Talk:Shadow (Babylon 5)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"During normal flight, these spines are oriented towards the rear, but in order to attack, the ship rotates so that they curve forward"
This is incorrect. I suppose this was gleaned from the episode where for the 1st time the Vorlons join the fight vs. the Shadows prompted by Sheridan, as in that one some ships are seen "backing away" from the site of the most recent attack on the Brakiri trading routes with the LONAW.
However, the Shadow battlecruisers, depicted in the article and of whom the autors speaks, are often seen during the show to be 1st) propulsionless (that is, with no visible means to generate motion) and most importantly 2nd) moving in any direction, on any axis. Verify this by watching the two longest battle scenes involving the Shadows as follows:
A) The end of the last Shadow war, battle of Coriana 6. The battlecruisers are seen moving with the splines forward, and (in this and countless other episodes) having an arc of fire of 160 degrees in 2 dimensions (the _main_ gun emplacements are, as stated, dead centre in the forward section, just where ST-Starfleet's ships deflector dish is located).
B) The Narn-Centauri war, Narn attack on Gorash 7 -protected by Shadow forces through the Morden-Mollari alliance. In this one also the ships are seen to be moving and simultaneously firing forward, but at the end you'll see one of their ships collecting a "wounded mate". Observe carefully the way that it does this, put this together with all the other movement capabilities seen in other shots in other episodes and you will also come to the inescapable conclusion that like the Vorlon fighters, Shadow battlecruisers can move in any direction, on any axis (see that specific episode+scene with the Vorlons entering the war and 'Thirdspace' for verification on Vorlon fighters)
The ships that fly in the fashion indicated in the article are in fact their smallest, the fighters aka "Spitfires". These fly with the "pointy end" aimed backwards and in this are unique for the 'conventional' Shadow vessels. See the episode "War Without End" (pt. 2 i think) for verification on the Shadows fighters direction of flight and fire)
I can provide movies and/or screenshots, or a list of episodes with relative motion/firing direction to the truly unconvinced but i'd be grateful if you verified it by yourself.
- - - More Later - - -
"three pairs of glowing orange eyes"
Nonononono.
The Shadows have an odd (as in weird) number of eyes in an odd formation. 14 Eyes total divided into 4 groups.
Superior: Two sets of three arranged (slanted upward) roughly like this "O OO OO O"
Inferior: Two sets of four arranged (slanted upward) to align perfectly under the superior sets
Because of this, at first look they seem to have 16, in fact there's one missing in each of the upper sets, making 14. Verify this with episodes where they are seen clearly, or for a massive close-up refer to the two episodes where the Shadow's telepathic guardian, the "Eye" (as it is referred to) is shown:
Series 4: Best shot to look out for is on episode 1, "Hour of the wolf", see the 14 eyes in all their glory, because the "coronas" on the lower set of eyes overlap it's a bit difficult to count them at first, but after a few passes on the two scenes where they are shown you _will_ notice there's four on each side's lower sets, especially the right one where they are most visible, as they are aimed almost straight towards the camera.
Series 2: Ivanova enters the Great Machine on Epsilon 3 on Draal's invitation (actually he invited Sheridan but Ivanova actually attended), the Shadow's guardian soon detects her telepathic presence and appears to her. The above scene is seen again, in somewhat lower detail.
Contents |
[edit] ==
As for what information is provided in books outside the main B5 project, and is said to be considered "Canon", I disagree. The vast majority of the episodes where written by JMS himself, and although there are some retcons and inconsistencies here and there, if the information presented in the series conflicts with that presented in any other media (games/books included), I would rather take the series evidence as canon, as that comes straight from the horse's mouth.
This article is actully full of inaccuracies so there's no point in writing dozens of posts like the two above, if someone has the patience it should be rewritten, otherwise give me a buzz and i'll have a go.
[edit] Better picture
There should be a better image of a shadow in the article, there are some cases where they're shown more plainly, such as the intro of Interludes and Examinations. --Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason 22:45, 14 October 2006 (UTC)
- I've added a second image, i believe it has a better view of the Shadows, i've left the old one as well. thanks/Fenton, Matthew Lexic Dark 52278 Alpha 771 18:38, 20 October 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Not Helpful
This article begins with the quote
In contrast to the Vorlons who ask "Who are you?" the Shadows ask the question of "What do you want?" centering
towards desire rather than identity
This clearly is only meaningful to people who are already familiar with the setting, and should be explained or removed.
[edit] original research
I added the tag since there are hardly any references to the text, which makes some of the paragraphs seem like original research, e.g. "The Shadows are presumed to have evolved from arachnoid creatures." 129.16.49.138 16:11, 1 November 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:B5 shadows 2.jpg
Image:B5 shadows 2.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.
Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.
If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.
BetacommandBot (talk) 06:23, 2 January 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:B5 shadows.jpg
Image:B5 shadows.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.
Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.
If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.
BetacommandBot (talk) 06:24, 2 January 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Section on Government
Where did this information come from? Maybe I missed the part about the "Pale and Silent King" and the "Priests of the Fallen Midnight" in the series, but it sounds like the author made that up. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.211.81.167 (talk) 00:24, 29 January 2008 (UTC)
