The realm of science fiction has given birth to so many great shows that have shaped the fabric of pop culture. Star Warshas moved from the big screen to the small, with mostly successful results. Star Trek has once again cemented its place on television with fare like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Even new series like The Expanseand Silo have managed to become the topic of water cooler conversation. But there is one science fiction show that definitely deserves to be discussed with the same fervor: Babylon 5. Created by J. Michael Straczynski, Babylon 5 wasn’t just a well-crafted science fiction series — it also provides an example of storytelling elements that have shaped modern television.
What Is ‘Babylon 5’ About?
Babylon 5centers on the titular space station, which acts as a diplomatic hub for the Earth Alliance and various other alien species. It’s a place for people all over the universe to unite and bond… though the crew of Babylon 5 soon finds themselves embroiled in various conflicts. The station’s first commander, Jeffery Sinclair (Michael O’Hare), learned that he was actually Valen — a figure of great importance to the alien race known as the Minbari. Its second, John Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner), became the central figure in a series of prophecies concerning the mysterious beings known as the Shadows. Throughout the Shadow War, there are upheavals in governments, telepathic sabotage, and even a moment where Sheridan is forced to lead an insurrection against the Earth Alliance in order to save mankind.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Though Straczynski developed Babylon 5 early in his writing career, it took years for him to actually bring it to life. In his memoir Becoming Superman, he details the process of pitching the show to WB — and it was a rather torturous one. Before he actually pitched WB execs the show, Straczynski had cracked a tooth and attempted to numb the pain by drinking an entire pitcher of ice water. The process left him with a numb mouth, but he managed to somehow impress them into giving the series a green light. However, another obstacle appeared in the form of Star Trek — specifically, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Much like Babylon 5, the series featured a space station as its main base of operations with a commander who became the central figure in a prophesied war.
Even though Straczynski never felt that Paramount was directly ripping off Babylon 5, he expressed annoyance that Deep Space Nine would beat his series to the punch. “I know full well that even if the Warners PR machine got working 24 hours a day on this, half of all viewers will see this show, coming out after DS9, and think it’s just a last-minute knockoff or ripoff of DS9,” he wrote.
‘Babylon 5’ Gave Birth to Most of Prestige Television’s Recurring Trends
Babylon 5 in all its gloryImage via Warner Bros.
Babylon 5 managed to last five seasons, racking up plenty of awards and acclaim along the way. Even more surprising was that this was Straczynski’s original intent; he planned for Babylon 5 to embody the five-act structure of a novel. What he didn’t anticipate was the large role he’d play in shaping the series. As the series’ showrunner, Straczynski had a major hand in writing for Babylon 5; however, circumstances led to him penning the entirety of Season 3 and Season 4 solo. In fact, the only person to provide a freelance script post-Season 2 was Neil Gaiman for the Season 5 episode “Day of the Dead.” Straczynski was still able to bring the majority of his vision to life, even with cast members departing.
Straczynski was also able to play the long game with Babylon 5, starting characters at one extreme and placing them at another by series’ end. A key example is Citizen G’Kar (Andreas Katsulas). At first, a wrathful terrorist hellbent on destruction, he transformed into a peaceful man who led his species into a golden age. Likewise, Sheridan, a decorated war hero, was forced to go against his own government in order to save it. While this would become the norm with series such as Lost and Breaking Bad, Babylon 5 beat them to the punch. Straczynski would also employ a similar method with Sense8, the Netflix series he created with Lily & Lana Wachowski.
The Legacy of ‘Babylon 5’ Continues
John Sheridan with colorful lightning in Babylon 5 The Road HomeImage via Warner Bros.
Alongside the final season of Babylon 5, Straczynski would script four made-for-television movies. One of those movies, A Call to Arms, ended with the Shadows deploying a weapon that would kill all life on Earth within a few years. John Sheridan commissions a vessel called the Excalibur to search for a way to reverse Earth’s fate, leading to the spin-off series Crusade. However, Crusade ran into a major problem with its parent network, TNT: after receiving a study that showed that the audience for Crusade wasn’t really sticking around for other TNT programming. Therefore, the series was canceled after a conflict between the producers and TNT executives, with only 13 episodes being aired.
Straczynski would attempt to resurrect Babylon 5 over the years — and he finally seems to have succeeded. A reboot is currently in the works, with Straczynski reworking the story to focus on John Sheridan. Sheridan is also the focus of Babylon 5: The Road Home, an animated film that flings him through time and space as he attempts to save Babylon 5 from a horrific fate — and witnesses several alternate realities in the process.
When all is said and done, the impact of Babylon 5 can’t be denied. Its storytelling structure was years ahead of its time, leading to prestige television adopting rich character development as well as serialized story arcs. It gave a major boost to Straczynski’s writing career, leading to him writing several acclaimed comics, including Rising Stars for Top Cow and The Amazing Spider-Man for Marvel. It also proved that science fiction not named Star Warsor Star Trek can thrive in pop culture.
