Babylon 5 Quotes
[Sheridan asks Delenn for help in providing covert assistance to Narn civilians without the approval of EarthGov.]
John Sheridan: …Ambassador, I've learned the hard way that governments deal in matters of convenience, not conscience. If they fall behind, it is up to the rest of us to make up the difference. If we don't, who will?
John Sheridan: …Ambassador, I've learned the hard way that governments deal in matters of convenience, not conscience. If they fall behind, it is up to the rest of us to make up the difference. If we don't, who will?
TV Show: Babylon 5
[Ambassador Correlilmerzon insists on sex to cement the Earth-Lumati alliance. Ivanova does a bizarre song and dance which she claims is human-style sex.]
Susan Ivanova: Boom! Shabba-labba-labba.
Boom! Shabba-labba-labba.
Hey there, hey there, three bags full!
You come here often? Yes! I do!
. . .
I slept with you the other night.
You didn't call, you didn't write!
I think you did it just for SPITE!
Oh! Yes… oh, yes! Oh, YES! OH! YES!
Tell me about your portfolio!
Oh, YES! YES! YES! YES!
Lie to me about your family…
. . .
[She finishes with a shriek and a compliment.]
Correlilmerzon: What do I do now?
Ivanova: Old style, you roll over and go to bed. New style, you go out for pizza, I never see you again.
Susan Ivanova: Boom! Shabba-labba-labba.
Boom! Shabba-labba-labba.
Hey there, hey there, three bags full!
You come here often? Yes! I do!
. . .
I slept with you the other night.
You didn't call, you didn't write!
I think you did it just for SPITE!
Oh! Yes… oh, yes! Oh, YES! OH! YES!
Tell me about your portfolio!
Oh, YES! YES! YES! YES!
Lie to me about your family…
. . .
[She finishes with a shriek and a compliment.]
Correlilmerzon: What do I do now?
Ivanova: Old style, you roll over and go to bed. New style, you go out for pizza, I never see you again.
TV Show: Babylon 5
John Sheridan: Are we just toys to you? Huh? What do you want?
Kosh: Never ask that question!
Sheridan: At least I got a response out of you. So what'll it be, Ambassador?
Kosh: I will teach you.
Sheridan: About yourself?
Kosh: About you. Until you are ready.
Sheridan: For what?
Kosh: To fight legends.
Kosh: Never ask that question!
Sheridan: At least I got a response out of you. So what'll it be, Ambassador?
Kosh: I will teach you.
Sheridan: About yourself?
Kosh: About you. Until you are ready.
Sheridan: For what?
Kosh: To fight legends.
TV Show: Babylon 5
[Ivanova rants about EarthGov's decision to sell B5 merchandise.]
Susan Ivanova: Welcome to Babylon 5, the last, best hope for a quick buck!
John Sheridan: Commander—
Ivanova: Oh, this is demeaning! I mean, we're not some…some deep-space franchise! This station is about something. [N]
Susan Ivanova: Welcome to Babylon 5, the last, best hope for a quick buck!
John Sheridan: Commander—
Ivanova: Oh, this is demeaning! I mean, we're not some…some deep-space franchise! This station is about something. [N]
TV Show: Babylon 5
[Lawyer Guinevere Corey interrupts the questioning of Minbari witness Ashan.]
Guinevere Corey: May I ask what you were discussing here?
Sheridan: The only thing that matters—the truth.
Guinevere Corey: Ah, yes. The favorite song of the legally ignorant.
Guinevere Corey: May I ask what you were discussing here?
Sheridan: The only thing that matters—the truth.
Guinevere Corey: Ah, yes. The favorite song of the legally ignorant.
TV Show: Babylon 5
[Londo sputters outrage over a B5 Emporium "Londo Mollari" doll.]
Londo Mollari: It's a mockery! It doesn't even have any, uh…attributes.
Sheridan: Attributes?
Londo: Do I have to spell it out for you?
[Londo gestures downward. Ivanova and Sheridan stare at Londo, then at each other.]
Sheridan, Ivanova: Ohh!
