Home > Babylon 5 - Season 1, v 1.7 - Survivors / By Any Means Necessary [VHS]

Since we know that Garibaldi is innocent it is pretty easy to figure out who the real culprit is in this one. Apparently the whole point of the episode is to give Garibaldi a reason to start drinking again. Apparently when the going gets tough, Garibaldi gets drunk, which really does nothing to strengthen the character in our eyes. But then early on in the episode Garibaldi starts to come off the rails, picking fights with pickpockets for example. He spends a couple of minutes trying to figure out how to prove his innocence before sitting in a bar and getting drunk. Still, that will not stop him from being the hero at the end of this one. All of this character "depth" just rings hollow, and since the mystery is not that hard to crack this episode does not have that working for it either.

Episode 12, "By Any Means Necessary" (Written by Kathryn Drennan, Aired May 11, 1994) starts with an accident in the docking area causing the death of one of the workers. Apparently working conditions on the docks at Babylon 5 are deteriorating and the workers are prepared to launch an illegal strike. For Neeoma Connoly (Katy Boyer), the labor leader for the workers, the decision of the Earth government to not provide any of the budgetary increases needed for B5 is the last straw and the illegal strike is on. Earth sends its best negotiator, Orin Zento (John Synder) to resolve the dispute, but he is empowered to invoke the Rush Act and use military force to crush the workers. Meanwhile, just to give Commander Sinclair (Michael O'Hare) another headache, G'Kar (Andreas Katsulas) needs a G'Quan Eth for a religious ceremony important to his family and the only one on the station belongs to Londo (Peter Jurasik), who has a long list of grievances needing payback.

This episode reminds me of the alien in "Plan 9 From Outer Space" who declares "You Earth people are all idiots," because that is what I feel about the Earth government. The negotiator they send is a model of arrogance, with no semblance of diplomatic skills. How this clown is successful at settling anything is beyond me. Fortunately Sinclair has so much experience keeping alien species from killing each other on his station that he is able to take advantage of Zento's arrogance and a provision in the Rush Act that empowers him to end the strike "by any means necessary" to save the day. He is equally adept at resolving the G'Quan Eth dispute. If Sinclair was President of Earth the planet might have a chance, but I will not be holding by breath on that score.

Touchy Subjects, 2009-04-10
Survivors is forty-three minutes and thirty seconds long and originally aired on May 4, 1994. The show starts off with a bomb being exploded in the fighter bays days before Earth Alliance President Luis Santiago is about to arrive. The president security arrives to investigate this matter and Lianna Kemmer takes it upon herself to question a dying man. At his deathbed confession he names Chief of Security Michael Garibaldi. Mr. Garibaldi is put under house arrest. When he is escort back to his quarters, Cutter finds damaged evidence against him. Mr. Garibaldi escapes and is not a fugitive on Babylon 5. Mr. Garibaldi first gets Londo to give him a loan and then heads to G'Kar for some answers. After he leaves G'Kar he winds up in a bar and part of his past comes to life. We find out that the character Michael Garibaldi has a battle of alcoholism and when things really to start to get bad for him he crawls right into the bottle. This pattern would be reflected in later episodes. Mr. Garibaldi is finally caught and is brought back into custody. Lianna Kemmer interrogates Michael, mainly out of revenge. Officer Lou Welch arrives with evidence against Cutter. Michael convinces Lianna to check out the fighter bays herself. Lianna takes Michael to the fighter bays to find Cutter watching guard. Cutter uses a shock stick to render Lianna helpless. While reaching for Lianna's gun, Michael attacks Cutter and a fight takes place. Michael is able to render Cutter unconscious and alerts Ivanova not to open the bays door. Ivanova halts the countdown and later we find out it the doors were set to explode the moment they open. Michael is cleared of all charges. This is the first time we get to glimpse into Michael Garibaldi and we find out he has some problems. Survivors gets an A+ plus from me.

By Any Means Necessary is forty-three minutes and thirty seconds long and originally aired on May 11, 1994. By Any Means Necessary have two stories to it, a main story and a sub-story. The main story begins when a Narn cargo ship is blown up in Docking Bay 8. It is found out that Docking Bay 8 had sub-standard parts installed and the blame is passed onto the dock workers. The dock workers feel that they are getting unwanted blame. Their union reprehensive, Neeoma Connally, fights for the dock workers rights. When the talks start to break down, the dock workers begin calling in sick. Meanwhile Earth Senate has sent a Labor negotiator to Babylon 5. When Orin Zento arrives, he meets with Commander Sinclair and Neeoma Connally. The talks go nowhere and Commander Sinclair suggests they get a fresh start tomorrow. They begin the next day and when Orin Zento does not get his way at the talks, he enforces the Rush Act. I riot breaks out in the docking bay and Mr. Garibaldi is literally sent in to rescue Ms. Connally. Commander Sinclair arrives at the docking and offers a deal to the dock workers: 1) 1.3 credits will be transferred from the military budget to the dock workers for new parts and extra crew, 2) all charges to be dropped against the dock workers and, 3) the deal is only good if they return back to work immediately. The dock workers agree to return to work. In a sub-story The Narn ship that blew up in Docking Bay 8 and caused all this mess, was carrying a G'Quan Eth (a flower). G'Kar finds out that the only other person that has a G'Quan Eth flower for his religious ceremony is Ambassador Mollari. Originally Ambassador Mollari was going to sell the G'Quan Eth to G'Kar, but later on changes his mind. When that happens G'Kar orders Na'Toth to steal a sacred statue from Mollari. Commander Sinclair is caught in the middle of this petty dispute and finally orders Mollari to turn over the flower and orders G'Kar to return the idol back to Mollari. G'Kar is sadden, but Sinclair reminds G'Kar that the sunlight from the G'Quan Mountain is ten years old and has taken that long to reached Babylon 5; therefore G'Kar can perform his religious duties. G'Kar thanks Sinclair and the shows end showing G'Kar performing his religious duties. By Any Means Necessary deserves an AAAAA+++++ from me.

Not the best, but still fun to watch., 2001-02-25
In 'Survivors' we see the Earth President visiting the station. As the episode unfolds, we witness an attempt on the president's life, while his security chief holds Garibaldi responsible for it. We also learn information on Garibaldi's past, who escapes to Down Below while Sinclair tries to get him off the hook.

In 'By Any Means Necessary' a serious accident is causing a major strike and Sinclair has to work it out without betraying anyone: Earth dome, his crew or himself. Somewhat boring, but the side story is quite fun, as G'Kar and Mollari harass each other by stealing religious items.