There's no way in hell I'm recreating it here (it took me over an hour last night), so if you want to see a post with a whole bunch of icons and wallpapers from B5, it's here.

Act three of TV pilot done, act four to commence tomorrow!  Hopefully I can get this one done in a week, too.

(Eee!  I made the semi-finals!)

Day 29 - Current TV show obsession.

Is there even a question about this one?  But since it gives me a chance to proselytize, I'm still gonna answer it!

Day 24 - Best quote.

I narrowed it down to five, which considering I could make an entry for Best 50 Quotes From Arrested Development, was tough. I found it interesting that three of the five are Crowning Moments of Awesome, two of which are also Big Damn Heroes moments, one being the eponymous BDH moment, of course. These are clearly the moments that stick with me.

In alphabetical order based on show.

Angel - 2x12 - "Blood Money"



Arrested Development - 2x04 - "Good Grief."



Babylon 5 - 3x10 - "Severed Dreams"



Battlestar Galactica - 4x14 - "Blood on the Scales"



Firefly - 1x05 - "Safe"

Day 23 - Most Annoying Character



It's really not Kim Bauer's fault. I mean, she was a plot device a heck of a lot more than she was a character. But Kim highlighted probably my number one complaint throughout the years I watched 24 - the plot advancing only because characters made stupid decisions. Besides that, though, I have a hard time with any character, especially teenagers, who whine constantly about how awful their life is when their life is actually really great. Sure, Kim ends up getting kidnapped and all that, but remember - stupid decisions.

I just really dislike the trope of Action Man Caught Up In Things In Order To Save His Stupid Daughter. You see it a lot (I was so pissed about the inclusion of this in Die Hard 4, let me tell you.)

In other news, I finished the Babylon 5 series finale yesterday. Even though I knew pretty much every thing that happened in it before hand, because I couldn't wait till I was done with the show to start reading meta, I still ended up crying for pretty much the entirety of the episode. And not just, like, single artful tear rolling down my cheek crying - I'm talking hitched breath, scrunchy face, achy throat crying. It was pretty much perfect. And I'm already like, shit, I picked the wrong series finale to meme.

I have two TV movies to watch, and then I'm just going to start the show all over from the beginning. Yeah.

A few updates since I spoke with you last. The blue van just needed a new starter - it's still driving. Well? No, but it's still driving.

Tron continues to be unavailable. WTF.

Super busy with some family stuff - I haven't been on the computer much lately. Everything seems to be back to normal, though. It's been one of those weeks, yeesh.

New June Media (I will edit this post with my little calendar after I make it, but I think you'll see why I've not gotten to it yet - I'm not sure of the logistics, for one thing - once you scroll through the TV section.)

Books
29. Sin City: Family Values, Frank Miller. 6-28.

Movies
27. Robin Hood (2010). 6-23.
28. Babylon 5: In The Beginning (1998). 6-24.
29. Babylon 5: Thirdspace. 6-26.

