A View from the Gallery

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“A View from the Gallery”

Babylon 5 episode

Episode no.

Season 5
Episode 4

Written by

J. Michael Straczynski
Harlan Ellison

Directed by

Mike Vejar

Guest stars

Robin Atkin Downes (Byron)
Joshua Cox (Lt. Corwin)
Raymond O'Connor (Mack)
Lawrence LeJohn (Bo)

Production no.

505

Original airdate

11 February 1998

Episode chronology
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"The Paragon of Animals"	"Learning Curve"

List of Babylon 5 episodes

"A View from the Gallery" is an episode from the fifth season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5. The episode is unusual in that it is told from the viewpoint of two maintenance workers (Mack and Bo) as they witness the station being attacked.

[edit] Synopsis

Unknown forces attack the station; a pair of maintenance men go about their duties.

Telling the story from the point of view of two members of the maintenance crew makes for a humorous and funny episode that has several in-jokes and moments of poignancy. We get to see how Captain Lochley deals with being in a pressure situation, and we get to visit many other members of the main cast.

One of the most memorable scenes from this episode comes from Delenn's interaction with the two maintenance workers. Sheridan orders them to put Delenn in a life pod, but since Delenn did not want to go, Delenn talked her way around the two men, Bo and Mack, while earning their adoration. Later on, Delenn's ability to see honor in the every day life of people furthers earns their respect as she remembers their names and says hello to them in passing.

The scenario of two comic yet philosophizing minor characters meandering in and out of the lives of the main characters is reminiscent of Tom Stoppard's play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Byron's quoting of Hamlet during the first enemy boarding party's attack reinforces this similarity.

[edit] Arc significance

A View from the Gallery is a standalone episode in the sense that it doesn't advance the prevailing storyline of the season, but instead provides an outsider's look into how the station operates and how two civilians deal with issues commonly faced by the station's military and diplomatic personnel. Events from the episode are also self-contained, in that the alien attackers are of a previously unknown alien race that is not mentioned again.