Babylon 5 was a science fiction TV series that aired for five full seasons. In 1993 the pilot for the series premiered on February 22^nd, but the regular series didn’t begin to air until January 26, 1994. The series was centered on the activities of a multitude of races aboard a space station called Babylon 5 and the time line of the plot was in the future, 2257 through 2262 to be exact.

The five mile long space station was created to be a place where all the races of the galaxies could come together and foster peace for everyone. What it turned out to be was a centralized place for political intrigue and then, over time, it became the centerpiece of galactic war.

Continuing on what George Lucas began with Stars Wars, Michael Straczynski, who was the primary writer and producer of Babylon 5, introduced a large number of new and strange looking alien beings to garner the attention of the audience.

There were five main races during the shows early episodes.

They included the Narn, Centauri, Minbari, Vorlons and of course, Humans. Later in the series a dark, more sinister race named Shadows were introduced. Along the way there were dozens of other races introduced throughout the story lines.

I personally didn’t ever warm up to the series, though I was obviously in the minority for most people loved the show and it reflected as much in its strong ratings.  Babylon 5 garnered several awards including two Hugo Awards for Best Dramatic Presentation, and two more Emmy Awards for visual effects and makeup.

If you’re like me, you’ll have to go to the DVD library to catch up on this cult classic.  It’s an obvious gem in the annals of science fiction television that simply didn’t catch my eye during its peak, but thanks to modern technology we don’t have to miss out on this one altogether.