Trollheart

I don’t really have to write an intro to this one, do I? Really? All right then, if you insist. Having become their biggest moneyspinner by a long way, Paramount's Star Trek was, and still is, shown somewhere around the world something like every three seconds, a massive, almost unbelievable feat not only for a science-fiction drama, but for one which faced the threat of cancellation each season in its original run, and which was cancelled in 1970, only to provoke a massive backlash from its legions of fans, leading to its syndication and its becoming one of, if not the, most popular cult series in television history.

But that was a long time ago, and Paramount executives, though happy by and large with the returns from the, to that point, four motion pictures which they had managed to spinoff from the original series, were beginning to balk at the kind of money William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and the stars of the show were looking for to take part in the fourth film. They believed the time had come for a new take on Star Trek, and so Star Trek: The Next Generation was born.

In order that the new series --- which they had no idea would succeed never mind become popular --- not overshadow the movies, they decided to cast at the time unknowns into the starring roles, creating in the process, did they but know it, stars and icons of the future. The original Star Trek had been, in many ways, quite sexist, with only two main crew members female and those not exactly in positions of power, to say nothing of the miniskirts and go-go boots the ladies were obliged to wear! Attitudes towards women had changed over twenty years --- or at least, Paramount wanted their audience to think they had --- and anyway Kirk and Co. had plied their trade in the twenty-third century, whereas this new series would take place in the twenty-fourth, and it was hoped that by then (if not already in the 22nd century!) there would be more equality between the sexes with less emphasis on gender and more on ability, so that even a woman could captain a starship, as she did, to our cost, in the third spinoff, Star Trek Voyager.

But to address this “balancing of the genders”, writer and creator Gene Roddenberry and co-executive producer Rick Berman had to look closely at the original series and see where they wanted to make changes. The first, and most obvious of these is in the opening monologue. The same starship name was used, the USS Enterprise of Star Trek: The Next Generation being seen as a direct descendant, if you will, of NCC-1701, the iconic vessel which carried Kirk, Spock and their crew through three seasons of adventures, but the original voiceover, which stated “where no man has gone before”, was changed to now read “where no-one has gone before.” In addition, the ship’s doctor was a woman, as was its security chief. In this way, the writers had instantly established women in positions of both authority and trust.

But though they wanted the show to obviously echo the original they did not want a rehash. There was to be no Kirk for the 1980s. Instead, they chose Patrick Stewart as the bald-headed, slightly grumpy and stiff Captain Picard, with the more dashing Riker as his second-in-command. Another woman joined the team, in a position new to the Star Trek universe, the ship’s counsellor. The original series had based much of its drama around the central character of Spock, the Vulcan who did not show emotion and judged everything by cold clinical logic. NextGen sort of turned that idea on its head by introducing the character of Data, an android who was indistinguishable from a human other than the fact that his skin was much paler. He, however, having no emotions at all, longed to experience these, and was on a quest to “become human”, in a twenty-fourth century update of the Pinocchio tale.

Another major difference, separating the original from the new series, was the treatment of the Klingons. In original Trek, they had been mostly cartoon villains, despots and tyrants, a soldier race intent on conquering the galaxy and the sworn enemies of the Federation. By the time of NextGen however there had been a great war and the Klingons were now allies with the humans, so much so that one served aboard the new Enterprise. This sympathetic view of the aliens would lead to many excellent storylines, and flesh out and develop the mythology, culture and history of a race who until now had been one-dimensional bad guys but who would become an important and integral part of the Star Trek franchise.

NextGen started out well, and ratings were high, but after expending it seemed all their ideas and energy on the feature-length pilot episode, the writers fell back on rehashing old plots from the original series. “The naked time” from original Trek became “The naked now”, with a razor-thin difference to the original story, so much so that they actually referenced it within the episode. “The big goodbye” revisited the original’s often annoying habit of either going back in time or putting the characters on a planet which mimicked a certain time period in history, in this case season two’s “A piece of the action”, while “When the bough breaks” bears many similarities in tone and feel to “And the children shall lead.” However within even the first season were some pretty damn fine episodes: “Hide and Q”, where the omnipotent being who put the crew on trial in the pilot resurfaced, comes to mind, as does later episode “Heart of glory”, which explored the mythology of the Klingon race, and even “Datalore”, in which Data finds out he has a brother --- and he’s evil!

As the series found its feet in season two it went from strength to strength, becoming one of the most respected sci-fi shows on TV. Well, in fairness for a time it was the only sci-fi show on TV, unless you count Doctor Who, which had been going for yonks and which nobody in America seemed to know of or care about. But by the end of its seventh and final season, Star Trek: The Next Generation had done what nobody had really thought it was or could be capable of when it began: it had eclipsed the original series. Now, when people spoke of Star Trek, they thought of or mentioned Riker, Picard and Data as often as they did Kirk and Spock. While certainly not banished to the dusty annals of history, Star Trek’s original series had been bettered and had a new and vibrant life which would go on to spawn five more specifically NextGen-centric movies and two completely new series.

MAIN CAST
Generally speaking the cast that began the series were there at the end, though there were a few changes along the way. Starfleet being essentially a military organisation, there were also promotions and when these occur I will note them in the episode in which the event takes place. For now though, this is the main cast who first took to space in 1987, almost twenty years after the last voyage of the original USS Enterprise.

CAPTAIN JEAN-LUC PICARD, played by Patrick Stewart: With the quiet authority of the headmaster, and a frown and biting rebukes to match, Picard is almost the antithesis of the everyman, one-of-the-boys captain played by William Shatner. In many ways he is lonely and isolated, though through choice, as he does not get on terribly well with people, preferring instead the company of an old book or starship manual. He speaks with a distinct English accent, despite his stated French origins, and was the first character, so far as I know --- certainly the first male --- in Star Trek not to have any hair. He demands unswerving, unquestioning loyalty from his crew --- and gets it --- and has no interest in or time for children. He is not a family man, as he whines to his s-i-c in the first episode, asking “Why has Starfleet seen fit to give me a command with children and families?”

