A Recommended Viewing Order for the First Season of Babylon 5

Fundamentally there are now four generally popular/accepted viewing orders for the first season of Babylon 5: The Authorized Chronology, The Master List at The Lurker’s Guide, the original broadcast order and the Remastered Order from streaming sites and digital download. The latter as evaporated over the last few years to embrace the original broadcast order, but fundamentally... none of them work for me and I came up with a simple fix (some spoilers below if you are just watching the show for the first time)

AUTHORIZED CHRONOLOGY:
Midnight on the Firing Line (103)
Soul Hunter (102)
Infection (101)
Born to the Purple (104)
The Parliament of Dreams (108)
The War Prayer (107)
And the Sky Full of Stars (106)
Mind War (110)
By Any Means Necessary (114)
Deathwalker (113)
Believers (105)
Survivors (111)
A Voice in the Wilderness (120-121)
Babylon Squared (118)
Legacies (115)
Grail (109)
Signs and Portents (116)
TKO (119)
Eyes (122)
The Quality of Mercy (117)
Chrysalis (112)

LURKER’S GUIDE MASTER LIST:
Midnight on the Firing Line (103)
Soul Hunter (102)
Born to the Purple (104)
Infection (101)
The Parliament of Dreams (108)
Mind War (110)
The War Prayer (107)
And the Sky Full of Stars (106)
Deathwalker (113)
Believers (105)
Survivors (111)
By Any Means Necessary (114)
Signs and Portents (116)
Grail (109)
Eyes (122)
A Voice in the Wilderness (120-121)
Babylon Squared (118)
The Quality of Mercy (117)
TKO (119)
Legacies (115)
Chrysalis (112)

ORIGINAL BROADCAST ORDER:
Midnight on the Firing Line (103)
Soul Hunter (102)
Born to the Purple (104)
Infection (101)
The Parliament of Dreams (108)
Mind War (110)
The War Prayer (107)
And the Sky Full of Stars (106)
Deathwalker (113)
Believers (105)
Survivors (111)
By Any Means Necessary (114)
Signs and Portents (116)
TKO (119)
Grail (109)
Eyes (122)
Legacies (115)
A Voice in the Wilderness (120-121)
Babylon Squared (118)
The Quality of Mercy (117)
Chrysalis (112)

REMASTERED ORDER:
Midnight on the Firing Line (103)
Soul Hunter (102)
Born to the Purple (104)
Infection (101)
The Parliament of Dreams (108)
Mind War (110)
The War Prayer (107)
And the Sky Full of Stars (106)
Deathwalker (113)
Believers (105)
Survivors (111)
Signs and Portents (116)
By Any Means Necessary (114)
The Quality of Mercy (117)
Grail (109)
Eyes (122)
TKO (119)
A Voice in the Wilderness (120-121)
Babylon Squared (118)
Legacies (115)
Chrysalis (112)

The problem is that they all have problematic continuity and flow and several people have become intractable on the issue, but I think I may have a solution, that works well. It does take one reasonable assumption but it’s less of s stretch than some of the assumptions made for the above lists.

I’m a big believer in staying as close to production order as possible, moving only episodes that need to be moved due to continuity when an episode has intentionally been filmed out of order. The reason is simple: the actors, characters and general production tends to grow organically. While commenting on a different issue series creator J. Michael Straczynski said something very similar on 7/4/94.

“I think the concern there is that they might begin playing the *result* rather than the process, that this prior knowledge might color their current performance, rather than making it a clean evolution.” http://jmsnews.com/messages/message?id=18111

Babylon 5 was mostly shot in an order that works best for viewing. There are about five exceptions during the entire series of episodes being shot intentionally out of order (six if you count the movies shot during production of the series), for example in season two’s “Divided Loyalties” and “The Long Twilight Struggle” were intentionally flopped in production to allow extra time for CGI in the latter episode. Conversely any other time that season when episodes were broadcast flopped from production order it invariably led to continuity errors. Examples include “A Race Through Dark Places”/”Soul Mates” or “Knives”/”In the Shadow of Z’Ha’Dum.”

Season one was the most egregious in terms of not following production order but only two of the five (or six) intentional production deviations are present. Being the first season, there was lots of world building by JMS and story editor Larry DiTillio. They were very detailed oriented and clever about giving information. A great example is Garibaldi’s history with Lise. Described in dialogue in “A Voice in the Wilderness” and shown in flashback in “Babylon Squared.” You can watch these episodes in either order (“Voice” was broadcast first but “Squared” was produced first) each builds on the other regardless of order. However, it does play slightly better in production order. We see Lise, and we know they broke up and *then* we get more details as well as some follow-up. Same with the episode “Eyes” and its reference to the events on Mars. As broadcast, it also came before “Voice” and serves as foreshadowing but viewed in production order it plays like a follow up. The production order works better because a follow up is both more readily apparent than as simple foreshadowing and serves as a logical extension from the events in “Voice.”

Careful scripting makes it work either way, which is brilliant crafting even though in both cases it plays better in production order. Therein lies the problem.

On 5-19-2000 JMS said: "Because episodes were often aired out of order, you have to look at what's *inside* the episode when determining the chronology rather than when PTEN decided to air an episode.” http://jmsnews.com/messages/message?id=5805

I think this caused too many people to look for stuff that wasn’t really an error but just reflective of the brilliance of how the episodes were structured so that, for the most part, they could be viewed in almost any order. Please also note he was talking about how they were *aired* out of order, NOT that they were *filmed* out of order.

I’ll go through the reasoning and address why this works better than the four main lists. When there is conflicting information, I will defer to Occam’s Razor (the simplest solution is almost always the best) in terms of how it serves verisimilitude. So, lets first put the episodes in production order.

PRODUCTION ORDER
Infection (101)
Soul Hunter (102)
Midnight on the Firing Line (103)
Born to the Purple (104)
Believers (105)
And the Sky Full of Stars (106)
The War Prayer (107)
The Parliament of Dreams (108)
Grail (109)
Mind War (110)
Survivors (111)
Chrysalis (112)
Deathwalker (113)
By Any Means Necessary (114)
Legacies (115)
Signs and Portents (116)
The Quality of Mercy (117)
Babylon Squared (118)
TKO (119)
A Voice in the Wilderness (120-121)
Eyes (122)

Right off the bat we have two major continuity errors because there were a few episodes filmed out of order (as well as some not-really-continuity-errors, I’ll address farther down).

JMS made no secret that he intentionally flopped “Infection” and “Midnight on the Firing Line” in the production line up to give the actors a few episodes to settle into their roles before making what would likely be a highly scrutinized season premiere.

From a continuity standpoint “Infection” has to move after “Soul Hunter” since Dr. Franklin in introduced in the latter episode (showing that they were clearly filmed in reverse order). Technically, an argument could be made that “Soul Hunter” could just as likely be the premiere as “Midnight” and it would not cause any continuity issues, but I defer to “Midnight” because according to the script books, “Midnight” was written first and it’s the only episode that season that carries a title card for the first appearance of the station (It reads: “Babylon 5, Earth Alliance Station, 10:30 Hours Earth Standard Time”). This along with introductions for three new characters as well as the Raiders and the Londo/G’Kar conflict, appears the best bet as a reintroduction to the show (conversely Soul Hunter only introduces one new character and the Delenn/Sinclair mystery).

