# Babylon 5 question: Londo Mollari's accent **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 6, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-question-londo-mollaris-accent/614984 "2012-03-06T23:27:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-question-londo-mollaris-accent/614984/41 "2016-02-09T19:10:10Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Why should an alien race only have one accent? Same reason it has only one religion. (Lampshaded on one episode of B5 when all races represented on the station are showcasing their cultures’ religions – one each – and at the end Sheridan introduces the delegates to a human Catholic, Muslim, Buddhist, atheist . . .) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-question-londo-mollaris-accent/614984/42 "2016-02-09T21:13:10Z")
Except that most of the alien races on B5 do have multiple religions. Lennier made some comment once about “of the five largest Mimbari religions…”, or some such, and the Narn describe themselves as following a variety of different prophets. I think that episode with the religious ceremonies just showed the other delegates showing off their own individual religions: It’s evidence for Sheridan’s humility in recognizing religions he doesn’t belong to, as opposed to the others who just showed their own. ---
**Author:** ![urban1a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47c2d/32.png) [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-question-londo-mollaris-accent/614984/43 "2016-02-10T02:26:15Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > 1. No, that isn’t Peter Jurasik’s original accent. He’s from Queens. > > 2. Actually, I think Lord Rifa had a similar accent, as did other Centauris. > > 3. There’s no reason everyone on an entire planet should have the same accent, you know. They all have the same hairdo. Bob ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-question-londo-mollaris-accent/614984/44 "2016-02-10T11:25:36Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I thought Sheridan was supposed to be Midwestern - we meet his father at certain points - but I thought Boxleitner was just using his regular accent with a bit of gruffness for added gravitas. Some episode(s) refer to Sheridan’s family hiding out somewhere in the Midwest, Chicago I think. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-question-londo-mollaris-accent/614984/45 "2016-02-10T17:53:40Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Why should an alien race only have one accent? Earth has plenty of accents to go around, why shouldn’t Centauri have more than one as well? > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Same reason it has only one religion. (Lampshaded on one episode of B5 when all races represented on the station are showcasing their cultures’ religions – one each – and at the end Sheridan introduces the delegates to a human Catholic, Muslim, Buddhist, atheist . . .) > **[Planet of Hats - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlanetOfHats)** > > On their Wagon Train to the Stars, our intrepid heroes come across a planet whose inhabitants all share a single defining characteristic. Everybody is a robot, or a gangster, or a Proud Warrior Race Guy, or an over-the-top actor, or has the same … ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-question-londo-mollaris-accent/614984/46 "2016-02-10T18:07:27Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Some episode(s) refer to Sheridan’s family hiding out somewhere in the Midwest, Chicago I think. Iowa. His mother had gone up to Minneapolis to be with some friends. ---
**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-question-londo-mollaris-accent/614984/47 "2016-02-12T22:08:46Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I thought Sheridan was supposed to be Midwestern - we meet his father at certain points - but I thought Boxleitner was just using his regular accent with a bit of gruffness for added gravitas. > > Since this is resurrected I thought I’d mention another television character along the lines of Londo accent-wise. In a recent BBC dramatization of a “Professor Brawnstawm” story, the Professor finds his nemesis in “Professor Algebrain, from an unspecified European country”. This becomes a running gag as Algebrain himself introduces himself each time with the full phrase. Algebrain is, of course, a rival “inwentor”. Bruce Boxleitner was born in Elgin, Illinois, U.S. > **[Bruce Boxleitner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Boxleitner)** > > Bruce William Boxleitner (born May 12, 1950) is an American actor and science fiction and suspense writer. He is known for his leading roles in the television series How the West Was Won, Bring 'Em Back Alive, Scarecrow and Mrs. King (with Kate Jackson), and Babylon 5 (as John Sheridan in seasons 2–5, 1994–98). > He is also known for his dual role as the characters Alan Bradley and Tron in the 1982 Walt Disney Pictures film Tron, a role which he reprised in the 2003 video game Tron 2.0, the 2006 He attended Prospect High School in Mount Prospect, Illinois, and the Goodman Theater School of Drama of the Art Institute of Chicago Probably he has more of the great lakes accent. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-question-londo-mollaris-accent/614984/48 "2016-02-13T01:52:01Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > …Two other examples that I can think of off the top of my head are Counselor Troi’s accent being unique – not even being shared by her mother, and Chiana on Farscape who has her own way of crookedly walking sideways. Troi’s accent was Marina Sirtis’s idea; she eventually dropped when none of the other actors playing Betazoids used it. > [@sweat209](#): > > It is all Hollywood movies and TV shows. > > With out say an universal translator, memory implant chip to make learning really fast, upload leading to the brain, smart big brains it is very unlikely many alien beings will be communicating with each other… It’s pretty minor compared to other highly improbable clichés like humanoid aliens, aliens being able to eat (& enjoy) each other’s food, have sexual relationships, and even interbreed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/babylon-5-question-londo-mollaris-accent/614984.md?page=2)