We’ve seen a few threads recently in regards to Star Trek. So why not Babylon 5 which I think is one of the best science fiction programs to come on television in years. So here’s why I think B5 was such a great show.
The storyline was neat. At the beginning of season one we start the entire plot of the series. Throughout the 5 seasons it was on we could see a beginning, a middle, and an end to a cohesive storyline. At the same time there were plenty of sub plots that either added directly to the meta plot, character development, or both.
Character progression. The characters at the end of season 5 were not the exact same as they were at the end of season 1. The characters sometimes changed in positive ways and they sometimes changed in a negative ways. They weren’t perfect and each one had their own personality quirks and faults. Alcoholism, drug addiction, megolomania, inability to form close relationships, paranoia, and racism are just a few I can think of off the top of my head.
War is hell. Characters made questionable decisions during stressful situations. Sheridan ordered the crew of a ship to sacrifice themselves so the enemy would recover false information. Lennier almost allowed Sheridan to die because he was in love with his wife.
Technology. It was just a bit more realistic then a lot of other science fiction shows. Not a huge point but it was nice to see sci/fi without a bunch of techno babble garbage. Guns looked like guns, ships had to spin to maintain gravity, and there didn’t seem to be any miracle cures that were of human origin.
Homosexuals in spaaaaaace. I’m throwing Matt a bone on this one. Although it wasn’t exactly implicit it did seem as though Talia and Ivanova were engaged in a physical relationship. It is a far cry from having an opening gay character but at least homosexuals seem to exist in this future.
Magical devices. There were a few devices that weren’t all that realistic. But when they introduced an uberdevice it had future implications. The magical healing machine that appeared in season 1 found its way to season 4 when Marcus sacrificed his life to save Ivanova.
Well, that’s all I had to say for now. Just wanted to point out another science fiction show which I thought was excellent and I sincerly hope that more shows of this caliber can be found in the future.
Alas, the show will always be a little disjointed, because of it’s near-termination after the fourth year.
When it looked like B5 would not be picked up for it’s planned final year, they did a premature wrap-up of the story arc. Then when it went from syndicated to cable and did get funding, the fifth year felt a lot like an epilog. The departure of Claudia Christian didn’t help.
BTW: The abrupt departure of Talia Winters didn’t ring true. At least they worked Sinclair back into the arc in a way that didn’t make him seem like Richie Cunningham’s older brother.
Aside from the points lited above, I also really liked how religions were given at least a passing nod. Remember the episode when Sheridan (I think), during a diplomatic mission with the Mimbari, introduced the Mimbari leader to a representative of EVERY religion on Earth? Wasn’t an athiest also in that line up? (Damn, I need to dig out that tape)
Season 5 was kind of disjointed, but I really enjoyed the last few episodes.
I also know I’m not the only Doper who appreciates the little touches in the show, such as the ships only using engine thrust to acceslerate or maneuver.
I watched pretty dilligently throughout the Big Shadow War arc, but the way they resolved that after such a buildup left such a sour taste in my mouth that I pretty much drifted away from the remaining seasons. A brief group therapy session, and Armageddon is averted? “And so you see, you’re not enemies after all. Once you’re back in touch with your inner children, you’ll find that you’re brothers. And in conclusion, get out of our galaxy!” “Oh…okay. Sorry about all that.”
Jeez, people, we’re only up to season 3 here in South Africa. Now I know more than I needed…
That said - I love B5 for many reasons
-the scope of the plot
-the way they did more with a way smaller budget than ST has, the grittiness, the believability of the characters
how damn sexy D’lenn could be without resorting to spandex/stretch velvet
-aliens who weren’t just bumpy-head humans (sure, they had those too - but with tentacles!)
-The good science (sure, some bad science here and there, but who noticed…)
-The in-jokes for fandom - the golden-age sci-fi references, the wonderful Bester…the list goes on…
Dissapointing that almost all the humans in the future were so obviously American, but hey, we can’t have everything!
B5 had a political dimension. Earth Gov made questionable decisions. Frequently, characters’ actions were constrained for political reasons. Eventually, they secede from Earth because of President Clarke’s behind-the-scenes coup. And there was the whole Centauri government subplot that ran through the whole show.
Aliens that actually looked alien! And they had realistic cultures and governments, as opposed to Star Trek’s usual routine of making every alien culture transparent metaphors for some element of human society.
Sorry, one word to wrap up why we love Babylon 5 so - Vorlons!
