“The Long, Twilight Struggle”: Babylon 5 Watch, Part 6

“The Long, Twilight Struggle”: Babylon 5 Watch, Part 6

Our Babylon 5 panel unpacks the final six episodes of season 2 — episodes addressing the destruction of species, war crimes and genocide, the relationship between identity (“Who are you?”) and sacrifice, and the unveiling of both Psi Corps and the Night Watch as arms of Earth Gov’s encroaching surveillance state. In these stories, Londo’s choices finally catch up with him, Sheridan and Delenn are pushed closer together, and Kosh is compelled to reveal something of himself. You can find Cindy’s Introduction to "The Curse Upon Mitre Square” here: https://www.casebook.org/dissertations/rip-cursemitre.html. This essay (mentioned in the episode) briefly traces the development of the Jack the Ripper mythos and its cultural meaning, but also contains a few crime-scene details that are not for the faint of heart.

The Oppression of Sin in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners

Fr. David Subu joins host Cindy Collins Smith for an exploration of Ryan Coogler’s multi-layered film and its depiction of the wages of sin. Sinners is unabashedly a vampire movie - not sexy vampires, not reluctant vampires, not vegetarian or sparkly vampires. Vampires. Monstrous beings who entice their victims with promises of unity, family, freedom, and endless music, only to leave them enslaved to their passions and incapable of authentic communion. And they are not the only monstrosity in the film. The folk song closing this episode plays a significant role in Coogler’s film. This live performance was captured on a lo-fi Sony cassette recorder during Fourth of July weekend in 1994 and features John Breen (of The Lads) on vocals and 12-string guitar, with Cindy on accordion. The band is Gael Force Winds. The venue is the old Santa Monica pub 14 Below.

“I am Large. I Contain Multitudes”: The Human Cosmos in The Life of Chuck

Amy Browning-Dill and host Cindy Collins Smith discuss the film adaptation of The Life of Chuck - a later-career work by Stephen King that offers a meditation on life, death, the cosmos, the wonder of being, and ghosts in the attic.

Project Hail Mary: Grace, Friendship, and a Dying Sun

Father David Subu joins host Cindy Collins Smith to discuss their recent theatrical experience of Project Hail Mary - a hard science fiction film that blends humor, optimism, and self-sacrifice in the face of a potentially galaxy-ending phenomenon, and holds an unexpected and transformative friendship at the center of the film.

Darmok and Jalad on the Ocean

Our Babylon 5 panel was stunned in its previous episode to learn that Maggie had never seen the classic Star Trek: TNG episode “Darmok.” Now, along with “Maggie, her eyes uncovered,” part of our panel reconvenes to discuss Darmok… and Maggie’s response. Join us as we recount Captain Dathon’s faith and hope as he puts his life on the line to establish communication (and maybe communion?) between two races that communicate in mutually unintelligible ways. Frequently counted in TNG Top 10 lists, Darmok gives a masterclass in acting with an often opaque script.