COMMANDER WILLIAM T. RIKER, played by Jonathan Frakes: First Officer of the Enterprise, he serves both as Picard’s second in command and a balance to check him on. When Picard wants to go down to a planet surface or otherwise put himself in danger, perhaps unnecessarily, it is Riker’s job to remind him that the captain’s first duty and responsibility is to the ship and its crew. He is a decorated officer, sought-after and well liked, though he can be a little arrogant, especially in season one. His appearance would change over the series, as would his attitude. (Note: in the first season Riker has no beard, and I wanted to use a shot of him fresh-faced but could not find one that was not huge, so I've had to go with the bearded example above)

LIEUTENANT COMMANDER DATA, played by Brent Spiner: The android who wants to be a real boy, Data (he has no other name) was found disassembled at a colony which had been destroyed. Brought back to a Federation base he was reassembled and joined Starfleet, eventually rising to this high rank and being assigned to the Enterprise. At the time of the pilot, he is the only known example of his kind. He is immensely strong, super-intelligent and yet lacks basic human emotions which makes him more calculating than instinctive when it comes to decisions. His quest to become human will of course change him from a pretty much unfeeling robot into something more approximating a man.

COUNSELLOR DEANNA TROI, played by Marina Sirtis: A new post on a starship, the Ship’s Counsellor functions as a sort of mixture of a psychiatrist, therapist and agony aunt. Troy is half Betazoid, a race of telepathic beings, and her insights not only help her in her job but also become invaluable to Picard in combat or negotiations. It’s always handy to know what the other guy really thinks when you’re facing a stand-off!

DOCTOR BEVERLEY CRUSHER, played by Gates McFadden: Fuflilling somewhat the role held by McCoy in the original, Crusher is the Chief Medical Officer onboard the Enterprise, and as such she is the only one with the authority to give an order to Picard, if it is deemed necessary.

LIEUTENANT COMMANDER GEORDI LA FORGE, played by Levar Burton: Blind from birth, LaForge is initially the helmsman on the ship, but his role will later change. He sees via a computerised band across his eyes called a visor. This allows him to see, but not as we do: he sees colour spectrums, electromagnetic frequencies and so on, rather like perhaps a machine would interpret the world.

LIEUTENANT WORF, played by Michael Dorn: That Klingon I spoke of. Worf is originally the other helmsman and tactical officer aboard the Enterprise, but midway through season one this will change and he will be issued with new responsibilities.

WESLEY CRUSHER, played by Wil Wheaton: Wesley is the doctor’s son, initially only along as part of her family but later joining the active crew and receiving the rank of Ensign. He is a mathematical and technological prodigy, and not shy about showing it off.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Season One, Episode Nine
"When my ship comes home"

Another disaster for James! Large profit can come with large risk, but that can turn around and bite you, and in this case it has. He had paid to charter one of Callon's ships by mortgaging the current cargo of his own, the Charlotte Rhodes. He had thought to make a handsome profit, but the ship was lost at sea, and now Callon owns the cargo James was going to ship. Robert is not happy, not only that they have been left high and dry, but that his brother took this decision and went to Callon without consulting his other partner in the venture. Robert is feeling more and more like a silent partner in the Onedin Line as time goes on.

And things are not getting any better for the beleaguered older Onedin brother, as Callon wants the chandler's shop, which stands in the way of a new dock he wishes to build, but Robert has (rudely, according to Elizabeth) turned him down. James is on his way to London, to the Stock Exchange, there to enquire after the lost cargo. Anne decides she cannot pass up the opportunity to go to the capital, and despite his grumbling protests she accompanies him. There he meets Chubb, the insurance agent and the captain of the ship, and is given bad news. Under instructions to pick up return cargo for the voyage back, the captain assembled a mixed cargo, among which was some gunpowder. This was responsible for the accident and Onedin is not insured, as he did not take out a specific dangerous goods policy. Insurance agents, huh?

And that's not the worst of it. As if this day could not get any worse, Onedin is advised by the obsequious agent that they are holding him liable for both the ship and the cargo. Not only will he not receive a penny in compensation, but he will get a bill for thousands, perhaps more. It looks like he will be made bankrupt. But a chance visit from the erstwhile captain of the lost vessel imbues him with new hope when he hears that, contrary to what Chubb told him, he is not responsible to his partners in the insurance firm. Not really, as he is the senior partner and so the main decision taker. James hatches a plan to get him drunk, and invites him to dinner.

As it happens, his plan takes on a life of its own when Chubb takes them to his favourite cathouse, where they meet the wholly unlovely but immensely rich Kate who owns the place. She does not get on with the earthy seacaptain and when she gets a chance to shop him to Chubb she does, showing him the letter James is carrying with him, after he has become a bit the worse for drink. His plan, like his finances, in ruins, James is delivered home to Anne by Chubb. When the insurer makes light of the fact that he did not sign Onedin's letter, thus releasing him from his debt, Anne bridles and give Chubb a piece of her mind.

Callon goes triumphantly to see Robert and demands he sell him the shop. If not, he'll drop the price every day until he does sign. His son, however, lets slip the recent act of parliament which limits the liability of any director on the board of a Company to the amount of its share capital. This means --- and Robert is listening intently, if not in much hope --- that Callon cannot bankrupt Onedin by asking for his debt to be paid because James has arranged it that his largest, and therefore first in line, creditor will be himself: Onedin Warehousing Limited. They cannot take an action against James, or Robert, personally, only the Onedin Line, which was the entity that chartered Callon's ship. Unfortunately for him, Callon has pressured his son into telling him all of this in front of Robert, for whom the penny finally drops: Callon has no hold over him, his shop or indeed the Onedin Line.

However, Callon can stop the Onedins from earning a living, by having the Charlotte Rhodes impounded (he can do nothing about the Pampero; that's off in Portugal) and taking all the business he can from the Onedins while they're unable to fight back. Sarah blames her husband for being weak --- as she always does. She was happy, proud as punch and like a peacock when Robert became a company director, but as James hardly even consults his own brother when making the most important of decisions, she sees his seat on the board as largely empty, lipservice to the family, a way for James to finance his voyages without putting himself in debt. When she learns to her horror that their home is to be repossessed by the bank, and they are to be thrown out onto the street, she is almost hysterical. The end up having to take a room at James and Anne's house; after all, it's their fault they are homeless.