Television Episodes
211. Babylon 5 - 2x17 - “Knives.” 6-1.
212. Babylon 5 - 2x18 - “Confessions and Lamentations.” 6-1.
213. Babylon 5 - 2x19 - “Divided Loyalties.” 6-1.
214. Glee - 1x21 - “Funk.” 6-2.
215. How I Met Your Mother - 5x13 - “Jenkins.” 6-2.
216. How I Met Your Mother - 5x14 - “Perfect Week.” 6-2.
217. Babylon 5 - 2x20 - “The Long, Twilight Struggle.” 6-2.
218. Babylon 5 - 2x21 - “Comes the Inquisitor.” 6-2.
219. Babylon 5 - 2x22 - “The Fall of Night.” 6-2.
220. How I Met Your Mother - 5x15 - “Rabbit or Duck.” 6-2.
221. How I Met Your Mother - 5x16 - “Hooked.” 6-2.
222. Babylon 5 - 3x01 - “Matters of Honor.” 6-3.
223. Babylon 5 - 3x02 - “Convictions.” 6-3.
224. Babylon 5 - 3x03 - “A Day in the Strife.” 6-3.
225. Babylon 5 - 3x04 - “Passing Through Gethsemane.” 6-3.
226. Babylon 5 - 3x05 - “Voices of Authority.” 6-3.
227. Babylon 5 - 3x06 - “Dust to Dust.” 6-3.
228. Babylon 5 - 3x07 - “Exogenesis.” 6-3.
229. Babylon 5 - 3x08 - “Messages from Earth.” 6-3.
230. Babylon 5 - 3x09 - “Point of No Return.” 6-3.
231. Babylon 5 - 3x10 - “Severed Dreams.” 6-3.
232. Parks and Recreation - 1x03 - “The Reporter.” 6-4.
233. Babylon 5 - 3x11 - “Ceremonies of Light and Dark.” 6-4.
234. Babylon 5 - 3x12 - “Sic Transit Vir.” 6-4.
235. Babylon 5 - 3x13 - “A Late Delivery from Avalon.” 6-4.
236. Babylon 5 - 3x14 - “Ship of Tears.” 6-4.
237. Babylon 5 - 3x15 - “Interludes and Examinations.” 6-4.
238. Babylon 5 - 3x16 - “War Without End Part I.” 6-4.
239. Babylon 5 - 3x17 - “War Without End Part II.” 6-5.
240. Babylon 5 - 3x18 - “Walkabout.” 6-5.
241. Babylon 5 - 3x19 - “Grey 17 is Missing.” 6-5.
242. Babylon 5 - 3x20 - “And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place.” 6-6.
243. Babylon 5 - 3x21 - “Shadow Dancing.” 6-6.
244. Babylon 5 - 3x22 - “Z’Ha’Dum.” 6-6.
245. Babylon 5 - 4x01 - “The Hour of the Wolf.” 6-7.
246. How I Met Your Mother - 5x17 - “Of Course.” 6-8.
247. Babylon 5 - 4x02 - “Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?” 6-8.
248. Babylon 5 - 4x03 - “The Summoning.” 6-8.
249. Babylon 5 - 4x04 - “Falling Toward Apotheosis.” 6-8.
250. Babylon 5 - 4x05 - “The Long Night.” 6-8.
251. Babylon 5 - 4x06 - “Into the Fire.” 6-8.
252. Babylon 5 - 4x07 - “Epiphanies.” 6-8.
253. Babylon 5 - 4x08 - “The Illusion of Truth.” 6-8.
254. Babylon 5 - 4x09 - “Atonement.” 6-9.
255. Babylon 5 - 4x10 - “Racing Mars.” 6-9.
256. Babylon 5 - 4x11 - “Lines of Communication.” 6-9.
257. Babylon 5 - 4x12 - “Conflicts of Interest.” 6-9.
258. Babylon 5 - 4x13 - “Rumors, Bargains and Lies.” 6-9.
259. Babylon 5 - 4x14 - “Moments of Transition.” 6-9.
260. Babylon 5 - 4x15 - “No Surrender, No Retreat.” 6-9.
261. Babylon 5 - 4x16 - “The Exercise of Vital Powers.” 6-10.
262. Babylon 5 - 4x17 - “The Face of the Enemy.” 6-10.
263. Babylon 5 - 4x18 - “Intersections in Real Time.” 6-10.
264. Babylon 5 - 4x19 - “Between the Darkness and the Light.” 6-10.
265. Babylon 5 - 4x20 - “Endgame.” 6-10.
266. Babylon 5 - 4x21 - “Rising Star.” 6-10.
267. Babylon 5 - 4x22 - “The Deconstruction of Falling Stars.” 6-10.
268. Babylon 5 - 5x01 - “No Compromises.” 6-10.
269. Glee - 1x22 - “Journey.” 6-11.
270. How I Met Your Mother - 5x18 - “Say Cheese.” 6-11.
271. How I Met Your Mother - 5x19 - “Zoo or False.” 6-11.
272. How I Met Your Mother - 5x20 - “Home Wreckers.” 6-11.
273. How I Met Your Mother - 5x21 - “Twin Beds.” 6-11.
274. Babylon 5 - 5x02 - “The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari.” 6-11.
275. Babylon 5 - 5x03 - “The Paragon of Animals.” 6-13.
276. Babylon 5 - 5x04 - “A View From the Gallery.” 6-13.
277. Babylon 5 - 5x05 - “Learning Curve.” 6-18.
278. Babylon 5 - 5x06 - “Strange Relations.” 6-18.
279. Babylon 5 - 5x07 - “Secrets of the Soul.” 6-19.
280. Babylon 5 - 5x08 - “In the Kingdom of the Blind.” 6-19.
281. Babylon 5 - 5x09 - “A Tragedy of Telepaths.” 6-22.
282. Babylon 5 - 5x10 - “Phoenix Rising.” 6-22.
283. Babylon 5 - 5x11 - “Day of the Dead.” 6-22.
284. Babylon 5 - 5x12 - “The Ragged Edge.” 6-23.
285. Babylon 5 - 5x13 - “The Corps is Mother, The Corps is Father.” 6-23.
286. Babylon 5 - 5x14 - “Meditations on the Abyss.” 6-23.
287. Babylon 5 - 5x15 - “Darkness Descending.” 6-24.
288. Babylon 5 - 5x16 - “And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder.” 6-24.
289. Babylon 5 - 5x17 - “Movements of Fire and Shadow.” 6-24.
290. Babylon 5 - 5x18 - “The Fall of Centauri Prime.” 6-26.
291. Babylon 5 - 5x19 - “Wheel of Fire.” 6-26.
292. The IT Crowd - 4x01 - “Jen the Fredo.” 6-26.
293. Babylon 5 - 5x20 - “Objects in Motion.” 6-28.
294. How I Met Your Mother - 5x22 - “Robots Versus Wrestlers.” 6-29.
295. How I Met Your Mother - 5x23 - “The Wedding Bride.” 6-29.
296. How I Met Your Mother - 5x24 - “Doppelgangers.” 6-30.

