"Infection" discussion [spoilers]

[ruuger]

This is the discussion post for the episode 1X04, "Infection". 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 "Infection" at Lurker's Guide.

Comments

[4thofeleven.livejournal.com]

I’ve always said that this isn’t the worst episode of B5 (IMO, ‘TKO’ takes that prize), but it’s certainly down the bottom.

- We see the first appearance of the ‘Archaeology will doom us all!’ plot.

- They make a big deal about the artefacts being in perfect condition, that ‘they could have been made yesterday’. Shame the prop department didn’t get the memo, and made them all look rusty and worn…

- As a couple of people have already mentioned, the IPX here doesn’t particularly resemble the IPX of later seasons. It doesn’t even make much sense here alone – if they’re the respectable front for a weapons lab, why can’t Dr. Franklin get any information on them? Either have a front or keep a low profile, don’t do both.

- The mentions of Ikara VII being invaded and destroyed a thousand years ago could be the first oblique reference to the Shadow War.

- Good thing the Ikarans went to the effort of programming one of their scientist’s minds into their weapons… imagine how long it’d take them to program a true AI capable of the complicated decision-making skills the weapon demonstrates! Blundering around, bellowing ‘PROTECT’ and destroying anything in your path – that’s the sort of intelligent behaviour you need an organic mind to produce!

- I’m not entirely convinced the analogy with racial purity really holds when you’re dealing with alien species. Granted, there’s a lot of genetic diversity within humanity, but it should be child’s play to create a definition of ‘pure human’ that includes all of h. sapiens and excludes every Minbari, Narn, Centauri and other products of completely alien evolutionary trees… It’s just nowhere near as absurd as trying to define a ‘pure’ form of an ethnic group within a species.
(Well, alright, there might be issues with Minbari - but nobody knows that right now!)

- Franklin gets hit by the Ikaran weapon, and gets knocked out for a few hours. A couple of lurkers get hit, and are reduced to a pile of ash. Sinclair gets hit and just gets right up again. I can generally tolerate and ignore limited main character shielding, but this is a particularly blatant example.

- I think this is the only mention that Garibaldi was in the Minbari War, yes? Was he just stationed on a base somewhere, or did he actually see action?

- Monroe’s still one of the iconic figures of popular culture in the twenty-third century?

- Hey, it’s the floating cameras from ‘The Gathering’! Do they ever reappear?

[haelij.livejournal.com]

That's a good point about Garibaldi's role in the Earth/Minbari War - I don't know if it was ever mentioned again! I assumed he was in the military at that point, but I never really put that together with him actually being in the war. I would guess that he never really saw any action, but that's just a guess.

And re: the cameras. They show up again in the 4th season, I can't remember the name of the ep right now but it's the one where ISN does a propaganda-laden story on the station after secession. I don't know if they show up in any other episodes... we'll have to keep an eye out!

[widsidh.livejournal.com]

cameras - sorry missed your note yesterday:

They definitely re-appear in season 4 "The Illusion of Truth", but I'm fairely sure they are also in " And Now for a Word" (season 2).

In the Lost Tales, Sheridan comments on their absence.

[traviswells.livejournal.com]

I think one of the later episodes (GROPOS, maybe) says that Garibaldi was in the ground forces and didn't see much action during the war. Can't really remember.

My fan rationalization for the Ikaran not being much smarter than a pile of stupid rocks is that the device was designed for the Ikaran brain, and it was having trouble adapting to a human brain. If it had been attached to an Ikaran it would have been very smart and deadly, not just zombie-with-a-gun.

[ruuger]

- I think this is the only mention that Garibaldi was in the Minbari War, yes? Was he just stationed on a base somewhere, or did he actually see action?

It's mentioned again in "The Long Dark". Garibaldi was a GROPO on some distant outpost and pretty much his entire unit was killed by the Minbari.

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

I couldn't remember the end of this one, and kept waiting for Sinclair to tell the machine to check itself (not exactly pure Ikaran at this point).

I thought the difference in power was due to where he was in charging back up (there was a latency period after discharge of the weapon). Doesn't fit with the 'every time it's 20% higher' description by Ivanova though. Best I can do.

Same comment about Monroe, although my husband gave me a look when I said it. Maybe it's a guy thing. Maybe there was a early 23nd century resurgence of interest in screen goddesses, along with Warner Brothers cartoons. A nostalgia craze...

[kitoky.livejournal.com]

I do believe there was a later episode where Garibaldi was handling a case of a "crazy person" {I think was it... DUST, no probably not?}, it's been a while. The man was having nightmares and a inferior officer made a comment about how crazy the guy was and something offensive or other. Garibaldi asked the inferior officer if he was drafted in the war and he replied, "I missed it."

Garibaldi goes on to saying that the crazy guy didn't miss it---inferior officer asks how he knew, and Garibaldi replies that he's had the same nightmares? So possibly? I think Garibaldi seemed to be involved? To what extent is never really known.

I could be completely off. But I distinctly remember this episode.

[kitoky.livejournal.com]

Looked it up in my season 2---it's The Long Dark.

[widsidh.livejournal.com]

- Hey, it’s the floating cameras from ‘The Gathering’! Do they ever reappear?

Oh, yes :-)