Babylon 5 speculation and more Buffy filk
Aug. 23rd, 2003 04:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakMy heat-induced insomnia is back. So, first a Babylon 5 speculation, caused by the points about Sheridan in the later seasons which ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hobsonphile raised. What if Sheridan had remained dead after Z'ha'dum? Kosh II might have sounded like a callous bastard when telling Delenn that Sheridan's part was done, but I wonder… was it? (Not that I'd ever recommend writing people off just because they're not necessary for cosmic events anymore.) Presumably, despite early difficulties, Delenn, Ivanova and the others could have kept the Alliance together. The Vorlons would have revealed themselves as just as ruthless as the Shadows in any case, which would have helped foster the "no choice between the two of you" attitude. Moreover, much as Lorien turning up smacks of a deus ex machina no matter how you turn it, he's canon, and since his motivation for showing up was being appalled how much things between Shadows and Vorlons had gotten out of hand, giving Sheridan a lift as well was not necessary. It would have been interesting, though, to see how he would have been received given that without Sheridan's resurrection, Garibaldi's paranoia would have been seen as the far more reasonable attitude.
So, while I guess the outcome of the Shadow war would have been the same - how about Earth? Again, I suppose with Ivanova substituting for Sheridan as leader, the end would have been much the same… but on the other hand Ivanova might not have been ruthless enough to use the telepaths to disable Clark's ships. Might have taken longer, then, but given that there was internal resistance against Clark's dictatorship within the population (Mars rebellion), the military and even the Psi Corps (though it would have been really interesting to see whether Ivanova and Lyta would have managed to work with Bester post-Z'ha'dum or whether that alliance would have been cancelled long before Face of the Enemy), I'd say the overthrow of Clark & Co., two, and the return to democracy on Earth would have happened without Sheridan.
The Alliance afterwards was mostly Delenn's brainchild anyway, and let's face it, Sheridan's first year in office wasn't exactly distinguished by brilliance. Sheridan put Lochley in an impossible situation by allowing Byron & Co. on board against her judgement while simultaneously not providing any back-up once she had to deal with the consequences. And asdeborah_judge pointed out, Lennier bringing back evidence that seemed to implicate the Centauri (- if Lyta had been the first to report back with her evidence, it might have made all the difference to save Londo from a life with the Keeper and the Centauri from a "bombing into the stone age" and 17 years of Drakh-induced isolation -) was the direct result of the Sheridan/Lennier/Delenn situation, which would not have arisen with a dead Sheridan.
Any contradicting or supporting thoughts?
Meanwhile,andrastewhite and self have made progress with our Trio: The Musical project (any title suggestions would be welcomed), aka Those Scenes of Once More, With Feeling Which Joss Wouldn't Show Us. Here's another excerpt, this time of the scene where the three frame Xander for Andrew's summoning of Sweet.
Melody: Impossible, from A Funny Thing Happened On the Way To The Forum, by Stephen Sondheim.
XANDER passes the TRIO, which is preparing to brainwash him.
XANDER
Why did they look at me that way?
WARREN (to Andrew, curious)
Why did you look at him that way?
XANDER (shrugging)
Must be my imagination!
JONATHAN (starting the hypno spell)
Xander Harris, you're a zero,
You're just like us…
XANDER
Impossible!
WARREN (joining Jonathan)
You're a loser, not a hero;
Don't make a fuss!
XANDER
Impossible!
ANDREW (to himself)
Though he does have a nice chest…
XANDER
This must be some kind of test…
JONATHAN
You're an average boy at best…
ANDREW
Poor old fellow…
JONATHAN
Look, we're on a kind of quest!
XANDER (not yet under)
Which you should forget - impassable!
WARREN
So, before you get a wife
You imagined her - irascible!
ANDREW (finally getting in on the act)
Romping through the library,
You did summon…
XANDER
Will you jokers let me be?
JONATHAN
Harris, just give in to me!
