Babylon 5

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Babylon 5
Season 4 poster
Season 4 poster
Genre Science fiction
Creator(s) J. Michael Straczynski
Starring Michael O'Hare
Bruce Boxleitner
Claudia Christian
Jerry Doyle
Mira Furlan
Richard Biggs
Bill Mumy
Peter Jurasik
Andreas Katsulas
Stephen Furst
Jason Carter
Patricia Tallman
Jeff Conaway
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 110 episodes
Six films
Production
Running time 42 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel PTEN (1994-1997)
TNT (1998)
Original run February 22, 1993 – November 25, 1998
Links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Babylon 5 is an epic American science fiction television series created, produced, and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on the Babylon 5 space station, a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and wars. The series is noted for its heavy reliance on pre-planned story arcs over its five-year run. Because of this, it was sometimes described as a "novel for television".[1]

The pilot movie, The Gathering, aired on February 22, 1993, and the regular series initially aired from January 26, 1994 through November 25, 1998, first in syndication on the short-lived Prime Time Entertainment Network, then on cable network TNT. Because the show was aired every week in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 without a break, the last four or five episodes of the early seasons were shown in the UK before the U.S.

The series won many awards, including two Hugos for Best Dramatic Presentation and an Emmy for Best visual effects.

Contents

Production

The Babylon 5 Universe:
Topic index - Episode list - People list
Articles by category
Characters - Crusade - Episodes
Films - Novels - Planets - Races - Ships - Wars
Original B5 promo logo
Original B5 promo logo

Concept

J. Michael Straczynski was determined to produce a science fiction series for adults that would be done properly — consistent technology, "no kids or cute robots." He started out with ideas for two different shows, one a vastly-ambitious epic covering massive battles and other universe-changing events, and the other set aboard a single space station, before realizing both could be done in a single series. It was not a utopian future — there is greed and homelessness. It was not a place where everything was the same at the end of the day — main characters grow, develop, live, and die. Straczynski wanted the show to be a mirror to the real world and to covertly teach (an idea mentioned by Mark Twain).[2]

The Babylon 5 Station
The Babylon 5 Station

Unlike most television shows, this series was conceived as a novel, with a defined beginning, middle, and end. In addition, all tie-in novels, comic books, and short stories play a significant canonical part in the overall story. The show uses an arc-driven storytelling style now prevalent in both televised science fiction and in mainstream drama. In the DVD feature The Making of Babylon 5, Walter Koenig said, "It's an exciting uniquely different series that could forever change the way you look at science-fiction television," and referred to "groundbreaking special effects and new breathtaking achievements in makeup, sets and costumes."

Straczynski anticipated the rise of digital television, shooting the series in 16:9 format, rather than the normal 4:3 — six years before ER and many other dramas began doing the same thing. Babylon 5 also revolutionized the use of computer technology (using Amiga-based Video Toasters at first, and later Pentium and DEC Alpha-based systems)[3] in creating visual effects at a time when using models and miniatures was still the norm. It was also the first SF series to respect Newtonian physics in its space-battle sequences, with particular emphasis placed on the effects of inertia. More recent series such as Joss Whedon's Firefly and the Sci-Fi Channel version of Battlestar Galactica have also made similar efforts to simulate realistic physics.[4]

Music and scoring

The original pilot movie had music composed by Stewart Copeland. When the show was picked up as a weekly series Copeland was not available, and so Straczynski hired Christopher Franke, of Tangerine Dream fame. Franke was the composer for all five seasons of Babylon 5, and three of the Babylon 5 telefilms. When Straczynski obtained funds to create a new writer's edition of the pilot movie, the original Stewart Copeland score was replaced with a new score by Christopher Franke.

