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Babylon 5 12/15/2006 7:45:52 AM
My sincere apologies for failing to keep this blog up over the past few weeks. First it was birthday and Thanksgiving, and then my son got sick for the first time in his young life. Unfortunately, I was sick at the same time. (No sick time for mommies!) After that, I think I just had trouble getting back into the flow.
Here I am again, though, and I wanted to dedicate a blog entry to my favorite science fiction show of all times -- Babylon 5.
For those of you who have not seen it, let me give you an overview. J. Michael Straczynski decided to create a television series with 5 planned seasons, sort of a play in 5 acts with introducing, rising action, climax, and denouement. This plan was slightly messed up by a threatened cancellation in the fourth season, causing them to have to come to a conclusion in a hurry and then undo the conclusion when they got the go ahead for the fifth season. Even so, the overall arc is well planned and well implemented.
Babylon 5 is a space station in neutral territory, primarily funded and run by Earth but playing host to a quarter million humans and aliens at any time. The mission is to help keep the peace, but that all goes to hell pretty quickly.
My favorite part of this series is the characterization. Very rarely do you see a true and real evolution of characters who are neither good nor evil, but real. We all have our foibles and strengths, and it is that complex interplay that makes us who we are, capable of doing monstrous things and tremendous good. My favorite example of this is Londo, the ambassador from Centauri Prime, who begins as a drunken fool, evolves into a well-meaning monster, repents, and then suffers of a terrible fate.
That was just my personal favorite, though. There is a complex universe here with people, relationships, multiple governments, each with their own problems, and aliens who aren't all bipeds who breathe oxygen. (The main characters are, but I can forgive them that.) :=)
I also really enjoy the believability of the future presented. Far from the human race "evolving" into something pure and perfect, we have basically remained the same -- just out in space. We continue to repeat the sins of our past. Wars, crime, the worst kinds of capitalism, plays for power, politicians, and lawyers continue to plague the future in Babylon 5. It may not be peaceful, but it is interesting.
I own all five seasons of Babylon 5 and have watched them all several times. It was my first choice for distraction during the first few weeks of my son's life when I was planted in a chair with a baby on my breast.
My favorite seasons are 3 and 4, because they are the most action-packed and because they introduce a new character named Marcus who is easy to like. Season 1 is interesting, because the commander of Babylon 5 is season 1 has a destiny that diverges from the rest of the characters. In fact, he is replaced in season 2, but he is not forgotten.
This show is not Star Trek. It is much, much better. I highly recommend it to all science fiction lovers out there.
