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. 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. I recently decided to plough through the sci-fi series, Babylon 5. I remembered how much I loved it when I was younger but sometimes you have concerns that when you re-visit something from the past, it might not be as good.<br/><br/>Seeing it all the way through (22 episodes per season and 5 seasons) was a fantastic and enjoyable experience that reminded me what a fine show it was.<br/><br/>It was always written as being five seasons long and thus although there are plenty of good episodes that can stand on their own, there is a long story arc running through the entire series. Little things hinted at or mentioned early on can be developed at later stages. Hence there are characters you grow to love and enjoy and get to see evolve over time.<br/><br/>The show was one of the first to use CGI (a commodore Amiga as it turns out) to create the special effects and in the first season, they are certainly clunky. It was the early to mid 90's and the budget wasn't massive. But again over time and as you become more connected with the story, the characters and the action scenes, you didn't really notice.<br/><br/>You've got some great writing with humorous, poignant, dramatic or touching scenes and some stellar acting (particularly Peter Jurasik and Andreas Katsulas who respectively play Londo and G'Kar) with actors genuinely breathing life into the development of their characters. There are moments of wonder, sadness and sacrifice, intriguing 'reveals' and some wonderful music that I believe first launched me down the road of appreciating the slow builds of Hans Zimmer and others.<br/><br/>Seasons 1, 2 and 3 are excellent but unfortunately the 4th series feels a little rushed because, unfortunately, it was. From having always pitched the show as five seasons long, the studios told the writer, J Michael Straczynski, that he had to wrap it all up in season 4. Hence he was forced to neatly tie it all up but at a rather quicker pace than what had followed in the previous series.<br/><br/>Frustratingly, towards the end of filming of the 4th series, another studio picked up the show to give JMS a 5th series. This meant that after bringing many story strands to a close, he had to re-invent or massage some of the remaining ones.<br/><br/>It was a real shame and always provided a "what if" question of how good season 4 and 5 could have been had it not been under that kind of pressure. It made the 4th series feel crammed full of stuff and in turn the first third of the 5th series feel a little 'light'. The 'what if' is further compounded because along with 2 and 3, the 4th season is still an absolute belter.<br/><br/>I know I pay glowing tributes to most of the things that I like but I have to say that this series is something very special. For me it exceeds Quantum Leap, Firefly and even the final series of Angel. To consistently deliver that kind of quality and quantity is something that deserves far more credit than it actually receives. As JMS once said, it's a show that really is for the devoted fans and that's because it's not something that you can pick up and put down as maybe you could with the Star Trek's or similar. You have to pay attention to what is going on but are then hugely rewarded for doing so.<br/><br/>There are just so many standout episodes from all of the series that it's hard to pick a favourite. The one where the Earthforce ships attack B5 is immense but then so are the ones involving the Shadows, particularly the series 3 finale. I do know that the very last episode was wonderfully handled. It tied everything up neatly, leaving you with a great feeling of resolution. There were no loose ends and although it had finished you didn't feel cheated. You did however feel saddened that it had to end and the final story was crushing in it's emotional weight. I know I shed a tear.<br/><br/>I'm sure you've ascertained that I thoroughly enjoyed the show and have to say that it in my opinion it is the finest series to have ever appeared on television. B5 is a one of a kind sci-fi series. The plot lines and character developement exhibit a scope and sequence unparalleled in modern television. Few series are as multi-leveled as this one. Stand alone stories grab an occasional viewer's attention. Combine that with the overall perpetuation of a five season story line presented in serial format to keep the loyal viewers coming back week after week. Mix in social commentary of an imperfect future to remind us of the imperfect present and you get great sci-fi t.v. Overall, great character development, terrific blending of free-standing/serial episode format, and great subject material makes Babylon 5 highly addictive and has created a fanatical following. Try this one if you appreciate good science fiction television and you might become a B5 nut.
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345 weeks ago