Use of the Internet

Main article: Babylon 5's use of the Internet

The show was one of the first to employ Internet marketing to create a buzz among online readers far in advance of the airing of the pilot episode. Straczynski participated in online communities on USENET (in the rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated newsgroup), and the GEnie and Compuserve systems before the Internet came together as it exists today. Also during this time, Warner Bros. executive Jim Moloshok created and distributed electronic trading cards to help advertise the series. In 1995, Warner Bros. started the Official Babylon 5 Web site that was hosted on the now defunct Pathfinder portal. In September 1995, they hired a fan, Troy Rutter, to take over the site and move it to its own domain name at www.babylon5.com, and oversee the Keyword B5 area on America Online. The fans continued to play an important role in the development of the series, and the online support campaign is credited with helping persuade former PTEN station owners to carry the fourth season of the show in 1996.

Regular and guest stars

Main article: List of people involved with Babylon 5

Regular cast

Recurring guests

There was also a group of actors who each played numerous bit parts, known informally as "The Babylon 5 Players". For example, each of the actors who played a Drazi ambassador during the series also appeared as another minor character elsewhere in the Babylon 5 saga.

Story

The series consists of a five-year story arc taking place over five seasons of 22 episodes each. John Iacovelli said "Babylon 5 is a window on the future" in the DVD feature Creating the Future, linking to the idea of a space opera. The hub of the story is set in the 23rd century (2258-2262 AD) on a large space station named Babylon 5; the five mile (8 km) long, 2.5 million ton rotating colony is built to be a gathering place for fostering peace through diplomacy, trade, and cooperation.

The Babylon station

Main article: Babylon 5 (space station)
Babylon 5 orbiting Epsilon III
Babylon 5 orbiting Epsilon III

In the show, Babylon 5 is a center of political intrigue and conflict, enventually becoming the lynchpin of a massive interstellar conflict. This is reflected in the opening monologue of each episode, which includes the words "last, best hope for peace" in Season One, but changes to "last, best hope for victory" by Season Three.

Babylon 5 is the fifth Babylon space station, a modified version of an O'Neill Cylinder. Three predecessors, the original Babylon station, Babylon 2 and Babylon 3 were all sabotaged and destroyed before their completion. The fourth station, Babylon 4 vanished twenty-four hours after it became fully operational ("Babylon Squared" and "War Without End"). Babylon 5 is substantially smaller than the previous stations, due to budget constraints after the failure of the first four stations. The station is set in the Epsilon Eridani star system, orbiting the third planet of that system, Epsilon Eridani III (frequently referred to as "Epsilon III" in the series).

Bruce Boxleitner, who played station commander Captain John Sheridan, described the space station Babylon 5 as "... A free port for diplomats, travelers and businessmen. A combination of building the United Nations and Times Square on an intergalactic scale...", in the introduction of The Guide to Babylon 5.

Civilizations

Main article: Civilizations in Babylon 5
G'Kar (left) of the Narn Regime and Londo Mollari of the Centauri Republic.
G'Kar (left) of the Narn Regime and Londo Mollari of the Centauri Republic.

At the beginning of the series, five dominant civilizations are represented. The dominant species are the Humans, Minbari, Narn, Centauri, and the Vorlons. "The Shadows" and their various allies are malevolent species who appear later in the series. The less powerful races make up the League of Non-Aligned Worlds.

"Trap doors"

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Though conceived as a whole, and with Straczynski writing most of the episodes (including all of the episodes of the third and fourth seasons, a feat never before accomplished in American television according to Straczynski[5]), it was necessary to adjust the plotline to accommodate external influences. Each of the characters in the series was written with a "trap door" into their background that, in the event of an actor departing from the series, the character could be written out with minimal negative impact to the story.[6] In the words of Straczynski, "As a writer, doing a long-term story, it'd be dangerous and short-sighted for me to construct the story without trap doors for every single character. [...] That was one of the big risks going into a long-term storyline which I considered long in advance."[7]

Major challenges included the replacement of actor Michael O'Hare as the station commander after the first season. Jeffrey Sinclair was intended from the beginning to become Valen.[8] As originally planned, this would have occurred at the end of the series, but with Michael O'Hare's departure at the end of Season One, Sinclair's transformation to Valen was moved up by what became several years.

