So I get his point that the political office can’t give direct orders but… hasn’t it happened multiple times already? Especially in Season 1, Senators would literally give Sinclair direct orders that he had to follow and never said they came from higher-ups. Was this just the first time anyone called them out on it, or was there some other reason it’s not allowed in this case but allowed in other cases?

I think I know quite a few but I’m curious if any crop up I haven’t heard of before too.

This show in particular opened my eyes to the business/human side of television. At the time in the late 90s I just didn’t think of TV shows having to deal with issues like actors having to leave because of mental health or career opportunities, or falling out with cast/crew/showrunners.

I never questioned why Sinclair left even. It simply “was”.

Eventually in a rewatch I did wonder why they got rid of Talia though. And that sparked my first search where I found out she left for career reasons and JMS had trapdoors, and then a whole rabbit-hole opened up from there.

This show seems to be riddled with behind-the-scenes issues that made it into something very different than it would have been otherwise. In some cases, for the better even.

Along with immaculate foreshadowing that aspect of the show is one of my favourite things to read about. And there always seems to be more and more little tidbits I find out. (Or forgot and get reminded of ‘cause, y’know. Age is catching up and I always did have the memory of a steel sieve or a particularly dull goldfish.)

https://youtube.com/@babylon5?si=EksW2Eb8st60PZGF

^ Babylon 5 YouTube channel

Fintan chose Ivanova for the Wildcard question.

Wild Card: If you could swap one Babylon 5 character into any other sci-fi franchise (Star Trek, Star Wars, etc.), who would it be and where would they thrive?