Intersections in Real Time | For the Second Time

] The years: 2026

[1:35] We're excited to be here. You know what else we're excited about? What's that? Trying to find those sci-fi messages that are contained within this episode. Yeah, there's a couple in this one. Yeah, we have a litmus test that we use, a three-part litmus test. Does it hold up a mirror to society? Does it give us hope that things can be better in the future? Or does it just tell us how to be better human beings to one another? Those are the things we're looking for. What is contained? I'll be honest. I'm sure this episode is full of them. I'm trying to think through it. And I'm not really sure where all they are. Okay. But that being said, Jeff, must give warnings abounding for this episode. Yes, we must. One is our obligatory spoiler warning. Now, if you've never seen this episode all the way through for yourself for the first time, cool. We've got a whole show lined up for you that you can do that. It's called Babylon 5 for the first time. Completely spoiler free. Go check it out there. Because for Jeff and I, from this point forward, anything and everything is fair game for us to talk about. In this series, quite frankly, in any other series that's, I mean, any series, it doesn't matter. Everything is on the table for us. We will hold nothing back as far as spoilers go. They could be in universe out of universe in canon non-canon whatever it is all fair game for us to talk about so you should.

[2:54] Uh not continue with this particular episode until you have gone through that show unless you just really don't care about spoilers in which case hey come along for the ride, also it occurs to me as we're sitting here in this moment uh today's episode deals with some pretty touchy stuff jeff yep deals with um themes of kidnapping, uh uh harm bodily harm torture uh mental abuse all of that sort of stuff um, is in this episode so if that's a thing for you you might want to skip this one as well but otherwise join us along because this is a i mean gosh what this episode does it's it's a it's a masterpiece it's hard but it's a masterpiece, it's uh to continue a theme we've hit the last couple of episodes it's the best episode of babylon five along with all the other best episodes exactly and for those of you who didn't read the title of this thing. Just so you know, we're watching a show, an episode called Intersections in Real Time and we're watching it for the second time. So that makes me question how real the time is. But we played a game the first time we watched this, where we would try and predict what the next episode is going to be about based on the title alone.

[4:03] Brent, what did you what did you predict this was going to be about? I said, basically, this was Chain of Command Part 2, only Babylon 5. I know what it is. Only Babylon 5, I think, does it better. They do it differently. Different, yeah. I don't, listen, Chain of Command Part 2 is a great episode. It's a tour de force episode. This episode, also just fantastic. And they're very different. And I think JMS would slap me if I said that they were the same. They're not the same by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, I think this one did it better. I said that this would also be Garibaldi trying to atone for what he did. And in doing so he would be the one who goes to rescue uh captain sheridan, and i said that actually this episode should be retitled and the title of this episode should be jeff, the redemption of michael garibaldi oh that's what okay that's not what happens no it's really it's really not no how about you what'd you say so i thought that this was going to be the interrogation of john sheridan but i also thought that, garibaldi was going to get onto babylon five He's going to talk Zack down and essentially get arrested instead of shot, like Ivanova said. And the episode would primarily be a back and forth showing how the Clark regime interrogates and questions and treats its prisoners compared to how the Babylon 5 resistance crew interrogates and treats their prisoners. That'd be an interesting episode.

[5:29] I thought the B story, the B plot in this one would be Delenn and Lanier trying to figure out how to bust Sheridan out. And we'd get a chance to see Lanier bust out his third feign of Chidomo karate to do some damage. That also would have been really cool. Not necessarily seeing Delenn and Lanier do some stuff, but just seeing Lanier bust out his feign of Chidomo stuff. That's just always awesome. It's always great. Well, Jeff, that's what we predicted the episode was about. We were right in some cases, wrong in many others. But what did we think about the episode the first time around? I'm apprehensive about this. I got feelings. Why don't we check out and see just to remind ourselves and the listening audience out there where we were the first time around on this particular episode.

[6:13] Previously, on Babylon 5, for the first time. Intersections in real time, or aka, two dudes in a room talking, literally. This episode has happened in all kinds of series, right? The interrogation, the guy being tortured. All those other series, though, that what they didn't do was end the episode with the impression that this is going to be an endless loop of constant interrogation. This episode ended with no hope. This wasn't Chain of Command, but it was Comes the Inquisitor. But do you know what it did have that Comes the Inquisitor had? Wayne Alexander. Isn't that powerful? William is the worst kind of evil in my mind. He's the kind of evil that just is following along, just doing his job, not asking questions and doing horrible things willingly and kind of having a good time at it. Apparently he's not that good at it. The idea that he's laying on the floor next to the drain, which is in the middle of the floor, is foreboding is all get out what did they plan this room for oh it's exactly.

[7:18] What this room is planned for yeah he got sick from the corned beef, you know so at some point they came in they hosed the room down or whatever changed his clothes for him that's what i was gonna say did they change his clothes because they sure looked like the same clothes these are the things i was thinking of like he's sitting there in urine soaked pants he's just sitting there in squishy bottom pants There was no marker of how long this has been. The only marker that we had was his beard. They have this story that they have crafted that Sheridan, a war hero with psychological distress has gone.

[7:55] To the enemy. What do you call that? Like Stockholm Syndrome or something? Yeah. They call it Minbari War Syndrome. That's the storyline that they are trying to force out of him, truth or not, to the point that they wrote his confession for him. Whenever anybody writes your confession for you, that is not a confession. Call the red flag. But you can tell this is not something that they're saying, that they're confessing to. Last week we talked about Ivanova talking about the person is expendable, but the job is not. And in this one, we saw Sheridan living that. I'm going to do what I have control of. And what I have control of is telling you no. And I will die knowing that I said no to the very end.

[8:43] That's some heavy stuff, man. Yeah, appropriately so. Yeah. What do you say we watch this one for the second time now? Let's do that. I've got a couple things that JMS said about this that I think are appropriate as we dive in. Oh, okay. First off, this was actually originally intended to be the season four finale. We've brought that up a couple of times. But about the title, he says, each act took place in real time. There are no time jumps. The conversation happened as it happened since you had act breaks in between them those became the intersections in real time so the only time jumps were when we went to commercial break, and those could have been for minutes or days we will never know, is that it that's it all right so let's do it let's watch we're gonna bring the episode up we're gonna watch it we're gonna talk about it while it's going on for youtube we're gonna edit it like a reaction video you can, watch that of course if you want to see the full and unedited version of us watching the episode and commenting on everything the the rabbit holes we go on the the things that just don't quite make that final cut we post that on our patreon page at patreon.com slash bad nerds, and if you guys want to.

[9:58] Listen to this episode on an audio podcatcher or something like that well never fear you're not going to miss a single thing because we're going to take all of that same audio all of those conversations, we're going to drop it in. You're going to catch all the stuff on the backside. So Jeff, with that, let's dive into this episode. Yeah, here's that foreboding is F. Captain, I just thought you should know. They've got your dad, John. I wonder if they let just, just like, all right, Bruce, we'll see you. It's Friday. We'll see you on Monday. Don't shave this weekend. Are you currently taking any medication? Have you had any trouble with your heart?

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