DESCRIPTION:
Jeremiah and Kurdy come up against Michael (Priestley), a man who has proclaimed himself
a god and plans to take over the entire nation, beginning with the End of the World. Jeremiah
and Kurdy discover that not all of the 'old world' ideologies were extinguished after the
big death. The need for absolute power, at any cost, survived.
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STARRING:
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ADDITIONAL INFO:
- "Tribes" was the working title for this episode.
- Another title we have seen is "Flensed" which means, according to Webster: "To strip
(as a whale) of blubber or skin."
- For a short time, sho.com credited the writer of this episode with "Fettes Grey" which is
a known pseudonym for J. Michael Straczynski. It disappeared soon after we discovered it but it is a
mystery why it was there. Generally, when JMS uses a pseudonym, it means he doesn't want
to be associated with a project. This is very strange since he repeatedly said how proud
he was of this series and especially this episode. We can only assume that it means
something else in this case (like they wanted to keep it hush-hush because of the subject
matter?) but we won't know for certain since JMS has refused to comment.
- The German title for this episode is "... und auf der Erde war Salz gesät" and is a
literal translation of the English title.
MONICA'S REVIEW:
It was hard to sit down and write a review for this episode because as Jeremiah said, "Dear
Dad, I don't have very much to say tonight. Some days there just aren't the words ... you
know?" This is definitely an episode that -must- been seen and take some time to let it all
sink in. J. Michael Straczynski certainly wasn't kidding when he said that he is taking "stuff right to the
wall" either!
Priestley was ever so creepy as Michael. He was very convincing and believable in this
role even though it was like nothing I had ever seen him play. When he said, "I realized the
only way the Big Death could have happened, was if God ... was dead." just gave me goose
bumps. Even though Michael was very intelligent and charismatic, you could see how his morals
and reason were twisted in order to deal with the Big Death.
I was also amazed how long Jeremiah has survived in this world since he is seems to throw
himself into danger and goes up against unbeatable odds (the skin-heads, the raiders as
Captain Iron, and now taking on Michael). Maybe it has been a recent decision for him to try
to make a difference in this world, no matter what the cost. In any case, I am in it for the
long haul to find out!
THEO RATING: 9
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QUESTIONS RAISED:
- Where exactly is Cranston and McLaren Army Base?
- How many more "Michael's" are there in this world?
- How many of those type have taken over other Army bases?
- What will happen when someone figures out how to use nuclear weapons?
- Is what Michael said about the Valhalla Sector true or was that just something he said
to get Jeremiah to cooperate?
- If so, why would Valhalla Sector attack Thunder Mountain?
- How did Michael's tribes stop or scare off the Valhalla Sector?
RELATED INFO:
See all photos from this episode and read
our collection of favorite quotes as well.
JMS AT SCI FI MAGAZINE SAID:
APR.1.2002
The main thing was testing out directors, testing the storyline, and
finding what worked and didn't work. And I found some approaches that worked very well for us
in the tone and tenor of shows like Firewall and ... And the Ground, Sown With Salt and the two parters.
JMS AT RASTB5M SAID:
MAR.19.2002
[T]his is one of the hardest things I've written, and may be one of
the best. It's just totally unrefuckinglenting, there are some great performances...it's a
tough episode that takes stuff right to the wall. It's one of my favorites.
MAR.10.2002
My favorite three so far would be Firewall, ... And the Ground, Sown With Salt, and Journeys End in Lovers
Meeting.
FEB.18.2002
[It is] what happens when, after the Big D, a group moved into an
abandoned Air Force base and decided to use those resources for their own destructive aims.
[A] very intense episode guest starring Jason Priestley.
AUG.6.2001
Fettes and Grey were the two grave robbers in The Bodysnatcher.
AUG.27.2000
Did you have anything to do (develop/story edit?) with "Spiral
Zone"?
I wrote the pilot, then when I saw what they were going to do with the show, I took my name
off it and walked away from the show. I think I put on Fettes Grey as my pseudonym, which
are the names of two grave robbers from a well known piece of fiction.
