People have forgotten how to have villains just be villains. Every villain needs to be complicated now, not really evil, just misguided. Alfred Bester was one of the most evil SOB characters on Babylon 5. He was misguided, complicated, and a whole bunch of other adjectives… But "not really evil"? Nope, evil is the one thing he always was. Even if he didn't think so. Walter Koenig is an AMAZING actor, and he really sold the character as exactly what he was. Truly amazing work!

@Yeomen1986

Күн бұрын

I hear what your saying but I don't agree with you about bester being evil. here is why: You are looking at it from the outside in but not the inside out. In many respects the Psicorp is already a structured holocaust waiting for the trigger to be pulled. Telepaths have to wear badges, have restrictions on where they can live/work. Many of their major locations are controlled and guarded. Think about Nazi Germany and you can find some striking parallels. If an anti-psicorp president got into office, all their lives could be over in an instant. This circumstance breeds people like Bester and with justified reason. Bester isn't evil, he's the product of bad and discriminatory policies.

As someone mentioned below: The Villains in Babylon 5 almost all of them had solid motives that made you question what you yourself would have done in their situation. I tell my kids it's Star Trek for grown ups. :)

@Eckendenker

3 күн бұрын

I am gonna steal that. Thanks.

Bester was great, I'm surprised how few episodes he was in. He left a big shadow over the series

@patricknakasone9376

3 ай бұрын

His few appearances made his character work.

@Phintasmo

3 ай бұрын

It was the perfect amount. He loomed large without overstaying his welcome. I looked forward to the Bester episode each season (of course he popped up a little more later on).

Gosh darn i love babylon 5

I had the great fortune to work with Walter years ago. He was a gentleman and very charming. I told him, at the time, that I felt that Bester was my favorite role he had done.

@Phintasmo

3 ай бұрын

I hope he gets that a lot, and that he knows we all love him in that role. At conventions he fields a lot of questions about Chekov, but for me Bester is his defining performance.

@page8301

2 ай бұрын

@@Phintasmo Chekov is a very bland character by comparison that did not give him much to work with. Imho the limiting factor for Chekov was he writing first and foremost. He was by an large an afterthought.

Mind War was when B5 hooked me. That the episode was Bester's introduction is no coincidence. Hands down one of the best characters in the show.

@NickMichalak

3 ай бұрын

Mind War was the first episode I ever recorded on VHS of B5. Beater was such a cunning and extremely formidable enemy. Truly dangerous and never forthcoming, even when he tries to sound genuine he’s still a snake in the grass. Masterwork from Koenig!

@Phintasmo

3 ай бұрын

Telepathy added new depth to the world. That human society of the future has changed in ways that make it somewhat alien to us. There’s a scene in one episode where Garibaldi explains to Delenn how criminals get telepathically mindwiped instead of the death penalty - a reminder that some things are very different in the future.

Bester is one of the best recurring villains in all of sci-fi TV! Talk about a serendipitous role, Walter Koenig really shone on B5 and the only thing I would change is I would have put him on more. And ask any actor who's known for a masterful performance as a villain: you never play them as a villain but as someone who thinks he's the hero (we all are in our own minds). The Bester/Garibaldi dynamic is wonderful, and I thought the episode where the two worked together was wonderful: that could have been its own spinoff series.

@Phintasmo

3 ай бұрын

Like Garak in DS9 he’s one of these great characters who feel like they are in it a lot more than they actually are.

I grew up on Star Trek, and remember seeing "The Whale One" at the cinema as a kid. But I was fortunate to encounter B5's first run at a formative time for me, and it's probably still my favourite piece of TV sci-fi. For all my Trek love, Chekov has never felt nearly as rounded or well-developed a character as Alfred Bester - it is absolutely Walter Koenig's defining role in my mind. Dedicated, dangerously competent, and sometimes quite charming, he is ultimately a terrifying presence thanks to who and what he is. Thank you Mr. Koenig, and JMS

@Phintasmo

3 ай бұрын

If Leonard Nimoy was put on the Earth to do one role - it was Spock. But for Koenig it wasn’t Chekov. As far as I’m concerned Bester is his defining role.

fav scene from ending telepath war books is when new bronze statue a memorial featuring Fiona, Matthew, and their "lost son" Stephen, as a symbol of hope and a reminder of the sacrificed made in the name of freedom. Alfred Bester watched the dedication ceremony from his cell, knowing he was the only person left who knew what had happened to that baby and was amused by the irony. that they unknowing put up a statue dedicated to him

One of the best screen villains in any show or genre. Though i must admit i would have loved to have seen him meet his end at garabaldis hands but the fact that he gets away with it is another aspect of why he was such a tremendous villain.

