Babylon 5 Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created and produced by J . Michael Straczynski for Warner Bros . History . The primary series , which ran from 26 January 1994 to 25 November 1998 after its pilot episode was broadcast on 22 February 1993 , was the first truly successful American futuristic , space - oriented science fiction television series outside of the " Star Trek " franchise . Like " Trek " , there have been several attempts to create viable spinoff properties , including six made - for - TV movies and the short - lived series " Crusade " , featuring Daniel Dae Kim , Marjean Holden , and Tracy Scoggins . Enjoying a considerable measure of success while the original source series was being produced and aired , the franchise eventually faded into obscurity due to a combination of intentional sabotage by TNT , poorly considered money - saving maneuvers by Warner Bros . ( including but not limited to the decision to save $ 5 , 000 per season and in the process make it impossible to produce a high definition version of the show , and the decision to produce wide screen versions of effects shots by recompositing later , which proved impossible after assets were lost ) , and internal Warner Bros . studio politics . The show continues to be available on Standard Definition DVD and has a cult following , but has not been syndicated since the early 2000s , making it hard for potential fans to discover and preventing a fan driven comeback such as was enjoyed by " Star Trek " . The series was widely acclaimed for its ambitious writing , much of it by Straczynski himself , who endeavored to tell a complex , predetermined epic story arc , in the form of the , over the series ' entire run , as opposed to the episodic ( or two - part episodes at the most ) story format until then employed for science fiction television series . It thereby convincingly dispelled the hitherto held belief by Hollywood studios that television audiences lacked the attention span to remain interested in a science fiction series format thus conceived . In service of that goal , the show had an innovative visual style , taking advantage of advances in computer animation to create spectacular fantastic ( VFX ) on an economical budget , most notably computer generated imagery ( CGI ) , pioneered by Foundation Imaging , who later also provided VFX for the " Star Trek " franchise . The use of CGI in the series was a definitive breakthrough in creating VFX for television , much as the movie " Jurassic Park " was for cinema ; it went on to become the primary technique . The series starred Bruce Boxleitner , who later went on to make an appearance on " Heroes " with Zachary Quinto , and Mira Furlan , who later had a recurring role on J . J . Abrams ' s " Lost " with Terry O ' Quinn , Daniel Dae Kim , and others . The series also featured numerous " Trek " alumni in the cast as important recurring or regular characters , most notably Walter Koenig , Andreas Katsulas , Bill Mumy , and Patricia Tallman . Michelle Forbes ' ex - husband Ross Kettle also did an episode . " Babylon 5 " and " Star Trek : Deep Space Nine " . J . Michael Straczynski began working on the " Babylon 5 " concept in 1986 . In 1987 , he began pitching it , with a script for the pilot and conceptual artwork , to Hollywood executives . He pitched the program ( with pilot script , artwork , series bible , character descriptions , and synopses for approximately twenty - two episodes ) to Paramount executives in 1989 . The series was greenlit by Warner Bros . in November 1991 . Also in 1991 , Brandon Tartikoff , then newly - appointed as chairman of Paramount Pictures , approached Rick Berman and asked him to develop a new " Star Trek " television series . Berman and Michael Piller discussed plans for the series with Gene Roddenberry prior to his death in October 1991 . was officially greenlit in January 1992 . Filming on the " Babylon 5 " pilot , " The Gathering " , was completed before filming began on " Deep Space Nine " s pilot , , but " Babylon 5 " s post - production took longer , so " Emissary " aired on 3 January 1993 and " The Gathering " aired seven weeks later , on 22 February . Straczynski has suggested that Paramount TV development executives may have " guided " the development of " Deep Space Nine " with the intention of co - opting " Babylon 5 " . He has , however , been careful to point out that he does not believe that Berman or Piller were aware of the " Babylon 5 " concept when they were developing " Deep Space Nine " , or that they deliberately ripped off " Babylon 5 " . However , Straczynski has pointed out a number of similarities between " Babylon 5 " and " Deep Space Nine " , particularly their respective pilot episodes : Straczynski also commented on what he perceived to be similarities in set and prosthetic designs , as well as the notion – mentioned in " Deep Space Nine " publicity but rarely acknowledged directly in the program itself – that the holosuite s in Quark ' s would act as a virtual bordello . In 1993 , Straczynski noted a striking similarity between the just - aired " Deep Space Nine " episode , in which Quark is branded on the head by the xenophobic and radical Circle , and