No he is wrong, magic and spiritual energies are real and tech does it's best to replicate it. But think of it this way, how and why they work the way they do with the laws of Earth and the Universe is literally magical. You may know why something may do what it does, but ask Why the Why works and whom or what built it that way.
"The true secrets, the important things. Fourteen words to make someone fall in love with you forever. Seven words to make them go without pain. How to say good-bye to a friend who is dying. How to be poor. How to be rich. How to rediscover dreams when the world has stolen them. That is why we are going away-to preserve that knowledge." One of my favorite lines from the show
I'm a bit more simple... Landing thruster, landing thrusters... oh if I were the landing thrusters which button would I be (It's really hard to have favourites with this show though, it's just full of amazing)
Loved the instant rapport between Sheridan and Elric. The moment the Captain drifts into his reverie of long ago when he was a boy dreaming of far away places in the scent of the orange blossoms is the moment Elric knew he could confide in him.
"As Elric spoke, he realized the bitter truth: he had lost his dreams. His dream of growing old on Soom. His dream of Galen becoming a great mage. His dream of the Technomages fighting the Shadows. All his dreams were gone, and no spell could bring them back."
I really wish publishers would look at some of these OOP books and try to secure digital rights to them, if they don't have them already. Small bit of profit for them and the authors with minimal effort.
That was such an amazing back and forth "magic of the human heart. Focused and made manifest by technology. Every day you here create greater miracles than a burning bush..." "Maybe, but God was there first and He didn't need solar batteries and a fusion reactor to do it." Just bloody magnificent.
@@baneblackguard584 I think his response was perfect - acknowledging Sheridan's belief without disparagement, while admitting that he didn't actually know the truth, even though he personally didn't believe. At least, that's how I always interpreted it.
@@baneblackguard584 That might have been useful if he wanted to convert him to his way of thinking, but he didn't. All he needed was to explain what he was in a way that was satisfactory to Sheridan.
This was one of my favorite shows. I love how it told a story. That it sometimes had a few little stories in one big story but still tied everything together. Like how babylon 4 disappeared and reappeared years later leaving more questions then answers. Then a couple of seasons later we get the full picture of what really happened and it was something no one saw coming.
The best question it answered later on is why every sentient race has an equivalent to Swedish Meatballs. It's a throwaway line, but apparently they were Sinclair's favourite food. So he introduced them everywhere he went.
@@kizikucalegon8673 Really? I didn't know that........always thought it was just a dish so simple/easy to make that every meat eating race eventually made their own version of it.
Michael Ansara, pure legend. To take such a simple scene, with such a simple backdrop, and then turn it into so smooth and yet chilling all at once. In just one episode he touched the hearts of an entire fanbase with near passive ease.
If you don't cry at the end of Sleeping in Light you have no soul. "Every morning for as long as she lived, Delenn got up before dawn and watched the sun come up."
Funny how Michael Ansara often delivered words in his scifi performances that resonate to this day. His Star Trek line, "Only a fool fights in a burning ship." is a warning most of today's leaders ignore at our collective peril.
I personally enjoyed his performance as a technomage more. I had a couple vhs with him as a western performer. I pilfered them from my late grandfather's collection. A few decades later and no method to digitize them, lost them. I found a shop that sells old media, and it looks like someone had the same hobby as my grandfather, a couple vhs tapes had some of Ansara's movies.
I love this sequence. So much is magic, magic of the human heart focused and made reality. Medicine, engineering, all of it...transistor, circuit, laser, and crystal. I knew someone for a time, and it was magical. I lost her to cancer, paraganglioma and its complications. I think at one time I must have said the fourteen words...I only hope when it was needed, I said the other seven. I miss you, and I love you, Patty.
@@lour7299 Ah, but what is a trick? Are you saying, that having telekinetic tapeworms move objects for you is somehow of higher order as using magnetic fields to do the same?
@@jamesmartin9401 I was thinking he had talent on and off screen which probably contributed to his confidence... I would think being married to Barbara Eden did not hurt his confidence....
Agreed to both . . . But he also redefined Mr. Freeze in Batman: The Animated Series. And only Batman could even dream of messing with him; even in his own show. The name is Michael Ansara. The profession: Actor Extraordinaire.
This episode made me a Technomage fanboi immediately. The suggestion of knowledge and keeping the mystery of how far it really goes throughout the show was just perfect
I am not a "fanboi", but there was a HUGE potential missed with them and completely ruined by Crusade. It was nice to have Crusade, but TNT really messed things up. JMS was originally against it, but not only caved to what the fans wanted, but TNT's pressures. I don't think he knew when he started they would sink their fingers in so much. By the end of Crusade's run, it didn't resemble the creation of Babylon 5 and JMS' vision of it all. JMS apologized to the fans, the fans apologized to JMS, no one was happy. I appreciate Crusade, but that is as far as I am taking it.
@James Richards True, but Crusade did have one of the most badass lines ever Gideon: I thought you said you never hold a grudge. Galen: _Well, I don't. I have no surviving enemies..._
I always wondered if what the Technomages were really worried about was specifically the return of the Shadows. Since they were created by the Shadows, they might have thought that they'd be dragged back into things as the servants of the Shadows. I suppose they were an answer to the Minbari, or to the Vorlons' creation of telepaths in the younger races - the Achilles' heel of the Shadow vessels and the only thing giving even the Minbari a real chance against them.
Considering the Vorlon's use of planet killers to cleanse systems of Shadow influence, staying FAR away from the coming conflict was a smart move on their part.
The mysteries of laser, circuit and crystal. The mysteries of how electronic waves propagates trough the ionosphere and beyond. Maybe we ham radio operators are radio technomages? And there are cybermages of the computers. We are dreamers,makers and singers. A ham radio operator.