XANDER
What?
Impossible!
WARREN (to Jonathan)
Why does it take so long this way?
JONATHAN
Look, it just has to be this way!
XANDER
I demand an explanation!
WARREN (glaring at Jonathan)
Women often want some music,
You summoned Sweet - it's possible!
JONATHAN (making a renewed effort with the hypno magic)
You only want a happy ending,
So summoned Sweet - it's possible!
ANDREW (proudly)
That really took some demon lore!
XANDER (struggling, but showing signs of influence at last)
…will not take this anymore…
ANDREW (to Jonathan)
It's working - nifty!
XANDER (getting caught up in the spell, but still arguing with his internal logic)
Then again, I'm not my father,
I ought to trust - impossible!
WARREN
Then again, you're such a lapdog,
Which makes it just - so possible.
JONATHAN
Without Sweet, you're ill-at-ease…
XANDER
I don't feel well…
JONATHAN
So you summoned him, and please…
(JONATHAN pulls out some powder with amnesia-provoking qualities and throws it in XANDER'S face).
JONATHAN (continued)
Just forget about us…
XANDER
Sneeze!
He does so, while the Trio hastily withdraws into hiding. Xander shakes his head, looks left and right, tries to think. Then, as if something finally dawns on him:
XANDER
The situation's fraught,
Fraughter than I thought,
With horrible,
Impossible,
Possibilities!
Happy now, [Bad username or site: butterfly? @ livejournal.com]
Season Four - Many people don't like you because
you're dating the wrong guy, but I'll admit to
finding you my favorite. You're still a
college kid, but you're smarter than ever, and
your episodes are turning out better and
better, showing an edge that we didn't know you
had. Your best episode is
"Restless," a perfect cap to the
Scooby dynamic.
Which Season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Not bad for this later-seasons-of-Buffy lover, though I had the same problem likehonorh did - my favourite characters, Buffy and Dawn, weren't offered as options in the last question. Also, since season 4 is already slowly but surely gaining within the fandom, I would have loved to be have been the currently much maligned 7. Otoh, Restless - how can I resist?
hobsonphile raised. What if Sheridan had remained dead after Z'ha'dum? Kosh II might have sounded like a callous bastard when telling Delenn that Sheridan's part was done, but I wonder… was it? (Not that I'd ever recommend writing people off just because they're not necessary for cosmic events anymore.) Presumably, despite early difficulties, Delenn, Ivanova and the others could have kept the Alliance together. The Vorlons would have revealed themselves as just as ruthless as the Shadows in any case, which would have helped foster the "no choice between the two of you" attitude. Moreover, much as Lorien turning up smacks of a deus ex machina no matter how you turn it, he's canon, and since his motivation for showing up was being appalled how much things between Shadows and Vorlons had gotten out of hand, giving Sheridan a lift as well was not necessary. It would have been interesting, though, to see how he would have been received given that without Sheridan's resurrection, Garibaldi's paranoia would have been seen as the far more reasonable attitude.So, while I guess the outcome of the Shadow war would have been the same - how about Earth? Again, I suppose with Ivanova substituting for Sheridan as leader, the end would have been much the same… but on the other hand Ivanova might not have been ruthless enough to use the telepaths to disable Clark's ships. Might have taken longer, then, but given that there was internal resistance against Clark's dictatorship within the population (Mars rebellion), the military and even the Psi Corps (though it would have been really interesting to see whether Ivanova and Lyta would have managed to work with Bester post-Z'ha'dum or whether that alliance would have been cancelled long before Face of the Enemy), I'd say the overthrow of Clark & Co., two, and the return to democracy on Earth would have happened without Sheridan.
