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Recap and discussion for 5 x 4 – A View from the Gallery
This is one of my favorite episodes in the whole series. We meet two regular guys who work on B5 and we see everyone from their POV. And we learn a few things we didn’t know before.

The episode begins when a beacon somewhere in space is destroyed by ships that we haven’t seen before. Moments later, Corwin wakes Captain Lochley to tell her about the probe. She hurriedly gets dressed and heads to C&C. She tells them that the enemy is out scouting ‘soft’ worlds to attack and she means to convince them that Babylon 5 is not soft. She tells Corwin to set a lifepod aside for John and Delenn.
Starfuries launch and the station is readied for Red Alert.
We meet Bo and Mack, two maintenance workers who lament always having to clean up after someone.
Bo and Mack watch as Lochley and Sheridan argue over him getting in the lifepod. She tells him he’d make her do it if the roles were reversed and he sort of agrees with her. Mack and Bo watch. Mack says he likes Sheridan because he is down in the trenches like regular guys.
Lunch… Mack has spoo and Bo makes a tastes like chicken joke.
Bo gets called to Medlab – Franklin needs some atmosphere generators fixed in case he has to treat the enemy and they are making room to deal with casualties. Bo asks him why he would save an enemy. Franklin tells the story of his father being taken prisoner before the Dilgar war and the enemy doctor taking care of him because it was the right thing to do. Franklin says that is what made him decide to be a doctor. When Bo asks what happened to the doctor, Franklin tells him that he was killed as a traitor.
Mack is in C&C when the battle begins.
Mack is working on the secondary defense grid while Lochley and Corwin direct the battle. He gets the grid fixed in time to repel the last of the first wave. Lochley takes off to find Garibaldi.
Bo and Mack meet back up and discuss Lochley. Mack likes her but Bo says she was on Clark’s side during the Civil War. Mack makes a crack about Ivanova leaving because they wouldn’t give her more money.
The real attack begins and Lockley orders Bo and Mack to the Sanctuary. They do their work there and take a break. They chat about pilots and we see a White Star come through the gate AND a breaching pod comes toward the station. They end up trapped and watch a bit of the battle with security and the aliens. Mack even takes a few shots but Zack tells them to leave.
They end up with Byron and his group. Byron shows Bo , who states he wants to be out there, the view as a pilot. They also witness the teeps using their power to confuse an enemy soldier and make him leave.
They head to the shelter and watch Londo and G’kar spat. G’kar isn’t bothered because he says he spent his youth in shelters when the Centauri bombed the seven largest narn cities for days on end. Londo says he was never a child and always had responsibilities. Mack makes a crack about them sounding like a married couple.
The second wave of the attack begins. John asks Bo and Mack to get Delenn to the escape pod then leaves her with them. She asks their names and what they do. She tells them she would kill herself if the station and John were destroyed so they should just skip that step and let her stay.
They peep out a porthole and see the White Star Fleet come through the gate. Bo and Mack talk some meaning of life stuff (a paraphrase of Daniel Jackson on Stargate: SG-1) then go about their work.
They see Franklin checking the dead… and the pilot who Byron sent Bo into his POV is one of the dead.
Corwin tell Lochley that they got all the enemy and Mack speaks up and tell Lochley she’s okay. As they go about their business, they meet John and Delenn and Delenn says hello to them and calls them by name. Mack smiles and says he’s in love.
*
Quotes:
The meaning of life stuff:
Mack: My mother used to tell me: "God knows the age of every tree and the color of every flower. And he knows just how wide your shoulders are. And he'll never give you anything to carry that's bigger than you can handle."
Bo: Then maybe that's what this whole place is about. Maybe that's what you have to do to get by in a place like this.
Mack: And what's that?
Bo: Grow bigger shoulders.
Londo: "What, are you afraid I won't come back, G'Kar?"
G’kar: "No. Afraid you will."
Mack to Bo: "So, how long you figure they been married?"
*
Questions:
1. This one seems to be a love it or hate episode. I loved. Which side do you come down on?
2. Which little look into the lives of the people who run the station did you find the most poignant or interesting? The bit at the end with Franklin checking the dead was it for me. He checked to make sure there was no pulse then closed their eyes before he covered them.
3. Bo or Mack?
4. What do you think the thing they run over the floors does?
*
Sources:
The Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5: http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/092.html
Imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0517621/trivia?tab=qt&ref_=tt_trv_qu
The Babylon Project: http://babylon5.wikia.com/wiki/A_View_from_the_Gallery
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_View_from_the_Gallery
This is one of my favorite episodes in the whole series. We meet two regular guys who work on B5 and we see everyone from their POV. And we learn a few things we didn’t know before.

