I’m actually surprised so many people didn’t see Babylon 5 until recently as I didn’t know anyone new watched it after the 90s :D
It’s that the show is from the 1990s, but looks like the filming took place in the mid-80s, despite the wicked CG.
If anything, Babylon 5 is probably the most well planned show in science fiction history. I’m a big fan of the episodic seeding into the more novelized approach from late season 1 to the end of season 4. IMO, the finale of season 4 is the last episode that should be watched (as in, watch it after season 5), as it spoils a lot of season 5, and is also a very good ending to the series. Season 5 has the weakest stretch of the show as it doesn’t really leave the runway until the season’s about 65-70% over, which is completely unlike the prior 3 seasons. Season 1 works because it’s a light-entrance into the universe of Babylon 5.
On the influence of the revolutionary formula of Babylon 5:
Stargate SG-1 and Farscape both used similar formulas, where the shows began episodic and transitioned into TV-novel form. Battlestar Galactica was the first that was just novel form right off the bat, at the time that was a rare thing outside of WWF RAW and soap operas. Deep Space 9 and Voyager were more arcy, but we’re still largely episodic, usually only having the arcs as a backdrop, dropping them into the main focus for an episode or two every now and then—sort of like Friends and Season 4 and 7 of Seinfeld. Caprica was even more of a novel than Battlestar Galactica. And for a while I thought Babylon 5 was the ideal format, use season 1 as a hook and then get into the story during season 2 and on… until Ronald D Moore (BSG/Caprica) did For All Mankind, which I think is probably my favourite show format to date—it’s like every episode is a chapter that feels distinct, and yet integral to the story as a whole. His former Star Trek writer colleague, Bryan Fuller, did a similar thing with Hannibal, HBO kind of did it with Rome—although at least half the episodes of Rome still run together in the way TV-novels tend to (Game of Thrones usually had 1-2 distinct episodes per season, usually the second last one is one).
I fucking love a certain episode of Babylon 5… I won’t spoil it only say it involves Delenn and has the line, “They are behind me, you are in front of me” - I normally hate blatant plot mechanics, but this “all is lost” mechanic landed fantastically.
I recommend Babylon 5 to any science fiction fan who can get over the visuals and often wooden acting. Even if you didn’t like TNG era Trek… Perhaps especially if you didn’t like Star Trek’s TNG era Star Trek: Babylon 5 seems to be the #1 show among scifi fans who didn’t like the TNG era. Although, I don’t know about younger fans who grew up after the 90s.
I describe myself as a little dose of toxic masculinity.
