Babylon 5

Babylon 5 is an epic science fiction television series created, produced, and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The music for the TV series and related TV movies was composed by Christopher Franke. The pilot movie, The Gathering, aired on February 22, 1993, and the regular series initially aired from January 26, 1994 through November 25, 1998, first in syndication on the short-lived Prime Time Entertainment Network, then on cable network TNT. Because the show was aired every week in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 without a break, the last four or five episodes of the early seasons were shown in the UK before the US.

Concept

The series, often held as a good example of space opera, consists of a five-year story arc taking place over five seasons of 22 episodes each. The hub of the story is a large space station named Babylon 5; the five mile (8 km) long, 2.5 million ton rotating colony is built to be a gathering place for fostering peace through diplomacy, trade, and cooperation. In the words of its first commander, it is humanity's "last, best hope for peace." However, Babylon 5 is the center of political intrigue and conflict, and eventually becomes a pawn in a massive interstellar conflict from which it emerges with a Pyrrhic victory over forces of darkness and chaos.

Related Topics:
Space opera - Story arc - Space station - Diplomacy - Pyrrhic victory

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Having long been a science fiction fan himself, Straczynski was determined to produce a science fiction series for adults where, for once, things would be done properly: consistent technology, "no kids or cute robots", no new "particle of the week" to tie up a plot. It was not a utopian future — there is greed and homelessness. It was not a place where everything was the same at the end of the day — main characters grow, develop, live, and die. An unabashedly political show, it was always ready to deal with politics, sex, religion, and philosophy.

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Unlike most television shows, this series was conceived as a novel, with a defined beginning, middle, and end. In addition, even tie-in novels, comic books, and short stories play a significant part of the overall story.

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The overall story of the show was plotted out in some detail before the first episode was ever shot. Having a (loosely) predetermined plot was advantageous in many respects, as longer-term planning greatly reduced the working budget required on sets and costumes. The planned plot arc, allowing largely fixed sets and economies of scale, favorably compared with more episodic series which might require an entirely new set of props or costumes for each episode.

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Though conceived as a whole, and with Straczynski writing most of the episodes (including all of the episodes of the third and fourth seasons, a feat never before accomplished in American television), it was necessary to adjust the plotline to accommodate external influences. The replacement of actor Michael O'Hare as the station commander after the first season, the unexpected departure of actresses Claudia Christian and Andrea Thompson, and the necessity to compress the fourth season story arc due to fears of cancellation proved to be major challenges.

Related Topics:
Actor - Michael O'Hare - Claudia Christian - Andrea Thompson

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Babylon 5 is often cited as raising the bar for science fiction television, using an arc-driven storytelling style now prevalent not only in sci-fi, but in mainstream dramas as well. Straczynski anticipated the rise of digital television, shooting the series in 1.78:1 format rather than the normal 1.33:1 - a full six years before ER and many other dramas began doing the same thing. Babylon 5 also revolutionized the use of computer technology in creating visual effects at a time when using models and miniatures was the norm.

Related Topics:
ER - Visual effects

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