The future of Doctor Who and Star Trek may be in flux, but renewed interest in Babylon 5 could be our last, best hope for a classic sci-fi series on streaming services following the cancellation of Stargate.
Warner Bros. Discovery has launched an official YouTube channel featuring classic episodes from J. Michael Straczynski's sprawling space saga.
Read the official description:
"You’ve arrived at Babylon 5, the last, best hope for peace. A neutral station standing at the crossroads of galactic powers, where ambassadors, soldiers, traders, and dreamers all have a stake in the future.
Here you’ll find stories of destiny and choice, of politics and prophecy, of wars fought in shadows and victories won through understanding. This channel is a gathering place for the history, ideas, and moments that made Babylon 5 one of science fiction’s most enduring legacies.
Whether you’re a longtime citizen of the station or arriving through the jump gate for the first time, you’re welcome here."
Straczynski introduced the new channel, promising it would feature original commentaries, interviews, chats, and additional material in the coming months.
As I've written previously, the sci-fi series will always be synonymous with undergraduate study. SeaQuest DSV and Babylon 5 both utilised Amiga Video Toasters and were the subject of lively debate in computer animation studies. George Lucas' Star Wars prequels were still a few years away, non-linear media production was still in its infancy and prohibitively expensive for the homebrew crowd (myself included) before Steve Jobs returned to Apple, democratising the industry with the iMac and iPhone.
Babylon 5 was originally shown on Channel 4 in the UK, running for 5 seasons between 1993 and 1997. Straczynski's sci-fi opus, a galaxy-spanning retelling of The Lord of the Rings, quickly became a touchstone in the space opera firmament. There were countless carshare and water-cooler conversations with fellow fans when I was hired as an online journalist at Reuters following graduation 30 years ago.
Could Warner Bros. Discovery be testing the cosmic waters to garner reaction from fans (myself included)? There have been premature announcements of a reboot with Straczynski back at the helm on The CW.
What are your memories of watching Babylon 5? Let me know in the comments below.
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