Ivanova: I see. So you feel like you're being symbolically cast—in a bad light.
Sheridan: Well put.
Londo Mollari: It's a mockery! It doesn't even have any, uh…attributes.
Sheridan: Attributes?
Londo: Do I have to spell it out for you?
[Londo gestures downward. Ivanova and Sheridan stare at Londo, then at each other.]
Sheridan, Ivanova: Ohh!
Ivanova: I see. So you feel like you're being symbolically cast—in a bad light.
Sheridan: Well put.
TV Show: Babylon 5
Sheridan: I– I never thought there could be anything worse than being all alone in the night.
Delenn: But there is. Being all alone in a crowd.
. . .
Delenn: In the service of their clan, they're ready to sacrifice everything–their individuality, their blood, their life.
Sheridan: Their honor? Oh, we've had plenty of that ourselves. Conspiracies of silence, because the larger ideals have to be protected. But you can't have larger ideals if the smaller ones get compromised. It's like building a house without a foundation, Delenn—it can't stand!
Delenn: But there is. Being all alone in a crowd.
. . .
Delenn: In the service of their clan, they're ready to sacrifice everything–their individuality, their blood, their life.
Sheridan: Their honor? Oh, we've had plenty of that ourselves. Conspiracies of silence, because the larger ideals have to be protected. But you can't have larger ideals if the smaller ones get compromised. It's like building a house without a foundation, Delenn—it can't stand!
TV Show: Babylon 5
Ashan: We are not responsible. It was the leaders of our clan who decided to act without asking the Council or anyone else in the government–not us. Yes, it was foolish—
Lennier: No, not foolish. It was tragic.
Lennier: No, not foolish. It was tragic.
TV Show: Babylon 5
[Londo goads a hung-over Vir.]
Londo: Good, Vir—you're sobering up! I can see the synapses beginning to fire behind your eyes! A frightening sight, I might add.
Londo: Good, Vir—you're sobering up! I can see the synapses beginning to fire behind your eyes! A frightening sight, I might add.
TV Show: Babylon 5
[Ivanova hands Sheridan a teddy bear from the new gift shop.]
Sheridan: Ba-Bear-lon 5? Oh, he's a cute one. [Notices the initials on the shirt.] J.S.?
Ivanova: John Sheridan.
Sheridan: Oh, this is supposed to be me? [Suddenly turns grim.] I want it off my station. I want 'em all off my station. I want the whole place yanked out, boxed up, and shipped out by 0800 tomorrow. Is that clear?
Ivanova: I'll get right on it.
Sheridan: Oh, and…[Takes the bear.]
…
[Warren Keffer responds to a report of a UFO outside the station.]
C&C: Babylon Control to Zeta-One. Any trace of that unidentified object?
Warren Keffer: Negative, Babylon Control. I don't see a…
[Said teddy bear hits his Starfury's viewport for a moment before drifting away again.]
C&C: Zeta-One, have you encountered unidentified object? Can you describe it?
Keffer: Negative, Babylon Control. I don't think so. Not on a bet. Heading back to the barn.
Sheridan: Ba-Bear-lon 5? Oh, he's a cute one. [Notices the initials on the shirt.] J.S.?
Ivanova: John Sheridan.
Sheridan: Oh, this is supposed to be me? [Suddenly turns grim.] I want it off my station. I want 'em all off my station. I want the whole place yanked out, boxed up, and shipped out by 0800 tomorrow. Is that clear?
Ivanova: I'll get right on it.
Sheridan: Oh, and…[Takes the bear.]
…
[Warren Keffer responds to a report of a UFO outside the station.]
C&C: Babylon Control to Zeta-One. Any trace of that unidentified object?
Warren Keffer: Negative, Babylon Control. I don't see a…
[Said teddy bear hits his Starfury's viewport for a moment before drifting away again.]
C&C: Zeta-One, have you encountered unidentified object? Can you describe it?
Keffer: Negative, Babylon Control. I don't think so. Not on a bet. Heading back to the barn.