Meanwhile, James has returned to Liverpool, and is not about to let a small setback like his ship being seized stop him. With the help of Baines, he steals the Charlotte Rhodes and heads off under cover of night, on one last trip which he hopes will sort all his woes. As usual, it's risky: he goes to Gibraltar and runs guns to the rebels. When Anne discovers that he is transporting weapons to people whose stated aim is to overthrow the Crown, she is aghast, but to James politics should never get in the way of business. He's as patriotic as the next man, but as we shall see as the series goes on, he's quite the mercenary, fighting for --- or in this case, shipping for --- the man who will pay more, no matter his allegiances.

With the fabulous profit he makes from his illegal venture, James is now free to return home and pay off his debts, his ship again his. But has he overstepped the mark with his wife? In agreeing to trade in arms --- and further, in arms going to rebels who oppose the Queen's authority --- has he gone too far? Anne does not look happy.

QUOTES
Robert: “I've told you time and again, James, these risks will bring you to a bad end!”
James: “Us, Robert.”
Robert: “Aye. Us.”
(James has no compunction in reminding Robert, as he has before, that if he wishes to share in the profits he must also be prepared to share in the losses)

Elizabeth (on hearing about debts her brother owes): “These debts ...?”
Anne: “We'll pay our own debts!”
(They may be strapped for cash and barely surviving, but Anne is proud and determined enough to cut her sister-in-law off before she can make an offer of a loan, or help. She does not want charity, and she does not want Albert Frazer bailing them out. Canny as she is, she knows such kindness on the surface would translate into an even heavier debt that might drag them all down in the end.)

Elizabeth (on hearing Anne plans to go with James to London): “And what about me?”
James: “What about ye?”
Elizabeth: “So near to my time, and everyone away...”
James: “That's enough of that.”
(It's obvious James has little or no sympathy for his sister; she got herself into this mess and there's no point crying about it now. He has no time for her protests, though he does try to use it as an excuse to stop Anne from coming with him, saying his sister may need her. Anne replies with a sharp “Elizabeth will give birth with our without us. She needed no help to conceive!” Ouch!)

James: “Anne, we're ruined.”
(The first time we've ever heard defeat, real despair in the voice of the man who would be king...)

Anne (watching James fold a piece of paper he has written on and put it into his jacket pocket): “Now what is that?”
James: “A piece of paper.”
Anne: “I can see that for myself.”
James: “Better you not know.”
Anne: “Oh.”
(Anne knows well that her husband is a slippery customer, and probably suspects he is up to something, but if it will get them out of the situation they have found themselves in, she will not try to dissuade him and will leave him to it. As she once herself observed, she has no desire for penury, and at the moment that's the direction the Onedin family is heading).

Robert: “You cannot bankrupt us!”
Callon: “I can, and will. And be pleased to do it.”
(Of course he will. Ever since James left his employ to set up the Onedin line the man, the entire family has been a thorn in Callon's side. If he can behead the snake now --- cut off James's supply lines and storage facilities and his shipping line will wither like a dying flower --- he will, as he says, be most happy to do so and remove forever this prickly annoyance from his flesh.)

Elizabeth: “James uses people, even family. He pushes them into his plans and schemes; he has no thought for anyone else.”
(Pot, meet kettle!)

James: “They'll forgive a rich man anything!”
(How true. When James stole the Charlotte Rhodes he had but a few hundred pounds to his name, and mounting debts. On his return he has ten times as much; enough to pay off Callon and any fines for stealing his ship, and surely the incident will be forgotten and forgiven once a little gold coin changes hands?)

MANNERS AND MORES
Poor Robert! He simply cannot accept the possibility that his sister, an Onedin, might be carrying a child which was conceived outside of wedlock. Even though he, Sarah and of course Elizabeth herself know that the child is Daniel Fogarty's (as does James of course) he has convinced himself that it is in fact fathered by Albert Frazer. With all he's going though at the moment, he has to hang on for grim life to one unalterable fact, that his sister is not a harlot. Elizabeth of course delights in confirming that the child is Daniel's, if only to make his blood boil. But in reality she is as disgusted at his wilful blindness and refusal to accept the truth as he is with her for being a loose woman.

Despite the fact that we're talking about Victorian London here, where a woman dare scarcely walk the streets unaccompanied --- James warns Anne against such “scandalous” behaviour before he goes to meet with Chubb --- there seems to be no problem with people running brothels. And as with all such establishments, they're the playground of the wealthy, the intelligentsia and the well-connected. James looks archly around when he arrives and no doubt notes lawyers, judges and politicians as well as tycoons and military officers in attendance. It seems that brothels are only frowned on if they're cheap and tawdry; the more expensive and lavish the cathouse, and the more of the “right type of people” who patronise them, the more acceptable they are to rigid nineteenth-century English society.


ONEDIN'S RIGHT HAND
Always a man to depend on, Mister Baines is not always treated as he should be by his employer. In fact, James almost always takes him for granted, and would be the last one to call the man a friend. But he is, and he risks much, time and time again, helping James out when he could so much more easily jump ship and go to work for Callon, or indeed any of the other shipowners. But Baines is a man who prizes loyalty highly, and though he no doubt rankles at the treatment he receives almost constantly from Onedin, he will always be by his side. In this section I'll be pointing out the times --- and they are many --- when Mr. Baines makes himself indispensable, when he almost singlehandedly saves James's neck, and when, without his assistance, friendship and steadfastness, the owner of the Onedin line would be sunk, financially and sometimes literally.

