"The Parliament of Dreams" discussion [spoilers]

[ruuger]

This is the discussion post for the episode 1X05, "The Parliament of Dreams". 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 "The Parliament of Dreams" at Lurker's Guide.

Comments

Re: II

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

Catherine is of course another archaeologist, and given what later happens with Anna Sheridan, as well as the Minbari ceremony with its doubling of a marriage/rebirth ritual, it very much looks to me that if Sinclair had remained the show's leading man Catherine would have ended up disappearing at the end of s1 or in early s2 and would have returned, same as Anna did, at the end of s3, while Sinclair and Delenn became an item.

Isn't Catherine a surveyor rather than an archaeologist? In the Babylon 5 universe, archaeologists get a pretty raw deal, but I thought that Catherine was more of a scientist.

(As an aside, my favorite bit characters in this episode are the guys she gets the good-news-Q40 payoff from. They're incredibly cute.)

From what I read in JMS' notes, Catherine would have wound up mind-wiped and unable to remember her and Jeff's relationship. It makes JMS' later comments in Thor about how silly that plotline is rather amusing!

Re: II

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Surveyor, right you are! Though I still say she'd have found Z'ha'Dum.

Incidentally, Catherine mentioning how expensive the food she bought to celebrate with Jeff was reminds me that this used to be an issue in s1 - the price for fresh food, and for example Franklin being able to order meat for medical purposes, but not Garibaldi - but not in the later show. Since G'Kar, Londo and Delenn never seem to have a problem getting the food they want, I assume the ambassadors get their supplies from home?

Re: II

[ruuger]

this used to be an issue in s1 - the price for fresh food, and for example Franklin being able to order meat for medical purposes, but not Garibaldi - but not in the later show

Maybe the hydroponic gardens weren't yet in full use back in S1? I think fresh vegetables were seen a lot in later seasons, but bacon and eggs were still a rare treat in "Messages from Earth".