Babylon 5 Love

We're Back! Babylon 5 Love Month is February - Sign up HERE

Sun, 09 Jan 2022 17:38:50 GMT

Posted by: alexcat

Babylon 5 Love Month returns in February this year! The goal is to post something to the Love Month community every day for the entire month. What can you post? Fiction, art, podfic, videos, essays, lists, recommendations – if it’s about B5 and shows your love for the show, go for it. The fic, art, and such does not have to be new but we would prefer that it not have been posted to Love Month before.

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Day 31 - Roundup!

Tue, 01 Sep 2020 19:04:58 GMT

Posted by: alexcat

Babylon 5 Love Month Master list

1. FIC: As I Say, Not As I do
2. Favorite Babylon 5 Sites and Links
3. Fanvid: Marcus/Neroon|The Same Heart
4. Fanart: Delenn
5. Essay: How I Got Into Babylon 5
6. The Wit and Wisdom of Citizen Gkar
7. Favorite Episodes
8. Time Capsule
9. FIC: A Short History of Interstellar Baseball
10. FIC: All Through the Night
11. Some B5 Appreciation Videos.
12. Fanart: Delenn and Lennier
13. FIC: The Captain and the Thief
14. FIC: Soul Survivors
15. Essay and photos: Some Pics of the Worker Caste Minbari in the Series
16. Some Silly memes
17. FIC: Roar Unheard and Curling Crest Unseen
18. FIC: Max’s Anatomy Lesson
19. FIC: Secrets of the Heart
20. Cast Interviews
21. JMS Interviews
22. FIC: Lingering Shadows
23. FIC: Cavern Madness
24. FIC: Max and Trace
25. FIC: The Thief in the Night
26. FIC: Still Waters
27. FIC: Just the Three of Us
28. FIC: Midsnight Reverie ‘
29. Meme for 2020
30. Article: Babylon 5 101

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Day 30 - Article: Babylon 5 101: Everything to know about the legendary sci-fi series

Sun, 30 Aug 2020 19:31:35 GMT

Posted by: alexcat

Babylon 5 101: Everything to know about the legendary sci-fi series

Babylon 5 is one of the greatest sci-fi series of all time

Ruth Johnson

01/30/2020 10:00 am

Warning: Spoilers abound for Babylon 5 in this article, but not everything will be spoiled.

Babylon 5 (1994-1998) was one of those shows, that, once you see it, you realize what a legacy it has. Created by J. Michael Straczynski, the series was completely serialized by the end of its second season. The serialization continued until the end of its fourth season, when it was essentially cancelled; however, a surprise pick-up by TNT saved the series for a fifth season.

With TV shows almost completely serialized today in our era of “Peak TV,” Babylon 5 feels like a pioneering series in every sense for its time. Current series that have been compared to it include The Expanse (2015-present). Babylon 5’s political focus, well-crafted story arcs and quirky characters are all part of what made it a great show. While it may not have been as realistic as The Expanse when it came to science (although Babylon 5 the station did rotate to generate its own gravity), or as pessimistic about humanity as say, Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009), Babylon 5 was still an important show in the ongoing development of science fiction TV.

Babylon 5 also had (and still has) a small if dedicated fandom, who were some of the first to interact on a regular basis with its creator, Straczynski, on the Internet through a site known as Usenet. This was an early type of forum (this was the 90s, after all), and it wasn’t without its problems, but it essentially served the same purpose as Twitter does with creator-fan interaction today. Straczynski himself is extremely active on Twitter these days, with the prolific creator answering questions about his career, the show and current events.

This is an introduction to the universe of Babylon 5 and its characters. Some of the tech will be explored, as well as some of the many alien races that populate the show. The show was so massive in scope that it would be difficult to include everyone and everything in this show, but this is at least a primer.

The Universe of Babylon 5

Babylon 5 has countless alien races and other solar systems featured. Humanity is scattered across its own solar system. There are telepaths in nearly every race, including humans. Everyone gets between the different solar systems through Jumpgates, which utilize vortexes to slingshot ships back and forth. Most of the alien races are antagonistic towards one another, including the humans. The humans and a mysterious, monk-like race called the Minbari fought in a bloody and devastating war, only ending when the Minbari discovered a special connection between their race and the human race.

The Narn and the Centauri are two other races who frequently antagonize one another, although the Centauri often have the upper hand in battle, especially since they occupied the Narn homeworld for years before the start of the series. They essentially turned the Narn into slaves.