The character of Talia Winters was to have undergone a transformation into a Psi-Corps agent, having been revealed as a "sleeper," whose true personality was buried subconsciously, and who acted as a spy, observing the events on the station and the actions of her command staff. When Thompson left the series, this revelation was turned into a way to remove the character from the series permanently. Had Thompson remained, her "good" persona would have been restored by the use of a data crystal that Kosh had commissioned through the services of a VCR (pronounced "Vicar", a telepath with an implant allowing him to record the psychic data he detected): According to JMS, Kosh had detected the Psi-Corps plot, and had taken steps to salvage what he considered a valuable resource. This plotline was never used.[citation needed]

Two characters were written out using a pair of intertwining "Trap Doors." When Jason Carter left the series at the end of Season 4, the "Trap Door" calling for Marcus Cole to die in battle was altered so as to literally give his life to Susan Ivanova as she lay dying from wounds suffered in battle. In a twist that left the possibility for Cole's return, his body was left in suspended animation on the station to await a new discovery that might resuscitate him. Subsequently, when Claudia Christian left the series at end of Season 4, her character was written out of the series by having Ivanova accept a command of her own as captain of a new Warlock class destroyer, her self-realization of her grief over the loss of Marcus being the defining factor in Ivanova's decision to leave.[9]

Spoilers end here.

Languages

English is mentioned explicitly as the "Human language of commerce." Hearing other human languages or even their mention is highly uncommon in the series. Ambassador Delenn and Londo Mollari, both alien characters, speak with distinct accent similar to Slavic.

All the major human characters speak American English, with the exception of Marcus Cole, who speaks with distinct British Received Pronunciation. Susan Ivanova, born in Russia, speaks with an American accent, but has some posters with writing in the Cyrillic alphabet in her room, possibly indicating she knows the language.[citation needed] Her father speaks with a distinct Russian accent, as does her brother. Various other minor human characters speak English with recognizable regional accents.

Londo Mollari has a noticeable accent, developed independently by actor Peter Jurasik[10] and most closely imitated by William Forward, who played Lord Refa. In the novels it is described as a "Northern accent," and is considered uncouth.[citation needed] G'Kar has a particular gift for speech and writing in both Narn and English, as is demonstrated particularly from early in the third season onward.

The Gaim, Pak'Ma'Ra and Vorlons do not speak directly in English, though in the case of the Vorlons it is not entirely clear that sounds preceding their English speech is their native language. Some companion literature to the series has suggested they simply refuse to learn other languages. This is true for the Pak'Ma'Ra — in the TV series, Rangers Durhan and Turval ask Delenn what to do with the Pak'Ma'Ra Ranger applicants, since they refuse to learn any language other than their own[11].

Among aliens, only Minbari are shown to speak a different language when humans are present to stress that the humans cannot understand what is being said. When Minbari (or Narn, Centauri, etc.) are shown talking to each other, they are shown as speaking in English (except for a Narn religious ceremony in Season One), although according to creator Joe Straczynski, it is presumed they are speaking their native language, while the audience "hears" it as English.

Interlac is also referred to as a universal language most often used in first contact situations because it is easily translated. Because it is a language based on pure mathematics, easily translation is possible, but it is normally only used in first contact situations until another basis of communication is found.

Themes

Through its ongoing story arc, Babylon 5 found ways to portray themes relevant to modern social issues.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Authoritarianism vs anarchy; order vs chaos; light vs dark

The central theme in Babylon 5 is the conflict between order and chaos, and the people caught in between.

The Vorlons represent an authoritarian philosophy: you will do what we tell you to, because we tell you to do it. The Vorlon Question, "Who are you?" focuses on the identity as the motivator over personal goals.[12] The Shadows represent anarchy. Their belief is that by creating conflict, a stronger generation is born — "survival of the fittest".[13] The question they pose is, "What do you want?" They place desire and ambition before everything else, encouraging conflict between other groups, who choose to serve their own glory or profit.[14] Selfishness is often the turning point of a character from light to darkness, and selflessness denotes a change in the reverse.

The stated philosophies of both the Vorlons and the Shadows seem directly in conflict with the effects their presence seems to produce. During the time that the Vorlons are tacitly "in charge" of the known universe, wars and skirmishes seem commonplace. However, as soon as the Shadows increase their presence, an alliance of races begins to form to fight them. ("Z'ha'dum").

