DS9 episode

[B5JMS Poster]

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From: "sheedy" <sheedy at netcom.ca>
Date: 17 Jun 1998 09:00:30 -0600
Lines: 55

I may be a little late on this, but....

I just saw a post/counterpost between someone and jms condemning "the sound
of her voice" a recent DS9 ep.

Now, let me be clear.  I'm a fan of both shows.  Never saw the need to pick
one or the other.  Lots of room in the universe for all kinds of shows, sf
and otherwise.  B5 has its strengths.  So does DS9.  Right?

So I was disappointed to see such a one-sided comment on it (jms' response
to it was understandable, given the info).

Basically the comment was that the show sucked due to some wonky science,
and a cheat ending.

I won't even argue that.  Hell, Ray Bradbury has some wonky science.  Ditto
Chris Carter and Phillip K. Dick and John Broome and Julius Schwartz.
Didn't stop me from enjoying their stories, if the story they were telling
was interesting.  A cheat ending?  depends, I guess.  Whether she was dead
two minutes ago or three years, she was still dead.  I think the point was
missed here.  And I bring it up on this forum because I think its been a
constant problem for B5 fans.

Sometimes the point isn't what is described in a TV Guide listing, or even
how we might describe an episode.  Sometimes its the telling of the story
that matters.  In this particular case, the *point* was how a voice from
outside your own experience can have an impact on your life - how they can
see things in yourself that you can't anymore.  And how - without actually
having met someone - they can reveal things to you (or help you reveal
things to yourself) that you didn't understand or realize.

Now, is it just me, or is that not how *this* particular forum could be
described?  Take "A View From the Gallery".  I've heard people tear it
apart, say it was a waste of time, no action, what was the point, etc.

But episodes like this just prove that its the journey that matters, not the
destination.  And sometimes we just pay too much damn attention to how much
time it takes to get there, instead of enjoying the view.

So to set the record straight, yeah, joe, the science was wonky, and she'd
been dead for three years.  But three different main characters realized
something about themselves that they didn't know, all from the voice of
someone they'd never met.  A relationship was healed.  A closed mind was
opened.  And a circle of friends were bound close, right before one of their
members was going to leave forever.

Now doesn't that sound like something we've all come to enjoy and appreciate
about B5?  A different point of view, a different route to the destination,
an interesting perspective on a well travelled lane.

I know that joe hasn't seen this ep, and I'm not asking him to get
involved - just wanted to float the idea that sometimes the point is in
*how* we tell the story, not whether their really are 'dechyon fields'.

David Sheedy

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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: 17 Jun 1998 16:43:30 -0600
Lines: 11

Excuse me, but all I said was that I was amazed that the story, as described to
me, got on.  I did not specifically condemn anything in the episode, and
generally don't coment on DS9 stuff.  Someone mentioned it to me online and
specifically asked for my reaction.  I was as brief as I could possibly be, one
line, no more, no less.

 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com
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