| Episode: | 74 | | | Writer: | J. Michael Straczynski | | | Director: | Stephen Furst | | | Air Date: | 17-Feb-1997 |
This week on Sci-Fi Adventures I am writing about Babylon 5 episode 74: The Illusion of Truth. Doesn't sound like a particularly interesting number, but the series has 110 regular episodes, so that means after this I'll be two-thirds of the way through!
The Illusion of Truth was the first episode to be directed by Vir actor Stephen Furst. Not just the first Babylon 5 episode, but the first episode of anything. Though he had already directed (and written, and starred in) a movie called Magic Kid II. Furst went on to direct a couple more episodes of B5, both of them breaking the show's usual format, and then he went and did a couple of episodes of the spin-off, Crusade, as well.
I sometimes point out similarities between Babylon 5 and Deep Space Nine, but this is one case where things worked out differently. Four actors from DS9's main cast went on to direct episodes of their own show, same with Star Trek: The Next Generation and Voyager weirdly, but Stephen Furst was the only Babylon 5 actor to ever make the jump.
SPOILER WARNING: I'll be spoiling this episode scene by scene and if I think of any other episodes that need a good spoiling along the way, well I'll be spoiling them as well. Don't worry though if you're watching through the series for the first time, as I'll not spoil anything that happens next.
I'm also a bit surprised that Babylon 5 is able to carry out repairs on these ships considering they're far more advanced than Earth or even Minbari technology. I suppose they're just plugging in new parts shipped over from the Ranger production lines, but I can't imagine any of those Koshes sitting down to write a Haynes manual for them.
For the first time this season there's no personal log voice over (or news broadcast) in the teaser or first act so Sheridan has to talk to Ivanova in an actual conversation to give us exposition about their situation. Turns out that they've had a real drop in traffic since President Clark banned Earth ships from travelling to the station and that's bad because they need the money from the commercial transport fees to keep the lights on.
Right now though Sheridan's more preoccupied thinking about his family back home. Last he heard from them there were strangers in town asking questions and now with the embargo he can't get messages anymore.
Ramirez informed Zack that they have some visitors in the docking bay who are refusing to allow their cargo to be searched, so he decided to whip out his PPG and open fire. He hits the lock dead on and Ramirez complements him on his aim, setting up the classic 'You don't know what I was aiming for' joke.
This is a brand new Ramirez by the way.
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| 2-11 - All Alone in the Night |
Hang on, something's just occurred to me: all the Earthforce officers on the station got new uniforms when they split from Earth, the security officers too, but did the pilots get a new uniform? I'm not sure we've even seen a pilot since Severed Dreams.
You know who definitely hasn't got a new uniform recently? Zack. Despite taking Garibaldi's job last episode he still hasn't got a proper black army of light outfit yet.
Turns out that the visitors Zack and his team have been treating less than professionally are also ISN reporters, and the one they've been yelling at informs them they've just made the evening news. All Zack can do is try to grin for the camera.
You got no one to blame for this but yourself Zack! Maybe next time you won't be a cocky belligerent asshole when you're dealing with situations.
ACT ONE
They're just moving some of them to another freezer due to mechanical issues, it's nothing serious, but it's apparently important enough to the story that we need to be in the loop as well. We heard about the telepaths last episode as well, in fact Bester had a whole monologue down by the cryo chambers, and I'm not sure that it's just a fortuitous coincidence. The series doesn't generally do 'previously on' montages so it has to remind viewers of things the hard way.
Just then they hear a beep and they both reach for their link because they don't know which went off! That's nice touch, I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often. They need their own ringtones.
He's Dan Randall, ISN News, and he's really not happy by the way he's been treated here. Ivanova apparently threatened to throw him out of an airlock if he didn't give her a manifest of his equipment... man she's as bad as Zack is! I'm suddenly reminded of the last time an ISN reporter dropped by, in season 2's And Now for a Word. Franklin had a whole monologue in that episode on the subject of how making jokes about throwing people out of airlocks isn't funny, because he's seen it happen and it's a horrific way to die. Ivanova thinks they're hilarious though.