TV Show: Babylon 5
Stephen Franklin: You know, what the folks back home don't understand—the ones who've never left Earth—is just how dangerous space can be. Aside from incidents like this, just the everyday reality of living your days and nights in a big tin can surrounded by a vacuum. I remember my first time on a transport on the Moon-Mars run. I was just a kid, maybe 17. A buddy of mine was messing around and zipping through the halls. And he hid in one of the airlocks. I don't know, I guess he was going to try to scare us or something. I don't know. But just as I got close, he must have hit the wrong button, because the air doors slammed shut, the space doors, opened, and he just flew out into space. And the one thing they never tell you is that you don't die instantly in vacuum. He just hung there, against the black, like a puppet with his strings all tangled up—or like one of those old cartoons where you run off the edge of a cliff and your legs keep going. You could see that he was trying to breathe, but there was nothing! And one thing I remember when they pulled in his body—his eyes were frozen. [long pause] A lot of people make jokes about spacing somebody, about shoving somebody out an airlock. I don't think it's funny. Never will.
TV Show: Babylon 5
[ISN reporter Cynthia Torqueman interviews G'Kar about the old Narn-Centauri war.]
G'Kar: My family lived in G'Kamazad, one of the larger cities on Narn. My father…"served" in a Centauri household during the last years of the rebellion. I was barely a pouchling at the time. My mother was ill, unable to escape through the underground, so we all stayed. It was a difficult time. We were striking deep into Centauri resources. Things were tense. One day my father spilled a cup of hot jala on the mistress of the house and…and she had him killed. They took him out, tied his hands together, and hung him from a jalwah tree for three days. I came to him the last night, against my mother's orders, and he looked down at me. He said he was proud, and to go and fight, and be all the things he never was. Then he died. The next morning I ran away and killed my first Centauri.
Cynthia Torqueman: Why do you think they invaded back then?
G'Kar: Why does any advanced civilization seek to destroy a less-advanced one? Because the land is strategically valuable, because there are resources that can be cultivated and exploited, but most of all…simply because they can. You have experienced much the same on your own world. There are humans for whom the words "never again" carry special meaning. As they do for us.
G'Kar: My family lived in G'Kamazad, one of the larger cities on Narn. My father…"served" in a Centauri household during the last years of the rebellion. I was barely a pouchling at the time. My mother was ill, unable to escape through the underground, so we all stayed. It was a difficult time. We were striking deep into Centauri resources. Things were tense. One day my father spilled a cup of hot jala on the mistress of the house and…and she had him killed. They took him out, tied his hands together, and hung him from a jalwah tree for three days. I came to him the last night, against my mother's orders, and he looked down at me. He said he was proud, and to go and fight, and be all the things he never was. Then he died. The next morning I ran away and killed my first Centauri.
Cynthia Torqueman: Why do you think they invaded back then?
G'Kar: Why does any advanced civilization seek to destroy a less-advanced one? Because the land is strategically valuable, because there are resources that can be cultivated and exploited, but most of all…simply because they can. You have experienced much the same on your own world. There are humans for whom the words "never again" carry special meaning. As they do for us.
TV Show: Babylon 5
[various answers to Torqueman's final question: "Given the danger, at the end of the day…is it worth it?"]
Michael Garibaldi: Absolutely. Sure, when things get tense out here, we have to be careful. Our search of the Centauri vessels we captured proved that they were bringing in weapons of mass destruction, offloading them outside the station, and sending them on to the front lines. Now that we know that, we can make sure it doesn't happen any more. We learn. It's what humans do.
Londo Mollari: Misunderstandings aside, yes! I definitely think it's worth it. We must simply work harder to make sure we communicate with one another to prevent this sort of tragic situation from ever happening again! A violent attack by Narn forces is an unacceptable response to a peaceful protest by my government. And with the intervention of Earth, perhaps we can keep them from making a similar mistake in the future.
G'Kar: I don't know any more. I used to think so, but now…
Susan Ivanova: Yes.