A third question, asked by Lorien (the oldest living being in the B5 galaxy) is "Why are you here?". This third question suggests that there is more to life than the duality of order and chaos.

War and peace

The Babylon 5 universe includes numerous major armed conflicts. The conflicts serve to illustrate specific themes: every conflict has a forgotten "third side," people crushed beneath the feet of the powerful; a single individual willing to sacrifice himself can be more powerful than the greatest army; whereas an individual willing to sacrifice everyone else to serve his own objectives can reduce entire worlds to ashes, and yet still be defeated.

Ultimately, every violent conflict is born out of self-interest, perpetuated by prejudice and ideology, and resolved by the realization that each side needs the other to survive. The most clear example of this is the history of the Hyach race: The Hyach evolved alongside the Hyach-Doh, with whom they interbred. Over the course of centuries the Hyach leadership began a process of persecution beginning with religious laws and ending in genocide. It was not until after the last Hyach-Doh had been killed that the Hyach birth-rate began to fall: the Hyach genetic structure needed the Hyach-Doh for them to survive, and by wiping them out they had doomed their own race.

By the end of the series, we find members of opposing sides working together to forge a new future.

Love

Unrequited love is a source of pain in Babylon 5. The losses of loved ones to characters such as Ivanova and Sinclair are central to the story arc of the first three seasons, while Marcus and Lennier are ultimately destroyed by their love (for Ivanova and Delenn, respectively). Ivanova realizes she loved Talia (among the first times a same sex relationship was alluded to in a scifi series). Garibaldi loses a would-be lover to war in Gropos. Zack Allen's affection for Lyta Alexander is also unreturned. Not all love in the show is unrequited, however. Sheridan, for example, returns from the dead after discovering that his love for Delenn is "worth living for" in "Whatever Happened to Mr. Garibaldi?", and Garibaldi finds a happy ending with the woman he loves.[15]

Religion

One of the aspects of Babylon 5 is that many of its characters have profound spiritual and/or religious beliefs ("The Parliament of Dreams"). Straczynski, an atheist, was determined that the characters and the show would treat all these beliefs with the utmost respect, saying, "religion [...] has always been present. And it will be present 200 years from now. That may not thrill me, but when one is a writer, one must deal with realities, and that's one of them. To totally ignore that part of the human equation would be as false and wrong-headed as ignoring the fact that people get mad, or passionate, or strive for better lives. [...] In the Babylon 5 universe, all the things that make us human -- our obsessions, our interests, our language, our culture, our flaws and our wonderfulnesses -- are all still intact."[16]

Many religions are mentioned in the Babylon 5 storyline. Often, a religious or moral question is presented with no clear answer. A perfect example is "Soul Hunter" in which three different interpretations are presented for the Soul Hunters' actions. The moral conflict presented in "Believers" is another example. More important for the overall arc of the program is the large plot thread hinging upon Minbari religious beliefs and the spiritual evolution of G'Kar.

Spoilers end here.

Original series

Main article: List of Babylon 5 episodes and movies

Episodes

Each season shared its name with an episode that was central to that season's plot.

Production costs: according to director J. Michael Straczynski "I produced B5's 110 episodes at [a cost of] about 90 million dollars." [17]

The scripts written by Mr. Straczynski for the series are all being published. This is planned to be a 15-volume series, for a total of 92 scripts (as well as two TV movies).[18]

Made-for-TV films

Spin-offs

Crusade

Main article: Crusade (TV series)

The spin-off series Crusade[19] ran on TNT for thirteen episodes, having been set up by the TV-movie A Call to Arms. The production team received help from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to make sure that the series depicted science and technology accurately.[20] However, creative differences between Straczynski and TNT caused problems; the network wanted more sex and violence[21] and forced Straczynski to begin the first episode with a fistfight. The sex-and-violence request was later withdrawn, and TNT in fact allocated more money to Crusade, giving the actors better uniforms and new sets mid-season. However, due to the creative differences, TNT eventually decided to cancel the series after thirteen episodes had been produced, but before any of them were aired. At the time of the cancellation, only hints of major story arcs had yet come into play, though unproduced scripts published online by Straczynski — in addition to comments made by him online, at conventions, and on the Crusade DVD commentaries — reveal that they would have become prominent features of the series, had it continued.

