Babylon 5 (1994–1998)

A space station in neutral territory is the focus of a unique five year saga.

Creator:

J. Michael Straczynski

Stars:

Jerry Doyle, Mira Furlan, Richard Biggs

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 16 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Jerry Doyle	...	Michael Garibaldi (110 episodes, 1994-1998)
Mira Furlan	...	Delenn (110 episodes, 1994-1998)
Richard Biggs	...	Dr. Stephen Franklin (110 episodes, 1994-1998)
Stephen Furst	...	Vir Cotto (110 episodes, 1994-1998)
Andreas Katsulas	...	G'Kar (110 episodes, 1994-1998)
Peter Jurasik	...	Londo Mollari (110 episodes, 1994-1998)
Bill Mumy	...	Lennier (109 episodes, 1994-1998)
Bruce Boxleitner	...	Capt. John Sheridan (88 episodes, 1994-1998)
Claudia Christian	...	Cmdr. Susan Ivanova (88 episodes, 1994-1998)
Jeff Conaway	...	Zack Allan (74 episodes, 1994-1998)
Patricia Tallman	...	Lyta Alexander (47 episodes, 1995-1998)
Jason Carter	...	Marcus Cole (45 episodes, 1995-1998)

Storyline

In the year 2258, it is ten years after the Earth-Minbari War. Commander Sinclair takes command of a giant five-mile-long cylindrical space station, orbiting a planet in neutral space. At a crossroads of interstellar commerce and diplomacy, Cmdr Sinclair (2d season Captain Sheridan) must try to establish peace and prosperity between various interstellar empires, all the while fighting forces from within the Earth Alliance. It is a precarious command, particularly given that sabotage led to the destruction of Babylon stations 1, 2, and 3 and 4 vanished without trace.

---

Plot Keywords:

space | space station | saga | interracial relationship | intolerance | 

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

---

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [uk]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 January 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

B5

Filming Locations:

Sun Valley, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Babylonian Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

45 min 45 min (110 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the run of the show, the show's creator, J. Michael Straczynski, was contacted by NASA officials who asked if they could borrow the design of the show's fighters - the StarFuries - for use on the International Space Station. NASA wanted to use the ships as a combination tug and forklift, adding, "Your design is the most practical we've seen." Straczynski replied that it was fine with him, but that NASA had to call them StarFuries. NASA agreed.

---

Quotes

Commander Jeffrey David Sinclair: Everyone lies, Michael. The innocent lie because they don't want to be blamed for something they didn't do and the guilty lie because they don't have any other choice.

---

Crazy Credits

The opening narration and musical theme changed with every season.

---

Connections

Referenced in The Big Bang Theory: The Large Hadron Collision (2010)

User Reviews

Best science fiction television ever

Even though the final season was rather slow, and glossed over a lot of plot lines that probably would have been more interesting, it was still better than most science fiction, and any on television other than the earlier seasons. Other than the final season and scattered weak episodes, the series is the best television science fiction, and near the best dramatic television, and competes with the best movie science fiction.

The action in the series is mostly about the Shadow war, but the real key is the intrigue between the characters, and the personal growth of the characters. Londo is one of the best dramatic characters in any series. He starts as an ambitious schemer who drinks too much, but develops a conscience as he learns the consequences of his ambitions, and finally ends up as a tragic character who reached even beyond his early ambitions, but at a cost that he regrets deeply.

Maybe some day there will be a better science fiction series. But for now this is the level of story-telling television science fiction should try to reach.