Next, “Chrysalis” was shot twelfth even though it was always intended to be the season finale. This is apparent from a continuity POV in the form of the cliffhangers that pick up in season two. So now we have my list what I call:

ALTERED PRODUCTION ORDER
Midnight on the Firing Line (103)
Soul Hunter (102)
Infection (101)
Born to the Purple (104)
Believers (105)
And the Sky Full of Stars (106)
The War Prayer (107)
The Parliament of Dreams (108)
Grail (109)
Mind War (110)
Survivors (111)
Deathwalker (113)
By Any Means Necessary (114)
Legacies (115)
Signs and Portents (116)
The Quality of Mercy (117)
Babylon Squared (118)
TKO (119)
A Voice in the Wilderness (120 & 121)
Eyes (122)
Chrysalis (112)

It’s that easy. That’s the order.

Now, I know there are fans jumping up and down saying what about this or what about that. I could go through all the possible continuity issues and see if I can address the one that concerns you. I originally even considered going on episode by episode to show why it works better but do this for every episode would become too unwieldly.

Ultimately the big debatable conflict comes down to two chains of episodes and two different lists that have JMS’s approval and other comments.

The first episode chain is the construction of the Chrysalis machine. Delenn is seen building the first level in “Legacies,” the second level in “Signs and Portents” and completing it in “Chrysalis.”

The other chain is the pilot played by Doug. E. McCoy who appears in three episodes “Midnight on the Firing Line,” “Signs and Portents,” and then dies in “Babylon Squared.”

The first list with JMS’s blessing is the “Master List” from the “Lurker’s Guide to Babylon 5.” This list appears to be the list that HBOMax was used. It moves “Legacies” to the penultimate episode of the season under the pretext that the Triluminary is used in “Legacies” but given to Delenn in “Babylon Squared” but ignores the progression of construction of the Chrysalis Machine. The argument for this order is bolstered by JMS’s comment on 7-25-94 about wanting Legacies “later in the run, because I didn't want two PsiCorps episodes back-to-back, and for one little detail that will become clearer after "Babylon Squared" airs; it would've been better to have followed that episode, but again, these eps are made to be watched in just about any order, so it's okay in the long run.” http://www.jmsnews.com/messages/message?id=17902

Conversely, the “Official Babylon 5 Chronology” has the construction of the Chrysalis machine in the correct order *and* following JMS’s post by moving both “Legacies” AND “Babylon Squared” before “Signs and Portents,” but this creates a continuity issue with a character getting killed then flying around and doing just fine a few episodes later.

I asked the author of the Chronology about this, and he said the pilot was never intended to be the same character and pointed out that JMS re-used actors all the time. The latter is true but usually when an actor is re-used, they are either buried in prosthetic make-up or more than a year has passed (example Ed Wasser playing a tech in the pilot and then Mr. Mordern over a year later in season one). It seemed odd to have McCoy, who had some unique and instantly recognizable facial characteristics, not be the same character. When I brought up this issue, the author shut down the conversation and retreated to “it was authorized by JMS.” Which seemed like an odd fallback position since the Master list also had JMS’s blessing and author himself (rightfully) completely ignored JMS’s personal preferred order for “Crusade” in the Chronology because of big continuity errors. It seemed inconsistent to ignore one continuity error because of a post from the creator then turn around and ignore the wishes of the creator because of continuity errors.

Fundamentally something about that just didn’t jibe with me. The impact of seeing a familiar face meet a horrible end added to the dramatic weight of “Babylon Squared.” It made it more than just a “Star Trek” style “red shirt” death. It had to be deliberate choice and not just coincidental casting.

A little over a year later, I thought I would go straight to the source and on 12-1-22, I asked JMS on Twitter if it was coincidental casting or intentional that a familiar face was killed off. His response was “A TV show is carefully run, down to the color of the screws in the walls, very little happens by accident or coincidence.” https://x.com/straczynski/status/1598497563690561538?s=46

So, it appears it was, in fact, supposed to be the same character. Which makes sense since it is more impactful from a dramatic standpoint. However, this leaves us with two lists both with JMS’s blessing and two comments that create an order conflict. How do we reconcile?

A little common sense and Occam’s Razor.

Before I get started, I want to point out that it is entirely possible the prop in “Legacies” was not intended to be the Triluminary. First, after reviewing the script for “Legacies” there is no direct reference to the Triluminary. The use of the prop could have been a situation where they decided to repurpose a prop and JMS might not have been on set that day allowing the inconsistency slip through. It happed with the placement (or lack thereof) of Delenn’s hand in “War Without End” during season three. http://jmsnews.com/messages/message?id=12300

It could have happened again. In some photos and even when the image is paused on screen it almost looks like they tried to alter the prop changing it from a simple triangle to a pyramid shape by adding a back. Here is a photo of both the prop from the episode as well as from its first appearance in "And the Sky Full of Stars."

The first appearance of the prop. Simple triangle.

Is that an extra side added to the prop?

Admittedly this is pure speculation on my part with nothing but a fuzzy image and a non-mention in a script to go by. So, to remain intellectually honest, let’s consider production and progression of the episodes from the assumption that the device in “Legacies” is and was always intended to be *a* Triluminary.

In my Altered Production Order we have the pilot appearing in “Midnight,” Delenn is seen building the first level of the machine in “Legacies,” the pilot appears again and Delenn is building the second level in “Signs and Portents,” Delenn receives the final piece/Triluminary and the pilot dies in “Babylon Squared” and Delenn completes the machine it in “Chrysalis.” Moving only the episodes intentionally shot out of order the production order works. 

Midnight on the Firing Line (103)
Legacies (115)
Signs and Portents (116)
Babylon Squared (118)
Chrysalis (112)

If “Legacies” was actually supposed to be the next to last episode as Remastered List/Lurker’s Guide Master List have it, then this begs a HUGE logistical question. In filming order, they made “Chrysalis” first then “Legacies” and then “Signs and Portents.” So why would they take the complete machine prop from “Chrysalis” then tear it down to a single level for “Legacies” then build it back up for “Signs” if the broadcast order was supposed to be “Signs,” “Legacies” and “Chrysalis?”

This makes no sense.

If “Legacies” was always supposed to be after “Signs” but filmed before, it would be MUCH easier to take the whole prop from “Chrysalis” and take it halfway down for “Legacies” then take it farther down for “Signs.”

They didn’t do that. Common sense says “Legacies” was filmed to be seen prior to “Signs and Portents.”

Building the first level in Legacies.

Half way built in Signs and Portents.

About to finish in Chrysalis.

That leaves the pilot and his death being out of order in the Official Chronology. The author works from the assumption (admittedly fueled by a JMS post) that both Triluminaries are the same one. This is where we get to Occam’s Razor. The easiest answer is right in front of us all along.

ONE: The displaying of the body of Bramner is considered unusual in “Legacies.”

TWO: In “Babylon Squared” it is said point blank said there are THREE Triluminaries.

So, do we assume the character who dies has an identical twin who just happens to be a pilot and stationed at the same post has his brother or that the pilot character was resurrected off screen?

OR

Do we assume that the Triluminary seen in “Legacies” is not the same one that was given to Delenn but one of the other two Triluinaries and it was part of the “unusual” “spectacle” of displaying Bramner’s body?

Occam’s Razor.

We *know* a pilot with the exact same face as the one who dies in “Squared” is alive in “Signs,” and we *know* there is more than one Triluminary, but it’s an *assumption* that the device used in “Legacies” is the exact same one from “Squared.” (Again, yes, admittedly an assumption fed by a comment from the creator, but also one that contradicts a different comment from the creator.”) If assumptions have to be made, isn’t it better to make one that *fixes* a continuity issue rather than make one that *creates* a continuity issue and destroys any verisimilitude?

