Anyway, yes, I am liking it. Whoever said about G'Kar, yes, I like him too. (A lot. There was a whole spate of episodes without him; it wasn't good enough). The only thing I don't like is that in S2 they have replaced Na'Toth with someone who is not as good. (I sulk at her when she comes on. But it's only been two episodes, I'll probably stop that soon. Maybe.)
The thing is, though, why did nobody warn me it's really not the thing to watch after you've spent 18 months obsessing about Sapphire and Steel and happen to be particularly freaked out by Assignment 6?
Let me explain:
1. David McCallum turned up. (Steel would not have approved. He would have viewed his character as beneath contempt and not deigned to speak to him unless he had to. Seriously, digging up old things and bringing them to space stations? How reckless. Not caring about causing deaths? Pfft.) I was amused. I really hadn't seen him as anything else till now, not properly.
2. Then there were TRANSIENT BEINGS. Actual TRANSIENT BEINGS turning to silhouettes and wearing grey suits. Aargh. (I didn't panic, obviously. I didn't freak out, what do you mean? All right, I did. I DO NOT TRUST this show now. It has TRANSIENT BEINGS in it. I don't like the Transient Beings. I think I saw parts of A6 when I was four and have childhood reactions to them I can't help.)
This being an SF show that embraces mystery, uses telepathy a lot and was written by someone who was certainly watching the other UK SF show of the time (or so I'm told)... I don't think that scene in "Signs & Portents" was a coincidence. (A woman watches in alarm as a man who's appeared from nowhere advances, turns to a silhouette and then back again?) It may not have been deliberate in itself, but S&S is the sort of thing where the images would stay with you.
Now nothing can convince me not to also expect ghostly soldiers and faceless people at some point in the future. Probably, though, not an evil pillow. Although we've met the Transient Beings (call them whatever you like, I know one when I see one) again since and the more we learn, the less like S&S it is and therefore less scary. Even so. Someone could have warned me.
3. And then David Warner - audio!Steel - turned up. (So S1 has two out of two actors who have played Steel; quite an achievement, really. :lol:)
The main point is, though: yes, I like it very much so far! I'll soon be back to S2 and shall this time be fully on the alert for people escaping from photographs or their futuristic equivalents etc.
* In other news, it turns out that "quite" is a dangerous and complicated word that should be used online only with care and context.
* Oh, and for my
![[community profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
unconventionalcourtship story, it does occur to me that I should probably rewatch at least Assignment 3, episode 3. *sigh* How terrible. How will I stand the pain of watching Silver play with lightbulbs and annoy Steel on rooftops and in cupboards again? (This will end up with me watching at least parts of ep4 and 6 again and probably going round drawing little hearts round my weird OT3. But I'll do it in my head; you won't notice. ♥)* Oh, and, fairly obviously, from me getting S2, I liked Legend of the Seeker. It's... probably terrible in some ways, but it doesn't matter one bit. It has magic and likeable leads and pretty and sunshine. And in S1, by the end, they'd perfected the art of the group hug and had usually at least one per episode. (In S2, they have another character who is less amenable to group hugging, but I'm sure if they'd had more series, they'd have got to the state of nation-wide hugs, probably including the villain.) What? I'm sorry; I might do a serious review of something someday soon. I am being a little unfair to it with my frivolity as well. Sorry. And I have a mildly amusing story about me looking for fanvids while waiting for S2, but I can't tell it in this post, because you can't do the spoiler-cut on Dreamwidth.
Crossposted from Dreamwidth -- Comments there:
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But, yes, I am really liking it - I like its attitude to things, it's thought-provoking and interesting, the characters are good - and, yes, G'Kar/Andreas Katsulas is brilliant.
I was always going to think of S&S what with the telepathy, but when they brought in both Steels and the
Transient BeingsShadows (?), now I think it's not just me.I think the attitude and philosophy is one of the reasons I like it so much. Battlestar Galactica while I loved the shows entire message seemed to be "god has a plan for you" and "events are doomed to repeat". Whereas B5 entire focus was on choices and consequences. How the descisions you make impact your own life and other people's lives in good and bad ways. How ordinary people can make a huge difference. How you shouldn't rely on other people to guide your fate but stand on your own two feet.
[fast forward through ten minutes of spluttering]
Here, have a fanvid, it's the best I can do for now. But the wonders and the glories. George Sanders being evil! And Janet Leigh being evil! (And, okay, detour into terrible comedy, and Robert Vaughn dancing with a gorilla. Never mention that to him or David McCallum, it can trigger international fault lines). But watching The Men From UNCLE is vital for the wellbeing of the planet. Probably. This is a blatant lie, but bear with me.
PS: B5 is awesome. You're quite right to space it out a little, though. I think it works better that way.
I've just been wasting my time watching everything David Collings was in instead. I have my priorities, okay. ;-p
And now I'm watching B5, which is surely more important...?
Babylon 5 is one of the finest pieces of television I've ever seen. It had its sillier moments of course, but watching that story play out over five years was awesome, and I kind of envy you getting to see it for the first time. It's tied up with happy memories of being at university, and discovering the internet, and loads of us on the Channel 4 forum, obsessively discussing each episode. :) So yes, I suppose it is more important than MFU. It's just that MFU is so much fun... Probably more so when you're eleven, I freely admit. But still.
Give that fanvid a go though, if you've got time. Über-young Steel and a lot of guns. No aliens or space battles, mind, which is a failing, it must be said.
I am pretty excited myself about watching B5, too, so yay. :-)
(In other words - squee! I'm happy that you like it. And G'Kar is wonderful and he's only going to get more and more awesome as time goes by! As for Transient Beings... *remains quiet*)
Hee. Yes.
I absolutely support the sensible rationing of B5. But this. Yes. :)
Well, my watching it slowly only means gaps in between seasons. I'm sure I'll watch each season at my usual rate of 2-3 eps per day, unless my routine changes. It may sound odd, but I'm using TV like a medication and a means of keeping me in a pattern. No matter how exciting it gets, I'd have to get a whole lot better before I could watch more than one ep at a time without getting exhausted.
Ha. Damn Transient Beings. Like they didn't cause enough trouble and break my heart in S&S as it is.
David Warner and David McCallum weren't in the same episode - all those bits came from different eps. DM was in an early one, causing trouble with a dangerous alien artefact; DW in a later one. He was looking for the Holy Grail for some reason.