Bester is probably my favourite supporting character in the show. Love every scene he's in. A total villain yet like every other character in the show, expertly written and believable and more than just 1-dimensional.

I honestly think that bestor knew that garibaldi would follow him forever and he wanted that, for both the sadistic pleasure of knowing that it will eat away at him as long as they both live and it in a way feeds his superiority complex 'knowing' in his mind that the best most effective normal cannot breach him despite constantly trying.

@page8301

2 ай бұрын

Exactly my thoughts as well. Plus he considered himself superior and did not think that Garibaldi could become ever a real threat.

I agree that Bester is the "best" villian in B5. The character had an ability (telepathy) that made him almost invulnerable to the "normals", so he had a great "I'm better than you" attitude and a "you can't do anything to me" way of carrying himself. And getting Walter Koenig to play the part always seemed to me to give the role the gravitas it needed (i.e., like you mentioned in the video, a well-known actor from the sci-fi world). I love how Koenig plays the role so intentionally over-the-top, showing that Bester thinks he's untouchable and superior (as a human being) to those around him. And JMS had him show up just enough that he was able to antagonize our heroes, but not so much as to overuse his menace.

@Phintasmo

3 ай бұрын

His sparing appearances made him loom large without outstaying his welcome. I like in his last appearance you get the idea that he hates going to B5 and his cases there are just a small part of what he does.

Been finding a few good recent videos this weekend. I'm a massive Star Trek fan, I think he did an amazing job to shake off Chekov and become Bester. Babylon 5 was a truly amazing series. Fantastic writing, great character chemistry and a great look.

@Phintasmo

3 ай бұрын

Bester proved he was a much better actor than many realized.

I love the reference to The Prisoner in that final clip. I think he does it in his intro episode and from there on you kind of know what to expect.

@sdfried4877

2 ай бұрын

Yes, Bester always left with a little salute and a “Be seeing you.”

His scene in the travel tube with Garabaldi from season 5 was one of my favourites

@Phintasmo

3 ай бұрын

Its one of my favorite scenes in the whole series. Koenig has never been better.

B5 had some great performances and Koenig's Bester was right up there. I enjoy that the threat of his abilities was mostly all he needed, that he wasn't using them to OP everyone and everything.

@Phintasmo

2 ай бұрын

He had this aura of untouchability that made him a real threat - both his powers and the authority he wielded.

Bester , the single entity in Babylon 5 that deserved to be spaced in Hyper Space like he did to so many others .

In order to really understand the character of Alfred Bester, you really have to read the books of his namesake, Alfred Bester. Two of Bester's books, "The Stars My Destination" and "The Demolished Man" explore the societal consequences of telepaths ("Espers"), particularly their post-human hubris. The writers of Babylon Five heavily reference both Gully Foyle and Lincoln Powell in the character of Bester, including the romantic betrayal and Garibaldi's and Talia Winters's reprogramming processes (akin to Demolition). Having read Bester before watching B5, I found a certain pleasure in watching Koenig interpret Bester. It was also nice to see a sci-fi television show that had a sense of 1950-60's sci-fi and was willing to build on some of that foundation.

Bester is the best villain ever hands down because for every bit a villain he is he's also a victim. The tragedy of Bester is that he is right. telepaths are persecuted, distrusted, and will never be allowed on an equal footing with non-Telepaths, which means his and other's like him actions perpetuate the distrust and dislike. Psycop became its own self fulfilling prophecy, with each action they take increasing the hostile view towards telepaths requiring more extreme measures to keep them safe creating more distrust, and at the heart of it all is Bester. Is he the hero? It's all a matter of perspectives and that's why he's the best written villain ever.