Another argument I hear on this is that the pilot goes by two different call signs (Delta Seven and Alpha Seven) as “proof” it wasn’t the same character. Sorry, it but it’s less of a stretch to assume the character was simply reassigned to a different squad between “Signs” and “Squared.”

Another argument that pops up is that it makes sense that Delenn would get the Triluminary first (in “Babylon Squared”) before building the Chrysalis Machine (in “Legacies”) since the machine is useless without it. This would be a great argument *except* Delenn repeatedly showed complete and utter faith in the prophecies. It is not in any way out of character for her to start construction on the device without having the final piece and having complete faith that she would eventually end up with exactly what she needed. In “Signs and Portents” we see clearly that she already started building it *before* having confirmation that the Shadows were “here.” In “Chrysalis” she didn’t even get confirmation from Kosh that the Shadows had returned to Z’Ha’Hum until *after* finishing the machine. Delenn was faith driven and believed that “faith manages.”

There is another episode to consider. The Official Chronology has “Voice” ahead of “Legacies” because it “is the last episode where there is nothing on the stand where she eventually starts building it (the Chrysalis Machine).” This is a logical assumption, but one could argue, that after Beldon scanned her mind in “Legacies” and then Morden literally walked in on her while she was building it in “Signs and Portents,” she simply moved it out of sight to the other room of her quarters. Given huge implications of the Great Machine, Draal, and Mars, as well as the general flow of episodes work much better with “Voice” near the end of the season. Taking this point into account with the Master List. It would have Delenn build the machine up several levels in “Signs,” took it completely apart again (or moved it) by “Voice,” started rebuilding (or moved it back) in “Legacies” then completed it in “Chrysalis.” Technically it *could* go anyway. Again, a reflection of the brilliance of the writing but the verisimilitude rests with my Altered Production Order.

There is one more order I didn’t mention. There is an alternative viewing order listed on a word press blog you can read here: https://b5season1order.wordpress.com/

It goes like this:

ALTERNATIVE VIEWING ORDER
Midnight on the Firing Line (103)
Soul Hunter (102)
Infection (101)
The War Prayer (107)
Born to the Purple (104)
The Parliament of Dreams (108)
Grail (109)
Deathwalker (113)
And the Sky Full of Stars (106)
Believers (105)
Survivors (111)
The Quality of Mercy (117)
Mind War (110)
By Any Means Necessary (114)
A Voice in the Wilderness (120 & 121)
Babylon Squared (118)
TKO (119)
Legacies (115)
Signs and Portents (116)
Eyes (122)
Chrysalis (112)

The author put in a lot of thought, time and effort (which I really respect) and well-reasoned points but those arguments can go either way. For example: the reasoning for putting “The War Prayer” before “Born to the Purple.” By flipping the original order, first in “Prayer” Londo forced to recognize he had given up on the idea of true love, and then in “Purple” he has a chance to change and seek it out. Of course, the reverse can be surmised in that Londo is so heartbroken after the incident in “Purple” that he has become hardened over the months before “Prayer.” That brilliant writing strikes again.

This new list suffers the same “resurrection of the dead pilot” as the Authorized Chronology but another issue for me is the basic timeline basic timeline really doesn’t work.

Three first season episodes have on screen dates. “And the Sky Full of Stars” April 11, given on the newspaper), “Signs and Portents” (August 3, given in dialogue) and “Chrysalis” (December 30, given on screen). With 22 episodes covering a 52-week calendar year we can assume about 2-3 weeks between episodes.

“Sky” is sixth episode, and the week of April 11 would fall around the 15th week of the year. 2-3 weeks would be 12-18. 15 falls exactly in the middle. “Signs” would be 15th episode and Aug. 3 would fall about the 31st week of the year. 2-3 weeks would be 30-45 weeks. Just falling within the range. “Chrysalis” is end of the season. End of the year. No math required. These three still line up in my Altered Production order.

However, in both this Alternative Order and the Authorized Chronology the beginning of the year is front loaded with numerous episodes and the back half more sparse.

In Alternative Order, you have “Sky” 9 episodes in (18-27 weeks) which just barely squeaks in. Conversely “Signs” is pushed back to episode 20 would mean 19 episodes are crammed into seven months and only three episodes take place over five months. The Authorized version has 17 episodes are crammed into seven months then the remaining five episodes cover five months. Certainly, each of these are possible but most defiantly improbable (especially when season two clearly has 11 episodes taking place over six months, establishing that the episodes are supposed to be spread out reasonably evenly over the course of the year, in fact ALL the date cues are for *every* season confirm this).

At the end of the day, you can watch in whatever order you like, for the most part the writing is so clever that most of season one can be watched in a variety of ways but I champion sticking close to production order as possible because there is a natural and very subtle evolution to production, from the performances, costumes, make-up, and sets, they are all tweaked and refined over the course of a season or a series, particularly in the early days.

Look at classic “Star Trek.” There was virtually no episode-to-episode continuity on that show but if you take an early episode like “The Corbomite Maneuver” or “Mudd’s Women” and watch it later in season one, say, after “City on the Edge of Forever,” you will see things that seem subtilty different and out of place. Nothing major. Spock is still Spock, and the Enterprise is still the Enterprise but there is an almost imperceptible feel of something being different, from uniform cuts to lighting and make-up coloring. That’s the case here. The show simply flows better adhering to production order as close as possible. Doing it this way is contributing to “making it a clean evolution” as JMS once called it.

Don’t believe me? Go back to my ALTERED PRODUCTION ORDER and try it out for yourself.

Representation vs. Continuity: How the culture wars and Star Trek exposed a different kind of racism.

PART 1: RACISTS CLUTCHING THE PEARLS AND SCREAMING “WOKE!”

One of the things I have always loved about Star Trek is its diversity. The original series was produced during the Civil Rights era and one of the regular characters was Lt. Uhura, a black woman. The U.S. was also embroiled in a bloody land war in Viet Nam and right there flying the ship was an Asian, Lt. Sulu. The Cold War was ratcheting up and for two of the three seasons, sitting next to Sulu was Ensign Chekov. The captain was a Mid-Westerner, doctor was a Southerner, the engineer was from Scotland and the first officer was not even from our planet. Trek has always tried to be inclusive. Sure, if you look back at it today it can be painfully sexist, and those racial minorities rarely had lines that were more than functional, but they were there and treated with respect. If you look at it as a product of its time it was (pun intended) lightyears ahead of just about anything else on television. As times changed so did the show, but it was always striving (even if it sometimes fell short) to include more underrepresented people, not just in casting, but story content as well frequently addressing social issues.

Uhura from the original Star Trek.

There has been an ugly strain of racism rearing its head in fandom the last half decade. The political vocabulary of the extreme right has been popping up more and more and when Trek returned to tv with Star Trek: Discovery, immediately charges of being “woke” jumped out. “Oh, they are doing agenda tv with a black woman as the star,” or “Oh they are pushing the gay agenda with a gay regular.” It was nasty hateful shit that made me wonder, if they had been watching the same show that I spent my virtually my whole life watching and re-watching. Whenever I would push someone by asking “what do you mean by “woke?”” invariably what would eventually come out would be racist, sexist, or homophobic.

Every.

Single.

Time.

If “woke” means more representation to actors of color, more gender equitable roles and increased visibility of LGBTQ+ characters and performers, then I’m all for it. Everybody deserves representation. Everyone NEEDS representation. The problem is right wing media is trying to play on the racism of its consumers to generate fear and outrage so they will knee jerk defend the Nazi’s chanting “Jews will not replace us” in Charlottesville and condemn Black Lives Matter as a violent organization even though the FBI reports 93% of BLM protests were peaceful (and most of the remaining 7% were instigated by counter protesters and the Department of Homeland Security reported that white supremacists groups were a larger threat to security).