It has subsequently been stated by JMS that TNT got cold feet over the show having discovered that their B5 viewers tuned into the channel solely to watch that show, and then tuned out at the end whilst their regular audience did the opposite, so it was not achieving their goal of growing their overall audience-share. At this point, they decided that they did not want to proceed with Crusade, but could not renege on the contract with Warner Brothers without severe financial penalties. They therefore set out to make life as uncomfortable for the production team as possible in the hope that they would pull the plug themselves, or simply refuse to play ball, allowing TNT to pull out, claiming breach of contract.

Legend of the Rangers

Main article: Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers

A made-for-TV movie titled To Live and Die in Starlight was produced by the Sci Fi Channel. It was the proposed pilot episode of a new series titled Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers. Rescheduled after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the movie aired on January 19, 2002. However, it was scheduled against an NFL AFC Divisional Championship playoff game featuring the New England Patriots and the Oakland Raiders. The pilot's poor ratings contributed to the lessening of the network's interest in a series pick-up, but the final nail in its coffin was the dispute between Warner Bros. and Vivendi Universal (owners of the Sci Fi Channel) over revenue-sharing for the potential weekly series.

The Memory of Shadows

Main article: The Memory of Shadows

In 2004 and early 2005, rumors widely circulated about a planned Babylon 5 movie for theatrical release. However, on February 25, 2005, a post from Straczynski announced that the project had fallen through, and was for all practical purposes dead.[22] The proposed movie, titled The Memory of Shadows (TMOS), was written by Straczynski. Filming was to have begun in April, 2005 in the UK, with Steven Beck as the director.

Several sources have claimed that factions within Warner Bros. wanted to recast established Babylon 5 roles with younger and more well-known actors, causing a major controversy among fans. Straczynski has acknowledged the subject and has stated that the negotiations were problematic, but has said that he is unable to directly comment on the issue. It has been said, however, that Warner's stated principle at the time was only to do "blockbuster" movies featuring "star" names, and that the issue of re-casting the characters only arose as a result of those attempting to finance TMoS approaching WB, having been unable to raise the finance elsewhere.

Recently JMS stated that WB had offered him the opportunity to make a B5 feature film, but he declined this in favour of the Babylon 5: The Lost Tales direct-to-DVD project.

The Lost Tales

Main article: Babylon 5: The Lost Tales

A new project set in Babylon 5 universe was announced by Straczynski at San Diego Comic Con 2006.[23] Babylon 5: The Lost Tales will be a set of mini-stories featuring established characters from the series. The project is intended to be a straight-to-video DVD release; however, there is possible interest from one of the major US TV networks, as well. The production of the first anthology of two stories, named collectively Voices in the Dark, commenced in November 2006 with Straczynski writing, producing, and directing.

Novels, novelizations, short stories, and comic books

Main article: Babylon 5 Novels, novelizations, short stories, and comic books

Unique to the Babylon 5 universe among virtually all other shared media universes is the sanctioned canonicity of many of its offshoot novels and comic book stories; nearly all of the Babylon 5 novels and novelizations to date having been based on outlines written directly by J. Michael Straczynski. The later Del Rey books are considered to be more canonical than some of the earlier Dell ones, and at least two major plotline revelations were made in the DC Comics series that were directly referenced in the TV series. In all, per Straczynski's own remarks, canonical elements exist in every single book published to date, and his deeper involvement in the novel-publishing program from 1996 onward has ensured a greater level of canonicity within such works.

Additionally, Straczynski himself penned a number of short stories, published in Amazing Stories magazine, expanding on several key story-points from the television series, along with a number of other established authors, with all such tales considered as "real" as the TV show itself. The comic books published by DC Comics are also fully endorsed (with the exception of DC changing a curse word in the first issue), with JMS again either having directly written or contributed to all of the issues in one form or another.

