Babylon 5 influences
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This article discusses literary and other influences upon the popular science fiction television series Babylon 5 (hereafter "B5").
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B5 and The Lord of the Rings
Several elements in B5 seem a lot like elements in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. For instance, in The Fellowship of the Ring, the Dark Riders first appear singly, then in progressively larger groups; B5 repeated this tension-building pattern early in its first season, when enemy forces known as the Shadows appear first singly, and then in vast numbers.
The most obvious LOTR reference is the Rangers, who share a name and a mission with the Rangers of Lord of the Rings. Both are secretive orders that work covertly to protect a populace that is either unaware or openly hostile to them, and both are led by individuals mixed race – Aragorn, who had blood of Men, Elves, and Valar, and the half-human, half-Minbari Delenn. The code of the Rangers, as stated by Marcus Cole in the episode "Grey 17 is Missing", is: "We walk in the dark places that no one else will enter. We stand on the bridge, and no one may pass." This is reminiscent of two scenes from Lord of the Rings. The first is Aragorn's description of his Rangers during the Council of Elrond in The Fellowship of the Ring: "Lonely men are we, Rangers of the North, hunters - but hunters ever of the servants of the Enemy"; and the second is Gandalf's confrontation with the Balrog over the abyss in Moria, in particular his cry of "You shall not pass!" before he shatters the bridge. Furthermore, Gandalf has previously been warned (by Aragorn, no less) that he will die if he enters Moria (also known as Khazad-dûm); in B5, captain John Sheridan is warned that he will die if he goes to a planet called Z'ha'dum. Both men sacrifice themselves, fall into an abyss, and return in an altered form to unite the forces of good against the forces of evil.
Also, B5 takes place at "the dawn of the third age", and the defeat of Sauron in Lord of the Rings is considered to be the ending event of the third age of Middle-earth.
The name Narns might be derived either from C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, or from Tolkien's Narn i Hîn Húrin in The Silmarillion which was itself almost certainly the inspiration for the name Narnia. The name of Tolkien's heart of elvendom, "Lórien" (or "Lothlorien") is given to the first of the First Ones in B5. (See "Lorien") The name of the Shadows' agent, Mr. Morden, may also reflect Tolkien's Mordor.
The creator of B5, J. Michael Straczynski (JMS), acknowledges Tolkien when a "techno-mage" loosely quotes The Fellowship of the Ring, where the character Gildor Inglorion says, "Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger." However, after being asked about this and other relationships many times, JMS has been known to get upset.
His response is that, as an author, he is very well capable of writing his own story, and that it is insulting to suggest that B5 is a LotR rip-off. JMS states that people misunderstand the similarities between the two different stories. He often says that B5 is "greatly informed by" but "is not" any particular preceding work of fiction or history.
B5 and Shakespeare
A plethora of Shakespearian quotes and misquotes peppers Babylon 5 dialogue, Macbeth being a notable favorite.
B5 and King Arthur
Two episodes highlight the influence of the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The Battle of the Line is an analogy of King Arthur's final battle. Delenn is associated with the Lady of the Lake. Sheridan is unquestionably King Arthur, gathering the disparate alien races under one alliance. Lennier reveals himself as Lancelot when he betrays the Rangers over his feelings for Delenn, and Kosh may literally or figuratively be Merlin. Marcus Cole suggests that Kosh, like Merlin, might see the future by remembering it, and that Kosh may have visited Earth and modeled the Round Table after his acquaintances on Babylon 5.
Excalibur appears at least twice in the series: once as an actual sword and again as the ship charged with finding a cure for the Drakh plague and saving Earth, the second Victory class destroyer (the Victory herself, and the shipyards to construct more vessels of her class, were destroyed shortly after Victory was launched). Note the episode: "A Late Delivery from Avalon."
Finally, there also is the obvious reference to the Holy Grail in the eponymous episode.
B5 and Forbidden Planet
The Great Machine on Epsilon 3 appears to be an homage to the ancient Krell machine in the movie Forbidden Planet (1956), especially in the overhead shot of a narrow bridge that runs through a vast space surrounded by alien machinery.
Ancient Greek Myth
Many of the Earth Alliance ships in B5 are named after characters from Greek or Roman myths, such as Sheridan's command prior to Babylon 5, the Agamemmnon. JMS has said repeatedly that G'Kar is his Cassandra character, who predicts the future but whose warnings go unheard. The frequent quotation of Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem Ulysses in the series could also be seen as a reference to Greek Myths.
Freud
This one may seem dubious, but the dutiful viewer must contrast Babylon 5's effeminate, womb-like form to the Excalibur's phallic presence. Babylon 5 is a "dream given form" and the symbol of the dream recurs, notably in Londo's dream of his own death and in a subtle reference, "you can't let that destroy the dream," while Sheridan is on Z'ha'dum.
Joseph Campbell
JMS has remarked that B5 doesn't deliberately follow Campbell's myth-arc but he acknowledges that many of its elements are present.
Alfred Bester
Science fiction writer Alfred Bester provided the inspiration for Babylon 5's telepathic Psi Corps in his 1953 novel The Demolished Man. In the novel, telepaths band together under the control of the "Esper Guild", which is very similar to the Psi Corps -- with the exception that they are a benevolent society of telepaths, and not sinister like the Psi Corps. Straczynski paid homage to Bester by naming a main telepath character, Alfred Bester, after the author.
Chronicles of Dune
JMS noted in the DVD release of Babylon 5 that one of his favourite science fiction stories is Frank Herbert's Dune. There may be analog between the Padisha Empire and the Centauri, the Psi Corps or the Bene Gesserit, the Vorlons and the Spacing Guild, the Narn and Fremen.
Christianity
Despite JMS's professed atheism, Babylon 5 contains many references to Christian ideas. Several episode titles refer, directly or indirectly, to elements of the Christian faith, notably the third season episode "Passing Through Gethsemane", but also "A Voice in the Wilderness" and "And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place". Moreover, the monks led by Brother Theo may not be explicitly Christian, but certainly seem based on Christian monastic orders. Overall, Babylon 5 strove for even-handedness in its treatment of religions, notably in the multi-faith gatherings in the episodes "And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place" and "The Parliament of Dreams", although arguably the appearance of Kosh in the guise of a Christian angel was intentionally subversive.
Other Influences
B5 does have many other influences, including World War II ("There will be peace in our time," remarks a human diplomat after signing a treaty with the Centauri, who later overrun the galaxy.), The Prisoner (The Psi-corps show many similarities to this, including a modified salute), E. E. Smith's Lensman novels and George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. Another historical influence is the assassination of JFK, pre-figuring the assassination of Earth Alliance President Luis Santiago. TV and film influences include Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Outland, Blake's 7 and 2010: Odyssey Two.
The idea of monks preserving technologiy after a devastating nuclear war on earth as seen in the episode "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars" seems to be at least influenced by the novel A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller.
Several scenes visually refer to other works, usually other tv shows or movies, such as the scene in And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place in which Lord Refa is killed, which recreates a similar scene from the film Cabaret
One final influence should be obvious: the history of ancient Babylon and Babylonian creation myth.