Sheridan is outraged when he learns that Ivanova said she'd drag Randall out by the collar and admonishes her right there on the spot. The station's supplies are limited so she needs to take the jacket off first, then she can toss him out into the cold abyss.
Man, he's as bad as Ivanova is! I get that Randall is a representative from the propaganda wing of the Clark administration and he's been caught trying to sneak recording equipment onto B5, but he's not Bester, so maybe they could tone it down a little?
Randall admits that there's no such thing as an unbiased reporter and that ISN is especially biased lately, but claims that he and few others stayed there to try to get as much truth through as possible without being caught. He makes the case that even a little truth is better than none and if they don't appear on camera to represent their point of view then there'll be no truth. I would've assumed that a little truth just makes a lie more believable, but I'm sure Randall knows what he's talking about.
Here's a question, if Dan Randall's an ISN reporter, then wouldn't they be familiar with him already? Or couldn't they at least check his previous reports to see what they're like? See how much truth usually gets through in one of his stories.
But Garibaldi's not all that impressed with yet another person sitting in the chair opposite him, feeding him a story and thinking that he'll be dumb enough to swallow it. Oh sorry, hang on...
They picked a good spot to film this because it's really hard to tell that they're in the Zocalo set. At least, I think that's where they are. Wherever it is, they spent a lot of money on it, with all the extras walking by in the background.
Anyway, Garibaldi's figured out that the client has hidden priceless artefacts inside this worthless statue and explains exactly how he reached that conclusion. But he's still going to do the job and find it for him, in exchange for 15% of everything that's inside the thing. Man, it's like the uniform was constraining his true power or something. Sheridan and Ivanova aren't fools but it's clear that B5 is operating without its primary bullshit detector right now.
Just then Lennier drops by to have a chat with him. He's curious about why he quit, but Garibaldi really does not want to be thinking about Sheridan right now.
Sheridan's here to see Lennier though, as he's got a job for him: escort Mr Randall around the station and make sure he sees the unbiased truth. Lennier tries to get out of it, but ultimately gives in and takes the job. Even though he doesn't work for Sheridan or the Rangers and probably has other things to do with his time.
He hears a voice saying "You work for no one but us," over and over, which I suppose explains why he went freelance, though not why it took him so long to quit. Maybe the message he got last episode was a trigger for this pre-installed instruction.
ACT TWO
Though there's nothing unintentional about the way the camera drones keep buzzing around Lennier's head and bumping into him. Seems that someone there's having some fun with the remote control (I think it's the woman on the left with the fancy iPad, though metal stick guy's also a candidate). I guess they're one of those people who still have an issue with the Minbari after the war, either that or they're just a dick.
(Incidentally Zack's behaviour in the docking bay and Lennier's reaction here don't actually make it to the final cut of the ISN report. Too easy I guess!)
Lennier explains that the lurkers here came in search of a better life and then got stuck when they ran out of money. I feel like we knew that already, but it's nice to get a reminder sometimes. Plus we get some new information: Sheridan has instituted work programs to help them earn money. He's finally doing something to help get people out of Down Below!
We see the camera drone watching as Franklin gets a message that the cryo units are ready for restart, then there's a flash and it cuts to a still photo of him talking on his link:
So that's probably something we should be concerned about. Some actual drama in the episode at last!
Next the episode cuts to Sheridan and Delenn being interviewed in his quarters, both sitting on his ultra-comfy looking couch.
This time the other guy's using the fancy iPad so now I'm sure that's the remote control. Anyone gets headbutted by a drone in this scene and it's definitely on him.
You can tell that Randall's trouble because he's being very nice to them, unlike the last reporter that dropped by. He hasn't even tried to make Delenn cry! Instead he's letting them dig their own graves by giving them plenty of opportunities to say things like "We will make them understand," and "Anything that gets in the way, disappears." The episode's not even hiding how bad an idea this interview is, it's called The Illusion of Truth.
And there's another photo from the creepy camera.
Randall just wants to have a quick chat with Garibaldi before he leaves, no camera crew, just the two of them. Garibaldi's really not interested however... except maybe he is? He's definitely giving it some thought.
Then there's a bit of a time jump, though it's not entirely obvious at first that it's almost two weeks later and the ISN report is about to air.