the " Babylon 5 " episode " The War Prayer " ( then in post - production ) , in which a Minbari is branded on the head by the xenophobic and radical Homeguard ; he emphasized that no one on the " Babylon 5 " staff knew of the DS9 plot point until " The Homecoming " aired , by which point filming on " The War Prayer " had been completed . Later , in 1996 , Straczynski said : After seeing and , Straczynski recognized that the story was an homage to the film " Seven Days in May " , implicitly withdrawing this criticism . In the face of the rivalry , Majel Barrett - Roddenberry agreed to a guest appearance on " Babylon 5 " as a gesture of goodwill to encourage a reconciliation between the fandoms . She played a widow of the late Centauri Emperor , whose greatness and vision for peace had not been fully appreciated within his own lifetime . She foresaw Ambassador Mollari ' s rise to power . Aside from Straczynski ' s own observations , it should also be noted that " Deep Space Nine " too adopted a long , multi - season story arc from the third season onward in the form of events surrounding the Dominion War . The " Star Trek " franchise later repeated this to a lesser extent for the third season of in the form of the Xindi threat story arc . Despite the signature importance of effects house Foundation Imagining had been for " Babylon 5 " , the company was due to the above - mentioned unsavory studio politics let go from the production after its third season in 1995 , leaving the company in dire straits . Yet , the services of the company were picked up the same year by the " Star Trek " franchise for their production , after its CGI vendor Amblin Imaging went defunct . However there were initial trepidations to do so , as Foundation ' s visual style was so associated with that of " Babylon 5 " . ( ) In this regard David Livingston has observed , commenting on the use of computer - generated imagery in , " " We were reluctant to do computer graphics , but Peter Lauritson finally came around . He recognized how valuable it is . You can do more stuff with the ship , but you have to do it right . Not to pick on other shows , but " Babylon 5 " looks like computer - generated imagery . On " Voyager " and " Deep Space Nine " , you may not know some of these shots are not motion - control shots . They ' re really , really good if done properly . You have to spend a couple of extra bucks and get really good artists , but CGI just allows you to do more and you can build more elements into the shots " " . ( " Captains ' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages " ) Additionally , " Deep Space Nine " Visual Effects Supervisor Gary Hutzel has stated , " " My particular focus for our show , for " Star Trek : Deep Space Nine " , is that it should be a visual effects leader ; we should never follow , we should never do what ' s been done before . CGI has certainly been used to various different degrees of success on " Star Trek : Voyager " , but I think it ' s still a hit - and - miss prospect , so I ' m not interested in doing it . " " ( ) Still , Foundation has amply proven their mettle for " Star Trek " , even increasingly providing effects for " Deep Space Nine " s last two seasons as well , continuing to do so for the first season of . Nonetheless , some " Babylon 5 " influences crept into the designs of some of the ships featured in " Voyager " ; the designs of the Species 8472 bio - ship and Krenim weapon ship for example , echoed those of the Vorlon ships and the titular Babylon 5 station respectively , unsurprisingly perhaps , as these were ( co - ) designed by Steve Burg and Foundation CEO Ron Thornton respectively for either production . After Foundation went bankrupt in 2002 , its former Visual Effects Supervisor Adam Lebowitz has confirmed that all digital assets were left on the company servers when they were sold off at auction . It was this failure to maintain ownership by the respective studios that precludes any and all possibility for not only a remaster ed version of " Babylon 5 " , as indicated above , but also such versions of " Deep Space Nine " , " Voyager " and " " , which was the last project the company had worked on . " Star Trek " references in " Babylon 5 " . In the " Babylon 5 " episode " There All the Honor Lies " ( written by Peter David ) , Commander Ivanova protests an attempt to sell " Babylon 5 " merchandise on the station , saying , " " We ' re not some Deep Space franchise – this place is " about " something ! " " David expected the line to be cut , but producer Straczynski insisted that it be kept , because it was " fall - down funny . " David replied , " " You people really ARE dangerous over there , aren ' t you ? " " In the episode " Voices of Authority " , when an Earthgov political representative attempts to seduce Captain Sheridan , Ivanova quips , " " Congratulations , captain . . . I believe you are about to go where " everyone " has gone before . " " A blooper from the episode " Severed Dreams " has Bruce McGill ' s character , when asked where Robert Foxworth ' s character General Hague was , say " " General Hague . . . is doing " Deep Space Nine " . It seems he was double - booked by his agent and nothing could be done . " "