I loved the show. And the Techno Mages were my favorite part. I even read one of the spin-off novels of Babylon 5 about them. In fact basically it was a continuation of the story in this episode in the lead up to it. "The passing of the Techno Mages." It was cool.
I would love to see a technomage, a vorlon, and a shadow each build an individual figher type vessel just to so who would come out with best looking design and most functional design.
Oh hell no. The last thing Comstar needs is even more advanced tech. They're too conflict adverse to have been at Tukayyid or part of the Word of Blake but they certainly got the image right.
I watched every bit of B5 when it was on, but I have never been generally amused by or attracted to technomages in any setting. B5 did the best job with both technomages and prophecy.
The introduction of the Technomages serves two purposes, keeping tropes alive and keeping alive the mystery we all understand; "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
@@JamesRichardsPlays I am well aware of Clarke's Third Law, but I have also usually viewed technomages in any setting as a science fiction extension of Western Esotericism, especially the drive to put enchantment back into the world and reject Cartesian/Newtonian world views. Wikipedia has a good article that explains this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_esotericism Technomages pretty much touch everything that is central to Western Esotericism, including 'rejected knowledge' returning. It even takes on a Rosicrucianism slant. All of which just doesn't really impress me and thus I am not especially attracted to the technomage idea (but The Lawnmower Man was ok, an interesting gimmick for a movie).
@@charlesphillips1468 And this is why I like engaging. I would have never thought to have link that idea with it. I don't even remember this being brought up in the B5 forums so long ago. I wonder if that was an unintended view that JMS didn't consider... As a plot device in telling an epic, I don't mind a little of it creeping in. For the novelty and momentary fantasy and entertainment, it is fun. But the central ideas, especially what you brought up, don't impress me to any degree outside of enjoying the story. Looking back on my own writings and failed (maybe just shelved) novel attempt, I don't think I ever did have something like it come in though. For one thing, I don't think I have the enthusiasm to make it "believable" and secondly, I aam highly skeptical of something that cannot be tested and falsifiable. The Technomages do keep too much of it secret and the show and novels hid too much in how their technomancy worked. The closest you ever get is a statement of using tech to achieve something akin to magic. Fun for a flash, no real staying power with me. The only thing I really dig is the wisdom from Elrich, not steeped in mystery and arcane poofs.
@@JamesRichardsPlays You may want to continue working on your novel, working and living while writing is a good way. My own project started 28 years ago and I just published it on my website last spring after I finally decided I'd run out of time and that it was as good as it will be. My project is a free science fiction setting macrosocial, macrostructural simulation game. It may provide framework, context and inspiration (well, I hope anyway) for a generation of science fiction writers after me. But it's mostly will, you have to see something sublime in what you are doing to continue for that long.
@@JamesRichardsPlays This is why I consider computers to be magical in a sense... Sure, I know how it works on a basic level, but how on Earth did someone even figure out how to turn basic elements into a technology that has utterly transformed everything we know from the bottom up?
This performance by Ansara and his performance as the voice of Mr Freeze made him a personal favorite. It is a genuine shame about his passing, he was talented and by my guess a very humble man. One of my favorite quotes is said by him, “yes…it would move me to tears….if I still had tears to shed.” Mr. Freeze, Batman TAS Heart of Ice.
I also remember his role in the great old miniseries "Centennial," in which he played the fateful role of a Native American leader. There was never any mistaking his face, voice, or bearing.
ANCIENT QUESTION: No one will ever be able to answer with any certainty: What is the TRUE DIFFERENCE between Magic, Science or Sorcery? I suppose its ultimately based on what you choose to believe.
Any science advanced FAR ENOUGH is or can be indistinguishable from magic. Clark's Law. Kryptonian or Asgardian technology would be indistinguishable from it. Mjolnir would be considered " magic " when it's likely highly advanced tech, as would the staff used by Loki. Wonder Woman & Superman are considered godlike.
Awesome series! The writing, the acting... man, I miss watching it. I used to race home from work, make some popcorn then drop myself on the couch and let the episode take me far away. Good times!
If the technomages could see potential destinies, then Ansara Mage would know that Sheridan would one day meet with Lorien. probably why he spoke with him so easily compared with others. He knew he could trust him. Just as Galen (Son of the Killer of Darth .. being cryptic there) did as well.
Well obviously they left so Clark could not obtain and exploit their secrets and technology. Would have been a real nightmare if he had access to that.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C. Clarke, 1968 "[...] an uninformed public tends to confuse scholarship with magicians [...]" - Isaac Asimov, 1952
One of my favorite B5 episodes, but I got to say, re-watching it after reading the Technomage trilogy is fascinating because it ends up being a completely different story. (the second book is mostly this episode but from the technomages point of view)
At the end of the Shadow War, Sheridan and Delenn were discussing the magic going away, and how they should now create their own magic. This episode was meant to be a one-off, introducing us to a mysterious group that we'd never see again. But then they brought them back for another special to give Sheridan advice or warning. Sometimes it's good to have mysteries that are never resolved.
Back then they KNEW (or at least Straczynski did) how to write a great story and characters. Now compare this to crap current day hollywood tries to peddle.