And that’s not even getting to the many other, smaller races who constantly fight and argue on Babylon 5. Babylon 5 is technically a port for all matters, operated by Earth. It also holds the main diplomatic center for the galaxy — a United Nations of sorts. The lead council is governed by the Minbari, Centauri, Narn, Earth and Vorlon representatives, with the smaller races making up the general membership. Vorlons are a race cloaked in secrecy, who live inside bulky Encounter suits, cloaking their true nature. They are a much older race than the others.

Earth has a massive space navy, but its not nearly as powerful as the Minbari navy, which is extremely technically advanced. Therefore, the two live in a sort of cold war (at least in Earth’s mind).

Which leads us to the characters who are tasked with keeping the peace.

Commander Jeffrey Sinclair

Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O’Hare) is kind of a walking spoiler. He leaves the show after season one, but he has a pretty important role in the history of Babylon 5’s universe–he’s the link between humanity and the Minbari, and that’s all I’ll say. It’s a pretty neat reveal on the show in the excellent season 3 two-parter “War Without End”.

Sinclair was the quiet, stoic type; a former Starfury (fighter ship) pilot, he was made the commander of Babylon 5 due to the Minbari’s right to choose the commander of Babylon 5. He was a good friend of Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle), and he was probably the best mediator between the alien races of the station commanders that Babylon 5 had over the course of the series.

Lieutenant Commander (eventually Commander) Susan Ivanova

Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian) is the XO of Babylon 5 for most of the series. She’s hot-headed and stubborn, but she is ultimately a good first officer to the two station commanders during her tenure and an excellent soldier. She eventually leaves Babylon 5 at the end of season 4, but she was one of the longest-serving officers of Babylon 5. The station commanders frequently left her in charge when they went off on missions.

Ivanova has several love interests over the course of the series, but her most notable relationship is with Talia Winters (Andrea Thompson). This relationship was one of the first long-term same-sex relationships on television between two women. While subtle, it was an important breakthrough. Ivanova also had relationships with men on the series, making her one of the first female bisexual leads on a TV show.

Captain (eventually President) John Sheridan

John Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) is the second commander of Babylon 5, selected by the Minbari, despite his history of violent confrontations with them during the Earth-Minbari War. He is strategic but wallows in his past quite a bit before finally getting his gumption back towards the end of the second season. His beloved wife, Anna Sheridan, was lost in an archaeological expedition.

Sheridan also has a relationship with Minbari Ambassador Delenn (Mira Furlan); the two jointly lead the Rangers, a collective of Minbari, human and (sometimes) other alien warriors dedicated to maintaining the Light versus the coming darkness. When Earth comes under the influence of the “darkness” (the mysterious Shadow race) and becomes a fascist state, Sheridan is the one who declares Babylon 5’s independence. He also starts a war for Earth’s re-independence.

Security Chief Michael Garibaldi

Michael Garibaldi is the irreverent Security Chief for Babylon 5. He’s easily suspicious of others’ intentions, which makes him good at running security for a station full of multiplicity–but not so good at being friendly. Still, he has a few friends, most notably Jeffrey Sinclair. Garibaldi gets into trouble frequently, due to his curiosity.

Garibaldi does figure out people’s secrets pretty easily; for example, he figures out who the Rangers are before anyone tells him a thing about them, which surprises both Sheridan and Delenn (which it probably shouldn’t). He’s an ideal security man.

Dr. Stephen Franklin

Dr. Franklin (Richard Biggs) is the wisest of Babylon 5’s senior staff, and due to a small medical staff for a massive station, the most stressed out. He doles out advice well but rarely takes it for himself. He becomes addicted to stimulants and is forced to detox in a rather violent way, but he gets through it.

Kind and compassionate, he makes an ideal doctor and a perfect friend for most of Babylon 5’s other notably troubled individuals.

Ambassador Delenn

Delenn is the Minbari ambassador to Babylon 5 and a member of the Religious caste in Minbari culture. She was instrumental in beginning the war between Earth and the Minbari after the death of her beloved mentor. Since then, she aims to atone for her actions during the war by bringing peace to the galaxy and preserving the Light against the darkness.

Delenn has a major transformation between season 1 and 2, in an attempt to unite the humans and the Minbari against coming threats. She is thoughtful and philosophical, always seeking the most harmonious solution–but she’s not above using force to get her way. She has a loyal assistant, Lennier (Bill Muny), who she mentors.

