Babylon 5: the Last True Space Opera?

[Etadanik]

On a whim, I went back and re-watched Babylon 5.

And you know what? I wept. Not because whats his face died, but because I knew, deep down inside, that there will probably never be a space opera so grand, so unadulteratedly and geekishly true to the genre's lavish style, as Babylon 5.

I mean, for the sake of all that is holy in geekdoom, you can't get more grand than the last episode of Season 4 where (*SPOILER*) the entire future history of mankind is revealed, culminating in our ascension into star godhood complete with uber organic ships (*END SPOILER*). Now that's vision - at a level that borders on hubris, true, but then that's what space opera is all about. Hubris - in all its tantalizing details.

The high point of the series, for me as for many others, is the build up to and the acting out of the Vorlon vs. Shadow war. And let me tell you, watching the final battle between the Vorlons and the Shadow is like orgasming to the sound of one hand clapping. It's ridiculous and yet ecstatic at the same time, because on one hand the CG is dated but on the other they're so damn sincere about everything that you can't help but be taken up with it all. It's like entering a world film makers nowadays dare not tread, lest the cost of CG blow up in their face - and that's a shame, because I could care less about photorealistic $20 million dollar CG animation that lasts all of two minutes. What I care about is genuine passion, unashamedly displayed, because that shit is contagious.

I'll be fair - I've always been a space opera fan. The whole genre fascinates me, and I've seen my fair share of shows that others would've dropped, simply on the principle that it's Ships in Space. But through all my days, I've never seen another Babylon 5. Star Wars had the spark, but it pissed it all away by focusing too much on Lucas's emo characters and not enough on the clash of civilizations. BSG and Firefly are the same, though the characters are much better. Deep Space Nine (and other Star Trek shows, though they were not meant to be space operas) had the clash and the seriousness, but spent too much time intellectualizing and not enough time building up the epic - and so ended up a pale shadow of B5. Farscape was too "far out"/parodic, and let's not even bring in shows like Andromeda.

So my question is - was Babylon 5 really the last true space opera? Would we never again see the grand, lavish galatic war immortalized in games such as MOO 2 and Homeland (another two of those "last true space opera" types, albeit in a different genre)? Will there really never again be a storyline as ambitious as that of Babylon 5 - that creates not only a galaxy, but dares to charter the very history of mankind in the culmination of its destiny?

Has the space opera genre drawn its final, labored breath? To end, like this, not with a bang but with a whisper?

[Dom Devore]

BSG ranks up there with B5 in the "space opera" department if you ask me. They have different approaches, but they're pretty equal imo. Plus you need to remember that B5 didn't really come into it's own till about season 3, with the final season being the "holy shit batman" season, so there's still plenty of time for BSG.

[Manticore]

Originally Posted by Dom Devore

Plus you need to remember that B5 didn't really come into it's own till about season 3, with the final season being the "holy shit batman" season, so there's still plenty of time for BSG.

B5 "came into it's own" at Season 2 already and many stuff that was hidden in Season 1 was only noticeable once you knew where the story was heading aka watching S1 after S4 again and notice the small things that one didn't pay too much attention the first time cause it seemed unimportant

[Soriak]

Babylon 5 is definitely one of the top TV shows of all times... was the show canceled for some stupid reason, or did they want to end it at that point?

[Faille]

Originally Posted by Soriak

Babylon 5 is definitely one of the top TV shows of all times... was the show canceled for some stupid reason, or did they want to end it at that point?

Was always planned to be a 5 year show, but towards end of season 4 ratings were down, so they tied up most of the major storyline in the 4 years, but they got renewed for a fifth which I always felt somewhat tacked on for the obvious reason, and while good, didn't feel connected to the rest of the series.

I also agree with Manticore, in that I much preferred the first 2 seasons where so much of the major plot was subtly introduced and you always had the sense that there was a bigger picture even while they were moving through startrek-esque storylines.

I also think Londo and Gkar were two of the best characters in any sci fi show, and they were they developed was brilliant imo.

[Manticore]

Originally Posted by Faille

Was always planned to be a 5 year show, but towards end of season 4 ratings were down,

I thought the tv station that aired the first 4 seasons (PTEN) went bankrupt and it looked like Season 4 was the last but they managed to jump over to TNT in the last second

[Dokomo]

It was distributed through syndication, but yeah they needed backing and didn't get it until TNT picked it up, which led to a huge degradation in quality.

As far as other space operas, BSG is up there. Lately though you have seen more space westerns aka Farscape, and a lot of anime. And for plain sci-fi dramas Heroes shows that there is popular appeal. We live in a time where geekdom can spread and create new entertainment. It's wonderful.

