Marshall- how much of that can be credited to her culture?  They're always talking about sacrifice and serving others, etc.

Well I wasn't on Usenet but I guess I just assumed since he was picking at the fruit that's what he tossed her.

Very nice, Murch.  That is all perfectly reasonable, fair and efficient.
Fortunately, that is precisely how governments and populations work and think.

That does all seem to jive with how I remember it as well.
Chalk it up to having to bring in a new lead.

It also gives weight to everything else she does.  She's usually talking about peace and morals and whatever, but seeing her strength means she comes to that philosophy honestly, not because she has no other choice.

Spartacus' first arena kill:
goo.gl/PURqy

Yep.
Telepaths, as presented in B5, creates the most interesting and difficult ethical dilemma I've ever seen in TV sci-fi.
I mean- seriously- what the hell should a society do with telepaths to be able to protect all of its citizens and remain humane?

Oh certainly, didn't mean to say it was his best.
IIRC, Bester was not supposed to be a recurring character originally.
It's like with DS9, any inclusion of Dukat and/or Wayun just bumps it up a grade.  Or Spike on Buffy before he became a main character (season 6?).

I. M. Weasel - great point.

G'Kar flirting with her / insulting Londo at the banquet makes up for whatever problems there might be in the plot.  That little bit of tossing her the grape (or whatever)… so swarthy.

SPOILERS
(not sure where we are in this thread or if Nathan Ford's Evil Twin has seen the rest of the series yet so SPOILER WARNING HERE just in case)

Fair enough… and yes, theirs is a romance built on friendship and common cause.

Proposition: one's enjoyment of "Race" is directly proportional to one's appreciation of Bester.
He is awesome, IMO, so I love this ep, even if much of the rest is kinda meh.  He's one of those characters that is supremely entertaining every second, so his presence elevates all of his episodes to favorites for me.

I guess it's just that Talia and Franklin seem so slight compared to the more interesting, fun characters that even when they have big "reveals," it's harder to remember.

Huh, I don't remember- and the Psi Corps novels are the only B5 novels I actually liked.  But it's weird to me- I mean, if Garibaldi were to try to convince himself as to which Talia was "real," wouldn't he want to favor the good one, since that's the one he had feelings for?

My understanding was that the first night they had sexual relations was the last episode Talia was on.

So was G'Kar involved in the plot to assassinate Londo, along with Londo's hot wife?  I don't think the whole assassination plot was explained clearly.  Or maybe I just don't remember, but I have seen this series like 12 times.

One of the reasons I think I'm such a B5 fanboy is that I have the complete opposite reaction to Sheridan/Delenn (Deleridan?  Sherenn?  I think it's a law now that every couple has to have a Benifer type of name) than Yuri Petrovich.  It's lovely, believable, and pretty much perfect.

Great to see some love for Delenn-as-badass.  Sorely underrated in the real of sci-fi fandom.  In my book, she is right up there with G'Kar and Londo.

JMS is often criticized for his comedy, even by me, but this episode works.  The actors are just so great, and there are some perfectly crafted gems.  I have used the term "sexual olympics" in conversation myself.