Ambassador Londo Mollari

Londo Mollari (Peter Jurasik) is the Centuari ambassador to Babylon 5. Prone to scheming for his imperialistic visions, Londo might be the most morally gray figure that the station has. Mollari will almost always use force to get his way, and he’s responsible for a lot of death.

Mollari also has literal visions; he dreams he will become the Emperor of the Centauri people–but that it will be his ultimate downfall. He is one of the first in the galaxy to make a deal with the Shadows. His deal is this: that the Centuari get back Narn and in exchange, turn a blind eye to whatever the Shadows desire to do, which is something cloaked in mystery for most of the show. Mollari also has an assistant, Vir Cotto (Stephen Furst), who is a much more compassionate man than his boss will ever be.

Ambassador G’Kar

G’Kar is the Narn ambassador to Babylon 5; he and Mollari are usually at each other’s throats, for obvious reasons. G’Kar goes on a long journey over the course of the series, eventually becoming a sort of religious leader to his people. But it’s a long fight for him, especially as his people fall once again to the imperialistic whims of the Centauri, and he himself is considered a political refugee.

Prone to fits of violent rage, he may not seem an ideal ambassador-type, but he always gets the job done, even if the results are not always…ideal.

The Rest of the Galaxy

Babylon 5 is a truly massive series, wide in scope, as befits a science fiction space opera of its caliber. If you’re interested in watching the show after reading this article, good news! The entire series is available on Amazon Prime to stream; just over two years ago, it was hard to find the complete series online, with most fans (including myself) just buying the (admittedly) excellent DVD sets. Don’t let the image quality or special effects throw you off from the series; while not always a great visual experience, Babylon 5 has a story worth experiencing, with fun characters to guide you along the way.

Link: https://www.comicsbeat.com/babylon-5-101-everything-to-know/

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Day 29 - Appropriate for the year

Sat, 29 Aug 2020 21:08:15 GMT

Posted by: alexcat

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Day 28 - FIC: Midnight Reverie

Fri, 28 Aug 2020 12:25:48 GMT

Posted by: alexcat

Title: Midnight Reverie
Author: alexcat
Fandom: Babylon 5 Crusade
Pairing(s): Max Eilerson/Trace Miller
Rating: Explicit
Word Count: 2912
Summary: Trace thinks about Max and how they got together.

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Day 27 - FIC: Just the Three of Us

Fri, 28 Aug 2020 12:06:17 GMT

Posted by: alexcat

Title: Just the Three of Us
Author: alexcat
Fandom: babylon 5 Crusade
Pairing(s): Max Eilerson/Trace Miller/Dureena Nafeel
Rating: Explicit
Word Count: 1507
Summary: Max and Trace make Dureena a part of their love.

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Day 26 - FIC: Still Waters

Wed, 26 Aug 2020 22:01:29 GMT

Posted by: bysilverstreams

Title: Still Waters
Author: DownToTheSea (bysilverstreams)
Fandom: Babylon 5
Pairing(s): Lyta Alexander/G'Kar
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1661
Summary: While traveling together in the far reaches of space, Lyta learns something about G'Kar.

One of my favorite B5 fics that I've posted so far. Happy B5 love month!

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Day 25 - FIC: The Thief in the Night

Tue, 25 Aug 2020 15:18:43 GMT

Posted by: alexcat

Title: The Thief in the Night
Author: alexcat
Fandom: Babylon 5 Crusade
Pairing(s): Max Eilerson/Trace Miller, Max Eilerson/Trace Miller/Dureena Nafeel
Rating: Explicit
Word Count: 1622
Summary: Dureena gets more than she bargained for when she breaks into Max' quarters to search for a data crystal.

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Day 24 - FIC: Max and Trace

Tue, 25 Aug 2020 14:50:47 GMT

Posted by: alexcat

The first of a short series about Max, Trace and Dureena from Crusade.

~

Title: Max and Trace
Author: alexcat
Fandom: Babylon 5 Crusade
Pairing(s): Max Eilerson/Trace Miller
Rating: Explicit
Word Count: 1043
Summary: Trace visits Max after Dr. Chambers patches his wounds.
Author's Notes: This series is a kind of loose series and this one takes place right after "Ruling from the Tomb".

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Day 23 - FIC: Cavern Madness

Sun, 23 Aug 2020 15:44:53 GMT

Posted by: alexcat

Title: Cavern Madness
Author: alexcat
Fandom: Babylon 5 - Crusade
Pairing(s): Max Eilerson/Galen
Rating: Explicit
Word Count: 1640
Summary: Galen is the worst possible rescuer, though he isn't, is he?
Author's Notes: Another old one from the files. I like Max and wrote quite a few with him in them.