He and Ivanova had the same idea to watch while grabbing something to eat (Delenn's there too but she's going to have to go hungry). Ivanova's a bit pessimistic about how the report's going to turn out, because she's Ivanova, but Sheridan thinks it'll work out for them. They went into it with their eyes open, used short, declarative sentences to make it harder to use their quotes out of context, and there wasn't even a crisis for once!
Sheridan goes to turn on the TV, making a joke about them probably ending up with commercials, but wouldn't that be the best case scenario? That means it's likely the last program just ended and you haven't missed anything of what you're watching! He's right though, as this is the end of act two.
ACT THREE
They've got a new title sequence since And Now for a Word, which starts out in the stars and then zooms right in to Earth and the Moon. Well, mostly just Earth.
The virtual newsroom looks different as well, though they couldn't resist putting those slats from Sheridan's office all over the background again.
Good news, by the way: 75% of Mars has been reclaimed by Earthforce troops!
It's apparently been 259 days since Mars broke away from Earth, which seems a bit low. Babylon 5 broke away about a year ago now and I thought Mars beat them to it. Anyway, Earth has liberated New Vegas, to the cheering of the citizens! Give me a first person RPG called Babylon 5: New Vegas and I'll be cheering too. To celebrate, curfew has been extended until 9pm today!
I like that very 'Would you like to know more?' message on screen by the way. It's very Starship Troopers, which incidentally came out 9 months after this and is set during the exact same century!
Paul Jarrico, Dalton Trumbo and Zero Mostel were all blacklisted in Hollywood by the House Un-American Activities Committee during the 1950s. Also a guy called Larry Parks testified before the HUAC and was blacklisted himself. The names used here are obviously not a coincidence, but so many people got blacklisted back that writer jms could've actually gotten one or two the same by accident.
This still feels a bit like a Paul Verhoeven movie, except for how long it goes on for. It doesn't make a point and move on, it forces you to listen to this poor guy 'confess' for over a minute. Even when it's done we're not quite at the Babylon 5 special report yet, but here are some facts for you:
On the other hand, Bill Clinton did not create the President's Commission on the Future two years after this episode aired and we're two years late on setting up the foundations for our first Moon colony. We've still got plenty of time to set up the Psi Corps though, as it's 100 years old today. Happy birthday Psi Corps!
He begins by talking about how the Ministry of Information advised them not to go to Babylon 5, so he's reached his first lie in record time.
Then we get this shot of ships berthed outside the station, and he brings the viewers' attention to that ship parked outside. He does not mention, however, that the front of it lifts up like a car bonnet so they can do some work under the hood! It's crazy to me to see a starship this size open up like this. That thing's big enough eat an entire street a dozen houses long if it somehow managed to get it between its mighty jaws. It doesn't look like there's any habitable space in there right now though, it's just machinery.
Also they're carrying a new set of fins over, so we've got an in-universe explanation for why they've got a different looking texture on them now!
Randall says that the Minbari have been put in charge of the humans, using Lennier as an example! Sheridan was talking earlier about how they were careful not to say anything that could be used out of context, but it doesn't seem to have occurred to him that Randall could run the footage silently and put his own narration over it.
Then we get the scene of Londo ranting to Sheridan about his quarters again (I hope he got that fixed by the way), except the sound's off again and the narration reframes it as him being subservient to alien representatives.
I was curious about whether they just reused the same footage from earlier in the episode for these scenes (like they did in Falling Toward Apotheosis), or if they went to the trouble of filming it from another angle for a change. So I put two clips side by side to compare:
Stephen Furst did a pretty good job here, especially considering it was his very first episode. Plus half the scenes in this episode seem to have extras walking everywhere, so he had to manage that as well. The station's never looked busier.
He talks a bit about how the Minbari were a vastly superior force during the war and under that administration and how it caused some people to develop an inferiority complex. He compares it to Helsinki Syndrome, which was the made-up syndrome from Die Hard with the same symptoms as Stockholm Syndrome. He also compares it to cargo cults who saw people fly over in aeroplanes and assumed the pilots were gods.
