first scene. In the first take the scene ended with Delenn asking Lennier about home, to which Bill Mumy (Lennier) originally replied "The Beatles are back....." :lol: If I'm not mistaken that should be on the Season 1 blooper reel on the extras. For those that don't know, the blooper reel is an hidden easter egg on the set so you may have to dig for it ;)

There was a little development in the Delenn character arc as well. Delenn's presence aboard the station is confirmed as being covert, with her ordering Lennier not to make any reference to the Grey Council in her presence, or of her title, Satai. Interesting indeed. What questions would be asked of her ??

There's more Garibaldi humour to kick off the episode. G'kar's starting to grow already. Compare and contrast G'kar now with the G'kar at the end of his storyline and the difference is immeasurable. I found his singing whilst making dinner rather amusing, as was his reaction to Durroc's message. Better still was Garibaldi's ribbing him of the female attire found in G'kar's quarters; "Yours ??" :lol: or "Hot pink....definitely you..." :lol:

We also get to know that Sinclair split with Carolyn about a year ago, meaning that at there's about a year inbetween The Gathering and this episode.

Another appearance from N'Grath, whose catchphrase would appear to be "Very expensive.....", does he have any other lines ?? :lol:

Even at this early stage of the series, the tone is completely different from that of Star Trek, the easiest comparison. Chris Franke's music goes a long way to this end.

Finally, on a more shallow note, the introduction of Sinclair's new (or old) squeeze, Catherine Sakai, which gets a big :thumbsup: Sinclair's a very lucky man ;) The dynamic between Sakai and Sinclair's a lot better than that between himself and Carolyn. Although, again, interesting to note that both Carolyn and Catherine both pretty much do the same thing, as will a future female character who'll come aboard before too long. Did Joe have a similar storyline in mind for all of them perchance ?? ;)

So, from an importance pov, not the most essential episode of the series, but for character growth not bad. One of the better standalones. Although remember, where B5's concerned, there's not really such a thing as standalone ;)

Vir: - "He has become one with himself."
Garibaldi: - "He's passed out."
Vir: - "...That as well...."

:lol:

Agree about G'Kar/Na'Toth as well. Their interplay was quite honed by the end of the episode.

I read the final ceremony completely differently. Diversity can also be read as being conflicted. It's also a fairly good indicator of how far we've come, or not as the case may be. It was also the only way that the whole religion concept would have been acceptable. Although it would have been quite amusing had Sinclair just lined up the Atheist :lol:

I think that was a scene from 'Gene Roddenberry's Babylon 5' :lol:

IIRC, the quote was 'Beatlemania is back' - I have the audio of that quote :)

I'm not sure about the blooper reel though - while there was one on the S2 discs onward, I don't think there was one on the S1 one - at least not on the R2 set.

Of course, if it is on the set, I've not found it yet! :)

Probably very true :lol:

You're quite right, it was Beatlemania :lol:

Not sure on the blooper front. I've got the audio somewhere as well, but I've seen it, and I can't rightly remember whether it was via a DVD blooper reel or one I d/l. I'll have a dig around tomorrow at some point ;)

Just watched this one.

Very good ep. with some good sharp dialogue starting to come through and the introduction of the final two main characters.

Both stories were a little predictable (did anyone not work out who the assassin was?) but I enjoyed Sinclair's solution to the religious problem. One of the things that makes B5 more believable than Trek is that we still have religion. Not that I'm a believer especially, it's just that Christianity has bee around for 2000 years; some other religions a lot longer. So why does Trek think that the whole thing will just disappear in the next 200?

It didn't Tony. They just didn't want to wade through the religious quagmire they'd have found themselves in if it were to be seen that they were promoting any one religion over the rest.

B5 simply took a creative way out and put it's cards on the table up front.

Eeek - I've gotten behind this week. :o And I actually don't have much to say...

"The Parliament of Dreams" has long been one of my favourite season one episodes. There's no specific reason for this - well, besides Na'Toth, Lennier, the whole assassinate-G'Kar plot and that hilarious Centauri party sequence - but the whole package just appeals to me.

Some of my favourite lines from the whole series are found here:

"Ambassador - it is not my place to speculate on how anything gets into your bed."

and

"Ah - he has become one with his inner self." "He's passed out." "That too."