Definitely. What Straczynski did was take a sci-fi novel and make it into a 5 year show. The story arcs both small and large were very well done. Part of the problem with a lot of books being adapted to movies or TV is that you lose so much. It's always little more than a shadow of the book. Pun intended. Because they don't take the time to world build, most shows up until that time were doing a show of the week episode, where you could watch it as a stand alone episode and it didn't usually effect the overall story. Each story was neatly wrapped by the end of the episode, for the most part. This weeks episode is about psychic ability. This is the monster of the week episode, this episode is about addiction etc. What Straczynski did with B5 flew in the face of that, he really hashed out these ideas over a long period of time. That made the character development in B5 top notch. It didn't hurt that the relatively unknown actors turned out to be perfect for their roles. IMO the alien characters turned out to be more interesting than the human. In most sci-fi shows that's not the case. Not that there are no great alien characters in other shows, but they're usually ancillary compared to the human characters. B5 puts them out front in a big way, the show hinges on that. Putting more alien characters out front is mirrored in DS9. When I say "mirrored" I mean they copied that from B5. There was a lawsuit that Paramount lost because Straczynski had submitted B5 to Paramount first but they turned it down. Suddenly they had a great idea for a show with a space station by a wormhole, with many other similarities. Not gonna complain too much about that because we got characters like Garak and Dukat etc. So there's that. Wait am I ranting. Sorry about that. Was bored.
@John Daniels While The Expanse is quite cool the complexity of it's writing in comparison to B5... well it's way more simplified - B5 had so long and intricate story arcs, plots ,character developments that were literally spanning through enitre show - The expanse is more focused on delivering single contained stories with one maybe two lingering plots in the background like the protomolecule itself or tensions between the earth/mars/belt. With B5 this was way more intricate often with foreshadowing of things to come in entire seasons later. So nah while i like The expanse and indeed think currently it's the best Sci-fi show airing at the moment - nah B5 was way better written mate - Boomer juice or not :P
I’d love to just to sit down with him and chat about stuff. Even if he doesn’t tell you the fourteen words. Just to talk with someone like that can to me teach you about them and your thoughts and self.
We still have nine others who were considered Main Cast in all five seasons who are still alive and kicking around this dust ball of a planet. ;) Unfortunately, four of their characters were killed off, one is missing and who knows what the others would be doing if the story continued. If we wanted more B5, we would need not only a reboot starting at The Gathering, but a cast of young and terrifyingly healthy old actors. It is kinda sad, but I have only thoughts of celebration and admiration of what not only the cast, but the entire crew and support staff that made this timeless series. All the political, ideological, societal and moral issues present in the series are STILL relevant today. I finished binge watching the entire series with my 19 year old goddaughter and she thought it was an awesome, poorly budgeted and produced current series. When I told her the last episode aired in 1998, well before she was born, she was amazed. So much so she bought a few USB drives and plans to give them to a few of her college friends.
I am going to repair that statement with "Wish we could have seen more of the Technomages, beyond the train-wreck that was was Crusade" ;) I did read the novelizations. Not bad.
I wouldn't say he hung around. I think he went against Elrich's "suggestions" and returned to the IA when news of Earth's quarantine reached their cabal.
Might be interesting, but longevity might be an issue. Maybe a miniseries depicting a few years of them doing stuff that culminates in an overarching plot ending, maybe the catalyst to how humans become like the Vorlon...
"If we went back in time a thousand years, trying to explain this place to people..." This would have been a great foreshadowing if Sinclair had said it as it was originally intended.
XD Yeah, I know. I was mainly concentrating on the wisdom of the character of Elric. I re-cut it again to be just the Orange Blossom scene for another discussion on another platform.
About that final, magical trick: to see what a real orange blossom looks like, Google "orange blossom pictures" (Wikipedia has some nice ones). The thing that Captain Sheridan is holding looks more like the flower of the toxic and hallucinogenic Datura stramonium, AKA jimsonweed, devil's trumpet, and devil's snare. A hint that things are not always what they seem to be?--But maybe it does smell like orange blossoms....
I dunno...looks like an unblossomed (Yeah, yeah. I make up words all the time) orange flower to me. (I am not a plant expert by any stretch of the imagination) and why would they allow a foul smelling and extremely irritant flower to be on set? Yeah,. it is mostly the sap that causes the irritation, but just holding a blossom can cause a rash. And the Datura in Nevada smell horrible. Not sure what other regional flowers might smell like, but these here suck! Good eye, though and a good reasoning.
@@JamesRichardsPlays Good point, about the irritation and bad smell making jimsonweed unlikely to be used on set. So, that flower could be a Datura look-alike. Here’s a possibility: Ipomoea lacunosa, the White Morning Glory, which is also known as the…(drumroll) “White Star!” (Name of a class of advanced battleships which appear during the Second Shadow War.) Foreshadowing? Or…“for Shadowing?” (The orange-blossom fragrance would be a “technomagical” addition to the blossom.)
@@Carneades2012 Love it. In the end though, it could just be what it is; an orange blossom and due to editing or time constraints, the closest they could find and we're spinning our wheels on this one XD ehehe
It makes me think that these technomages weren't necessarily so smart. Maybe they just got thier hands on some First One technology, reverse engineered it and used that as a basis for all of thier other stuff. OR, as a hedge, maybe the Vorlons helped them as well, to use in the coming Shadow war.
I had heard/read in some 'canonical'(?) materials that the Technomages used to be tools of the Shadows (not just any First one!) and they are the source of the tech. No idea if it's true or how they broke away from being The Shadows' puppets.
@@nickmitsialis In some of the books that came later there was a bit of info on their origin. They were created by the shadows, essentially as agents of chaos. They managed to break free and when the shadows were about to return they preferred to leave known space rather than risking becoming the tool of the shadow race again.
@@sunnchilde in essence they broke free during a hibernation period when only the other 'servant' races were awake, none of whom dared to wake up the bosses to deal with it, yeah the implication is they ran and hid because while they could fight the drakh or the streib, hte shadows would be like,,, lol primatives SNAP and your tech is off
One of my most favorite episodes from one of my most favorite shows, but one of the few things that ever annoyed me in B5 is how much that flower does NOT look anything like an orange blossom. All they got right was the color lol
![[กูเพิ่งซื้อมึงปิดหนี] 20 นาที ผมรีวิวเกมที่แย่ที่สุดในโลก CONCORD](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/XhC-3q3Ii7I/mqdefault.jpg)
"Do not meddle it the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger."
