"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

[lisa-marli.livejournal.com]

This episode was when I shouted, "This is Definitely Not Star Trek!" This is when it finally broke away from the Star Trek Shadow. See Gene is an Atheist who believes Religion isn't irrelevant. Joe is an atheist who believes in religion, just not for him. And this episode where religion has an important part, but is just Yet Another Plot Point/ another part of life, is the point where that break in styles/beliefs shows.
And I also liked the idea where, in Star Trek - there is a Break in Continuity between our earth and theirs, in Babylon 5 - there is a continuation of Earth history from here to then. You see it first in the Second Most Important Thing, but you see it even more this time with the Religions Line Up at the end. This Science Fiction has its roots in Our History.
It was so Not a Star Trek Thing.
The fact that the Story is Great. So many quotes come from this episode -
"But in Purple I'm Stunning."
"He's become one with his inner self." "He's passed out" "That, too."
"You will know pain, you will know fear, and then you will die."
All the Players are now on the stage, and the guns are being placed on the wall. The show is finally getting its legs.
I usually give a new SF show about 5 episodes to find its legs, and this as the fifth episode was the perfect show for that.
PS That was also true for ST-OS, ST-NG, ST-DS9 (though it actually needed less set up because of what it was). Even ST-V was ok by then (only later it floundered). Note ST-Enterprise was still floundering at 5, which is why I left.