@Prankster36:disqus :  I don't disagree with your basic thesis that much of  B5's Earth politics was facile.  But I don't think it was as simplistic as you make out.  Clark didn't just happen one morning.  He happened because his kind of leadership is what a lot of Earthers wanted.

It's alleged that Delenn's gender switch happened because Furlan didn't know she was to play a male role until after she had been cast and hit the roof when the news reached her.

It's alleged that Delenn's gender switch happened because Furlan didn't know she was to play a male role until after she had been cast and hit the roof when the news reached her.

@TaumpyTearrs:disqus  "it is in many ways Lord of the Rings in space with better writing"

@Prankster36:disqus  "there was still an awful lot of tokenism on B5; you got the sense that JMS was immensely proud of himself just for bringing up this stuff, but then failed to really do much with it."

@avclub-04d524031f29c89d78cae864bd6f0de7:disqus : I wonder how long that will keep going for. Everything he tries to add to the dead horse these days just takes a little more flesh off the carcass.

@avclub-04d524031f29c89d78cae864bd6f0de7:disqus : I wonder how long that will keep going for. Everything he tries to add to the dead horse these days just takes a little more flesh off the carcass.

If you get this worked up about Sisko killing vermin then DS9 might not be the series for you.

If you get this worked up about Sisko killing vermin then DS9 might not be the series for you.

@avclub-0f8adb83a042059c41c46e2e93506d4b:disqus : It's a matter of taste, but snark for snark's sake can be fun. For example, look at RLM and SFDebris. Much of their output is far more entertaining than the schlock they review.

@avclub-0f8adb83a042059c41c46e2e93506d4b:disqus : It's a matter of taste, but snark for snark's sake can be fun. For example, look at RLM and SFDebris. Much of their output is far more entertaining than the schlock they review.

SPOILERS

SPOILERS
@Prankster36:disqus : You're overstating the speed at which Earth went to authoritarian extremism—Clark's regime was just the next step for an Earth that was well up the right wing authoritarian creek before he took power—but you are dead right about B5 burning a lot of straw men to support some pretty…

@Prankster36:disqus : IIRC the language concept is that everyone speaks English in mixed company but the aliens speak their own languages when they're in private.  Everything is spoken in English, for the viewers' benefit, as dramatic convention.  As a result, the various aliens' command of English appears to vary…

@Prankster36:disqus : IIRC the language concept is that everyone speaks English in mixed company but the aliens speak their own languages when they're in private.  Everything is spoken in English, for the viewers' benefit, as dramatic convention.  As a result, the various aliens' command of English appears to vary…

I'm still wondering WTF happened with CRUSADE

I'm still wondering WTF happened with CRUSADE

A lot of B5's aesthetics can be partially explained as a reaction to Star Trek and other genre fare.

A lot of B5's aesthetics can be partially explained as a reaction to Star Trek and other genre fare.

DS9 Short Takes