Here, with little to gain really, and the possibility at the least of losing his Mate's status and never being allowed to serve on a ship again, and at worst of being thrown in jail, along with his employer, Baines helps Onedin brazenly steal the Charlotte Rhodes, which has been seized and impounded. I'm not sure what the sentence is for stealing your own ship, but in nineteeth century England I can imagine it was more than stiff. They took the letter of the law very seriously back then. But Baines doesn't even bat an eyelid; he has done, and will do, worse in the service of this extraordinarily ungrateful user of people. And yet, he would likely have it no other way. James for his part doesn't even question Baines's complicity in his plan: he's simply expected to follow orders like any good seaman. But this is above and beyond the call of duty, not that James would recognise or even admit such a thing, never mind reward it.

Of course, you could say that with Baines it may be a case of enlightened self-interest, as G'Kar puts it in Babylon 5: if Onedin goes out of business there may be no more work for him. Certainly, someone would take him on --- he's an experienced mate, after all --- but whether or not he'd hold his position of command or not is debatable, also whether he would be paid the same. Even so, the fact that he's willing to risk jail for his employer speaks volumes about the man.

HISTORY LESSONS
The Limited Liability Act of 1855 was a Act of Parliament that took away from companies the burden of being responsible for a full debt, and excluded the shareholders of any Limited Liability Company (LLC) from being called upon to cover any debt incurred by the company, personally. Only the company itself could be sued, if legal action were required, and only the assets of the company could be seized. Robert Onedin is unlucky here, as his house and the chandler's shop he runs are part of the collateral put up for the purchase of shares in The Onedin Line, and thus seen as assets of the company, and thus seizable, as is the ship itself. James's house --- presumably in his wife's name and not his --- is safe from repossession.

Robert is able to benefit from this new law --- though he would not have heard about it had it not been for Edward blabbering in front of him at the insistence of his father --- when he realises that Callon cannot bankrupt him personally, only the company, and only after the main debtor, their own Onedin Warehousing, has been paid. Nevertheless, that does not mean that Callon cannot make life very uncomfortable for the Onedins, as we see later.

It's a point to note though, that the younger Callon, aware that he might be giving Robert ammunition he would not otherwise have in his fight against them, wishes to say as little as possible in front of the shopowner, and on several occasions tries to communicate this to his father, who is having none of it. “You're so fond of contradicting your father”, he says in annoyance, “Say what you have to say in front of Mr. Onedin. No doubt he may find it most ... edifying.” Too late, he realises how right he is, and what a mistake he has made. Perhaps next time he will listen to his son?

As they prepare to land their smuggled guns, the Charlotte Rhodes is approached by a French vessel. The captain threatens to fire on the ship, but James shouts back that if they do then the English Navy will blow them out of the water. He's bluffing here of course; they are engaged in illegal activity and not only that, they are running weapons to enemies of the British Empire, so any English ship is more likely to fire on them than the French. But the French captain does not know this: it's dark and he can't see Onedin's ship. He may think it itself is a British war frigate, and will rightly fear reprisals should he fire. At this point, the French are not at war with England (for once), but the reputation of the British Navy is so fierce that even a threat of them being involved is enough to stay the Frenchman's hand. Also, he hardly wants to be the one to bring about another war, especially should it turn out that his has all been a misunderstanding.

And isn't that...?
The arab for whom James ships the weapons (who is never named) is none other than Nickolas Grace, whom we have seen recently as the luckless Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin of Sherwood, and whom we will encounter again in the third and final part of the House of Cards trilogy.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

FAMILY

Sarah and Robert
How Sarah must curse the day her husband agreed to join his brother in his ventures! When Robert took the seat at the board of directors of the Onedin Line, she believed they were coming up in the world. Sarah is a woman of airs and graces, and has never enjoyed being married to a mere ship's chandler, so the chance to move up in society with her husband becoming a company director must have seemed very attractive to her. However it appears to have been director in name only. While James is away at sea, Robert is stuck to pay the sailors' wives and provision the ship, and meet any debts James has incurred on behalf of the company. James makes decisions and strikes deals without ever consulting his brother, and Robert is not man enough to stand up to him and demand his respect, despite being the older sibling.

Now, those awful chickens have come home to roost. As a result of James's misfortunes and perhaps not bothering to read the small print in his insurance contract, the Onedin Line is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy and Robert and Sarah have had to move out of their home, which has been repossessed by the bank. Sarah no doubt reviles her husband for not being a more forceful character: he is clearly no match for his younger brother. And she also sneers at him for making himself believe that Elizabeth's child is Albert's, when it is clearly not. She must wonder what kind of future lies ahead now for her own child, recently born?

And yet, she does not leave Robert, let him sink as his debt --- James's debt mostly --- drags him down. You could call that loyalty but really it's more a case of expediency. As has been pointed out to Elizabeth already, a woman with no husband has but two destinations open to her: the street or the workhouse. Neither, you would have to think, would suit Sarah. She's far too pious and prudish to go on the game --- not to mention she's hardly a beauty and not at all young --- and although she's worked in the shop, she doesn't look like the sort who's ever had to do hard, manual labour. And what of her child? With no father it would be either taken from her and put into one of those awful Victorian orphanages, or she would have to take it with her to the workhouse.

So Sarah will stay with Robert because, even though he has lost her her home and looks likely to allow the shop to follow suit, he is still her husband and still a company director (if only in name really) with some sort of prospects. And at the end of it all, you have to assume that she still loves him. Anyway, surely something will turn up before it all goes to Hell? James is, whatever she may think of him, a magician at seeing an opportunity and getting himself out of trouble, and with luck, they can ride his coattails to freedom from their current penury.

James and Anne
There's something of a rift developing between the two. Although Anne realises that her husband must do some pretty distasteful things in order to try to get out of the mess he's found himself in, and although she will as ever support him in his decisions, even if they are illegal, she draws the line at treason. And that is how she must see it, when she realises that James is transporting weapons to rebels who intend to take on the British Empire. Like most Victorian women, she is a staunch supporter of the Queen and cannot countenance anyone opposing her or her rule, so when her husband willingly helps those who would depose her, or free their land from her influence at the very least, she is shocked and finds it hard to believe.

