Babylon 5 showed television audiences that science fiction did not have to emulate episodic cops-and-courtroom drama in order to succeed. The show experimented with new teleplay concepts, introduced some previously forbidden topics, and zoomed in on the character-driven stories that make good science fiction great.
In some ways, Babylon 5 created new stereotypes that are now being exploited by less inventive movies and television shows. But the mythic qualities of the Babylon 5 universe, the continuous battle between "good" and "evil", "light" and "darkness", or "order" and "chaos", is drawn from our own ancient mythic values. Babylon 5 looks ahead and says, "What if we find we are not alone in the universe, but rather that we have been manipulated with many other races?"
The unquestioning loyalty of the crew of Babylon 5 to its commander is typical of starship teledrama, but the self-challenging flaws of the characters who make up the station's crew continually re-emerge to undermine their success, if only to help them grow even more.
The show may have ended production, but it lives on in the imaginations it touched.
Babylon 5 Forum
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Babylon 5: Mira Furlan on DTRN this wednesday