Straczynski actually took the line from J.R.R. Tokiens Lord of the Rings.
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and tasty with ketchup.
@@gameoverinsertcointocontin8102 what self-respecting technomage has not read The Lord of the Rings?
Wow, all of you and the likes are clearly from...juvenile losers. lol.
@@mirrortoyourweakness9769 Then why are you here with us?
"We are dreamers, shapers, singers, and makers." Such a good line
This is 24 kt. Au. I loved this series. Tubi carries this, entire series, mostly ad free.
Reminds me of Arthur C. Clarke's famous quote: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
I was thinking the same thing
That was the point.
40 years ago so many of those items we use today would have been considered magic.
@@ronintje7647not really.....
No he is wrong, magic and spiritual energies are real and tech does it's best to replicate it. But think of it this way, how and why they work the way they do with the laws of Earth and the Universe is literally magical. You may know why something may do what it does, but ask Why the Why works and whom or what built it that way.
One of my favorite scenes. Michael Ansara was a splendid actor. Exudes confidence, authority, and subtlety all at the same time.
Lucky guy was married to Barbara Eden, Jeenie
The way he speaks reminds me so much of the late Carl Sagan. Even his eyebrows and face as he speaks are a close match. It is incredible!
This scene is almost as good as the one at the end of episode when he gives Molari a prophesy.
In some ways he has that quiet Demeanor of Master Po from Kung Fu! He knows much but only gives you what you need for now.
He was one of the best Klingons ever, too. Even, or perhaps especially, when he reprised the role on DS9.
"The true secrets, the important things. Fourteen words to make someone fall in love with you forever. Seven words to make them go without pain. How to say good-bye to a friend who is dying. How to be poor. How to be rich. How to rediscover dreams when the world has stolen them. That is why we are going away-to preserve that knowledge."
One of my favorite lines from the show
Agreed.
I'm a bit more simple... Landing thruster, landing thrusters... oh if I were the landing thrusters which button would I be (It's really hard to have favourites with this show though, it's just full of amazing)
Agreed
@Driver Nephi I want to know those 14 words.
@Driver Nephi LOL.....underrated dark joke.
Loved the instant rapport between Sheridan and Elric. The moment the Captain drifts into his reverie of long ago when he was a boy dreaming of far away places in the scent of the orange blossoms is the moment Elric knew he could confide in him.
How cute
Michael Ansara....great Actor. Never upset a Technomage lol
And the voice of Mr freeze on batman tas
Also played Kang in Star Trek TOS and DS9.
@@fangfyre3800 I forgot that ty for the reminder
And Barbara Eden's husband.
Don’t mess with a Klingon Technomage
"As Elric spoke, he realized the bitter truth: he had lost his dreams. His dream of growing old on Soom. His dream of Galen becoming a great mage. His dream of the Technomages fighting the Shadows. All his dreams were gone, and no spell could bring them back."
Is that from one of the books?
@@marcfoster715 Yup it's from the second book in the tie-in Technomage trilogy.
I really wish publishers would look at some of these OOP books and try to secure digital rights to them, if they don't have them already. Small bit of profit for them and the authors with minimal effort.
Idk. He could have given Londo his little photo op and prevented the shadows from setting up their foothold on the Centauri homeworld. Jus sayin.
@@morrigan908 I have or had several boxes of B5 paperbacks, no idea *where* they got to. This would be *fresh material* , relatively speaking.
4:09 _"With luck you'll never see our kind again in your lifetime."_
And then came Galen.
Yes but remember Galen was a bit of a renegade who disobeyed the order.
I did like that Galen made a point of commenting on Elric's presence - and that voice. RIP Michael Ansara.
That was such an amazing back and forth "magic of the human heart. Focused and made manifest by technology. Every day you here create greater miracles than a burning bush..." "Maybe, but God was there first and He didn't need solar batteries and a fusion reactor to do it." Just bloody magnificent.
he should have just looked at him and said "Are you certain?"
@@baneblackguard584 I think his response was perfect - acknowledging Sheridan's belief without disparagement, while admitting that he didn't actually know the truth, even though he personally didn't believe.
At least, that's how I always interpreted it.
@@baneblackguard584 in a way he did perhaps perhaps not who knows
@@baneblackguard584 That might have been useful if he wanted to convert him to his way of thinking, but he didn't. All he needed was to explain what he was in a way that was satisfactory to Sheridan.
Funny thing is we find out later that 'god' was just the Vorlons and thus the 'burning bush' was just technology.
Another words don't mess with the IT department.
This! This is the best response I have seen in a long while. I think I''ll meme it and print it out work.
It's like..."How did you do that?"
IT Dept: "It's magic."
If you let the magic white smoke out of it, then it won't work
This was one of my favorite shows. I love how it told a story. That it sometimes had a few little stories in one big story but still tied everything together. Like how babylon 4 disappeared and reappeared years later leaving more questions then answers. Then a couple of seasons later we get the full picture of what really happened and it was something no one saw coming.
No one listens to Zathras.
@@kurtjk01 not to Zathras no, but they do listen to Zathras
The best question it answered later on is why every sentient race has an equivalent to Swedish Meatballs. It's a throwaway line, but apparently they were Sinclair's favourite food. So he introduced them everywhere he went.
@@kizikucalegon8673 Really? I didn't know that........always thought it was just a dish so simple/easy to make that every meat eating race eventually made their own version of it.
@@TheFloorface not the one
Michael Ansara, pure legend. To take such a simple scene, with such a simple backdrop, and then turn it into so smooth and yet chilling all at once. In just one episode he touched the hearts of an entire fanbase with near passive ease.