PART 2: ASSUMPTIONS MADE

This is where it gets fuzzy, the writers and producers of Discovery were not helping. You see, I don’t like Discovery very much. It is literally the bottom of my list when I order my Star Trek series. Whenever, I voice this opinion and two things happen, I’m accused of being racist, homophobic, or sexist which causes the racist, homophobic, misogynists start defending me.

Burnham from Star Trek: Discovery

My big gripe about Discovery, being a longtime fan, was the horrid continuity and lazy writing. Plot twists were painfully predictable. (For the record I had the exact same feelings about Star Trek: Enterprise during its first two seasons) I won’t go into details for fear of getting too far off topic, but I hope someday to do an analysis of Discovery and vent my frustration with the show.

But here is the problem…

Every time I had a criticism of the show, the progressive fans who liked the show didn’t seem to want to take my word that my issue is with continuity or the writing, and the conservative half-wit anti-woke crowd wanted to graft their hate onto my complaints to try to legitimize their positions.

Both sides ignored it when I pointed out that Tig Notaro’s Jett Reno had become my favorite character, just edging out Anthony Rapp’s Paul Stamets (whose character and performance is literally the only thing that kept me from quitting the show the first season). Both performers and their characters are gay. Blu del Barro’s non-binary Adira Tal is probably the most important character to be added to a Trek cast since Roddenberry put Nichelle Nichols and George Takei in the original cast. Other than the production values (which will always improve as technology improves) THAT is what Discovery gets right: Representation. They have a fantastically diverse cast of regulars, guest stars and recurring characters. It is one thing that I absolutely love about the show. In fact, I find myself wishing some of the supporting players would get more to do (especially Patrick Kwok-Choon who plays Gen Rhys and Oyin Oladejo who plays Joann Owosekun).

Reno from Star Trek: Discovery

Staments from Star Trek: Discovery.

Adira Tal from Star Trek Discovery

Many of those who like the show want to ascribe ulterior motives to my dislike of the series often dismiss continuity as an excuse. It’s doesn’t matter to them, so in their eyes I’m just using it as a shield for my own hidden racism. I don’t like to crap on other people’s love of stuff, but I’d gladly debate Discovery’s story quality and if you dig the production values (which are spectacular) that’s fine. If you dig the representation aspect, I feel ya, it’s the best thing about it. But if I get taken out of the story because of poor continuity or weak storytelling or predictable plot twists, please don’t presume an ulterior motive. There are plenty of genuine racists, who are blatantly telling you their motives when they repeat buzzwords like “woke.” Don’t try to shrug it off my legitimate complaint saying, “there have always been continuity issues.” Yes, there have been, and they always bug the living piss out of me.

Continuity is important. It provides a sense of verisimilitude. When a continuity issue pops up it makes me crazy. It always has. When a line from Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation’s pilot “Encounter at Farpoint” blatantly contradicted a line of dialogue from Spock in the original episode “The Omega Glory.” I cringed. I still do. It takes me out every time, even after all these years. The vast majority of continuity errors are usually errors that slipped through. Little errors that could have been fixed with a line of dialogue. Sadly, some are deliberate choices made by the showrunners. To me it's a big issue.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Encounter at Farpoint"

Star Trek - "The Omega Glory"

Now, if you don’t care about continuity, that’s certainly your prerogative as a fan, but don’t lump me in with the anti-woke Tucker Carlson watching lemmings just because we disagree and I find Discovery disappointing dramatically and nonsensical as a prequel. A lot of the issues could have been avoided if the show were rebooting a new universe instead of forcing itself into the original “prime” universe. This is truly the perplexing part. Why make a prequel then ignore the continuity when you can just reboot a new continuity and pick and choose, in buffet style, what you want to keep and toss?

INTERLUDE: REBOOTS VS. SPINOFF AND STRANGE NEW WORLDS & THE ANIMATED SERIES

I know this next little bit will seem off track and even random at times, especially when I said the continuity and writing are, in essence, a whole different issue from all of this, but context is king so I need to discuss some terms and provide some back story before I move on to the real point of this article.

There are three ways to add onto a franchise. 

FIRST set a spin-off in the same universe as a sequel or prequel or parallel to the source material. This is what all of the Trek television shows claim to be. 

The SECOND way is a hard reboot. This takes the basic concept and reworks it from the ground up. It has no impact on the original and the original only serves as inspiration for new. Battlestar Galactica (2004) is an example of a hard reboot.

 

The Battlestar Galactica hard  reboot.

The THIRD option is the soft reboot. You set it in continuity but devise a way to wipe the slate clean, so you have an excuse to not beholden to continuity. The Star Trek trilogy films starring Chris Pine (2009-2016) are an example of this. Spock from the original prime universe continuity goes back in time chasing a Romulan villain and the timeline gets altered creating an alternate parallel timeline for the new stories.

Kirk from the Star Trek soft reboot.

No one is forcing you to like the soft or hard reboots, but they are a tool for writers to get away from being hemmed into continuity. If we did a hard reboot of Trek we could drastically change things up and have a female Latinx Capt. Kirk, a Black Dr. McCoy or a female Scotty, and Spock could be red and eat via a plate in his stomach (as originally intended) but in the soft reboot we must have the characters be mostly recognizable unless the change can be traced back to the plot element that altered things (in this example the timeline changes by the Romulan). Discovery producers deliberately decided the show would be set not in the soft reboot continuity, nor a brand-new hard reboot continuity but instead insisted it was part of the original prime continuity.

During season two of Discovery the story arc tied into the original failed 1964 Star Trek pilot, “The Cage.” (In 1965 a new pilot was made, and the series was sold becoming the show we all know, and the original pilot footage was used as flashback material for the two-part 1966 episode “The Menagerie.”) On Discovery, they recast characters that appeared in that original pilot (Spock, Capt. Pike and Number One) and fan reaction was so positive that a new series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, was announced and would be set between the two original pilot episodes in the original prime universe. The show premiered May 5th.

The Cage - The original 1964 Star Trek Pilot

The Cage characters recast for Star Trek: Discovery

The Cage characters in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

In 1974 Star Trek’s first ever spin-off, Star Trek: The Animated Series was made and ran for two years. It won an Emmy for Best Series in 1975. It helped keep Trek alive in the decade between the cancelation of the original series and its resurgence as a motion picture series. When Star Trek: The Next Generation was on the air, there was a time when TAS was considered non-canonical. However, over the years more and more references from the movies, TNG, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Enterprise and most recently Star Trek: Lower Decks have brought it into continuity.

Star Trek: The Animated Series

What do these things have to do with one another? You’ll see because now I’m finally at the point of this whole post.

PART 3: THE SPIN OFF, RECASTING AND ACCUSATIONS OF RACISM

Recently it was announced that a black actor had been cast as Admiral Robert April a reoccurring guest character for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. And of course, some red hat wearing asshole complained online that it was another example of modern Trek being “woke” ruining Trek because the character had previously been established in the TAS as white. He was roundly and properly taken down. Again, in *my* experience EVERY TIME someone uses the word “woke” pejoratively and they have been questioned or pushed on it, it reveals a racist, homophobic or sexist sentiment.

April from Star Trek Strange New Worlds

April from Star Trek: The Animated Series

Here’s the problem: I agree that the actor should not have been cast but for different reasons. You see: Objecting to the casting of an actor of color because it’s “woke” is racist. However, objecting to recasting of ANY established character that is supposed to be in the same continuity (not a hard reboot) by someone of a different race or gender is not racist because the reasoning is not based in hate but a desire for continuity.

