Toni Muller <75223.1575@compuserve.com> asks:
> When will we find out to which castes they belong?
> Was the council leader one of them?
> Is it just my imagination, or was her speech more "human,"
> perhaps due to her time on B5 or her transformation? And I ask
> myself, "Why do people let it come to this - that they must kill
> each other to resolve their differences?" I found myself saying,
> "No, it can't be; JMS wouldn't do that," Then, "Wouldn't he?" Is
> she related to the Senator?

Toni: thanks. All of the characters shine in this one, Mira in
particular as Delenn. It's a nice contrast; her speech to the Grey
Council is an intense piece of work that goes on for a while; her
declaration to the EA ships is short, to the point, and absolutely
deadly. The right tool for the right job.

I'm utterly pleased and proud of the job we did here. Partly
because it's just so nifty on its own terms, and partly because it
gives us a new level to try and beat. Up until now, I've been looking
to top "Coming of Shadows;" now the goal is to top this one...and I
think it's possible there may be one or two even this season that'll do
that, but tonally I think they're different enough that it might end up
as a tie.

I definitely wanted the close-in, hand-to-hand fighting to
personalize what's going on. It's also very logical strategically.
You send in your forces to disable or overwhelm C&C, distract them,
slip in a cadre of troops to a station that (you hope) didn't know you
were coming...then they race to C&C and seize control from inside,
shooting anyone they have to en route. If Sheridan et al hadn't known
the ships were coming in, this could've gone very differently. But
once they were in, they were in close quarters, and you want to get in
closer if you're on the defensive side so that they can't use their
weapons without cutting down their own people. After that you have to
hope you can overwhelm the intruders with sheer force of numbers. It's
an ugly, awful way to win a fight, because it *guarantees*
casualties...but what war doesn't?

Something to bear in mind when rewatching, btw...it was during
this scene that Jerry fell and broke his right arm and right wrist.
And they still had one last scene to film. He stuck it out and they
rolled film, to get the shot of him and Zack at the end of the fight.
Next time you watch it, keep an eye on the right arm as he releases the
helmet...it bends in directions never intended by evolution.

jms