Straczynski is presently (as of early 2006) hard at work finishing up the manuscript for a 100-page Babylon 5 graphic novel, to be published during the late period of the year by Wildstorm Productions. As of 2006, the premise, characters, and plotline are still unknown.

Mongoose Publishing, the publisher of recent Babylon 5 role-playing game (RPG) material, has announced that it will be releasing a line of Babylon 5 novels and graphic novels beginning in summer 2006. JMS has made it clear that he is not involved with this project, and considers the works to be "fan-fiction."[24]

DVD releases

Season releases

The first season DVD set
The first season DVD set

All five seasons have been released individually in the US and the UK. A complete 5-season set is also available in each of the two DVD regions, titled Babylon 5: The Complete Television Series for the U.S. and Canada, and Babylon 5: The Complete Universe for the UK. The UK version also includes all the films and the short-lived spin-off Crusade. As of 2006, the complete first and second seasons and their individual episodes are also for sale at the iTunes Store.

According to director J. Michael Straczynski as of mid-2006 "The DVD sales have raised over 500 million in revenue." The financial success of the DVD box sets has led to a renewed interest in further Babylon 5 work [1].

DVD Name Region 1 Region 2
Babylon 5: The Complete First Season November 5, 2002 October 28, 2002
Babylon 5: The Complete Second Season April 29, 2003 May 26, 2003
Babylon 5: The Complete Third Season August 12, 2003 November 10, 2003
Babylon 5: The Complete Fourth Season January 6, 2004 April 19, 2004
Babylon 5: The Complete Fifth Season April 13, 2004 January 17, 2005
Babylon 5: The Complete Television Series August 17, 2004 N/A
Babylon 5: The Complete Universe N/A October 24, 2005

Babylon 5 movie releases

The Movie Collection DVD set
The Movie Collection DVD set

The Babylon 5 TV movies were distributed differently in the U.S. and UK. Initially a DVD containing the two movies The Gathering and In the Beginning were released on both region 1 (North America) and region 2 (UK) DVD. Then, in the U.S., the first five movies which aired while Babylon 5 was still on the air were released in one boxset, with the TV movie Legend of the Rangers getting its own separate release on both region 1 and region 2 DVD. In the UK, a film boxset was released, but instead of containing the five movies like the U.S. version, it contained the three movies which hadn't been released yet (Thirdspace, River of Souls, and A Call to Arms). The Gathering was released as a low-priced promotional R1 DVD in 2004, intended as a 'trial' of the series proper; Warner Bros. issued several such DVDs but discontinued the line shortly thereafter due to lack of interest.

DVD name Region 1 Region 2
Babylon 5: The Gathering/In the Beginning December 4, 2001 N/A
Babylon 5: The Gathering N/A April 8, 2002
Babylon 5: In the Beginning N/A April 8, 2002
Babylon 5: The Movie Collection August 17, 2004 N/A
Babylon 5: Movie Box Set N/A February 21, 2005
Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers March 14, 2006 October 24, 2005
Babylon 5: The Lost Tales N/A N/A

Mastering problems

The transfer of Babylon 5 to DVD created significant problems with regard to special-effects/CGI footage. Several factors complicated the process.

  • Although originally broadcast in the standard television aspect ratio of 4:3, all live-action footage was filmed on Super 35 mm film (with a ratio of 1.65:1). The idea was that, once widescreen televisions (with an aspect ratio of 16:9 or 1.78:1) became more popular, the episodes could be easily converted into a wide screen format.
  • CGI shots were rendered in the 4:3 ratio, but designed so that the top and bottom of each shot could be removed to create a widescreen image without ruining the image composition.
  • All of the purely live-action shots were stored as high-definition digital images.
  • However, CGI shots, and shots combining live-action with CGI, were stored in the much lower-definition NTSC digital format. (Again, the expectation was that it would be relatively cheap in the future to recreate the CGI as widescreen.)
  • Over the years, the original computer-generated models, etc. have been lost, making it necessary to use the old 4:3 CGI shots.