@curtisnewton2437

Ай бұрын

Very well said. Less a hero, but a victim. Especially when you know his end and origin

I have to say that Bester was loads more interesting than Chekov ever was. I liked him much more as a bad guy. I also love that in the end, it was the block Bester put in Garibaldi's mind that informed Garibaldi that Bester was near, end eventually was what led him in to get Bester after the block was removed.

The closest analogue I can find to Bester is the X-Men character Magneto. He sees violent conflict between telepaths and non-telepaths as inevitable, because he is cynical, but his cynicism is at least in part informed by lived experience. He is dismissive of the value of non-telepaths, because he is callous, but his callousness toward them is the reverse side of the coin to the intense love and protectiveness he feels for his own kind. And like every truly great villain, he is the hero of his own story.

@Phintasmo

3 ай бұрын

Brilliant parallel!

This vid is correct, regardless of contents.

@BarlytheDwarf

3 ай бұрын

Posting facts.

Paramour would be a better word for Bester to use instead of lover, but then again this is Bester we are talking about.

@Phintasmo

3 ай бұрын

Paramour is an excellent and underused word! It sounds a touch pretentious but that would hardly bother a man like Bester.

@page8301

2 ай бұрын

I think love is a great word for him. It shows a facet that people do not realize or rationalize away but many of the worst people in our history loved and had family and they loved their family dearly. Just look at Reinhard Heydrich for example.

Love is the "right" word because it makes it sound as twisted as he is.

This episode is frighteningly bang on as to today's political climate. Especially your statements at the end, about dehumanizing your enemies because you believe they want you dead. Let propaganda roll.

Good video. The lover quote was a normal, not derogatory, term back then. She'd call him her lover, for example.

I'll admit, when I first heard Bester speak, I was expecting a russian accent.. lol.. At first I couldn't separate him from Chekov, so there was a disconnect, but he made Bester his own, and really created a genuinely terrifyingly evil character, which wasn't a just a one dimensional villain.

@Phintasmo

2 ай бұрын

He shattered preconceptions very quickly with Bester. I never thought he had it in him!

The matchup of the guy with the hat and the shot of Garibaldi is uncanny. Well done.

@Phintasmo

2 ай бұрын

Ha! Thank you! The Untouchables x Babylon 5

@sdfried4877

2 ай бұрын

@@Phintasmo I have to go look up what the hell that movie with Walter is too.

If you can get your hands on it, I strongly recommend the Psi Corps trilogy of books. The first book covers the creation of the Corps up to the generation of Bester's parents, the second book covers his career and rise through the ranks up to roughly season 1 of the show, and the last book covers his final years in hiding and Garibaldi's long hunt for him. (What career could Bester take up if he can't use his abilities in public any more? You hinted at it in this video and it is perfect.) The whole series offers so much context on what made the Psi Corps what it was during the events of the show and why Bester is the way he is. It's all well worth the read.

@deathybrs

3 ай бұрын

Yeah, anybody who enjoys Bester absolutely MUST read the Psi Corps trilogy. Bester is himself a victim of the machine even more than people imagine. That book series makes him compelling, and that is one heck of an achievement.

Only villain who seemed to have no redemptive quality was Emperor Cartagia. Wortham Krimmer is so stereotypically over the top as an evil flamboyant sadist that it actually works.

Actually, Bester is a Hero. Perspective is EVERYTHING. During the Earth Mimbari war, Captain Sheridan was a Hero to the Earth and a villain to the Mimbari, PERSPECTIVE is everything. Who's right? He who is writing the history book obviously.

@Phintasmo

3 ай бұрын

Babylon 5’s insistence on complex villains with an understandable perspective was always one of its greatest strengths.

