Recap and Discussion: 1 X 14 TKO

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

Into The Sands of Blood!



In which we learn about Sport, Drugs, Bigotry, Religion, Ivanova, and the essence of Humanity: Competition and Compassion.

The reason I picked this episode to recap was not the A storyline:



Could Have Been a Contender.
Via The Lurker's Guide: Walker Smith, featured pugilist, is the real name of famed boxer Sugar Ray Robinson. The actor who portrays Smith, Greg McKinney, died on April 12th, 1998. Sugar Ray Robinson died on Aprile 12th, 1989.

But rather the B storyline:



All her close family are dead.
Ivanova's brother Ganya was killed in the Earth-Minbari war a year after her mother committed suicide. Her father died a few months prior to this episode, as Ivanova watched from afar (Born to the Purple).

However, first to the recap.

Walker Smith is a friend of Garibaldi's. He was cheated out of a title bout back on Earth and wants to regain a shot by entering the alien death match called the Mutai. Many races compete in the Mutai, but not humans. Humans need not apply. A loophole is discovered via an alien named Caliban (really?) and Walker competes, battling the lead Mutai guy to a draw. He will get his chance and humans are now allowed to get beaten to death whenever they want on Babylon 5.

Meanwhile, an old family friend of the Ivanovs/Ivanovas comes to the station with a present and an offer for Susan.

Rabbi Koslov understands why Susan couldn't make it to her father's funeral, but wants her to sit shiva for Andrei. Susan refuses, citing her duties, and is royally pissed off when old Uncle Yossel goes to her commanding officer to request leave for her. Sinclair, interestingly, does not know of Andrei's death which means Garibaldi really can keep a secret. Yossel gives Susan the family samovar which Andrei wanted her to have, because he was really proud of her. And because she's the only one of her family left. Susan relents at the last moment, the ceremony is performed, Sinclair attends, Susan cries, the end.


Tidbits:

There are illegal drugs called slappers on the station, which is the best name for an illegal drug ever. I assume the drugged state is called being slap-happy.

Zima advertisements in The Dugout bar! This per JMS was not an early example of product placement but a joke. This episode goes into alien food more than others which I like. Garibaldi likes his Jovian tubers. Fried tree-worm looks like jelly donuts.

Rabbi Koslov is staying in the 'Sanctuary' Area, Blue 3. Do they have an area reserved for visiting religious folk?

Susan takes Uncle Yossel to dinner. Is that 'outdoor' patio part of the Fresh Aire restaurant? Are those Centauri star-lilies on the trellises? Nice. Apparently a very long and tedious discussion of whether treel are kosher or not was cut from the script. Thank God.

'Stroke off!' I love when they invent new curses.

Rabbi Koslov takes the Earth starliner 'White Star'. A name too good not to use again.

I used this opportunity to learn how to search Google Images using an image. From this:


A picture on the wall in Susan's quarters

I found this:


A Soviet-era poster by an unamed artist. The words are: Follow the Path of Development and Progress.
Fun! I will be doing more of this.

Susan is reading a hardback book. Really? She paid to have that shipped out or carries it with her? I think JMS missed the e-book revolution.



Paraphrased from the Wiki: On a Studio 360 broadcast in 2008, Harlan Ellison announced that he had signed with a major publisher to produce his memoirs. The tentative title was 'Working Without a Net'. The title first appeared in Babylon 5, for which Ellison was a creative consultant, on TKO which aired in 1994. He intended to write the book circa 2000.

Working Without a Net: A Memoir in Stories was published in 2011.

Humanity is not a particularly popular race on Babylon 5. Maybe because they are The Boss and the only ones allowed firearms. I am inclined to think that American Exceptionalism has led to Human Exceptionalism in the future. We are late-comers to space but we came, we saw, we kicked butt. Even Minbari butt (not really, but apparently.) I also think the Mutai challenge and Smith's willingness to change and adapt to alien customs is a foreshadowing of the shifting alliances to come. Sheridan's battle against the Shadows has to be fought without human help, with the exception of the humans among the Rangers. I haven't had time to think this through, but it is intriguing to me.


Season 1 had some of the coolest backdrop aliens. It dwindled down to the usual suspects in later seasons.

Koslov quotes:

"Without forgiveness you cannot mourn. Without mourning you can never let go of the pain."
I may come back to this idea in the Legacies recap.

"You cannot run away from your own heart."
Wow, we hear echoes of this from Marcus, and later from Susan herself when she leaves for the Rim.


"You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

Yes. Yes she is.

And finally, the award for Best Foreshadowing goes to Walker Smith, for the opening and closing lines of TKO:

"One of these days, Garibaldi, you're going to learn to watch your back."

and

"Watch your back."

Really, JMS? Really??

Comments

[nic]

Great recap! You noticed a lot of interesting things!

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

Some of the 'lesser' episodes have points of interest, even arc developments if you squint!

[mosinging1986.livejournal.com]

I hate that I'm falling behind, but I seem to be the only one participating. It gets discouraging to be speaking into the air!

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

I am barely keeping up with my assignments, so I feel your pain! Did you like TKO? I think I'm one of the few in the universe who do. I even didn't mind the boxing parts though I zone out during the end fight.

[mosinging1986.livejournal.com]

TEST.

No comments are showing up, even though it says there are 4 comments here.

[mosinging1986.livejournal.com]

The actor who portrays Smith, Greg McKinney, died on April 12th, 1998.

Ugh, what is it with this show and actors dying? And often so young!

I wasn't a fan of the fighting story line. I've always been a wimp about seeing people beating each other to a pulp. I'm just wimpy like that.

I loved seeing Susan. She always breaks my heart. I am glad she was able to have at least one family member there for her, and that she was able to move forward in her grief for her father.

[vjs2259.livejournal.com]

I think we only notice the early deaths because the actors stayed close and the fandom stayed at a low boil for years.

I hope you are seeing the comments now--they are there when I look and there doesn't seem to be any screening, or none I can undo.

[mosinging1986.livejournal.com]

I cannot see any comments on the comm, not even my own after I post it. Is anyone else having this problem? So strange!