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Babylon 5 is a five-season science fiction television series created by J. Michael Straczynski and originally aired between January 1994 and November 1998. Series in a similar vein include Star Trek, Stargate SG-1, and Andromeda Ascendant. However, Babylon 5 has a unique structure because the original storyline was laid out like a novel, with distinct story arcs and interweaving character backgrounds and plotlines. Each episode contains one or two major plotlines that advance the main story, with additional subplots woven into the background to add depth and character to the series. There are more than a dozen major characters, each of whom has his own background, motivations, and interactions with other characters. In addition, there are six movies, including the pilot episode, that provide additional detail and background to the story. For all these reasons and more, Babylon 5 is one of the best science fiction television series ever produced.

The story begins with Commander Jeffrey Sinclair of Earth taking command of the newly completed interstellar space station Babylon 5. This station, placed in neutral territory in an orbit around a planet with secret technology, is intended to be a diplomatic station used to house ambassadors from all the major and minor races in the galaxy. Sinclair has to deal with the interactions between the advanced Minbari, the warlike Narn, the treacherous Centauri, and other races both helpful and hostile. The individual ambassadors may or may not follow their racial tendencies, however. The station is the fifth one in its line, the previous four all having disappeared under mysterious circumstances shortly after being completed. Sinclair and his successor Captain John Sheridan will go to the ends of the galaxy and beyond in their race to save humanity and its allied races from a dangerous enemy from without and betrayal from within.

In addition to very good special effects even for ten-year-old technology, modeling spaceflight much better than most other shows, this series contains excellent dialogue with both thought-provoking comments about philosophy and human nature, and snappy retorts between the characters that reveal their character and also inject some much-needed humor into the scenes. Without that humor, this would be quite a dark show, with all the war and destruction that inevitably happens with epic space battles between entire races. But the characters always have time for some great one-liners between the darker times. In short, this series has everything a science fiction fan could want: great characters, great dialogue, great story - and great special effects.

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