There are depths to him that you didn't touch on in this video. 1. Yes, he considers himself the hero of his own story. 2. The perfect villain? No, because he, his personality, his mindset, everything about him is actually a construct. This is hinted at in the show. However, it was never explored because the show didn't go on for the full seasons. Their original writer and planner expected. He is actually the child of the freedom fighters who fought to prevent genocide against telepaths. They also fought against psychor. When they were killed, he was taken forcibly into psychor. It's shown in the Psy war books that he was violated in that agency as a child. To protect himself and keep himself from being discovered and harmed further. He created the personality. Everybody sees on the show, which is basically a cartoonish gustapo SS agent. It manifests with his hand always being effectively crippled in appearance like it has nerve damage or something. The only time it unclinches and relaxes normally is when he's pretty much at his last moment. When in the book, he is shown as being relieved and released from a terrible burden.

No one is the villain in their own story.

Better was a great history line

You should do a video essay on Morden.

Hard to tell. The books (i.e. Final Reckoning) give the story a very special shade. I would call him a special villain, or a villain with a very special perspective and background.

Am I going to have to get on Tubi and watch B5 again?? Yeah, yeah I will.

@heatherjones6647

2 ай бұрын

Buy the DVDs. Worth every penny and no one can take them away from you.

It's interesting that Bester quotes great literary works of (supposed) non-telepaths, while at the same time categorizing mundanes as subhumans.

@Phintasmo

3 ай бұрын

Telepaths may be humanity’s future but they are still the heirs to great achievements of past generations.

I think Bester referring to the woman he was having an affair with as his lover worked, because it colored even his supposedly genuine, heart-felt emotions with a sort of self-centered, possessive vibe.

@happyninja42

3 ай бұрын

well it was more than that though. Previously in the show, they would point out that the Corp would pair people for breeding purposes, regardless of love or marital status. It was used to demonize (rightly so) the Corp, and to make people like Bester seem like the violent hand of that evil body (again, rightly so). But, he IS still human. And when he explains that he's married, it's not a love marriage. It's just a genetic pairing arranged by the corp. It's actually a moment meant to humanize Bester, and to make you empathize with him a little. To make you feel conflicted about him, just like the crew of B5. Which I thought was a nice touch. Because of course Bester would have a loveless marriage. He's a good, dutiful Corp member. He would breed with whoever would give his people the most virile stock going forward. He would do his duty, regardless of attraction.

Yes he is the best villain the show has ever had

My favorite scene is when Sharaden threaten to nail his head to a desk and feed him to the Pak Mura.

Bester should have called her FWB

Those villains we love to hate 👌

Have you ever done anything on Ulkesh and what made him different than Kosh. Was he a hero, villain or something else?

Querida es mas apropiada para la relación pero Bester la usó para incomodar.

Ya, he was a great villain and man did you hate his ass throughout the series!

Yes Lover is the right word. It's been the right word for that kind of relationship for centuries. What the hell else would be used in this context? Coitus Co-Existant Creature? I swear you kids really get hung up on the silliest things when it comes to relationships and intimacy.

@Phintasmo

3 ай бұрын

It’s a perfectly fine word to use in many contexts. But if an acquaintance introduced someone to you as their ‘lover’? Maybe it’s a generational thing.

@happyninja42

3 ай бұрын

@@Phintasmo well what else would you call someone you are in a sexual relationship that you actuall care about who isn't your wife? he's not ashamed of it, to him it's just normal procedure for The Corp. You have your breeding partner, but then you have the rest of your life. I'm genuinely curious, what other way should he describe her, that actually conveys she's important to him, but isn't his marital spouse? "good friend"? "special friend" ? "intimate companion"? those all sound someone who is just being timid and afraid to simply say what the reality is. "She's my lover" Because if he calls her something like "good friend" everyone knows what he actually means, so why beat around the bush? It's not like he really give a shit what the mundanes think of his love life. They're beneath him. Bester isn't timid, and he also doesn't see anything wrong with it.

Is Bester the perfect villain? Yes, he was perfect for the Psi Chors top dog. Is he the hero of his own story? Absolutely, he fears of telepaths going extinct and that is convinced that it is his duty to prevent that and more. Is love the right word? Of course. Despite everything, he is still human. A terrible human being, but all too human nonetheless.