I remember my wife crying like a baby at the end of "Sleeping in Light."
If you don't cry at the end of Sleeping in Light you have no soul.
"Every morning for as long as she lived, Delenn got up before dawn and watched the sun come up."
@@GaldirEonai I MISS Mira Furlan. The last work she did was M Scott Zicree's Space Command, which is / was on here, & looked pretty damn good.
This is how you pull off a superior technology faction without them seeming patronizing like the Vorlon
I think that they should encounter the Ascended from Stargate / Stargate Atlantis.
Funny how Michael Ansara often delivered words in his scifi performances that resonate to this day. His Star Trek line, "Only a fool fights in a burning ship." is a warning most of today's leaders ignore at our collective peril.
I personally enjoyed his performance as a technomage more. I had a couple vhs with him as a western performer. I pilfered them from my late grandfather's collection. A few decades later and no method to digitize them, lost them. I found a shop that sells old media, and it looks like someone had the same hobby as my grandfather, a couple vhs tapes had some of Ansara's movies.
Kang actually said: "Only a fool fights in a burning house."
I love this sequence. So much is magic, magic of the human heart focused and made reality. Medicine, engineering, all of it...transistor, circuit, laser, and crystal.
I knew someone for a time, and it was magical. I lost her to cancer, paraganglioma and its complications.
I think at one time I must have said the fourteen words...I only hope when it was needed, I said the other seven. I miss you, and I love you, Patty.
"I miss you, and I love you" ... seven words. 😥
It never goes away does it? Even if it did, what kind of person would I be to forget? I won't do that; I couldn't do that.
My next step even almost three years later is, "how to rediscover dreams when the world has stolen them..."
@@RockinRob2258 LIFE can steal one's dreams, believe me.
@@RockinRob2258 We all want to rediscover stolen dreams.
The Techno Mages make the Jedi look brutish mercenaries.
Only the jedi has the mitochondria that control the Force.. while the technoMage used tricks and trinket
@@lour7299 Ah, but what is a trick? Are you saying, that having telekinetic tapeworms move objects for you is somehow of higher order as using magnetic fields to do the same?
@@_Muzolf which episode that they have telekinetic tape worm?
@@lour7299 Its a joke reference midiclorians.
@@_Muzolf ahhh, i did nit get that hahhaha, sorry
As a Klingon or as a Technomage.... This actor communicates "Don't mess with me!"
Remember he was also Queen Ardala's General Kane on Buck Rodgers. Michael Ansara had a presence, no doubt.
@@jamesmartin9401 I was thinking he had talent on and off screen which probably contributed to his confidence... I would think being married to Barbara Eden did not hurt his confidence....
@@reelsoffortuneslotsplay4267 That would either require confidence, or give it. Either way, you're right.
Agreed to both . . . But he also redefined Mr. Freeze in Batman: The Animated Series. And only Batman could even dream of messing with him; even in his own show. The name is Michael Ansara. The profession: Actor Extraordinaire.
He also voiced Mister Freeze.
"With luck, you'll never see our kind in your life time!"
Galen: No if I have anything to say about it!
This episode made me a Technomage fanboi immediately. The suggestion of knowledge and keeping the mystery of how far it really goes throughout the show was just perfect
I am not a "fanboi", but there was a HUGE potential missed with them and completely ruined by Crusade. It was nice to have Crusade, but TNT really messed things up. JMS was originally against it, but not only caved to what the fans wanted, but TNT's pressures. I don't think he knew when he started they would sink their fingers in so much. By the end of Crusade's run, it didn't resemble the creation of Babylon 5 and JMS' vision of it all. JMS apologized to the fans, the fans apologized to JMS, no one was happy. I appreciate Crusade, but that is as far as I am taking it.
@James Richards True, but Crusade did have one of the most badass lines ever
Gideon: I thought you said you never hold a grudge.
Galen: _Well, I don't. I have no surviving enemies..._
@@JamesRichardsPlays Crusade didn't do much for me. Caprica ( from BSG ) had MORE potential, but of course, it got the axe.
Sounds like the short end of the Prime Directive to me 😂 !
I always wondered if what the Technomages were really worried about was specifically the return of the Shadows. Since they were created by the Shadows, they might have thought that they'd be dragged back into things as the servants of the Shadows. I suppose they were an answer to the Minbari, or to the Vorlons' creation of telepaths in the younger races - the Achilles' heel of the Shadow vessels and the only thing giving even the Minbari a real chance against them.
Considering the Vorlon's use of planet killers to cleanse systems of Shadow influence, staying FAR away from the coming conflict was a smart move on their part.
And there I sit, some eternity after I've seen this scene before, goosebumps all over me.
Yep. I’d like to know those secrets. Ethically used, they could do a lot of good.
Love Sheridan's answer sending him on the slowest transport he can find
The mysteries of laser, circuit and crystal. The mysteries of how electronic waves propagates trough the ionosphere and beyond. Maybe we ham radio operators are radio technomages? And there are cybermages of the computers.
We are dreamers,makers and singers.
A ham radio operator.
The acting was so amazing. i feel like it was so far ahead of its time
I loved the show. And the Techno Mages were my favorite part. I even read one of the spin-off novels of Babylon 5 about them. In fact basically it was a continuation of the story in this episode in the lead up to it.
"The passing of the Techno Mages."
It was cool.
It's a whole trilogy of books. Highly recommended.
I would love to see a technomage, a vorlon, and a shadow each build an individual figher type vessel just to so who would come out with best looking design and most functional design.
Damn ... it's getting time for me to go through this entire series again ...
Same here, as the reboot is in the works.
I can only most highly recommend the technomage book trilogy - so much explained and a crazy ride!
One of my favorite scenes. Michael Ansara was so good in roles like this.
"how to rediscover dreams when the world has stolen them from you" ... that always gets me.
