Babylon 5 | |
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Season 4 poster
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Genre |
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Created by | J. Michael Straczynski |
Developed by | J. Michael Straczynski |
Starring | |
Composer(s) |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 5 |
No. of episodes | 110 (+ 6 TV Films) (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) |
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Cinematography |
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Running time | 43 minutes |
Production company(s) | Babylonian Productions Synthetic Worlds, Ltd. |
Distributor | Warner Bros. Television |
Release | |
Original network | |
Picture format | |
Audio format |
Dolby Surround 2.0 Dolby Digital 5.1 (DVD) |
Original release | February 22, 1993 | – November 25, 1998
Chronology | |
Preceded by | Babylon 5: The Gathering |
Followed by | Crusade (TV series) |
Related shows |
The Legend of the Rangers The Lost Tales |
External links | |
Website |
Babylon 5 TV seasons and films |
In order of series chronology: * The framing story is set in 2278. |
Sleeping in Light | |
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Soundtrack album by Christopher Franke | |
Released | March 23, 1999 |
Genre | Classical, Electroacoustic |
Length | 25:01 |
Label | Sonic Images |
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic |
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Television. After the successful airing of a test pilot movie on February 22, 1993, Babylon 5: The Gathering, in May 1993 Warner Brothers commissioned the series for production as part of its Prime Time Entertainment Network (PTEN).
The first season premiered in the US on January 26, 1994, and the series ultimately ran for the intended five seasons. Describing it as having "always been conceived as, fundamentally, a five year story, a novel for television", Straczynski wrote 92 of the 110 episodes, and served as executive producer, along with Douglas Netter.
Set between the years 2257 and 2262, it depicts a future where Earth has sovereign states, and a unifying Earth government. Colonies within the solar system, and beyond, make up the Earth Alliance, and contact has been made with other spacefaring species. The ensemble cast portray alien ambassadorial staff and humans assigned to the 5-mile (8.0 km)-long Babylon 5 space station, a center for trade and diplomacy. Described as "one of the most complex programs on television", the various story arcs drew upon the prophesies, religious zealotry, racial tensions, social pressures, and political rivalries which existed within each of their cultures, to create a contextual framework for the motivations and consequences of the protagonists' actions. With a strong emphasis on character development set against a backdrop of conflicting ideologies on multiple levels, Straczynski wanted "to take an adult approach to SF, and attempt to do for television SF what Hill Street Blues did for cop shows."