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Day 22- FIC: Lingering Shadows

Sun, 23 Aug 2020 15:12:01 GMT

Posted by: alexcat

Title: Lingering Shadows
Author: alexcat
Fandom: Babylon 5 - Crusade
Characters(s): Crusade and B5 characters
Rating: General
Word Count: 21450
Summary: Did you ever wonder what happened in the series Crusade? Well, here are my answers to all the burning questions.
Author's Notes: I'd like to thank Larry for beta reading this one for me. I have wanted to tell this tale for a long time and decided that this is the time. It is based on an old story I wrote and very loosely on the canon set forth by JMS as canon for the remainder of the series. I stuck to canon as much as possible as well. Those of you who are fan of the short lived series will see many references to the series itself in little ways, especially Alwyn's golden dragons!

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Day 21 - More videos

Fri, 21 Aug 2020 22:10:03 GMT

Posted by: alexcat

JMS videos:

JMS on Michael O'Hare

JMS on Harlan Ellsion

JMS on writing

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Day 20 - A few links to cast interviews

Fri, 21 Aug 2020 13:09:04 GMT

Posted by: alexcat

Walter Koenig -

Pat Tallman -

Claudia Christian -

Jerry Doyle -

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Day 19 - FIC: Secrets of the Heart

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 13:18:28 GMT

Posted by: alexcat

Here is another of my old stories I thought I'd share.

Title: Secrets of the Heart
Author: alexcat
Rating: Teen and up
Pairing: Susan Ivanova/John Sheridan
Author’s Note: I always have thought that Susan loved him. It was there if you looked, in the way she acted toward him, in things she said, how she watched him.
Spoilers: Yes. For seasons 4-5.
Summary: Susan begins a new life with a secret.

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Day 18 - FIC: Max's Anatomy Lesson

Tue, 18 Aug 2020 15:26:15 GMT

Posted by: alexcat

This is another old Crusade fiction I ran across and thought I'd share.
Title: Max's Anatomy Lesson
Author: alexcat
Fandom: Babylon 5 Crusade
Pairing(s): Max Eilerson/Dureena Nafeel
Rating: Explicit
Word Count: 2562
Warnings: None
Summary: After dancing with Dureena on Mars, Max wants her and becomes a little obsessed.

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Day 17 - [fic] Roar Unheard and Curling Crest Unseen

Tue, 18 Aug 2020 05:21:16 GMT

Posted by: muccamukk

Roar Unheard and Curling Crest Unseen (728 words) by Muccamukk
Rating: General Audiences
Relationships: Delenn & Jeffrey Sinclair
Additional Tags: Canon Era, Season/Series 01, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Gratuitous Literary References & Allusions, Gardens & Gardening
Summary: A weed is growing in Commander Sinclair's Zen garden.

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Day 16 - Some silly memes

Sun, 16 Aug 2020 20:02:00 GMT

Posted by: alexcat

A little short on time today so I poked around and found some memes and you can see them undere the ( CUT )

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Day 15 - Some pics of Worker Caste Minbari in the series

Sun, 16 Aug 2020 00:59:40 GMT

Posted by: kanadka

(they're always in the background)

So I'd really hoped to have finished all of S1 but alas, only had time for the first 10 episodes (+ The Gathering). My consensus and tl;dr:

three Minbari appear in the background of scenes that don't feature Minbari too predominantly (i.e., you won't be surprised to learn there are in fact more than three Minbari in the Rebirth Ceremony in 1x05 "The Parliament of Dreams")
all these three Minbari appear to be Worker Caste (!): they don't wear robes the way Lennier and Delenn do (and other robe-wearing Minbari that we see in ceremonies, c.f. Legacies, anyone who's not a Warrior Caste in that cortege is a Religious Caste member of some sort) - in fact, they wear something that would read to the audience as blue collar, so I suspect that's not a coincidence
blue collar for Minbari appears to be dusty sunflower yellow paired with denim overalls but on occasion is burgundy (...paired with denim overalls)
they never tend to show up in the casino, or the bars. For the most part, background Minbari tend to be walking along the promenade or in well-lit areas. Fits with the cultural worldbuilding.
... but one of them does seem very courteous and gentlemanly and appears with a (human!) ladyfriend. Good for them!
the same three Minbari crests appear consistently: two crown-like crests and one 3-pointed crest (the real-world interpretation is that likely, those extras kept getting hired and they recycled the makeup and wardrobe for multiple scenes in the same episode; but the in-universe interpretation is, man these three guys sure get around.)

