When the pilot movie for Babylon 5 aired in 1993, it was almost impossible to predict the rich storyline of the science fiction series that would unfold over five seasons from the following year. But during the 1990s, although it would never win the same audience numbers as Star Trek, Babylon 5 would become a landmark US TV show by telling a complex, pre-planned story arc that was described by its creator, J. Michael Straczynski, as a 'novel for television'.
The show was set in the 23rd century when mankind had spread among the stars and encountered many other alien races, including the Minbari, Narn, Centauri and the vastly superior Vorlon who were among the first civilizations in the galaxy. Babylon 5 itself was a huge space station built in neutral space and designed to be a place where all the races could meet, trade and live.
Over the course of five seasons, the show took many unexpected twists and turns...
Babylon 5 Season 1 - Signs and Portents
In season 1, Commander Jeffrey Sinclair was the human commander of Babylon 5 and the story would slowly play the opening moves of all that was to follow, including introducing most of the main characters. These included Ambassador Delenn of the Minbari (played by Mira Furlan from Lost), Ambassador Londo Mollari of the Centauri, Ambassador G'Kar of the Narn and station crew members Lieutenant Commander Susana Ivanova, Dr Stephen Franklin and Chief of Security Michael Garibaldi. All would go through complex story arcs.
The first season also gave the first glimpse of the mysterious, powerful and frightening alien race known as the 'Shadows' and their human puppet Morden. It ends with the assassination of the Earth Alliance President and Londo making a decision that would have massive repercussions for the galaxy.
Babylon 5 Season 2 - The Coming of Shadows
The second season kicked off with Commander Sinclair being replaced with war hero Captain John Sheridan (played by Bruce Boxleitner). The Shadows and their spider-like starships featured throughout and Londo makes a pact with them to make his people great again, including declaring war on the Narn. Back on Earth, the powers that orchestrated the President's assassination are enforcing new laws.
Babylon 5 Season 3 - Point of No Return
Every episode of season 3 was written by J. Michael Straczynski and moved at an almost breathless pace. The Shadow War begins against Babylon 5 and the alien races, while Earth uses Shadow technology to build new weapons. Babylon 5 and other Earth Alliance colonies declare independence which triggers a huge attack on the station by a fleet of battleships from Earth in the episode Severed Dreams which won the Hugo Award in 1997 for Best Dramatic Presentation.
Season 3 also features an incredible two-part story featuring time travel, Babylon 4 and the first Minbari-Shadow war and ends with Sheridan travelling to Z'ha'dum, the homeworld of the Shadows, to put an end to their race forever.
Babylon 5 Season 4 - No Surrender, No Retreat
Due to the demise of the US PTEN network in 1997 that it aired on, the fourth season of Babylon 5 was possibly going to be the last and so an attempt was made to end much of the proposed five year story arc early. This included the Shadow War which ended in the epic episode Into the Fire and the escalation of the conflict with Earth, culminating with Sheridan leading an attack on the planet to regain its freedom and becoming the first President of the new Interstellar Alliance.
The final episode of the season, The Deconstruction of Falling Stars, depicts events 100, 500, 1000 and one million years in the future.
Babylon 5 Season 5 - The Wheel of Fire
With so much of the story arc resolved by the end of season 4, season 5 of Babylon 5 (now on a new network) unfortunately didn't match the greatness of earlier seasons. But there was still much to enjoy.
A new Babylon 5 commander took over from Sheridan but he remained a regular character. A war breaks out between the Interstellar Alliance and the Centauri and that provided the season's main story arc, ending with the destruction of the Centauri homeworld as foreseen back in the first season.
The Legacy of Babylon 5
Babylon 5 spawned several TV movies and spin-off shows, with the movie In The Beginning, being by far the best. The series was revolutionary by being filmed in widescreen 16:9 and using extensive computer graphics (originally produced with Commodore Amigas) at a time when models and miniatures were more common in science fiction TV shows.
Season 5 may have ended in 1998 but the legacy of Babylon 5 lives on, with Lost most recently trying to replicate it's 'novel for television' approach. Anyone who enjoyed Battlestar Galactica should check out Babylon 5 - its spiritual predecessor.
Jason Glover - Jason Glover has worked in the marketing teams of major companies for over twenty years, including over ten years in online marketing ...
Join the Conversation