She knew James would do anything to turn a profit, but she did not realise that he would go this far. And it may now be hard to reconcile her headstrong, ambitious and indefatigable husband with this almost mercenary she sees before her. To her, the two thousand pounds they receive for the arms --- even though every penny is spoken for back home --- must be equivalent to thirty pieces of silver. Every man has his price, it is said, and she must think that she has discovered what that of her husband is.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Season Two: "The coming of Shadows"
2.13 “Hunter, prey”


Sheridan, frustrated by how very little they know about the Vorlons despite Kosh being on the station for two years now, decides to make the ambassador his personal project, but before he can do anything he gets a coded alert from Earth: the president’s chief physician, a Dr. Everett Jacobs, is on the run with stolen information vital to planetary security, and has been tracked to Babylon 5. They are under orders to take him in, dead or alive. An Earthforce Special Agent and his team arrive to coordinate the search with B5 security, but Franklin can’t believe that Jacobs could be a traitor. He knows him, studied under him, looked up to him as a role model. Meanwhile Jacobs has arrived on the station and is trying to buy false papers, without success. He is being shadowed though he does not know it. Sheridan is contacted by a representative of General Hague, who tells him that the story being put around about Jacobs is a lie: the information the doctor has is that President Clarke’s claim that he had a virus just before the assassination of his predecessor was a complete fabrication. If this information becomes common knowledge then, or falls into the wrong hands (ie Clarke's enemies) it will be very damaging to the president, therefore Jacobs has become a target, an inconvenient would-be whistleblower who must be stopped before he can deliver his information into the hands of those who oppose the new regime back on Earth.

Hague’s people had meant for him to meet his contact off Io but that didn’t pan out so he came here on the first ship he could catch. Garibaldi and Franklin try to find him before the security forces can. The man shadowing him though has already taken him, with his gang: they’re after whatever they can sell. Sheridan manages to misdirect Agent Cranston and his team, buying some time for his two friends to locate the doctor, then gets a request for an audience with one of the ambassadors. Irritated, he asks can it wait, until he hears the request comes from Ambassador Kosh!

Having traced a fob watch Jacobs was carrying Franklin and Garibaldi find the place where he is being held, while Max, their leader, has gone to sell him out to Cranston. Garibaldi gets stabbed but then they are told by Jacobs that Max has taken the all-important data crystal which can help prove Clarke was lying about being sick, and complicit in, or responsible for the death of Santiago. Garibaldi hunts Max down and retrieves it, while Franklin conveys Jacobs to safety. Sheridan has his meeting with Kosh, who is very enigmatic but agrees to teach him, though not about him, but about Sheridan himself. Somewhat nonplussed, Sheridan is still delighted to have been able to get through to the Vorlon.

When Cranston realises that they can use Babylon 5’s internal scanners to locate Jacobs Sheridan hides him onboard Kosh’s ship. The highly sophisticated technology allows the ship to shield his lifesigns by absorbing him into its own form, so that the computer detects only one life form: the ship itself. Jacobs, in an induced coma (the only way Kosh would allow a human onboard his ship) is revived and turned over to Hague’s people, who smuggle him to safety, while Sheridan hands over the data crystal, one weapon in the war to indict and remove Clarke.

QUOTES
Garibaldi: “Stephen, the last time you vouched for a doctor friend of yours we had three dead bodies, half the station was trashed and an Ikaran war machine was burning its way through decks and shooting at everything!”

Agent: “Find Jacobs before they do, get him to dictate a sworn statement and get him off the station. Alive.”
Sheridan: “Fine. No problem. You want mayo with that?”

Trader: “I don’t give out names. It’s bad for business.”
Garibaldi: “So is having your eyeballs spooned out and served on toast! Now make with the name, cos it is getting awfully close to my breakfast!”

Kosh: “They are not ready. They would not understand.”
Sheridan: “Am I ready?”
Kosh: “No. You do not even understand who you are.”
Sheridan: "Can you help me to understand who you are?”
Kosh: "Can you help me to understand who you are?”
Sheridan: “Well I can try. Is that what you want? An exchange of information? I tell you something about me and you tell me something about you?”
Kosh: “No. You do not understand. Go.”
Sheridan: “Damn it! What do you want? What do you want from me? You know, ever since I got here I’ve had the feeling that you’ve been watching me. The record shows that you hardly ever went to council meetings until I showed up. When I was captured it was you who reached out and touched my mind. Now you call me here. Why? Just to throw me out? Are we just toys to you? Huh? What do you want?”
Kosh: “Never ask that question!”
Sheridan: “At least I got a response out of you. So what will it be, Ambassador?”
Kosh: “I will teach you.”
Sheridan: “About yourself?”
Kosh: “About you. Until you are ready.”
Sheridan: “For what?”
Kosh: “To fight legends.”

Cranston: “Perhaps you can answer my question. I want to know why we were not told about the internal scanners before and how long it will take to interface with our systems, now that we do know?”
Ivanova: “A, you didn’t ask. B, we don’t know that the systems are compatible but assuming they are, C, about two point three hours. D, at a very early stage in your life, someone should have told you that you can attract a lot more flies with honey than with vinegar. Sir.”

Sheridan: “Maybe we can call it back, escort Ambassador Kosh off his own ship and search it, even if it does mean violating Vorlon territory, but I’m up for it if you are. I’m sure it would cause a major diplomatic incident without cause, probably be all over the news, with everyone wanting to know why we did it, but…”

Agent: “Until the next time then Captain.”
Sheridan: “There’s always a next time, isn’t there?”
Agent: “You’d better pray it stays that way Captain, because as long as there is a next time there’s at least a chance we can win. Because in this war, we need all the chances we can get.”

IMPORTANT PLOT ARC POINTS
Death of a president
Arc level: Red
Here we have the first major proof that Santiago was assassinated, when Dr Jacobs’ evidence shows that the current president was fit as a fiddle, despite crying off Earth Force One with a supposed virus one day before it exploded, taking the then-president with it. General Hague is aware of the importance of such testimony and evidence, and has detailed his agents to track Jacobs to Babylon 5 and ensure Sheridan’s people find him before Earthforce Security do. A false story concocted about Jacobs intending to sell government secrets is used to paint him as a traitor, and truth to tell, until the Oval Office (or whatever equivalent serves as the office of the president of Earth) is back in the right hands he will probably remain tarnished as so. But at least he is alive.