Picspam and timestamps and more information ( under the cut! )

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Day 14 - FIC: Soul Survivors

Fri, 14 Aug 2020 15:39:25 GMT

Posted by: alexcat

This is another old story from my website. I loved Dureena.

Title: Soul Survivors
Fandom: Crusade
Rating: Explicit
Character(s): Robert Black/Dureena Nafeel
Summary: Sarah finds a cure for the Drakh plague and Fureena find so much more.

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Day 13 - FIC: The Captain and the Thief

Fri, 14 Aug 2020 14:44:17 GMT

Posted by: alexcat

I was so busy that I forgot to post yesterday. This is an old story. I wrote quite a few Crusade pieces. I really loved that short little series.

The Captain and the Thief
Babylon5-Crusade
NC-17
Cast: Matthew Gideon/Dureena Nafeel
Summary: Dureena steals a little bit of Matthew’s heart.

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Day 12 - ART: Delenn & Lennier

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 15:38:27 GMT

Posted by: ruuger

A couple of years ago I was asking for art prompts in my journal, and one of the prompts was "Lennier helping Delenn with her hair". I recently found the sketches I made then, which I had thought I'd lost when I moved, and decided my use one of the Babylon 5 sketches to test my new markers. Here's the result:

( Image under the cut )

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Day 11 - Some videos about the show

Tue, 11 Aug 2020 19:20:28 GMT

Posted by: alexcat

Here are some Babylon 5 appreciation videos.

Here are some vids that people have made about the good stuff in Babylon 5.

Trailer-

Why Babylon 5 is Awesome – Rowan Coleman

Top 10 Babylon 5 Episodes – Rowan Coleman

Babylon 5 – Everything You Didn’t Know – syfy wire

An Interview with Walter Koenig about Bester –

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Day 10 - fic: All Through The Night, nontraditional Winters/Sinclair

Tue, 11 Aug 2020 02:41:16 GMT

Posted by: chanter1944

Oh good gosh, I'm doing the thing. I know I've posted this elsewhere before, including to both AO3 and my own journal, but I don't believe it's ever landed in the B5 love community and it's still the work I'm most proud of in my scattered scribblings for the fandom over the years... If I've made an error by reposting, please let me know?

In the interest of full disclosure, I know this fic may go mildly OOC for Talia. It does not, I'm told, go OOC at all for Sinclair, and... is it wrong of me to admit I'd be significantly more bothered if he were the one mildly out of character? Wow, does that sound creepy? I'm just going to hit post, now.

All Through The Night (6637 words) by Chanter
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Babylon 5
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Catherine Sakai/Jeffrey Sinclair (mentioned), Michael Garibaldi/Jeffrey Sinclair (one-sided), Talia Winters/Jeffrey Sinclair (one-sided), Talia Winters/Matt Stoner (past), Talia Winters/Susan Ivanova (one-sided), Susan Ivanova/Jeffrey Sinclair (one-sided), Talia Winters & Jeffrey Sinclair
Characters: Talia Winters, Jeffrey Sinclair
Additional Tags: Telepathy, Empathy, Friendship, Trust, Attraction, Voice Kink, Daydreams, Sensuality, Secrets, Fantasy, Explicit Consent, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Vulnerability, Fluff, Bisexuality, self-awareness, nonsexual intimacy, good communication, Acceptance, Exhaustion, Sensory Overload, touch-starvation, Poetry, Season/Series 01, respect of boundaries, Sinclair's integrity is iron-clad, Talia deserves decency, potentially confusing narrative devices, Hand & Finger Kink, Canon Bisexual Character(s)
Summary:

What she does about her attractions while in the privacy of her quarters is still her own fragging business, thank you very much. Talia Winters has a few ideas that keep recurring.

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A note

Sun, 09 Aug 2020 18:37:02 GMT

Posted by: alexcat

There is a collection at Ao3 for Babylon 5 Love Month fics- https://archiveofourown.org/collections/babylon5_love

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Day 9 - FIC: A Short History of Interstellar Baseball

Sun, 09 Aug 2020 18:07:10 GMT

Posted by: alexcat

I was looking through my files on my hard drive and I found this one. Hope you enjoy.

( A Short History of Interstellar Baseball )

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