Babylon 5 was a show that was determined to show that long form television was viable for all kinds of shows, not just soap operas.  This was a decently bold vision for the time, and something of an experiment for the new network.  That vision though generally did not extend to the episodes themselves.   Most of the narratives are pretty straight forward, and the episodes themselves progress in a normal fashion.  “And Now for a Word” is the first to break from that mold and do a slightly different concept, following a journalist around the station as she covers the events.  It makes for a nice change of pace, and it is interesting to see the characters act off of her, particularly in the interviews. 

The episode opens as if it were a show on ISN, Babylon 5’s fictional CNN stand in.  The host Cynthia Torqueman (played by Kim Zimmer)introduces the segment, and primes the audience by talking about how controversial Babylon 5 is.  She also gets in a little dig at the Mars colony while doing so which lets us know right off the bat that she is a conservative journalist. She kicks off her report with some dramatic footage of a Narn ship attacking a Centauri ship.  The show then uses the breaks in her show, to put in the credits.

When we get back from credits Cynthia is busily reporting from the docking bay where the casualties from the ongoing battle outside are piling up.  She accosts Franklin and Sheridan for statements, and both gamely ignore her, Sheridan only telling her that they are trying to stop the fighting.  Londo gets a talking head interview to play the victim and remind the audience of our show and the ISN show that the Cenaturi were the ones that made first contact with humans.  G’Kar hits back in a walk and talk, and he is being hit with tons of hard questions, in contrast with the gentle treatment that Londo received. 

Cynthia fills in her show with a segment talking to people that live on the station, Eduardo pops up again to speak for the dockworkers and reference season 1’s strike.  There is an amusing bit with Lt. Corwin doing his interview while Ivanova watches him in the background and listens to his answers.  Sheridan comes across with his normal goofy charm in the interview, and Torqueman talks about how various oddsmakers gave Babylon 5 little chance of success, including the town of New Vegas.  Sheridan strikes his normal optimistic tone.

Franklin gets interviewed and gives a bizarre story of watching a childhood friend die from an airlock incident.  I am not quite sure why either show would include the scene, but there it is anyway.  G’kar gets a chance to make a statement, talking about how the Centauri have been moving weapons of mass destruction through Babylon 5 and threatens to stop it.

The host quickly references an Orwellian sounding office that reports on how popular the President is then jumps to some interviews with a Senator Quantrell, played by Christopher Curry, who comes across like a typical conservative blowhard making claims about the Earth’s military, and how Babylon 5’s emphasis on peace is no longer necessary. I like that Sheridan is not shy about hitting back about Earth’s military capacity, letting his cheery demeanor slip and his anger come through a little. The host creepily points out that Earth did not “lose” the war, and that the Minbari surrendered. 

Ivanova predictably is a frustrating interview for the media, whereas Garibaldi is more garrulous.  Ivanova does deliver some exposition to explain why she does not have a Russian accent, mentioning that she was educated abroad for most of her life.   All of this is followed by a funny bit with reporters getting very excited to catch a glimpse of Kosh. 

They get around to interviewing Delenn, and the segment strikes a sour note.  The reporter ambushes Delenn with some edgy questions about her appearance, a theme we have seen before.  That part is not what bothers me, it is that Delenn crumbles under these clumsy accusatory questions, nearly crying before being interrupted by Ivanova requesting her attendance at a council meeting.  It just feels off that this is how a powerful character like Delenn would react to some pointed questions. 

What is more in character is G’Kar causing an uproar at the council by talking about how there is now confirmation that the Centauri are moving weapons through Babylon 5 space.  G’Kar demands that all Centauri ships be boarded and searched, and this causes all of the Narn and Centauri ships around the station to begin attacking one another.  Babylon 5’s fighters managed to bring things under control quickly but tensions remain high.  I like that they show how panicky and scary things are inside of the station when there is fighting going on outside, and we get some more neat action shots courtesy of CGI. 

Londo and G’Kar get some more talking head interviews to give background on the Narn-Centauri conflict.  G’Kar’s story is haunting, going over the extended execution of his own father, and ending with him murdering a Centauri as a boy or pouchling.  Londo gives a slimy colonizers version of events, which is eaten up credulously by Torqueman.  THis is followed up by the Centauri sending a battleship to blockade the station.  

We also get treated to a supremely creepy commercial about the Psi Corps.  I like how they try to use the omnipresent surveillance state as a  mark of how convenient it is to find the Psi Corps because they are everywhere.  The commercial also amusingly has some faux-subliminal messaging in it about trusting and obeying the corps. 

Sheridan manages to bluff his way out of the blockade situation, only for a Narn warship to arrive and complicate the situation and engage in a battle right in front of the station.  The Narn ship wins, but manages to destroy itself when it attempts to jump back into hyperspace.  What follows is a series of talking heads about why the Babylon 5 station is important.  Most of the characters still think it is, and Delenn and Sheridan get to be more poetic about it, but it is clear that the people back on Earth have their doubts.

A quick note Tubi has this as episode 14 and I did it in their order but in the normal broadcast order this would have been episode 15.

Next week we go with what was normally episode 14, “There All the Honor Lies” an episode about saving face and committing sins in the name of the “greater good”.  In other words a fun time will be had by all. 

As always, a reminder that you can watch the episodes on Tubi with ads.  

Where do I know them from?

• In this episode Christopher Curry who plays the Senator is also Johnny Rico’s dad in Starship Troopers. 

The Good

• I kind of like the conceit of the episode being filmed as part of an in universe TV show.  It was fun to see decisions being made without being privy to the discussions beforehand. 
• More fun with CGI as the creators keep discovering what is possible without models.
• I like that most of the characters got a chance to interact with Torqueman as she made her way around the station.

The Bad

• Franklin’s scene is just very out of place and it makes me feel like they felt they had to do something with Richard Biggs for the week.
• The compositing at the top and end of the episode for the ISN broadcast center did not age well in the least. 
• The aforementioned Delenn scene just does not fit at all with her character.  It would have been more believable earlier in the season but she has already dealt with her own people and other humans having awful responses.

Arc Points (Spoilers Ahead)

• Mass drivers are called out specifically as some of the weapons being moved around, setting some groundwork for later in the season.
• We get a great deal of exposition about some of the alien worlds, and for G’Kar the image of his dying father will come up again in the show. 
• It would have been interesting if Londo had a story about his time during the end of the Narn occupation, but I like how it keeps the focus on G’Kar’s experience. 
• The weapons from GROPOS were mentioned, and Ivanova rates them as capable of taking on the Centauri ship, which will come up at the end of the season.  
• We get some more bad signs from Earth, with the Office of Public Morale apparently being an office that just releases good news about President Clark.