"Midnight on the Firing Line" discussion [spoilers]

[ruuger]

This is the discussion post for the episode 1X01 "Midnight on the Firing Line". Spoilers for the whole of the series, including the spin-offs and tie-ins, are allowed here so newbies beware.

Extra reading:

The article for "Midnight on the Firing Line" at Lurker's Guide.

Comments

[melligator.livejournal.com]

Like others, I was newly impressed with just how much is crammed into this episode, and yet it doesn't seem like a primer or rushed or anything.

I thought it was interesting that our first view of Kosh is his encounter suit, without him in it, sort of grotesquely distorted right off the bat. It's kind of a clever intro to Kosh, right away you don't really know what to make of him.

The way Talia just walks on into the command centre always bothered me. Would she really have that much access?

Whoever costumed this show must have had a lot of fun. Just sayin'. :D

The direction is great, the camera is always where it needs to be and we're never left behind - and that's saying a lot for an episode that is so rich and fast moving.

I'll get this out of the way - I really don't like O'Hare. The Sinclair character is so complex and there's so much to be done with him, but O'Hare drives me crazy enough that any of his scenes, I'm just wishing them by all the time. He mars the first season for me, but I think it is a testament to how good it is, that the serious issues I have with him are tolerable. Katsulas, with his full facial prosthetic, emotes a hundred times more than O'Hare. I think he's an awful actor. :(

The closing scene with Garibaldi and Delenn is wonderful. They really are an odd couple, Doyle owns Garibaldi already, and Furlan already has Delenn nailed down. You can really tell who the acting vets are - their characters are pretty much everything they will be already, as opposed to some of the younger actors who settled into their characters a little more slowly. I don't mean there's no growth, just that some of the actors have the attitudes and mannerisms and tones of their characters so well developed, so early.