And the closing two or three scenes are just perfect.

As an episode; understated, and underrated.

The usual view is that B5 S1 is a bit like Buffy S1 - a good intro but lacking in that much quality and substance before it really gets going later. Watching this episode and the next one I've come to realise that either that view is wrong and S1 should stand with the rest or if the perceived step up in gear is correct then my sometime instinctive naming of B5 as the best TV show ever is correct by a million miles.

As in Infection not a lot really happens here but as someone says the dialogue just oozes quality and the overall satisfaction is greatly increased. A couple of new characters arrive and I'd forgotten how sharp Na'Toth was.

On the presentation at the end I thought it was interesting that the Atheist was the first in line - I'd never thought of the line being 1 person long but the idea does appeal me to me greatly :)

I think that scene stood out as I think its possible this was the first episode I ever saw - again in a strange parallel to Buffy I only caught odd episodes early on in the series before realising it was something special - I think in B5's case that didn't occur until the end of S1 start of S2.

So overall a good epsiode I think - if it wasn't for quesiness/tiredness I'd probably be starting a season long marathon tonight :)

I'm sure that's something we can all appreciate Neil ;)

Although I've gotten used to my Monday evening B5 fix now :thumbsup:

Just realised I never commented on this even though I watched it over a week ago. Definite improvement over the previous one (or two). It was a fairly predictable outcome, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Catherine was a strange one. She just sounded really odd to me, I dunno whether it was wooden acting or just a quite bizarre way of speaking. She might take some getting used to.

That's all I can think of right now. I should have wrote more notes. :rolleyes: I may actually watch 1x06 now as I'm now a couple behind, but obviously not as far behind as Lisa. :lol:

You couldn't get any more behind than that :P :lol:

A great episode, the introduction of both Na'Toth and Lennier.

I seem to remember hearing that none (or at least not all) of the other actors knew that Peter Jurassic was going to get up on the table during his ceremony. :lol:

I seem to be the only one that cringes a bit at the last scene. :unsure:

I'd wager that Claudia and Mira at least didn't know, judging from their genuine surprised expressions. I'd imagine that more than likely the only ones who knew were Peter and Stephen Furst.

I still maintain, I liked the final scene, although I can see why some people might not.

I am the ultimate cynic when it comes to religion and I know some of my views do offend when I am "over honest" about how I view it but I was quite moved by that scene in a sort of "Proud to be human" way which is very unlike me.

Having said that I would have been well narked if there hadn't been an Atheist :)

Oh dear, Catherine Sakai :fear: :lol:

When she and Sinclair are involved, JMS's dialogue takes a nose-dive into the abysmal. It starts out bad, becomes hysterical and then quickly deteriorates into "Oh God, please someone tell them to shut the f*ck up!". Their dinner scene and the subsequent one in his quarters are a total cringe-fest... "Don't touch me unless you mean it!" Bloody hell! As I said to James earlier, only Scarlet O'Hara and Rhett Butler have dialogue like that :lol:

It doesn't help that Julia Nickson's got a face like a smacked arse, either :naughty: :lol:

The rest of the episode is very good. The arrival of the wonderful Na'Toth helps.

And Lennier arrives, good old Lennier. Gets his wrist slapped for calling Delenn Satai and mentioning the Grey Council, but you can just tell it's going to be a special relationship.

The Centauri ceremony is amusing, a very drunk Londo, again. Valtoooooo, definitely. I'm wondering why Garibaldi refused to eat the fruit Lennier gave him, surely as head of security he should try it before Sinclair does - but then maybe he was worried that he'd end up married to Delenn, too :lol:

The final scene, with the celebration of Earth religion, is one of those moments that shouldn't w**k, but it does. :)

Ah, now, we're going to have to disagree on this one Steve. Julia Nickson :wub:

On the dialogue point though, couldn't agree more. JMS can certainly crank out some :shit: sometimes :lol:

Apparently for the final scene, all the network suits made a point of coming down to the set to view that one.

That was a bit naughty of me. I'd still do her :innocent: :naughty: :ph43r:

Well you're only human Steve :) Presumably....... :unsure: :lol:

Well, if it works for G'Kar... :naughty: :lol:

:lol:

I don't think I'm going to take it any lower than that Steve :p