YEAH. THAT HAPPENED. I've been mentally preparing a "Babylon 5 is the Greatest Television Show in the History of the World" post for about two weeks now, but we'll see whether I end up going through with it, especially considering how behind I am on the TV meme (why do these things matter). Seriously though, this month has been kind of epic for me in terms of TV. I've never sat down and just watched a show like that. I still have the series finale to watch, even though I'm 100% spoiled for it, and I know I can't last much longer, but I don't quite want the whole experience to be over yet. Sigh.

• IF BITCHES DON'T STOP CHECKING OUT TRON AT THE LIBRARY, IT'S JUST GONNA BE DEAD BITCHES ALL UP AND DOWN KANSAS.

• I only have five episodes of Babylon 5 left.  I has a sad.

• If today was indeed the last voyage of the blue van (we'll find out tomorrow what the mechanic found out), then it was highly appropriate that it was to the library.

• This has been a frustrating week - I've had a couple things I wanted to write, but I have a hard (read: impossible) time writing at home, and it's too hot to leave the house.

• All I wanted was to find screencaps of the Arrested Development finale.  The only site with caps I could find has 235 pages of unorganized images, no rhyme or reason, no labels, tags, anything.  It was all, "Oh, you wanted screencaps?  I'm withholding them.  Look at me, getting off."

Day 21 - Favorite ship.

HAHAHA like I can pick just one. Let's face it - shipping is important. Sometimes that brief hand-hold or peck on the cheek is all that saves an otherwise mediocre episode. You need to see characters grow and evolve over the years, and no better way to do that than to see relationships grow and evolve as well. And, you know, shallowly, sometimes you just want to see attractive people make out.

So I narrowed it down to the top five. I couldn't cut any more than that. In chronological order from when I shipped 'em.











Yeah that last couple made it on the list! Why else do you think I managed to watch the entirety of seasons three and four in eight days? (Okay, it was like 30% ship, 60% the show was just that good, and 10%...because...I have a crush on Bruce Boxleitner. I mean, come on!)

Iconnnnns. Seriously though, I post these more for my own benefit and as a reference, and I know that none of you watch the show, so no big; feel free to skip, heh. Although number 11 is probably one of prettiest, if not the prettiest, icons I've ever made.

1. 2. 3.

4. 5. 6.

7. 8. 9.

10. 11. 12.

13. 14. 15.

Day 18 - Favorite title sequence.

