ruuger: My hand with the nails painted red and black resting on the keyboard of my laptop (Kosh - modsquad)
Ruuger ([personal profile] ruuger) wrote in [community profile] b5_revisited2011-09-05 10:45 am

Lost Tales: Voices in the Dark: Over Here discussion

Changing the schedule a bit so that we're discussing the two stories in Lost Tales separately (thanks for the suggestion, [livejournal.com profile] widsidh).

This is the discussion post for Lost Tales: Voices in the Dark: Over Here. Spoilers for the whole of the series, including the spin-offs and tie-ins, are allowed here so newbies beware. If you have any fanworks related to this episode, you can also leave links to them in this post.

Summary:
Lochley joins forces with a Catholic Priest when a man arrives on B5 claiming to be possessed by a demon.

Extra reading:
The article for Lost Tales: Voices in the Dark at The Lurker's Guide.

[identity profile] widsidh.livejournal.com 2011-09-06 08:43 pm (UTC)(link)
In a way the Lost Tales feel like B5 again the way Crusade (&c.) didn't.

I particularly like this one; it is a neat little tale about faith in the space age. I like Fr Cassidy's realistic attitude to his faith, and I think he had a similar kind of humour to Theo, just a bit more quiet ("not even a delinquent seraphim left behind afte the general evacuation"...!).

I also loved Lochley quoting (well, paraphrasing) Revelations at a self-proclaimed denizen of hell.

I don't think it is necessary to believe that the thing possessing Burke really is a demon the way the Abrahamic traditions understand it. We've seen beings taking over the consciousness of others before, for better (Exogenesis) or worse (Keepers). I liked the fact that the question of its true nature was left open (Star Trek would have gone on to say "look, it's just another alien").

And, last but not least (and arguably first), I loved the opening titles with G'Kar's voice.
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[identity profile] 4thofeleven.livejournal.com 2011-09-07 03:22 am (UTC)(link)
The problem is that if it is some sort of alien, the story doesn't make any sense - the thing clearly wants or needs to be exorcised by a priest to escape its imprisonment. That seems like pretty clear evidence that it really is something supernatural.

Its true nature isn't left open - it pretty much has to be a demon and no other options are considered.

[identity profile] dragonladyk.livejournal.com 2011-09-09 10:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Its true nature isn't left open - it pretty much has to be a demon and no other options are considered.

Which is why the true title of this one should be "Anvilicious." This bit felt more like being preached at than a fictional story, and therefore seriously depleted my viewing pleasure. I'm just glad I didn't pay for the thing.

DragonLady