The *reason* we had Garibaldi go through all the hoops he went through
before finally falling into the bottle is because simply having Liana
show up and depress Garibaldi isn't, frankly, sufficient motivation. I
don't buy it. We wanted to strip away everything he had, and leave him
with only *himself*. So we took away his job, his reputation, his money,
his home, neutralized his friends wherever possible...it was deliberate
and systematic to peel him down to the bare essentials, to just Garibaldi.
Take him all the way down before taking him back up again. Because it's
more dramatically interesting. It's more logical that it would take
something this major to drive him back into the bottle after staying sober
all this time. I'm sorry, I don't accept your suggestion that Liana's
"anger and accusations" would "drive him over the edge as he deals with
his guilt." He's BEEN dealing with his guilt, and her showing up wouldn't
be enough to drive him back into the bottle again. I'm sorry, but as a
producer or a story editor, I wouldn't buy that from a writer as being
sufficient motivation. Particularly not a character who's as strong and
as bull-headed as Garibaldi.

jms

What do I know about alcoholics, to portray them? Well, aside from
a degree in clinical psychology, and some internship work in the area, I
come from a family with alcoholism going back at least four generations,
and I'm talking *heavy duty*. I am, in fact, the first male Straczynski
in my branch of this particular stunted tree NOT to have this problem.

I have had far, far, far more experience with this area than I care
to recite...and from that perspective, I have no problem with Garibaldi's
portrayal.

jms