Also it should be noted that the cover story was not entirely inaccurate; Jacobs has government secrets, some of the most important in Clarke’s administration, but rather than sell them he is trying to hand them over to the forces who will hopefully bring the usurper and his allies to book. Sheridan now sees that Hague’s intention to stand against Clarke was not just bluster: he obviously took a big risk getting involved in this, but surely felt it was worth it.

Vorlons
Arc Level: Orange
We have learned and know very little about these enigmatic aliens. Unlike the likes of the Narn, Centauri and others, they do not seem to concern themselves with the political or military goings-on in the galaxy, and seldom if ever get involved in the petty wars that are breaking out. The war between the Narns and the Centauri would probably elicit a comment from Kosh similar to that he made in “Believers” in season one: “The avalanche has already begun. It is too late for the pebbles to vote.” But Sheridan is annoyed by how aloof the Vorlon is and he wants to know more about him. This is the beginning of his journey, a journey which will lead him down dark sidepaths and into ancient history and to the very precipice of evil itself. Quite literally, as we will see later. His association with Kosh will test him to his limits, and demand everything he has.

It’s also evident that the Vorlon is testing the human, to see if he is worthy. For what, we are not told, but it’s obviously very important. He seems disappointed in Sheridan, telling him he does not understand. To a degree, this mirrors Sheridan’s own tale of the Dalai Lama, which he related upon taking command of Babylon 5. Kosh does however seem stung by the phrase “what do you want?” perhaps because it is what Mr. Morden asks, and is indicative to the Vorlon of darker desires and designs.

We find out in this episode for the first time a) that Kosh has his own ship and b) that it is a living organism. Maintenance crews who attend it in Hangar 13 (hah!) claim it talks to them in their sleep, Jacobs says while onboard the ship it sang to him. Its outer skin changes and ripples like that of a chameleon, and parts of it can stretch, elongate and form into other shapes. Even when Kosh is not onboard, scanners register one alien life-form, the ship itself. Kosh can I guess be seen almost as an Obi-Wan Kenobi figure: a teacher, a swami, a mentor, and like Kenobi in “Star Wars”, he will be as enigmatic and as unclear about everything he says as he can be. Must be a teacher thing. Sheridan, he tells the captain, must prepare himself to fight legends. Delenn has spoken of an ancient enemy who has returned to the planet known as Zha’dum, where they once had their powerbase. Can these two be the same entity? With the great darkness approaching, has Sheridan been chosen to fight on the side of light, as Zathras put it in season one’s “Babylon squared”? Will he be equal to the task? Time will tell.

ABSENT FRIENDS
No G’Kar or Londo this episode, after the former’s star turn and the latter’s smaller but no less full of pathos performance last, and no Delenn or Lennier either. Interestingly, there seems to be an increasing role for Zack Allan, who has been in both of the last episodes, and Joshua Cox’s Lt Corwin, who will go on to become a major character with opening title credits, is here merely called “1st technician” (what is this: Red Dwarf?) at the end. No Vir or Lennier either, in fact the only alien in the entire episode, for once, is Kosh. A very human episode, with the four main leads driving the story, and the whole thing focussed on Earth’s planetary security and the assassination of President Santiago.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

If anyone doubted my dislike, often bordering on contempt, fuelled by disappointment, of Seth Mac Farlane's comedy answer to The Simpsons, Family Guy, my recent article "Time to go? The case against Family Guy" will have cleared that up for you. It"s not that I hate the show, it's just that it could be so much better if its creator bothered to actually write, rather than just, as Blackadder once opined, getting drunk, sticking on a funny hat and trusting to luck!

But the blame can't only rest with that show. MacFarlane's other effort, American Dad, while it is marginally better, still suffers from the same contrived plot devices, poor and often tasteless humour, racism, bigotry and lazy writing as its parent show. This could not be more clearly illustrated than when recently, one of the characters actually died --- he fell off a cliff, sacrificing himself --- and not in the next episode, not in the next week, but in the very next minute he was alive again. What was the explanation you ask? None. None was offered. This overconfident, fat lazy bastard seems to think he can kill a character and bring him back to life in the same breath without all that inconvenient explaining how it was done, and people will lap it up and not ask questions?

Well not this guy, mate! I'm taking you on, MacFarlane, and I'm going to be asking the hard questions you seem unwilling --- or perhaps unable --- to answer about your two creations. We'll see how the two of them stand up to proper, intense and logical scrutiny, obviously within the parameters of both being animated comedy shows: we're not going to go mad here. But no matter what type of show you're writing, as I said in the lead piece, you have to credit your audience with some sort of intelligence and not just write whatever you want, without ever having to be called upon to explain yourself. You can do that if you're writing for yourself in your bedsit; when you write for a major television show that goes out worldwide, you have to pay attention a little more and be ready to back up your plot devices with sound pretext.

I have no real interest in featuring either show here, but what I would like to explore is both the at times staggering similarities between the two shows, and the clear evidence that Seth has not learned his lesson, and with American Dad is still churning out the same crap he got, and continues to get away with, on Family Guy.

So as a companion piece to, and follow-on from that article, in this section I will be comparing, episode to episode, season to season, the two shows, noting where the same ideas, concepts and even occasionally the same jokes are used, and asking what, if anything, the difference between the two shows are.

To be fair and not too biased, I'll also note and award points for when new ideas are used, where certain concepts, characters or themes work better than others, and decide which show wins out. In the end, I'll then make a determination as to which show is better overall, or whether each is as bad as the other.

There will not be reviews in my usual manner, and my comments will of necessity come across as biased, because after several years of watching Family Guy I have come to the inescapable conclusion that it is well past its prime, and now, watching its successor I can see the same sort of malaise creeping in as Seth’s now-legendary lazy writing takes the show by the throat and threatens to throttle the life out of it. This will happen --- there is no evidence anywhere that MacFarlane listens to his fans and tries to accomodate them, and like both his main characters he seems to think he is always right, no matter how obvious it is that he is not. But before American Dad goes down in flames and becomes a pale parody of itself, following in the footsteps of Family Guy, I want to compare like to like, and see where the rot set in, what happened when it did, and how, if at all, it could be stopped.

