Babylon 5 vs LOTR

[jack]

I'm not saying Babylon 5 is a LOTR copy, but with all productions, I enjoy deciding which characters correspond to which LOTR characters. My first effort came from a conversation with I and vyvyan at House:

* Sheridan = Frodo

I mean, duh. Chubby, affable, the least mythic character who carries the weight of the universe on his shoulders, brave but slowly forced reluctantly into the roll of leader.

Also, he goes on a long and difficult journey, shedding companions, until he reaches the centre of the evil empire, where he defeats evil by jumping into a big and mysterious dark pit.

* Sinclair = Aragorn

It's almost worth having Sinclair replaced so he can grow into his mysterious mythic ex-soldier role. He's not one of the old ones -- but he's still the Dad of all the real mortals.

* Kosh = Gandalf

* Delenn = Elrond

* Garibaldi = Sam

I wasn't sure about the other hobbits. Garibaldi holds everything together. He's strong and brave, but fits naturally into a serving role, and he's just always there invisibly propping up all the other characters. Also, he cooks.

* Franklin = Pippin

Ever notice how he gets all the girls?

* Ivanova = Merry

Merry from the books, not the films, the Merry who always has to be the responsible one, a sense of humour bent by having to chivvy the others about.

The second

But, since this is just a game, and an exercise in spotting themes, completely different mappings are justified.

* Londo = Bilbo, Vir = Frodo, G'Kar = Gollum
* Londo = Gollum, G'Kar = Bilbo

For that matter, you can correspond any two characters who undergo a rebirth, if you want to.

[1] Hm. I think I've asked this before, but is there anyone I know who hasn't read LOTR but is going to?