My fellow liberals pounced and proclaimed me a racist. Maybe I am. Maybe I am unconsciously using continuity as a shield. I'm self reflective enough to at least consider the possibility. However, if I were, certainly it would come out in other ways, right? So, I started asking myself questions. It’s always good to ask oneself questions when you find human garbage in agreement with you.

Do I object to a person of color being a high-ranking officer to whom a white man must answer?
No. I never questioned that Commodore Stone, Admiral Morrow or Admiral Cartwright as Kirk’s commanding officers in “Court Martial,” Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. I would not have a problem if the actor in question were hired to play Admiral Smith instead of Admiral April and served the same function in the story. In act after finally seeing the first episode, there was absolutely no reason to call the character Robert April. By the way, DS9, which featured a black commanding officer, is my favorite Trek series. For whatever, that's worth.

Commodore Stone with Kirk in Star Trek "Court Martial"

Sisko from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Would I still object if the situation were reversed?
Oh, you betcha. If April were originally depicted as black in TAS and they announced a white actor playing the role I would be against the casting. I would also object if black characters like Sisko, LaForge, or Mayweather were recast with white actors. Hell, I would be object if Arex, an orange skinned three-armed alien from TAS, were depicted in live action as purple with four arms.

Arex from Star Trek The Animated Series

Would I object if the casting was part of a hard reboot?
Nope, not at all.

Is the continuity of his race the only thing about the announcement that bothered me?
Nope. He’s listed as Admiral but the character as he first appears on TAS is a lower rank, a Commodore, in an episode that takes place more than a decade later. Also, I don’t know how old the actor is, but he looks much younger than 60 (April was 75 in his appearance on TAS).

The answer to these questions satisfied me, but every racist I’ve run into has sworn up and down they were not racist, so maybe I’m fooling myself. Again, I'm self reflective enough to consider the possibility. I do know that when pointed these positions out, sadly, my fellow liberals gave me ZERO benefit of the doubt and even went so far as to move goal post and start downplaying the series. Their counter arguments were frequently rude, ill conceived and had the whiff of desperation. Here is a tase of how many conversations went...

“You are full of crap. Sisko was a regular. The April character only appeared only once.”
I would not want one-time characters of color like Boma (“The Galileo Seven”) and Shea (“By Any Other Name”) recast as white, in fact you can make the same argument about Pike and Number One when they were first used as guest stars on Discovery. They tried to keep those characters like their original interpretation. They even dyed Rebecca Romijn’s hair to match the original actress. There were no accusations of hating blonde’s or accusations being secret brunette supremacists. After finally seeing the first episode, it appears that April is not the only character whose race is changed. Transporter Chief Kyle, who was originally a white British officer, is now Asian with no trace of a British accent. Kyle was not a one off but a reoccurring character who appeared in nine episodes of the original series and even one of the feature films.

Boma from Star Trek "The Galileo Seven"

Shea from Star Trek "By Any Other Name"

“Boma and Shea were live action. April was a cartoon.”

I wouldn't want Gabler, a recurring character who appears in five episodes of the  the animated series to be recast as white. Also again, Kyle was live action. Also , I wouldn’t want Beckett Mariner or Capt. Freeman, both black characters voiced by black performers in the animated Trek series Lower Decks recast as white in a live action series (in fact I would lobby for the voice actresses to get the job). Second, we now have two animated Trek series currently in production. Animation should not disqualify the series from being cannon.

Gabler from The Animated Series.

Mariner and Freeman from Star Trek: Lower Decks

“The Animated Series is over 40 years old, Lower Decks is new.”
Eh, so what? Strange New Worlds is literally based on a pilot that is almost 60 years old.

“The Animated Series is dated.”
Yea. So is TOS which is the basis for everything, all the shows get older every year. Is this a suggestion that we put “expiration dates” on the shows? TOS and TAS have “expired” since they are over 40 years old. TNG is 35 so we can start ignoring it in five years. This is lame, if the producers want to ignore old stuff, all they had to do was a reboot instead of putting it in the original continuity.

“The Animated Series not cannon. Roddenberry said so.”
It wasn’t… until it was. As I noted above. The show and the episodes have been brought into continuity by other series, some as recently as just last year. The context of Robbenberry comment was that if he knew the show would become a franchise and continue with movies and TNG he would have toned down the sillier elements. With that said, Roddenberry proudly put his name on the series. Seven members of the cast returned to voice their characters (William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForrest Kelley, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, and Majel Barrett), as did guest stars (Mark Leonard, Roger C. Carmel, and Stanley Adams) many episodes were written by people who worked on the original series including TOS story editor D.C. Fontana, David Gerrold, Samuel Peeples, Marc Daniels, Margaret Armen, Stephen Kandel and Walter Koenig. It has some pretty deep cred on the creative side, more so than just about any other Trek tv show.

“The writer of the original animated episode is ok with the casting.”
Yes, Fred Bronson (who wrote the episode under the name John Culver) tweeted support for the casting. Given that he might be savaged and accused of racism if he didn’t, it may have been his only choice. There is some debate as whether or not he created the character. Bronson has said he created the character using the name April because he knew Gene liked it (Gene used the name before in other scripts). Conversely, Roddenberry did make the claim at conventions that he created the character because wanted the Enterprise to have "a history" and used a rejected name for the series lead as the first commander/backstory (I heard him say this myself in 1989). Either way the name first appeared to the public in the 1968 book The Making of Star Trek by Roddenberry and Stephen Whitfield as well as an early as a pilot script draft dated March1964, more than a decade before "The Counter Clock Incident" was written. However, that does not necessarily contradict Bronson's recollection, since that point the character was the character that would become Pike. If he did create the character let's hope he's getting the residuals for the use of his character. 

Bronson's Tweet.

“The episode sucks.”
Yea, so what? The first episode was filmed in 1964. There have been 12 television series (five of which are currently in production) resulting in 861 episodes (including all ten episodes of SNW this season and the yet unaired 10 episodes from this season of Star Trek: Prodigy) with another 50-60 episodes in various points of production for next season and 13 motion pictures (with one in preproduction). When you produce that much material there are going to be some winners and some stinkers. You must take the good with the bad, it wasn't the first ridiculous episode nor was it the last. Continuity and cannon should not be based on a score from Rotten Tomatoes.

“The Animated Series sucks.”
That’s your opinion. The Television Academy of Arts and Sciences disagrees, they gave it a Best Series award. It remains the only Trek to earn that distinction. By contemporary standards it’s dated, cheap looking and may not be your cup of tea, but just because YOU don’t care for it doesn’t mean should be ignored.

“You hate the actor.”
No. I’m completely neutral on the actor. He did a perfectly good job in the first episode as had the actor who has been playing Kyle. I know nothing about either one of them and to the best of my knowledge I have not seen either of them in anything else (If I did, they flew under my radar). I would have no problem if they were presented as new/different characters with different names or the series was a hard reboot.

Kyle from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Kyle from the original Star Trek

“You hate Strange New Worlds”
Given the continuity on Discovery, I’ll admit was very concerned about SNW, but I wanted to love it. I wanted it to be good. I hoped it’s the best Trek ever. This is usually my attitude about every new Trek show before it airs. Since seeing the first three episodes I am of two minds. If it had been presented as a reboot I would hail it as a fantastic start with potential to be one of the top three Trek series, but as a prequal, the numerous continuity issues are distracting and annoying, leaving me very divided. My only real non-continuity related issue with the first episode is some of the cringe worthy Vulcan dialogue near the beginning of the episode.

