The 5th Element

Ok, so it's a bit of an odd subject but today I listened to the first show of a new podcast being put on by some of the regulars on Slice of Sci-Fi which just so happens to be dedicated to Babylon 5. For those that never watched the show, it was a radical new format for sci-fi shows since pretty much anything in the genre at that generally had something to do with some sort of trek through the stars. The main difference was B5 was planned from the beginning with a complete story arc that would span a full 5 seasons or more (depending on how well the show did). It was quite different from the stand-alone episodes that "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was known for.

The main setting for the story took place on a space station called (you guessed it) Babylon 5. Why 5? Well it just so happens that the first 4 suffered engineering accidents, sabotage, or just plain disappeared. I guess 5th time's the charm, eh? The station itself is fascinating, mainly because one of the central themes of the show was the cultural diversity between all the races living on the station. Bruce Boxleitner (station commander for seasons 2-5) described it as "A free port for diplomats, travelers and businessmen. A combination of building the United Nations and Times Square on an intergalactic scale."

Why am I mentioning this? Why does it matter? Because I love this show, and I feel the need to let other people know about it. In my view it stands head and shoulders above any other sci-fi series to date, including "Star Trek." No, that's not quite true. It STOOD head and shoulders above the rest. B5 has been my gold standard against which all new sci-fi shows are judged. The only shows to gain equal footing with B5 in my mind, are of course "Firefly", and the new "Battlestar Galactica." And let me tell you, coming from me, that is the HIGHEST praise I can bestow.

These shows MEAN something to me. They are a part of my life and as such, a part of my culture. Sure, I watch "CSI" and "Law and Order: SVU," but those shows are just passing through. Nothing compares to the depth and sophistication that B5 displayed in it's 5 year run. B5 dealt with such deep subjects as addiction, self-sacrifice, and most importantly: The struggle between authoritarianism vs. chaos; light vs. dark vs. gray. The gray is especially important because it is often the people caught in the middle of great conflict that suffer the most. War is obviously pivotal to the series, but it is the focus on the untold "third side" of the conflict that truly makes this series stand out. I guess you could say this was the first show that I really cared about. It was so easy to simply let myself be absorbed into the B5 universe and really delve into the story and the characters lives.

Maybe that's a little weird, but in fact I think it's completely normal. Babylon 5 is an epic story, told in the same tradition as the great stories of old: "The Iliad," "Beowulf," "Macbeth." The only difference is the medium; the central themes are still there. This is not just mindless entertainment, nor is it overly cerebral and pretentious. Rather it strikes a balance between being enormously fun to watch, and being deeply philosophical and insightful.

Anyone who hasn't seen this show doesn't know what their missing. Find someone with the DVDs and ask to borrow season 1, or put it in your Netflix queue. Or even buy the crappy Asian import DVDs for $10 and see if you like it. If you give it a chance and watch season 1, it just gets better and better from there.

Well, that's all I have tonight. I got a little philosophical and even waxed a bit nostalgic with this entry, but hey. That's why this is "Mike's Pensieve." ;-)