Delenn: Of course it is. For the simple reason that no one else would ever build a place like this. Humans share one unique quality: They build communities. If the Narns or Centauri or any other race built a station like this, it would be used only by their own people. But everywhere humans go, they create communities out of diverse and sometimes hostile populations. It is a great gift, and a terrible responsibility—one that cannot be abandoned.
Senator Quantrell: Well…I guess we'll just have to see…won't we?
Franklin: All right, Med 2—go, go! Look, if we weren't here right now, half the people in this room would be dead! Now that should be a good enough answer for anyone.
Eduardo Delvientos: Sure! What, are you kidding? I have a retirement pension to make, you know?
John Sheridan: Yes. But not for any of the reasons that you've prob
Michael Garibaldi: Absolutely. Sure, when things get tense out here, we have to be careful. Our search of the Centauri vessels we captured proved that they were bringing in weapons of mass destruction, offloading them outside the station, and sending them on to the front lines. Now that we know that, we can make sure it doesn't happen any more. We learn. It's what humans do.
Londo Mollari: Misunderstandings aside, yes! I definitely think it's worth it. We must simply work harder to make sure we communicate with one another to prevent this sort of tragic situation from ever happening again! A violent attack by Narn forces is an unacceptable response to a peaceful protest by my government. And with the intervention of Earth, perhaps we can keep them from making a similar mistake in the future.
G'Kar: I don't know any more. I used to think so, but now…
Susan Ivanova: Yes.
Delenn: Of course it is. For the simple reason that no one else would ever build a place like this. Humans share one unique quality: They build communities. If the Narns or Centauri or any other race built a station like this, it would be used only by their own people. But everywhere humans go, they create communities out of diverse and sometimes hostile populations. It is a great gift, and a terrible responsibility—one that cannot be abandoned.
Senator Quantrell: Well…I guess we'll just have to see…won't we?
Franklin: All right, Med 2—go, go! Look, if we weren't here right now, half the people in this room would be dead! Now that should be a good enough answer for anyone.
Eduardo Delvientos: Sure! What, are you kidding? I have a retirement pension to make, you know?
John Sheridan: Yes. But not for any of the reasons that you've prob
TV Show: Babylon 5
Morden: If restoring the Centauri Republic means nothing to you, what does? What do you want?
Vir Cotto: I'd like to live just long enough to be there when they cut off your head and stick it on a pike as a warning to the next ten generations that some favors come with too high a price. I would look up at your lifeless eyes and wave like this.
[He gives Morden a mockingly cheerful finger waggle.]
Vir: Can you and your associates arrange this for me, Mr. Morden?
Vir Cotto: I'd like to live just long enough to be there when they cut off your head and stick it on a pike as a warning to the next ten generations that some favors come with too high a price. I would look up at your lifeless eyes and wave like this.
[He gives Morden a mockingly cheerful finger waggle.]
Vir: Can you and your associates arrange this for me, Mr. Morden?
TV Show: Babylon 5
[Franklin tells Ivanova what he sees when a patient dies.]
Stephen Franklin: And then, just at the last, it's as if they look past you at something else, and the look on their face, it's like nothing you can describe. And then, just as they look past you—the moment that they look past you—you can't help but meet their gaze and just for an instant, you see God reflected in their eyes. [pauses] I've seen a lot of reflected gods today, Susan. And I'm wondering how we can keep believing in them, when they've stopped believing in us.
Stephen Franklin: And then, just at the last, it's as if they look past you at something else, and the look on their face, it's like nothing you can describe. And then, just as they look past you—the moment that they look past you—you can't help but meet their gaze and just for an instant, you see God reflected in their eyes. [pauses] I've seen a lot of reflected gods today, Susan. And I'm wondering how we can keep believing in them, when they've stopped believing in us.
TV Show: Babylon 5
John Sheridan: You ever studied ancient history? 20th century, World War II?
Zack Allan: Well…not really. [grins] I always used to fall asleep in history class.