I’m a die-hard Trek geek, but baby, Babylon 5 is the only TV series I’d buy on tape from Columbia House - and I am! Already well into season 3, so if anybody wants to know anything about specific episodes, I can look them up and watch them for ya.
I absolutely loved how JMS tried to build a universe. You can actually see how people live–you get a real feel for daily life. B5 is part of a universe and it shows (politics, cultural stuff like Rebo and Zooty, etc). In Star Trek it always kind of bugged me because the ship always seemed so isolated. Sure, you’d have your talking heads occasionally from star fleet, but it never really felt like there was anything happening outside of the ship’s walls.
Good point. And what makes it interesting is that JMS is (I believe) an avowed atheist. Maybe you need to see religion from the outside to be able to treat it fairly. Two of my favorite eps (“Passing though Gethsamane” and “The Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place”) both had religion as a major plot point.
[super-geek]
I really miss that show. But hey, the second book in the Techno-Mage trilogy is released today, Yay!
[/super-geek]
Uh, you do know what treatment Paramount had in hand when they developed Deep Space 9, don’t you?
If Straczynski had had a taste for long civil suits and court cases, he could have had Paramount’s lunch. As it is, he just wrote them into the ground.
For those who love Babylon 5: look for “Legend of the Rangers”, the new Babylon 5 movie coming out later this fall. It should be on the Sci Fi channel. It has wrapped primary filming, and is in post production; I don’t know when they have it scheduled, but it should be sometime this fall. If ratings do well, it will be the pilot for a new Babylon 5 series on the Sci Fi channel.
IIRC, when they sent Marcus and Franklin undercover to Mars (season 4), they had forgerd papers which identified them as a married couple. I took this to imply that same-sex marriages were legal, and regarded as normal, in JMS’s future.
B5 was an awesome show. The thing that I thought was the coolest, though, was the fact that the fans had some input into the direction of the series. IIRC, one episode late in the first season (“The Quality of Mercy”) was written because people were asking about the legal ramifications of telepathy.
Straczynski threw the fans quite a few bones here and there. The Hyperion, the name of the ship in the episode A Voice in the Wilderness, was named for the Internet site that held the Lurkers Guide to Babylon 5 at the time. He did lots of cool stuff like that. (The Lurker’s Guide is now at midwinter.com.)
He also got into a protracted exchange with another producer. At one point he spaced a teddy bear, to show his dislike for anything “cute”. A friend (my memory says Peter David, but I may be wrong) had on his show a race called the Stracyn, who destroyed the toys of the children of an entire race. I forget what Straczynski’s response was, but it was a doozy.
He was also known to retaliate on the set. Somewhere on deja.com you can find his story of writing a script for Londo and G’Kar, where G’Kar is wounded and the only way Franklin can save his life is to change his sex. He winds up in bed with Londo, with Londo apologizing for using “all his appendages.” Katsulus and Jurasik kept thinking it was a joke, and Straczynski kept on having meetings with this script as the official shooting script. So they started sweating. By the time he finally had to distribute the real script they were really sweating, swearing that they would not do that abomination, and thinking he was truly serious.
Season 5 was the weakest I agree. And I was upset because we never got to see Garibaldi get his revenge on Bester. I know they wrote a book about it but that just isn’t enough, darn it.
I have (naturally) been watching the series again on the SciFi Channel, and the real dichotomy between Babylon 5 and Star Trek struck me while watching the big Shadow-Vorlon-League confrontation.
Star Trek–
Troi: “I sense hostility.”
Babylon 5–
Lyta: “Captain, they’re pissed.”
The characters on Babylon 5 are so much more believable. They talk like real people, they act like real people, they screw up like real people…sometimes it seems like everyone on the various Trek series is an android, not just Data. I can’t imagine a Trek equivalent of “A View from the Gallery”, for example–do they even have janitors on Star Fleet vessels? If not, why aren’t they filthy?
Now, I like Trek (except for the detestable “Voyager”), but I find it hard to identify with the characters. (I also find it very hard to tolerate the bad technobabble, but that’s a whole 'nother thread.)
THis is the button that they hit at the end of every episode of Star Trek where everything goes back to the way it was before the show started. No matter how many alternate futures and pasts and character developments may have happened in the meantime.
Hijack: And just when does the Star Fleet equivelant of OCEA come in and say “These Fucking HoloDecks are dangerous! We’re shutting them down except in shielded centers running them on independent computers that will never make their merry way through an ion storm!”
Of course, there go 40% of ST’s plots right there.
