Learning Curve | For the Second Time

] The year is: 2026

[1:55] Conventions, crusade, movies, whatever it is, if it's related to Babylon 5, frankly, if it's related to anything, period, We are free to talk about it all. So if you have not been through this and you need to go through it unspoiled, trust us, you do. Go find our Babylon 5 for the first time show. Just scroll up. You'll be able to get to it there. You have been warned. My warning is sincere. Ignore it at your own peril. This week, Brent, we're watching Learning Curve for the second time. When we watched it for the first time, we were playing a game where we would get the name of the episode. That's all we knew about it, and we would predict what it was going to be about. I predicted that the learning curve here would be between Sheridan and Lockley, kind of figuring out their roles, where their boundaries were, things like that. And I thought this would lead ultimately to learning more about Lockley's role in the Earth Civil War. What did you predict it was going to be about? I said that this was going to be about everybody's new jobs this season. Sheridan has a new job. Lockley has a new job. Garibaldi has a new job. Dillon has a new job. Jakar is taking in a new role. And it was just going to be about everybody kind of learning the ropes of their new jobs. Let's, if you are cool with this, let's take a minute, maybe two, and look back at some of the comments we made when we watched it the first time. Well, let's also just say that we were both very wrong.

[3:16] There is that. We were both very wrong on that production. But yeah, let's see what we actually said once we got a chance to watch it. Previously on Babylon 5 for the first time. Learning curve. Wow.

or me. I like this episode. I: 1000

[3:51] I'm almost personally offended. You're going to waste my time in the fifth season of this show with this storyline that frankly they did better in Grail? I run Babylon 5. I'm like, no, you don't sit down. Lockley and Garibaldi having it out in the room. She said, my priority is the people. And I took care of the people. That's what I did. And what she tacitly said that I heard is, and that's what I will continue to do. Tanir and Raston, dude gets the ever-loving snot kicked out of him. And then he comes up and he's got to face the Moradou. And probably Delenn's cheesiest, most corny line delivery ever.

Was awful, Oh, wait, no, it's: 1960

[5:57] Well, we're going to find out here. No, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. What did I just say there at the end? You're curious how we will look at the Minbari compared from season one to the end when we watch this the second time. Okay. So because I was just noting that. And before we watch this, let's talk about that just for a minute, if you don't mind. Because first of all, we're talking about how like they seem so wise at the beginning. And by the time we get here, they're really just a bunch of dummies. Yeah.

[6:25] JMS did that with everybody. started you believing that they were one way and then actually turn them into something else at the end totally what i don't know i know he did that specifically with jacar he did that specifically with londo, i don't know if he did that necessarily with the minbar uh with the minbari as a race and i would love to know i would love to council chambers if any of you guys know, did he intentionally make them because jeff let's just take we're we're right here at the end of season well they're at the beginning of season five but we're getting close to the end um we've done enough of this. What do we think overall of the Minbari? They're horrible. They're horrible. I've very, they, they are not to be emulated. No at all. And the things about them that are, uh, held up or could be held up are things that came from a human, that went back in time and Minbari himself. Right. Until that blew up and we had to change that all over again. I think a lot of it is a, it's, it's like.

[7:21] It's like new relationship energy right you meet that new person and you're like oh my god, everything about them the way the way they ignore me when i'm talking to oh it's so sweet the way it just turns it just turns her head a little bit that and then eventually you're just like oh my god like she never listens to me this is awful or whatever you know like the reality sets in a little bit, what that is is shifting from dopamine to serotonin for any scientists out there biologists but uh but yeah like it's that and i feel like the minbari and, i i'm gonna i'm gonna say it was intentional by jms, we're gonna hold them up we're gonna make them mysterious we're gonna make them wise like oh my gosh but as we got to know them more and more we're like oh my god you're awful you guys are not you're not okay and you've got, whatever this is you're projecting no it's just not working and i agree i agree which is why i was sitting there when they're all like, yeah, we're going to put the headquarters on Minbar.

[8:17] Nope. Because you got cheap rent? Like, why? What is it about Minbar that makes you want to do this? Frankly, I mean, I'm not saying Earth is any better of a spot to go. Practices not. There's a good question, Jeff. You need to find a home for the ISA, a capital. Where does it go? Babylon 5. Just leave it on Babylon 5. It belongs to no... It's not beholden to anything. Or, hear me out, Epsilon three. Okay. Yeah. If you need like a planetary base, yeah. Listen, with the great machine down there, I'm sure it would be very easy to build a dome. Like, think of the dome thing that was created with Encounter at Farpoint, how it was, like, just perfect, right, for the people and whatever. I'm sure the great machine. And, frankly, that would be a great use of the great machine. Yeah. It's got amazing defense or defense, however you want to say it. Like. It's built in. It's ready to rock. Right, right. Right. This is the new capital, and it's not owned by any one race. You know, I had a thought in listening to that.

[9:24] Man, you know, we made so many people so mad on our first time, and that's a them thing, not an us thing. I want to point that out, but I got a little bit mad at me in that one where I said that, you know, it wasn't this episode I didn't like. It was the culmination of episodes to this point, and it's a thing that we hammer a lot. You've only got this many episodes left or whatever. We, I think knowing, understanding that this was essentially a fully formed story from Go, you know, with some wiggle room built into it. Mm-hmm.

[9:54] Gave us expectations that I don't know are necessarily reasonable. Like what? Well, like we have this other incredible series we're watching Stargate and there are episodes in there that are just literal, like, well, there's 42 minutes. Here you go. And we don't even question it. We're just like, we look at it on its own merit. Oh, it's a cool episode. They did these things, whatever, but Babylon five and maybe appropriately. So we look at it in the context of Babylon five as a whole. And i think maybe sometimes that's not fair yes because even in a fully formed show, a fully formed idea some episodes are going to be just 42 minutes of episode some things are going to come and go some things you you start setting up and then the real life, real life production world says no yeah it just says no and you got to abandon you got to move and you got to pivot and we know that jms had to do that in a few different places right, in fact i think that's probably what mostly happened with a lot of the epsilon three stuff but when you when you tell us i've got a fully formed thing where every episode matters and every episode counts and they all play into each other and each chapter is.

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