Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Classics: B5 1:16 - Eyes

Plot Synopsis:

Just as Sinclair receives word that a station orbiting Mars has been attacked (allegedly by Martian separatists), his attention is diverted by the arrival of Colonel Ari Ben Zayn, who claims that he has been authorized by the Joint Chiefs to conduct an investigation to ascertain the loyalty of Babylon 5's command staff.

When Sinclair, Ivanova, and Garibaldi assemble to speak to Ben Zayn, Ivanova objects at once to the presence of Ben Zayn's companion, Psi Corps military specialist Harriman Gray, pointing out that regulations prohibit the use of telepathic scans in routine investigations. Ben Zayn informs Ivanova that the regulations were recently changed and declares that everyone on B5's senior staff will be required to submit to a scan. He then summarily assigns Garibaldi to his detail and leaves. Ivanova, angry, strenuously refuses to submit to a telepathic scan, and Sinclair assures her that he will look into the exact wording of the relevant regulation.

Ben Zayn orders Garibaldi to pull up all the files the security chief has gathered on the command staff, which Garibaldi reluctantly does. It becomes apparent immediately that Ben Zayn is gunning for Sinclair in particular, as he begins to openly question Sinclair's command decisions. Worried, Garibaldi gives Sinclair the heads up regarding Ben Zayn's evident intentions. Meanwhile, Ivanova has a nightmare about her mother, and, fearing she has no other alternative, she stops by Sinclair's quarters in the middle of the night, resignation in hand. Sinclair, however, believes he has found away to avoid scans of the senior staff and declines Ivanova's resignation. He asks her why she is so afraid to be scanned, and Ivanova replies that the intimacy she shared with her mother is private and should never be intruded upon.

The following day, Sinclair is forced to submit to a round of questioning, but he does manage to avoid a scan by reminding Ben Zayn that such scans can only be used to determine the truth of an officer's responses - and only when specific charges have been levied. The new regulation, Sinclair says, does not allow use of scans for general loyalty tests. Defeated for the moment, Ben Zayn agrees to conduct his first interrogation without the presence of Gray. Garibaldi stands by as a witness as Ben Zayn grills Sinclair about such matters as the Ragesh III incident and the recent dock workers' strike.

Then Ivanova calls in from the C & C regarding a matter that urgently needs Sinclair's attention. Ben Zayn demands that Sinclair let Ivanova handle it, and Sinclair finally stands up and refuses to allow Ben Zayn to disrupt ordinary station business. In response, Ben Zayn accuses Sinclair of disloyalty and relieves him of command. Only Garibaldi's intervention prevents Sinclair from punching Ben Zayn in the mouth.

When Ben Zayn takes control of the C & C, Ivanova assigns another officer to her post and flees. When Garibaldi catches up to her, she tells him she's decided to take him up on his offer of a drink. Garibaldi tells Ivanova that he will meet her in the casino in ten minutes; first, he has to do a little digging on Ben Zayn. A web search ultimately reveals that Ben Zayn is good friends with Bester - and that Ben Zayn was one of Earthforce's top choices for Sinclair's post at B5 until the Minbari intervened. Garibaldi and Sinclair conclude that Ben Zayn's "investigation" is Bester's revenge for what happened during Mind War.

Garibaldi collects an intoxicated Ivanova from the now trashed casino (heh), and they both head to Ben Zayn's second interrogation of Sinclair. There, Sinclair asks Gary if Ben Zayn will be scanned as well, then proceeds to bait Ben Zayn by asking him about Bester and the fact that Ben Zayn was passed over for the post at B5. Gray, who has never been particularly loyal to Ben Zayn, immediately senses Ben Zayn's personal feelings of hatred, and when he voices his objection, Ben Zayn strikes him and pulls a gun on Sinclair and the others. Gray telepathically attacks Ben Zayn, and Ben Zayn is subdued. The witch hunt is over.

There is also a side plot in which an over-eager Lennier becomes fascinated with Garibaldi's vintage motorcycle and, while Garibaldi is busy dealing with the events detailed above, manages to assemble it with a little help from the computer's archives.

Overall: 6.7

The performances pull this episode below its rightful mark.

Writing: 7.5

Like Mind War, this episode deserves credit for providing us with some essential information regarding the deteriorating situation on Earth. We see, for example, that Bester has managed to further insinuate himself into the upper echelons of power. We also learn of the growing unrest on Mars and of the factions that are arraying themselves against President Santiago. All of these set-ups will be paid off in time, which is what is so enjoyable about this show.

I don't find Ben Zayn an interesting character in the slightest (more on why in a moment), but the characterization of Harriman Gray is actually quite good. By this point, we've been trained to distrust the Psi Corps, but Gray's apparent sincerity reminds us that individual members of the Corps have not been entirely free to act as they will - that their career choices have been severely curtailed by EA law.

In other news, Lennier is so cute. It's totally obvious why he and Vir become friends.

Acting: 5.5

As I recall, my co-author recently complained that Ed Wasser played his used car salesman card too soon. I don't necessarily agree. If you want to see a card being played too soon, take a look at Gregory Martin's portrayal of Ben Zayn in this episode. Pure evil all but drips from Ben Zayn's pores (and it's not the fun kind of evil that we'll see with Emperor Cartagia a few seasons hence); quite frankly, Martin is so over the top here that you begin to question why Gray takes so long to notice that his commanding officer is a certified loon. And unfortunately, Martin's melodrama bleeds into both Michael O'Hare's and Claudia Christian's performances as well. The lone bright spot in the cast this time around is Jeffery Combs - yes, that Jeffery Combs - whose rendering of Harriman Gray is, by comparison, a masterpiece of subtlety.

Message: 7.0

This episode is one of the earliest to explicitly tackle what will be a continuing theme in the series as a whole: the precarious balance between our security and our civil liberties. It should be noted that, in light of the disturbances around Mars, Sinclair at first seems willing to cooperate - up to a point - with Ben Zayn's investigation. In this way, he seems to implicitly accept - correctly, I feel - that the military brass has the right to look into an inferior officer's affairs. Where Sinclair draws the line, though, is also quite correct. Our interior musings should remain our own; there will never be a call to bring in the Thought Police.

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