I love opening credits. To me, they're an integral part of the viewing experience; when we're watching TV together off DVD, Laura gets frustrated because she wants to fast-forward through them and I'm always like, "No! Credits! Love!" I don't think it's a huge surprise to say that my favorite title sequence is BSG's - besides the fact that aside from a handful of episodes at the beginning of S2, they were always different, with that little sneak-peak of the episode to come, I also loved that technically, there were two sequences - the credits proper and the Cylon Background Info that came before the previouslies; my favorite of that was S3's, because "They rebelled...they evolved" is in the right order and I love that shot of Six from Downloaded.



Unfortunately, there isn't a YouTube video of the actual credits, at least that I can find in a normal search - they're all fanmade or set to different songs or whatever, which I don't really get. You know what they are though.

Some other faves:

Great music and lovely images:



My childhood:



I love these because they're so elegant, so simple and yet there's so much packed into them (hidden clues!), and, again, the music:



And because I'm obsessed with it right now:

Who's got two thumbs and figured out today that you can watch full episodes of Babylon 5 on IMDB?

THIS GUY.

...I've watched eight ten episodes today.

May New Media.

Books
22. Nazi Germany and the Jews: Volume 1: The Years of Persecution 1933-1939, Saul Friedländer. 5-7.
23. How to Write a Movie in 21 Days, Viki King. 5-9.
24. First Year Latin, Charles Jenney. 5-12.
25. These Three Remain, Pamela Aiden. 5-20.
26. From Dead to Worse, Charlaine Harris. 5-22.
27. The Evil That Men Do, Stephen G. Michaud and Roy Hazelwood. 5-29.
28. Nazi Germany and the Jews: Volume 2: The Years of Extermination 1939-1945, Saul Friedländer. 5-31.

Movies
18. Julie and Julia (2009). 5-2.
19. An Education (2009). 5-7.
20. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). 5-14.
21. [Rec] (2007). 5-14.
22. The Vikings (1958). 5-15.
23. Shrek Forever After (2010). 5-25.
24. The Young Victoria (2009). 5-27.
25. Paranormal Activity (2007). 5-28.
26. Where the Wild Things Are (2009). 5-30.

Television Episodes
161. Fringe - 2x12 - “Johari Window.” 5-1.
162. Fringe - 2x12 - “What Lies Below.” 5-1.
163. Babylon 5 - 2x06 - “A Spider in the Web.” 5-2.
164. Babylon 5 - 2x07 - “Soul Mates.” 5-2.
165. Babylon 5 - 2x08 - “A Race Through Dark Places.” 5-3.
166. Fringe - 2x13 - “The Bishop Revival.” 5-3.
167. Glee - 1x17 - “Bad Reputation.” 5-4.
168. Fringe - 2x14 - “Jacksonville.” 5-4.
169. Fringe - 2x15 - “Peter.” 5-4.
170. Modern Family - 1x22- “Airport 2010.” 5-5.
171. Fringe - 2x16 - “Olivia. In the Lab. With the Revolver.” 5-5.
172. The Office - 6x22 - “The Cover-Up.” 5-6.
173. 30 Rock - 4x20 - “The Moms.” 5-6.
174. Fringe - 2x17 - “White Tulip.” 5-6.
175. Fringe - 2x18 - “The Man From the Other Side.” 5-7.
176. Fringe - 2x19 - “Brown Betty.” 5-7.
177. Supernatural - 2x03 - “Bloodlust.” 5-8.
178. Babylon 5 - 2x09 - “The Coming of Shadows.” 5-8.
179. Babylon 5 - 2x10 - “GROPOS.” 5-9.
180. Babylon 5 - 2x11 - “All Alone in the Night.” 5-9.
181. How I Met Your Mother - 5x01 - “Definitions.” 5-9.
182. Babylon 5 - 2x12 - “Acts of Sacrifice.” 5-10.
183. Fringe - 2x20 - “Northwest Passage.” 5-10.
184. Glee - 1x18 - “Laryngitis.” 5-11.
185. Deadwood - 3x01 - “Tell Your God to Ready for Blood.” 5-11.
186. Modern Family - 1x23 - “Hawaii.” 5-12.
187. How I Met Your Mother - 5x02 - “Double Date.” 5-12.
188. The Office - 6x23 - “The Chump.” 5-13.
189. 30 Rock - 4x21 - “Emmanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land.” 5-13.
190. Babylon 5 - 2x13 - “Hunter, Prey.” 5-15.
191. Babylon 5 - 2x14 - “There All the Honor Lies.” 5-15.
192. Fringe - 2x21 - “Over There Part 1.” 5-16.
193. How I Met Your Mother - 5x03 - “Robin 101.” 5-16.
194. How I Met Your Mother - 5x04 - “The Sexless Innkeeper.” 5-17.
195. How I Met Your Mother - 5x05 - “Bagpipes.” 5-17.
196. Glee - 1x19 - “Dream On.” 5-18.
197. How I Met Your Mother - 5x06 - “The Rough Patch.” 5-18.
198. Modern Family - 1x24 - “Family Portrait.” 5-19.
199. How I Met Your Mother - 5x07 - “The Playbook.” 5-19.
200. The Office - 6x24 - “Whistleblower.” 5-20.
201. 30 Rock - 4x22 - “I Do Do.” 5-20.
202. How I Met Your Mother - 5x08 - “Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap.” 5-21.
203. How I Met Your Mother - 5x09 - “The Window.” 5-21.
204. Fringe - 2x22 - “Over There Part 2.” 5-22.
205. How I Met Your Mother - 5x10 - “Last Cigarette Ever.” 5-22.
206. Star Trek: The Next Generation - 5x24 - “The Next Phase.” 5-23.
207. Babylon 5 - 2x15 - “And Now For a Word.” 5-24.
208. Babylon 5 - 2x16 - “In the Shadow of Z’Ha’Dum.” 5-24.
209. Glee - 1x20 - “Theatricality.” 5-25.
210. How I Met Your Mother - 5x12 - “Girls Versus Suits.” 5-26.