Stay tuned...

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

I don't wish it to seem like the tone of this journal is taking a downward turn, with my grumping about Seth MacFarlane yesterday and now this, but it occurred to me that it's been a while since I stepped over the edge of what man knows to be true, and it was time to again sample


There's no doubt that the early, original version of the show contained some absolute howlers, and in a way you can understand that: this was, after all, the fifties, and science-fiction was in its infancy, so much more so on the television. But while I could pick a fistful of rotten tomatoes out of the classic series, I wanted to go a little further up the line and look at when the series was revived, almost thirty years later. Admittedly --- and somewhat to my surprise --- many of the episodes in the revival series were good, some even brilliant (the excellent “Children's zoo”, “A little peace and quiet” (even though it's something of a remake of a classic episode) and “Examination Day”, as well as the hilarious “Wish bank” spring to mind). But there were a lot that did not make the grade, and of course I'm concentrating on one of those here.

Often, when a series, especially a classic one, is attempted after the original finishes, it can be a real mess. Look at the remakes of “The Bionic Woman” and “Knight Rider” for examples of why some things should be left to rest. But occasionally they get it right. In truth, the sort of sister series to this, The Outer Limits was also revived and generally speaking managed quite well for most of the time. But it is Serling's classic we're concerned with here, and where that fell down, when it did. Here, to be fair the first really bad episode came almost halfway through the first season of the new series, and though it's bad it's nowhere near as bad as “One for the angels”, which I featured as the first in this series. But it has some catastrophic moments.

It's even more annoying, and thrown into sharp relief by the fact that it partners one of the truly great episodes of season one, indeed the entire series, in “Examination Day”, where a young boy is found to be too clever and is sentenced to death. The “new” Twilight Zone didn't concentrate on one episode as had the classic series, but used shorter stories and put two or often three in together, so that you could have this juxtapositioning of one great story with two terrible or sub-par ones, or the other way around. I suppose at least it meant your night wasn't totally wasted: if you sat through a bad episode there might be a good one coming up after the break, so there was always hope. But sometimes these poorer episodes were so bad that they were really shown up by a good or even superb episode that either followed or preceded it. Taken on their own they might be acceptable, but when put up beside the other story they wilted like flowers in the desert.

Episode title: “A message from Charity”
Series: 1980s revival
Year: 1985
Season: One
Episode: Fifteen
Written by: Alan Brennert, from a story by Wiliam M. Lee

In this case, “A message from Charity” followed “Examination Day”, so was the comedown after that most excellent episode, and a limp ending to what could have been a really good feature. The producers would sometimes work it so that a dramatic or heavy episode would be followed by one of the lighter, more comedic ones, which helped balance things out, as in episodes 28 and 29, when the hilarious and clever “I of Newton” followed the darkly tragic Wes Craven-directed “Her pilgrim soul”. Here though, both episodes were rather heavy, neither relying on any real sort of comedy and though one was far superior to the other, they both followed a similar theme. And both featured children.

So to the story, such as it is. In seventeenth century New England, a girls lies sick, perhaps dying. As her family fuss over her, she starts to have strange visions --- odd things she has never seen before, that nobody has --- beasts of metal that roar along huge pathways ans scream like the hounds of hell. The scene changes, and we see that what she is experiencing is a sports car, flying along a highway, being shown on a television screen in the present. Another child, a boy, lies ill too, the doctors trying to treat him. His parents are told the boy has picked up a bacterial infection from stagnant water, and that there are other cases locally. His mother recalls her own mother speaking of a similar affliction in her youth, and the doctor confirms that this strain, in one form or another, has persisted around here since colonial days.

Now it's the boy, Peter's turn to see things, as he sees a woman he does not recognise leaning over him. She is dressed like a pilgrim, and even the most dull-witted among us (hey! I have an IQ any cheese sandwich would be proud of!) can figure out what's happening: the girl in the past is seeing what is her future and the boy is seeing into the past, each gazing at an unfamiliar world through the other's eyes. Under the ministrations of the doctor, Peter soon begins to recover, but the visions remain. Now he can see a young girl, who tells him (whom she cannot see, only hear) her name is Charity Payne. He asks her what year it is and she tells him 1700, though for him of course it is 1985. He rather too quickly susses that he is somehow talking to a person from the past, and that not only can she see through his eyes but taste through his lips, giving him the opportunity to expose her to the kinds of wonders of food she has never experienced before.

Of course, anyone with half a brain can see it's going to go wrong, turn sour, and so it does as Charity starts blabbering about all the things she's “seen in a dream” to her friend. Naturally, this gets back to the elders who begin to suspect --- anyone? --- that she's a witch. Peter must now work to clear her name, but in colonial America, anyone suspected of witchcraft was invariably convicted. Remember Salem? When Peter allows her to sample wine through his lips, she gets drunk and her father begins to worry. His daughter has been somewhat distant of late, and he is concerned, wondering if the fever she had been suffering from is coming back?

Too late, Peter realises he's been a selfish idiot, and that he has placed his friend from the 1700s in danger. When the Witchfinder General calls at her home, Charity is taken away and it turns out that Squire Jonas Hacker, the Witchfinder General, is using his position of power to abuse the girls who are accused of witchcraft. When she refuses to submit to his “examination for the marks of witchcraft” and runs off, he immediately denounces her as a witch and she is sent to trial.

But Peter, while researching to see how the trial turned out, though he is unable to find a record of same, does stumble across evidence of a murder perpetrated by the Squire, and when Charity, using the information Peter has given her, tells Hacker about it he backs down and she is free to go, one of the very few not to burn as a witch. In order to protect his own dark secret, the Squire, who knew anyway that Charity is no witch, takes back his accusation, in order to forestall the girl's continuing with the very specific details of the murder he committed.

