Those who have known me for any length of time know that my all-time favorite science fiction television series is Babylon 5. Indeed, it is not only my favorite series but defensibly one of the most important television shows made to this date. Babylon 5 (Bab 5 or B5, to fans) set a long string of firsts for TV Sci-Fi as well as television in general. One of these is that after almost 20 years it is still the most successfully executed serial story to make it to the small screen. The question becomes “Why?” There have been a lot of great Sci-Fi serials since. What has Babylon 5 had that these others have missed?
I think it comes down to two things; planning and the balance between plot and character. Joe Straczynski made no compromises on either of these two issues. He also took a uniquely realistic approach to both. Let’s look at these in order. (more…)