So, I was reading a Fringe thread at TWOP, and someone posted a Babylon 5 spoiler right in the middle of a comment. Which, yeah, it's been off the air for ten years, okay. Still, that kind of thing usually has me bitching for days. In this case, however...see, I've kinda had a ship interest on B5. You know how mine usually go; something weird and unlikely to ever happen and if I'm lucky they're in the same scene together and maybe I'll get some dream/hallucination/spell thing at some point and that'll be it. I mean, hell, one of the characters is an alien. Turns out that my ship ends up being the main relationship of the whole show! Hot damn, you guys! I may have spent some time on YouTube watching shippy fanvids with this look on my face.

Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving.



It took me awhile to even remember why I started watching Babylon 5. I must have been at the library, wandering around the TV section, and whatever disc I had been hoping to check out next must have been gone. I have read about Babylon 5 for years, usually in the context that it was better than whatever else I was watching. "Oh, Babylon 5 did this so much better." "I remember when Babylon 5 had a similar episode but of course they pulled it off." There was always a lot of talk about how the show had been intricately planned out from the beginning, all five seasons, every major arc and plot all ready set up and just awaiting its time to be unleashed.

And I remember always thinking...yeah. I'm sure. When this show aired, there weren't many arc shows - everyone always made a big deal about XF's mythology and they only aired four or five mytharc episodes a season. I'm sure it's the same deal with B5, and it's just not going to hold up when most shows nowadays are very arc-driven, so B5 won't be that big a deal. Besides, I doubt the effects hold up at all, and the production design won't be up to my current standards; oh, it might be okay, but that's probably it.

You know. That snobby response I have to anything that's popular independent of my involvement?

Anyway, yeah, pleasantly surprised. No, the effects haven't quite held up, although they're already miles better in S2 than they were in S1. But yeah...this is pretty much the most arc-driven show I've ever watched. Every episode bleeds into the next, builds on the next. Continuity is very carefully kept track of, and there's not an idle comment. I've already seen things vaguely hinted at in episode three or four pay off in episode thirty. Even episodes that at first glance seem to just be a stand-alone end up advancing the overall plot either by theme, individual plot point, B-story, runner, or even just what headline is on the newspaper an extra is reading.

And, funnily enough, the best actors on the show are the ones covered in alien makeup - they get the most profound and dramatic material to deal with and acquit themselves wonderfully. There have been some real goosebump scenes, some really great lines of dialogue. The other actors have occasional leaden moments, and there've been a few clunkers as far as individual episodes and moments go, but by and large I've been pretty impressed.