This has resulted in several consistent flaws throughout the Babylon 5 DVD release. In particular, quality drops very significantly whenever a scene cuts from purely live-action to a shot combining live-action and CGI. This is especially noticeable on the PAL DVDs, since CGI shots had to be converted from NTSC as well as being blown up to fit a wide screen television. In addition, while the live action film was indeed wide screen, shots were composed for 4:3, resulting in a conspicuous tendency for actors to clump up in the middle of the screen.

Soundtrack releases

A total of 31 soundtrack albums have been released for Babylon 5. They are all composed by the series composer Christopher Franke and released under his own record label Sonic Images. There are 3 compilation albums: Babylon 5: Vol 1, Babylon 5: Vol 2, and Best of Babylon 5. In addition, there are 25 episodic soundtracks and 3 movie soundtracks.

Compilation soundtracks

These include music that appeared throughout the series, but have been extensively reorchestrated, rewritten, and remixed by Franke into lengthy movements. In some cases new themes are introduced, such as the season 5 intro theme, which is heard on the last track of Babylon 5: Vol 2 even though the soundtrack itself was released long before season 5.

Episodic and feature film soundtracks

The 28 episodic and feature film soundtracks include the exact unedited music from each corresponding episode or feature film, with no alterations, omissions, or additions.

Games

In November 1997, Chameleon Eclectic Entertainment published the original The Babylon Project: The Roleplaying Game Based on Babylon 5.[25] In 2003, Mongoose Publishing printed the Babylon 5 Roleplaying Game & Factbook.[26]

The Babylon 5 Wars wargame, the first licensed product of its kind, was first published by Agents of Gaming in 1998. The game was developed in close contact with the creators of the show, and most of the published material is considered canon. [27] Agents of Gaming later published Babylon 5 Fleet Action, which focused on battles of a larger scale. There was also a Babylon 5 Collectible Card Game.

Mongoose Publishing makes a miniature space ship combat game named A Call To Arms, which takes place in the Babylon 5 universe.

There are no officially licensed Babylon 5 video games on the market, though in 1998 a video game based on Babylon 5, named Into the Fire, was being developed by Sierra, the publishers of Homeworld. Work on this game ended on September 21, 1999, when, as part of a corporate reorganization, Sierra cancelled it and laid off its development staff when the game was only a few months away from release.[28] This game was to have cast the player as the pilot of a Starfury fighter craft, giving the player an opportunity to "move up through the ranks," and eventually take command of capital ships and even fleets. Christopher Franke composed and recorded new music for the game, and live action footage was filmed with the primary actors from the series.

The web site, FirstOnes.com, continues to track Babylon 5 modifications for other games. FirstOnes.com hosts the site of the Space Dream Factory, an independent project to develop several standalone games. A collection of modifications for the Homeworld platform can be found at The Great Wars Mods website. These modifications try to capture the best battles from the series. Another independently-developed, freely-available modification is The Babylon Project, a total conversion of the computer game FreeSpace 2. The modification features several campaigns set during the Earth-Minbari War and the Raider Wars. Other games with Babylon 5 modifications include Star Trek: Armada and Star Trek: Armada II.

Trivia

  • One of the show's Hugo awards is used as a prop in the final episode, the first time that a Hugo has been shown on-screen in a series that has actually won a Hugo.
  • In the Babylon 5 universe, every intelligent species in the galaxy has, apparently on its own, developed the food that we call Swedish meatballs. Each species has a different name for it (the Narn call it "breen"). This is reminiscent of a phenomenon reported in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: every intelligent race has a drink called "gin and tonic" — but only the name is similar, and the actual drink is unique to each species.
  • Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams appeared in a cameo role in the season four episode Moments of Transition. In a bar, he enlisted Garibaldi to help him find his dog and cat (presumably Dogbert and Catbert) who he said meant to take over the universe. Adams also has stated that he considers B5 to be the best television show ever made. When TV Guide did a cover story on that, they had Dilbert say "Star Trek," believing that that would sell more issues.[29]
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
  • For unknown reasons, August 3rd is often a bad day in the Babylon 5 universe.[30] Whenever an episode takes place on August 3rd, something particularly bad and/or pivotal happens. "Signs and Portents" (the Shadows' agent Morden contacts Ambassador Mollari) was August 3, 2258; "Interludes and Examinations" (Kosh aids the war against the Shadows, at a great price, while Londo is maneuvered into working with the Shadows again) was August 3, 2260; and "Moments of Transition" (Delenn challenged, Garibaldi leaves B5, Lyta is forced to go back to PsiCorps, and Sheridan goes to war against Earth) was August 3, 2261.
Spoilers end here.