They never actually outright say it, but we're deliberately led to feel like he's accusing John Sheridan, the man who saw the Vorlons and Shadows for what they were and fought for humanity's right to be free of their manipulation, of believing aliens to be a higher form of life than humans and selling us out to them.
They're coming up to another ad break, but stay tuned to see how the cryo freezers fit into Sheridan's sinister plan.
ACT FOUR
Randall starts part two of the ISN special report by talking about the White Star fleet used in B5's 'recent military campaign'. There is no "Would you like to know more?" box provided this time for people who'd like to know what the hell he's talking about there.
He points out that station resources are being used to repair and equip the warships and this is another example of alien worlds benefiting while Earth Alliance taxpayers pay the bill! The thing is, the start of the episode made it clear that B5 isn't getting any money from taxpayers. Why would President Clark be funding a rogue state that's opposed to him?
Randall also mentions the defence grid upgrades they got in GROPOS as being another piece of an interestingly curious puzzle. But we need a Rosetta stone to unlock this mystery!
Here we finally get to hear some words out of the characters' own mouths! Like "We will make them understand," and "Anything that gets in the way, disappears."
This technique of filming the host's side of the conversation separately isn't unusual in television at all; sometimes you'll want a shot of them nodding so that you've got something to cut away to during editing, or maybe you just don't want to film two angles simultaneously and end up with a camera in the shot. But it's not really considered ethical to invent entirely new questions to make the interviewees sound like they're about to go on a rampage against Earth.
Then we finally hear what Garibaldi decided to tell Randall and there's no need for clever editing or narration this time. No need for a camera drone either I guess, as he didn't have his crew with him (unless they were called in off-screen).
Last episode, in Epiphanies, Garibaldi told Sheridan he might not be doing things the right way and Ivanova asked him what he thought they should do. He didn't have any suggestions, he just wanted to quit. Now he's acting like he's been ignored. He says he felt he had to quit as he wasn't comfortable with things as they were.
Randall points out how very weird it is that Sheridan's keeping all these people on ice and he's not wrong. He's really stumbled onto a goldmine here.
We get a close up of a couple of the names, starting with Carolyn Sanderson. Man I wonder how Bester feels about the love of his life being televised like this. I bet he's probably laughing his ass off at how badly B5 got played.
We also see a close up of this guy's cryogenic locker:
I like the unnecessary shiny metal text by the way, they really don't want you to forget that this is the future. Even the smaller text in the middle is needlessly stylish. It's apparently written in a typeface called Serpentine, which I found out by Google searching 'Lethal Weapon poster font'.
But I think my favourite use of the font has to be...
Anyway, Randall starts putting the pieces together for us. Clearly homeless humans are being taken away and put in cryo chambers, their records removed from the computers. Meanwhile a fleet is being built outside, and you don't assemble a fleet unless you intend to use it. (So if you ever see a country with their own fleet then you know they're about to attack someone.)
He'll tell you what Sheridan's going to use his fleet for... after the break.
ACT FIVE
Now it's Franklin's turn for an interview and they're actually allowing him to speak in an unbroken take without cutting his lines up! Though what he's telling them is that they don't have anyone in cryo right now.
Randall has another chat with Dr Indiri about Minbari War Syndrome, and asks him if Sheridan could be mentally disturbed. Indiri seems to understand that it's unethical for a psychiatrist to offer a professional opinion unless he has conducted an examination... but sure, that would be his assessment from the footage he's been shown by ISN.
Interestingly they're not trying to make Sheridan out to be a bad person and trying to downplay his status as a famous war hero, instead they're saying that his self-hatred has made him want to save Earth by turning us into them. Into what his fiancée is. If it's good enough for the woman he loves, why not everyone else?
In fact Randall goes on to say the fault is theirs by failing to see his condition in time! Then he also mentions that Sheridan's parent's farm burned to the ground last week and his father's still missing. Bloody hell, that has to be the most savage way to deliver a boot to the gut across 10.5 light years I've ever seen.
And that's how Dan Randall defeated the man who ended the Shadow War.
Sheridan doesn't even acknowledge Delenn as he's too furious to do anything but stare out that window, so she follows Ivanova out at a similar pace.
He eventually heads for the door himself, but then realises he still has one last thing to do here. He walks up to the camera and turns the episode off.