“It’s clearly racial, you didn’t throw a fit when April was erased from continuity in the Star Trek 2009 film.”
That was a soft reboot. He wasn’t erased, the timeline was altered. His new fate was depicted in the comic book story “Countdown to Darkness” which is considered cannon by the reboot trilogy producers (one of the rare exceptions for a comic or novel).

April from the soft reboot comic.

“It’s clearly racial, you don’t have other continuity complaints.”
No, the announcement of the actor happened before the show aired creating the initial controversy and conversation, in addition to the two instances of changing of existing characters ethnicity, I counted at least 12 other continuity issues in the first episode alone after finally seeing it. More have popped up in the two episodes since then. All of which would be non-issues if the show were a reboot instead of a prequel. 

“Your reboot argument sucks. People hate reboots.”
Yes… and no. Many hated the hard reboot of Battlestar Galactica and the soft reboot of the new Star Trek film trilogy. But many people LOVED them. You can’t please everyone but why deliberately antagonize and alienate longtime fans by disregarding continuity when it could be avoided one way or the other?

Of course from the other side when a bigot tries to join in to defend me: "Star Trek was never woke or political with this Social Justice Warrior crap before."

You clearly were not paying attention or are a drooling idiot... probably both.

Star Trek - "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield"

Star Trek: The Next Generation - "The Outcast"

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - "Rejoined"

PART 4: CONCLUSION, THE POLITICS OF IT ALL

Here is the thing.

Yes, there is racism. Yes, since Tump’s election, racists have become emboldened. Yes, conservative media is fueling the outrage machine and stoking fear and hate especially in terms of race and the LGBTQ+ community. And yes, racists will sometime lie and try to use non-racial arguments to further a racist agenda or even change packaging to make the racism more subtle or palatable (all you must do is listen to one of Nixon’s advisors, Lee Atwater, discuss the “southern strategy” on YouTube to hear that clearly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_8E3ENrKrQ). That’s all absolutely true.

However, if you always assume that someone disagreeing with you is evil and racist, then you are as bad as the jerkoffs who scream “woke” every time a person of color or member of the LGBTQ+ community is cast in a movie or a series. It’s ok to be skeptical, most of these hateful pricks are disingenuous blowhards, but ask good faith questions and listen, really listen, and think about the responses, look at their profiles and their past posts. If they are feeding you a line, it will be mostly apparent but otherwise you may be attacking an ally who just has a difference of opinion and not for the reason you suspect or assume.

One thing is for sure. Knee jerk reactions like this will sway people in the political middle. The people who don’t actively go out an advocate for racial diversity or LGBTQ+ inclusion but likewise are appalled by hate groups and would find any effort to impede advancements in those areas distasteful. Maybe the person is a fan who loved The Animated Series, perhaps it was their introduction to Star Trek as a whole. If they agree with the bigoted knuckle dragger but for completely different reasons and they see the brutal attacks on social media. They will walk away thinking, wow, maybe Tucker Carlson, Alex Jones and Laura Ingram are right about all these extreme “woke” liberals. And if they are right about that maybe they are right about vaccines, January 6th, and etc.

This will be catastrophic for the mid-terms and our country. I despise the anti-woke crowd and make no mistake the right wing can’t run on their positions, because they don’t have a record to run on, all they have is the culture war and misinformation and they will be running on the four table legs of a platform that includes nonexistent Critical Race Theory in schools, Transgender bigotry, blaming Democrats for pandemic and corporate greed induced inflation and the ginned-up idea of the “woke” left extremists. With the GOP passing laws that allow people maneuvered into place to over turn election results they don't like, passing restrictive voting laws for those they don't want to have a voice,  gerrymandering maps and packing the courts. Democracy is literally on this line this midterm and you are helping them by automatically lumping everyone who disagrees into the same basket of deplorables.

10 Music Collections to Know Me

Continuing my lists of things to know me. I now present my favorite music collections adding to my previous lists of books, movies, tv shows and comic book collected editions. It is very soundtrack heavy, so it’s an eclectic mix of individual songs. Because I doubled up some entries (or more) there is no “honorable mention” for this list (although if I were to add one it would be the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack). Being a luddite, my choices for the list was simple. I just asked myself what cassettes or CDs I popped into my player back before digital downloads moved the market back toward singles and away from albums.

10. Reservoir Dogs: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by various

1992, MCA, Mix

Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino rocketed to stardom as a unique filmmaker that could balance dialogue and action with plot and characterization. In his low budget first film he squeezed in a small but impactful soundtrack that was full of unexpected choices (I defy anyone to think of “Stuck in the Middle with You” the same way after watching it). Competing music that was of a similar era but stylistically different complimented the narrative of his story, but even on its own it makes for a satisfying and fun listening experience.

Track List:
Little Green Bag – The George Baker Selection
Hooked on a Feeling – Blue Swede
I, Gotcha – Joe Tex
Magic Carpet Ride – Bedlam
Fool for Love – Sandy Rogers
Stuck in the Middle with You – Stealers Wheel
Harvest Moon – Bedlam
Coconut – Harry Nilsson

9. Babylon 5: The Original Television Soundtracks by Christopher Franke and the Berlin Symphonic Film Orchestra
1995 (original) 1997 (Vol. 2: Messages from Earth) 2001 (Best of), 1997-1999 (Episodic) Sonic Images, Instrumental

The music of Babylon 5 was a slow burn for me, the original opening theme was fantastic but otherwise the early episodes were a strange (I’ll even say off-putting) amalgam of 80s era European synthesized sounds but as the show progressed traditional orchestral sounds moved up in the mix resulting in a power house range of music, from season one’s tense “Requiem of the Line” music in the episode “And the Sky Full of Stars” to the sweeping notes that can been heard in the series finale “Sleeping in Light.” Franke came along way in five years going from simply managing to create and build tension with a creative mix of strings and percussion to being able to evoke the emotion of heart break with brass and woodwind.

The music of Babylon 5 was presented in suites on the full-length releases of Babylon 5 Volume 1 and Babylon 5 Vol. II: Messages from Earth with extracts from various shows, however there were also releases of episodic CDs, containing music from induvial episodes in their entire length with cues playing chronologically as originally aired with an average total time of 30 minutes (longer for the feature length episodes). Those include Chrysalis from season one. The Coming of Shadows and The Fall of Night from season two. Severed Dream, A Late Delivery from Avalon, Walkabout, Shadow Dancing, Z’Ha’Dum, Interludes and Examinations, War Without End (parts 1 and 2) and And the Rock Cried Out No Hiding Place from season three. Into the Fire, No Surrender No Retreat, The Face of the Enemy, Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?, The Long Night, Lines of Communication, Endgame, Falling Toward Apotheosis, Thirdspace and In the Beginning from season four. River of Souls, The Ragged Edge, Darkness Ascending, Objects at Rest and Sleeping in Light from season five. Franke also did the music for The Lost Tales, the reunion film in 2007, which also got a release (as did the spin off Crusade with controversial music by Evan Chen). These releases show that Franke wasn’t afraid to change up style, like his Celtic inspired tracks for “A Late Delivery from Avalon” or the arrangements for songs written by J. Michael Straczynski specifically for guest star Erica Gimple (Fame) in the episode “Walkabout,” the “Bar Background Music” from “Face of the Enemy” which was inspired by the Juliet Lewis performed song, “Hardly Wait,” by PJ Harvey from the film Strange Days and the new arrangement for a classic gospel song “And the Rock Cried Out No Hiding Place” (from the episode of the same name) performed by Marva Hicks. It was easy to underestimate Franke at first but by the end he was delivering some amazing music for the series.

