Elizabeth Lochley
| Elizabeth Lochley | |
|---|---|
| Babylon 5 character | |
 |
|
| First appearance | No Compromises |
| Last appearance | Voices in the Dark |
| Portrayed by | Tracy Scoggins |
| Information | |
| Species | Human |
| Home planet | Earth |
| Affiliated with | Babylon 5, Earth Alliance |
Elizabeth Lochley is a lead fictional character from the universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 and Crusade, played by Tracy Scoggins.
Elizabeth Lochley was a regular in the fifth and last season of Babylon 5, replacing the previous commander of the station, John Sheridan, and filling the role of the character Susan Ivanova.
Lochley featured prominently in the first volume of Babylon 5: The Lost Tales entitled "Voices in the Dark", released on DVD in July 2007.
Elizabeth Lochley is a forceful, no-nonsense military leader. She carries herself with a military bearing and in public appears to be the very model of a competent, decisive, and professional EarthForce officer. Although she is an attractive woman, she only shows the more feminine side of her personality in private, during her off-duty hours. Much of her personal drive and ambition comes from her troubled youth and young adulthood, and in private she is always willing to lend a helping hand or offer advice to those who are experiencing personal difficulties and problems. In addition to being married to Interstellar Alliance President John Sheridan for a brief period early in their military careers, she also has a passionate and sexually charged love affair with fellow EarthForce Captain Matthew Gideon, the commander of the Victory-Class starship Excalibur. Despite her hard-earned personal and professional success, however, she is occasionally still haunted by memories of her troubled early years.
Captain Lochley had a far from idyllic background. Her father had secretly been a talented painter, but he felt under strong family compulsion to join EarthForce. His dislike of military service, coupled with his deep disappointment at being unable to pursue a career as an artist, led him to become an embittered alcoholic. His severe alcoholism led Elizabeth's mother to abandon her husband and daughter, and her father's inability to manage his life left Elizabeth with that responsibility. Elizabeth eventually sought an escape from this burden and her father's alcoholism by living with her carefree friend Zoe. They both quickly slipped into a life of drink and drugs, and their financial situation deteriorated to the point where they were living in a cheap, cockroach-infested apartment. Tragically, Zoe eventually overdosed on drugs and choked to death on her own vomit; her body was discovered by Elizabeth. Zoe's death/suicide profoundly shocked Elizabeth and she vowed to change her life. She eventually joined EarthForce and never consumed alcoholic beverages or other drugs from the moment she began her military career. In 2262, when she discovered that due to recent personal traumas Michael Garibaldi had suffered a relapse back into alcoholism, she told him of her own previous battles, of how alcohol had given herself, her father and Garibaldi an illusionary escape from their personal troubles, and that he was not alone. She secretly contacted his former lover Lise Hampton-Edgars and convinced her to come to Babylon 5; Lochley hoped that Garibaldi would come to see that confiding in and receiving help from someone he loved was a far better and more practical solution to his woes than an alcohol-induced escapism.
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