Kang hero of the Klingon empire
Those fourteen words to make someone fall in love with you sound much better in their original Klingon.
Also Kane in Buck Rogers
Also Mr. Freeze in Batman the Animated Series.
And as lesser-known Jeyal, former husband to Lwaxana Troi and father of her child.
These tecno-mages whould fit right in at comstar.
Oh hell no. The last thing Comstar needs is even more advanced tech. They're too conflict adverse to have been at Tukayyid or part of the Word of Blake but they certainly got the image right.
@KMCA779 yes and also glory to Blake
Babylon 5 had some awesome episode names
still one of the best shows ever.
It was Star Trek's polar opposite of Gene Roddenberry's Utopian, universe where humanity was depicted as more enlightened, blah - blah - blah.
I watched every bit of B5 when it was on, but I have never been generally amused by or attracted to technomages in any setting. B5 did the best job with both technomages and prophecy.
The introduction of the Technomages serves two purposes, keeping tropes alive and keeping alive the mystery we all understand; "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
@@JamesRichardsPlays I am well aware of Clarke's Third Law, but I have also usually viewed technomages in any setting as a science fiction extension of Western Esotericism, especially the drive to put enchantment back into the world and reject Cartesian/Newtonian world views. Wikipedia has a good article that explains this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_esotericism
Technomages pretty much touch everything that is central to Western Esotericism, including 'rejected knowledge' returning. It even takes on a Rosicrucianism slant. All of which just doesn't really impress me and thus I am not especially attracted to the technomage idea (but The Lawnmower Man was ok, an interesting gimmick for a movie).
@@charlesphillips1468 And this is why I like engaging. I would have never thought to have link that idea with it. I don't even remember this being brought up in the B5 forums so long ago. I wonder if that was an unintended view that JMS didn't consider... As a plot device in telling an epic, I don't mind a little of it creeping in. For the novelty and momentary fantasy and entertainment, it is fun. But the central ideas, especially what you brought up, don't impress me to any degree outside of enjoying the story. Looking back on my own writings and failed (maybe just shelved) novel attempt, I don't think I ever did have something like it come in though. For one thing, I don't think I have the enthusiasm to make it "believable" and secondly, I aam highly skeptical of something that cannot be tested and falsifiable. The Technomages do keep too much of it secret and the show and novels hid too much in how their technomancy worked. The closest you ever get is a statement of using tech to achieve something akin to magic. Fun for a flash, no real staying power with me. The only thing I really dig is the wisdom from Elrich, not steeped in mystery and arcane poofs.
@@JamesRichardsPlays You may want to continue working on your novel, working and living while writing is a good way. My own project started 28 years ago and I just published it on my website last spring after I finally decided I'd run out of time and that it was as good as it will be. My project is a free science fiction setting macrosocial, macrostructural simulation game. It may provide framework, context and inspiration (well, I hope anyway) for a generation of science fiction writers after me. But it's mostly will, you have to see something sublime in what you are doing to continue for that long.
@@JamesRichardsPlays This is why I consider computers to be magical in a sense... Sure, I know how it works on a basic level, but how on Earth did someone even figure out how to turn basic elements into a technology that has utterly transformed everything we know from the bottom up?
This performance by Ansara and his performance as the voice of Mr Freeze made him a personal favorite. It is a genuine shame about his passing, he was talented and by my guess a very humble man.
One of my favorite quotes is said by him, “yes…it would move me to tears….if I still had tears to shed.” Mr. Freeze, Batman TAS Heart of Ice.
'This is how I shall remember you... surrounded by ice, never changing, and I shall think of a place where a warm hand is in mine.'
I also remember his role in the great old miniseries "Centennial," in which he played the fateful role of a Native American leader. There was never any mistaking his face, voice, or bearing.
my favorite episode, and has Michael Ansara. i want to hear some more Narn opera.
xD...
The struggle of the technomages is vast, some proved their mettle, Elric and Galen included.
Technomages were amazing and they picked the best actor to portray their leader.
Someone that can give you a fragment of a memory of your past is a gift to be cherished and a person to place in high regard.
He was ready to prove to Sheridan that the Technomages knew everything about him, and were always prepared. Succeeded, too.
the techno mages, the psi corp, centauri narn war and the characters that populate b5. that is something i hope we'll see again in our lifetimes.
But if not, we can be happy we saw it the first time.
@@Sgt_Glory Reruns of it are on Tubi. Free streaming. I'm endorsing it sans remuneration.
I could sure use the ability to rediscover dreams when the world has stolen them.
Boy, that orange blossom sparked a memory of magic.
Well, so far no issues in uploading these clips. Maybe I'll pick a few more of my favorites and send them up...
There is a storm coming, a black and terrible storm and I wish I could leave as well.
ANCIENT QUESTION: No one will ever be able to answer with any certainty: What is the TRUE DIFFERENCE between Magic, Science or Sorcery? I suppose its ultimately based on what you choose to believe.
Any science advanced FAR ENOUGH is or can be indistinguishable from magic. Clark's Law. Kryptonian or Asgardian technology would be indistinguishable from it. Mjolnir would be considered " magic " when it's likely highly advanced tech, as would the staff used by Loki. Wonder Woman & Superman are considered godlike.
Awesome series! The writing, the acting... man, I miss watching it. I used to race home from work, make some popcorn then drop myself on the couch and let the episode take me far away. Good times!
ahhh this is the best clip of this ... some others cut off before the orange blossom ending !This is the best clip of this scene
If the technomages could see potential destinies, then Ansara Mage would know that Sheridan would one day meet with Lorien.
probably why he spoke with him so easily compared with others. He knew he could trust him.
Just as Galen (Son of the Killer of Darth .. being cryptic there) did as well.