Man that was a great final shot.
CONCLUSION
The Illusion of Truth is our third check in with the state of Earth's media (and Earth in general), after Infection and And Now for a Word, and it doesn't paint a particularly encouraging picture.
Showrunner jms was a journalist himself for a while, he's got nothing against reporters, but he knows how the news can use manipulative editing and leading questions to push viewers to come to certain conclusions without outright lying to them, and the episode shows off some of those techniques in action. It's like an episode of Charlie Brooker's Newswipe except without Charlie Brooker coming up with hilariously insulting descriptions for everyone. Though it also shows how propaganda does outright lie to you, and Sheridan was incredibly naive to think that giving them footage to use would do anything but make it worse. They didn't even have to edit the footage or fake anything aside from Randall's interview chair, he gave them exactly what they needed!
Sheridan hasn't quite been the same since he came back from the dead and he's a real arrogant smart-ass at the beginning with how he treats Randall. He says that reporters are worse than the Shadows, but then he's manipulated into thinking he can get some kind of win out of this situation, that he can trust Randall in any way, that a little bit of the truth is better than none. And then the episode reintroduces the reborn, larger than life Captain Sheridan to the concept of failure. He made a huge tactical error here and has learned a painful, humiliating lesson about his weaknesses.
The episode also re-establishes Clark as a threat to be taken seriously. Bester handed the crew a free victory in the first round of the propaganda war last episode, but here we're shown that Earth's not going to be a pushover, that this isn't a minor problem compared to the giants in the playground they've faced during the Shadow arc. The crew are going to have to be smarter in future, and maybe they should stop saying extremely dumb things on camera as well.
I guess Garibaldi's scenes in this episode kind of count as a B plot, and it ties in with the themes of the ISN plot. He's still just as insightful and clever as he was before his time in a Psi Corps cell, but he's just not living in the same world as the senior staff anymore. There is a little truth in everything he believes, Sheridan really is acting different, he really did trust Lorien's advice; this season has been seeded with scenes to set up exactly what's bothering him here. But his perspective of events doesn't quite line up to what's actually happened. He's living the ISN-edited version of reality right now and it's a shame because it's driving a wedge between him and Sheridan for absolutely no good reason. It seems like any effort Sheridan makes to fix this is going to be as futile as trying to get his message across on the EarthGov-controlled news.
Overall I really liked the episode and I thought Stephen Furst did a good job with the directing. The story never hides how the news report is a bad idea, the moment you see the still photos appearing you know for sure that something's up, but it doesn't quite prepare you for how savage it's going to be. Especially that last shot aimed directly at Sheridan about his parents' farm burning down. I mean, damn man! Randall really took that comedy routine about throwing him out an airlock personally I guess. You could argue that the episode's a bit heavy handed and obvious, but it has to be really or else you might not notice things like Randall's side of the Sheridan and Delenn interview being filmed somewhere else, and there's plenty of subtlety in there too.
And the moral of the story is: you can't win an argument on TV against someone who edits the TV show. Also it's generally best if you have more than one source of news to pick from and they're not controlled by the state.
COMING SOON
There's nothing stopping you coming by each week and reading one of the older reviews though. There's plenty here to leave comments under. Or you can join us in the Sci-Fi Adventures Discord, which is not going on a two month break. In fact it'll be even more active if you turn up.
They should have known Dan Randall was dodgy, because he looks like Morden's stunt double.
ReplyDeleteYou've just made me realise we could've had three years of Morden doing extreme stunts all the time for barely justified reasons and the series completely failed to deliver on that.
DeleteAnd that is why the show failed.
DeleteI suppose there are a number of good reasons for it (both in-universe and storytelling reasons), but I'd have loved to watch Marcus escort Dan around the station, talking at him constantly without saying much of anything, and then being insulted that he was cut completely from the final story.
ReplyDeleteThat'd definitely change the tone of that final scene.
DeleteI feel sorry for whoever first spoke to Ivanova after she left Sheridan's office.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm imagining Corwin hiding behind a desk and hoping she doesn't spot him.
DeleteFortunately for him I figure she's headed straight to the casino to see how much damage she can do this time.