Sheridan: The Germans had a secret code they used for all their important messages. It was called "Enigma". What they didn't know was that the British had cracked the code. One day, Churchill's people intercepted a message authorizing the bombing of a city named Coventry. Now, if they evacuated Coventry, the Germans would know their code had been broken, and switch to another system. If that happened, it could cost the Allies the entire war. If they didn't evacuate the city, hundreds of innocent men, women, and children would die. [N]
Zack: So, what happened?
Sheridan: They kept the secret. There was no evacuation. And on November 14, 1940, Coventry was destroyed. The dead were… piled up like cordwood! I—I've seen newsreels of Churchill visiting the ruins a few days later. And you can just see it in his eyes, the knowledge of what he'd done. Dark, haunted. All these years I've never been able to get that image out of my head.
Zack: Well, I'm glad it's a decision I don't have to make. I don't think I could live with myself. How many lives is a secret worth?
Zack Allan: Well…not really. [grins] I always used to fall asleep in history class.
Sheridan: The Germans had a secret code they used for all their important messages. It was called "Enigma". What they didn't know was that the British had cracked the code. One day, Churchill's people intercepted a message authorizing the bombing of a city named Coventry. Now, if they evacuated Coventry, the Germans would know their code had been broken, and switch to another system. If that happened, it could cost the Allies the entire war. If they didn't evacuate the city, hundreds of innocent men, women, and children would die. [N]
Zack: So, what happened?
Sheridan: They kept the secret. There was no evacuation. And on November 14, 1940, Coventry was destroyed. The dead were… piled up like cordwood! I—I've seen newsreels of Churchill visiting the ruins a few days later. And you can just see it in his eyes, the knowledge of what he'd done. Dark, haunted. All these years I've never been able to get that image out of my head.
Zack: Well, I'm glad it's a decision I don't have to make. I don't think I could live with myself. How many lives is a secret worth?
TV Show: Babylon 5
Kosh: If you go to Z'ha'dum, you will die.
Sheridan: Then I die. But I will not go down easily, and I will not go down alone. [N]
Sheridan: Then I die. But I will not go down easily, and I will not go down alone. [N]
TV Show: Babylon 5
[About Marcus, who had arranged for a special breakfast to be delivered for her]
Ivanova: I’m going to kill him…after breakfast…if I can find him.
Ivanova: I’m going to kill him…after breakfast…if I can find him.
TV Show: Babylon 5
[Marcus notices that a preoccupied Ivanova isn't really listening to his status report.]
Marcus Cole: And they have much to be concerned about. There's always the threat of an attack by, say, a giant space dragon—the kind that eats the sun every 30 days? It's a nuisance, but what can you expect from reptiles? Did I mention that my nose is on fire, and that I have 15 wild badgers living in my trousers?
[She finally looks at him, annoyed.]
Marcus: I'm sorry. Would you prefer ferrets?
Marcus Cole: And they have much to be concerned about. There's always the threat of an attack by, say, a giant space dragon—the kind that eats the sun every 30 days? It's a nuisance, but what can you expect from reptiles? Did I mention that my nose is on fire, and that I have 15 wild badgers living in my trousers?
[She finally looks at him, annoyed.]
Marcus: I'm sorry. Would you prefer ferrets?
TV Show: Babylon 5
[Londo tells Vir about his friendship with Urza Jaddo.]
Londo Mollari: In dueling societies, it is customary for each member to be given a fighting name by his comrades! They said I fought like a crazed leati, and so they called me Paso Leati! Urza was known as Skal Tura—the silent beast! Those were great times, Vir! We were young, proud, fierce, bursting to prove ourselves to each other and to the world. Our starships ruled the spaceways, and our power was rivaled by that of the gods only! Ah, Great Maker, it was good to be a Centauri then!
Vir Cotto: Every generation of Centauri mourns for the golden days when their power was like unto the gods! It—it's counterproductive! I mean, why make history if you fail to learn by it?
Londo: You know, Vir, you have what the Earthers call a negative personality.
Vir: No, I don't.
Londo: There, you see?
