This episode, much like Sky Full of Stars, was a mess-with-Jeff episode. As we had previously stated, there are forces working in concert which basically had it in for Sinclair before he even set foot on the station, and have tried over and over to remove him. Explosions. Political maneuvers. Essential operational funding. Cybertech mindprobes. Sinclair keeps winning, and saving the station time and again. It seems the Minbari chose well, when they agreed, finally, to let him past the vetting process, even though he was far down the list of prospectives.
We also get to see another soldier who didn’t fare as well as Sinclair did during the war. Driven by a vengeance quest because he was not chosen for the Commander’s position, Colonel Ari Ben Zayn bends rules, twists procedures, and otherwise makes an ass of himself in the most ham-handed fashion possible in order to bring Sinclair down.
In further reflection, I think Ben Zayn is more tragic than antagonistic, in the long run. He was a man who followed orders, did what he was told, and pulled riot duty and colonial security actions, some of the worst and most thankless rosters during the Earth-Minbari war. He was tired and angry, and wanted some recognition for his efforts. He was a perfect soldier, and yet they gave a prestigious post to a relatively unknown guy… and a flyboy at that! So, a lesson here, kids: Don’t let jealousy, fear and vindictiveness overwhelm you, unless you like having a P8 transmit pain directly to your cerebral cortex. 🙂
CONSUME THE PODCAST HERE:
http://jumpgate.podomatic.com/entry/2014-08-31T13_57_26-07_00
AND WE HAVE SOME GLORIOUSLY FUNNY LINKS BELOW!
1994 Kawasiaki Ninja – One of the coolest bikes in modern history. If I had a modern real-life motorcycle, this would be it. I’d probably go with the awesome red bike in AKIRA, given a choice of fictional bikes. Hmm… or the Cyclone transforming battle armor bike from the third Robotech series. 🙂
http://www.ehow.com/list_7613994_1994-kawasaki-ninja-zx6e-specifications.html
LaGrange Orbital Points – The beautiful physics of orbital LaGrange points, which also, by the way, work at a Solar System level. This is likely where the LaGrange station they referenced in the show was located, in a stable orbit between Earth and Mars, which is an ideal transfer point.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z52WWLE8bBo
Eddie Izzard – do you have a flag? A bit NSFW, but hilarious. 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTduy7Qkvk8
The Onion – presidency in 2040 – The satire site The Onion’s take on the lasting impact of unfortunate social media gaffes for today’s teens and 20-somethings. 🙂
http://www.theonion.com/video/report-every-potential-2040-president-already-unel,27963/
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – The 1974 classic, another in the Jumpgate Great Books series.
http://www.amazon.com/Motorcycle-Maintenance-text-only-Pirsig/dp/B004RCC5AA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1409506680&sr=8-3&keywords=zen+and+the+art+of+motorcycle+maintenance
Total Eclipse of the Heart, LITERAL VIDEO – It’s funny and ridiculous until near the end, where they smack you in the face with the funniest stuff. 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsgWUq0fdKk
DaVinci’s Notebook – Title of the Song – Also, while DaVinci’s Notebook is no longer performing barbershop, you can catch two of them doing their thing, even 15 years later, at Sci-Fi and Media conventions as “Paul and Storm”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxaolJJgSNY
White Star 5 – A separate but concurrent B5 podcast to Jumpgate that gave us a shout out! Give ’em a listen!
http://www.whitestarfive.com
JUMPGATE 