Oh for sure. The contrast between how the respective plots treat the Narn vs. the Bajorans alone sets B5 ahead. But it’s understandable for there to be a much more focused (and thus deeper) narrative when you don’t have to integrate the work of 98 different writers while trying to develop your characters/plot (and also Harlan Ellison just -hanging out- in your writers room probably doesn’t hurt…)
I wasn’t even thinking about the Narn and Bajorans. But yes, that was also handled way better.
I was rather thinking about the Captain and him being a religious figure. I felt they just did it because B5 had it with the Minbari and human souls melting and Captain Sinclaires role. I feel they didn’t know what to do with Sisko apart from him having that religious role with the Bajorans.
Yeah I’ve always felt that the Sisko as messianic figure aspect was… idk. A little bit too conceptual for what star trek is structured to deliver, the fan backlash that forced all the bottle episodes in later seasons is evidence enough of that. It really was tragically under explored.
I have seen it described that “B5 is to Star Trek what Star Trek is to Star Wars” and I think that’s a pretty fair assessment. In star wars, the aliens and culture are just deep enough that the plot can float in it without dragging the bottom. In Trek, the plot is deep enough that instead, the aliens and culture float on it. And in Babylon 5, the aliens and culture have bathrooms and the plot works outwards from thereare the plot.
(There’s so many things I could go on about that I’ve cut down for brevity reasons - The G’kar/Londo vs. Quark/Odo relationships, that Sherridan as the messianic figure was from the less advanced culture instead of playing into the “enlightened liberator viewed as the chosen one” trope like with Sisko, the emphasis on the Captain’s role as a diplomat rather than space administrator, the sacrifice of earth because the scope of the Shadow War was so much larger than the concerns of a single race that Clark simply couldn’t be a priority vs. the whole maquis thing (which I did think was very good in DS9 to be clear), everything with the psicorps, that the resolution of the existential threat comes not from martial prowess or military strategy but bloodsoaked negotiation, Zathrus, the list goes on for way longer than I want to admit)
Babylon 5 was neat conceptually and I like the aliens, but the main cast and writing come off as very copaganda-forward in a way that DS9 managed to avoid.
… Huh. I can totally respect your having an opinion counter to my own, I truly don’t understand how you arrived at it in this case. Have you seen the whole show?
I used to watch it in the 90s when it was airing, and I’ve made a few attempts at a rewatch in recent years, but I’ve never gotten all the way through episode by episode. It feels too much like a cop show in space to keep my interest for more than a few episodes at a time, and I usually just decide I’d rather watch DS9.
Indispensable for a 90s SciFi Channel playlist though. Grab a few originals, add some B movies and MST3K, throw in a few hundred 90s ads and set the whole thing on random. Beautiful.
DS9 felt more like the narrative itself was more sympathetic to rebellion and antiauthoritarian sentiments. B5 seemed more focused on order and law. You have that in DS9 too with the likes of Odo and Worf, but you have a lot of counterbalance with much of the rest of the cast.
Oh for sure. The contrast between how the respective plots treat the Narn vs. the Bajorans alone sets B5 ahead. But it’s understandable for there to be a much more focused (and thus deeper) narrative when you don’t have to integrate the work of 98 different writers while trying to develop your characters/plot (and also Harlan Ellison just -hanging out- in your writers room probably doesn’t hurt…)
I wasn’t even thinking about the Narn and Bajorans. But yes, that was also handled way better.
I was rather thinking about the Captain and him being a religious figure. I felt they just did it because B5 had it with the Minbari and human souls melting and Captain Sinclaires role. I feel they didn’t know what to do with Sisko apart from him having that religious role with the Bajorans.
Yeah I’ve always felt that the Sisko as messianic figure aspect was… idk. A little bit too conceptual for what star trek is structured to deliver, the fan backlash that forced all the bottle episodes in later seasons is evidence enough of that. It really was tragically under explored.
I have seen it described that “B5 is to Star Trek what Star Trek is to Star Wars” and I think that’s a pretty fair assessment. In star wars, the aliens and culture are just deep enough that the plot can float in it without dragging the bottom. In Trek, the plot is deep enough that instead, the aliens and culture float on it. And in Babylon 5, the aliens and culture
have bathrooms and the plot works outwards from thereare the plot.(There’s so many things I could go on about that I’ve cut down for brevity reasons - The G’kar/Londo vs. Quark/Odo relationships, that Sherridan as the messianic figure was from the less advanced culture instead of playing into the “enlightened liberator viewed as the chosen one” trope like with Sisko, the emphasis on the Captain’s role as a diplomat rather than space administrator, the sacrifice of earth because the scope of the Shadow War was so much larger than the concerns of a single race that Clark simply couldn’t be a priority vs. the whole maquis thing (which I did think was very good in DS9 to be clear), everything with the psicorps, that the resolution of the existential threat comes not from martial prowess or military strategy but bloodsoaked negotiation, Zathrus, the list goes on for way longer than I want to admit)
Okay, okay, I’ll just watch B5 yet again. No need to press me so hard for it, jeez. 😋
Babylon 5 was neat conceptually and I like the aliens, but the main cast and writing come off as very copaganda-forward in a way that DS9 managed to avoid.
… Huh. I can totally respect your having an opinion counter to my own, I truly don’t understand how you arrived at it in this case. Have you seen the whole show?
I used to watch it in the 90s when it was airing, and I’ve made a few attempts at a rewatch in recent years, but I’ve never gotten all the way through episode by episode. It feels too much like a cop show in space to keep my interest for more than a few episodes at a time, and I usually just decide I’d rather watch DS9.
Indispensable for a 90s SciFi Channel playlist though. Grab a few originals, add some B movies and MST3K, throw in a few hundred 90s ads and set the whole thing on random. Beautiful.
DS9 felt more like the narrative itself was more sympathetic to rebellion and antiauthoritarian sentiments. B5 seemed more focused on order and law. You have that in DS9 too with the likes of Odo and Worf, but you have a lot of counterbalance with much of the rest of the cast.