Babylon 5

Every so often, I rewatch Babylon 5. The characters feel real and relatable, the conflicts are easily believable. Very few characters are truly good or bad. Most are morally ambiguous. And to quote one character from the first season, "No one here is exactly what they seem."

No matter when I watch it, it always seems appropriate. I've read that it was based heavily on history, which I suppose is what makes the conflicts so believable. The situations may be exaggerated for the sake of scale, but the dynamics have happened before and continue to happen.

I'm finishing up season 4 right now. One of the episodes, Intersections in Real Time, is I think the scariest episode of the series, possibly of several series. Not because of any alien monsters or great threats to the galaxy. For almost the entire episode, there are only two characters, an interrogator and his victim. You watch it, and you have to wonder if you would be able to withstand the psychological torture used.

The last episode of the season is also scary in a similar way. A look at the future history of Babylon 5 and what they accomplished. The doubt, the lies, the propaganda. And the eventual results of that.

It's a good show. You do need to watch it multiple times, as you pick up on things that laid the groundwork for future things. It was written as a 5 year arc, although the network decided to cancel it after the 4th season, necessitating the last two seasons being crammed together, and the uncancelled it, so a new 5 season had to be written in a hurry.

Also, it was made in the mid-1990s, and was the first show to use all CGI rather than models. As a result, the graphics haven't necessarily aged well. If it all looks like it was made with an Amiga Video Toaster, that's because it was. But there's nothing like seeing a ship suddenly swivel 180 degrees to attack a ship behind it.

Comments

  • I love Star Trek. I have watched all the iterations and rewatched DS9 and TNG multiple times. I think something most sci-fi has in common is visionary writers. They use history and current events and play them out in a future setting which makes them eternally relatable as we go through these societal cycles. They remind us of our ongoing struggles, but give us hope in the progress that we've made and will continue to make in the future.

    I watched Bab 5 over a decade ago and remember enjoying it, but not much else about it. I think that means it's time for a rewatch. Thanks for the reminder! How do you view it? I'm pretty sure I originally watched it on Netflix, but I just checked and it's no longer available on there.

  • Seriously?

    A wonderful life on babylon 5 🙅🤼‍♂️😵🙋‍♂️🐣

  • @Will17 It's on Amazon Prime video.

  • @Will17 It's also on Tubi. I just finished rewatching it a week ago.

  • One of my favorite moments of the show ...

  • One of the best shows ever! I hope it gets remade someday with more modern graphics.

  • There's talks of a remake. I don't know how to feel about that.

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