The episode begins when a beacon somewhere in space is destroyed by ships that we haven’t seen before. Moments later, Corwin wakes Captain Lochley to tell her about the probe. She hurriedly gets dressed and heads to C&C. She tells them that the enemy is out scouting ‘soft’ worlds to attack and she means to convince them that Babylon 5 is not soft. She tells Corwin to set a lifepod aside for John and Delenn.
Starfuries launch and the station is readied for Red Alert.
We meet Bo and Mack, two maintenance workers who lament always having to clean up after someone.
Bo and Mack watch as Lochley and Sheridan argue over him getting in the lifepod. She tells him he’d make her do it if the roles were reversed and he sort of agrees with her. Mack and Bo watch. Mack says he likes Sheridan because he is down in the trenches like regular guys.
Lunch… Mack has spoo and Bo makes a tastes like chicken joke.
Bo gets called to Medlab – Franklin needs some atmosphere generators fixed in case he has to treat the enemy and they are making room to deal with casualties. Bo asks him why he would save an enemy. Franklin tells the story of his father being taken prisoner before the Dilgar war and the enemy doctor taking care of him because it was the right thing to do. Franklin says that is what made him decide to be a doctor. When Bo asks what happened to the doctor, Franklin tells him that he was killed as a traitor.
Mack is in C&C when the battle begins.
Mack is working on the secondary defense grid while Lochley and Corwin direct the battle. He gets the grid fixed in time to repel the last of the first wave. Lochley takes off to find Garibaldi.
Bo and Mack meet back up and discuss Lochley. Mack likes her but Bo says she was on Clark’s side during the Civil War. Mack makes a crack about Ivanova leaving because they wouldn’t give her more money.
The real attack begins and Lockley orders Bo and Mack to the Sanctuary. They do their work there and take a break. They chat about pilots and we see a White Star come through the gate AND a breaching pod comes toward the station. They end up trapped and watch a bit of the battle with security and the aliens. Mack even takes a few shots but Zack tells them to leave.

They end up with Byron and his group. Byron shows Bo , who states he wants to be out there, the view as a pilot. They also witness the teeps using their power to confuse an enemy soldier and make him leave.
They head to the shelter and watch Londo and G’kar spat. G’kar isn’t bothered because he says he spent his youth in shelters when the Centauri bombed the seven largest narn cities for days on end. Londo says he was never a child and always had responsibilities. Mack makes a crack about them sounding like a married couple.
The second wave of the attack begins. John asks Bo and Mack to get Delenn to the escape pod then leaves her with them. She asks their names and what they do. She tells them she would kill herself if the station and John were destroyed so they should just skip that step and let her stay.
They peep out a porthole and see the White Star Fleet come through the gate. Bo and Mack talk some meaning of life stuff (a paraphrase of Daniel Jackson on Stargate: SG-1) then go about their work.
They see Franklin checking the dead… and the pilot who Byron sent Bo into his POV is one of the dead.
Corwin tell Lochley that they got all the enemy and Mack speaks up and tell Lochley she’s okay. As they go about their business, they meet John and Delenn and Delenn says hello to them and calls them by name. Mack smiles and says he’s in love.
*
Quotes:
The meaning of life stuff:
Mack: My mother used to tell me: "God knows the age of every tree and the color of every flower. And he knows just how wide your shoulders are. And he'll never give you anything to carry that's bigger than you can handle."
Bo: Then maybe that's what this whole place is about. Maybe that's what you have to do to get by in a place like this.
Mack: And what's that?
Bo: Grow bigger shoulders.
Londo: "What, are you afraid I won't come back, G'Kar?"
G’kar: "No. Afraid you will."
Mack to Bo: "So, how long you figure they been married?"
*
Questions:
1. This one seems to be a love it or hate episode. I loved. Which side do you come down on?
2. Which little look into the lives of the people who run the station did you find the most poignant or interesting? The bit at the end with Franklin checking the dead was it for me. He checked to make sure there was no pulse then closed their eyes before he covered them.
3. Bo or Mack?
4. What do you think the thing they run over the floors does?
*
Sources:
The Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5: http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/092.html
Imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0517621/trivia?tab=qt&ref_=tt_trv_qu
The Babylon Project: http://babylon5.wikia.com/wiki/A_View_from_the_Gallery
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_View_from_the_Gallery