"Fourteen words to make someone fall in love with you forever". Ah-Ha! He's a pickup artist. He dresses like one too. 😆
Well obviously they left so Clark could not obtain and exploit their secrets and technology. Would have been a real nightmare if he had access to that.
_"Any technology, no matter how primitive, is magic to those who don't understand it."_
- Florence Ambrose (Freefall #255)
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
- Arthur C. Clarke, 1968
"[...] an uninformed public tends to confuse scholarship with magicians [...]"
- Isaac Asimov, 1952
He's going someplace where a warm hand waits for his.
Michael Ansara who played the Techno-mage was married to Barbara Eden at one time.
One of my favorite B5 episodes, but I got to say, re-watching it after reading the Technomage trilogy is fascinating because it ends up being a completely different story. (the second book is mostly this episode but from the technomages point of view)
Best B5 scene ever. We are the dreamers, shapers, singers and makers....
Kang koor and koloth😊. The spells he was referring to sound a lot like the magic of Odin in Norse mythology😊 (Michael Ansara = awesome)
Oh, if Technomages only really existed on Earth. How many lessons in manner an respect that need to be taught.
One of my favourite episodes! Thank you!
Definitely one of my top ten episodes, hell, probably closer to the top five!
At the end of the Shadow War, Sheridan and Delenn were discussing the magic going away, and how they should now create their own magic. This episode was meant to be a one-off, introducing us to a mysterious group that we'd never see again. But then they brought them back for another special to give Sheridan advice or warning. Sometimes it's good to have mysteries that are never resolved.
Londo just keeps digging himself deeper here.
He learned enough that he knew to destroy any Shadow influence, even destroying an island & ready to kill himself if it came to that. GROWTH.
B5 the best sifiy series ever
Back then they KNEW (or at least Straczynski did) how to write a great story and characters. Now compare this to crap current day hollywood tries to peddle.
Definitely. What Straczynski did was take a sci-fi novel and make it into a 5 year show. The story arcs both small and large were very well done.
Part of the problem with a lot of books being adapted to movies or TV is that you lose so much. It's always little more than a shadow of the book. Pun intended. Because they don't take the time to world build, most shows up until that time were doing a show of the week episode, where you could watch it as a stand alone episode and it didn't usually effect the overall story. Each story was neatly wrapped by the end of the episode, for the most part. This weeks episode is about psychic ability. This is the monster of the week episode, this episode is about addiction etc. What Straczynski did with B5 flew in the face of that, he really hashed out these ideas over a long period of time.
That made the character development in B5 top notch. It didn't hurt that the relatively unknown actors turned out to be perfect for their roles. IMO the alien characters turned out to be more interesting than the human. In most sci-fi shows that's not the case. Not that there are no great alien characters in other shows, but they're usually ancillary compared to the human characters. B5 puts them out front in a big way, the show hinges on that.
Putting more alien characters out front is mirrored in DS9. When I say "mirrored" I mean they copied that from B5. There was a lawsuit that Paramount lost because Straczynski had submitted B5 to Paramount first but they turned it down. Suddenly they had a great idea for a show with a space station by a wormhole, with many other similarities. Not gonna complain too much about that because we got characters like Garak and Dukat etc. So there's that.
Wait am I ranting. Sorry about that. Was bored.
@John Daniels While The Expanse is quite cool the complexity of it's writing in comparison to B5... well it's way more simplified - B5 had so long and intricate story arcs, plots ,character developments that were literally spanning through enitre show - The expanse is more focused on delivering single contained stories with one maybe two lingering plots in the background like the protomolecule itself or tensions between the earth/mars/belt. With B5 this was way more intricate often with foreshadowing of things to come in entire seasons later. So nah while i like The expanse and indeed think currently it's the best Sci-fi show airing at the moment - nah B5 was way better written mate - Boomer juice or not :P
Anyone peddling "god" crap doesn't know what the Gre'Thor they're talking about.
Expanse? Surely you Jest!
God is a Person who creates. Your comment was created. Now imagine a hypocritical baffoon claiming your comment self created out of thin air.
*_"Then perhaps it is Magic. Magic of the human heart. Focused and made manifest by technology."_*
One of the best episodes of a great series.
I’d love to just to sit down with him and chat about stuff. Even if he doesn’t tell you the fourteen words. Just to talk with someone like that can to me teach you about them and your thoughts and self.
So many artists from B5 are gone now. I noticed on the series illustration, Bruce Boxleitner is the only one left alive on that photo.
We still have nine others who were considered Main Cast in all five seasons who are still alive and kicking around this dust ball of a planet. ;)
Unfortunately, four of their characters were killed off, one is missing and who knows what the others would be doing if the story continued. If we wanted more B5, we would need not only a reboot starting at The Gathering, but a cast of young and terrifyingly healthy old actors.
It is kinda sad, but I have only thoughts of celebration and admiration of what not only the cast, but the entire crew and support staff that made this timeless series. All the political, ideological, societal and moral issues present in the series are STILL relevant today. I finished binge watching the entire series with my 19 year old goddaughter and she thought it was an awesome, poorly budgeted and produced current series. When I told her the last episode aired in 1998, well before she was born, she was amazed. So much so she bought a few USB drives and plans to give them to a few of her college friends.
@@JamesRichardsPlays Some members of Generation Y - Z will be beholden to her.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you write a dialogue. God i miss that quality....
Ah yes, draw from one example and leave no room for other writers to find their own style.
@@Jokie155 Ha yes, draw from one sentence and make wild conclusions.
So happy I met JMS back in 2010. And Peter Jurasik and the late Andreas Katsulas a few years before that.
Wish we could have seen more of the Technomages.
I am going to repair that statement with "Wish we could have seen more of the Technomages, beyond the train-wreck that was was Crusade" ;) I did read the novelizations. Not bad.