See also

References

  1. ^ In2TV: Babylon 5 - AOL Television. Retrieved on September 2, 2006.
  2. ^ Babylon 5 posts by JMS for April, 1992. Retrieved on August 18, 2006.
  3. ^ The Effects. The Lurker's Guide To Babylon 5. midwinter.com. Retrieved on August 18, 2006.
  4. ^ Trivia for "Babylon 5". IMDB. amazon. Retrieved on August 18, 2006.
  5. ^ Re: ATTN: JMS I heard that with you writing the entire season, you will be the 1st in TV history?. Usenet (Google Groups) (April 22, 1996).
  6. ^ JMS on Claudia Christian's departure. Retrieved on November 14, 2006.
  7. ^ J. Michael Straczynski (April 24, 1996). Re: ATTN: JMS Changes in the Story due to Actors. Usenet (Google Groups).
  8. ^ J. Michael Straczynski (January 15, 1998). Re: Attn JMS - And The Sky Full Of Stars Question *SPOILERS*. Usenet (Google Groups).
  9. ^ Rising Star (Babylon 5)
  10. ^ IGN: An Interview with Peter Jurasik. Retrieved on September 26, 2006.
  11. ^ Learning Curve (Babylon 5), Season 5: The Wheel of Fire.
  12. ^ jms. >>ZHD - Thoughts<<. Retrieved on September 2, 2006.
  13. ^ jms. Re: Attn JMS: Shadows and Hegel?. Retrieved on September 2, 2006.
  14. ^ J. Michael Straczynski. Questioning.... Retrieved on September 2, 2006.
  15. ^ Soap Opera 'Babylon' - B5 and the Soaps. Retrieved on September 4, 2006.
  16. ^ J. Michael Straczynski (September 9, 1993). Religion in B5.
  17. ^ Merrick. BABYLON 5 Returns!!, Ain't It Cool News. July 24, 2006.
  18. ^ Babylon 5 Scripts. Accessed November 10, 2006.
  19. ^ The Babylon Project: Crusade - Overview. The Lurker's Guide To Babylon 5. midwinter.com. Retrieved on August 18, 2006.
  20. ^ NASA JPL. PRODUCERS OF 'BABYLON 5' TAP JPL'S BRAIN POWER FOR NEW SERIES. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-08-18.
  21. ^ Changes to Crusade. Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved on August 18, 2006.
  22. ^ jms. From jms re: tmos. Retrieved on August 18, 2006.
  23. ^ Schroeder, Jan (2006-08-08). JMSNews news page. JMSNews, The J. Michael Straczynski Message Archive. Retrieved on August 27, 2006.
  24. ^ A Call to Arms !. Mongoose. Retrieved on August 18, 2006.
  25. ^ Cochran, Joseph (November 1997). The Babylon Project: The Roleplaying Game Based on Babylon 5. Chameleon Eclectic Entertainment, Inc.. 
  26. ^ Hahn, August; Matthew Sprange (2003). Babylon 5 Roleplaying Game & Factbook. Mongoose Publishing. 
  27. ^ Graw, B. and Glass, R.: "Babylon 5 Wars Second Edition Rules Compendium.", page 1. Agents of Gaming, 2000
  28. ^ More Disappointment for Babylon 5. Retrieved on September 2, 2006.
  29. ^ jms. From jms re: yr 4/5. Retrieved on August 18, 2006.
  30. ^ The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5: Moments of Transition. midwinter.com (1997).

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