Battlestar Galacticais one of the few science fiction series that proves reboots can improve upon their original source material and that television was ready to support a sci-fi franchise that wasn’t Star Wars or Star Trek.From its pitch-perfect pilotto nearly every episode that followed,Ronald D. Mooreand his creative team brought a grounded approach to their story — well as grounded as “being chased around space by killer robots” as you could get. But the series finale “Daybreak"alienated some fanswith its resolution to theGalactica’s journey to Earthand the startling revelation that Cylons were the forefathers of humanity. Yes, apparently, we’re all descended from killer robots. Even Moore has expressed a few regrets on how “Daybreak” wrapped up the series. “To me, I wanted [Battlestar Galactica] to have a definitive ending…a part of me wishes I hadn’t done that,” he said atlast year’s San Diego Comic-Con, though he stood by his decision.Battlestar Galacticafans shouldn’t fret, though,since there’s another sci-fi series in the same vein with a far more satisfying ending:Babylon 5.
Created byJ. Michael Straczynski,Babylon 5centers around the Babylon 5 space station, which serves as “the last, best hope for peace”. It also featured a unique story structure at the time:Straczynski had planned the entire show out for a five season run,meaning that it had a definitive ending.Babylon 5also featured richly developed characters and surprising plot twists at a time when they weren’t commonplace on TV. In fact, the argument could be made that if it weren’t for this show,Battlestar Galactica —and the entire era of “Peak TV”— might not have become the norm. But what exactly makesBabylon 5such a great series?
‘Babylon 5’ Slowly Built Up to Its Main Storyline
At first,Babylon 5seemed to merely be a hub where various alien races could hash out their differences on neutral ground. But as the show progressedit started to reveal a massive storyline that served as the forefront of a massive intergalactic war. It begins whenBabylon 5’s commander Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O’Hare) is unable to remember the last day of a war he fought in involving the alien race known as the Minbari. Slowly, the Minbari reveal that they believe Sinclair carried the soul of the legendary prophet Valen, who would lead them to victory against the alien invaders known as the Shadows. Later on, new commander John Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) found himself on the frontlines of the war against the Shadows, even forming an alliance with the Minbari and other worlds to fight them.In the midst of all of this, there were a number of subplots that wound up feeding into the main plotline, including Earth falling under control of a facist government — which caused Sheridan to pullBabylon 5from the Earth Alliance in protest — and a conflict between two separate groups of telepaths.
Much likeBattlestar Galactica,Babylon 5featured characters who started at one extreme and ended up at another.Sinclair would eventually fulfill the Minbari prophecy by becoming their ambassador — and later, transformed into Valen himself. G’Kar (Andreas Katsulas) and Londo (Peter Jurasik) started off as a pair of dueling ambassadors due to the enmity between their respective races, but ended up in widely different positions of power: G’Kar became a spiritual leader, while Londo eventually became the leader of the Centauri empire — but is manipulated by the Shadows all the while. The way characters could change on a dime not only made them more compelling but actually made sense due to the way the plot was set up. Even the series finale, “Sleeping in Light,” brought things full circle:Babylon 5, having fulfilled its purpose, is decommissioned, while Sheridan has one last gathering with his friends before passing on to the next life. But while it was a trend-setting series,Babylon 5almost never got off the ground.
J. Michael Straczynski Navigated Multiple Production Issues To Complete ‘Babylon 5’
It took roughly five years forBabylon 5to make it to television, and in his autobiographyBecoming Superman, J. Michael Straczynski would detail just how rough a journey it was. In his initial pitch meetings, a cracked tooth led him to down an entire pitcher of ice water — resulting in a numb tongue and a less than stellar presentation. “To this day I don’t remember what I said. I’d gone in to pitchCasablanca in Space, but for all I can recall I might have pitchedGunsmoke at the Bottom of the Sea,“he wrote.
There was another major obstacle in the form ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine— likeBabylon 5, it also took place on a space station whose commander became the center of an intergalactic war, but it had the bedrock of a successful sci-fi franchise behind it. The fact thatBabylon 5aired a full year afterDeep Space Ninedidn’t help matters, as Straczynski worried that fans of the latterwould think he was ripping it off. However, the biggest challenge concerned PTEN, the network thatBabylon 5originally was a part of. In 1997, PTEN was shut down when its parent studios, Warner Bros. and Paramount, decided to form their own TV stations with The WB and UPN (ironically,both would merge to form The CW). But TNT picked up the final season, effectivelymaking sureBabylon 5was able to finish on the terms Straczynski wanted.
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‘Babylon 5’ and ‘Battlestar Galactica’ Have More in Common Than You’d Think
Battlestar Galacticadoes share quite a bit in common withBabylon 5, as both shows are sprawling, longform science-fiction stories that deal with themes of war and religion.But they also shared a similar beginning and ending. Both series start with a made-for-TV film that serves as a perfect introduction to the series and lays the groundwork for most of each show’s respective revelations. Shortly after ending, each show received a short-lived spinoff series:Battlestar GalacticahadCaprica, whileBabylon 5hadCrusade. BothBattlestar GalacticaandBabylon 5have recently beenconsidered for reboots, butnothing seems to be going forwardat this rate. A common saying inBattlestar Galacticais: “This has happened before, and it will all happen again.” Perhaps the person who wrote that was secretly referring toBabylon 5,sinceBattlestar Galacticamirrored its journey in more ways than one.
Babylon 5is available for purchase on Amazon Video in the U.S.