Track list (Vol. 1):
Chrysalis I - IV
Mind War I & II
Parliament of Dreams I - III
The Geometry of Shadows I-III

Track list (Vol. 2):
Main Title 1st season (extended)
Messages from Earth
Main Title 2nd Season
Z’Ha’Dum
Main Title 3rd Season
Severed Dreams
Main Title 4th Season
Voices of Authority

Track List (Best of):
Main Title 2nd Season
The Geometry of Shadows III (aka Requiem for the Line)
Sheridan & Father
Mobilization
The Big Battle
The Signal
Awakening
Countdown
Main Title 3rd Season
Into the Abyss
Begin to Attack the Shadows
Emergency Treatment
The Geometry of Shadows II
The Geometry of Shadows I
Main Title 4th Season
Main Title 5th Season
Dying Station
Sierra Theme

8. Star Trek: The Motion Picture: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith (with Alexander Courage) and the Columbia Orchestra
1979, Columbia Records (original), 1999, Columbia/Soney Legacy (20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition), 2012, La-La Land Records (extended), Instrumental

While Star Trek fans may argue the quality of the film, no one questions the brilliant Academy Award nominated score. From energetic main title theme that would be recycled for Star Trek: The Next Generation, to martial quality and clicks of the Klingon anthem, to the absolutely breath takingly lovely Ilia’s Theme/Love Theme (also used as the Overture in most cuts of the film), Goldsmith set a standard for building suspense, highlighting reveals, ratcheting up tension and accompanying character moments without stepping on the dialogue, performances, or effects. It’s masterful in the same way John Williams was with Star Wars and Superman, it grounds the fantastical elements while simultaneously heralding the epic qualities.

Track List:
Overture (Extended)
Ilia’s Theme
Main Title
Klingon Battle
Total Logic (20th)
Floating Office (20th)
The Enterprise
Malfunction (Extended)
Goodbye Klingon/Goodbye Epsilon Nine/Pre-Launch (Extended)
Leaving Drydock
TV Theme/Warp Point Eight (Extended)
No Goodbyes (Extended)
Spock’s Arrival (20th)
TV Theme/Warp Point Nine (Extended)
Meet V’Ger (Extended)
The Cloud
Vejur Flyover
The Force Field (20th)
Micro Exam (Extended)
Games (20th)
Spock Walk
System Inoperative (Extended)
Hidden Information (Extended)
Inner Workings (20th)
Vejur Speaks (20th)
The Meld
A Good Start (20th)
End Title

The extended release includes everything from the first two releases plus also includes alternate takes, isolated extracts, and other extras - including the "rejected" cues.

7. Moonlighting: The Original Television Soundtrack by various
1987, MCA, Mix

Like the show itself, you can expect the unexpected from this mellow collection of soul, retro and love songs. The different styles of music work well together and even the provocative songs have an innocence to them. There is a romantic quality overall (which seems apropos) given the source.

Track list:
Moonlighting - Al Jarreau (opening and closing credits)
Limbo Rock - Chubby Checker (“My Fair David”)
This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You) - The Isley Brothers (“Knowing Her”)
Blue Moon - Cybill Shepherd (“The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice”)
I Told Ya I Love Ya, Now Get Out! - Cybill Shepherd (“The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice”)
Good Lovin’ - Brice Willis (“Atomic Shakespeare”)
When a Man Loves a Woman - Percy Sledge (“I Am Curious… Maddie”)
Someone to Watch Over Me - Linda Ronstadt & The Nelson Riddle Orchestra (“Maddie’s Turn to Cry”)
Stormy Weather - Billie Holiday (“I Am Curious… Maddie”)

6. MCMXC a.D. by Enigma
1990 (Original), 1991 (Limited Edition) Virgin/Charisima, New Age

Meditative, relaxing, and vaguely sexy while exploring themes of good & evil and love & sadness, the album is a unique listening experience. The experimental first album from the German project plays off contrasting opposites by mixing archaic sounds with modern music, paring dance beats with Gregorian chant and religious themes with sexuality. It worked amazingly well and is most definitely different from anything else out there.

Track list:
The Voice of Enigma
Principles of Lust (Sadness/Find Love/Sadness Reprise)
Callas Went Away
Mea Culpa
The Voice and the Snake
Knocking on Forbidden Doors
Back to the Rivers of Belief (Way to Eternity/Hallelujah/The Rivers of Belief)
Meditation (LE)
Fading Shades (LE)
Everlasting Lust (LE)
The Returning Silence (LE)

The limited-edition volume released a year later added four alternate versions of previous tracks.

5. Pulp Fiction: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by various
1994 (original), 2002 (extended), MCA, Mix

Over his career, Tarantino proved is a master of mixing genres in his movies but as early as his second film he displayed the same quality in his music selection. His selections of song not only provide a mood for the sequences but even invigorate previously out of date music. Eclectic and unconventional choices work well and like his plot twists, never fail to surprise the viewer, or in this case the listener.

Track List:
Misirlou - Dick Dale & His Del-Tones
Jungle Boogie - Kool & The Gang
Strawberry Letter #23 - The Brothers Johnson (extended)
Let's Stay Together - Al Green
Bustin' Surfboards - The Tornadoes
Lonesome Town - Ricky Nelson
Son Of a Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield
Bullwinkle Part II - The Centurians
Rumble - Link Wray and His Raymen (extended)
Since I First Met You - The Robins (extended)
You Never Can Tell - Chuck Berry
Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon - Urge Overkill
If Love Is a Red Dress (Hang Me in Rags) - Maria McKee
Comanche - The Revels
Flowers On the Wall - The Statler Brothers
Out Of Limits - The Marketts (extended)
Surf Rider - The Lively Ones

4. Pump Up the Volume: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by various
1990, MCA, Alternative

There are probably three definitive films about what a friend of mine once called “teenaged bullshit angst,” - Rebel without a Cause, The Breakfast Club and Pump Up the Volume. With all due apologies to Simple Minds fans, Pump Up the Volume is the best soundtrack as it embraces darker alternative rock songs, sometimes with deceptively upbeat music (and yes even the love ballad is depressing). It’s a fascinating mix of music that works both in the film and as a collection in its own.

Track List:
Everybody Knows – Concrete Blonde
Why Can’t I Fall in Love – Ivan Neville
Stand! – Liquid Jesus
Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf) – The Pixies
I’ve Got a Minatare Secret Camera – Peter Murphy
Kick Out the Jams – Bad Brain with Henry Rollins
Freedom of Speech – Above the Law
Heretic – Soundgarden
Titanium Expose – Sonic Youth
Me and the Devil Blues – Cowboy Junkies
Tale O’ the Twister – Chagall Guevara

3. Still in Hollywood and Recollection by Concrete Blonde

1994 and 1996, I.R.S., Alternative

I first noticed Concrete Blonde on the above listed Pump up the Volume soundtrack with their version of Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows.” It wasn’t until fall of 1991 that I got a real taste of their work when when my first college roommate had all three of their albums which, to my surprise, included the song I recognized (and loved), “God is a Bullet,” from a 1989 episode of 21 Jumpstreet. I quickly became a fan. To people unfamiliar with their work, I recommend their “best of” album, Recollection, which pulls from their first five albums. It’s a great introduction to what is genuinely a great collection of their best songs, but personally I prefer a different collected edition: Still in Hollywood. Filled with alternate versions of popular tracks and previously unreleased material, it is surprisingly better. The live acoustic version of “Joey,” which is about being in love with an alcoholic, is much more haunting than the studio version because the pain and vulnerability are much more on display in the performance. Likewise, the live versions of “Gold is a Bullet,” “The Sky is a Poisonous Garden Tonight,” “Roses Grow” and especially “Tomorrow Wendy,” a story about a woman with AIDS, have a much more raw and energetic feel than the studio versions. The extended French release of “Bloodletting” is far more enjoyable than the edited version (if 4:28 is good than 7:08 is better). All the remaining tracks are certainly as good if not better than most songs released on their albums post 1990 but may fall a little short of some of the great songs on Recollection (hence the double dip). My only complaint is that “I Want You” from the Point Break soundtrack didn’t make either collection. The best thing about these collections, is that Concrete Blonde was about telling stories through music and those stories came from a personal place, making them genuine art.

