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Babylon 5
The spiritual sci-fi phenomenon
All five seasons @ Amazon.com.USA, @ Amazon.Canada, and @ Amazon.co.UK
Babylon 5 is a wonderful tv series that has a fantastic spiritual message hidden inside many of the episodes. And unlike many television shows, there is a continuity that stretches from first episode to last. And in some episodes, the spiritual message is not much hidden. It can be outright obvious. (review continues below)
I first started watching Babylon 5 when I discovered it in syndication during its second season, back when I never knew exactly what time it would be on. I saw it often enough that when I found out that it was moving to TNT, I started recording all the episodes and watching the show religiously, both the daily reruns and the weekly new episodes. Even when it moved to the Sci-Fi channel and I'd seen all the reruns, I kept watching it every time it came on, and was amazed at how many new things I got out of an episode that I hadn't seen before.
Writer-creator J. Michael Straczynski created an entire universe in advance. Some people don't like it because they don't want to wait for future episodes to see how things will turn out. I especially loved watching the early episodes after seeing all five seasons because I now can see clearly the hints that were in the first episodes pointing to things that wouldn't happen until later seasons. Every episode is an independent story, but the continuing story lines for each season, and the entire continuity for the entire series make this an even more wonderful series. I loved the fact that I could watch new episodes and learn new things about the major characters and about the universe itself.
What I've said so far would not have been enough to convince me to purchase all five seasons of the show on DVD, which I did immediately after each season was announced. What really convinced me, and made me a true Babylon 5 fan, was the fact that many episodes had a spiritual content, sometimes hidden, sometimes obvious (The creator admits in one interview that some of the episode titles come from the Bible). One of the prevailing themes of the entire series appears, to me, to be the unity of all mankind even when their religions appear to disagree with each other.
One of my favorite first-season episodes (5th episode) had, as one of its themes, a religious convocation in the skies. The Earth Central government decided that Babylon 5 should host a religious festival, where each world would be able to introduce their world religion to all the other diplomats. Many people, both on the screen and watching the screen, wondered how Commander Sinclair would manage to introduce Earth's system of faith, a secret which we didn't discover until the last seconds of the episode. I loved seeing my vision of God in the various religious ceremonies that were demonstrated and explained by the other worlds' ambassadors.
Another of my favorite episodes was a third-season episode where a Franciscan monk from Earth explained to DeLenn, the Mimbari ambassador, his fear that he would not have been able to stay in Gethsemane knowing that death was coming, as Jesus did. I remember taping this episode and sharing it with my mother and a pastor friend.
Of course, the episodes that included time-travel were my clear over-all favorites, especially when we found out what happened to the Babylon Four space station.
Though this is science fiction at its best, it is still very enjoyable even to those people who don't normally watch sci-fi. I highly recommend Babylon 5 to everyone, especially those who are open to other points of view. I challenge you to watch at least an entire season, and then ask yourself if you think God might actually enjoy watching those same episodes. As you watch the episodes, try to see the underlying themes of understanding other points of view.
Babylon 5 has influenced my spirituality, especially to emphasize that my openness to other points of view is also good. When I meet people who have a belief system that is different from my own, I try to learn more about what they believe, and see if I can't add some parts of what they believe to my own system of belief. I have also learned a better tolerance of points of view that I disagree with, like the episode in which a family killed their only child because he was no longer pure (the doctor had performed surgery against their wishes). I didn't like the fact that they killed their child, but I learned to respect the fact that they had their beliefs, and the fact that it might be right for them to believe as they do, even if I believe something different.
Babylon 5 is an award-winning series. It has won two Emmys, and for the first time in 44 years, it won two CONSECUTIVE Hugo Awards.
Needless to say, I recommend purchasing all five seasons of the DVD series AND the complete movie collection. You don't need to get the individual movies that are listed below, because the complete movie collection already includes them. As far as recommended reading order goes, I recommend watching the series pilot, THE GATHERING, first, then watch at least the first season, if not the second season, before you watch IN THE BEGINNING. The reason I recommend delaying watching the prequel for awhile is that it gives your mind a chance to build its own inner image of what must have happened in the beginning, before you actually see it for yourself.
| Babylon 5 DVD collections available
online (listed in one possible viewing order) |
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| Amazon USA |
Amazon Canada |
Amazon UK |
The Gathering - This series pilot concerns an interstellar summit aimed at negotiating a lasting truce - if an assassin's agenda doesn't interfere. (included in the complete movie collection) |
| Amazon USA |
Amazon Canada |
Amazon UK |
Signs and Portents - The Complete First Season - includes a vintage documentary, a new documentary, and other bonus materials, including "The Universe of Babylon 5" with background on historical events and political situations that foreshadowed the space station's creation, personnel files, and technical section. |
| Amazon USA |
Amazon Canada |
Amazon UK |
The Coming of Shadows - The Complete Second Season - includes two all-new documentaries and "The Universe of Babylon 5 Audiovisual Archive" including more personnel and technical files plus a Babylon 5 Historical Timeline. |
| Amazon USA 2-vol set |
Amazon Canada 2-vol set |
Amazon UK 2-vol set |
In the Beginning - This series prequel takes place about ten years before Babylon 5 was built. It explains the Earth-Mimbari war, why the Mimbari surrendered even though they were winning, and Commander Sinclair's importance to the Mimbari. This two-volume set also includes series pilot The Gathering (and need not be bought because both movies are already included in the complete collection below). |
| Amazon USA |
Amazon Canada |
Amazon UK |
Point of No Return - The Complete Third Season - includes three more all-new documentaries, and more data files to expand your "Universe" collection including Zathras's Shadow Dossier. |
| Amazon USA |
Amazon Canada |
Amazon UK |
No Surrender, No Retreat - The Complete Fourth Season - Bonus materials include a gag reel, Celestial Sounds, a DVD Suite, and more data and personnel files to expand the "Universe" collection. |
| Amazon USA |
Amazon Canada |
Amazon UK |
The Wheel of Fire - The Complete Fifth Season - Bonuses include Digital Tomorrow, Beyond Babylon 5, more data and personnel files for the "Universe" collection, a gag reel and additional scenes. |
| Amazon USA |
Amazon Canada |
Amazon UK |
The Complete Babylon 5 Movie Collection |
| Amazon USA |
Amazon Canada |
Amazon UK |
The Complete Babylon 5 Television Series - 5-pack containing all five seasons |
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