Londo Mollari: In dueling societies, it is customary for each member to be given a fighting name by his comrades! They said I fought like a crazed leati, and so they called me Paso Leati! Urza was known as Skal Tura—the silent beast! Those were great times, Vir! We were young, proud, fierce, bursting to prove ourselves to each other and to the world. Our starships ruled the spaceways, and our power was rivaled by that of the gods only! Ah, Great Maker, it was good to be a Centauri then!
Vir Cotto: Every generation of Centauri mourns for the golden days when their power was like unto the gods! It—it's counterproductive! I mean, why make history if you fail to learn by it?
Londo: You know, Vir, you have what the Earthers call a negative personality.
Vir: No, I don't.
Londo: There, you see?
TV Show: Babylon 5
Michael Garibaldi: I once saw an entire chorus line of purple wombats doing showtunes in my bathtub. Of course, I was pretty drunk at the time.
TV Show: Babylon 5
Stephen Franklin: Well, anyone willing to command Babylon 5 has got to be slightly insane, but I don't think that you're ready for the asylum just yet.
. . .
John Sheridan: I prefer to be only slightly insane.
Garibaldi: Don't we all.
. . .
John Sheridan: I prefer to be only slightly insane.
Garibaldi: Don't we all.
TV Show: Babylon 5
Vir: Londo, this is insane!
Londo: Insanity is part of the times. You must learn to embrace the madness. Let it fire you.
Londo: Insanity is part of the times. You must learn to embrace the madness. Let it fire you.
TV Show: Babylon 5
Stephen Franklin: Something here doesn't add up, and unlike Mr. Garibaldi, I don't like mysteries.
TV Show: Babylon 5
Delenn: They are in pain. Frightened. Dying. Minbari are taught that, at such a times, the afflicted should be ministered to, comforted.
John Sheridan: They're not your own people, Delenn!
Delenn: I didn't know that similarity was required for the exercise of compassion.
John Sheridan: They're not your own people, Delenn!
Delenn: I didn't know that similarity was required for the exercise of compassion.
TV Show: Babylon 5
[Delenn and Lennier are about to enter the quarantine zone.]
Delenn: All life is transitory. A dream. We all come together in the same place at the end of time. If I don't see you again here, I will see you in a little while, in the place where no shadows fall.
Sheridan: W—Delenn! [She stops and looks back.] When I do see you again…call me John?
Delenn: All life is transitory. A dream. We all come together in the same place at the end of time. If I don't see you again here, I will see you in a little while, in the place where no shadows fall.
Sheridan: W—Delenn! [She stops and looks back.] When I do see you again…call me John?
TV Show: Babylon 5
Delenn: She has separated from her mother. Please find her.
Lennier: [looks around, somewhat lost] How?
Delenn: [to Lennier] Faith manages.
Delenn: [turning to Markab girl] What is her name?
Markab Girl: Mama.
[Delenn turns and looks at Lennier again]
Lennier: Faith manages.
Lennier: [looks around, somewhat lost] How?
Delenn: [to Lennier] Faith manages.
Delenn: [turning to Markab girl] What is her name?
Markab Girl: Mama.
[Delenn turns and looks at Lennier again]
Lennier: Faith manages.
TV Show: Babylon 5
Lazarenn: [dying] I'm sorry, old friend. I don't think I can stay any longer. Will you give my love to…
TV Show: Babylon 5
[after the isolation zone is reopened and all the Markab are found dead]
Delenn: John…John…
[he holds her close as she sobs and wails for the dead]
Delenn: John…John…
[he holds her close as she sobs and wails for the dead]
TV Show: Babylon 5
Sheridan: What happens next time?
Delenn: What happens? What happens is that we honor the memory of those who are no longer with us by using what we have learned to save others. To exercise faith and patience and charity. To reach out to those who are afraid. If we can do that, then their passing will have had meaning and we will grow from it.
Delenn: What happens? What happens is that we honor the memory of those who are no longer with us by using what we have learned to save others. To exercise faith and patience and charity. To reach out to those who are afraid. If we can do that, then their passing will have had meaning and we will grow from it.
TV Show: Babylon 5