"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

[dqbunny.livejournal.com]

I actually started re-watching B5 back in December in an effort to introduce my fiancé to this series, and there is such a remarkable difference in atmosphere between this episode and the pilot. In "The Gathering," it felt like Laurel Takashima was trying to be a very pale imitation of Ivanova, something that I feel that Elizabeth Lochley was doing as well in the early parts of season 5. It's funny, but having such a small change such as Ivanova can add so much energy to the series. It made me realize just how much Londo, G'Kar, Garibaldi, and Delenn carried the pilot and then the rest of the cast started gelling.

I loved this excerpt from the jms notes on the Lurker's Guide:

"When he needed to find his character for a scene, Peter Jurasik mentioned that he would just stand up straight and yell, "MISter GariBALdi!" and he'd be right back in character. Sort of the B5 version of "Shazam!""

That is just completely awesome. It doesn't feel like the actors had to get used to the role again.