The Alliance afterwards was mostly Delenn's brainchild anyway, and let's face it, Sheridan's first year in office wasn't exactly distinguished by brilliance. Sheridan put Lochley in an impossible situation by allowing Byron & Co. on board against her judgement while simultaneously not providing any back-up once she had to deal with the consequences. And as
deborah_judge pointed out, Lennier bringing back evidence that seemed to implicate the Centauri (- if Lyta had been the first to report back with her evidence, it might have made all the difference to save Londo from a life with the Keeper and the Centauri from a "bombing into the stone age" and 17 years of Drakh-induced isolation -) was the direct result of the Sheridan/Lennier/Delenn situation, which would not have arisen with a dead Sheridan. Any contradicting or supporting thoughts?
Meanwhile,
andrastewhite and self have made progress with our Trio: The Musical project (any title suggestions would be welcomed), aka Those Scenes of Once More, With Feeling Which Joss Wouldn't Show Us. Here's another excerpt, this time of the scene where the three frame Xander for Andrew's summoning of Sweet. Melody: Impossible, from A Funny Thing Happened On the Way To The Forum, by Stephen Sondheim.
XANDER passes the TRIO, which is preparing to brainwash him.
XANDER
Why did they look at me that way?
WARREN (to Andrew, curious)
Why did you look at him that way?
XANDER (shrugging)
Must be my imagination!
JONATHAN (starting the hypno spell)
Xander Harris, you're a zero,
You're just like us…
XANDER
Impossible!
WARREN (joining Jonathan)
You're a loser, not a hero;
Don't make a fuss!
XANDER
Impossible!
ANDREW (to himself)
Though he does have a nice chest…
XANDER
This must be some kind of test…
JONATHAN
You're an average boy at best…
ANDREW
Poor old fellow…
JONATHAN
Look, we're on a kind of quest!
XANDER (not yet under)
Which you should forget - impassable!
WARREN
So, before you get a wife
You imagined her - irascible!
ANDREW (finally getting in on the act)
Romping through the library,
You did summon…
XANDER
Will you jokers let me be?
JONATHAN
Harris, just give in to me!
XANDER
What?
Impossible!
WARREN (to Jonathan)
Why does it take so long this way?
JONATHAN
Look, it just has to be this way!
XANDER
I demand an explanation!
WARREN (glaring at Jonathan)
Women often want some music,
You summoned Sweet - it's possible!
JONATHAN (making a renewed effort with the hypno magic)
You only want a happy ending,
So summoned Sweet - it's possible!
ANDREW (proudly)
That really took some demon lore!
XANDER (struggling, but showing signs of influence at last)
…will not take this anymore…
ANDREW (to Jonathan)
It's working - nifty!
XANDER (getting caught up in the spell, but still arguing with his internal logic)
Then again, I'm not my father,
I ought to trust - impossible!
WARREN
Then again, you're such a lapdog,
Which makes it just - so possible.
JONATHAN
Without Sweet, you're ill-at-ease…
XANDER
I don't feel well…
JONATHAN
So you summoned him, and please…
(JONATHAN pulls out some powder with amnesia-provoking qualities and throws it in XANDER'S face).
JONATHAN (continued)
Just forget about us…
XANDER
Sneeze!
He does so, while the Trio hastily withdraws into hiding. Xander shakes his head, looks left and right, tries to think. Then, as if something finally dawns on him:
XANDER
The situation's fraught,
Fraughter than I thought,
With horrible,
Impossible,
Possibilities!
Happy now, [Bad username or site: butterfly? @ livejournal.com]
Season Four - Many people don't like you because
you're dating the wrong guy, but I'll admit to
finding you my favorite. You're still a
college kid, but you're smarter than ever, and
your episodes are turning out better and
better, showing an edge that we didn't know you
had. Your best episode is
"Restless," a perfect cap to the
Scooby dynamic.
Which Season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Not bad for this later-seasons-of-Buffy lover, though I had the same problem like
honorh did - my favourite characters, Buffy and Dawn, weren't offered as options in the last question. Also, since season 4 is already slowly but surely gaining within the fandom, I would have loved to be have been the currently much maligned 7. Otoh, Restless - how can I resist?
