Babylon 5 

In the mid 23rd century, the Earth Alliance space station Babylon 5, located in neutral territory, is a major focal point for political intrigue, racial tensions and various wars over the course of five years.

Creator:

J. Michael Straczynski

Stars:

Mira Furlan, Richard Biggs, Stephen Furst

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 16 wins & 26 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Mira Furlan	...	Delenn / ... 111 episodes, 1993-1998
Richard Biggs	...	Dr. Stephen Franklin 110 episodes, 1994-1998
Stephen Furst	...	Vir Cotto 110 episodes, 1994-1998
Andreas Katsulas	...	G'Kar 111 episodes, 1993-1998
Peter Jurasik	...	Londo Mollari 111 episodes, 1993-1998
Jerry Doyle	...	Michael Garibaldi 111 episodes, 1993-1998
Bill Mumy	...	Lennier 110 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 48 episodes, 1993-1998
Andrea Thompson	...	Talia Winters 44 episodes, 1994-1995
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.

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Plot Keywords:

space opera | space station | alien technology | spacecraft | computer generated imagery | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the first season, Commander Sinclair said, "This station creates gravity by rotation, so the room never stops spinning." Reportedly, the animating team had the station spinning at a near-Earth gravity simulation. This was determined by a physicist who was also a fan of the show, who determined the approximate size of the station by comparing it to the image of a human being on the edge of the station and extrapolating.

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Goofs

Multiple people state that the Vorlon's quarters contain a lethal combination of gases that would kill humans. However, no one decontaminates or changes their uniform immediately after they leave. No one even wears gloves inside, even though toxic gases could settle upon their skin, or be absorbed through it.

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Quotes

Citizen G'Kar: The universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements. Energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest.

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Crazy Credits

The closing credits for the final episode, "Sleeping In the Light", include shots of all the major characters as they are when the episode took place (20 years after the events of the series), whether or not they are present in the episode. Ranger Marcus Cole, who sacrificed his life to save Ivanova, is represented by the control and information panel on a "coldsleep" hibernaculum -- presumably where his body is being kept until he can be revived.

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Alternate Versions

The Region 1 DVDs are cropped to Widescreen with fuzzy CGI effects as well as some redone narration and alternate theme song openings for select episodes.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Unlikely Friendships in TV (2016)

User Reviews

A web of characters in conflict

I love this show! Every character has at some point in the series a focal moment where their interaction with another character changes their lives from that point on.

Garibaldi is never the same after the shadow war after learning of Bester's "Assimov Card" up his sleeve, Leeta is different after Byron's demise, G'kar and Londo see themselves in each other, Ivanova leaves after Marcus' fate (etc al.)

In reality life is like this. We'd all like to be in control of our lives but outside forces disrupt the plan we have for our individual life. Life is a web and the web of charcters in B5 portray that better than any series on TV, sci-fi or not!

This show isn't just the most adult, the most intelligent sci-fi on TV, it's the most intelligent drama on TV ...Period!

As one character said in the final season "There is no such thing as a normal life, there is only life!"

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 February 1993 (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, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

45 min (110 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1