Track List Still in Hollywood:
"It'll Chew You Up and Spit You Out" (alternate version of "Still in Hollywood")
"Everybody Knows"
"Free"
"God Is a Bullet" (live)
"Probably Will"
"Mandocello"
"The Ship Song"
"Joey" (live/acoustic)
"Little Wing"
"Roses Grow" (live)
"The Sky Is a Poisonous Garden Tonight" (live)
"Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)" (extended French release)
"Simple Twist of Fate"
"Side of the Road"
"100 Games of Solitaire"
"Tomorrow, Wendy" (live)

Track List Recollections:
"God Is a Bullet"
"Tomorrow, Wendy"
"Joey"
"Scene Of a Perfect Crime"
"Someday?"
"Ghost Of a Texas Ladies Man"
"Dance Along the Edge"
"Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)"
"Happy Birthday"
"Caroline"
"Cold Part of Town"
"Walking in London"
"Heal It Up"
"Everybody Knows"
"True"
"Mexican Moon"
"Still In Hollywood"
"Mercedes Benz (live)"

The live version of “Joey” was from MTV Unplugged while the others were from a performance from the Malibu Club on Long Island)… and seriously how did NO ONE think to use “Bloodletting” in the film adaptation of Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire. Maybe someone working on the AMC adaptation will realize it's perfect.

2. Due South Volumes I & II: The Original Television Soundtracks by various
1996 (Vol. 1) and 1998 (Vol. 2), Nettwerk Records, Mix

This eclectic mix of alternative, classic rock, Canadian country and even a 13th century Christian hymn is as bizarre and wonderful as the tv show itself. While the music was usually picked to augment individual scenes in episodes, they hang together surprisingly well as collections. It’s a great way to discover a talent or style outside of your normal listening habits. The slightly darker and more obscure tracks from Volume 2 edge out the more popular Volume 1 but both make for fun and unique listening experiences hence another double dip.

Track List (Vol. 1):
Due South Closing Theme - Jay Semko
Bone of Contention - Spirit of the West (“An Eye for an Eye”)
Cabin Music - Jay Semko (“Pilot”)
Possession (Piano Version) - Sarah McLachlan (“Victoria’s Secret”)
Horses - Ashley MacIsaac (“They Eat Horses, Don’t They?”)
Akua Tuta - Kashtin (“A Hawk and a Handsaw”)
American Woman - The Guess Who (“Diefenbaker’s Day Off”)
Henry Martin - Figgy Duff (“Gift of the Wheelman”)
Ride Forever - Paul Gross (“All the Queen’s Horses”)
Flying - Blue Rodeo (“Some Like it Red”)
Due South Opening Theme - Jay Semko (seasons one & two)
Neon Blue - Holly Cole Trio (“Chicago Holiday”)
Victoria's Secret - Jay Semko (“Victoria’s Secret”)
Calling Occupants - Interplanetary Craft - Klaatu (“Starman”)
Eia, Mater (from Stabat Mater) - Andrew Davis (“The Deal”)
Dief's In Love - Jay Semko (“The Wild Bunch”)

Track List (Vol. 2):
Oh, What A Feeling - Junkhouse (“Eclipse”)
Drunken Sailor - Captain Tractor (“Mountie on the Bounty”)
Robert Mackenzie - Paul Gross (“Mountie on the Bounty”)
Mind - Vibrolux (“Good for the Soul”)
Mountie on the Bounty - Jay Semko (“Mountie on the Bounty”)
Song For a Winter's Night - Sarah McLachlan (“Hunting Season”)
Slave To Your Love - Dutch Robinson (“Mountie and Soul”)
From A Million Miles - Single Gun Theory (“Pilot”)
Take Me Out to The Ballgame - Trevor Hurst (“Dr. Longball”)
November - Mythos (“Seeing is Believing”)
Cubically Contained - Headstones (“Mountie and Soul”)
Nobody's Girl - Michelle Wright (“Mountie Sings the Blues”)
Sophia's Pipes - Ashley MacIsaac (“Mountie on the Bounty”)
Western End of The Trail - Jay Semko (“Call of the Wild”)
Holy Tears - Tara MacLean (“Call of the Wild”)
Revised Due South Opening Theme - Jay Semko (season three & four)

1. Thorogood Live and Let’s Work Together by George Thorogood and the Destroyers
1986 EMI and 1995 Capitol, Rock and Roll/Blues

My wife and I disagree on live albums, she prefers studio recording because they have a better sound quality, but I like the live versions because the energy is always up. This has never been more true as it is with Geroge Throrogood and the Delaware Destroyers’ first two (of seven) live albums. Not only is the original Thorogood Live my favorite alum ever, it may be the definitive album for the band because it highlights what they do best: a high-octane boogie beat fusion of rock-n-roll and blues that shows off their own hits as well as songs from rock and blues icons, like John Lee Hooker and Elmore James, that are sadly falling off the radars of younger generations. Their inspiration/affection for the fading classics make them more than performers; they are like fellow fans of the genre giving you a nudge saying “hey, let me play you this, you’ll love this guy’s song” or “if you dig that guy’s work listen to my song that was inspired by his work.” This love of the genre is evident and results in that infectious energy that is abundant in their live performances. I threw in Let’s Work Together because it has the same energy and stylistic mix of the previous album and combined, the two are a great anthology that highlight the best of their first dozen albums and almost two decades of work. There may smoother musicians and better voices out there but none with a better sense of history or energy. These are great if you want to tap your toes and experience rock and blues by fans for fans.

Track list Thorogood Live:
Who Do You Love?
Bottom Of the Sea
Night Time
I Drink Alone
House Rent Blues/One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
Alley Oop
Madison Blues
Bad To the Bone
The Sky Is Crying
Reelin' & Rockin'

Track list Let’s Work Together:
No Particular Place To Go
Ride On Josephine
Bad Boy
Cocaine Blues
If You Don't Start Drinkin' (I'm Gonna Leave)
I'm Ready
I'll Change My Style
Get A Haircut
Gear Jammer
Move It on Over
You Talk Too Much
Let's Work Together
St. Louis Blues
Johnny B. Goode

Nine other albums considered along with the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack for the Honorable Mention slot, and would make a top 20 list include (in no particular order):
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band – The Beatles (1967)
The Anthology: 1947-1972 – Muddy Waters (2001)
Cracked Rear View – Hootie and the Blowfish (1994)
Jagged Little Pill – Alanis Morissette (1995)
Eagles Live – Eagles (1980)
The Ultimate Collection (1948-1990) - John Lee Hooker (1991)
Appetite for Destruction – Guns N’ Roses (1987)
Big Ones (Special Edition) – Aerosmith (1994/1998)
Bat Out of Hell – Meat Loaf (1977)