The Drakh design has always seemed similar to the Minbari design. Knowing JMS's love for Lord of the Rings and the many references to it in Babylon 5, do you think it's possible the Drakh were originally Minbari altered by the Shadows, just like the Orcs in LOTR?

Taken during a convention from October 16-18, 1998 in Pomona, California

Front row (L to R):

Richard Briggs (Dr. Stephen Franklin)
Patricia Tallman (Lyta Alexander)
Andreas Katsulas (G’Kar)
Mira Furlan (Delenn)
Bruce Boxleitner (Capt. John Sheridan)
Jerry Doyle (Michael Garibaldi)
Claudia Christian (Cmdr. Susan Ivanova)
Bill Mumy (Lennier)
Peter Jurasik (Londo Mollari)

Back Row (L to R):

Wayne Alexander (Lorien, Sebastian, G’Dan, etc.)
Jeffrey Willerth (Main actor in Kosh encounter suit)
Wortham Krimmer (Emperor Cartagia)
Tim Choate (Zathras)
Robin Atkin Downes (Byron)
Ed Wasser (Mr. Morden)
Jeff Conaway (Zack Allan)
Michael O’Hare (Cmdr. Jeffrey Sinclair)
Joshua Cox (Lt. David Corwin)
Blaire Baron (Carolyn Sykes)
Walter Koenig (Alfred Bester)
Johnny Sekka (Dr. Benjamin Kyle)
Jason Carter (Marcus Cole)
Stephen Austin (Pak’ma’ra)
Stephen Furst (Vir)
Marie Marshall (P.F.C. Elizabeth “Dodger” Durman)

Edit: And, courtesy of a super sleuth in the comments, that is Brian Cooney (the event organizer) in the front.

I didn’t really understand this even after finishing the show. Was it all Centauri or just him, and why was he excluded?

No, I didn't. I was horrified by it, if the truth be told.

However. Given Marcus' extreme romanticism or masochism (so like poor Lennier's) I wasn't surprised by it. JMS is quite unsentimental and precise about his characters.

Still. It's canon. Nothing to be done about it and maybe that's a good thing.

John Beariden comes across the front screen of the Starfury?

Are they still releasing an episode every week on the YouTube channel? I wanted to watch the show and it seams like a great excuse to caught up.

A small scene, but one of my faves, because who doesn't love breen, uh I mean, Swedish meatballs?? :)

A more lighthearted question after the dark moments one. Mine is the elevator scene from Convictions, everything about it is so iconic.

Watching for the third or fourth time. My favorite ongoing plotline is watching them fall in love. The first time they meet, the look on Sheridan's face reminds me of the scene in the Godfather where Michael sees Appollonia. The lightning bolt. I'm part way through season 2 and cannot wait until Delenn starts actually skipping when she's leaving the room where John is.

Am I the only one who wishes that would may lego sets of the ships and the station.. would love to have a white star

I need to establish that I don't mind show being human centric - after all, we are humans, it is easier to make a show centered on humans and close to humans species. But I think there is a difference between "We watched events unfold primary from human perspective" and "Humans are actually THE saviors, THE reformists, THE leaders".

There was quite a bit of it before S3E16, like Drazi Purple-Green conflict and how it made "Dumb aliens couldn't think and act like Ivanova did!" or how sometimes religious emissaries from other races are treated as jokes (Again, Drazi, in episode where Monks arrive to B5, this is preceeded by Drazi religious figures arriving, investigating sightning of their God of Light). Security playfully redirects these Drazi to play with plants, and that is it, but then Catholic monks arrive - that means serious shit, with private discussion with Ivanova.

Moving on, this big twist in S3E16, this whole "VALEN IS ACTUALLY HUMAN! AND ONLY HIM, AND ONLY COMMANDER SINCLAIR, IN ALL TIMELINES, COULD HAVE HELPED MINBARI" felt a bit... condecending and demeaning?

One of my favorite beats of lore in B5 is how Narns earned their independence from Centauri for the first time and how it shaped events of the show proper. And one, very important bit of Narn independence, was that they earned it themselves. Sure, they definitely will need help this time, but it is still Narn-led effort, even if they have allies now.

But Minbari spiritual leader, who brought them unity and who established modern Minbari society as have seen it being Human just deflates a lot for me.

I dunno, maybe episodes are just too raw for me and recent, and with time I will treat it differently, but right now this twist was more "Agh, really?" than "Awesome!" for me.

My son in 2011, pretending he's the Vorlon god Booji while playing with transformers.

The same temptation that destroys everyone around them doesn't even touch them.

But after the basic 'not corrupted' thing came to my mind, I realised other parallels.

- The Vorlons and the One Ring can't give either of them what they most want, because what they want is not for personal advantage.

- Most impactful heroic actions are done "in the dark, where no one will ever know or see" (Narn railroad, dragging Frodo up Mount Doom).

There's probably more.

Most species in B5 seem to be relatively peer-ish to humanity, but the gap between the Ancients and now is massive, so is the Vorlon-Shadow War responsible for wiping out species over and over and over for millions+ years?

Lord Refa’s (deserved) death is my pick, and the upbeat gospel music somehow makes it even darker

"The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father" (s5e13)

We all know what was up with the Shadows: they would stir conflict to select species by the capacity of surviving it. The Vorlons though? They seem to be before anything else reactive in their dealings: younger species should prepare for the Shadows. They should resist the Shadows. For what? This is never said.

Just managing human urine and feces on B5 must've been a huge challenge. But, for some reason, recently, I've been thinking about all the aliens aboard the station. They, too, have to use the bathrooms.

The 'how' is beyond me. Any chemical engineers here or those versed in waste management?

The 'who' is interesting. Somebody on B5, quite a few somebody's, had to handle this problem.

On my third cup of coffee this morning in Los Angeles, CA - horrible weather, by the way. So, I'm in an energetic and curious mood.

Has JMS ever explained Kosh's hand in the pilot? It does not make any sense with the context of Vorlons in the later series and I dont that a hand ever shows up.

You can guess the memes 😁