@James Richards fair enough but I didn't count crusade. Lol
@@JamesRichardsPlays Crusade had good intentions. The ones that weren't used to pave the road to Hell.
@@Avallachgrey You chose wisely, to quote the ancient knight in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Sheridan foreshadows sending a Babylon station back 1000 years in time.
Little space dragons and vultures pecking at molari....nice touch. Classic.. 👍🥴
A fairly respectable imitation of Carl Sagan.
I was wondering she someone would get around to it ;) buuuuut. .... I'll let others.
Scientist - Warriors Not to be messed with. You don't mess with Cochise either.
This is by far one of Michael Ansara's best performances ever!
god dam its not just his voice which is baller its his pronunciation its unique but still clear i could listen to that man say laser all day
This dialog makes my skin tingle every time I see it.
Luckily Galen hung around. Good old Galen.
I wouldn't say he hung around. I think he went against Elrich's "suggestions" and returned to the IA when news of Earth's quarantine reached their cabal.
Michael Ansara also played King in ST:TOS, ST:DS9 and ST:VOY, he also Princess Ardala's 2IC, Cain, in "Buck Rogers and the 25th Century".
I really miss this show.
I don't remember this episode. Michael Ansara was one of my favorite Actors.
"We know how to be poor"
Oh crap. I think I may be a techno mage!
Greatest sci fi series ever.
Such a missed opportunity for a spin-off
They kinda did... Crusade. JMS originally fought against it. Then acquiesced, but TNN ruined it.
@@JamesRichardsPlays Can you imagine a series with both Woodwards father and son
Might be interesting, but longevity might be an issue. Maybe a miniseries depicting a few years of them doing stuff that culminates in an overarching plot ending, maybe the catalyst to how humans become like the Vorlon...
@3:47 it would have been nice if they could’ve returned and imparted that idea to the Narns after what they went through
"If we went back in time a thousand years, trying to explain this place to people..."
This would have been a great foreshadowing if Sinclair had said it as it was originally intended.
Интересно, кем впоследствии оказались техномаги. Жаль,что эта история не получила продолжения.
There starting it up again......maybe we'll get answers about them.
Londo and Sheridan get taught lessons by Mr Freeze
Galen was 1 of my favorite characters.
Awwww, you cut out the best parts. Narn opera ! 500k shares in Spooland !
XD Yeah, I know. I was mainly concentrating on the wisdom of the character of Elric. I re-cut it again to be just the Orange Blossom scene for another discussion on another platform.
90's SciFi costumes were so Puffy back then
That Technomage versus Bester, who would win?
My personal choice for Professor X
Techno-mages are cool...😎😎😎
Loved Babylon 5 and Crusade and the idea of the Techno-Mage. What is a Techno-Mage ? Someone who uses tech to simulate the effects of magic. 🙂
This one of my favorite scenes from the Babylon 5 series.
R.I.P. Michael George Ansara.......
About that final, magical trick: to see what a real orange blossom looks like, Google "orange blossom pictures" (Wikipedia has some nice ones). The thing that Captain Sheridan is holding looks more like the flower of the toxic and hallucinogenic Datura stramonium, AKA jimsonweed, devil's trumpet, and devil's snare. A hint that things are not always what they seem to be?--But maybe it does smell like orange blossoms....
I dunno...looks like an unblossomed (Yeah, yeah. I make up words all the time) orange flower to me. (I am not a plant expert by any stretch of the imagination) and why would they allow a foul smelling and extremely irritant flower to be on set? Yeah,. it is mostly the sap that causes the irritation, but just holding a blossom can cause a rash. And the Datura in Nevada smell horrible. Not sure what other regional flowers might smell like, but these here suck! Good eye, though and a good reasoning.
@@JamesRichardsPlays Good point, about the irritation and bad smell making jimsonweed unlikely to be used on set. So, that flower could be a Datura look-alike. Here’s a possibility: Ipomoea lacunosa, the White Morning Glory, which is also known as the…(drumroll) “White Star!” (Name of a class of advanced battleships which appear during the Second Shadow War.) Foreshadowing? Or…“for Shadowing?” (The orange-blossom fragrance would be a “technomagical” addition to the blossom.)
@@Carneades2012 Love it.
In the end though, it could just be what it is; an orange blossom and due to editing or time constraints, the closest they could find and we're spinning our wheels on this one XD ehehe
It makes me think that these technomages weren't necessarily so smart. Maybe they just got thier hands on some First One technology, reverse engineered it and used that as a basis for all of thier other stuff. OR, as a hedge, maybe the Vorlons helped them as well, to use in the coming Shadow war.
I had heard/read in some 'canonical'(?) materials that the Technomages used to be tools of the Shadows (not just any First one!) and they are the source of the tech. No idea if it's true or how they broke away from being The Shadows' puppets.
@@nickmitsialis In some of the books that came later there was a bit of info on their origin. They were created by the shadows, essentially as agents of chaos. They managed to break free and when the shadows were about to return they preferred to leave known space rather than risking becoming the tool of the shadow race again.
@@gameoverinsertcointocontin8102 I'[m surprised the Technomages survived. The Shadows didn't seem like a bunch who forgave such things.
@@nickmitsialis I don't know, but I can't see the Shadows tolerating any impudence from any of thier servants.
@@sunnchilde in essence they broke free during a hibernation period when only the other 'servant' races were awake, none of whom dared to wake up the bosses to deal with it, yeah the implication is they ran and hid because while they could fight the drakh or the streib, hte shadows would be like,,, lol primatives SNAP and your tech is off
One of my most favorite episodes from one of my most favorite shows, but one of the few things that ever annoyed me in B5 is how much that flower does NOT look anything like an orange blossom. All they got right was the color lol