Having had too close a call, Charity decides that Peter and she should no longer talk, or “see” each other, and they part. A year later, however, he is briefly contacted by the girl, to tell him she has left him a message --- a message from Charity --- at Bear Rock, where he finds a heart carved with their initials.

Why do I hate this episode?

It's an exercise in pure stupidity. Look at the facts: this guy from the twentieth century suddenly finds he can talk to a girl who lived nearly three hundred years ago, and not only does he accept this too quickly and easily, he then blithely tells her all this future history, never once getting that she is in colonial times, when such ramblings would be seen as at best madness or lies, and at worst, yeah, witchcraft. I mean, how fucking stupid is this kid? He's going to college: he should be able to work this out in an instant. Has he never watched Star Trek or Doctor Who? You never, ever tell someone their future, much less when they're living in a superstitious time like 1700s America! Not only that, he goes on to tell her about the American War of Independence and Revolution, words that, if uttered back then, would be seen as high treason! Has he no sense?

When she almost jokingly suggests how much fun it would be to tell her friend of the things she has seen, anyone with a brain would say do not under any circumstances tell anyone! Peter though, not only approves and eggs her on, as if this is some sort of game, he suggests to her things she might bait her friend with, including men walking on the moon and flying through the sky! Surely this other girl must fear for her soul, talking to a demon incarnate!

Then, not satisfied with nearly getting her burned as a witch, he wants to continue the liaison! “We'll just be more careful”, he says. Is this guy candidate for idiot of the year or something? As for Charity: first she can only hear Peter, then suddenly she can see him, see through his eyes and taste through his lips. And how is this controlled? How is it turned off, or is it ever? Does she taste everything he tastes, at the same time? What about if he pukes? Does she? And if so, would her father not worry, ask why she is getting sick? What about when he goes to the toilet? Is there a way to limit or turn off this phenomenon? And how did it get started anyway? Never explained; like much in The Twilight Zone, it just happens and you're expected to accept it.

What about the tainted water? When I watched this first, I thought Peter, hearing Charity speak of it, was going to research why the water was bad, tell her and maybe cure it. But though it's mentioned, it's not expanded on and it's relegated to the position of a very shaky plot device used to tie the two people, three centuries apart, together. And then there's the title. It makes no sense until the very last scene, when Charity reappears briefly in Peter's mind, to tell him about the message she has carved at Bear Rock. But what's the point? Yes it's romantic, and yes it reminds him of her and proves the whole thing was real, but it's very much incidental to the main storyline. If they had called it “A message from Peter” or “A message to Charity”, that would have made much more sense.

Basically, I hate this because it teeters on the very flimsy possibility that a teenage boy would be thick enough to let slip details about her future to a girl who could not possibly know such things, could not prove them and could not account for how she knew of them. I'm not sure I know anyone that stupid, and the fact that we're asked to believe this about Peter Woods annoys me immensely.

Saving graces?

Yeah, not much really, if any at all. The resolution which saves Charity from the stake is patchy and ill-thought-out. I mean, are we really supposed to believe that such detailed information exists on a man who lived, almost 300 years ago, a minor functionary in a small town in a small part of America? They had all the details? Why? They might have mentioned he was found to have murdered someone, but to have the location, the directions to the murder spot, all the data on it? Surely not. And yet without that, there is no way Charity would have been spared. I find it hard to credit that this is the device the author uses to effect the girl's salvation. Very poor.

Other than that, nothing much. As I say, the “tainted water” strand of the plot, dangled before us enticingly, is never explored or used to any great degree. The ending is clumsy and pointless, and exists really only to justify the title and to give a “happy ending” to the tale. No, I can see nothing really to praise or to save this story. The fact that it's from an actual short story makes it all the worse: if it were the concoction of some TV hack then maybe it wouldn't sting as it does, but this was actually published by an author? Oh dear God, is all I can say.

And isn't that...?

Two stars here, amid the garbage, one of whom stands out above the other. James Cromwell is understatedly powerful as Charity's father, while Star Trek Voyager's Robert Duncan McNeil --- here going under the name Duncan McNeil --- is clumsy and stumbling in his part, and comes across as egotistical, naive and arrogant: qualities that would later serve him well when he took on the role of Tom Paris.

Interesting asides

It is mildly interesting that there is a Star Trek link here, as in addition to McNeil playing Tom Paris in Voyager, Cromwell did a star turn as inventor and pioneer of space travel Zefram Cochrane in the eighth Star Trek movie, “First Contact”.

A simpler time?

Certainly the times were simpler in colonial America, and if I can grab even one decent line from this episode, it's when a shocked Peter asks “They'll hunt you down with dogs? You live in a savage time, Charity!” and she, having seen his world through his eyes, snipes back “Yes, thank God we don't have the bomb!” Touche.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

The Batlord

I don't doubt its historical significance, but every time I've watched The Twilight Zone, it's always felt dated. I think The Outer Limits doesn't get enough credit for updating the idea. Although, I kind of liked that it was never totally embraced, and so all the reruns were on at midnight on Saturdays and whatnot. Made for the correct time to be watching it.

__________________

Trollheart

The Outer Limits was a great show too, but you have to give props to the 'Zone for being the first of its kind. Of course many episodes look dated now, even the 1985 or 2000's version, but this is my alltime favourite out of any series of TZ, any era. Love this.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Goofle

Have you watched Peaky Blinders? I highly recommend it.

__________________

Trollheart

I watched two episodes, got bored and deleted all the rest. I far prefer "Ripper Street", although I hated "Whitechapel". Sometimes it works, sometimes it don't. I've so much to look at that I often give a show two or three episodes to hook me and if it doesn't I delete them. "Homeland" got me from day one, as did "Tyrant", "Dracula" and "Penny dreadful". "The leftovers" was a bit slow and suffered from Sky not being able apparently to supply episode 2 (kept giving me episode 1 in the on-demand) which made it harder to follow, but even so, I wasn't too impressed.

Watch for a feature soon on what new (to me) shows have gone down well and which ones have bombed....

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018