[Lefazz]

B5 is my all-time favorite sci-fi series. It's aggravating as hell to try and get friends to watch it because they are turned off by the special effects (which, in my opinion, got pretty damn good by season 3).

Great series. I just put "Third Space" and "River of Souls" in my NetFlix queue after realizing I never saw those two made-for-TV movies.

I like BSG, but I don't think you'll ever see time travel, alternate realities, super future technology that I enjoyed so much with B5, Trek, and the Stargates in that series.

[Furism]

Is this show *that* good? I'm pretty forgiving about FX (I'm a TNG fan for Christ's sake) when story and characters are well done.

How "deep" is the story? The characters? Is this an "adult" show (ala BSG) or more teenish (ala Star Trek), or pre-teen (ala Star Wars) ? I guess my point is : sell the show to me. Give me downsides, too.

[FulorianC]

Babylon 5 was the FIRST true adult sci-fi space opera. I guarantee that any adult seeing it for the first time, who enjoys Battlestar Galactica, will be pulled into it by its depth and intelligence. There is nothing "kiddie" about the show, and I am convinced that Ronald D Moore saw it and tried to emulate it to some degree in Battlestar Galactica.

The reason Deep Space 9 is considered to be the most adult and least utopian Star Trek series is that it tried very hard to emulate Babylon 5 - which isn't unexpected, as DS9 was the result of an unsuccessful pitch by JMS (the creator of B5) to Paramount with his vision of a show. They just decided they liked the idea and borrowed everything he proposed to them. In the end, the CGI for DS9 was more expensive, but the soul, depth, and grittiness never reached the heights that B5 did.

If I were to ever spend $200 on a boxed set of a complete TV show, I would do it for the 110 episodes of Babylon 5. No other show.

[redav]

Pretty much everything about the show was great except Delenn, she was so boring.

[Lefazz]

Originally Posted by Furism

Is this show *that* good?

Absolutely. Go rent the series right now. You will not be disappointed.

The only caveat I would say is things don't really get kicking until towards the end of season 1. It will not pull you in hard like say, Lost, did. Give it a little bit of time and you won't be sorry.

[Nebuchadnezzar]

B5 is very good, I loved it when I watched it through the first time, but after going back through it earlier this year, it hasn't aged very well, both graphics and acting. The plot is still grand, but compared to some of the stuff coming out nowadays, the plot isn't as adult as some are making it out the be. Yeah, some characters die, but its not done in a "dark", "hard" way.

[FulorianC]

Keep in mind, B5 was breaking ground here. Newer shows are just taking what B5 did and trying to enhance it. Yeah, they may be 'darker' - but are they doing it with soul, or are they doing it to one up their predecessor? B5 ages perfectly well if you are willing to keep everything in context. The CGI was phenomenal for the time, considering the TV budget they were working on. In my opinion, it looks better than most Star Trek shows of the time, even with their higher budgets.

[Etadanik]

Originally Posted by Nebuchadnezzar

B5 is very good, I loved it when I watched it through the first time, but after going back through it earlier this year, it hasn't aged very well, both graphics and acting. The plot is still grand, but compared to some of the stuff coming out nowadays, the plot isn't as adult as some are making it out the be. Yeah, some characters die, but its not done in a "dark", "hard" way.

But see, that's the thing - space opera is not supposed to be "adult" in the same sense that, for example, drama films are. They're supposed to be grand fantasies; that's what made them geeky - because the rest of the world thought that they were cheesy ("space ships and lost alien technology? Why don't you get a girlfriend, Bob?").

BSG is excellent, don't get me wrong. But it's got that dark, edgy drama feeling to it that for reasons inexplicable to me does not seem to belong in a space opera. It's not that space operas can't or shouldn't be dark - but the darkness permeates their epic overture and not only the psyche of individual characters. Babylon 5 was operatic - it had all the tropes and trappings of characters far bigger than life, whose decisions and conflicts represented entire races and civilizations. BSG is more novel-esque, more internal and introspective. Sure, the Cylons are badass, but the Cylons - particularly in the new BSG - is an enemy from within - an enemy created by man and which represents man. That makes BSG far closer, in my mind, to the Terminator series than a space opera.

I just thought of another setting close to that of a space opera: Warhammer 40,000. The only thing lacking there is the huge set-piece ship battles in space, which for me has always been a main attraction of space operas (cause ships with plasma cannons are cooler than dudes with guns, fuck!)