What Happened to Babylon 5 (1993-98)?

Have you ever had a friend who just won't shut up about a show or movie? You know, the one they say things like, "Oh, you like The Matrix, well Dark City is such a superior film," or "You know, you really don't know TV unless you see The Wire.” Most of the time, they were right, but they are so obnoxious about it that it makes you want to not watch anything they’re talking about. This happened to me with Babylon 5. Because of this person, I avoided this show for 30 years. Over the years I kept thinking, maybe I should check this show out. But it was intimidating, this series is on a whole other level. They are websites devoted to what the best order is to watch it. I have been wanting to dive in and cover Babylon 5 for a while now. So why don’t we do a cannonball and watch one of the most important science fiction series of the 90s and whether or not it was a game changer in the science fiction genre in this episode of Gone But Not Forgotten?

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[supercrew]

Gotta remember CGI was basically brand new at the time, but the designs of the ships were awesome

[frankiehands]

My cousin was the set designer on this show and he was very proud of it. He sadly passed away a year ago, but this would make him so happy to see people who still enjoy this show

[Zeoran]

One of my favorite quotes of ALL TIME & the the best example of a "badass woman" I've ever seen is from Season 3, Episode 10 "Severed Dreams":

[Delenn's fleet arrives after Earth Alliance attacks B5]
Delenn: This is Ambassador Delenn of the Minbari. Babylon 5 is under our protection. Withdraw or be destroyed!
Earth Force Officer: Negative! We have authority here. Do not force us to engage your ship.
Delenn: Why not? Only one human captain has ever survived battle with a Minbari Fleet. He is behind me. You are in front of me. If you value your lives, be somewhere else!

The look on Delenn's face is iconic. That is one woman you do NOT want to mess with. She effectively single-handedly started the Earth-Mimbari war after the accidental death of Dukat.

[ThisFinalHandle]

One thing I remember about Babylon 5 is the ever evolving story was intriguing and it is what had me coming back each week wanting to know what would happen.
Then as in now, studio executives are completely out of touch with what the audience at large wants from a TV show.

[Theggman]

Its a shame that so many of the cast have passed away.... Way more than should be. More members of the original Star Trek are still alive than this shows main cast...

[jhvankesteren]

Finally Babylon 5, been waiting years for this.

[derworfnet]

Thing is, I can totally see how dated the CGI is... but they still work for me because of the design of the Ships and stations, the cinematography and the Color Scheme. I just dig the general *vibe* of these effects. Its fake but its cool.

[ShawnEnge]

Babylon 5 remains one of my all time favorite series. I don't mind the VFX because - well I grew up on them. At the time, they were great. The stories, the characterizations, and the storytelling was pretty groundbreaking for the time. I don't hate S5, but it is my least favorite. When JMS thought S4 would be the last one, he crammed 2 seasons worth of story into it, and then had to come up with something fresh for S5. The telepath arc wasn't great, but the friendship between G'kar and Londo was great.

[everyoneash]

The character arch of gkar and molari alone makes B5 not just great scifi but honestly one of the best written shows ever....truly a masterpiece

[brettjensen]

Ugh… WRONGEST of takes on the vfx. B5 and Seaquest revolutionized TV with their adoption of the video toaster and lightwave. You simply do not get stuff like Firefly and Moore’s BSG without these pioneers.

[jaegerbomb]

Babylon 5 is a super underrated show. A classic. I'm glad a light is being shined on this hidden gem.

[whimsicalhamster]

Oh man, that Mira Furlan quote really got me. So sad that we’ve lost so many of these actors so young.

[wstine]

When I saw Deep Space Nine spotlight on "Gone, But Not Forgotten, " I knew it was only a matter of time Babylon 5 got the Jesse Shade and David Arroyo treatment.

[paulroman]

Babylon 5 was amazing. My family still binges it each year to this day. Thank you for the review.

[ak]

Babylon 5 is the greatest science fiction TV show ever!

[ukmediawarrior]

This show was and is epic, yes the special effects might not be quite as good as today, but personally I feel they still stand up. Yes, the budget for the show was low, to the point that if you happen to look behind characters talking in the hallways of B5 you will notice the wood grain on what is supposed to be a metal bulkhead, lol. Yes, the show was filmed in an empty warehouse under a major airplane flight path that required them to stop shooting as jets flew over, but what made this show was the writing and the acting. It just goes to show that if you have those factors in your tv show then no matter how much you pump into special effects it doesn't matter, the show shines.

[Kengur]

Not only they used CGI to be cost effective. But they also made the industry improve to keep the show going. They also used state of the art SGI stations at the time. No other TV series went that far.

[scottr]

I don't know of any other series that has so many memorable and thought provoking lines and scenes. If a client mentions confidentiality I just know what I know because I have to know it. If I don't have to know it I don't tell myself and I don't let anyone else tell me either.." And I live by "You do what is right because it is right, not because anyone will ever know about it." So many....quotes

[BarbadosBeerFestival]

Mere fact that is video is nearly 50 mins long shows that’s Babylon 5 is worth the watch

[wstine]

The rivalry between Babylon 5 and Star Trek: DS9 was intense amongst the scifi community in the early 90s. I preferred Sisko and his crew, but B5 was fine. Even with Chekhov's doppelganger wearing black gloves was cool.